Bound (2)
Title: Bound (2)
Summary: A well-kept secret, that’s what he was, a scandal the king was keen on keeping hidden. But Jaejoong had a secret of his own, Jung Yunho.
Pairing: YunJae
Genre: Fluff, Smut, Drama, Historical
Rating: NC17
Length: Chaptered
(1)
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“Jaejoong-sshi, please be careful with where you’re stepping!” Eunhye said exasperatedly as she struggled to keep up with Jaejoong’s hasty strides.
Rain had decided to visit the palace grounds that day. The handmaiden wondered why Jaejoong was so adamant in visiting the prison.
“Jaejoong-sshi, please slow down! You’ll get mud on your clothes, the king would not be pleased!”
Eunhye wished he would just be less rash and more mindful of his actions. Getting the palace guards to let them in could already cause more than enough trouble. A dissatisfied king would mean purple bruises all over his body. The handmaiden knew this all too well; it had already happened several times in the past.
“But I’ve lost too much time already,” Jaejoong mumbled. He didn’t care about the rain; he somehow felt that his time with the prisoner was stolen when the king asked for his presence for the whole morning. It was already past lunchtime and he hadn’t seen Yunho yet.
Jaejoong was sweating bullets when they finally reach the farthest end of the prison. He patted his hanbok to clear the folds, ran his hands through his hair and wiped his forehead.
He took a moment to watch Yunho from behind the bars. He sat with one leg stretched and the other bent towards his chest. He was fiddling with something in his fingers, his face focused on the little thing in his hand. The faint ray of light from a small window only slightly illuminated his skin, highlighting the edges of the features of his face.
Jaejoong found himself breathing deeply before he turned to Eunhye to collect the lunchbox he had had prepared. “You may leave now.”, he said.
“But Jaejoong-sshi-”
“Leave. I’ll be back in time for when Changsuk needs me.”
Eunhye knew it was futile to argue. With a sigh, she bowed before she departed.
Jaejoong warily made his way closer to Yunho’s prison cell. He carefully bent his knees to level himself with Yunho’s sitting figure. The prisoner followed him with a gaze. The consort almost lost his balance as he once again met the deep almond eyes he couldn’t keep out of his head.
Jaejoong wore as small smile, “I brought you lunch.”
Yunho acted as if he couldn’t hear him. He simply closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the wall.
“It’s a meal I had asked the royal cooks to prepare. I don’t usually do this just for anybody.”
Yunho only sat still.
“Uhm…I saw you yesterday, and I thought I ought to visit. My name is Jaejoong by the way…”
The prisoner remained reactionless.
“Ahh, well then…Anyway, back to the food, it’s delicious, I promise. The meat they used is imported. You’ll never find anything like it in the whole kingdom.” He opened the boxed lunch in an attempt to show Yunho, but the other still refused to acknowledge him.
“Are you not hungry?”
“I have nothing but good intentions.”
“Do you want something else?”
“I can arrange another meal for you if you please.”
“Hello, can you hear me?”
Jaejoong started to feel irritated for his lack of response. “Jung Yunho! I have never been ignored my entire life and I don’t expect you to do so!” Yunho finally turned his head to the consort. His eyes had a glint of annoyance.
"It's nice to see your face properly. It’s a shame such handsome face took so long to show itself. Don't you think conversations flow better when the speakers face one another?"
"I see no point in you, trying to attempt a conversation with me. Is this some form of treatment royalty does in an effort to ease the blow of prisoners’ impending punishment?"
"Oh trust me, I'm not royalty”, Jaejoong attempted to smile again.
“What are you then?”
“It is none of your business.”
Yunho scoffed, “I am none of your business.”
“Fine, I shall tell you what I am if you tell me what you are here for.”
“Why does this interest you?”
“Curiosity”, the consort said with a shrug. It was true, the moment he heard the noise from his entrance, a part of Jaejoong could never stop his interest in him. He wanted to know more about him. He was hooked and, he figured, the only reason must be because the man kindled some sort of curiosity towards him. Where that curiosity came from, he has yet to find out.
