Prologue: Where You and I Began

aka The Tale of Kim Hanna

"Hanna, aren't you ready yet?" called her mother's voice from outside of the girl's vast bed chambers. Hanna opened her eyes and stared up at the silk canopied view from her pillow. Soon she would not have comforts of her familiar servants, her silken bed sheets and her doting parents. The thought of spending her future days as a married woman at fifteen was unappealing to her. Especially since the proposed match was to the little known Yang family's only son. Truth be told, the Yang family was an older distinguished family of little current wealth. Their claim to fame was that the head of the family, Minister Yang, was a close councilor of the current king of Silla. Other than that, their small township located near the beginning of the Nakdong river never really saw the Yang family patriarch. Minister Yang's only son was born from a concubine, and not the first wife, much to the first wife's chagrin. He was said to be quite intelligent, but Hanna considered him nothing more than an illegitimate country bumpkin. But for the father's title, the son would be nothing.

Even now, her husband to be was still studying to be a minister, and thus her future, as the future of all young women of her day and age, would rely on the uncertainty of her husband.

"The matchmaker is wrong!" shouted Hanna pulling the quilt over her head. This is such a mistake, she thought to herself. Her toes curled uncomfortably at the thought of him. Though she had known him since a young age, and vaguely remembered playing with a rotund little boy at some point in time, she only heard of him intermittently through other connections and had never seen him in her teenage years. It was practically like marrying a stranger.

"Hanna!" said her mother, barging into her room with a small army of servants. The servants brought in wash basins and bowls of scented hair oil and her clothes and jewelry in an elegant parade. As the only child of a wealthy merchant and his wife, Hanna was severely spoiled. Though her parents let her get away with almost anything, this was the one thing they would not let her escape.

"The matchmaker is always right! You shouldn't go against the gods," said her mother, pulling the blankets off her daughter. Hanna tried to clutch to them for dear life, but her soft silken and embroidered sheets slipped from her hands with her mother's sudden yanking. Hanna watched as the quilt quietly fell into a crumpled mess at her mother's feet.

"What gods?" demanded Hanna. "I didn't see any gods speaking with her."

"Hush child, none of your nonsense now. You have to get dressed and meet him. I know you've played together as children, but this will be the first time you can really meet him and get to know him."

"But he's so POOR," lamented her daughter.

"Now, wealth isn't anything. And you've a handsome dowry to bring with you. He can establish himself with that, and soon he'll be serving the king just like his father. Wouldn't it be nice for you to move into the palace?" smiled her mother.

"I don't want to live anywhere else but here," whined Hanna. She scooted up to her mother and pouted her lips. "I want to take care of you and Father forever," she smiled sweetly.

"Nonsense, you spoiled child," chuckled her mother. "Father and I have servants plenty. You need to get out and establish your own house. You're already fifteen. People will start to wonder if you'll be an old maid if you don't hurry up and get married. Baek Hae's daughter was married at thirteen last year. You can't imagine how embarrassed I was to say my lazy nearly sixteen year old girl was still lazing about until noon and doing nothing until bedtime. Make yourself useful and give me some grandchildren."

"I don't want to breed like a common cow," sulked Hanna. Her mother took her chin up firmly when Hanna looked away and stared her squarely in the eye.

"Breeding is the only thing your pedigree will allow you to do. The best your parents can do for you is make sure you are well matched with a husband who will expand not only your father's business but guarantee your happiness," the older woman said sternly. As she and her daughter were arguing, the servants had already undressed Hanna, dressed her up in her day attire, and started working on her hair. Arms stretched out on either side so that they could clean her nails and buff them, Hanna grimaced as another servant pulled and tugged the knots out of her unruly hair and made her locks straight with fragrant oil. Her hair was only partially braided but the rest was left flowing freely down her back in a simple tie to designate her rank as an unmarried woman.

When that was all done, another servant came with a make up box to paint her face attractively.

"There now," said her mother proudly examining the servants' labors. "You are at least presentable today. Kang Rim will be pleased."

"Kang Rim can go to hell," muttered Hanna.

-0-

Her mother, the matchmakers and Minister Yang's second wife laughed and ate bean cakes from afar as Hanna approached the small gazebo in the center of her father's water lily pond at the Kim residence. The servants hung back, alert as ever to heed anyone's request or inquiry. Her soft silk slippers made no noise as she walked across the wood bridge. Hanna glanced to the side and noticed a small carp poke its head out, causing a ripple in the water's surface before swimming away beneath the lily pads. She wished she were a fish.

Sighing resignedly, she approached the figure of a finely dressed man facing away from her and sipping tea while he admired the scenery.

Of course you would enjoy yourself here, poor boy. The Kim family's wealth is well known through town. Enjoy it while you can, she thought resentfully.

"I apologize for being late," she said in her most gracious tone and dropped a curtsey. "I pray it hasn't inconvenienced you." As she looked down to the floor she heard the friction of starchy fabrics against silk as he stood up and walked over to her. A pair of gentle hands with long slender fingers held her elbows and lifted her up. Just as she was about to balk against his assumed familiarity with her she looked up and saw the face of a very beautiful man. Her jaw nearly dropped.

"Hanna," he said familiarly. "It's been a while."

"Kang Rim?" she asked with uncertainty, suddenly unsure of her own voice. The man was truly stunning and for a brief moment she wondered if her own beauty paled in comparison to his.

"The very same," he smiled warmly.

