Smiling as she pressed delicate kisses to Joohyun’s shoulder blade, one hand absentmindedly trailing over the warm skin of her waist as Joohyun hugged a pillow, her eyes shut as an amused smile played on her lips. “You know,” Chaeyoung mumbled against her skin in between a kiss, “it’s been ten days today.”

“Mm, I’m aware,” Joohyun replied, one eyelid opening to reveal a piercing green eye as she rolled over slightly and delicately arched an eyebrow.

“Don’t you want to know?” Chaeyoung asked, an excited look on her face as she hovered over Joohyun, her blonde hair tumbling around her face and tickling Joohyun’s cheek.

With a quiet laugh Joohyun sat upright, pushing Chaeyoung up with her, and reached up to brush her hair back and cup her cheeks. A serious look in her eyes, she gave Chaeyoung a gentle smile, tenderly smoothing her cheek with a thumb. “If it comes back negative, you’re going to be upset for the next four days until I have my blood taken, so no, I don’t particularly want to know,” Joohyun lightly told her, trying not to be too negative as she gently kept Chaeyoung grounded. Joohyun was always the realist, if not the pessimist, and she knew that Chaeyoung had her hopes set on her getting pregnant now, and Joohyun would be lying if she said she was worried about disappointing Chaeyoung.

“But you’re late, aren’t you?” Chaeyoung said, raising her eyebrows slightly as she gave Joohyun an expectant look.

Rolling her eyes, Joohyun gave her a stern look, “barely. We’ll find out in four days.” Kissing Chaeyoung on the top of her nose she guided her wife off her lap, briefly pinning Chaeyoung beneath her as she gave her a soft, lingering kiss, before climbing off her and hopping down off the high bed. “Now, it’s time for a shower. We’re having lunch with Jennie today - don’t forget.”

Sighing, Chaeyoung rolled over and got off the bed too, following after her as Joohyun walked towards the bathroom. “I know, and I’ve got that meeting with Kim Taeyeon before that. You’re lucky you don’t have to bore yourself with as many meetings as I do.”

“Mm, I’ll think of you while I’m with Seungwan,” Joohyun , giving Chaeyoung a wide smile over her shoulder.

“Seungwan?” Chaeyoung asked, a puzzled look on her face as she stepped into the bathroom, watching Joohyun turn the hot water on in the shower.

“Yes, I told you she was getting here today. I invited her to lunch,” Joohyun briskly replied, one hand under the torrent of water as she waited for it to turn hot.

“Lunch? Lunch with Jennie?” Chaeyoung asked, her stomach lurching slightly at the thought, “Seungwan’s coming too?”

Giving her a bewildered look Joohyun let out a confused laugh, shaking drops of water off her hand before walking towards Chaeyoung and grabbing her hand. Pulling her towards the shower, Joohyun stepped under the water, letting the water plaster her hair to the face as Chaeyoung joined her under the hot water. “Yes. Is that okay? You don’t sound very pleased about seeing her.”

Letting out a quick laugh, Chaeyoung slicked her wet hair back, giving Joohyun a bright smile while she internally thought about how much of a disaster this lunch could be with Joohyun in the dark about Jennie and Seungwan’s tryst in Gutrin, and Chaeyoung being the uncomfortable knowing third party in whatever tension there was going to be between her sister and friend. “Of course it’s okay,” Chaeyoung said, reaching out to pull Joohyun close, “you know I love seeing Seungwan.”

Smiling, Joohyun raised her chin slightly, pushing herself up onto her tiptoes to kiss Chaeyoung. Brushing her wet hair back, Chaeyoung cradled Joohyun’s face in her hands and kissed her back, the hot water pattering against her back as she stood under the torrent of water, the shower glass fogging up in the steam. Laughing as Joohyun pushed her backwards, Chaeyoung went willingly, letting out a small sound of protest when her back touched the cold tiles, and she jumped slightly, breaking the kiss as Joohyun laughed. With a small sigh, Chaeyoung wiped away a drop of water on Joohyun’s cheek, giving her a grim smile.

“You’re going to make me late for my meeting.”

“So? You don’t want to go anyway,” Joohyun murmured, stealing a kiss.

“I know,” Chaeyoung groaned, “but I have to.”

