* * *
These days, Court Official Park felt like he could fly to the heavens. Not only had the relationship between Mama and His Majesty improved, but the conversation that Court Official Park had so desperately wanted was finally happening between the two. Court Official Park couldn’t hide his satisfaction as he watched the two gradually returning to their original selves.
Court Official Park smiled contentedly as he peeked at the two through the door crack.
“It was worth making that deal after all.”
Court Official Park whispered in a low voice. The deal had been made the day before. Instead of telling Hyunseo that someone needed to attend to Mama because his wrists and ankles hadn’t healed yet, Jihun had set a condition.
“If I tell His Majesty what you want, what will you do for me in return?”
Jihun’s smug face as he smiled was quite annoying. But Jihun was the only one who could help him. Court Official Park glanced at that handsome face and answered.
“It benefits both of us if Mama and His Majesty grow closer, so what condition could there be?”
“Of course there must be conditions. I’m the top physician in the royal medical office. If it’s discovered that I lied, I’ll lose my head and limbs. I have to set some conditions, don’t I?”
“…Tsk.”
He had nothing to say. Looking down at Court Official Park’s anxious face, Jihun smiled broadly. How cute he was. Court Official Park’s eyes wavered, seemingly unaware that his thoughts were completely visible on his face.
“Meet me.”
“What?”
“You have no money or valuables. Pay with your body.”
“Are you crazy? I have enough money for that!”
“Never mind. Being stuck in the royal medical office makes me restless. Let’s meet in the medical office garden starting tonight.”
“Hey, are you insane? You! Are you out of your mind? Where are you going?”
And so, with Court Official Park’s tearful sacrifice, Hyunseo’s attendance to Doha began. After serving a table full of foods that Doha liked, Court Official Park dismissed all the palace servants from the chamber.
* * *
Why was I so crazy about this guy?
As his senses returned, his memories were hazy. His romantic feelings had been so intense they were about to spill out of his mouth, but after sleeping, his mind was calm. Even Doha couldn’t guess how this had happened.
‘Either way, it’s not a bad thing.’
Rather, the conversation they had after he woke up had made things easier. In his dazed state, Doha had achieved the remarkable feat of eating breakfast together and sleeping together. Although he couldn’t grasp exactly what had happened, Doha, now fully conscious, wanted to applaud his past self.
“Can you get up?”
Though his manner of speech had returned, his expression remained softer than before. It seemed to be thanks to last night’s conversation. When Doha nodded slightly, Hyunseo carefully helped him up from under the silk blanket.
“Aah…”
Doha touched his forehead and staggered. Hyunseo embraced Doha’s swaying body with a surprised expression. When someone’s guard is down, that’s when you should move in. At times like this, physical contact was the only thing needed.
Like a puppy nuzzling its owner, Doha subtly burrowed into Hyunseo’s arms. Flinch. Hyunseo’s body froze at Doha’s movement.
“I’ll call the physician.”
“I was just dizzy for a moment, please don’t worry.”
Doha smiled faintly. His pale complexion and thin body enhanced his pitiful beauty. Knowing this, Doha made sure to shift his body, disheveling his bedclothes.
The tied knot came loose and his collar opened. Through the gap, Doha’s fair skin was revealed. It was flawless, smooth skin that made one want to put their mouth on it immediately. Hyunseo’s gaze stopped at the exposed skin.
Oh my.
As Doha shifted, something pink that had been hidden inside his open collar was revealed. Hyunseo couldn’t take his eyes off that luscious sight. His mouth went dry. He felt that if he could just put it in his mouth, roll it around, bite it, and crush it with his teeth, it would quench his thirst.
Hyunseo’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
Perhaps sensing Hyunseo’s gaze, Doha’s body gradually turned red. As a result, the pink thing also began to change to a deeper color, like a peach ripening in the sun.
“Your Majesty…”
Hyunseo could no longer hear Doha calling him with a reddened face. His tongue was parched. If he could put that in his mouth, if he could taste it, would this hunger disappear? If he could drink the sweet juice until his tongue was sore and smell the sweet scent until his nose was numb.
‘Looking at someone who’s sick like this… I’ve become trash.’
Hyunseo looked down at Doha with the eyes of a predator eyeing its prey. Looking at Doha who was staring up with innocent eyes, Hyunseo felt a tightening below his waist. As time passed and his arousal grew more rigid, he gently pushed Doha away.
“I’ll… call the physician.”
With bright red ears, Hyunseo stood up. Leaving before committing an irreversible act seemed like the right choice. Looking at Doha who was staring up at him with a harmless face, this choice felt even more correct.
Slightly hiding his aroused lower body with his royal robe, Hyunseo tried to recall the books he had seen yesterday. So, on the first page, what was on the first page? He tried hard to remember, but his gaze kept drifting to the inside of Doha’s collar.
“You mean right now?”
“…Yes.”
Right now, at this important moment? Doha looked at Hyunseo, who had sprung up from his seat, with a bewildered expression. Something else should have sprung up, how did this happen? As Doha emitted an even stronger scent, Hyunseo’s head turned completely in the opposite direction.
“I’ll call the physician, until then, contain your scent.”
“Did I… make a mistake?”
“No. It’s not your fault.”
If there’s any fault, it’s mine for being in heat at all times. Unable to say this, Hyunseo turned away. Watching Hyunseo leave the chamber with hurried steps, Doha let out an incredulous laugh.
