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a-blue-secret · 3 years

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CHAPTER XIX

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Chapter XVIII | Chapter XIX | Chapter XX

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: none!

WORD COUNT: 6k+

AN: Well, I decided that I've given you guys enough angst to make you hate me, so this is a chapter full of fluff to compensate! Also, this chapter starts around the time that Beomgyu came back to Aruyeo and ranted to Yeonjun about how he'd yelled at Taehyun. Just wanted to clear that up :)

SUMMARY: Best friends turned enemies, Kang Taehyun has managed to trick Choi Beomgyu into his service, and to rule for a year and a day, until his youngest brother would be old enough to take the throne. Choi Beomgyu has no intention of being obedient however, and tries to thwart Taehyun’s orders at every turn. With a growing amount of distrust and lies within the court, will Taehyun manage to keep the kingdom of Gojongja from falling apart?

Yeonjun walked through the hallways, humming to himself. He had just talked to Beomgyu out in the Palace fields, and felt pretty smug about how the conversation had went. He'd managed to convince Beomgyu to apologise to Taehyun after he had yelled at the vizier, for which Beomgyu felt curiously guilty about. He knew that it wasn't just Beomgyu's gentle heart which meant he wanted to apologise, but rather it was because of much deeper feelings. Yeonjun smiled to himself, stopping in front of his door.

He threw the door dramatically and entered his room, grinning. Hueningkai looked up from under the bed.

“Oh? Why are you so happy?”

Yeonjun regarded Hueningkai from under the bed. “Right, I think that when I enter I’m gonna knock five times before I open the door so you know it’s me.”

“Good,” Hueningkai said in relief, crawling out. “It’s so hard to keep diving under there.” He walked back to his desk. “So why are you smiling so much?”

Yeonjun, still grinning, went to sit in his armchair. “I may have single handedly gotten Taehyun and Beomgyu together.”

Now. Maybe we should pause here for a teensy second.

If you thought that Yeonjun hadn’t shipped Beomgyu and Taehyun from day one, then you are terribly wrong because, well, Yeonjun had shipped them from day one. That very first day, when he’d talked to them both in the King’s Corner, he’d taken note of their bickering dynamic and sized them up immediately. ‘Interesting… These two are definitely in love,’ had been his very first thought. So even if Beomgyu and Taehyun hadn’t known they loved each other, Yeonjun definitely saw it, and backed it wholeheartedly. He’d noticed the way Beomgyu always started talking about Taehyun with a distinct faraway look in his eyes, and how Taehyun cared so much about the wellbeing of Beomgyu (even though he probably didn’t realise himself how much he worried about the other) and how he talked about Beomgyu literally all the time.

Needless to say, Yeonjun noticed it all, and had been secretly shipping them ever since.

“No way,” Hueningkai said, open-mouthed.

“Yes way,” Yeonjun said proudly, crossing his legs. “I convinced Beomgyu to go apologise, and I have no doubt that they’ll end up talking about everything between them, including the romantic tension.” He shook his head amusedly. “Wow, sometimes I surprise myself with my own intelligence.”

Hueningkai twisted his lips sceptically. “Do you even know where Taehyun is?”

“Probably in the gyms. Like he usually is when he’s stressed. I think he’s in there right now.”

“Ah, okay,” Hueningkai nodded. “Oh wow. But… are you sure that they’re, you know… in love? Because Taehyun was homophobic, wasn’t he?”

“I bet that’s just his built-in reaction to homosexuality. I’m sure that he reacted so severely to Beomgyu coming out because he realised he also had feelings for him,” Yeonjun said, waving his hand nonchalantly. He gave a laugh. “Plus, it’s obvious as hell,” Yeonjun said, grinning. “Taehyun’s ears always go bright red when he talks about Beomgyu, but I don’t even think he knows it. And Beomgyu… he talks about Taehyun in such an endeared way that it’s impossible not to notice how in love he is.”

“If you say so,” Hueningkai said, smiling.

Yeonjun beamed back, before gasping. “Also, I saw this really cute Lord today! He’s so tall… and has dimples!”

Hueningkai laughed at how Yeonjun was obviously fawning over this cute Lord. “What’s his name?”

“Soobin,” Yeonjun sighed dreamily. “Even his name sounds cute…”

“Be careful,” Hueningkai warned. “You know who else is famous for having dimples.”

Yeonjun blinked, before swatting Hueningkai’s words away. “We’ve been over this before, Hyuka. It’s just a myth, okay? He doesn’t exist. Besides, I always learnt that he has freckles too.”

Hueningkai frowned. “No he doesn’t,” he said. “His skin is meant to be milky white and clear, with only a mole under his right eye.”

Yeonjun blinked. “Huh? No, the myths say that he has tanned skin, which is why his blue eyes stand out.”

Hueningkai tilted his head. “Doesn’t he have yellow eyes?”

Yeonjun stared, confused, before shaking his head. “You’re making me confused! Anyway, the myths aren’t factual, which we’ve just established. Don’t worry, I’m sure Soobin’s good. He doesn’t have yellow eyes or blue eyes or a mole under his eye. He just has really warm brown eyes and normal skin.”

Hueningkai smiled. “Only joking. I’m sure this Soobin guy is really cute or whatever.”

“He’s super cute!” Yeonjun said excitedly. “I mean it, he really is!”

Hueningkai laughed. “Alright, alright. Back to the Taehyun and Beomgyu thing, though. Will it work?”

“Oh, sure, sure! I’m sure it will. Trust me. We won’t have any sort of problem at all.”

Yeonjun beamed at Hueningkai, and he couldn’t help but smile. The younger turned back to his work, the smile still on his face. He hadn’t seen Yeonjun look so happy in ages. It was nice.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“We have a problem!” Yeonjun said, bursting into the room.

“Seriously??” Hueningkai exclaimed, looking up from where he’d hastily scrambled under the bed. “What did you say you were going to do about knocking?”

“Whoops. But anyway, we have a problem!” Yeonjun sat down on the bed and began talking to Hueningkai urgently. “Taehyun changed his schedule! He’s now going to the gyms during the day, instead of at night. What if Beomgyu doesn’t catch him?”

“Is that it?” Hueningkai scoffed, heaving himself out from under the bed and coming to sit beside Yeonjun. “Beomgyu isn’t stupid. I’m sure he’ll figure out in a couple of days. Plus, you could just tell him yourself instead of just watching and waiting for him to figure it out.”

“Yeah, but that will seem pushy,” Yeonjun sighed.

Hueningkai side-eyed him. “Why do you want them to ‘get together’ so badly, anyway?”

“Beomgyu reminds me of us,” Yeonjun explained. “No– he reminds me of you. Bright-eyed, bubbly, excitable, and kind hearted.” He ruffled Hueningkai’s hair affectionately. “I’ve always wanted the best for you, haven’t I? I feel like, by helping Beomgyu be happy, I get to do all the things I failed to do for you.”

Hueningkai tilted his head. “But I am happy?”

“Not in that way. Happy and free. You and I…” He gave another sigh. “We’re bound to a cause. We can’t be free. I’m really sorry about that, Hyuka,” Yeonjun said. “We should have just run away from Aruyeo. We shouldn’t have become spies.”

“It’s alright,” Hueningkai said, resting his head on Yeonjun’s shoulder. “It was my idea anyway, wasn’t it? It’s alright. I wanted to be a spy.”

Yeonjun gave a sad smile, resting his head on top of Hueningkai’s. “But still, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Hueningkai insisted. “It’s fine.” He wrapped his arms around Yeonjun’s middle, patting his stomach. “I love you, big bro.”

Yeonjun put his arms around Hueningkai’s shoulders, hugging him. “Love you too, little bro.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Hueningkai lifted his head. He could hear Yeonjun’s hurried footsteps approaching the door. Any moment now, he’d throw open the door with some ‘important’ announcement.

Three, two, one…

There were five, quick knocks and Yeonjun burst in, looking triumphant.

“I have an important announcement! He found him! Beomgyu found Taehyun!”

Hueningkai smiled. He knew Yeonjun well.

“That’s good, right?”

“Yep! Quick, get your crystal gazing ball! We need to see what they’re doing!!”

Hueningkai raised an eyebrow amusedly. “Aren’t you the person who said it was immoral to spy on them?”

Yeonjun flapped his arms around, waving away Hueningkai’s words. “What I said before was irrelevant! I want to make sure they’re okay! Come on, come on!”

“Alright, alright! Just calm down, okay? Don’t break it. I’ve only just made this one.” Hueningkai handed his gazing ball to Yeonjun, who immediately grabbed it.

“Do you have a strand of Taehyun’s hair?” Yeonjun asked. He suddenly went over to the bed, rummaging through the sheets. With a triumphant ‘Ha!’ he brandished a strand of hair. “It’s still left over from when he was staying in our room. Go on, do your magic thing!”

Hueningkai rolled his eyes affectionately at Yeonjun’s excited manner, and infused the hair strand into the ball, handing it back to the elder.

As an image began to slowly appear inside the ball’s surface, Yeonjun sat down on the bed more comfortably. “Is there a way to get sound on this thing?”

Hueningkai looked back from his desk. “No,” he said. “It’s a gazing ball. Not a speaker.”

Yeonjun pouted. “Fine.” He gasped. “Oh look, Beomgyu’s come in!”

Perhaps it was a little creepy that Yeonjun was intently watching his friends through a crystal gazing ball, as if he was watching a drama or something. But hey, Yeonjun was curious by nature, which was one of the reasons he was such a good spy. He didn’t rest until he’d found out his answer. Plus, he had good intentions. Hueningkai knew that, which was why he wasn’t objecting to Yeonjun spying on Beomgyu and Taehyun.

But still, he had his limits.

“No! Taehyun, what are you doing?? Don’t wave your sword at Beomgyu! No no no, it’s all going wrong!” Yeonjun gasped, watching the crystal ball.

Hueningkai, recording some chemicals into his notebook, frowned. He looked up at Yeonjun, who was absorbed in what Beomgyu and Taehyun were doing. Yeonju had his fingernails in his mouth, biting them nervously. When he gave a dramatic gasp, shaking the ball in desperation, Hueningkai stood up and confiscated the gazing ball.

“Wait, give it back! No, what are you doing?”

Wordlessly, Hueningkai went to his desk and smashed the ball with a hammer. Yeonjun gaped as the glass shards rolled off the table, onto the floor.

“Now I don’t know what’s going to happen next!” Yeonjun complained.

“Then why don’t you go down and see for yourself?” Hueningkai said. When Yeonjun hesitated, he began to scold him, brandishing his hammer at him. “You’re treating them like they’re some sort of theatre show,” he berated. “They’re real people, you know. Treat them with some respect, will you?”

At Yeonjun’s guilty face, he sighed. “I know you mean well, Yeonjun,” he said. “But like you said. It’s immoral. They’re our friends, and it’s not good to spy on your friends. Besides, don’t you have a meeting with Taehyun and Beomgyu tomorrow? You can ask them then.”

Remembering that, Yeonjun perked up. “Oh yeah, you’re right! It’s technically just a meeting with Taehyun, but if things have gone well between them, Beomgyu might tag along.”

“Well then, you can ask them then, right?” Hueningkai said.

“Fine,” Yeonjun sighed, flopping back down onto the bed. “I’ll ask them tomorrow.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

The next morning, Taehyun awoke with a sleepy yawn, stretching. For some reason, he felt ridiculously happy, but he just wasn’t sure why.

As he was opening the curtains, he gave a yelp, remembering what had happened the day before. Immediately, his ears began to warm and a flush creeped up his face. Flustered, he placed his hands over his cheeks, trying to prevent them becoming any pinker.

“I kissed Beomgyu…” he whispered. “Beomgyu loves me??” He gave a very un-Taehyun-like squeak, covering his face with his hands.

If someone had told him three months ago that his first kiss would be with his childhood best friend-turned-enemy, he would have scoffed in their face. He and Beomgyu had been enemies for well over three years. But somehow, it felt strangely right that his first kiss would be with Beomgyu, and not anyone else.

Suddenly, Taehyun paused in his thoughts, peeking from behind his hands.

“Wait…” he said softly. “So… I like Beomgyu too?” He frowned. “I do?” He thought back, thinking of all the times he’d accidentally zoned out because he’d been admiring Beomgyu’s beauty for too long, or the times he’d been worried sick about Beomgyu because of the other constantly getting into dangerous situations, or even the times when they were little, when they were just Beomie and Tyun, just the two of them against the whole world.

His face softened, and he realised: yes, he really did love Beomgyu. He really, really did.

But then he frowned. This was all so sudden for him, though… what if he made things awkward?

Just at that moment, someone knocked softly on his door, and Beomgyu’s bright face peered inside. When he saw Taehyun, his face brightened further and he skipped happily into the room. He looked so young and bubbly that it was like seeing the Beomgyu from five years ago, when they were still in court together, by each other’s side. A fond smile tugged at the corners of his lips. Beomgyu was practically glowing. Is that what love did to you? Actually, no, he corrected himself. That's what a love requited does to you.

Beomgyu bounced up to Taehyun, very obviously vibrating with happiness. He tilted his head to the side, like an inquisitive puppy.

“How are you? Are you okay? How is my Taehyunnie feeling today?”

Taehyun’s ears flushed at the nickname. “Uh–”

“Are you happy? Tired? Stressed? Content? Sad? Because if it’s sad then I’m gonna be sad too because I don’t want you to be sad.”

“Well–”

Beomgyu began to bounce around, too joyful to stay still. “If you’re happy then it’s alright. I want you to be happy! Although, while I don’t want you to be sad, if you’re sad then that’s alright too, because I’ll do my best to make you happy again!"

"Beomg–"

"Did you know that I'm an expert at making people happy? Father said that when I walk into a room, the mood immediately brightens. I am that good at making people happy! So don't worry, because if you become sad then I'll be there to comfort you, every time. I promise! Because that’s what I’m going to do from now on, because I lo–”

“Beomgyu, Beomgyu,” Taehyun interrupted, walking over to the excited boy to hold his hands. “My Beomie,” he added, earning a bright beam from Beomgyu. “I love you, I really do. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that I love you.”

Beomgyu slowly stopped vibrating, calming down enough to understand what Taehyun was saying. “I think I sense a but…?”

“But I’m still kind of awkward about it,” Taehyun finished. “I mean, I only knew that I loved you yesterday! I was only able to put a name to this feeling less than a day ago, and I’m still getting used to the fact that I am, in fact, hopelessly in love with you, when I had originally thought that I completely hated you. I do love you, I really do,” he said, holding Beomgyu’s hands tight. “But can we just… take it a little slower? If that’s okay.”

Beomgyu’s bright, intense gaze softened, and he smiled gently. “Of course,” he said. “Of course, yeah, I’ll be more than happy to. When it comes to you, I’ll be willing to do anything.”

Taehyun relaxed, smiling. “Thank you,” he said. “I just… this is all really new to me, and I don’t want to potentially panic and push you away again. I want to take it slow, so that I don’t make that mistake again.”

“I understand,” Beomgyu said, nodding. He tilted his head, a teasing sparkle in his eye. “Does that mean I ought to court you? Would you like that?”

Taehyun blinked, ears going pink at what Beomgyu was insinuating. “What– ? No no, Beomgyu no that’s okay, we’re not going to get married yet–”

Beomgyu didn’t seem to hear him, releasing one of Taehyun’s hands. He gestured with his free hand grandly, as he spoke. “No need to be so flustered, my love. I will make sure that I will romance you in the gentlest, softest, most eloquent way known to man.” He bowed low, still holding onto one of Taehyun’s hands. Taehyun stuttered, feeling a little flustered by how fast Beomgyu had changed his demeanor.

"You are a masterpiece, with striking eyes and even more striking words, and I shall prove to you that I am worthy of any affection that you are able to spare towards me, for I shall love you in ways you will have never experienced before."

Taehyun was full-on stammering now, staring intensely at Beomgyu, who looked positively regal in the morning light. With every word that Beomgyu uttered, his heart kept constantly hiccuping, in awe of how beautiful he looked. It didn't help his heart that Beomgyu was also wearing his royal suit for once (he'd always insisted it was too grand for everyday occasions), and he looked even more handsome than usual.

“However long it takes, I shall wait for you,” Beomgyu declared. “I shall wait, and continue to love you, until you come to me with your hand outstretched, reaching out for me and letting me love you because I will,” he said, eyes shining, “I will love you, just like I do right now, and as I will continue to do, even into the next lifetime.”

His ears were burning, but he was unable to take his eyes off Beomgyu. Silver tongue, honestly… Taehyun knew Beomgyu was intelligent, and had a way with words, but hearing such beautiful, heartfelt sentences had him melting into a puddle of affection right there in his room. Trust Beomgyu to use his silver tongue to charm Taehyun until he was rendered speechless. But something in his heart told him that Beomgyu meant every word, and that thought only made his ears even warmer.

