* * *
As soon as the door opened, hot air touched his face. At the unpleasant warmth, Hyunseo’s brows furrowed. As the hazy steam cleared, a round bath tub revealed itself.
In it, Seowoo was exposing his body, letting his long hair flow down to the floor. Round shoulder lines were visible through his hair. It was a body beautiful enough to make any ordinary Yangin lose their reason and rush in.
Whether aware of Hyunseo’s arrival or not, Seowoo took water in both hands and let it flow behind his shoulders. The falling water soaked his hair, causing his wet hair to stick to his back. That appearance was strangely bewitching.
“Noble Consort.”
With an impassive face, Hyunseo opened his mouth. He slowly walked toward the bath tub where Seowoo was.
With each step, the sword in his hand dragged along the floor, making a tearing sound. It was a sound that did not match this place.
“Your Majesty?”
As if only now aware of Hyunseo’s presence, Seowoo turned to look at him with wide eyes. He didn’t forget to gather his hair to one side, exposing his chest.
With Seowoo’s movement, a pink circle became prominent. It rose above the water’s surface. As if trying to seduce, it stood erect, pointing in Hyunseo’s direction. Both Seowoo and Hyunseo knew what it meant.
“This humble one begs your understanding that I cannot serve Your Majesty.”
With a shy face, Seowoo bowed his head. As he moved, the sound of rippling water was heard. It was an alluring sound that evoked lewd imagination. The court attendants standing behind closed the door with reddening faces.
The court attendants’ faces contrasted with Hyunseo’s composed one. Hyunseo stared at Seowoo without blinking. As it seemed to reveal his heart, Seowoo bit his lip.
‘I mustn’t show what’s inside. Acting spoiled will only earn unnecessary hatred.’
He needed to smile while hiding his heart. Concealing the truth and showing only fabricated beauty—that was Seowoo’s method of survival.
Seowoo showed the prettiest smile he could make. It was a smile that curved his eye corners into crescent shapes and only lifted the corners of his mouth without showing teeth. Smiling brightly with his cheeks dyed red, Seowoo looked as beautiful as if a celestial maiden had descended.
“The wind is chilly. If it pleases you… Your Majesty should also enter the bath.”
As if showing reverence, Seowoo placed a hand on one side of his chest. He slowly rubbed the circle under his palm. What had been erect swelled into an even more tempting shape. It was just the right size to put in the mouth and roll around.
Seeing Seowoo’s, Hyunseo raised the corner of his mouth. He slowly approached the bath and sat down in front of Seowoo. As he sat leaning his arms on the edge of the bath, the bathwater rippled.
“The water looks quite warm.”
“The inside is even warmer.”
“…It would get hotter if we mixed our bodies.”
Seowoo’s face reddened with anticipation. Seeing this, Hyunseo smiled slightly.
“I’ve never mixed bodies with someone who isn’t in my heart.”
Seowoo’s face, which had relaxed with anticipation, instantly hardened. The hand that had been placed on his chest was hidden back in the water.
‘Dreaming in vain.’
Hyunseo let out a hollow laugh.
“How far do you think you can run wild without knowing your place?”
“Your Majesty.”
“How dare you touch what’s mine and then just take a bath. How could I stay still when my pride is hurt?”
Mine, mine, he says. Seowoo’s face wrinkled with disappointment. It had been a full two weeks since his visit. After ordering confinement from the interrogation room, Hyunseo had not once visited Gyopung Palace.
Since there were eyes watching, he could have at least written a letter, but no matter how long he waited, not even news came, let alone a letter. Seowoo tried to smile by lifting the corners of his mouth, but this time, he simply couldn’t manage his expression.
With a terribly distorted face, Seowoo looked at Hyunseo.
“How, how can you say I’m not counted as yours?”
Sharp, blaming words shot out from Seowoo’s mouth. Their gazes collided in midair.
“You weren’t mine from the beginning, so how can I count you as mine?”
“I am also yours!”
Seowoo said, looking straight into Hyunseo’s eyes. Though his gaze was confident, his voice was already trembling. After clearing his sinking voice, Seowoo opened his mouth again.
“It’s been five years since we formed the bond of husband and wife, five years. After five years… do you truly have no intention of giving your heart to me?”
“…”
“I didn’t throw tantrums asking to be embraced or held. Is it such a difficult request to give a piece of your heart?”
“Yes.”
At the cold answer, tears began to well up. Teardrops soon formed in Seowoo’s eyes, as if about to fall. Without changing his expression even at this sight, Hyunseo added:
“That is the most difficult request for me.”
Without wiping his tears, Seowoo glared at him. A man in love never diverted his attention to other things. Seowoo felt deeply wronged that he was included in those “other things.”
“Do not belittle my love. What Your Majesty feels for the Flower Bin, and what I feel for Your Majesty—they are the same feelings.”
When Doha’s name was mentioned, Hyunseo’s gaze changed. He slowly raised his body from the bath’s railing he had been leaning on. Standing straight, he lifted Seowoo’s chin with a cold touch.
“I hear your arrogance is piercing the heavens.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Don’t carelessly mention Doha with that mouth.”
As Hyunseo gripped Seowoo’s chin with a fierce hand, a teardrop that had been welling in Seowoo’s eye fell. The teardrop that ran down his cheek soon absorbed into the bath.
Why are you so cold only to me? A murderous intent circulated in Seowoo’s eyes as he looked up at him. The hatred that should have been directed at Hyunseo flew in the wrong direction.
‘Doha. If only that bastard wasn’t around, His Majesty would stop this worthless talk of love.’
