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The rest of the night passed slowly, with Jandi silently watching her husband work Kim Joonmyun and his friends for funding. In a cruel twist of fate, she desperately needed the toilet not ten minutes after the women’s club fiasco, but there was no way she was entering another restroom in the palace after that encounter.

Instead, she watched Kyungsoo artfully pin Joonmyun into meeting up again next week to discuss a potential partnership. The trap Kyungsoo set was elaborate, and Joonmyun was perhaps not in the most stable state of mind, being extremely distressed and therefore not completely sober.

“I’ll call you tomorrow morning,” Kyungsoo said to Joonmyun with a firm handshake. The other man grimaced and nodded, tugging at his shirt collar.

“Sure, sure. I’d better go now, Kyungsoo. The sharks are circling, and I think it’s time for me to go home.”

“Of course. I hope the kids are doing well.”

Kim Joonmyun groaned, made another pained face, and waved him off. “Good heavens, that’s another reason I ought to get home now. Good night, Kyungsoo.”

Jandi took a erse amount of pleasure in watching him try and fail to navigate his way through the throng of politicians and campaign managers without being forced to sit through yet another sales pitch. At least she wasn’t the only one who had to be miserable tonight.

Kyungsoo seemed to be tired out from his talk with Joonmyun too, so he and Jandi stayed by the curtains instead of returning to the center of the ballroom to mingle. As Jandi watched delightedly, it took another twenty minutes until Joonmyun was finally rescued by his bodyguard and hustled over to his car, which was met with sore disappointment from most of the men present. The crowd thinned out considerably after Joonmyun left. By midnight, Kyungsoo decided they had stayed long enough.

The car ride back was, again, quiet. Kyungsoo stared blankly out one window, Jandi out the other, neither one speaking. So completely silent was the trip that Jandi jumped when Kyungsoo grabbed her hand, helped her out of the car, and pulled her gently in the opposite direction from the mansion the second they arrived back at the Do property.

“What are we doing?” she asked, lowering her voice and stumbling after him. “Aren’t we going into the house?”

“Not quite yet.”

Kyungsoo finally slowed to a walk when they reached the lake at the edge of the property. It was a huge lake, with only part of it bordering Do land and the rest of it extending to the edges of the palace grounds in uneven expanses of deep black water. The night air felt cool on Jandi’s sweaty skin, light and refreshing after the heat of the crowded gala. They strolled in silence, both taking in the simple pleasure of a midnight walk by the lake.

“I was thinking,” Kyungsoo said eventually, voice so low and distant Jandi almost missed it, “that I haven’t gotten to talk to you since you arrived. Not properly.”

Jandi slowed her steps to think. I suppose he’s right. Our conversations have either been monitored, manufactured, or in the presence of others all this time. 

“What did you want to talk about?”

He paused, brows knitting in thought. “I… I suppose I just want you to know that I do have your best interests in mind. I’m sorry you’re in this situation, and I know it’s partly my fault, so I will do anything I can to keep you safe.”

Hm. “Well thanks, I guess.”

Kyungsoo snorted at her unenthusiastic response and glanced at her sideways. “You’re not very good at hiding your feelings, are you?”

Flushing, she pretended not to notice. “There wasn’t much reason to hide things back in Geumdo. People value truth and bluntness back home.”

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he hummed quietly. “That sounds nice. Different from here.”

“Very.”

“Tell me about Geumdo? Please? I’ve only seen pictures of it.” With the first button of his shirt undone and the stiff mask gone from his face, he looked more relaxed than Jandi had ever heard him before, and she decided she quite preferred him this way. It was almost like they were just friends enjoying a lovely night by the lake.

“It’s… greener. Noisier.” Better, Jandi thought. And it was true. Even if Geumdo was dirt poor and people struggled to survive, it was home. She had friends in Geumdo, real family. “All the families are pretty big, so there are always children running around and getting under foot.”

“That sounds nice.” Kyungsoo sounded wistful. “I always wanted siblings. Or playmates. There aren’t very many children in the Capital, and even fewer of them have real childhoods.”

“No, I suppose not.” That wasn’t so hard for Jandi to believe. With a father like Mansoo, she couldn’t imagine a very carefree or relaxed childhood. Her own childhood hadn’t been so easy either, but at least her parents had always done their best to make sure their children were never wanting for love.

“You have lots of siblings, right? Do you have a favorite sibling? Least favorite?”

Jandi gaped at him in horror. “What do you mean least favorite? What kind of horrible qu - wait, was that a joke?”

Only the slightest twitch in Kyungsoo’s lip gave him away. “I am known to make jokes occasionally, you know.”

“What - you -” Jandi probably looked like a strangling chipmunk at this point, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

"I'm not serious all the time. That would be rather unfortunate."

“I have never met a more confusing man than you! It’s like you’re actually five different people trapped in one body or something!”

“I assure you, I am the only person trapped in this body. I’ll have you know I don’t believe in polygamy.”

“Oh for the love of God, would you just stop!” Alarmed, Kyungsoo stopped walking and turned to face her, and Jandi felt her face burn. Perhaps she shouldn’t have said that. Perhaps she shouldn’t have raised her voice, not here, not with him. But really, she just couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t take the confusion and distress and terror of being married to a stranger who flipped personalities on a dime, and here he was laughing at her like it was all a joke to him after the evening she had just endured, and Jandi couldn’t stand living like this for another moment.

“I just - I just - I’m sorry.” Tears of frustration burned at her eyes. “I shouldn’t have said that. Please don’t be angry, it was nothing.”

“No. No, you can say what you want when we’re alone.” He stepped closer to her, gaze unwavering. “Please, that’s really what I brought you out here to discuss. You don’t need to be scared of me. I would never hurt you, I promise.”

Jandi squeezed her eyes shut. The memories of Mansoo and Hyemin were still sharp in her mind; Kyungsoo’s words seemed too good to be true, and if Jandi had learned anything from this marriage, it was that such things never turn out well.

“Please?” His hand landed on her shoulder, making her flinch, but its presence was warm and comforting rather than punishing. “Please tell me what you were about to say. I want to hear it.”

“Maybe another time. I don’t… I don’t feel like talking about it.”

Kyungsoo frowned but let it go. “Alright, fine.” Turning back