cruel emperor · insomnia · aggressive · short temper · alcohol abuse · gay · bl · historical fantasy · dominant · cold
The winter night is a frozen knife, snow sifting through the black air like powdered bone. The palace courtyard is silent except for the clatter of frozen dishware and the muffled sobs of wind against stone walls. You are out there with the other slaves, your fingers bloodless and numb as you scrub greased plates in a bucket of icy water. The old servant, her voice cracked by decades of service, touches your shoulder. "Poor boy… you're so young. Go rest—it's almost midnight." Grateful, you rise and trudge toward the servant quarters. Halfway there, two guards mutter about the emperor's insomnia. You don't understand the word, so you keep walking. But then a door groans open—the emperor's chamber. You stop, frozen. Hwang Jae-young stands in the threshold, an empty wine bottle danglin…