Watching Hwan stride in alone after dismissing even his attendants, the few palace servants remaining in the dormitory didn’t even pretend to be surprised. When they occasionally encountered him, they simply stopped and offered brief silent bows, then went about their own business matter-of-factly.
In fact, it was because they knew very well that any further interference would only bring unnecessary trouble.
After such trials, finally reaching the front of Huiseo’s room, Hwan touched his flushed cheeks.
‘…Finally.’
It was because this was the moment he would meet that annoying Jeong Huiseo again.
‘How should I scold him?’
No, in fact, there was no way he could dare scold Huiseo. Thinking that, his chest pounded pleasantly for no reason.
But just as he was about to knock on Huiseo’s door, Hwan was greatly flustered to unexpectedly encounter a nameless palace servant opening the door with a click and coming out before him.
“…What?”
Why are you coming out from here?
After the momentary question that flashed by, the name of the intense emotion that rushed in was precisely “jealousy.”
‘…What were you doing in Huiseo’s room?’
Of course, he knew with his head.
‘There must have been other circumstances.’
With high probability, it could have been someone who came on the adults’ errand.
However, no matter how much he tried to soothe himself, it was regrettably just one span short of being able to stop his sulky heart from bouncing up wildly. Though he knew it looked unseemly, Hwan was jealous even of such trivial things.
‘When you won’t send me even one message.’
Whatever the circumstances, thinking that during the time he’d been yearning, Huiseo had been chatting happily with someone else, he couldn’t hide his hurt feelings. And just as Hwan’s lips were naturally pouting—
It must have looked quite ominous to the palace servant facing him. After checking Hwan’s expression, he jumped in surprise and even stepped back, noticeably startled.
Hwan, whose mood was already unpleasant, found even that disagreeable.
‘…Why so surprised? Did you commit some crime?’
Once twisted, his heart acted spitefully even in trivial situations. It meant even that startled appearance felt like mockery to him. Because of that, Hwan wanted to grab hold of the innocent servant and vent his angry feelings arbitrarily.
However, the reason he couldn’t do so was because his eyes happened to go to the small tray the servant was holding. More precisely, it meant he saw the empty water cup and torn medicine packet on it.
‘Medicine?’
Hwan blinked for a moment, coming to grasp the situation.
Jeong Huiseo, who strangely couldn’t be reached… And up to the current situation.
No matter how foolish Hwan might be, piecing together these continuing warning signs wasn’t particularly difficult.
“…Huiseo is sick. Right?”
Hwan’s face, filled with certainty, immediately sank even more coldly than before.
If that was really the case, he thought this scrap of a medicine packet alone was nowhere near enough.
He didn’t know where it hurt, but no, that’s precisely why the royal physician should be called. It was urgent. Yet far from rushing over immediately, watching the palace servant standing there hesitating, Hwan was dumbfounded.
“What are you standing around for? Go fetch the royal physician right now!”
“But, Your Highness… The thing is…”
“But?”
When he burst out in frustration, the palace servant’s face turned ashen.
From the palace servant’s standpoint, he wasn’t unaware of Hwan’s feelings of caring for Huiseo more than anyone else. Who could not know? As a palace servant who had watched from close by, it was an even more well-known fact. However, even so, this was a somewhat different matter.
The royal physician wasn’t called that for nothing.
No matter how today’s imperial family had become nominal and lawless, they couldn’t carelessly have the royal physician examine Huiseo, who wasn’t imperial family. If word leaked out, it was clear as day that another uproar would follow.
The problem was that in the process, Huiseo might suffer damage.
Since there was no way Hwan didn’t know this, yet he was throwing such a tantrum, overcome by immediate worry, the situation was truly awkward beyond measure, unable to do this or that.
“Are my words not making sense right now…!”
Just as Hwan’s thunderous roar was crashing down on the palace servant’s head—
Another click—the sound of Huiseo’s door opening was heard.
In that instant, the palace servant had the illusion that Hwan’s ears, which had been making a demon-like face before him, perked up. It was such a keen reaction. Though he couldn’t finish spitting out his fierce words asking if his words didn’t make sense, now that seemed completely irrelevant.
Because the subject of the rumors he’d been chattering about so eagerly until now had revealed himself.
“Huiseo-ya.”
An affectionate and desperate voice called out as such.
Huiseo, who seemed to have roughly guessed the situation from the commotion outside, wore a face trying to swallow a sigh, but even so, Hwan was melting with a pleased expression.