“You said you wouldn’t show affection, wouldn’t be jealous. Didn’t you enter the palace using that as a pretext?”
“Even if I entered the palace that way, it doesn’t change the fact that I am Your Majesty’s Noble Consort. How can drinking the marriage wine and forming the bond of husband and wife be as if it never happened!”
Seowoo glared at him with resentful eyes. Though he thought in his heart that he shouldn’t cross the line, the memory of Hyunseo’s gaze whenever he looked at Doha kept rising, igniting his anger.
The moment his voice rose, Hyunseo brought his face close to Seowoo’s as if to kiss him. It was close enough for their breaths to touch.
“Hup…!”
Seowoo inhaled at the sudden movement. He looked at Hyunseo, blinking. Before their lips touched, he moved toward Seowoo’s ear instead of his lips.
“This is as far as I’ll tolerate your impudence.”
“…”
As if warning, Hyunseo muttered in a low voice.
“Use that clever head of yours and think hard about why I keep you alive. Why I keep someone I don’t love in the palace.”
“Your Majesty.”
“And realize it yourself. Who is using you.”
“I…!”
“Who it is that I love.”
Seowoo’s head turned sharply at the fierce touch. As if slapped on the cheek, with his head turned, Seowoo looked down at his own body.
They said there was no Yangin who couldn’t be tempted by this body alone. Seems the Chief State Councilor’s words were wrong too. His body, without a single thread on it, was vulgarly dyed red. It was a body that many Yangin had called beautiful, but now it felt only crude.
Perhaps it felt that way because it had been denied by the man whose recognition he wanted most. Maybe he wanted love, not recognition.
Gritting his teeth, Seowoo emitted his scent.
“What is this!”
Hyunseo shouted, feeling the scent settling thickly on the bathhouse floor. However, once the scent started to release, it showed no signs of stopping. Like liquid flowing from a hole, the scent flowed unrestrained from Seowoo’s entire body.
The leaked scent climbed up Hyunseo’s feet and thoroughly soaked his royal robe. Now it was about to dye his neck. His entire body was being covered in the scent. Hyunseo hurriedly covered his nose with his collar, but it was already too late.
‘If my love is not acceptable… then Your Majesty’s love will not be either.’
Seowoo’s scent, which seeped through the tip of Hyunseo’s nose, pushed away Doha’s scent and settled in his body. It was a thick rose scent. Once soaked, the scent would brush his collar each time he breathed and linger at the tip of his nose each time he moved. The corners of Seowoo’s mouth rose secretly.
“You…!”
He wanted to express anger, but even opening his mouth was difficult. Any more scent was overwhelming. Moreover, with this amount, Doha would know as soon as he saw him that he had been with Seowoo.
Marking one’s lover with scent—it wasn’t exclusive to Yangin. Eumin also had as much possessiveness and obsession as Yangin, and if they were determined enough, they could completely dye their partner’s body with their scent.
However, they usually only heavily marked their partners whom they had spent the night with or who were their deep companions. It meant “I’ve completely pickled you in my scent, so no one should touch you.”
‘No. What peace I’ve found with such difficulty.’
Hyunseo hastily exited the bath. As soon as he opened the door and went out, he bent his waist and gasped for breath. No matter how much night air he inhaled, Seowoo’s scent wouldn’t leave his body.
“Haa…”
This is bad. As if his head hurt, Hyunseo touched his forehead. His neat forehead was covered by a large hand. It would take at least a week for the scent to completely leave. Thinking that he wouldn’t be able to see Doha’s face during that time, his heart was already in turmoil.
Just when he had finally caught Doha’s heart recently, to be marked with this scent. Hyunseo walked toward the door of Gyopung Palace with a deep sigh. The night air was cold. Perhaps because it was a night without Doha.
* * *
At that time, Siyeong Palace.
Doha, who had escaped from the underground prison, was quietly climbing over the wall of Siyeong Palace. As he stepped with all his might, the tiles on top of the wall came within his grasp.
‘Crazy, to think the day would come when I’d climb walls like a real assassin.’
When he had acted as Assassin 1, he had done it with wires attached to his body, so there was less thrill. Even if he misstepped and fell, he would just float in the air due to the connected wire, with no risk of injury. But not now.
‘One wrong move and I die.’
Stone debris fell from the tip of his foot. Watching the debris fall for a long time to the ground, Doha closed his eyes tightly. Soon, as if gathering his resolve, Doha took a deep breath and began to run along the middle of the wall.
‘F*ck, Ji Eunsung!’
Crazy bastard, I told you to stay still, where the hell did you go! I even left the palace for that bastard! While inwardly cursing Eunsung, he ran, and before he knew it, he was in front of his room.
Fortunately, the bedchamber was exactly as it had been when Doha had left. The window was tightly locked, and the oil lamp he had lit beside the bedchamber was still in its place. Probably Dojin was also still in his position, nodding off.
Relieved by the identical appearance, Doha slowly lowered his body from the tiles. The ground was high, but while his footsteps made a soft sound, it wasn’t loud. Doha walked toward the window, with his heels raised.
The light inside the room flickered as if the wind was blowing. Had there been wind today? Tilting his head, Doha placed his hand on the window handle.
Creak. When he opened the window, there was Dojin’s face.
“Aack!”
Startled, Doha screamed and hit Dojin’s face. Unprepared for the sudden attack, Dojin was hit directly by Doha’s palm. With a slapping sound, a clear palm print remained on both cheeks. With a bewildered expression, Dojin looked down at Doha.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
