𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 // The King: Eternal Monarch ✔

; chapter 8

Seung Ah was focusing only on her work that day. When she received a whole lot of work to get done before nighttime, she had done nothing except staying in her room from morning until the evening, working hard to get the work done. And instead of taking a break and eat her meals, she just drank coffee to refill her energy and continued her work.

So, when she was about to finish her last task, which is sending a box of important stuff requested by Lady Noh to her room, her vision suddenly became blurry for a moment. Her migraine was coming.

Seung Ah lifted her hand to massage her temples to make the pain go away so that she could get her task done that day. It's normal for her to get migraines after working under much pressure. She stood up and quickly grabbed the box and leave her room. She struggled to keep her vision clear while she was on her way.

Just... a few more turns...

She kept walking at a slow pace to avoid herself to pass out there. But the pain came struck again into her head and caused her to come to a halt. Her body was bent down because of the pain. The box in her hands became heavier by seconds. Then she heard loud footsteps coming from behind her. By the time she turned, all she sees is pure black.

---

Yeong was in the security camera room of the palace. His eyes didn't stop scanning from screen to screen on the walls for possible break-ins. But when his eyes caught something on one of the screen, he stopped to examine closer. It's the camera in the hallways near Lady Noh's room and he saw someone walking towards the room. By scanning her small and frail figure, Yeong knew well who it was. 

Seung Ah. 

But something was off about her. She was walking rather slowly than steadily as she would always do. Yeong knew because he always saw her from the screen when it was his time to watch the security cameras in the room. He began to have a bad feeling about her. Something was telling him to go and see her.

And with that, he left the room which alarmed a few of his guards who were standing behind him but they didn't move to follow their captain as he didn't tell them anything.

When Yeong arrived there, he saw Seung Ah bending down and her grip on the box she was holding began to loosen. He hurriedly went to her and almost ran when he saw her turning around with a very pale face. "Seung Ah!" Before her frail body came in contact with the wooden floor, Yeong scooped her up from falling. He checked her forehead and felt the hot temperature she's giving. Yeong then lifted her up in bridal style and head straight to the infirmary.

Meanwhile, in the security room, Seok Ho-pil watched the scene in awe while his colleague In-young just smiled. Both were surprised at the mysterious side shown by their all-time-stoic-captain.

---

Seung Ah opened up her eyes slowly and saw a very bright light above her which caused her to lift her hand to shield her eyes. After she did, her eyes had adjusted with the brightness and saw the tube inserted into her hand. 

"What the..." She widened her eyes and got up in a flash. Her head whipped around the room as her eyes scanned her surroundings. Why am I in the infirmary? Wasn't I in the hallways...

The sound of the door opening alarmed her as she jumped a little on the bed. It was Yeong who looked at her with a deep frown. "Captain Jo?" He didn't say anything and instead went closer to her ad took a seat next to the bed. Seung Ah watched him in confusion and asked, "Why am I here?" She didn't think his frown could go any deeper when it did.

"You passed out in the middle of the hallway," Yeong explained shortly. Seung Ah blinked at him. "What?"

Yeong inhaled deeply and said, "You shouldn't push yourself to the point you'd fall sick. I told you to take care of yourself." Seung Ah finally remembered what happened and gasped. She remembered that she was supposed to deliver the box to Lady Noh. "Oh no, the box! I should've given them to Lady Noh. I gotta go." Yeong stared at Seung Ah with a bewildered expression as she lifted up the blanket that's covering her body. When he realized what she's doing, Yeong stood quickly and pulled Seung Ah back to bed before she could even get off. 

Seung Ah fell back and felt Yeong moving her legs so that she's laying back like before. "But-"

"What do you think you're doing? You can't just leave." Yeong began to scold her. "Get some rest first and stay here."

"But the box-"

"I've taken care of the goddamn box."

Seung Ah stared at him, speechless. She knew that the captain in front of her was serious and maybe angry at her. She took this to shut her mouth and not make any sound anymore as most parts of her were terrified at the captain's sudden rise of voice.

 Yeong saw her change of expression. His frown immediately went away and he sighed. He sat back down while he massaged his temple. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "I just... I was worried." Seung Ah stared at the man in quite a surprise. Yeong dropped his hand and raised his head to look at her with a clear worrying look on his face. He asked, "What happened?"

Seung Ah explained, "I just got too much work to get done today. I skipped meals so that's why I got serious migraines." Her eyes moved to avoid his sharp gaze at her. "Sorry for troubling you, Captain Jo. But I didn't think you'd be this worried." She tried joking but when she moved to look at Yeong, he was frowning again at her. Oh crap.

But he didn't say a word. He then stood up and left the room which surprised Seung Ah. "Where are you going, Captain Jo?" She received no reply. A minute after that, Yeong returned with a cup of water and handed it to her which she took it. Seung Ah looked up at Yeong who sighed a little and he said, "Please rest. I need to finish my work for today." He patted her head and bent down to kiss her forehead gently. "I'll come to visit." 

Watching the man exit the room as the door shut, Seung Ah is at a loss of words. When the nurse came in for a check-up, she was startled at her patient's burning face and shocked expression.

💕

" Everything will be okay as long as I'm by your side."

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