The Hated Male Concubine

The moment he opened his eyes, Yihan felt the temperature of the lovely person in his arms. Hwawoon, crouching like a small animal, was absolutely lovely, and Yihan, who woke up very early, admired Hwawoon’s face for a long time. Was it always so interesting to look into a person’s face? Everything about him breathing, frowning in his sleep, or rubbing his cheeks on Yihan’s arm was so endearing. Yihan could have stayed there and watched him all day. 

And what about the last night that popped up in his mind? He couldn’t even begin to describe how adorable everything Hwawoon did that night was in simple words. No other night he had spent as the emperor had satisfied Yihan so much. This feeling of soulfulness. It was the first time in his life that Yihan had felt this sense of being happy as a man, not an emperor. 

As the emperor showed no signs of movement, Ahjin looked around at a loss. She knew that he had to get up quickly as he had to attend the morning inquiry, but the emperor’s gaze on her master was so affectionate that she couldn’t even imagine it if she hadn’t seen them in person, making her reluctant to disturb them.

“Your Majesty…”

The unwelcome visitor who barged in from the back of Ahjin was Eunuch Oh. Once again, Yihan raised his forefinger to his lips to warn him, then looked at Hwawoon’s face. Hwawoon, who had to deal with an overwhelming amount of things, thankfully didn’t wake up, but Yihan now realized that he really needed to make a move. 

A part of him didn’t want to get out of this bed all day, no matter what the political situation was. He was surprised by this, so he calmed his mind down. He scolded himself for having such a thought as the emperor, but he couldn’t help but want to go back into the blanket where Hwawoon was still asleep. If only he had known it would be this good. If he had known that he would be so happy that he could see the world anew, he would take his night a little sooner. 

Yihan, who went that far in his head, really felt that he should stop, so he raised himself. No, he was trying to raise himself. 

Yihan would blame Hwawoon. He decided to think that it was because Hwawoon’s sleeping face was too innocent and beautiful to bear, so he leaned down and placed his lips on Hwawoon’s forehead, the tip of his nose, and his cheek.

After that, Yihan, who finally stood up, passed through Ahjin, who was looking down at the floor and couldn’t raise her head. He went out of the bedroom. Ahjin followed Yihan, and he opened his mouth only when he confirmed the bedroom door was closed. 

“Your master is weak and will have a hard time waking up. It’s a hot day, so don’t make the water too hot, but make it moderately warm so that he can relax his body comfortably.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will prepare it with all my heart.” 

“And when Yeonbin wakes up… Tell him that… I wanted to be by his side, but I couldn’t help but go first.”

The more he talked, the hotter he got. In fact, the right thing was that he should get seen off. It was a law for all concubines who spent the night with the emperor to get up first, tidy themselves up, and take care of all the emperor’s care and see him off. However, Yihan did not like to wake Hwawoon up, so he spent the morning holding his breath, and now he was making excuses as if he was sorry for not being around Hwawoon until he woke up. As her fingers were numb from the excessive grace, Ahjin clasped her skirt tightly without realizing it. The emperor continued. 

“And… Tell him that I will come back for lunch…” 

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll make sure to tell him that.” 

At that time, Eunuch Oh was trying to tell Ahjin that she should wake Yeonbin up. Yeonbin had to help the emperor wash and wear his clothes. But before Eunuch Oh could bring it up, the emperor looked at him and said, 

“Why are you standing blankly?” 

“… Pardon?” 

“Do you want me to go to the morning inquiry like this?” 

The emperor’s expression was so shameless and calm. It was only then that Eunuch Oh noticed that the emperor was asking him to assist him, not Yeonbin.

“No, Your Majesty. I will hurry up.” 

He was questioning why he should assist the emperor when he spent the night in a concubine palace, but if it was the emperor’s will, then it was the law. Eunuch Oh began to move busily, pretending not to know Ahjin’s expression, which seemed to be subtly laughing at him. It was a new day in Myeonghawon.

***

“Unnie, you also know that His Majesty stayed at Seojeong Palace last night, right?” 

