Chapter 23:
"Wangjanim,What kind of fragrance do you enjoy?" Ha Jin wonders what kind of soap should she make for him.
"Na? (Me?)" So thinks about it for a few minutes. He's not used to being asked what his preferences are but Hae Soo always asks him about the things he like. She seemed to be genuinely curious and he doesn't mind it a bit.
Hae Soo nods, watching the 4th prince.
So rests his elbow at the table, having his head lean attentively in it. He thinks about it carefully. He definitely like Hae Soo's scent but before she came into his life, there's always that one scent that he had come to associate with comfort and when he recalls it now it's close to Hae Soo's scent, "Lemony citrus scent?"
Raising her head, Ha Jin sits-up, her drowsiness all gone.
"Lemony citrus scent? Lemon as in the fruit? Or a flower that gives off a lemony citrus scent?"
She waits for the 4th prince' explanation as her brows furrow together. Her hand automatically grasp at her chest feeling her heart starting to race.
"A flower that gives off a lemony citrus scent." So answers. "Those flowers bloom near a lake where I escape to, whenever the palace life up north gets unbearable."
In Ha Jin's eagerness to hear the answer, she naturally reaches at So's arm, resting at the table, startling him, "Jam-kkan! (Hold on!) Flower?! You say it's a lemony citrus scent that is coming from a flower?!"
Glancing at Hae Soo's hand on top of his arm, So wonders what it would feel like to interlace his hands with that small delicate hand of hers. He nods confirming Hae Soo's question, "It has that light intoxicating fragrance that fades into something sweet after."
So explains thinking about the forest and the lake where he used to escape to when he was still living in Shinju. He had found the lake accidentally on one of his night wanderings. It was summer then and he was seeking a reprieve from the hot weather and staying well away from the quarters of the lady consort, whose having one of her fits. His father's spy, planted as one of his bodyguards had let him out of the palace with a promise that he'll come back before the whole palace wakes-up in the morning. He had grabbed the chance and run head first to the forest intending to get lost and found the lake at the middle of it. With the full moon illuminating the forest in bluish silvery glow and those flowers in bloom, giving off that heady scent, the whole place seems so surreal that if he stands in the middle of the lake, he can easily forget the punishing day he just had. For the next few years, that same lake would provide him recluse when he needed somewhere to escape to, the only good thing he found while living in Shinju.
"Are the petals, egg-shaped and white? Please describe me the flower." Ha Jin ask, intensely gazing at So.
So turns his arm so Hae Soo's hand would be resting in the inside part of his arm, parallel with each other. Now he's holding her arm too. "The whole flower is pendulum egg shape before it blooms. Its petal is pristine white with its seedpod, crimson red or pink. It grows from a shrub that blossoms…"
"…Only during summers." Ha Jin finishes So's sentence, "because it can't stand even a tinge of cold?"
So nods, "Are you familiar with it? Its abound up north, though they say it can easily be found anywhere during summer but I'm not sure since I've mostly stayed in the north until I came back a few months ago. Aren't you from the north too, I heard the Hae Clan is from the Northeast."
"Ne, kuende na neun… (Yes but I)" Hae Soo nods unconsciously, lost in the memory of the lake and the flower in her dreams.
"…gi-eok i anh-a-yo (But you don't remember.) You don't remember if you've seen the flower?" So asks still holding Hae Soo's arm, he pulls his arm slightly underneath hers, sliding it just a little so he's now holding her wrist, closer to her hand.
"Does the flower have a name?" Ha Jin tightens her hold on So' wrist, eager to put a name on the mysterious flower.
"Mokran (Magnolia Sieboldii)" So answers watching Hae Soo, "Wae?"
Shoot! It's Magnolia! Why did I never think of it? This is North Korea, of course the flower is abundant here only during summers!
Ha Jin never thought it's those famous Magnolia, the national flower of North Korea because she never payed attention to it at the present times. Yes, she is familiar with the flower but she always only see it in full bloom never while in its budding stage, never like the ones that that girl brings to her prince. And the smell, she only smelled the dried ones, processed and preserve already, inside her lab. It is almost the same but it can never be compared to the real ones.
"Wangjanim, can you take me to that lake?" Ha Jin suddenly comes closer to So, entering his personal space again.
Startled by the sudden request of Hae Soo, So couldn't answer for a few seconds. He'd love to take her anywhere she wants but not there.
"Andwaeyo, (I can't.)" So looks away, uncomfortable. The change in his playful demeanor to a sudden serious tone is so noticeable that Ha Jin pulls back, taken aback.
"Choesonghaeyo, have I offended you?" Ha Jin asks embarrassed, "I only wanted to see the flower up close. I didn't mean to make such an unreasonable request."
She takes her hand from So's, leaning back to her chair facing the table again. She thinks about the flower and how she would see it. She wonders if the lake he's talking about is the same lake she see's in her dreams too.
But that can't be, isn't it? If the lake is real then the girl who looks like me is also real? Is she me in the past? Or is't Hae Soo in the past?
It never occurred to Ha Jin that the girl she's seeing is actually her past life nor did it occur to her that Hae Soo and her might be the same person too because she had always viewed Hae Soo as a different person. A real one who lived this life, with real relationships, real set of memories and real dreams with specific traits and wants akin only to her.
So automatically captures her hand as she takes it away, turning back to her again. He senses the disappointment that his answer brought her and he feels bad.
