By Zephyria 
“I knew that crazy brat would be like that. How dare he blush while facing the Grand Imperial Concubine?”
Min-hyeok, having returned from the island, repeated the same words over and over as he signed a mountain of paperwork. The documents were the price he paid for drifting elsewhere these past few days. As soon as he returned, Min-hyeok threw himself into his work like a madman—all while repeating those words. Sang-seon, who had to listen to the same story repeatedly, felt as if his ears were about to bleed, but he endured and endured.
He was only putting up with it because Min-hyeok seemed more human lately. The fact that he showed emotion, and that he was shaken and agitated by those emotions, felt human enough to tolerate. Sang-seon could bear it because he wasn’t acting like a mechanical robot, working and moving without a shred of feeling.
“This is exactly why I moved all the Alphas from the island to the mainland. If they’re Alphas, there’s no way they wouldn’t be shaken after seeing Hae-joo. Right? That’s only normal.”
“…I was not.”
“Of course you weren’t.”
Suppressing his emotions with all his might, Sang-seon answered through gritted teeth. Looking up at him, Min-hyeok clicked his tongue and lowered his head again. Since these were documents he had already reviewed and read in advance, he simply moved his arm repeatedly to sign them, his mind filled with other thoughts.
The image of Hae-joo’s brightly smiling face wouldn’t leave his mind. It was a face Min-hyeok knew well. In the past, Hae-joo had always smiled like that for him. But now, he had shown that face to a young Alpha. That beautiful smile, and the gaze that looked at him as if he were the only person in the world, were no longer directed at him.
The topics of the conversation the two shared were incredibly mundane, yet Hae-joo’s interest was immense. Spicy stir-fried pork, pork cutlets, blood sausage soup. Min-hyeok couldn’t understand for the life of him why such things could lead to such a great rapport. They had lightly discussed going to play online games and suggested warming up with a game of basketball.
What did that young Alpha think an Omega was? An Omega’s physical strength is far inferior to that of an Alpha. They were likely even weaker than Betas. Moreover, Hae-joo was someone who had been exceptionally frail. He probably wouldn’t even be able to attempt most of the exercises they talked about. The sight of him attempting to flirt so clumsily without even knowing anything about Hae-joo was maddeningly irritating.
“Sang-seon. Do you remember what I said back then? That emotion starts with liking someone. I didn’t expect that brat to keep getting entangled with the Grand Imperial Concubine in such a strange way, to the point where they’d become close enough to see each other’s smiling faces. And in just a few days.”
“It is quite common for people to become close once long-standing grievances are resolved.”
If long-standing grievances are resolved, they can become close…? That was a decent point. Pleased by Sang-seon’s blunt answer, Min-hyeok lifted his head from the documents.
“Then I could go back to how things were with him too, right? Right? If our emotions are resolved….”
“I am not sure if that is possible, as your relationship has festered far deeper than what one could call mere ‘long-standing grievances.’”
Contrary to Min-hyeok’s intention of inducing a pleasant answer while running his hope-circuit, Sang-seon provided a fitting example of the difficult emotions between the two. Thanks to that, the atmosphere turned chilly once again. However, as if stating a simple fact, Sang-seon continued.
“…Something that has festered must be lanced. Recovery takes a long time, but there is no better way. If left alone, the wound only deepens until it becomes irreparable. Even if it is painful and agonizing, you must touch the wound directly.”
Sang-seon’s tone was so dry that it sounded like he was speaking half-heartedly, but there was no answer more lucid than this. It wasn’t just a decent answer; it was a perfect one. Therefore, Min-hyeok decided to overlook the rude remark Sang-seon had muttered—’though it would have been better if you hadn’t let it fester in the first place.’
A festering part must be cut open and the inflammation drained to heal. If his relationship with Hae-joo had festered to the limit, he just had to cut it all open and treat the wound. Then, what method should he employ to improve his relationship with Hae-joo?
“Your Majesty, you aren’t perhaps agonizing over how to go about this, are you?”
Correct. Sang-seon was quick-witted. He could read exactly what Min-hyeok was thinking just by looking at his expression; there was a reason his family had served the Emperors for generations. Min-hyeok nodded at Sang-seon’s question. It was true that he was pondering how to find a proper solution.
“Yeah. I’m about to start thinking about it. But why? Am I not allowed to think?”
“Ha, no, Your Majesty.”
Sang-seon rudely let out a snort in front of Min-hyeok. His face was full of disbelief. He stared at Min-hyeok, seemingly unaware of the expression on his own face.
“Your Majesty has nothing to agonize over. I’m telling you, you are not in a position to be ‘agonizing’.”
“I am worried, so what do you mean I shouldn’t agonize? I don’t understand.”
