A/N: I have finally more or less settled down in Japan! The weather is really cold here, so I'm wrapping myself up like a sushi as much as possible. 

My King At Night will be a 4-part story with a historical korean setting. Unfortunately, I am not Korean and not old, so I hope I did my best creating a good-enough setting for our main characters. Please excuse the absence of Dante and Vergil in this chapter, because I need to get background of our lovely main character down.  Our favourite men should be back in the week after (or earlier, depending on my schedule).

[My King At Night (Part One)]

Lee Daehyun decided that somewhere in her family tree, her ancestor must have insulted a god, because she was currently suffering from the consequences of whatever insult that had been made. Not only was she the only woman in the whole capital with a boy's name because her parents had prayed their hardest for their first child to be a son and she had come out as a daughter instead, but Daehyun was apparently also the unluckiest woman in town.

Why? Her father was a physician, and while they still worked hard to make ends meet daily, her house was always full of herbs that could remedy almost any pain and disease. And Daehyun had the best luck in the world to be blessed with an incurable disease. A disease in the lungs that she remembered hearing her father saying that he had only met very few such cases, and all those people diagnosed with the same disease had died within half a year.

Walking home with small tiny steps and a bag full of herbs from the edge of town that she had collected for her father's sake, Daehyun quietly wondered how long it would be before her father decided that her symptoms were getting suspicious. She would be hiding her blood-speckled handkerchief, for sure, but she wasn't sure if she would start bleeding from her nose all of a sudden for no reason often. She could blame it on the heat for only so long, but Daehyun made up her mind to carry the lie for as long as she could. There was no reason to get her family members all worried and unhappy over her anyway.

She had at most another half a year to live; Daehyun decided that she would make the most out of that last half year and leave things in her family better than they had ever been. Besides, hadn't her little brother Daeshim always said he wanted to go for some martial arts lessons to learn how to protect himself and the family? She was going to grant his wish one way or another before she moved on from this world. She also wanted them to live in a bigger house, get her mother a few more pretty dresses and if possible at all, give her father a piece of land where he could grow some common herbs that he liked.

Daehyun was so busy fantasizing about the things that she wanted for her family that she completely missed the sounds of shouting and the heavy footfalls of a furious chase happening until someone ran into her as she turned around the corner of the small alleyway. Her small exclamation of shock was forced down her throat as she fell when she felt a hand cover over her mouth while the both of them fell to the floor.

And because Daehyun had been emerging from the small darkened alleyway that she always took as a shortcut to her house, she was now back in the shadows with a man dressed in black robes and a scholar's hat. She tried to get up, but was startled when a strong force kept her down on the floor. Her eyes widened when she met shocking blue ones, but the man who had fallen on her -with a mask covering the half of his face and leaving only a pair of hard eyes staring at her -shook his head cautiously and quietly. Daehyun knew a warning when she saw one, and fearfully nodded quickly to show that she understood.

They waited a moment longer, until the guards had completely run past the entrance to their alleyway without giving the shadows a second look. Thankfully, the man in black didn't seem to have any other intentions about her, because he jumped up the moment it was clear. For someone being chased by so many people, he looked rather well put-together with his clothes which did not look as if he had been on the run for a long time at all.

Daehyun expected the man to be desperate in his getaway from the guards that she had recognised as royal palace guards, but it was clear that he was more gentleman that he was a runaway. Wordlessly, he leaned forwards again, but Daehyun saw him offer his hand to her instead. The idea of danger temporarily evaded her as she slipped her hand into the offered one, a strong force pulling her back upright quickly.

"I'm sorry." She heard a tenor voice say softly from behind the mask. "I was running away from the guards. I hope you are not hurt."

"I'm fine." She replied with a smile.

"You're bleeding." The answer came shortly with a sound of surprise, and the surprise was also very much on Daehyun's side as well. She didn't remember falling hard enough to cause a wound of sorts. Looking around quickly at her dress, she was surprised to find no broken skin anywhere.

"Your nose." The quiet voice helpfully added. "Your nose is bleeding."

"Oh..." Daehyun laughed quietly, retrieving her handkerchief quickly and made a quick and clean wipe. "Don't worry about it. I don't think it was your fault. I've been bleeding for quite a bit now."

"The heat?" The man chanced a guess, and she thought it was quite strange how a man who was on the run could be so calm and chatting with her about the weather and her state of health.

"Not really. I found out that I have contracted the Incurable Disease." She said, not sure if he understood. The Incurable Disease was not yet named mostly because of its rarity of cases, so it made sense if the common person wouldn't know about it. She only knew because she was a physician's daughter, and she had secretly consulted another physician recently to have things confirmed.

