Now the Legend starts… (actually it started last time, but due to something that consists of chuva ek ek, churvaloo, and eklaver, I haven't been able to update. But I promise I'll update as soon as I can…)
ENJOY!!!
…and please revive Juudai, he, rather "she", has an early scene here…
I DON'T OWN NEITHER YU-GI-OH GX NEITHER THE LEGEND OF CHUN-HYANG, BUT I HOPE I OWN ORIGINAL COPIES OF THEM…
A/N: 04-24-'07 – Well, I've revised the whole of this chapter so that it can be a thriller…and also, I've renamed it from the "LEGEND OF JUN-DYANG" to "THE SONG OF JOON-DYANG, THE FAITHFUL". I saw this title from the French version, because Chun-hyang was made into a film (2000, by Im Kwon-taek) in South Korea. Moreover, it was presented at Cannes Film Festival and for it's promotion, they've renamed it as "Le Chant de la Fidèle Chun-hyang". Translation in A/N. Gets?
…now introducing…
Yeok Joon-dyang – Juudai Yuki
Seong-ho – Sho Marafuji
Man Jon-nyong – Jun Manjyome
Boong-ka – Fubuki Tenjoin
Some sections may contain Korean characters so I provided a transliteration just in case your browsers do not support Korean characters. Thank you…
제1회
The First Chapter
It is a beautiful day, where the birds are chirping and the sky is a beautiful shade of blue, and a few clouds overhead floating amidst the eternal blue. It is a wonderful sight to behold.
But despite the beauty that is presented in front of our eyes, at Namwon (남원시), in the south-eastern province (1) of North Jeolla (전라남도), everything is not at all beautiful, for beneath that beauty lies a dark thing; a thing that, if it ever happens, will definitely destroy the remaining beauty that Namwon has ever had in its daily life.
Today is the Magistrate's birthday; an event so entirely disgusting for the entire population of Namwon, peasants and yangbans alike, for not only is the Magistrate ruthless, he is also a cold-hearted man; a man who gets what he wants in the most brutal and inhumane way possible.
"Bring Yeok Joon-dyang in my presence immediately!!" pronounced of the cruel Magistrate; a cruel order.
"YE!!" said the guards, marching from the plenary building of the Magistrate. As they made their way to the cells holding in it what seems to be half of the population of Namwon, the guards finally found their destination: a lone cell made of thick bamboo trunks with two guards in front of it. Inside was a lone prisoner, wearing only a white hanbok (한복) (2) with some dirt and some blood stains on it, with a wooden cangue (3) on its neck, a trail of braided hair (with some strands jutting out untidily) trailing into its surface. As the guards from the plenary building made their way, the guards intercepted them, asking them what they want. When they learned of the Magistrate's order, they nodded. They unlocked the door and they went inside and unlocked the wooden cangue on the prisoner's neck. After that they tied the prisoner's arms and hands with a red cord behind and they led the prisoner to the guards from the plenary building. After that, they led the prisoner to the plenary building, hands of the guards on each arm of the prisoner, as the Magistrate has ordered.
As they were walking, making their way through the plenary building, with her arms held fast by the guards, the prisoner thought to herself, "Oh, what is to become of me? Oh, my dear husband, I wish you were here right now. I longed for the day when you would come and rescue me, ever since the cruel Magistrate requested of me. I wish you would come and rescue me from the hands of the cruel Magistrate, but now it is too late. You would never see the beauty of Namwon; you would never see me again, even if you were to come back here. Oh my dear husband…"
As they were approaching the doors of the plenary building, the prime officiate of the Magistrate of Namwon, the prisoner thought of the day that started it all; the day when she thought that it should never have happened...
It is a beautiful spring day, where the birds were chirping, the sky is a beautiful shade of blue, a few clouds overhead, flowers abloom with their scents afloat in the air…it is a truly wonderful time of the day.
Here in Namwon, it is never another different story here, where couples meet together and enjoy the beautiful sight of the countryside, while thoroughly enjoying the companies of each other.
In the midst of the beautiful weather, a beautiful young maiden (A/N: wooooo!!! Let's see who this "maiden" is…hahaha!!! Free kiss from Jon-nyong here to whoever gets the right answer!!) is running around…seemingly enjoying and taking advantage of the beautiful sights that were before her very eyes.
