"I got this letter from my son, Mr. Shim," said the man in front of him, wringing his hand in nervousness. "You know, right? He's in the –"

"He's in the capital, studying for a government post. I know," said Changmin with a smile.

He opened up the folded letter and began to read it aloud for the man.

It was good news, really – that he will be sitting the exams for government post next month, and that his studies were going smoothly. Judging by the penmanship, Changmin thought that he might actually have a good chance at a post.

Changmin looked up. "Will you write back?" said Changmin.

The man nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, could you write that we're very proud of him, and we're thinking of him – and that we are all healthy and we wish him the best of luck –"

Changmin smiled as he dipped the brush into the ink and began to write.

This was how he lived as of now.

The original plan was for one of Kyuhyun's acquaintances to take him and Chanhyung to China, but Changmin didn't have the heart to leave the country, at least not while Yunho was King. So Changmin and Chanhyung ended up in a small, remote village far away from the palace where they pretended to be displaced peasants. One of the kind nobles in the village had allowed Changmin to use one of his back buildings as a school for young peasants and slaves as Changmin and Chanhyung tended over their farm to earn their keep.

The money they earned as hands on the farm wasn't much, and Changmin knew that this was unsustainable in the long run. Some would think that Changmin was silly, because the only other way he earned his keep was by writing and reading letters and documents for those who couldn't read on market days, and now, he was teaching a whole classroom full of young peasant boys and girls how to read and write. But Changmin wanted to give every little boy and girl as much chance as they stood to better their lives in ways that they chose.

It was likely that he and Chanhyung would need to start work in something else soon; most likely, Chanhyung would have to do twice the work on the farm and Changmin would end up at working for another household.

He was getting old now, though, he really was. So he doubted that anyone would even really want to hire him as a servant.

And Chanhyung.

His baby boy was… grown up.

He was taller and stronger – and happier.

Most certainly happier.

Chanhyung was no longer a boy, but a young man.

Changmin often wondered what would become of Chanhyung, and whether he could live a better life than this as his background as a runaway slave. Maybe he will marry and have children of his own. It was unlikely that his children would ever earn a place in government because they wouldn't be able to prove their heritage, but there was no reason why they couldn't live quiet, reasonable lives. After all, not all slaves and peasants were registered or even a clear name.

Changmin knew that Chanhyung had begun to meet with a girl quite often, the innkeeper's daughter, going for walks and such. But was still tiptoeing around her, knowing his own background as a slave (although they were pretending to be peasants). Whether her parents would agree to allow Chanhyung to marry their daughter would be another issue altogether.

And Yunho – oh, Yunho.

Every day for seven years, he prayed for Yunho at dawn for an hour, then again at night.

Changmin thought about Yunho, dreamt about Yunho.

As Kyuhyun predicted, Yunho hadn't sent his guards after Changmin and Chanhyung, and there was never a call for a search for the two runaway palace slaves.

He wondered if Yunho would still be loving him if he were back at the palace, or whether Yunho would have moved on as Changmin began to look older.

He wondered whether Yunho missed him as much as he missed Yunho. He wondered what Yunho was doing, and whether he would ever be able to see him again.

He often wondered what would happen if they ever saw each other again by chance. Perhaps they would still love each other, and they would be like any couple of lovers who just met – but perhaps, Yunho will punish Changmin as a runaway, which would be just –

"Thank you so much, Mr. Shim," said the man genuinely, taking the letter in his hands preciously.

"You're very welcome," said Changmin.

"I – I only have two coins, but I will bring you more once –"

"That's quite all right," said Changmin, cutting him off with a chuckle. "I wish your boy all the luck."

"Thank you, may the gods rain down blessings on you."

Changmin smiled as he left, clutching the letters close to his chest.

He looked up as the next person in line stepped forward.

The aura that this man gave off was different from what Changmin was used to. Unlike the rough burlap that the peasants and Changmin wore, this man was wearing a robe of fine gauze and silks and a hat with a large shade that covered his face – but Changmin had seen plenty of rich men who were unable to read – he wasn't going to let himself be too intimidated.

The long sleeves covered all but the tips of his visitor's fingers as he held out a scroll for Changmin to read for him. Changmin took it carefully in both of his hands.