He takes her hand on both of his, fully looking at her now, concern etched on his face, "I can't take you there because it's a dangerous and dark place that I never want to go back to but I'll try to find that flower for you when the summer comes. How about that?"
Ha Jin glances at So, seeing him intensely gazing at her, forgetting her words. She feels that familiar blush spreading on her cheeks and hopes it isn't that noticeable.
How awful was his life up north that he never wants to go back to it again? Will he be offended if I ask?
"How about I bring you to a different lake?" So misunderstands Hae Soo's silence as her still offended that he can't give her what she wants, so he offers an alternative instead. "There's one here, near the Damiwon, at the borders of the palace. It's a little too far from this library but I think you'll like the place."
"Another lake? Not the one I fell into?" Ha Jin asks, thinking about the cliff where she was held hostage by an assassin.
"Ne, a different one, at the east. I have a boat there and I can take you in the middle of the lake if you want. It's my favorite place here." So remembers to smile, the smile that Hae Soo likes so she'd stop being angry at him.
"A boat?" Ha Jin is momentarily distracted by So's warm smile.
Please tell me it's not the same boat that Hae Soo and him where riding in my flash of memory.
"Yes, a boat. It's a present for me on my 13th birthday. I've wanted to go there ever since I came back but it's too cold this last winter. Now that it's spring, the lake would have thawed already." So abruptly stands taking with him Hae Soo's hand.
"Huh?! Jam-kkan, (wait,) but what about our class?" Ha Jin asks still sitting in her chair, looking confused.
So is definitely sure that they don't have a class today. They've been sitting there for a better part of an hour and still no sign of their tutor.
"Gocheong haji maseyo (Don't worry about it), I'll take care of it with my brother later. Kaja! (Let's go!)" So pulls Hae Soo to her feet.
"But I'm not allowed to wander around the palace. My cousin and the 8th prince will never let me out of our household again if they found out." Hae Soo pulls at So's hand, stopping both of them.
"You can take my hand if you're scared." So smiles confidently teasing, "Besides, I outrank your 8th prince by 4. He can't do anything if I command it to take you away."
He now sees the beauty of why his first brother conveniently forgot to inform them that their class is cancelled today. It's an excuse for the two of them to spend some time alone. So he, too, doesn't bother to explain to Hae Soo that they wouldn't be having a class for the whole week, intending for her to still come to their class but taking her away with him, once she arrives.
Something about the words of the 4th prince seems familiar to Ha Jin. She had seen this before but the scene is reversed. It was the girl who was saying those words to the prince and it was night not day. She gazes at So deeply, trying to capture that fleeting memory of a dream but all she can see is the 4th prince' warm smile beaconing her to take a step towards him and the moment she did, So naturally intertwines his hand with hers, pulling her to her feet, quickly leaving the seja's library before Hae Soo say another word.
In a private secluded pavilion at the back of jumak, Yo sits with four of his ministers; Park Sul Hui (Won's grand father), Wang Gyu (Eun's grand father), Wang Sik Reom (Yo's uncle, cousin to Queen Yoo) and Won, drinking and being entertained with gisaeng.
"Ah afternoon springs, the best time of the year to drink and be merry," Park Sul Hui comments as he raised his glass to cheers with the others.
Wang Gyu, makes a hissing disdain towards the older man whose making a toast, "You are not so young to act like the youths, careful with your drinks."
"Let's not be so uptight Wang Gyu minister it's the early spring, the whole kingdom is celebrating." Wang Sik Reom advises amiably at Wang Gyu.
"Kuereomyo!" Won agrees as he slings his arms over a gisaeng's shoulder.
Yo signals to a serving gisaeng another round of Yagyongju (medicinal wine) and Makgeolli for their table.
"So tell us, Yo wangjanim, why have you brought us here?" Wang Gyu asks in between sipping his wine.
"You never waste time, do you Wang Gyu minister?" Yo answers smirking while taking the glass of Yagyongju that a gisaeng poured for him, "Let's celebrate for today and start working next week, is that alright?"
"We only have a few months to have that expensive mini palace built for the envoys of China, I am nervous that with the fortune in our treasury right now, we won't be able to finish those quarters." Wang Gyu answers putting down his glass after downing it.
"You mean you're worried that our clans might not be able to profit from this project?" Wang Ryeom Sik clarifies what Wang Gyu is trying to imply.
Yo laughs freely, he and his uncle Wang Sik Ryeom had already discussed by themselves the weaknesses of the ministers and how he would win their votes, "Gocheong haji maseyo Wang minister, I've found a faster and cheaper way to build those quarters."
Even though everyone is busy with drinking and playing games with gisaeng, they all tuned their ears to whatever Yo is saying.
"How your highness? Please don't hang us all here? We're all ears?" Park Sul Hui voices everyone's concern. "The king wanted the quarters to be like the palace in China, it would take months and not to mention our whole treasury to import those ceramics they use to build the roofs and decorate the walls."
Yo smiles his trademark smirk, "Who says we need to import those ceramics from China, we have one here that looks just exactly the same and if I'm not mistaken more beautiful but cheaper than those they have in China."
While Yo is looking up the blueprint of those mini palace quarters, he computed the cost and the amount of time it would take them to import all those ceramics and Park Sul Hui is right, they won't be able meet the deadline if his father wants it done by autumn when the envoys in China will be visiting. Well, they can, if they spend all those fortune correctly but that would mean no profit for their clans and the power of their clans all come from the treasury of the palace. They can't be cut off from it. So he studied the materials well to know how he could minimize the cost but no matter how much he reduce the amount of materials that will be imported, the importing and the time it takes to import it is still the same. The only way to reduce their expenses is if they no longer import from China. Now, his problem lies on what material should substitute those ceramics.