Yunho took a deep breath and leaned his back on the wall once more; he closed his eyes again, without even bothering to reply to Jaejoong. Jaejoong frowned at looked at the food in his hands. “You really don’t want to eat this?” Yunho merely shook his head. “I shall leave then if you don’t.” He sighed and withdrew. It had been the first time he was personally denied.
--
“It has been the four days Eunhye!” Jaejoong said as he faced the mirror. One handmaiden was treating his hair with some herbal gel, two were fixing the sleeves of his hanbok and another girl was behind him, securing the ties of his baji. “I do not understand why he refuses to eat anything I bring him. I even ate a piece in front of him to prove it’s not poisoned!” He lifted his foot to slip on a shoe that another handmaiden laid out for him on the floor. “Do you think he might be vegetarian? Then again, some meals I brought had an assortment of salads. Shall I consult with the doctors or maybe the alchemists? Or the priests! Maybe he’s from another religion. Tell me, is there a religion that prohibits men from eating delicious food offered by beautiful people?” He turned to Eunhye problematically.
“Jaejoong-sshi! Your hair!” the hairdresser swiftly directed his head back to facing the front.
“Sorry.” He said quickly.
“Jaejoong-shi-” Eunhye began.
“I really don’t understand why,” Jaejoong interrupted the handmaiden before she could speak further. He continued rambling as he looked at himself in the mirror. “Eunhye, maybe for commoners, stale bread and moldy cheese are a delicacy? He must love those rations to choose them over our food. Maybe I should hand him his rations instead? Then we would know if he hates the food, or me who brings them to him. Do you think it might be my perfume? I’ve heard some people say perfume scents could be so strong, people get dizzy and lose their appetite.”
“Perhaps, he is uncomfortable with strangers giving him food. Jaejoong-sshi, I really can’t grasp why you are spending so much time on him.”
“And when I talk, it’s seems like he doesn’t listen to me. I’m sure he’s neither deaf nor mute. Oh, maybe the poor guy is sick…however he’s healthy enough to glare at me and shoo me away,” He said ceaselessly, as if he didn’t hear Eunhye. “Have I grown that boring now? That I am not worth the acknowledgement? But the king can’t even ignore me when I smile at him! How can he?” He watched himself frown.
Later in the day, Jaejoong found himself, once again, visiting Yunho. Jaejoong plastered a smile on his face as Yunho watched him take his usual spot beside his cell entry. “You are one persistent man, aren’t you?”
“How nice it is for you to finally greet me.”
As usual, Yunho leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. “Today, we have steamed salmon, seasoned rice, jiggae and chopped carrots.” None garnered any reaction from Yunho
“….and look there are strawberries.”
Yunho peeked with one eye open. Jaejoong was surprised when, suddenly, Yunho had turned to him, rather, to the red berries. “You like strawberries?” the consort cracked an amused smile. Were strawberries the key to Yunho’s attention all along?
“I would like some, please” Yunho said rather haughtily. Jaejoong couldn’t stop himself from releasing a small chuckle. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” Jaejoong slipped his hand through the bars and almost handed him another piece before he retracted. “What is your favorite season?”
His eyes met Yunho’s puzzled ones, “What?”
“What’s your favorite season?”
He figured out what Jaejoong was trying to do and went back to leaning his head against the wall, “Jaejoong, I am not playing these games with you.”
“Suit yourself.” For a moment, he tried to ignore the consort, but he heard him taking a bite from one of the strawberries. “These are delicious, Yunho. I heard they were planted up in the mountains, on very fertile soil. They’re so sweet and big and juicy.”
“Autumn.” Yunho mumbled.
“What?”
“Autumn.” He said louder.
Jaejoong smiled in accomplishment. “Mine is spring,” he said before handing the fruit.
“Why do you like strawberries?”
“I used to pick some with my mother…they remind me of my childhood. I grew up eating them.” Another strawberry.
“Do you have any siblings?”
“One. A sister.”
“What’s her name? What’s she like?”
“Jihye. They say she looks exactly like me. Only with brighter eyes.”
There were exactly thirty strawberries in the lunch box, but somehow, the questions and Yunho’s answers never stopped flowing, even after they were all eaten.
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A/N: I had meant this chapter to be longer, but then I realized it would be better to leave it here. I’ll post the next soon. Thank you for reading and I hope you guys enjoy!