(Joyun Hall, Songak)

~Yo's POV~

The good thing about Joyun Hall was that hardly anybody ever passed by, and so very few guards were stationed here (they were probably slacking and dozing off anyway), which meant I could work in silence and get things done quickly. Yet in spite of the quietude that I appreciated, I still was unable to concentrate on my work, and I knew why that was the case. It was because Lady Hyeong had annexed my mind and claimed it as her territory. I should have known earlier, when she'd crossed my mind multiple times a day, that I was not only attracted to her but also, possibly, gradually falling for her. I might be too late now. Getting betrothed was not her choice, but my 14th brother certainly was her choice.

It could be said that this whole 'competition' for Hyeong was unfair to me in the first place, as the King's Majesty had only allowed her to choose between my unmarried brothers. But nothing in life was ever fair, right? That had never stopped me. It had never placed a cap on my ambitions, nor would it thwart me in getting what I want, and who I want. Just like how Mu got to be the Crown Prince simply because he was Father's eldest son. It's like his eventual inheritance of the throne was a prize for being born first. That wasn't even his own achievement. I, on the other hand, had to fight for everything alongside my mother and our allies. Surely a comparison of our efforts and accomplishments would illustrate that I was worthier of the throne.

Still, before I could be a King, I had to demonstrate that I could be competent and effective in carrying out the tasks that His Majesty had assigned to me. Right now, the King wanted me to submit a proposal that detailed how resources ought to be distributed to military quarters stationed all around the kingdom.

Sometimes, though, it could be quite boring having to look at official papers day and night. Even if I weren't so sleep-deprived, I would still have fallen asleep at my table. I was kind of a light sleeper, so it was usually a quick nap, and then promptly back to work again.

When I awoke, I blinked at the candlestick nearest to me, and deduced that I must have slept for about half an hour. A pretty standard nap.

"Oh! You're awake, my Prince," said a gentle female voice. I looked around, rubbed my eyes, and saw Lady Hyeong by the bookshelf.

No, this was too good to be true. "I must be dreaming," I concluded.

"No, Prince Yo. I'm here for real," she said softly as she paced toward me and sat down in front of me across my table. Her voice was almost musical, once again convincing me that this wasn't really happening. Either way, I was obliged to stay in this dream.

"How long have you been here for?" I blinked blankly.

"Just a few minutes," she shrugged. "I didn't want to wake you, so I just checked out the place. You said I could find you here, Your Highness."

"You've changed your mind about me then?" I asked, not in despair this time. "You still want to be something more with me, in spite of your betrothal to Jung-ie?"

"Well, I'm surer about what I want now," she replied. She said she was sure, but she was being vague and didn't really answer my question. That had raised my suspicions and made me more pessimistic, but I was not going to give up.

I was about to press on and get her to give me a clear response. But then I found that she had something in her hands, on her lap. "What's that you're holding?" I pointed and asked.

"A chess set, Your Highness," she answered and handed it to me. "Remember when I told you that I know nothing about politics," she said as she glanced at the documents in front of me. "But I do know how to play chess, and that I'd like to play a round with you?"

I smirked, but not maliciously, never maliciously with her. "Looks like someone's prepared to lose."

"Now, how can you be so sure that you're going to win, Prince Yo?" She put her hands on her hips.

"Because of my expertise and experience in chess," I answered naturally. "I know my strengths," I said, and pushed the paperwork aside to make room for the chessboard.

She stopped me immediately, which made me frown at her, but she just looked so innocent it stirred up something in me.

"I wouldn't like to be interrupting Your Highness' work," she stated and pouted. Despite what she was saying, there was no way I couldn't see through that facade. I decided to entertain her, though.

"My, my. The affairs of the state are at stake because of my liking for you. This can't go on," I said, feigning disapproval, but set up the chessboard anyway. "More like my work is interrupting my time with you. I can finish this tomorrow. Right now, I want to be with you."

She giggled. "Does that mean you don't want me to 'interrupt' your work tomorrow then, my Prince?"

"No, you're welcome 'interrupt' me whenever you like. If I can't finish this report on time, I'll simply tell His Majesty the King that it's because of you," I said singsong.