Beomgyu bowed again, eyes sparkling as if he knew exactly what he was doing to Taehyun, and he loved it. “You and I now have to part ways, but I shall be sure to see you in a few hours, to discuss strategy in our Discussion and Tactics room.” He pressed a feather-light kiss onto Taehyun’s knuckles, before straightening, a playful gleam in his eye. “Until we meet again, my love.” Beomgyu leaned forward until his lips brushed Taehyun’s ear, voice low and silky smooth. “I will love you slowly and everlastingly, in every way possible. I will love you for forever and a day, so take all the time you need.”

And then, with a smirk and a flippant wink, Beomgyu had disappeared from Taehyun’s room. The only evidence that he had been present at all was the lingering scent of his delicate perfume, hanging over Taehyun like a lace veil. The vizier himself was still standing in the middle of the room, ears still tingling from Beomgyu’s velvet-soft words. And then, with a small whine, he covered his face with his hands, cheeks dusted pink.

Beomgyu was going to be the death of him.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Taehyun peered into the Discussion and Tactics room, before quickly retreating his head.

Beomgyu was already inside, tapping his quill mindlessly against the wooden table as he waited for the vizier to arrive.

Said vizier, however, was not ready to arrive just yet. He was still rather flustered from Beomgyu’s words just an hour ago, and wasn’t sure he’d be able to look the other in the eye without tripping over his words. He took a deep breath, patting at his ears to try and cool their burning. Maybe he could slip away, pretend he forgot… Beomgyu wouldn’t know, would he?

“If you’re going to pretend you forgot, it won’t work,” Beomgyu’s voice suddenly called out, making Taehyun jump. “You never forget meetings.”

Taehyun bit his lip, and meekly poked his head around the door. “How did you know I was here?”

At Taehyun’s voice, Beomgyu jumped, staring at him. His face melted into a smile, and he got up to open the door further. “I didn’t,” he beamed, holding the door wide for Taehyun to enter. “I’ve just been saying stuff aloud at random intervals in case you happened to be there. I guess this time it worked.”

Taehyun stared at him, speechless. “Wow… you really are amazing…”

Beomgyu grinned wider. “I know.” The mischievous glint appeared in his eye again, and Taehyun’s ears immediately began to warm, as if anticipating what was going to happen next.

“My love, come! Take a seat right here.” Beomgyu pulled out a chair, gesturing for Taehyun to sit. “There! The sun hits you in just the right way–” he made a rectangle with his hands, and squinted through them, looking at Taehyun as if he were in a picture frame, “–there. You look positively radiant, my dear.”

Taehyun placed his hands over his ears, embarrassed. Beomgyu took a seat opposite Taehyun, staring at him lovingly. Trying to ignore the other, Taehyun reached into his case and brought out the documents that were needed for the meeting.

“You truly are beautiful,” Beomgyu said in a dream-like tone. “I suppose I have to work incredibly hard to prove I am worthy of such a beautiful person like you.”

Taehyun coughed, ears reddening. He awkwardly shuffled the parchments together, not looking up at Beomgyu.

Beomgyu simply laughed, stroking the other’s hair. “You’re so adorable when you’re flustered.”

He didn’t say anything, and ducked his head. It was embarrassing, how awkward Beomgyu’s compliments made him, and yet… he quite liked it. It made him feel like he was loved.

And so, he looked up at Beomgyu, who was still staring at him with a lovestruck expression on his face. With a small smile, he took hold of one of Beomgyu’s hands which were resting on the table and lightly brushed his lips against it.

“You are adorable all the time, my love,” he said, smile growing wider when Beomgyu’s ears began to flush.

But the elder recovered quickly, taking hold of Taehyun’s hand and kissing the fingertips. “Keep saying things like that, and I’ll only fall harder for you,” he murmured softly, sending tingles down Taehyun’s spine.

“That’s good,” he said. “I want you to love me and no one else.”

Beomgyu gave a small smile, flipping Taehyun’s hand over to press a kiss on his palm. “Luckily for you I have my eyes on you and you alone.”

Taehyun flushed, unable to respond.

It was almost laughable, really, how tongue-tied Beomgyu made him. When it came to Beomgyu, he became a blushing, shy mess who could barely respond to the other’s obvious flirtings in any sort of eloquent manner. His heart started doing all sorts of strange acrobatics, and his ears would not stop turning pink. It didn’t help that everything about Beomgyu was so incredibly captivating that he had trouble focusing on any sort of conversation.

“–into the room?”

And that was an example of Taehyun zoning out, too busy staring at Beomgyu’s sparkling eyes. He couldn’t help it, though: the sun had come out from behind a cloud, bathing Beomgyu in its golden glow, and his eyes glittered a pale copper in the bright light. It was a mesmerising difference from their usual dark chocolate brown, and Taehyun had been too busy admiring their unusualness that he’d unintentionally zoned out.

Oh, look. He’d just done it again.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Beomgyu smiled. “I was just detailing the ways in which we could passionately kiss, and described how awkward it would be if Yeonjun happened to suddenly walk into the room.”

Taehyun flushed again, frowning at Beomgyu. “Don’t lie, that’s not what you were saying.”

Beomgyu laughed – his bright, tinkling, genuine laugh, which made Taehyun smile too. “You’re right, you’re right. I was talking about how warm it’s getting in here, and if we should open the windows to let more air into the room.”

“Oh, true,” Taehyun said, leaning back. “Is it just me, or is it hot in here?”

Without missing a beat, Beomgyu stared at him dead in the eyes and said, “It’s you.”

Though it took a while for him to process the meaning behind Beomgyu’s words, once he’d realised what he meant, Taehyun gave a groan, covering his face with his hands. “Stop, you’re making me embarrassed.”

Beomgyu just gave a small laugh, stroking Taehyun’s hair gently. “You really are adorable.”

Taehyun gave another groan, ducking under the table to hide his blush. Beomgyu laughed again.

It was funny, to him. Taehyun: the prim, stern, curt Taehyun, who looked as if he was carved out of cold marble, became such a small, adorable, flustered person around him. He’d never have known how soft and cute Taehyun actually was if the two of them hadn’t been best friends since they could barely walk. But Beomgyu had been best friends with Taehyun for practically the whole of his life, and he knew all of this about Taehyun, and it made him smile seeing this gentle side of Taehyun again.

But he really hadn’t anticipated how flustered Taehyun would get at his flirtings. That was something he hadn’t seen coming.

And honestly? He loved it.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

The next half an hour progressed in much the same way, with Beomgyu shamelessly flirting with Taehyun and Taehyun sometimes shyly flirting back. Their compliments towards each other became even more old-fashioned and ridiculous, with the both of them ending up as pink-cheeked, laughing messes.

Beomgyu was holding Taehyun’s hand in his own, trying to read his palm when in reality, he kept on tickling Taehyun by tracing the skin so gently it was like a feather across his hand.

“Stop, stop!” Taehyun laughed, trying to pull his hand away.

“No, stay!” Beomgyu said, laughing himself. “And this line here–” he traced the crease incredibly delicately, Taehyun shrinking away from the ticklish touch– “means that you’ll be loved by me for a very long time! Gosh, it says…” he hummed thoughtfully, staring intently at Taehyun’s hand. “five hundred years! Well, I say that’s enough for five lifetimes, don’t you think?”

He continued to tickle Taehyun’s palm as well as the back of his hand, until the other was laughing too hard to form any coherent sentences.

“Okay, okay, stop,” Taehyun said, still giggling slightly. He held Beomgyu’s hand in his own, preventing the other from tickling him again. He interlaced their fingers, elbows on the table, and Beomgyu stared at their interlocked fingers in awe.

“Your hands are so pretty,” he said softly. He looked up at Taehyun, quirking a grin. “I guess everything about you is pretty, isn’t it?”

Taehyun flushed, smiling so wide that his dimple was on full display. “I’m too shy for this… stop!” he laughed as Beomgyu pinched his cheek affectionately.

“I’ve missed out on complimenting you for several years, so now that I have you, I’m not going to stop!” He bopped Taehyun’s nose gently. “I’m afraid you’ll have to get used to it, my love.” He gave a gentle smile, before going back to admiring Taehyun’s fingers. “But just look at these fingernails,” Beomgyu exclaimed, taking hold of Taehyun’s hand to examine his fingers. “They’re just so perfectly shaped! And…” he gave a gasp, running a finger along the back of his hand. He looked up at Taehyun, before hesitantly rolling up the sleeves of Taehyun’s uniform. His eyes widened, and he looked back at Taehyun again. “For such a delicate person, your veins look deadly.”

Taehyun gave a grin. “It’s what happens when you exercise a lot.”

Beomgyu rolled down Taehyun’s sleeve, smoothing the cuff down nicely. “Well, I’m not going to complain. It’s kinda hot.” Taehyun flushed again, but Beomgyu was already moving on, looking a little flustered himself. “But your fingers are so pretty. They’re so long and delicate and thin.” He kissed each of the tips several times, and Taehyun laughed at the ticklish sensation.

Beomgyu looked up at Taehyun, smiling brightly. He gazed at the other, admiring how beautiful happiness looked on him. Taehyun’s eyes crinkled adorably, and his dimple became incredibly prominent. He was just… beautiful.

He tilted his head, still holding onto Taehyun’s hand. “Can I kiss you?”

Taehyun blinked, hesitating. “Uh… I don’t… It’s a little…”

Beomgyu just nodded understandingly. “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s a little uncomfortable, right? That’s fine. Here, I’ll give you this instead.”

He flipped over Taehyun’s hand so that his palm was facing upwards, and pressed a soft kiss into the middle of his hand. And then, gently, he pushed Taehyun’s hand upwards so that the palm touched Taehyun’s lips. An indirect kiss.

Taehyun’s eyes widened with understanding. He gazed at Beomgyu, eyes sparkling. “Why do you always come up with the most adorable things?”

Beomgyu stared back at Taehyun with equally loving eyes. “It’s because I’m doing them for the most adorable person.”

Taehyun reached for Beomgyu’s hand and, unfurling his fingers, pressed his own kiss into Beomgyu’s palm and pressed it against Beomgyu’s lips. They both giggled, and Beomgyu gave yet another kiss onto Taehyun’s palm, touching it against Taehyun’s lips.

The two of them stayed there in the Discussion and Tactics room, exchanging palm kisses and giggling like two highschool lovers, when the door creaked open, and Yeonjun poked his head around the door. He took one look at the scene in front of him, before letting out a loud whoop, startling Taehyun and Beomgyu.

“I knew it! I knew it! Oh wow, I’m a total genius!” he crowed triumphantly, his head still only half through the door.

“Uh, Yeonjun?” Beomgyu said hesitantly.

Yeonjun ducked his head apologetically. “Will you excuse me for just a moment?” He closed the door and stepped out into the hallway. Outside, they heard him make lots of noise, and distinct, heavy footsteps as if someone was jumping up and down. Taehyun thought he might know why Yeonjun was acting that way, and he smiled amusedly. He’d had no idea that Yeonjun had been thinking about that.

Eventually, Yeonjun opened the door again, grinning so hard that his eyes almost completely disappeared.

Beomgyu looked at Taehyun, confused, to find the other laughing at how obviously elated Yeonjun was. Slightly bemused, he found himself laughing as well, because Taehyun was being adorable and really, Yeonjun’s behaviour was quite humorous too.

“So I’m guessing you two made up?” Yeonjun asked, still grinning widely.

“Yep,” Beomgyu grinned, adjusting his grip on Taehyun’s hand, which he was still holding. Yeonjun noticed the action, and wriggled his eyebrows.

“Oh, did you guys do more than make up?” he asked, though it was clear he already knew the answer.

Taehyun coughed, slightly embarrassed. “Yeah…” he said.

Yeonjun grinned impossibly wider, practically exuding happiness and triumph. “Oh wow,” he said. “Wow. I’m really, really happy for the both of you. Wow. Oh wow. Just… wow.” He kept on grinning for several more moments, before quickly shaking himself. “Uh, anyway. So, finalising the members of the council, huh?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Taehyun disentangled his hand from Beomgyu’s grip, reaching for the papers he’d put on the table. Beomgyu let out a small whine when Taehyun moved away, trying to reach for his hand again, but Taehyun playfully glared at him. “No,” he said. “We have work to do.”

Beomgyu pouted, seemingly not caring about Yeonjun’s presence. “So I can’t hold your hand?” he asked sadly. Yeonjun smiled as Taehyun began to gently berate Beomgyu, with the other still pouting adorably. He knew Taehyun had it in him to be gentle and soft and adorable, and it really was cute to see. Sure, he felt like the biggest third wheel ever, but the fact that he could even be a third wheel was amazing, given the fact he was sitting with two people who had supposedly hated each other for years. And honestly? Since they were people who he liked and appreciated, he really didn’t mind third wheeling. He watched the two of them bicker, smile still bright on his face.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Yeonjun tapped his fingers against the table, cheek propped up against his palm.

Remember when he said he didn’t mind being the third wheel? Well, forget that. It was so annoying.

When Beomgyu had pouted and sulked after Taehyun let go of his hand, the vizier, feeling sorry for him, eventually gave in and let Beomgyu hold his hand. So the two of them were holding hands across the table, while Taehyun tried his best to concentrate on the work, but it was obvious he was struggling. Beomgyu kept rubbing his thumb over the back of Taehyun’s hand, or adjusting their grip so their fingers interlaced, before adjusting it again so they were just holding hands. Taehyun kept getting distracted by Beomgyu constantly fidgeting, and stopped practically every other minute to berate him about one thing or another.

“So as I was saying, this needs to be narrowed down to twelve– wait Beomgyu, stop, that tickles! Stop, or I’ll let go of your hand,” Taehyun said warningly. Beomgyu pouted, but ceased his playful antics. “Pay attention, okay? This is your council, so you need to focus.”

Beomgyu wilted under Taehyun’s glare, before peeking up at the vizier with big, puppy-like eyes. “Do you still love me?”

“Wha– of course I do, you idiot. Would I be holding your hand right now if I didn’t?”

“Oh yeah! Then, to prove it, give me a kiss!”

Taehyun’s ears flushed, and he glanced at Yeonjun, who pretended to be spacing out so that it wouldn’t be awkward. Taehyun turned back to Beomgyu, who playfully had his lips pouted and eyes closed, as if expecting the kiss. He rolled his eyes, and brushed his lips against the knuckles of Beomgyu’s hand in his.

“There,” he said. “Now focus.”

Beomgyu opened his eyes, but before he could protest, Taehyun was already snapping his fingers in front of Yeonjun’s face.

“You need to focus too. Okay so look here, I’ve gotten it down to fifty, but I need your knowledge and experiences with Lords to be able to narrow it down to the final twelve.”

Yeonjun sighed internally, pulling the papers towards him. This was actually the fifth time Taehyun had repeated that to him, and by now he’d given up on telling this to the vizier. He was too distracted by how clingy Beomgyu was being, anyway. There was no point. And so, he looked at the documents yet again, resigning himself to another three hours of third-wheeling.

Yeonjun came back to his room, knocking on the door a weary five times, before collapsing through the doorway. Hueningkai looked up from his book as Yeonjun entered, and his face brightened in anticipation.

“So?” he asked eagerly.

Yeonjun staggered over to the bed (not forgetting to close the door behind him) and face-planted onto its silk surface.

“I’ve gotten them together,” he groaned, voice muffled by the fabric, “but at what cost?”

Hueningkai laughed delightedly. “Let me guess, they were being really affectionate?”

“You can’t even comprehend their clinginess,” Yeonjun lamented, still face-down on the bed. “They were literally holding hands throughout the entire meeting, Hueningkai,” he said, turning himself over with great difficulty so that he was staring up at the ceiling. “And the flirting! They were literally flirting when I came in! At first I was so happy because they’d finally gotten together, you know? But they’re just…” He sighed dramatically. “They’re too much! I can’t handle it!”

Hueningkai laughed again, clearly enjoying Yeonjun’s pain. “Oh, you’ll be fine,” he said. “They’re only just starting out! Give it a few weeks, and they’ll be bickering like normal again.”

Yeonjun sat up, and the grin on his face was brighter than ever. “But still, I am really glad they managed to sort out everything that was there between them. I feel like there was a lot of unresolved stuff, and it’s good that they managed to talk it all out.”

Hueningkai nodded. “So are you happy?”

Yeonjun beamed. “Yep!”

The younger laughed. “Alright. That’s good.”

He turned back to his book, a smile on his face. Yeonjun lay down on the bed again, grinning up at the ceiling.

Yeonjun was happy that Taehyun and Beomgyu were happy. Hueningkai was happy that Yeonjun was happy. And just like that, everyone was happy.

All of their lives had had their ups and downs, and those past few months had been stressful for them all. But that one moment, that feeling of happiness, made all those struggles worthwhile, if they could all lead up to that single second of bliss.

