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East Wind
In the palace, there were rules for everything. The evening meal, which Juhwan could have at whatever time he wanted when living at home, had to be taken exactly when the sun sat on the peak of the mountain after entering the palace. And instead of chatting and joking before falling asleep whenever he wished, he now had to close his eyes early under the strict supervision of Court Lady Heo, who would say, “Please retire to your chambers now.”
“She thinks I can fall asleep right when she tells me to.”
Grumbling and tossing and turning, Juhwan fell asleep making snoring sounds just seconds later. Giggling outside the door listening to this, Jeonggwan slipped away from Juhwan’s quarters, taking advantage of his newfound free time.
Jeonggwan had initially been a bit scared, thinking palace staff would follow strict rules and protocols, but surprisingly, they had a lot of free time. Generally, after working for half a day, they could rest for the remaining half and the next day, during which time they could enjoy their leisure activities as they wished.
Though Jeonggwan was a servant, he had entered the palace with Juhwan, and since Juhwan’s selection as consort was already a foregone conclusion, Jeonggwan could receive the same treatment as other palace staff. Thus, on this third day, Jeonggwan had received his first free time and left the quarters as soon as Juhwan fell asleep. Having become acquainted with the court ladies of the outer kitchen, Jeonggwan had arranged to join other resting palace staff, with the permission of the supervising court lady, to eat the leftover food before it spoiled.
‘Just avoid the eunuchs on your way. The court ladies will nag about us eating.’
‘What do the eunuchs look like?’
‘Um… they wear blue robes with embroidery on the chest.’
‘Alright! I’ll be careful of the eunuchs!’
Finding the palace food diverse and delicious, Jeonggwan had nodded at the kitchen court lady’s advice and had been looking forward to this time. Finally, the day has come! He had been fidgeting for the past hour. He was about to rush to the outer kitchen as soon as Juhwan fell asleep, but just after leaving Juhwan’s quarters, his steps momentarily halted at the scene before him. Among the high-ranking people Jeonggwan had seen since entering the palace, Court Lady Heo, who was in charge of Juhwan, had seemed to have the highest authority. Now, he saw that same Court Lady Heo bowing to another court lady in identical attire.
Who might that person be? He wondered, glancing at them from the corner of his eye, but he couldn’t tell just by looking, so he hurriedly passed by, thinking he should quickly go to the outer kitchen and taste all the delicacies! Having been told by the kitchen staff that crossing through the rear garden would be faster, Jeonggwan headed to the spacious garden behind Juhwan’s quarters, but there he stopped in his tracks again.
“…”
Under a large tree by a pond wider than the one at Juhwan’s residence stood someone with their hands behind their back. Those broad shoulders and straight back were so familiar that they had appeared in Jeonggwan’s dreams several times, but he could hardly believe it. Surely that person couldn’t be here. Surely they couldn’t be waiting for him. Even as he denied it, Jeonggwan hesitantly approached slowly.
And finally, perhaps sensing Jeonggwan’s presence as he came close, the figure under the tree turned toward him. He was wearing a blue-tinted robe with large gold embroidery on the chest, an outfit that looked more splendid and luxurious than any Jeonggwan had seen. Yet the man wearing it had an appearance so splendid it overshadowed the magnificence of the clothes, and the face was one Jeonggwan knew quite well.
“…Young master?”
It was the man who had tormented Jeonggwan’s thoughts for the past few days. The man who had hidden his identity and never revealed who he was, causing Jeonggwan great distress. The man who had impersonated Park Myeonghun, the eldest son of the Park family, and played with Jeonggwan. Jeonggwan’s heart beat rapidly. The man was in the palace at this hour. And in such splendid attire.
“…”
Disbelieving the sight, Jeonggwan pinched his cheek hard. But he felt the pain in his chubby cheek, and even felt the blowing wind cooling it.
It was real. The man was truly before Jeonggwan’s eyes, and as if he had anticipated Jeonggwan would call him, he showed no signs of surprise, just looked down at Jeonggwan with deep eyes. It seemed the man had been waiting for him to reveal his identity in this way.
Then Jeonggwan understood why the man had not easily revealed his identity. It was because he was someone who lived in the palace. Being a palace resident, he couldn’t reveal his identity, and he was of high enough rank within the palace that even a servant of the Park family couldn’t say anything if he falsely claimed to be the eldest son.
The image of Court Lady Heo bowing to another court lady earlier came to mind. Just as many palace staff bowed to Court Lady Heo daily, but she herself bowed to higher-ranking court ladies without exception, this was someone of such high rank in the palace that even the eldest son of the Park family couldn’t say anything. A blue robe with embroidery on the chest.
“Young master, are you perhaps…”
“…Yes.”
