Though in others’ eyes it might seem like too hasty and reckless a decision, the reason Huiseo was hurrying to the point of wanting to kick his way out of the palace right away was precisely that. He wanted to sever his connection with the palace so that his weaknesses would no longer be exploited, and conversely, so that he himself wouldn’t be held hostage.
‘I don’t know how effective it will be.’
He thought it could at least serve as a temporary screen. Thinking that alone would be meaningful, Huiseo steeled his resolve and nodded.
“Yes. I’m leaving so I won’t have regrets.”
With that firm answer, any further conversation became meaningless. The Emperor and Empress each tightly held Huiseo’s pitiful hands once.
***
Though he’d thought from long ago that he should leave the palace.
No, even after truly resolving to do so, Huiseo had never been able to picture the scene of himself leaving the palace in his mind. To be more precise, it meant he’d had difficulty imagining Hwan’s face watching that sight.
‘Will he cry?’
Of course he’ll cry. He’s already a tearful guy.
That had always pained Huiseo’s heart.
But now that the situation had become like this and he was leaving the palace as if they’d had a huge fight, he thought perhaps it was for the best. This way, at least he could leave without seeing his crying face.
Huiseo, who had stopped by the dormitory to pack his belongings, held and gazed at Hwan’s image in a small picture frame placed in one corner of his room for a long while.
Around that time, the story that Huiseo would leave the palace spread throughout the entire palace. Thanks to Huiseo stirring things up here and there to get permission, the already fast palace rumors spread even faster. All the palace servants who heard the story were uniformly flustered and shocked. The servants of the Prince’s Palace especially turned pale.
‘What’s going to happen to us now…?’
Most of them couldn’t believe it, saying it couldn’t be true, but when they finally heard that Huiseo was really packing, they couldn’t not believe it anymore.
Seonghyeon, who had been gathering in small groups with other palace servants today and picked up that story, hurriedly returned to Hwan’s quarters and relayed this unbelievable story to Hwan.
“Your Highness! Y-Your Highness!”
“…Why are you making such a fuss?”
“This is a disaster!”
“Not interested. I’m already troubled enough, so don’t be noisy.”
“Are you troubled because you already heard the story? Oh my, what will we do now?”
“…What story did I hear?”
“The story that Huiseo is leaving the palace?”
“What?”
“Huh? You didn’t hear? The palace is in chaos over it right now!”
At Seonghyeon’s words, Hwan’s expression, unable to answer, froze completely.
Earlier, having heard the story and come all the way to the servants’ dormitory to find Huiseo, Kang tried harder than others to persuade Huiseo. He boasted that what happened today could be resolved through the imperial family’s lawyer. He also reassured him that it would be fine if they settled.
“I’ll really give Hwan a harsh lesson too. Okay? If you decide this suddenly, you’ll definitely regret it, Huiseo-ya. Of course, if you want to come back to the palace, you can return anytime, but still…”
To Kang, who was rambling on in his urgency, Huiseo shook his head.
“I didn’t decide suddenly. I’ve been thinking about it all along, made a decision, and was only deliberating about the timing.”
“Huiseo-ya.”
“Your Highness, you said you’d take my side.”
When Huiseo finally said that, even Kang found it difficult to continue speaking.
“…I did. I did, but.”
Once, in this same spot in front of the servants’ dormitory, Kang had said such things to Huiseo. To tell him if it was hard, that he’d unconditionally take his side. He had. But now that such a day was actually approaching, unable to hide his regret, he ended up saying different things.
‘Whenever you worried like that, you always flatly said it was work you were doing because you wanted to.’
Seeing that he’d ultimately made this decision, it seemed Kang’s concerns all along hadn’t been groundless after all. Having no choice, Kang let out a deep sigh once, then looked at Huiseo and asked quietly.
“…Was it very hard?”
Then, as if it was a completely unexpected question, Huiseo looked at Kang with slight surprise.
But soon he tried to smile as usual and answer casually. However, when he tried to make a sound, he became troubled by something heavy that struck his throat with a thud. What is this? Deeply flustered by that, Huiseo’s expression clouded.
So Huiseo could only barely give a short answer in a choked, wet voice.
“…Yes.”
Then Kang, whose face likewise looked like he was about to cry, stretched out his arms and embraced Huiseo. Yes, you’ve worked hard. Saying that, Kang patted Huiseo’s back with affectionate hands.
“You can rest a bit now. The adults will take care of the rest from now on.”
