"have you every seen a smile so bright," she mused- mostly to herself.
seokjin laughed, well aware of her infatuation at this point.
"his wound is healing nicely, although it seems like it will definitely scar. i assume he has been performing well?"
she nodded in response, a soft smile on her face as she watched jeongguk walk among the flowers in the courtyard, chasing rabbits and gently touching the flowers around him.
his pale skin practically glistened under the sunlight, but she knew that at this rate, he would have beautiful, tanned skin in no time. the mid afternoon sun illuminated his light brown hair, and she thought absentmindedly that at some point, somehow, jeongguk had become the sun in her life.
in front of her some parchment lay flat, ink and brushes arranged to the side. the paper was blank, but as she watched jeongguk float between the plant growth, she felt words flood her mind in an overwhelming rush.
jeongguk caught her staring, as if he hadn't felt her steady gaze on him all morning. he smiled shyly and pointed to a butterfly that had found residence on a flower.
something inside of her swelled with affection, and she sighed gently, hoping that jeongguk would be that happy the entirety of the time that he spent with her.
🏵•🏵•🏵
the first night that jeongguk had arrived, he couldn't sleep.
seokjin had given him a brief run over what he was to do and his duties to perform to his mistress, but was going to give him the rest of the details the next day.
for a while, jeongguk lay in the quarters that were fit only for personal attendants. the room wasn't particularly large or grand, but the sheets were soft, and there were thick blankets in the storage areas.
for now, jeongguk lay staring up at the ceiling, the window open just a crack so that the wind rustled the fabric of his sleep robe. he wondered silently if his mistress thought he was ugly or if the wound made him unappealing. almost unintentionally, he reached a hand up to touch the bandage spanning the bridge of his nose self consciously, wincing when it aggravated the laceration.
it wasn't his fault, really.
the slave handler that owned him had always hated him, ever since he dared to defy one of his orders in order to protect his mother. now, she had been sold along the way here. the woman that had purchased her had been kind and gentle when his mother stepped away from him, out of his life.
no tears were exchanged because they were trained for this. years upon years of being in this industry so that they could be in the prime position to be purchased and escape their handlers.
the scar itself had come from one last act of defiance before being sold; his slave handler had pulled a whip out on a young boy who had refused to let go of his mother. it reminded jeongguk so painfully of himself that he had intercepted it, only to be lashed across the face instead from his masters' anger.
"let's see you get sold like that," his master sneered, the corners of his lips curling up to form an ugly sneer.
somewhere in between the crickets chirping and the stars dotting the sky, jeongguk succumbed to a restless sleep, alone with his thoughts.