#court of lies #taegyu #txt taegyu #txt taehyun #taehyun #txt beomgyu #beomgyu #txt #txt fluff #txt angst #txt fanfic #txt imagine #txt imagines #tomorrow x together #tomorrow by together

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beomgyuslittleheart-blog · 5 years

Text

Masuri Suri

Stage magician Taegyu au

Chapter 1: What is this, the 90′s?

Taehyun had managed to avoid the displeasure of meeting the Dazzling Beomgyu until Kai forcibly dragged him to his show. Now that he had, he couldn't get the blonde's obnoxious smirk out of his head.

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19286425

The best way Taehyun could describe Beomgyu's style of magic is flashy. Like a Las Vegas nightclub magician, he's always promoting his daring new stunts that make 'sawing a person in half' look tame. His latest performance has him miraculously escaping a set of padlocked chains from within a locked car that is slowly being crushed. Like he said, flashy.

Taehyun's magic is certainly more understated. He doesn't even perform regularly, preferring to pull coins from behind children's ears and making cards disappear on a whim, enjoying the amusing reactions of his impromptu audiences. He tends to be casual about it, though he's obviously skilled. See, magic means something to him; it's not a toy or a trick or a way to make money. It's not about deception. To Taehyun, magic is the art of making people happy, of reminding them that there is still wonder in the world.

He doesn't keep up with the local scene, but he's familiar enough to know about the Dazzling Beomgyu. It'd be hard not to; flyers for his performances paper the exterior of every club and venue in a hundred mile radius. It is definitely not Taehyun's type of magic, too much spectacle and no finesse. Yet he begrudgingly finds himself in the audience of one of Beomgyu's shows at the behest of his friend Kai.

Kai was a few months younger than him, which Taehyun made sure to use to his advantage whenever necessary. The two had met while Taehyun was practicing his card tricks at the park. Kai had walked right up to him and sat down in the grass at the boy's feet. His eyes glistened with fascination, following every trace of a spade or diamond. That same look graced Kai's soft features tonight, his fingers curling around the edge of his seat. He held his breath while the jaws of a compactor press down on the body of a cherry red convertible. Truthfully, Taehyun can't help but feel more concerned for the car than the man. What a waste of a perfectly usable car.

Within minutes, the windows on the convertible begin to shatter, the sound echoing against the hushed crowd. At the very last second before the steel buckles under the pressure, Beomgyu presses himself out of the shrinking hole where the windshield used to be. With an exaggerated wrist flourish, he bows to thunderous applause as the car is destroyed behind him.

Taehyun knew Beomgyu would escape, knows exactly how he escaped, but for Kai's benefit he feigns wonder when he shoots him a look of open mouthed astonishment. He knows from his body language that Beomgyu escaped the chains approximately 10 seconds before he jumped out the window, and wonders whether the man used slack in the chains or just standard lock-picking. He can't help but roll his eyes at the audience, so easily impressed by gaudy showmanship!

Suddenly, he feels himself being dragged to his feet and into the throng of people pushing forward towards the stage. "Come on, he said he'd do signings after the show!!" Kai waves a photocard of Beomgyu in his face. He's wearing a top hat, red jacket with coattails, and has a small white rabbit perched in his arms. Taehyun cringes. What is this, the 90's? He didn't sign up for this, but he sighs and resigns himself to being pulled through the crowd. Kai may look gentle but he could have a death grip when he wanted to. Better to just play along.

Staff forms a hasty line along the wall of the venue reaching towards a small table behind which Beomgyu sits, the remnants of wrist chains clanking lightly as he gestures broadly to the woman in front of him. It is impossible for Taehyun to take this man seriously, but he'll suffer and wait in line for Kai's sake.

He had intended to get out of line once Kai was gestured forward by staff to get their signature, but he found himself pinned to the wall as a group of teens rushed pass him, excitedly showing off their own signed cards to one another. Before he can walk away, there's a sharp tap on his shoulder. Turning, he sees a staff member ushering him towards the red clothed signing table. "Oh, no, I'm not-" he tries to clarify, but the staff member has already pushed him forward and begins readying the next person in line.

Despite his desire to entertain, Taehyun isn't exactly good with people. He spends more time perfecting techniques than performing, and he needs amble time to hype himself up before any event. Even in non-magic situations, he can be a bit of a wallflower, preferring observation over interaction. It wasn't that he didn't like people, after all they make up every audience. He just...couldn't seem to connect with anyone, or maybe it was that no one was able to connect with him. A classic chicken and the egg question, with the answer proving just as pointless. He didn't have many friends, Kai being his closest. Connecting seemed irrelevant to Kai, the boy could emotionally connect with a stuffed rabbit. Still, it's nice to have some companionship and Taehyun is grateful for his friendship. Grateful enough to come to this god awful performance and be forced to talk to the blonde haired hack calling himself a magician. Before he can steady himself, Taehyun is already standing in front of the table.

"Hi, thanks for coming to my show! Dazzling, wasn't it?" Beomgyu asks in a cheery voice. A brilliant smile graces his lips as he holds out a hand for whatever it is he needs to sign.

"Oh, I um, I don't have anything to sign..." Taehyun stammers, patting his pockets futilely.

"No worries, this is why we have backups!" Beomgyu pulls a glossy 4 x 5 photograph from beneath the table, flicking it between his fingers several times before making it vanish. "Oops! Must've lost it!" he giggles, before calmly pulling it out from behind his back. Beomgyu had expected a chuckle at the very least, but Taehyun's utter lack of a reaction throws him off balance, his smile faltering. Quickly, he grabs the pen and scribbles his signature across the photo before thrusting it at Taehyun, who does not reach for it.

"I know how you did it." He says flatly.

"Pardon?"

"Escaping the chains. Easy stuff, a five year old could do it. Did you really need to destroy a car, though?"

Beomgyu's eyes narrow as he clears his throat. His arm starts to twitched as he continues to hold out the signed photograph that this indignant man is making no motion to take. "All part of the show, sir, although I assure you the car was not in workable condition despite it's beautiful outward appearance." Still Taehyun does not move. Frustrated, Beomgyu shakes the photo at him. His voice deepens with a subtle warning, "Sir, there are others waiting."

Taehyun can't explain the lurching frustration that's causing heat to flush his cheeks. He yanks the photo from the Beomgyu's hand, startling the blonde. He crumples it harshly before throwing it down onto the table with distaste. Beomgyu furrows his brows, becoming visibly annoyed. Taehyun smashes both his hands down on the balled up paper with a loud bang. Waiting a beat, and without ever breaking eye contact, he pulls his hands away slowly, revealing the perfectly smooth signed photograph.

Beomgyu's mouth gapes slightly as he stares down at his crinkle-free signature, unsure of how to react to the situation. A staff member moves to escort the small but threatening man away, but before they can reach him Beomgyu holds up his hand, signaling for them to wait. He glances up at the Taehyun, his eyes glinting and a red tint creeping up his throat. Snatching the photo, he scribbles on it quickly and thrusts it into Taehyun's hands by force. Instantly, he's signaling staff and a strong hand grabs Taehyun's arm and pushes him away from the table at a brisk pace. His mouth hanging open in surprise, Taehyun turns in time to watch Beomgyu plaster a smile across his face, already welcoming the next person in line.

Despite repeated protests, the staff walks him all the way across the venue to the exit. "I get it, I get it, I'm leaving...God.." Taehyun scoffs, wrenching his arm free. Luckily Kai had been waiting for him. Unluckily his face flashed with annoyance.

"Do you really have to try to show off to every magician you meet, Taehyun?" His voice is a few notes lower than usual. "You do this every time!" he yells, stamping his feet childishly.

Taehyun bristles. "I'd hardly call that magic." He stares blankly at the floor, shame pooling in his chest though he'd never admit it.

"Ugh, whatever, let's just go.." Reaching into his bag, Kai draws out a set of keys and begins walking toward the parking lot.

After a moment, Taehyun remembers the photograph in his hand and scans the area for the closest trashcan. As he is about to toss it into the bin, he catches sight of what Beomgyu had so viciously slashed into the paper before forcing him to take the gaudy thing. His mouth drops open.

Carved into the photo, right below the white rabbit, is a phone number.

#taegyu #beomgyu #taehyun #choi beomgyu #kang taehyun #txt #tomorrow by together #tomorrow x together #taegyu au #my fanfiction #mouseferatu

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seungstarss · 2 years

Note

ty gyu for rightfully reacting to heeseung’s atrocious behavior! no cause it really made me happy that you guys cared cause tbh i wasn’t sure if we were sort of overeating, but this was comforting to hear bc other people realize what a sick dick hee is! not sure if that should be comforting but heehoon are literally like my villain origin story rn and i can’t believe i didn’t even hate kiara this much… anyways i know we don’t know you that well gyu but ilysm and if taegyu is in our future, you have my full support!!!

also does gyu have any clue if seo might like girls, (asking for a friend 👉👈) cause i can’t lie, i really like her (her character seems so kind and like i feel really bad for her)… even though she was kinda a bitch with the whole hoon thing, she still seems pretty sweet…

also if taegyu is real (once again, i have no idea if this will happen cause i’m just guessing based on prev anon asks that i’ve seen, but i kinda hope it happens 👉👈) would sunoo gyu and seo maybe join our friend group? cause that sounds like a dream come true, like the power that would come from seo, reiko and luna actually being friends 🥰🥺 respectfully asking for them to let me please be their wifeys🙏 i’ll be the best gf just for you three!!! (not me trying to shoot my shot w/ 3 super pretty fictional characters 🤡 it’s okay lol maybe we can date in my dreams 🥲)

i don’t think this makes any sense, but here’s a look into the happy + confused mess that is my brain whenever i read BET! my thoughts just drift all over the place cause i’m literally enjoying the smau sm and am so invested! tbh i feel like i hate someone more (aka hee recently) and also love someone more every update (seo 😽) lol 😂 ily!! Thank you for the update!!! ❣️❤️

Oml bestie this is so sweet 🥺💞💞💞

But yes, we def weren't overreacting because who tf leaves someone out to freeze like that?? Right? It's so inhumane, so I glad gyu, so and sunoo had the right reactions

regarding seoyeon, I don't think she's 100% over hoon yet, but idk she might🤷‍♀️ and abt taegyu 👀 hmm

About them joining the friend group,,, we def might see some bonding soon! So look forward to that ♡

Tysm for appreciating bet sm, like it genuinely means so much to me and I always can't thank you guys enough 💗🥺 pls take care ily

#anonymous ☎️ voicemail ✦#𝐁𝐄𝐓≛#♡♡♡

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sweetsoogyu · 2 years

Text

Beomgyu: Come on, what’s the worst that could happen?

Hueningkai: We could die

Taehyun: Or worse, we could get another lecture from Soobin about responsibility

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sweetsoogyu · 2 years

Text

Taehyun: We can’t all be social butterflies, Beomgyu. For some of us human interaction is difficult

Beomgyu: It might help if you stop calling it “human interaction”

#txt #tomorrow x together #txt yeonjun #txt soobin #txt beomgyu #txt taehyun #txt hueningkai #txt huening kai #txt incorrect quotes #incorrect txt quotes #kpop incorrect quotes #txt taegyu #txt soft hours #txt scenarios #txt smut #txt reactions #txt writing

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a-blue-secret · 3 years

Text

CHAPTER XXI

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Chapter XX | Chapter XXI | Chapter XXII

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: a few swear words

WORD COUNT: 4.8k+

AN: A lot happens in this chapter, and if you aren't quite sure about something then please, please feel free to ask me! I'll be more than happy to clear up any queries you have :)

“I’ll send these to the goldsmiths, then,” Taehyun said as they walked back through the palace after their meeting with Yoongi. He rolled up the blueprints more firmly, holding them securely in his hands.

Beomgyu nodded. “I think it’s cool how the blueprints of the chandeliers still exist,” he said. “Also the tiny Latin engravings are a really amazing touch.”

“I know right?” Taehyun agreed. They rounded a corner, and Taehyun slowed down outside his chambers. “We can come up with some of our own words to engrave this time around. I’ll talk to Soobin on how to translate it, if you want.”

“That’d be nice.” Beomgyu stopped in front of Taehyun, rocking on his heels. “I guess this is where we part, right?” He inclined his head grandly and, looking around quickly, gave Taehyun a small peck on the cheek. “Goodnight, love.”

Taehyun’s ears flushed as he watched Beomgyu walk away. “Remember to sleep properly tonight!” he called, and Beomgyu turned around and gave him a thumbs up, walking backwards.

“You too!” he called back, a grin on his face.

Taehyun waved to Beomgyu one last time, before disappearing into his chambers.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

The next morning, Taehyun had been on his way to Yeonjun’s room to give Hueningkai back the marble when he was stopped by Chan. As soon as he saw Chan, he felt that something was decidedly off about the guard’s manner. He was still stoic and emotionless, but something felt… different.

“His Greatness has requested your presence in his chambers,” the guard said, in the typical, stony guard tone.

Taehyun nodded slowly. “Alright,” he said. “Alright. Come on, let’s go.”

The two of them walked through the hallways, and the strange aura surrounding Chan only grew. Taehyun glanced back at the guard, and he stiffened. Panic was clear on Chan’s face. That was what had felt strange. The guard, normally as emotional as a brick wall in public, was looking increasingly worried as they drew closer to Beomgyu’s chambers. Taehyun continued to walk through the halls, fear settling in his stomach.

They reached Beomgyu’s door, and Taehyun hesitantly knocked on it. He waited – half patient and half anxious – for Beomgyu to open the door. There was a muffled thump against the door, almost as if someone had put their full body weight against it. Taehyun's eyes widened, alarmed, and he hurriedly brought out his spare key for Beomgyu’s room, hastily unlocking the door.

“I– Beomgyu!”

He barely managed to catch Beomgyu as he fell limply through the doorway, almost face-planting onto the floor. It appeared that he’d been the one who’d fallen against the door, presumably after attempting to open it.

He was white as the marble which they’d just ordered for their new ballroom. His hands were shaking: not just trembling slightly, but full-on shaking without any sign of stopping. The dark circles around his eyes had gotten impossibly darker, with a purple tint also appearing around the edges of his lips.

Beomgyu struggled open his eyes, brown irises glinting painfully. “Tae– Taehyun?” he managed to croak, before passing out.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

The Royal Physician, despite working such a difficult job always surrounded by sick and nearly dying people, was a kind, smiley man whose presence immediately put Taehyun at ease.

Taehyun watched, fiddling with his fingers, as Sir Kim calmly and efficiently went through all the basic check ups on Beomgyu.

Beomgyu, after passing out cold in Taehyun’s arms, had been moved back into his room. Taehyun carried him and tucked him into his bed, while Chan hurried to fetch the Royal Physician. Occasionally, Beomgyu would stir weakly, see Taehyun sitting by his bed, struggling to give a smile to his vizier, before passing out again.

When the Physician had arrived, he entered with a calm, almost motherly presence, and Taehyun felt himself relax in relief.

“Alright, I’ll waste no time. Sir Taehyun, may I ask you a favour?”

Taehyun stood up, nodding his head.

“I’ll take his temperature, his pulse, and all those things, but I’ll need you to tell me his health history for me to figure out what it could be. Could you do that?”

Taehyun nodded fervently. Sir Kim smiled. “Good.” He turned to Beomgyu, reaching for his wrist. He didn’t flinch at how unnaturally cold the King’s wrist was, only frowning slightly.

“Taehyun, what was his condition like yesterday?”

Taehyun coughed, trying to get the words out smoothly. “He was quite pale. Not as pale as right now, but paler than he normally is. He just looked tired, really. Dark circles, tired walk.”

“No cough?”

“No cough,” Taehyun confirmed. “But he had dry eyes. He kept on rubbing them. And-” his voice faltered as the Physician leaned closer to Beomgyu. “Uh, Sir Kim, what are you...?”

“Just call me Seokjin,” the Physician said, placing his ear over Beomgyu’s mouth. “I’m just checking his breathing.” He pulled away, crouching down next to Beomgyu’s ear, clicking his fingers loudly. Beomgyu flinched slightly, even while unconscious. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out an incandescent light bulb which was still glowing. Taehyun widened his eyes: only a few people had light bulbs, with them only just beginning to be installed into the palace. Carefully, Seokjin opened one of Beomgyu’s eyes, moving the lightbulb closer towards him. Nodding to himself, he put away the bulb and addressed Taehyun.

“His breathing is stable. His reactions are good, if a little slow, but that can be chalked up to him being unconscious. His pupils are dilating as they normally would, which is good. But his pulse…” Seokjin blinked calmly, staring at Taehyun. “His pulse became more erratic the longer I stayed with him. When I’d first checked, it was almost normal, but soon picked up speed. Does Beomgyu have any fears that you know of?”

Taehyun looked around the room, seeing if there could be any potential triggers. “None of them are here,” he said finally. “I don’t know.”