As he was observing Hae Soo do her punishment inside the seja's library, he lists her attributes naturally in his head, appraising her worth and why all of his brothers, including the seja, seemed to be doing all sorts of things for her. He remembers that one tea afternoon they had where Baek-ah took out those ceramics and showed it to Hae Soo, telling everyone that surprisingly the girl is quite knowledgeable in ceramics. That gave him an idea to visit the shop that his 13th brother was telling them about. To his amazement the shop owner remembers Hae Soo clearly because she's the only customer he had that can identify between Goryeo Celadon ceramics and Yue Ceramics (1) a fit not easy to accomplish even for potters. From then on, he started researching this celadon ceramics that the girl likes so much and found out that the quality and appearance of celadon ceramics is much better than the Yue ceramics they were trying to import. Not to mention its' almost half the cost of importing Yue ware from China.
"We have a local ceramics that looks better and costs half the price of those Yue wares?" Wang Gyu repeats the information, clarifying it.
Yo nods confidently.
"But what if the king notices that we are using a different material than what he had ordered?" Park Sul Hui follows up.
"The king would never know, even the potters themselves have a hard time distinguishing both. Unless, one of us opens our mouth and tells the king, in which case all of us would vehemently deny it and have the squealer and his clan dead before the king's royal guards get their hands on him." Yo answers in a dangerous tone. His words a warning to all of them to not betray.
"Omo! Our third prince is shaping up to be the next successor?" Wang Sik Reom, lets it be known that their clan, the queen's clan, is intending for Yo to take the throne and not the current seja, Mu.
"Then you will have our support my dear brother." Won raises his glass to toast for his 3rd brother, pledging their clan's loyalty to the ChungJu Yu clan.
Everyone raises their glass and drinks to Won's toasting, even his uncle Park Sul Hui, agrees with it.
"Ah but what about your other brothers who sits in the ministry? Particularly the 8th prince of Hwangbo Clan?" Wang Gyu asks after drinking his own glass and having a gisaeng pour another one.
"They don't have to know, do they? We can't have too many people in on our secret or the fortune of our treasury will have to be divided equally to all of us. We wouldn't want that, do we?" Yo answers as a gisaeng pats his lips with a handkerchief.
"Keureomyo!" Park Sul Hui agrees, now a little tipsy.
The new batch of Yagyongju and Makgeolli arrives, carried by a new trainee gisaeng who seemed quite refined for a slave. She goes around pouring drinks for each men, careful to maintain proper distance to them. When she came to pour for Wang Ryeom Sik, the minister looks at her with a hint of playful smile and whisper, "I hope you're doing great here your highness."
Mortified, the trainee gisaeng hurriedly stood up and left, not bothering to finish her chores.
Still holding Hae Soo's hand, So stops just before they enter a mini gate that secludes a seemingly small island at the middle of the lake, connected through a narrow bridge of a land path.
"Is it too much if I ask you to close your eyes?" So turns to a panting Hae Soo who looks like she's trying to contain her excitement. "I promise to guide you."
"Kuere?" Hae Soo peaks around the mini gate, unable to hold herself back, "Araseo. Hae pol kka?! (Let's try it then?!)"
She closes her eyes and positions her self in front of the 4th prince. From where they both stand, she can clearly smell that crisp orange blossoms being carried in the air. She takes a deep breathe, inhaling the good feeling that comes with it.
Observing that Hae Soo is just as eager as him, So chuckles to himself, unconsciously letting his guard down and enjoying the moment with Hae Soo. He puts his arms on both of her side, feeling her shivers in his touch. A ghost of desire momentarily passes in his eyes, making him lean in closer and inhale her scent he so missed. He smiles and gently guides her forward.
"Ju-sim-hae, kan-da (Please be careful, we'll go now.)"
"Ne, kap-si-da! (Let's go!)" Ha Jin readily agrees smiling with that innocence, only youth can bring.
Ever carefully and with a bounce in her step, Ha Jin and So crosses the bridge together, entering the small patch of land with a little shrine inside. So guides Hae Soo around the shrine, going to the back where another small gate opens to the lake.
"No peeking alright? We're almost there." So playfully cautions Hae Soo, peeking at her face, glad that her eyes are still closely shut.
Ha Jin eagerly nods, the smile never leaving her.
"Jun-bi? (ready?)" So asks as he stands Hae Soo at the door leading to the lake.
"Ne!" Hae Soo answers giddily.
"Kuereom,
Hana…
Dul…
Set!" Both of them say the last number before So allows Hae Soo to open her eyes.
"Wah! Daebak! Jinjja daebak-i-da! (This is amazing!)" Ha Jin opens her eyes at the view of a serene lake covered with white cherry blossom petals. The crisp orangy sweet scent comes from a nearby tangerine trees that lined the side of the lake. Everything is so quiet that Ha Jin thinks, if she try so hard she might be able to hear the slight wave of a butterfly's wings.
"This is the Donji lake, the first place where the sun rises in the palace." So tells Hae Soo, releasing her arms and putting his own at his back, resisting to touch Hae Soo further.
Ha Jin glances back at So, the light in her eyes and the happiness in her face too pronounced, "Like your name indicates?!"
So nods, glad that he was the one who put that smile on her face.
