Yun Ki's mid was riddled.

His insides were clenching.

His nerves were getting the best of himself as he stood behind the podium, hands clutching around the wooden stand, nails creating subtle indents.

He was stood in the Royal Court, before his People.

The ones he had to address and inform about what had happened in his Kingdom, so abruptly.

He needed to express his grief, lay down his aching heart.

He looks ahead of himself, watching all of their eyes on him.

His Ministers were stood before him, bowing before the masses that had huddled up close to each other in the tightly packed hall.

Chief Hong stood behind Yun Ki, hands folded and ready to take over incase Yun Ki got far too overwhelmed.

Beside him stood his Wife, Soojin, dressed in a mourning hanbok, red ribbons weaved into her hair, as she stares down, hands clasped.

Yun Ki hadn't noticed her presence.

In fact, it was the last thing on his mind, right now.

Especially when he had worn his jute mask, facing his people, as the King of Baekmin.

The mob awaited his speech.

Chief Hong announces from behind him.

"Jeonha will now address the People of Baekmin."

The chaos that once filled the Hall, dies down and there are the hushed sounds of breathing, reverberating past the walls.

Yun Ki composes himself, clearing his throat.

"Baekmin, you have lost your Queen." Yun Ki comments, watching bustles of dismay slip past the lips of his People.

He breathes out, deeply, watching his sweaty palms clench over the wood he rests his hands on.

"My Mother, the Former Queen of Baekmin, Min Bom-i, has set upon her journey towards the Heavens, where she truly belongs. It burdens my heart and chokes my throat to express before you the circumstances under which she was discovered by us… " Yun Ki continues.

"The Queen had been smothered to death in her sleep and decapitated by the culprit." A loud roar of anger fills the room as men and women let out hushed curses and express their shock at the official reveal.

"When I walked into her Chamber at the break of dawn, I was met by her severed head, one I couldn't recognise as it had lost its former glory. It was a gruesome way to pass away. Especially when she had never wronged a soul. She'd been gentle and understanding. My Eomma was the essence of grace and compassion, a quality Baekmin seems to lack, today. All her life, she worked towards ensuring that Baekmin had remained an independent Kingdom, one away from deceit, poverty and unjust means. She lost her beloved husband, Your former King, to a war that changed all of us. She endured the death of her eldest s-son. The ones who've been near her and have had the honour of basking under her excellence have always stressed upon how iron-willed she was, in the way she functioned, as the heart, the most essential organ of this Reign."

His voice hitches, choked with tears.

"Without her, I-I feel absolutely directionless. I feel as though I've walked into a room full of darkness, where I'm always second guessing the step I take next, having no one to hold my hand and guide me through each step. I have no one to tell me that it'll be alright or no one to caress the wounds I endure as the Crowned Head. I've lost my spine and Baekmin has lost it's ray of sunshine." Yun Ki mumbles, voice shaky and biting his tongue to hold back his overwhelming dam of emotions, just waiting to release.

"However, she always taught me that Baekmin is my home and it is one's duty to lay their lives down for their home, if need be." Yun Ki takes a big gulp, chest tightening.

"So, I, Min Yun Ki, Late Min Il and Late Min Bom-i's second filial son, will avenge the harm that has been inflicted upon the innocent, or so help me Lord." He exclaims, thumping a palm down over the podium, causing gusts of excitement and claps to echo around him.

"I'll make sure the culprit is caught and I won't rest until his severed head is hanging over the roof of this Palace, the same place where I let go of my mother, with a terribly aching heart. Eomeonim, your Yun Ki will ensure you're laid to rest. That's my promise to her and to you, the People of Baekmin, my People of Baekmin. Please be the wind beneath my wings."

Soojin looks at Yun Ki's resolute stance, chest beating erratically.

Her own eyes fill with tears at his dedication and love for his late mother.

She'd seen them from the window of her Chamber, seated in the Garden of Jasmine, most evenings, revelling over the beauty of the setting Sun.

She'd been harsh to her but she loved her Son and was looking out for him, always.

"As Confucius said, If we don't know life, how can we know death? I implore of you to remember my mother in the best of spirits and pray for her to find peace in the land of immortality." Yun Ki concludes, bowing before his people, watching his reign burst with determination, as they pump their fists into the air.

What starts with one person's voice, begins as a chorus of synced praises.

"Long live Crowned King!"

"Long live Min Yun Ki!"

"Long live Late Crowned Head Min IL!"

"Long live Late Queen Min Bom-i!"

Soojin raises a hand to wipe away a stray tear off of her cheek, hand moving towards Yun Ki's tensed ones, placed on the wooden podium.

She grabs the top of his hand with her shaky ones, placing consoling rubs over his skin, with her thumb.

Yun Ki stiffens and gently shrugs his hand away from hers, placing it by his own side, not battling an eye towards her.

Soojin stares at his side profile with chants of immortality drowning in her own pleads.

——————

The procession advances with auspicious strides.

Yun Ki and Soojin tend to the visiting guests, serving them food and ensuring they pay their respects to the Late Queen, whose body lies in her chamber, bathed in sandalwood and incense water, laid in a beautiful light pink coffin, body adorned in a dark cloak.

Her nose is filled with cotton and mouth filled with a spoonful of rice.

The guests swarm in, greeting the couple and kneeling before the Queen.

All through this process, Yun Ki doesn't look over at Soojin, once.

Despite Soojin's occasional questions and statements, all he does is nod or let out a hum.

After the line of guests clear away, Yun Ki seats himself beside the coffin, watching his deceased loved one, eyes peered shut and sowed so.

She looks calm, he thinks.

He places his arm over the lid of the coffin, looking down at her.

