40 – VCR

“No, it’s fine. Don’t say it. There’s nothing to say anyway. What could you possibly have kept from me?”

Huh? Actually, quite a lot…. First he tells me to speak, then he tells me not to—what is he even doing? I hadn’t intended to confess everything in detail, but Joo Min-hyeok, who had suddenly cut me off as if he didn’t want to hear it, was now rambling incoherently like a flustered man.

“You’re right. It’s true that I avoided you, just as you suspected. But it wasn’t for that reason. I don’t know what you heard and where, but it’s absolutely not because I’m bored of you or because I only like your body. That’s completely ridiculous.”

Joo Min-hyeok seemed so desperate that it felt like he was frantically trying to stop me from speaking. Why is he acting so pitiful? It almost makes me feel bad for wanting to ask if he has intermittent explosive disorder. He’s the one who messed up, so why am I the one feeling sorry?

“The reason… I did that. It was just because I was upset.”

“Upset? About what?”

“…Because you seemed closer to Guard Kang Hyun-wook than to me.”

“What?”

Words I truly never expected came out of Joo Min-hyeok’s mouth. Why did he think that? What did he see that made him think Hyun-wook and I were close? I couldn’t understand. Hyun-wook and I strictly separated public and private life; we didn’t exchange a single word in front of others, let alone in front of Joo Min-hyeok.

I really don’t understand what he saw to lead him to that conclusion. However, since Joo Min-hyeok is exceptionally intuitive and quick-witted, he might have sensed something from a very minor detail. Now that he’s said it, I couldn’t just brush it off.

“Why did you think that?”

“Because you looked close.”

His eyes, looking down at me, were full of disappointment. If he’s this upset, he must have definitely seen something. Maybe he accidentally witnessed the two of us joking around. Damn. That would be a problem. No, wait. If he had seen that, it wouldn’t have ended with him just whining like this.

When the two of us are alone, we aren’t in a superior-subordinate relationship but act like true friends. With Joo Min-hyeok’s personality, if he had seen that, it wouldn’t have ended with just destroying the Imperial Pavilion like he did earlier. Then what was it? Or maybe he didn’t see us joking directly, but heard about it through someone else. Ah, this is hard. Married life is hard. Husbands are truly difficult.

“Your Majesty, what did you see?”

At my question, Joo Min-hyeok’s pupils shook violently.

“…Not directly. Through someone….”

“Through whom?”

So he did hear something. By the way, I don’t know why I find it so funny and cute to see Joo Min-hyeok sitting on the edge of the bathtub with a sulky face. I’ve felt this for a while, but I must be crazy too, acting like this after seeing him radiate killing intent and smash the whole house.

At my question, Joo Min-hyeok shut his mouth and couldn’t speak. He probably finds it difficult to say who it was. I wanted to know what he had heard, what it was that made him so upset he avoided me, and if there had been a misunderstanding during the process of the information being passed along.

“Then, were you very hurt?”

“It wasn’t an environment where we could easily open our hearts to each other, but it took a long time for me to get close to you. It took a long time just to speak once or to understand your inner thoughts, so I hated how easily Kang Hyun-wook became close with the Grand Imperial Concubine.”

The word ‘hated’ came openly from Joo Min-hyeok’s mouth. Ah, so he hated Hyun-wook. Then he must have been bothered the whole time. I infer that personal feelings were heavily mixed into this recent disciplinary action. Poor guy.

“I hated how he treated you comfortably, showing a side of you that you never showed me, as if you were without reserve. It was like that from the start. I can still remember the way you two looked at each other.”

I remember that too. That was the day I first perceived Joo Min-hyeok’s pheromones and my own pheromones erupted. Perhaps Hyun-wook had an influence on that as well. From the perspective of Joo Min-hyeok, who doesn’t know our deep history, it could be quite hurtful.

I hadn’t thought that far. That’s because I had always believed that Joo Min-hyeok would naturally fall in love with the Movie Palace [Hae-joo] by his side.

Since I never expected our relationship to deepen like this or for the Movie Palace to throw himself at me, I thought our story would follow the flow of the novel. It’s absurd how much the story has changed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even guess that you would be hurt. Because Guard Kang Hyun-wook and I are just pure friends. We’re just the same age. And, Your Majesty.”

Having made a decision, I took Joo Min-hyeok’s hand.

“It sounds a bit grandiose, so it’s embarrassing, but, um…. When the right time comes, I’ll be sure to tell you how I became close with Kang Hyun-wook.”