Seokjin frowned. “May I try something?” He moved around to the other side of the bed, where Taehyun was standing, and sat the vizier down. “Stay close to Beomgyu for a moment,” he said. After a pause, he added, “And hold his hand.”

The Physician stepped away, as Taehyun confusedly obeyed.

“You know how to check for pulse, right?” Seokjin asked. “Place two fingers on the inside of his wrist until you feel a faint pulsing.” Once Taehyun had done that, he spoke again. “Now, I need you to measure his pulse for me. Every time you feel it, tap your foot against the floor. Tell me if you are able to correctly predict when the next pulse will be.”

Taehyun nodded, slightly confused by the Physician’s request, but carrying it out anyway.

In the beginning, it was difficult to tap his foot at exactly the same time as Beomgyu’s pulse. But eventually, it evened out, and Taehyun could do it easily.

“I can predict the next pulse now,” he said. “What does that mean?”

Seokjin frowned solemnly. He pulled up a chair to sit by Taehyun, and spoke very gently and seriously. “I believe that this is not an ordinary sickness. The dark rim around his lips is not from a stain that he received after eating, or some strange form of lipstick. Dark purple marks like that often symbolise something else, along with unnaturally pale skin. Coupled with the fact that his pulse only becomes regular when you are near…” he sighed. “This is very complex, I’m afraid. I have a few suspicions, but I’ll need to carry out a few more tests. Is that alright?”

“Of course. Will you need to be alone?”

“Yes, I will. If that’s alright.”

“That’s fine.” Taehyun looked at Beomgyu worriedly, gently squeezing the unconscious King’s hand. He stood up, bowing to Seokjin. “Thank you so much.”

Seokjin smiled. “It’s no problem at all. Let me just call my assistant, and I’ll get right on it.” He stood up with Taehyun, walking him to the door and opening it. Standing right outside was someone around Taehyun’s height, with a bright aura and smiley eyes.

“Hoseok, I’ll need your help with this,” Seokjin said, and Hoseok nodded. He bowed to Taehyun, before entering the room. “I’ll send a message to you once I can properly diagnose him,” Seokjin promised, and Taehyun nodded, giving a weak smile. Hoseok gave Taehyun a reassuring smile and small wave, before closing the door, leaving Taehyun standing in the middle of the hallway. Chan had just finished his duty, and there were a few moments where there was emptiness between his and Jisung’s shift, who was next to guard Beomgyu’s door. This meant that, for the moment, the hallway was empty. Taehyun stared blankly at the door, feeling so frustratingly useless. He couldn’t do anything to help Beomgyu, and it frustrated him. Hesitantly, he began to walk away, wringing his hands nervously. He didn’t know what to do, and it stressed him so much.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Taehyun had decided not to tell Yeonjun and Hueningkai. What was there to tell them, anyway? ‘Beomgyu has passed out and we don’t know what it is’? There was no point. To also prevent himself from blurting out everything to the spies, Taehyun kept his distance from them, not even setting foot within the corridor that they were staying in. If he saw Yeonjun in the hallway, he’d give him a tight nod, before walking away stiffly.

He couldn’t keep it up forever, though. Yeonjun eventually confronted him about his strange behaviour.

“Taehyun,” he called, following Taehyun into the library. “Hey, Taehyun. Why are you avoiding me?”

Taehyun stared at him blankly, before ducking down again to search the shelves. Yeonjun followed closely behind him.

“Taehyun. Hey, Taehyun, look at me. Why has our friendship taken five steps back? Are we back at the beginning? When I was just a suspicious foreign Lord coming to see you and Beomgyu?”

At Beomgyu’s name, Taehyun gave a choked cough, ducking his head even further. Yeonjun crouched down beside Taehyun and grabbed the vizier’s shoulders, forcing him to look at him.

“Hey,” he said softly. “You don’t have to keep anything from us. You know that, right? We’ll help and support you no matter what. I promise.”

Taehyun’s eyes were red and dry from how much he’d wanted to cry out of stress but had been constantly stopping himself from doing so. “I’m fine,” he said. “Just stressed. I’m not trying to ignore you, don’t worry.”

Yeonjun nodded, reassured. “That’s good. Oh, by the way, where’s Beomgyu? I don’t see him hanging over your shoulder.”

“He– he’s not feeling well,” Taehyun gulped. Yeonjun nodded understandingly.

“Oh dear. Well, tell him I hope he gets better soon.” Yeonjun stood up, offering Taehyun his hand. “You’re okay, right?” he checked.

“I’m fine,” Taehyun said, feeling a little calmer. He remembered something, and reached into his pocket. “Oh– here. I’ve been carrying it around for a few days now, but here.” He placed Hueningkai’s marble in Yeonjun’s hand.

“Oh, thanks. I’ll give this to Hueningkai to destroy, then.” He smiled at Taehyun. “Don’t be too stressed, okay? Remember, there are people you can talk to. Me, a master diplomat and secret room-finder, Hueningkai, a master poison detective, and Beomgyu, a master of evading his duties. We’re all here for you.”

Taehyun smiled weakly at Yeonjun’s attempt at a joke. “Thank you.”

Yeonjun grinned, before walking away. As he was leaving, a small messenger boy came running up to Taehyun.

“Sir Taehyun! Sir Kim has requested your presence in His Greatness’ chambers.”

Taehyun widened his eyes, and ran out of the library.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Seokjin and Hoseok were packing up their equipment when Taehyun burst in. Seokjin looked up at the vizier, who was out of breath from sprinting through the hallways with his eyes wide and anxious.

“Hoseok, you can go talk to Taehyun. I’ll finish tidying this.”

The assistant Physician walked towards Taehyun, who was staring anxiously at Beomgyu, who was still unconscious on the bed.

“How is he?” Taehyun asked.

“We’ve run various tests over the past couple of days, and the results should be back soon,” Hoseok said. “In the meantime, it’ll be perfectly fine for you to stay with him. His vitals, barring his pulse, are all stable, and we’re certain that what he has is not contagious. We believe that he’ll be alright.”

“As in, he’ll get better, or he won’t die?”

Hoseok hesitated. “As in, he most likely will not die in two weeks’ time.”

Even with how unstable the statement was, Taehyun felt himself relax. Any sort of confirmation that Beomgyu wouldn’t die, no matter how unsure the confirmation was, made him feel a little more reassured. He gave a small smile. “Thank you,” he said. “Does that mean I’m allowed to stay with him?”

“By all means, you’re welcome to stay with him,” Seokjin said, walking up to them. “In fact, we’d encourage it. He seems to become better in your presence.”

Taehyun smiled at the two physicians. “Thank you so much, both of you.”

“Don’t thank us yet,” Seokjin sighed tiredly. “Two days’ worth of work, sitting beside a sick patient, and yet we have nothing to show for it. The results should be back soon, so we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. In the meantime, I’d encourage you to stay by His Greatness. Look, he’s even beginning to stir, and you’ve only just stepped into the room.”

Indeed, Beomgyu was beginning to gain consciousness. Though he had been incredibly still just moments before, his eyes were now struggling open, blinking in the light of the early afternoon.

Seokjin bowed. “Hoseok and I will be going now.”

Taehyun bowed as the two physicians left, closing the door. He hesitantly walked over to Beomgyu.

“Beomgyu?” he said softly. “How are you?”

Beomgyu blinked hard, squinting. “Taehyun?” he said croakily. Taehyun pulled up a chair beside the bed, holding Beomgyu’s hand as he opened his eyes fully. He couldn’t help the ironic smile that appeared on his face.

“Beomgyu, love, you look like shit.” He held Beomgyu’s hand gently, lifting it to press a soft kiss to his knuckles. “You have no idea how worried I was,” he said softly. “Sir Kim – the Physician – kicked me out of the room for two whole days, and I was literally going mad with worry. And when I was called back, I feared the worst, but it’s good to see that you’re alive and well– but not exactly well because you look like shit.”

Beomgyu smiled at Taehyun, recognising the similar words he had once said to Taehyun. “I see you’re not rambling as much as I did,” he said hoarsely. “Should I be offended?”

Taehyun only smiled, tears blurring his vision. He held Beomgyu's hand close, pressing it against his lips. “Did I mention you look like shit? Because you do.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment,” Beomgyu said. He reached out with his other hand to wipe away Taehyun’s tears. “Why are you crying? Don’t cry. As you can see, I’m alive, and looking like shit.”

It was a weak joke, but Taehyun was smiling. “You idiot,” he said.

“I’m a bedridden idiot,” Beomgyu said. “So you have to be nice to me.”

“Alright,” Taehyun said, smiling tearily. “I’ll be nice to you.”

He held Beomgyu’s hand tightly in his own, before promptly breaking down into tears.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Beomgyu handed Taehyun tissues from his bedside table, sighing affectionately. He’d propped himself up on his cushions so he could sit up properly, his hand still being held by Taehyun.

Taehyun glared at him, eyes wet, as he rubbed at his nose with the tissue. “Don’t say anything stupid.”

“Hey, I wasn’t going to,” Beomgyu said, smiling. “But you know, it’s kinda weird how I’m the one who’s in bed with a throbbing headache and I can barely move my legs, but it’s you who started crying. But hey, I’m not gonna say anything stupid.”

Taehyun gave a watery scoff, swatting at Beomgyu’s arm. He balled up the tissues and threw them into the bin, coming back to sit at the chair by Beomgyu’s bed. Beomgyu stared at his red eyes, wiping away the tears still left in his cheeks.

“Wow, I never pinned you as an emotional lover,” he said amusedly.

“Shut up,” Taehyun sighed, an affectionate smile on his face. “It’s what happens when I don’t get enough sleep.”

“Speaking of sleep, it feels like I haven’t gotten any in about a hundred years,” Beomgyu said, letting out an exaggerated yawn. “My body feels so tired that I want to lay down forever. When will I be able to get up again?”

Taehyun looked at him oddly. “Those two statements contradict each other so much that it’s more than just a little weird. But you won’t be able to get up for at least a few more days. You’re not actually healed yet. You just managed to wake up.”

“That’s a shame,” Beomgyu sighed. “But it explains why I still feel like shit.”

Taehyun’s face grew more serious. “Where does it hurt? Are you actually hurt? Do you remember anything? When did this start?”

“Woah, woah, slow down, Mother,” Beomgyu joked. “Everything hurts, really. I just feel so… tired. Like, my actual bones are aching.”

“That’s not good,” Taehyun said worriedly.

“Nothing about this is good, love,” Beomgyu sighed, patting Taehyun’s hand. “But as long as you’re with me, I feel fine. Stay with me, okay?”

Taehyun tightened his grip on Beomgyu’s hand. “I will. I promise.”

Beomgyu smiled, sinking back into the pillows. He blinked slowly, as if struggling to keep his eyes open.

“You can rest if you want,” Taehyun said, noticing how sleepy Beomgyu looked. He began to rise from his chair. “It’s almost evening, anyway. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Wait,” Beomgyu suddenly said, refusing to let go of Taehyun’s hand. “Can you… can you stay with me? I know it sounds silly, but can you stay with me until I fall asleep? Just so I know that you still love me.”

Taehyun blinked, face softening into a loving smile. Beomgyu’s tone was completely sincere. While it hurt him to think that he’d hurt Beomgyu so much that he needed confirmation that the vizier would stay, it just made him all the more determined to love Beomgyu as best as he could. He sat back down in the chair, holding Beomgyu’s hand with both of his own.

“Of course.”

Beomgyu’s face melted into a relieved smile. “Sing me a song?”

“Oh my–'' Taehyun had to turn his head away so Beomgyu couldn’t see the endeared look on his face. The big doe eyes, the soft pout, the shy, gentle blush on his cheeks… yep, Taehyun was definitely in love with Beomgyu. He schooled his facial expression back into somewhat of a normal look, turning back to Beomgyu. “Honestly, why are you so cute? Yes, yes of course.”

He cleared his throat, thinking for a moment for what to sing. He decided on a traditional Gojongja lullaby, the words flowing out of his mouth.

Taehyun’s soothing, melodic voice filled the room, the melody sweet and gentle. Halfway through the song, Beomgyu’s eyelids began to droop, his head nodding a little. By the time Taehyun had just started the second lullaby, Beomgyu was already struggling to stay awake. In a few seconds, he was fast asleep. Taehyun finished the phrase he’d been singing, before gently releasing Beomgyu’s hands, tucking him gently into bed.

He got up and looked down at Beomgyu’s sleeping form, smiling fondly. He looked so serene and beautiful. Gently, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss onto Beomgyu’s forehead.

“Get well soon, love,” he whispered, straightening. He gave one more smile, before leaving the room, closing the door with a small click.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Taehyun whistled as he walked through the hallways. It was the next morning, and he was on his way to visit Beomgyu. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

His duties. The new council was being formed that day. He needed to give them a run-down on how it all worked.

He thought for a moment, before shaking his head. He could get Soobin or someone to do that. He’d ask Heeseung to inform Soobin, or he could even do it himself later. Taehyun gave a bright smile, resuming his journey towards Beomgyu’s room. Right now, Beomgyu was priority. He’d take care of Beomgyu first, then see to the council. A happy King made a happy Kingdom, right?

He reached the door, and nodded at Seojung, who was on duty. The guard nodded back, knocking and opening the door for him. Taehyun stepped inside, softly calling out for Beomgyu.

“Beomgyu, love? How are you today?”

A pillow was suddenly thrown in his direction with huge force, and Taehyun ducked. The pillow ended up colliding with the metal coat stand, and promptly burst upon impact. Taehyun stared as the dust and feathers floated down, along with the torn pillow case. He stared at Beomgyu, frowning, before bending down to pick up some of the feathers across the carpet.

“That’s not a nice way to greet me, you know. Do you know how much that pillow costs?”

He received no comment in return. No playfully exasperated sigh at Taehyun’s scolding, no delighted laugh at his own mischief, nothing at all. Taehyun frowned, straightening, setting the feathers on a chest of drawers. He looked up at Beomgyu again, opening his mouth to say something.

He paused, taking another step forward. “Beomgyu?” He spoke more cautiously now. “Love, are you okay?”

In response, Beomgyu threw another pillow at him, which Taehyun managed to catch.

Something was definitely wrong with Beomgyu, now. He was sure of it. Before, Taehyun had thought that the glare on his face was merely a playful one, but the longer he stared, the more he thought otherwise.

Beomgyu’s gaze was cold and unfeeling, and sent chills down Taehyun’s spine. This wasn’t like the red-hot anger he’d seen on Beomgyu before, nor the playful, light mischief that normally lit up his face. No– this was harsher: a stony, unemotional glare that Taehyun had never seen on Beomgyu’s face before, and his eyes widened.

He was sitting upright in bed, eyes cool and hard. He narrowed his eyes at Taehyun, fingers curling into fists around the silk sheets. There was a loud ripping sound: Beomgyu had held onto the sheets so tight that there were now large rips inside them.

A growl sounded– deep and rumbling and almost sinister, and Taehyun almost took a step back in fear. This wasn’t normal. This wasn’t Beomgyu.

Beomgyu’s hand reached out to his bedside table, fingers grasping the oil lamp. His gaze was still fixed on Taehyun. His knuckles were white; his skin was white; his eyes were pale and icy.

Taehyun didn’t know what to do. He took a step forward.

Beomgyu growled again, narrowing his eyes. Taehyun shut his eyes, not wanting to stare at him anymore. This wasn’t Beomgyu. His gaze, devoid of its usual warmth and bright emotion, wasn’t Beomgyu’s at all. And he hated it. It physically hurt him to see Beomgyu so unlike himself.

Something came whistling in his direction, and Taehyun immediately smacked it into the wall before it could hit his face, opening his eyes. The oil lamp lay cracked and broken on the floor, the glass shattered and fragmented, as oil leaked pitifully from the lamp, an uncanny shade of dark red spreading across the expensive carpet. Taehyun looked up at Beomgyu, breathing in sharply at the ferocious look he was met with.

Neither of them moved. Beomgyu, seemingly growing frustrated with this, picked up yet another cushion and threw it. His aim had been completely off: the pillow tumbled past Taehyun, far away from where he was standing. But still, that was enough for Taehyun. Beomgyu wasn’t acting like himself, and he needed to find out why.

Taehyun strode up towards the bed, ignoring how Beomgyu growled and snarled in an almost animalistic manner. He grabbed ahold of both of the King’s wrists to prevent him from lashing out.

“Beomgyu, listen to me,” he said in a low voice. “Beomgyu, stop this! Listen to me!”

Even though he was weak and bedridden, Beomgyu continued to thrash around, trying to escape Taehyun’s grip. Struggling, Taehyun held on tighter, preventing Beomgyu from hitting him.

“Stay– fucking– still– Beomgyu!”

Out of options, Taehyun scrambled onto the bed (still holding Beomgyu’s wrists) and sat down on Beomgyu’s legs, squeezing them together with his thighs. He was practically straddling Beomgyu, with the other still struggling underneath him.