Changmin took his time a bit with the scroll, because the paper was of such high quality and he didn't want to damage it – he had rarely seen paper like this since he had left the palace.

Once he carefully opened the scroll, he cleared his throat and began to read.

"My world changed when you left me," read Changmin. "The skies were never as blue when you left, and the water never as clear. The sunshine was never as warm, Mihwa, and…"

Changmin did a double take.

Wait.

 "And… And the flowers – the flowers–" stuttered Changmin, " – the – the flowers never – "

My gods.

The scroll slipped out of Changmin's hands at the same time that his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.

Changmin looked up slowly to see the familiar face under the shade of the hat, and – gods, his heart was going to explode –

Blood began to pound in his face and his ears, this had to be a dream, but it wasn't, he knew it wasn't, this was too real – and gods, if it's real, what is he doing? He should be running, gods, he could die, right now, right here –

Changmin knocked over the chair that he was sitting in as he stood, trying to make his way to the door, but Yunho grabbed Changmin tightly by the wrist before he could make it.

Changmin tried to pull out of Yunho's grip, and in their struggle, everything clattered from the table onto the floor.

"Let – go –" bit out Changmin, still in a state of panic, when Yunho, gods, Yunho – finally spoke.

"Changmin, it's me, it's just me," he said. "I missed you so much, Changmin, please – please don't run away – not again –"

Changmin swallowed.

"Please. I've been looking everywhere for you, just – just to see you, Changmin, I wanted to just see you again in my lifetime. Changmin, gods, I missed you, I missed you so much –"

Changmin still tried to pull away, albeit not as hard.

He couldn't once he saw the look in Yunho's eyes.

And finally, when he stopped struggling against Yunho's grasp, he got a good look at Yunho's face.

Yunho still looked the same – the same kind, handsome face that he had fallen in love with, and the same warm eyes. They were laden with age and sadness, but somehow, he still looked exactly the same.

"You didn't miss me," whispered Yunho.

Changmin stared. How could I not miss you? was on the tip of Changmin's tongue, but he swallowed and stayed silent.

Yunho loosened his hold on Changmin's wrist.

"I spent the last seven years searching for you all over the country, just to be able to see your face again," whispered Yunho. His eyes were heavy with disappointment and devastation. "And you… you…"

Changmin breathed out. He still had no head to talk, and no face to speak.

"Let us at least talk," said Yunho quietly. "Can we go to a quiet place?"

Changmin was still frozen, unable to quite process this situation and even deciphering whether or not this was a dream – but with Yunho's strong hold and lead, he more or less stumbled outside.

Yunho knew the way to Changmin's little home, so it was clear that Yunho had been watching Changmin for quite some time before deciding to approach him.

Yunho sat down once they were in the room, and Changmin knelt before the King, cautiously, before touching his head to the floor and waiting for Yunho's word to raise his head. It had been years since he had had to use his royal procedures, but there was no forgetting it.

After a long while, Yunho spoke. "Raise your head, and sit comfortably."

Changmin straightened his back but stayed on his knees as Yunho watched. When it was clear that Changmin wasn't going to change his position any more, Yunho sighed.

"You look… different," said Yunho quietly. "If it were anyone else, they might not have recognized you."

Changmin didn't reply.

"I… wish you had been as happy to see me again as I had been to see you."

Changmin spoke quietly to the floor. "No runaway slave would be happy to see his master."

"No slave who loved his master would run away in the first place," said Yunho quietly.

Changmin closed his eyes and hung his head.

And then he said the words that Changmin had been dreading, the words that he prayed that he would never hear from Yunho.

"I still love you," whispered Yunho, looking pained.

"Gods," breathed Changmin, turning his head away.

"Please tell me you still love me too, Changmin. I love you – I still love you. Do you still love me?"

Changmin swallowed, tears beginning to gather at the corners of his eyes, because of course he still loved Yunho.

But no, because now he was a criminal who would die at Yunho's word.

He didn't want to use Yunho's love this way. Changmin deserved all the punishment in the world for leaving Yunho, and he couldn't use their love to excuse himself.

