Editor's note:
No, it's not the last chapter. I tried. I have two alternate endings. The first one has 9 plot points to write while the second one has 15 ^^ The last sequence of this chapter is apparently only number 3 in both of my outlines. Heol. I'm really sorry for that. It seems so simple when I do the outline but when I start to write, it always end up long. Sigh. Please bear with me. I'm getting to the ending soon. Promise :)
Chapter 50
Winter….
A carriage carrying the banished princes and their spouses makes it's way to the inner forest of North Hamgyong [1], travelling from the capital, surrounded with platoon of soldiers. The carriage is a simple wooden box used to transport goods from and to the capital. Heavily padlocked outside, the carriage is stable but bumpy, offering a little cover from the snow and freezing weather. If it was up to Park Sul Hui Minister, he would have put the five accused on a customary wagon that encloses them in a cage, offering no privacy or protection from the cold and well visible to people passing by. Like a criminal should be treated. Only Ji Mong intervened, carefully and smartly reasoned that exposing the once royal princes and their spouses to such condition might spark outrage and dissent from the people who support their clan. Making it look like he cares more for the condition of the new king's reign.
The carriage left at the evening without the occupants getting a chance to say goodbye to Hae Soo or to any of their family. The moment Wook left with Hae Soo at the Hoegyong Hall, the soldiers swarmed Soon Deok and Jung, outnumbering the five of them. Their families were held back and the five were drag to the prison cell where they stayed until the carriage arrived to take them away.
It would be a week by now since they left the capital.
Inside the carriage, it's cramped and freezing. An ill looking Woo Hee is lying on Baek-Ah's lap, his arms around her, sharing their warmth together. On the other side, is Eun huddled at Soon Deok's side. By the floor is Jung, his back against the wooden wall, his legs crossed, facing the door. He looks as if he's just hanging out at the soldier's barracks.
Soon Deok can't stop watching Woo Hee, her eyes carrying that sorrowful pity. Her mouth is tightly shut about Woo Hee's condition, unable to say anything until Woo Hee regains her health. She doesn't know if she should say anything or if Woo Hee would like to do it herself.
Woo Hee coughs uncomfortably. She sometimes awakes but only for a few minutes, enough to let Baek-Ah make her drink water. Her body feels weak, her joints aching, her pelvis cramps at times. She's over fatigue even when she's just asleep majority of the time.
"Shhhh. Gwaenchanha Woo Hee-ya. Nan yeop-e isseo. (You're alright Woo Hee-ya, I'm here.)" Baek-Ah automatically consoles Woo Hee. Though their situation is bleak, he's relieved that they are together now.
Woo Hee turns to her side, seeking Baek-Ah's warmth. She settles on his chest, asleep once more. Baek-Ah re-arranges her coat around her, patting softly her arms. He lifts his eyes and accidentally meets Soon Deok's eyes.
Soon Deok anxiously looks away.
Outside, an arrow from nowhere struck the coach soldier manning the carriage, causing it to abruptly stop. The soldiers guarding the carriage regroup around the perimeter of the carriage, on guard, looking for where the arrow came. The occupants of the carriage felt the sudden stop, tussling them inside.
Chaos ensues as arrows start flying everywhere, hitting the soldiers one by one. From the branches above, men clad in all black clothes, come down, waiting to ambush the platoon. Their faces hidden underneath a thin black garb, their movements precise, silent and quick, the platoon were reduced to a few men left before they even realize what's going on.
From a far, horses carrying Gen. Park and So, make its appearance from a nearby rocky concave that concealed them. The few soldiers left, back themselves into the wall of carriage, trying not to tremble as they point their sword towards the two. These same soldiers used to answer orders from them.
So lamely look at his subordinates, his horse swishing its tail and clicking its hooves. There are no urgency with the two once the soldier were deflated to a small number.
"Sunngohabnida wangsejanim, we we're only following orders from the king." One of the soldier throw his self on the ground, "You'll find that we treated your brothers and their spouses with care."
Gen. Park leaves So to deal with the soldiers while he comes to the back of the carriage, striking the metal lock with his sword. He opens the door with a big smile on his face, excited to see his daughter, like they aren't on a rescue mission, "Nae dalya, (My daughter.)"
A shoe stuck him on the face, courtesy of an annoyed Soon Deok, "What took you so long?! We're freezing to death."
Gen. Park awkwardly wipes the smile on his face, dusting it and murmuring to his self, "What an ungrateful girl."
"Abeonim!" Eun flies to his father-in-laws outstretched arms, "My stupid 8th brother said your dead. I missed you."
He uncomfortably pats Eun at the back and extricates himself from his hug, his twitching mouth can't be sure if it wants to give a smile or a grimace. So comes around with the Kang soldiers shadowing his move from a safe distance.
"Hyungnim!" Jung comes out of the carriage while Baek-Ah stays inside still carrying Woo Hee.
The occupants are relieved to see familiar faces freeing them.
"Is there any chance that Hae Soo Agassi might be inside?" Gen. Park and So knew Hae Soo is detained in the palace yet they couldn't help but hope.
The occupants awkwardly look away.
"Of course. No need to look like you're all mourning." Gen. Park tries to salvage the situation, "We were only hoping."
"The astronomer will keep her safe." So had to assure his self on his own or he might just lose his mind and storm the palace right at that moment, "I've sent a letter through one of our men."
Baek-Ah was given a larger living quarters at the guests' hanoks where Gen. Park and Jung used to stay when they visited Shinju years ago. He shares it with Woo Hee. Soon Deok and Eun are also staying beside the quarters of Gen. Park and Jung.
Under So's command, every servant, eunuch or soldier living inside the Kang palace are in no way will approach his guests without being addressed first. So is nervous enough to have Gen. Park with him for a month, now his brothers and Hae Soo's friends are joining him. He's only relieved that the consort is staying at the capital for now, taking care of some matters he's not allowed to be privy about. He'll think about where to put his brothers and Hae Soo's friends when the consort finally returns.
He also commanded to have those nauseating incense be thrown out, opening all the windows of the palace to let the air in, even at this cold weather. The consort would surely throw a fit after she returns but So will deal with it later. For now, he and his brothers need to live.
When they arrived at their quarters, a physician was quickly sent for Woo Hee. There were blood staining her paji and Baek-Ah is worried sick, unable to grasp what's wrong with Woo Hee. She was put into bed and all the people inside the room were asked to leave.
Soon Deok puts Eun to rest while she, his father, Jung and So stayed with Baek-Ah at Gen. Park's quarters. The snow is heavily falling outside and it's too cold for anyone to come out. So and Gen. Park timed there rescue with an incoming snow storm so the king's soldiers will be forced inside there garrisons and no one would come to help the platoon they are ambushing. By the time, the king's men look for the lost carriage, the dead soldiers will be buried deep under the snow and it would be hard to find them.
Teas were served and Baek-Ah's hands were badly shaking as he waits for the physician to come out.
"Soon Deok-ah, what is wrong with Woo Hee?" Baek-Ah couldn't help but asks.
Gen. Park looks at his daughter, having an inkling of what happened to Woo Hee after seeing her state. Soon Deok bites her lower lip, burning her fingers at her hot tea.
"I think we should wait for the physician to tell us instead." Gen. Park answers for his daughter, sensing Soon Deok's guilt.
Baek-Ah stands up and paces. He had done this in the sky tower for so many weeks, his feet are accustomed to it even when this isn't the same room he had paced.
So asks about Hae Soo's condition and how she is doing. Jung tells him of what happened in the assembly that got them banished and Hae Soo engaged to the king.
"How could you let that happen?!" In his anger, So grabs Jung by the collar, hauling him out of his chair.
"Says my brother who got himself banished first." Jung sarcastically answers.
Tension fills the room as So and Jung vent their frustration on each other. It's not helping that Jung is being reminded that they are at the very place where So hides all his secrets. The walls feel suffocating even without those nauseating incense.
Gen. Park and Soon Deok pull So from Jung with Soon Deok explaining the situation further and apologizing.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A servant raps at the door, "Wangjanim, the physician is ready to see you."
So shrugs the two's hold on him, fuming to himself. Baek-Ah quickly leaves for his quarters and everyone follows through. As they were approaching the door, two servants carrying a pail of warm water with bloodied towels at the side are seen leaving. They rendered their greetings and left with their eyes trained in the ground.
Inside, a rice paper wooden arc encloses a hallowed room where Woo Hee is sleeping on the bed, breathing heavily and a towel on her forehead. The physician brings the new comers to one side of the room so as not to disturb Woo Hee.
"Is she alright?" Baek-Ah asks with urgency.
"Yie, wangjanim kuende…" The physician swallows afraid to say the next words. He hates to bring the bad news to the occupants of this palace especially to the consort or the 4th prince for it usually means someone will be beaten to death. As if punishing him for doing a lousy job even when he certainly did his best. He looks at the 4th prince and receives his permission to speak "I'm afraid I can't say the same… for… for… your child."
"Yie?!" Baek-Ah stills.
Everyone freezes, all looking at Soon Deok.
"The… the lady… is going through a… a delicate pregnancy…" The physician holds his head low, "She should have… been advice to… to stay in bed… Chal mot-haess-seubnida wangjanim. (Forgive me.) I've done my best but she already lost… the child before even coming here."
The physician falls to the floor, kneeling and pleading with So.
"Na-ga. (Leave)" So dismisses the trembling physician, affording Baek-Ah some privacy.
"Yie?" It takes about a minute before it sinks in with the physician, "Mang-geuk-ha-ob-ni-da, wangjanim. (Thank you, your highness.)"
Relieved to be dismissed.
Baek-Ah leaves their company and sits at Woo Hee's bedside careful not to disturb her. He takes a hold of her hand, his eyes welling.
Gen. Park herds their subdued group outside, looking all-sorrowful towards the 13th prince. He closes the door behind them, giving space to the couple.
"I was going to be a father?" Baek-Ah softly speaks, enfolding Woo Hee's cold hands in between his, "We were going to be parents. I wish I could have known earlier. I wouldn't have put you through all of it."
A tear falls to Woo Hee's seokjeogori. He brings her hand unto his lips, "Mianhada Woo Hee-ya. I should have been more careful. I should have known. Mianhada…"
He sobs quietly beside her, consoling himself and an unconscious Woo Hee.
End of Winter…
Wook is standing by the corridor that is open to the back garden of the queen's chamber. He is watching the snow thaws as the sun of Spring comes out of the clouds and cast a warm sunshine around him.
A soldier found him a while ago and discreetly reported that the carriage containing the banished prisoners never made its way to the northern gates separating their territories from the Khitans. A gleaming rage appears on his thin icy eyes, dismissing the soldier before he puts him to death for failing him. The only reason the soldier is left untouched is because they are at the vicinity of his little queen's chamber. He wouldn't want his little queen to be alarmed.
As Hae Soo appears at the beginning of the corridor, accompanied by her gungnyeo(s), Wook dismisses the soldier and stands calmly, watching the droplets fall from the edges of the colorful dancheong ceiling (literally means 'red and green' the five color designs found on traditional Korean wooden structure) to the green grasses lining the pavement.
"My little queen, how was your study?" Wook smiles at her and Ha Jin formally greets the king.
Spring…
It was Ha Jin's first time to meet the lady consort face to face at her wedding with Wook. She remembers feeling relieved to be whisked away from that awful palace that kept her. Guen Sun brought her and the consort to a ship, explaining it would be faster to go through China and access their lands from the borders of Khitan rather than risked being hunted by the king's men on land.
The moment they boarded the ship, she was placed into a cramped room with only a small window outside to see. She was instructed to stay put until the consort settles in her own room and calls for her. Later on, a servant came to help her out of her ceremonial clothes and put her into a normal hanbok. She asked the servant to get rid of those hateful ceremonial clothes, burn it or sell it, she doesn't care for as long she never sees it again. There was one moment when she commanded the servant to do that that the servant trembled in fear, used to being scolded at her master's whim. The servant expected a beating but got an apology from her instead.
On her second night, Guen Sun knocks on her door and led her to the consorts room to have dinner. As she was being ushered inside, that unmistakable smell of earthy wooden musk fills her nostril, it reminded her of the smell she caught on So's robes once.
Looking around, the room is quite big, like the quarters she used to keep at her cousin's house. At the center is a dining table laden with different food. Lady Shinjuwon is standing by a closed window, her back to her. On her vanity table is a burning incense that keeps the smell floating everywhere.
Ha Jin was left at the center of the room, swaying a little with the ship's movement. She greets with a formal bow, thanking the consort for saving her, "Annyeong hasibnikka Shinjuwon Soyong, I could—"
"-Eomeonim." Cuts Lady Shinjuwon without glancing at her, "Shouldn't you be addressing me with that endearment?"
Ha Jin stills,
Had the lady consort always been this scary?
Somehow, Ha Jin asks herself if this the reason why So never wanted her to meet his adoptive mother. There's an air of belittlement and distantness in her that makes you feel icy. Her word should have meant warmth but a spine tingling sensation creeps on Ha Jin's back instead, telling her to turn back while she can.
"Kamsahabnida. I could never thank you enough for saving me out of the king's hand." Ha Jin hesitates into addressing the consort with eomeonim. The word evades her tongue.
"Hmmmph!"