“Your Highness.”
“Yeah. Huiseo-ya.”
At one soft call, Hwan immediately became a large and gentle puppy. As if he were ready to offer his hand at any word.
This amazing reversal was only possible because the other party was Huiseo.
Just like his famous reputation, he was the only safety pin, and even more so a savior for the troubled palace servant.
***
If it were the usual Huiseo, he would have appeared like that and immediately started nagging Hwan about this and that. He was merciless when it came to Hwan’s mistakes as a prince, if nothing else. Hwan’s behavior just now had far crossed that line.
But for some reason today, after staring at Hwan silently for a moment, he suddenly burst out with a blatant cough—keolleok.
‘What’s this?’
To the watching palace servant’s eyes, that appearance couldn’t have been more unnatural. He gained a new realization that even just the two syllables “keolleok” could make acting this obviously fake. So the palace servant thought that Hwan, who was right beside him, would also easily notice that Huiseo was doing it on purpose.
But what was going on?
Whether he was oblivious or pretending to be, even after clearly seeing that awkward appearance, Hwan immediately turned pale and jumped up on the spot.
“That’s why you shouldn’t push yourself to come out! Your face is even half its normal size!”
“…It was noisy outside, Your Highness. Did something happen by any chance?”
“No? What incident? Nothing like that at all.”
“…Really?”
As if.
There was no way Huiseo of all people wouldn’t notice that clumsy excuse. However, this time too, he just quietly let it pass after a moment’s silence. Just as the facing Hwan and palace servant were becoming bewildered by that unusual behavior—
“Your Highness, but I’m feeling a bit…”
Huiseo suddenly said he felt dizzy and buried his head deeply into Hwan’s shoulder.
“Hui, Huiseo-ya?”
Though that too was an incredibly clumsy gesture, Hwan still stiffened his shoulders, not knowing what to do.
‘…Why, why is he acting like this?’
Since it was extremely rare for Huiseo to reach out first like this, especially in front of someone else, by that point even Hwan couldn’t help but think something was strange. With a face like an anxious child who had received a reward despite doing wrong, Hwan kept watching Huiseo’s reactions.
‘Does he have some scheme?’
He certainly suspected as much. But it was only for a moment.
‘…Could he be so sick he can’t even hold his head up?’
At the end of his flowing thoughts, Hwan’s chest sank with a thud.
‘That would be terrible. Quickly, I have to do something!’
But contrary to his thoughts, in fact, because of his chest that had been pounding loudly since earlier, Hwan couldn’t hide his burning red ears. He knew he shouldn’t be like this in this situation. But he couldn’t help liking it inwardly.
With just one motion of his head, really, stealing a person’s wits so completely.
“Ahem, hmm… Right, then first you need to quickly go inside and li-lie down.”
Hwan, who kept clearing his throat, subtly embraced Huiseo’s shoulders. And just as he was about to hurry inside his room together—it was that moment. Huiseo, who he thought would obediently follow inside, quickly gave a look to the palace servant who had been standing there staring blankly at the scene.
It seemed to mean he should take this opportunity to leave quickly.
‘…Ah, I see!’
The palace servant belatedly realized that his unusual behavior was none other than an attempt to divert Hwan’s attention for his sake. Only then did he bow his head repeatedly toward Huiseo in gratitude.
After the palace servant dashed down the corridor like the wind, today’s troublesome situation also seemed to pass safely.
Huiseo might not know it well, but it was a moment when another one of his heroic tales was added among the palace servants.
***
But in fact, all Huiseo had done was go in when asked to go in together, and obediently sit on the bed when led there. Yet even with just that, Hwan seemed to have completely forgotten the earlier commotion.
Just looking, his mouth corners, cheekbones, shoulders, and even his mood—everything that could rise was mostly raised. That transparent appearance was so funny that a pfft of laughter escaped from Huiseo’s lips.
Not knowing this, Hwan was absorbed in serious contemplation more than anyone.
‘What should I do now?’
Since he said he felt dizzy, first lay him down, and then?
There was so much he could think of, so much he wanted to do, that he didn’t know what to do.
‘He already took medicine… But he was coughing, should I bring some warm water to drink? Sweet things might help too. I should hurry to Saenggwabang as well. Does he have a fever? Might he need a wet towel too?’
Hwan’s shoulders moved as he placed his hand on Huiseo’s forehead to check for fever.
