Chapter 44:
Two years passed…
Deep within the forest, beside the stream where the water runs cold and clear, a few groups of water servant girls are doing laundry at the middle of stark morning. It's the summer and all around them the scent of fresh dew and morning breeze floats, refreshing to their skin. The red oak tree branches surround the sky heavily that only a few ray of light penetrates the forest floor.
The servant girls are in no hurry to finish their laundry, gossiping as they rinse the clothes in front of them. They are new, only a few months working at the gyobang.
One servant sporting a long brittle black hair that dips into her waist, says, "The brigadier general and minister for trade and commerce are visiting tonight again."
Another servant girl, this time big frame and has strong arms, "When I went into the market the other day, I heard people talking about those two. They say that the Minister for Trade and Commerce and the Brigadier General are really sons of the king. They are princes."
An awe escapes the adoring servant girls mouth, all-looking love struck by the two men they were talking about.
"Does it matter if they are princes?" Another servant joins the fray, "I say they are more gorgeous than our princes."
"I could dream about them all day." Says the 4th servant.
"Or stare at them all night. I would never get enough of them." Says a servant who clasps her hands together as if praying.
Another cumulative gasps swifts the among the servants girls, blushing from thinking about the men.
"I wish I could serve in the pavilion tonight but of course only the gisaeng(s) are allowed to entertain them." Says the first servant.
"Ah matda! (Oh, right!) I remember," The third servant interjects, gathering the heads of the five servants close to her, "When I was folding the blankets for our head mistress, I heard the two trainee gisaeng(s) talking. They say the minister of trade and commerce is our Haengsu gisaeng's gibu."
"Wah?!"
"Jinjja?!"
"Daebak!"
"Is that why he has been staying in our town for half a year?" The 4th servant asks.
"And I also heard that the Brigadier General is sponsoring another girl from our gyobang." The second servant with big frame will not let the attention be snatch from her.
"Nugu? (Who?)" The servant girls are eager to hear the answer.
"Shhhh…." The second servant lowers her voice, feeling important, "They say he's sponsoring a girl that is not a gisaeng but another servant."
"Eiiiiii!" The servants all take their heads out of the huddled circle, unbelieving.
"If that is true then that servant girl would no longer be a servant." The 4th servant comments.
"Kuende…" The 5th servant adds, "I did hear that there is a girl among us who is hiding as a servant. They say she ran away from home because she didn't want to marry the prince her parents had chosen for her."
The first servant makes a big gesture of sighing, drawing the attention of everyone, "If that is true then I could never understand the minds of these people. How bad can it get to marry a prince? At least you're living a good life."
"Silly girl, isn't it?" And the servant girls laugh together.
"So our mighty men are all taken?" The 6th servant makes a gesture of crying, scooping a running water from the stream and putting it on her eyes, "This a depressing lifetime."
"They're all married?!" The first servant asks.
The 2nd servant nods, "I heard the last of them who got married was the 4th prince. While he's residing in China, he met the daughter of the general from the Khitans and was instantly in love with her. Oh, how sweet it is for a man to fall for a girl at first sight. She must be so lucky!"
And the stars are back at the servant girls' eyes.
A few meters away from them, Ha Jin quietly rinses the last of the cloths she's laundering and folds it neatly to the basket. She slowly stands-up, her legs adjusting from the long toil of sitting down. She dries her hands upon her chima and bends over to take her basket.
"Finish already, our little princess?" The first servant notices her, an annoyed teasing on her voice.
Ha Jin had been staying at an inconspicuous gyobang, down south outside Jeonju (capital of HuBaekje) for the last two years. Blending with common people. She works as a water servant and keeps to herself.
The other servants turn their eyes on her. For rarely speaking and has no friends, Ha Jin had become their favorite 'it' girl, whom they always made fun of.
Ha Jin takes her laundry with her and pays them no mind.
"Wah, can you believe the manner of this girl?" The big framed servant stands-up, waiting for Ha Jin to pass her and when she does, she pulls at her laundry basket and overturns it to the water once more.
"Ya! Do you think you're that noble girl who run away from home?" The 3rd servant stares at her from head to foot, pulling her height to it's highest, trying to intimidate Ha Jin.
"The headmistress is not here to defend you." The 4th servant stands next, crossing her arms against her chest.
Ha Jin only went into the water, gathering her laundry and wringing it. She puts it in her basket one by one and crosses out of the water at the other side afterwards. As if nothing happened at all.
"Ya!" Another servant calls her but she's already far from them. They snickered at her pitiful state, making fun of her limping.
She proceeds at the back of their gyobang, where the laundry chamber is. Rows of empty cloth's lines streak the courtyard from end to end.
The sun is high above the sky and it's light is blindingly bright. Ha Jin squints covering her eyes. A nearby bushes of Mokran gives of a lemony citrus scent in the air and it's all enough to keep Ha Jin comfortable once more. She stopped dreaming of that girl who looks like her, two years ago.
It would be nice to dream a normal dream for once, wouldn't it?
She puts down her basket and starts to hang her laundry at the cloths line.
"Oh! Ha Jin-ah!" Woo Hee finds her almost finished with hanging the blankets. She crosses the courtyard and help Ha Jin with the last of the laundry.
A little later, they finish the work and Ha Jin stretches, throwing her hands up and bending her back a little. Her legs aching from the heavy work.
Woo Hee notices it and say, "I don't know why you insist on working at the laundry department or even working at all when you don't have to."
Ha Jin shrugs, "Kuenyang… il-i na-reul ji-chi-ge han-da (It makes me exhausted.)"
In truth, Ha Jin and Woo Hee need not work here anymore since they can afford to leave the gyobang anytime.
It has been two years since Woo Hee helped Hae Soo run away from the palace and they ended up at the Jeolla do (Jeolla province), just outside Jeonjo (the capital of Hubaekje). It wasn't Woo Hee's first choice but her birthplace is the only place she can think of where they could be safe. She still has a lot of people in here and she knows the place like the back of her hand. They could easily blend in. So she came back but opted for a small nearby town instead.
Woo Hee and Ha Jin applied as servants first. Later on, with Woo Hee's skills in dancing, singing and poetry, she became a Haengsu gisaeng by virtue of teaching. She doesn't need to service clients, she only teaches trainee gisaengs.
Ha Jin for her part, the owner of their gyobang discovered her talents in making what she calls soap and aromatic oils. The owner was curious with the fragrant smell from their room and asks where is it coming from. Ha Jin and Woo Hee were incline to deny it at first but end up telling the owner about Ha Jin's skills for fear of being casted out. The owner ask them if Ha Jin would make them soaps and oils so they could sell it and in return she'll get half of the profit. It wasn't a bad deal but Ha Jin refuses to make soaps since it might draw attention to them. The owner agreed with doing business with aromatic oils instead.
Soon their gyobang became well known for the aromatic oils and scents they use. Their business prospered enough for Ha Jin and Woo Hee to live comfortably and acquire a small hut. Nevertheless, they stayed, letting themselves be hidden by the many servants and gisaeng residing at the place.
For safety reasons, Ha Jin changed her name into her real name, Go[1] Ha Jin, and made her part Chinese and part Korean so no one would be able to find her. She also insists on acting as a water servant just because she wanted a job that makes her tired and numb at the end of the day. It's the heaviest work at the gyobang and Ha Jin doesn't mind. She does this for her own sanity, having to pass out every night in her bed with exhaustion helps her sleep.
"Jam-sim-sik-sa gat-i hal-kka-yo? (Shall we have lunch together?)" Woo Hee slings her hand on Ha Jin's arms, worriedly looking at her legs "I heard the new water servants are giving you a hard time, shall I make it known to them not to cross you lest they lose their jobs?"