She gasped lightly. "I fear King Taejo would penalize me, Your Highness."

"That won't be necessary. Losing the game to me would be penalty enough."

She raised her eyebrows. "I don't think it's wise for Your Highness to be so flippant. I hope you realize what's at stake. If you win the game, then sure, I'll agree to be with you. If you lose, you'll lose me too."

"Ah, so this is why you wanted to play chess with me at this hour of the day," I nodded in amusement. "Very well. I accept these terms. Now, it's time for me to tell you my terms."

"What?" She faltered. I bet she didn't expect me to react so collectedly, nor did she expect me to have my own terms and conditions.

"Surely it's not a fair game if you're the only one who gets to state your terms," I replied coolly. "Listen up. If I win, yes I get to be with you, but on top of that…" I paused, just to heighten the suspense and see what reaction I might elicit from her.

Startled, she stared and frowned at me in discomfort. The suspense was killing her. It was only a matter of time till she'd begin to make silly guesses about what I wanted from her.

"Prince Yo, I'm not going to sleep with you, if that's what you're getting at," she protested boldly.

I laughed. "I never said that, and that wasn't even on my mind, but apparently it was on yours."

She flushed with embarrassment. "No it was not," she insisted.

"But now it is, isn't it?" I teased.

She pouted and folded her arms. "I don't want to be with you if you're just going to tease me mercilessly."

"Nonsense. You want to be with me exactly because I'm the only one who'd tease you mercilessly," I said pompously.

She huffed and stood up. "I'm going to go home and never come back. I can't believe I'm losing my precious beauty sleep over you."

I was quicker. I got up deftly and once she turned on her heel, I stood in front of her already.

"You're not really mad at me, are you?" I asked gently.

"Yes I am. Now get out of the way," she commanded. I wouldn't budge, yet she suddenly covered her mouth as she must've recalled that she was not supposed to be giving me orders. She looked up at me hesitantly and added, "please, Your Highness."

"Why don't you make me?" I cocked my head slightly to the side, outstretched my arm to press my palm flat on the side of the bookshelf to completely block her way.

She did genuinely look indignant, which was fascinating to me. She tried to lift my arm, with one hand at first, but of course that failed, and even when she used both her hands it was to no avail. Her gentle and feeble hands were no match against my muscles. In a desperate attempt, she even tried to peel my fingers off the surface of the bookshelf, but when she was so focused on trying to get rid of me, I found the perfect opportunity to enclose her body between me and the bookshelf, by placing my other hand on the bookshelf as well, so that my arms were parallel as if I were doing push-ups on the bookshelf. Now, she was trapped. But what really sealed her fate was when she locked gazes with me. When I saw that the look in her eyes had gone from a fiery glare to a softened stare, I knew I was a predator who'd finally caught its prey.

"Please, my Prince," she uttered reluctantly, making a half-hearted attempt to push me on the shoulders. She tried a few times but she quickly gave up and just resorted to resting her (surely now tired) hands on my shoulders. Or maybe she wanted to do that all along and was merely looking for an excuse; who knows?

I kept my tone tender but firm as I said to her, "If you really so desperately want to get out of here and never return, I will give you the option of doing so. You'll never have to see me again, and you can happily marry Jung-ie. If you want to get rid of me so badly, I will let you leave. But if you'd rather stay and see what I have to offer…"

"Fine," she blurted and shut her eyes. "You can do whatever you want with me. I won't put up a fight. You can...have me. I know people...lovers do that. I just...expected it to be with my husband, on my wedding night. Not...like this." She shuddered.

This time I was truly surprised. "What, you really think I would take you by force?" I questioned, slightly offended that she'd jumped to this conclusion. "You think so lowly of me? No, I refuse to coerce you into anything. If you decide to give yourself to me, it has to be of your own accord. I will win you over fair and square," I clarified. How could she think that of me?

She seemed to have relaxed now. "I'm staying," she confirmed. "I'd like to see how you'll be able to convince me to give myself to you."