They say that when someone comforts you from the side, you feel even more miserable, don’t they?
When Kang personally came and took on that role, even Huiseo had no way to endure by that point. In truth, he thought he couldn’t do it anymore, that even if criticized for throwing everything into a difficult situation and running away, he’d have nothing to say.
And yet, everyone uniformly saying he’d worked hard, he’d suffered—it was too much. He felt so sorry.
In Kang’s embrace, Huiseo burst into sorrowful tears.
***
Surprised after hearing the story from Seonghyeon, Hwan rushed to the servants’ dormitory. He didn’t have the presence of mind to put on his shoes properly, so he just crumpled them on messily and ran first. Meanwhile, Hwan thought all sorts of things.
‘Of course, it must be a joke.’
His startled heart fell with a loud thud, but he tried hard to deny it.
Because he wasn’t showing signs of quickly reflecting unlike usual, Huiseo must be very angry. So he was certain he’d said such things to regain control. But the palace servants in between, not knowing that, made a fuss, so it just got blown up into something huge—that’s what Hwan tried to think.
No, really. Huiseo was doing this to startle him like that, to make him prostrate himself flat as usual. It was certain. Nothing else made sense.
‘Even so, how can he make such a joke?’
So Hwan tried to grumble like that, pretending to be calm. Even though he knew all about what kind of nightmares he’d been suffering from until recently. He was dumbfounded, resentful, and angry at this cruel prank. So Hwan came running with the thought of having another confrontation when they met.
But the sight he saw as soon as he arrived in front of the servants’ dormitory was Huiseo crying loudly in Kang’s embrace. Hwan blinked his eyes several times, unable to believe the scene he was seeing.
‘…Crying? Huiseo?’
That was something that could only be seen in novels created by fans in HwanHui’s Garden.
At that moment, Hwan felt as if he’d been hit hard on the head. Truly belatedly, only then did he realize what he’d done, how much Huiseo’s heart had been hurt by this incident.
But pathetic to the end, he couldn’t muster the courage to approach.
What could he say if he went?
‘…Even with ten mouths, I’d have nothing to say.’
Because of that, he had to stand there for a long while, unable to approach nor distance himself, rooted like that, taking in Huiseo’s appearance with his eyes.
Because the scene he went to find happened to be like that, Hwan couldn’t even say a word, let alone have a confrontation, and just trudged back to his quarters. Then, pathetic at his own state, he collapsed weakly onto the bed with a thud.
‘…I should have talked to him.’
But the reason he ultimately couldn’t was because if Huiseo saw him and cried in front of him, he felt he wouldn’t be able to endure it anymore. He was a pathetic and cowardly bastard.
Finally approaching the end.
His heart churned darkly and frighteningly like the rough waves of the night sea, so Hwan couldn’t move much with his nose buried in his bed. If he moved carelessly, he felt like he’d be swallowed by those waves.
In the end, such a day had come.
Though he’d struggled so hard, the dreams that had tormented him all this time seemed to have been some kind of prophetic dream after all. Other people said dreams were the opposite, but amazingly, only the dreams he hoped wouldn’t come true came true like this.
‘Go if you’re going to go.’
He’d push away resentfully, but then feel frustrated and sad thinking, ‘With what shamelessness could I stop you?’
Though this was a situation he’d already experienced dozens of times in dreams and should be getting used to by now, he felt miserable at this situation that he couldn’t get used to at all. If it would be like this, why did it torment him beforehand? He felt wronged. On the other hand, he also thought how could he possibly get used to Huiseo leaving the palace in the first place?
‘…How can you do this?’
In the room where he couldn’t even turn on the lights, Hwan just lay prostrate on the bed crying endlessly like that.
Meanwhile, Hwan’s phone screen lit up with a flash.
Though he couldn’t not see that bright light in the darkness, Hwan was too afraid that it might be Huiseo, afraid of what harsh words Huiseo might have left, so he couldn’t even open it.
***
There must definitely be a spy planted inside the palace.
To the point where that joke sounded like the truth, at that time, HwanHui’s Garden, where rumors were too fast even for fast rumors, was literally turned completely upside down. This was desperate news that could determine the very existence of HwanHui’s Garden. So much so that there was even more chaos than the recent commotion when Hwan was falsely accused of assault.
[Hey wtf what is this I heard Huiseo left the palace and went back to his family home]
Huiseo left the palace?
Why?
Everyone’s eyes widened as if they’d pop out.
