Wei Wuyuan stared blankly up at the ceiling as if he couldn’t believe he had actually finished. Perhaps the post-release clarity had set in. Even an Emperor, it seemed, could not escape the hollow emptiness that followed.
Sa Ha-hyeon seized the moment and moved swiftly to clean things up. He wiped his sticky hand, then straightened the Emperor’s disheveled clothing with lightning-quick movements. It was better for both of them to act as though nothing had happened.
“Your Majesty, with this, today’s massage is complete.”
Only then did Wei Wuyuan seem to come back to his senses, meeting Ha-hyeon’s eyes.
“Complete, you say…….”
“Yes. If you would come down this way, I will see you out.”
“My business here is not yet finished.”
“Was there business?”
Wei Wuyuan’s arm shot out and caught Ha-hyeon’s waist. Ha-hyeon was pulled back into the Emperor’s arms once more.
“I will hold you a little longer.”
Wei Wuyuan buried his face in Ha-hyeon’s shoulder. Perhaps because of what had just transpired — his body was still warm. If the Emperor declared he wished to stay like this, Ha-hyeon had no way to refuse. Sa Ha-hyeon sat helplessly in his arms like a body pillow, only his eyes moving.
“To think that massage could be such a wonderful thing. Jaein, I wish to give you a gift — is there anything you want?”
Worldly desires — money, status, and freedom — raised their heads. But he couldn’t say any of that outright.
“There is nothing, Your Majesty.”
“Do not refuse. You have put me in very good spirits, and I wish to give you a reward. Say anything. That is an order.”
It felt like he’d be thrown in prison for treason if he didn’t name something. This wasn’t how the boy used to be — how did that gentle child end up like this?
“Then — the Wol who came with me, that is — my maidservant. Wol works so hard managing this entire place all by herself. If you could send even one or two more palace servants to help her, I would be most grateful.”
Wei Wuyuan looked at him with an expression of surprise.
“That is all? Is there nothing you want for yourself?”
“Yes. This humble consort has enough. There is even all that firewood.”
“Whether that is modesty or foolishness. Very well. I will send them first thing tomorrow.”
To think that a bit of humility would earn me the label of foolish.
“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless.”
“In exchange.”
Wei Wuyuan’s eyes gleamed in a peculiar way.
“I will come every night from now on. So when evening falls, warm the bedding and wait for me.”
“…Pardon?”
Ha-hyeon’s face drained of all color. Every night? Like today? Surely not. Surely he doesn’t mean he wants me to rub his… wand every single night? Even a magic lamp only gets rubbed three times.
Whether Ha-hyeon was horrified or not, Wei Wuyuan closed his eyes again with a satisfied expression. A drowsy languor seemed to be washing over him. Silence settled in the room. Ha-hyeon too felt the tension ebb away, and his eyelids grew impossibly heavy. Blink, blink. Just as his consciousness was slipping under the surface of sleep — the lips of Wei Wuyuan, who Ha-hyeon had assumed was already asleep, parted slowly.
“I heard that the princess of Seoran had never set foot outside the palace walls her entire life…….”
“……”
A chill ran down Ha-hyeon’s spine. That was something he hadn’t known at all.
“So how she came to learn such a shameless technique, I cannot fathom.”
“……”
It was a drowsy voice, as though murmured in a half-dream. Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
“But it is very good…. I think I’ll be able to sleep deeply for the first time in a long while.”
How could anyone sleep deeply in the middle of bright daylight like this? The sunlight pouring in through the window was almost blindingly bright.
That worry was short-lived. The light coming through the window was suddenly blocked entirely. It seemed someone outside had covered the window with cloth. With his sight cut off, his hearing sharpened.
Wei Wuyuan said nothing more. Instead, regular, even breathing reached his ears.
Wait. He’s actually sleeping? Oh, forget it. I’ll just close my eyes for a moment too.
Sa Ha-hyeon gave himself over to the Emperor’s arms. Before long, Sa Ha-hyeon too sank into a deep sleep.
***
When Sa Ha-hyeon opened his eyes again, the space beside him was empty, and the room that had been dim was once again filled with bright light. The sound of a commotion outside reached him. The door burst open and Wol came running in. She seemed to have been woken by that noise.
But when had His Majesty left?
“I hear His Majesty paid a visit. So you survived this time as well. Thank goodness. Truly.”
Wol let out a breath of relief.
“Where have you been?”
“I went out just in case and bought some red rouge. To paint on the red birthmark for you. I had no idea he would come so soon.”
“Right — I didn’t know he’d come so suddenly either.”
“And the flute? I was going to try and give you some practice, but I ended up being too late.”
Thinking about what had unfolded here while Wol was away, his face grew hot.