"Good," I replied. Now we could discuss the parameters of our relationship. "But you didn't even let me finish just now. What I wanted to say was that, since you've made the decision to stay, this is not going to be the only time that you and I will play chess. I want you to hear my terms: for every game that I win, I'll get to claim a part of your body. I'll make this worth your while. You must know, I'm quite taken with you. I don't bring just anybody to the Peak to share the view with me, nor would I stage fireworks for a random person's birthday. Entrust your heart with me, Hyeong-ah. I will make you fall for me, and when you do, I will be there to catch you."

She nodded willingly. "Fair enough. I accept your terms."

I withdrew my arms and stood up straight. "Then let's play our first game tonight."

~Hyeong's POV~

The tinkling sounds of each chess piece landing on the board had filled the room. As our game proceeded, I thought to myself that even though I told Prince Yo that I'd only agree to be with him if he could win the game, the truth was that even if he lost, or even if there was no game, I would still choose to be with him. But I wouldn't tell him that. Or his arrogance would shoot all the way up to the sky.

I felt bad for ever thinking that he would force me into anything. I didn't know what gave me that thought. I couldn't understand my own thoughts. He'd been nothing but gentle to me ever since we met. Granted, he would unabashedly tease me, and I did get a little mad just now, but honestly, I couldn't stay mad at him, and only he could get away with it, and it was because I enjoyed it a little. Only very little though!

But most importantly, I always craved spending time with him as it made me happy. It wasn't wrong to pursue my own happiness, Prince Jung had said. Since I had the opportunity to be happy with Prince Yo, I better seize it.

"Aha! I win," His Highness announced victoriously when the game was over. Clearly, his chess pieces had covered a larger territory than mine had. But I didn't feel bad about losing at all.

"Right, what a big surprise, Your Highness," I smiled easily. It looked like his uncle did teach him well. He had won quite easily.

"Remember our promise just now, Hyeong-ah?" He winked triumphantly.

"Yes, I do remember. I'll be with you, my Prince," I said tenderly and nodded, deliberately leaving out a certain part of our agreement.

"That's not all," he pointed out, and patted on the cushion next to him. Willingly I went over to his side and sat beside him. "From tonight onward," he said as he held my hands. "I'm claiming your hands as mine," he declared, and proceeded to kiss the back of my hands. I had no objections and merely smiled at him in a manner I found to be coquettish. I wasn't sure why I reacted that way but I wasn't ashamed of it. He was the only one who could make me feel this special way. He made me feel special. My smiles were his.

I scooted closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder while I played with his hands. "I'm glad I stayed. I don't want to go home." I was expecting to stay here all night and I deliberately told Woljin to cover for me.

"Then stay. I'm used to spending the night here anyway, so I've a bed here," he replied comfortably.

"Is it big enough for two though?" I questioned right away, saying the first thing that came to mind.

He chuckled. "I swear, you only ever think about sharing a bed with me and nothing else."

"But now you're thinking about it too, aren't you, Prince Yo?" I shot back mischievously.

"No," he answered playfully. "Rather, I'm thinking about which part of your body I should claim, next time."

"Ugh, my mother didn't teach me how to play chess just so I could lose to Your Highness every single time," I faced him and grumbled, throwing his hands back onto his lap.

"But my uncle taught me how to play chess just so I could win every single time, and I'd say that I've won a lot more than just a game tonight," he said heartily.

"But if Your Highness wants to get to keep what you've won, then you've got to treat me right," I said seriously.

He held my hands once more. "I will," he mumbled softly. "And it's only you that I care for."

When I looked into his eyes, I never thought I would be on the receiving end of such warmth and affection. I felt honored and special that I got to see a side of him that was nothing like the image of being distant, detached, and standoffish that somehow someone had created for him. The way I saw it, he wasn't anything like that. When I put my hand in his, I knew he would never be like that with me. And that was what mattered, right? As long as he was gentle and loving with me, because I would be kind and affectionate with him too. It didn't matter that much if he'd be cruel with the rest of the world that brought him darkness — I would be the one to bring him light.

A/n: Do you like this game that Yo and Hyeong are playing? :P

P.S. Y'all lovely readers won't forget to leave a review for me, will ya? ;D