“You’re the Queen of Avalon,” Joohyun reminded her, her lips leaving a trail of hot kisses along Chaeyoung’s jaw, “you don’t have to do anything. Tell Prime Minister Kim that taxes and policies can wait.”

Reaching up to encircle Joohyun’s wrists with her slender fingers, Chaeyoung moved her back, giving her an exasperated look. “You know that I would if I could, and you’re cruel for teasing me when you know I can’t.”

Giving her a slightly smug look, Joohyun shrugged and turned around, walking over to the row of expensive bath products. Taking as much time as she could spare in the shower, Chaeyoung chatted away while she let Joohyun scrub her clean with a pomegranate scented shower gel, the occasional encouraging hum prompting her to continue as she complained about the meeting from the night before. It seemed like there was a never ending stream of them, and Chaeyoung took her job seriously, even with the knowledge that she had little real power to make big changes to her country. It was important though, and she wouldn’t be caught slacking, even if it was tedious work. After quickly washing her hair, she got out of the shower, stealing lingering kisses from her wife as Joohyun stayed beneath the warm water, tempting Chaeyoung to stay. It was with grim resolution that she stepped into the steamy air of the bathroom and wrapped a heated fluffy towel around herself, wrapping another one around her hair and fetching a clean robe from the rack.

Five minutes later she was sitting at the dining table, reading the morning newspaper that had been left waiting for her by Sooyoung and absentmindedly scrolling through her schedule for the day as she waited for Joohyun to emerge from their bedroom. Aoife was laying by Chaeyoung’s feet, tongue lolling and tail occasionally thumping against the floor as the massive dog waited for Joohyun as well, and Chaeyoung complained to the dog about being hungry as she thought about breakfast waiting for them in the small dining room they preferred for their meals. She was feeling a little grouchy that morning, not enough sleep and a busy day making her sunny personality a little subdued, and Chaeyoung would’ve loved nothing more than to go back to bed for a few more hours and cuddle up with Joohyun.

At the sound of the bedroom doors being thrown open, Aoife climbed to her feet and bounded over to Joohyun, who strode out in a pressed casual suit, buttoning up the olive coloured shirt and carrying her suit jacket over one arm. “Oof,” she muttered as an excited wolfhound bumped into her legs, excitedly snuffling as she waited for some attention, and Joohyun’s face lit up as she ruffled the fur beneath the dog’s chin, glancing up at Chaeyoung who was softly smiling. Straightening up, Joohyun walked over to her and wrapped her arms around Chaeyoung’s shoulders from behind, her chin on Chaeyoung’s shoulder, enveloping them both in a strong cloud of perfume. “What’s happening in the world today, darling?”

“People are dying. The planet is dying. People are poor. The government is awful. Politicians aren’t to be trusted,” Chaeyoung wearily summarised, tossing the newspaper onto the table and leaning her head back against Joohyun’s shoulder.

Tutting, Joohyun straightened up, looking down at the wet patch from Chaeyoung’s damp hair and tapped her wife on the shoulder, “come on, I’ll blow dry your hair for you before breakfast. And you’d better finish getting ready, your meeting’s in an hour.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Chaeyoung grumbled, pushing herself to her feet and following Joohyun into their bedroom, her stomach rumbling.

By the time they were both dressed and ready, looking picture perfect for whoever they had to encounter during the day, Chaeyoung had to meet with Taeyeon in twenty minutes, which meant that breakfast was rushed. Sitting at the head of the table in the sunny dining room, Chaeyoung prodded her boiled egg with a neat rectangle of toast and a brooding look on her face, feeling decidedly unhungry for eggs, and reached for some of the bacon amidst the spread of food cooked for them. In place of coffee there was a lemony tea that was supposed to be good for early pregnancy, and seeing as they were taking no risks, Joohyun was consuming as little caffeine as possible, which meant that of course Chaeyoung had agreed to go along with it too to make it fair, and she murmured a quiet thank you as Joohyun refilled her cup for her. Absentmindedly sipping at the tea and taking small bites of bacon, Chaeyoung watched Joohyun, listening as she talked about the art gallery she was going to with Seungwan, smiling softly as she watched her vaguely gesture with her spoon, a serious look on her face. No matter how busy their days were, they always ate breakfast together, even if it was a bit short like that morning, and Chaeyoung loved their uninterrupted early mornings, appreciating it more than she ever thought she would. Sometimes the startling thought that there had been a time where they knew each other and weren’t in love came rushing back to her, and it was shocking to think that she could ever have thought that being with Joohyun was the worst possible thing that could happen to her.

