CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER 81: AN UNSHAVEN HOBO

Two weeks passed in a blur.

Min-jae had slipped neatly into the rhythm of Abdel-shafi, moving through the castle with practiced ease, no longer an outsider gaping at new sights but a temporary resident who knew which halls were quiet, which balconies caught the best breeze at dusk, and which servants would gossip if he so much as blinked wrong.

Jahan still dragged him everywhere.

And every time, Min-jae followed with that same calm expression even while his brain screamed, I didn’t come here to babysit a prince.

The castle staff adored him.

The king and queen asked about his "wife" every time they saw him.

Tariq still glared at him like he wanted to bite something.

And Min-jae?

He pretended not to notice any of it.

He slept well, ate too well, and ignored the quiet ache each night when he remembered Meical.

His dumb husband who probably hadn’t even realized he was gone the first few days.

Probably.

Maybe.

Min-jae sighed as he leaned on the balcony railing now, staring at the sun setting behind the desert horizon.

The wind was warm against his skin, carrying hints of spice and distant laughter from the inner courtyards.

He was finally at peace.

Which, of course, meant the universe decided it was time to ruin everything.

Footsteps echoed behind him.

A guard appeared at the balcony entrance, chest heaving. "Kaizar, Lord Kaizar, your guest... someone is demanding to see you at the front gates."

Min-jae frowned. "Jahan has guests all the time. Why tell me?"

The guard swallowed. "Because he was very... insistent."

Min-jae blinked slowly. "He?"

"Yes, sir. A man. Tall. Very pale. Looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks. He refused to state his identity, but he said.."

The guard hesitated, visibly unsettled.

"He said ’If Kaizar doesn’t come out right now, I’ll break this entire gate down.’ "

Min-jae stared.

"...Huh?"

Jahan burst into the balcony then, face lit with malicious excitement.

"Oh, Kaizar.." he drawled. "Your husband is here."

Min-jae’s stomach dropped.

His spine locked and his breath hitched.

"...Meical?"

Jahan grinned wide enough to show teeth. "Yes. Your very angry, very dramatic husband. He looks ready to kill someone."

Another guard added nervously "We... had to stop him from attacking the gate with a sword, sir."

Min-jae clapped a hand over his face.

Of course he did.

Of course this was how Meical arrived.

Two weeks of peace.

Now gone.

Jahan elbowed him. "Shall we go welcome your beloved?"

Min-jae lowered his hand and exhaled, his voice flat.

"...I knew I shouldn’t have gotten comfortable."

He straightened his robes, ignoring how his heart pounded against his ribs, and headed for the gates.

Behind him, Jahan snickered "Ohhhh this will be fun."

And at the massive entrance of the castle.

Meical stood there, unshaven, furious, exhausted, and absolutely livid.

Min-jae froze when he saw Meical. The man standing at the palace gates looked exhausted and unkempt.

His hair was messy, his clothes wrinkled from travel, and the beard shadowing his jaw made him look older and worn. Min-jae’s chest tightened.

What had happened to him to make him look like this?

Meical rushed forward, and Min-jae could see too many emotions on his face to identify just one.

Relief, anger, desperation, worry, all mixed together. They stared at each other for a long moment before Meical pulled him into a tight embrace.

The pressure was strong enough to make Min-jae stagger slightly, but he didn’t resist.

"I’m sorry.." Meical said, his voice low and raw. "I didn’t even notice that day. I didn’t see your hair. I didn’t understand anything. I should have believed you."

He pulled Min-jae closer. "I came here on a hunch. I didn’t know where you were, and if I hadn’t found you, I don’t know what I would have done. Please forgive me just this once. It has been two weeks since we last saw each other. I cannot keep going without you."

Min-jae let out a quiet sigh. There was no need to drag out this argument any longer. All he had to do was speak his feelings.

"The day I returned from the castle, people threw rotten fruit at me and called me names. That hurt, but it did not hurt as much as you not believing me.." he said. His voice was calm, steady, but there was weight behind it.

"You are the first person I have ever slept with. I have never been with anyone else. I want you to trust me. I know the situation was not favorable, but if no one else has my back, I want you to have my back. We are married."

He stepped back slightly to meet Meical’s gaze directly. "I am no longer the king’s special advisor. I have no reason to go to the castle or see him ever again. I am just a nobleman now, married to a governor."

Meical blinked, his hand brushing lightly over Min-jae’s cheek. His voice trembled. "I did not deserve you before. I still do not. But I promise, this time, I will believe you first."

Min-jae felt his chest loosen slightly. He allowed himself to lean into Meical’s hand, the tension in his shoulders easing. The world outside the palace gates seemed to fade, leaving only them and the truth between them.

Meical’s hands tightened slightly around Min-jae’s, his voice low but steady. "I never thought I’d worry about a person this much.." he said, eyes flicking to Min-jae’s face, searching for any hint of doubt or amusement. "Especially given... the nature of our relationship."

Min-jae blinked. He had expected many things from Meical, but this kind of honesty was not one of them.

Meical swallowed, running a hand roughly through his messy hair. "Life with you has been... interesting. I never know what you’ll do next. You always surprise me."

He took a deep breath, gaze dropping for a moment. "I missed sleeping next to you at night. I missed bathing with you, eating together, dancing... even your small talk. I missed everything."

Min-jae’s lips twitched. He hadn’t expected the confession, and yet here it was, spilling out like a dam finally broken.

"I... I love you.." Meical said, voice firm, earnest, and entirely unguarded.

Min-jae froze for a second, heart skipping. He hadn’t expected that word, not here, not now. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, he saw Meical’s serious expression.

The scruffy beard shadowing his jaw, the disheveled hair, the dirt and fatigue clinging to him... and he couldn’t help it.

-_-

Jahan sighed as he shook his head, telling the servants to give them privacy as he left.

These two were a couple of cuckoos.