14 ⚜️🌺 The Shedding Moon
Seon-in stayed inside the Forbidden Library, continuing her writing while Baek entered his court meetings. Once the night fell, he dismissed everyone except Hye-shik, knocking the Forbidden Library door once. Her focus distracted her from answering them.
Baek entered the room and stared at her. He stepped inside with his hands behind his back. Hye-shik closed the doors and walked to them. They looked over Seon-in as she wrote each character.
Hye-shik frowned. Her characters… are poorly written.
Baek smiled as he watched her wrist move hastily. She rubbed the tip of her nose, leaving a mark.
Baek stared at her, then glanced at her neck, where her chest was nearly visible. He gulped and averted his gaze for a second. Does she not know her chest is revealed? He cleared his throat, redirecting his mind away from having indecent thoughts.
"I have to finish…" she muttered, her head barely keeping still. Her eyes barely opened. She moved her brush without accuracy. Baek muffled his laugh and knocked on the table. She furrowed her brow and looked up. "Yes?"
Baek tilted his head and stared at her eyes.
"How's the copy so far?" he questioned.
Seon-in let out a big yawn.
Hye-shik's eyes widened. How improper! He leaned forward—
Baek raised his hand to stop Hye-shik. She covered her mouth with her vision blurring.
"I… am almost done," she answered. She stretched her arms in the air. "But I have to go somewhere later… can you tell His Majesty that I will be busy?"
Baek paused, leaning closer to her face.
"His Majesty? Do I not sound like him?" Baek wondered. Where are those foreign eyes looking and not at me?
"Oh… you do! But he's busy in his court meeting," she replied without paying attention, brushing a hand toward him. Then she suddenly clapped her hands as she looked ahead. "I can sneak out before he comes back!"
Once she saw the door clearly, she smiled at her plan. She noticed Hye-shik's presence a bit further away, frowning at her. Wait… was I not speaking to that guy? She turned—
She gasped and jumped out of the chair.
"Your Majesty!"
"Did you mistake me with my bodyguard?" Baek teased.
Seon-in flushed as she closed her eyes and bowed.
"My apologies, Your Majesty! Spare me…"
"Why should I spare someone who dares to sneak away before I return?"
She bit her lower lip, clenching her fists.
"Your Majesty, I… I was just joking. I was too tired and wanted to take a break," she answered.
Baek grinned and took a deep breath.
"Oh… Hye-shik, check her progress for me," he ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Huh! Wait, I'm not done!" Seon-in yelled.
Hye-shik snatched the papers before she raised her arms. He straightened the papers and stared at the letters.
"Young Lady… is this how they taught you?" Hye-shik wondered.
Seon-in gulped, mortified in pretense. This is my chance!
"I… I never knew how to write… my father thought it was useless for me to learn," she replied, holding her cheek.
Hye-shik revealed her letters… barely legible.
"Was that supposed to be 'hé' as in harmony?"
Seon-in peeked at the character, the unattached stroke.
"No? It's 'chéng'," she answered.
Hye-shik took a deep breath, holding the paper and restraining any disrespectful words that he may have cursed. Baek turned to Hye-shik, furrowing his brow.
"What's wrong?"
"Your Majesty, I suggest you give her lessons on writing before you conclude that she's the perfect imperial reader—"
"Oh… is her calligraphy that bad?"
"It's… insulting to the Fathers of Confucius," Hye-shik muttered.
Seon-in's mouth dropped without a sound. Did he just say I insulted the Fathers of these books? She averted her eyes.
Baek stared at her and chuckled.
"I see… I guess she can keep trying until she writes the characters better," he teased.
Seon-in slammed her hands on the table and stood.
"What?! But I can't…" she froze, realizing her mistake. "Today… Your Majesty, I request that I get a day off…"
Baek's brows creased.
"But… you haven't passed your test yet," he rejected.
Seon-in held her breath, clenching her fists.
"I… need some time, Your Majesty… A little bit more?"
"With this handwriting that my bodyguard said and your little knowledge, I think you need to study more," Baek added.
Seon-in hid her chin, frowning.
"Why do I need to study more? It's not going to help me find the person who wrote the note…" she grumbled.
Baek was briefly speechless.
"What was that?"
She choked and straightened herself.
"Nothing…" she squeaked.
Baek shook his head, tapping the table.
"Teach her to write 'chéng' one hundred times until it's perfect," Baek ordered.
Seon-in froze and stared at Baek.
"What?! Why? I can definitely write 'chéng'!" she argued.
Baek's face creased, his brow furrowing.
"Hye-shik, now!" he commanded.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Seon-in pouted, crying as Hye-shik slapped a paper in front of her.
From then on, Hye-shik instructed her in writing chéng stroke by stroke. She nearly copied over two hundred times before she realized that the moon was the only light over the palace.
Stretching to the North Gate of the palace before the gong, Lady Lim covered herself and looked at the bag in her hand. She smiled.
"I couldn't afford anything great, but I hope you like this, Seon-in," she whispered warmly. She glanced over her shoulder, checking the road for any presence—
Heavy footsteps thudded from the opposite direction.
Lady Lim gasped, hiding herself behind the tree. Who could be out here at this time? Will they catch me? Seon-in, are you safe? She looked at the gate, hearing a soft giggle.
"Your Highness…" a woman's voice called softly.
Seonu appeared in the shadow and smirked, grabbing the woman… the lower court lady from the Queen's Quarters. He pulled her by the waist and kissed her neck.
"You made it in time…" Seonu murmured beneath his breath. She moaned and grabbed his hair as she raised her knees. "I missed you… my beautiful wild chrysanthemum."
Lady Lim covered her mouth, shocked. Is that… His Highness? His Majesty's cousin with a court lady?!
"Her Majesty really thinks she has been seeded, Your Highness… isn't that laughable?" the lowly court lady mocked.
Seonu chuckled slyly before he groped her chest. He looked down at her lustful face.
"Do you want a garden?" he questioned.
She blushed and smiled.
"Mixed with you, definitely…" she added.
He grinned and carried her over his shoulder, walking into the Geoncheonggung nearby. As the silence lingered, Lady Lim checked for any presence.
"Where did they go—?"
A hand covered her mouth.