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Queen Consort Shin Jeonghui believed she had lived a very fortunate life thus far. She was the daughter of a high-ranking scholar and her mother was from another noble family. She may not have had many special abilities, but her beauty and creative craftsmanship had caught the prince’s eye, and somehow, he had loved her enough to choose her as queen from his many available options when he took the throne. Then, though their first-born was a princess, she was able to provide him with a prince within the year to secure her position. She had two beautiful children to dote on, and Minhyun was especially clingy.
She understood though. He was likely very lonely as there weren’t many children around, and though he had a few step-brothers, none of them were allowed to interact with him yet, in fear that someone vying for the throne would attempt to trick and poison him in his young age. They often placed him in nondescript blue robes without the royal dragon embroidery for that reason. Though the staff that interacted with them often knew Minhyun by face, he was relatively unknown to the rest of the court.
But sometimes she wondered if that was the right decision, as she watched as her son run off after quickly downing his tea again. It was the fifth time in the past month. Prior, Minhyun loved to spend time with her, constantly showing up early for their tea time in the pavilion. He would stay and cling to her until she told him he had to leave for his lessons, and even then, he would whine about leaving when he could stay with her. But recently, he had been finishing his tea as quickly as possible, before excusing himself and running off, with the reason that he needed to get to his lessons. Unless he suddenly developed a thirst for learning, she highly doubted that was the true reason.
If he was older, she would have suspected he was meeting with some wench that was aiming to raise his or her social status, but he was still her five year old baby. Then again...one never knew what treachery the court ladies were capable of.
She made eye contact with her trusted handmaiden and nodded her head towards Minhyun’s retreating back.
“Follow him.”
Minhyun felt slightly bad for not spending as much time as usual with his mother, but Jonghyun was waiting for him! Well, not really. Jonghyun was busy with his work, but Minhyun wanted to make sure he was there to accompany him as much as possible. Jonghyun had already forbidden him to come with him when delivering meals and other items to the noblemen and other higher class individuals living within the palace. Minhyun personally didn’t understand the problem. So they had compromised and Minhyun would be allowed to accompany Jonghyun in the hallways between deliveries, but he would have to hide from view during said delivery itself.
On the other hand, Jonghyun had the shock of his life when he learned that it was the crown prince of all people that was following him around during that first delivery to Master Taehyuk, Minhyun’s Teacher. At least it was someone who was already used to Minhyun’s antics and had his best interests in mind. But Jonghyun couldn’t imagine what would happen if it got around that the crown prince was following around a kitchen servant! Or what if the king or queen decided to get rid of him for ‘bewitching’ the prince or something? He didn’t want to be punished just because some spoiled prince decided he wanted to follow him around for no reason! If he had known Minhyun was the crown prince that day, he wouldn’t have tried to help him! Okay no, Jonghyun admitted to himself that he would have felt too guilty leaving someone to cry all alone like that.
The day he had met Minhyun, Jonghyun had just finished with helping wash the dishes and was on his way back to the kitchens where he knew a warm bowl of porridge was waiting for him...when he heard quiet sniffles and crying coming from down one of the other halls. He had wanted to just keep going and fill his hungry tummy, and actually did keep walking, but the crying had pulled at his heartstrings and he had to turn back to find its source. Lo and behold, he found someone his age for once! But the other boy was all curled up really close to the rain and seemed really sad about something. Noting the robe color and uncharacteristic lack of embroidery, Jonghyun was a bit wary about the boy’s ambiguous status and wasn’t sure if the boy would want a servant touching him, but Jonghyun firmly believed hugs made everyone feel better. So he had run up to Minhyun and given him a hug. And that had started the whole landslide of current events.
Stepping out of the kitchen, Jonghyun didn’t even bat an eye at the bright blue flash that whipped to his side. Those robes still threw him off sometimes, as they didn’t have the usual dragon embroidery on it like he was taught the royal line would don. In addition, the bright blue shade was actually the characteristic color of scholarly robes, but the ones Minhyun wore did not have the typical crane embroidery that indicated the status of a scholar, further confounding Jonghyun.
Sometimes he wondered what it was that Minhyun wanted from him. At times, Minhyun would be chatty and talk his ear off without expecting a response. But for the most part, all they really did was walk together in silence as he worked. But when Jonghyun glanced to the side and saw the bright smile on Minhyun’s face, he couldn’t help but shrug it off and let the prince be. Who was he to deny something that made the crown prince happy? Even if he didn’t know why.
Unbeknownst to the two boys as they made their way through the halls, a pair of eyes trailed after them throughout the day.
