Chapter 19: The Meaning of Kindness

‘How cruelly is he planning to kill me?’

The table where Cheong and Haewon sat was filled endlessly with food.

It was a round table large enough to seat ten people, yet it was packed to the brim.

It was luxurious enough to be called a “last supper.”

‘And those glances of pity are the worst!’

While the head court lady tasted each dish, the court ladies lined up behind her kept glancing back and forth between Haewon and Cheong.

They must have pitied Cheong, thinking she’d soon die at his hands.

What else would explain the sour look on Haewon’s face from the early morning?

He looked extremely annoyed by something.

‘Here we go again.’

Haewon frowned as a sharp headache began again.

Just yesterday, after Cheong’s treatment, the pain had completely disappeared.

But the moment the court ladies brought in the food, it came back again.

Like sticky oil spreading, a dull pain began to slowly spread across his entire head.

“Your Majesty, the tasting is complete.”

“Everyone, leave.”

At Haewon’s command, the head court lady and the rest of the court ladies promptly left the room.

As the sliding doors closed and he was alone again with Cheong, the pain in Haewon’s head mysteriously began to ease.

“As I thought, I need to keep you close.”

“Huh? W-What did you say?”

Cheong quickly looked up, startled by Haewon’s muttering.

Seeing her pale face, Haewon smiled gently.

“It’s nothing. I’m hungry, so go ahead and eat.”

“But Your Majesty hasn’t picked up your spoon yet. How could I possibly eat first…”

“It’s fine. Go ahead.”

As a divine being, Haewon didn’t need to eat.

In fact, ever since the headaches worsened, he barely ate at all.

Past Dragon Kings only ate for entertainment.

But for Haewon, unable to taste food properly due to the pain, eating had become a bothersome task.

So today, the morning meal wasn’t for himself, but for Cheong.

Still, even with that kindness, Cheong hesitated and glanced around nervously.

Seeing this, Haewon let out a low sigh and spoke again.

“That’s an order.”

At that, Cheong quickly picked up her chopsticks.

“Th-Thank you. I will eat well, Your Majesty.”

After bowing to Haewon, Cheong picked up a grilled fish near her and put it in her mouth.

The moment the large piece of fish touched her tongue, her eyes widened.

‘What is this? Why is it so good?’

Cheong chewed the moist fish meat, staring in surprise at the grilled fish the size of her forearm.

It looked like a large croaker fish, simply grilled crispy with just salt—no extra seasoning.

But it was the best grilled fish she’d ever had.

The more she chewed, the more the savory flavor spread—absolutely delicious.

After tasting the fish, Cheong turned to the next dish.

‘That looks like sea cucumber…’

Usually, sea cucumber dishes were made by gutting and slicing them before cooking.

But the dish in front of her kept the long, plump sea cucumber in its original form.

‘How do I even eat this?’

Out of curiosity, she poked at its dark skin with her chopsticks.

“You have to cut that to eat it.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll cut it for you.”

“No, it’s okay!”

Before Cheong could stop him, Haewon stood up.

And then a small problem arose.

‘Oh, come on…’

As Haewon approached to cut the sea cucumber dish, his lower body ended up right in front of Cheong’s eyes.

That part. The important part.

Because of the thick white robe, it wasn’t inappropriate at all—but the problem was, Cheong had seen it.

Unfortunately, she saw it after staring at a plump sea cucumber, so the memory of that “powerful” sight from before hit her vividly.

“Here, it’s ready. Eat.”

Haewon cut the sea cucumber nicely and returned to his seat.

Inside the sea cucumber, it was filled with stir-fried seafood.

It looked really good, but she couldn’t bring herself to eat it.

“Why are you just sitting there? Could it be…”

“It’s nothing!”

As Haewon narrowed his eyes, Cheong quickly picked up her chopsticks and began eating like she was in a battle.

Her cheeks were flushed red.

Haewon looked at her busily moving chopsticks with a satisfied smile.

“Yes, to endure well, you must eat well.”

* * *

Cheong could only leave after enduring Haewon’s sharp gaze and finishing all of the morning meal.

Even though it was just around Jinshi (辰時: 7–9 a.m.), she felt completely drained, like all her energy was gone.

“I just want to go and rest without thinking.”

As she dragged her feet, her room came into view in the distance.

Seeing her cozy room getting closer, she naturally began to walk faster.

Just as she turned the corner leading to her place, hoping to rest quickly—

“You sure are crawling back fast.”

“Ah! You scared me!”

Cheong let out a short scream as she turned the corner and was suddenly met with a dark figure.

She had assumed no one would be there, so the shock nearly made her heart stop.

“Judging by how startled you are to see me, I guess you do feel a little guilty?”

“L-Lady Gahwa?”

The one standing there with her hands on her hips and glaring at Cheong was Gahwa.

She looked quite angry—her usually soft eyes now sharp and fierce.

“Why are you so upset this early in the morning… Ah!”

As Cheong trailed off and made an “oh no” face, Gahwa’s eyebrows rose sharply.

“Finally remembered, did you?”

At her biting sarcasm, Cheong gave an awkward expression.

She finally remembered the conversation she’d had with Gahwa before entering Haewon’s chambers.

“How long do you think it’ll take?”

“About half a sijin (an hour), I think.”

“Then I’ll wait here. Let’s go back to the quarters together.”

“Alright. I’ll be out quickly.”

After saying that, Cheong went into Haewon’s chambers.

But because of everything that happened, the treatment took much longer than expected, and she completely forgot about Gahwa.

Judging by Gahwa’s reaction, she must’ve waited a long time in front of the king’s room.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Cheong lowered her head. Even if she had ten mouths, she wouldn’t have an excuse.

Gahwa crossed her arms and tilted her chin, staring down at Cheong’s dark hair.

But her eyes showed more relief than anger.

“Do you know how worried I was?”

“You… were worried?”

“Yes.”

Her voice was firm but no longer angry, and Cheong cautiously looked up.

“Really?”

“You said you’d be back in half a sijin, but you didn’t come out. Of course I’d be worried. And you were going in to see His Majesty, no less. How could I not be concerned?”

While waiting for Cheong, Gahwa had all sorts of thoughts.

What if she was stabbed for being too bold?

What if she said the wrong thing and got her tongue cut out?

So many bloody images ran through her mind that she almost felt sick.

“I asked the eunuchs and court ladies standing outside His Majesty’s chambers for news, but they wouldn’t tell me anything. I asked them to pass along a message, and they said they couldn’t even do that. I really felt like I was burning up inside.”

After being scolded to leave quietly, Gahwa had no choice but to go back to Cheong’s quarters.

But even then, she couldn’t sleep.

Her first real friend might die—how could she sleep?

Tossing and turning all night, Gahwa finally burst out of the room as soon as the sun rose.

And right then, she ran into Cheong.

“But it looks like you weren’t worried at all.”

“Th-That’s not true! I was really struggling inside, too! I may have spaced out for a bit, but my feelings for you, Lady Gahwa, are deeper than the sea in this Dragon Palace!”

At Cheong’s smooth flattery, Gahwa’s expression gradually softened.

Even if those words were a lie, she didn’t mind.

Just having someone say something like that to her was enough to make her happy.

“You still talk way too smoothly. And from how fresh your face looks, it seems like you weren’t suffering at all. More like you got a great night’s sleep.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration—Cheong’s pale face practically glowed.

Cheong rubbed her smooth cheek with her palm while nervously glancing at Gahwa.

“Is it that obvious?”

“What? Don’t tell me… you slept there?!”

This time, it was Gahwa who was shocked by Cheong’s answer.