After Dark (Prompts)

The Pirate - 7

"HMPPPPPHHH!"

King Jeongjo sat with the crew of the ship, sulking in the corner, where he sat beside Captain Yeo Wol.

For her part, Yeo Wol was trying to tamp down her hormones, which were now raging because of the part of their love story they were discussing earlier and because of how adorable the King was with his frown and lower lip jutting out.

"Eat!" She ordered. "Stop scowling at everyone."

"I'm not scowling at everyone. I'm scowling at YOU," he pointed out.

While they were walking back to meet the crew earlier, as he was pestering her to tell him what her reply to his proposal was, he remembered those moments.

The Captain declined his marriage proposal.

*

"Is it a good idea to propose to someone just to have sexual relations with them?!" Yeo Wol asked, turning to face the King fully in bed.

"Of course that's not great," Jeongjo agreed. "But, for my case, did you miss the part where I was saying how much I love you? That I want you and am going to commit my life and my heart to only you?"

Yeo Wol blushed. Jeongjo always had words for her that touched her heart deeply. Still, his timing seemed off. "No. I'm not saying yes tonight."

So he proposed again in the morning.

But still she thought the timing was strange. For Yeo Wol, his next two proposals were equally ill-timed — one coming after a court session where he again had a battle of words with Gap-soo, and the other over dinner.

After that fourth proposal decline, they were sticking their tongues out at each other as they had their after dinner walk. "Fine! Don't accept my proposal. Just show up at the place I setup for our ceremony!"

"Are you really serious about marrying me?!" Yeo Wol asked exasperatedly.

King Jeongjo looked at her as if she now had extra heads and limbs. "Did my four proposals not clue you in?!"

"You can't marry me!" Yeo Wol shrieked.

Jeongjo stopped walking and crossed his arms. "And why is that?"

Yeo Wol stood in front of him and pleaded for him to understand. "You are the King of this land. I am a criminal. We both know how your governors view me and my kind. Aren't you worried about what they could do to you if they found out about us?"

"What good is being King if I can't marry the love of my life?" Jeongjo asked sadly.

Yeo Wol cupped his face. "You are a great leader. My crew and I wouldn't even attempt to do clean work if this land had another head. These lands need you to go through with all the plans you showed me. I will not allow our marriage to be the cause of your downfall."

King Jeongjo understood and in that moment, he knew he loved her even more. How could someone who had a rough life still want this world to be better? However, at that very same moment, his heart was breaking. Why should he be the chosen one to have this burden? He wanted to be a great King. He wanted his people to have enough food on their table and all the fine things in life that a decent society could provide. However, as a man, he wished to marry the woman he loved.

But, in this life, there was no way that those two things could coexist.

Tears came into his eyes unbidden. Taking his precious gift out of his pockets, he presented Yeo Wol with two silver bands. "I was hoping to give this to you during our wedding ceremony," he said, placing them on her palm.