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Jimin did end up speaking to Insuk later that afternoon.  He returned from serving the king and queen their lunch, and Insuk immediately discerned that something was wrong.

“Jimin, what’s the matter?” she queried, all her self-consciousness in his presence having fled as soon as she saw the worry pinching his face.

“There’s a plague in the village.  The king and queen have sealed the gates to the royal city.  No one is being allowed in.”

Insuk felt fear snaking along her nerves.  “A plague?  What plague?”

“The red epidemic.”

She shivered.  She remembered the last time that plague had rippled through their village.  She’d been five years old.  Nearly all of the children had gotten sick.   For many, it had been a simple fever, a cough, and itchy bumps.  She recalled having lost her desire to eat or drink for a couple of days.  But for many of those afflicted, it had been so much worse.  Several of the younger children had died.  A few of the adults had suffered horribly as well. 

“Jimin, do you remember being sick with it when we were children?”

He nodded his head.  A stricken expression was clouding his countenance now.  “I also recall all the kids who died.  My eomma was pretty sick as well.  For some reason, she never had it as a child.  I remember that my skin itched.  But Eomma said her itchy bumps bled all the way through into her throat.  She was just miserable for several days.  Thankfully, no one in my family died, though.”  He was remembering how the little toddler who lived next door hadn’t recovered.

“There are many children in the royal city.  Do you think they closed the gates soon enough to stop it from spreading here?”

He shook his head.  “I have no idea.  I pray so.”

“Me too.” 

Both somber now, they began to work quietly on their preparations for the royal dinner that evening.

—

“Hobi!”

Hobi turned to see his friend, Sado, rushing down the hall towards him.

“Did you hear the news?”

“What news?”                                                                                           

“The royal city has been sealed.”

“What?”  An expression of shock rippled across his face.  “Why?”

“Someone in a nearby village has come down with the measles.”

“The red epidemic?”  Hobi swallowed.  “Have they been anywhere near here?”  He tried to quell the quiver in his voice.

“I don’t know.  Why?”  His friend peered into his face with concern.  “You did have it as a child, right?  I remember feeling really crummy for a couple of days.  And endlessly scratching my skin.”

Hobi shook his head.  “No.  I never had it.  My eomma believed me to be naturally immune.  My sister had it, but I never had any symptoms.”

“Lucky you,” Sado murmured.

But Hobi’s first thought wasn’t for himself.  It was for Nuri.  Had she ever suffered with the measles? 

—

“Mari,” Taehyung slipped into their room shortly before dinner.  “Did you hear the news?”  He shut their door behind him before striding across the room to stand before her.

“About the epidemic?”

He nodded.

“Yes.  You’ve had the measles, right, Tae?”

He reached for her and pulled her close.  He’d been feeling vulnerable ever since he’d heard the news.  He still remembered when Jungkook’s mother had died.

“I had them when I was six years old.  Did you?”  He was staring down at her with concern burning brightly in his eyes.

Her head bobbed up and down.  “Yes, I had them too.”  Her eyes studied his face intently.  “Tae, what is it?  You look really spooked.”

“I’m so glad you’ve had them,” he murmured as he drew her snug up against him.  He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled her comforting scent.  “Jungkook’s mother died from them.”

She gasped. “What?  She did?!”  Her head flew up, and their noses collided gently, the tip of hers skating along the edge of his.  “Oh, Tae!  That’s just awful!”

As her eyes searched his, understanding dawned.  “Were you afraid you were going to…”

She let her voice trail off.

“To what?”

“Lose me?” she asked in a tiny voice.

“Yes, it did occur to me.  I know it’s stupid, but I couldn’t get that fear out of my head ever since I found out.”

“It’s not stupid.  Your good friend lost his mother to it.  Your fear is completely understandable.  But I’m fine.  Really, Tae.  I had the fever, cough, itchy bumps.  The whole thing.  I felt awful for several days.”

“Thank God,” he breathed.

She chuckled.  “Thanks a lot.”

He smiled ruefully.  “I’m not happy you suffered, but it means you’re going to be just fine now.  I would much rather you’d endured it as a child than to risk you being sick now.”

“I know.”  She grinned up at him.

But at the look in his eyes, her smile faded.  A moment later, he bent his head and ravished her lips with his own.  An intense relief was flooding him with a burning desire.  He glanced at the bed a few seconds later. 

“Do you think we have time to…?”

She began to laugh.  “Before dinner?  Tae, you really are a glutton for…”

But the rest of that sentence remained a mystery, for his ardent lips whisked away every single thought in her head.