"Care to tell this servant what Your Honourable is doing?"
Min Hyun approached Kyungsoo, who was squatting down on the ground, turning over the soil with a small spade to loosen the ground for planting. After he felt it was tender enough, Kyungsoo replaced the spade with his bare hands.
"Your Honourable is ruining the garden," Min Hyun commented. The soil bed Kyungsoo was working on looked like a bald spot of an old man's head, and the garden of Royal Consort's Residence should not remind anyone of a decaying part of someone's head. Instead of vacant space, there should be blooming spring flowers, or maybe some fragrant bushes to entertain one's eyes and smelling sense.
Min Hyun stopped next to Kyungsoo, bending from his waist to look at the raised garden bed. He cringed when he saw Kyungsoo energetically wiped the sweat off his face with his dirt-covered back of hand.
"I am not ruining anything," Kyungsoo cheerfully said. "I'm sowing the seeds I got from Noh Yongmin-ssi. A spoiled princess, this beautiful plant is. Needs light, but shaded, dampened, but dry enough."
"It's ugly," Min Hyun commented blandly, referring to the empty ground Kyungsoo had dug among the vibrant blooming flowers around them. "Your Honourable is trying to change the flower garden into a crop field," he stated, matter of factly.
"No, I am not. You are exaggerating things, Min Hyun," Kyungsoo cheerfully chimed. "I'm planting medicinal herbs, not potatoes or turnips. The garden would look just fine."
"Honourable Royal Consort, please stop touching the dirt. The Royal Consort will get dirty. Please just tell me what to do; Min Hyun will do everything as the extension of your hand." Min Hyun pursed his lips with a disapproval look. Kyungsoo's face was flushed with enthusiasm, or maybe that was because he had spent quite a time under the sun.
Min Hyun clicked his tongue impatiently when he saw Kyungsoo's hands were not slowing down.
"Please stop. Honourable Royal Consort will only rub dirt all over his robe."
"No, he will not," Kyungsoo replied lightly.
Min Hyun narrowed his eyes at the nonchalant response. He dropped his formal speech and retorted indignantly. "Yes you will, and stop referring yourself like that."
"Then stop referring me as such," Kyungsoo hummed. "I have asked you to call me by my name, have I not? And I am nowhere near honourable, really." He scooped out the soil and took out some seeds from a small pouch next to him. After shoving the seeds inside - a seed for each hole - he put the soils back to cover up the seeds.
Min Hyun made a snorting sound, throwing his gaze at Kyungsoo with an expression of distaste. Dirt smudged his face, his hands digging up the soil as though he was a land worker. "You are absolutely right," Min Hyun agreed, a thoughtful frown on his face. He brought his hand toward Kyungsoo's face and softly wiped the dirt clean with his sleeve. "Better. Now you can have your Honourable title back."
Kyungsoo flashed a cheeky grin at Min Hyun, and then he carried on with his work.
Min Hyun used to look at him as if he was a tax farmer, or worse, a barbarian. The man did not say anything to Kyungsoo outside of what he thought was necessary. He would give him a momentary glance, enough to be polite, but his eyes had always been bland and far, as if he was seeing right through Kyungsoo to an invisible object behind him, seemingly a far more interesting thing compared to his face. Maybe an invisible vase or a rotten tree, for all that matters.
Somehow, especially after the incident, in a sort of good way Min Hyun's attitude had gradually changed. His overly composed and stiff manner had cracked bit by bit, revealing of what Kyungsoo assumed as Min Hyun's true self. Before, Kyungsoo felt as though he was as real as a winged horse in Min Hyun's eyes, and now when he finally materialized within Min Hyun's range of sight, he might appear so unpleasant to the latter that a permanent scowl was formed on his face. Kyungsoo chuckled. He could not find a better explanation than that.
He found Min Hyun as a snarky, irascible man, heavily loved to snort and scoff at him. Min Hyun didn't make any attempt to keep his thoughts to himself; he mindlessly shared them to Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo would return them just as mindless. He really did enjoy their silly disputes.
"Stop wasting your energy to reprimand me and do me a favor. I need more water, and go get yourself a spade, there are two more rows need to be loosened."
