And his family background was no exception. The Cheongseon Park Clan has been a prestigious yangban family for generations and has been famous for integrity since ancient times. Starting with the Family Head, Minister Park Jae-guk, who has a reputation for uprightness. Perhaps due to the family tradition, the man standing before him also seemed to have no openings whatsoever.
“Please return safely. I have work to do, so I’m afraid I can’t see you out.”
“Ah, yes. Then I’ll take my leave.”
The messenger bowed politely and left first. All that remained was a scroll that looked obviously precious.
Jun-wan returned to his seat, deliberately ignoring the interested gazes. As soon as he sat down in his chair, an old sigh poured from his mouth. He loosened the tie that was choking his neck uncomfortably and closed his eyes deeply several times.
“Senior… are you okay?”
One junior from the research lab who had been watching cautiously approached and asked carefully. Jun-wan, who had been buried in the back of his chair, barely responded while holding his feverish forehead.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
As if I could be fine. It was so absurd he could laugh bitterly.
“That person earlier… he was from the palace, right? Is something wrong?”
The junior asked with great concern, but his tone was full of barely concealed interest and curiosity. Although they lived in a world where royalty existed, ordinary people rarely encountered them.
“Jong-su.”
“Yes, senior.”
“Don’t take an interest in my private life.”
Jun-wan spoke coldly as if he had never been sunk in worry. The chair back that had been half-reclined also straightened. A sharp gaze followed without fail.
“S-sorry.”
The junior immediately left. When Park Jun-wan got pissed off, they were the ones who suffered, so it was best to look out for themselves.
Just because there was no one hovering nearby didn’t mean the interest had disappeared. Everyone stared with eyes dying of curiosity and whispered among themselves. How could he act normally in this situation?
Jun-wan eventually pushed his desk away and stood up. He flipped the sign on top of the partition to “away” and grabbed the scroll.
“I’m taking a half-day off today. Finish the experiments on your own. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, senior, get home safely!”
Behind Jun-wan as he left the research lab, he heard the junior researchers’ booming voices. Jun-wan let the greeting wash over him as he crossed the corridor. He immediately called his older brother first. His steps were unusually hasty for someone like him.
―Hey, Jun-wan. I was just about to call you. You bastard, we’re in big trouble!
“I know. I just received the edict.”
The elevator happened to arrive. Jun-wan entered without hesitation and pressed the button for the second basement floor. Jun-wan, leaning against the wall, ruffled his hair with an extremely irritated face.
“Hyung. Come to the main house. I need to discuss something with you.”
***
The main house was like a house in mourning. The moment Jun-wan entered through the front door, his mother ran over, grabbed him, and cried, and even Minister Park, who was always stern, couldn’t hide his gloomy expression.
“You’re here.”
“Yes.”
“Jun-seo is here too. You two… discuss it well together.”
Minister Park stepped back as he spoke. He too had been shocked by this incident, as his face was dark. Jun-wan gave his father a brief bow before striding forward on his long legs.
The spacious house was entirely sunk in gloom. Sighs from the adults burst out here and there. At least the sounds of the young nephews’ toys could be heard, otherwise it really would have been like a house where someone had died.
Jun-wan’s older brother, Park Jun-seo, had arrived first and taken a seat at the dining table. On the long table that could accommodate a large family, various documents and law books were spread out in disarray.
Park Jun-seo sat with his laptop in front of him, sighing constantly. Next to him was the same scroll that Jun-wan had received. It seemed a royal messenger had also visited the main house. Jun-wan approached and tossed down the scroll he had brought, then sat roughly in a chair.
“This isn’t even a situation where I should be mourning.”
It was aimed at his family members who were more sunk in worry than the person involved. At that prickly remark, Park Jun-seo slowly raised his head.
“…You’re here.”
“Cut to the chase and just tell me the conclusion. Can we overturn it?”
Jun-wan asked whether they could disobey the royal command.