"Joon-dyang-a!!" shouted a voice. "Joon-dyang-a!! Stop running! You'll get very tired by the time it's noon!! JOON-DYANG-A!!"
The young maiden heard the voice and stopped running. "Ok fine," she said to herself. "Anyways, I'm getting tired." After saying these thoughts to herself, she came near to the one who shouted who by now is under the shade of a particular leafy and huge tree.
"Joon-dyang-a!! How many hours have you been running around the place since we got here??" asked the voice again.
"Hmmm…around two??" "Oh, Joon-dyang-a!!" replied the voice rather worryingly. "Do you want to get another scolding from your mother?? You know that you hate your mother when she gets angry whenever you do anything that's not nice in her eyes…and you know how fast gossips spread in this place…"
"Ok, Ok, I get the point. Sometimes you're very like my mother, particularly when she reprimands me," answered back the young maiden. "Come, let's rest here till the heat falters and it doesn't scorch my head," finished the maiden.
Now, this maiden here is a sight to behold, a gift from the gods to mankind, the very "Eve" of all. Her name is Yeok Joon-dyang, a rather young woman. She is the only daughter of Maeng Koo-ron, a former entertainer (기생 ki-saeng), a rather vivacious woman (this makes Joon-dyang an entertainer from birth), and of the former Magistrate of Namwon, Magistrate Yeok, who had died before he had decided to marry Koo-ron.
Joon-dyang has pretty brown eyes that seemed to sparkle when you look at them. She had very long brown hair, which was braided into a pigtail at the back of her head as a sign of her being unmarried (4), tied with a long red ribbon. She is also fair-skinned, which was also the main reason why many men around Namwon has a major crush on her. Her hands are very soft and delicate to touch, which is also pleasing to men. She is very delicate and careful in her ways, which is why some upper class men are starting to have crushes on her. In short, Joon-dyang is the most beautiful woman in the whole of Namwon. But the only noticeable thing about her is that every man who has fallen for her has been turned down for an unknown number of years, because she believes that she doesn't need a man to take care of her (in other words, she believes in being a chaste woman).
She was wearing a rather brightly-colored hanbok (which signifies her young age), made of cotton; (5) consisting of a yellow jeogori with a purple collar with a white stripe, and very long purple coat strings (knotted together to securely close the jacket as you wear them) that reached just below her knees, and long but rather loose sleeves with a broad purple stripe at the end, which reached to her wrists. She was also wearing a chima, which was wrapped around her breasts, consisting of a full-length deep red skirt, tied with very long, broad, white sashes. The sashes just reached above where her knees are. There was a pendant trinket tied with it, just for decoration.
Her friend who was talking to her was named Seong-ho. She was rather short; in reality shorter than that of Joon-dyang by a foot. She is also pretty, but not as prettier as that of Joon-dyang. She had bluish hair, exactly the color of a beautiful spring day. Her hair was also braided into a pigtail, with a few strands of her hair unbraided for style. She has silver eyes, which also sparkled under the sun. She is also similar to Joon-dyang, as Joon-dyang is her very close friend in everything. However, she somehow envies her friend's lovers and suitors who are ever persistent on wooing her. She disagrees with her friend's actions, most especially every time she turns down another man. She is however very short-sighted which was also the reason why her eyes are hidden with small glasses (6), which no one, not even Joon-dyang, knows how Seong-ho got those glasses.
Seong-ho was also wearing a bright-colored cotton hanbok, also as brightly colored as that of Joon-dyang's; consisting of a plain orange jeogori (which matched perfectly with her hair), a brown collar with a white stripe, brown coat strings, and broad brown sleeve stripes. She was also wearing a dark greenish-blue chima that was tied by a long white sash. Her pigtailed hair was also tied with a red ribbon. Not unlike Joon-dyang, she had no trinkets. (5)
Both were wearing a white underskirt so that their skirts would look fuller. They were also wearing a pair of white soggot, loose bloomers with front and back openings, tied at their ankles, and socks at their feet, all underneath the skirts they were wearing. Both were also wearing simple but embroidered shoes, shaped like boats. These, however, are not of value to the story, so we shall carry on…
Joon-dyang and Seong-ho were still resting in the shades of a tree, apparently exhausted after doing some crazy things, up until the sun's heat has somewhat lessened. When Joon-dyang noticed that the sun's heat has faltered somewhat, she said to Seong-ho, "Seong-ho-ya?"
