“I would love to see more of my home for the next month.”

********

It is not until later that night when Jongin is lying sleeplessly in a yo that is much softer than he is used to that he realizes with a jolt that neither Lord Do nor his loud mouthed assistant said anything about the incident at the market a few days ago, nor did anyone else in the palace seem to suspect Jongin of being anything more than a common carpenter with exceptional skill. Which meant that either the two had not seen the bird move in the first place, or they had not told anyone about it. Jongin quickly scratches the former possibility; The bird had fluttered and moved for a good seven seconds right in the palm of Lord Do’s hand and all three men had borne witness. Which left only the possibility that Lord Do and even Baekhyun were keeping quite… To protect him, right? The thought made Jongin almost as giddy as the day that he had spent with Lord Do, listening to his silken voice as he patiently explained the layout of the palace grounds, and beholding his unobstructed face. 

This brought his mind back to what had been keeping him up. He couldn’t stop thinking of the lord. How their arms would brush occasionally as they walked side by side, body heat exchanged beneath fabric. The way Lord Do had to look slightly up at him as they spoke because of their height difference. Most of all, he kept replaying the scene just before they had parted for the night, Lord Do leaning against the door frame of Jongin’s temporary room, his hands cradling his elbows and looking so delicate in the dim light.

“Thank you for accompanying me today, Lord Do. I know that you must have had much more important things to do.”

“Nonsense! There is not much an entertainer has to do when he is not amusing guests… Besides, it’s the least I could do. I’m the reason you’re here, after all.” 

He had looked somewhat regretful at this and Jongin’s arms ached to have the smaller man in them. Before he could do anything else foolish, however, Lord Do spoke again.

“Jongin-ssi, we have known each other for a long time now. Although I know that we have not before had opportunities to speak so directly with each other,” And he had looked up into Jongin’s soft brown eyes with an intensity that made the taller’s knees weaken, “I would like for you to call me by my name. Please, call me Kyungsoo.”  

“Kyungsoo…” Jongin tests it out in a whisper for what must be the millionth time since he lay down. He covers his face and thrashes in his sheets a little. 

Before he finally does drift to sleep, Jongin thinks that maybe there would be no harm in indulging in this fantasy that Lord Do returned some of his affection. 

*******

By the end of the week Jongin has fallen into a comfortable routine. He wakes up in time to watch the sun rise, an old habit he had developed with his mother, who since he was a child would wake up early to get ready for the day and get the rest of the house in motion. He would think of the sunrises they shared as he sat in the open hallway Baekhyun and Sehun had taken him through on the first day from which he could see the rays of the sun begin to peak over the palace walls and the sky begin to change color above him. 

Once the sun was hanging steady in the sky, Jongin would join Baekhyun, Sehun, and an attendant named Moonkyu who was in charge of managing all the kitchen staff. They would squeeze together at a small wooden table just outside the kitchen to drink tea and eat rice with small bowls of soup. Though he was not yet comfortable enough to freely contribute to their morning banter, he enjoyed the dynamic between the three young men and found himself making a place amongst them. Moonkyu and Baekhyun were loud and boisterous, even in the early hours of the day, and were never short of gossip or exaggerated stories of palace happenings. Sehun was quieter, though not as serious as he gave an impression to be upon first meeting him. He had a dry sense of humor and a sharp tongue, often scolding Baekhyun and Moonkyu when they became to rambunctious to handle, although Jongin discovered that he was actually younger than even the carpenter himself. Though Jongin did not want to be presumptuous, he felt himself forming a sort of camaraderie with Sehun, the two often sharing looks or rolling their eyes together at the expense of the louder two. 

The first two mornings he was at the palace, Baekhyun had accompanied Jongin after breakfast to meet with the Queen at the imperial dining room where she and the King broke fast with a few other courtesans. However, Sehun had taken the duty of accompanying the carpenter the past few days, the two falling into easy conversation about their daily duties or sharing a comfortable silence. If the Queen had not finished her breakfast yet or was engaged in conversation, Jongin would kneel outside the dining room by the doorway. Sehun would wait with him if he could though the young man was actually still training under Baekhyun, new to the palace staff, and often had much to do so would have to take his leave of the dark skinned carpenter. However, Jongin was used to entertaining himself with his own thoughts and imagination from long hours spent every weekend manning the woodworker’s stall by himself. His calm, unassuming charm had also already endeared him to many of the palace staff and servers traveling to and from the kitchen would stop for a moment to greet him or exchange a few niceties. 