And because this wasn’t his Beomgyu – his gentle, warm Beomgyu – Taehyun felt no remorse for what he was about to do.

“Choi fucking Beomgyu!” Taehyun roared, strangling Beomgyu’s wrists in an iron grip. “I command you to stop at once!”

Immediately, Beomgyu went limp in his grasp, eyes glazed over from the force of the command. Taehyun was breathing heavily from the effort it had taken to restrain Beomgyu. Slowly, cautiously, he clambered off the bed, falling into the chair beside the bed. He watched Beomgyu carefully, but he wasn’t doing anything. His eyes, glazed and unfocused, blinked drowsily. His head kept bobbing around. Beomgyu turned his gaze to Taehyun, curling his lips into a sleepy snarl, which still managed to make Taehyun flinch. Beomgyu tried to lift his hands, but it was obvious the command was preventing him from doing so. His eyes closed, then heavily forced themselves open again, before he shut them. His head dropped, and he was asleep again.

Taehyun watched him for a moment, before quickly retreating from the room. He’d decided it would probably be best to return tomorrow.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

The next day, Taehyun peered into Beomgyu’s room in a much more cautious manner, slowly poking his head in. Beomgyu was staring at him curiously, head tilted. Much to his relief, Beomgyu looked much more normal now, his eyes now alight with their usual warmth. But he wasn’t going to be rushing in just yet. Whatever the hell had happened yesterday: he did not want a repeat of that.

“What, have you turned into a snail or something? Honestly, you’re moving so slowly. Come in. I don’t bite, you know.”

Taehyun made a disbelieving noise, still hesitating to come into the room. “I don’t believe you, after what happened yesterday.”

Beomgyu frowned in a confused manner. “What do you mean? I don’t remember what happened yesterday. I’m pretty sure I was asleep the whole time. I told you before: every moment I spend with you is special, so I’m pretty sure I would have remembered if you came.”

Taehyun hesitated. Then he opened the door wider, stepping inside and closing the door. “I remember you saying that,” he said. He sat down in the chair beside the bed, automatically holding onto Beomgyu’s hand. “Do you really not remember anything from yesterday?”

Beomgyu shook his head. “I told you, I’m pretty sure I was asleep the whole day.” He pointed to his eyes excitedly. “See? I bet the darkness around them has gone down!”

The dark rims around Beomgyu’s eyes had not, in fact, gone down at all, but there was no way Taehyun was dampening Beomgyu’s excitement. He gave a weak smile, and leaned upwards to press kisses just under Beomgyu’s eyes. “Indeed, they have,” he said softly. He reached out with a finger to trace the faint purpleness of Beomgyu’s lips. “But it hasn’t gone down from around your mouth.”

Beomgyu’s lips formed a sad pout. “Aw, that’s a shame,” he sighed. But then his eyes lit up again. “Wait, if you give them a kiss, do you think it would go away?”

Taehyun laughed at how adorable Beomgyu looked, in complete contrast to the cold, emotionless Beomgyu which had been in his place just yesterday. It was relieving to see him back to being his normal self. “Come here, then.”

He pressed a soft, gentle kiss onto Beomgyu’s lips, smiling. This Beomgyu felt like his Beomgyu. So then what had happened yesterday? Why had his mood changed so drastically?

Taehyun listened attentively as Beomgyu rambled, but a small part of his brain had disconnected from the conversation. He had no idea why yesterday’s Beomgyu had been like that, and in truth it scared him. Though he’d been able to put aside his personal feelings last time to subdue Beomgyu, he didn’t know how he’d be able to cope if it kept happening. And if it got worse… he didn’t know if he’d be able to forgive himself if he accidentally hurt Beomgyu.

He had a sinking feeling that this bipolar personality of Beomgyu’s would carry on for a while, and he didn’t know how he’d be able to deal with it.

Unfortunately, Taehyun was completely right. The issue was an ongoing one, and wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. In fact, it was soon going to get worse.

taglist: @my-moarmy-heart @arohabangtan @a-fragmented-world

#court of lies #txt #txt taegyu #taegyu #txt taehyun #taehyun #txt beomgyu #beomgyu #txt fanfic #txt imagine #txt imagines #txt fluff #txt angst #tomorrow x together #tomorrow by together

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a-blue-secret · 3 years

Text

CHAPTER I

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Prologue | Chapter I | Chapter II

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: mild swearing

WORD COUNT: 2.6k+

AN: Say hello to Yeonjun! :)

SUMMARY: Best friends turned enemies, Kang Taehyun has managed to trick Choi Beomgyu into his service, and to rule for three years and four months and nineteen days, until his youngest brother would be old enough to take the throne. Choi Beomgyu has no intention of being obedient however, and tries to thwart Taehyun’s orders at every turn. With a growing amount of distrust and lies within the court, will Taehyun manage to keep the kingdom of Gojongja from falling apart?

Beomgyu laughed loudly and boisterously, spilling some of the silver wine over his royal blue suit. The two courtiers looked proud of themselves at having made the King laugh so much. Taehyun refrained from rolling his eyes, choosing to not tell them that Beomgyu had been giving over-the-top reactions for everyone who had come up to him.

“You’re absolutely hilarious!” Beomgyu laughed, throwing both of his legs over the throne’s armrest. “Begone, before you kill me with my own laughter!”

The courtiers stepped down from the King’s Corner, looking rather smug. As soon as they were out of sight, the exaggerated grin dropped from Beomgyu’s face and he tilted back his head with a groan.

“Aren’t you trying to play this part a little too vigorously? I mean, it’s been more than two months and yet you still hold these parties. Our palace can’t run like this forever, you know.”

Beomgyu dropped his head further on the armrest so that he was looking at Taehyun upside down. He narrowed his eyes at his vizier, who was standing ramrod straight next to the throne. “You know,” he said, “I like you better when there are other people around. You’re far too annoying when you talk.”

Taehyun rolled his eyes. “Well I don’t like you at all. You’re annoying whatever you do.”

Beomgyu sat up properly, pouting and looking at Taehyun with wide eyes. “You don’t mean that, do you?” he asked, pout turned up to the max.

Taehyun scoffed. “Don’t do that, you look stupid.” Beomgyu glared at him.

Footsteps approached the King's Corner, and Taehyun stood up straight again, face morphing into a stoic expression. A footsman let out a polite cough, standing just in front of the thin curtain. “There is someone else here to see you, King Beomgyu.”

The lace veil which separated the King’s Corner from the rest of the courtroom twitched, and a foreign lord peered inside. Pushing his half-empty goblet of wine towards Taehyun, Beomgyu beckoned them in. Taehyun could do nothing but frown ever so slightly, before tossing the goblet off the balcony onto the ballroom below. He heard a few shocked shrieks and the sound of shattering crystal, and smirked slightly.

“What matter have you brought to me?” Beomgyu asked the lord. “State your name, and the Kingdom you come from.”

The man bowed. “My name is Lord Choi Yeonjun, Your Greatness. I come from the Aruyeo Kingdom.”

Beomgyu raised his eyebrow. “Aruyeo Kingdom? I assume you and the rest of your court were here for the Coronation revels?”

Choi Yeonjun bowed again. “Yes, sir.”

“Then, state your business with the King.” Beomgyu waved a hand in a careless way, though he was studying the elder male’s face closely.

Yeonju bowed yet again. Honestly, this man seemed to do a lot of bowing. “For many years, our Kingdom has been Gojongja’s most loyal supporter. Not once, in over five hundred years, has Aruyeo made any attempt to go against Gojongja. We have remained firm by your Kingdom’s side, never rebelling, never fighting, staying almost as if we had an alliance with you. The previous King refused this, but, with a new clan on the throne, I have come to ask you.”

“Then by all means, ask away.”

Yeonjun glanced at Taehyun. “I see you have made the former King’s son your vizier.”

“Yes, indeed I have.”

“Is it necessary for him to listen to a conversation he has most likely heard already?”

“Whatever you say to the King will be fit to tell his advisor, regardless of my clan and how many times I may have heard your offer,” Taehyun said smoothly. “You will say it infront of us both, or neither of us at all.”

Yeonjun straightened, adjusting his belt. It was then that Taehyun caught sight of the leather whip curled at his side.

“Very well. As I have stated, my Kingdom has been a fervent ally of yours for generations. Therefore, I hoped to finally have our two kingdoms unite fully, so that we can become true allies. Share war tactics, resources, even people.”

Taehyun frowned. Now he knew why Yeonjun did not want him there. He remembered other Aruyeonan ambassadors had come and claimed similar things. King Seohu had always turned them away, however, claiming that Gojongja was stronger by itself than with an ally. Yeonjun was worried that Taehyun would influence Beomgyu's decision, thereby denying Aruyeo an alliance for yet another year.

“Why has your monarch not come to discuss this herself?” Taehyun asked, hand unconsciously coming to rest on the hilt of his sword. “Why send a representative?”

Yeonjun turned to Taehyun fully, and Taehyun realised why this man sent a chill down his spine. His eyes were amber-brown, and distinctively fox-like. He radiated a suspicious aura, and was someone Taehyun immediately distrusted. Taehyun was sure he hadn’t ever met Choi Yeonjun before (he would have remembered such fox-like eyes), and distrusted him immediately.

Yeonjun let out a slight chuckle, turning to Beomgyu. “Will you always permit your vizier to speak for you?” he asked.

Beomgyu eyed Taehyun distastefully, but calmly answered the Aruyeonan. “It gives him pleasure to believe he has control over me. But, he is correct. Why has Queen Erajin not come to me herself? It would have been best to talk it out, monarch to monarch.”

“Her Royal Supremeness has always preferred to act through ambassadors,” Yeonjun replied. “Her ways are mysterious, and it is not our job to question them, but to follow them without complaint.”

Beomgyu frowned thoughtfully at that. Taehyun desperately wished that he could somehow pull Beomgyu aside and command him to not accept the offer, but he couldn’t do so without it seeming suspicious. Taehyun wasn’t sure why he wanted Beomgyu to reject an alliance with the Aruyeo, but after seeing King Seohu turn them away many times, he was sure that it would be a bad thing to do.

Beomgyu tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I see no harm in an alliance with the Aruyeo,” he said. “But there is no use discussing such politics when I am drunk. Perhaps my vizier could schedule a meeting, and we can discuss formally then?”

Taehyun gritted his teeth. This was Beomgyu forcing him to make the decisions. He knew full well that the King would coincidentally forget about the meeting, meaning Taehyun would have to make the decisions by himself. However, perhaps this time it would be useful, since Taehyun would be able to reject the alliance…

“-and I assure you our discussion will be about all the things Aruyeo will have to offer in our alliance.”

… or not.

Yeonjun bowed, and straightened again. Though his face showed no emotion, Taehyun could sense the triumph radiating from him. “Thank you, Your Greatness.”

Once he had left, Taehyun turned to Beomgyu. “Why did you accept?” he hissed. Beomgyu looked confused, and a little hurt.

“Hey, why are you mad at me? I thought you’d be glad that I’d managed to make an important move by myself.”

“Why would I be glad?” Taehyun scoffed. “You’re drunk, and you’re going around agreeing to alliances you don’t even know the consequences of!”

“Why are you so worked up about it, hm?” Beomgyu said, growing annoyed. “Listen, an alliance with the Aruyeo Kingdom would come in handy. Have you seen the size of their military? Combined with ours, we easily overpower the other two kingdoms 50 men to one.”

“How do you know that-”

“And their resources? Aruyeo is famous for its blacksmiths. They create epic weapons out of metals that other Kingdoms don’t even have. Everyone wants to trade with the merchants of Aruyeo because of their exotic goods and the sheer wealth that they bring.”

Taehyun scowled. “Yes, but-”

“Also, their history of war-winning? It’s better to have them by our side than oppose us. As the prince, you studied past wars, didn't you? That Lord was right. Aruyeo hasn’t fought us for over half a millennium. And you can see, also, if you dig into Aruyeo’s battles, that they have barely ever lost a war. And the impact they had on the defeated is incredible. They know so many war tactics, Taehyun. War tactics, medicinal knowledge, philosophy, the sciences… they know so much.” Beomgyu counted on his fingers. “Their Royal war forces, their economy, their intelligence… Aruyeo, out of any of the other Kingdoms, is probably the best Kingdom to form an alliance with. Why are you so against it?”

Taehyun opened his mouth, and then closed it again. All the points Beomgyu had made were scarily good. He didn’t even know why he opposed the alliance so fiercely. Taehyun sighed. “King Seohu would always have me with him whenever he had meetings with foreign officials. Every couple of years or so, an Aruyeonan ambassador would come to him, stating something along the lines of what that Yeonjun guy just said. And every time, he’d turn them down. Said an alliance would only make us weak.”

Beomgyu frowned, then his face cleared. “The Jinju Kang clan were fiercely independent. They valued individual power and glory. They hated alliances, or friends, or having to rely on others. That’s why.” Beomgyu kicked his legs back onto the armrest, draping himself carelessly on the silver frame. “My clan are known for their loyalty and need for allies. They work better as team leaders, instead of just solitary wolves. For me, for my kingdom, this is what I’m going to do.”

“I’m the one supposed to be running this kingdom, aren’t I?” Taehyun reminded him. Beomgyu rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. But there has to be some sort of Gyeongju Choi element to this rule, otherwise people will doubt I’m truly King.”

Taehyun had to grudgingly admit that Beomgyu made some good points. They stayed there in silence for a few moments, Beomgyu trailing his fingers along the intricate gold designs on the floor. Taehyun stared straight ahead at the lace curtain. His mind was plagued by the same thoughts they’d always had been for the past three weeks, ever since Beomgyu became King. He needed to keep Beomgyu on the throne for as long as possible. But not for too long, otherwise the Jinju Kang clan could never come back to the throne. It would be difficult for Taehyun to negotiate with Beomgyu to convince him to extend their contract, but even more difficult if Beomgyu acquired a taste for ruling and refused to give up the throne. It was all one huge dilemma which Taehyun wasn’t sure he knew how to get out of.

“How did you know so much?” Taehyun suddenly asked. "About Aruyeo, I mean."

Beomgyu didn’t look at Taehyun, but stopped tracing the carpet.

“When you pushed me away… I went to stay in Aruyeo.”

“You what?”

“Yeah. Aruyeo have always been welcoming of Gojongja nobles. It wasn’t that hard to get in. So I stayed there, for a year or so. Learned about Aruyeonan history. They’re an epic Kingdom, by the way.”

Taehyun made a noise to confirm he’d been listening. “Also, why did you suddenly become so smart?”

Beomgyu glared, offended. “Contrary to what you believe, I actually did pay attention in my lessons. Heck, I could write down everything written in ‘the Magical Everchanging Book of Clans and their Population’, with all clans that ever existed, in alphabetical order, with citations as to how many people were in the clans when I was just seventeen.”

“Has it been that long since you opened the book?”

“No, it’s been that long since my tutors decided I had no need to open the book since I’d memorised every word, including the numbers of people which changed every single day,” Beomgyu replied curtly.

Taehyun didn’t say anything, just stared down at the patterned floor.

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

“What clan are you actually from then?”

“Hm?” Taehyun turned to Beomgyu, who was looking at him through dark, slitted eyes. “Oh… I come from the Jeo clan.”

“The what?” Beomgyu sat up, and laughed. “What, do you not have any surname branches?”

Taehyun glared at Beomgyu. “I don’t know, okay? When King Seohu told me three years ago, he never said anything about surname branches. He just told me I was adopted and what my ability was," Taehyun spat.

"What's your ability?"

"Why do you want to know?" Taehyun snapped back. Beomgyu glared.

"You're my subject. I have the right to know what your ability is. God, why are you so defensive over it?" Beomgyu fiddled with a button on his suit, thinking. "Is it something to do with your crazy ability to make magical contracts? Or was that just enchanted parchment?"

"That was just enchanted parchment," Taehyun said. "Apparently, their ability is foreign exchange, whatever that could mean. I haven’t figured out how to tap into this ability yet.” Taehyun leaned against one of the pillars. “Also, I for some reason possess the Jinju Kang clan’s ability of nature manipulation, though I’m not related to their line." He frowned. "Why am I telling you this?"

"I don't know," Beomgyu shrugged. " Did you seriously not know you were illegitimate for years?"

"My whole life. I just assumed I was a Kang."

"Jeo Taehyun…" Beomgyu mused. "Eh. Kang Taehyun sounds better."

Taehyun rolled his eyes. "That's because that's what you're used to." He walked away from beside the throne to look down the balcony at the ballroom floor. "Also, I think we should stop the coronation revels. This is stupid. You're just wasting money and food and our suites by attending to these dumb courtiers who only really care about how close they can get to the throne."

Beomgyu hummed. He'd taken off the silver circlet and was twirling it carelessly around his fingers.

"You shouldn't do that you know," Taehyun berated. "This crown is a precious part of Gojongja history and we don't want you breaking it by playing with it."

