36 Do I scare you?
Yun Ki's win had made him quite the star.
He was constantly being approached by Royals he'd invited for the event.
His public display of affection had managed to garner quite the attention, especially among King Lee Min Hyuk, who'd been staring daggers at Yun Ki all through the evening.
"That imbecile." He mutters angrily, slicing into his steak a little harder than usual.
Next to him was his wife who had been stuffing her face with Moon cakes.
"Yeobo, the Baekmin Moon Cakes are a real treat, don't you agree?" She asks him, nonchalantly.
"Shut up!" He roars, planting his fist over the Teak dining table the Royalties were dining on.
She frowns, staring at her plate with red bean paste filled Moon Cakes, Baekmin's speciality.
"This is an act..The question is however, why is she staring at him with undeniable love? They're both incredible actors..It's either that or I am being fooled by that man who claims to be his brother.." He mumbles, incoherently.
"Aish! Have you been fooled again, Yeobo? Are you not wearing the talisman my mother got you to save you from mocker—"
Min Hyuk grasps her wrist, wringing her arm as she yelps and winces in pain.
He brings his lips to her ear.
"Keep your mouth shut. You've brought me nothing but rotten luck and no talisman can change that! Just be the porcelain doll I've kept you as and smile. Don't run that empty skull of yours.." He hisses into her ear, squeezing her wrist, eliciting tears from her eyes.
Meanwhile, Yun Ki and Soojin are seated beside The King and Former Queen of Goryeo.
Of course, Yun Ki was closest to the man he'd seen as his father figure.
He remembers watching his father and The Old King fly kites as a 10 year old child.
How his father would ask Yun Ki and his brother to prepare silk lines for the kites and how he and his brother would run across the green field, watching the kites take flight and decorate the vast blue sky.
"How about a kite flying match someday, Old King?" Yun Ki asks, clinking his liquor filled glass with the King's own.
The King of Goryeo laughs in response, his wife recounting before Soojin how exceptional Yun Ki's kite flying skills were for a 10 year old and how he'd challenge his father every time.
"Maybe we can have the Mrs. over for high tea.." The former Queen speaks, grasping Soojin's hand in hers.
Soojin nods in response as Yun Ki places a hand around Soojin's shoulders.
"She's all yours, Your Majesty." He responds with a smile.
"Yun Ki ah, we're very impressed by Soojin. She's not just a pretty face. She embodies grace, respect and dignity. You couldn't have chosen a better partner." She says.
Yun Ki chuckles, fingers pressing into Soojin's arm.
"My eyes can never judge a person wrong. From the minute I saw her, I knew I had to have her. She's special, that way."
Soojin chimes in, "When he asked for my hand in marriage, I was apprehensive..I'd heard horrible things about him. Heard he'd slaughtered men and women as though they were pigs-ouch.." Yun Ki pinches her arm, causing her to let out a shrill whine.
"…But that's in the past, isn't it, My Queen?" He asks, thigh nudging hers.
Soojin looks at him, briefly.
"Of course, My King. He's turned a new leaf. My Late Father was persistent on redemption and forgiveness. I'm practicing that on him." Soojin winks his way, causing Yun Ki to straighten and remove the hand he has on her arm, coughing in response.
"And she's witty too!" The old King points out, snickering and mocks Yun Ki for his lack of a comeback.
The dinner progresses rather smoothly with Yun Ki personally thanking each and every Royal for blessing Baekmin with their presence.
As for seeing off The Crowned Head of Silkim, Yun Ki asks Soojin to accompany him in doing so.
Lee Min Hyuk stands at the end of the Royal Banquet, staring at Yun Ki and Soojin walk towards him as though they're wafting in slow-motion, hair bouncing and light with every step they take and the ego crystal clear in Yun Ki's eyes as he holds his wife like she's a trophy, his most prized possession.
Stopping before him, the couple bows in gratitude.
"We would like to thank you for your auspicious presence in Baekmin, Your Majesty." Yun Ki speaks.
Lee Min Hyuk scoffs, crossing his hands over his chest.
