I'm really really sorry for the late update. It's a huge challenge for me (and it is only the 2nd chapter too *cries*). You will know what I'm talking about in this chapter. This chapter is reaaally long. I hope it can make up for my mistake... Happy reading~

The first time he met the crown prince, Jinyoung thought he was really weird. He was born as the oldest child in the House of Park which was one of the noble families in Joseon. As the son of the Chief of Scholar, who was an official in the palace and a teacher for the crown prince, he was properly raised and sheltered from the outside world. Of course, he was taught the work of literature and fine martial arts, but he was not allowed to play outside with the other children. To his parents, having a proper manner was important in growing up and also to gain respect as an adult. That was solely the reason for him to have a very graceful manner even in such a young age. Therefore, meeting someone straightforward and active like the crown prince was a first. However, he could not say he was burdened, not knowing how to handle such person. Instead, he was impressed by the prince’s bold personality.

But when the prince accidentally fell from the tree and crushed him, he saw the prince’s face up close and had this crazy thought that the prince was really good looking. The one thing that he did not understand was that his heart was thumping really loud. It was absolutely strange to have his heart throbbed for another man. He did not know what to do when the prince suddenly proposed to him. But to be honest, he secretly felt really touched. Even if he thought it was ridiculous, he had fallen in love at first sight. It might happen when the prince volunteered to get him the violets, or when the prince straightforwardly proposed to him, he did not know. But one thing was definite, if he was to marry the prince, it would bring disaster to the palace. Besides, there was a reason for him to enter the palace. Clearly the prince was not informed of this. His hard work will go to waste if he was the one chosen to be the crown princess.

Currently, the situation in the throne hall was really tense and nerve-racking. Everyone was silent and Jinyoung could feel the tension thickened in the air. He did not have the courage to lift his head. His sweaty hand kept tightening his grip in Im Jaebum’s hand. Im Jaebum knew Jinyoung was really frightened due to his vigorous shivering. But the prince, on the hand, was calm. He kept his eyes on the King who was sitting on his throne with a serious expression. Whatever opposition to come, he was determined to fight it.

But this whole situation was hard for Jinyoung to deal with. It was not only concerned his family and the royal household, but the future of Joseon as well. If he was to be the crown princess, there would be no heir to the next line in throne. The officials would hold a rebellion, and his family as well as the royal family would be ashamed. But if he was not going to marry the crown prince, they had to part and Im Jaebum would be hurt. Of course he knew which option was the best, having enough knowledge as a preparation to be an official, but the thought of a miserable Im Jaebum hurt him and he could not choose anymore. Therefore, when he glanced at Im Jaebum and saw his determination, he could only put his faith on the crown prince.

The King finally broke the silence with a cough. “Lee Jae, we’re supposed to be having a very important meeting right now. Where have you been? I had already told you to come here first thing in the morning. And now when you’re finally here, you crack this joke. This is not the time and place to be playing around.”

“Father, it’s not a joke. Nor did I play around. It may sound ridiculous to you. But I have fallen in love with him at first sight,” the prince said humbly. He could see his father’s eyebrows twitch when he heard the word love.

“Love? Do you really know what love is? There’s no such thing as love between two men. You have still yet to see the ladies, maybe you’ll like one of them.  And you’d just met him. How would you know it’s really love?”

“Father, it’s true that I don’t know about love. I don’t know that two men could love each other. I was taught that women are born as men’s companion. But today, I know for certain when I look at him. I felt something that I had never felt before. Something far greater than my love for you, for grandmother, and the nation. At that time I know that I have to make him mine. Only him.”

Jinyoung’s heart throbbed. Listening to the prince’s words, he felt bliss. It was such a huge confession. Meanwhile the King, the more he listened the more he felt it was ridiculous. He even thought his own son had finally gone insane. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, for fear of unable to control his anger.

“In the past, you had asked for the impossible, but this time you had gone overboard. What should I say to the Joseon people? That their next queen, the mother of nation, is a man?” The King tried to stay calm, though one could hear the shaking in his voice.

“Father, I know this is an outrages wish. A male queen is unheard of. But this isn’t the first time a relationship between men was made known in public. King Gongmin of Goryeo had his own team of male companions to serve him. Even though he failed as a King after he had descended into homouality, he was still a great King. I, when I take over the throne, bow to never make the same mistake.”

“So what about the next King? He can’t ever bear a child! How are you going to take responsibility? Have you ever thought of this? What nonsense are you talking about? Before talking about being a great King, you should think of how to give an heir to the nation! Don’t go talking about love when you’re clearly being selfish!” The King finally had lost it. He stood up from his seat and roared these sentences toward the two young men under him.