“Don’t ask. Flute or no flute — what matters is that my head is still on my shoulders, isn’t it? But a problem has come up.”
“What problem?”
“He said he’ll come every night from now on.”
Wol’s jaw dropped in shock.
“Every night?”
“Yes. Every night.”
Ha-hyeon kept his answer vague. But Wol seemed to want to know more specifically what had happened. Just then —
“Carry it in carefully.”
With a eunuch’s shout, palace servants came flooding in all at once. Their hands were full of various furnishings, silks, and decorative items.
“What is all this?”
“These are gifts bestowed by His Majesty. He has given special orders to fill the Jaein’s quarters properly, as they are far too shabby and lacking.”
Ha-hyeon’s empty room and Wol’s room, along with the kitchen-storage, were transformed into something luxurious in an instant. Soft fur rugs brought from the north were spread across the floors, and ornate embroidered folding screens were placed against the dull walls.
“Oh my, isn’t this the mother-of-pearl dressing table that’s been sold out everywhere lately?”
But the dressing table went not into Sa Ha-hyeon’s room but into Wol’s. Wol, watching this, was startled and said it seemed the item had been sent to the wrong place.
“Those are His Majesty’s orders. Wol enjoys adorning herself, so she is to receive the finest quality — and as for the Jaein, her natural, unadorned appearance is the most beautiful, so there is no need for embellishment. She is to be given practical things instead.”
And so, in place of a dressing table, a large writing desk came to occupy Ha-hyeon’s room. Sa Ha-hyeon waited quietly in the corner, trying not to get in the way.
Wol, who had been bustling back and forth helping the palace servants and eunuchs, slipped quietly over to Ha-hyeon and whispered in his ear.
“Word has it that a new building is going up right next to His Majesty’s sleeping quarters.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I don’t know who it’s for, but the location is something else entirely. I can’t help wondering whether you might be moved there one day.”
Wol’s eyes sparkled with barely contained excitement.
“Stop saying things that give me chills.”
“Chills? Think about it. The rumor going around was that His Majesty never visits a concubine twice. And yet not only did he come a second time, but he said he’d come every single night. If traveling all the way here every night is too much trouble, wouldn’t he want to put you right next door to his own chambers?”
Enduring him coming every night is already too much — and now she’s talking about living right next door. That’s basically a death sentence.
“No. That’s not it. Anyway, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. I like it here. It’s quiet, secluded, and good for taking a walk — I mean, it’s easy to make a quick escape — no, for strolling.”
“Pardon? What chickens?”
“Never mind. It’s an expression.”
Wol glanced around cautiously and added with a sly tone.
“When he comes tonight, why not whine a little — say you’ve had no appetite lately and keep losing weight? That way you might be able to squeeze out at least one extra meat dish.”
“Am I a child, that I should whine? And he came this morning — do you really think he’ll come again tonight?”
“But of course. Daytime and nighttime are strictly speaking different.”
“Stop giving me chills.”
Ha-hyeon waved his hands and shook his head. He busied himself moving around to chase away the dreadful thoughts.
***
Time passed quickly, and before long the sun was sinking low on the horizon. Ha-hyeon prepared himself with grim resolve, bathing and washing thoroughly. He couldn’t dismiss Wol’s words that day and night were different things.
He told me to warm the bedding.
After washing, Ha-hyeon applied fragrant oil generously over his body. This time he used a different one from what the eunuch had given him. He absolutely could not have another repeat of that disaster tonight.
He stood on top of the bedding wearing nothing but a thin inner garment.
“Right. I’ll warm this up properly. One, two, three, four.”
Ha-hyeon began doing push-ups. In this era without underfloor heating, there was exactly one reliable way to warm a bed. Raise his own body temperature and heat the air inside the covers with it.
Sweat quickly broke out and heat radiated off his body. Before he could cool down, he swiftly dove back under the covers.
But time passed and the Emperor did not come. He already came this morning — perhaps he won’t come tonight after all. Ha-hyeon thought this, yet just in case, whenever the warmth inside the covers faded, he climbed back out, did more push-ups, and dove back in again — repeating this dozens of times.
The bell marking midnight rang out in the distance.
Well, that figures. How busy a position the Emperor holds — there’s no way he’d make the trip twice in one day. If he hasn’t come by this hour, tonight must be a pass after all.
With the tension draining out of him, Ha-hyeon sprawled out flat on his back on the bed. Perhaps from having exercised so energetically — a heavy weariness washed over him. His consciousness was walking a tightrope between dream and waking when —
Rustle.
One side of the covers was lifted, and a cool gust of air swept in. Before he could even open his eyes in surprise, a cold arm wrapped firmly around Ha-hyeon’s waist.
“Warm. This is good.”
From within the darkness, a low voice reached his ear.