Was the sound made with amusement or with annoyance?
Ha Jin couldn't be sure. She is keeping her head down while the consort is still looking at the windows. Outside is pitch black with only the slush of the wave heard and the sway of the floor that indicates the ships is moving in a calm sea.
Lady Shinjuwon turns around, observing her adopted daughter under the orange light of lanterns and candles around them. She takes a step forward and Ha Jin automatically inches a step back, an instinct telling her to take heed. She tries not to tremble as Lady Shinjuwon reaches her, her eyes all over Hae Soo. She circles around Hae Soo, inspecting from head to foot, considering if there will be a remarkable change under a different light but there was none. Hae Soo is thin, pale with a long luxurious brown hair, fragile like what she had heard about her. Her frame and hips are small, her legs slender, Lady Shinjuwon wonders if she could even conceive and carry a child with that delicate frame of hers. She touches Hae Soo's chin, her nails scratching at the skin of her neck. Ha Jin kept herself from flinching.
Up close Lady Shinjuwon is eerily tall and beautiful, Ha Jin couldn't help but observe. Her eyes are dark, her skin stretch to thinness around her face Ha Jin couldn't be sure of how old is she. She was told, Lady Shinjuwon is almost double So's age when she first met him, enough to be as old as Myung Hee's own mother, Lady Sewon. Aside from the imperceptible wrinkles beside her eyes and spidery blue and green veins on her hands, there are no indications that Lady Shinjuwon is 50 plus old at all.
"Shinjuwon So-"
Slap!
Ha Jin falls to the ground, dizzy from the sudden struck her cheek took. Her eyes water from the stinging burn, her hand automatically touching her cheek.
"How dare you give your hand to that stupid king without my permission." Lady Shinjuwon comes to the floor, her hand quick to clutch at Hae Soo's neck.
Ha Jin's back hit the wood. Lady Shinjuwon kneels at her right wrist while her other hand keeps her left shoulder pinned to the floor, "I was told you were smart, did no one educated you that marriages between nobles are forged alliance between clans?! Why would you hand our clan's alliance to that useless house!"
Ha Jin struggles to breathe from Lady Shinjuwon's choking hand, her free hand grasping at Lady Shinjuwon. Fear grows inside her as she turns red, her breathing almost cut off, "Je…bal…"
"You do not make that decision for our clan!" Lady Shinjuwon lifts her neck only to dash her head to the floor.
Ha Jin turns light-headed, the blow painful. Her tears escaping her eyes, praying for help from anyone. Lady Shinjuwon presses her knees on her wrist, hearing a weak snap.
"Did you let him touch you?!" Lady Shinjuwon shakes her, her eyes gleaming with that malicious hate.
"Anib…ni…da…" Ha Jin chokes her answer.
"I will let you live because you belong to my son and my son belongs to I. He will be a king and I will have that throne." The words sending a chilling threat on Ha Jin's spine, "Do not think of crossing me again or running away with my son. I'm sure my son can attest to you, I can inflict more suffering than this… Death will be a better wish."
Lady Shinjuwon yanks her hair, "Algessniya?! (Do you understand?!)"
Ha Jin nods, her fear crippling her.
"You know, if my son had taken that throne like how he promised me, then we wouldn't be in this position at all." Lady Shinjuwo directs her anger at Hae Soo, "That stupid son of mine. Kuere, I'll give him what he wants. I'll let you reunite with him but mark my words, you will never be happy together."
Ha Jin could only look at Lady Shinjuwon. When her eyes turning watery bloodshot, Lady Shinjuwon releases her.
Ha Jin awakes at her bed, disoriented and aching all over. Her head hurts, her lips cracked and chapped, her right cheek is swollen, her neck had traces of hand bruises, her shoulders and back are stiff, her right wrist sprained.
The same servant who dressed her yesterday came in and greets her good morning, holding a basin of cold water and first aid box. She sits at a chair beside Hae Soo's bed, arranging the things she brought at the side table. Ha Jin draws to the wall, trembling.
"Joesonghabnida Agassi," The servant hesitates to touch her, "I came to take care of your bruises."
Ha Jin turns her back from her.
"Agassi, je…jebal… your mother wants you to have lunch with her." The servant, a girl of Chae Ryung's age, is kind and gentle, pitying Hae Soo after she heard what happened last night. The consort throwing fits and quick anger is a normal occurrence in their household. The servant is not new to the beatings, "It would be better to do what she asks or she'll only hurt you more."
Ha Jin hides her fear, asking in a steady voice, "How long before we reach the lands?"
"Perhaps two weeks? [2]" The servant anxiously assures her, "You'll soon meet with the 4th prince. He's waiting for you at our palace in Shinju so please hang on a bit."
Ha Jin chews her lower lip, her wrist aching, it would be the longest weeks of her life.
It's almost lunch when Baek-Ah knocks on Woo Hee's quarters.
At the beginning, when they arrived, these quarters belong to him and Woo Hee. Mostly he sleeps at the floor or a chair, monitoring Woo Hee's condition. When she regains consciousness a week after, she kept to herself even when everyone came to greet her, careful and sensitive to her condition. Days after it has become apparent that she doesn't want to see anyone not even Baek-Ah. She mostly stares at the ceiling, awake but never speaking. The physician explains that she might be going through some trauma of losing her child and that in time, she'll come on her own. Baek-Ah is patient enough to give her space, transferring to another quarter near this instead, visiting everyday and making sure Woo Hee eats her meal.
Today, Baek-Ah finds Woo Hee on her bed again but sitting this time, staring at the open window beside her, her blanket is up her waist, her legs drawn to her body with her arms around it. The smell of spring brings a pleasant freshness in the air that lessens Baek-Ah's worries.
"Woo Hee-ya, would you like to walk in the garden?" Baek-Ah sits beside Woo Hee, naturally reaching to the strands of hair that came lose on her cheeks, tucking it behind her ear, "It would be lunch soon and they are preparing a feast at the pavilion, shall we join them?"
Woo Hee's only answer is to rest her head on her knees, hugging her knees closer to herself.
"Araseo." Baek-Ah smiles gently, "Next time then. I'll bring our lunch here so we could eat together."
As he stands, Woo Hee grabs his hand. Baek-Ah freezes. It's the first time Woo Hee ever showed a response.
"Joe...songhab...nida wang...janim." Woo Hee's voice is croak and weak for not being used for so long.
Baek-Ah instantly sits again, brushing Woo Hee's hair smoothly to her back, "I should be the one apologizing. Mianhada, I was useless while you were trying to hold unto… unto our baby."
He hangs his head low, pulling Woo Hee into his embrace. Woo Hee softly sobs on his chest, apologizing over and over.
"Let's get you out in the sun, alright?" Baek-Ah carries her in his arm, "It's a nice weather to spend inside this room."
They walk at the back of her quarters, at the garden the guests' quarters share. The snow had thawed some weeks back and the flowers have started to bloom. There are azaleas and lily of the valley littering the garden with purple and white. Baek-Ah puts Woo Hee down in the grass, his arms never leaving around her.
So and Gen. Park are passing at the corriodrs when they saw the two walking towards the garden. They stopped to watch them. Somehow the palace looks more livable to So when his brother's and their spouses settled here. So never appreciated any part of the palace before but he must admit this particular garden looks serene with his 13th brother nursing an ill lover underneath a wide branch leafy Gingko tree.
"Ah the lady finally left her room." Gen. Park's lip twitch to a sincere smile, "I hope she recovers soon."
For the first time in months, So is not scowling. Almost nostalgic by the scene in front of him. It feels as if he once sat under a Gingko tree on an autumn. It's yellow leaves, carpeting the grounds in brilliant yellow.
"It makes me miss my wife." Gen. Park shares, patting So at the shoulder, breaking his reverie, "Your lady is arriving soon, I can't be happier for you."
So stiffens. Hae Soo's arrival means Lady Shinjuwon's arrival too. The last report he had received from Guen Sun is that they had taken Hae Soo from the palace and that the king had ordered an arrest for Lady Shinjuwon and him. A messenger from the palace was also sent decreeing that anyone who wishes to meet their death or be judged by the king is free to leave their territory.
In truth, the palace is just not equipped nor has the money to fund a war against the house of Kang. Rallying a war against a powerful aristocratic clan means dividing the loyalty of the remaining clans. Wook had already punished the Gyeongju Kim Clan and Myeong Clan for their sons, at the rate of him destroying clans, the remaining clans might start fearing for their safety and take-up arms against him.
How many days had Hae Soo spent with Lady Shinjuwon now? So hopes nothing bad happened to her. He needs to start moving his brothers to a safer place. As much as he wants them to stay here for Hae Soo, it would be hard to protect all of them against the consort. And if he's honest enough, he's afraid of what secret they would uncover if they all live under the consort's wing.
"By the way, I've organized a platoon to escort my 10th brother and your daughter to our borders. Once they get to the lands of Khitan, they will be safe. Soon Deok is capable enough to escort themselves to my home in Later Jin. I've also talked to Jung, he'll come to help them too." So updates Gen. Park, trying to move them before the consort arrives.
"The smaller the company, the better. I have no doubt my daughter can protect herself and her husband." Gen. Park agrees, "Let's send the 13th prince and his lady after, Woo Hee Agassi gets better."
So nods.
Late in the afternoon, the small gong at the top of the main gate of Shinju palace is repeatedly sounded by a guard, signaling an arrival of someone important. Gungnyeo(s), eunuchs and guards quickly assemble in the courtyard to welcome the lady consort home.
So is anxious as he walk with Gen. Park, Jung, Baek-Ah, Soon Deok and Eun, taking their place in front of the servants who piled into several neat columns, parting in between the aisle. He isn't expecting them until the end of this week.
"Ya, Soon Deok-ah, look at all these servants." Eun whispers to Soon Deok, "even the colors of their uniform are different from our palace in the capital."
Gungnyeo(s) serving the north palace wear a dark navy blue jeogori lined with deep violet lines on sleeves and collars that matches their deep violet chima. Eunuch wears a dark blue uniform with blue lining their collars and sleeves. Against a grey pavement in the courtyard, the gungnyeo(s) and eunuch easily blend well with the soldiers clad in black.
Soon, a carriage escorted by several horses on both sides enters the massive wooden gate of the inner courtyard. The main envoy is small, headed by Guen Sun but there is no mistaking that majority of their guards are following them on a safe distance. They all gather at the outer gate once the carriage reached the inner courtyard.
Guen Sun unmounts his horse and goes to the back of the carriage, opening the door. The servants and the guards automatically bow their head as the consort comes out of the carriage.
Gen. Park goes to meet the consort, paying his respect first, "How was your journey, Shinjuwon Soyong? I hope the sea was kind to your ship."
Lady Shinjuwon is dressed in an elegant hanbok, covered with sseugae chima. The spring brought a better mood for her and they rested well at an inn at the last town at the Khitan borders last night so the ride to the palace is uneventful. She lowers it to her shoulder as she returns the greetings to Gen. Park, "The gods had favored us with the wind. We reached the shores of the port earlier than expected."
Jung, Baek-Ah, Eun, and Soon Deok say their greeting next, with So being the last. He greeted her with a formal bow.
"Ah my dutiful son, I hear you've been decorating our palace?" Lady Shinjuwon exchanges pleasantries with So as if they have an ideal mother and son relationship, reaching to touch So's cheek.
Jung observes them closely, a disgusting taste spreading on his tongue. He looks away, to the carriage that surely has Hae Soo inside.
So stiffens at Lady Shinjuwon's hand, "I've let the sun in your room. I thought the Spring sun would be good for your health."
Not just in Lady Shinjuwo's quarters but everywhere. At the throne room, at their shrine, at the guests' quarters, even the soldier's barracks. So felt like he was able to breathe better when the nauseating incense was taken away and the windows of the palace were open.
"You've made a lot of changes while I'm gone." Of course the servants and the guards had been reporting to Lady Shinjuwon and Guen Sun. Lady Shinjuwon shrugs it off, knowing she could always turn it all around if she wants to, "Shall I give you your reward?"
Ha Jin comes out of the carriage as if on cue. Her legs are stiffed from the day's journey and the cold wind of the north is not helping. She's also covered in sseugae chima like Lady Shinjuwon but more than being cold, she's hiding the bandage on her right wrist.
Guen Sun walks her beside Lady Shinjuwon, looking all-meek and docile. Strangers will think they really are a mother and daughter pair. Eun and Soon Deok quickly approached her and give her a hug.
"I'm so glad you are alright." Soon Deok disarranges her sseugae chima on her shoulder.
"Soon Deok-ah, Eun wangjanim." Ha Jin finally looks around and sees the people welcoming her, "You are all here."
Eun nods, "My father in law and my 4th brother intercepted our carriage on our way out of our kingdom."
Jung and Baek-Ah approach her next, relieve to see her alright, "We were so worried about you."
"I'm sorry you were left at the palace." Jung sports an apologetic face, "I tried to come back for you."
Naturally, he extends his hand to Hae Soo's right arm, causing Ha Jin to flinch infinitesimally, hiding her bandage underneath her long sleeves. Jung notices the flinch but didn't say anything.
"Gwaenchanhseubnikka, Ji Mong seonseangnim kept me well." Ha Jin assures her friends, her eyes welling out of solace. She didn't know what happened to them after they were sentenced to banishment.
