THE CONCUBINE || TAEKOOK ||

FORTY THREE

FEW WEEKS LATER

The servants had finished loading the gifts baskets of rice and dried fish, bolts of cloth for new clothes, jars of medicine and honey, toys carved by palace craftsmen for the children who had nothing.

Jungkook stood beside the first carriage, his hand resting on the door, his eyes fixed on the palace entrance. He wore simple robes today pale grey, unadorned, the clothes of a scholar rather than a king. Today, he wanted to be simply a man visiting the orphanage his grandmother had built, the orphanage that had become so precious to the man he loved.

"He promised he would be ready by now," Jungkook muttered, glancing at Jimin, who stood beside him.

Jimin smiled. "He is waiting for the Queen Dowager."

Jungkook sighed. His relationship with his mother had improved in the months. They had reached an understanding. A fragile peace. She had not tried to destroy Taehyung again. She had not schemed against the throne.

But waiting for her was still a trial of patience.

"I am going ahead," Jungkook said finally. "The carriage will return for her. I cannot stand here all morning."

Jimin raised an eyebrow. "The king cannot wait for his own mother?"

Jungkook shot him a look. Jimin had grown bold in the months since the coronation bold enough to tease his king, bold enough to speak truths that others would not dare. It was one of the reasons Jungkook trusted him above all others.

"I can wait for my mother," Jungkook said, climbing into the carriage. "But I will not wait for her schedule. She has been known to take two hours to decide which gloves to wear."

He settled into the seat, and the carriage began to move. Through the window, he saw Taehyung standing at the gate, waiting, his face patient, his hands clasped before him. The sight of him calm and steady, waiting for a woman who had once tried to destroy him made Jungkook's heart ache.

He is better than any of us, he thought. He always has been.

---

The Palace Gates — Moments Later

Taehyung stood alone at the gate, watching the first carriage disappear down the road. Jimin had gone to fetch tea. The servants had dispersed. He was alone with his thoughts and the morning sun and the distant sound of the city waking beyond the palace walls.

He did not mind waiting. The sound of hurried footsteps made him turn.

Queen Dowager Hara swept through the gate, her ladies-in-waiting trailing behind her like ducklings after their mother. She wore a gown of pale lavender, elegant but not ostentatious, and her gloves were already on a small miracle.

"I am sorry I made you wait," she said, her voice brisk, her eyes scanning the courtyard. "These new servants are no help at all. So lazy. I asked for my grey gloves, and they brought me the blue ones. Twice!"

Taehyung smiled. "Oh, really? But I hired the best ones specially for you."

He had, in fact, spent weeks selecting servants he thought would suit his mother-in-law's exacting standards. He had interviewed them himself, tested their patience, their attention to detail, their ability to withstand the Queen Dowager's sharp tongue.