Once Lady Chen was ready, she would come out and together she and Jongin would pick a place in the palace to converse and plan together, often outside to enjoy the brisk Fall air before the bitterness of winter began to settle. Jongin had not yet begun carving, still in the planning and sketching stages of his creative process. Lady Chen had been increasingly enthusiastic at the possibilities a three dimensional sculpture offered more than a flat painting on canvas. Though she and King Minseok had decided the sculpture would not be painted but rather left the natural color of the wood, the Lady excitedly alternated between possible textures of her robes and intricate hairstyles. After testing Jongin’s ability to carve braids on a thick branch of yew their fourth day together, she had grown positively giddy considering all of her options. 

After their seventh day of still just sketching models Jongin began to realize that his stay in the palace might extend longer than he had anticipated. Not that he necessarily minded, thought Jongin as an image of round eyes and a thick pink mouth filled his mind. 

“Something on your mind?” Lady Chen interrupts his train of thought with a mischievous grin. “Or maybe, someone?”

“Wha- No!” Jongin fumbles the charcoal he is currently sketching with and narrowly avoids dropping it. Lady Chen laughs at his obviously flustered display. 

“I am only thinking of how best to capture your beauty, My Lady!” says Jongin, purposely petulant this time. The Queen has a light and cheery disposition and the two had established a playful rapport in their time together, Lady Chen quickly insisting they drop overly stiff formalities.

“Oh Jongin! Don’t try to lie to a married woman about matters of love.” For a moment, a wistful expression seems to dull the light in her eyes, but she is teasing him again before he can be certain.

“Who is it? A pretty village girl? Oh put that pen down, Jongin, your hand will cramp from so much drawing and all this work will be useless!”

The Woodworker clears his throat as he puts down his sketching utensils for a moment. Today he and the Queen had chosen a grassy area under a young oak tree growing in the palace courtyard. The Queen’s question was innocent enough but there was a knowing curl to her kittenish lips that put Jongin on edge. Before he knows it, he’s hesitated too long to deny Lady Chen’s inquisition, but he can’t exactly admit to lusting after another man, and an employee of her husband at that. 

“Yeah…” He finally breathes out reluctantly. Lady Chen squeals and pulls her robes closer to herself. She reminds Jongin of his elder sisters a bit when she gets like this and he smiles despite himself.

“Tell me about her,” says the Lady dreamily and Jongin supposes that women will be women, regardless of social standing. 

“She is… Very, very beautiful. We’ve known each other since we were children, but we only really started speaking to each other recently. It’s just-“ he hesitates, wondering how much he can reveal without giving himself away. “Her family is of higher standing than mine.”

“Hmm,” hums the Queen sympathetically, “Have you not started to court her yet, then?”

Jongin feels his face heat up in a moment. “I-no, well. I don’t think I could. I don’t have anything to offer.”

“That’s her decision, isn’t it! Listen to me Jongin,” suddenly Lady Chen is leaning in close to him, her hand on his knee and her expression serious. The carpenter looks around nervously thinking that, despite the friendliness developed between himself and the queen, this kind of closeness is not exactly appropriate. 

“There are very few decisions we humans actually get to make in our lives. The body we are born in, who our parents are. Even who we fall in love with,” and this time the plaintive expression in her eyes is undeniable, “we are slaves to circumstance. You cannot change who you are, and you cannot change the fact that your heart has been captured. Your heart will yearn no matter how your mind resists. You can spend the rest of your life yearning in silence because you told yourself there was nothing else to do, or-”

Jongin swallows heavily as Lady Chen tightens her hold on his leg almost painfully and lowers her voice so he has to lean forward to hear her. 

“Or you can do something about it. This little bit of control that you have, this one decision that is yours and yours alone to make. You can act, or you can be idle. That is a choice that you do have.”

Jongin searches the Queen’s expression at a loss for words, surprised by her intensity. Before he can even process fully her impromptu speech a soft cough interrupts them. He and Lady Chen jolt away from each other immediately, Jongin beginning to panic at being caught in a seemingly intimate position with the wife of his nation’s ruler. When he sees who’s caught them, though, dread floods his stomach for an entirely different reason. 

Kyungsoo has an odd expression on his face, as if he’d drunk fish stew thinking he was about to taste mint tea. His brows are furrowed as they slide from Lady Chen’s slightly chagrined expression to Jongin’s stricken face. 

“My lady,” he says slowly. “Forgive me, I did not mean to interrupt.” He looks at Jongin the entire time he speaks, thick eyebrows furrowed slightly. 

“Nonsense, Kyungsoo-yah! I think we were done for the day anyway.” The Queen stands and begins to brush her robes loose of some leaves and blades of grass that had stuck to them. The light flush quickly disappears from her cheeks and she is her usual perky self, all traces of her previous solemnity gone. 

“Jongin-ssi tomorrow we can take a break from designing and start thinking about the type of wood we’ll use. I think I like the color of the wood you used for Dasomie’s statue? Or maybe something lighter, hmmm.” 

