Joonghyuk was catching up on a weeks' worth of work he'd missed in his office as Hyunsung and Jihye stood calmly to the side. Suddenly, Yoo Mia burst into the room, the heavy wooden door slamming loudly into the wall. Unfazed by her fits, Hyunsung and Jihye bow to her, "Greetings, Your Highness..."
Ignoring them, the young girl marched right up to her brother's desk as if she owned the place. She stood tall in front of him, with her hands on her hips, looking expectantly at him. Joonghyuk set his documents to the side before turning to face his sister, "What brings you here, Mia?"
As soon as he finished asking, Mia shouted, "Oppa, how dare you hide a secret from me!" she glared at him.
Joonghyuk blinked, trying to comprehend what his sister was saying. As the royal prince it was a given he was keeping some things from her for her own safety, but it was a topic he'd already come clean to his sister about, and she hadn't held any contempt for him for it. Joonghyuk tried racking his head. Was there anything he was keeping from his sister that would especially matter to her?
At his blank look, Mia glared at him even more, "Don't try to pretend like you don't know, even Hyunsung and Jihye were told before me!" she whined.
The two knights exchanged guilty side-eyes that didn't escape from Joonghyuk's notice, "You two, explain."
Jihye and Hyunsung elected to continue communicating through their eyes. Jihye elbowed Hyunsung, but Hyunsung elbowed her back as well. The two kept going back and forth until Joonghyuk eventually lost his patience and hollered, "Are you not going to speak o—?"
Not wanting to face her master's wrath and giving into the pressure, Lee Jihye shouted, "Sir Dokja said the both of you were ex-lovers, Your Highness!"
"..." Joonghyuk was perplexed, blinking at her before asking, "What...?"
Turning to Mia with a raised eyebrow, she nodded impatiently, "Yeah, that's what he said in the courtroom earlier. I don't mind having a step-brother, but why that ugly ahjussi? Seriously, you could do better! You liked Lee Seolhwa, didn't you? Where did your standards go?"
"What are you talking about, I'm not interested in men," the two knights were practically gaping at him, along with Mia. The three stared at him in confusion.
She yelled once more, "You literally dated a man and had sex with him, what are you talking about?!"
Joonghyuk looked at her sister seriously, "Mia, don't say that word—wait, how do you even know that?"
"The Ugly Ahjussi said it himself."
Yoo Joonghyuk felt a migraine coming on, "Let's talk about this some other time, and don't say that word again, I'll know if you do" he then turned to Hyunsung and said, "Prepare a carriage, we'll be visiting to Underworld Duchy," Hyunsung said nothing and simply nodded.
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"So.....His Highness was your ex-lover." The duke leaned forward in his seat. He braced his elbows on his office desk and had his hands laced together tightly as he waited for his son to confirm the truth.
"A—...yes." Dokja whispered, afraid that if he said it any louder, the fragile mood in the room would break.
"Since when," the Duke murmured as he massaged his brow. Of all the people for his son to be attracted to… What happened to Lee Seolhwa? She had been a calm, intelligent young woman that balanced his chaotic nature nicely. And Lady Jiwon, even if their marriage had been practical, Hades had secretly hoped they would be able to fall for each other, if only to experience the joys of young love…but no. It had to be that murderous, arrogant boy who had constantly looked down at his son and disregarded everyone around him. Such a man didn't deserve to lay eyes on his son, much less bed him!
"S-since last year..." from where he was sitting on the sofa Kim Namwoon spit out the tea he was drinking, hacking up a lung as it went down the wrong windpipe. Jung Heewon rushed over to pat his back as Persephone handed him her handkerchief.
"Sorry 'bout that" he choked out as he accepted it. In the corner Han Sooyoung leaned against the wall, snickering at the whole situation.
