이무기의 복 (Mourning Bride)

20. Dreadful Predictions

Wooyoung came by occasionally. While Seonghwa and Hongjoong avoided the fuming dragon on his hill as he cast rain and thunder on the palace, Wooyoung visited him at least twice a week. He always came alone, but he carried the wishes of their friends, the horses, with him to relay them to San.

Whenever the animals informed San of Wooyoung's trek over the mountain paths, he pleaded with the skies to keep his friend dry. Ever so pleased by the dragon's affections, the skies heeded his wishes.

Every time after Wooyoung had told him about the newest developments in the stable and around the castle, San inquired about the king and his lover.

One day, he learned that Seonghwa and the king's mother had got into a fight, for she seemed to be bothered by his presence by Hongjoong's side now that it had caused such a drastic fallout with the dragon king of Joseon.

Another time, he heard of Hongjoong brooding away in his palace while his advisors complained to him about having picked the wrong priorities.

Usually, neither schadenfreude nor shame filled San's chest at the news. The tension at the palace was one the humans should have evaded by treating their patron ruler better. The celestial being San would be after the ritual had to be treated with respect. In offending him, they also offended the current dragon watching over their lands. The humans' arrogance had made them blind towards the stability they received.

San was a stubborn creature. Before he didn't feel like Seonghwa accepted him for who he was and regarded him no longer as competition in a challenge San had never picked to enter, he wouldn't change his mind.

As he sat with Wooyoung on the forest ground and shared the berries and nuts, the animals had gathered for him despite his chuckles that he could do it himself, San didn't want to disrupt his peace with those matters. He was free and one with nature again. Wooyoung made a delightful addition to his isolation and San's heart healed from his presence and his pleasant demeanour that didn't press San to return.

San's claws cracked the nuts Wooyoung couldn't open. Wooyoung had cupped his hands to gather the merit so they could share it. Whenever San's claws brushed his fingers, the stable boy didn't flinch back and sat in peace.

"How is Hongjoong doing today?" San asked, his voice a murmur. In his loyalty, he still felt it necessary to inquire about his husband, even when it was nothing more than an act of politeness.

"He invited a bunch of common folks to share their matters with him again, so he was unavailable. I heard two knights talk while I prepared their horses. How the peasants fear they won't make the winter without the dragon blessing and the recent unrest in the villages about Hongjoong losing you."

San hummed. He supposed Seonghwa would have locked him up tighter if he had caught him on time. Though San would have unleashed his true form and reduced the palace to ashes if he were restricted in such a barbarous way.

Out here in nature, he felt far more collected to where his priorities lay.

"Two of my friends, Jongho and Mingi, saw him in the morning and we walked a part of the path together. I didn't tell them I went to see you, but they had the same worries. Both of them have many siblings to feed and their grandparents are too sick to make the wintry days without proper medicines. Mingi said instead of selling this year's harvest to buy the medicines, he would have to store it to live off from during the winter. Jongho considered moving to his uncle near the coastline in hopes the ocean would ensure his people's survival."

Wooyoung's lips muttered just as privately as San's, both of them focused on their task. His birthmark moved charmingly with every word, and San yearned to kiss it.