"What's this sudden change in demeanour, Yun Ki-ssi? Wasn't I being threatened a day ago?" He asks, staring at the two as Yun Ki brushes a finger past his nose, a sly smirk forming on his face.
"You'll reap what you sow, in Baekmin. We competed like gentlemen in the race and you didn't come up with devious schemes like I thought you would and neither did you let your massive pride take over you after you lost to me, this evening. I guess there's hope for us all, isn't there?" Yun Ki asks, looking at Soojin.
"Oh really? You're talking about redemption? After what you did to your own blood? Oh dear Min Yun Ki, I wonder how you sleep at night, sitting on a throne of trampled bodies of your own. Your hands drip in the blood of your own and you, of all, talk of redemption? There's no power, strong enough to forgive whatever you've done. Redemption and Hope, shouldn't be words in your dictionary as all you've ever known is pure adulterated hatred and self-loathing. So why don't you cut this petty act that you're putting up in front of us because quite frankly, it's full of shit!" Min Hyuk mutters, standing chest to chest before Yun Ki.
Yun Ki doesn't break the stare, his nose flares and the vessels over his neck grow evident before he steps back from Min Hyuk, scoffing at him.
"Didn't think you'd be a sore loser. Perhaps if you put the efforts you did, analysing me and my vices, to you own work as a Ruler, you'd still have the reigns to your Kingdom." Yun Ki spits, grading Soojin's cold and clammy hands in his, dragging her away from the Banquet.
He storms out of the hall, grip over Soojin's wrist tight as ever.
Her own mind is clouded.
Clouded with thoughts.
What has Yu Ki done that was so drastic that everyone was out to get him? She wondered.
He pulled her to the left wing, into the balcony facing The Garden Of Jasmine.
"Y-Yun Ki, why a-am I here?" Soojin asks, massaging the wrist that has red imprints over it.
Yun Ki's chest puffs erratically as he grasps the golden mask he had on, detaching it from his face with a snap, hurling it out of the Palace, metal falling with a thud onto the garden, over the bush of roses, disappearing out of sight.
"W-What are you doing?" Soojin asks as he stares at her, with an emotion she can't tell.
He walks towards her, causing her to step back with every advancement he makes.
Her back hits the cemented pole of the balcony, the hardnessess digging into her back as he continues his strides towards her, cornering her.
All she can see is his face, close to hers.
His glistening face, the pale skin, the cuts over the edges of his eyes.
The dark red scar the gapes over the epidermis.
His eyes are glossy and for a moment Soojin thinks its the cold dusty wind thats causing his dry eyes to well up.
He rests an arm on the pole, engulfing Soojin's trembling figure.
Their noses are inches away.
Soojin calms her exhilarated heart, breathing out.
"No one's here..We don't need to act, anymore." She speaks in a hushed tone.
Silence falls between them, the gushing wind, the crickets, the rustling of leaves from the garden fill the void between them.
He stares at Soojin with pain, begging her to love him back.
Begging her to understand he's no longer the person that Min Hyuk says he is.
That he isn't the same old cold-blooded Yun Ki who'd strangle a man with his bare hands and tear him to pieces if his uninhibited rage took over him.
He stays mum, watching her wither like a leaf before him, as their chests touch and she winces with every touch he plants over her, unintentionally.
Why had he conditioned her this way?
Why was her chest hammering so hard against his?
"Are you scared of me, Soojin?" He asks, reading her expressions.
She doesn't say a thing, staring back into his challenging black orbs.
Ones that had consumed her right now and had her feeling as though her legs were plastered in concrete.
Her lower lip quivers and mouth opens and just as she's about to answer, there's a movement behind Yun Ki's back, below in The Garden, near the exit of the Palace and she sees him.
She sees Bohoja, entering the Palace from the secret entry at The Garden of Jasmine.
He was here, for her.
Just as she's watching Bohoja's movements into the Palace, Yun Ki grasps her chin, forcing her face towards his.
"Look at me. Look at me when all I'm asking of you is your undivided attention." Is all he says and Soojin finds herself in shoes she's never worn before yet feel a little too tight to be her own.