Beomgyu grumbled, placing the circlet sulkily back onto his head. "It's enchanted. I'm pretty sure it won't break that easily."

"Well you still shouldn't do it," Taehyun said. "It's disrespectful."

Beomgyu sighed insolently, staring up at the ceiling.

"Also, are you ever going to attend the board meetings? You haven't turned up to a single one since you became King. Do you know how awkward it is to have to explain to the rest of the generals that the King couldn't be bothered to come?"

"Oh, you bore me," Beomgyu said in annoyance. He suddenly stood up, navy velvet cloak swinging behind him. "I'm going to bed." With an air of insolence, Beomgyu swept out through the veil, before abruptly turning around. “If the revels annoy you that much, call them off yourself. And no, I don’t think I’ll be attending any of those board meetings any time soon. They bore me almost as much as you do.” He winked. “See you around, my dear vizier.” Blowing Taehyun a mocking kiss, he disappeared through the veil, mischievous laughter echoing in his wake.

Taehyun blinked, and then growled. He shook his head, gripping the hilt of his sword. "Choi fucking Beomgyu."

Beomgyu's head appeared through the lace suddenly, smirking at Taehyun. "It's 'His Royal Greatness Choi fucking Beomgyu' to you. Oh, and make sure that you air out the Discussion and Tactics Room, will you? When you talk to that Choi Yeonjun, we don't want it looking shabby, do we?"

Taehyun threw a handkerchief at Beomgyu's annoying face. The King only laughed and ducked away, leaving the cloth to flutter to the ground. Taehyun sighed and walked over to pick up the handkerchief. God, Beomgyu was so infuriating…

#court of lies #taegyu #txt taegyu #txt fanfic #txt fluff #txt angst #beomgyu #txt beomgyu #taehyun #txt taehyun #txt #tomorrow x together #tomorrow by together #txt post #royal au #fantasy au

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a-blue-secret · 3 years

Text

CHAPTER IX

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Chapter VIII | Chapter IX | Chapter X

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: swearing, implied homophobia

WORD COUNT: 4.7k+

AN: a shit ton happens in this chapter, and it's not even that long...nevertheless, here it is!

Beomgyu stayed in his angry, stressed state for the rest of the week. If he was being completely honest, Taehyun was a little scared of this new, fierce Beomgyu. And he hated feeling scared. Every time Beomgyu snapped out a command or demanded an answer to a question, it made Taehyun temporarily freeze up and he suddenly couldn’t form proper words. This feeling of suddenly having all his common sense snatched from him, leaving him a stuttering, stammering mess, was so new and confusing to Taehyun, and he hated it so much. The stress of figuring out why his brain constantly short-circuited around Beomgyu, coupled with the fact he now had a full-on riot on his hands, made Taehyun want to scream from all the pressure.

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

“Sir, we have to employ military forces against them. Already, five law enforcement officers have been killed, and several citizens have been arrested. It’s the only way-”

“No no no no no,” Beomgyu said, shaking his head. “Don’t pull the ‘it’s the only way’ bullshit on me. We both know that’s not true.”

“With all due respect, it is-”

“No. If it is, find a new one. We are not hurting these people,” Beomgyu said, glaring at Taehyun. There was such a ringing finality in his words that everyone in the room fell silent. The Head General nodded, bowing.

“We understand not wanting to turn against Gojongja,” he said. “We’ll see ourselves out.” He and the other general filed out past Beomgyu. When they were gone, Beomgyu turned to Taehyun.

“Don’t try and convince me of that again,” he said. “Don’t bring the army officials to me again. Just… don’t speak of anything to do with the military. I’m not going to employ them against them.”

“You’re not even the true King-”

“Don’t-” Beomgyu held up a finger, glaring. “Don’t use that against me. You set me on the throne, so fucking deal with the consequences.” He stood up, roughly scraping the chair legs against the stone floor. Taehyun took a few steps back in surprise. “This is too stressful. Taehyun, you’re going to be in charge for the next three days. I can’t do this.” He glared at him warningly. “Do whatever you want, but don’t call in any military forces.” With one last glare, Beomgyu swept past Taehyun, leaving the room.

Taehyun stood there, blinking, before growling. That little… Taehyun wanted to scream or throw something. Beomgyu was being so annoying. He ran a hand through his hair, and sat down heavily in the chair Beomgyu had just vacated. There was no other way to subdue them. He rubbed his nose thoughtfully. Could they compromise with the people? Just as soon as he’d had that thought, Taehyun shook his head. “It won’t be possible,” he said aloud. “That’ll also be seen as weak.” He clenched his fists. “Those stupid Lords… mad that Beomgyu isn’t involving them, so they decide to start a riot? God, they’re so petty.” His nails dug into his palms as he groaned, realising something else. “I need to replace the council too! The fuck, Beomgyu?” he cursed. “How do I replace the council? They’re not going to like it at all!” He sighed roughly. Someone knocked on the door, and Lord Yeonjun peered into the room.

“Sir Taehyun? If you don’t mind–”

“I do mind,” Taehyun interrupted, pushing past Yeonjun. “Look, I can’t deal with it right now. Just… stay out of the way.” Taehyun stalked down the hallway, fingers twitching from agitation. He needed something to take his mind off of everything that was happening. He needed a distraction. Thankfully, he knew just where to go.

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

After Beomgyu stormed out of the room, his feet went into autopilot. He didn’t know where he was going, but soon enough, he ended up in front of the secret garden’s door. Beomgyu hesitated. He didn’t want to think about Taehyun at that moment, but there really was no other place for him to be alone. And so, he pushed open the door, stepping inside.

Beomgyu sighed, sitting down on the grass. He bunched up his hair in his hands, frustrated. In the Discussion and Tactics room, it had suddenly struck him: what was he doing? Why was he back in court? Why was he getting involved? He tugged at his hair, before releasing the strands and dragging a tired hand over his face. He leaned backwards until he was lying on his back on the grass, looking up at the sunlight streaming through the leaves of the birch tree. He smiled as the sun warmed his face, but soon the smile faded, when he remembered the last time he’d laid down like this in the garden.

“Tae?”

“Hm?”

“If I tell you something… important about me, will you promise to listen?”

“Course.”

“Will you… will you stay?”

“Depends on what the thing is,” Taehyun said jokingly. “If you killed a man, I don’t think I’d want to.”

“Shut up,” Beomgyu said. “This… it’s serious.” He looked over at Taehyun, who was lying next to him on the grass, eyes up towards the clouds. When he felt Beomgyu’s gaze on him, however, glanced at the boy next to him.

“Okay,” he said slowly. “I promise to listen.”

“Right. So, um, after what happened to Jieon, it kind of shook me you know? I didn’t think people could be so cruel.”

Taehyun didn’t say anything, just returned to looking up at the sky.

“So, anyway,” Beomgyu said, swallowing nervously. “Because of what happened to Jieon, I- I was hesitant to do this, but…” He looked at Taehyun. “I trust you.” He bit his lip, hesitating. “I trust you, okay? Don’t- please don’t leave.” He looked away, too nervous to watch for Taehyun’s reaction. “I wasn’t sure for some time. I didn’t want to think it possible. But, maybe about a few months ago, I realised that… this was real. This is who I am. Taehyun, I- I'm gay.”

Beomgyu kept his eyes fixed to the sky, waiting for Taehyun’s reaction. When the young prince didn’t say anything, he turned his head. “Tae- Taehyun?”

“Are you going to say you’re in love with me too?”

“I…”

That hurt. The fact Beomgyu was actually in love with Taehyun was irrelevant at that point. The tone in which Taehyun had said those words was mocking, senseless.

“Doesn’t matter.” Taehyun abruptly stood up, and left the garden without another word. Beomgyu stared at the door, still swinging on its hinges, a tear trailing its way down his cheek. Taehyun…?

Beomgyu squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop the memories from resurfacing, but they just kept coming.

After that day, Taehyun began to ignore him, and avoid him whenever they crossed paths in the corridor. However, word never spread that Beomgyu was gay, so he was relieved that Taehyun hadn’t gone gossiping to other nobles. Beomgyu never wanted what happened to his elder brother to happen to him: he’d seen the impact the taunts had had on Jieon. But still, the distance between the two was too much to bear. And after what happened to Jieon, he couldn’t look at the nobles the same way again. He’d only stayed in court because of Taehyun, and now that the prince had turned his back on him… he had no reason to stay. Three weeks after coming out, Beomgyu left court, hoping to never return again.

“So what am I doing here?” Beomgyu laughed to himself. “I’m actually trying to work with these idiots.” He roughly wiped his eyes, taking a deep breath. “No. I’m not working with them. I am working against them, trying to stop them from doing things.” He inhaled and exhaled again, and lay down on the grass. He closed his eyes, and willed away all thoughts of the court, and the Lords, and Taehyun. At that moment, he wanted to just be at peace. With a clear mind, and no worries.

Maybe it was the gentle warmth of the sun, maybe it was the delicate breeze. Maybe it was the calming rustle of the birch leaves, or even the bright chirping of birds. Whatever it was, it calmed Beomgyu down, and soon he was asleep in the safety of the secret garden.

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

“N- now, sir?”

“Yes. Probably for the rest of the week as well.”

Heesung balked. “You- you can do that?”

Taehyun shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care. I’m doing it anyway.” He turned back to the servant. “Please remove all nobles from this room, and direct any others to the room across the hall.” The servant nodded, and scurried off.

“Uh, I'm not trying to scold you or anything, but shouldn't you be taking care of the riot, and not, um, going to work out?” Heesung said.

“Yes. I should.” Taehyun flung open the door, letting the nobles file past him, before stepping into the room himself.

“Sir Taehyun?”

Taehyun paused, and looked back at the Lord who’d spoken. His eyes sparked with recognition. That was the tall Lord who’d been there when Beomgyu exploded. “Lord Soobin, right? What do you want?”

Lord Soobin regarded him carefully, but gave a kind smile. His brown eyes sparkled warmly. “I just wanted to let you know that there are still Lords who support King Beomgyu. Though you have every right to hate us, know that there are some who have utmost faith in you.”

Taehyun blinked, unsure as to what to say next. Eventually, he inclined his head. “Thank you, Lord Soobin. I’ll keep that in mind.”

The tall lord smiled, and walked away. Taehyun turned to Heesung.

“Lord Soobin is from a prestigious family. It is good to have a supporter like him,” Heesung said. Taehyun shrugged.

"Anyway, I’m going to need this gym.” He immediately began to unbutton his heavy vizier’s overcoat, flinging it carelessly over a statue.

“Why do you need a whole gymnasium to yourself?” Heesung asked.

“Cause I don’t want to get distracted by everyone else.” He looked over at Heesung. “You don’t have to stay,” he called out. “When I come here, you can guard for a few minutes then leave. I don’t need protecting.” Heesung stood there, a little unsure, before nodding his head and bowing.

“Alright. But please, do return to your chambers before you go anywhere else.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Taehyun assured him. He waved a hand. “Now go. I need to be left alone.” Heesung nodded, and quietly left, closing the door behind him. Taehyun went over and dragged in one of the boxing dummies. He found some boxing tape, and began to wrap it around his hands. Though he hadn’t done boxing in ages, his fingers seemed to automatically know what to do. Throwing the tape aside, he rolled up his sleeves, balled his fists, and began.

When Taehyun was stressed, he needed a distraction. Something which could calm his mind for a few hours. For most people, this was painting, or reading, or something relaxing. For Taehyun, this was a physical activity. Something which forced him to think of nothing but the sport. At times like these, he turned to archery, or boxing, or sparring. Any sport which required his utmost concentration, he turned to it.

Jab. Double jab. Left hook. Right hook. Uppercut. Jab. Double jab. Left hook. Right hook. Uppercut.

Taehyun repeated the simple drill over, and over, and over again, until the padded hands of the dummy swung pitifully. Then, he dragged aside the dummy and brought out a new one, finding a different drill to perfect. He did this with several more boxing dummies, until finally he stopped, hands numb from how much he’d been punching non-stop. Then, he switched to kickboxing.

He pulled out the standing boxing bag, adjusted his stance, and brought his leg up in a swift side kick. When his trousers twisted and stretched uncomfortably, he winced. Probably not the best idea to do kickboxing in dress pants. He glanced at the giant grandfather clock placed in the corner of the room, and sighed. He’d been there for a solid three hours. Taehyun picked up a towel from the rack, quickly dragging it across his sweating face, before carelessly hanging it around his neck. He walked over and picked up his coat from where it still hung on the statue and swung open the doors, striding out. He wasn’t fully de-stressed yet, but his current mental state would have to do for now. He could always come back that night, anyway. Now, he needed to go change his shirt, and see if there was anything he could do about the riots.

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

Taehyun rubbed his forehead tiredly, and looked up at the official. “The King doesn’t want to use force. Is there really no other way?”

“It’s difficult, sire,” the official responded. “No one has ever objected to a military approach when a riot happens. The only other option that has ever been suggested is to come to an agreement with the people.”

Taehyun sighed, sifting through the papers on the desk. “Looks to me as if these are only applied when military forces failed to detain them,” he said, throwing them down again. “Couldn’t we like… rewind time? Fix the mistake in the past? Or like, I don’t know… brainwash the peo– I’m joking,” Taehyun said, as the official’s eyes widened in horror. “I’m joking. I just…” He ran a hand through his hair. “The King is really adamant about taking a peaceful approach. And it’s hard.” He bit his thumb, thinking. The official shifted slightly, still standing in front of Taehyun’s desk. Taehyun looked up. “Oh, you’re dismissed. I need it to be quiet to think properly.” The official bowed, and walked out of the vizier’s study. As soon as he was gone, Taehyun buried his head in all the papers, and let out a frustrated groan. “Ugh, Beomgyu… why?”

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

Beomgyu said he was taking a hiatus for three days. Three days turned into five, then it became a week, and before long, they were halfway through the second week of his hiatus. As the days dragged on, Taehyun became increasingly frustrated and frazzled.

The chandelier glass had apparently done more damage to the ballroom than originally thought, so they’d had to renovate that. Not to mention the annoyed Lords who still lurked the hallways. Taehyun had briefly looked at the rules on replacing council members, and it seemed that it was an incredibly complicated process. Additionally, a few nights after the disastrous revel, seven commoners were found inside the palace grounds, mutilating the gardens. Though they were stopped before they could get to the Hall of Kings, which was their intended target, a considerable amount of damage had been done to the other rooms they’d been in.

Trying to deal with all of this left Taehyun nearing the end of his tether every day, and he may have screamed at someone more than once that past week.

Stressed, tired, and frustrated, Taehyun began to work out more frequently. Though he had no time during the day, after the sun had gone down and the palace was sleeping, he’d leave his room and exercise for hours. It was a choice between tossing and turning in bed, or clearing his mind in the gymnasium. He chose the latter. It wasn’t like he’d be able to sleep, anyway.

Five days after the revel, one night, Taehyun was again in the gymnasium, this time sparring with an invisible partner. He was so immersed into it, that he didn’t notice the sound of the door creaking open. He only registered the other person when they stood in front of him, practice sword raised, and wordlessly began to spar with him.

Taehyun startled, but couldn’t tell Yeonjun to go away. All his attention was focused on trying to defend himself against a real partner. He gritted his teeth, spinning out of the way before Yeonjun’s sword could come into contact with his foot. As their blunt swords clashed, Taehyun grudgingly acknowledged that Yeonjun was good. Like, really good. As a prince, Taehyun had been taught by only the best swordsmasters, and yet here Yeonjun was, forcing Taehyun to remember all the techniques he’d learnt.

They sparred endlessly, neither saying a word. Interestingly, Taehyun wasn’t too bothered by Yeonjun’s presence. Funnily enough, he appreciated it. Now that he had a real opponent, his senses had sharpened, and he had to focus a lot more when trying to defeat Yeonjun than he had with his imaginary partner.

Soon, though, he became tired out. He was too focused on attacking a weak spot in Yeonjun’s side that he completely missed the fact that the reason the Aruyeonan’s side was exposed was because he’d thrust out the sword, the edge coming up to the side of Taehyun’s neck.

Taehyun stood there, panting, and let his sword drop to his side. “I yield.”

A beat. Then, Yeonjun dropped the sword, grinning. “You did good.”

Taehyun ignored him, and walked over to get himself some water. “Why are you here?”

Yeonjun followed him, also pouring himself a glass. “You told me to stay out of your way. I did. But really, there’s only so much a foreign Lord can do in court, so I regularly come down to practice, when you guys are all asleep. They closed off the gym I normally go to, though, so I was headed to another one. I came here because I heard you practicing, and your technique…” He shook his head disappointedly. “You were so stressed that you were tensing up your wrists far too much. I couldn’t resist: I knew you could do better than that, being the former prince and all, so I came in to see if you actually sparred like that or if it was just because you were stressed.”

Taehyun blinked. He wasn’t expecting such a long explanation. “Okay… and was it just because I was stressed?”