"What is that?"

"A disease in the lungs that cannot be cured by any known herbs or medicine." She answered, keeping her bloodied handkerchief. "I believe you were running away, Sir?"

"Ah, yes." The answer came as if he was only now remembering his previous activity before running into Daehyun. "Please excuse me."

On any normal day, Daehyun would not have entertained the thought of bringing a stranger anywhere into her comfortable daily life. But she now knew that she only had half a year left to live; it made her feel like doing things that she normally would not do. Things like helping out a man on the run. A man, in specific, who had been running from royal palace guards. Royal palace guards didn't spend their free time chasing the average thief around in the streets. That job was meant for the town guards. If royal palace guards were activated to chase this man, it could only mean two things; either this man was very dangerous, or he had stolen something very valuable.

"Wait." She called before the man could disappear, chasing to catch up with him when he stopped and turned to face her in curiosity. "If you need a place to hide, you can come with me."

"Do you go around offering places to hide, Miss?" He asked, apparently more concerned with her idea of safety than his actual safety.

With his streak of gentlemanly manners, Daehyun could not think of this man as a particularly dangerous individual, though she knew that her parents' opinion would be so radically different.

"No, but I have only 6 months left with this disease, so I'm starting to go around to help people do things and make my mark before I leave this world." She answered with a smile.

"You would help even someone running from royal palace guards?" The man was clearly aware of his own situation.

"Yes. Now, do you want to come along? I can hide you at my house for a short while. My parents will be at their shop and my brother will most probably be out playing with his friends. My house will be empty."

The man seemed to consider his options, then there was a decisive nod.

"If you are offering, I see no reason to turn it down."

Daehyun nodded in acknowledgement, and took her bag of herbs off her back, offering it to the man.

"What is this?" The quiet wariness in his voice came and he didn't make a move to accept the offering.

"I don't think you can walk out of the alley in your getup. It is kind of weird to have a physician go collect herbs in black clothes, but people have weird fashion sense all around town. A scholar's hat is a little strange for a physician, but we'll just have to make do." Daehyun answered, then drew out her handkerchief again. Frowning at the blood smudge that she had wiped away, she folded the small cloth until it was small enough, then tied it around her, fashioning a mask like the man's.

"And what are you doing?" He asked carefully, accepting Daehyun's bag of herbs.

"It'll give you the excuse of keeping the mask on. We were collecting herbs that gives out poisonous fumes. I don't think royal palace guards know much about herbs." Daehyun answered. "Ready?"

"Lead the way." He ordered, and while she thought that there was really something authoritative in his voice, she didn't comment on it as they emerged into the street again. Most of the royal palace guards were gone, but there were still some covering the street, carefully looking at everyone in the face as if expecting the runaway to be hiding without disguise in the crowd.

"Keep your head down." Daehyun gave the advice, but it seemed like she didn't need to because the man was already keeping his head and eyes casted down carefully.

They were almost successful in walking through the crowd to the end of the street until someone stepped directly into Daehyun's path, forcing her to startle to a stop, looking up at the menacing figure of a well-dressed royal palace guard.

"Hold on there, Miss. Where are you going?"

"I am just coming back from collecting some herbs with my brother from the mountain, Sir." She bowed slightly, keeping her head down respectfully.

"What is with the masks?"

"They were herbs emitting poisonous fumes, Sir. It is not very good for the health during harvesting, but very good for your body if you have a heat flush." She reported politely.

"We are looking out for a runaway. Did you see a man with white hair running through the streets a while ago?"

"It is chaos on this street, Sir. I was jostled and disorientated."

"What about you, young man? Isn't it hot to go collecting herbs in black clothes? And where did you get that hat? I was not aware that physicians nowadays wear scholar's hats." The royal palace guards seemed to be satisfied with Daehyun's lies, but their danger had only just begun. She prayed for both their sakes that the man was a good liar, because she knew she would be thrown into jail and possibly be spending the last 6 months of her life locked up in a cell if he wasn't.

"The herbs we were collecting would stain clothes, Sir. I wore black so that the stains will not show easily. I lost my hat in the mountain, so we bought one when we came back from the mountain. The shop only sold for scholars, but the weather is too hot to go without a hat. It is also not polite to show our bare heads in town as men."

Not bad. The man was actually quite a good liar.

"If you were collecting herbs that would stain clothes, then why is your sister's dress clean?" The royal palace guard asked suspiciously, but Daehyun's accomplice was smart enough to keep his head down and his wits about him.

"I am the man of the family, Sir. Of course I will be the one collecting the herbs at the most dangerous places. My sister only collected easier ones. Our mother will kill us if she goes home with a stained dress."