She inclines her head at Kyungsoo as she passes him, still prattling to herself, and rounds some thick hibiscus bushes that had concealed the singer from view as he approached. Jongin and Kyungsoo were left in semi-privacy, the carpenter still sitting on the ground and unable to meet the lord's gaze but also not able to look away from him. 

“Would you like to, um,” He starts but thinks about the Queen’s words. “Would you sit with me, Kyungsoo-ssi?” He tries for confidence but falters when he looks up to see a frown on the lord’s face. “Um, please?” He says hesitantly.  

He’s terrified for a moment that he’ll be ignored, but after a pause Lord Do moves towards Jongin and sits where Lady Chen had just been. His demeanor is distant and a bit cold, completely unlike the friendliness he has shown Jongin since they exchanged words for the first time. Jongin tries not to let his distress take over.  

“I know that it’s earlier than usual,” he begins hopefully, “but would you join me for a walk this evening as well, My Lord?”

Jongin’s favorite part of his new routine was walking the grounds of the palace with his handsome muse every evening as the sun began to set. Jongin had taken to seeking Kyungsoo out as soon as he was done with the Queen for the day, every evening having the pleasure of learning something more about the fascinating singer.

Kyngsoo stares contemplatively at the ground for a moment, ripping a few blades of grass up with his fingers. 

“I thought I asked you to call me Kyungsoo,” he says finally, tone emotionless. Jongin feels greatly troubled by the Lord’s demeanor. He does not want to be presumptuous but…

“I have two elder sisters, around the same age as The Lady Chen. She was advising me in their place about something that has been troubling me. She has been charitably familial to me in my family’s absence.”

Kyungsoo does not at first respond beyond a deepening of the corners of his mouth, and Jongin wonders if the Lord is annoyed at him for offering seemingly irrelevant information. It’s not that he assumed the Lord to be jealous, rather he couldn’t help but hope when Kyungsoo got like this. 

“I see,” he finally says, expression still reserved but not as withdrawn as when he’d arrived. He glances up at Jongin from under his lashes in the way that makes the carpenter’s heart heavy in his chest.

“I am sorry to hear that there is anything troubling you, Jongin-ssi. If there is ever any assistance I could offer, I hope you would not hesitate to come to me.”

You are what troubles me, thinks Jongin. It is this ambivalent attention of yours that disturbs me constantly. 

“Thank you, My Kyungsoo.”

It takes him a moment and Kyungsoo’s amused smile for his words to catch up with him. He feels heat rise up his neck and onto his face and closes his eyes to berate himself.

“I meant- I was starting to say ‘My Lord’ but I corrected myself halfway and it kind of… came out weird. Forgive me. Kyungsoo-ssi.”

When would the lord’s presence not reduce him to a bumbling fool? 

“Moonkyu is having a special desert prepared for tonight,” says Kyungsoo, mercifully changing the subject, “And he is worried there will not be enough berries to prepare it. I offered to go pick some since I know a grove up the mountain where many wild berries grow. However, Baekhyun and Sehun are out of the palace running errands today and I do not think I could carry all of the berries back on my own. I was hoping, if you were not otherwise occupied, you might join me?”

“Of course, Kyungsoo-ssi, I would be more than happy to accompany you!” Says Jonghin, not bothering to disguise his elation.

Kyungsoo smiles privately to himself at the younger man’s enthusiasm and moves to stand. Jongin springs to his feet and extends his hand to the lord, helping him to his feet. Kyungsoo gives him an amused little smirk.

“How gallant of you, Jongin-ssi.”

Have you not started to court her yet, then?

Jongin swallows heavily and returns the lord’s coquettish grin.

“Only where you are concerned, Kyungsoo-ssi.”

The lord looks surprised at Jongin’s unusual forwardness but, to Jongin’s relief, not turned off. Instead his cheeks color slightly and he clears his throat. 

“Oh, right, anyway,” he mumbles, “We should head out before the sun starts setting.” He pulls away from Jongin’s touch to start moving purposefully out of the flowered courtyard and towards one of the side exits of the palace. Jongin follows after him curiously.

“Kyungso-ssi, should we not take some baskets or sacks to carry the berries back?” He asks innocently.

The singer stops in his steps suddenly, face darkening further as he levels a blank stare at the tan carpenter.

“Wait here,” he says and turns sharply to shuffle away from Jongin and back towards the main building of the palace. Jongin’s cheeks ache lightly from smiling to himself as he watches lose hairs from the lord’s topknot float like strings of silk behind him.

****************

Hey guys! How is everyone? Taking care of your mental health? I hope you are still enjoying the story! I would love to hear what you guys think :) what you like, or don't like. What made you laugh. Please don't hold back!