I couldn’t say anything else. It’s true that promising to explain the situation between me and Hyun-wook is a burdensome task. Since the emotions between me and Joo Min-hyeok are still swinging wildly, I want to tell him when things stabilize enough for a minimum level of loyalty to form between the two of us. Though I don’t know when that time will be.

Joo Min-hyeok, who had been staring at me, lowered his gaze. His face, as he held my hand, looked complex, mixed with many emotions. I don’t know if there’s another reason I’m unaware of, or if his hurt is too great for him to believe my words.

Joo Min-hyeok avoided me because he was upset about the relationship between me and Kang Hyun-wook, only visiting to see my face at night, and I was upset by that, so I slept in a different room for a day, and things ended up like this. Joo Min-hyeok couldn’t stand it and smashed my quarters, and I wailed and threw a tantrum, so I’m worried about what the subordinates think.

They probably think we’re a couple of total nuisances. Listing it out like this, we really are young. Because both of us learned Imperial etiquette from a young age and did the tasks assigned to our respective positions, our speech and behavior were bound to be different from our peers. But seeing this, the way we both handled things was truly childish.

“And you know what?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t do things like this with anyone else, not even Kang Hyun-wook. Because this is something I can only do with Your Majesty.”

I leaned in toward Joo Min-hyeok’s face and kissed his cheek and lips. I wanted to do it more intensely, but I held back, fearing I would break the mood. However, perhaps that clumsy charm of its own pressed Joo Min-hyeok’s excitement button.

“It would be a disaster if you did this with another guy.”

Of course, it would be a disaster. But I have one certainty. The certainty that I wouldn’t be included in that disaster. Joo Min-hyeok probably wouldn’t attack me no matter what. It’s just my vague belief, but I decided to think that way for my own peace of mind.

Joo Min-hyeok cupped the back of my head, his face drawing closer, and a warm, soft tongue entered my mouth. His lips, which swept and sucked at the roof of my mouth and the inside of my cheeks, pulled away after a long while. Then, Joo Min-hyeok stripped off my pajamas, lifted me up, and sat me on his lap.

“Your Majesty, I think our emotional line is too extreme.”

“Then we can just manage it now.”

As if he had been waiting, Joo Min-hyeok took my cheek into his mouth and sucked. Is a couple’s fight really like cutting water with a knife? After smashing everything and fighting, it ends up like this.

“Shall we skip the middle process today?”

Joo Min-hyeok grabbed my waist and lifted me up. The bathroom was already filled with the scent of grass emitted by Joo Min-hyeok. Excited by those pheromones, I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and hair to support my body.

His lips, now at the same height as my chest, sucked on my breast, rubbing his cheek and face against my nipple. At that obscene sight, my pheromones were released frantically, and slick lubrication poured from my hole. Not missing the timing, Joo Min-hyeok’s finger slid smoothly inside.

“Ah, hng…. It’s cold. Why are your hands so col—!”

“It’s okay, wait. My finger and your inside will both get hot soon.”

After stroking my smooth, hairless genitals once, his finger pushed back into my hole, frantically thrusting and sweeping the inner walls. I tightened my insides at the sudden invasion, and excited by that feeling, Joo Min-hyeok’s hand movements became faster.

Spreading the shower gown hanging nearby on the floor of the tub, Joo Min-hyeok laid me down. Then, after stroking his menacing member a few times, he spread my legs and entered straight inside. This was the first time he had entered so quickly.

“Ah! Ha-euk. Your, Majesty.”

“Haa…. Hae-joo.”

Without hesitation, Joo Min-hyeok pushed all the way in at once. The lubrication inside me was pushed out simultaneously. The sound of that fluid escaping was erotic no matter when I heard it.

Joo Min-hyeok pulled his member out and then thrust back in deeply. Having tamed my inside with strong movements, Joo Min-hyeok’s pace began to quicken. His eyes, blurred with excitement, wavered with desire as he looked at me. Shaking uncontrollably, I felt relieved that Joo Min-hyeok was aroused by me.

“Grand Imperial Concubine, Hae-joo. Now, without a word, you can’t go anywhere.”

Due to the exceptionally rough and strong piston-like thrusting in a short amount of time, I almost flipped backward, but Joo Min-hyeok did not allow me to faint. My body trembled from the deep and fast thrusts, and I ejaculated. My semen unexpectedly flew onto Joo Min-hyeok’s face, and he accepted it, smearing it on the back of his hand and sucking it with his mouth.

“It’s strange. Your semen always smells sweet.”

Whispering sweet words, Joo Min-hyeok grabbed my legs, spread them wide, and entered even deeper. Soon, the fast hip movements continued. A smile spread across his face, drenched in pleasure. The moment I saw that smile, I realized I wouldn’t be able to sleep today.