#literally just as i was talking about kim soo hyun yesterday

[winwintea]

MOVE MARK ITS MY TURN

[gwynne-fics]

Becoming Royals

better

“You look pensive,” Hyo-Shin commented as they made their way to the bridge. “I thought your meetings went well. The capitol has an orphan problem and the guild leaders and police need to lower crime. This solves a major problem and they see that. The magistrate here has a difficult job, of course he’s going to try--”

“It’s not that. Everything went better than expected. I think we have a good plan laid out and the next few days will prove very fruitful. If I can get it started before we get married, that will be half the battle. The site is a good one. Young-Do found something easy to renovate with the right kind of space. It is a perfect wedding gift. Mine is paltry in comparison.” She looked down at her reigns and tried not to wrinkle her nose.

“What did you get him?” Hyo-Shin asked curiously.

“We have the best swordsmith in the country,” she replied with a bit of a blush. “He made all of my hairpins except for the one Young-Do gave me when he proposed. I’m sure Young-Do expects a new blade or something like it.” Go Nam-Il made off with the hairpin she used to kill Kim Tan and returned with a blade indistinguishable from it in the form of her proposal gift.

She wanted to do the same for Young-Do but he never was without his sword.

“It’s not very creative.”

“He will love it.” Rachel glanced over at him and she felt relieved. “You were all he could talk about when he got a private moment. He asked all sorts of questions about you once he got it through his head I wasn’t a rival.”

She smiled until she remembered the sad story Hyo-Shin told her about his first love. “Do you still love him? I know your feelings for Eun-Sang are real and genuine but...if it weren’t for the king...”

“I will always love him. My father hates it. He hates that the king nearly killed us. He hates that Young-Do threw himself over me to protect me from the king. He hates that I am loyal to the crown prince. He knows that the moment Young-Do is king, he will lose a son because I won’t support him.” His eyes were wet for a few moments. “That summer where I...finally noticed Eun-Sang as a woman, I felt so lost after losing Young-Do. He wouldn’t speak to me. He wouldn’t acknowledge me all because he was afraid of the king hurting me again. I couldn’t bear it so I ran away. But Eun-Sang...made me hope that I wasn’t broken and you were a good friend, princess. I pulled myself together because I knew, if I couldn’t become a man capable of protecting...anything or anyone...I would never be happy again. He would still have to marry you, even if it weren’t for the king. He loves you. Loving you has made Young-Do remember why he is surviving, loving you reminds him why he will be a better man than his father. I would never come between that, Rachel. So, yes. I love him.”

A tightness in her chest that she didn’t know she carried, eased. Rachel smiled over at him. “Thank you, for being honest. Eun-Sang said you checked in on her. I’m glad. Lady Baek...” she sighed and wrinkled her nose.

“She is probably the best head court lady we could have after Hyun-Joo. Eun-Sang is in good hands. Just, after your incident with Prince Myung-Soo, I worried. He has a favorite gisaeng that he’s in love with but that doesn’t stop him from expressing his interest in some of the court ladies. I don’t want him to have a reason to go after Eun-Sang.” His smile was edged and dark. “I would race you, princess, to avenge her before you did.”

Rachel smiled back. “We would both have to beat Eun-Sang. She’s cheeky about her station. The court ladies have a sharp hairpin, too. Captain Kang trained us both because she is capable of switching places with me.”

Hyo-Shin blinked. “You two don’t look like each other all that much. I don’t think you have the same father.”

“That’s only because you know us.” Rachel shrugged. It would always be a curiosity to her. Mother kept Eun-Sang but returned Hee-Nam to her father’s main household. She hadn’t done that with any of the other daughters women claimed were Yoo Tae-Hoon’s. Mother had Eun-Sang nursed by the same woman that nursed Rachel. She raised them together.

