Twenty

"S-say what?!"

Eunuch Hong's jaw dropped. It would've dropped to the ground and bounced if that was even possible.

Hwi nodded, too anxious to speak, or rather, he couldn't seem to find the right words. He was really unsure of how he even felt at the moment, let alone since sunset since his running into Baek Jin Hee.

"What is that woman doing here on palace grounds?!" Eunuch Hong gasped loudly.

Hwi shrugged as he continued to pace back and forth in his study. He was anything but clever at the moment.

"If the Queen finds out, it won't be pretty," said Eunuch Hong.

Hwi stopped and made a face at him.

"That's what you're worried about?!" he exclaimed.

Hwi sighed heavily.

"I'm more concerned of what will become of her if anyone finds out her true identity!"

Eunuch Hong's concerned expression quickly turned into a confused one. He wasn't sure how to feel at the moment. Does he feel for His Majesty? Yes. Is he confused? Also yes.

"Are you saying you won't reveal her true identity?" he asked.

Hwi closed his eyes and pinched his forehead with his forefinger and thumb. All he knew was that he had to do the right thing... whatever that was.

If he revealed her true identity, she'll be in trouble. If he didn't, he couldn't imagine what troubles lie ahead.

"Your Majesty," said Eunuch Hong.

"Quiet, Bok Dong!" Hwi exclaimed. "I'm trying to think."

Eunuch Hong made a face and gulped. Your Majesty was never this bothered before. He hadn't seen Hwi like this since... well... their adolescent years. Only then Hwi was more afraid than confused.

"Do I reveal her true identity?" Hwi asked, stopping abruptly before Eunuch Hong.

"Er...

"I shouldn't," Hwi hastily added, answering his own question.

Eunuch Hong watched while Hwi was at war with himself.

"I have to talk to that woman," said Hwi. "I must talk some sense into her."

"Shall I summon her?" Eunuch Hong questioned.

Hwi shook his head.

"That'll just raise suspicion from other scholars," he replied. "I'll handle it tonight."

"T-tonight?" Eunuch Hong stammered. "You promised The Queen you'd spend the night at her quarters tonight."

"You can tell her that I've changed my mind as I've urgent state affairs to tend to," said Hwi.

Why was his heart pounding in an inexplicable rhythm? This wasn't the first time he's lied to her. Technically speaking, however, it wasn't really a lie. The situation can be labeled as a state affair. It just all depends on how one perceived it. State affair? Yes. Personal affair? Perhaps.

Baek Jin Hee's presence shouldn't strike a feeling Hwi didn't want to acknowledge, but it did. Honestly, he could just pretend as if he had never crossed paths with her and let her continue to walk the scholar path. As much as he wanted to ignore it all, he had to acknowledge it. He had to acknowledge her true identity and find out what the hell she is truly up to.

"Perhaps, she's up for revenge?!"

Eunuch Hong's voice cut through the silence, disturbing Hwi's already jumbled thoughts. After thinking so hard for quite some time, he had nothing.

Before Eunuch Hong drove Hwi crazier than he already was, Hwi stormed out of his study and ordered the flustered man to stay put. His command left no room for argument.

"What are you doing here?!" Baek Jin Hee hissed.

The young woman in disguise gathered herself and threw her daily robes over her night robes and jumped out of bed. For a moment, Hwi had forgotten Baek Jin Hee was unaware of his true identity. He hastily turned away to allow the woman a moment to make herself presentable.

"I should ask you that," Hwi shot back in a loud whisper, one finger raised at the woman's face.

She smirked and slapped it away, circling him slowly and studying him like a cat deciding on whether or not to pounce on its prey.

"It is Your Majesty that comes to me at this hour."

Hwi shuddered, suddenly realizing that this may have been a bad idea after all. Baek Jin Hee's voice was laced with something dangerous, something that he couldn't quite define at the moment yet had a feeling it was anything but good.

"I must say I am honored by your presence, as you should be with the Queen at this hour, no?"

Hwi mustered up all of the authority he had, which only seemed to be degenerating by the seconds that this woman was here. He squared up with her and furrowed his brows.

"You need to leave," he told her. "I can't protect you if your cover is blown."

Noh Ha Kyung's eyes widened. The tears that she had allowed to well up in her eyes trickled freely. Either she'd intruded this encounter at the wrong time or everything she had heard was true. Hwi had always been a man of his word. Why was this any different?

Without any further intrusion, she kept her distance and remained in the shadows. She backed up slowly, careful not to be caught... only to be betrayed by a crisp yellow leaf on the ground. She had stepped on it and its crunch probably made the whole row of scholars slightly stir in their sleep.

"My Queen!" Hwi gasped, his head poking out of Jeong Jin Won's tent.

Without allowing her husband to make eye contact, Noh Ha Kyung turned around and broke into a run, the cool night wind brushing against her tear-strained face.

"Noh Ha Kyung!" Hwi called out.

Women sure are fast when they're upset, he thought. Hwi himself hadn't realized that until now.