Ha Jin comes further at the end of the gate, where the water of the lake begins, searching for the boat that So was talking about, "Kuende So wangjanim, where's your boat? Po-i-ji anh-a-yo? (I don't see one?)"
"It's on the other side, near the Tangerine trees." So points his head in the direction of the tangerines on the other side.
This isn't that memory right? So wangjanim doesn't have a mask when I saw him in a boat with Hae Soo.
Lost in her thoughts, Ha Jin didn't realize she was staring intensely at the 4th prince again.
A few heart beats and So becomes a little uncomfortable of Hae Soo's stare, conscious of the mask he is wearing, he asks, "Wae?"
"Wangjanim," Ha Jin wanted to ask a question about the mask that So is wearing but stops mid sentence, thinking it would be rude of her so she takes So's hand instead and pulls him to the direction of the boat. "Kaja! Let's go see your boat."
So lets his self be pulled, basking in the warmth of Hae Soo's attentions being showered in him. Going around the closed shrine and into the other side where the tangerines are, Ha Jin takes a deep breathe, inhaling the sweet scent of tangerines and listening to the insects' croon, she let's go of So's hand as she stands under the shade of a tangerine tree.
Not ready to part from Hae Soo's touch, So holds to Hae Soo hand, standing beside her, watching her take in her surroundings with all of her senses. Ha Jin opens her eyes and walks towards the boat.
"Aniya… aniya… aniya…" So holds Hae Soo back from getting in the boat, suddenly worried.
"Wae? Didn't you said, you'd take me in the middle of the lake?" Ha Jin asks, looking at So perplexed.
Touching Hae Soo' shoulder with his free hand, So turns Hae Soo to him, taking a few steps back "Maybe some other time, it's been a while since I rode this boat. It might not be in a good condition."
"Ya! Are you saying I weight too much that the boat can't take both of us?" Ha Jin misunderstands So.
"Mwo rago? (What did you say?)" So chuckles, feeling absurd, "Aniya, I think you weigh too light for your height, you should gain a little more."
"Eiii geo-jit-mal! (You're lying)." Ha Jin takes her hand from So's and steps back.
"Aniya! Ani-ji, jin-jja. (It's not like that.)" It's So's first time to hold back a laugh. He usually doesn't laugh but he holds it now to not offend Hae Soo. He finds her annoyance adorable.
Ha Jin pushes So away and tries to board the boat again but So holds her on both side and easily takes her away.
"Wae! The boat is fine it can take both us." Ha Jin throws a tantrum.
Still holding Hae Soo, So tries to appease her, "Aniya, I'll inspect it first then I'll take you on it the next time, alright."
The last time So rode that boat was when he was fifteen, about nine years ago. As far as he knows, no one had touched that boat since then. It does look alright but he'd rather not risk it with Hae Soo.
Ha Jin crosses her arms in her chest and taps her foot on the ground, "Mal-hae pa. (Say it.) What is it that you're not telling me about?"
"Eopso! I'm telling you, that boat had been left like that since I rode it from my last visit at the palace, nine years ago." So explains still amused.
"And?" Ha Jin senses it's not just that, from the looks that So is giving her, it seems there is an inside joke, she's not getting.
"Ani… Sa-sil-eul… (The truth is…)" So doesn't think he should tell Hae Soo what all her brothers talk about behind her back but he'd been disappointing Hae Soo the whole afternoon that he feels she would be really angry this time if he doesn't give her what she wants. "You tend to…"
"I tend to what?" Ha Jin's impatience becomes more pronounce with each tap her foot makes on the ground. "Ppal-li mal-sseum-hae po-se-yo. (Tell me, quickly.)"
"You tend to drown when you're near the water. So let's not come close to the water for the time being. I'm a good swimmer and I can definitely save you but let's not have you drown under my watch again." So tries to explain it coolly, not wanting to offend Hae Soo.
Ha Jin releases an annoyed, sarcastic sigh. "Is that what everyone thinks about me?"
With her eyebrows dangerously reaching its peak, Hae Soo looks every bit offended "I only drowned one time,"
So shuts his mouth…
"I mean twice…"
So still doesn't say anything.
"The last one doesn't count!" Ha Jin tries to convince So exasperatedly, "Eiii dwaess-eo. (Nevermind.) They can think whatever they want."
Ha Jin walks away, mortified. The blush on her cheeks too pronounce, it's creeping down her neck.
"Ya! Oe-di kal ke?! (Where are you going?)" So holds back his laughter, "You said you wanted to hear. Why are you getting angry?"
"Kkeo-jjeo! (Go away!)"
So follows behind, chuckling to his self. "Do you want some Tangerine? I'll pick for you."
Ha Jin glances back at So, her face every bit irritated, changing her mind about giving So a present.
The next day, Wook takes Myung Hee and Hae Soo inside the palace to visit his mother, Queen Shinjeong. Ha Jin brings with her a box wrap in purple silk cloth, her gift for the queen.
They find her in the pavilion, behind her quarters, having set the place for family lunch. Queen Shinjeong sits herself at the head of the table, receiving her quests.
"Aigoo, our Myung Hee is looking better these days. I heard the seja had personally arranged your doctor's visitation, looking after your health well."
"Yie eomonim, it was quiet gracious for the seja to do so." Myung Hee smiles, bowing to the queen.
"And our Hae Soo, it's been a while since you've visited me. Why have you only come today, I heard you've been attending classes inside the palace." Queen Shinjeong greets Hae Soo as well.