Min Hyun made a sour expression. Two more bald spots on the old man's head.
***
A royal guard came to Royal Consort Residence, informing Kyungsoo that King Jongin was expecting him at the practice field. He bowed, respectfully asking Kyungsoo to follow after him.
Confusion swept through Kyungsoo. He wondered why King Jongin would want him at the practice field. Giving the guard a small nod, he gestured the guard to lead him the way.
They proceeded through a gate, entering the area where Kyungsoo, or any royal consort, was not supposed to get in. Rows of trees shielded his eyes from the area behind them, and after he walked past the barricade, a green grass field spread out within his range of sight. His eyes easily recognized King Jongin, who was holding a bow, shading his eyes with his hand to look at the target afar.
King Jongin had changed his daily garment into the more practical one for practice; a simple red robe with round golden emblem of dragon sewn on the back. Wearing only a simple headband around his forehead, he looked relaxed. A guard was standing next to him, holding a quiver.
Three straw targets were placed within certain distance. Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes, trying to look at the furthest one. He could barely spot the target. In his mind, it was impossible to hit the mark.
King Jongin took an arrow from the quiver. Raising the bow with his left hand, he placed his fingers along the grip. He positioned himself and nocked the arrow against the string. After having a brief look at his target, without hesitation he pulled back his arrow, releasing it to fly at lightning speed. His bowstring snapped back at once, and the arrow fled right to its target, hitting at the center. Kyungsoo gasped in awe.
King Jongin lowered his bow and turned his back to see Kyungsoo. "Come here, Kyungsoo." He gestured Kyungsoo to come closer, and Kyungsoo complied.
"Your Majesty." Kyungsoo demurely bowed from his head.
"It will be good for you to do something different for once. Have you ever tried to shoot an arrow?"
"No, Your Majesty," Kyungsoo replied politely. "I have never held a bow."
"Then I will show you how."
King Jongin motioned the guard to give him the quiver. He wore the leather strap on his back and took out an arrow from the container. "Stand upright, release your tension."
He lifted his bow, eyes aiming for the furthest target. "Use your three fingers to hold the arrow against the string. Don't put too much pressure on it," King Jongin went on. He sighted through the spine of his arrow, piercing at his target with such intensity that made Kyungsoo shiver. There was no doubt in his mind that King Jongin would hit the mark perfectly. "Hold your bow as relax as possible. Focus on nothing but the center of your target."
King Jongin's jaw hardened. He had a pull, stretching it back tightly the bowstring grew taut. The moment he released his fingers the arrow fled with a buzzing sound, cutting through the wind. Without sparing a heartbeat he fitted another arrow to the bow and shot. And another one. And another one. Kyungsoo unconsciously held his breath. Five arrows flew fast, sinking into the center with perfect precision.
"The way you remove your fingers from the bowstring will affect your arrow's flight," King Jongin said afterward.
"It should be effortless, just like breathing." He lowered his bow and gave Kyungsoo a smile.
"Now it's your turn." King Jongin measured the weight of the bow in his hand, throwing it a bit into the air a few times. "You should use a lighter one," he decided.
"The arrow won't get as far, but it's the precision of your hit that matters. It would be good enough if you manage to hit the first target."
The guard gave King Jongin a nod. He went through the line of bows he had prepared and quickly picked the lightest one.
Kyungsoo unsurely took the bow the guard gave him. Despite what King Jongin had said, it was heavy. He wondered if it could really make an arrow fly. Kyungsoo hooked his finger against the string to test the stretch; a soft hiss fell from his lips when it bit his skin. Before he knew King Jongin had wrapped his hand around him and pulled him closer by the wrist, a worry look on his face. King Jongin quickly checked Kyungsoo's injured finger. Upon finding that it was only a small scratch, he breathed a sigh of relief. Without hesitation he brought Kyungsoo's finger into his mouth and sucked on the tip to soothe the pain.
"Be careful," he said after releasing Kyungsoo, who was in too much shock his finger froze in the air. King Jongin lowered Kyungsoo's hand, bringing back the boy into his conscience with a small tap on his shoulder. "You haven't pulled out any arrow yet and you have injured yourself already."