"My Queen!" Hwi gasped, grabbing Noh Ha Kyung's arm and forcing her to face him.

He tugged her arm so hard that their faces nearly collided. Breathing heavily, Hwi gulped and tried to find the right words. He cupped her chin and gently lifted it so that their eyes met. Disgusted and suddenly feeling sick to her stomach, Noh Ha Kyung looked away and tried to break free.

"Stop!" Hwi barked. "I said stop!"

Again, he held her wrists tightly while she still struggled to break free from his grasp.

"Please listen to me!" Hwi exclaimed, losing his patience... suddenly realizing he had never felt like before.

Never did he ever feel compelled to explain himself to anyone, nor did he find it this difficult to find the right words to do the explaining.

"I don't think I misunderstood this time, Your Majesty," Noh Ha Kyung cried.

Her tears resembled droplets of diamonds under the moonlight. As if it were an instinct, Hwi wiped them away. He hated when she cried, especially when he was the reason for her tears.

Hwi sighed heavily and gathered himself as if mustering up all the courage he had left. Although she refused to make eye contact, Hwi wasn't going to force her.

"You misunderstood," he finally said. "I- I... wanted to know why she was here."

Noh Ha Kyung slowly turned to face him now, looking more flustered than ever, much to Hwi's confusion.

"She?"

Hwi gulped.

"W-wait... you didn't know...

"Who is she?"

Suddenly, it hit Noh Ha Kyung like a ton of bricks. The flashbacks of Jinhae port and that inn came flooding through her mind. Now, Noh Ha Kyung didn't feel betrayed or upset... she was angry.

Hwi eyed her cautiously as if expecting a ticking bomb to explode. He had never seen a deathly glare from Noh Ha Kyung before, and something told him that whatever words were about to come out of her mouth wasn't going to be understanding.

"Why're you...

"That woman was Baek Jin Hee?"

Her voice was calm and serious yet laced with  venom, the kind that Hwi hadn't experienced before. Noh Ha Kyung had always been sweet but now, he seemed to have unintentionally unlocked a different version of her.

"Who did you think it was?" Hwi asked.

Her reaction immediately told Hwi that it was the wrong thing to say.

"Why?" Noh Ha Kyung began, her voice colder than the night air. "Are you even in contact with Baek Jin Hee?"

Without waiting for a response, Noh Ha Kyung turned around and stormed away towards her quarters.

"Seriously?!" Hwi threw up his arms in defeat.

This cannot be happening, he thought. Yet, he still felt compelled to explain to his queen. She'd always loved him for who he was, so why does this even change anything?!

"Noh Ha Kyung!"

Hwi barged into her room and dismissed Yu Gong at once.

"Take care of Taeyeon!" Hwi commanded, his voice and demeanor leaving no room for any response from the young maid.

"If- if I didn't care about you I wouldn't be here trying to explain myself," Hwi began, stopping in the middle of the room.

He knew better than to invade her perimeters. Although invisible, he could feel her anger, which drew a fine line between them as if they were enemies facing one another on the battlefield.

"Maybe it was a mistake coming back here," Noh Ha Kyung sobbed. "I thought you were still trying to figure yourself out, but if you wanted to start over with another woman, you should've just told me when you decided that."

"You are so far from right," Hwi argued, his voice low and deeper than ever before.

And what was this inexplicable pricking pain in his heart? The tears welling in his eyes? The tremor in his tone?

"I have no idea why Baek Jin Hee disguised herself as a man to take the state examinations," said Hwi. "I went there at this hour to find out her true intentions of coming to the palace."

"Yet I don't understand why you even did that," Noh Ha Kyung replied in an almost whisper. "Why would you do that if she was just an ordinary woman whose father had recently been banished from the kingdom for irreversible crimes? Why does it matter to you why she's here if you weren't protecting her true identity?! Why?!"

Every 'why' from Noh Ha Kyung brought her closer to Hwi. She took each step just as a refined queen would, but each step closer also made it harder for Hwi to breathe.

"I just want to be a good king," said Hwi.

He'd found his voice this time, each word coming out louder and clearer, his confidence returning.

"To set a good example for Taeyeon and others," Hwi continued. "You think a woman like Baek Jin Hee strikes any ounce of my attention when I have a noblewoman who stuck by my side thick and thin despite knowing my true identity?"

Hwi stepped closer to Noh Ha Kyung, their noses only inches apart. They could feel each other's warm breaths now.

"You think it's normal to ignore the fact that a traitor's innocent daughter has found her way to the palace disguised as a scholar? I'd be a foolish king if I didn't seek out her true intentions, just like I'd be a foolish king to get rid of her just because she is a traitor's daughter."

The truth struck Noh Ha Kyung like lightning. Had she made a fool of herself this whole time?

"Your Majesty...

"I love you, Noh Ha Kyung," Hwi finally confessed. "I'd be foolish to pick anyone else to be my queen."

Without further hesitation, Hwi wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for the most romantic kiss, one that had been fueled by not only their underlying passion but their unresolved feelings and fears... everything.