When Changmin stayed quiet, Yunho pressed harder. "Changmin, we – we loved each other, didn't we? Weren't we – weren't we lovers? Did you ever really truly love me, Changmin, or did you just pretend? Please tell me, please."

It hurt, it hurt that Yunho was questioning the sincerity of what had been so, so real – the past that had been so beautiful and filled with love. That even the memories were being tainted.

And Changmin was crying so hard now, tears endlessly falling from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Changmin, voice thick through his tears. "I – I'm so…"

"I just want you to be happy," said Yunho quietly. "That's all I ever wanted. For you to be happy. And… and for me to be with you. Changmin – I thought I did everything I could to make you happy. Even… Even letting you go. So why are you crying?"

"I'm – I'm – sorry…"

I'm sorry for betraying your kindness, your care, your love. I'm sorry for choosing my son over you. I don't know what else to say.

"Changmin, I promised that I would never hurt you, and that promise still stands," said Yunho. "So stop apologizing and talk to me like you used to. Changmin – we're past all this. At least… we used to be."

"I don't know what else to say," whispered Changmin. "You're the King, and I'm just – just… a slave that you have been so kind to, and I betrayed your trust and your kindness. I owe you my life, but I left you. There's nothing I can say to make any of that any more acceptable."

Yunho listened quietly before speaking again.

"I know why you left," said Yunho. "And I understand. But that's not what I asked. I asked if you really loved me, or if you were just pretending all this time just because you were my slave and I was kind to you."

Changmin was silent, unable to explain himself. How could he possibly convince Yunho that everything was was real when he'd just left Yunho like that?

After a long while of silence, Yunho chuckled.

"That's all right. I understand. You don't have to say anything."

Changmin looked up a bit, just desperately hopeful that Yunho would understand, but then Yunho spoke again.

"It was good to see you again, my dear Mihwa," said Yunho. He then smiled, but it was so pained that it barely looked like one. "Goodbye. And I'm sorry that I... I was so naive when you were with me. I... I should have known that it was never possible for us to love each other. Not in our respective places."

He then got to his feet and walked to the door. Changmin was going to stop him, really was -- but then he turned around and looked at Changmin one last time.

"There is a search warrant for you and Chanhyung for formality's sake, although I made sure it was never distributed. But don't ever enter the capital, or I can't guarantee your safety."

Changmin was still on his knees, as Yunho swiftly left the room.

Changmin stumbled out of the room if only to grab onto the skirt of Yunho's robes and ask him for forgiveness, but by the time Changmin had gone outside, Yunho was already riding away.

Perhaps Changmin really was as selfish as he felt. Perhaps the very fact that he'd never tried to return to Yunho again after he'd left was a sign of how selfish he was. Really, Yunho had shown him an overwhelming amount of kindness that Changmin had never repaid.

And maybe, it was time that Changmin did.

He'd done his job as a father in making sure Chanhyung was safe and looked after, and perhaps it was now time to show Yunho that he had as much love as he deserved.

It took him a few days to work up the courage, but he finally found it in himself to sit Chanhyung down in front of him after their work one night.

"Chanhyung, listen carefully, because I have something very important to say," said Changmin quietly.

Chanhyung nodded. "Yes, father."

"Chanhyung, remind me of how old you are now."

"I'm twenty-one."

Of course Changmin didn't need reminding. But he wanted Chanhyung to say it, so that Chanhyung was reminded of how old he was. Of the fact that he was no longer a child who needed his father.

"That's right," said Changmin with a smile. "You've become a strong, handsome young man."

Chanhyung smiled a bit, and so Changmin continued.

"You certainly don't need a father breathing down your neck anymore."

"You've never breathed down my neck," said Chanhyung. "Not since we left the palace."

"Yes, and you never needed me to," said Changmin. "Chanhyung, I have somewhere to go."

Chanhyung nodded. "And you don't need me to accompany you?"

Changmin chuckled. "No, Chanhyung. I have to go alone."

"Okay," said Chanhyung with a frown. "Where are you going? And when are you coming back?"

"Chanhyung, listen carefully," said Changmin, reaching forward and taking his son's hand into his own. "I may not come back."

The horror on Chanhyung's face was too much for Changmin to take. "What? What do you mean? Where -- Where are you going? Father."

