𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐋𝐄 ♕ 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐊

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻

Wook trudged across the uneven path that led to the river as he searched for Mu Deok.

He had spent the better part of his walk wondering what he could have possibly done to make Gaeun upset with him. As far as he knew, this was the coldest she had treated him.

He'd never admit out loud that he had been jealous that Gaeun had known the Crown Prince. In fact, the detail had been like a blow to his chest. The Crown Prince—the absolute scoundrel—had had the audacity to announce that he had missed Gaeun while Wook was standing there. He had not liked the way he had looked at her either. If he could've, he would've scratched out the damned man's eyes.

And then she had gone and said that the Prince had tried to court her. Wook had felt himself turn green from envy and nausea. Who would be in their right mind to turn down a prince and choose him instead? Granted, their marriage was fake, but why hadn't Gaeun chosen the Prince when she had had the chance?

"The King," he mumbled to himself as he remembered, "He would have used her as a weapon.

Wook wondered if the stupid Prince knew Gaeun's secrets. If he did, then Wook wanted to know the extent of his knowledge. Did Go Won know his wife better than him? They did seem close and Gaeun did appallingly call him by his first name.

He paused and asked himself loudly, "But why did he call her 'Your Grace'?" Was it because she was the host of the Vermillion Dragon? Because she was practically a god, no matter how many times she denied it? Stomping his foot in a childish display of annoyance, Wook gritted his teeth. "I want him to stay away from her."

Wook had then tried to be nice to her when he had followed her to her room. He had demanded a reaction from her because Min Gaeun had always, always supported him and encouraged him with the utmost sincerity. He had spent his childhood thinking it was a lie but Gaeun had been so...good to him.

Jang Wook firmly believed that he had made it this far, clinging to his goals as if his life depended on it because he had wanted to prove that Gaeun had been right about him. That she had placed her faith in a person who deserved it.

Had he been aware of it years earlier then perhaps she wouldn't have brushed him off so harshly today. Wook could tolerate her yelling at him and scolding him but her frigidity scared him. It made him feel that she was repulsed by him, that she couldn't wait to get away from him. He glanced down at his palms, recalling how she had squirmed at his touch.

What could he do? What could he possibly do to stop feeling this way? The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to tell her that he loved her. Wook knew he had lost all the chances fate had laid down at his feet but he couldn't restrain the irrational beating of his heart every time his eyes found her.

Mu Deok was crouching by the river bank, angrily muttering to herself as she washed her limbs, when he finally came across her. The sight of her made Wook momentarily forget his woes and remember that he had managed to achieve what he had always dreamt of.

At his noisy arrival, Mu Deok stood up and tucked away a square of the handkerchief into the folds of her collar. "You should wash up," she said offhandedly as Wook approached her, "since you probably reek as well."

Without thinking much of it, Wook leaned down and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Master," he said, mouth curving into a smile, "I finally did it." Frozen in an awkward stance, his words made Mu Deok ease into his embrace. She let out a satisfied sigh and patted his back.

He held her long enough for it to get awkward and then stepped away from her. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he said, "You definitely should be washing up, Mu Deok. No wonder Gaeun couldn't stand it when I came back all sweaty..."