“I’m not being selfish! I had thought about all things! It’s not simply because I’m in love with him. I know he’s more capable and intelligent than most people. You still remember how I told you about the poetry that the Chief Scholar Park brought to my classes? Some of them were written by his son. You said so yourself that it was outstanding for a young man to write such amazing poems. You even told me to learn from them. Father, don’t you think that such a talented person is suitable as the next queen? He is capable of assisting me in ruling the nation. Instead of some lady who only thinks her job as a queen is to stand prettily and give the King a son, I would rather choose a man who deserves to stay with me as equal. And about the heir, I’ll raise a concubine’s son to be a remarkable heir of the throne.”

When the Chief of Scholar was brought up again, the King’s expression immediately changed. Im Jaebum also noticed his father glanced at the Queen Dowager for a while and thought there was something wrong going on between the two of them.

“This is nonsense. A concubine’s son cannot be a King. This boy can become an official. Such intellect shouldn’t be wasted on being a queen,” the King said. His voice sounded gentler than before.

“Father, you’re talking discriminately. So what if a concubine’s son is better than the true heir? If he’s capable than anyone to be a King, I would choose him instead. And is it alright for me to be having an affair with an official?” the prince asked. He was merely twisting his father’s statement.

The King’s face darkened. “And you’re telling me you want to be such filial King? You want me to dispose of this man so you can forget him?”

“I’m not. I just want you to accept us,” the prince said as matter-of-factly.

“So you want to live in the eyes of disgust from other people? What about our image? No matter how great a King, if he commits a sin, he is to be a disgrace!”

“You’re my father. Please don’t call me a disgrace. What can I do if you have already regarded our love as a sin? I only need your blessing.”

“You want my blessing? Let me tell you. I won’t ever accept this relationship!” The King then looked at his subjects. “This meeting is postponed. The crown princess election will be continuing tomorrow. The court is dismissed!”

But when he turned around to step down from the throne, the most unimaginable thing happened before everyone’s eyes. The great crown prince, who was well-known with his arrogance, pride and childishness, had knelt down on his knees. Everyone was shocked beyond words, especially the King. When Jinyoung saw the scene beside him, he was too dumbfounded to even do anything. He was standing there like a lifeless doll.

“Please, father. I won’t ever let you down. Please accept us!” Im Jaebum pleaded. His face held so much pain. The other people in the hall thought their crown prince was abducted and the one in front of them was a fake. Never in their wild dreams that the prince would do something like this, something as low as kneeling down in front of many people.

However, Jinyoung knew that such act would not lower the prince’s image even a little. He was extremely touched with Im Jaebum’s action that he too got down on his knees on the floor. Don’t worry, I’m fighting on this with you, Jinyoung thought.

Suddenly, within the quiet and tense atmosphere, a faint cough could be heard. “Sire, the crown prince is right. In this day and age, it’s not really out of ordinary for two men to be together. There is even a red light district for men where the es are men. Love, can be in any kind of form. The crown prince has finally fallen in love, and it just so happens that he has fallen in love with a man. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong in this matter, and if this man is going to be a crown princess, I will not object.” It was the Ministry of Personnel. For some reason, Im Jaebum glanced at the old man from the side of his eyes.

After the Ministry of Personnel, Chae Yeopgong, gave his words, the other officials finally voiced out their agreement. Im Jaebum knew they agreed because the Ministry of Personnel was the highest rank in the six ministries. Even in morning meetings, they would usually take on the Ministry of Personnel’s side instead of the King’s. This habit however, played a favor for him today.

“Raise your head,” the King suddenly spoke up. Both young men under him looked at each other before slowly arise on their feet.

“Very well. Since you had gone as far as kneeling down before me for once, I believe you’re serious and ready to overcome any obstacle ahead. As a King, I couldn’t possibly let a man be crowned as a crown princess. But as a father, other than wanting to see you happy, I want to see how great of a ruler you will become. Besides, I wanted to see for myself what the chief of scholar’s son is capable of. And after I have made my decision, you have better not disappoint me and make me regret,” he said. “I, hereby, have decided that Park Jinyoung, the son of Park house, will be participating in the crown princess election. Any opposition will be denied. My decision is final.”

The crowd became noisy. There were gasps of surprise and unbelieving whispers. Even though more than half of the subjects had given their agreement, they were surprised that the King would accept it. However, a few of them were secretly giving smirks at each other, which had gone unnoticed.

Im Jaebum and Jinyoung looked at each other, huge smiles plastered on their faces. Their hands never separated. If the prince had forgotten that they were under the eyes of many people, he would have hugged the other boy and kissed him.