"Ah, yes." The royal palace guard nodded with a slight smile. "Mothers and their obsessions with the cleanliness of girls' dresses. Alright, you two go on with your lives. I apologise for taking up your time."

Daehyun's heart skipped a beat in relief at the dismissal, bowing politely once more with a careful, "Have a good day sir, and I hope you catch your man."

Their unrehearsed act was almost over, and she had just begun to relax a little until a shout made the both of them stop and turn around to see the same guard running back to them.

"I never got the both of your names down. I'm sorry, but this is standard questioning procedure."

"I am Lee Daehyun from the Lee physician family on Hae Shim Street. My brother's name is Lee Daeshim." She answered quickly. She wasn't technically lying; she had just pleasantly omitted the fact that the man standing beside her was not Daeshim.

"Oh, the Lee physician on Hae Shim Street? I have heard about you guys. Your father is an efficient one. One of my friends went to him for a sword wound and came back to duty fast." The guard seemed distantly familiar, and she breathed a soft sigh of relief to know that her father's reputation had gotten somewhere. "Thank you, you two can go back home now. Send your father my regards."

"Thank you, sir." Daehyun bowed one last time, really glad that her accomplice was wisely and strategically silent throughout the act.

The two of them were silent as they made their not-so-innocent brisk walk through the rest of the streets until they neared her place. Beckoning the man to follow her around the house instead of going in through the front gates, Daehyun was quietly surprised that the man did not make any comment or exclamation when she climbed over the low wall behind her housing quarters to enter the compound. He only followed her quietly, and didn't try to ask any questions until they were safely hiding in their guest room.

"Our shop at the front is open during the day, so I don't think Dad will be receiving guests here unless it is someone really important. You should be safe here until our shop closes." Daehyun answered as she removed the bag of herbs from the man's back. She could feel his watchful gaze on her as she unpacked the herbs, carefully laying them out on the table in the guest room. It was not the usual table she used to sort out and prepare the collect herbs, but she didn't want to leave her guest alone in the room, just in case Daeshim came back from playing, or her parents came into the house for whatever reasons.

"Is there anything I can help out with? It is only right that I do what I can to return the favour for helping me." The man offered in his soft voice, but Daehyun realised that he had never removed his mask or hat. Neither did he seem willing to, because though he had removed his black robes to show some practical merchants clothing, he hadn't made a move to show his face. Daehyun thus didn't ask about it as she sectioned a small portion of the wild herbs she had collected, passing it over to him at the other side of the round table.

"Please help me strip the leaves from the branches and twigs." She said, earning a nod as the man set to quiet work.

"Didn't you think for a moment that I might be dangerous?" The question came after a long moment of silence. Daehyun wasn't sure if the question was made after long contemplation, or if it had just been a whimsical question to fill up the silence that had settled between them.

"You helped me up. I don't think anyone who wants to kill me would waste time pulling me up and asking if I'm okay."

"I was running away from the royal palace guards." He spoke. "I don't think royal palace guards go around catching petty thieves."

This time, Daehyun laughed a little bit, her mood lifted slightly.

"You sound like you don't want me to help you. I've decided to help you, Sir, so I am. I can only hope that there is some good in you, and that you will not bring trouble to my family." She answered honestly, understanding that even a runaway like the man sitting across her questioned her choice of people to help.

"You said back in the alley that you had only 6 months left to live. Something about an Incurable Disease?"

Daehyun guessed that the man was trying his best to make some polite conversation, but carefully keeping the topic of conversation on her. She didn't blame him; she got the general sense that he wanted very much to keep his identity hidden. It seemed like the less she knew about him, the better. Perhaps if she learnt more, she might really be terrified of his reputation, kick him out and rat on him to the nearest guard.

"Yes. I had it checked yesterday with another physician at the other side of town. Even my father said that he has not seen many cases of this type before, and the longest he had seen someone survive it was 6 months." Daehyun answered. "I am not planning to tell my father about my disease, so I might die in less than 6 month since I won't be taking any medicine for it."

"May I ask why? Perhaps taking some medicine can buy you some time to find a cure."

Daehyun really found it hard to believe that someone so polite and careful with his manners could be a criminal. Then again, not all criminals had to be rude and impolite.

"I don't want to burden my family, Sir. If I were to tell them that I have this disease, my father will be desperate to find a cure. Nobody in my family will be happy. I rather spend these last few months doing what I can to make my family happy and live a more comfortable life. While our livelihood is relatively stable so far, my parents have no savings. Once bad weather hits and we can no longer collect herbs from the mountains, my father's job is threatened. My little brother –Daeshim –also wants to study martial arts, so I'm going to do my best to get him into a training school somehow."

