“…Maki, you—”
“Young Master! You didn’t wake for two full days—I was worried something had happened! Are you alright? Do you have an appetite?”
Maki hastily kicked off his straw sandals and knelt inside the room, checking on his master with practiced ease. He was too composed—so much so that Jihan briefly held his breath. Though there were a few bruises on his face, he wasn’t limping. Seon’s threat to sever Maki’s ankle had been nothing but an empty bluff.
Annoyance flared, but it was still a relief. Jihan stared blankly at Maki, still dazed.
Maki casually fetched the jangjuk pipe and tobacco powder from the corner basket, packing it tightly before offering it to Jihan. He even lit it for him.
“The Young Master of the Annex has gone hunting tigers. Took all the hunters and trackers with him. Brutish men, every last one. You shouldn’t even speak to them.”
“……”
“Oh, and the Young Master of the Annex sent word to the Grand Secretary—said he found a good villa in Jang’un and will stay another half-month before returning to the capital within the month. You’re to go with him. The Grand Secretary was apparently furious searching for you all this time.”
Jihan exhaled a mouthful of smoke before finally speaking after a long pause.
“What happened with the Left Minister’s marriage proposal?”
“It fell through.”
Maki’s voice dropped low as he added:
“Didn’t the Young Master of the Annex chase you all the way to the pass? After losing our trail, he went straight back to the capital, postponed his court duties, and personally broke off the engagement.”
Jihan didn’t believe it. With Grand Secretary Choi’s health worsening, severing ties with the Left Minister’s family—their last remaining political lifeline—was like choosing to stand naked in the court’s thornfield. What fool would abandon a convenient shortcut to trudge through brambles?
“That bastard would never do that. He’s greedy and calculating beneath that indifferent act.”
Maki, who had been nodding, glanced toward the door. A rustle came from the courtyard. After exchanging a look, Maki abruptly shut the door and stepped outside.
***
Jihan crouched motionless on the bedding, watching Seon’s every move. Seon removed his martial robe and reached for a light indoor garment. The lean, well-defined muscles of his shoulders and arms moved with graceful precision. Jihan averted his gaze, suddenly at a loss for where to look.
“…You said you were hunting a tiger.”
“It got away.”
Seon fastened his collar with indifference as he replied.
“I’ll catch it next time.”
“Next time? You mean you’re coming back here again?”
“I wasn’t speaking idly.”
“What?”
“About finding a good house.”
Seon stood by the doorway and pushed it open. Whoosh—a cool mountain breeze rustled the dense branches of the horse-chestnut tree, scattering sunlight between the leaves. He genuinely seemed to like this place.
“There’s a lake nearby perfect for fishing. If I clear the land again, replace the tiles, and add a scenic pond and trees, it’ll make a fine villa.”
“……”
“Once my official position stabilizes, I’ll visit regularly to rest. Of course, with you, hyung.”
Jihan’s chest tightened. He didn’t know where to begin, what to ask. He bit his dry lips, lifting his unstable gaze.
“Did you… really break off the engagement?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you wanted me to.”
“I did?”
Again. Ever since yesterday, something in Seon’s words and actions felt off—claiming he’d lured Jihan here to stop the wedding, saying everything had gone as planned…
“I wanted that? What the hell is wrong with your head? How does that even make sense? I didn’t care whether you married or not. I just couldn’t stand the sight of you, so I ran. Why pretend you don’t know? I—I was only hiding here until my father left for Hongju, then I’d return to his side…”
A thud. Something dropped in front of him. It was the inlaid chest’s contents—the relics of Seon’s true family.
“If that’s not true, then why did you hide these?”
“……”
“Why keep such clear evidence of treason and not report it to the royal prison?”
Seon’s face was genuinely curious.
“As you know, an imperial decree ordered severe punishment for anyone connected to my family, regardless of status. By the law of yeonjwa, if a father is executed for treason, his eldest son should be too.”
“……”
“So I assumed a false identity with Grand Secretary Choi’s help, lived under another name, passed the exams, and climbed the ranks. In other words, I defiled the ancestral shrine and trampled the nation’s laws. I’d deserve beheading. And yet, hyung…”
Seon took a step closer. His voice dropped even lower.
“You knew everything… and covered for me.”
Jihan’s gaze wavered violently.
“You said you found me repulsive, yet you pretended not to know my birthright.”
“That—”
“You said you couldn’t stand the sight of me, that you hated me. You constantly threatened to kill me. So why did you leave me alone?”
“Because I pitied you!”
Jihan cried out in despair before he could stop himself.
“I pitied you, you bastard.”
“……”
“I never wanted you ruined that badly…”
“You pitied me?”
Seon’s lips twisted subtly.
“You pitied me after I raped you, after I pumped my cum inside you? Fine. If that’s what you say, then I suppose it must be true. That’s why you spread your legs so obediently every night, even while your stomach churned in disgust.”
SMACK!
Jihan slapped him—only to look as if he had been struck. His breath came fast, tears of frustration welling in his eyes.
Seon, his head slightly turned, gazed down at Jihan with empty eyes before sighing.
“Well, regardless.”
He picked up his father’s relics.
“Seeing these cleared up all my questions.”
“……”
“Now that I think about it, it was always strange. You couldn’t stand people around me. The maids who fawned over me were sold off one by one. The steward who brought a gisaeng to my quarters the night of my first wet dream was expelled the next day—accused of stealing gold. And then there’s Maki.”
“…Maki?”
Jihan frowned.
“What does Maki have to do with this?”
“Back then, he kept finding excuses to visit my quarters. Bringing late-night snacks, stealing glances at my crotch… You must’ve hated that, so you framed him with the aphrodisiac incident to get rid of him too, didn’t you?”
Jihan’s breath hitched.
“If your plan that day had worked—if the Left Minister’s family had caught me in the act—my marriage would’ve been ruined, and Maki would’ve been banished. So I asked him. What did you two talk about before he drugged me?”
“……”
“You told him to only pretend to sleep with me, didn’t you? That he wasn’t allowed to actually touch me… Why go that far?”
For a moment, Jihan’s thoughts froze. His tears vanished. His face burned—not from shame, but from panic.
“D-Don’t be ridiculous. I couldn’t openly torment you, so I drove away your lackeys instead! I hated you for stealing my marriage prospects, that’s all! And—and even if you’re a rootless bastard, you’re still a yangban! The sacred order of ban-sang forbids you from sullying yourself with a lowborn like Maki! That’s the only reason, nothing more!”
“……”
“I see. Plausible. You are clever, hyung. The problem is you only use that cleverness to rationalize your own actions.”
Jihan raised his hand to strike again, but Seon caught his wrist.
“If you’ve nothing to say, stop hitting me.”
“Let go!”
“I’m not forcing you to agree with me.”
“……”
“Think whatever makes you happy. I’ll do the same.”
Seon calmly emphasized his point before examining Jihan’s wrist. The marks from the rough binding the other day had turned into purple bruises.
“…So. What’s your conclusion?” Jihan asked weakly.
“What do you want with me from now on?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
