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It happened a few days after the night of the festival. Princess Seol Yoona had called for Scholar Bae for a routine consultation on historical chronicles, but instead of listening, she just watched.
"Your Highness, this page describes the ceremonial rites of the Goryeo era, which could be useful for the upcoming reception of foreign envoys," Jinsol diligently traced the lines with her finger, feeling the princess's intent gaze upon her.
"Mm - hmm," Yoona replied absently, chin resting on her palm, elbow planted on the table. She wasn't looking at the scroll. She was looking at Jinsol's eyelashes, the way they caught the afternoon light.
Jinsol looked up and immediately looked away - there was something new in Yoona's eyes, something inquisitive that turned everything inside her upside down.
"Your Highness, did I say something wrong?".
"No, I'm just curious," Yoona leaned forward, closer than necessary, her sleeve brushing against the scroll. "You know, Scholar Bae, in daylight your eyes seem completely different. Not like they are at night. They're... softer. Like amber instead of obsidian."
"U-uh... the lighting must be different," Jinsol nervously adjusted her scholar's hat, trying to pull it lower, as if that could hide the burning in her cheeks.
"Probably," Yoona smiled slowly, tilting her head. "But I think I prefer them in daylight. I can see more in them." She paused, letting the words hang. "Little details I might have missed before."
Jinsol's throat went dry. "The... the ceremonial rites, Your Highness. Should I continue?"
"Please do," Yoona murmured, but her eyes never left Jinsol's face. "I'm listening. Very carefully."
Jinsol tried to read aloud, but her voice came out uneven. Every time she glanced up, Yoona was still watching - not the scroll, not the words, just her. And smiling. That small, private smile that made Jinsol's stomach flip.
When she finally escaped the palace, she pressed her cold hands to her burning face and groaned.
"It's just friendliness. She's kind to everyone. Don't make things up," she tried to convince herself, but the ghost of Yoona's gaze still lingered on her skin like a brand.
Another week passed. Jinsol had almost convinced herself that she'd imagined it, that the princess had just been in a good mood. But today, it happened again.
They were going through reports from the provinces. Yoona sat at the table, Jinsol stood beside her, pointing out problematic areas in the documents. It was a perfectly normal consultation - until Yoona reached for her tea cup.
"Your Highness, if you look at this grain tax column - " Jinsol's finger traced the paper.
Yoona set her cup down. Then, "accidentally," her hand landed not on the table, but directly over Jinsol's.
"Oh," Yoona breathed, but she didn't move. Her fingers were warm, impossibly soft. "Your hand is so cold."
Jinsol froze. Every nerve ending in her body screamed. The princess's thumb moved - barely -a small, deliberate stroke across Jinsol's knuckles.
"You work too hard, Scholar Bae," Yoona said, her voice dropping to something almost intimate. "You're always in the library, always reading, always writing. Your brother never mentioned how dedicated you were."
Jinsol's blood ran cold. "My... brother?"
"Jinsok," Yoona said casually, still not removing her hand. "We were acquainted before he... left on his journey. He used to tell me about his little sister. The brilliant one who was always stealing his books." Her eyes sparkled. "He said you were terribly annoying but also terribly endearing, especially when you wanted something from his library."
"I... I don't know what you're talking about, Your Highness. I am Scholar Bae, her brother -"
"You're Jinsol," Yoona interrupted gently. "And you're blushing. It's very becoming."
Jinsol finally found the strength to pull her hand back, tucking it behind her like a guilty secret.
"Your Highness is mistaken. I should go."
"Sit down, Jinsol." No 'Scholar Bae.' Just her name. Her real name. "I'm not mistaken. I've never been mistaken. I've known since the night of the festival."
Jinsol's knees gave out. She sat heavily on the nearest cushion, all color draining from her face.
"You... you knew? The entire time?"
"I knew," Yoona confirmed softly. "And I've been waiting for you to trust me enough to tell me yourself." She reached out, not touching, just offering. "I'm still waiting."
