Dancing In The Moonlight

Chapter 3: Contrast

Serving under Lord Kim Taehyung had its pros and cons. Pros that Jeongguk was humble and grateful enough to admit, cons that he wasn't above admitting whenever he wanted to complain to himself about his servitude under his new lord.

The short list of pros constituted the handsome pay, a roof over his head, and the regularity of warm meals and hot water for showers. Considering his background, Jeongguk was grateful to have all of these. He was grateful to have a soft futon to sink his achy limbs into after a long day of work and a stability to his life he rarely had the luxury of having before.

Jeongguk thinks he would have appreciated all these aspects more, considering how these were all the things he's ever wanted for himself, if working for Taehyung wasn't such a pain in the ass. A particularly grueling challenge of patience and perseverance in Jeongguk's humble opinion.

Jeongguk is used to manual labor, it's the labor he's known his whole life, but serving under Taehyung is a challenge of a completely different kind. Taehyung is a difficult lord to serve would be putting it lightly; young, spoiled, and demanding. Something Jeongguk quickly figures out in the few days he's spent at the Kim's manor. Always wanting Jeongguk to cater to his every beck and call, no matter how nonsensical and time consuming they were. Tasks often ranging from climbing a tree to fetch the ripest apple for Taehyung to sink his teeth into to organizing his library in alphabetical order for the umpteenth time. That task usually took Jeongguk hours considering that he couldn't read, but Taehyung took enough pity on him to delegate Jeongguk to cleaning and tidying when he noticed how long it took Jeongguk to perform that task. Those tasks were indeed hellish, but he still prefers him over his daily duty of bathing and dressing Taehyung, a task that chafes years off Jeongguk's life span with each day passed.

To Jeongguk's increasing frustration, Taehyung has made a point of never calling for any of his other servants, who Jeongguk has noted are peculiarly scarce for a manor so big. Just Jeongguk, only Jeongguk, seemingly wants him to do cater to his every whim and more.

Till now, Jeongguk can't figure out if it's because Taehyung is partial to him or if it's because Taehyung merely takes pleasure in tormenting his newest toy, has a sneaking suspicion that it's the latter. Taehyung promised to work him to the bone, implied that he would regret coming here to serve for him, and Jeongguk had confidently claimed that he wouldn't on both fronts. He's being tested, his resolve pushed to the limits, and Jeongguk refuses to bend and prove Taehyung right. He performed everything to a T, as perfectly as his unsure hands would allow him, taking pride in the begrudging approval Taehyung rarely offered him. Even if Lady Kim still hated him, glowering as she scoffed at him whenever they happened to cross paths, Jeongguk figured that as long as Taehyung wants him here, then he would stay.

So, Jeongguk cleaned the floors till his knees throbbed, dusted Taehyung's library until his wrists ached, tended to the garden outside Taehyung's bedroom until his fingers bled and stained the black fabric of his gloves red. It was tiring work, but work Jeongguk was used to, not too far off from the kind of work he always did on previous jobs. Humming helped, always has a tune to go along with his tasks to make the time pass by faster and smoother.

Taehyung often makes sure that Jeongguk is performing tasks within his periphery. Always feels like the weight of his hazel eyes burning into his back as he smoked his cigarettes, but whenever Jeongguk turns around – Taehyung's eyes are on his book. It makes him flush in embarrassment for being so presumptuous, for thinking that Taehyung's eyes would follow him as he did menial tasks like scrub floors and picked weeds. It doesn't help that Jeongguk always feels like he's being watched within these walls, whether Taehyung is there to supervise him or not.

But sometimes, just sometimes, Jeongguk would turn to look at Taehyung and he would catch his eyes on him. Especially when he hummed, a quiet tune, but Taehyung apparently caught onto it even if he says nothing about it aloud. Regardless, his disposition spoke much louder volumes than his words ever would. Sultry in the way that his loose yukatas always left him exposed, dark hair falling into his eyes, an amorphous cloud of smoke being released languidly from his red lips. In those moments, those moments that threatened to stretch to an eternity, Taehyung wouldn't avert his gaze, kept it steady.