Dokja debated coming clean to his family, he really did, really! But the whole ex-lovers debacle he'd gotten himself into made for a great excuse for him to be around the prince without anyone questioning them anymore. He'd need it since he planned to help Yoo Joonghyuk subvert the empress's plot to overthrow his right to the throne. Besides, he'd finally come clean about sleeping with the prince with everyone, so this was just exchanging one lie for another! He definitely didn't have a problem.
Dokja threw the maid standing off to the side and unimpressed glance as they gasped at his admittance."And you slept with him..." Hades groaned out, a long-suffering sigh escaping his lips as he rubbed his face, drained,as if the fact his son slept with the royal prince had sucked the energy out of him.
"Yes, Father, I would sometimes sneak out to see him,"
The duchess questioned him, "Wait, are you saying that this whole year, you've been wandering around the capital unsupervised in the dead of night?" Persephone's voice raised with each word, appalled at her son's secrecy, and terrified at the things that could've happened to him on his midnight rendezvous.
Dokja nodded apologetically at his mother. The duchess's face pinched as she massaged the bridge of her nose, realizing for the hundredth time that her son would truly be the death of her. Namwoon placed a comforting hand on his mother's shoulder, making Dokja feel guilty.
"I'm fine," she softly assured Namwoon before turning to face Dokja.
"My dear son, if you prefer men, we—."
But the duchess' words were cut off as a butler hurriedly rushed into the office. "Your grace, His highness is here..." drawing everyone's attention to Dokja.
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All the maids and servants of the butlers were lined up at both sides of the entrance to greet His Highness as he stepped off his carriage. At the door stood Duke Hades, surrounded by the other members of the duchy as they bowed to the prince.
"Greetings, Your Highness. May I ask what brings you here?" Hades asked out of obligation, his formal tone not matching the obvious contempt in his eyes.
"I'm here to speak to my ex-lover," Joonghyuk stated, his eyes fixed on Dokja, who shuddered. The prince turned to face the duke, "I would like to do so privately."
The duke clenched his teeth, giving a worried side-eye to his son before returning his cold glare to Prince Joonghyuk, "Of course, Your Highness..." he gritted out.
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Thick silence hung between the two as they sat across each other under the garden's wooden gazebo. They were separated by a small round table, the maids pouring them tea before rushing away, not wanting to spend a second more in the suffocating air that permeated between the two men. Yoo Joonghyuk delicately picked up his cup to take a small sip before setting it down on the saucer.
He leaned back in the chair, crossed his legs. "I didn't realize that becoming your ally also entailed being your lover. When did this development happen?"
"Since the trial…" Joonghyuk was about to respond when Dokja held up his hand to stop him, "And before you ask,I did that because I didn't have a choice, they wouldn't believe me when I said that we didn't hate each other…"
Joonghyuk sighed from exasperation "Well, because of your little stunt, we've become the talk of the city" He threw a newspaper on the table. Dokja, curious, picked it up to read it, his eyes widening as it landed on the headline.
The Rivals' affair
At the grand council hall, Sir Dokja, the young master of the underworld duchy, revealed a truth that no one had anticipated: He and His Highness, the crown prince, are ex-lovers. His Highness has not yet commented on this.
He read it, gaping, and then his gaze shifted to Joonghyuk, who was silently watching him. He put the newspaper on the table and smiled awkwardly, "Well...you see…" he began, but he was at a loss for words.
Still not showing any expression, Joonghyuk spoke out in a cynical voice, "I heard some of my maids suggesting that I cheated on you, or that maybe you found a fiance to get back at me for courting Lady Seolhwa while we were supposedly together." Joonghyuk rolled his eyes and added, "They even said I'm a bastard for cheating on you," at that Dokja clumsily avoided his eyes.
"I mean, what they said about you being a bastard is true."
"Kim Dokja."
