Even without any particular reason, he’d met plenty of people who didn’t like the Imperial Family’s very existence, but it was rare for them to confront him to his face like this.
Around that point, even the palace attendant who had come along following Kang couldn’t help but step forward, bursting out in an angry voice.
“How dare you be so presumptuous toward His Highness the Crown Prince…!”
The Uiwisa guards whose duty was to protect the Crown Prince were the same. Before such a truly tremendous insult, they all reddened with one mind.
However, Kang lightly raised his hand to stop them.
‘As expected… because he gave money, he thinks he’s above us?’
Yuwon’s arrogant attitude was truly laughable to Kang.
He knew that one hundred million won was absolutely not a small amount for an individual to hand over, and it was true that it helped moisten their parched throat, but looking at the Imperial Family’s entire budget, he had no intention of groveling and being dragged around for such a mere amount.
Looking at how he mentioned things like “proper calculation,” it seemed that while acting like this, he was also planning to pressure the Imperial Family and Huiseo using even larger sums as leverage, but not a chance. At least Kang had not the slightest intention of making Huiseo into something similar to him because of money.
Kang decided that from now on, he should discuss refusing even if this guy offered to sponsor them. For now, his own wedding would provide some breathing room, so it wouldn’t be too burdensome.
Today, if you really examined it, their side had also been somewhat rude, so he wouldn’t deliberately provoke further, but Kang’s sharp gaze that said “that’s enough” turned toward Yuwon.
Of course, Yuwon dismissed it with a snort.
“Well then, since things seem roughly wrapped up, may I take my leave first, Your Highness?”
He only pretended to speak respectfully with his words, but in reality, his attitude was utterly insolent. Moreover, he hadn’t even considered Kang’s permission or anything from the start, so his deception was blatant.
As expected, without giving Kang a chance to open his mouth, he changed his expression and left Huiseo with an affectionate greeting, saying, “See you at school.”
Then he coldly dismissed the palace attendant who tried to follow him, saying he knew the way, and walked off with large strides to leave the palace alone.
“…Ha.”
Watching that rogue-like retreating figure, Kang and Huiseo simultaneously let out exasperated sighs.
‘Is he crazy, or what?’
He’d beaten both the drum and the janggu by himself, sweeping through the palace with a jajinmori rhythm.
“…Huiseo-ya. I think you need to be careful of that friend.”
Though he’d only witnessed a very brief glimpse today, Kang sincerely gave Huiseo such advice. Huiseo, who felt the same as Kang, nodded saying he would do so. However, since he’d made a fuss as if he wouldn’t back down obediently before leaving, thinking about future matters was already exhausting.
What greeted the two afterward when they returned to the Crown Prince’s Palace was Hwan, who hadn’t been able to wait inside but had rushed out in his socks, stamping his feet.
‘Since I came first saying there was business, you’ll only look foolish if you chase after. That won’t help Huiseo.’
Because Kang had earnestly warned and threatened him like this before leaving, he’d been tied to this spot, enduring and waiting patiently. In his heart, he wanted to search for Huiseo and cross back and forth through all of Gyeongbokgung Palace about three times like combing for lice, but he repeated and repeated again the words that it wouldn’t help Huiseo.
And then he finally discovered Huiseo.
Hwan ran over as if Kang beside him wasn’t even visible and examined Huiseo’s condition this way and that. When was it that he’d rushed at him making a fuss saying something terrible had happened? Feeling unnecessarily hurt, Kang said a word asking if he couldn’t see him, but Hwan didn’t even listen with the edge of his ear.
“Are you okay? Nothing happened, right? That bastard didn’t do anything weird, did he? After leaving you and coming back, I was so, so…”
Faced with Hwan who looked like he might burst into tears right away, so upset about being told to go first, Huiseo smiled with raised corners of his mouth as if nothing had happened.
“What could have happened?”
Strictly speaking, it was difficult to say nothing had happened, but before leaving that place earlier, by Kang’s command, everyone who had been there decided to keep this matter secret among themselves for the time being. The explanation was that since they didn’t know how Yuwon would act, for now rather than rashly making a big deal of things, they needed an attitude of lowering their posture and observing.
‘But if Hwan finds out. How could things not blow up?’
Because everyone couldn’t refute that question, he was sorry but he couldn’t tell Hwan even more.
Even without Kang’s prior advice like that, Huiseo also thought that was correct. Judging from the meaningful words Yuwon left behind and his attitude toward him, even if problems arose, they would happen to himself, and the resolution would also be his responsibility.
However, it didn’t take very long to realize that thought was spectacularly wrong.
***
Contrary to concerns, it wasn’t that Yuwon immediately rushed at Huiseo the next day to act familiar again. He was unexpectedly quiet considering his grandiose words before leaving, which made that suspicious too, but as several days passed without incident like that, he even had the complacent thought that perhaps Yuwon had given up.
However, sorry to say, that was just Huiseo’s misconception.
For now, not only Hwan’s vigilance but Huiseo’s own wariness was formidable, so Yuwon decided to take a slightly different route instead of becoming close with Huiseo directly. Then over several days he newly formed a group to hang out with, and the composition of its members was quite remarkable.