"Soo-ya."
Ha Jin stops breathing for a second. The last time she and So saw each other, he promised him he'll only be away for weeks. That was autumn. The palace changed its owner. So got banished. Winter came and she got engaged to the new king. Spring bloomed. Her adoptive mother cancelled her wedding and threw the palace in chaos. That was almost a month ago. Those waiting in between of not knowing if So is alive or will they ever be together again. It felt longer than the thousand year that separated them on their original lives.
"Wangsejanim."
They stand a meter apart, the space excruciatingly wide, unable to touch in front of the consort who keeps her eyes on them.
"Ah my children are finally home." Lady Shinjuwon breaks the spell with a sarcastic remark that only the privy to how dysfunctional their so-called family is, are able to catch, "Did you prepare a room for your sister or she is going to stay in your quarters?"
Ha Jin blushes out of embarrassment, assessing if Lady Shinjuwon is serious with her words. She slept at So's room back in the Sky tower plenty of times but So always uses Ji Mong's room whenever she sleeps there. They never shared a room yet.
"Geokcheong haji, maseyo Hae Soo-ya, your brother never used his quarters since he was 16. You can freely take it for yourself."
So stiffens at the reminder of his living arrangement with the consort. He'd been living in her chambers until he was able to settle at the palace away from her.
Since Ha Jin is new to the family, she has no idea of what secrets So and Lady Shinjuwon keeps. Nonetheless, being addressed as brother and sister together felt wrong to her.
The rest of the group, Baek-Ah, Soon Deok and Gen. Park never paid attention to where So sleeps for the past month. They know where his quarters are but they never saw him come in or come out of it at all. He's usually at the pavilion or staying at the general's quarters.
Jung takes a hold of Hae Soo's left wrist and pulls her, "I'll show you where it is."
Wanting to get out of there before his stomach betrays him.
"Hae Soo-ya," Lady Shinjuwon calls, an icy warning on her tone, "will you not wait for your mother?"
Ha Jin automatically stops at Lady Shinjuwon's stern voice. With her eyes, she apologizes at Jung and takes back her hand, quickly going back and standing after Lady Shinjuwon, "Joesonghabnida eomeonim, kat-i deul-a-ka-ja (Let's go back together.)
Lady Shinjuwon starts walking with Hae Soo behind her, passing before Jung and looking at him with an amused smile. So takes his place beside Hae Soo, Guen Sun in front of them. The four of them reach the middle of the courtyard before Gen. Park realized they should be following too. He quickly catches with them. Baek-Ah, Jung, Eun and Soon Deok trail him. It was the strangest family assemble they ever witness. It was confusing to hear Hae Soo and So be addressed as siblings, baffling to see Hae Soo obedient to the consort.
Ha Jin was shown to Lady Shinjuwon's quarters while So's quarters are being prepared for her. As much as So doesn't like that room of his, there are no other quarters that are near where the rest of his brothers live. So couldn't argue with the consort today. There are many things that they will argue about in the coming days and he dreads for Hae Soo to be caught in the middle of it. He was following them up until the consort's chambers but Gen. Park holds him back and pulled him for a pressing matter at hand. Jung was left alone at the corridors instead.
At sun down, a feast was prepared in haste at the pavilion, where official functions are held. Crickets and nocturnal insects sing their nightly croon at the gingko trees lining the path going to the pavilion. Lotus flowers bloomed at the pond that surrounds the pavilion and that nauseating incense found it's place at the corners of the room again. Pretty lanterns float at the pond, illuminating the many dotted orange and black colored koi swimming in the water.
Baek-Ah, Eun and Soon Deok arrived first, now familiar with the place after staying here for months. So came with Gen. Park, planning together about the changes in their plans since Lady Shinjuwon appeared earlier than expected. Jung waited outside the consort's chamber for Hae Soo, escorting them with Guen Sun after they washed and changed for more comfortable warmer clothes. Springs in the north are expectedly colder than Songak. The snow at the tip of the mountain never thaws.
Lady Shinjuwon takes the head of the table, the 4th prince to her right. Hae Soo to her left, both at arms length. Jung takes a seat beside Hae Soo. Next to him is Baek-Ah. To So's side, sits Gen. Park, Soon Deok and Eun.
Gungnyeo(s) are busy serving different bancha(s) (side dishes) ranging from fermented vegetable to dried pollack. Three kinds of soup are laden on all sides. Mandus (dumplings) and Guksu (noodles) are also present. Dried fish, salted and braised seafood are abound even when the sea is at the other side of the mountain. Stuffed chicken, marinated ribs and roasted meat are the main course.
Poseokjeong [3] (where rocks are place in the shape of abalone) encircles a nearby tree, a wine free-flowing in it. Unlike the first time Gen. Park and Jung were here, the musicians were all gathered around the poseokjeong playing a music or reciting a poem in celebration of the consort's arrival and the beginning of Spring. It is a small feast but with the elegance of royalty. Ha Jin could almost relax if only the consort is not watching her every move. She didn't expect the northern palace would be this breath-taking picturesque at the foot of the mountains.
Keeping-up with the pretense of a picture perfect family, Lady Shinjuwon entertains her guest, "How is your stay here in my palace?"
Addressing the new occupants, Baek-Ah, Soon-Deok and Eun, "Was my son a gracious host? I heard he's bad at this kind of social functions."
Bringing a careful chuckle from her visitors.
"Our seja sufficed enough if he didn't look brooding all the time." Gen. Park answer with a light humor ready.
"I'm sure he's only worried about us." Lady Shinjuwon reaches to Hae Soo's arm, squeezing it.
Ha Jin grates her teeth together, her sprain is still tender. She keeps her sleeves folded well over her hand, careful with holding her chopsticks and lifting it to her mouth.
So and Jung have been observing her, catching her discomfort and little winces. They both wonder what is she hiding underneath that high collared hanbok of hers. Though the weather is still understandably cold, Ha Jin normally doesn't wear that kind of hanbok. Tonight, her hanbok matches that of Lady Shinjuwon, both on darker side of colors. So would have preferred her usual pastel ones, the bright kind in contrast of his and Lady Shinjuwon's.
Jung unconsciously helps Hae Soo with some dishes, passing banchan and even putting some on her bowl. It didn't escape Lady Shinjuwon's notice or of So.
"Where is Woo Hee?" Ha Jin softly asks Jung, "Why don't I see her?"
The people at the table exchange glances.
"She's been ill." Baek-Ah answers, "Joesonghabnida, she couldn't leave her room."
"Ah, was she the lady everyone was talking about?" Lady Shinjuwon is curious, "The last princess of Baekje? I heard about it while staying at the capital."
"Yie," Baek-Ah cautiously replies.
Lady Shinjuwon turns to So, "Had our physician seen her?"
So nods, not offering any information.
"I didn't know our 13th prince is married?" Lady Shinjuwon continues with her probing. Everything was reported to her, including the fact that Woo Hee miscarried.
"I…" The pieces of bean sprouts on Baek-Ah's bowl seemed to have become interesting to him, unable to raised his eyes, "Anibnida… King Hyejeong had given his permission for us to marry and she had been adopted to my family…"
"Only the king was murdered and your 8th brother suddenly announces Woo Hee Agassi was the murderer." Lady Shinjuwon smirks, "Your 8th brother sure is… cruel."
She puts her hands together, looking delighted, "Well, you're all welcome to my palace. It's been a while since I hosted many visitors. Please have some more of those Kongnamul Muchim (Seasoned Soy Bean Sprouts), your 4th brother loves that."
Lady Shinjuwon always appear to be very accommodating to other people and it makes So's stomach turn.
"Ah Shinjuwon Soyong, your palace is very beautiful by the way." Eun speaks with his cheery self, "We've always thought… Aw"
Soon Deok and Baek-Ah kick him underneath the table.
"You thought what?" Lady Shinjuwon picks a salted shrimp and puts it at So's bowl, smiling wide at Eun, "That you'll find hanging decapitated bodies by the gate or that the forest had taken over my palace and made it dark? Did you find any wolves and mountain bears prowling everywhere?"
Lady Shinjuwon laughs, "Those were groundless rumors made by nobles, who were afraid of my clan. You can freely look around. I can have you escorted by palace guards if you are afraid."
She turns to Jung, "Your 14th brother enjoyed his nightly strolling around my palace before, did you not? Tell me, have you find some secrets to your liking?"
Outwardly So keeps his cool but inside he strains.
Jung swallows the rice in his mouth and looks at So, "Nothing that interests me."
"That's too bad. I thought I gave you the perfect opportunity to get to know your 4th brother. Maybe next time." Lady Shinjuwon is enjoying So's discomfort. She turns to Hae Soo next, "Hae Soo-ya, I was told you share the same hobby with our 14th prince of walking around at night. I suggest you don't do that here. The north is not a familiar terrain to you. Your brother might not be always around to protect you. Do you understand?"
"Yie eomeonim," Ha Jin obediently nods.
"Joesonghabnida," Lady Shinjuwon stands up, "The journey from the capital is tiring. I shall rest first. Please enjoy the rest of the night."
The occupants at the table automatically stand to pay their respect to Lady Shinjuwon. She lightly touches So's arm, "My dear son, won't you walk me to my chambers. My old knees are killing me."
So doesn't want to but Lady Shinjuwon hooks her hand to his arm, waiting to be guided. He avoids Hae Soo and Jung's gaze, enduring the pretense and exiting the pavilion with Lady Shinjuwon, his face devoid of any emotion.
Eun leaves his place at the table as soon as the consort disappears to the path leading to her chambers. He pulls Soon Deok with him at the poseokjeong, wanting to enjoy the music and poetry.
"What was that all about?!" So asks the moment they entered Lady Shinjuwon's chamber. His voice even but simmering in anger, "What did you showed my brother?"
Lady Shinjuwon calmly takes her hand from So and walks across her room, closing the windows at the far side, "What he wanted to see?"
"Which is?" So is getting nervous. There palace holds way too many secrets, he'd rather burn every corner of this place than let any of it out.
Lady Shinjuwon walks to the center of her room, raising both of her hands sideward, "Untie me."
Pertaining to the string keeping her belt and jeogeori together.
So takes a few seconds, gauging how much will the consort be playing with him tonight. He crosses her room, the scent of the nauseating incense starting to fill the room after the windows were closed. He stands behind Lady Shnjuwon, reaching to untie the knot at her back.
Lady Shinjuwon smirks, enjoying So's annoyance. She turns to meet him face to face, her hands still raised. She inclines her head to the side, cueing for So to derobe her of her silk jeogori.
"What did you show my brother?" So repeats, going through the motion mechanically. He wanted to keep the space between them but he notices Lady Shinjuwon is enjoying his discomfort. He pulls at the ribbon of her jeogori, unceremoniously taking it off from her. He won't give her the satisfaction of showing her that he's irritated by all of this.
"This," Lady Shinjuwon brings her hand to So's nape and pulls him for a kiss.
So eye's widen, pushing Lady Shinjuwon away, "Mwo?!"
Lady Shinjuwon laughs, filling So's ears with anger.
"Why?! When?!" So grabs Lady Shinjuwon on both arms, losing his patience fast.
"I thought he wanted to get to know you?" Lady Shinjuwon shake off So's hold on her, turning serious and lowering her voice, "His older brother who took his woman from him."
So stills, unable to hide the sudden confusion appearing on his face.
"Wae, didn't your precious little sister told you?" Lady Shinjuwon plays with his collar, getting too close.
"Stop addressing her as my sister." So warns in a quiet voice, "She's not my sister."
"I'll address her however I want." Her nails scratching at his neck at it makes its way to his chin.
So takes a hold of Lady Shinjuwon's hand and pushes her away, keeping her at arm's length, "What are you talking about my brother and Hae Soo?"
"Stupid kid, haven't you wind of their secret yet?" Lady Shinjuwon retains her coolness, "Do you ever wonder why they are so close? Why your 14th brother is always beside your sister wherever she is? He even found him after she run away."
She laughs that infuriating laugh that So hates so much, " Foolish son of mine, your 14th brother was your woman's past lover. How can you not know?"
So shoves her away, "Anibnida. Andwae-ibnida. Hae Soo could never do that to me."
Like a flashback, a series of memories came rushing back to So. The letter and the soap Jung was holding the first time he and his 14th brother left for the north. The warning Jung gave at his lake here in the north. Baek-Ah, who always plays dumb whenever he asks about it. So wonders how many of the people around them knew about it.
"She promised her heart to him but she lost her memories after drowning." Lady Shinjuwon's word had that intended effect of throwing So into doubt about Hae Soo and his 14th brother, "You're lucky she doesn't remembers. What if she does? Your 14th brother never leaves her side and you just love entrusting her to him, don't you?"
"Hae Soo would never betray me." So balls his hands at his side in an effort to clutch his sanity together. This isn't the first time the consort played with him but her words, no matter how malicious always has a ring of truth in it, albeit half or a quarter.
"Araseo," Lady Shinjuwon shrugs, stepping aside and walking to her bed, "Go ahead and keep them together. I'm only saying you can't trust those two."
Lady Shinjuwon lowers her voice as if whispering in secret, "Shall eomeoni let your 14th brother get into an accident? Say, shall I return him to your 8th brother?"
