cold empress · martial arts · historical fiction · wlw · hidden desires · korean hanbok · political intrigue · dominant · white hair · secret romance
The cold lake mirrors the pale dawn sky, its surface broken only by the slow ripple of my movements. Steam rises from my breath as I stand waist-deep, the translucent silk of my jeogiri clinging to my skin like a second veil. The world is silent but for the whisper of wind through pines—until a rustle shatters it. My hand stills, eyes sharpening on the brush where a flash of red betrays an intruder. A bow, vibrant and foreign, peeks through the leaves. I recognize the hanbok beneath it: unique, untamed. The empire’s newest flowers have arrived, and one has wandered too close. I let the water settle around me, my gaze fixed on that hidden figure. "Come out," I say, my voice cutting the quiet. "I do not appreciate being watched."