Jinsol's eyes filled with tears. "Why didn't you expose me? I'm a fraud. I'm-"
"You're the person who makes me feel seen," Yoona said simply. "That's not fraud. That's a gift."
A few days later, Yoona summoned her to the garden pavilion. "Fresh air will do us both good," she'd said. "All those stuffy scrolls can't be healthy."
Jinsol arrived to find Yoona sitting by the lotus pond, feeding the fish. She looked ethereal in the afternoon light, her hair adorned with a simple jade pin.
"Ah, Jinsol. Come, sit." Yoona patted the stone bench beside her. "The fish are hungry today. Watch them fight over every crumb."
Jinsol sat - at a carefully calculated distance that wouldn't be improper, though the pretense of propriety felt absurd now. She opened her mouth to discuss the agricultural reports.
"Hold still," Yoona interrupted suddenly.
Before Jinsol could react, Yoona's hand reached toward her face. Fingers brushed her temple, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, lingered there.
"There," Yoona murmured, so close Jinsol could feel her breath. "You had hair escaping. Very improper for a scholar." But her eyes said something entirely different.
Jinsol stopped breathing entirely.
Yoona's fingers trailed down - feather - lght - along the shell of Jinsol's ear, the curve of her jaw. She paused at her chin, tilting Jinsol's face slightly.
"You know," Yoona said thoughtfully, "Jinsok always said you were the clever one. The one who could argue circles around anyone. But he never mentioned how beautiful you are."
"Your Highness -"
"Yoona," she corrected. "When we're alone. Just Yoona."
"He also never mentioned," Jinsol managed, her voice strangled, "how... persistent you are."
Yoona laughed, delighted. "He probably didn't know. I save my persistence for things - and people - I truly want."
Her thumb brushed across Jinsol's lower lip, barely a whisper of touch.
"And I truly want you to stop hiding from me."
Jinsol's eyes fluttered closed. "I'm not hiding. I'm protecting. Both of us."
"From what?"
"From scandal. From your father's anger. From everything that could tear us apart if - "She stopped herself.
Yoona's hand fell away. "If what?"
Jinsol opened her eyes. The words were right there, burning on her tongue. If I let myself love you the way I already do.
"Nothing," she whispered. "I should go."
She stood quickly, bowed, and fled.
Behind her, Yoona smiled sadly at the fish.
"Jinsok," she murmured to the empty air, "your sister is the most infuriatingly noble person I've ever met."
The hardest day came when Yoona invited her to the private garden at dusk. "I want to show you something," she'd said. Just that. No scholarly pretense, no official reason.
Jinsol should have refused. She knew she should have refused. But her feet carried her there anyway, helpless as a moth to flame.
The garden was empty except for Yoona, standing before a bush of night roses just beginning to unfurl in the twilight. She wore a simple robe, unadorned, her hair loose around her shoulders. She looked nothing like a princess and everything like a dream.
"You came," Yoona said, not turning around. "I wasn't sure you would."
"Your Highness summoned me."
"No." Yoona finally turned. "I invited you. There's a difference." She gestured to the flowers. "Look. They're opening."
Jinsol stepped closer - cautiously, always cautiously. The roses were beautiful, pale petals catching the last light.
"Remember what you told me?" Yoona's voice was soft. "About the night rose. How it blooms in darkness. How it's the most beautiful thing to those lucky enough to witness it."
"I remember."
Yoona moved closer. Close enough that Jinsol could smell her perfume - jasmine and something warmer beneath.
"I've thought about that often," Yoona said. "About being seen in darkness. About being beautiful only to those who wait and watch and truly look." Her eyes found Jinsol's. "You see me, don't you? Not the princess. Not His Majesty's daughter. Just... me."
"Yoona..." The name slipped out before Jinsol could stop it.
Yoona's smile brightened the whole garden. "Say it again."
"This is wrong. I'm a fraud. I'm -"
"You're the most real person in this entire palace." Yoona stepped closer still. "You're brilliant and kind and so beautiful it makes my chest ache. And you're terrified. I see that too."