"Don't touch them. I'll deal with them on my own." So walks away, his eyes seeing red.
"Careful, my dear son, you can't keep him here for long." Lady Shinjuwon calls out, "He knows about your secret too."
Arming Jung with his own weapon against So, Lady Shinjuwon love toying with So to keep him at the palm of her hands. Her punishment to him for making her wait for that throne that they had agreed upon years ago. Her patience is wearing thin and the throne owner had changed plenty of times. If So is not keen on getting his hand in that throne, well then Lady Shinjuwon will force him to do so.
Guen Sun comes in after So exits, greeting the consort with a bow.
"Did you had the 14th prince walk Hae Soo to her room." Lady Shinjuwon asks,
"Yie my lady." Guen Sun reports, "I saw Hae Soo Agassi let him inside her room."
"Johda. (Good.)" Lady Shinjuwon smiles.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Jung raps at Hae Soo's door coming back after he came from his own quarters.
"Ne?" Ha Jin opens her door, "Did you forget about something?"
"Kuenyang…" He reaches to her right wrist, squeezing it.
"Aw!" Ha Jin is too startled to hide the pain.
Jung pulls up the sleeve on her lower arm, revealing her bandage wrist, "Where did you get this?"
He noticed it the first time Hae Soo was hiding it underneath her sseugae chima when she arrived.
Ha Jin takes back her hand, looking around. It is new moon and the darkness had swallowed most of the details of the courtyard around them.
"Come inside."
Letting Jung in.
They take a seat at the unfamiliar tea table at the middle of the room. The room is pretty bare with only the bed, a cabinet by the wall and this tea table populating the room. There are no calligraphies or paintings decorating the walls. Books and short swords that had long been forgotten nestled at the top of a meter tall cabinet. The room was hastily cleaned up for her when she arrived. Ha Jin was at the middle of inspecting the faded dancheong at the pillars when she heard the knockings on the door.
"Let me see your arm." Jung holds out his hand.
"It's nothing." Ha Jin automatically draws her arm closer to her.
Jung snatches it gently, pulling her sleeves up again, "Where did you get this?"
He repeats, untying the bandage and bringing her arm closer to the lantern by the table. A faded large bruise is healing at the inside of her wrist. Jung moves it softly left and right, testing how much Ha Jin can exert effort with it.
Ha Jin grits her teeth together, trying not to flinch whenever she feels pain.
"Did the consort did this to you?" Jung tenderly kneads it.
"Aniyo." Ha Jin automatically lies taking her hand away but Jung holds upon it.
"My 8th brother maybe cruel but he would never inflict this harm to you." Jung reads Ha Jin's face as he continues to massage her wrist.
Ha Jin wouldn't be able to say anything, afraid of what the consort will do to her or to So if it ever gets out that she had been maltreated by her.
"Ha Jin-ah," Jung addresses her in her real name, "How many secrets have we been sharing for the past years? Can you please not lie to me?"
He takes the bandage from the table and wraps it back to Ha Jin's wrist, securely and tight, "When we were young, So hyungnim used to visit the palace in those fine silk hanboks that are very pretty to look at. I remember hearing one of our servants saying, it is made by the finest tailor in China, my mother wanted one for me and my 3rd brother, Yo."
Ha Jin purses her lips together.
"I also heard that underneath that pretty hanbok my 4th brother wears are scars and bandages he's been hiding from us."
Ha Jin closes her eyes. So had been left alone under the consort's wing since he was four, Ha Jin couldn't begin to fathom how much So suffered under the consort. She was only with the consort for almost a month and she felt like a trapped bird inside a cage with nowhere to fly to, how much more did So. No wonder he never wanted to come back here.
"Mianhada, it must have been terrifying to be left alone with the consort." Jung reads the agony on Ha Jin's face, "Ha Jin-ah, just tell me the words and I will whisked you away from here."
"Kamsahabnida Jung-ah." Ha Jin opens her eyes.
"But?" Jung senses the condition.
"I can't leave So wangsejanim here alone." Ha Jin remembers Lady Shinjuwon's warning.
Jung finishes wrapping the bandage on Ha Jin's hand and sighs, "Do you even know my brother? I'm sure he'll be just…
He releases an exasperated sigh, "…fine."
Ha Jin takes back her hand, "Kueman haseyo Jung-ah. (Stop it, Jung.) I know him enough. Please stop doubting your brother."
"He's lying to you!" Jung couldn't help but raise his voice, Ha Jin doesn't seem to take heed of the fact that his 4th brother might be dangerous. Even before then, Ha Jin never listens, "Ha Jin-ah, there's way too many secrets between you and my brother. It's not just you who is hiding a secret from him."
"You keep saying he's lying to me but you never said what it is." Ha Jin is beginning to be annoyed with this talk about secrets and lies. She's hiding one herself, "Tell me."
Jung holds back, pulling away and reclining his back to the seat's rest. It's not his secret to tell, "Mianhaeyo."
"Jung-ah," Ha Jin gives up, they had this conversation one too many times. She knows they've reached a moot point.
Jung takes out from his sleeves a silk purple handkerchief wrapped at an octagon shaped something.
"Ige mwo yeyo? (What's this?)" The shape looks familiar to Ha Jin.
"Binu. (Soap.)" Jung answers, "You gave it to me years ago."
Ha Jin opens it and found a translucent white soap with purple petals frozen inside. She looks at Jung, confused.
"You smell like…" Jung hesitates, "not yourself."
"Hmmmm?" Ha Jin brings her sleeves to her nose and smells her clothes, her nose wrinkling.
Jung grimaces, "You smell like one of those incense that the consort likes."
Tracing the familiar path of reddish flagstones, So walks over the block of quarters, where the guests resides. The quarters surrounding his quarters are all quiet now. There is light inside the general's quarter, probably for him. There's also one inside Woo Hee's room, his 13th brother looking after her. Jung's room is all-dark and so is the quarters that Eun and Soon Deok is sharing.
It's past midnight now, the dinner banquet had long been over. He was thinking of joining their guests at the pavilion a while back but as he couldn't control his jealousy and anger yet, he opted to walk around the palace, thinking things through. Hae Soo is so close to him and yet she feels as if a thousand miles away. He never foresaw that Jung was the lover Hae Soo couldn't remember. He was too focused on her and too closed to his 14th brother that his head refuses the possibility that they could have betrayed him.
But was it a betrayal?
It was him who took Hae Soo for himself without any care for anyone around him and Hae Soo had always chosen him, over and over. She fought for him even against her parents' wishes. In spite of this, his jealousy is still getting the better of him, clouding his judgment.
Soon he found himself at his old quarters, noticing the weak orange light inside. He steps at the foyer, hesitating at the stairs. He remembers the body of his only friend hanging from where he is standing now. His father's spy whom the consort found out about and had hanged here as a punishment for him. It's been decades but he can still imagine smelling that reeking scent that made him puke.
So closes his eyes, trying to erase that gruesome scene on his mind. He tells himself it's Hae Soo who is living in these quarters now. His Hae Soo, his moon. His lemony citrus smelling Hae Soo. He reaches her front door, wondering if she is still awake. He breathes a deep sigh. He had walked twice the perimeter of their palace already his head is slightly clearer and that's when he felt he missed her so much. He needed to see her to erase the doubt he is feeling.
"Soo-ya." He knocks at the door.
Inside Ha Jin had washed and exchanged her hanbok for her sokjeogori, getting ready to sleep and is about to fetch Jung to the door when So came. The two look at each other, sitting back to the chairs. So would be angry once he finds Jung inside her room.
"Maybe you should leave by the back window," Ha Jin whispers to Jung.
"Why—"
"-Shhhh!" Ha Jin covers Jung's mouth, anxious.
"Why should it matter, we're not doing anything wrong." Jung takes her hand from his mouth.
"Soo-ya, are you awake?" So calls again.
"Even so, you shouldn't be in my room at this time of the night." Ha Jin explains, imploring Jung, "Let's be quiet and pretend that I'm asleep."
Jung stares at Ha Jin unbelievingly. He doesn't like this hiding when they have nothing to hide to begin with.
Back outside, So listens and surveys for any movement inside.
Jung causes the soap to fall down on the floor with a thud, making it look like an accident, "Mianhada."
"Soo-ya?" So heard the thud.
Ha Jin looks at Jung with annoyance, mouthing, "Stay here. Don't move."
She stands up from the chair and walks over to her door, opening it slightly, "Wangsejanim?"
Ha Jin had to stopped to gaze at So for a moment, forgetting everything.
So's expression softens at Hae Soo's appearance in front of him.
"Soo-ya." He utters her name, like a prayer he's been saying for the past months. For now, he couldn't remember why he is angry, "I missed you."
He forced door wider, coming inside, his arms automatically encircling at her waist. As he is about to kiss her, Ha Jin pushes at his chest and avoids his lips, "Waeyo?"
"Hmmrrph." Jung awkwardly clears his throat at the background.
Ha Jin freezes and So straightens his back, slowly turning his attention to the unwelcome presence in the room. His anger coming back at the sight of his 14th brother, "What are you doing here at this time of the night?"
"I was lending her a present." Jung explains, picking-up the soap at the floor and holding it out for So to see.
Though So had straighten his back, his arms are still around Hae Soo's waist, possessive and controlling, "Naga. (Get out.)"
"Annyeong chumusibsiyo. (Good night then.)" Jung didn't want to see this particular intimacy between the two. He walks to the door, his eyes focus on the dark surrounding outside.
Once he passed them, So calls out to him, "I'd rather you not visit her at an inappropriate time again."
Jung stops to listen and understood the warning. He went on his way without turning back.
So releases Hae Soo momentarily and closes the door behind him. Ha Jin couldn't read his expression under the dim light of the lantern from the table.
Is he angry?
Ha Jin doesn't want to argue with him right now, wishing So would stop staring at her and say something. They've been separated for so long.
"Can we not argue today?"
He advances a step on her and Ha Jin had to anticipate the impact of his touch when he circles his arms around her covetously again.
"Wangsejanim…"
So closes the space on their lips hungrily, like a parched soil at the middle of drought thirsting for rain. He sucks at her lips, his hands clutching at her back. Ha Jin responds with the same intensity, making up for the months they thought they would never see other again. She presses herself against him, fervently and insistent.
He pushes her to the wall, the lines of her body tout against his, her chest heaving in time with So's. At some point they separate to catch their breath and then continue where they both left. His mouth leaves her lips, tickling at her chin going up to her ear nibbling at that soft hanging lobe, his hands gliding at the side of her waist going down then taking a hold of her wrists.
"Hmmmm…" a moan escapes her lips. The pain in her wrist mingling with it.
So pulls her from the wall and carries her in his arms next. The jostling, sobering her a little. Ha Jin stops kissing So when she felt her back touches the soft bed behind her.
"Wangsejanim, jamkkanmanyo, (wait.)" Her heart races, nervous of how dangerous So's kissing is getting out of hand. This isn't the sky tower anymore. No one will walk upon them or knock on her door to interrupt.
When she looks at So next, his eyes are heavily lidded with desire and something akin to anger simmering behind his lids. Ha Jin squirms underneath So, his weight almost pressing against her, she pushes at him a bit.
So takes her wrists and holds its against the pillow. The pain making Ha Jin flinch, "Wangsejanim, stop."
His lips darts to her neck, aggressively going down and if he continues, he'll soon find the faded bruises on her clavicle.
"Stop, please." Ha Jin tries again.
So is too far-gone to listen, he couldn't hear Hae Soo's pleading. His craving had merged with his anger and jealousy. His lips had turned from caressing to punishing; Ha Jin is starting to panic.
"So-ya stop, you're hurting me." Ha Jin struggles to free her wrist from So's hold, "Stop!"
Her voice, finally breaking into So's consciousness, he stops with the onslaught kissing and lays on top of her, releasing her wrists, resting his face beside her neck, her still wet hair smelling of sweet lime, it's almost her but not quite.
So whispers in a defeated voice, "You lied to me."
With So on top of her, she feels the wracking sobs starting to form on his chest. Ha Jin is confused.
"So-ya? I don't understand."
So gets off of her and sits at the bed.
The instant lost of warm on top of Ha Jin suddenly felt like a void. Ha Jin sits up, meeting So's eyes, "What's wrong So-ya?"
Reaching to cup his cheek.
So hesitates to clarify, afraid that Hae Soo might remember her lost love if he tells her about it. He leans to her invitingly warm hand, looking like a lost child, "Do you really not remember?"
"About what?" Ha Jin racks her brain as to what So is talking about. They've spent two terms apart, she doesn't know what So wind up with while she is away.
"About the boy you once promised your heart to."
Ha Jin tenses and So can feel her hesitation, "I don't remember…"
She withdraws her hand but So catches it. She takes a minute, deciding to be honest with him, "But they told me who he is."
So stills, "How long have you known?"
Ha Jin looks away, "From… the beginning."
So couldn't believe how long Hae Soo had been lying to him. He was about to leave when Ha Jin catches his hand, "Please hear me out?"
"Did I not I asked many times?!" So raised his voice, a fit he usually doesn't do. He trembles with so much anger, feeling betrayed by Hae Soo, "Do you think of me as a fool?"
