The Hated Male Concubine

#167

Hwawoon stood staring at the pond for a long time. The thoughts he had been pondering all this time drifted in and out of his mind like the wind. Things that he couldn’t easily believe, even after experiencing them himself, were now filling his memory.

“When we return to Jeongan Palace…”

Upon hearing the sudden voice, Ahjin, who had been standing by her master’s side in silence, looked up. After everything that had happened at the ponds, she hated to glance at the pond anymore. In contrast, her master was only looking at the rippling surface with a gentle gaze. However, the look on his face didn’t unsettle her as much as it had before, so she felt more at ease and listened to his words.

“We should plant flowers by the pond.”

“By the pond?”

“Yes. I don’t know much about flowers, but I want to find the most colorful and pretty ones and plant them all near the pond.”

“…”

“So when the season comes for the flowers to be in full bloom, His Majesty will always be able to see them.”

Ahjin had been tilting her head, unsure of why Hwawoon was suddenly saying this, but when Hwawoon said “His Majesty,” Ahjin guessed what her master was thinking. It seemed that he wanted to show the Emperor the special flowers he had planted as a gift.

But Ahjin was only half right. It was right that Hwawoon prepared the flowers as a gift, and she also guessed it right that he wanted the Emperor to see them, but they were not for the Emperor.

The dead couldn’t talk. Hwawoon could never know what he, the original owner of this body, was thinking when he jumped into the water, or what his soul, if he had one, was thinking when he saw him. Perhaps that soul wanted to kill him. Not only that he had taken over his body, but now he had also taken the heart of the Emperor that he had loved and coveted so much. That soul might be hovering around him with a grudge, wanting to tear him into pieces. In that case, the flowers that Hwawoon would plant for him would be nothing more than mockery in that soul’s eyes.

This time, Hwawoon lowered his gaze and looked down at his reflection in the water. There was a face there, a face he had grown accustomed to, a face that sometimes seemed to be his own.

No matter how much time passed, as long as he lived with this face and name, he would never be able to let go of his guilt. Nor did he want to. He didn’t want to take this life for granted, like what he had seen in a dream one day.

Besides, “Yeon Hwawoon” still had parents who loved him more than anything in the world. Even if Hwawoon had confessed all his sins to the Emperor and was forgiven, he still owed a debt to the parents of “Yeon Hwawoon.” He didn’t know how difficult it would be to resolve this matter, or how much guilt he would have to bear until he resolved it.

Perhaps, at some point in his life, he would still choke on his guilt for the dead, and some days he would wake up screaming from nightmares. Nevertheless, Hwawoon was fine. It wasn’t as suffocating and terrifying as it had been before. There would come a day when he would face Yeon Hwawoon’s parents and ask for their forgiveness, but he wasn’t so afraid of that day that he would want to cry.

Because.

“What are you thinking?”

Because now, Hwawoon didn’t have to bear all of that alone.

He heard the warm voice of someone who had been behind him for some time. As he escaped his deep thoughts and turned his head, Ahjin was no longer there, and there was the Emperor, looking at him with loving eyes.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Hwawoon was not surprised by his sudden appearance and smiled, kneeling down to bow. Naturally, the Emperor’s hand reached out toward Hwawoon. Hwawoon stared at that strong, firm hand for a moment, then placed his own hand on top of it, clasping them together, and pulled himself up.

A light breeze blew. As Hwawoon’s hair blew slightly in the wind and tickled his white cheeks, Yihan, mesmerized, raised his hand to brush the hair away and rubbed his cheek.

“Have you been thinking about me?”

Hwawoon blushed for a moment at the ticklish question, but he didn’t avert his gaze from Yihan and answered quietly.

“I’m… always thinking of you, Your Majesty…”

Yihan was left speechless. He deliberately teased Hwawoon because he wanted to see him getting shy, but he didn’t expect him to give him such a blow to his heart. Yihan took a step closer to Hwawoon. Hwawoon uttered those words straightly because he didn’t want to hide it anymore, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t embarrassed, so he kept his head down. When Yihan had come closer and wrapped one arm around his waist, pulling him into his embrace, Hwawoon couldn’t help but look up again in surprise.

In the deep and dark eyes, there was a strong desire so evident in them.

“Your Majesty, there are many eyes watching us…”

Hwawoon said defensively, but Yihan didn’t care.

“Who do you mean? I’ve sent everyone away, so there is no one but us.”

“But…”

“Even if they see us, it doesn’t matter. Who dares to stop me when I want to be with my man?”

