Struggle Chapter 116

They dug several holes, not too deep but just enough for a wooden ball to drop in and catch, and called the captain of the guard and Sim Eung to join them.

Each gave their ball a nickname. Taerok, finding it bothersome, simply called it Lee Taerok’s ball, while Nanyoung called his Bokjaeng. The guard captain named his after his favorite food, dried pollack, and Sim Eung named his Jwibul, after one of the terrifying traditions he had heard about in the palace.

Taerok’s ball rolled all the way to the frozen pond and then, unbelievably, slipped right into a hole. Everyone gaped in astonishment. Nanyoung, who had secretly been hoping to cry out, “Lee Taerok is the one who’s fallen in!” let out a small groan of disappointment.

“You were hoping I’d be the one to fall in, but it’s Bokjaeng that fell in instead.”

Instead, he himself became the target of teasing.

Taerok, laughing softly, went to the frozen pond in Nanyoung’s place. Since it was midday, the ice might be thin, so he rolled up his sleeves and retrieved the ball for him. Sure enough, the surface of the ice was melting, leaving the ball slick and wet.

“I’ve rescued Bokjaeng.”

Taerok tossed the ball a few times in his hand and then handed it to Nanyoung. Then, with a grin, he turned around wickedly and called out,

“I’m thinking the one who scores the least should grant the winners’ wishes. What do you say?”

Sim Eung clenched his fist, thinking, ‘That, that wicked Grand Prince Baegan is out to catch our young master again.’ The target was clear for anyone to see. Nanyoung alone wore a troubled expression, after all.

But the guard captain, a good-natured fellow who loved a wager and loved his drink and was, unfortunately, a bit short on perceptiveness, boldly declared, “Let us do so.” Even if he had been perceptive, he could hardly have refused the Grand Prince’s proposal, so it couldn’t be helped.

“You’re doing this because you know I’ll lose, aren’t you?”

Nanyoung asked resentfully. Taerok shrugged and adjusted his grip on the mallet.

“You just have to not lose, don’t you.”

Contrary to appearances, Nanyoung was also a man with a fair amount of competitive spirit. Come to think of it, that was only natural. Whose nephew was he, after all?

Nanyoung’s eyes, gripping Bokjaeng, burned with zeal.

The result of the strike-ball game was, surprisingly, the guard captain’s defeat.

He had done quite well at first, but gradually lost control of his strength, sent the ball into the porch three times, and ultimately made Kkotnyeo close all the porch doors completely.

“I’m really quite good at polo, you know.”

Even at the guard captain’s remark, scratching his head sheepishly, Taerok seemed uninterested. Just seeing his attitude—as if he had no interest whatsoever as long as Nanyoung hadn’t lost—made it blatantly obvious what the purpose of the wager had been from the start.

Sim Eung approached the guard captain and patted his shoulder.

“I can be paid off with bamboo shoots.”

“His Highness, however….”

“Surely he wouldn’t give a difficult command to a lowly servant. He’ll give his orders in due time. Let’s us go first.”

Sim Eung was quick on the uptake, and the guard captain was not. If anything, Sim Eung envied the guard captain. Being perceptive enough to guess what Taerok, who had wished for Nanyoung to lose, might have ordered him to do, was by no means a pleasant thing.

“You knew I would lose, didn’t you?”

Nanyoung, who had put up quite a good fight, asked quickly, full of excitement.

Whether his flushed cheeks were from joy or the cold, Taerok laid a hand on them. The skin was firm and chilled. It was right to go inside now. Pulling Nanyoung along, Taerok answered.

“I thought you would not be able to win.”

“I tried desperately because I was certain you would give me an embarrassing command if I lost.”

Nanyoung said proudly. Taerok let out a hollow laugh.

“What did you think I would ask of you?”

“…”

“Tell me what you thought I was going to ask.”

“…Isn’t what matters that I didn’t come in last?”

“But I won. Against my nephew.”

Thud. The door closed. They had already reached the inner quarters.

Taerok pressed him.

“Now that it’s just the two of us, don’t hold back and tell me. What did you think I was going to demand?”

“…You would have spoken of something lewd.”

“Like what?”

Taerok drew even closer. He pressed Nanyoung right against the wall and asked with perfect nonchalance.

“Like my nephew climbing on top of me and sucking my member, while I suck my nephew’s, enjoying each other in harmony?”