"Why does it matter if I knew or not?! I've always chosen to be with you?" Ha Jin views this argument as futile, "Yes, I knew it was Jung all along. I knew and I don't remember. What am I supposed to do? Shall I force myself to remember? I did! I tried! I felt apologetic and guilty towards Jung. What else should have I done?"
Ha Jin's chest heave with the unfairness of the accusation hailed against her.
"When did you stop seeing each other?" So is being irrational, his judgment clouded by his jealousy, "Or are you still seeing each other behind my back?! You even let him stayed beside you when you run away years ago! Did you left me to be with him?"
"Of course not! Is that how low you perceived of me?" So's accusations hurt, "Na-ga! (Get out!)
Thing have escalated way too fast between them, Ha Jin couldn't help but be angry too.
"Naga rago! (I said get out!)"
Lacking the will to talk anymore, Ha Jin dismisses So. They are both running on high emotions, she's afraid that they might say more hurtful things that they can't take back later.
So heaves a frustrated breathe, walking out of the room, the consort's manic laughter ringing on his ears. Whether he admits or not Lady Shinjuwon had successful thrown a wedge in between him and Hae Soo.
It's early morning and the sun hasn't reached the middle of the sky yet. Outside, the birds are playfully flying in the air, hopping from one branch to another. The sky is in it's bluest form with occasional dusted specs of white cloud.
Ha Jin delivers Woo Hee's breakfast with Baek-Ah. It was a long day, yesterday and only now is she able to visit Woo Hee.
"Woo Hee-ya!" Ha Jin throws her arms around Woo Hee the moment she enters her room, startling Woo Hee who is staring at her windows once again.
"Hae Soo-ya, you're safe." Woo Hee returns the embrace with a tight and worried clasp, "I was so worried about you."
"Chal chinaeyo? (How are you?)" Ha Jin breaks their embrace to hold Woo Hee's hand, "Mianhaeyo… I…"
Ha Jin hesitates, "…heard about what happened to you."
She and Baek-Ah was able to catch up last night at the feast after the consort returned to her room.
Woo Hee reluctantly releases Ha Jin's hand and stares at the garden again, unable to meet Baek-Ah's eyes.
"I shall leave this breakfast here." Baek-Ah smiles, awkwardly putting the tray of food at the side table, his cue to leave, "I'll leave the two of you to talk."
He softly smoothens Woo Hee's hair and nods at Hae Soo before leaving for the door and exits.
"Mianhaeyo, I shouldn't have mentioned it." Ha Jin apologizes again, sensing the tension after she accidentally remarks about the miscarriage, "It was insensitive of me."
"Aniyo. Geok cheong haji maseyo." Woo Hee rests her head to her knees, "I am embarrassed to face the 13th prince… I wasn't able to protect… our child."
"It isn't your fault, Woo Hee-ya." Ha Jin assures her.
"Still." Woo Hee can't help but be guilty of it, trembling as she speaks. She hasn't spoken longer than a few sentences this past few days, her throat feels dry, "How were you after we left the palace?"
She changes topic, not wanting to talk about herself.
"King Jeongjong could never hurt me." Ha Jin moves the side table closer to her and uncovers the food for Woo Hee, "Here, have a taste of your porridge. It's not as good as our Oh Sanggun's but I tried."
She smiles and hands Woo Hee a spoon. She couldn't sleep from last night's argument with So, hence when daybreak came, she abandoned sleep and looked for the kitchen quarters and got lost. By the time she found it, breakfast was ready to be served in their quarters.
"Kamsahabnida." Woo Hee turns to look at the porridge Ha Jin made and then to her face, noticing the dark circles underneath her cream, "Did you sleep? You look tired."
Under the sunlight coming through the window, playing against Ha Jin's skin, the dark circles on her eyes are very much evident.
Ha Jin nods, "It's nothing. The journey from the palace is quite long. I guessed I'm still tired."
Woo Hee discarded the spoon and drinks the water instead, she puts the glass down and move to her side, "Mianhaeyo, I'm not famish."
She lies to her back, giving space for Ha Jin. Ha Jin automatically lies down on Woo Hee's side, sharing the bed with her. Woo Hee stares in the ceiling while Ha Jin covers her eyes with her arms. They always lay next to each other back in Jeolla whenever their situation gets tough and lonely. This is how the two of them survived before, having each other side by side.
"So wangsejanim found out about Jung…" Ha Jin quietly tells Woo Hee.
"What about the 14th prince?" Woo Hee and Soon Deok never knew about Hae Soo and Jung's past relationship. When they both met her, Hae Soo is already known as the 4th prince' woman.
"Hae Soo used to see the 14th prince before." Ha Jin talks about Hae Soo in a 3rd person perspective, differentiating herself from her.
Woo Hee just listens, used to Ha Jin addressing herself in 3rd person. It's been years since the last time Ha Jin did that but it was normal for her to do that before.
"I couldn't remember anything about it after I drowned years ago. I still don't remember anything until now." Ha Jin explains once more, the words getting too old on her mouth.
"I heard it caused quite the trouble among the princes and your household." Woo Hee recalls how far different they are from those days. She doesn't even like Hae Soo before until she was tasked to run away with her and seen her sincerity, "You didn't even recognized your own parents."
Ha Jin nods, "So wangsejanim asked me about it several times but I couldn't tell him because I was worried it would bring trouble between him and his 14th brother. I don't know what to say."
"Have you ended the relationship with the 14th prince?"
"Long before I even started seeing So wangsejanim." Ha Jin did make sure that nothing is between her and Jung before her relationship with So.
"Did the 14th prince ever stop loving you?" Woo Hee asks, "You and him share a close relationship these past years, So wangsejanim would rightly be angry after finding out about it."
Ha Jin doesn't answer. Jung never stopped loving her even after finding out who she really is, "What should I do then?"
Woo Hee doesn't know the 4th prince enough to know what to do. She had heard about him being dangerous and manipulative but who else is not dangerous inside the palace. You will have to be either too naïve like the 10th prince or her 13th prince who is genuinely not interested in politics to remain safe but then even them got , Woo Hee thinks if not for Hae Soo, the 4th prince will not give them the time of the day.
"So wangsejanim asked me to marry him before he left last year." Ha Jin bitterly smiles.
Woo Hee glances at Hae Soo. It shouldn't come as a surprise but it still did.
"He hasn't forgotten about it, has he?" Ha Jin rhetorically asks, reminding herself of that promise at the Donji lake. Between that time and today, so many things have happened to them, she worries they might have grown apart. They are always quick to fight even after being away from each other for so long but they always make up easily too. Not last night though. They threw hurtful accusations at each other, they even avoid each other this morning at breakfast.
"He'll come around in time." Woo Hee reaches at Ha Jin's arm, "We always do."
Her last sentence pertaining to her too.
The throne room at the Kang's palace occupies only half of how big the Hoegyong Hall is but it's aisle is surprisingly a longer walk than it's counterpart. While the Hoegyong Hall is filled with minister during assembly, this throne room only serves for the consort to hold gathering with the heads of each family in their clan.
Today, the throne hall is empty save for Lady Shinjuwon sitting on her throne and Guen Sun, standing on her left. Her lieutenant, whose in charge of patrolling on their borders had informed her that a highly unlikely guest had stepped into their borders and is seeking an audience with her.
Lady Shinjuwon looks bored on her throne as two guests, covered on black coat, were ushered in the throne hall.
When the two reached the aisle, they both took off the hood from their heads, soliciting curiosity from Lady Shinjuwon, "Ah what brings our neighboring Chungju Yu clans on my territory?"
Former queen, Lady Shinmyeongsunseong, herself came with her cousin, Wang Ryeom Sik.
"I thought our former queen is exiled on her family land?" Lady Shinjuwon smirks, her left eyebrow rising in malicious interest.
Against her wishes, Lady Yoo, bows her head in greeting, humbling herself, "I came to pay my respect to the lady of house Kang."
"No one from the Chungju Yu Clan ever dared to step on our land before. Did you perhaps, come for your son?" Lady Shinjuwon sits with a straight back, towering in front of Lady Yu.
"Yie, my lady. If you will allow it," Lady Yoo holds herself back from choking on her words. Paying respect takes a whole different courage from stepping on your enemy's land. It leaves a bitter taste on her mouth, "I'd like to see my son."
"And what would I get in return for granting your reunion? I heard the Chunju Yu clans are finished after the 3rd prince's failed coup." Lady Shinjuwon is enjoying Lady Yu's discomfort.
"I was stripped of my title and exiled in my hometown but our lands and treasury are the same."
Wang Ryeom Sik raises his bowed head reaching beside her, a warning not to spill too much information about themselves.
Lady Yoo shakes off her cousin's caution, "Ask me and I shall give you whatever you want?"
"Whatever I want?" Lady Shinjuwon toys with Lady Yoo's words, "People who promised me the same thing regretted it in the end. Even our own king did."
Pertaining to King Taejo's mistake of granting her a favor in exchange of getting So back to his palace.
"I will not regret seeing my son." Lady Yoo stands steadfastly to her resolute. She will not be swayed, "Besides, I'd rather pledge our fealty to your clan than bow down to the Hwangbos."
Lady Shinjuwon is amused, her laughter echoing at the walls of the empty throne room, "They do have a habit of double crossing the people whom they make deals with."
She puts her hands together, making a clap of joyous attentiveness, "Kneel before me and I shall call for your son."
Lady Yoo holds her breath, looking at the irritating beautiful face of Lady Shinjuwon. She closes her eyes and shakily goes down on her knees, kissing her forehead to the ground, admitting defeat.
Wang Ryeom Sik could do nothing but stare at his once mighty cousin, now fragile and old as him. If this would bring back the last heir of Chunju Yu clan then he might as well kneel too. Against his better judgment, he goes down beside his cousin, bending his back and kneeling.
This is how Jung and So found them as the two were brought into the throne room in haste. Hae Soo was summoned also, taking her place beside Guen Sun. She and So are separated with Lady Shinjuwon's throne at their middle. She gazes at So, trying to catch his eyes but So is busily watching Jung hold their mother with longing.
"Eomeonim!" Jung quickly runs to Lady Yoo, helping her out from kneeling.
More than the presence of the Chungju Yu clan heads in the throne room, So and Jung are more shocked to see how Lady Yoo had aged so much, all her hair are white, her shoulders hunched. She looks sickly and fragile, her hanbok looking too large for her frame.
So stays rooted at Lady Shinjuwon's right, his face devoid of any emotion as Lady Shinjuwon and Guen Sun observes him. Ha Jin stills, wondering why she was asked to come, witnessing So struggles not to show any emotion as he watched his mother and 14th brother reunite.
Jung and Lady Yoo exchange a warm embrace, both longing for each other. They haven't seen each other since Lady Yoo was exiled by King Hyejong.
"Eomeonim, how have you been?" Jung breaks their embrace, worry creasing the lines of his forehead.
"I have been well, my son. I heard you were banished from our kingdom. Mianhada, your mother is useless and was unable to protect you." Lady Yoo holds back her tears, giving his son a kiss in the forehead.
"Worry not, my mother. So Hyungnim had look after me well." Jung glances at So, ever grateful.
"What a touching reunion, do you want some privacy? You can stroll at the gardens. The weather is perfect for you and your son to walk together." Lady Shinjuwon suggests, emphasis to 'your son', "Why don't our 4th prince show you to the gardens."
"Gwaengchanhsuebnikka Shinjuwon Soyong, my son, Jung, is enough." Lady Yoo acidly smiles, a shadow of her former self showing. She didn't disappoint Lady Shinjuwon when she expected her to be indifferent towards So.
So's face darkens and Ha Jin wonders why So is getting a cold treatment from his own biological mother. She knew he was abandoned here in Shinju when he was a kid. She also heard about the rumors of So being accused of bringing misfortune to the royal family but no one prepared her for this particular painful scene of a mother not even wanting to spare his own son a glance.
Had the former queen always treated So like this?
Remembering their once conversation about mothers in front of the prayer tower when they were both still living in Myung Hee's household. So shouted at her for calling on her own mother at times of need.
"Well then, have a nice walk with your son." Lady Shinjuwon exchanges pleasantries as if they were good old friends, "I shall see you again later."
Jung escorts Lady Yoo and his uncle out of the throne room, anxiously acknowledging towards So, apologetic towards him. Lady Yoo's opinion of So had never changed, even after all these years and the pain of being openly neglected still hurts So.
"Ah, what a tearful reunion, isn't it?" Lady Shinjuwon utters after Lady Yoo's party exit the throne room, "Your 14th brother seems to be born with such luck. He has everything… you ever… want…"
Prolonging the last words on her sentence to heighten So's already bruised heart.
"It's alright, my dear son, you'll always have me." Lady Shinjuwon reaches to So's hand, squeezing it with affection, "Eomeoni will take care of your 14th brother and his treacherous clan for you."
So heard nothing, walking away with a heavy heart.
Ha Jin couldn't help but hold the the consort with disdain.
Back in the palace at Songak, the general assembly every morning is on going with a lieutenant reporting about the movements of the occupants of the northern clans.
"The ship Lady Shinjuwon and Lady Hae Soo had reached the shores of China a week ago, pyeha. Joesonghabnida, nobody had foresaw that the consort would take the route by the sea." The lieutenant kneels by the aisle, all eyes on him, "Our soldiers missed them at the borders by a day."
