Vivid | Lee Minho

☙ The Final Act • Scene 1

The sleep that you had managed to get that night was a bare wink.

After your panic had ceased, you realized just how reckless your actions had been. Fighting with Minho was not the move to make, not if you wanted your plan to proceed smoothly.

Now that it had come to this, you should have prioritized your success over the possible aftermath. That was what the rational part of your brain suggested.

But instead, you had acted out of guilt. Fear for him. Deep down, you did not want Minho to be hurt like Jeongin had been. It was the same for everyone you had met in this lifetime, but Minho was slightly different. Almost special.

He was your beacon of light, after all. His brilliance was a treasure you wished to never be lost.

Regardless, you had to make amends somehow. Tonight was the most important night of your life, and it had to pass exactly as you envisioned. That demanded Minho's cooperation.

You took in your reflection in the tall mirror blankly. The dress your handmaidens had fitted you in was a magnificent puff of a very dark blue. A twisting embroidery of flowers adorned the neckline and dotted the sheer sleeves, which were snug around your arms. Emeralds encrusted your ears, paired with the large gem resting against the base of your neck and the intricate accessory crowning your head. They had taken special care to prepare you for tonight's banquet, for it was in celebration of your birthday.

It was a party that would last until midnight on the eve of your birthday, as was the tradition in your kingdom. It worked perfectly with your plans. The Crown Prince would not dare attack in the midst of all the attendees.

The gown you were wearing was meant to make you feel special on this night, but instead, it felt like you were dressed for battle. The soft knock that sounded on the door just then was the battle drum, signaling the beginning of your fateful fight.

"Come in," you answered, almost sure of who stood behind that door. Your chance to make amends was here.

When Minho stepped in, a hush settled among your previously buzzing handmaidens. The tension between the two of you was not missed on them, it seemed. Unsurprisingly, for as formal as the two of you might have been, you had always been amicable.

This was a first.

"I've come to escort you. Are you ready?" his question sounded emotionless, which made you turn and smile kindly at your handmaidens. "Thank you all. You are dismissed."

Released from the awkward atmosphere, they scurried out of the room, and you were left to face Minho alone.

His attire for the evening seemed to match yours. A sharp suit of dark blue, lacking his usual shoulder cape, with an embroidery of miniature flowers sewn into the cuffs and lapels. The emerald on his necktie was like a mirror to the one on your neck, glittering and precious.

Dressed like this, the two of you looked like the ideal noble couple, but the unresolved tensions from last night stood between you like a forbidding wall. A barrier that you had constructed yourself, yet it was one that you had to demolish by your own hands.

"Lord Minho," you began with a deep inhale, drawing his dejected attention with the formality of your words. It may have been close to a year since the two of you married, but this verbal distance was something you needed to maintain on your behalf. Like a constant reminder. Though, it was not unprecedented for noble couples to address one another with their titles.

"I apologize for my unseemly outburst last night. I...do hope you would find it in your heart to forgive me," you said. "It saddens me to celebrate tonight with such unsavory tension between us."