Chapter 23
Yeon shook her head at the spot Seojun pointed out—then froze.
“Ah,” a small gasp escaped her lips.
The person sitting on the bench he indicated was the reporter she had seen back at Gyeongbokgung.
She had only caught sight of them in the middle of a chaotic situation, but she was certain.
“Say hello. She’s on our side. Reporter Bong.”
He lifted his hand in greeting.
The other person gave a nod in reply.
With her hair tied back tightly, wearing cargo pants and a vest with pockets all over, she looked less like a women’s magazine reporter and more like someone from National Geographic.
Yeon raised her hand briefly, following Seojun’s lead.
As expected of a politician, Seojun seemed to be thinking of public opinion first.
It wasn’t a bad plan.
Some politicians and high-ranking officials dismissed the people as nothing more than dogs, pigs, cows, or horses—but when the people spoke with one voice, their influence was tremendous.
And if there was no way to get support from inside the imperial palace, then building a team outside was also a strategy.
“Did you know her before? Can she be trusted?”
“She can be trusted.”
Reporter Bong was actually Seojun’s person, who had infiltrated the women’s magazine undercover.
But Seojun didn’t bother explaining that far and kept the conversation short.
Yeon narrowed her eyes.
The way he executed his plans without hesitation made it feel as though everything had been prepared a long time ago.
‘I almost ended up meeting him as an enemy.’
Judging from Seojun’s thoroughness, it would have been a huge headache if they had met on opposite sides.
“So that whole feature article the women’s magazine is preparing—that was your plan too, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
When he admitted he had prepared it days in advance, Yeon’s eyes widened.
“Wow… you’re a scary man, Seojun.”
“So, you dislike me for it?”
“Dislike you? You’re on my side—so I love it.”
Yeon smiled brightly.
The words “my side” pierced right into Seojun’s heart.
He had said the same thing over and over again today before the emperor, but somehow, hearing it from Yeon’s mouth made it feel different.
“When you go to meet the Crown Prince, try to take Reporter Bong with you whenever possible. Here’s her number.”
Seojun leaned toward her, closing the distance between them, and reached out his hand.
The subtle scent of him made Yeon think again of the “accident” in the car that she had worked so hard to forget.
That soft, squishy feeling…!
Yeon froze and sucked in a breath.
Is it going to happen again? Maybe even in front of a camera this time?
As he reached into her jacket pocket for her phone, Seojun noticed her tense up and stopped his movement.
He watched the flutter of her long eyelashes quietly.
Yeon felt so tense she could barely breathe.
Then, as her tongue peeked out to touch her lips, something inside Seojun stirred violently.
He frowned slightly, then pulled out the phone and waved it in front of her face.
Yeon’s eyes went wide.
“What were you expecting?”
His teasing question made her face burn red in an instant.
“I wasn’t expecting anything! And you—why were you staring at my lips like that if you weren’t expecting something yourself?”
She snapped back without backing down.
“What we did in the car.”
Seojun replied smoothly, as if he’d been waiting for it.
Yeon’s ears turned crimson.
I only teased him as a joke, but if he responds like that, what do I do?
This was the kind of moment where she should just boldly kiss him, but Yeon didn’t quite have the guts for that yet.
She bit her lip as she looked up at him.
If she dared to say “Should we continue where we left off?” right now, her lip would probably end up bleeding.
Seojun let out a faint groan, then pulled back.
“It was a mistake. Don’t dwell on it too much.”
“What? A mistake?”
“Or… should I give it meaning instead?”
“Forget it.”
Yeon smacked his arm lightly—not enough to hurt.
“Anyone could see—even from the moon—that it was just an accident. So let’s just forget it, okay?”
“I can’t do that.”
Seojun rejected her suggestion immediately, then stood up.
“You met Reporter Bong, got introduced, and—”
He finished entering the number into her phone and handed it back.
Yeon, caught off guard, accepted it and got up to follow him.
“Shall we go on our date now? Let’s build a beautiful story together.”