Ha Jin hands her gift for the queen and says, "Joe-song-hab-ni-da your highness, I have meant to come earlier that I'm embarrassed to visit you without a gift to give."
"Nonsense, a story to tell is enough. Please visit me more often, I do feel lonely inside the palace." Queen Shinjeong accepts the gift that Hae Soo brought.
With the pleasantries and the greetings done, everyone sits on the rectangle table, with Myung Hee and Wook sitting together and Hae Soo opposite them. Yeonhwa comes in a bit late, having come from an audience with the king. She bows to greet everyone and sits beside Hae Soo afterwards.
Queen Shinjeong opens Hae Soo's gift and sees the clover shaped flower soap decorated with pressed flower on top. Ha Jin explains what it is and it's use. The queen good-naturedly accepts and thanks her in return.
"I see now why everyone is charmed by you Hae Soo Ssi, you are quiet a talented and bright girl. Pray tell where did you learn this skill. I've never heard of such thing before." Queen Shinjeong asks, genuinely curious.
Ha Jin doesn't have an answer to that. She can't really tell them where or how she'd learn it so she shrugs, joking about it, "A craftsman never tells the secret of his trade."
Yeonhwa is not charmed at all but she laughs with everyone nonetheless.
"How was your audience with your father?" Queen Shinjeong asks, directing it to Yeonhwa.
"Father liked the pillowcase I've sewn for him. He says he now understands why men like having daughters, every father is a fool for his daughter." Yeonhwa proudly answers.
"That's goods then. Our family is in good standing with the king and the crown prince, now all we need is in an heir." She turns to Wook and Myung Hee, "And when are we going to see one? I'm dying to hold a grandson in my arms."
The talk of babies brings a blush of intense pink on Myung Hee's face, embarrassed to have it be brought up over lunch. Myung Hee lowers her gaze, suddenly becoming busy with her food while Wook's automatic reaction is to side-glances at Hae Soo, watching for her reaction.
Ha Jin thinks Myung Hee is too young to get pregnant, let alone get married but she shuts her mouth and busies with her food too, not really liking the customs of this period but it is not something she should meddle with.
But Myung Hee and the 8th prince never had a kid, did they?
Ha Jin looks up from her food, watching Myung Hee.
She seems well these days. That's good! Maybe it was just the cold weather that made her sick last winter.
It isn't their kid that became the 13th prince' concubine, isn't it? I'm going to beat some crap out of Baek-Ah if he ever ends with their kid.
Baek Ah isn't like that right?!
"Yie eomonim," Myung Hee answers shyly, "I'm so sorry for worrying you."
"Animnida," Wook takes Myung Hee's hand and smiles at her, he then addresses his mother politely, "Eomonim, let's not put too much pressure on Myung Hee, her health is only starting to get better."
For not pressing for that matter, Myung Hee feels grateful towards Wook. Her gentle husband who always waits on her, she feels guilty now for not being able to provide an heir.
Yeonhwa looks at his brother, making sure to have their eyes meet. Myung Hee will have to provide an heir or the power that the Hae Clan affords them will pass into Myung Hee's older brother's household, if something ever happens to her.
"I'm sure our Myung Hee would be glad to conceive a son this year, wouldn't you Myung Hee Ssi?" Yeonhwa voices out her concern, passing it off as a polite talk.
"Yie your highness," Myung Hee answers blushing.
Wook calmly put forth a smile for his sister but he is as every bit irritated at her. It is not just Myung Hee that they are pressuring but him too. "Haven't our father decided on your marriage yet my dear little sister?"
"I'm sure our father has a good prospect in mind." Yeonhwa answers and turns into Hae Soo, "Isn't our Hae Soo, 17 this year. Don't you have plans of marrying her? Didn't our 10th brother spoke for her and they are quite close, aren't you Hae Soo Ssi?"
Yeonhwa pushes some more buttons in his brother, succeeding in making him angry but Wook hides it well.
"Cheo-yo? (Me?) and Eun-ah? I mean Eun wangjanim?" Hae Soo laughs, "Were both too young besides Eun wangjanim and I are just friends."
"Yie, our 10th prince is a little too playful for Hae Soo," Hearing that Hae Soo had gained the favors among the princes, Queen Shinjeong aims a higher marriage for Hae Soo, using her to gain more grounds in the court. The girl might be an orphan and an only a noble by title but she sure holds sway among the princes, unaware of her own son's attachment to the girl. "Maybe a slightly higher prospect then."
Ha Jin laughs some more, finding the conversation ridiculous. "Please don't worry about it your highness, I'm sure I can get myself into that aisle on my own"
Not understanding that marriage is not one of the decisions she can make for herself in this period.
A servant comes in and announces the arrival of the king. King Taejo enters with his first son and 4th son in tow, having been in a stroll with them. Ji Mong comes in last, following the three royalties at their behest.
Everyone clamours in there sits, bowing and greeting the king. Hae Soo stands, anticipating. Awed to be finally meeting the king who established Goryeo and gave Korea its name, Ha Jin's mouth falls open, unconsciously gaping at the king.
"Ah pyeha you've come. What brings you to our humble lunch? You could have informed me sooner, I would have prepared a feast instead." Queen Shinjeong greets, smiling.
"Animnida, our princess here, had good naturedly invited me to your lunch awhile ago when I asked her what she will be doing after she visits me." King Taejo answers, observing everyone at the pavilion.
Wook and Myung Hee automatically stand on both side of Hae Soo, with the latter hiding Hae Soo a little behind her back.