"Let them be." Ha Jin massages her thighs a little before standing straight and walking slowly with Woo Hee, "They'll grew tired of me soon."
"If you keep insisting on working, at least work in the kitchen. You'll only be making your legs worst." Woo Hee tells off Ha Jin, like an older sister that she is, "Let's have a masseuse massage your legs later before you go to sleep."
"Stop worrying about me. It's just the weather. It's summer anyway, the stinging will disappear soon." Ha Jin assures Woo Hee.
"That's why you need to stop working in the waters, it worsens your condition." Woo Hee is beginning to be annoyed at Ha Jin's stubbornness, "Why will you not listen?"
"I'll think about it." Ha Jin smiles a bit. These days there are not many that makes her smile, so showing one will fool Woo Hee easily.
But Woo Hee doesn't buy it and glares at her.
"Araseo, araseo. I'll work at the kitchen from now on." Ha Jin gives in just to end the discussion.
Sitting on his throne, light headed and nauseas, King Taejo presides his usual royal court. Majority of his children missing from the assembly. Only Mu, Won and Eun are present today or for the better part of the last two years.
The princes were all promoted into state councils, directly controlled by the six ministries:
Ministry of Personnel (Mu)
Ministry of Taxation (Wook)
Ministry of Rites (Baek-Ah and Eun)
Ministry of Defense (So and Jung)
Ministry of Justice (Yo)
Ministry of Work (Won)
All of which acts as deliberative body and councilors to the king. In essence, they, all six together, have inversely proportional power with the king now, but in practice it is still King Taejo who presides at everything.
Though not for long…
Won, who is now holder of ministry of works that used to be Mu's, had found himself wealth and supporters among the noble families.
Eun, who shares the office of Ministry of Rites with Baek-Ah seldom engages in politics and lets his grandfather deal with it. He initially married the daughter of the general to spite his grandfather but is now living comfortably with Soon Deok. They often visit his mother's hometown and stay there for the better part of the year.
King Taejo shakes his lightheadedness. Lately he kept imagining that tea fields at the northern part of their kingdom, the one that belongs to Goguryeo, near the borders in the north. It is where he grew up, where he met that lady who owns his heart and is now lying sick away from him. He misses the tea fields and it's spice smell, rows of tea bushes hugging the side of the mountain. How peaceful it is to gaze at them.
Shortly King Taejo falls unconscious on his throne. Ji Mong and the eunuch automatically swarm around him, worried.
The sleeping chamber of the king is simple but spacious. Its wide walls are covered with dancheong (literally means 'red and green' the five color designs found on traditional Korean wooden structure.). Bosang (imaginary Buddhist flower) dancheong and arabesque design makes up the ceiling while longevity creatures populate the pillars around the room.
At the center is the king's bed, heavily veiled by white gossamer silk. King Taejo lies on his back, having been checked by the royal physician this afternoon. His eyes are heavily lidded and he feels fatigued even when he only sat the whole day. His muscles ache and he's having a hard time focusing, unable to fall asleep even when his body is exhausted.
Ji Mong is busy with lighting three incenses and sticking it at the top of a hyeonmu (an imaginary animal that is part turtle and part snake) incense ceramic holder, the color of a jade. He places it beside the bed of the king and let its smoke rise in the air.
"Ji Mong-ah," King Taejo calls, unmoving under the net, "Where were you born again?"
"The same town where my aunt was born, pyeha." Ji Mong answers as he kneels a little far from the bed careful not to inhale too much of the incense.
More than a year ago, King Taejo had unsuspectingly fallen from his horse from hunting, Ji Mong had seen to it that he been taken good care by their royal physician and had been coming every night to the king's chamber to check on the king and lights up the aromatic incense, a gift from the lady consort. He tells the king, it is good for his health. It helps with clearing one's mind and sleeping peacefully.
The king got better at some point but his body is never the same afterwards.
"Did you ever get to play by that tea fields below the mountains? That particular part of the town is always foggy. It's hard to get a clear blue sky under it." King Taejo reminisce, "Its smell is a little bitter and spiced, wafting around the whole mountains mixing with the dew."
King Taejo inhales, breathing deeply the imagined scent in the air while Ji Mong meagerly breathes, his conversation with the king, shaping to be long. Usually when he lights incense, it signals the end of the night and he exits from the room. Though not tonight. The king seemed to be in the mood to talk.
"Do I seem strange if I miss those mountains now." The imagined fog of the tea fields surrounds King Taejo, soothing him and relaxing his aching muscles. "What says your aunt? Will she come home already?"
"My aunt is home, pyeha." Lady Oh had been residing in their hometown for the last two years, getting weaker like the king. She's been struggling with illness in her stomach and came home to rest and live her remaining life outside the palace.
"Will your aunt be kind and see me to my last days?" There is no trace of that commanding general that King Taejo once was. He looks weaker day by day.
"Pyeha, do not say that. Your stars are still shining bright." Ji Mong casually contradicts, lacking the usual conviction that his voice has. The incense getting to him and its beginning to infect his senses.
It starts with a low rumble on King Taejo's throat. Then a chuckle and a loud laugh struggling to get out of his feeble form, "Do not lie to me Ji Mong-ah. I know, even as I lie in my bed drowning in my childhood days, I no longer am the great king whom my people look upon too. Tell me. Whose stars among my sons are rising in the sky?"
Ji Mong looks up from his sitting position, gauging what the king wants to hear, "The seja, pyeha."
"That would be your second lie tonight." King Taejo is not angry, only resigned. "I want to believe your words. Nevertheless we both know my first son is not strong enough to take upon the throne."
Ji Mong remains silent, starting to see the room in double vision.
"The decree I have signed a few years ago. The one about my 4th son being a back-up seja." If there is a struggle for King Taejo to remain focus, it doesn't show, "I want it burned. Have the constable from office of the records come see me tomorrow. My will must be written."
"Yie pyeha, it shall be done." Ji Mong stands, saying his greeting and bowing before leaving.
The servants automatically slide the doors for him, the main, the second and the outer door. As soon as he exits the courtyard and is safely away from the prying eyes of the guards, he inhales deeply, trying to cough as much as he can the incense inside the king's chamber. He knocks at his chest, harder than he should, as if by doing so his lungs would clear.
He reaches the corridor at his sky tower, coming at the top and finds the seemingly inconspicuous bottle at the table he prepared before leaving tonight. He quickly drinks it, his breathing becoming better.
And then he laughs, an unbelieving one. He's amused of how much he is poisoning his self also as he lights that incense every night. He'll remember to scold the 4th prince later. Lady Shinjuwon's brand of poison is too addicting. If not for the antidote he drinks every night, he might have lost his mind too, by now.
He comes to the balcony, taking a glass of water with him and to no one he raises it, as if toasting and then he drinks.
It's time to come home…
In a flat surface of a big rock, beside the stream where they do their laundry in the morning, Ha Jin sits alone, munching at a meager rice ball she got from the kitchen a while ago. Her shift at the kitchen had just ended and she's free to leave for her room but the darkness in her room seems suffocating tonight. She left for the forest instead.
She sits with her knees drawn to her body, her arm hugging it towards her. Her legs are aching but she pays no mind to it. What she wouldn't give to feel only the pain in her legs instead of the void in her chest that had been eating upon her since the events at the palace that made her run away.
If Woo Hee can see her right now, she will be scolded once more for not eating a proper meal or following up with the masseuse she got for her. She had totally discarded taking care of herself, suffering from the guilt of surviving her family. She wakes to the morning everyday, surviving but never really living.