A week later, Jonghyun wondered if he should have asked Minhyun why he kept following him, as he knelt in front of the queen and quietly panicked. He was doing his usual morning duties when he received the summons to meet with the queen. He had looked at his caretaker, head cook Yori, in question, thinking that it was a mistake, but she had only encouraged him to go. The small smile she had to comfort him was belied by the worry in her eyes.
“Jonghyun…that is your name, correct?”
“Y-Yes, your majesty.”
“Hmm…”
Jonghyun froze as the sound came from much closer than he expected. A finger tilted his chin up as he stared with wide, frightened eyes at the queen right in front of him. She let go of his chin and stood up straight.
“Tell me, child. Why is Minhyun following you around?”
“I...I don’t know.”
“What have you done to my child?” Came the sharp, cold response.
Jonghyun whimpered as he squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t know. I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
“Are you looking to go up in status? Did someone put you up to this?”
“No!” Jonghyun snapped his head up, protesting the accusation. He would never use someone like that! And he hoped no one would try to use someone as innocent and endearingly straight-forward as Minhyun. Even though Minhyun did annoy him sometimes, the other boy had grown on him over time. Of course he was exasperated by some of the dumb things that Minhyun did, but it was nice that he didn’t have to second guess what he said or did around Minhyun. He thought the crown prince would have had him punished for some of the things he let slip out in response to Minhyun being a dummy, but all Minhyun did was give him that wide fox-like smile that made his heart feel warm and tingly and hug him.
As he looked the queen in the eye, he realized his mistake and frantically prostrated himself on the ground, apologizing.
“Now, now dear. You may rise.”
Jonghyun rose to his knees, unwilling to meet the queen’s eyes.
“I do have an offer for you. Minhyun...has not been the most ideal child lately. He has been very unwilling to attend his lessons, and is quite unintelligent.” She reached into her robes and removed a small white packet, tossing it in front of him. “If you give Minhyun this poison, I will take you on as my son and the crown prince. If you refuse, the guards will take you to the dungeon and cane you one hundred times and give you one hundred lashes.”
Jonghyun stared at the packet in front of him in horror. Poison Minhyun? His new annoying, but sweet friend? The one who stupidly kept trying to help Jonghyun with his chores even as crown prince? Who had several times almost burst into many a nobleman's rooms because they had yelled at Jonghyun for no reason other than that they could? Who had tried to convince his own tutor to also teach Jonghyun before giving up and trying on his own to teach him how to read in secret instead?
His mind raced. Why was Minhyun’s mother trying to poison him? He had to tell Minhyun! Then he realized with growing terror. If he refused now...who would tell Minhyun? He squeezed his eyes shut. “I...okay.”
The queen fixed her glare on the child as she smiled coldly. “Very well. Pick it up. You have till dawn of the seventh day. Soyoung, my handmaiden, will check in with your progress every day at dawn. You may leave.”
Jonghyun flinched as he reached out for the white packet, quickly placing it within his robes. “Yes, Your Majesty.” Bowing once more, he quickly stood up and ran out.
Queen Jeonghui watched the boy leave with contemplative eyes. She could see why Minhyun liked him. Minhyun had always liked pretty and shiny things, and that boy’s eyes had surprised her with its clarity and honesty. He was a cute yet mature child, and his attempts at making sure he paid proper respect impressed her. Though his response at the end did make her curious. She could read the clear horror on his face, along with a few other realizations flitting through his expressions, but that he actually accepted the offer…
“Soyoung.” She called. “You know what to do.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Jonghyun broke into a run as soon as he was out of sight. The sun was high in the sky, and Minhyun would soon be looking for him. He still didn’t know what to do about the knowledge that the queen wanted to poison her own son, but he had less than a day to make sure Minhyun knew as he didn’t think he would survive the punishment for refusing. He had seen grown criminals punished with that in the courtyard before, and while he didn’t see what happened to them afterwards, he didn’t think they survived.
By the time he arrived at the kitchens, he saw Minhyun sitting on the railings right outside the door. He saw Minhyun glance up at the footsteps pounding down the hallway, and send him a bright smile as he hopped off. Jonghyun could only keep running until he crashed into Minhyun, giving him a tight hug as he babbled about what had just happened, tears starting to run down his cheeks, alarming Minhyun.
“Jonghyunnie, stop, stop. Don’t cry, what happened?” Minhyun frantically asked, wiping Jonghyun’s cheeks with his robe sleeves.
Jonghyun hiccupped and sniffled before explaining what the queen had told him, minus what would happen if he refused. “Minhyun needs to get help. Would your father help you?”
