Chapter 1 : Jin Consort, Yeon Hwaun

Hwaun was sitting on the swing, admiring a moon that looked exceptionally bright today. Because the Master was out enjoying the atmosphere, the palace servants had quietly slipped away to avoid disturbing him, leaving only the moonlight hanging in the high autumn night sky to settle over the silent courtyard. While Hwaun watched the moonlight with a pleasant smile, Ajin, who had been standing beside him with an anxious expression, adjusted the windbreaker draped over Hwaun’s shoulders and spoke.

“Master, are you not cold?”

Ajin’s worries had increased since the start of autumn. While others might call it refreshing and pleasant weather, his master was uniquely weak to the cold and could easily fall ill even from an autumn breeze. Furthermore, was the approaching season not the notoriously cruel winter? Last winter, Hwaun had collapsed several times, turning not only Ajin’s stomach but the entire Imperial Palace upside down.

The Emperor, who was usually infinitely benevolent, would become so fierce whenever Hwaun was sick that he made everyone’s legs tremble in his presence. It had gotten to the point where even the haughty Royal Physician had pleaded with Ajin to please attend to the Master well so he wouldn’t fall ill. Since the Royal Physician was the one who had to face the sharpest edge of the Emperor’s temper the moment Hwaun was sick, one could only imagine how grueling his life had been.

Unaware of how others felt, Hwaun shook his head lightly and replied.

“I am fine, at least for now. This is enough.”

“The days are getting chillier by the day, so you must be careful.”

“Yes. I will.”

“You are always so good at giving answers.”

In the past, Ajin would never have dreamed of nagging his master like this, but now he spoke to Hwaun without hesitation. Then again, Ajin was someone who would not hesitate to block the path of the August Emperor himself for the sake of his master. Now, when others weren’t around, the roles were practically reversed to the point where Hwaun was the one walking on eggshells around Ajin.

“I am truly fine. If I feel cold, I will tell you immediately, so do not worry too much, Ajin.”

More than anything, Hwaun knew better than anyone that Ajin’s heart was entirely focused on his well-being. So, how could he look down on that devotion just because Ajin was his servant, or order him not to be so impudent?

Ajin wished for his master to retire to the bedchamber now, but since Hwaun had gone this far, he could not bring himself to urge him further. This was because Ajin already guessed the real reason why Hwaun was lingering out here.

As even Ajin fell silent, the surroundings became quiet once more. Hwaun sat in the middle of the night and took a deep breath. In the breath that filled his lungs and scattered again, not a trace of impatience, anxiety, fear, or nervousness could be found. It was different from the days when he had held his breath, suffocating under a daily-thickening guilt. Hwaun suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu in this scenery.

There was a day when he had dreamed such a dream. A time that was peaceful and quiet. A day when he no longer found this newly gained life burdensome and accepted Yeon Hwaun’s life naturally as his own. He had certainly seen it in a dream—a day where he simply waited for the Emperor’s affection with an infinitely happy and peaceful heart.

And to the Hwaun of that time, that happy dream had been no different from a nightmare, leaving his heart heavy and burdened after waking.

But not today. The day this dream became reality was different. Of course, Hwaun still carried problems he had yet to fully solve, and he was sometimes crushed by the weight of his lies, but if asked if that made this reality unhappy or painful, he could shake his head resolutely.

Because. Because now, Hwaun had…

“The Emperor arrives!”

Because he now had someone who shared all these difficult truths with him.

Before the announcement had even finished, Hwaun rose from the swing and hurriedly stepped down the stairs. From behind, Ajin hurriedly caught him and shouted, ‘Master, be careful!’ but such voices didn’t even fully register in his ears. Hwaun only had the desire to face that person’s countenance even a moment sooner.

They had clearly been together in the morning, yet he did not know why his longing had grown so deep. The reason Ajin hadn’t insisted on taking Hwaun inside was that he had guessed his master’s yearning heart.

Through the darkness pushed aside by lanterns, the figure of a man appeared. The Emperor of a nation, and Hwaun’s only lover.

It was Seong Ihan.

His stride was no less urgent than Hwaun’s—no, it was incomparably faster. Their eyes locked in midair first, and subsequently, smiles graced both their lips. Perhaps because they had met a little later than usual, their affection had already deepened beyond control. Barely suppressing the urge to run and be held in those arms, Hwaun slowly knelt.

“I greet the Emperor…!”