"Ha Jin-ah?" A man in his military uniform calls her from the trees, his long ponytailed hair gleaming in the darkness.
Ha Jin tenses for a second and then sighs, familiar with the voice that had just call her name.
The man comes out from the trees, making his presence known. It's the Brigadier General that the servant girls are talking about this morning. He crosses the rocky path in front of him, a routine he had done one too many nights, he's familiar with it already. He comes to the rock where Ha Jin is, sitting beside her and making himself comfortable.
"Here," He raises the small box wrap in a silk bojagi (square-shaped cloth used for wrapping objects, for table placemats or for covering valuables.), "I brought you food. I knew you would be eating this lame rice ball again.
He holds Ha Jin by the wrist and takes a mouth full of the rice ball she's holding, "Auggh… This is too salty. Did you made it yourself? No wonder you're not married."
He makes a light joke of it, drawing an intrepid smile from Ha Jin. Coloring the air with lightness so Ha Jin will welcome his presence.
"Wang Jung Wejang (Brigadier general), you shouldn't be wasting food like that." Ha Jin playfully admonishes Jung, "There are plenty of slaves who go hungry in our kingdom."
"Yie. Yie, Joesonghabnida, Agassi." Jung begrudgingly agrees. He had succeeded in annoying Ha Jin.
The two of them had accidentally met over a year ago, when Jung's platoon was in town to do official routine military rounds. The soldiers under Jung's command were looking for a gyobang to spend a relaxing night and have heard of the famous scent and poetry being offered by the gyobang where Ha Jin and Woo Hee are staying.
Jung's company was entering the courtyard when Jung noticed a servant lighting the lanterns around the place. He stopped to watch her for a long time, feeling familiar with her presence. True enough when Ha Jin turned around, Jung couldn't believe his eyes. She might be dressed in cheap cotton servant clothes, hair short and messy from the day's work and walking limply around but Jung would never mistake Hae Soo for anyone.
In a trance, trapped in his longing for her, Jung walks towards her and reach into her, "Hae Soo-ya!"
Ha Jin was surprise to hear her name and in panic, she flicks Jung's hand away. A soldier under Jung reacts to it, "Ya, inom! How dare a servant flicks a hand of a military officer!"
Ha Jin turns pale, bringing her hands together upon her stomach and backs away. She bows her head gracefully, a sign of forced habit. She'd forgotten her servant façade and had frozen in place, "Joesonghabnida wangjanim."
That would be her second mistake, giving away that she knows the man in front of her is a prince. Jung's company looked at her oddly, all wondering how she knows their Brigadier General is a prince. One soldier draws a sword and points it Ha Jin.
People around them are turning their heads to the commotion happening and Ha Jin is starting to be nervous. Another servant runs to go back inside, calling for their head mistress.
"Hae Soo-ya." Jung repeats still in a daze, he touches the sword pointed at Hae Soo and puts it down, "Neon sal-a-iss-eo. (You're alive.)"
Ha Jin steps back, "Joeseonghabnida nari,"
This time she remembers her façade, "I think you're mistaking your humble servant for someone else. This humble servant is not named Hae Soo."
But there is no mistaking for Jung. He had longed for her the past year, how could she have run away after everything they all did for her.
Soon, the headmistress of the house comes out and reaches the commotion, noticing Hae Soo is at the middle of it. Woo Hee speaks smoothly, hiding the trembling in her voice, "Nari, may I ask what is this all about? Have our ser…"
Jung turns around to look at Woo Hee and they both recognize each other.
Woo Hee swallows and continues with her pretense, "…vant offended you? May I offer an apology for it."
The wheels on Jung's head turn, catching up with the act fast. Woo Hee's appearance only confirms Hae Soo's identity. He gazes at both of them back and forth, maintaining his stillness. He did learned his older brothers' composure after what happened to all of them.
"Ireum-i mwo-hab-ni-da, agassi? (What is your name, my lady?)" Jung asks, addressing Hae Soo.
"Ha Jin, Go Ha Jin-ibnida." Ha Jin answer with her head bowed.
"Cheo-eum boep-kess-seub-ni-da (Nice to meet you)" [2] Jung bows extending his greeting in a very formal way, "My apologies if I have frightened you. I thought I've met someone I used to know. We shall go our way."
Jung takes his soldiers with him, letting Hae Soo and Woo Hee be. He never showed any indication that he knew the two ladies ever again. If Hae Soo and Woo Hee want to be left anonymously, he's happy to oblige. He never told anyone he found her. Though he comes to their gyobang every night and earns Woo Hee's and Hae Soo's friendship once more. The two are only too happy to pretend they don't know him in the past.
In a way, he likes this new scenario of them, uncomplicated friendship, untouched by the madness of politics of the royal court. It's like a new slate, clean and no history. Here, deep in this forest, where no one is watching them, he's free to make jokes with her, gaze at her, even love her from afar.
"Ha Jin-ah, mog-eo. (Eat.)" Jung untangles the band of the bojagi. Inside is a glazed wooden box containing colorful songpyeon (moon shape rice cake that contains sweet fillings inside.) with pine needles atop it.
Ha Jin looks at the snack inside, "Oh, it's little crescent moons."
Jung nods, smiling. He wanted to add he used to know someone who loves looking at the moon but decides to not say it. He puts the pine needles aside and offers the box.
Ha Jin picks the white one and bites into it. "This one has honey fillings in it."
"Do you prefer the one with red beans, Ha Jin-ah?" Jung asks taking one, himself.
"Mas-iss-seub-ni-da! (It's delicious!)" Ha Jin shrugs. "You should stop coming to our gyobang. The other servants are starting to gossip about you."
"Wae-yo? What do they say about me? Do they find me attractive, Ha Jin-ah?" Jung plays it coolly.
"Mwo-ya…" Ha Jin suddenly speaks in banmal, looking incredulously.
"Eoh! Banmal-i-ye-yo. (You talked down on me.)" Jung points out, feeling happy.
"Joesonghabnida, nari." Ha Jin is quick to take it back.
"Eiiii, you can just address me informally." Jung was about to say like she used to but catches his self, "Jung-ah, i-reoh-ke-yo (like this.) I even address you in banmal. Ha Jin-ah."
Ha Jin speaks in cheondemal (formal), amused at Jung. "Why do you keep saying my name?"
"Kuenyang i-reum-i joh-a-yo. Ha Jin-ah. (I like your name, Ha Jin-ah). Ha Jin-ah… Ha Jin-ah… Ha Jin-ah…" Jung repeats until Ha Jin admonishes him to stop.
"Cheo do. Cheo i-reum-eul joh-a-hab-ni-da. (Me too. I also like my name.)" Ha Jin wistfully sighs, the songpyeon melting at the corner of her mouth.
When she thinks about it. It makes her sad. How ironic it is that her real name had became her fake one. It's telling of how she is, the real her becoming the fake Hae Soo.
"So what do they say about me?" Jung asks again.
"They say you and your platoon are staying here because you're sponsoring a servant." Ha Jin engages with Jung for a second, comfortable beside him.
"Ah kuere? I can always sponsor you if you want." Jung tentatively asks, meaning it as a half joke but is serious too depending on what Ha Jin wants.
"Would you now?" A tingling chuckle escapes Ha Jin's lips. Another bite of Songpyeon "Thank you, I'm okay, I guess.
"O…kei?" Jung had never heard that word before, "What does that mean?"
Ha Jin laughs freely this time, remembering how she had never used that word for the last four years that she was stuck here.