“What’s so funny?” Joohyun interrupted her thoughts, and Chaeyoung blinked in surprise, realising that she was staring at her wife with an amused smile curling her lips.

“I love you,” Chaeyoung blurted out.

Laughing, Joohyun shrugged slightly and drained her tea, the cup rattling against the saucer as she set it back down, “well I should hope so. I’d hate to prove my mother and your aunt right.” Dabbing at with a finely embroidered napkin, leaving a red lipstick mark on the white fabric, Joohyun pushed her chair back and climbed to her feet. “You’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up. You’re being awfully slow this morning.”

“I’m tired,” Chaeyoung whined, tilting her head to the side so that Joohyun could place a gentle kiss against her cheek, “have a good day. I’ll see you at lunch.”

“Try not to be too grumpy,” Joohyun whispered, barely concealed laughter in her voice, “I love you.”

Turning her head to the side, she let Joohyun give her a lingering kiss before she left, and Chaeyoung quickly shovelled down the rest of the bacon in a rather unflattering manner, realising that she had five minutes to make it to her meeting room. She set a brisk pace through the palace, her guard, Goeun, trailing after her with a serious look on her face, and Chaeyoung arrived at the hallway leading to the room slightly out of breath, even though she hadn’t really been rushing that much. Taking a few slow breaths to calm herself down, she walked down the length on the carpeted hallway, plastering a polite, friendly smile on her face as she looked at the blonde woman waiting outside.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” Taeyeon said, dipping into a slight curtsy at the arrival of Chaeyoung, along with the rest of the occupants of the hallway.

“Prime Minister,” Chaeyoung nodded, sweeping into the spacious room as the doors were opened by the palace staff.

Yerim was there, and she followed Chaeyoung and Taeyeon in, along with Taeyeon’s personal assistant, and Chaeyoung took a seat at the head of the long mahogany table, thanking Yerim as she set a file of paperwork and an expensive pen down in front of her. Seating herself at Chaeyoung’s right, Taeyeon had a similar spread of files and paper before her, a pair of glasses perched on her nose as she rifled through them.

“I thought we could begin with the National Housing Agreement,” Taeyeon said, pulling out two papers and setting one down in front of Chaeyoung, “unless you’d prefer to start somewhere else.”

“No, no, that’s fine,” Chaeyoung mumbled, picking up the stapled stack of paper and flipping over the first page.

The rest of her morning followed in a similar fashion, with different policies, agreements and laws being discussed by the two women, and Chaeyoung felt herself becoming grumpier as the morning progressed. By the time they’d gone through everything, Chaeyoung was sick of talking about politics and a dull throbbing at her left temple signalled the start of a headache as she leant back in her chair, sipping at a glass of water. She had been nothing but polite though, managing to keep her frustration under wraps when her points were overlooked or dismissed, and as lunch approached, she found herself feeling relieved at the thought of spending time with her family and friends. First she had another quick meeting with her Lord Youn to organise a state visit from Yujin, which she knew Joohyun wasn’t too happy about, but as far as the rest of the world knew, they were a completely civil family, which meant that for appearances sake, they had to make an effort. Chaeyoung had decided on a garden party to enjoy the last of the warm weather before autumn well and truly took hold, and with her trust placed in her Lord Youn to oversee everything went according to plan, she was finished with that meeting and filled with relief at the thought of a small reprieve for lunch.

She was making her way through the ground floor of the palace when she bumped into Joohyun and Seungwan, a warm smile breaking out across her face as she walked over to them, her worries seeming to disappear at the mere sight of her wife, and even more so when Joohyun turned at the sound of her approach and gave her a loving smile. Stepping forward, Chaeyoung embraced Seungwan, warmly greeting each other - without the curtsies, much to her relief, as it had taken a while before her friend had stopped reverting to protocol in casual settings - and then she kissed Joohyun, who turned her head slightly to let her lips land on her cheek, inquiring about the art gallery as she fell into step with the two of them. Two guards and two assistants followed behind, leaving a r