"Y-yes, Your Majesty," Kyungsoo gave out a squeak. He scrambled to get an arrow, trying his best not to look at his fingers when he placed the shaft on the arrow rest.
To ease down his racing pulse, Kyungsoo recited everything King Jongin had taught him, word per word. He took a deep breath, perfectly imitating King Jongin's stance; his back was straightened and his head was raised, eyes staring at the target.
King Jongin was impressed. Kyungsoo was a fast learner. "Keep your inner elbow parallel to the ground," he advised.
Kyungsoo nodded. After everything was on point, he pulled out his arrow and released his fingers. The arrow wobbled as if it was carrying the weight of the world with it. It gave up seemingly without a try and let the comfort of the ground welcoming it to have a rest. Redness crept over Kyungsoo's face. His eyes widened, staring at the motionless arrow three feet away from him. He could have just thrown the arrow with his bare hand and it might have fled further than that.
"Oh," King Jongin commented in astonishment. His shoulders made a suspicious shake, but his voice remained firm and composed. "I indeed said it won't fly very far, but I didn't mean that far," he said, pointing at the arrow on the grass. The arrow lay limply, far, far away from the intended target. "Maybe it's the wind," he offered a reason; each of his words was forced out, as if it was a struggle for him to say anything.
King Jongin had done well to not burst, but then he shifted his eyes to look at Kyungsoo, whose face was completely suffused with embarrassment. The boy's eyes went so large King Jongin was afraid they would pop out of the sockets at any moment. The arrow. And Kyungsoo.
King Jongin failed to hold himself and broke into uncontrollable laughter.
Kyungsoo was unable to look away. He wouldn't have thought that King Jongin could lose control just because of a small, foolish thing he made. Warmth eased up into his fluttering heart. To act foolishly was not that bad, he thought. No, not bad at all.
Spending time with King Jongin was getting easier each passing day. He no longer needed to veil himself behind the layers of wall, no longer needed to fight the tiredness that came with it. Slowly Kyungsoo found his place in the palace. Everything went along naturally, just like breathing.
***
Whenever he got the time, Kyungsoo would summon Min Hyun to his study room for what the latter deemed as a waste of time; teaching Min Hyun to write and to read. A stack of papers and scrolls would have been piled up on the writing table, and he would have prepared two writing brushes for him and Min Hyun. He reasoned that it was unfortunate for Min Hyun that he didn't get to step his feet outside of the world he knew. Kyungsoo was determined to change that.
"Yes, of course, and you're bored," Min Hyun had answered, when Kyungsoo conveyed him his thought. He grabbed a sheet of paper and stared up at Kyungsoo, ready to have his lesson. Kyungsoo laughed, knowing that Min Hyun did not oppose the idea despite the petulant remark. And yes, he was bored.
Min Hyun stared cluelessly at the strokes on the paper on the table, which supposedly could be read as a word. But indeed, he felt as though he had seen it before; Kyungsoo had shown him the characters once. "Min," he doubtfully recited, raising his head helplessly to look at Kyungsoo, his eyes asking for help.
"Yes, you're right," Kyungsoo beamed at Min Hyun. "Hyun," he continued, his slender finger pointing at the next character Min Hyun failed to recognize.
"I wrote your name." Kyungsoo grinned, his eyes crinkled into half-moons. "You have such a beautiful name, Min Hyun."
"'Min' from your name was taken from the character 'light', although for you, I guess 'Min' from 'stone' fits better, as a stone headed man you are," Kyungsoo teased. "And your 'Hyun' was taken from the character 'worthy'."
"Worthy," Min Hyun repeated, wryly. "What an unfitting name for a lowly servant like me. Unworthy would fit better; I am used to have people walk all over me as though I am the dirt on the ground." He chuckled, but his expression was bland.
Kyungsoo gave Min Hyun a light tap on his shoulder, tilting his head to face Min Hyun. "You are not unworthy. And you bring light into my life," he firmly said.
"No, I do not," Min Hyun mumbled fast, raising his head so that their eyes met, only for a glance before he shied away from the warm eyes on him. He quickly hid his thrumming heart behind his scowl.
"Yes you do. Every night you bring me light so I could read as I please." Kyungsoo's mouth twisted into a playful smile, and upon seeing the displeasure look on Min Hyun's face, his smile grew into a small laugh.