"Okei!" She makes that ok sign in her hand, "meaning 'good' or 'fine'. Something like this. Here I'll show you."
And Ha Jin takes Jung's hand, the first time she ever made a contact with him since they've met here. Jung let's her shape his pointing finger and thumb into circle while his three remaining fingers sticks out.
"O…kei!" Jung repeats it, displaying the hand gesture.
"Yie, like that." Ha Jin laughs, enjoying Jung's company.
Jung joins her laughter, a sweet ringing in his ears.
A little later, the laughter dies down and they both gaze serenely at the sky above. The stars and moon all too prominent tonight.
He gazes at her, "Ha Jin-ah…"
"Hmmm?"
Jung hesitates for a second, "Nae-il tteo-nal keo-ye-yo. (I'm leaving tomorrow.)"
"Ah kuereyo? Take care of yourself then." Ha Jin's face stays the same. No fleeting emotion or anything as she wishes Jung a safe journey.
Jung waits for her to say anything other than that but just like how she was years ago after she lost her memories, there was no recognition or any acknowledgement that she cares for him more than a polite friend should.
"Are you happy here?" Jung asks.
Ha Jin stills for a second, considering the question,
Am I really happy?
Aside from the usual pain on her chest that has nothing to do with her physical condition and the void that threatens to swallow her when night comes and the silence around her falls,
"As happy as I could ever be." Ha Jin answers resigned.
She keeps telling herself she'll soon get used to the void. That she will get numbed soon yet every night, as she lay on her futon, staring at the wooden ceiling of her room. The weight of surviving her family sits on her chest heavily and the longing for the same arms of the man she loved deeply makes every night cold even at the middle of summer.
Under the scant moonlight of the waning moon, Jung tries to read Ha Jin's face. It looks wistful to him. The Hae Soo he used to know could never lie. Her emotions are always on display. This girl in front of him, might have gotten good at holding herself back but not enough, not fast enough for Jung not to catch the fleeting pain that passed her eyes. He pretends not to see it if that is what she wants.
"Is there anything you want from the capital? I'll make sure to get it for you when I return."
It's the beginning of summer and her parents' death anniversary is looming close. Ha Jin wants to see where her parents were buried. When she ran away with Woo Hee, Woo Hee informed her that since her parents were branded traitor, the state did not allow for a proper burial for them. Their bodies were thrown outside the capital unceremoniously. Soon Deok and Eun stole their bodies and gave them a proper burial in the forest near where they were abandoned. Though they couldn't put any burial tablet for them since that might give away their identity.
"Eopseubnida. (Nothing.) I have everything I need." Ha Jin answers. She'll remember to light a candle on one of her prayer towers near the stream later.
"Are you sure?" Jung insists.
"Don't come back." Ha Jin turns to look at Jung in the eyes. No hesitation at all. As if what she said isn't hurting Jung. "Forget about this place. Forget about meeting us again. I would really appreciate it if we could be left alone once more."
Jung freezes over. He wasn't ready for Hae Soo to acknowledge that they know each other, let alone be driven away. There's a twist on his chest, a pain in rhythm with his heart.
"Araseo." Against his will, Jung gives in. "Can I stay here with you for a while?... For the last time?"
Ha Jin nods, directing her eyes to the stream, "Mianhaeyo Jung-ah."
She drops the pretense, her address to him, familiar once again.
Jung lies down on his back at the flat surface of the stone, folding his arms underneath his head and making it a pillow. He calms his heart, closing his eyes to listen to the peacefulness of the forest, with only the stream and the insects' croon surrounding them. He wishes the night would never end.
Ha Jin arranges her hanbok and lies beside him. Jung automatically spreads his arm underneath her head. A decent space exist between them, close enough to feel her beside him but far enough that he wouldn't be able to change her mind.
"Jung-ah." Ha Jin whispers.
"Hmmm?" Jung answers, watching the night sky.
"Tell me a story." Ha Jin closes her eyes, "The one with a happy ending…"
The minister of trade and commerce strides confidently handsome at the gyobang. Dressed in his fine silk hanbok and smells of money that buys authority.
"The minister for trade and commerce had arrived." Whispers of admiration spread fast in the place. Every attention is given to the fine young man who had just entered. Some even takes a peak from their small pavilions, their other guests left to attend to themselves.
"Nari," A pretty gisaeng in see through pink rami jeogeori and flowered chima, greets him by the steps of the main quarters of a gyobang, "I thought you'd be back to the capital by now. Imagine our surprise to see you here tonight."
"Ay kuereomyeo. How could I ever leave such beauty in this place?" The young minister's flattery brings a pinkish blush and a delightful embarrassed chuckling among the gisaengs. "Forgive me, might I see your head mistress?"
"You always look for our head mistress when we're all here, waiting to do your bidding," says a 2nd gisaeng, who's wearing a thin make-up that brings out her young beauty.
"My apologies, I do enjoy the company of all of you but tonight I came for your head mistress." The young minister humbly apologizes, flirting with the trainee gisaengs, "Shall I buy a drink for everyone? Will that do for my apology?"
There's a cumulative oohhs heard from everyone and the gisaengs scatter to their delights. One stayed and led him to the secluded pavilion reserve for men of status like him.
Woo Hee is quietly sitting at the back of the pavilion, watching her trainee gisaengs practice their dance. Gayageum players play by the side of pavilion, group in a floor, a step higher than the rest.
The young minister takes a sit with the gayageum players, borrowing one and putting it in his lap to join them. The practice continues and the trainee gisaengs reddens as they twirl gracefully, holding their daggers in hand.
One gisaeng, a trainee of two years and is starting to be known for her skills makes a wrong twirl of dagger and cuts her skin above the wrist. The group stops dancing and so are the gayageum players. The trainee gisaeng, holds upon her arm, halting the blood.
The young minister stands up, getting a white handkerchief from the inside of his sleeves. He walks to the trainee gisaeng, taking a hold of her arm and gently applies a pressure in it, bandaging her hand with his handkerchief, "Jusimhae agassi, (Careful, my lady.) We don't want this to scar you, do we?"
He winks and the trainee gisaengs are ready to fall on their knees.
"Yoo Na Ssi, why don't you and your other friends take care of that cut. We're done for tonight." Woo Hee commands, dismissing her trainees.
The young minister lets go of the trainee's hand, winks at her and earns another blush from the other trainees. They all look at the young minister meaningfully before leaving the pavilion with the gayageum players.
Woo Hee put her things together, her fan and stick over her closed book. She stands up and is about to walk away when the young minister takes to her side, "You're angry."
An observation.
"The practice is over. I am merely going back to my room." Her things transferred into her hands. "Aren't you supposed to be gone by now, Baek-Ah Nari?"
Baek-Ah came to the town around six months ago to do a few official businesses with the local merchants. While he's in town he had heard about a gyobang that produces the best aromatic scents.
Not long, he came looking for his 14th brother, knowing Jung is also in town. Jung didn't want to bring him to the gyobang since he might discovered Woo Hee and Ha Jin but after so much coercion and playful threatening from Baek-Ah, Jung was forced to escort his brother to the gyobang making him swear never to reveal anything he would see in it.
Soon enough, Baek-Ah runs into Woo Hee, managing her trainee gisaengs, serving drinks to their customers. Jung had to hold him back and tells him the unwritten rule among the three of them. For everyone's security, they never acknowledge that they all know each other in the past.
