By Zephyria 
I fell asleep like a fool and didn’t get to see Seo-joo much. Today, especially, Seo-joo gazed at Hyun-wook and me as we were leaving, making it hard for me to walk away. Seo-joo is right there, so why do I have to leave?
My Seo-joo is right there, so why must I leave him behind and go? Repeating the same words to myself, I clutched my aching heart and stepped outside. I felt like a parent leaving a child behind.
“Hyun-wook, I want to get close to Seo-joo. I don’t think he remembers me. I think it would be better if we just became close again.”
“That sounds okay. His personality is a bit different from before, but the kid is still kind. He dropped honorifics with me pretty quickly. It’s a bit uncomfortable that he grumbles about why I don’t call him ‘hyung’…”
“He told you to call him hyung?”
“Yeah… What about you? Do you think you can bring yourself to say ‘hyung’?”
“It’s fine. I’ll just convince myself that we’re twins.”
Hyung… Just because he died six months before me, I have to call him hyung? Still, since he’s a year older here, I have no choice but to treat ‘hyung’ as his name and call him that.
“So, what are you doing with His Majesty today?”
“Today? Look at this. I’m going to an amusement park with His Majesty. I’m even going to wear a school uniform. It’s my first time going.”
“An amusement park? That sounds fun… but is that even possible? There will be so many people; for the Emperor and a concubine to go to an amusement park…”
“We have masks. The weather is cold, and everyone is wearing masks anyway. If I wear a big mask, people won’t know.”
“Your looks aren’t exactly inconspicuous. Are others going too? I still haven’t finished my disciplinary action, so I have work this evening.”
With a face full of worry, Hyun-wook asked if it would be okay, how many guards there were, and various other things.
“I’ll be careful. Let’s go together with Seo-joo next time.”
Looking at Hyun-wook, whose eyes grew round in surprise, I swelled with anticipation for the amusement park I was visiting for the first time. Since I was meeting Joo Min-hyeok today anyway, I decided to think about the plan to get close to Seo-joo after I returned.
∗ ∗ ∗
“Let’s see. It suits you well. So well that I almost feel sorry you couldn’t go to school because of me.”
Joo Min-hyeok wore a satisfied smile as he looked at me, who was bursting with excitement in the school uniform. Wow, he looks good in a uniform too. Because he’s tall and broad-shouldered, it wasn’t easy to find a fitting uniform, but fortunately, there were a few for Dominant Alphas, and he was able to choose one and wear it successfully.
“I wondered why there were so many students at the amusement park, but it turns out half the people in uniforms are adults.”
“Your Majesty still looks like a student when you wear a uniform like that.”
Since Joo Min-hyeok entered the Military Academy at a young age, he probably never got to wear a normal school uniform. I’ve been homeschooled since I came here, so I think it’s been several years since I last wore one. In my previous life, I found them so tedious and hated wearing them, but maybe it’s because this isn’t a real school uniform? My heart is actually racing.
“It was a good idea to come here. Since it’s indoors, I can just wear the uniform without putting anything over it.”
“If you like the uniform that much, I’ll buy every single one in the country for you. Now that I see you wearing it, I like this in its own way too.”
“What do you mean? Do you like the design of this uniform?”
Joo Min-hyeok hugged me from behind as I looked in the mirror, whispering into my ear while gazing at my reflection.
“I just like that you’re wearing a uniform. It would be fun to make you wear one and… do things.”
“Ack! Seriously! Don’t say things like that anywhere!”
“That’s why I’m only saying it to you. Hmm? Once I get back from America, you can comfortably wear a uniform and…”
Without even finishing his sentence, Joo Min-hyeok kissed my ear and cheek from behind. I barely managed to peel him off. Lately, he’s been saying a lot about wanting to relax after returning from America. It seems the Queen Dowager’s illness is more stressful than I thought.
“For now, let’s make sure we don’t get caught today.”
I showed him my determination for how hard I planned to play today by putting a mask over his face.
“I’m confident, but I feel like we’ll get caught because of you.”
“Me? Why me?”
I’m so ordinary with a uniform and a mask, so how would I get caught? You should worry about yourself, looking like an actor even in a uniform. If we get caught anywhere, it’ll be because of your physique. Joo Min-hyeok brought his face close to mine and grinned.
“If you keep calling me ‘Your Majesty, Your Majesty,’ even people who weren’t interested will start looking.”
Ah… that’s true. Then what should I call him?
“Why be so serious? Just call me something comfortable.”
Comfortable? The image of Joo Min-hyeok’s face, smiling brightly while breaking the door to my quarters, flashed through my mind again. I don’t think I can call him something ‘comfortable.’ As I avoided his gaze and turned my head, Joo Min-hyeok used his finger to turn my chin back to meet his eyes and whispered softly.
