THE CONCUBINE || TAEKOOK ||

FIFTY ONE

The Palace — Evening

The great hall was in chaos when they entered.

Servants pressed themselves against the walls, their faces pale, their hands trembling. Maids who had been carrying trays of tea and silk now stood frozen. And in the center of it all, Queen Dowager Hara stood like a storm, her voice rising, her hands gesturing wildly, her words lashing out at anyone who came near.

"Where is the king?" she demanded. "Where has he gone? And whose child is this? Why was he in the king's chambers? Who dares to bring a strange child into this palace without my permission?"

The maid who held Haneul stood rooted to the spot, her face white, her arms wrapped tightly around the bundle in her arms. The baby had begun to cry small, frightened sounds that cut through Hara's tirade like a knife.

Taehyung's heart lurched. He moved forward, but Jungkook's hand caught his arm, holding him back.

"Wait," Jungkook murmured. "Let me."

But Taehyung could not wait. The baby was crying.

He pulled free of Jungkook's grasp and strode into the hall.

"Mother," Jungkook called, his voice cutting through the noise. "We are here. There is no need for this."

Hara spun, her robes swirling around her, her eyes blazing. She took in the sight of them Jungkook, composed and steady, and Taehyung, moving toward the maid, reaching for the child and her face twisted.

"Where were you?" she demanded. "I have been waiting for hours. No one would tell me anything. And whose child is this? Why was he in your chambers?"

Taehyung reached the maid, his hands gentle as he took the baby from her arms. Haneul's cries quieted immediately, his small face turning toward Taehyung's chest, his tiny fists clutching at the fabric of his robe. Taehyung held him close, murmuring softly, and felt the tension in his own shoulders ease just slightly.

Jungkook stepped forward, positioning himself between Taehyung and his mother. His voice was calm, measured, the voice of a king addressing a subject rather than a son addressing his mother.

"Mother, calm yourself. There is no need for shouting. This is our child."

Hara's eyes went wide. She stared at the baby in Taehyung's arms, at the small face barely visible above the blankets, and then at Jungkook, and then at Taehyung again.

"Your child?" Her voice was sharp, incredulous. "Are you in your right mind? First your father brought him into this palace, and you made him your consort. And now you bring a child from nowhere and claim it as your own?"

She pointed at Taehyung, her finger trembling with fury. Then her hand swung toward the baby, and her lip curled in disgust.

"Have you lost all sense? What will the court say? What will the people say? The king, who has no queen, who has no heir, who has chosen a man to share his throne now brings a nameless, parentless child into the palace and calls it his son?"

Taehyung's arms tightened around Haneul. He wanted to speak. He wanted to scream. But Jungkook's hand found his, squeezing once, a silent command to wait.