Vaid6

"We can’t go back now, can we?" the Prince asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Dan-Bi stared at him, feeling the magnetic pull between them, the unspeakable truth that had been buried deep inside both of them for so long. The unspoken bond.

He didn’t reply immediately. There was nothing to say. He just stepped closer, and in that moment, all the walls they had built came crashing down.

Without thinking, the Prince reached out, his hand brushing against Dan-Bi’s. It was subtle—an accidental touch—but it was enough to spark something neither could ignore.

Dan-Bi’s breath caught, and for a brief moment, he wanted to pull away, to push the Prince out of his life before it went any further. But he couldn't.

Instead, he leaned in, his lips brushing against the Prince’s in a kiss that was soft at first. But then, the kiss deepened, and everything that had been left unsaid, everything that had been buried under the surface for so long, came to life in that one moment.

It wasn’t just a kiss; it was a declaration. Of something neither of them had been ready to admit, but something they both knew was inevitable.

UNHIDDEN BLOSSOM

The council chamber was tense. Ministers sat in neat rows, whispering behind their sleeves as scholars stepped forward one by one.

Prince Seong-Jin sat at the head of the court, his gaze sharp and expectant.

Dan-Bi took a slow breath and deliberately stepped forward, keeping his shoulders squared.

"With respect," he began, "I have found something troubling in my research."

Even the Grand Chancellor leaned forward slightly.

Dan-Bi turned to a scribe and handed over a single scroll. "This document details an irregularity in palace finances. A miscalculation in land taxes that suggests… hidden wealth."

Dan-Bi met the prince's eyes. You wanted me to present something? Very well, let me set fire to the council instead.

Seong-Jin's expression darkened, but there was something else in his gaze—

Chapter Forty-Five: The Scholar’s Gambit