However, the Queen Dowager had a very grim expression. She could only look on as the King and his subjects walked out of the throne hall.

After the meeting was dismissed, Im Jaebum and Jinyoung were strolling around the Amisan garden which was located behind the uninhabited Queen’s quarters. The crown prince’s servants and guards were standing a bit far away behind them on the prince’s order. He did not want anyone to disturb his small date with Jinyoung so he was having them standing still at one side quietly until he told them to move. Both of them had not said anything for a while. They were entranced with the scenery around while keeping their holding hands tightly and simply enjoying each other’s company. One might say it was an unusual sight for two men to walk around in a romantic atmosphere. But no one among Im Jaebum’s servants was bothered. They were looking on with admiration at the couple. Especially Mabong. It was the first time he had seen the crown prince being so in love that he wiped his tears from the corner of his eyes with his sleeves.

“Why are we here?” Jinyoung suddenly asked. He actually had no idea of this place.

Im Jaebum pointed at a huge building not far from them. “That’s Gyotaejeon. It’s been empty for 10 years. Since my mother queen died, my father had prohibited everyone from entering. Soon, you’ll be the one living in the queen’s quarters. We’ll have the place cleaned for you to live in,” he said excitedly.

When Jinyoung saw the prince’s happy expression, he felt guilty. “Sire…” he started but was stopped midway by Im Jaebum’s hand.

“What’s wrong with you? From just now you always call me ‘sire’, ‘sire’. We’re lovers. Just call me by my name,” the prince’s said with a pout. He seemed unbelievably adorable that Jinyoung almost wanted to knock his head.

“Jae(he called the prince by his official name), do you think this is alright?” Jinyoung asked. He was talking about him joining the crown princess election. His face clearly showed that he was worried.

Im Jaebum held up their joined hands and looked Jinyoung in the eyes in disappointment. “Why? Don’t you want to? Am I being hasty?”

Jinyoung quickly denied. “It’s not that. It’s just…” he stopped again and averted his eyes. From his behavior, Im Jaebum could tell that something else was disturbing his lover’s mind.

“If there’s something troubling you, just tell me,” he said tenderly.

Jinyoung was quiet. He was battling inside whether to tell the prince the truth or not. The prince obviously was very in love with him. He too was having that warm feeling in his heart, but he still was not sure if he truly did love this man that he could sacrifice all things behind. There was the matter of the prince’s, the royal household’s and his own family’s image. Even though the King had already given his blessing, what about the others? What about in the future? The people in the palace had only agreed because of what the Ministry of Personnel had said. There were obviously something wrong happened in the throne hall just now.

Jinyoung looked up at Im Jaebum and smiled. “I’m just nervous. I don’t have the confidence to take the test. What if I fail and cannot become a crown princess?” he decided to keep his uneasiness inside, though this was also part of his anxiety.

“What do you mean? You won’t fail!” the crown prince exclaimed.

“Why are you so sure?”

“Because you’re my man,” he stated. It was a cliché line, but it warmed Jinyoung’s heart to the core.

Jinyoung punched the prince’s arm lightly. “Don’t be so confident.”

“If I’m not confident, I won’t be able to persuade father to marry you, would I?” Im Jabum said playfully and it made the other boy laughed.

“By the way, how did you do that? What if his highness won’t accept it?” Jinyoung asked, unable to shake off his curiosity.

“Because he’s my father, I know he will accept it.”

“How could you be so sure?”

“No father would want to see his son cry,” Im Jaebum replied. He gave Jinyoung an evil grin.

“You mean, you weren’t really crying?”

The prince nodded. “Of course the words are real. So you can rest assured for my feelings for you are true.”

Jinyoung blushed, remembering the words Im Jaebum had said in the throne hall. “I…I’m not worried,” he stuttered.

“Yes, you shouldn’t worry about anything. Just focus on the election. I’ll take care of the rest. It’s enough that you know I love you,” Im Jaebum smiled.

Those simple words made Jinyoung’s face turned even redder. “Why are you so straightforward?”

“Why? It’s the truth. No matter what happen, even if you’re getting tired of it, I’ll keep saying it to you.”

“I’m tired,” Jinyoung jokingly said and he got a whine from the prince.

Jinyoung chuckled softly. He would never get tired of it. Im Jaebum, even if they had just met, had given him the taste of love. His sweet words gave him the strength to keep going.

Meanwhile, the King was resting in his quarters when the Queen Dowager had came and asked for his audience. She looked coldly at the servants inside the room and they quickly left and closed the door behind her, leaving the mother and son alone.