Songhyun, who came to the Empress Palace to give morning greetings, got out of the palanquin and ran as she found Biyoung walking right in front of her. Biyoung let out a light laugh and answered.

“Wasn’t it already a foregone sequence from the time he gave Seojeong Palace to Yeonbin?” 

Songhyun nodded at Biyoung’s words. It was tacitly understood that when visiting separate palaces, with the exception of the Empress’s Palace, the order of favors was to decide who would stay close to the Emperor’s palace. Last year, Sukbi was the one to stay at Seojeong Palace. Biyoung said, looking at Songhyun with a smiling face. 

“Why? Are you jealous now that His Majesty visited Yeonbin?” 

“Unnie! What are you talking about? You know I wasn’t really interested in that in the first place.” 

“Haha. Yes, yes. I was kidding.”

Biyoung burst into laughter as Songhyun jumped up and down and waved her hands in the air. Apart from Biyoung’s opinion, Songhyun herself was a person who never felt envious of Biyoung. Biyoung knew that Songhyun missed her family outside the palace so much that she made the people of the internal court her family in her own way. 

Then this time, Songhyun glanced at Biyoung and asked.

“More than that… Are you really okay?” 

In fact, Songhyun was genuinely worried about Biyoung last night. Songhyun herself was a concubine who was far from the emperor’s love in the first place. Of course, the emperor had always thought Songhyun was cute, but that was certainly different from the way he would treat his favored woman. Nevertheless, Songhyun was not disappointed with that. She didn’t feel sad or down as she compared herself to others. Sometimes when Yeonbin spoke ill of her situation, she became angry and cried, but it was only because of Yeonbin’s wickedness, not because of her position in the imperial palace. 

However, in Songhyun’s opinion, Biyoung was in a different position from herself. Although there were not many concubines, Biyoung had always been considered the most beloved woman of the current emperor, so she may feel that her place has been taken. Therefore, Songhyun spent the night worrying about Biyoung as she also had to give up Seojeong Palace, where she always stayed. 

However, Biyoung, with a very calm expression, looked at Songhyun and said, making Songhyun’s worries become nothing.

“Even animals don’t forget the favor they owe.”

“Oh…”

“How can I say I’m better than an animal if I’m hurt by something like this?”

Biyoung’s face as she said so really showed not even a bit of regret. No, she looked rather peaceful. Songhyun, who felt like there was a stone in her chest last night, finally felt relieved and approached Biyoung’s side with a smile.

Considering Yeonbin’s personality now, she felt that he would be very embarrassed by what happened last night, so Songhyun felt like making fun of him when she faced him later. 

***

Hwawoon was sitting alone with the empress. The Empress, Jaran, offered him to have a cup of tea when Hwawoon was about to return after finishing his visit. Sukbi and Jeongbin seemed to want to be with them, but Jaran sent them back, pretending not to know even though she saw the look in their eyes. This meant that the Empress had something to say to Hwawoon. 

“I heard His Majesty stayed at Seojeong Palace last night.” 

“… I received a great favor thanks to your generosity, Your Majesty.”

Hwawoon bowed his head to the Empress, who spoke in an extremely calm voice. The Empress glanced at the reddening earlobes and said with a smile.

“What do you mean by generosity? It’s only because you served His Majesty well.” 

“I… I’m still not good enough…”

“Even though there have been many things in the past, I’m sure now you can guess that His Majesty cares about you very much.” 

The Empress’ words made him recall this morning. Hwawoon, who finally opened his eyes after the emperor left Seojeong Palace, turned pale when he realized that he didn’t see the emperor off. However, Ahjin told him that the emperor was the one who didn’t want to wake him up. That wasn’t all. He also heard that the emperor had been sitting next to him, who was asleep until morning time was approaching and left kisses on him in front of Ahjin without hesitation. It made Hwawoon’s face burn throughout the day.

Hwawoon couldn’t help but know. Even though he couldn’t fully understand why the emperor was so nice to him, Hwawoon couldn’t pretend that he didn’t know that the emperor cared for him.