Jeonggwan swallowed hard, recalling Sukhee’s face as she had speculated about the man’s identity to him. Sukhee had been right. The man who had only talked with him every time they met for over five days, and who hadn’t done anything more even after kissing him.
“Were you really a eunuch…?”
The man was truly a eunuch. And judging by the large embroidery on his chest, probably a eunuch serving the royal family. Jeonggwan stared blankly at the man with shocked eyes.
To think I fell in love with a castrate…
“What… what did you say?”
But with that face, being a castrate seems quite fair… Jeonggwan mumbled quietly, looking at the man who was asking in confusion. The man, with an extremely bewildered face, reached out to Jeonggwan and exclaimed that it wasn’t like that…! But Jeonggwan stepped back, avoiding the man’s hand. Somehow, now that he knew he was a eunuch… although his resentment toward the man had subsided significantly, his feelings of attraction had also diminished considerably.
“I understand. Young master—no, what should I call you…? Respected Chief Eunuch…?”
The man’s eyes widened at the words “Chief Eunuch.” Jeonggwan’s eyes widened in response. He knew the man was a high-ranking palace official, but to think he was the Chief Eunuch. To think he had guessed correctly on the first try. Despite his lack of formal education, Jeonggwan had years of experience reading people. Though he knew nothing about palace matters, he had heard court ladies badmouthing the “Respected Chief Eunuch” regularly, so he knew the title referred to the highest-ranking eunuch.
‘Just avoid the eunuchs on your way. The court ladies will nag about us eating.’
Come to think of it, the Chief Eunuch is also a eunuch. With this thought, Jeonggwan stepped one more step away from the man. To be honest, his heart was still pounding upon seeing the man again, but knowing it was an impossible love made it feel like it was cooling off, and right now, thinking of the court ladies waiting for him with delicious food, Jeonggwan just wanted to leave this place quickly.
“Then I’ll… be going now…!”
“Jeonggwan…!”
So Jeonggwan rejected the man’s attempt to hold him back and ran toward the outer kitchen connected to the rear garden.
“…”
What remained in the rear garden after Jeonggwan disappeared were only the man, frozen in shock, and the eunuch of the Crown Prince’s palace who would one day become the real Chief Eunuch.
In a small room next to the outer kitchen, several court ladies and Jeonggwan sat around leftover food brought in from the re-selection. Normally, leftover food from feasts or events at the outer kitchen would be distributed to each palace, but this time it wasn’t a major event, and because the current king’s health was poor, they couldn’t distribute food as if there had been a feast, so those portions naturally went to the outer kitchen staff. Fortunately, the food-blessed Jeonggwan had befriended one of the court ladies and could enjoy such benefits.
Jeonggwan’s eyes sparkled in disbelief at the precious honey rice cake placed before him. Just as he was about to put the white honey rice cake in his mouth, one of the court ladies suddenly glared at him and asked a question, causing Jeonggwan’s hand to freeze.
“You weren’t caught by anyone on your way, right?”
“…Huh?”
“If we get caught with this, only Court Lady Eom will be punished.”
“…”
“What? Did you get caught by someone?!”
Jeonggwan, who was utterly incapable of lying, had his encounter with the man written all over his face, and the palace staff who had been hastily stuffing food into their mouths all froze.
“Well, that is…”
“Oh, I knew this would happen! Who caught you?”
“…A, a eunuch.”
“Oh, really! I told you not to get caught by eunuchs most of all! Who? From which department?”
“…”
Jeonggwan’s face gradually turned pale. If I say I was caught by the Chief Eunuch, they’ll probably try to kill me. But I didn’t tell him where I was going… Jeonggwan looked around cautiously before carefully opening his mouth.
“…The Chief Eunuch.”
What chief? The room instantly grew cold at Jeonggwan’s answer. Everyone stared at him with disbelieving faces. After a moment of prolonged silence, someone spoke in a low voice suppressing anger: “Put down the honey rice cake.”
“But…! But it’ll be fine! As beautiful as his face is, his heart is also beautiful…! He’ll let it slide!”
Unable to put down the honey rice cake, Jeonggwan made a desperate excuse. He was still a man with whom he had once shared affection, so even if he knew Jeonggwan had come here, would he really say anything…? No, he didn’t know. Having learned the man was a eunuch, Jeonggwan had run away, so the man might come after him in revenge and scold him. However, Jeonggwan still believed in the man’s dignified and caring nature. He didn’t seem like the type to take such petty revenge.
“…Who’s beautiful? What does it matter if a sixty-year-old geezer is good-looking? Put down the honey rice cake!”
But the court ladies charged at Jeonggwan fiercely, as if he was talking nonsense.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