Changmin briefly considered lying, but soon decided that his son deserved better than that.

"I'm going to go back to the palace."

"What? Father -- Father, are you -- Father, we're -- we're runaway slaves, we'll be killed!"

"Not you, just me," said Changmin calmly. "I have things to settle."

"But why? Father, no, stay here with me, we're safe here. I'll take good care of you. I know how much you've sacrificed to keep me safe, and dad, I'll never let you sacrifice yourself for anything else again."

"Oh, Chanhyung, you are a sweet boy," chuckled Changmin. He reached up and ran his hand down his son's face. "But I left things unfinished with the King, and I need to try to make it right again."

"Dad, he's the king, he doesn't need you," said Chanhyung, shaking his head. "He can fix anything, get anything he wants with a beck of his finger."

"Indeed," agreed Changmin. "But this is something that only I can fix."

"You lived your whole life for the King, and now he wants you to die for him, too?" cried Chanhyung. "Dad, there's no need to serve a selfish king who demands your death!"

"Chanhyung," hissed Changmin. "Don't you dare speak ill of the King."

Chanhyung looked up in surprise.

"Father."

"He always gave me more than I deserved," said Changmin quietly. "I owe my life to him, and I'm just giving it back to him."

Chanhyung looked at the floor, contrite, but then spoke again. "Then let me go instead. Father, it was me that made you --"

"No," said Changmin flatly. "Chanhyung, you don't have anything to do with this. This is between me and the King. What you have to do is to get a good night's sleep, and have a good day of work tomorrow. And starting tomorrow, you'll take over as the teacher at the school. The kids are counting on you to stay and teach them to read and write."

Chanhyung looked so troubled that Changmin stopped talking.

"I'm leaving you with too much, aren't I? You're still too young to shoulder all of that."

"It's not that," said Chanhyung quietly. "It's just... I thought we were past everything to do with the palace and royalty. I... I thought all we had left to do was live peacefully and happily."

Changmin chuckled. "And I want you to continue to do that. In fact, that's really all that I ever wanted from you." He ruffled his son's hair and got to his feet to start getting ready for bed.

Chanhyung stayed unmoving until Changmin had finished spreading out the sheets, and when Changmin blew out the candle and asked his son to go to sleep, Chanhyung finally spoke. And when he spoke, it was obvious that he was crying.

"Dad, I'm so sorry," whispered Chanhyung. "I'm so, so sorry for all of this."

"Chanhyung, listen to me. Nothing is your fault," emphasized Changmin. "None of this is your fault. None of this. I want you to understand that."

Chanhyung was silent, so Changmin shuffled closer to his son and hugged him to his chest. "You're the best son that I could ever have wished for," said Changmin. "I'm so, so proud of you, Chanhyung, and how much you've grown... and I'm so sorry for everything I've put you through."

"I -- I --"

"The best thing you can do for me now is to be happy and healthy. And be brave and confident, Chanhyung."

Chanhyung buried his face into Changmin's shoulder, and Changmin wondered for a moment or two whether his son was still too young for Changmin to leave him -- but then he reminded himself, Chanhyung's no longer a little boy, even though he seemed like it to Changmin. One day, Changmin was going to have to let go of his baby son.

It was just that the day was sooner than he'd thought.

"Your Majesty, your father would have been extremely disappointed to know that his son would take an entire week to do nothing at all. The throne is a very important place, as you of course know."

Yunho looked up tiredly from his seat at the old Cabinet member, who was so sternly criticizing him, so publicly too, in front of the rest of the Cabinet and also his son, who joined him for all royal duties now.

For the past week, Yunho forwent all of his obligations as King and spent the days just dealing with his emotions, and it was his first day back after

That Changmin had refused to even look at Yunho was a shock in the least, and he wondered whether there was anyone in the world he could truly trust.

The elation that he had felt when he had finally found Changmin and realized that his search for the last seven years hadn't been in vain had not only completely disappeared, but he also felt humiliated. He had imagined his reunion with Changmin in a myriad of different ways, but Changmin pulling away from him to run for the second time was not one of them, especially since he had believed that Changmin had run for the sake of Chanhyung and nothing else.

