‘If we sleep separately like that, there’s no way we’ll be able to properly do what we want to do.’
In all the countless nights Hwan had stayed up imagining countless scenarios, this particular situation had never once occurred. Yet somehow, from the very first step, things were creaking ominously, making him anxious.
“I have a bed, don’t I? Let’s sleep here together…”
“……”
“…So.”
“How could I dare to sleep in Your Highness’s bed?”
See. There came the formal speech.
Whether Huiseo truly thought that way or not, this was clearly a rejection.
‘I’m screwed.’
This situation was troublesome.
However, Hwan had absolutely no confidence in winning a war of words against Huiseo, so he ultimately had no choice but to decide on taking a somewhat forceful approach. The truth was, no matter how much more he argued, it would only make his mouth hurt. People like Huiseo would never give up unless you gave them a situation they absolutely couldn’t reverse.
With that thought, Hwan approached him and picked up the pile of blankets he’d set down just moments before. Not understanding what was happening, Huiseo quietly watched what Hwan was doing for a moment.
By the time he realized that was a mistake, it was already too late.
Hwan opened the door and went outside, then just threw it all out.
“…Ah!”
Though for convenience’s sake it was called a “room,” Hwan’s quarters, which were one of the palace buildings within Gyeongbokgung Palace, meant that whether you opened the door or window, you were immediately outside. And there, he slammed down the blankets as if they were his mortal enemy, so in an instant, what flew away landed on the front yard—in other words, on the dirt ground below the stone platform.
“What the hell are you doing right now…”
Huiseo couldn’t close his mouth at that shocking action. He had no way of understanding what on earth was going through his mind to make him cause such a scene.
‘What exactly is the problem?’
Is he doing this because I said I wouldn’t sleep with him in the bed? Even so, this isn’t right. What will the palace staff think when they see this? At the end of those thoughts, anger suddenly welled up inside him.
That’s when Hwan turned to look at Huiseo and said brightly:
“I’ll say I did this.”
That statement was so absurd that even the anger that was about to burst out got stuck halfway. Setting aside his inability to read the mood, he was too shameless. He actually did it himself, didn’t he?
‘Why is he acting like he’s doing me a huge favor by stating the obvious?’
Completely ignoring the dumbfounded Huiseo, Hwan casually locked the door. However, perhaps because he was somewhat aware that what he’d just done was outrageous, he deliberately put on a brighter voice, which was obvious.
“What should we do now?”
He probably thought that if he just glossed over it like this, he could somehow get past it. But with Huiseo as his opponent, that was wishful thinking.
As soon as the door closed, Huiseo’s eyes became even sharper.
‘…Huh? Is this a bit dangerous?’
The moment he had that thought.
There was a loud thwack! from Hwan’s butt.
***
‘What the hell just happened?’
Huiseo had kicked him—with his foot, no less.
Of course, matching his terrible athletic ability, it was all noise with about as much force as a speck of sleep in one’s eye. Despite being kicked unexpectedly, he didn’t fall over or even stagger. He was even worried that it was a problem that a high school boy in his prime had such a ticklish kick.
Meanwhile, he also thought this:
‘How angry must he be…?’
However, having been born and raised as a member of the imperial family, he’d never been hit, much less kicked like this before, so Hwan ended up blurting out something completely different from what was in his heart first.
“Huiseo-ya, I’m still a prince, you know?”
Originally, it was unthinkable to touch the body of an imperial family member first.
Nevertheless, all this time he’d been touching him casually, and even secretly slapping him—that was because it was Huiseo. Because it was Huiseo doing it, he actually liked it and pretended not to notice. But kicking him like just now… even for Huiseo, that was crossing the line too much.
However, Huiseo’s expression, who already knew this fact all too well, only became more ominous.
“A prince? Were you a prince just now?”
“…W-wasn’t I?”
The force behind that question was so intense that Hwan blinked without realizing it and asked back. At that sight of Hwan, Huiseo seemed even angrier. The corners of his eyes lifted even higher.
In fact, at that point, there was no other way for Hwan to win against Huiseo.
In the end, the conclusion to Hwan’s needless bravado was that there was no path other than directly calling Sedapbang to apologize. The Head Court Lady of Sedapbang, who seemed to have already heard the story due to how fast rumors spread within the palace, seemed very suspicious of Hwan’s claim that it was a mistake.
—Was it really a mistake?
“…Y-yes.”
—If Your Highness says so, it must be true. I’ll believe you.