"Ye?" "Look, the sun has moved a little, and I bet the heat would be less unlike hours ago. Let's go to the Gardens again."
"G-Gardens? The Gwanghallu Gardens (광한루원 gwang-hal-lu-won)? Y-you mean that swing?" "Ye." "Oh, Joon-dyang, you've been at that swing since last month. What is in it that always compels you to go to that swing, anyway?" Seong-ho demanded.
"Oh, n-nothing really, nothing. But I have this feeling that someone, or something, will happen," Joon-dyang replied. Seong-ho wondered at her friend's current thoughts. "Oh, all right, as you wish. But not a moment till after sundown…" "All right, all right…sometimes, you ARE like my mother…" Joon-dyang joked.
After this, they started off for the Gardens, which is half an hour away from where they were.
Unbeknownst to Jooon-dyang, fate lent a hand to her to discover something new, both in her eyes and in her heart.
They went to their usual spot in the Gardens: a lone tree, which was very high, where Joon-dyang and Seong-ho both first met and first started their close friendship. Tied into a high tree branch were two very long rope strings, made of rough hemp, with a rough wooden plank tied into the bottom: the swing, Joon-dyang's most favorite spot.
As they approached the tree they noticed that there were a small number of women, all wearing brightly-colored hanboks like them, all playing near or at the swing. These women do not usually frolic at the tree before. As they noticed Joon-dyang approaching, two women playing side by side at the swing walked away and sat at a distance, near the tree.
Joon-dyang, who was helped by Seong-ho by lifting a part of Joon-dyang's skirt so that her friend can place her foot on the plank, and after placing her two hands on the strings, rode into the swing, placing her remaining foot on the plank and placing all of her strength into charging forward so that she can enjoy the moment of being in the swing.
For an hour, the only noticeable thing happening was the occasional thrusts of Joon-dyang as she was riding the swing, and as Joon-dyang gave an occasional thrust to the swing which seemed impossible, all of the women (including Seong-ho) gave an audible gasp and a whoop, as Joon-dyang was the only one brave enough to ride the swing and not fall down from the plank (which was about 1 ½ feet wide). And for an hour, all the women watched as Joon-dyang rose above their heads, joyfully watching the scene, occasionally cheering Joon-dyang for her bravey.
Nothing eventful happened up until now.
Near that lone tree and swing was a pavilion, a very nice thing, constructed by the previous Magistrate, since you can view the whole beauty of the Gardens. And in the pavilion were two persons. No one, not even Joon-dyang, who was way above their heads and busy joyfully taking in the scene, noticed anything unusual.
These two were touring the beautiful countryside of Namwon, also enjoying the beautiful scenery, until they noticed the pavilion in the middle of the Gardens. They climbed into it and, lo and behold, it was a sight worth seeing.
The taller of the two was looking into something not noticed by the other one. He was a rather handsome young man, who exudes a confidence that usually makes women around him swoon, and even sometimes, faint. His name is Man Jon-nyong, the son of Namwon's current Magistrate (부사 bu-sa), which makes this young man an upper class man.
As mentioned earlier, he was rather handsome. He had grayish-black eyes that sparkled to somehow show the confidence inside of him. He is also fair-skinned like Joon-dyang. His hair was a bit untidy, therefore gathering the attention of the conservatives who are always wearing their hair in a topknot and always wearing hats when going outside (7). Jon-nyong is the exact opposite of them (as he doesn't believe in such nonsense), which further ensured his already high popularity over Namwon, most specially to the women. In short, Jon-nyong is the most handsome man in the whole of Namwon.
He was wearing his dolbok (8), which was made of silk; consisting of a white jeogori (that reached down his waist) and a dark brown baji, all worn under a white durumagi, all of it worn under along blue jeonbok, with dark blue edging, that reached just above his durumagi. All of this was tied with a red cord that was knotted at the chest, tasseled and beaded at the end. He was also carrying a fan for style.
