The Unknown History

23

A few days have passed since the kiss that Yeonseo and Jungwon shared had happened. She slowly walked to the garden with a bright smile on her face. The memories of Jungwon's hands holding her in his arms as he kissed her still lingered in her mind.

A sound of a person clearing his throat brought her back to reality. She lifted her face and saw Sunoo standing at the gazebo with a blank expression. Baekhee bowed, "Your Majesty."

Yeonseo watched as he approached her, still looking at her with a straight face. "Did you have fun escaping from the banquet?" He asked out of the blue.

She frowned before looking away, "I'm in a good mood today. I don't want you to ruin it."

"Why do you have to embarrass me in front of everyone?"

"Unless you say that I can marry whoever I want and whenever I want, I will keep disobeying your orders."

He let out a tired sigh as he rubbed his temple. "Fine. I can't force you, can I? Who is this special person that you want to marry?"

"Well..." She glanced at him with worried eyes, "I umm–"

Her sentence was soon interrupted with Jungwon entering the garden. His eyes widened as he made eye contact with her. He cleared his throat, "Your Majesty, I've been looking for you. You have an upcoming meeting in ten minutes."

Her heart fluttered when he started to speak. His voice made her ears tingle. He lowered his head as his cheeks started to blush.

Sunoo glanced at them out of confusion, "Did something happen? Why are you both so awkward?"

"Don't you have a meeting? Now, go!" Yeonseo changed the topic and pushed the king to the entrance. Jungwon stopped following behind him and turned to face her.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, his voice softened. He reached his hand toward her ear and tucked a few strands of hair behind it. She blushed and smacked his arm gently, "Go. Sunoo will notice us."

He kissed her forehead out of the blue before chasing after Sunoo. She stared at his figure as it disappear, startled at the sudden kiss.

Baekhee who was standing behind them gasped in shock as she watched them. Yeonseo laughed to herself and smiled before turning around. Her lips soon curved into a frown at the sight of the court lady staring at her with horrified eyes.

"You saw that, huh?"

Baekhee nodded. Yeonseo slowly kneeled on the ground, "Please don't tell Sunoo."

"Your Highness, please don't kneel at me!" The court lady immediately got to the ground, motioning for her to stand back up.

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Sunoo walked next to Jungwon as they both headed to the meeting room. The King looked around and saw an unknown woman walking next to the war minister. His heart pounded at an unusual pace at the sight of her smiling brightly.

The war minister, Lord Hwang saw him and bowed, "Your Majesty."

Sunoo approached him and smiled, "Are you getting ready for the meeting?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I was just showing my daughter around since she helped me with my work just now."

The woman bowed, "Forgive me if I'm bothering you, Your Majesty."

Hearing her voice made Sunoo blush. Jungwon noticed how nervous the king was, looking at him in disbelief. "Heejin-ah, you can take a look around. I'll have a court lady give you a tour if you want. We're going to the meeting now so please enjoy your time here," the nobleman said.

Heejin nodded and bowed again before leaving them. Mr Hwang continued walking to the meeting room. Sunoo tapped his best friend's arm, "You know her?"

"She's the same age as I am. I meet her a lot when I visited her father. Why?"

"Nothing," the king shrugged before taking a deep breath, "Do you think now is the right time to get a queen consort?"

His question earned Jungwon by surprise. The nobleman looked at him in disbelief, seeing the king's figure walk ahead of him.

"Does he have a crush on Heejin or something?" He mumbled under his breath before scurrying after the king.

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Yeonseo clasped her hands together as she watched Baekhee walk back and forth in front of her. "So you're saying, you kissed Lord Yang during the night of the banquet when you ran away?" Baekhee asked, trying to process the sudden information.

Yeonseo nodded, "Is it bad?"

"How long have you been dating him?"

"I just kissed him. It's not that long."

Baekhee clapped her hands and laughed, "I'm dreaming, right? Weren't you hating him and even calling him bad names?"

"Baekhee-yah, let's not bring up the old stories," Yeonseo laughed nervously. The court lady narrowed her eyes and folded her arms, "What do I get for hiding this information from His Majesty."

"What?"

"Do you know how hard it is to be your personal court lady? You always run around the palace in your nightwear and bare feet. And I would always have to chase you around. I don't have good stamina in running, Your Highness."

Yeonseo stared at her when the realisation hit. Baekhee did have a hard time putting up with her. "How about a day off?" She stood up and caressed Baekhee's hand.

"Make it one week."

"That's too much! How about three?"

"Fine," the court lady sighed, "And no more running around, Your Highness."

"I promise!"