"Yie abamama, I'm glad you have come and my brothers too. Won't you all have a seat?" Yeonhwa directs her hand to the table, offering their places a whiles ago. When she invited the king, she was just being polite. She didn't know her father would really come.
King Taejo rests his eyes on Hae Soo, an unfamiliar girl he had never seen before. "Is this the girl, whose sharing a class with our 4th prince?"
Suddenly, everyone's attention focuses on Hae Soo. Ha Jin bows her head nervous, closing her mouth and trying not to fidget.
"Yie pyeha," So answers observing Hae Soo.
"The same girl who had been brewing troubles around my sons? I heard you had hurt my 10th son and had my 4th son jump off the cliff to save you?" King Taejo scrutinizes Hae Soo.
Everyone holds their breath, anxious for Hae Soo.
The three princes and Ji Mong race to Hae Soo's defense, with Wook answering first, "The matters with the 10th prince is just a childish playful antics. It was harmless pyeha."
"I jumped off the cliff to go after the assassin pyeha, I only saved the girl as an after thought." So vehemently denies, covering for his mistakes.
In Ha Jin's panic, she throws herself to the ground, gracelessly kneeling and touching her head to the ground, "Sung-go-hab-ni-da pyeha. (Forgive me your highness.) I did not mean to cause troubles around the princes. I deserve death for doing such things."
Somehow, Hae Soo gracelessly kneeling down looks comical in every angle that it amuses King Taejo. He decides to test her, drawing a question that the princes can't answer for her. It seems the rumors about her son being charmed by the girl is true, seeing as they all come automatically to her defense even without her asking. "Are you afraid of me?"
Shoot! What's the correct answer for this situation?
Ha Jin thinks about her answer carefully, recalling the things she learned in high school about Taejo, Goryeo and history.
What does my history books say about kings?
A tyrant lives off of fear while a good and wise king lives off of virtue
"Animnida pyeha, you are a good and wise king so I am not afraid." Ha Jin answers raising her bowed body from the ground, looking away, trying hard not to fidget but failing miserably.
King Taejo thinks Hae Soo's answer is quite the standard answer every noble would give, a learned and practice one. He pushes her more, "A good and wise king? Why do you think I am a good and wise king?"
Jebal, jebal, jebal, jebal, Ha Jin think! What did my teacher in junior history said about King Taejo! I know this! I even got a perfect score in our exams.
Seeing as the question is directed only to her, the princes couldn't answer for Hae Soo. The three of them swallows, wanting to come to her defense. Queen Shinjeong and Myung Hee fidget too, depending on Hae Soo's answer, the honor of Hae clan is at stake. Yeonhwa takes the situation coolly, she doesn't mind if Hae Soo gets punished for this one. Ji Mong watches his little queen relaxed, he knows she'll get through this.
"Were you planning on getting away from it by using some flattery?" King Taejo asks, all serious now. He didn't think the girl would crack this easily, expecting more from her. "I heard you're pretty smart. Is that only a rumor?"
Ha Jin sits up, pulling her height as much as her kneeling body can, she recites a few of the sentences she'd written in her essay from her junior year exam,
"You've united the three lands and founded a new nation, accepting every citizens from the fallen kingdoms and making them your own people. Like the case of Balhae, when their kingdom surrendered to you, you've pardon their crown prince and accepted him into your royal family. You moved the capital to Songak and established trading with China and other Muslim nations, even as far as… Europe. Under your reign, the unified nation of Goryeo had seen prosperous and stable economy. You've even made this palace in accordance to nature that it does not ploughs through nature but balances well with the mountain and the forest around it, quite a good understanding of harmony between architecture, chi and nature that cannot be rivaled, no scratch that, will not be rivaled until the whole palace bu… "
"The girl is quite smart, isn't she pyeha?" Ji Mong cuts Ha Jin's sentence before she could spit out the whole history of Taejo's reign. She looks at Ha Jin, hoping she understands that she is about to give herself away.
At the astronomer's cutting, Ha Jin catches herself musing out loudly what she had learned in her junior year. She shuts her mouth, realizing her mistakes.
Everyone is sporting the same surprised reaction. They didn't know Hae Soo had a good grasp on the country's status or the king's reign.
King Taejo observes Hae Soo some more, recalling that she is studying with his 4th son. It seemed she did learn a thing or two but those information she just said is not something that can be read from a book. He'll remember to observe her closely starting today but for now, he laughs finding the girl charming. "I see now why the seja had put you in a class with the 4th prince."
At the king's ringing laughter, everyone releases the breath their holding.
"Her cleverness would be put into waste if we don't hone it." Mu answers smiling.
Ha Jin clamps her teeth together, swallowing her nervousness. She smiles awkwardly.
Bless you my history teacher in junior year. Please have everyone memorize more of our history from now on!
"You may gift her a Persian rug to take home." King Taejo commands.
"Yie pyeha," answers a eunuch from the door.
"That is such an honor for her pyeha."Queen Shinjeong exclaims happily.
Persian rug? Kuere. Even at present day it is quite expensive.
Busy with appraising in her head, Ha Jin didn't catch So signaling something to her. Wook sides step to her and whisper, "You should thank the king."
It would take a few more awkward whispering before Ha Jin catches what the princes were telling her. With her gratitude late, Ha Jin throws herself in the ground again, gracelessly thanking the king. "Your benevolence has no end pyeha."
"Keurom…" King Taejo says he's goodbye while continuously laughing. Ji Mong, So and Mu follows after with So, holding his laughter in.
