"Dinner is served." Bok Soon said as So and Baek ah wandered into the dining room. Jin finished adding the last of the side dishes onto the table.
"Wow, this looks real good. Thank you, ladies." Baek Ah grinned at Jin as he took his seat next to Bok Soon. "Yum, sauteed mushrooms and daikon kimchi with braised beef." He groaned, picking up his chopsticks.
So slipped around Jin, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "You are amazing, Jinnie." He whispered in her ear as she sat down next to him at the table.
"Ha Jin, did all the work." Bok Soon smiled at her new friend as Baek ah poured her a glass of soju.
"It was really easy to make." Blushing, Jin happily replied as she accepted her glass from So.
"Geonbae!" Bok Soon shouted as she raised her shot glass up to the center of the table and was met by the other three glasses clinking together, the clear liquid sloshed out. "Geonbae!"
"So told me that he works with the National Museum with you. How did you meet?" Jin asked the couple while laying a piece of meat on top of So's rice out of habit. Bok Soon gently nudged Baek ah under the table.
"I had the mistaken idea that I wanted to be an archaeologist so I interned under So-hyung and realized after a summer at a dig along the Mongolian Steppes that I wasn't cut out for it." Baek ah sighed, cringing at the memory as So laughed at his discomfort. "I preferred to be indoors. In my safe, little conservatory. I enjoyed cleaning up the artifacts more than digging them up. I'll leave that to hyung."
"It wasn't that bad, Baek ah." So smirked at his best friend as he offered a mushroom to Jin.
"We might as well be living like nomads in the tenth century." Baek ah complained as he spooned more rice into his bowl. "No running water, only ice cold streams to bath in. Not to mention the wolves howling at night!" He shuddered as Bok Soon and Jin grinned at him. "And no internet connection at all. I couldn't use my cell phone the entire time we were there.
"My poor baby!" Bok Soon crooned, forcing Baek ah's head to her bosom. She threw So a mock look of disgust that had Jin nearly falling out of her chair in peels of laughter.
Grinning, Baek ah poured Jin another glass of soju. "Are you sure you want to put up with that, Jin-ssi? Our So would have been better suited for the tenth century. He likes the desolate wilds."
Jin grew quiet as she glanced over at So amazed, her voice soft with conviction. "As long as we are together, that is what counts."
"The museum is currently working on a Goryeo wing." Bok Soon broke in after releasing Baek ah. Her eyes caught his as they watched Jin and So. It's like they share a secret. "The museum has obtained some terrific artifacts from the Manwoldae dig in North Korea."
"Manwoldae?" Jin's attention jerked back to Bok Soon.
"Yes." Baek ah answered. "The dig was successful in locating Gwangjong's lost queen, Gwangmyeong." Hae Soo. Jin gripped So's hand as Baek ah continued discussing the artifacts. "So-hyung brought back her urn from Kaesong. Two sets of human remains were found along with a half mask and hairpin."
It felt like a dream, even though it had been real. She remembered the carved dragons leading the way along the beautiful cobblestone courtyard. Eunuch Kim calling out that the king was entering the room. Eunuch Yi's grandfatherly care for her and So. Lady Han and Lady Song were gone.
"The only portrait of Lady Hae Soo completed after her coronation was found as well. I thought it would take forever to restore, but it's like it has a life of its own." Bok Soon explained, pulling out her phone. She thumbed through the photos until she stopped at the portrait in mid-restoration. "Here it is. It's funny how much you look like her." She smiled as she handed the phone across the table to Jin who accepted it. She gasped at the Goryeo likeness to herself, stunned that she still looked the same. Only, in the portrait she was round with child.
Tears prickled hot against her lids as the memory of So introducing her to the Goryeo artist, Yi Niang. The young man had been so nervous around So, dropping his supplies every time the king glanced his way. She had to order So out of the room in order for the poor man to be able to even relax enough to manage to put pen to paper.
"Jinnie?" So frowned at her pale face as she gave the phone back to Bok Soon.
"I'm sorry, Bok Soon-ssi." Jin barely got the words out as she got up from the table, blindly rushing out of the room. She never realized how much she missed them all. That life as Hae Soo. Her daughter. Worried, Bok Soon glanced at So as he followed Jin into the bedroom.
So curled his body around Jin, holding her tight as she sobbed into the pillow. "Shhh, Jinnie." He soothed in her ear. She didn't know how long they laid together. "I'm sorry, So-ya." She whispered against his chest. "It was a shock to see myself there. I remember that day, everything, and everyone. I didn't know it would hit me this hard."
"Hyung?" Baek ah knocked on the bedroom door. "Is Ha Jin alright?"
"Omo!" Jin buried her head against So in embarrassment. He lifted her chin, smiling at her as he helped wipe away the tears. "Yes, Baek ah, she's okay."