“Once again, I’m truly regretful that things turned out that way…”
Hwan, who had tried to save face by glossing over it with words like “regretful,” changed his words obediently when he made eye contact with Huiseo, who was glaring at him from the side, asking what he thought he was trying to pull.
“I’m sorry it happened.”
When the situation seemed to be wrapping up to some degree, Huiseo’s expression also returned to normal.
However, Huiseo didn’t know. That even in the midst of all this, Hwan was a guy who didn’t give up on scheming.
—Yes. So should we bring them back to you?
“No. That’s not necessary.”
The corners of Hwan’s mouth, answering firmly, curved up slyly.
***
Perhaps because his feelings were seriously hurt by what happened earlier, Huiseo sat at the desk with a cold expression afterward, only reading his book. At least he didn’t storm off in a huff, probably because of their promise, but even though it was late, he didn’t give Hwan, who had already lain down, a single glance.
‘He’s like a statue reading a book.’
Lying down and watching Huiseo’s back, Hwan thought that this couldn’t continue. At this rate, he’d end up just reading all night and leaving. It wasn’t for just this that he’d studied his nose bloody all that time, nor was it why he’d stubbornly insisted on something unreasonable while taking risks.
This was too unfair.
“Huiseo-ya.”
So Hwan called out to Huiseo, who stubbornly wouldn’t turn around. Continuously. Just as stubbornly.
“Huiseo-ya.”
“……”
“Huiseo-ya?”
“……”
“Jeong Huiseo.”
‘What a cold bastard.’
He didn’t budge at all.
At that point, Hwan couldn’t help but feel his stubbornness and playfulness, which he’d been suppressing with difficulty, bubble up. He somehow felt like he was being challenged. Will you give up if I do this? Some kind of prank must have come to mind, as Hwan’s eyes flashed.
So he first changed his lying position. Thinking the line was important, he twisted his large body this way and that on the bed. Lying sideways like that, he propped his chin up with his fingertips and made his gaze sultry. Perfect.
Now all he had to do was add one line in a suggestive voice.
“Honey.”
Then Huiseo, who until now had been ignoring him so thoroughly you’d wonder if he couldn’t hear, turned around with a snap. Finally. Though his round eyes were wide open as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have.
That sight, that expression was quite amusing.
‘Cute.’
He felt like it was a shame he couldn’t take a photo to keep.
However, Hwan forcibly pulled down his rising lips. After all, a shameless attitude seemed important here. Hwan faced Huiseo with a nonchalant expression as if asking if something was wrong.
‘What? Is there a problem?’
So Huiseo’s eyes, which had been flustered, immediately changed to disapproving.
He seemed to have something he wanted to say, but it appeared difficult to pinpoint exactly what. After briefly moving his lips in contemplation, Huiseo ultimately seemed to decide to pretend he hadn’t heard. You could tell by how he turned his head back toward the book with a calm expression.
But while you could call it a calm expression, his tightly bitten lips revealed his true feelings.
Seeing that, Hwan, whose spirits were lifted, naturally continued the prank.
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
“……”
“Sweetie? Darling? Dear?”
“……”
“Huiseo-yaa. Baby.”
Since his back was turned, he couldn’t tell exactly what expression Huiseo was making.
All Hwan could confirm was his ears, which had flushed easily as usual, and his fingertips, which were visibly trembling. With only those clues, he could only guess at Huiseo’s feelings.
‘What are you feeling right now?’
Dear, honey. Hwan’s heart pounded as he gradually let his true feelings slip through those playful words. Though he pretended otherwise, in truth he couldn’t hide the heat rushing to his own face either. The longer Huiseo’s silence continued, the more nervous he became, and Hwan even secretly clenched his fist tight.
That’s when it happened.
He saw Huiseo’s trembling hand also clench into a tight fist like his own.
However, if there was one difference, it was the disconcerting fact that in his hand was a book page being crumpled noisily. At the sound of paper crinkling that filled the quiet room, Hwan couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
Crumpled? A book page? Huiseo, who would make a serious face and smack the back of your hand just for doodling on letters?
“…Huiseo-ya?”
Sensing the situation was serious, Hwan called out to him, now terribly frightened.
When Huiseo turned around at those words, the area around his eyes was thoroughly flushed. Looking at Hwan resentfully with those eyes, Hwan’s heart couldn’t help but sink. He hurriedly corrected his playfully reclined posture and sat up, and Huiseo opened his mouth to him like a reproach.
“Don’t play around like that.”
“…Why?”
“…Because it’s strange.”
As Huiseo said this, his gaze dropped.