“What were you thinking?” the Queen Dowager simply asked after she sat down opposite the King.

The King smiled. “I knew you’ll come here soon.”

“Why did you accept it? You know well that a man cannot become a queen. What is your plan?”

“Are you talking about Park Hwangyi?” Upon hearing the mentioned name, the Queen Dowager’s face darkened.

“So IT IS about that man?” the Queen Dowager asked. Her eyes turned red with anger.

“I had told you before, mother. I can’t do anything that he had gone. But even if you’re my mother, I’ll do anything in my power to fight against you,” the King said. It sounded more like a threat.

“You intended to use the crown prince?”

“No. I’m going to give him the one thing you took away from me. This time, no matter what you do, I won’t let it happen.”

“It’s not just the son, the daughter is also a candidate. I’m going to do everything in my power to stop this, including turning them against each other.”

Since the King seemed to not waver even a little, the Queen Dowager gritted her teeth and stood up to leave. “You can’t stop me,” was her departing words.

After the Queen Dowager left, the King could finally relieve a sigh. Truthfully, during the commotion in the throne hall, he wanted to accept his son’s wish. He had nothing against homouality. But he intentionally put on an act in front of the Queen Dowager. He knew how his mother would react and thus decided to take action. Something similar had happened before and it had caused grievance to some people. There were also a few who were killed. Therefore, the King wished for a different end for the crown prince. He would do everything he could to protect his son.

All six candidates of the crown princess election including Jinyoung had to stay in the palace during the whole period. They were put in each of their temporary quarters that were already prepared with palace servants and guards. Jinyoung was exceptionally happy staying in his room. There was a small cupboard in which some books he had never seen before were stored. He took this rare opportunity by spending the night reading the books.

When he reached half pages of a literature book, an announcement could be heard from outside the closed door saying a visitor had arrived. The door opened, revealing a beautiful girl with a sullen face staring at him. He knew sooner or later this girl would come to meet him, but as he was so engrossed with the books, he had totally forgotten about it. The girl sat in front of him.

“Brother, it’s time to explain to me what was happening,” the girl started. She was one of the candidates and Jinyoung’s little sister, Park Shinyoung. She was the actual reason for Jinyoung entering the palace today. He was only accompanying her. He had never thought that he was the one who would meet the crown prince first. The prince aside, the King and the Queen Dowager must have known this. It was surprising that they did not even speak of this matter.

“You must have already heard everything,” Jinyoung said calmly.

“Why? Why are you doing this? You know it’s my dream since I was small to live in this palace. How…” Shinyoung bit her lower lips. She could not continue her question. But Jinyoung could read her well as clear as a white paper. They were really close as siblings.

“It’s not my intention. This thing sort of just happened. I’m not sure how, but the moment the prince and I met, he proposed to me,” Jinyoung honestly said, replying his sister’s unspoken question.

“And you accepted it?” Shinyoung asked.

“If not, why would I come with him and created all the commotion? It’s a bit impossible to refuse him.”

Shinyoung nodded in understanding. “But do you love him?”

Jinyoung did not answer. How should he tell her? He was not sure how to tell her his true feelings without hurting her. Thus, he decided to keep quiet.

“Mother must have been worried. You are supposed to have returned home by now. You should send her a letter about this.”

Shinyoung did not want to push this matter for the time being. She stood up and bid her brother goodnight. When she was about to walk out of the room, Jinyoung walked up to her.

“I’ll do something about it. I’ll make sure that you’ll become the crown princess. Please don’t worry,” he said.

Shinyoung turned slightly to look at him but was still quiet. She bowed slightly toward him, and then she left.

Right at this moment, despite their closeness and understanding by heart, Jinyoung could not tell what was in the other party’s mind. Never mind that, he did not even understand his own thought. The priorities inside his head were weighing down to half and half. He did not know which one to choose, either accepting his feelings for Im Jaebum, or giving up the crown princess title for his sister. One usually would say, put the family before strangers. But Im Jaebum was not a stranger. He was someone special to Jinyoung, someone who had made him truly happy for the first time. Love or family?

Suddenly, there were knocking sounds coming from the window, making Jinyoung who was still deep in his thought startled greatly. He quickly went to the window to open it, and was surprised to see the person he wanted to see the most.

“What are you doing here? What if someone sees you?” he asked with a worried expression, though he was leaping in joy inside.

“So what? I just want to see my lover. I’m the crown prince, no one dares to tell on me,” Im Jaebum said with a cheeky grin.

Jinyoung scoffed. “How did you come up here? Are you using a ladder?” He tried to put his head out the window to see what had been supporting this prince. But Im Jaebum pushed him back.