“You just need to throw yourself on the ground and apologize. You are not in a position to say anything else—no, you aren’t even in a position where you can say anything else. Just follow the Grand Imperial Concubine user around, beg for forgiveness, admit you were wrong, cling to him….”
When Min-hyeok stared at him, Sang-seon quickly shut his mouth, as if realizing he had crossed the line in his excitement. However, Min-hyeok’s expression was strange. That face wasn’t one of anger toward a subordinate’s rude behavior. It was a face of genuine confusion. Min-hyeok looked uncharacteristically puzzled, and Sang-seon wanted to know why the Emperor was making such a face.
“Why is your expression… like that, Your Majesty?”
“Are you telling me to apologize? I know how to say I’m sorry. If I beg and cling to him a bit more excessively than that, will that really be enough?”
“…Pardon?”
“No, that’s what you’re saying. To apologize. That all I have to do is apologize. But isn’t that too simple? From what I can see, Hae-joo’s emotions aren’t so light that they can be settled with a mere apology.”
“Your Majesty…?”
Sang-seon’s face crumpled as he realized what Min-hyeok’s expression meant.
“Simple? No. Your Majesty. That is not the case. The weight of those words is not that light.”
“Apologizing has never been difficult for me. It was never a serious matter.”
“I am telling you, it is not. You truly do not know how great the influence of a sincere apology can be, Your Majesty.”
Sang-seon beat his chest in frustration, causing Min-hyeok to frown and stop signing the documents.
“Then are there people who apologize without sincerity? Everyone puts sincerity into their apology when they apologize.”
“A sincere apology has a positive effect not only on the person receiving it but also on the person giving it. It is an action taken with an understanding of the meaning of an apology and with genuine intent, and those who apologize sincerely are granted forgiveness.”
Min-hyeok listened quietly as Sang-seon emphasized that receiving forgiveness through a sincere apology was the most important part.
“Forgiveness shakes a person’s conscience and becomes salvation for those who are haunted by guilt and regret for the rest of their lives. It is a result that can only be obtained through an apology from the heart. That is what an apology is.”
Words that become salvation. Min-hyeok had never thought of it that way. A desperate apology from the heart. Because of that, he couldn’t imagine what that emotion felt like, nor did he have a sense of it. To think that a sign of regret could be such a serious word—honestly, it didn’t resonate with him.
It wasn’t that Min-hyeok had never apologized just because he was the Emperor. When discussing politics with his ministers, or when he had upset the heart of his mother, the Queen Dowager, Min-hyeok had felt regret and apologized. In fact, Min-hyeok was not a stingy person when it came to apologies.
If he did something wrong, he admitted it and apologized immediately. Once he offered words of apology, the other party would immediately let go of their emotions, and their relationship would soon improve. Because it had always been this way, apologizing was not a difficult task for Min-hyeok. Rather, it was very easy.
Since everyone accepted it and moved on with a single “I’m sorry,” it was the easiest thing in the world for Min-hyeok. That was why the answer Sang-seon gave him felt strange. If Hae-joo wanted an apology, he would obviously give one. If that could resolve things, he would do it a hundred times, a thousand times. But he had been inwardly wondering because he didn’t think Hae-joo would soften his heart with a single apology.
“Since Your Majesty is the Emperor, it must have been easy for you. I understand. I also find it hard to imagine a minister who would not accept the Emperor’s apology. However, for the Grand Imperial Concubine user, it will not be easy, Your Majesty. Absolutely not. It will absolutely not be easy.”
Knowing Sang-seon’s personality, Min-hyeok felt nervous for the first time at his words. Sang-seon was not the type to be melodramatic. He was not a man who exaggerated situations; he always faced reality head-on. Therefore, there would be no lie in the words Sang-seon was emphasizing with that expression. He was a man who always spoke the truth.
“His wound is not a shallow one that can be ended with a single apology. I hope you reflect on this carefully, Your Majesty. Write down the things the user suffered and the things Your Majesty did, side by side. You must understand the fundamental cause.”
“That’s not a bad method. The fundamental cause….”
In truth, Min-hyeok wasn’t unaware of that cause. He knew it was all because of his own actions—judging everything alone and proceeding on his own. Because trust and faith had been broken, Hae-joo could not trust Min-hyeok and remained silent. Since they didn’t communicate, the situation became even worse. This unavoidable situation was entirely Min-hyeok’s fault.
“Still, since the probability of failure is high, it would be wise to think of an alternative as well. It would be good for you to know how to compose your emotions or how to overcome the pain of being rejected.”
Min-hyeok couldn’t react to Sang-seon’s cold-hearted advice. To think that the ‘alternative’ wasn’t a next strategy, but a way to compose his heart upon rejection. Sang-seon was even recommending behavior to prepare for the possibility of being turned down. It was a proper suggestion and a correct point, but Min-hyeok did not want to be rejected. Because he had never been rejected once in his life, he was also afraid.