He remembers the time her forehead would be filled with creases every time he ran around the corridor of the Palace, chasing away her maidservants with spiders in his hand or the toads he'd picked up from the pond that was once full and yet now, had gone dry.

He remembers her twisting his ear, reprimanding him and then staring at his round glossy eyes and puckered lips and laughing, engulfing his tiny frame in a warm hug.

"Eommaneun Mianhae.." She'd say, placing affectionate rubs on his quivering back as he cried into her neck.

He wipes a tear, before it falls into the cushiony visage his mother was rested in.

He's by himself in the room, watching light glide in through the window, colouring the hardwood floor in shades of red.

"Mianhaeyo, Eomma." He whispers into the coffin, one last time.

———————

Soojin finds herself walking into the Garden of Jasmine, that evening.

In hopes that she could possibly find Min Yun Ki seated on the chair he had laid out, especially for him.

She watches butterflies swarm around the well-kept garden and hues of orange taking over the freshly cut green lawn.

She strolls over to the bench, running the pads of her fingers along the wooden frame of it.

The water being circulated in the fountain fills her ear and it's rather warm today.

The guests have left and the Kingdom is back to being rather silent.

Soojin watches the Cherry Blossom tree, one that's lost all its Sakura glory.

They had all shed and it looked rather barren.

Much like the man who was crouched and seated behind it.

Soojin takes gentle steps knowing who he is and what he's up to.

The trunk of the tree is rather thick and normally, it would conceal the person basking under it yet the man basking in its shade was different.

Soojin reaches the tree, watching Yun Ki dressed in his usual red robe, hair up in a knot.

He's fiddling with a Jasmine, twirling it in his grasp, flattening out it's petals.

He seems oddly distracted as he looks away from the Jasmine, staring ahead.

Soojin lets out a quiet sigh, lifting the ends of her mourning robe, one she hadn't changed out of.

She sits with her back against the trunk of the tree, right next to Yun Ki, legs sprawled across the grass, next to his as their shoulders are touching.

Yun Ki looks to his side and flinches a little, clearing his throat.

Soojin stares back, hands fiddling with the patch of grass surrounding her hip.

"I-I'm sorry, did you want to be alone? I can l-leave if you want.." Soojin speaks, eyes widening.

Yun Ki shakes his head no.

"Being alone is the last thing I would want, right now." He says, for the first time this entire day.

Soojin settles comfortable, plucking at the grass she'd uprooted.

She watches him, stealthily.

He looks like he could do no harm.

"You know, when my father passed away, I felt as though I'd lost everything in my life.." She whispers.

"The 12 year old me looked upto that man. In fact, he was truly the only one who cared about me. Mother was always busy with Orabeoni Joon Ki. Father took me under his wings, he allowed me to dream and think that there was nothing I couldn't do if I put my heart to it. W-When he passed away, I felt as though my wings had been clipped, as though the burning pain in my heart wouldn't subside, no matter how hard I tried. No matter how hard I clenched my chest, it felt as though I was sinking.." She explains, in a hushed tone as Yun Ki looks at her side-profile, hearing her out.

"I know exactly how you feel. I've lived through the pain just as you are. All I want to say to you is, giving up is futile. Be the man your mother would've wanted to watch you be. You may feel lonely and abandoned but, there are others around you, ones who call you Jeonha and bow their heads before you in reverence. Y-You're not alone." She says, looking at him, eyes meeting his own sad ones.

He looks at her a little longer that he'd like.

"I don't want people to bow before me. I want them to love me, Soojin. You could bow before others in mere fear of them, you'd embrace the ones you love. There's warmth in embrace, there's warmth in love.." He explains, watching her.

Soojin shakes her head.

"Love is warm. I agree." She comments, staring back at her knees.

The atmosphere lies silent, yet again.

Soojin feels an urge within her.

As though if she doesn't speak up now, she could never gain the courage to say what she wanted, later.

"Yun Ki.." She calls out, fiddling with the material of her robe.

He hums in response, looking her way.

"I-I wanted to apologise to you. I haven't been fair to you. Not once, not ever. I was quick to judge and was swayed by kind words… When I think of all this now, I sense as though I won't ever be able to look at myself, in the eyes. I've hurt you and I've done and said things I-I'm not proud of. I know it's a long shot but, please forgive me if you can. I'm not worthy of it but, for a man to whom resurrection and reverence hold value, there's nothing that can't be done." Soojin completes, letting out a shaky breath.

Yun Ki feels weird.

He doesn't know how he could possibly respond to her, not when he's unsure about everything around him.

It's all too much to process.

"S-Soojin-ah, I don't think I'm ready to forgive you, just yet." He responds, looking away.

"I've always ruined the things that I've loved, with my all… I'd like to think that I'm cursed and everyone in The Kingdom knows that. The last thing I would want is for something to happen to you. So, I'll hold back. I'l hold back knowing, I'm lethal to you." He explains, in a low pitched heavy tone, laughing at his own self being cursed.

Soojin processes his words.

He's broken, just like her.

He's a little hurt on the inside.

"Yun Ki-ah." Soojin says, instinctively.

He looks at her, waiting to hear what she has to say.

"Can I hug you?" She asks, unable to process the words stumbling out of her own mouth.

Yun Ki stares at her, mouth agape before she's leaning into him, circling her arms around his shoulder, pulling in his wide eyed-self into her warmth.

Soojin peers her eyes shut, tight.

As though she's holding parts of him together, hoping they'll mould into one under the heat that exudes in her embrace.

"I-I just want you to feel warm, Yun Ki." Soojin says, holding his big figure against her own small one, the Jasmine in his grasp, falling onto the grass behind her.

--------------Korean words Used-----------

Jeonha = King.

Orabeoni = Elder Brother.