The Hated Male Concubine

In the distance, Yihan saw Hwawoon, who was walking without his palanquin again, then furrowed his brows at once. He couldn’t understand why the person, who just suffered a while ago, was walking this path with his own feet.

“That’s not my business.”

However, today, Yihan was determined to be very indifferent and moved past Yeon Hwawoon calmly. He thought he wouldn’t care whether Yeon Hwawoon walked with two feet or not, whether he got tired from walking or not, whether he was sick or not. Therefore, Yihan tried hard to turn back his eyes, which kept moving to one side, to the center, and leaned his back properly.

Today, he could see a narrow waist due to the wide waist strap. Yihan looked straight again.

How come purple, which could look tacky if it was worn wrong, looked so good from the back. Yihan looked straight again.

When Ahjin, who was walking next to him, said something, he turned his head and looked at Ahjin, then smiled brightly—making him wonder what kind of talk they had. Yihan quickly looked forward again.

In the meantime, Hwawoon, who felt the signs of a palanquin getting closer, looked back and found the emperor. He stepped back to one side of the road, bent his knees, and greeted him. Yihan’s lips flinched for a moment.

Yihan had a lot to say if he stopped and got off the palanquin. Are you feeling better? Why are you walking without riding a palanquin when you are just getting better? What if you lie down in pain again, are you planning to make me worry? He felt like all kinds of trivial and childish words were exploding like fireworks in his head.

Therefore, Yihan shut his mouth tighter. As the palanquin began to pass by Hwawoon, he seemed to itch all over for some reason and a stuffy groan burst out from his throat, but he could endure this much because he was the emperor.

I just need to get used to him. Adding unnecessary disputes to draw out Yeon Hwawoon’s past self is actually no different from getting played on Yeon Hwawoon’s palm, so I can just look at him calmly, admit it, and pass by him like now. Then, things like thinking about Yeon Hwawoon all day will not happen. Those were all Yihan hoped for now.

Finally, Yihan, who did not order to stop, did not turn his head, and safely passed Yeon Hwawoon, opened his mouth.

“Oh Jinsung.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” 

“Take a look at Yeon Hwawoon now without getting noticed.”

Eunuch Oh looked confused as he heard Yihan’s sudden order, but he turned his head secretly as ordered and looked at Hwawoon, whom they had already passed by. When the eunuch turned his head again and looked ahead, Yihan, who leaned toward Eunuch Oh on the palanquin, whispered.

“How is Yeonbin’s expression?” 

“Is this about His Highness Yeonbin’s expression…”

“Yes. He looks confused because I just pass by without looking at him, right?”

Listening to Yihan’s voice that somehow sounded excited, Eunuch Oh finally looked like he understood. It seemed like he got himself in a very awkward situation. Yihan then asked again, 

“He must be very confused. In his opinion, I would get off the palanquin and criticize him again, but I pretended to not see him and passed by. So, he must think something is wrong, right?” 

Eunuch Oh’s lips twitched. Yeonbin, whom he looked at, was only calmly waiting for the emperor’s palanquin to move past him and then raised his body with a neat movement—showing no other emotion. However, even though Eunuch Oh was someone who had the thickest face due to his long palace life, it was hard for him to tell it to the emperor now.

“As expected, I was right. In the future, things will never go the way Yeonbin wants them to.”

Suddenly, Yihan made a conclusion alone as if Eunuch Oh’s answer was not important at all. Then, he looked forward again with a proud face.

What’s the big deal about that? What was so hard about passing by Yeonbin once? 

The emperor’s face, which Eunuch Oh looked up at, was like a proud child who just got a big prize. Thus, he couldn’t bring himself to say that Yeonbin didn’t give any meaning to the emperor walking past him. 

***

“His Majesty is just passing by today.” 

Ahjin said with a look of regret while supporting Hwawoon to get up after greeting the emperor by kneeling. Hwawoon looked at the emperor’s palanquin that was moving away, and looked back at Ahjin with a light smile.

“His Majesty is a busy person. There’s no need for him to stay if he doesn’t have anything else to say.”

“Erm, that’s right…” 

Ahjin knew that Hwawoon was right, but she felt regret because the Emperor rarely passed by her master nowadays. However, she thought that the fact she was feeling regret about this meant that the relationship between the emperor and her master had changed a lot. Feeling better again, Ahjin softly raised Hwawoon up and spoke lightly.

“Anyway, Your Highness. Aren’t you tired?” 

“I’m fine. My body feels lighter after walking, so I like it.”

“Still, if you feel tired later, don’t push yourself and tell me. Okay?”

“Okay, okay. I got you. So stop worrying now.”

From Hwawoon’s perspective, he chose to walk because he thought it would be a help for his body, but it seemed that Ahjin, who had been taking care of Yeonbin’s body for a long time, was still worried.

The seasons gradually changed, and currently, the sun was strong enough to make the skin hot, but it was a moderately warm day before noon, so it was a very good day to walk. Hwawoon, who always had a cooler body temperature than others, felt better in the warm sunlight that gently wrapped his body, and walked on the way to Jeongan Palace with a subtle smile around his mouth.

Right at that moment, Ahjin read a very subtle surrounding atmosphere. As Hwawoon’s complexion did not seem to get worse, Ahjin was able to look around with a little relief, but then she felt that the atmosphere around Hwawoon had changed somewhat.

At first, she couldn’t immediately realize that. The reason was likely because it was a kind of atmosphere that Ahjin herself had not yet experienced. However, soon after, Ahjin realized the meaning of the unfamiliar gaze she was feeling.

The faces of the court ladies, who ran across Hwawoon and greeted him. The stealing glances. The whispering voices she couldn’t hear completely.

All those were emotions towards Hwawoon that were different from the past. Whenever Hwawoon kindly accepted the greetings from people he ran across, whenever he looked at them without realizing he wore a smile, Ahjin could read the confusion and faint excitement on their faces.

In the past, Yeonbin boarded a palanquin, so everyone but Jeongan Palace courtiers was always busy bowing their heads whenever they met him. There was no chance for them to see His Highness Yeonbin, who was rumored to change completely, in front of their eyes. However, because Hwawoon walked at the same eye level, it was certain that they gradually felt the change of Yeonbin, who they wanted to avoid so badly.

It wasn’t intentional, but Ahjin’s back stood upright automatically. Her shoulders squared up, and the unbearable delight kept curving her lips. Whenever her master drew a smile, someone walking by couldn’t take their eyes off and lost their minds.

I heard His Highness Yeonbin became a very different person, and I think that’s true.

Ay, are you for real? How can that person’s personality change that easily?

Well, I thought so, but I met His Highness Yeonbin today. He accepted my greeting while smiling softly. You see, he was just like a blinding beautiful gentleman.

I also met His Highness Yeonbin last time. He always wore an expression like a demon, so I never realized it, but he is so beautiful. My heart thumped and it got me in trouble.

Ahjin felt like she had already heard the voices of people whispering in the distance.

“Ahjin, why are you suddenly smiling like that?”

It seemed like she ended up completely showing a proud expression. Her master looked at her with a questioning look, and she felt her master was lovely—although Ahjin never thought she would use that word to her master. She looked at her master’s face that could not be explained except with ‘lovely’ and said,

“I’m just… happy.”

She always envied others who met good masters while she lived her long life serving Hwawoon. However, she got a strong feeling that soon, she might become the most envied court lady, so on the way returning to Jeongan Palace with Hwawoon, Ahjin couldn’t stop her smile.