“Yeah.” Yeonjun gulped down his water, and poured another glass. “When you actually spar, your technique is crazy good.”

Though he tried to suppress it, Taehyun felt the pride surging into his stance. Back in the day, he was scolded for his technique always being sloppy, so it was nice to hear that all those hours of practice paid off.

When Taehyun didn’t say anything, Yeonjun took it as a sign he wasn’t wanted. He set down the glass. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted you. You haven’t wanted to see me in the hallways, so I don’t know why I thought it’d be alright to see you while you were sparring. If you want, I can go now.”

“Your technique is really good,” Taehyun blurted, as Yeonjun was turning to leave. “The Falcon Twist… I haven’t seen someone perform it that well before.” Yeonjun looked back, and gave a small grin.

“Also, they way you attack is so fast. And when you defend, as well.”

Yeonjun smiled, and walked back to Taehyun. “Want me to teach you?”

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

It was a very curious thing. Taehyun escaped to the gymnasium at night to be away from people, and to be able to focus on himself and himself alone. But Yeonjun would always turn up half an hour or so after Taehyun, and the two would wordlessly spar. But that was not the most curious thing. It was the fact that Taehyun allowed him to stay. This was a time for Taehyun to be completely alone, and yet he allowed Yeonjun to enter his little bubble. He allowed the Aruyeonan to stay, and even appreciated his presence. Taehyun had always been an independent person, always preferring to do things alone. The fact that he allowed Yeonjun to be there? That was the most curious thing of all.

No words were ever needed between them. Yeonjun would just immediately jump in, replacing Taehyun’s imaginary partner so effortlessly it was like the Aruyeonan could see the made-up opponent that Taehyun had made. Though Taehyun would still get an uneasy feeling from being around Yeonjun, it soon wore off, and the vizier dismissed it as being part of his instinct to not trust strangers. Yeonjun had proved he was a kind person, anyway.

Some days after they’d settled into this, Yeonjun began to show up with his whip instead of his practice sword. At first, Taehyun was caught off guard, and was annoyed. A whip was more flexible than a stiff, metal sword, so Yeonjun would immediately have an advantage. But, interestingly, Yeonjun seemed more focused on keeping his whip straight. Calling a break, Taehyun sank to his knees, out of breath, but managed to get his question out.

“You… what’s- what’s your ability?”

Sitting down on the floor next to Taehyun, Yeonjun wiped the sweat from his brow. “Inanimate object manipulation,” he said between pants. “I can… I can make inanimate objects brie- briefly animate.”

Taehyun nodded, and lay down on the cold, stone floor. “N- nice.” He lifted his head. “That must be hard though.”

“Yeah. Takes lots of effort. That’s why my play was so off.”

Taehyun smiled a little. “I wondered why you were being so slow.”

Yeonjun looked like he wanted to protest, but relented. “True. Controlling the whip is hard, okay?”

“I believe you. I can’t even keep a flower alive for too long because it drains me.”

Yeonjun raised an eyebrow. “You can keep flowers alive?”

“For a bit,” Taehyun responded. “I can also make them out of nothing, if I visualise it.”

“Ooh! Do it now, please?”

“I’m too tired, it won’t work.”

“Try!”

Taehyun opened his palm, and concentrated on the creases within it, imagining a bud blooming there. His hand shook from how hard he was focusing, but all he managed was a small seed. Still, he held it up for the Aruyeonan to see. “There. Now let’s go practice.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

Another interesting thing was how Taehyun opened up to Yeonjun. He didn’t know why, but as they spent more hours together, just the two of them, Taehyun came to respect and trust the Aruyeonan. It was a rare thing; Taehyun never confided with anyone about his fears or worries. Not after Beomgyu moved away, anyway. But with Yeonjun, it felt… natural. He felt safe with telling things to the Aruyeonan.

“Further. Further. No, not your neck, it’s your back.” Yeonjun walked up and adjusted Taehyun’s posture. “There we go. Now try and reach that position every time.”

Taehyun dropped his arm, and stepped away, rubbing his neck. “Ugh. Who came up with that move anyway? It’s so hard.”

“I did,” Yeonjun said, grinning.

Taehyun huffed. “That’s why it’s so difficult.” He motioned towards the drinks. “I’m gonna catch a break.”

Taehyun poured himself some water, and sat down tiredly on the floor. Yeonjun folded his legs to sit by Taehyun.

“Something on your mind?” he asked the vizier.

“Too much,” Taehyun sighed.

Yeonjun tapped a rhythm on his thighs. He glanced at Taehyun.”Wanna talk about it?”

Taehyun was silent for a moment. “What would you do if your friend came out as gay to you?”

Yeonjun looked at him in surprise. It was obvious that wasn’t a question he was expecting. “Uhm… I have a pansexual friend. When he came out to me, I told him I’d support him, and that no one in court would mind.”

“Ah right,” Taehyun said to himself. “You guys in Aruyeo are more accepting.” He looked at Yeonjun again. “Okay… what would you do… if you came out to someone and they just walked away?”

“Depends on who they are,” Yeonjun said, shrugging. “If it’s someone I barely know… fine. Whatever. I don’t care about them.”

“What if it’s someone you trust a lot? And like, they’re someone who you thought would always be there.”

“I’d be pretty mad,” Yeonjun admitted. “No, scratch that- I’d be really mad, and really upset. Because like you said, they’re someone you trust, right? And if they leave, it’s a sign they don’t want to have anything to do with you, and sort of… neglect you, after you admit who you are.” He rubbed his nose. “If they leave you, they can’t be that much of a good person, anyway. What kind of asshole wouldn’t accept you just because of your sexuality?”

Taehyun gave a small laugh. “Yeah… what kind…��

Yeonjun got up, offering a hand to Taehyun. “I see you put on more comfortable pants. Wanna have a try at taekwondo?”

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

One day, Yeonjun came in to find Taehyun doing yoga.

“Sup,” he greeted, and the vizier opened his eyes.

“Hello. I decided to do a bit of stretching today.”

Yeonjun took off his boots, and sat next to Taehyun. “Do you have a routine in mind?”

“No.” Taehyun closed his eyes again, and stretched out his legs. “I memorised some moves, though, so I’ll just do whatever comes to mind.”

“Okay.” Yeonjun also stretched out his legs, and reached forward till his nose touched his knees. He knew quite a lot of yoga, since in Aruyeo he led classes on yoga for the children.

After half an hour or so, Taehyun spoke up. “Everything is so fucking stressful right now.”

Yeonjun didn’t say anything, just let Taehyun speak. He had a feeling that the vizier had a lot on his mind.

“Apparently the chandelier glass created loads of chips in the marble floor, and whenever people go in there they either leave with bruises or glass cuts over their hands. I want to get the floor replaced quickly, but there’s been a delay in the marble transport, ‘cause apparently one of their mines had to shut down due to abnormal radioactive activity, which sucks. For them and for us,” he added. “I can’t imagine how awful it must be for the miners, to suddenly not be able to make a living.”

Yeonjun hummed, bringing his arms up above his head.

“And the council business. Maybe you don’t know, but Beomgyu insisted that we need to replace all members of the council. Word has gotten out, and I’ve received several angry letters from clans. I don’t have the energy to reply to them when they come, so I always leave them and then forget. Which leads to more angry letters, because they think I’m ignoring them.” Taehyun sighed, bending forwards. “And not to mention the riot. It’s died down, it has, but people have been arrested and killed and it’s just… I just know that it’s going to flare up again. And I just don’t want other people to get hurt.”

He sat back on his haunches, stopping his yoga. “I really care about these people. Beomgyu said we shouldn’t employ the military, but I think we should. The people won’t fight against them, I know it; it’s just to scare them and deter them from rebelling. But every time I try to explain that to Beomgyu, he won’t listen.”

Yeonjun sat up too, crossing his legs comfortably. “Then do it.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re sure it’s a good idea, do it. Beomgyu’s taking a hiatus, isn’t he? Then you’re in charge. You can do it.”

“No, but, he left me with one specific message. Which was not to do it,” Taehyun sighed. “It’s hard.”

Yeonjun tilted his head. “Do you think it’s a dumb decision? The one that Beomgyu made.”

“Uh… not really? I can see why he might not want to use force. But he didn’t see that it’s just to scare them.”

Yeonjun sighed. “Answer the question in a proper way. I’m tryna help you here.”

“Okay…?” Taehyun said, confused. “In that case… yeah. It’s a dumb decision.”

Yeonjun grinned. “Okay, so you can just say that Beomgyu made a decision, but because it’s a stupid-ass decision, you’ve decided to ignore it.”

Taehyun blinked. Then a smile spread across his face. “I like your thinking.” He scrambled up onto his feet, tugging on his boots. “I gotta go inform the Head General! Bye!”

Yeonjun watched him leave, and the smile melted from his face. He knew what he was here to do, but… why did he feel that he wanted to go against it?

#txt #court of lies #txt taegyu #txt fanfic #txt taehyun #taehyun #taegyu #beomgyu #txt fluff #txt beomgyu #txt angst #txt imagines #tomorrow by together #tomorrow x together

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a-blue-secret · 3 years

Text

CHAPTER XII

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Chapter XI | Chapter XII | Chapter XIII

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: swearing (Taehyun has the mouth of a sailor smh)

WORD COUNT: 4.8k+

AN: This is a chapter y'all have probably been waiting for! Here, we get to see Taehyun's reaction :)

Taehyun strode up to Beomgyu’s door. “Hello, Seojung. Can I talk to Beomgyu?”

“The King wishes to talk to no one,” the guard responded. “He is taking no visitors.”

Taehyun sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tell him it’s his vizier, who really needs to talk to him.”

Still, Seojung shook his head. “He has explicitly expressed he does not want to talk to you,” he said.

Taehyun pursed his lips in frustration. “Fine.” He walked away, annoyed. “Guess I’ll have to employ the military myself…”

As Taehyun disappeared round the corner, Beomgyu cracked the door open and peered outside. “Has he gone?”

“He has, sire.”

“Oh good.” Beomgyu breathed a sigh of relief, and stepped out from behind the door.

“Sire?”

“Yes?” Beomgyu turned to Seojung.

“You know that you will have to talk to Sir Taehyun eventually. As he is your vizier, you are obligated to listen to the advice he gives you.”

Beomgyu rolled his eyes, groaning. “Not you too! That’s what Chan said as well.” He crossed his arms childishly. “What if I don’t want to?”

“You have to. It is your duty.”

“Hmph.” Beomgyu pouted, but didn’t say anything. He sniffed pettily, and retreated back into his room.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“Oh, Taehyun!”

Taehyun turned around to see Yeonjun jogging up to him. “Hey, Yeonjun. What’s up?”

“You said you trusted me, right?” Yeonjun asked, once he’d reached the vizier.

Taehyun nodded. “Yes. I did.”

“Well, there’s something I wanted to tell you. Could you come to my room?”

Taehyun thought for a moment. “Uhm, sure. Yeah, I have time. Wanna go now?”

Taehyun followed Yeonjun down the halls and into the room the Aruyeonan was staying. He patiently stood in the middle of the room while Yeonjun paced around.

“Take your time, don’t worry,” Taehyun reassured him. As Yeonjun was pacing, the edge of the curtain snaked around his ankle, and he quickly shook it off. Taehyun raised an eyebrow. The Aruyeonan must be really nervous, if he was losing control of his ability. Finally, Yeonjun ran a hand through his hair and sighed, sitting down on the bed.

“I, uh… okay. I’m ready now.” He took a deep breath, and began to speak.

“Even being the son of a lord, I didn’t have the best childhood growing up,” Yeonjun began. “Father was always too busy to take care of me, and Mother was more interested in being part of the social hierarchy in the court. I guess you could say I was... lonely. I was lonely, but… then gained a brother."

Yeonjun smiled a little." Mother never had another child after me. But, a boy from the West came into our court one day, and our clan adopted him. He went through the whole ability-adopting process and everything; I was so excited at the thought of finally having a sibling. Only, the operation went wrong. Instead of having our ability - inanimate object manipulation – he gained a new one. Matter manipulation.”

“Matter manipulation? What’s that?”

“It’s not an actual ability. When they were doing the operation, the ability mutated and he gained something else. He can manipulate an object’s state of matter. Make solid into liquid, gas into solid, et cetera et cetera, while also changing solids. He can make stone into metal, or wood into stone, or metal into wood. Anything to do with an object’s matter, he could manipulate it.”

Yeonjun smiled bitterly. “The operation also went wrong in the fact that he kept his old ability, too. People were shocked and kind of repelled by it, and asked if we still wanted him in our clan. Mother and Father, being the leading family in our clan, had the last say on the matter. I begged and begged them to let him stay. I told them that if we rejected him he’d have nowhere to go, and would die alone. Eventually, they agreed to let him stay as part of our clan. He became my brother, my adorable little brother. For the first time ever, I had a companion. We laughed together, played together, did everything together.” Yeonjun’s eyes glazed over as he reminisced.

“It was… they were the best years of my life. But as time went on, it soon became clear that things were not going… the best for him.”

Taehyun tilted his head. “How do you mean?”

“You’ve probably heard a lot that Aruyeo is the best at being welcoming to all people, regardless of sexuality or gender or race?”

Taehyun nodded. “Duh, everyone knows that. It’s literally a fact.”

“Well throw that ‘fact’ out the window. Because it’s not true at all.”

Taehyun blinked. “Say what?”

“If there’s one thing Aruyeo aren’t that accepting of, it’s Westerners,” Yeonjun explained. “Being a defensive Kingdom, they automatically dislike people not from the Four Kingdoms. The ‘fact’ about them being welcoming is true to some extent, however. They accept different sexualities, and even different Kingdoms, but they just can’t accept foreigners. They just couldn’t accept him. When our parents died at a young age – an assassination, I tell you, even though we couldn’t prove it – we were left to fend for ourselves. I was barely an adult, and had my younger brother to look after too. He was constantly pushed around and bullied, too, which didn’t make life any easier. It broke my heart whenever I noticed a bruise he tried to hide from me, or when I saw him getting called racial slurs, and he’d just hang his head without saying anything.”

“How– how has none of this ever reached other Kingdoms?” Taehyun asked, in disbelief.

“It’s rare any foreigners even come to Aruyeo,” Yeonjun said. “Anyone that does receives the same treatment my brother did.”

Taehyun shook his head. “That’s awful. Couldn’t you do anything?”

“I couldn’t. They were all more powerful members of the court. Now I think about it, it’s a miracle I even managed to convince my parents to let him stay in the clan.”

Yeonjun paused, looking at Taehyun. “But I’m rambling now. Before I tell you the important thing, though, I just want to make sure of something.”

“Okay…?”

“Do you trust me?”

Taehyun looked at Yeonjun, searching within his fox-like eyes. He searched for any hint of underlying intentions, and hint of sinister motives, any malicious intent in his eye. There was none. All he could see was a truthful, hopeful, slightly nervous Yeonjun, staring back at him with his amber eyes. He took a deep breath.

“Yes. Yes, I trust you.”

“Okay, good.” Yeonjun paused. “Hueningkai is my adoptive brother. Hueningkai, the one who made that marble.”

Taehyun nodded slowly. “Okay.”

“He’s the one who was bullied because he was a Westerner, and because he didn’t have a… normal ability.”

Taehyun blinked, and nodded again. “Okay.”

“And he hated being different.”

“Okay.”

“And so, we became more involved in court.”

Taehyun opened his mouth to say ‘okay’ again, but Yeonjun held a finger up. “Please, just listen. Say a word and I might lose my nerve and not tell you.” Taehyun shut his mouth, and gestured for Yeonjun to carry on.

“We became more involved, to try and gain some protection. He… we… Queen Erajin needed informants. She needed people to tell her things. She needed information about things, and being an informant would give us a crazy amount of security, not only financially but status-wise as well, because we’d almost immediately be higher than anyone else in court, basically preventing anyone from bullying him, and me. It was tempting. We- we took on this role. We… we are her informants. We were those people. Taehyun, don’t run away but… we’re her spies.”

Taehyun tripped over a fold in the carpet and almost fell over backwards. “What the- what the fuck.”

“We were Queen Erajin’s spies. But we’re not anymore! Something weird is happening. Just like Scholar Min said. He caught on quicker than I did. She sent us here to find out any dirt about Gojongja, to see if she could corrupt the people’s view of you. I thought nothing of it. I’ve done things like that in other Kingdoms, and even in Aruyeo, many times before. It wasn’t my place to question. When you told me about all that you’re doing to try and help your people, though, it made me hesitate. You’re so good. There’s nothing sinister or bad about the way you rule. And it made me question, ‘Why was she doing this? What does she gain out of this?’ Something is not right, and yours and Beomgyu’s sincere natures help me realise that. Taehyun, please believe me, we’re not her spies anymore.”

Taehyun was shaking. Either from terror or anger, he wasn’t sure."What the fuck."