Today, he had forced himself to return to his post, because he undoubtedly had several hundred of his people waiting for him to read their letters of anguish and ask for his mercy and advice, and just as many reports from his officials and his Cabinet.

He therefore had spent the morning reading letters and writing replies (which he did all on his own, since he hadn't hired anyone to replace Changmin as Mihwa -- but he was beginning to think that he needed someone to help now) and spent some time in the afternoon with the Cabinet, who were all so keen on reminding him how irresponsible he was to take such a long time off work, in the polite and impolite ways.

If Changmin were still here, Changmin would probably whisper in his ear, Don't let them bully you --

But no, because Changmin was gone, and Yunho had to forget him. He had to move on.

"From now on, no one speaks to me about my Mihwa," said Yunho finally. "I will have the servants clean out his old room. He was nothing more than just another palace slave."

It would be his first step in finally... finally taking the effort to forget his old lover.

Yunho stayed up all night catching up on his reports and letters, and he knew he would have to spend the next few nights doing the same. He wrote back to every single letter that needed a reply, but at this rate, he would never catch up.

He would never find another slave that was as educated as Changmin was, but he would probably end up finding a young noble to help him more closely.

There probably was not a single ancestor of his that loved his Mihwa as much as Yunho did, but in the end, Yunho would go down in history as the King who ended the lineage of Mihwas.

Yunho forced the gnawing thoughts away and turned his attention back to the pile of letters.

Don't overwork yourself, Changmin would have said if he were here, perhaps with a pot of tea and a comforting kiss before picking up the brush himself to help him with the replies --

Yunho swallowed and clenched his eyes shut for a moment, willing Chagmin's image away.

And he worked for the entire night.

It wasn't until four days later that Yunho heard anything out of the ordinary, and it was delivered by none other than his son.

Yunho had been quite tired, still catching up on the piles of paperwork, when the servant announced that the prince was here.

Yunho gave the word to allow his son to enter, and his son all but ran towards Yunho.

"Father, there is something you need to see, I --"

"Please use proper greeting and your manners, Sungjun, sit down and start over," said Yunho.

However, Sungjun ploughed on.

"Please, father, I know you said you didn't want to ever hear about him, but it's... it's about - about your Mihwa --"

Yunho froze.

"He is here, and he is going to die under torture, please, and -- and you should see him one last time before it happens."

Yunho slowly looked up at his son, who now had tears of desperation in his eyes.

"What are you saying?" whispered Yunho. "He -- Changmin -- is here...?"

"Yes, father, I've just seen him -- a palace physician who knew him came to see me because... because he was not to speak to you about him," said Sungjun. "The officers are treating it as a case of any other runaway palace slave, as you ordered, and... and he looks awful."

He looked at Yunho and sank to his knees.

"Father -- I know I can't challenge you on your orders and you don't come and go at a slave's beck and call, but -- but I've wronged him, and his son, and I... this is the least I can do. Please, Your Majesty, I will take any punishment you give me, but please have mercy on Changmin..."

Yunho swallowed. Then when he finally gathered his wits, he got to his feet.

"Thank you, Sungjun," said Yunho, trying to keep his voice as steady as he could. "I will see him."

Changmin heard footsteps approach his cell, and he curled up a bit tighter on the floor, and when he heard the door open, he flinched instinctively.

The previous beating session had ended abruptly, and he was in too much agony to understand why, since he was sure that had the beating gone on for just a bit longer, he would have died.

He had hoped that he would be able to see Yunho again before he died, but if Yunho didn't want to see him, he didn't have to. He definitely didn't have to.

"Get up," ordered a guard in a low voice. "Hurry."

It took him a long time to push himself off the floor, having to use every muscle in his arms to do so, since his legs in too much pain to actually move properly. Eventually, he managed to sit up on his knees, still never having looked up at the ones giving him the orders.

Hopefully they would be kind enough to help him out of the cell from here.

He took comfort in the probability that this would probably be the beating session in which he would finally die, free from the pain.

But there was none of the brisk manner with which they had been taking him in and out of the courts for the beatings; this time, there was silence and stillness as Changmin knelt.