"I was just joking, Min Hyun. You wear that same kind of expression every day; don't you get tired of it? It would be nice to loosen you up a bit."
Min Hyun didn't trust himself to say anything; hence he held his tongue and let his thoughts to focus on something else to calm down his jumping heart. He went back to the piece of paper, reading out his name slowly. Worthy light. The words had no meaning for him, only a bunch of nonsense his father combined together to make him appear brighter than he really was. But, he liked the way Kyungsoo's hand move his brush, gracefully and without hesitation. His name started to materialize beautifully on the paper as Kyungsoo did so. Yes, Min Hyun pondered. He decided that he liked the shape of his name.
Creases formed between Min Hyun's eyebrows as he closely look at every strike and shape forming his name, saving it in his mind. Knowing what Min Hyun was trying to do, Kyungsoo opened his mouth and made a remark about it. "You cannot simply memorize words, Min Hyun, there are hundreds of them. You have to understand each of the characters to be able to string them into words and sentences, and to do so, you need to learn each of every strike by writing it yourself. Here, let me help you out."
Kyungsoo placed a blank sheet on the writing table and slided the paper toward Min Hyun. "Practice to write the characters first, I will show you how." He gave Min Hyun the brush in his hand, grinding the ink against the ink-stone. After he was done with the preparation, he gestured Min Hyun to dip the tip of the writing brush into the black onyx liquid. "Min Hyun." Kyungsoo pushed the ink container slightly toward Min Hyun, urging him to get started, but Min Hyun didn't make any effort to move his hand.
"Help me to write your name," Min Hyun said after a short ponder.
Kyungsoo arched his eyebrows. "My name? why?"
Min Hyun replied, attempting to make a nonchalant shrug as he did so. "I am your personal servant; it's only right to know how to write your name first."
"You are my personal servant, yes, but what you choose to learn got nothing to do with it. You can learn anything you want."
"If you really mean what you said, then teach me to write your name," Min Hyun insisted, his eyes stared up at Kyungsoo, challenging him to prove his saying.
Kyungsoo stared back, amused. Min Hyun was acting rather strange; his eyes were peculiarly demanding for such a simple request. With a soft sigh he took another sheet of paper and a writing brush.
"Follow after me," he ordered, dipping his brush into the ink container.
"'Kyung' was taken from the word..."
Min Hyun frowned at the mess he created. It was nowhere near as gracious as Kyungsoo's strikes. He doubted the strikes his brush had made would have such thoughtful meaning like 'honour' or 'luck'. The words 'disgrace' and 'disaster' would be more appropriate, he supposed.
"For a first starter, you've made a splendid work," Kyungsoo praised Min Hyun. His laugh tinkled as a skeptical look was shot at him.
"Well, maybe not splendid, but you did well." He put back his brush in its holder.
"Your stroke was too heavy, and that what made the mess on your paper. Loosen up your grip a bit; you were too stiff with your brush."
Min Hyun turned his neck to his left and to his right, pounding his shoulders with his fist. Kyungsoo laughed.
"It's your grip that was being too stiff, I said, not your neck. Be careful, you're going to break it. You have only one of it, as far as I know of."
"My neck stiffs too," Min Hyun grumbled. He moved his brush to his other hand, clasped and unclasped his fist to loosen his fingers. "Now where should we start?"
Kyungsoo clicked his tongue, very much like what Min Hyun always did when he saw anything unpleasant to his eyes.
"Pay attention to every strike you make, and control your brushstrokes," Kyungsoo advised. He took a new sheet of paper and placed it before Min Hyun.
"Hold your brush properly." Kyungsoo wrapped his hand around Min Hyun's, helping him to position his fingers around the thin bamboo shaft. Clueless of the small jolt Min Hyun's shoulders did when their skin touched, Kyungsoo led the brush' movement, guiding Min Hyun to swipe the tip lightly across the paper.
"Don't grip it too tight; let it dance lightly on the surface. Your movement should be effortless, just like breathing." At the last words, Kyungsoo went silent. His face softened, the corners of his lips curled up into a pleasant smile. He got immersed in his thinking he was unaware that Min Hyun's breath had quickened; his eyes and his mind were no longer in his writing.
