DAECHWITA

twenty seven

When the Emperor's eyes had finally opened from the sleep that had devoured him, the first thing he searched for was his wife. 

His side of the bed was empty, almost as though she had never come to him in the first place, void of any of her traces. 

But he was certain that she had come to him last night, and as the memories floated through his mind, a pale shade of crimson inched stealthily up his neck. He had demanded her to stay with him, ordered her to call him by his first name, directly contradicting what he had made her call him when they had first met.

He was breaking his own rules for her.

His solemn stare fell upon the opened window, the early hours of the morning still beginning to bloom. The palace was still in slumber.

So, where was his wife?

Yoongi propped himself up, his back leaning against the cushions gifted to him by rulers of a multitude of nations, thinking that if he timed it just right, he would be able to find her without anyone else knowing.

But the sound of his door creaking open led to the monarch abandoning the idea itself as Jangmi came in, holding a tray of food that she herself had cooked.

"You're awake," She settled the tray of nourishments on his business table, the back of her palm placed on his forehead. His fever had subsided. "Did you sleep well?"

Yes, he wanted to say, yes I had slept well, all because you were by my side. I had never slept so peacefully since...

But instead, a cold question left his lips. "Why did you leave?"

The Choi girl opened her mouth to speak, but closed it once more. She hadn't wanted to leave, not when she had felt so comfortable in his arms. 

"I wanted to make you breakfast," She answered.

"The servants could have done that,"

"They are still in slumber. It is not their time to awake,"

The married couple stared at each other, long and hard, before the Empress took the tray, placed it on her lap and scooped a spoonfull of rice. "Eat, you must have strength for the day after your fever,"

"I can feed myself," The Emperor grumbled, nevertheless eating the rice that was offered to him.

And so for ten minutes or so, the Emperor and his Empress sat in complete silence, but their desire to care for the other was spoken in actions rather than words, as Yoongi still ate from her hand.

For they were each other's halves but they did not know it.