황실의 사랑 이야기 (Hwangsil-ui Sarang Iyagi) - The Imperial Love Story

Chapter - 10

Minho observed his younger brother with a frown. Yongbok wasn't usually this distracted—he was sharp, confident, always in control. But now, as he sat in the dimly lit tent, a thoughtful expression clouded his face. Minho had been watching him for a while, noticing how Yongbok's usual arrogance seemed to falter.

"What's on your mind?" Minho asked casually, though his voice held a hint of curiosity.

Yongbok blinked, breaking out of his thoughts. "Nothing," he muttered, though the tension in his voice suggested otherwise.

Minho tilted his head, scrutinizing him more closely. "Is it Hyunjin?"

Yongbok snapped his head up, his eyes narrowing at Minho. "What? No!" he exclaimed, a bit too quickly. "Why would it be Hyunjin?"

Minho raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. "You tell me. Every time I've seen you like this, it's because of him."

Yongbok's jaw clenched, his gaze dropping to the floor as he struggled to keep his composure. Minho could tell he had hit the mark. "It's not about him," Yongbok insisted, though the defensive tone in his voice said otherwise.

"So," Minho pressed, "what did Hyunjin do this time?"

Yongbok hesitated, clearly wrestling with his thoughts. A part of him didn't want to admit it, but the other part—the part that had been troubled since yesterday—needed to say it out loud. With a heavy sigh, he finally spoke.

"I gave him... an order," Yongbok started, his voice quieter now. "Yesterday. A degrading one. I told him to clean the stables."

Minho's brow furrowed. "You told him to clean the stables? He's your personal guard, Yongbok. Not a servant."

"I know," Yongbok snapped, frustration leaking into his voice. "I just—I don't know, I wanted to push him. Test him, maybe."

"And how did he take it?" Minho asked, though he could already guess the answer.

Yongbok's expression darkened as he remembered the look in Hyunjin's eyes. "He refused," he admitted. "He stood up to me. Said the task was beneath him. And then... I don't know. He looked... hurt."

Minho's gaze softened slightly. "Hurt?"

Yongbok nodded, the memory of Hyunjin's pained expression flashing in his mind. He had tried to push it away, but it lingered, gnawing at him. "I didn't think I'd affect him like that. But when I saw his face... I don't know. I felt like I crossed a line."

Minho sighed deeply, rubbing his temple. "Yongbok, he's not just a tool you can use to assert your authority. He's a human being. With feelings."

"I know that," Yongbok muttered, but there was a trace of guilt in his voice now.

"Do you?" Minho shot back, his tone firm but not unkind. "Because giving him an order like that shows you weren't thinking about his dignity. You can't just give low, degrading commands like that and expect him to take it without feeling anything. Hyunjin isn't a mindless servant. He's someone with pride, and frankly, he has every right to refuse something that humiliating."

Yongbok stared at the ground, feeling the weight of Minho's words. He had always prided himself on being a strong leader, someone who could command respect. But Minho's words made him realize that he had been too harsh, too blinded by his own desire to test Hyunjin's limits.

"I thought... I thought he needed to be put in his place," Yongbok muttered, still trying to justify his actions, though even he could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

"Put in his place?" Minho repeated, shaking his head. "Yongbok, Hyunjin doesn't need to be humiliated to be loyal to you. He's already proven his worth, time and time again. Treating him like he's less than human isn't going to make him respect you more—it'll only push him further away."

Yongbok bit the inside of his cheek, feeling a strange mix of frustration and guilt. He had expected Hyunjin to be defiant, but he hadn't expected to feel so conflicted about it afterward. He didn't like that Minho was right. He didn't like the fact that he had made Hyunjin feel like that—like he was beneath him.

Minho studied his brother's face, the turmoil evident in his expression. "You don't have to be the ruthless prince all the time, Yongbok," he said softly. "You're better than that."

Yongbok exhaled deeply, leaning back in his chair. "Maybe," he muttered, though he wasn't entirely sure. The image of Hyunjin's hurt expression still haunted him, and for the first time, Yongbok felt unsure of the way he had been handling things.

Minho watched him in silence for a moment before speaking again, his voice softer. "You don't have to fix everything right now, but think about it. If you want Hyunjin to be loyal, you need to treat him with the respect he deserves."

Yongbok didn't respond immediately. He just sat there, his mind churning with thoughts of what had happened. Deep down, he knew Minho was right. And maybe, just maybe, it wasn't too late to make things right.

But for now, he stayed silent, the weight of his brother's words settling in as he tried to figure out what his next move should be.

The tension between Hyunjin and Yongbok grew with each passing day. Hyunjin couldn't shake off the bitter feeling from their last encounter, and Yongbok found himself increasingly irritated by how his thoughts kept drifting back to that moment—Hyunjin's defiant gaze, the words he had thrown back at him, and Minho's frustratingly accurate advice.

Days later,as the training continued, the atmosphere was filled with sweat, effort, and determination. Hyunjin threw himself into every task, fueled by his desire to prove himself. However, beneath the surface, he struggled to ignore the lingering humiliation of his last encounter with Yongbok. He had never anticipated the prince's words would affect him so deeply, nor had he expected to feel so insulted by the lowly tasks assigned to him.

One afternoon, during a break, Hyunjin found himself alone, staring at the training grounds where the other trainees sparred and practiced. The sun beat down mercilessly, but it was nothing compared to the internal heat swirling within him.