‘Is it intentional?’
It was more difficult to think it wasn’t.
Amusingly, the one who first sensed that strange atmosphere was Hwan.
While Huiseo was wary of Yuwon, Hwan was likewise watching him. Then as he quietly observed the guys gathering around Yuwon, somehow these guys’ behavior and the look in their eyes felt quite disrespectful toward him.
Even though there hadn’t been any particular catalyst for it.
It seemed that bastard Choi Yuwon had schemed something and gathered guys who had animosity toward the Imperial Family or Hwan, whether large or small. Even if they weren’t in the same class, guys who just lightly acknowledged him and passed by outside the classroom were the same.
Outside it might not matter much, but considering this place was none other than the Imperial Higher Education Institute, it couldn’t be possible unless he’d deliberately sought them out and gathered them.
Of course, he’d known for a long time that not everyone could like him.
Hwan, who was well-versed in internet community activities, was someone who had encountered quite a lot of malicious comments directed at him. So even if they hadn’t shown it until now, the revelation that they’d actually disliked him wouldn’t really come as such a big shock.
However, whether it was how Yuwon had sweet-talked them, or because of the courage that came from those individuals finally becoming a “group,” as they finally started to act and the atmosphere around him became strange, that still bothered him.
From around then, there was low snickering laughter following at Hwan’s heels.
What was exasperating was that they also cleverly only did it at moments when Huiseo wouldn’t notice. As that repeated several times, he couldn’t even try to think it was just his imagination.
‘What kind of crap is this?’
Hwan was dumbfounded rather than hurt by such a situation.
First of all, unless he was an idiot, he couldn’t not know that the ringleader was that guy Choi Yuwon. Whether in terms of timing or motive, he couldn’t think of anyone else besides this guy. On the day he transferred, on the day he visited the palace, even after being so ignored by Huiseo, he didn’t know how to give up.
So this seemed to be sparks that flew at him in that process.
The problem was also that they only niggled at him just enough to irritate him unpleasantly, to an extent that was ambiguous to report anywhere. Hwan found that truly exasperating. If he was going to do it, he should go all out.
‘Does doing this achieve anything?’
He wants to harass but finds it burdensome that the target is a prince, and doesn’t want to show such a low-quality side to Huiseo either? In the midst of that, he sure wants a lot of things.
‘What a petty person.’
He was still a guy who made him click his tongue.
Honestly, it wasn’t that it didn’t bother him. But since there was no direct harm either, making it ambiguous how to respond, Hwan decided to try enduring it a bit.
Above all, he didn’t want to create something to worry about for Huiseo who was settling his mind to study.
He disliked the very fact of Huiseo paying attention to that guy.
‘…If only I endure a little, that’s all.’
He’d seen far worse malicious comments, so he couldn’t be discouraged by just this much.
With such feelings, Hwan secretly clenched his fist tight.
***
In fact, there was something more important than that now.
Going back, it was about Kang’s wedding ceremony.
As time passed, that day which had seemed vague gradually approached. Accordingly, their wedding which would proceed in traditional fashion smoothly went through the stages one by one: Nap-chae where the marriage is accepted, Nap-jing where gifts are sent, and Go-gi which announces the wedding day.
The name of the person who would soon become Kang’s spouse and Crown Princess was Hong Seoran.
As mentioned before, she entered the palace early according to procedure to learn Imperial Family protocol and such, but in fact, from that time the clamor among the palace attendants hadn’t quite settled down.
Those feelings weren’t incomprehensible either.
Since the birth of Prince Hae, the youngest prince, she was a new member of the Imperial Family being welcomed after a truly long time.
Below the surface, they were frantic with talk about the new superior they would serve. Not about anything else, but what she seemed to like, conversely what she seemed to dislike, how they should serve her from now on… To put it simply in modern terms, it was “tip sharing.”
Fortunately, Seoran didn’t seem to be the demanding type.
Rather, because she had little change in expression and looked indifferent in any situation, she was the type whose likes and dislikes were hard to know. The reason the palace attendants earlier had been chattering about tip sharing as a last resort, putting their heads together among themselves, was actually all because of that.
One way or another, everyone had been worried, so it was a situation that could be called fortunate.
Since Kang also obediently followed the set procedures well without incident, there was nothing rough about the subsequent Crown Princess investiture, the Chin-yeong-rye which corresponded to the main ceremony, the Dong-roe-yeon, and even the procedures after that.
Several media outlets made a fuss even up to the wedding day itself, but paying no attention to that, internally they finished the splendid but quiet wedding well without problems.
Nap-chae (납채) – (Marriage acceptance ceremony)
Nap-jing (납징) – (Gift-sending ceremony)
Go-gi (고기) – (Wedding date announcement)
Chin-yeong-rye (친영례) – (Main wedding ceremony)
Dong-roe-yeon (동뢰연) – (Wedding feast ceremony)
Jajinmori (자진모리) – (A traditional Korean rhythmic pattern)
