Blue Flames | Cha Eunwoo

Chapter 2

Echoing footsteps alerted Hyeonjung to the oncoming presence of the King, her head peeking out from around a corner to see King Eunwoo and his head of the state council of Joseon, Park Minhyuk, heading her way. They seemed to be discussing some important matters regarding the kingdom. Rushing over to pick up her broom, Hyeonjung tried to forget they were coming and act as if she was alone. Sweeping the floor for a few seconds, Hyeonjung broke out into a playful dance with the broom, humming a tune, capturing the attention of the two as they came round the corner.

Thankfully, Hyeonjung had managed to play her part well as Eunwoo and Minhyuk had halted in their tracks, watching her with interest. It was rare to see such happiness in the palace as the only time it would be filled with dancing, music and fun is when there was a ball but even that was for certain purposes and self-gain.

Minhyuk's heart began to race just by watching her. Even without getting a proper glance at her face, he was interested in her. He had never seen someone so... cute. On the other hand, Eunwoo wasn't attracted to her but he was slightly intrigued and amused her by her actions, a small smile making its way onto his face without him realising.

As she turned around, Hyeonjung pretended to be shocked by their presence, letting out a gasp and releasing the broom, flinching as it crashed to the ground with a loud thud. Her beauty caught both of them by surprise, wondering why they had never noticed someone like her before. Hyeonjung felt proud that her plan was going well, that was until Sowon appeared, stealing away Eunwoo's attention, leaving Hyeonjung displeased but she knew it wouldn't be as easy as some love at first sight nonsense.

At this point, she was just glad to be on his radar now. With her memorable first appearance, she was sure she wouldn't be forgotten too easily, hopefully allowing their next to push her into his radar more. While Hyeonjung was captured in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed how Minhyuk eyes had not faltered from her, still being fascinated by her.

Eunwoo whispered something to Minhyuk, before walking ahead alone, turning a corner where Sowon had just disappeared. Sighing, Hyeonjung picked the broom back up, scurrying away as Minhyuk's eyes followed her in curiosity. He smiled, finding her embarrassment cute, though, in reality, she was only scampering away because her duty was done and she needed to report to Soojin, updating her on what happened.

Upon return to Soojin's chamber, Hyeonjung noticed an unfamiliar maid by her side, brushing her hair for her. Soojin treasured her hair and wasn't the type to let anyone other than herself or Hyeonjung touch it so it was quite a shock.

"Ah," Soojin grinned, opening her arms wide to greet Hyeonjung. "Welcome back my pretty. Come! Sit!"

Hyeonjung headed over, hesitantly sitting herself on the queens bed, her eyes occasionally glancing over at the maid beside her.

"Oh right," Soojin gasped, raising a hand to stroke the side of the maids face. "This is Yeh Shuhua, she will be sharing your duties since you are currently doing some other work for me." Soojin's smirk was made more prominent with her freshly painted red lips. "A gift from the Taiwanese Emperor as a sign of peace. A foreign beauty with little understanding so you may talk in front of her. Naïve and innocent, much like you, with the right teaching, she would make a great addition to have at my side. Now... how is your quest coming along?"

"I managed to capture his eyes for a small while but the maid, Sowon, appeared and he followed after her." Hyeonjung explained. "It will be hard to separate them but if I managed to get a smile from him, then his heart must not be full of her yet."

"Then fill what is left of his heart with you," Soojin leaned forward, caressing Hyeonjung's face. "Like a parasite... take over."

With Soojin's words, Hyeonjung knew that she would have to try much harder. As someone who knew what she wanted, Soojin was the type to go for it completely at all expenses. If Hyeonjung couldn't do the job, somebody else would have to take over, making Hyeonjung expendable and a liability. Hyeonjung would have to devote herself completely to her task, for her own wellbeing and for her family's.

"A parasite," Hyeonjung repeated, calming herself down.