Chapter Text
It was dark out. Jisung guessed it was probably close to one or two in the morning based on the positioning of the moon. He couldn't get his head off of the kiss that happened between him and the prince earlier that day. He couldn’t sleep because of it. He spent far too long staring at the boards of the ceiling and listening to one of the maids snoring in his ear while trying to fall asleep.
To try and distract himself, or at least tire himself out enough to finally sleep, he decided to go for a walk around the pond on the palace grounds. Very few people were up and wandering around this time of night unless they were a part of the night staff. He avoided those easily. He made it off the main section of the palace, so he took his time exploring the gardens. The flowers were blooming beautifully this time of year. All the floral scents helped calm him a bit.
He kept following the paths until he made it to the banks of the pond. He was tempted to just cross the dock to the covered pavilion where he could sit and think. He decided against that. Instead, he watched as the moon reflected off the water between the lily pads and lotus leaves. It was very inviting.
Jisung looked around to see if anyone was around, he hadn’t run into anyone yet, but one couldn’t be too cautious. Deeming it safe enough, he stripped out of his hanbok and stretched. The warm breeze felt nice on his skin. That was one thing he missed about the modern world. While it wasn’t seen as great to have a lot of skin exposed, he could still walk around shirtless, or at least in a tank top, if he really wanted to. Here, he was constantly covered tightly to keep his true identity a secret. He ran his fingers over the indention on his chest made by how tight he had to tie his clothes.
After his good stretch, he took a running start, getting ready to jump in the water. He never made it into the water.
Mid-stride, the breath was knocked out of him as an arm wrapped tightly around his middle and he was yanked back into a broad chest, a dagger pressed to his throat.
“You have a lot of explaining to do, boy.” A man growled in his ear.
Jisung was given all of five seconds to gather his clothes before he was dragged towards the royal quarters of the palace. He was dead. He could feel it.
He was brought to the prince’s room of all places. He had expected the King’s room. The guard let go of his arm, though never removed the knife, as he pushed the doors open. He practically threw the naked Jisung towards the cot that held the barely awake prince. He landed in a heap on top of his clothes. He tried to cover himself as the prince sat up.
Minho looked from Jisung to the guard. “Chan? Why did you bring her here? Naked?” He rubbed his eyes before reaching for his robe.
Chan bowed at the prince before gesturing at Jisung. “I saw this maid wandering around the palace grounds and decided to follow. I know that this maid is the one you get to make your baths, so I know that she is a daytime staff. Being out this late seemed suspicious. We went to the pond and this one started to strip herself of her clothes. I guess she wanted to go for a late-night swim. I was prepared to look away then, to let her swim. Except, I happened to notice something. She’s not a she at all.” He reached down and roughly rolled Jisung onto his back before ripping the skirt away that he was using to cover himself. “HE has been sneaking around dressed in women’s clothes. I think he was sent to get close to you as an innocent woman before killing you. We should have been more thorough before hiring the staff, I’m sorry Your Majesty.”
Jisung yanked the skirt back and covered himself again before looking at Minho. “Minho, that’s not true. I mean… Yes, I was dressed as a woman and hiding my true identity, but it wasn’t to get close to you, I swear! I just really needed a job, but I… I was scared of becoming a guard, I’m not smart enough to be a tutor, nor did I want to be castrated to become a manservant. Please believe me. You know me. The only thing I’ve lied about to you is that I was a woman who was once married. Everything else in our letters was true.” He knelt and bowed so deep his head rested on the floor. It was only the second time he’d ever bowed to Minho.
“He can’t be trusted, Your Highness. If not an assassin, then surely he is just a coward, abandoning his responsibility as a man of this country to instead-“ Chan was cut off when the prince raised a hand towards him.
“You’re dismissed. Thank you for bringing him to me. I will take it from here.”
Chan opened his mouth to protest, but he knew better than to question orders, no matter how close he and Minho had always been. He soon left, but stayed close enough that he could hear if any shouting started.
Once Chan was gone, Minho’s eyes narrowed on Jisung. “Sit up.” His voice was tight.
Jisung took a deep breath before doing as told. “Your majesty…”
“Don’t start with the honorifics now. You never bothered with them before. So, you are a man? Is…Is that why you didn’t want me to get close to you?”
“Yes… I thought if you found out about me you’d either have me killed, imprisoned, or castrated. Or all of the above. For tricking you. Which I never intended to do. At all. I honestly just came here to work.”
“Why here? There are plenty of jobs for young men out there.”
Jisung thought ‘to Hell with it’ at this point. “Not for young men who are attracted to other men. Only death waits for them.” He looked up at the prince, ready to gauge his reaction as well as throw a challenging gaze at him.
Minho eyed him at that declaration. He put his hands behind his back and started pacing a slow circle around the man on the floor. After three full orbits, he paused behind Jisung, looking over his bare back. “Speaking between friends, Jisung, were you ever going to tell me the truth?”
Jisung scoffed softly. “Unlikely. I was just going to let you pine after me until you finally got a wife.” His tone was teasing before he looked back at him seriously, his mouth set in a slight frown. “No. why do you think I tried so hard to keep a distance between us?”
“This was the only reason you were keeping a distance? Not because you struggled to control yourself around me?” The usual smirk settled on the Prince’s face.
“As if. You were the one constantly trying to get me undressed. Pervert.”
Minho hummed at the name, not denying it, and squatted where he stood behind Jisung. He reached out and tucked a few strands of hair behind the man’s ear. He let his fingers linger and then caress down his soft, round cheek before stopping under his jaw. He gently tipped Jisung’s head up to make eye contact with him. “You said you are a man who is attracted to men? Right?”
Jisung slowly turned in his spot to face Minho, still making sure his skirt covered from armpit to knee. His cheeks were starting to take on a pinkish tint from the soft treatment. He looked at the prince and nodded. “Right.”
“What would you think if…I was similarly attracted to men? Well, not so much men than just you? Woman or man, I just…find you so interesting.” His speech was slow as he reached to start pulling the skirt away. “Allow me to test a theory?”
Jisung was so surprised by the confession that he didn’t fight as the skirt was pulled away and he was now completely bare. The tips of his ears to his collar bones did tinge pink as he got shy at the hungry gaze that raked over his form.
“Oh. Yes. I am still wanting you despite the obviously male features. I have a proposition for you.” Minho's eyes found Jisung's again, his whole body scooting a bit closer.
“I’m not sleeping with you tonight.” Jisung was quick to reply, trying but failing to look away from the alluring man in front of him.
Minho let out an amused hum. “That is not the proposition, but I will say I am a little disappointed to hear that,” he teased. “No. I want you to stop working as a maid. I want you to be spoiled. Become my first, and potentially only, concubine. You’d look beautiful in a noblewoman’s clothing.”
Jisung stared at Minho in shock. He couldn’t believe what he’d just been asked.