𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐋𝐄 ♕ 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐊

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝘅

In Mu Deok's absence, Wook shut himself in his room and complained about losing his appetite whenever he thought nobody could hear him. Only it wasn't his room anymore. It was more Gaeun's room since she made him move his things to the guest room every time they argued.

She had gone about her day, which was never exciting, to begin with, and returned to the door to her room locked from the inside. After spending fifteen minutes negotiating, Wook finally opened it and left to spend most of the night sulking in the bath. The second night, a new moon night, Gaeun found herself without a large portion of her energy. With aching bones and a sore body, she dragged her feet back only for Wook to refuse to let her in again.

Not in the mood to try and convince him, Gaeun gripped the handle and broke it off its hinges.

Wook looked ready to jump out of his skin but knitted his brows out of concern when he saw the condition she was in. "What's wrong?" He hurried to her, pressing the back of his hand to her cheek and then her forehead, "You don't have a fever. Oh, wait," he stepped sideways to peer up out of the window, "Did you forget it was a new moon? I told you this morning."

"I need to lie down." Her voice was low and raspy and she sounded as if she could collapse any second.

She more or less would've swayed all the way to her bed as if drunk had Wook not steadied her. He put an arm around her shoulder, held her hand while leading her to the bed, and helped her lie down. When he pulled the blankets over her, he noticed her shiver slightly.

"Does this have anything to do with the medicine you pretended to take in the morning but instead poured it into the drain when no one was looking?"

Gaeun's cheeks flushed pink and she averted his gaze, "I'm fine. I don't need it anymore. Today was the last anyway." He nudged her and slipped under the covers beside her, making her grumble, "How can you do nothing the whole day and still manage to feel sleepy?"

"It is tiring to be excruciatingly unmotivated to do anything, wife," he stretched and yawned obnoxiously, "I think and think and spend my mind to the point of exhaustion. Did you hear? Cheonbukwan's Assistant Gwanju, Jin Mu, found Naksu's body along with the men who broke into Songrim that day. Maidservant Kim told me."

"I see," she exhaled at the dull throbbing at the nape of her neck. Gaeun had an embarrassingly low tolerance for pain sometimes but luckily, tonight wasn't painful enough to make her cry. "You think Mu Deok is aware of it?"

Wook shrugged, trying to act as if he didn't care, "Who knows? It's not like she's been in touch. The Magelords—and lady—will probably discuss it with the King about it."

"Negotiate a claim for action for reputation's sake, no doubt," Gaeun added, "Especially since it was Songrim who was chasing Naksu and Jinyuwon who tracked down the intruder."

He tilted his head on his pillow to look at her, "Anyway, what did you do the whole day?"

"The shed needed to be fixed and the well needed to be cleaned so someone had to overlook that since Madam Kim was busy elsewhere," she mumbled, eyes fluttering shut, "I had letters to write as well. And the household accounts needed to be cross checked. A delegate from Yeol was passing by so I had to greet them as well. And I waited in the woods to meet someone but he never came."

Wook, who had been listening almost inattentively so far, shifted to lay on his side and propped himself up on his forearm, "He?" She hummed in response and pulled the blanket over her shoulder, turning away. "But I was at home," Wook said.

"I'm aware."

"Was it Danggu?"

"No."

"If it was Seo Yul, I'm going to throw myself off the cliff."