Chapter Text
Epilogue: Wildberries
“Are you guys really going to leave?” Hak asked.
“Why? Do you want to come with us?” Jae-ha smirked, raising an eyebrow.
Hak scoffed. “Look – I… I don’t mind, whatever happened… during that time. She – You had no choice. Don’t leave.”
“It is not you,” Jae-ha mocked him. “It is me.”
Shin-ah, who had been folding his clothes quietly, snickered.
Jae-ha continued. “It is the first time we are free to go as far as we want, no longer bound to the castle. Do you think I’d give that up to watch you newly-weds snuggle in the library?”
Hak, blushing, denied. “We weren’t snuggl-”
“Of course. You guys were studying so diligently that Yoon got jealous and threw you out!” Kija quipped, entering the room with a jar of dried herbs.
Another giggle, this time from Zeno slouching on the window sill.
“Well then,” Hak retorted, “Have fun snuggling with the mosquitoes instead, white snake.”
“This is what it is for,” he said, holding up the bottle. “Not all of us are as unprepared as someone who proposed to the mighty empress of this huge kingdom, with... what was it again?”
“A sunflower – not even a rose,” Zeno huffed. “Mister plucked it from my garden right then and there.”
“He got lucky that she is so into him,” Jae-ha chipped in. “I’ve given better presents on my pretend dates.”
A touch of color rose to his cheeks, and he took a hasty leave as the rest burst into roars of laughter.
“Well,” Yona remarked, putting down the proposal. “I guess it is good enough.”
The young official, who had been holding his breath, finally took a sigh of relief. “Thank you, your majesty, I will prepare a survey team right away.”
He hurried away. Yona finally took a break and got up to stretch herself. While she’d still pick the forest in a heartbeat, her life right now wasn’t so bad. The workload had lessened once the country calmed down, and it didn’t take her much time to get the basics down.
She walked around the table, wanting to take a stroll in the garden. Hak entered the office right then, still flustered from all the teasing.
“Hak – you are finally here!” Yona exclaimed. “There’s a proposal for Fuuga and I wanted your help.”
“Oh? What is it about?” He asked her, walking towards her.
“It’s about a port...but before that, why are your cheeks so red?” She questioned.
“You know, princess...” He always called her that when he wanted her. “Everyone knows about the thing from yesterday.”
“You mean the library thing?” She blushed.
He put his hands on her waist. “Uh-huh. Does that bother you?”
“People will talk,” She mumbled, stepping back, until the desk stopped her. She climbed on the table, still facing Hak, but the hard wooden rim prodded her legs. Hak saw her wince for a moment and quickly slipped his hands between her and the edge, riding her skirt up and cupping her thighs in the process.
“You know what makes them stop talking?” He asked.
“What?” She whispered, her eyes fixated on his lips.
“Give them something else to talk about,” he replied, and kissed her.
“Hak,” Yona purred, grabbing his pants to pull him closer. There were days when she’d stop him here, but not today.
“There, there, empress – eager, aren’t you?”
“Shut up,” she said, lying with her back down on the table. He nuzzled her neck, his breath tickling her ears.
“Your majesty, I have prepared another irrigation pla-” Yoon froze on the spot, appalled even as Hak’s back hid majority of the mischief.
“At least close the damned door!” He yelled, his face turning bright pink as he fled the scene.
“What will we do when we come back?” Kija asked, watching Yoon scurrying away. “Doesn’t sound like they have much work to do.”
“I am sure they’d be needing a nanny soon.” Jae-ha replied, shaking his head, with a soft smile on his lips.
Yoon’s scream had brought Yona back to reality. She surveyed her surroundings. Hak didn’t really care, and covered her palms in kisses instead.
“Hak!” Yona squealed as soon as she realized that most of the official documents were strewn on the floor. Yoon would kill her, even more so now that he knew what they had been up to.
“Oh come on, dear,” Hak said, swooping down for another kiss. “They are a mess anyway.”