• Selfish Prince • || KookMin

24. Secret play

"Why are you distressed?"

"Because I not on your thighs."

"I'm serious."

Yoonji continues to stroke Namjoon's hair. Having him lying on her thighs is lovely. She likes to feel him close at all times. However, it bothers her a little that he is so distracted. It is her time - as always - for him to listen to her and attend only to her.

His worries about Taehyung don't matter to her.

"Do you know about the disasters that have befallen your family?"

"You mean the different branches? Yes. We get that news, though Jungkook abhors having to know," Yoonji admits with some mockery. "The Choi, Kim and Jeong were exterminated; my family still doesn't know how to move on without having sold me as a mare, the Jung's haven't been able to keep even one son alive for over a year...anyway."

"And did you know any of them?"

"Sort of. The Min and the Jung were close, that's why I got along so well with Hosook... Oh, sure, the Jeon too. The big main branch" she exhales melodramatically. "Although Hosook also got along spectacularly with the Kims. His favorite cousins. Especially the youngest of them... Until we came here. We found out he died a few months later."

Namjoon taps his finger on his palm.

"And they were..."

"Fools. No wonder they died. They looked like Jimin: nice to everyone, hopelessly manipulative clueless. Shocking that they were the emperor's second choice." scoffs Yoonji and Namjoon's eyes narrow.

Yes...

They were foolish people.

They didn't think that their friends, the Park's, were going to call for the assassination of their youngest and most beloved son...

Just a few months after being named the Beaumont heir to carry on the family legacy.

Though perhaps wherever they are, they are grateful that it was Namjoon who was paid for the job. Considering that even today, it keeps Taehyung away from all the political wrangling.

Namjoon hopes none of it ever gets to him. That Taehyung will continue as it is, that his anxieties will be personal and minimal, not an empire. Even if he had to send Jungkook, he would do it He doesn't care! Anything but Taehyung.

Anything but the suffering of that square-smiling boy he couldn't smother despite having him unprotected and confused in front of him.

"Namjoon" Yoonji calls and the man looks her straight in the eyes. "What do you wish?"

"What do you mean? My lady." mutters Namjoon, confused.

"You always think about Taehyung, about Jimin, about me... but I've never seen you thinking about yourself" the woman replies, makes circles on Namjoon's forehead. "So... tell me what do you want? For you and for no one else."

Namjoon ponders for a moment. He is brief. He has never been a man who longs for big things, not complicated ones either. He is almost a conformist and a nihilist. The words slide easily past his lips:

"With having you looking after me, I can be satisfied, my lady. I hope to continue to make you happy and allow me to stay with you."

Yoonji's eyes widen in surprise and Namjoon is sure he has never seen her smile with such joy. It's true: it makes him happy that Yoonji is looking out for him. As a servant, an acknowledged hitman and then a leader, he hasn't had the pleasure of people caring about his person. He is someone in the background, an addition in everyone's life.