Kyungsoo cleared his throat and tilted his head toward Min Hyun to apologize for his lack of attention, and that was when Min Hyun leaned down toward him and kissed him on the lips.
For a moment, Kyungsoo was too dumbfounded to speak. Min Hyun appeared equally astounded, as if he didn't mean any of that to happen, but then he regained confidence, his eyes looked at Kyungsoo unwaveringly.
"Why did you do that, Min Hyun? Was it because I am a royal consort?" Kyungsoo finally managed to open his mouth and asked. He let go of Min Hyun's hand and shifted away from him, slightly pressing his back against his seat to give himself enough space to feel safe. Confusion filled up Kyungsoo's eyes, blended with the feeling of being betrayed.
"You're being a royal consort is my biggest problem," Min Hyun replied. "What do you think will happen if His Majesty finds out about this?"
They both knew the question was made just to emphasize the obvious point. Kyungsoo shook his head weakly.
Min Hyun gave him a small nod. "Correct. I won't be able to keep my head attached, and I happen to have only one."
"So why?"
"I think I like you." Min Hyun's face grew serious. "Yes, I like you. I have the audacity to like you, but you said it yourself that love has no boundaries," he reminded Kyungsoo.
"I always thought my life had been mapped out since I was born; my mother was a servant and my father is a land worker, hence I am bound to grow being either one of them." Min Hyun's expression hardened when he recalled his mind from the dull memory of his past.
"But I refused to take the injustice destiny. I am beautiful and I don't deserve to live such a poor life. It's better for me to throw away my pride, being a concubine of someone wealthy enough, in return for the comfortable life I would get. I hated being poor. I hated not being able to wear anything I want, hated to have a daily struggle just to eat and ease my hunger. Slowly it's beginning to be an obsession for me to be a success man, no matter what road I should go through to achieve that."
"I consider myself being on the practical side, but after I met you, all my desire in life was starting to fade away. I yearned for more. I wanted to feel what love is."
Kyungsoo's eyes enlarged, looking at Min Hyun perplexedly. Everything happened too sudden, too unpredictable for him to digest.
In his desperation Min Hyun placed his hands on Kyungsoo's shoulders and pulled him closer to have another kiss, but Kyungsoo hid his lips behind his palm. He wrapped his hand around Min Hyun's, tugging it softly to have Min Hyun's attention. "Indeed love has no boundaries," he quietly said.
Min Hyun's hand was cold against his, stiffened, and his own hand made no difference.
"There is someone, Min Hyun," Kyungsoo started, reluctantly. He felt as though everything he kept denying was becoming real and taking its form, the moment he admitted all through his mouth. "I-" Kyungsoo stuttered. He could not bring himself to spill more; it's frightening for him already.
"My heart won't let me listen to my mind," he at last said. Kyungsoo looked at Min Hyun, his eyes begging Min Hyun to understand.
Min Hyun wrenched his eyes away, keeping the disappointment from his face. He calmly unwrapped Kyungsoo's hand and released his wrist. "I understand," he replied, less cheerfully than he meant it to be. "I thought I should tell you anyway."
Kyungsoo stared up at Min Hyun. "You will meet someone who is better than me," he earnestly said.
"You are sincere with your feeling, and because of that you will find a new love."
"I am a quite decent man, of course I will," Min Hyun responded, rest assuredly. The storm had left his eyes, diminishing the intensity of them.
"I have not yet seen the other part of world you kept mentioning me. I am a practical person, after all." Afraid that his bitterness would show, Min Hyun looked away, settling his eyes on the blank paper. "Now let's continue our lesson. I don't see your brush splotching ink on that plain paper," he remarked, trying to make it as lightly as he could. He began to sloppily make unreadable shapes with his brush across the once spotless sheet, a sign that he wanted to push the matter away.
"You are the one who is splotching ink, I'm not." Kyungsoo laughed, but the sadness in his eyes had betrayed his cheerful act. "Now stop the madness already, the poor paper did nothing wrong."
Kyungsoo took his writing brush, dipped it into the ink container to have a bit of the onyx black color on the tip, and then he started to make the first strike.
"Follow after me."