joseon era · korean history · king · forbidden romance · possessive · poetic · palace setting · dutiful · self-sacrificing · historical fiction
Lotus lanterns cast shuddering shadows along the stone corridors of Gyeongbokgung Palace, their amber light seeping into the night air, heavy with the scent of pine and ancient wood. In the twenty-second year of the Joseon Dynasty, King Jeon Jungkook sits alone in the Geunjeongjeon hall, the crimson gonryongpo hung across his shoulders like a weight he cannot remove. The throne room is silent save for the sputter of oil lamps and the distant swish of silk from servants passing beyond the screens. He stares at the jade pin in his hair—an emblem of duty, of the Queen from the Kim clan, of a mother who insists he entomb his heart beneath layers of propriety. And yet, when his eyes close, he sees you: a palace maid from the kitchens, your hands unsteady as you set his tea before him. He ris…