She reached up, and before Jinsol could move, she gently removed the scholar's hat. Jinsol's hair tumbled down around her shoulders.
"Do you know how long I've wanted to do that?" Yoona whispered. "To see you. Really see you."
"Yoona..." Jinsol's voice broke. "I can't - we can't-"
"Why?" Yoona asked simply. "Because I'm a princess and you're pretending to be your brother? Because we're both women? Because the world has rules?" She leaned closer, forehead almost touching Jinsol's. "I don't care about the world's rules. I care about you."
"Your father -"
"My father wants me to be happy. And you make me happy." Yoona's hand cupped her cheek. "Jinsok told me stories about you for years before you ever walked into my library. I think I started falling for you then, just from his words. And when I met you - when I saw you, really saw you - there was no going back."
Jinsol's tears fell onto Yoona's fingers.
"He also told me," Yoona continued softly, "that you were the bravest person he knew. That you'd do anything for the people you loved. So I'm asking you - be brave now. Stay."
She kissed Jinsol's forehead, soft as a whisper.
"Be mine. Let me be yours."
Jinsol closed her eyes. The night roses bloomed around them, pale and perfect in the darkness.
"I can't," she choked. "Because if I stay, I'll never want to leave. And I'm so scared of wanting something this much."
She pulled away. Grabbed her hat. Walked backward, watching Yoona's face crumple.
"Tomorrow," she said, voice breaking, "I'll send Scholar Oh. He's better. More competent. He can advise you on everything you need."
"I don't need a scholar," Yoona said quietly. "I need you."
"You'll forget about me."
"I will never forget about you." Yoona's voice was steady, even as tears glistened in her eyes. "You're my night rose. And night roses don't just disappear."
Jinsol ran. The garden blurred around her. The stars blurred above her.
Behind her, alone among the flowers, Yoona whispered to the darkness:
"I'll wait. However long it takes. I'll wait."
The next morning, Jinsol came to the palace gates to take one last look at the place where she'd left her heart. But someone was already waiting.
"Looking for something?" Yoona stood in the shadow of the gate, dressed simply, a single night rose tucked behind her ear.
"Your Highness -"
"Yoona." She stepped forward. "After last night, you don't get to retreat to formalities."
Jinsol's throat closed. "I told you. I'm sending Scholar Oh."
"And I told you. I don't want Scholar Oh." Yoona moved closer, close enough to touch. "I want the woman who ran from me last night. The one who's been hiding in plain sight. The one who blushes when I touch her hand and stammers when I look too long."
She reached out, tucking the night rose into Jinsol's robe pocket.
"I know everything, Jinsol. I've always known. I knew because Jinsok couldn't stop talking about his brilliant little sister. And I've been falling in love with you anyway - maybe because of it."
Jinsol's eyes widened. "You... what?"
"I'm saying," Yoona whispered, "stop running. Stop hiding. Stop pretending you don't feel this." She cupped Jinsol's face in both hands. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. And I'm asking you - no, I'm begging you - to stay."
Jinsol's tears fell onto Yoona's fingers.
"I'm so scared," she admitted.
"Me too," Yoona said. "But I'd rather be scared with you than safe without you."
In the shadow of the palace gates, with the morning sun rising behind them, Jinsol finally stopped running.
She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to Yoona's.
"Okay," she whispered. "Okay."
"Good." Yoona smiled, radiant. "Now, about Scholar Oh - I assume he's a fiction?"
"Completely," Jinsol admitted. "I made him up."
Yoona laughed, bright and free. "I knew it. Jinsok always said you were creative."
"You keep mentioning my brother."
"He was useful for information." Yoona's eyes sparkled. "Also, he's going to be very surprised when he comes back from wherever he's hiding and finds out his little sister is dating a princess."
Jinsol groaned. "Please don't tell him like that."
"Like what?"
"With that tone. You'll make his head explode."
Yoona grinned, linking their fingers together. "Good. He deserves it for abandoning you here."
And somewhere in the garden, the night roses closed their petals, dreaming of the next darkness, when they would bloom again.
The end
I'm dumb
Byyyyye