Baek-Ah is only too happy to oblige though he sometimes watches Ha Jin for a long time, waiting for her to ask him about his 4th brother or even show a hint that she's curious but Ha Jin never ask anything. She's quiet all the time, preferring to be by herself. She never hangs with him anymore but returns his polite greeting whenever they run into each other. Hae Soo had distanced herself from him. Though he is aware Jung seeks her almost every night by the stream at the forest, away from everyone's eyes.
Sometimes, Baek-Ah misses their closeness from before. It would be nice if they could all relax and drop the pretense every once in a while. Nonetheless, he respects her decision to stay away from them. He couldn't fault her for choosing to run away. Like Jung, he observes from afar and keeps his mouth tightly shut, not even giving a clue to his 4th brother that he knows where Hae Soo is. He turned to Woo Hee instead, playfully annoying her all the time and earning her friendship in the process.
For a second, Baek-Ah looked hurt, then a mischievous hint gleams over his eyes. Gone fast before Woo Hee catches it, "Ah yie, the first wife missed me so much, she's been asking me to come home. She said she's cooking me my favorite dish."
Woo Hee turns to look at Baek-Ah, "You got married? Since when?"
Baek-Ah watches Woo Hee lose a little of her composure, his eyebrows go up in question, pleased, "Wae, jil-tu? (Are you jealous?)"
They reached the opening of the pavilion and Baek-Ah turns to put his hand by the wooden post. He stops Woo Hee from walking, backing her against the wall, trap between him and a pillar.
"Chae-ga wae… jil-tu-ha-gess-seum-ni-da? (Why would I… be jealous?)" There's a break in Woo Hee's voice that indicates she's anxious. She couldn't meet Baek-Ah's eyes. "I have no right to be jealous."
Baek-Ah bends over, up close on Woo Hee's face "Shall I give you a right then?"
He stills a quick kiss on her lips, flustering Woo Hee even more.
"Ya!" Woo Hee scolds at Baek-Ah, covering her lips with the back of her hand, "Why would you do that?"
"Because I like you, Woo Hee Ssi." Baek-Ah confidently confesses. "I've been trying to let you know for the last few months but you simply disregard my intentions. Why else would I stay in a small village outside a town? There's not much business here but thanks to our friend's skills of making scents, your village is fast becoming famous."
Woo Hee's face turns dark upon hearing that their village is becoming famous, Baek-Ah's confession pushed at the back of her mind. Their village mustn't gain attention or people will find out about them.
She pushes Baek-Ah away.
"Jam-si-man-yo (Wait.) Have I done something wrong?" Baek-Ah catches up with Woo Hee's reaction fast.
Woo Hee continues walking away and Baek-Ah grabs her arm, "Ya! What's wrong? Am I not allowed to like you? I'm sorry, I was only joking a while ago. I'm not married."
Woo Hee stops, "You're not?!"
"I'm not. The wife waiting for me is my father's wife." Baek-Ah smiles his way to Woo Hee's dark mood, caught in his lie, "My mother missed me these days so she had ask for me to come home."
"Ah kuereyo? I shall go first then." Woo Hee pays Baek-Ah no heed, going the other way.
"Ya! I've just told you I like you and you're still walking away from-"
"Baek-Ah wangjanim." Woo Hee cuts into Baek-Ah's sentence.
Her address startles Baek-Ah, "What did you just call me? Are we dropping the pretense now?"
"Baek-Ah-wangjanim," Woo Hee repeats, growing serious by the second, "If you're leaving then leave but please stop playing with me."
"I don't understand." Baek-ah voices his confusion.
"You're a prince. People from here might not know that but I do." Woo Hee's face softens, "We might be pretending we don't know each other all this time but we could never forget who we are. You're a prince. I'm a gisaeng. It doesn't make sense for you to like me."
And Woo Hee hates the royal family for ever taking away her kingdom and her family from her.
"Woo Hee-ya…" Baek-Ah appeals. Of course Woo Hee is right but still.
"If you are sincere then please stay away from us. Forget you've ever met us again." Woo Hee composedly pleads, "Ha Jin and I are happy to be here. We don't ever want to come back. So please, leave us."
Woo Hee takes her arm from Baek-Ah and walks away. This time Baek-Ah could only watch.
Days after, the Hoegyong Hall's wide courtyard trembles as thousands of soldier and men assemble behind each prince or princess that they support. The edict to bring back the king's children had reach each of the prince and princess and they all come home together at an assembly, the palace had never seen.
Yo, who had risen to the Ministry of Justice had gathered a lot of supporters at the royal court. With the help of his clan and former minister Wang Ryeom Shiek, he now has his own people who would support his claim to the throne. He goes around the provinces drinking and lobbying with noble families to keep them under his command. He rides his horse with a purple sigil.
So, who had been at the top of military command and ambassador to later Jin has his own supporters inside the army and has the backing of his clan, and Later Jin. He commands the whole north and everything beyond it. He rides his horse with a black sigil. Gen. Park stands with him, receiving the command that he can finally step into the capital once more.
Wook, who controls the finances of the palace and had been appointed as Anchalsa (inspector-general dispatch to the provinces to inspect local magistrates). His government position might be low but with his charisma and wit, he had easily learn the tricks of the trade. No sooner, he had amass his own treasury that bought a powerful private army for his clan. He rides his horse with a yellow sigil.
Jung, who had risen to Brigadier General, holds half of the military at the south of the kingdom. Second to Yo, he also has the backing of his mother's clan at the north. He rides his horse with a Navy blue sigil.
Yeonhwa, who was married to a top tier magistrate and is shipped to China has her own private army that does her bidding. Her husband, dying of unexplained circumstance, left her with large estate and unimaginable wealth. She now has a control of merchants of China. She rides her horse with a gold sigil.
Baek-Ah who was promoted into the ministry of Rites, holds the trade and commerce industry and has connections all over the country. Thanks to the merchants who does business under him. He stands with Jung but doesn't carry his sigil. He came on his own, humble and fleeting as always. He did not bring anyone.
The rest of the princes who never left the palace, stand in front of the ministers by the steps of hall.
King Taejo sits at his throne, atop the steps of the Hoegyong Hall, surveying thousands of men in his courtyard, "My children had grown."
Each and everyone of King Taejo's children can manage on their own and severe their ties from him anytime. The only thing holding them to him is their royal title and the chance to inherit the throne.
The ministers in blue and red uniform are watching over the spectacle and secretly sounding each and every prince/princess in their midst. Hedging their loyalties, picking sides and trying to predict who will come out on top.
Mu, who is standing beside the king, can't help but feel nervous of the show of power his siblings had brought. After the 10 injunctions were release, his seat as a seja had become more precarious than it already is.
"Mu seja," The king notices this and speak quietly with Mu, "Do not tremble upon your siblings' fancy show of power. They are yours to command."
"Pyeha," Mu whispers beside the king, "I believe your injunctions have only served to muddled the already muddy water."
"Nonsense, Mu seja," King Taejo refutes, "Look at them and examine them well. You do not need to win all of them. You only need one or two allies and you will reign long."
Mu tenses, afraid that picking sides would only put his loved ones in danger.
"Pyeha, shall we throw a banquet in a month in honor of the harvest that will come and perhaps a welcome party to your children who all came home." Queen Yoo asks, dressed in her finest royal hanbok and golden jewelries.
"Why wait for a month?" Queen Shinjeong smiles politely, butting at the conversation, "When we can throw a banquet in two weeks?"
"Two weeks," King Taejo ruminates, which means that these soldiers under his children's command would only need two weeks to stage a coup. King Taejo looks more impressed rather than threatened. "Let's do the banquet in time for the harvest moon. We do not want to anger the gods."
