The soft patter of rain on the roof had put Hak to sleep, but he was awoken by a crash of thunder. As he opened his eyes, he noted that the rain had turned to a demanding downpour, hammering away at the castle. He turned his head slightly, not really wanting to move from the couch where he had been taking his nap, and saw Yona at the table in her room where she normally sat for lessons. He noted that she was alone, and judged by his internal clock that her lessons were over for the day.
He watched her for a moment, studying the lines of her body as she bent over a scroll, mouthing something as she read it. The corner of his mouth perked up. She was just so damn cute.
He couldn't resist calling out to her. "What are you doing, Princess?"
She jumped and pivoted in her seat to face him. "Oh, Hak! Don't scare me like that! I thought you were asleep." Her cheeks puffed up adorably in her anger.
"I was. I just woke up now." He yawned widely. "Well, it's not like I'm not aware of what's going on around me when I'm asleep, anyway."
She snorted, a rather unladylike sound for a princess. "Yeah, right."
"No, it's true. If you want proof, I heard you mumbling to yourself as you were studying. Is the work that hard that you have to read it out loud to yourself?"
Yona's face turned red, and she glared at him. "Shut up, Hak! There's no way I was doing that!"
He smirked. He hadn't actually heard her talking to herself, but from her reaction he had hit his guess right on the mark. "Sure you were. You read out loud whenever you're reading something difficult. Sometimes you even read the same section more than once."
"I do not!"
"You make all sorts of embarrassing noises when you think nobody's listening." Hak started ticking them off on his fingers. "For one, you read out loud to yourself. Then you make these little humming noises when you're eating something sweet. You also sigh after your dancing lessons when you're tired. Oh, and also—"
"Shut up, shut up!" Yona was a delightful shade of red now, and Hak couldn't resist one more jab.
"One time, I even heard you snore when you were taking a nap."
Her face turned almost as red as her hair. "Oh yeah? Well...well, you were snoring just now, too!"
Hak scoffed. "I was not. I don't snore. What kind of warrior would I be if I snored and gave away my position when I slept?"
Yona stood up swiftly, her chair clattering behind her from the force. "Hak, you…"
Smoothly, he cut in, "So, Princess, what do you want to do?"
She blinked at him, caught off-guard by the sudden change in topic. "What do you mean?" she asked wearily.
"Well, I just thought that since it's raining, you probably won't want to go to the courtyard like you usually do after your lessons. So it looks like we're stuck in here. What would you like to do?"
She sat down again slowly, staring at him with open suspicion. "But since I'm not leaving my room, isn't your job for today over? Why would you stay here with me?"
Hak yawned widely. "I'm still tired from my nap and don't want to walk around too much. So, Princess, what would you like to do? I'll do whatever you'd like."
A wicked gleam appeared in Yona's eyes. "I was thinking it would be fun to play baduk."
He stared at the triumphant look on her face. She knew his distaste for baduk, and was probably using the suggestion of it to drive him away. Too bad for her, he was in a stubborn mood today. "All right. I'll get the game." Hauling himself off the couch, Hak went to the chest where the baduk board was kept and fished it out. He returned to the table and set it down, plunking himself into the vacant seat across from Yona decisively. Only then did he look at her and notice her wide-eyed stare.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's just...Hak, you never agree to play this with me."
He grinned. "Unfortunately for you, I meant it when I said I'd do whatever you like. So I guess you're stuck with me now." He grabbed the little pouch of black stones, placing the white ones in front of her.
That got her attention. She scowled. "Hak, that's not fair! You know I like being black!"
He snorted. "Yeah, because you like going first. I'm already starting to remember why I don't like playing with you." He fished into the bag and took out a black stone, placing it on the board.
Yona took out a white stone and plunked it on the board with a resounding clack. "That's not fair, Hak. It's not like I'm forcing you to play. You don't have to be so mean to me."
Placing another black stone down, Hak rested his chin nonchalantly on one hand. "And it's not like I asked to play this."
"You pretty much did, since you let me pick." A white stone slammed onto the board.
"How was I supposed to know you'd pick this stupid game to play?" A black stone was placed down calmly.
"Baduk isn't stupid!" Another white.
"It's just not much fun to play with someone who cheats all the time." A black.
The next white stone smashed down loudly. "I do not cheat!"
Hak snorted. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'll beat you anyway." He placed a stone down and pointed at the board. "You might want to pay better attention." He scooped up the white stone he had trapped and set it off to the side.
Yona's mouth dropped open. "What? How did you do that already?"
"Maybe you should spend less time complaining and more time focusing on the game, Princess." He smirked, thinking that his hours of practicing baduk in private were finally paying off.
Determination flitted across Yona's face. "Well, I won't lose!" She furrowed her brows together, concentrating on the board as the room filled with the clack of stones over the percussion of the rain. Hak stole a glance at Yona and smiled. This was a nice way to spend a rainy afternoon.