Hwawoon, who put his hands on Yihan’s chest to stop him from getting any closer, involuntarily clutched his robe. The words the emperor had said, my man, echoed in his ears. The days he had spent yearning to be his man passed by like the wind.

For a moment, Yihan was puzzled by Hwawoon’s reaction, who looked at him as if he were about to cry, but then he smiled softly as if he could guess his feelings.

“Are you moved just by these words?”

“Your Majesty… I… I really…”

“Just wait and see. In the future, I will make you so happy… that this kind of word will be nothing anymore.”

It was a summer of natural colors. Yihan was well aware of how he had come to be able to see such beautiful colors. He had lived his entire life without even knowing that he was living without seeing these colors fully. Therefore, to Sung Yihan, not the emperor, it was no exaggeration to say that the whole world was given to him by Hwawoon. There was nothing he couldn’t do for such a being.

“You better look forward to it.”

Yihan said the last words in a barely audible whisper before finally pressing his lips against Hwawoon’s. The tip of his tongue flicked between their lips as if asking for permission, and Hwawoon, his eyes tightly closed, slowly opened his mouth. The sensation of hot flesh invading made his lower belly tingle, and he tightened his grip on Yihan’s shoulders. Yihan didn’t budge, but just moved his head and dug in deeper.

Hwawoon’s breath against the tip of his nose was unbearably lovely. He tasted sweet on the tip of his tongue as he savored every inch of his delicate mouth. When he thought that such a lovely and adorable person had to go through such a long way to come to his side, he felt as if it was all his fault, and his insides were crumbling.

At that moment, Hwawoon’s tongue, which had been only going along with Yihan’s lead passively, followed Yihan’s leaving tongue ever so slightly but unmistakably and teased the tip of it before withdrawing. Yihan dropped his jaw and looked down at Hwawoon with a blank expression. Meanwhile, Hwawoon was breathing heavily, his face flushed bright red as if he knew exactly what he had done.

The wet, reddened lips, the flushed eyes, and the secret, adorable reaction that only he could see. None of it was something Yihan could hold himself back from.

“How… How about we go inside now?”

There was an ulterior motive to his question. The ferocious, beastly gaze of wanting to strip Hwawoon and taste him proved it. But instead of getting frightened, those eyes made Hwawoon feel feverishly excited. As if mesmerized, Hwawoon forgot his embarrassment, blinked slowly once, and answered, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor’s mouth curved into a beautiful arch. His large hand tightly clasped Hwawoon’s, and naturally, the two walked hand in hand through the courtyard of Seojeong Palace.

“When you return to Jeongan Palace in the near future, I’ll raise your rank to ‘bi’.”

“… That’s fine, Your Majesty. I want nothing of the sort.”

“I’d like to make you a noble concubine right away, but I can’t because the law is so troublesome.”

“Your Majesty…! Please don’t say that. I’m afraid someone will hear!”

“Why are you getting angry? I’m telling you I’ll give it to you.”

As the Emperor playfully teased Hwawoon, there was a glint of happiness in his eyes that had never been seen before. It goes without saying that Hwawoon’s eyes glinted the same way.

After this glorious summer, a cool autumn would come, and as the seasons passed, there would come a winter with a chilling wind. The fierce winds would sometimes hurt one’s heart and make them feel lonely and alone, but they needed not fear. No matter how cold and long the winter might be, it would eventually melt away under the warmth of the spring sun,

As long as they held each other’s hands through all the seasons, there would be no more dreadful days.

“I don’t need such a thing as a raise in rank. I…”

“Do you want anything else?”

“I… I don’t need anything else, as long as you’re by my side, Your Majesty.”

When he finished speaking, Hwawoon’s legs were no longer touching the ground. Even the short walk across the courtyard had become unbearable, and Yihan pulled him up into his arms.

Surprised, Hwawoon let out a short scream. The children of Seojeong Palace, who had been secretly watching the scene from a distance, lowered their heads, unable to contain their smiles, and pretended not to see the two people passing in front of them.

The brilliant sun shone dazzlingly down on the spot where they passed.

This was the story of a man, who was under a mean fate hated by all, and the Emperor, the only dream of that man.

The Hated Male Concubine—End.

T/N: Finally… It was such a long journey to finish this. I want to thank all of you who have read this far and for your good and supportive comments. There’s a side story (19+) to this novel, about 46 chapters, but I’m not sure yet if I’ll translate it. I want to finish the other novels I’m translating as they’re close to ending, and I heard the publisher of this novel has sent dmca to nu, so I’m being careful for the time being.

Once again, thanks and have a good day, everyone!!!