He wanted to at least live long enough to see his court lady come home, "Ji Mong-ah, what says your aunt? Is she also coming home?"
Ji Mong who is at his usual place beside the king, inclines his head, listening to the conversation from the beginning. "I'm afraid the messenger came back with the news that the sanggun is still suffering from her illness. Pyeha, it might be best that my aunt stay in our hometown."
"Bring her home. This is her home. Have our most skilled royal physician be at her behest." King Taejo commands wanting to spend his last days with the only lady he had loved all his life, "I am tired. I shall take a rest for now."
King Taejo stands from his throne and welcomes his children home. A few ceremonies ushering them to the steps and he says goodbye to all of them to retire for the day.
As the shadows lengthen and the day comes to a sunset, So stands by the balcony of the sky tower, watching the palace from above.
Jung and Baek-Ah arrive with a jar of wine on hand, joining Mu, Gen. Park and Ji Mong by the table. It's been a while since they gathered here and the last time they did, So was threatening Ji Mong with a sword in hand. Far from the relax atmosphere they have today.
"How is your daughter, sejanim?" Gen. Park asks, missing his own daughter whom he would have dinner in a bit.
"Kyeong Hwa gongju is growing too fast, I'm afraid she'll come of age soon." Mu talks about his daughter adoringly. "She's taking into reading history accounts."
"That would make her grow into a wiser princess then." Ji Mong comments. He stands, giving greetings to Baek-Ah and Jung.
"Is it too early to have a party?" Baek-Ah announces, holding a medium ceramic stoneware, cap with cloth as a seal, "Jung wanja and I brought this from the south."
"The finest of it's kind." Jung proudly adds, "Even the pirates are no match to it. A few drinks of this and you'll likely pass to a blissful sleep"
"Are you sure, it's a wine and not a sleeping drought?" Mu welcomes the two, in the mood to celebrate.
"Why are we even here at this tower? We should drink at the Damiwon or in the town. The night is about to settle." Baek-Ah puts the ceramic jar by the table and comes beside So, greeting him with a big smile, "Hyungnim! You're still as quiet and brooding before. Shall we relax a bit?"
"Baek-Ah-ya," So greets his brother, an intrepid smile escaping his lips. He was excited to come home, finally free to come back. He takes a sit by the balustrade, making himself comfortable as Baek-Ah suggested.
"And how is the Later Jin? I heard there's a brewing war between them and the Khitans." Baek-Ah re-arranges his hanbok and sits with So at the balustrade.
A few gungnyeo(s) come in and puts down plates of food at the table, serving early snacks to accompany the group.
"Can we not talk about anything related to war?" Jung takes his hand from the table, letting the gungnyeo(s) assemble the dishes.
"Mianhaeyo Jung-ah, I only ask to know how our 4th brother is doing." Baek-Ah apologizes good-naturedly, "I heard you met Yeonhwa nunim in China."
"With all the jewelry and richness her envoy brought with her, you'd think she isn't grieving her husband who died only a year ago." Gen. Park takes a cup of wine in front of him, savoring it's smell before drinking.
"Our sister had always been accustomed to a royal lifestyle. I hope you won't begrudge her for it." Though Mu is nervous of Yeonhwa's show of power, he cares for her like any other good brother should.
Ji Mong takes his own glass and occupies the empty space at the other side of So, leaning by the wall, "I found her."
"Nugu? (Who?)" Jung tenses and Baek-Ah holds himself from speaking.
"Hae Soo." Ji Mong answers over sipping his glass, watching the 4th prince.
"Onje? Oedi? Eotteokhaeyo? (When? Where? How?)" Baek-Ah asks one question after the other, worried for Hae Soo.
Ji Mong leaves out the sarcasm on his smile, "Haven't you been hanging around her, Baek-Ah wangjanim."
The warm atmosphere suddenly dissipates to a cold one.
"I…" Baek-Ah stills, trying not to panic, "It's not… I mean… I wasn't hiding her."
"You just forgot to tell us you found her." Ji Mong shrugs keeping it cool.
"She doesn't want to be found." Jung comes to Baek-Ah's defense.
"Is she happy?" So asks, a neutral unreadable expression on his face.
"She goes by a different name now, serving as a water girl at a gyobang where Woo Hee had become the head mistress." Ji Mong brings So up to date as to how Hae Soo is doing, even the part that Jung and Baek-Ah had been hanging in the same village for the last half year because of her.
Mu and Gen. Park listens to the conversation, withholding judgment and gauging the tense atmosphere. Baek-Ah and Jung are not known liars and they have always been on their side. If they forgot to mention they know where Hae Soo is, they probably have a good reason for not mentioning it.
"Is she happy?" So repeats.
"As happy as she could be, I guess? She told me she'll disappear once more if I ever try to come in that town again." Jung had learned to create his own facade after the chaos in the palace that resulted for everyone to be punished. He had gotten good at controlling his expressions and right now, he's looking as casual as he could. As if hiding Hae Soo was nothing.
"Alright." The only word So has for an answer.
"Alright? That's all you will say?" Ji Mong asks baffled. "Don't you want to ask where she is? How to get to her? You're home. You're free to go to her now."
So doesn't answer. He goes to the stairs leaving the sky tower fast.
"Ya! Oe di kayo? Are you going to her? Its days ride away from here!" Mu calls after him and when So never answered, he addresses Ji Mong instead. "Had he found her before we did?"
Ji Mong shrugs. "Maybe?"
The blankets in the cloth's line sway in time with the soft breeze of summer, the sunlight, lulling in it's brightness. Ha Jin stands at the middle of the laundry courtyard, head up towards the sun. It's a bright morning today with only spots of flaky clouds rake all over the sky. A totally dazzling day compared to how it was some years ago when her parents where hanged in the plaza and she was kneeling by the courtyard, soak in rain, unable to cry at all. It's her parents' death anniversary today and Ha Jin is feeling the coldness seeping on her bone-tired body.
Wouldn't it be nice to feel just a little bit warm?
It is warm. She just couldn't sense it. Ha Jin covers her eyes with her hand, a little light headed at the moment.
Around her a dark shadow moves, a stark contrast at the middle of white blankets.
Do I miss you that much?
She inhales deeply, the scent of Mokran surrounding her.
Must be my imagination playing with me again.
There are moments like this, when her loneliness engulfs her overwhelmingly that she lets herself fall back into the memories of his lean arms, holding her together and keeping her warm.
How long was it since the last time you held me?
As she takes a step, leaving the cloth's line, two strong arms surround her from behind, pulling her body into that space she calls home, her small back fitting perfectly in his solid chest.
Ha Jin closes her eyes.
5 seconds.
5… seconds before this dream ends.
4… moments that they defined their relationship. The cliff, the courtyard at her cousin's household, the white lantern and the first time he promised "always"
3… times they shared a kiss, each time deeper than the last.
2… years since the last time they saw each other.
1… chasm that kept them apart.
0…
Ha Jin opens her eyes and the arms surrounding her automatically disappears. It was a dream, a fleeting moment that she had conjured to make herself survive another day.
She sighs, no point in looking around. She effectively steps out of her memories, leaving it behind at the cloth's lines where it vanish with the breeze around her.
The Hae household lying untouched for the last two years at the town near the market is suddenly busy with milling servants once more. Three sweeps the courtyard, a few clear the webs and dust decorating the once lively dancheong of the ceiling and pillars. The others hang new tapestries inside the quarters, while some repairs the old wooden lanterns everywhere.
Yeonhwa walks around inspecting the changes brought upon the once biggest household in town. Her own gungnyeo(s) waiting upon her at her back. She passes her brother by the veranda of his sarangchae, holding an afternoon tea ceremony on his own.
