Gwi's POV

“Can you teach me?”

I stopped plucking the strings of the gayageum, laying my hands on them before turning to her.

“You want to learn how to play?” I queried. She nodded, a hopeful look on her face.

“Yes. You always play for me; I wish to play for you as well.”

I hummed. “Very well. Come here.”

Her lips split into a smile, her eyes lighting up. She rushed over to me, seating herself right in my lap without thinking twice about it. I placed my chin on her shoulder and picked up her hands, guiding them to the strings.

“Bend your fingers like this”, I directed, my voice low. I held her hands in mine, placing them correctly on the strings. As she followed my instructions to pluck basic chords, I nuzzled into the side of her neck. Her breath stuttered and she made a mistake. I tutted.

"Start again", I ordered. She slumped forlornly. 

"I wouldn’t have to if you didn't distract me!" I smirked at that.

"I'm not doing anything, though?" I mumbled, nuzzling into her neck again. She stiffened up once more, and I smiled against her skin.

"My lord!"

I opened my eyes, the memory fading away as I came back to the present. My fingers stilled over the strings I had been offhandedly plucking, and the last chord faded out as the string slowly stopped vibrating.

"My lord!" I looked up.

Ah... She was here already? I watched Eunhee stomp over towards me- or at least her version of it. If it was anyone else, they would barely be able to tell that she was upset, but her jaw was clenched and her eyes were sharp. Oh, she was furious. Amused, I laid back, propped up a leg, and yawned.

“My lord”, she said as she got to me. 

“Hm?” I smiled at her. She looked awfully striking like this... I needed to annoy her more, just for her minute frown which deepened ever so slightly at my nonchalance. My lips curled up even more.

"You came to my house", she deadpanned. I tilted my head. 

"Oh? You found out? What happened?" I asked, curious. She sighed.

"My lord, while I... appreciate what you did, you did not have to do it. It was too reckless!" My brows furrowed. 

“But I wanted to. And judging from the fact that you know I was there, that woman must've come to beg for forgiveness." My eyes narrowed, the smile slipping off my face.

"Right?" 

If she didn't, I would simply have to go back and actually rip out her throat this time since she couldn't use it properly.

"No she did but-"

"Good. So what exactly is the problem then?" I asked. 

"The problem-", she paused when she realized how loud her voice was and let out an exasperated huff. A corner of my lips curled up slightly.

"The problem, my lord, is that you were seen. Coming out of my chambers. Do you not realize how wrong that may have gone if it was not Kyungsoon who saw you?”

I thought for a bit before the memory finally came to me. When I was leaving Eunhee’s chambers, I had heard someone gasp. Turning, I caught the shocked gaze of a maid standing a few feet away.

I had stopped then, turning to her fully while still meeting her eyes. Terrified or not, I knew she couldn't move. I raised a finger to my lips before darting away, practically vanishing before her eyes. 

So she was the "Soonie" Eunhee kept speaking so highly of. Good thing I didn't immediately eliminate her there and then. She seemed smart enough to stay quiet, so she didn't pose as a problem.

"Ah... she was Kyungsoon? I see."

I thought a bit before adding, "But it did not really matter if it was someone else. If they screamed I could have just silenced them immediately. No?"

Judging from the look on her face, it was probably the wrong thing to say. She sighed, shaking her head. I fought the urge to scowl. Surely this whole thing wasn't that big of a deal?

"My lord I just- I do not feel it was necessary that's all." Her irritation seemed to have mellowed, her words becoming quieter as she spoke. I sighed and stepped down, walking to her. Reaching out to cup her face in my hand, I gently made her face me. 

“You got hurt. You should know that I can never let that go. And it was not like I hurt or killed her. I should have, for all the pain she caused you over the years”, I stated. 

"Her begging for forgiveness is practically letting her go scot-free, but I chose not to touch her because I knew you would not wish me to. Besides-”, I paused, my fingertips straying higher to gently trace her cheekbone as I continued to speak. 

“You can't deny that it was satisfying to see her fall so low before you.” She swallowed and looked away, unable to keep my gaze. I placed two fingers under her chin and made her face me again.

“Compared to you, everybody else in that house is insignificant to me.”

 She stared at me, as if she was trying to determine whether I was sincere or not. 

"Even Father?" I scowled, annoyed at the thought of that bothersome old man.

"Especially your father. He is extremely fortunate that he is your guardian. And he knows it. No one is to treat you any less than a queen, do you understand?"

At that, her cheeks flushed and she blinked.

"Y-yes my lord." I smiled. 

“Good.”

***

"Is that your favourite?"

"Hm?"

Eunhee set down her book -she'd started a new one today- and gestured to my hands still hovering over the gayageum.

"That melody. Is it your favourite? You play it quite a lot", she observed. I hummed, my fingers still giving in to the muscle memory.

"It's the one I'm most familiar with. What's the matter? Does it bother you?" She shook her head.

"No. It's quite beautiful. I recognized it as the one you first played for me the second time I was here", she reminisced. My lips curled up.

"Where did you learn it?"

My hands stalled over the instrument. I was silent for a bit before finally turning to her.

"Someone I knew composed it. I just played", I simply answered. Eunhee was silent, but when she realized I wasn’t going to continue she simply turned back to her book. I thought that was that, but she spoke up again.

“It’s my favourite too”, she whispered, knowing I could hear her. I chuckled.

Of course it was.

------------------------------------------------------------

3rd Person POV

The young girl stared at the figure kneeling before her. Confusion was evident on her delicate features, before it was suddenly replaced with something unreadable. She hummed before walking closer.

“It’s quite amusing, really. If it was a couple of years ago, I probably would’ve forgiven you because I would’ve seen it as a second chance to have a mother again.

"But now-” Eunhee bent down, meeting the eyes of her stepmother. She smiled widely at the desperation and fear she saw in them, her pretty features lighting up with joy. 

“Why, I quite enjoy this much more.”

---------------------------------------------‐------------
😃

I really hope y'all are on the same page as me right now cuz things are going to start escalating... I think.

I'm not completely sure😅 but the canon plot will sort of continue from here on.

Vote and most importantly comment! It's really makes my day🥰

Thanks for reading!🤗💜