They’d had a week of constant rain, confining them to the luxurious rooms of the palace, which by no means helped improve Joohyun’s mood as they weathered the storm. She was grouchy and snarky, unable to fence, or practice archery or play polo, and Chaeyoung tried her best to keep a level head so as not to make matters worse with both of them in dark moods. Yujin had made a few attempts at visiting too, stopping by the day after the party, under the guise of visiting Joohyun for her birthday, and then again the following two days when Joohyun refused to make an appearance. Chaeyoung was forced to enjoy tea with her mother-in-law and brother-in-law, inviting Hasun to join them, because at least her aunt would be able to navigate things with Yujin better than she could. She made up the excuse that Joohyun was sick in bed, although Joohyun hadn’t had a whiff of morning sickness yet, and was approaching the end of the typical period for morning sickness. Chaeyoung had no such luck.

While Joohyun was overwhelmingly grateful and relieved to be spared uncomfortable lunches with her family, she was otherwise moody and irritable, mostly due to the fact that she was cooped up inside as torrential rain poured down outside. There were a few scathing comments and petty arguments, but the sun finally made a weak appearance and they’d decided to make the most of it, with Joohyun all but dragging a bleary eyed Chaeyoung out of bed at the crack of dawn. Her nightmares had settled a little, and she’d impatiently messaged Lisa for an update - to no avail - so she was feeling somewhat more agreeable to leaving the palace.

When Chaeyoung called Jennie, letting Yerim curl her hair for her as she sat in a silk robe, staring at her reflection in the mirror of the vanity, she was surprised to hear that Seungwan was in town again too. Clearly Joohyun didn’t know, or else Chaeyoung would’ve had to listen to her complaints, which made it all the more worse, because Seungwan had clearly made a secret trip to see Jennie. Still, Jennie agreed to lunch, with a nervous promise to bring Seungwan along, and Chaeyoung had to lightly break the news to Joohyun, who wasn’t particularly pleased.

“Oh come on , Joohyun,” Chaeyoung sighed, dismissing Yerim as she ran a wide comb through her curls, “let them have their fun. They’re both adults here.”

“It’s not their age I’m worried about,” Joohyun grumbled, pulling on a pair of black slacks and struggling to do the zip up, “they could find fun somewhere else, with someone else, and I’m pissed off that they’ve made it personal. They’re obviously both going to be the godmothers, but then what if one of them s everything up and suddenly our children have one less person who’ll love them for them?”

Sighing, Chaeyoung rolled her eyes, “you can’t control them. You’re acting like they can’t make their own decisions, like how everyone acted with us . You sound like your moth-”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Joohyun tightly replied, her eyes flashing a warning as she looked up at her wife, a brief wounded look flitting across her features. “Please don’t finish that sentence.”

Closing her eyes, Chaeyoung slowly breathed in, before she let out a soft sigh and opened her eyes, reaching out to cup Joohyun’s face in her hands. “Okay, that’s not what I meant, but you know what I mean. Why is it so hard for you to just ignore it?”

“It took me years to get to a place where I’m happy with my life, Chaeyoung,” Joohyun quietly replied, reaching up to cover Chaeyoung’s hand with her own, “and I don’t want anything to ruin that for me now. I’m scared that it’s all too good to be true. My life has always been … secrets and lies, and not a lot of love. I’m still getting used to it, and I know you love me, darling - I’m not saying it has anything to do with you - but it’s only been a few years and I don’t want something to muck it all up for me.”

With a quick laugh, Chaeyoung stole a quick kiss, reaching down to help jerk the zipper up, laughing again as Joohyun quietly swore at the tightness of them. They’d need to look into new wardrobes, sooner rather than later, because they were slowly running out of things to wear that fit them properly with their bloated stomachs. Her laugh was a little strained though, thinking of the secrets she was keeping from Joohyun - secrets she would lie to keep in order to protect her wife - and the feeling of guilt crept back up on Chaeyoung. It was for that reason that she was more open to siding with Jennie being happy with Seungwan, although she truly did understand Joohyun’s reservations about the idea. Their lives were so public, and their friends and family were heavily featured in their spotlight too, and even a small mistake reflected badly upon the royals. She wasn’t in charge of her sister though, and Chaeyoung knew better than to interfere there, knowing it would be selfish to do so in the first place. They’d just have to hope that the press didn’t catch wind of the budding relationship between the two women, and that if things fell apart, it was likewise swept under the rug.

“Nothing’s going to be ruined,” Chaeyoung reassured her, kissing her on the tip of her nose, “you are my top priority. You and our family. No one else can mess that up for us, because I say so, and I’m the Queen.”

“Are you a queen? Really?” Joohyun dryly replied, her lips quirking up into a smile as Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. “You should’ve mentioned, darling.”

Sighing, Chaeyoung gave her an exasperated look, “very funny, sweetheart. Now, which dress is more appropriate for an art gallery? The blue one, or the pink one.”

“Hmm, blue,” Joohyun answered, “I love the way it brings out the colour of your eyes.”

Taking her wife’s advice, Chaeyoung quickly dressed, grateful for the loose fitting dress, and buttoned her coat up. With their larger than usual retinue of guards, they left the palace, sliding into the back of the car while the guards split up into another two cars. Their own car held four, with Seungyoon and Goeun sitting in the back with them, blank looks of indifference on their faces as they tried to blend in with the cool leather seats. Neither of them spoke as they drove towards the hotel that Seungwan was supposedly staying at - Chaeyoung wasn’t sure if that was entirely true - and their small army of bodyguards secured a clear path towards the door.

Inside, there was a flurry of activity. Their coats were taken, their guards split off to take up different positions around the room, looking dangerous in their uniform black suits as they glanced around at the other guests eating breakfast in the restaurant. Jennie and Seungwan were already there, and they were quickly shown to their table, the chairs pulled out by waiters, who quickly filled their glasses with fresh water. With her stomach growling, Chaeyoung wasted no time perusing the menu while she muttered her hello’s. Deciding on the avocado toast with poached eggs, and a side of bacon that made Joohyun give her an exasperated look with all the fat on it, Chaeyoung gave her sister a smile across the table.

“So, what’re your plans for today?”

“We’re going to an art gallery,” Chaeyoung told her.

Jennie glanced around at all the guards and turned her attention back to Chaeyoung with raised eyebrows, “huh. Okay. Is it a dangerous art gallery?”

Blushing slightly, Chaeyoung shook out her napkin and delicately laid it across her lap. “I’m just taking precautions.”

“Overly dramatic ones,” Joohyun added. “But for good reason, I suppose.”

Rolling he