"Baek ah, look at the goosebumps on my arms." Bok Soon placed her forearm under her boyfriend's nose. She paced behind Baek ah then hurried over to Jin when she and So appeared at the doorway. "Jin-ssi?"
"I'm fine, Bok Soon." Jin nodded with a shaky smile. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Bok Soon took Jin's hand and led her to the couch in the living room. "I'm glad. You scared me."
"It's nothing. I guess I'm still not myself after nearly drowning." Jin's eyes met So's as he took a seat next to her.
"What is going on?" Baek ah frowned at them. "Hyung, you knew she was going to be at the lake. You knew she would nearly drown. How? And then at the hospital you claimed to be her husband." He sat down across from them, looking at Jin. "Then Jin-ssi runs out of the room like she's seen a ghost when Bok Soon showed her the portrait of Gwangmyeong. It's more than just a coincidence that you both look like the royal couple."
"Omo! That's the reason why you keep saying the marriage isn't legal. You and So-ssi really are the re-incarnation of Lady Hae Soo and Wang So." Bok Soon's eyes grew wide as she searched Jin's face, then glanced at So who nodded. "I knew it! My grandmother always claimed I have a bit of my great grandmother in me. She was a shaman who could tell people about their past lives and she was never wrong." Excited, she jumped from the couch and grabbed Baek ah. "I told you that my goosebumps were never wrong."
"So you really were Gwangjong, the fourth King of Goryeo, and Jin-ssi was Gwangmyeong, his lost queen." Baek ah blinked at his friend incredulous, but the facts were staring him in the face.
"I've been slowly regaining my memories of Goryeo since Mongolia." So responded, standing up to peer out the window. The sun had set on the cityscape and Seoul was lit up. "I would wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares. I had dreams of being surrounded by a den of starving wolves and the only weapon I had was from the fire pit. I set a tree on fire to ward off the wolves. I was fourteen. The left side of my face was covered with a half mask made of leather."
"Pat Pat." Jin remembered So telling her about burning down his friend. She pulled a pillow to her chest and wrapped her arms around it, leaning her forehead against the cotton fabric. He turned around to face this incarnation of his thirteenth brother. "But despite the bad dreams, I never felt such freedom. I felt like myself for the first time."
After a long silent pause, Baek ah nodded. "Okay." He glanced back and forth between So and Jin. "I think we all need a drink."
A muffled giggle fell from Jin's lips. Soon, she and Bok Soon were rolling off the couch and onto the floor in fits of laughter. "I'll go get the soju and side dishes from off the table." So grinned as he relaxed his shoulders.
With a sigh, Baek ah stared down at the women laying on the floor. Jin snorted, then started laughing again. "I'll help you."
"Bring some beer while you're at it, Pyeha." Bok Soon called after So as she and Jin sat up against the couch. "By the way, were we a part of that time period with you?" Curiosity getting the better of her as she settled a pillow under her butt, crossing her legs.
The laughter died down in Jin's throat as she nodded. "You and Baek ah-nim made living there bearable during the worst years."
"Really?" Bok Soon smiled at Jin. "I never really thought about my past lives before, but my great grandmother used to call me Woo Hee. Isn't that funny?" Then soberly, she said. "I'm sorry the picture startled you."
"Don't be." Jin replied softly. "I'm glad you showed it to me. It's real proof that it's not a dream. My life with So in Goryeo was real."
Both women watched their men appear from the kitchen. Jin reached up to take the beer from So's arms as he set the soju and shot glasses down on the coffee table. "Let me go get the beer glasses." Feeling a little guilty, she got up off the floor.
"No need, I have them." Baek ah replied, sitting the glasses down along with the plate of braised beef, handing out chopsticks. He settled down next to Bok Soon with a grin.
So caught Jin's hand in his and tugged her down next to him. He accepted their chopsticks as Baek ah opened the first beer. Jin snuggled against the warmth of So's side, leaning her head against his shoulder with a contemplative smile. "I never imagined this. Ever." She said, bowled over by the enormity of it all. "It's good to be here with you and Baek ah. To be back with So-ya and to be able to start a new life outside the constraints of a palace."
"To renewing old alliances and friendships." Baek ah dropped the shot glasses into the beer, the brew nearly fizzled over the edge of the glasses. "Geonbae!" Downing his somac in one go, then he wiped his mouth with grin.
"To Goryeo, where it all started!" Jin raised up her glass, clinking it with the others. "Geonbae!" She steadied herself as she drank the soju beer bomb down in one go, then smacked the glass on the table.
"To finding the woman I love in this life. My wife." So buzzed a kiss against Jin's flushed cheek. "Geonbae." He tossed the drink back.
"So-ya!" Jin blushed. A little overheated, she sat up straighter, his hand caressed the curve of her back.
"And to new, old best friends!" Bok Soon cheered at everyone around the table. "Let's make this incarnation just as great. Geonbae!"