"What is my sister doing on her own palace that she let the two pass under her turf?" Wook is looking all-murderous, still recovering from the humiliation he endured on his wedding day.
The Kang's private soldiers who fought for their mistress disappeared after Lady Shinjuwon's ship safely sailed away. Those who survived returned to the north, others blended well with the town's people and servants inside the palace. There are only a few left, enough eyes for Lady Shinjuwon to spy on the king.
Ji Mong still serves as an adviser to the king, functioning as the eyes and ears for So and Gen. Park. He sends a messenger to them weekly, informing them of the happenings inside the palace. These days, though no one is left in the palace for Ji Mong to worry about, he keeps an eye out at the king, hoping his little queen is safe and happy with her crown prince now.
"Yeonhwa gongju had just married the 3rd prince of the Khitans. Her kingdom had thrown a big feast in celebration so their king is being lenient on everyone." The lieutenant reports, "Also, the lady consort had been known to have a good relationship with the Khitans. They had been allies even in your father's time. It would be hard to ask them to cooperate with us against the Kangs of Shinju."
Wook's hand balled into a fist, remaining all calm on the outside while his insides is boiling with rage, "The occupants of the northern palace will remain safe for as long as they are inside their turf."
He inclines his back to rest, "We must find a way to lure them out of their palace."
Letting his eyes pass through his ministers, "Round up all my 13th brother's family and the remaining Baekje people in the south. We will start with them."
With the light breeze of Spring blowing upon the gardens, So stands in one of the corridors of some study chambers a few blocks from the throne room. He's watching his 14th brother, their mother and uncle at the pavilion from a far. Teas were served at the table but the three chose to stay outside the pavilion, the weather too bright to miss. Lady Yoo's hand is hanging on Jung's arm, her eyes full of adoration for her youngest son. She fusses over his hanbok, dusting an invincible dust on his shoulders.
A pinch of pain throbs on So's chest, Lady Shinjuwon's words echoing on his head.
At the turn of the corridor, Soon Deok and Eun are taking a stroll at the garden. His gift of norigae hanging at Soon Deok's waist. Eun is showing Soon Deok his new slingshot that Jung helped him with the other day, when they notice So standing at the middle of the corridor.
"Hyungnim!" Eun greets, "What are you doing here alone?"
So turns his back from the garden and Soon Deok traces his last line of sight, finding Jung, the former queen and the former minister at the end of it. She purses her lips, recognizing the discomfort on the 4th prince's face, a testament to how long she had known the 4th prince. On normal circumstances, no one can see the longing on So's eyes. His face holds no emotion at all.
"Hae Soo is at Woo Hee's room," Soon Deok mentions Hae Soo, sensing So might want to see her after this, "If you are looking for her."
So nods and walks away, going the other direction, away from the guest quarters and then he stopped realizing something. He turns back to them, "Soon Deok-ah how long have you known Hae Soo?"
The question throws Soon Deok off guard, "Waeyo?"
So remains silent.
"We've known each other since I started apprenticing under Oh Sanggun." Soon Deok answers, baffled.
"Waeyo?" Eun repeats the question, offering an unsolicited answer "I know her longer than Soon Deok."
So remembers Hae Soo usually hang out with Baek-Ah, Eun and Jung before, "Kuenyang…"
So hesitates. If he is going to ask someone about Hae Soo, it might as well be his 13th brother. Though So wonders how much Baek-Ah would be honest with him. Baek-Ah had always been close to Jung, closer than to him, often on Jung's side and he is busy worrying about Woo Hee these days, he couldn't bring himself to ask. If he's honest enough, he doesn't want to admit that his ego is bruised. Of all the boy, Hae Soo would have promised his heart to, why does it had to be his 14th brother. They are full-blooded brothers. Jung even looked up to him, growing up to resemble him closely not just physically but with everything; the way he held his self, the way he fights, the way he dresses, even their ponytails were the same.
"Did Hae Soo ever mention about…" So sighs. Soon Deok will never tell on him but will his 10th brother keep quiet about it, "Dwaesso. (Nevermind.)"
Soon Deok and Eun exchanges gazes, "About?"
"Did you had a fight?" Eun tactlessly asks, "You were avoiding each other this morning."
Soon Deok elbows Eun at the side.
"Aw!" Eun exclaims, his slingshot almost falling.
"Joesonghabnida So wangsejanim." Soon Deok apologizes, laughing awkwardly, "You know how your 10th brother can be… unmindful at times."
She pulls at Eun, "We'll leave first."
"Jamkkan. (Wait.)" So reclines his back, sitting at the balustrade of the corridor. He gauges Eun's tactlessness, sure that he's 10th brother will not be secretive like his other brothers are, "Had Hae Soo ever mentioned about… seeing someone before."
"Hae Soo saw someone before you?" That came as a surprised to Soon Deok. She had always thought Hae Soo had been the 4th prince's woman from the beginning.
"Ah, you mean before her drowning?" Eun doesn't disappoint.
"Jamkkamanyo," This one comes as another surprise to Soon Deok, her husband knowing something she doesn't, "Kue-geo arayo? (You know about it.)"
"Must you always be surprised?!" Eun looks at Soon Deok with hurt, "I do know a thing or two."
"Mianhaeyo, I…" Soon Deok gazes at Eun to So, lost, "Who was the boy? Hae Soo never mentioned it."
So is also surprised, "Who else knew about it?"
"Hmmm…" Eun makes a gesture of thinking, "I'm not really sure but Baek-Ah wangja knows. I think Myung Hee noonim and Wook hyungnim also knew about it. Remember that time you and our 8th brother had an argument about Yeonhwa punishing Hae Soo for the gyuls her servant was eating?"
So remembers that incident with Chae Ryung.
Eun recalls it, "Baek-Ah and Hae Soo had a screaming match about her genuine affection being dangerously tempting to men around her, including you."
Eun's story jump times, it doesn't make sense to So and Soon Deok.
"Start from the beginning." So commands.
"I don't know the beginning but I know the ending." Eun volunteers.
Soon Deok doesn't know if it is good to talk about this. It's a private matter Hae So and So should settle on their own, "So wangsejanim, joesonghabnida, maybe you should ask Hae Soo, herself."
"I did." So turns to Soon Deok, noticing her discomfort, "She lied about it."
"Gwaenchanhayo hyungnim, they all don't tell me anything too." Eun pertains to that plan of their group that backfired against them and had them all banished, "You'll get used to it after a while."
So's face darkens and Soon Deok chews her lower lip out of guilt. Only Eun looks bright out of the bleak faces of his companions.
"What do you know about it?" So crosses his arms against his chest, "Mal hae pa. (Tell me.)"
Soon Deok is starting to be nervous about this. She wants to ask about the name of the boy but that might be a death sentence to that person.
"Hmmmm…" Eun thinks about it, "That they promised to go to the lantern festival together but Jung left for the north and when he returned, Hae Soo had drowned and doesn't remember anything."
"Jung wangjanim?!" Soon Deok exclaims.
So remains calm.
"Ne, Jung wangja. Waeyo?" Eun nods again, heedless of how much his information can hurt the people involve.
"And?" So prompts.
"Jung wangja tried to salvage their lost relationship. I think they worked on it for some time but it's not happening. Hae Soo is confused and Jung wangja tried to clear her confusion. He told her what they had promised together. That he goes to the pavilion of our 8th brother's household every night to wait for her but she never showed up not even once."
"When did this happen?" So is afraid to ask, turning his attention to the garden where Jung and his mother is still hanging out together.
"Hmmmm…" Eun recalls Hae Soo's birthday when he heard it all from Jung and Hae Soo arguing about it, "When you sent Jung wangja back to the palace after your training in the north. When he was awarded lieutenant."
So's hand curled into a fist. That was the time he chose to run away from the capital because the consort is living at the port. When he ruminates about it, he realizes it's his own fault. It was his decision to run away. It was his decision to sent Jung back. It was his decision not to come back.
"But Hae Soo ended it smooth and clean before you arrived." Eun recalls his conversation with Baek-Ah and Jung inside the library when they were studying for the Gwageo together.
"How much did Jung loved her?" So couldn't help but asked, "Did she loved him back?"
"Mor-eu-gess-seubnida. (I don't know.)" Eun shrugs, "Does it matter? It was a long time ago. Everyone liked Hae Soo before. Even I liked her once."
"Mwo?!" So really knows nothing about how people around him feels.
Eun laughs, that innocent laugh you can't hate. Soon Deok smacks him at the arm, "Liked. I liked her before. I'm saying it shouldn't matter to you anymore, hyungnim. She fought hard for you, didn't she? She evaded those engagements and stayed true to you all this years. She's even past her marrying age already but she's still waiting for you. Why dwell on her past that she, herself, doesn't remember?"
In hindsight, Eun's simple mind holds a clarity that So couldn't achieve.
Eun unwelcomingly reaches to So's shoulder, "She's here with you. That's all that matters."
He smiles at Soon Deok, learning from his own mistake. He looks the part of an older brother rather than four years younger than So.
"Kuereom," Eun interlaces his hand with Soon Deok, "We'll go first. I hope you settle with Hae Soo whatever you fought about. You spent more time apart than together, you shouldn't be wasting your time with arguments and misunderstandings. You never know what could happen."
Soon Deok returns Eun's smile, blushing at her husband's display of maturity. She couldn't be more proud of him. They both bow their heads and went on their way, leaving So to stand on his own, watching his own family at the garden again.
Lady Yoo pat's Jung's head adorably, laughing freely at something Jung had just uttered. She minutely turns her head to where So is standing. She knew he had been watching them all this time. Her eyebrow rises at one side, annoyance can be read on her eyes. She turns back to his youngest son and pulls him away.
So was considering forgiving Jung a minute ago but their mother is making it hard for him to see beyond her hatred. He hangs his head low, wishing he could be that son for once.
A whistle accompanies Jung's walking at a path going to the pavilion to have dinner with everyone. He had just fetch Lady Yoo and Wang Ryeon Shik to the gates of the palace, seeing them leave. The sun had just set and the servants are hurrying to light the lanterns around the palace.
As Jung turns to the trail of Gingko trees leading to the pavilion, So comes out of the corner and stops him. He asks him to come with him. They stand at a secluded off beaten path to a forgotten quarters.
"Did eo—" So was going to address Lady Yoo as a mother but half way through it changes his mind, "Lady Yoo offered to bring you back to your clan's hometown?"
"Waeyo?" Jung asks, unassumingly, his mood buoyant and happy.
"I think you should go back with them when they return." Finding a way for Jung to leave this palace and be safe on their clan's territory.
Jung considers it for a moment. As much as Jung understands that they all can't stay under the consort's wing for long, he's not leaving Hae Soo here alone, "Silheoyo. (I don't wan to.)"
"Jung-ah." So's voice grows quiet, a warning to his brother, "This place is not safe for you. After Soon Deok and Eun leave for my place at Later Jin, we'll send Baek-Ah and Woo Hee Agassi next. We are only waiting for Woo Hee Agassi to get better."
"Silheoyo." Jung repeats, "I am not leaving Hae Soo under your mother's care."
Sensing, the different mood on his 4th brother, Jung turns serious.
So holds his hands to his side. Jung's utterance of concern for Hae Soo is making it harder for him to control his jealousy, "Thank you for your concern but I can protect her as much you do."
Jung watches So, feeling the animosity coming off from him, unaware of what So had found out about him.
The breeze blows over them, lifting the ends of their pony tails. Tension rises between the two brothers as Jung and So gauges each other. Seeing the consort and the bruises Hae Soo is hiding remind Jung that he can't fully trust his 4th brother and he lashes out at him, the way he always does where Hae Soo is concerned.
"You can protect her?" Jung's smile is replaced with the same held back anger as So's, "Is that why she's sporting a sprained wrist? The consort makes a spectacle of appearing to be very accommodating but Hae Soo's bruises and your scars are not fooling anyone."
So squint his eyes, his focus zooming in on his brother. No matter how right Jung is, he's crossing his boundaries and being rude to So.
"Leave the palace while I still have concern for you." So warns. He loves his brother but Jung's straightforwardness is causing friction on both of them.
Jung is so used to saying what he wants and his mother's presence a while back reminds him of his sheltered life in which he always gets what he wants. A surge of false bravado pushes Jung to speak his mind.
"Na-neun tta-na-ji anh-eul geo-si-da. (I will not leave.)" Jung repeats turning to walk away and then stops, unable to control his self, "Do you even love her?"
So doesn't see why he has to answer a ridiculous question.
"Then why… why would you share those intimate touches with the consort?!" Jung curls his hands into a fist, addressing the elephant in the room. His stomach turns at the remembrance of what he witnessed in the consort's chambers. He'd been ignoring the secret for years but with all of them living in this palace and seeing Hae Soo's bruises, he just can't overlook it anymore, "You disgust me."
So's eyes widen. Out of fear for Hae Soo to find out, "What did you say? Take it back."
"Wae? Are you afraid I'll tell it to Hae Soo?" Jung taunts him.
"Take it back!" So repeats brandishing his sword at Jung.
Jung pulls at his own sword, matching his brother's stance, "You don't deserve her."
