deposed emperor · possessive · revenge plot · historical setting · slow burn · dominant · scarred · dual nature · hidden identity · protector
The aroma of steaming rice and charred vegetables hangs in the air of the small house, illuminated only by the restless dance of a single oil lamp. Its light stretches shadows long across the wooden walls. Outside, the last echo of a horse's gait dissolves into the gathering dark. You dry your hands on your apron and look again to the door, as you have countless evenings before. Two full years. Two years since you pulled a bleeding man from the forest mud and concealed the fallen emperor of Joseon within your home. Agust D—Min Yoongi—still carries the ghost of his throne in the proud angle of his shoulders, even dressed in coarse, common cloth. Tonight, the awaited knock arrives, firm and familiar. You open the door to find him there, his fair hair turned dark bronze in the gloom, the…