The only difference was that Eun-Sang became Rachel’s maid when she came of age. But even then, Mother let Eun-Sang wear Rachel’s old clothes and didn’t have her do more than feed and dress Rachel. Eun-Sang never had to clean anything or be part of the rotation of duties the other maids had.

It worried Rachel that Eun-Sang had been immediately made a court lady. They said it was easier for the noblewomen who were given to the palace service but Rachel didn’t know if they were treating her that way. She wanted her Eun-Sang back.

“Tell me which ladies your father is considering. I’ve met them now. I know who you’re talking about.”

“Song Ji-Sun and Go Yoo-Ra. Once your wedding date is officially announced, he’s going to pick one to support his bid to become prime minister. The Song Family has been neutral ever since the Kim Family repudiated the rule of the King. The Go Family thinks we’re the best shot they have at positions in the ministries. They don’t have any right now.”

“I will have to get to know them both a little more. My first impression of Yoo-Ra isn’t good. Ji-Sun didn’t make much of an impression.”

Hyo-Shin looked sadly uncomfortable. “I want Eun-Sang as my wife. I hate that my father is in good health.”

“Even if she is a concubine, she becomes your wife if she gives you a child. Eun-Sang wouldn’t allow anyone to bully her. She’s cheeky. I just worry about your father, that’s all. Standing up to your first wife is one thing. Standing up to the minister of justice who is pushing for children born of a second wife or concubine to be illegitimate is another.”

“It’s also hypocritical,” Hyo-Shin said after a moment. “Since he has two wives and a concubine himself. And his only son is the son of a second wife. He’s been trying to groom Prince Myung-Soo to challenge Young-Do. He will fail. Young-Do matters too much to our second prince.”

Rachel hoped that was true. She did not want Prince Myung-Soo to become a blind spot for Young-Do. He spoke so highly of his brother during their courtship. She worried it would break his heart if his brother turned against him.

They lapsed into silence as they made their way over the final hill that lead down to the river bank for the bridge. Rachel was in awe. Even a day later, Young-Do had managed to make a noticeable difference. She saw the poles that would become torches for night work. There was no ice in the river yet but that was only a matter of time.

Rachel looked around for Young-Do, just in time to watch Bo-Na throw him to the ground. Hyo-Shin chuckled and Rachel found him covering his mouth. “Do not let his slight frame fool you. Lee Bo-Na will be a general someday. He is small but fierce. He always has been, even when he is a girl.”

“I like Bo-Na. I’m going to steal him from Young-Do and make her my person.” 

Hyo-Shin laughed again when Bo-Na caught sight of them and waved enthusiastically. “Until yesterday, I thought that impossible. You will be good for her when she’s a girl. She’s been craving female friendships lately and none of the noblewomen are comfortable with her. It will go a long way if she’s friends with the crown princess no matter what his gender is on a given hour.”

They came up to the foreman’s tent and Young-Do eagerly helped Rachel down from her horse. Hyo-Shin took the reins from her and tied it to the post with his horse while Young-Do hugged her tightly. Rachel brushed the dirt off of his work clothes and smiled up at him.

“How did your morning go?”

“Exceptionally well. I’m excited for these next few weeks. I definitely won’t be bored. Hyo-Shin is an excellent adviser for this project.  Thank you for lending him to me.”

Young-Do laughed and it was good to see him lighthearted after last night. He turned and gestured to Bo-Na, who looked like the happiest girl in the world. Rachel hoped that meant things went well for her at the promotion. Bo-Na waved to her again and then pulled a handsome young man behind her as she walked up to them.

“Princess,” she bowed formally. “Allow me to introduce to you Lieutenant Im Chan-Young.”

Rachel stared at him and watched the man pale when they recognized each other. How? How was the son of a traitor standing before her? How did these people not know who he was? Rachel knew Yoon Chan-Young more than just in passing. He’d spent so many months inside her mother’s home whenever his father was a guest.

Mother was looking for him.