Though So was the first one to point his sword, Jung makes the first slash, exchanging parries with him. It's a game of advance and block and no ones wants to give way.
"And you do? I trusted you with her."
They locked in on each other, both lost to their anger.
"And I should be thankful? She was mine from the beginning!" Jung whips his sword into the air, clashing with So's, forgetting to hide his connection with Hae Soo, "You took her from me!"
Blades flashed under the light of lanterns hanging on the walls of the chambers. A servant catches the noise and came to the courtyard, discovering the two brothers at each other's throat.
"You have everything." So's anger rises as Jung uses words possessive of Hae Soo, "Our mother's favorite, our 3rd brother's love, our clan's support. I never once coveted what was yours… but Hae Soo… she's mine!"
The servant rushes to call for help.
"You've been fooling her! She and the rest of us!" Their sword crosses at each other, their strengths both holding their sword up right against their faces, "How could you even think of touching her with that filthy hand of yours."
So pushes with his strength, succeeding in toppling Jung to the ground, his knuckles hitting Jung in the mouth, "You don't know what I had to do to survive."
Jung rolls to his side, quick to stand before the next thrust comes. The side of his lips bleeds, wiping it with the back of his hand.
Though So is fighting with his brother, at the back of his mind, his 3rd brother's last favor of looking after Jung still holds him back, "What do you even know about surviving. Our family had always looked after you. Even in death!"
So heaves, his chest heavy of burden, his mind torn of jealousy and worry for his 14th brother.
"You call that an excuse?" Jung spats the blood that has gotten inside his mouth, raising his sword and turning on his heel to put more force on his slash, "I refuse to watch her from afar anymore."
So's sleeves rip to the side, blood dripping from the slice on his other arm. Touching it with his sword hand, So becomes wary of Jung. If he was careful of him, Jung isn't. When he advances on So again, he is ready, "Then I will no longer tolerate your presence in our lives."
Sound of feet in haste are nearing, the servant came with the guest occupants of the palace. They were at the middle of exchanging parries with Jung giving everything he has, when Gen. Park, Baek-Ah, Eun, Soon Deok and Ha Jin find them.
"What are they doing?" Ha Jin's fear comes to life as she watches the two brother engage in sword fight, "Please stop them."
Soon Deok holds Hae Soo back. No one can stop the two without endangering their own limbs.
Lady Shinjuwon came with Guen Sun last, sporting an amused look on her face as they watch what is happening.
Jung draws his sword towards So, slicing and hacking with no care of Hae Soo's screaming for them to stop. So defends, stepping back, unmindful of the pain on his arm. When their sword meets at a cross again, So pushes back and turns in circle besting Jung's parry and raising his sword. As Jung falls to the ground again, So brings his slashing down to favor Jung with a blow but Hae Soo's scream tears to his focus, bringing him back to consciousness. He tweaks his wrist to the side at the last minute and Jung braces himself for the blade to penetrate his chest but it embedded itself to the floor beside his ear, cutting into the ponytail that is keeping his hair in the same manner as So's. So kicks the sword from his hand, towering above him.
"Leave this palace, Jung-ah." So minutely sways, the blood and adrenaline pounding on his head. He closes his eyes and lowers his voice so the people around them can't here, "You are not safe here. Please trust me just this once."
He throws his sword on the ground, walking away.
Jung doubles over, rising to spit blood. The guest occupants rushes to Jung's side, worried if he's alright. Ha Jin stops in front of So, her eyes darting from him to Jung, torn of who needs her help most. Everyone came to Jung's side since he's the one lying on the ground.
So meets her eyes, his face still devoid of anything but is afraid Hae Soo might hate him for she just witnessed. Holding his bruised ego, he trains his eyes past Hae Soo, trying not to look pitiful. He wants her to choose him but the decision would always be hers,
"You should help my brother." So says the right thing even when it hurts him. He feels awfully stupid for caring about his brother more than himself.
Ha Jin misunderstands his words, believing he wants to be left alone. She watches him leave, unable to say not even a single word.
So didn't show up on their dinner that night or the next night. He seldom eats with any of them and never came near Hae Soo's quarters for some time. He's been avoiding her, ashamed of what he did to his brother. Even if Jung was infuriating, he wasn't all wrong. His hands are tainted, his innocence long ago been robbed from him. He just couldn't bring himself to face her at the moment. Ha Jin sometimes sees him passing at the courtyard and even then So watches her a tad later when she is no longer looking.
Ridden with guilt and coming to his senses after, Jung left the palace the next day, apologizing to Hae Soo and saying goodbye only to her and Baek-Ah. His clan was supposed to send an envoy to escort him but he couldn't wait for them and left on his own. Between the borders of Shinju and Chunju, Jung was ambushed by the palace guards. His itinerary revealed to the Hwangbos by a discreet messenger sent from the Shinju palace. Luckily for him, So had Gen. Park's men follow him as a safety precautions. They helped him reach Chunju but not without casualties and Jung's leg received an arrow at the trap.
Gen. Park and So were alerted of it afterwards.
The door creaks as Ha Jin opens her chambers, her eyes trained at the floor. When she closes the door behind her, she raises her lantern into her room and,
"Kkamjjakya!"
Ha Jin jumps on her feet, clasping at her chest. She almost releases the lantern at the floor.
So is quietly sitting at her bed. If not for the full moon's light shining at her open windows, creating a rim light around him, So would have blended well with the darkness.
She sighs, thankful to be seeing So after a few days of not talking to each other. By now, she would have prefer anything even a full-blown dispute rather than the silence she kept getting from him. She prepares herself to an argument they surely will have but when she walked over to her table and lights the candles around her room, the warm light illuminated So's distressed expression. His back is hunch, his body too stiff that if he ever moves, it feels like he'll break into pieces. She remembers his eyes the morning his mother visited, when they were called at the throne room and they found the former queen on her knees and Jung held her in front of them. She had seen that sorrow on So's eyes before; in the prayer tower at her cousin's household and at the sky tower when he forcedly kissed her before. She guesses that sorrow only stems from his mother's lack of affection towards him.
Unknown to her that same sorrow is also rooted to his worry of keeping everyone around him safe and his guilt toward his 14th brother, whom he had no choice but to send away. Days of living under the consort had So in pins and needles, anxious when the consort would deal her cards against him.
"So-ya," Ha Jin says his name with tenderness, coming to stand in front of him, towering against So's defeated form. She gently encircles her arms around him, holding him tight the way she first held him in front of the prayer towers, "Mianhaeyo. It must have been hard for you all this time."
At Ha Jin's warm embrace, So releases a deep and painfully wracking sob that doesn't bring any sound or tears, just tremors that throbs against Ha Jin's arms and midriff. So held on to Hae Soo like his sanity depended on it. He rest his face on her tummy, breathing slowly until his heart beat gradually returns to normal, the pain on his chest carefully replace with Hae Soo's soothing tenderness. She bends her back, planting a kiss on his hair.
"Saranghabnida, wangsejanim." It's the first time Ha Jin uttered the words first. She usually only say those words in response to So's confession. Though not tonight. So needed to feel that he is loved.
She cups his face, lifting it to gaze on his eyes. Ever prudent and gentle, she lightly touches her lips with his cheek, left, right, on his forehead, on his eyelids, at the tips of his nose, erasing whatever sorrow burdening his chest, "My radiant sun."
So lets Hae Soo's care bath over him, relaxing under her touch.
When their eyes meet next, his eyes no longer contain the sorrow it held before. In it's place is a tranquility, Ha Jin only witnessed on few occasions, "Soo-ya,"
"Hmmm?"
"Come away with me." So stands, pulling Hae Soo closer to him, his arms wrapping on her waist, "Let me fulfill my promise tonight."
The crunch of twigs and whisper of leaves, mingle with the insect croons as So leads Hae Soo out of their palace, to the forest that he never shares to anyone. Somewhere a barred owl makes a hooting sound and nocturnal animals forage into their territories. Coniferous trees make up for a chaotic path that leads to heart of the forest.
It's the middle of the spring and the bushes of Mokrans scattered everywhere have not yet given birth to its pendulum white bud but it's leaves ruffles in time with the wind, producing a faint lemony citrus scent that fills the air.
Ha Jin feels nervous, walking behind So under the light of full moon. She falters at a step, her head starting to get dizzy. It feels as if she had been here before even when it's her first time to be walking on this strange forest. Fireflies come alive beside her, their warm light like a twinkling stars at this sea of green trees.
Shortly, the path opened up into a clearing and Ha Jin had to stop, her breathe robbed, her heart racing. She stares at the lake in front of her, well-lit by the full moon above. It seems she's staring at a familiar and different moon lake at the same time.
It can't be?
Ha Jin asks herself. She closes her eyes, breathing in that orange blossom that is nowhere in sight. Rooted in her spot, she can imagine feeling that ground, the daughter of the moon relishes with her bare feet. If she takes off her goonghye (shoes for royalties) the ground would surely feel cold and rough against her skin.
So walks behind her, holding her by her waist. He comes closer to her ear, whispering with that sultry voice of his, "Do you like it?"
He meant it as an innocent question, just a thought of having Hae Soo in his recluse yet somehow his breathe ends up gusting warmth on Hae Soo's ears that beckons Hae Soo to lean on the sturdy plane of his chest, "I've always wanted to bring you here."
Ha Jin gulps, shaking that dizziness that is taking a hold of her consciousness. She struggles to remain in present, wanting this moment to be only her's and So's. She opens her eyes, staring at the lake in front of her. A thousand years had changed this place. The plants around it had grown wilder with less orange blossom and more luscious evergreen trees. The lake felt like it became smaller, she could almost see the end of it on both sides but it is the same, the moon lake that the daughter of the moon had frequented a thousand years ago.
She turns to face So, brushing the hair that has fallen to the side of his face, "So-ya…"
Do you ever remember us?
So leans in to her touch, anticipating her lips to meet his but Hae Soo steps away, walking to the edge of the water, mesmerized of the shimmer of the place. Though it is the middle of Spring, the air is alive with tension of summer, a spark that makes So's heart race in its cage.
With her hind to him, Ha Jin glances at So again, her eyes holding a nervous glimmer that appears to be unfocused and sharp at the same time. She turns to face the waters, reaching to the knot that keeps her belt to her waist. Her fingers moved deftly, nimble and practiced, freeing her jeogori and taking it off gracefully. It's silk sliding slowly to the length of her chima, So could almost imagine it's softness caressing his skin. He shivers, somewhere down his thighs, his nerves begin to come alive.
The taper in her chima comes off next, her beoseon (socks) and goonghye (shoes) follows.
Keeping still, So swallows, contemplating if he should face about and look away. It's impolite to watch a lady stripped to her sokgot yet he simply can't avert his eyes. He had dreams like this, of Hae Soo in his moon lake, of her naked under the water. He shakes his head, making sure he is not dreaming this time. He watches her dips the tip of her foot to the water, testing its temperature, her calf a creamy white skin So once touched.
The water is cold but Ha Jin can't sense it. Her senses suddenly become numbed and all she can feel is So's fixated gazed on her. She goes in to the water, letting her thin sokgot get soaked.
So follows her like a rope tied to her, abandoning his jeogori where Hae Soo left hers. She had reached chest deep level of water before she stopped and So stood half an arms length close.
"Soo-ya…" So keeps his voice level, almost croaked. Hae Soo is near enough for him to see her thin sokgot revealing every curve of her body. He can almost see through it.
Ha Jin tenses, knowing she's almost naked in front of So. She remains silent, untrusting of her voice.
So slowly wades in the water while Ha Jin gradually turns. When they finally stand face to face, the forest grew silent, their loud heartbeat seeming to drown out everything around them.
A thousand years had passed from the first moment they met here. A thousand years since they first promised their hearts together. A span of thousand years conspired to bring them at this very moment again.
"My beautiful moon."
So takes her hand under the water, interlacing it with his.
Like the first time they did this a thousand years ago, there are no elaborate ceremonies, no flowers at hand, no rings in their fingers, no witnesses other than the full moon and the forest that has fallen into stillness as if understanding the solemnity of the vow they are about to make.
With her hand wet from the lake, she reaches to So's left eye. For a moment, So catches her hand hesitating to let her erase the cream that is hiding his scar. Her eyes soften to tenderness assuring So he could take as much time as he need.
So reads the acceptance on her eyes, the only thing he needed to not be afraid. He plants a kiss on the inside of her wrist, guiding it to the left part of his face. Ha Jin dotingly dubs the cream off, revealing the scar bit by bit.
"My radiant sun."
"My silence in every doubt that springs in my heart."
"My always in a thousand and one uncertainty and lies."
"My refuge in my sorrow and infinite darkness"
"My sun, my lover and now my husband"
"My moon, my beloved woman and now my wife. "
So reaches to free her hair from his dwikkoji, smoothing it at her back. He brushes it with his fingers, dividing it part by part, braiding from the top to the tips of her hair. He puts it up in a bun and sticks his dwikkoji to hold it up, a hairstyle only worn by married ladies.
The braid is far from perfect, a tad the same like himself but his promise is solid and eternal, even in death can't be undone. From their original lives to another thousand years, he will always be hers and she to him, their hearts immeasurable, unconditional and unchanging.