"How are you planning to do that?"

"I don't have any plans yet." Daehyun answered. "But I'll find a way."

There was another short moment of silence in which the both of them stripped the herbs.

"If you married a rich man who agrees to give you whatever you want for your family, will you take it?"

The sudden question surprised Daehyun. The man had clearly been helping her think of a way to achieve her last wishes in the silence when she had assumed that the conversation had stopped there.

"I don't think rich men want daughters of physicians as wives. I am not pretty, and I have too much knowledge to be the obedient wife that they want. Also, I don't think they will want to marry a woman who has 6 months left to live. I can't even give birth to an heir for them within that time period."

"But you are not opposed to the idea? To be with a man that you are complete stranger to for the sake of family?"

"No. For my parents and Daeshim, I can do anything. The only reason why I have not gone to a brothel for quick money is because my parents would break their hearts if they knew what I was doing. If they can sell me for a high price, I don't mind being sold. Anything; as long as they can live better lives." She answered strongly.

She knew that if her parents heard her speaking like that, they would have her locked up in her room to prevent her from doing anything stupid. Not that she would blame them; Daehyun knew that her thoughts were no socially acceptable, and many things that she was ready to do for the sake of her family was humiliating and embarrassing to her parents' name.

"There will be a man out there who will cherish you."

"Yeah, well I hope he has money." Daehyun sighed. "And if he really wants to cherish me, he has 6 months left. He had better appear faster."

________________________________________________________________________________

Daehyun woke up early next morning according to routine, but laid in bed briefly thinking about the events that had transpired the day before. She had met the Mysterious Man, helped him run away from royal palace guard and almost had her heart jumping out of her chest when the royal palace guard had asked for her name. She had brought the Mysterious Man back home, sat him down at their guest room and they had stripped herbs together while talking. Then, after a few hours of them talking about various things like the news around town, the man had announced that he should leave. Daehyun hadn't tried stopping him, and sent him off at the low wall behind her quarters again.

He had only expressed his thanks once more and left without a single look backwards.

It had been a good ending to an eventful day, and the rest of the night had gone on well normally. In fact, she hadn't bled once from her nose or coughed up any blood throughout the night, and that was very good news.

Still, a new day beckoned Daehyun, and she set to her morning routine as usual; helping her mother out at the kitchen, then waking Daeshim up, bantering with him as they all sat down at the table to share their first meal of the day together. Spirits were high as they shared breakfast like any normal day.

The first out-of-the-ordinary thing came as they finished breakfast.

Knocks came on the door of the outer ring of their housing quarters, loud and sounding rushed. Surprised, Daehyun gave curious looks to everyone in her family, wondering whose visitor it could be at such an early hour, but nobody seemed to know the identity of the would-be visitor. Still, her father and brother had gone out to answer the door, and Daehyun simply turned back to her job of helping her mother clean the area.

It couldn't have been many moments at all before footsteps thundered through the wooden structures of her family's quarters, and the sliding paper doors slammed open.

"Daehyun, Mom! Come out! The King's giving us orders!" Daeshim yelled, a wild look in his eyes as if he couldn't believe his ears. Stunned but moving on instincts, Daehyun had followed her mother and brother out of their quarters, gasping with surprise when she saw a small party of court attendants and guards, a carriage meant to carry someone, and most importantly, the King's representative. There was no mistaking the regal way the representative had been dressed, and deeply instilled manners made Daehyun rush to join by her father's side, where he was already kneeling in a reverent bow before the man who they were supposed to treat akin to the King himself.

"Lee Daehyun of the Lee family, rise to receive your orders from His Highness." The King's representative announced, opening the scroll in front of him. The scroll that held the King's orders.

The King's orders that somehow had Daehyun's name on it.

Her mind still in a stunned blur, Daehyun stood up, but was careful to keep her head and eyes down to receive the royal order.

Nothing could have prepared her for what was to come.

"Lee Daehyun of the Lee family, His Majesty the Night King, orders you to move into his royal quarters in the royal palace. You are to take up the position of a Lady in his quarters. You will serve His Majesty with his needs whenever he calls for you, and respect your position of power at all other times. Acknowledge the order, Miss Lee Daehyun."

Nobody who still wanted to keep his head on his shoulders in the whole country dared to receive the Night King's orders without acknowledging it, and Daehyun was no exception to that rule as she acknowledged the order with as much politeness as she could scrape with her stunned mind.

Her? A Lady in the King's quarters? She didn't need to be told to know what it meant; she was being ordered to become a lady in the King's harem. But why in the world would she be in the King's harem? She had never even met the man before!