Naturally, it was a position Nanyoung had never even imagined. His face flushed bright red from bewilderment and excessive obscenity. His eyes darted rapidly this way and that.

“Or a command for my nephew to lie face down, spread his own buttocks, and beg me to suck his back passage?”

“Ah, no, do you truly harbor such… thoughts?”

“Yes. I am a man filled with nothing but lecherous desires. And what else might I do besides those? Ah, since it’s a wager, shall I ask for something truly difficult? The first two can be done anytime.”

“I will never, ever do them anytime!”

“How about fashioning actual red jade rings and fastening them onto Nanyoung’s two ruby-like nipples… something like that.”

Nanyoung’s expression grew markedly younger than his age from horror and shock. Taerok deliberately wore a mean-spirited smile.

“So that they jingle and jangle with every step, making you too embarrassed to go outside, and even if you do go out, Bokjaengi will hear that sound and keep chasing after you, wondering what it is—so that wherever my nephew goes, I will be able to find you.”

“Even without doing such… such things, I won’t go anywhere.”

“What if you could go somewhere?”

“Pardon?”

He who was an unspeakably lewd man one moment and then, in an instant, became Lee Taerok like the north wind—this time too he asked in a voice like the north wind and frost.

“If your family said they missed you, and if it was the King’s personal wish… then hoping to be able to find you wherever you went would be sincerity rather than lechery, wouldn’t it.”

Nanyoung’s eyes wavered.

He had no shame and no face. How could he ever return and see his brother the King?

Nanyoung’s expression was dark. Lost in his own thoughts, his closed lips did not part. They were not the sort of lovers who chirped and chattered together, so Taerok was not one to suffer in silence—but today, even he was deeply troubled by Nanyoung. The fact that the page of the book he was perusing would not turn was proof enough.

Then, abruptly, Nanyoung came to his senses. It was already deep into the night.

“Ah, Uncle. You should sleep.”

His tone, as he rose in a fluster, was awkward.

“I’ll… sleep in the annex tonight.”

Originally, Nanyoung’s room was in the annex. It was nominally meant to keep them separate, but in practice it was almost never used. Nanyoung smiled awkwardly, and Taerok simply gazed at Nanyoung making excuses beside the flickering candle, neither holding him back nor stopping him.

“Then… good night.”

Taerok quietly watched him bow and leave. Only when even the sound of his footsteps had completely faded and he was immersed in the absolute silence of the long winter night did Taerok close his book and furrow his brow.

∞ ∞ ∞

There was no way sleep would come. Nanyoung closed his eyes in anguish. This was why he had said he would sleep in the annex, and yet even with no one beside him, he kept feeling as though Taerok were lying next to him, so he couldn’t even toss and turn freely.

“Hah….”

Why had his brother suddenly said he missed him? When Nanyoung was a wretch not worth it.

For nothing more than his own desires and selfishness, knowing full well that it would end in filthy scandal and grievous sin, he had abandoned his family and left. He had even forsaken his duty as a Grand Prince. He was a shameless, brazen scoundrel.

“But why….”

Giving up on sleep, Nanyoung finally opened his tightly shut eyes and murmured sadly.

In truth, it was not “why,” but “dare he be allowed to.”

Nanyoung had deliberately not asked Taerok about the affairs of the capital either. He had prayed for a peaceful reign, prayed for the preservation of the King’s health. He knew his place and did not regret the path he had chosen. He was trying to….

Just then, the annex door burst open. Since he was lying with his back to the door, it was not discovered that Nanyoung was awake.

There was only one person who would enter so insolently. Still, his startled heart pounded wildly.

The guest, and the master of this house where the annex stood, lay down behind Nanyoung. And not stopping there, he wrapped himself around Nanyoung from behind, embracing him completely.

“Let us go see your nephew.”

Taerok’s hand gently covered Nanyoung’s pounding chest.

“You should experience for yourself what it feels like to meet your own nephew.”

“…Were you happy when you first saw me, Uncle?”

Taerok was not one to tell needless lies lightly. He let out a scoffing laugh.

“I didn’t have the slightest interest in any of my nephews.”

“That’s too cruel….”

“And yet you approached me knowing full well I was such a heartless, indifferent person.”

“…”

“You’re the one who grabbed hold, aren’t you. My hand.”

Taerok’s hand wrapped gently around Nanyoung’s thumb and held it.