“What ladder? I’m the crown prince. I’m extremely excellent in martial arts. I use my skill to climb up here by myself.” Eventually from the outside, we could see poor Mabong was supporting the prince on his shoulders. His wide forehead was secreting cold sweat while his hands and legs were shaking.

“You’re so arrogant,” Jinyoung teased playfully.

The prince’s smile changed to a pout. “If you say that again, I won’t give you your present,” he said while sulking.

“You have a present for me?”

The prince smiled again when he saw Jinyoung’s interested expression. He put out his left hand which was hidden from his back and gave Jinyoung a stem of violet clusters. It was the flower from this morning, which Im Jaebum had tried so hard to get for him. Jinyoung was speechless. He kept staring at the tiny clusters in his hand with amazement.

“I thought you might not be able to sleep in this unfamiliar place, in addition to your anxiety about the test. So I hope this violet will be able to cheer you up and let you sleep peacefully,” Im Jaebum explained. He still had his significant cheeky smile on his face, but it was so warm and bright to Jinyoung. Knowing that this prince was concerned of him, it made him even happier. He felt he was really loved.

“Thank you,” he bashfully said.

Im Jaebum noticed when Jinyoung was blushing until his ears turned red, it reminded him of steamed buns. White and hot. He looked even prettier and adorable that Im Jaebum could not hold his desire anymore. When Jinyoung put the flowers under his nose to breathe in its wonderful scent, the prince moved closer and kissed the tip of his nose. It was so quick, more like a peck. But it was enough to leave a lingering warmness of the prince’s lips. The kiss seemed to not have any effect on Im Jaebum, but it made Jinyoung went even redder. His face had turned from steamed buns to red plums. He was stupefied. The stem in his hand stayed still under his nose.

“Sweet dreams,” Im Jaebum gave him one final smile, and slowly closed the window.

As if he was released from some kind of a spell, Jinyoung staggered on his feet and then fell onto the floor. With his hand that was not holding the stem of flowers, he touched the kiss spot on his nose. It felt as if Im Jaebum’s lips were still there. His body became hotter, and his heart was throbbing louder.

“Stop doing this kind of things out of nowhere,” Jinyoung muttered softly. Do not make me fall more in love with you. I would not be able to leave.

Meanwhile, Im Jaebum was walking back to his quarters in light steps. His face was shining brightly, as bright as the happiness inside his heart. But the miserable one was Mabong. The poor servant was panting heavily, trying to catch on his master’s quick steps. He still had not regained his energy that was drained from earlier labor, so he was practically dragging his feet with much difficulty.

“Mabong-ah! Don’t be so slow! Hurry up!” the prince called out behind him.

“Your majesty, please have mercy on Mabong. Your servant is not as young as he was,” Mabong begged between hard breaths.

“You have no right to beg! Who told you to mess up the poem I earnestly wrote for Jinyoung with ink? If you’re not so careless, we don’t have to go to the Chwihyanggyo bridge to pick up flowers in the middle of the night!”

“Forgive Mabong, your majesty! He admits he was careless! He deserves to be punished with the death of a thousand cuts!”

“That’s a great idea! I’ll let the Ministry of Justice know that he can carry out the punishment after tomorrow’s morning meeting! It’s been years since I had seen the death of a thousand cut!”

“Your majestyyyyy...!” At this moment, Mabong began to wail and fell on his knees.

Im Jaebum laughed out loud. He quickly jogged back toward Mabong and grabbed his arm to pull him up.

“Are you really my personal servant? You know I’m not that heartless,” he said. Then, during the whole trip back to the crown prince’s quarters, the mischievous prince supported his own servant by holding his arm. For once, Mabong felt extremely touched.

It's kinda awkward to end the chapter with Mabong. LOL. But I like this character! Maybe because it's a character I created myself. He's so pitiful, suffering in the hands of the almighty Im Jaebum all the time. But being a loyal servant he is, Mabong really adores his master. That's why I like him.

The challenge I was talking about was the throne hall scene. I even wrote 2 different situations for that to decide which one is better. I hope it's good. What do you think? Just let me know your opinion on it.

The second challenge was Jinyoung's uneasiness. It's quite hard to convey his thought and feelings in choosing between the prince and his sister. But somehow, I managed to do it and write the fluff. The kiss scene was actually unplanned but I think it worked well~ Their first kiss. On the nose

There were actually many unresolved mysteries in this chapter, if you had noticed. I'll let you know in later chapters.

Btw, Mark will appear soon~ He won't be included in any otp, but he is a very important character. Somehow, my stories usually revolved around these three members. Haha