The shorter one (shorter than Jon-nyong by millimeters) was named Boong-ka, Jon-nyong's private servant but to Jon-nyong a trusted friend, a quite humorous one, also handsome but not as handsome as of Jon-nyong. He had dark brown hair, like the color of the earth on Namwon when it rains. He had dull brown eyes that matched the color of his hair, which was tied into a topknot. He is quite knowledgeable with the in's and out's, people, and gossips, of the whole of Namwon.
He was wearing a hanbok (9) made of ramie, emphasizing his social status. He was wearing a brown jeogori and white baji. He was also wearing a white band tied to his forehead, with an woven abaca gat on his head.
Anyway, both Jon-nyong and Boong-ka were at the pavilion and only Jon-nyong noticed quite a number of females making quite a commotion below and in front of them. Boong-ka, meanwhile was looking at a different part of the Garden, quite undisturbed by the noises and, like Joon-dyang, was taking in the ephemeral beauty in front of them, while it lasts.
Jon-nyong, who by now was watching the scene for quite a while, motioned to Boong-ka with his fan and, when Boong-ka came (asking, "Yes, what is it, master?"), he asked Boong-ka, "Boong-ka-ya, who is that girl just passing by?"
Boong-ka, responding quickly to his master and, recognizing the girl Jon-nyong was talking about, replied, "Oh, she's the daughter of Koo-ron, that former kisaeng, her name is Joon-dyang…"
Jon-nyong, not hearing Boong-ka's words, registered in his mind the marvelous sight in front on him. A beautiful woman, with her eyes closed, smiling quite a beautiful and captivating smile, with her whole face in regal bloom and exuding quite a mystical shine, all her hair tied behind her; her body clothed in a flowing hanbok that swings with the rhythm of her force; her beautiful form swinging and approaching forward and backward; with quite an unusual wind lifting the billowing skirt of her hanbok and revealing her ankles (now uncovered by the soggot, normally tied at her ankles, by the force of her swings)…
In an instant, Jon-nyong's heart leapt and instantaneously felt that hidden spark inside of him; an unexplainable surprising force jumping into his heart, pulsating with the rhythm of his heartbeats. He suddenly felt that he was falling in love with this beautiful (A/N: hahaha!!!) girl at the first sight.
Boong-ka, watching along with his master, was also mesmerized by the beauty that Joon-dyang is exuding. Jon-nyong remarked, "She is fabulous." Then, with just a stroke of his hand, he opened his fan and said, "Tell this beautiful maiden that I want to see and talk to her."
Boong-ka, hearing Jon-nyong's (rather foolish) idea, replied, "B-but master, don't you know who this girl is?"
Jon-nyong replied, "I know that she's Joon-dyang, the daughter of that former courtesan Maeng Koo-ron. So what?" Boong-ka said, "Master, have you never heard about her?" Jon-nyong, quite shocked that Boong-ka had told him such a thing, asked, "What is it that bothers you?" Boong-ka said, "Joon-dyang here has the reputation in the whole of Namwon for being the single girl who has turned down every man who has fallen in love with her. You may just be the very next poor victim of her irresistible beauty. But anyway, why not give it a try? I'll heed your command."
Then, Boong-ka set foot for the maiden, which was just a bridge away from the tree swing.
While this was happening, the number of women was slowly beginning to subside, not because they were tired of watching Joon-dyang and the swing, but because they have noticed that the sun's shine was diminishing and the cool wind of the setting sun was settling. As they were walking away towards their homes, they greeted both Joon-dyang and Seong-ho "Annyeong!" (10), and departed for their homes.
By now, Joon-dyang and Seong-ho were the only ones left at the tree. Joon-dyang, noticing that someone is approaching, said to Seong-ho below, "Ya, someone is coming, someone is coming…"
Seong-ho, who by now was yawning and is getting tired of watching Joon-dyang swinging, looked up and said, "What is it? Can't we go home now? Up until when are you staying at this swing? Look, it's nearing sun-down. We should go now."
Joon-dyang replied, "Can't you see that someone up there is staring at me? I think he has fallen for me, for he has sent one of his comrades for me, the one who is approaching. Me and my charms…" while deep inside of her, she was thinking, "Another one has fallen for me. But why not give it a try? After all, he might be the answer of this emptiness still lingering in my heart…"
Seong-ho didn't reply, but said to herself, "Yeah, you and your charms…but I have to admit that he is a cute one, and I think he really has fallen for my friend. Oh friend, you really are lucky in life…but I hope you won't turn him down this time…"
"Seong-ho-ya?" "Ye?" "Have you understood what I said? I said to push me now." "Ok, fine, but this will be the last time, OK?" "OK," said Joon-dyang, and now just focused her eyes on the young man in front of her.
