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Scroll 62

Joy leaned onto the King and flipped a page of the book that she is holding. They had brought all the scrolls to the Royal Library and had been spending time at the library since morning. The King has been reading through every single scroll thoroughly while she had grabbed a book to read. They sat next to each other on a long bench, with the scrolls shattered around messily on the table. The sunlight peeked through from the windows, bathing everything in warm yellow.

The King felt Joy's head on his shoulder. He let his gaze leaves the scrolls for a moment and turned to look at his Queen. Joy paid no attention to him as she flipped another page. He smiled and lowered himself so that Joy can rest her head comfortably. 

"Focus." Joy said without looking at him. Her eyes remained looking at the book that she is currently reading. Even without turning, she knew that the King is looking at her. 

"How could I focus when you are distracting me?" The King mumbled.

"Don't use me as an excuse." 

The King chuckled. He used his right hand to push a strand of hair away from Joy's face and tucked it behind her ears. Obediently, he then turned away and place his focus back to the scrolls scattered in front of him. Joy smiled. She carried on reading her book as the King quietly kept away a scroll and pick up the next one. 

One second passed, then the second and the third...... 

Every single day disappeared in the blink of an eye. They spent each day ordinarily, yet cherishing every minute and every second. They take care of all the court matters and attend to all their royal duties, yet still able to spend all precious time together. To others, the time seems to past in its usual speed. But to the royal couple, they felt as though someone had played with the clock, manipulating it to fasten its speed. Still, they couldn't complain. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't.

One day passed, the second day passed, and the third...... 

Even though they did not say it out loud to each other, they quietly counted down to the end of the month every day. As promised, they watched the sunset together by the lake every single day. But every time night falls and the moon appeared, they cannot help but feel down. Many unspoken words lingered around each night. It's as though the moon symbolizes the number of days left together. 

**********

"Eat more." The King said as he added some vegetables to Joy's bowl of rice. 

Joy smiled. "Here," She stretched her arm out and got a piece of meat for the King. "Your favourite."

"You went to visit Lady Choi this afternoon?" 

Joy nodded. "We also spent time with Yun at the Royal Gardens. Yun seems to enjoy nature a lot." She said after swallowing a scoop of rice. 

"You should have brought me along." The King glanced at Joy. "I'm starting to get jealous that you are spending time with another guy." 

Joy laughed. "Do you really have to be jealous of a little kid?"

"Of course, he is stealing away your attention." 

Joy smiled and got another piece of meat for the big, giant baby before her. "You have got all my attention now." 

With that, they spent the next few days ordinarily like this. They eat, they worked and they sleep. They laughed and they bickered. They spend each day ordinarily like a normal couple. While they act like per usual, unbeknownst to others, their time together is ticking away.