Leaning in, So's hand closes upon Hae Soo's hips while Ha Jin rests her hands on his chest. He touches his lips with hers, chaste and pure, sealing their vow and beginning another thousand promise at hand.
A gray smoke rises from the burning incense at the consort's vanity table. Guen Sun had just lighted the 2nd batch of the incense sticks and is in the process of blowing the matchstick out from the lantern he had put at the table.
"The 4th prince had just taken the lady out of the palace." He reports. One of the soldiers patrolling the perimeter saw the 4th prince and Hae Soo covered in her sseugae chima disappear into the forest.
Lady Shinjuwon is sitting at her bedside, putting a moisturizer on her hand, "I'm sure they'll return before dawn. They have nowhere to go and the girl had learned her lesson well not to run away again."
"It seems the 14th prince was able to arrive in his hometown safe."
"Did my son helped him?" Lady Shinjuwon kneads her hands, focusing on it.
"I do not know. They parted ways with grudge towards each other the last time." Guen Sun blows the stick on his hand.
"And one of our people from the palace showed up this afternoon. It appears the king had lost his mind and is rounding up all the 13th prince and remaining Baekje people from the south." Guen Sun leaves the incense burner and stands by the tea table, "Shall we let the 13th prince know about it?"
Lady Shinjuwon smirks, ridiculing Guen Sun, "I didn't know you care about them."
"I do not." Guen Sun calmly responds.
"That big of a news would find it's way to my son's ears sooner." Lady Shinjuwon merely shrug, "Let them find out about it on their own."
She finishes putting a moisturizer on her hand and returns it to her bedside, "Did my son and the general finished their plan on how to storm the palace?"
"Our own colonel informed me that the general and our 4th prince are busy with their plan of moving his brothers to a place outside our palace." Guen Sun reports as if they are still in the throne room, all formal, "Rather than storming the capital."
Lady Shinjuwon stops, lifting her eyes to look at Guen Sun. A crease on her forehead forming, indicating an irritation starting to manifest, "Does he ever have plan of making good with his end of the bargain?"
Guen Sun doesn't have an answer for that.
"Does he need an incentive to do it?" Lady Shinjuwon's eyes squints, a warning in her tone.
Guen Sun returns the consort's gaze, an understanding passing between them.
"Send a messenger to the palace." Lady Shinjuwon commands, "We shall play with the king as my son needs a push."
"Yie Shinjuwon Soyong." Guen Sun nods, "It will be done in the morning."
The forest grows silent as Ha Jin's heart beats double time. She can't breathe. She can't think. All she can feel is So's deft hands unwinding the belt that is holding her seokjeogori.
"Are you afraid?" So discards the silk belt in the water, his hand stopping at the folds of her seokjeogori about to take it off, "I won't hurt you."
Ha Jin part her lips in an attempt to breathe, only for it to be caught in her throat. Though she had frozen on her spot, she managed to nod, giving So permission to open her seokjeogori, revealing her thin chest band underneath.
Under the light of the moon, Ha Jin's fair skin looks creamy soft and inviting, So had to hold his breathe to prevent himself from being aggressive with her. He had this imagined a hundred times, his fingers gliding on her bare shoulders, grazing the side of her chest, seeking the curves of her body. He had to remind himself that it is Hae Soo's first time so he can't be rush on her.
He peers his eyes in focus, his fingers finding some kind of faded bruise on Hae Soo's clavicle, remembering her bandaged wrist. A worry appears on his forehead realizing what the consort could have done to Hae Soo while they were travelling together, "Mianhada, I should have been the one who took you from the palace."
Ha Jin swallows, her hand closing in on So's hand on her shoulder, catching up with what So is thinking about. She wanted to say she was terrified of the consort but that would bring more grievances on him. If she had suffered that much while staying with the consort for almost a month, how much more did So.
Ha Jin brings her arms around So, closing what little space they have in between their almost naked bodies. She rests her cheek on his chest, his heart beating quickly, the same as hers, "You must have been terrified living with the consort alone all this years."
So stills, surprised of Hae Soo's concern. Here he was, trying to assure her that he would never leave her with the consort again but Hae Soo seemed to be more worried of how he was mistreated all his life.
Hae Soo tightens her arms around him, his grievances melting away at her touch, wondering if he would come clean with her, would she still accept him? For the first time tonight, he feels apprehension constricting upon his throat. He breathes deeply letting it go for a moment. He lets his arms encircle on Hae Soo's back, laying a kiss at the top of her head, "It matters not anymore for as long you are with me."
"I will. Always."
They stand together, forehead to forehead, nose to nose, chest to chest, they breathe together, savoring each other's presence. So marvels at how Hae Soo's lithe body seems to perfectly fit inside his lean arms.
His hand skims to the ends of Hae Soo's chest band, at the small of her back, untying it's knot. Ha Jin feels her chest band coming undone and if they separate now, it would fall and pool on her waist. A blush spreads on her neck to her back, heat spreading from her cheeks down to the tips of her toes. The cold water appearing to do nothing against the warmth of their skin.
So unfastens the strap of her sokchima next, his hand travelling from her hips to the insides of the overlapping folds of her sokchima. His breathe hitches on his throat and his hardness throbs against Hae Soo as his fingers finds a supple bare skin underneath her sokchima.
"Soo-ya, I want to look at you?" He asks permission before he gently breaks Hae Soo's embrace to stand her in front of him.
Her chest band falls languorously at her waist while her sokchima floats hazily around her, giving her a little cover from waist down. So discards her clothes to the water one by one until she is left naked and wet like the first time she entered this world.
So's eyes drinks in a fill of her and Ha Jin self-consciously covers herself with her hands.
"Don't hide from me, my beautiful moon." He takes Ha Jin's hands and puts it around his shoulder, "Touch me, Soo-ya…"
Sensing the hesitation on Hae Soo's part, he adds, "Please."
Guiding Hae Soo's hand on the folds of his own seokjeogori, he captures her lips with much eagerness this time helping Hae Soo removes his sokjeogori and returns his hands to her skin, letting it glide up the side of her chest, his palm grazing her nipples before kneading her breast.
"mmmm…" Ha Jin lets out a moan that makes So impatient to explore.
He arcs her body against him, skin against his. It almost made him want to have her there. He leaves her lips to let his mouth slither down her neck into the succulent mounds of her breast and taking a nipple into his mouth.
Ha Jin squirm her legs together, the delicious sensation spreading at every nerve of her body, her hands digging at his skin. The next time their eyes meet, So's eye had grown darker, lost in the need to consummate her body. He puts his hand under her knees, the other on her back. His lips come back to her mouth. While his tongue dances with hers, he carries her out of the water.
As Ha Jin's skin meets her discarded clothes in the ground, she tenses. What little cover the water once provided has totally slid out of her body and So, who is naked-up is about to lie beside her. She becomes more conscious of So's presence and what they are about to do.
So feels the apprehension on Hae Soo's flushed cheeks, her skin an opalescent pink. She tries to put on a brave face, telling herself it's going to be fine but the butterflies on her stomach won't settle and her heart's pounding is drowning her ears.
Brushing Hae Soo's stray hair to the back of her ears, So kisses her softly, bidding his time and making sure she's comfortable. In truth, his nerves are starting to ache for her, his paji too restraining. He wanted to feel her, to bury his self inside her but until Hae Soo is ready he wouldn't force himself on her.
His mouth follows where his hand leaves a trail of tingling sensation all over her body. Ever reverent, his kisses are worship upon her skin, beckoning her to loosen up and trust him. When his hand reaches the core in between her thighs, Ha Jin's hand bunches at the clothes underneath her,
"Breathe, my moon." He whispers, opening her legs. His fingers find her familiar folds and start to knead in circles.
She groans in his lips, her arms coming to hold upon his nape, careful of his wound on his arm. With his free arm, he braces his elbow on her side, watching the different expression appear on her face.
"Soo-ya," So's hand momentarily leave her wet folds and leads her hand to his paji, "Unrestrained me."
Adrift to his authoritative voice, Ha Jin's unskilled hands go to work on untying the knots on his paji's waist. It's excruciatingly slow that So impatiently helps her out and takes off on his own the last cloth hindering them both.
Embarrassed to look at him, Ha Jin discreetly lets her eyes roam from his chest down to his hardness that is throbbing in between his thighs. She gulps, turning crimson red, her hands awkwardly lying on her stomach and when So settles between her legs, her hands move to his hip, stopping him a bit,
"My moon, can't you possibly make me wait more?"
He captures her lips, kissing down her neck to the lobe of her ears, tickling her. He whisper sweet nothings to her ears, apprehending her hands and holding it above her head, against the ground, "Close your eyes, my moon."
Ha Jin hesitatingly obeys, trusting So. When she starts responding to his kisses, he pushes on her entrance, filling her in one swift thrust.
Ha Jin opens her eyes wide, doubling over, feeling her hymen tearing. She squirms beneath So. Her irises disappearing under wet lashes of tears that automatically make its appearance. She struggles to free her wrists against So's hold.
"Shhh… stop moving, Soo-ya," So softly chastises her. He too stills, giving her time to adjust.
The tears escape her eyes and it races down her cheeks naturally, no matter how hard she holds it in.
"It will get better, I promise. Mianhada, my moon." His words punctuated with a kiss on her cheeks, drying the tears that make a path at the side of her eyes.
He slowly moves inside her, his self-control put into a test. He's trying to be gentle with her even when he wanted to just take her thoroughly.
"Please, stop." Ha Jin finds her voice through the hazy pain.
So momentarily holds himself, his gaze unfocused, "Soo-ya, I can't hold for long."
As much as it hurts Hae Soo, being buried deep inside her feels agonizingly delicious, "Tell me what you want me to do to make it better but don't ask me to stop."
He apologizes over and over, not intending to hurt her, "I can't."
"Kiss me." Ha Jin tells him, taking her mind off from the pain.
So releases her hands, coming back to her neck and favoring it with long kisses, enticing her to loosen up on his arms as he begins to move once more.
Ha Jin tries to relax, breathing in and out of her mouth. She attempts to find a position that would make it any less painfully but as she had learned from her other experience on her original body, it is best to stay still and ride the pain. It won't completely ebb but she can manage it better if she focuses her attention on his hands, on his breathing, on that stubborn bead of sweat that had formed on his forehead and falling upon her skin, mingling with her own. Their wet skin look shiny under the bluish light of the moon.
Soon, So starts thrusting deeper, wanting to go faster. He warns her and she nods, untrusting of her voice. She unconsciously rakes her nails at his forceps as So increases his pace. All he can feel is her heated, moist wall around him, his senses drowning in it.
She brushes his hair out of his eyes to look at his irises that had turned almost black with desire. Rising to meet his lips, Ha Jin arcs her body against him, affording So another miniscule space to thrust deeper.
"Soo-ya…"
Her name leaves his lips as he titters at the edge of euphoria, reaching his peak. With one last heavy thrust, he empties his self inside her. Ha Jin watches him come undone on her arms, looking all vulnerable, his sanity at the palm of her hands. She could almost imagine feeling pleasure as she holds him together on her arms.
Spent, So withdraws from her. The forest seemed to have returned to his senses, the croons of the insect a mesmerizing lullaby to his tired body. He lays a kiss at the tip of her nose before settling at her bosom to close his eyes and rest for a while.
"Gwaenchanha?" So asks, his eyes closed.
Ha Jin nods, staring at the stars above, her body sore, her legs trembling. She wet her parched lips, the spring breeze cold to her skin if not for So, lying on top of her. She's about to fall asleep when So lifts his head and extricate himself from her. The warmth they are sharing instantly disappears and Ha Jin opens her eyes against the tiredness that is pulling her into unconsciousness.
So carries her in his arms, returning to the water. They walk until chest deep, where So can dip her into the water without getting her hair wet. With her arms around his nape and his other arm supporting Hae Soo, the buoyancy of the water making her light, So gently washes her body, getting rid of the blood that had dripped between her legs.
"Mianhada. Was it too painful?"
Ha Jin shakes her head, assuring So. Her eyes are almost closed, her body uncomfortable of the coldness of the water, "Nae-ga jal su iss-eul-kka? Pi-gon-hae-seo. (Can I sleep? I'm tired.)"
So nods, "Sleep. My beautiful moon."
He carries her out of the water, lowering her to their dry clothes once more. He puts her head into the crook of his arm, lying on his side, his arm around her. He spreads her sseugae chima on top of them both, closing his eyes with her,
"Saranghanda, Soo-ya."
Footnote:
[1] North Hamgyong was the name of the place during Joseon, when the country was divided into 8 provinces. It probably has a different name during Goryeo. Mianhaeyo.
[2] I'm not really sure how far China is by boat during Goryeo. According to the papers I've read, during Joseon, around early 1900's, ships bound to China takes at least 10 days on a good weather. It probably takes more during Goryeo..
[3] Hand carve stone pieces that resembles an abalone. Designed for wine drinks to flow in it, people gather around it and let a cup circulate. To whoever the cup stops, the person must drink and recite a poem. Their kind of drinking game during Silla times.
Preview:
A pair of our lovedbirds will be returned to the palace in Songak. Ha Jin finds out about Lady Shinjuwon and So's secret. Shall we crown the 4th prince king? That would mean additional 2-3 chapters before the end (I think). Or I could end it next chapter and we meet Sol.