"But...but...." she stammered. "You were so...and now you're so...tall." She caught herself before she actually blurted out that he was "beautiful" as that was not necessarily a compliment.

"The last time I saw you, I was only eight. So I suppose I did get taller at least," he said politely. Hanna could not think of a witty response or rather, any response, as she was afraid to speak. His eyes kept drawing her in and she could not look away for the life of her.

Just as their private tea party was about to take place the town bell started to ring furiously in the distance. Hanna's ears perked up and she looked in the direction of the bell tower near the town hall.

"What on earth?" asked her mother, hurrying to her daughter's side.

"What an inauspicious sound," said one of the matchmakers.

"It's a raid," said Kang Rim.

"In the daytime?" asked his mother. "Impossible."

"The king of Gogureyeo must be getting bolder," said her son.

-0-

Hanna raced down the main avenue pushing past the crowds as people were rushing towards the town hall. Her mother had forbidden her to exit the house but since her father was away on business, there was no one else who could tell her what was going on. Quickly, she followed the tall figure of Kang Rim down the street and hid in the shadows as she tried to understand what was going on. Most of the town folk were in an uproar. The mayor tried to quiet and reassure them, but no one could stay calm when there were Gogureyeo soldiers on their way.

"How many?" shouted an old man.

"More than one hundred?" asked a lady.

"How will be defend ourselves?" asked an old woman.

"We must close the gates!" shouted another man.

"But what of the townsmen who have not returned today?"

Before the shouting match grew too tumultuous, Kang Rim lifted a slender hand to quiet them.

"Based upon their speed and numbers, about three hundred, they are here to wreak havoc upon us. They dare come forth during the day, meaning they do not care who sees them this time. It is a declaration of war and we are unfortunately to be the first casualty. We cannot wait too long. The gate should be closed immediately as they will be upon us soon after that. We must fight to the death."

"How do you propose we do that, my boy?" asked the mayor. "We are not skilled soldiers. Surely if we hide they will take what they need and leave."

"I do not think a group that size is just for raiding, sir," said Kang Rim.

"Then how can we survive?" asked the mayor. Another surge of panic went through the crowd.

"Since we have our backs to the river, a party that size has no means of getting across it. That is our first line of defense. We must gather oil, pitch, stakes, spears and anything else to fight with. The women, children and elderly should hide under their houses. We need people who can shoot arrows from the walls, and we can trick the enemy by thinking we are heavily fortified by setting up scarecrows on the ramparts. This will delay their attack. The sun will be in their eyes by then and they will not see it clearly. In the dark of night, we should abandon the town and head down river. We cannot survive if they besiege us or trap us here."

"Just give the town to them?" asked an old man.

"They will burn it to the ground anyhow," said Kang Rim.

As the crowd pondered whether Kang Rim's plan was their best means of escape, Hanna turned to leave. She suddenly felt a hand catch her sleeve.

"Hanna," said Kang Rim. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to know what was going on."

"You shouldn't be here," he said.

"Does it matter?" she demanded, pulling away from his grip. "Nowhere is safe regardless."

"Then bring your mother and come to my house. It's on top of the hill and has a better defense than yours."

"Do you really think a hill will stop them?" she asked incredulously.

"I can at least protect you there," he said honestly. "If we are successful, we can flee during nightfall with the others." Hanna was a bit taken aback by his frankness but there was no lie in his expression.

"You're a scholar, not a soldier," said Hanna. "You shouldn't deceive yourself or overestimate your own abilities." She pulled away and headed back in the other direction.

"Hanna!" he called out after her. His voice was joined by that of her mother. Hanna's mother finally caught up with her and gripped her tightly by the arm.

"Child, what are you doing outside of the house!" she demanded.

"Mother, now is not the time. We should flee the town and hide until father returns."

"Nonsense, I'm not going anywhere. I was born in this town and here I shall die," her mother insisted.

"That may come sooner than you think if you stay here!" shouted Hanna. Just then, the town crier announced that the main gate to the town was closing.

"While your father is away, I have faith in your future husband, Kang Rim. We should pray to the gods to keep us safe."

"I place my faith in no one but myself," snapped Hanna. She turned on her heel and raced towards the closing gate.

"Hanna!" shouted Kang Rim as he reached for her. His fingertips only lightly touched the hem of her sleeve but she was too quick and soon slipped through the last opening of the gate.

"Gods!" shouted her mother in concern.

"We cannot open the gate, madam!" said the gate keeper. "The raiding party is just over the horizon!" As he spoke, many townspeople began to barricade the gate with beams, carts, stones, barrels.

"Hanna!" cried her mother as she was held back.

Author's notes: Feeling very unsatisfied with the end of the series at Vol. 10, I wanted to tell an historic tale of two halves that make a whole. There doesn't seem to be much of a following for this series, but even if you've never read the manhwa, I hope you enjoy this story and its characters as much as I do. I've always been fascinated by human x god pairings (if you haven't already noticed), and nowhere is that dynamic more entertaining than between Bun Nyuh and her pretty shop assistant. I wouldn't call it romantic, but there are hints of that here and there. Even if you're not familiar with the Korean gods universe, it mimics the Chinese and Japanese concepts of heaven and hell, based in Buddhism. The first few chapters will be told in the form of Bun Nyuh's previous lives and how Kang Rim always seems to save her even though he's not really supposed to. That's kind of romantic when you think about it. ^_^

BTW, her past lives were named after my two freshman roommates Hanna and Eunji.

-Kero (3/31/10)