“Ha, really. Why is he like this?”
He had let a caught fish escape. Doha clutched at his bedclothes and glared at the closed door.
At that time, he didn’t know yet. That something was wrong, terribly wrong.
* * *
He sensed something was strange when they had breakfast together. As promised, Hyunseo visited Siyeong Palace as soon as the sun rose. Sitting face to face with a table of food between them, he felt awkward and kept looking at the floor. Unable to bear the silence, Doha spoke up.
“Your Majesty, why didn’t you come back yesterday after the physician visited?”
Last evening, Hyunseo had said he would call the physician, and while the physician did come, Hyunseo didn’t return. He wanted to search the palace asking where Hyunseo had gone, but rumors of his poor health had already spread, making even that difficult. It seems Seowoo wasn’t the only one with restricted movement. Doha clicked his tongue, but it was already too late.
“I had a lot to do yesterday. I need to handle matters when the palace is in turmoil.”
Hyunseo spoke in a sullen voice as he picked up his chopsticks. His tone was accusatory of past events. Without even inviting Doha to start eating, he began moving his chopsticks. The events that had happened after Doha’s possession flashed through his mind. Even by his own assessment, there were many difficult issues to deal with, so Doha silently bowed his head.
“……”
“There’s a lot to handle because you’ve been running around everywhere.”
“I apologize.”
“If you understand, I’d like you to behave.”
Despite his cold voice, Hyunseo’s chopsticks moved busily across the table. Doha’s eyes followed his chopsticks intently. The chopsticks headed toward a plump grilled croaker.
“I couldn’t read any of the books I planned to read either.”
Even as he spoke, Hyunseo separated the head and body of the croaker and removed the bones. The plump flesh was already piled high on Doha’s side. It was glistening croaker flesh that made one salivate just by looking at it.
I like the skin though. Doha wanted to express his preference, but fearing the table might be overturned, he bowed his head.
“I apologize.”
“I didn’t say that to hear apologies, just eat your breakfast.”
This time it was japchae. Hyunseo skillfully twirled spinach, glass noodles, mushrooms, and carrots on his chopsticks, and placed the japchae on Doha’s spoon, as if serving pasta. Once the japchae was neatly arranged in a round shape, Hyunseo finally smiled with satisfaction.
His actions were quite natural. Doha’s eyes widened. This onion-like man. The more layers you peel, the more keep appearing. Doha looked with amazement at Hyunseo, who was concentrating on gathering japchae with a frown between his brows.
It was true that in the scenario, Hyunseo had taken care of Doha’s meals attentively when they were outside the palace, but not with this much devotion. That was certainly the case up to the scene he had filmed.
‘In my dream and now too. It seems we were quite affectionate outside the palace…’
Doha tilted his head. When he didn’t pick up his spoon, Hyunseo looked at him as if asking what he was doing.
“Do I need to call it a royal command for you to eat this?”
“No, no, not at all.”
Doha shook his head and picked up the spoon heaped with japchae. His wrist was fine, but for this sweet and tender breakfast, his wrist shouldn’t be fine.
“Ah!”
Doha let out a groan and dropped the spoon he was holding. The spoon and japchae mixed and rolled on the floor. The carrots, spinach, and glass noodles that Hyunseo had carefully selected were scattered on the floor. He quietly looked down at the japchae.
“I apologize. My wrist still aches…”
Doha clutched his wrist and made a sad face to prevent Hyunseo from getting angry. When he looked up at Hyunseo with his large eyes, Hyunseo sighed.
“Don’t worry me any further. Bin, come to my side.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t make me say it twice.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t understand; he just wanted to hear his words once more. With an excited heart, Doha approached the opposite side of the table and sat right next to Hyunseo. They were close enough for their arms to overlap.
Hyunseo looked down with surprised eyes at Doha, who was pressed firmly against his side.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“You told me to come to your side, so I came to your side. What’s the problem?”
“Who told you to stick so close?”
What’s wrong with him, really? We’re even married. Doha snuggled slightly closer to Hyunseo, who was looking down at him with wary eyes.
“Didn’t you call me over to feed me?”
Doha smiled suggestively and opened his lips. As his plump lips parted widely, Hyunseo’s Adam’s apple bobbed again. His gaze stopped at Doha’s lips. His lips glistened red as if painted with rouge. Up close, they looked even more luscious.
‘Was Doha always like this?’
He was completely different from the usual Doha. If the previous Doha had a clear and bright feeling, the Doha from the banquet until now had something suggestive that stimulated carnal desires. He wasn’t like a greenhouse flower but rather like a red wildflower blooming in the fields – intense and provocative.
The red lips closed and opened again. Hyunseo’s gaze followed the movement of those lips.
If I could just put one finger in there.
Terrified by the thought that had just occurred to him, Hyunseo pushed Doha away. Still sitting, he moved Doha about 30 centimeters away and only then breathed as if he would live.
“Bin, don’t stick so close to me.”
Doha felt wronged. Did he truly not know what sticking close meant? Generally speaking, sticking close meant that lips, chest, and loins all became one body. It was strange. Surely Hyunseo and Doha had lived together outside the palace, they even got married, yet Hyunseo’s reaction was…
“From now on, even if I tell you to come, stay six spans away.”
“Your Majesty?”
“This is a command from now. Move away immediately.”
A virgin. He was like a virgin. Looking at Hyunseo’s red-hot ears, Doha was certain.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