"A-and also… Hueningkai, he's here. He's the one I sent a letter to, back during the revel. I was telling him that something was off with Queen Erajin, and that day he also came with me to see what I meant. He’s here right now."

"What the fuck."

"Taehyun, please, I – we – are not spies for her anymore. Well, we still are, but we're not going to report back! Please Taehyun, believe me."

Taehyun gripped the chest of drawers tightly, knuckles white. "What the fuck," he whispered, staring at Yeonjun with wide eyes. "You… you're a spy." He shook his head. "I knew there was something off about you."

"Taehyun, please believe me. We're not working for her anymore, something is seriously wrong with the Aruyeonan court and I don't want to be a part of it."

Taehyun didn't seem to hear him. "You… I told you so much. I trusted you so much. I should banish you. I should execute you, accuse you of treason, make sure you never breathe again. What Lord Hyunjin wrote also makes sense now. It's an acronym, albeit a weird one. C, H, O, I… You're a Jeonju Choi, right?"

Yeonjun started. "Hyunjin's been in contact with you?" He licked his lips nervously, face pale. "And yes. Yes I am."

Taehyun laughed ruefully, looking down. He rubbed his eyes, head in hands. "He told me not to trust the Jeonju Chois. I shouldn't trust you Jeonju Chois." Taehyun lifted his eyes up to Yeonjun. "So then why do I still trust you?"

"Yeonjun?" A voice said, and a tall, young boy entered the room from what appeared to be a hole in the wall. Taehyun visibly flinched, gripping the chest of drawers tighter. This must be Hueningkai, he thought. God, he's tall. He could see the Western features prominent in his nose and eyebrows, but other than that he could pass for a normal person from the Four Kingdoms.

"Did you tell the vizier? That we're the good guys now?"

Yeonjun quickly got up and went over to the boy. "Not now, Hueningkai," he said quietly. "Taehyun's still here, and he's in a bit of a shock."

"But, you told him we're good, right? And he said he trusts you."

Yeonjun ran a hand through his hair, anxiously looking at the vizier who was staring at them, eyes unfocused. "I think… I don't know. I think there's only so much trust can do."

"Can I talk to him?" The boy blinked innocent eyes at Yeonjun.

"What? Hueningkai, no! You're basically a stranger, he's not going to–"

"Hello," the boy said, darting past Yeonjun to walk up to Taehyun. The vizier, who was still holding onto the corner of the drawers for dear life, looked up at him.

"My name is Hueningkai," he said. He held out his hand towards Taehyun, as if to shake hands. Taehyun just stared at the outstretched hand, and after a beat Hueningkai dropped it. "I'm the adoptive brother of Yeonjun. You probably don't trust us. That's a good idea, since we literally just admitted we were spies."

Taehyun found his voice long enough to be able to scoff. "Yeah, no shit. I'm not really sure how to process anything right now. I'm contemplating whether to believe you, or throw you into the dungeons."

Hueningkai smiled kindly. "That's understandable. But, I just want you to think about it. If we were truly going to betray you, do you think we'd admit to this? We're putting our lives in your hands. We are doing this because we feel that what Queen Erajin is doing is sinister and slightly scary, and we want to go against that. We are risking our lives here. If word gets out that we have betrayed Her Highness, we'll be executed. We’re spies, after all. We’re trusted with information that ought not to reach anyone else. She’ll have no choice but to kill us. And yet, we're trusting you with the information. Yeonjun really admires you. He really trusts you, too. Please, believe us."

Taehyun gaped at Hueningkai, before quickly closing his mouth and prising his stiff fingers from the wood. "I… this is so much to process. You're… spies?"

Yeonjun was standing helplessly behind Hueningkai, a doomed look on his face. "Please, Taehyun. I trust you."

"I– I don't know what to do," Taehyun said. "It's just so much to process." He staggered to the door, and opened it. "Give me time."

With those words, Taehyun closed the door, and Yeonjun and Hueningkai were left alone in Yeonjun's room. The elder bit his lip. "Kang Taehyun, please trust us. Something is happening in Aruyeo, and I don't like it one bit."

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Taehyun, once he’d reached his room, collapsed into a chair. His hands were shaking. He dragged a hand across his face, still processing what just happened. A knock came from his door.

“Sire, you have–”

“Cancel it!” Taehyun interrupted. “Whatever I have, cancel it!”

“But sire, they–”

“I don’t care! Cancel everything I have today!” Taehyun yelled. Jungwon was silent.

“Very well, sir.”

Taehyun blinked rapidly, sinking further into the velvet. “He was a spy,” he whispered to himself. “No- he is a spy. And he fucking brought a spy friend with him as well. He was a spy from Aruyeo. I can’t believe I trusted him!” he yelled out, throwing a cushion towards the opposite wall. “I just… gah!” He clenched his hair into his fists. “I almost told him as well!” He whimpered as his fists unfurled themselves, hands shaking too much to have a tight grip on his hair. “I trusted him… I trusted Yeonjun…”

Taehyun sat in the same chair for several hours, until his trembling died down. At that point, it was late afternoon. Hand over his eyes, Taehyun took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. “Alright,” he said to himself. “Let’s get this in order shall we?” Taehyun took his hand away from his eyes, but his eyes still remained closed. He gestured with his fingers vaguely into the air as he began speaking again. “So Yeonjun was a spy. Working for Queen Erajin. And he came here to gather – dirt, was it? – on the Gojongja court, to feed back to the queen. But he said that he’s now… what? Good?” Taehyun scoffed. “Judging by how he spoke, he’s been a spy for a while. I bet his allegiance can’t change just like that.” Taehyun paused, and cracked open an eye. “That Hueningkai guy though… he’s kind of right. Why would they tell me if they were still loyal to Queen Erajin? Unless… it’s a tactic for me to let my guard down.” Taehyun nodded darkly to himself. “That’s it. They’re trying to trick me into trusting them, using it as a chance to get to know other secrets.”

Taehyun opened his eyes fully, now feeling more grounded in his thoughts. “Yes, that’s got to be it. I’ve gotten them all figured out. No need to stress. It’ll look bad if I lock them up, so I’ll just ignore them. Yes- I’ll do that.”

He sat up, but quickly deflated again. “Wait… what if they’re telling the truth? In which case it would be stupid not to trust them, because I would be endangering their lives if I didn’t…”

Taehyun sighed, rubbing his nose frustratedly. “Ah, I don’t know.” He paused. “Although, it is more believable that they’re just trying to trick me. But hang on, that would mean I’m okay with the fact they’re spies!” He threw his hands up in the air, leaning back in the armchair. “Ugh, I’m confused…”

Just then, a knock sounded at his door. “Sir, they said that today is the only day–”

“Tell them no! Tell them they have to have another day!” Taehyun yelled. “I can’t do it!”

He went back to muttering to himself. “Wait… but I still can’t trust them. They’re spies, after all. You’d have to be an idiot to trust a spy.” But then he paused. Suddenly, all he could see were Yeonjun’s clear, amber eyes, staring at him with a mixture of nervousness and hope. There had been no trace of an evil or manipulating nature there at all. Taehyun frowned, now more confused than ever.

“Sir, today is the absolutely only day you can talk to the Head General. They won’t be able to come for more than a month after this.”

Taehyun’s mouth pursed in annoyance. “Fine! Fine!” He stalked across the room and opened the door. “Fine! If it’s the only day, then I’ll do it,” he said. “I’ll go there now.”

“Sir?” Taehyun looked at Jungwon, pausing his frustrated march down the hall. “Apparently, since you are going in the King’s place, it is necessary for you to take a high-ranking Lord with you to see the Head General.”

Taehyun huffed, still irritated. Then, his frown melted away as he thought. “Hm… fine. Which Lord was it that said they supported us…? Ah, that’s right. Where’s Lord Soobin?”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Taehyun nodded thoughtfully. “Alright, so it won’t be necessary to bring too many people, like you said. I know of a few places they can be stationed, but I’m not sure about the west of Gojongja.”

“Oh, I know a few,” Lord Soobin spoke up. He circled his finger around several places on their map. “Here, here, and here will be good places. They’re not too imposing, but they’ll be obvious. That’s what we want, right?”

“Right,” Taehyun agreed, tapping his chin. “Hm, I don’t know West Gojongja too well, but I have faith in you, Lord Soobin.” He looked up at the Head General. “What do you say?”

“Looks fine to me,” the general responded. “How many men would you say you’d need? We will do our best to cater to your preferences.”

Taehyun turned to Soobin.

“I would say just five men per station,” the Lord replied. “We are looking to simply discourage them. Too many would seem overpowering, but too little would seem odd.”

Taehyun nodded. “Five seems fine to me. Would that be okay with you?”

“Indeed, it is alright with us. I will have the men selected right away. When would you like them stationed?”

“As soon as possible, if you may,” Taehyun said. “Though the riot has died down a little, we can never know when it will flare up again.”

The general nodded. “Of course, sire.” He bowed, and made as if to leave when he paused and turned back. “Ah, when would you like them to retreat from the public? At what stage would you deem it suitable to withdraw the army?”

“Um…” Taehyun tapped his chin. “I’ll let you know when they should withdraw,” he said finally.

“Additionally, when the public atmosphere reverts back to normal would be a good time too,” Lord Soobin added, frowning thoughtfully down at the map of Gojongja. “We should probably install more guards around the palace,” he commented.

Taehyun nodded. “Yes, that would probably be a good idea. I’ll employ some Invisi as well.” He gestured to the Head General. “You are dismissed.”

Once the Head General had left, Taehyun turned to Soobin, and the two left the room as well. “Thank you for accompanying me on such short notice,” he said.

“Oh, it was no trouble at all,” Lord Soobin replied easily. “Indeed, it was an honour.”

Taehyun smiled. “Well, with His Greatness having taken a break for an unspecified amount of time, we may see each other more often.”

Soobin gave a small smile too. “If I may ask, would you happen to know when King Beomgyu will come back to governing the Kingdom?"

Taehyun sighed. "You may ask, but I don't know the answer myself. But I'm going to have to drag him out sooner or later, so he will come back eventually."

Soobin nodded, and bowed. "It was incredibly nice to discuss matters with you, Sir Taehyun."

Taehyun inclined his head. "Likewise, Lord Soobin."

The tall Lord bowed again before walking away. Taehyun stared after him rather enviously.

"He's so tall… I wanna grow that tall."

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“Oh? Lord Soobin?”

Taehyun watched as Soobin flinched, rubbing his eyes vigorously. “Oh, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Taehyun said.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Soobin said, waving his hands in an attempt to reassure Taehyun. “Was there a reason you came here to the library?”

“As a matter of fact, I was looking for you,” Taehyun said. “Do you mind if I–?”

“Oh, of course not,” Soobin said, shuffling over to make room for Taehyun at the table. Taehyun sat down and spread out all his documents across the wooden surface. Soobin scanned through all of them, and looked at the vizier, eyes wide. “You’re replacing council members?”

“King Beomgyu wants it done, that’s why,” sighed Taehyun, carelessly flicking a parchment across the table. “If he hadn’t insisted, I wouldn’t be doing this at all. It’s too much hard work. Also, it’s a little confusing, so I wanted to ask you about it.”

Soobin raised an eyebrow bemusedly. “Me? So suddenly? We’ve barely met. Surely there’s someone else you normally talk to about this? Doesn’t the Grand Vizier have smart friends of his own?”

Normally, I’d talk to Yeonjun about this, but… he betrayed me. Taehyun shook his head vigorously. “No. I do everything alone.”

Soobin hummed. “Interesting. Okay, let me see these papers. I might be able to help.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Soobin tapped his fingers on the table while chewing the feathered end of his quill. After a while, he set down the parchment and dragged the other documents towards him, reading through them one by one. Taehyun rested his head on his hand, watching as Soobin analysed the papers.

“Apparently word has gotten out that I’m going to be changing the members of the council,” Taehyun spoke up. “I received many letters from the clans involved, telling me off for even thinking such a thing.”

Soobin looked up at him, feathers still in his mouth. “Do you have them with you?”

“Uh… how will they help?”

Soobin held out his hand as Taehyun rummaged through his case. He wordlessly handed the letters over to the Lord. “These clans know things. It’s likely they’ve unintentionally given you pointers as to how to go about replacing council members, while they were reprimanding you. Ah! See, like here.” Soobin pointed to a few lines written in angry handwriting. “‘Why would you go through the trouble of background checking every Lord you see, when you have a perfectly good council, whose backgrounds are already fully checked?’ So whoever you want to employ for the new Council, you’ll need to do a background check first. And look, this one. ‘Finding a Lord to match the one you replaced will be difficult. All the Lords of the current Council are far more experienced than any of the other Lords in court, so there will be no point.’ So for every Lord you remove, you’ll need to replace him with one who matches his skill and intelligence.”

“Yes, but that’s where it gets complicated,” Taehyun explained, reaching for one of the papers on the table. “If you look at the Gojongja citizen rights, it says that everyone’s capability is different and they ought not to be compared to one another.”

Soobin tsked, pushing aside the paper. “No one follows those rules that precisely! It’s fine. Oh look, and here it says that you can’t replace members one by one, and if you want to replace one Lord you’ll need to replace all of them at the same time. So it would be best for you to have all the new members ready before you officially announce that you’re replacing the Council.” He handed the letters back to Taehyun, smiling. “See? That wasn’t so confusing, was it?”

“Now that I have someone else explaining it to me, it’s actually ridiculously easy,” Taehyun admitted, taking the letters back from Soobin. “Thank you. Now all I need to do is find Lords to be part of the new council.” Taehyun paused in the middle of tidying away his papers, sighing. “Oh, that’s going to be hard. Barely anyone is trustworthy right now…”

“I know a few people who I could offer to you,” Soobin said. “If you’d like, of course.”

Taehyun turned to Soobin, eyes wide. “Yes, that would be so helpful! If you could maybe let me know of their names, and I’ll do a background check on them at once! Um, would you, Lord Soobin, like to be on the council?”

“Oh, no, no. Gosh, no! I’d prefer to be a close friend than a colleague,” Soobin said, smiling. Taehyun beamed back, snapping shut his case.

“Thank you so much, Lord Soobin. You’ve been a great help.”

“It was my pleasure.”

Soobin watched as Taehyun bowed happily and walked out of the library. He turned back to the book he’d been looking at before the vizier had arrived, a small smile on his face. He hadn’t expected the scary, intimidating Grand Vizier to look so… cute when he was happy.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Taehyun was outside Yeonjun's room again. After returning to his room, now fully understanding how to replace members of the council, his mind drifted back to the spy, and also the dilemma he was in. Should he trust Yeonjun? Should he lock him up? What should he do?

Unable to stay trapped in one room with his thoughts, Taehyun had wandered through the palace and, while he’d tried his best to stay away, his feet kept directing him towards the spy’s chambers.

And so there he was, for the third time that day, biting his nails nervously, staring at the white door in front of him. It appeared that Yeonjun had gotten rid of his guard: at that moment, it was just him and the door. (Taehyun had sent Heesung away to do other business.) He lifted his hand as if to knock, but quickly retreated, clasping his hands behind his back.

"No, no, no," he muttered to himself. "What am I doing? I should leave before those spies find out I'm here." But still, he stood in front of Yeonjun's door. He scratched the side of his neck with the back of his nails, biting his lip. He shook his head, and backed away.

"No, no no. Let's go." With some hesitation, he moved away, quickly walking back down the hallway before his feet changed their mind.

Inside Yeonjun's (and Hueningkai's) room, the two of them were staring at the glass ball.

"Oh look, he left again," Hueningkai sighed boredly, chin rested on his palm. "I know you said to give him space, Yeonjun, but this is a bit… much. If this keeps happening, we're not going to get anywhere."

"We should let him come to us," Yeonjun stated firmly. "We thrust this news upon him rather suddenly. He's bound to feel conflicted. Give him time. Then, we'll see what his final reaction will be."

"He's not giving much of a clear reaction right now," Hueningkai commented as they watched the vizier come up to the door again. "Look, he's come back."

Yeonjun smacked the younger upside the head. "Stop spying on him," he scolded.

"Hey!" Hueningkai complained, rubbing his head. "We're literally spies, what do you want me to do?"

"Don't spy on Taehyun, that's all," Yeonjun said. "It's immoral. Especially if we want him to trust us."

Hueningkai sighed, putting the ball away. "Fine. But what if he never trusts us? What if we stay stuck in this loop forever?"

"We won't," Yeonjun said. "He may seem unsure now, but Taehyun has a really strong mindset. He'll come to a decision soon."

Hueningkai shrugged, leaning back when they heard the vizier's footsteps retreat yet again. "If you say so."

#court of lies #taegyu #txt taegyu #txt beomgyu #beomgyu #txt taehyun #taehyun #tomorrow x together #txt #txt fanfic #txt fluff #txt angst #txt imagine #txt imagines #tomorrow by together

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