II. Before the Party

Woohyun is the Jeonha. The king.

He's pretty boss at being one too.

"Jeonha, you have already read these transcripts of the past Jeonhas' works and duties in one sitting. That is absolutely amazing." The king's tall official bows in deep respect and praised him with a high pitched voice.

Kiss-, is what Woohyun thinks.

Scooting a little closer, the man grins annoyingly wide. Woah. "Jeonha, don't tell me you have already read the two political groups' offers on the case of tax?!"

Woohyun pretends to think for a moment--"Okay. I won't tell you"--and his official seems slightly flustered that his flattery might be annoying his precious little Jeonha. He thinks? No, he is annoying his precious little Jeonha. Groaning away his cramped muscles, Nam Woohyun shoos the official away. "I would like some peace and quiet before the party tonight."

"O-Of course." The kiss- promptly gets up with his head low and shuffles out the room backwards, making sure not to turn his back towards Woohyun as that would be considered disrespectful.

Few seconds after the man leaves, another man enters from above, removing a ceiling tile. He lands lightly in front of Woohyun who, obviously startled, jumps in his cushions and glares at the second visitor. Two visitors in a row? Nam Woohyun is a popular king. Hm.

"Don't tell me you have already read the two political groups' offers on the case of tax~ Blah." The newcomer taunts the official with a squicky voice, shoving his bum into Woohyun's face.

Woohyun pushes away the shaking bottom. "Sunggyu, what the hell are you doing here?"

The man named Sunggyu lightly jumps onto the floor desk in front of Woohyun and squats down on it. "Well, Jeonha, I thought you would be bored before the party, so I visited." He playfully twists the word 'Jeonha' and chuckles into the younger man's face.

"Cut the crap." Like said, Woohyun is pretty boss at being Jeonha, so the moment Sunggyu appeared, he knew something was wrong. "You should be overloaded with work and requests. I don't think you would be here for just some chit chat."

Sunggyu laughed loudly twice. "I thought I should let you know..." Then, with a all playfulness drained from his face, he reaches into his shirt and pulls out a silver spoon with its head wrapped in white cloth. He carefully unwraps it to reveal a green rusted curve at the tip of the spoon as if it had been dipped in acid. Sunggyu lowers his voice into a whisper. "One of the maids accidentally dropped this spoon inside your fiancee's soup, and the spoon changed colors."

Silver is a way for them to test for poison which is why all the royal's untensils are made of silver. If it changes colors, then there is poison in the food.

"Someone poison her soup?" Nam Woohyun shoots up from his seat, causing Sunggyu to fall off the desk on his back with a loud ugly groan.

"Jeonha, the maids are here with your robe for the party." Someone outside announces.

Almost too suddenly, the entrance to his room slides open and several women holding a golden silk outfit enters. They shriek in surprise at the man lying faced up in front of them. Sunggyu gives them a cheeky grin and welcomes them in. "Come in, come in. Don't mind me."

Wait, isn't Nam Woohyun the king? He gives the guy on the floor an annoyed look. "I'll talk to you later, Sunggyu. Don't tell anybody about this, okay?" Then, he signals the maids to bring him the clothes.

Sunggyu gets up and loudly shouts a 'of course, Jeonha' before jumping up back into the hole in the ceiling. "Oh yea, Jeonha." Sunggyu pops his head back out through the hole. Surprised, the maids give another shriek. "We just received a fresh new selection. Do you want it for the party, or the usual?"

Nam Woohyun knows what he meant by 'selection.' Gisaengs.

Of course, he's never slept with them. No, no, he's a good Jeonha. He just likes staring at them. They're pretty.

"No thanks." He answers. "Not the usual either."

"So... none at all?" Sunggyu taps his chin, still hanging upside down from the ceiling. "Are... you gay now?" He jokes, purposefully trying to mess with Woohyun.

It works. Nam Woohyun grabs the comb from one of the maid's hands and throws it at Sunggyu. Another shriek from the maids. Now, Woohyun is starting to feel bad for scaring the maids so much, but Woohyun being homoual? Sorry to all the men out there, but Woohyun is the straightest man in the palace. His love for women is unstoppable.

"It's my finacee's birthday party. I can't be with..." Woohyun trails off, unable to finish due to the maids staring curiously into his face. Instead, he simply shoos Sunggyu off again.

This time, Sunggyu leaves for good. What a bother.

a short update!