And so, Changmin looked up from his lap slowly.

He didn't have to look up very far to notice the leather boots and the skirt of the red royal robe.

Yunho could barely even breathe when he saw his Mihwa, whipped and bleeding, curled up on the floor.

He had done all that he could to have his slave live without a single blemish on his body, which had been no easy feat. But now, here he was, here his lover was, with his entire body covered in blood and barely even able to sit up.

He felt his heart break, and he had to hold back tears when he finally spoke.

"You idiot," he whispered. "Why did you come back? I told you not to."

Changmin finally raised his head to look Yunho in the eyes.

"I broke my promise to live for you," said Changmin, tears in his eyes, but he was also smiling. Gods, the idiot he loved was smiling. "So I came to die for you."

"My gods," whispered Yunho in exasperation.

Yunho had seen prisoners who were sentenced to death before, and each of them barely even kept their noses off the floor as they begged Yunho for mercy.

But Changmin -- Changmin was different.

He grasped Yunho's hand, and then his robe, and pulled until Yunho bent down.

When their faces were just inches apart, Changmin looked up into Yunho's eyes. "You're the King, and I'm a slave, and I'm not supposed to touch you without your permission," whispered Changmin. "But I'm going to be put to death anyway, so I have nothing to lose."

Changmin reached up with his hands covered in his own blood to cup Yunho's face with them. He leaned forward until Yunho could see the tears strung into his eyelashes, and then he kissed Yunho -- gently, beautifully, lovingly.

When they parted, Yunho had tears in his own eyes, because he was so silly to doubt Changmin and their love.

"I'm sorry," whispered Yunho. "I'm so sorry, baby."

Changmin shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

Yunho held back a sob.

"I missed you," whispered Changmin. "And like I said when I left -- I love you. I always loved you. I still do."

Yunho reached up and embraced Changmin, who fell into his chest in exhaustion. Yunho lifted Changmin off the ground in his arms and carried him out of the cell.

Changmin healed, although it did take time.

When he awoke the next morning, it was in Yunho's familiar, soft, white bed, with sunlight shining through the window into his eyes.

He grunted through his pain as he took a deep breath, when he saw another familiar face.

"Hello, stranger," said the healer. "Long time no see."

Changmin's eyes widened. "Kyuhyun."

Changmin looked around for a split second, wondering if Yunho was there, but the room was empty besides Kyuhyun.

"The King was here watching over you the whole night, but he was called away to attend to his duties," said Kyuhyun, clearly not having missed it.

"Of course," whispered Changmin, attempting to nod, but wincing because of the pain. "King duties. They're very important."

Kyuhyun sighed and looked meaningfully into Changmin's eyes.

"You weren't supposed to come back," whispered Kyuhyun.

"I had to," managed Changmin. "I... I owed him."

"You owed him nothing," growled Kyuhyun, but Changmin shook his head.

"You don't understand," croaked Changmin. "I owe him everything. My life, my love."

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes.

"You're impossible," sighed Kyuhyun. Changmin drew in a breath to respond, but Kyuhyun stopped him. "Stop talking and rest."

Changmin did.

Eventually, Changmin returned to his post as Mihwa for Yunho.

Chanhyung never come back to serve Sungjun, but in the end, Sungjun became the prince who freed an entire lineage of Mihwa from slavery; immediately afterwards, Sungjun wrote up emancipation papers for Chanhyung, so that he could truly be freed. Chanhyung was given a small title and with that, he ended up marrying the innkeeper's daughter after all. Changmin attended the wedding, and eventually, Chanhyung became a father himself to a lovely baby boy, who was the first in the Shim family not to be born into slavery.

Freedom was offered to Changmin as well, but tempting as it was, he chose to stay with Yunho in all of the familiarity, and because he owed Yunho everything.

Yunho treated Changmin with even more indness and care as he always did, which Changmin hadn't known was possible, and Changmin served Yunho with as much dedication and loyalty as ever. Yunho allowed Changmin to visit Chanhyung whenever he wanted, which Changmin was grateful for.

Any master and slave who spent a long enough time together could, or would, have and element of attachment. But love... That was different.

And Yunho and Changmin loved each other intensely and passionately in all that time.