Jon-nyong, after fanning himself, placed his hand (with the fan) behind him and watched Joon-dyang in front of him and watched and registered her beauty. Joon-dyang held firmly the strings of the swing she was standing on and absorbed the features that Joon-dyang loved on Jon-nyong.
"Man Jon-nyong," she finally said, before Jon-nyong's servant reached their place, "You'll be mine…" (11)
Wasn't it good? Rather long and descriptive, but a beautiful piece.
Juudai: Yeah it is good, but why do I have to be the female and the one who turns down men?
Why? You want Mong-ryong's part and Jun here be Chun-hyang and you'll fall in love with him and later you'll be turned down?? (reaction from Jun…)
Juudai: Hmmm…Chun-hyang's part is fine with me. (goes away to wash up and remove costume to rest)
Sho: I disagree…with my part!!!
And why?? You want Boong-ka to fall in love with you??
Sho: I can't date a mental person!!! But fine, I'll play Hyang-dan's part for aniki!!! Ooo!! Can't wait to see aniki and Manjyome-sanda being married!!!
Juudai and Jun: SHO!!!!
Stop bickering back there!! By the way…PLEASE READ & REVIEW!!! I have to prepare for the next scenes!!
Jun: YA!!! Say that one more time and I'll be the one who's gonna execute you in the final chapter instead of my honey-bunch being executed by that freak standing over there and watching you since the start of the Legend…(angry reaction from Edo Phoenix)… (realizes last words spoken, gasps and faints…)
Juudai: Jun? Jun!!!…
O.O!!! Told you they'll work out…
A/N: 04-27-'07 – Finally I've finished!!! Off to 제2회!!! FIGHTING!!!!
(1) When I mean south-eastern, I mean south-east from Seoul, capital of South Korea
(2) hanbok is traditional Korean's wear. For more info, watch "Jewel in the Palace" & "Delightful Girl Choon-hyang" (that is if you know these series)…
(3) A cangue is the Korean version of the stocks. It is made of a long piece of wood, with a fairly-sized hole in it to fit the person's neck and head.
(4) all Koreans tie their hair into a pigtail until they are married.
(5) Joon-dyang and Seong-ho's female hanbok consists of a jeogori (a blouse-like cloth with long-sleeves that went as far as the arm pits with a longer front panel to cover the breasts) and a chima (a rectangular/tubular skirt with a high, pleated waistband tied above the breasts with long sashes)
(6) never guessed that glasses existed in the Joseon Dynasty. Just for a laugh/running gag (modern inventions existing at ancient times…).
(7) all men are required to wear a hat when going outside, called gat, with strings for tying under the chin, which was for protecting their topknot.
(8) this particular hanbok, called dolbok dol: first birthday; bok: general term for "clothes", was normally worn only by sons of the yangban, but were also worn by adults, with a different style. It consists of a jeonbok (a long blue vest; sometimes color would vary) worn over a durumagi (a coat which reached just below the knees), jeogori, and baji (see next note), all tied by a waist sash, and a bokgeon (a black hat with a long tail) worn on the head.
(9) Male's hanbok is the same as that of the women's, only their jeogori is much longer and it reaches down to the waists or even longer. Obviously, men wouldn't need a chima, as that would make them look ridiculous. They wear baji, baggy pants, that are tied into their ankles.
(10) Annyeong (안녕 an-nyeong) is a Korean word for "Farewell!" or "Good-bye!"
(11) I'll try to explain this part the best I can. Because her mother was a former entertainer, I think she still had access to some of the kisaengs still working and by the looks of it, at some ceremonies they have noticed the Magistrate and his son. As soon as hearing this news, Koo-ron would tell her daughter about men and the thought of marriage. But, as always, Joon-dyang refused about the talk, but at least she may have heard about the popularity of Jon-nyong, for she is a free woman, and she can have access to some news. Because of this, she may have established quite a small and unnoticeable infatuation for Jon-nyong.