“What?” Minhyun couldn’t believe what Jonghyun was telling him, though the white packet was right there. “I...I’ll ask mother.”
“No!” Jonghyun stopped him. “Then she’ll know that you know! What if the next person doesn’t tell you?”
Minhyun was stumped. His mother loved him, right? Why would she do such a thing? And Jonghyun wouldn’t lie to him. He may have been irrationally quick to get attached to Jonghyun, but he was good at reading people. And he could tell Jonghyun was a good person.
“When did she say you have until?” Minhyun asked.
Jonghyun averted his eyes. “Seven days.”
Minhyun narrowed his eyes. “You’re lying.”
“No, she really did give me seven days.” Jonghyun protested.
Minhyun eyed Jonghyun’s guilty look. There was something else that Jonghyun wasn’t telling him. He decided to let it go for now. “Okay, I’ll decide what to do tomorrow then.”
Jonghyun flinched. “Okay. I...still think you should ask your father for help. And I should get back to work.”
Minhyun smiled. “Okay! Let’s go!” He would enjoy the rest of the day with Jonghyun first, before he thought about what to do with his newfound knowledge. However, as the day went on, he could tell something wasn’t quite right with Jonghyun. The boy was more distracted than usual, and almost tripped more often than his daily quota. By the end of the day, Minhyun was more worried about Jonghyun than himself.
Before they went their separate ways for the night, Minhyun had to ask, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Y-yes, I’m fine.” Jonghyun paused before turning to Minhyun and giving him a tight hug. “Minhyunnie should take care of himself, okay?” He gave Minhyun a bright smile before he turned and left.
By the time Minhyun collected his thoughts from receiving his first hug from Jonghyun that Jonghyun initiated himself, Jonghyun was long gone.
At dawn, Jonghyun sat on his thin blankets as he contemplated what he was about to do. Thinking of Minhyun's bright smile, he decided it was worth it.
A knock sounded on the door.
Jonghyun got up and opened it. Looking at the queen’s handmaiden in the eyes, he firmly stated, “I refuse. I'm not going to do it.”
He received an unreadable look in return, before she turned and said, “Follow me.”
They soon arrived at the queen’s court room, where the queen was already waiting. They both knelt as they entered. “Your Majesty, he refused.”
“Is that so. Pray tell, why, child.”
The queen’s eyes pierced as Jonghyun tried to keep eye contact with her. He had nothing to lose at this point. He was lucky enough so far to live and work in the palace instead of the slums, and was grateful for what he had. He didn’t have any friends until Minhyun, but now that he had Minhyun, he was going to make sure he protected him.
“Your Majesty may think that Minhyun is not smart enough or not good enough yet, but Crown Prince Minhyun is kind and he will get smarter and be a good ruler as he gets older. He is still learning and deserves more of a chance than Your Majesty is giving him.” He firmly stated, before he laid himself on the ground. “This lowly servant begs with his last words that Your Majesty gives Crown Prince Minhyun the chance to be a good ruler.”
There was silence for a moment, before light-hearted giggles filled the room. The Queen Jeonghui couldn’t help it. This child was so sweet. “Oh no wonder Minhyun loves you so.” Fabric rustled as she stepped down to Jonghyun, knelt down, and pulled him up to a sitting position. Seeing the tears in his eyes, her eyes softened, “You poor thing. Don’t worry, Minhyun is in no danger from me. He’s still my precious baby." She ran her hand through Jonghyun's hair.
"B-but...you gave...poison..." He sniffled as he tried not to cry.
"Child, I gave you a packet of sugar yesterday.”
“W-wha?” Jonghyun rubbed his eyes to wipe away the tears, before the queen’s words registered. “H-he’s safe?”
“Yes, he’s safe.”
“O-oh…” The realization set off more waterworks as he began crying in relief instead. He was pulled into a hug by the queen as she picked him up and rocked him.
“Shh...there, there. I do have to say I’m very impressed with you, Jonghyun. And I have to thank you that the first thing you did was run to Minhyun and warn him. Please continue protecting my baby where I am not able to.”
Eventually, Jonghyun did stop crying, and the queen waved him off to work, with affirmations that Minhyun was safe and Jonghyun was not going to be punished.
Glancing to a corner of the room, the queen asked, “So what did you think of him?”
The figure hidden by the curtains stepped out, looking thoughtful. Golden robes with embroidered five-clawed dragons rustled as he stepped up beside her. “Let’s keep an eye on him just in case. That kind of loyalty is hard to come by. Minhyun is lucky to have found that so early.”