As King Taejo steps at the door, he turns back to Wook, "Wook-ah, send Hae Soo Ssi to Lady Oh, she can do wonders with the lady's manners."
Flustered, Wook answers, "Yie pyeha."
No time to look at his wife who just turned pale at the king's command.
Under the heat of the sun, soldiers line on foot, standing at attention waiting for orders. In between columns of these soldiers is General Park, inspecting meticulously the uniforms and postures of his soldiers, having their usual everyday training even when the whole palace is at a weeklong break.
Entering the courtyard and walking in front of the soldiers is the 4th prince. Upon noticing him, General Park gives the order to pay respect to the 4th prince. In unison, the soldiers bring their feet together and bow 90 degrees to So. He acknowledges it and let them rise. General Park takes his position beside So and commands his soldiers to commence their running at the foot of the mountains.
General Park and So recedes to the corridors, watching the last of the soldiers exit the courtyard, maintaining their formation even as they run.
"O-rae-man-ib-ni-da. (It's been a while.)" General Park starts. "I heard you've been cooped-up at the seja's library ever since you came back."
General Park glances at So, the side of his lips automatically twitching, an after effect of the wound he had at the side of his lips. It gives his face an impression that it's about to smile perpetually even though he's not smiling at all. The twitching comes handy as it functions the same way as So's mask does, it makes it harder for people to discern his intentions. "I didn't train you at the arts of swordsmanship for years only to stay inside the palace and play classmates with a girl."
"It's the seja's order."So answers.
"Kuere?" Watching So carefully, General Park asks, "What are you doing inside this palace wangjanim? We all know that only one prince would be able to stay inside these walls?"
So doesn't have an answer for that. The truth is, he only wanted to come home and be with his family but now that he's here and found himself casted out by his birth mother, he'd been hanging around the seja just so he could feel an ounce of resemblance of the life he once had inside this palace. He doesn't want that throne; he only wants a normal life. A place for himself he could call home and a family who would be waiting for him at the end of the day. Pretty much what Hae Soo wanted when they were talking up the hills, that day she brought him his dinner.
"I heard your step mother finally left that palace of hers and is staying at her clan's home at the port. Will I ever know why you disappeared for six years?" General Park asks.
"I didn't disappear. I was just not allowed by the mad consort to leave her side." So answers, his face getting darker.
"Wae? Did she finally gained a few normalcy and started treating you as her real son? You didn't look like you were any better after you came back three years ago." General Park doesn't bother to be lenient with his words. He knows So doesn't like being placated.
"Does it matter?" With the reminder of the years he had lost in that palace, anger drips in So's words. "Dwaess-eo, kkeut-nass-eo. (Forget it, it's done anyway.)
Sensing the dismissal, General Park changes topic "There's a lot to be done at our borders, why don't you come with me when I return next week. It would only be for a few days, a week or so. It would be a good training for your younger brother too. I heard he'd been wanting to see the situations in our borders and would like to learn first hand. He seems to have the makings of a tactician rather than a politician"
"The battlefield is not a place for kids." So doesn't think Jung is ready to be sent to the fields.
"You were 15 when you first had a taste of war, your brother is 19. He can't stay here for long and where would he go after a new king seats in that throne? I imagine it's either the grave or the battlefields." A sarcastic smile spreads at the general's face.
"Mu Hyungnim would never do that to our brothers." So answers confidently.
"Kuere? If Mu ever sits in that throne. What if he doesn't? What if another one of your brothers or one of your uncles decide to take that throne for themselves? It's better that you get yourself out now and have a place of your own, away from these place. You've only been able to get out of the cage, the Kangs of Shinju made for you and now you want to enter another one?" General Park believes that Mu would become a good king but what this young kingdom needs is not a good king but a great one that would sustain its growing needs.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to burn the bridges when I get there." So ends their discussion.
"I'm sure you will." General Park answers, another twitch at the side of his lips.
The general had only been good to him and he knows he only means well with his warnings.
For two seasons every year since he was ten, So is taken to the camp of the general to train under him, learning archery, sword dance, wrestling, even theoretical tactics. The training was grueling and tiresome but he'd prefer it anytime compared to the life he had in Shinju.
He's one of the few people he likes, a no nonsense generals who gets things done in no time but he has one weakness, his daughter whom he brought up in the fields too. So had trained with her before. She is as smart as her father is and quite strong for a girl. While So's specialty is sword dance, hers is traps, it makes them a good team.
The Damiwon at night in Spring is a beautiful sight to behold. With all the flowers in bloom, the pond alive and the lanterns lighted, anyone who passes it would like to stop by and relax inside its wall.
Though tonight, as Ji Mong passes its enticing doorway, he feels a foreboding impression on its grounds. He takes the stairs going up the balcony, leaning in the balustrades, waiting for his aunt to arrive from her nightly tea ritual with the king.
I had Myung Hee saved to ensure that my little queen would not end up inside the palace while we wait for the 4th prince to ascend that throne.
No, So wangjanim doesn't even need to ascend the throne for them to be together. I had the seja's word that he would take care of them the moment he takes the crown. We only need to wait for two years and the king would naturally die and pass the throne to Mu.
Damn it! Why is this happening now?!
In Ji Mong's anger, he punches the balustrade where his hands were resting a while ago. He had been too complacent this past few weeks, busy with having Myung Hee regain her health that when the king commanded to have Hae Soo enter the Damiwon, he was too stunned to act.