Yoon Chan-Young immediately went down on one knee and bowed his head as he crossed his fist over his heart. “Crown Princess, it is an honor to meet you.”

His life was literally in her hands and Rachel had no idea what to do with it.

[claudecat17]

Orioles Game Eighteen: Gloominess, Loneliness and Taters

I had so little confidence in the O's getting this game in that I didn't even bother to bring a lunch. The forecast was dire, Ubaldo's start was the shits, and when it began to start misting more heavily around the 4th-5th inning, while the Birds were still losing, I was dreading the possibility of a rain-shortened loss. But mother nature wouldn't let that happen on this strange evening, and the fellas ended up doing what they do so well. Dongs and bullpen. Bullpen and dongs.

The talking point from my point of view was the lack of crowd. I mean, I've endured some light nights up yonder, but this was crazy, though completely understandable given the weather forecast. At no point was there a single fan in my three sections. At peak our entire third of the upper deck had fewer than 20. It was a ghost town up there, but that was no surprise.

The worst part of that was that they closed so many of the food stands, including my Baseline Burgers, the one with the jumbo hot dogs. But I was proactive and made sure I got some grub before they shut down in the first inning. It was not a healthy eatin' day for me, lemme tell ya. Back on the wagon next game, whenever that might be...

Also disorienting on this night was no Allison next door. Her kids made up that little section of (in this case) Team Trumbo, the tots that get the free shirts and hot dogs and some love on the Jumbotron via charity, and she was there as part of all that (a rare exception to the "you cannot attend games" rule that we all love so much). It was fun going over there and saying hello. I never get over to that side.

But I was basically all by my lonesome for the first half of this one. It was weird, and fairly boring. For a while we'd all go down to the railing as always, but after a while it was like "what are we looking up at?" As time went on and some folks opted to go home early we all sorta congregated in the middle so as to alleviate the boredom, maybe keep one another warm. That they let so many of us (5-6) stay until the end was pretty cool really. We literally did nothing but yak and watch the game, not that that's not nearly normal.

And what a game it was! Did you know that the O's are 6-1 when Hyun Soo Kim starts? Play him more Buck!!! I was all kinds of giddy when he launched that tater, and when Jonathan Schoop went back to back for the third time this year? It felt like a win already. But the most majestic homer of the night was that Adam Jones no-doubter to left, which I saw from a different angle than usual. All off of Chris Archer, who really is good and hadn't allowed a single homer to that point. Quite an accomplishment to take that guy deep three times in the space of what? 27 pitches or so? And in that nasty cold and gloom too.

The hero of the night for me though was Vidal Nuno, a guy I've disparaged at times so far this year. I'll be honest, when we first got him I had him mixed up with Ivan Nova, another ex-Yankee. At first I was thinking he'd be a nice addition to the rotation. Soon it dawned on me that no, this was a lesser pitcher. Tonight he really showed some moxie though, coming into a bases loaded/one out situation and striking out two tough hitters, then going a few innings more without incident. Very nice! More please...

Not much else to say about this game. One detail I should have mentioned a few posts ago is that the pitch-speed scoreboard thingie no longer tells you what pitch was thrown, just the velocity. Not sure if something's broken or what, but it used to be fun watching that thing get all confused when soft tossing old guys pitched. Maybe Bronson Arroyo caused it to blow a gasket or something.

I guess that's it. Not my finest work. Nothing funny or heartwarming or especially special aside from the game itself, which really was a pretty great win under difficult circumstances. Ooh, there's something...

There's this guy that's a regular on the upper deck. He's a fabulously happy, perpetually smiling young fella who's mentally challenged but very high functioning, and a huge huge O's fan. Saw him tonight, first on the Jumbotron (he dances so exuberantly that he's a regular on that) then as I was walking around later. Such a great little dude, and we always seem to win when he's there. Missed him yesterday as I scanned the face-painting booth line, one of his go-to activities. C'mon back!!! No fair weather fan that guy...

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