“Pick one. Min-hyeok, hyung, or honey.”
No.
“Or honey, hyung-ah, Min-hyeok-ah. Which one do you want?”
I hate them all. Then, a word I liked flashed through my mind.
“Sunbae? How about sunbae? Min-hyeok sunbae?”
“…Huh?”
Perhaps not expecting the word ‘sunbae,’ Joo Min-hyeok’s face suddenly turned red. Why is he blushing and acting shy, which doesn’t suit him at all?
“Min-hyeok sunbae. This title is okay, right? Now! Let’s go! Hurry up, sunbae.”
I dragged the dazed Joo Min-hyeok into the adventure zone. I felt incredibly excited as the vibrant energy that stirs people up surged through my entire body. As I began dragging Joo Min-hyeok here and there to sightsee, he was pulled along like a paper doll.
I lost track of how much time had passed while running, taking photos, and riding attractions. Because there were so many people, we had to wait in long lines, but even that was enjoyable. I worried about what would happen if someone recognized us despite the masks, but people were less interested in others than I thought, so there was no risk of us being discovered.
And as the day grew dark, the entire space began to sparkle. So this is why they told me to stay until the night opening. It was like a world from a fairy tale. Since being reborn here, I had never enjoyed something with such peace of mind. The more everything in the amusement park sparkled, the more my excitement grew.
Joo Min-hyeok and I bought animal-ear headbands and wore them together, and he obediently followed everything I did. He even rode every single attraction I asked him to. As expected, he wasn’t afraid of the rides at all.
“Isn’t this scary too?”
“Why would a facility made for enjoyment be scary? When I was doing military training…”
Ha, damn it, army talk again. I covered his masked mouth with my hand. I can’t listen to training stories even here.
“Let’s go over there. Your Maj—sunbae. Let’s take a photo over there.”
Every time I called him sunbae, Joo Min-hyeok looked at me with eyes that seemed like he wanted to devour me. I felt like I knew exactly what that look meant, so I deliberately changed the subject. No. Hold it in. I slightly lowered his mask and popped a piece of ice cream into his mouth.
However, perhaps because I fed him instead of him eating it himself, some soft-serve ice cream ended up on the corner of his mouth. When I quickly wiped the ice cream away, Joo Min-hyeok brought the ice cream I had wiped off to his lips and licked it.
“Ack! Seriously, what if someone sees!”
“So what if they do? What’s wrong with a married couple coming out to play and eating ice cream?”
“It’s not that, I’m worried people will crowd around us! If someone gets hurt…”
“Grand Imperial Concubine user. People aren’t interested in us. Look, everyone is focused on their own company and has no interest in others.”
Joo Min-hyeok lowered my mask to my chin and made me look around. With his chin resting on top of my head, I watched the people for a while. People who came out with friends, lovers, and family. In the eyes of those who looked so happy, would we look the same?
How wonderful would it be to keep living with this fluttering feeling, without any incidents or worries? Today was the most peaceful day of my life so far. I laughed the loudest and had no worries.
“Are you tired?”
“More than I thought. I’m realizing that you need physical strength even to play.”
“…Once I get back from America. Once things are settled a bit.”
“Things?”
“…Yeah. Once things are settled, shall we go to the overseas amusement parks you wanted to visit? Let’s just visit every amusement park in the world.”
“Really? I’d love that. I’m so excited. I’ll have to exercise a lot to build up my stamina. I heard some places are so huge you can’t see everything in one day. Your Majesty, you should exercise hard too.”
At the suggestion to exercise hard, Joo Min-hyeok let out a laugh as if it were absurd. This man is underestimating overseas amusement parks. The land is so vast that seeing it all would be an enormous task. It was only a plan, but I already felt as if I were there with Joo Min-hyeok.
“Then should I register for a gym with guard Kang Hyun-wook?”
“No, you can’t. Call the person to the palace.”
“Ah…”
I tried to work out with Seo-joo, but it didn’t work at all. Let’s think about this slowly. For now, it’s better to enjoy and focus on this moment. To think I feel this good just by coming to an amusement park not far from the palace; I must be a simpler person than I thought.
Strangely, Joo Min-hyeok held me tight and wouldn’t let go, and I just accepted his inexplicable clinginess. Is he exhausted from playing too much? I just stayed embraced by him against a wall of the amusement park and gazed at the picturesque scenery for a long time. Just watching without doing anything was also fun.
I wonder if we’ll really travel to all the amusement parks in the world like Joo Min-hyeok said. I’ll probably be just as happy then, right? Even just thinking about something that hasn’t happened yet brings a smile to my face. Yes. It’ll be fun. Because we have plenty of time to be together.