Although Hae Soo is entering the Damiwon this time as a favor to her by the king and not as punishment, like how the original lifetime went, Ji Mong still can't help but be nervous.
Why do I have a feeling that we keep circling back to the original events of this lifetime?
"What did my balustrade do to merit your anger?" Lady Oh asks, standing at the landing of the stairs on the first floor, looking up to his nephew.
"My dear aunt, how long have you ben standing there?" Ji Mong feigns a smile.
"Long enough to know that my balustrade is innocent. Dda-ra-wa. (Follow me.)" Lady Oh commands his nephew, walking ahead, not waiting for him.
Ji Mong goes down to his aunt's office, closing the door behind him and taking a seat in front of her.
"The king had told me that 8th prince' wife's cousin will be apprenticing under me, starting next week. Do you have something to do with that? I did say I'd like to take her as my apprentice but I thought we agreed the girl is safer outside the palace." Lady Oh reclines her back to her chair.
"I didn't do anything. The king met the girl a while ago and was charmed by her. Is there anything we could do?" Ji Mong didn't bother to hide that he's asking again.
Hae Soo's presence in the Damiwon means not just trouble for Lady Oh but it creates a domino effect in the palace that triggers the tragedies in the original lifetime.
Ji Mong might have just saved Myung Hee but he doesn't know if he can pull enough again to save another life, especially if that life is in exchange of his little queen's.
"The king had commanded it." Lady Oh answers.
Ji Mong could only lean his head at the table, feeling exhausted.
Kuerom, mianhada my dear aunt but my little queen would always take priority.
"Please take care of her while she's in your wing." Resigning to his aunt's fate, Ji Mong stands, giving his greeting and walking away without another word.
Shall I kill the king instead?
But Mu isn't strong yet to take that crown. The Chunju Yu clan will have its field day feasting at the seja's weakness if he ascends the throne now.
Shall I make the 4th prince ascend then? Mu and Yo is just a detour anyway. That throne belongs to my little queen's prince.
Riding his horse passed his 8th brother's household, going into the port, where a large household can be found at the end of the street, is the 4th prince. Covered in black coat with his hood drawn on his head, hiding his self from people who are busily finishing their businesses on the streets, ready to close for the night.
When he reached the main gate, he alights his horse and gives its reign to a waiting servant. He follows another court lady, trudging at the courtyard impatiently, not wanting to be at this place any longer than he has to.
The court lady leads him to the anbang (living quarters of the lady of the household), where Geun Sun stands at the door smirking at him. The man announces his presence at the door, opening it after an answer from the inside came, allowing So to come in. He looks at the man, watching him from head to foot, buying his self a few seconds before he takes a step through that door.
"Wae?" The man asks, his lips pulling into a malicious smile that bares his teeth at him, "Du-ryeob-da? A-ni-myeon, sin-a-yo? (Are you afraid? Or are you excited?) "
So looks ahead, no trace of anything on his face. He puts his left foot forward, entering the room.
Inside, the whole place smells of the heady scent of incense mixed with that sweet nauseating musk, light earthy and woody. So had come to hate the smell since the first time he smelled it at the throne room of their palace in Shinju.
He looks for a window, finding all four in each walls of the room. All of it close, saved the one beside the wall, where the main bed is pushed back.
His adoptive mother, Lady Shinjuwon, is sitting at the middle of her bed, poised and regal, as if she's still sitting at her throne back in her palace at Shinju. Her dress, only a thin layer of silk white sokgot (undergarment). She looks every bit beautiful and repulsive to So.
"Won't you come nearer your mother?" Lady Shinjuwon asks.
A glint of shine in her eyes is absent tonight, which means the lady consort is lucid, thus every alarm bell in So is screaming for him to leave but he'll only be dragged back again by Guen Sun if he did. So he walks forward instead, getting this over as fast as he can. He stands in front of the lady, nearer but still a good few meters away. He brings his hands together behind his back, pulling his height, looking straight to the open window, imagining the clean air he could breathe when he finally gets out of this place.
Lady Shinjuwon stands, her dress flowing as she leaves her bed. So is inclined to step back as she comes nearer reaching her hand to touch him. Those spidery thin fingers he so detest, is now gliding along his chest, up his neck. It's long nails scratching at his skin. She brushes his hair out of his mask, tangling her hand on his hair. Her other hand snaking its way around him so possessively. She comes closer, her body an inch from So. She tugs at his hair and plants a lingering kiss beside his ear,
"Didn't you miss me my dear son?"
Footnote:
1 Yue ware are famous celadon ceramics from China during Tang and Song dynasty imported to Korea during the late three kingdoms and Goryeo. They say, Goryeo Celadon ceramics are fashioned after them. Goryeo celadon ceramics are not popular during the early reign of King Taejo but local potters have started producing those celadon ceramics already. Goryeo celadon ceramics only came to popularity at around 10th century.
Editors's note:
First of, ratings changed! I'm so sorry for So. Please don't hate me. (grimacing) The back story of So and his adoptive mother is the hardest to write so far. (still cringing from completing that segment of the next chapter).
Second, the concept of Magnolia came from the 4th prince's fave flower in the cnovel. Yinzhen's fave flower is called "Shui'zei Magnolia". It grows in swampy area in a middle of a valley, a complete opposite of Magnoila Sieboldii. I thought that the flower in the dwikkoji that So gave Hae Soo in the kdrama is Magnolia, though at a closer look I'm not so sure.