All she knew about the Night King who now ruled over her country was that he had risen to power when he was remarkably young, and he had personally battled everyone who expressed dissent. The Night King was apparently unafraid of spilling blood on royal palace grounds, and had continuously done so to all dissenters who he had accused of being poisons to the country's growth. If Daehyun was honest in her opinion, the only thing she had in impression about her King was that he was obviously something that she should not be dealing with.

And now she was supposed to be in his harem?

"Lee Ryung Wok, Lee Hae Sol, Lee Daeshim of the Lee family, rise to receive your orders from His Highness." The representative wasn't done at all yet, and Daehyun struggled not to look too blanked out when she watched her family members rising to their feet uncertainly as well, perplexed and confused expressions hanging on every face.

"As family of the newest Lady of the King's quarters, the three of you are to move into the staff quarters of the royal palace. Mister Lee Ryung Wok will work with the Royal Team of Physicians, Wife Lee Hae Sol will assist the physicians as she has constantly done. Lee Daeshim will be schooled and trained with the official's sons with the intention of making him a Commander of His Majesty's Elite Army. Acknowledge the order, Mister Lee Ryung Wok, Madam Lee Hae Sol and Mister Lee Daeshim."

Daehyun could feel her jaw dropping. Daeshim? A future Commander? Her father, a Royal Physician?

Her parents stuttered their acknowledgement, and Daehyun was not sure how her brother managed to speak coherently. Her mother looked ready to faint on the spot by the time the King's Representative rolled his scroll back up to signal that the King's Orders were fully given.

"The court attendants are sent to help your family pack up. You may pack light for now and come back to retrieve the remaining any belongings within the next month. The King will repossess your land and sell it. All profits from sale of this land will return to the Lee family." The Representative informed. "Take your time packing. Lee Ryung Wok, Lee Hae Sol and Lee Daeshim may begin their duties next week. Lee Daehyun, you will begin your duties tonight."

Everyone bowed low as the Representative climbed back into the carriage, and a few attendants lifted the carriage, gave polite nods of heads and left with a few guards, leaving the Lee family completely perplexed and confused at whatever that had happened.

"Madam, Mister, we will begin assisting in packing. Please excuse us." One of the court attendants informed politely, and Daehyun watched as they spread out in all areas, clearly knowing what was expected of them.

Except that no one of the Lee family understood whatever that was happening, as they stood facing each other with nothing but shock written on their faces as they looked at each other.

And then, her mother broke into tears of joy, and Daehyun immediately felt the tears sting her eyes as well as she rushed to hug her mother. The feeling of her mother's warm body made reality sink in faster, and the familial moment was shared when even 16 year old Daeshim joined in the hug as well, his eyes wet.

"This is really happening, isn't it...?" Her father said, still in a state of utter disbelief behind her.

"Our Daehyun as the King's Lady... Daeshim as a future Commander! My dear as a Royal Physician... If this is a dream, let me never wake up!" Her mother exclaimed, tears falling from her eyes. "I don't know who has managed to get in contact with anyone of the royal family, much less the King, but thank you, Ryung Wok, Daehyun and Daeshim for making me so happy! If I die now, I will not have any regrets!"

"I will miss you all, Father, Mother, Daeshim... I promise I will try to visit everyone often." Daehyun tightened her hug at the thought of living away from her family. She would be alone in the King's quarters living with the many other women in the King's harem. She already knew it would be a hard fight for her inside the harem, but it was a suffering that Daehyun was willing to take to keep her family members so happy and blessed.

"Serve the King well, Daehyun. We need to thank him for his grace!"

Amidst the crying and reassuring of each other that they were not dreaming, Daehyun suddenly remembered a part of the conversation that she had shared with the Mysterious Man the day before.

If you married a rich man who agrees to give you whatever you want for your family, will you take it?

Whatever that was happening to her was as close to those words as it could. There wasn't anyone in the country who was richer than the King. Even though technically being in his harem as a Lady was not marriage, it was basically a free access to all the beautiful dresses, delicious food and money to do whatever she wanted. Most importantly, this 'rich man' had given whatever she had wanted for her family.

Daeshim could now get the martial art training that he wanted, and even be educated like an official's son! Her father now not only could get a piece of land to plant his own herbs, but get the whole greenhouse full of herbs grown only on the royal grounds. Her parents would now be living in a whole new level of luxury... It was really as if her dreams had all come true in a day.

And what did Daehyun have to give up? Practically nothing.

It was almost too good to believe.

But Daehyun only had 6 months left.

It was time for her to use this last 6 months to thank the King with all that she had.