"I'm joking!" he said, putting up his hands in surrender. He leaned back, "I mean, these rumors can help us too, right?" Joonghyuk didn't respond and continued staring at him, so he went on, "Let's face it, I'm the only one that you have to help you go against that stepmother of yours. Everyone else around you has obligations to the royal family, while I have the entire backing of the Underworld Ducal. The rumors make a perfect excuse for us to meet each other without drawing suspicious eyes from anybody. Why not take advantage of it while we can?"
After a moment Joonghyuk took his eyes off of him to stare out into the garden, observing the plants as they swayed in the wind. Wary of the fact that he had no idea what the prince was thinking, Dokja could only sit there and try to anticipate whatever decision he'd make. But then, Joonghyuk did something he would've never predicted. He broke out into a smile.
It wasn't a genuine smile; it was something dangerous that sent shivers down his spine. "I thought that brain of yours had finally given up, but you're still filled with interesting ideas..." he said then put his elbow on the table and placed his chin on his hand "Well, there's no reversing anyways. Let's see where this idea of yours takes us, shall we, Kim Dokja?"
When Dokja heard that, a cheshire grin slowly stretched across his lips, his expression spelling nothing but mischief.He leaned across the table, close to Yoo Joonghyuk. "Shall we give them a show?"
Joonghyuk placed a hand on Dokja's thigh, "Gladly."
The two men continued looking at each other, unaware that they had gathered quite a unique audience just around the corner of the garden. Though they were quite the distance away from the gazebo, they could at least see what the two men were doing.
Hyunsung looked at the others warily, his voice full of guilt, "Are you sure this is, okay? His Highness requested to talk in private…"
Han Sooyoung rolled her eyes, still trying to find a better angle to spy on the two at as she answered him,"Obviously not, but we wanted some juicy drama, so creepy stalking it is."
"What is this, a staring contest?" Heewon questioned from beside Sooyoung.
The others murmured in agreement and continued staring at the two. "Did we all really come here to eat dog food?" Kim Namwoon complained, though he didn't seem to mind the way Lee Jihye was squished against him, trying to get a better view.
"I think they're fucking with their eyes." Lee Jihye whispered.
When the group spotted the two men getting up from their seats to go back to the common room, they started panicking, not wanting to get caught snooping.
"GO GO GO" Han Sooyoung whispered-yelled at the group as they half sped walk, half dashed their way back to the common room, where the duke and duchess had been awaiting their son to return with Yoo Joonghyuk.
Persephone greeted them back with a knowing but exasperated chuckle, while the duke just shook his head at their antics. When the five eavesdroppers heard footsteps approaching the room, they all scrambled to their places, trying to look as casual as they could.
Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk opened the door to the room, none the wiser to the fact that they'd been watched.The duchess noticed that two men were standing quite close to each other, their eyes shining brightly."Looks like the two of you had a very fruitful discussion, Your Highness. I hope our accommodations were to your standard," she said to the prince.
"Yes, everything was fine," Joonghyuk answered, glancing at Dokja. He then turned to face the duchess, "I would stay longer, but I'm afraid there's other business I must attend to."
"Of course, Your Highness, but please feel free to visit again. I'd love to talk with the man that captured my son's heart from right under my nose."" the duchess smiled icily at him. By his side Dokja subtly winced.
Joonghyuk simply nodded and turned to gaze at Dokja, "I need to go now, " he said, softly grabbing his hands. The duchess and the others stared, raising their eyebrows at what was happening before them.
"I know, have a safe trip...Joonghyuk~ah." Joonghyuk softened his smile and kissed the back of Dokja's hand. They could hear the force with which their onlooker's jaws dropped to the floor.
"I will," Yoo Joonghyuk replied, and they parted ways. Lee Hyunsung and Lee Jihye rushed to collect themselves and scrambled after their prince, hastily bowing at the duke and duchess as Joonghyuk got into his carriage. As the carriage door closed, Yoo Joonghyuk gave him one last devious smirk. Dokja put his hand over his mouth, tampering down his own smile. Thus began their plot to overthrow the entire empire.