DAECHWITA

fifteen

However, despite the numerous attempts of sleeping off her troubles and sadness, the new wife of the Emperor could not fall into slumber, tossing to and fro on the comfortable bed that she had now become accustomed to.

Her eyes were wide, staring at the white ceiling, thoughts of her parents and her best friend running through her mind. How she dearly missed the three of them! It felt odd not to hear Cha Nari's constant giggles on the soldiers and noblemen that she would meet, and it was somewhat boring not listening to the drunk laughter of her father's many accquaintences.

She felt lonely in this big palace.

And then, a thought struck her.

The library!

...

The thick blanket that draped her shoulders was warm as she quietly made her way to the place she had immediately liked ever since she had moved into the palace.

As the ornate doors opened, Jangmi could not contain her awe and pure joy at the vast range of books and scriptures that lined the bookshelves, all waiting for her to pick them up and understand their stories.

"What should I start with?" The Choi girl hummed to herself, her slender fingers stroking the covers of ancient scrolls, pausing on a folk tale with illustrations.

Soon enough, she was curled up against the fire, her eyes skimming the pages of beautifully constructed words and dialogues, the carefully drawn illustrations seeming very real as she whispered the tale aloud.

"Why are you here?"

The book snapped shut, and it seemed as though the story had done so too, the gumiho escaping from a monster that even it could not scare off.

The Emperor.

He was not dressed in his regal attire, but a navy blue hanbok, designed for slumber and peace. His dark hair was parted, looking extremely soft, and the scar that branded his face shimmered in the light of the flames.

"I-I could not - I could not sleep," Jangmi trained her eyes upon her husband, remembering his sharp words when she had first arrived, to look him in the eye. "I thought I could grow tired by reading for a while," 

Yoongi stared at his newly appointed wife for a brief moment, before his cold gaze slipped and nodded. "You may continue,"

With that statement, he moved from her eyeline and went in search of a particular book, his onyx pupils scanning the racks to find his preferred reading material. Despite the knowledge of Jangmi's eyes on him, watching with curiosity, he chose to ignore it.

He was too tired to snap at her.

Once he had found his desired book, he settled on the chair opposite of her and began to read silently, not quite focused as he could feel her glances occassionally on him.

The Choi girl was brimming with interest at the Emperor's passion for books, but instead of voicing her thoughts and opinions, she chose instead to remain concentrated on her own story.