#jungcoups

CHAPTER 1 - BEAUTY LIKE THE NIGHT

His Young Highness, Choi Seungcheol is suffering from this terrible ennui.

Born as the only other son between His Majesty, the previous King, and the Queen Dowager, Choi Seungcheol has lacked for nothing. Being a Grand Prince meant that he was above the other Princes in station, and the fact that his elder brother the current King, and he, have always been favoured by their Father, meant that he was pretty much free to do whatever he wanted. He's not in line for the throne, which means he doesn't need to have a harem full of women and men pawing at him night and day. His parents and older brother love him anyway, and would never force his hand into marriage. All in all, His Young Highness is living a pretty damn good life.

That doesn't mean he's a lazy person, though. He might not be an out-of-this-world genius, but he's quite decent all-round. He learns martial arts to defend himself (secretly his Brother thinks he does martial arts to keep fit to get girls); he was tutored properly as a Prince and is articulate and knowledgeable (secretly his Brother thinks he learns poetry to get girls also); he behaves properly, converses properly, and knows how to play the gayageum properly. To sum it up, Choi Seungcheol learns what he needed to learn, and not a smidgen more. The Grand Prince does not seem to have passion for any of the aforementioned fields. He knows, just enough to get by.

Imagine, for one moment, being born with a silver spoon in your mouth, never having to work hard for anything, and hence, never strongly desiring to possess anything. At first, life may seem very pleasant. But when one does not have to work hard for something, then one will never feel motivated or determined at all. And a life without motivation or drive, without purpose or attachment, is a bland one indeed.

His Highness Choi Seungcheol is in desperate need of good entertainment. 

Or excitement. 

Or something that will spice up his life. Something that is NOT paperwork from the court officials petitioning for him to be married so that "the Royal Family's prestigious bloodline may flourish" or some crap like that. Seungcheol knows that sentence is only a code for we have a bunch of daughters who are of marriable age and where better to go than to a Grand Prince who does not have any wife? As if they don't give him enough of a headache already by constantly "gifting" him with men and women. The Prince can, and did turn most of them down, but no matter how much freedom he has, these "gifts" are some of the only things he has to consider carefully. If the men and women are from high-ranking court officials, turning them down basically means slapping the officials in the face, so, to his chagrin, at a rate of 1 to 2 at a time, His Young Highness Choi Seungcheol finds his household accumulating one concubine after another.

His Young Highness Choi Seungcheol hates it. 

The Grand Prince despises the idea of men and women selling each other out to be noticed by him even more than he hates getting married. Thus, even though the concubines keep coming, he has never once slept with any of them. Heck, he hasn't looked at any of them at all! Should he ever need to relieve himself, the Prince disguises himself and meets up with a Gisaeng. He is not a permanent patron, and rarely ever summons one anyhow.

His Young Highness the Grand Prince is especially frustrated this evening.

He has just fought with the Chamui (Secretary) of Gongjo (Ministry of Works) because apparently the imbecile could not see how implementing the new cultivar of rice can massively increase the crops’ annual yield and thus the State Reserve. One of his sisters, a Princess (Ongju) is about to be married off, and his Mother, the Queen Dowager, wants him to be a part of the procession that will be escorting her to another country. The Prince really does not fancy doing that. On top of everything, his usual Gisaeng has just passed away due to a serious case of pneumonia, right when he wants to see her. All-in-all, today has not been a good day for Choi Seungcheol.

Perhaps it is exactly that which has prompted him to do something he has never done before. When Han, the Naegwan (eunuch), asked him if he wanted to spend the night with any concubines, the Grand Prince impulsively said yes. The response clearly surprised Han, for his head jerked up and his eyes opened wide, then, remembering his place, the Naegwan immediately bowed in deference and inquired if His Highness knows which concubine would he like to spend the night with. Seungcheol hesitated, then told Han to bring the list of concubines over.

His eyes roamed over the list of names, almost indifferently, until they settled on one in particular. Yoon Jeonghan, male, 23 years old, entered the Residence 6 months ago, currently residing in the North Wing Pavilion, gifted by Buwongun Yoo Jin Young - Hojo's (Ministry of Taxation) Panseo, the Queen Consort's Father.

The Prince told Han "Yoon Jeonghan", to which the Naegwan affirmed. And so with a flimsy lantern and an entourage following him, Choi Seungcheol walked across the hallways to spend the night at the Pavilion.

Deep, dark night, like the stream of ebony hair adorned with a silk ribbon. The Moon, smooth and milky, like the flawless skin on his face. Winds that caress the thin silk curtains like they caress the sleeves of his hanbok. Elegant fingers that pluck the Guzheng expertly, and large brown, soul-searching eyes framed by the longest lashes.

Yoon Jeonghan is stunning is the only thought in the Prince's mind the moment he lays eyes on the concubine. The world seems to stop for a moment, then refocuses on the beauty that is in front of him.

"Yoon Jeonghan greets His Highness" a soft voice intones "It is this concubine's honour to have His Highness here for the night"

Then, Choi Seungcheol knows, he is enraptured.

Grand Prince (daegun): the son of the King and the Queen Consort. Addressed as His Young Highness before marriage.

Queen Dowager (daebi): the current King's Mother.

Gayageum: traditional Korean string instrument

Gisaeng: ancient Korean caste of women that performed sexual labour. Are artists more than prostitutes and are well-versed in literature and music.

Gongjo: one of Joseon Korea's Six Ministries. Modeled after Chinese's Three Departments and Six Ministries. Chief executive body. Includes: Ijo (Ministry of Personnel) - appointment of officials; Hojo (Ministry of Taxation) - taxation and finances; Yejo (Ministry of Rights) - rituals, culture and diplomacy; Byeongjo (Ministry of Defense) - military affairs; Hyeongjo (Ministry of Justice) - administration of laws and punishments; and Gongjo (Ministry of Works) - industry, public works, manufacturing and mining.

Panseo: Ministry Head (Minister) - Champan: Deputy-Minister - Chamui: Secretary. These are known as the Dangsanggwan.

Naegwan: one of the two types of Naesi (eunuch). Common official naesi. The other type is Sangseon (Chief of Naesi). Under the jurisdiction of the Department of Naesi.

Buwongun (Grand Internal Prince): Queen Consort's Father

Queen Consort (wangbi): the King's wife.

Princess (Ongju): the daughter of a King and a concubine.

Guzheng: Chinese pluck-zither. Ancestor of gayageum.

Concubine: a mistress (without proper nuptial ceremonies). There is usually only one wife, but a man is allowed to have as many mistresses as he can afford. I've made it so that male concubines is also the norm. In ancient Korea this was not the case.

Jeong Han and Seung Cheol are both 21 (23 Korean age)

How was it? I know, I know, it's a historical fiction again, but I can't help it XD. I had to really do research for this one, but I'm sure that there are bound to be mistakes one way or another. Anyone who spots it, please comment so I can proceed to fix it.

This should be set in sort of a Joseon period. I really tried to stick to what I knew >"< I'm sorry if there's any fictional details that are not true. These are the times when I wish I was a History major T.T

Please comment whether you liked it, and things you would like to see happen in the story. I can't promise to make it happen but I will try my best.

My GOD, 1400 words, and this was supposed to be a one-shot at first.

Thanks so much for reading. I love you guys <3