"I do not understand why you insist on staying on my humble household when you can live in our quarters at the palace or have your own household built?" Wook watches the changes in his courtyard, displeased to see it. He had grown older, his hair still in a sangtu (top knot worn by married men) but is no longer parted in the side. It is neatly brushed-up, showing his forehead, clear of worry lines.
"Orabeonim," Yeonhwa greets her brother with the elegance that smells of money and privilege. If her sister look like a princess before, she certainly looks like she's ready to become a queen now, "Will you not invite me to have tea with you?"
Wook inclines his head to the empty chair by his side, directing Yeonhwa to sit. A gungnyeo automatically approaches their table and pours a tea for Yeonhwa.
"It is nice to be home." Yeonhwa takes her own cup and drink.
From the inner gate, a servant runs to the sarangchae and informs the siblings that a visitor had arrived. Yo enters the inner gate, confident as always. He wears all his hair in a sangtu at the top of his head, a little side burn had grown on both sides of his ears, making him look more mature and beguiling. Won walks with him, both of which have grown much older and colder by the looks.
"Ah, my favorite siblings." Yo greets Wook and Yeonhwa by the veranda, his smile proud as always.
"I thought I was your favorite sibling?" Won pretends to be hurt, not much changed to his playful self.
Wook and Yeonhwa greet the two with wide smile on their faces. Two more chairs are added into their table and Yo and Won join them in their afternoon tea.
"Ah a lady in mourning. Might I ask?" Yo addresses Yeonhwa who is wearing white mourning hanbok, "When will your grieving be lifted? It doesn't suit your beautiful face."
Yeonhwa smirks, a smile she learned from Yo, "Not long I guess? Two more years. It's getting tiresome."
"You're not in China anymore. We can always follow our customs instead." Yo flatters Yeonhwa, watching her carefully.
Won reaches his hand to Yeonhwa's hair, tied in chignon and adorned with golden dwikkoji of flowers and butterfly, "Oh, I thought it was a real butterfly in your hair."
Yeonhwa covers her mouth and laughs gently, "Silly you, my little brother. You haven't changed at all."
Laughter erupts among the four of them.
"I've only missed my dearest sister." Won answers, getting into Yeonhwa's good graces.
"I guess the exile and the travel around the kingdom did us all good, did it not?" Yo lets his own cup be poured with tea.
Wook minutely inclines his head, agreeing.
"I assume you've all read the injunctions our father just released?" Savoring the taste of the tea, Yo takes time to enunciate each of his word, "Any of us can inherit the throne after our father dies."
Silence settles to the four of them, all of them thinking about the possibility of sitting in that throne.
"And?" Wook asks.
"I and Won-i have been lobbying with the noble families all over the kingdom for the last two years and we've succeeded to get their support." Yo explains, up front and straight. "I guess I would feel more confident with both of you on my side."
Yeonhwa laughs, a ringing in the air that is pleasant to hear in a normal circumstances but feels like an insult to Yo at the moment, "Joesonghabnida orabeonim, What would we gain from it if we support you? Wook orabeonim, here is as powerful as you are right now. Why can't he make the next king?"
"Because…" Yo puts his tea down, casual and amused, "It's not just us who had grown in power but our other brothers did too. Though I'm sure they are rallying behind the seja at the moment. A waste isn't it? So could easily seize the throne if he wants to. He's more powerful than any of us right now but if we work together, our assets and army could easily withstood his."
"Still not clear why it should be you and not Wook orabeonim who should sit on that throne." Yeonhwa argues politely.
Yo takes out a small box from his sleeve. He puts it down on the table and offers it to Yeonhwa, "Because being the queen itself would be much better than being just the sister of the king."
Wook only quietly watch the exchange. Whatever is going on his mind is carefully sealed on his neutral façade.
Yeonhwa opens the box and finds a golden ring with three precious gemstones adoring it, "You already have a first wife."
"Which he could divorce anytime." Won answers this time, "She is only around because we needed the support of the Royal secretariat. We could always dismiss her after our brother sits on the throne."
"Such a sweet proposal." The charming smile on Yeonhwa's face never wavers, "Very convenient. Why can't I just marry our 4th brother then? It would be the same anyway."
Yo laughs over the silly matter, "We already know, he wouldn't take any another lady other than that lost one. Which reminds me…"
Yo takes a few seconds to let his words sink to Wook, "I know where the lady is."
That makes Wook listen intently. He had tried to move away from the memory of the Haes since he was punished and casted out of the palace two years ago. He had busied himself with official business and rode around the kingdom like a zombie, numb and unfeeling yet he couldn't help but secretly look for her.
"I had her hidden by my people. Amusing, isn't it?" Yo triumphantly wins Wook's attention, to Yeonhwa's annoyance.
It makes sense to Wook now. Of course, he can't find someone who was deliberately hidden from him.
"We could always call back her friend and make the girl come." Won adds, "She thinks she trusted the right person."
"She never learns, does she?" Yeonhwa sighs. As much as she hated Hae Soo, she pities her for being naïve around a nest of vipers.
"She's a Kang now." Wook points out.
"Not if I make her enter the palace. The king owns every girl inside the palace." Yo argues.
"All the more reason for me to sit in the throne?" Wook draws a smile on his face.
Yo only looks at Yeonhwa, letting her decide on the contradiction where her status lies, "Then it would be your choice, my dear sister. It's nice to have options for a change, isn't it?"
After all, he only needs one of the Hwangbo siblings as an ally and the treasury problem of his army is resolve, "You could let me sit on the throne and be my queen or you could support our 8th brother here and see Lady Hae Soo ascend the throne."
Yo can see the wheels turning on both of the Hwangbo siblings and can't help but admire how treacherous they both are. Yeonhwa is just as dangerous as his 8th brother is.
"Ja! I will leave you both to make your decisions. Let me know your answer soon." Yo and Won stand up and take leave. Both of them walking on a light foot, knowing they have won at least one of the Hwangbos.
As they near the main gate, Yo whispers to Won, "Sent a messenger to Lady Woo Hee, it would be great to have her envoy perform a dance at our father's banquet."
"It shall be done." Won whistles in his stead.
By the time Wook breaks the silence between him and Yeonhwa, the sun had already set and streaks of orange, red, and purple had begun to paint the sky.
"You're going to betray me, aren't you, my dear sister?"
"It is not a betrayal if we both support the same side." Yeonhwa calmly answers.
"Kuere, it's not the first time you marry out of convenience anyway."
Splash.
Yeonhwa couldn't hold herself back and empty her cup on Wook, "I was shipped to China as a punishment. I did not choose to be married to that old magistrate and I earned my way out of that miserable place. Forgive me, if I don't ever want to be powerless again. Besides, you'll be getting what you want too, anyway. You wanted to marry the girl, well here's your chance once more. We'll draft her as a lady inside the palace and you can have her all you want. How ever you want."
Wook gently wipes the tea out of his hanbok, unbothered, "I sacrificed for you and our family, two years ago. You would do well to remember that."
He had come far for the last two years. He might have wanted to marry Hae Soo, he still does but he, like, Yeonhwa have learned what power can do. Try as he might to deny his self, he now has a taste for it after experiencing it.
Trainee gisaengs gather at the pavilion behind the main quarters, deep into their practice of sword dance. A few of them had worn gears to protect their wrists while some had gotten good enough to avoid the cuts of their own blade.
Woo Hee is at the middle of demonstrating the next turn when a servant interrupts her and hands her a purple envelope with golden trellis vine as a decoration. It was sealed with a blank sigil at the back.