Seojun clasped her hand in his. His large hand was warmer than she had expected.
“He really is smart. But he’s not the least bit charming. Totally unlike you, don’t you think?”
Yeon tapped the nose of the stuffed orangutan and muttered.
“If you’re bored, perhaps you should try embroidery.”
Sil-an walked over to the sofa where Yeon was lying, holding an embroidery frame.
“Bored? Court Lady Seong, have a conscience. Don’t say that. Go ahead—recite my schedule for today.”
“At dawn, you went plogging with high school girls. After returning, you paid respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress. Then, in the morning, you attended the ALS patient invitation event.”
“There’s one more thing you left out.”
“Breakfast with His Majesty. But that hardly counts as work.”
“It does count.”
Yeon said firmly, and Sil-an, quick on the uptake, sent the other maids away.
Once the surroundings grew quiet, Sil-an asked:
“Did you talk about the marriage?”
“Not that far yet.”
“Surely His Majesty didn’t revoke permission for the marriage, did he? You just sat there listening? You should have tried to persuade him! You’re the Queen of Persuasion!”
“That’s not it…”
“My lady, this is frustrating! Think back to your reporter days! You persuaded a rebel leader to give you an interview, didn’t you? And that’s not all—you even convinced a drug dealer to turn himself in! Where’s all that persuasive power gone? Did you leave it abroad? Should I book you a plane ticket to go fetch it?”
Sil-an clutched her chest dramatically as her words grew longer.
There was a reason she had suddenly become so worked up about Yeon’s marriage.
A few days ago, Byeong had realized that Yeon and Seojun’s relationship was far from ordinary—and since then, he had begun quietly tightening his grip on her.
He didn’t openly torment her like in her childhood.
Now older, Byeong had grown more cunning and sly.
His target of pressure was Changdeokgung.
Lately, supplies coming into Changdeokgung no longer matched the records exactly, and new palace staff had begun moving in and out.
Since Byeong held the administrative authority over Changdeokgung, such corruption was inevitable.
Originally, once Yeon reached adulthood, that authority should have been transferred to her—but because she had left for abroad, Byeong had assumed control.
It needed to be reclaimed quickly, but was His Majesty even considering that?
Seeing the worry written all over Sil-an’s face, Yeon finally spoke.
“Calm down. His Majesty’s intentions haven’t changed. You’re uneasy because of the new faces coming in and out of Changdeokgung, aren’t you?”
“…You already knew? Have you run into them yourself? I’ve been making sure they don’t even get near Nakseonjae.”
“I don’t need to see to know. I’m always a step ahead of the Crown Prince. I can predict what he’ll do.”
“Then why not stop it in advance?”
“Cornered rats will do anything. As long as no one in Nakseonjae is directly harmed, let him be. We’ll endure a little commotion.”
The more she thought about it, the more sense Yeon’s words made.
‘Our princess really is brilliant!’
Completely different from that greedy, dim-witted Crown Prince.
“So what did you and His Majesty talk about today?”
“I asked for special inspection authority over Changdeokgung.”
That authority was like being a secret inspector.
The holder could investigate corruption in secret, and if the evidence was solid, refer the case to the Imperial Ethics Council.
Any department had to provide materials if requested.
But because the authority was so powerful, it could only be used once a year, and even then, the inspection period was limited.
“Anyway, I got it. The time limit is three months.”
“Three months is plenty. If you can prove within that time that the Crown Prince’s management of Changdeokgung is a disaster, the authority will transfer to our side.”
“I really like how smart you are, Court Lady Seong.”
Yeon smiled and lay back on the bed.
Then she picked up the orangutan plush again—the one Seojun had won for her on their date, saying they should build a story together.
With its long arms and pot belly, the stuffed orangutan was undeniably ugly, but somehow endearing.
“I’m not finished asking, Your Highness. So you didn’t talk about the royal marriage at all?”
“Well… things got a little complicated.”
Yeon sighed as she stared at the orangutan.
