If You're Not The One

He couldn't seem to put a finger on why she felt so different.

It almost seemed as if she was a totally different person.

The Queen seemed different after the lake incident, but he had chalked it up to the near-death experience she had gone through. He supposed, she had also changed because he had wanted to kill her shortly after their marriage, for being on the Andong Kims' side - while the Kims' had wanted to kill her for not submitting to being their pawn in their conquest for power.

But that was then.

She had proven herself as being an advocate for justice and the country, even at the risk of forfeiting her own life.

She had even taken a bullet for him.

His heart hurt at the thought of almost having lost her and their unborn child.

-------

Speaking of which, Cheoljong hadn't even had time to sleep beside his heavily pregnant wife for the past week. The late nights poring through the mountains of royal scrolls that needed his attention had him feeling so exhausted, he usually fell asleep in the study.

Sighing, he put aside his papers and rubbed his temples.

He was sure she'd be in here every night, to wake him up and get him to sleep on a proper bed, if not for the fact that she was too heavily pregnant to walk too far these days.

"Her Highness is sleeping, should I wake –"

He stopped her mid-sentence and gestured for Court Lady Choi to quietly leave the chambers.

Carefully, Cheoljong climbed under the silk covers. His heart swelled as he gazed upon the Queen's face in slumber, marveling at the fact that the three of them were a family now.

He had longed for the warmth of family, when his own had been so cruelly slain - wondering if he could ever belong again.

Sweeping a few strands of hair of her face, her eyes fluttered and slowly opened.

"Cheonha...you're here. Am I still dreaming?"

Her puzzled face was too cute to bear, so her kissed her forehead and whispered "Yes, now go back to sleep. I'll be here right beside you."

Cheoljong lifted her head, tucking his arm right underneath it. He stared at her half-opened eyes, and shushed her back to sleep.

"Alright, a dream then...", the Queen mumbled.

Still cushioned by his arm, she turned onto her other side, presenting the long line of her back to him. Her soft and even breaths indicated she had fallen back asleep.

-------

He had wondered for some time why she insisted on calling him Cheonha since after the shooting incident. He missed the way she called him irreverently by his name, even so far as to give him nicknames. It was unbecoming of a royal, but it was endearing to him.

Despite all the unconventional behaviours and speech, he had slowly grown to love all her quirks and eccentricities. She who was his Queen. His wife. Mother to his unborn child.

Cheoljong embraced her sleeping form from behind and placed his palm over hers, where it was placed on her rounded belly.

*kick*

"...I'll be right here beside you...Even if you aren't the Chungjeon I fell in love with in the first place."