Park Jun-seo, who knew his younger brother’s personality well, hurriedly swallowed a sip of water. Even after moistening his mouth, it remained parched. He too had a reputation for being cold-hearted at his law firm, but given the situation, he couldn’t find any composure.
“For a yangban family to disobey a royal command is high treason. At minimum, it extends to three generations.”
“……”
“Under national law, you can’t go against a royal command, Jun-wan.”
His brother’s voice gradually became smaller. Park Jun-seo had already searched through all the relevant clauses and precedents.
In this country, yangban families still existed, and although the world had changed, the hierarchical order between the royal family and yangban families remained. They had a duty to inherit tradition and protect the legitimacy of the royal family. This was a fact explicitly stated in national law.
Those who go against a royal command become criminals regardless of age or gender. They wouldn’t be beheaded or sent into distant exile like in the old days, but corresponding punishment would clearly follow. Probably a prison sentence of over three years, along with a criminal record for insulting the royal family. Even if they were lucky enough to avoid imprisonment, as long as they had a criminal record for insulting the royal family, it would become a huge disqualification for living their life going forward.
He had hoped for even a small thread of hope, but regrettably, there was no way. Disobeying the royal command meant the family would be destroyed and the rest of their lives would be thrown into the gutter.
“It’s possible to renounce citizenship and seek asylum abroad. Then you wouldn’t be a person of the Republic of Korea… so you wouldn’t need to obey the royal command.”
“You want me to abandon my family and run away alone?”
“…What else can we do? No matter what, you can’t marry a man.”
Jun-wan supported his tilted head with his palm. Although his head throbbed as if struck with a blunt object and fiery anger was rising inside, his expression was no different from usual. He was the type who didn’t show his emotions well.
Jun-wan surveyed the faces of his family members while resting his head. His parents and brother all had resolute expressions as if they would follow whatever decision he made.
As befitting a noble scholar’s family. Every one of them had an attitude that they weren’t afraid of sacrifice.
At the edge of Jun-wan’s vision, he caught sight of his nephew playing in a corner of the living room. The twins who had just turned one were busy playing with their mother, oblivious. They had happy faces, not knowing that the biggest crisis of their roughly one-year lives had arrived.
His sister-in-law’s face with the children was particularly shadowed. She must be incredibly distressed right now, unable to speak. It was a situation where even her young children might be affected.
What’s so important about marriage? Before this crisis where all the effort he had built up until now was about to vanish in an instant, Jun-wan sighed deeply. He rubbed his furrowed brow with his fingertips and said:
“Do you know about Kim Yu-shin?”
“…Huh?”
“I should at least know who I’m marrying, shouldn’t I?”
Park Jun-seo’s mouth hung open. The family members who had been secretly eavesdropping on the conversation had similar reactions. None of them had expected Jun-wan to accept the marriage.
“Are you… going to be okay?”
“You said there’s no way out.”
“Still… even so.”
“But isn’t same-sex marriage impossible in our country?”
“It will be possible now. A special law was proposed two hours ago. The assembly passed it.”
Jun-wan let out a small snort. The country’s gone mad. He even muttered to himself. It was something he could do because he was at home.
There was no way out—he was going to marry a man. Actually, Jun-wan had also considered a political marriage to some extent. Given his circumstances, he had no time for romance and no interest in it, and he had thought that if he was going to marry anyway, it was better to consider the benefits.
Of course, he had assumed that premise would naturally be a woman. How could he have imagined it would be the same sex with the same equipment?
“Tell me everything you know about Kim Yu-shin.”
Jun-wan spoke as if chewing his words. At his younger brother’s angry instruction, Park Jun-seo hurriedly rummaged through the pile of documents. He had already collected information related to Kim Yu-shin.
“He’s twenty-five years old. Minister Kim Dae-geon’s second child. As you know, Kim Sara is above him.”
“Ah, the problematic Ms. Kim Sara.”