However, Hwaun’s knees could not reach the cold floor. This was because Ihan, approaching faster than Hwaun could kneel, caught Hwaun’s body as it was. While Hwaun restrained his heart to maintain the duty of a concubine, the Emperor, who felt no such need, unhesitatingly caressed Hwaun’s cheek to meet his eyes before speaking.

“I have told you all year not to kneel on the cold ground, yet why do you listen to my words so little?”

“Your Majesty. It is only natural for me to show courtesy to Your Majesty as a concubine. It is not a difficult task, so do not worry.”

“Is my hardship not a hardship then?”

Regardless of the watching eyes, Ihan pouted his lips. As Eunuch Oh gave a subtle signal to the surroundings, the palace attendants who had followed the Emperor retreated to a distance and bowed their waists even deeper. Before Hwaun could find words to reply, Ihan continued.

“It is because my heart aches every time you kneel in a cold place. So, if you truly wish to show courtesy, stop making me hurt like this.”

“Your Majesty….”

At Ihan’s stubborn, child-like words, Hwaun burst into a small laugh as if he couldn’t help it. Hearing that laughter, Ihan’s heart surged instinctively, and he quickly pulled Hwaun’s waist into an embrace with his other hand.

Their breaths brushed in the distance that had vanished in an instant. No matter how beautiful the moonlight was, it could not be as lovely as the reflection of each other in their eyes right now. As Ihan lowered his head a little more, the tips of their noses touched. Hwaun wanted to lower his head to avoid that ticklish sensation, but he couldn’t because of the large hand still caressing his face. Hwaun said in a whisper.

“Your Majesty…. There are many eyes watching.”

“What does that matter?”

Answering without a single hesitation, Ihan turned his head and lightly kissed Hwaun’s cheek. He could not bear how lovely Hwaun’s movement was as he held his breath at even that small contact. One would think he’d give up by now, but Hwaun continued to speak without backing down, even as his shoulders trembled slightly.

“I am… I am worried that I might become a flaw in Your Majesty’s dignity.”

“I am going to hold my lover in my arms and kiss him, so how could that possibly damage my dignity?”

This time, lips brushed against lips. Hwaun’s two hands urgently gripped the Emperor’s robes. Ihan, whose eyes had now become like a beast with its prey before it, spoke.

“If you truly wish to push me away, you must not be this lovely. Am I wrong?”

“Your Majesty….”

“The one who is pressuring me to the point where I can hardly endure not taking you right here is you.”

Ihan whispered those words with his lips pressed against Hwaun’s ear. It was only natural that Hwaun’s legs gave way, causing his body to slump. However, Hwaun’s body did not fall. No, he hadn’t just avoided falling; he was suddenly held in the Emperor’s arms with both legs lifted into the air. Reflexively raising his arms to hug Ihan’s neck, Hwaun spoke in a flustered voice.

“Your… Your Majesty! I will walk myself!”

“Unless you want me to do something to you right here, stay still.”

Hwaun immediately shut his mouth. It was because Ihan’s voice did not sound like a joke at all. While being held in the Emperor’s arms, his face flushed hot at the sight of the palace servants standing beyond with their waists deeply bowed, but he did not worry about them for long.

It was because as he saw the bedchamber growing closer with every stride, the sexual encounters that had occurred there so many times vividly came to mind. Beneath the embarrassed and shy heart, a desire too clear to ignore reared its head. As if such feelings were not felt by Hwaun alone, Ihan spoke as he stepped onto the pavilion in one go.

“I do not think I will be able to be gentle today, so you will have to endure well.”

At the voice that was almost like a beast’s growl, Hwaun, whose entire body tingled from the voice alone, tightened his grip on the arms around Ihan.

There were days when all the feelings he held for Ihan were considered sins and deceptions, so he could not bring them out. But it was different now. Now, Hwaun could be an honest person in the face of all the affection Ihan poured upon him. The Emperor had already permitted everything.

The fact that this still made Hwaun’s heart overflow even after all this time.

Hwaun whispered his heart into Ihan’s chest in a voice so small only Ihan could hear.

“…It is what I desire as well….”

At Hwaun’s unexpected answer, Ihan’s steps suddenly came to a halt. The arms holding Hwaun trembled slightly. It was because he could not manage the boiling excitement.

“Please, just take me as Your Majesty wishes.”

The night at Jeongan Palace was just beginning.