"Joesonghabnida Agassi, this letter came from this man. He says it's urgent."
The man behind the servant bows at Woo Hee.
The trainees excitedly look at the envelope and the charming messenger, whispering with each other whether it's another letter from an admirer for their head mistress.
"What are you all watching? Go back to your formation and start from the beginning." Woo Hee puts her trainees to practice then walks to the shade of the pavilion as the messenger follows behind her.
For some reason, the stranger puts Woo Hee into disquiet. The letter looks expensive, the kind of stationary only noble men writes on. It's not her first time to receive such letter but this one makes her nervous.
She opens the lid carefully and pulls the hanji inside. Spreading it, she finds an invitation from the palace.
The harvest season is coming in a few months and the children of the king had all came home. To celebrate this, the queen is throwing a large banquet in a month and all the best performers are being invited
The ladies of your gyobang, known for their poetry and outstanding skills in dance, are hereby being invited to perform in front of the king. A messenger will be sent to escort you and your ladies in a few days time.
We hope to see you grace us with your lovely presence soon.
When Woo Hee raises her eyes to look at the messenger, the messenger smiles widely, "My master say, he will be providing you your old quarters at the Damiwon. He also wants you to know that your sanggun is sick and might need your help to take care of her. He says your quiet close to the sanggun and that the lady would be glad to welcome you back in her mini palace."
"Kamsahabnida, nari." Woo Hee politely bows. Though she is worried for Lady Oh, she'd rather not return to the palace, "My trainees are not ready to perform in front of the king. I'm sure there are others who are better than us. "
And the kind face of the messenger turns dark, his voice toned down in a whisper, "The king is getting weaker each day, Agassi. You might no get another chance with him."
He smiles meaningfully, throwing the bait at Woo Hee.
For a second, Woo Hee is tempted to exact her revenge with the king who killed her whole family and took away the land of her people. What she wouldn't give to struck that proud chest of the king with her own knife.
But that was all in the past now. When Yo asked her to run away with Hae Soo and instructed her to hide the girl, she took it for the same reason that it's her only out of the conspiring palace.
She had made plans to relocate them and eventually free themselves from the shadow of the third prince. It took them a year to have their own earnings and she is only waiting for the right time to tell Hae Soo so they could transfer into another place but it's too late now. She wasn't expecting to be called back so soon.
"I shall think about it." Woo Hee replies and turns to leave.
The messenger steps into her path, blocking her, "Agassi, I think you are under the impression that it is an invitation you could say no to. Forgive me, my master ask me to make sure you are to come back to the palace with me."
The messenger's face turns a little hostile and this time it's he who walks away and Woo Hee is left to crumble the paper and throw it to the nearest trashcan.
It's the middle of the afternoon and the sun is turning orange, dipping far below the sky. Ha Jin was sent to the market to buy some meat and fishes to be served in their dinner tonight. She walks contemplatively, looking around and feeling the air around her. This is her favorite task at the gyobang so far. This gives her the feeling of normalcy, like her early days in her cousin's household when she would walk with her cousin in the town and wander in the park full of cherry blossoms trees that rains its white and pink petals during spring.
Behind her, a man in black soldier gears shadows her every move. The man had been following her for days and Ha Jin had no idea. As she turns in an alley full of merchants selling different kinds of textiles, the man makes his presence known.
"Agassi," The man courteously greets, maintaining a safe distance so as not to alarm Ha Jin.
"Cheo yeo? (Me?)" Ha Jin looks behind her, confirming if the man is addressing her.
"Yie, Hae Soo Ssi." The man stands to his height, quite tall and graceful for an old man who seems double the age of Jung.
Ha Jin tenses, wiping the curiosity out of her face, "Joesonghabnida nari, I was told I have a very common face so a lot of people mistakes me for someone they know."
She turns to leave, struggling not show her nervousness.
"Go Ha Jin Ssi." The man calls again, advancing towards her, "I shall address you with the name you're using then."
He comes to her side and though Ha Jin clearly made it known that she doesn't want anything to do with him, he insisted in walking beside her, "Let me offer you some refreshment. It would be best to sit while we talk."
Ha Jin is thinking of running but with her condition right now, limping away wouldn't get her far.
"Geok-jeong-ha-ji-ma-se-yo, agasssi. (Do not worry, my lady.) I will not hurt you. I merely want to convey a message from my mistress." Though the man looks welcoming, something about him commands fear.
He leads them to an open stall, somewhere a lot of people are eating and drinking, as if giving her a choice to scream for help if she ever feels threaten. They sit opposite each other, the man ordering drinks for them.
A little later, a servant serves a jar of Makgeolli and a plate of kimchi pajeon, "I hear you like drinking or was it in the past now?"
Ha Jin asks for water instead.
"Ah, of course, where are my manners." The man stands up to properly introduce his self, "Cheo neun Guen Sun-ibnida. Cheo-eum boep-kess-seub-ni-da (Nice to meet you). I am your mother's right hand man."
Ha Jin stands to bow and offers her hand for a shake, "My mother's right hand man?"
Misunderstanding Guen Sun's words.
"Yie." Guen Sun takes his seat after shaking Ha Jin's hand, observing that it's a little rough.
"I've never met you in our household. Have I forgotten about you, too?" Ha Jin asks curiously. The man looks familiar though. She had seen him somewhere but she couldn't remember. "My mother is dead."
"Ah, I'm sorry to hear about that." Guen Sun pours himself a glass of Makgeolli and so is Ha Jin's bowl. "Kuende, I think you're misunderstanding something. I am your mother's right hand man. Lady Shijuwon of the Kangs of Shinju."
Ha Jin automatically leans back, suddenly wanting space from the man, "I should leave. My mistress is probably looking for me. Thank you for the drinks."
Ha Jin stands up.
"Anj-a-ra! (Sit down.)" Guen sun quietly commands, all the pretend kindness vanishing in the air. "These people can't help you even if you drew attention to yourself."
Looking around, a few men make themselves seen, nodding towards Guen Sun. Ha Jin had no choice but to sit once more.
"Hae Soo Ssi, I came to ask you to come home." Geun Sun tears the pajeon by his chopsticks, surprisingly elegant for a man who is at home with holding a weapon in his hand. "Did I scare you? Forgive me. I didn't mean to threaten you. Has anyone ever explain to you that you are now the adopted daughter of the Kangs and Lady Shinjuwon therefore, would very much like to meet you. She's been looking for you for the last two years."
Ha Jin is suddenly wary. She didn't stayed in the palace long enough to understand how she suddenly became a Kang. When Woo Hee explained it to her, she was busy thinking about how to save her parents. She didn't pay attention to it even after she run away. She thought it was just a scheme to save her life.
"You weren't hastily adopted to the Kang household, Hae Soo Ssi. You were already adopted to us long before your cousin, Lady Myung Hee died. Your 4th prince had asked Lady Shinjuwon to protect you, so she took your registration and made you her daughter." Guen Sun explains.
Ha Jin doesn't follow, "What does that mean?"
"It means that you are the daughter of the most powerful clan in the kingdom. That you as much as the 4th prince, have the right over that chancellery seat. You and the 4th prince are now the heirs of the Kangs of Shinju." Taking a bowl of Makgeolli, he gets his fill heartily, "So what do you say? How about you finally come home and meet your mother?"
"Guen Sun Ssi, kamsahabnida. I am really grateful for patiently explaining to me how chaotic the palace politics is but I'd rather stay in this small town and remain anonymously. I am a Hae and would like to remain that way. I am not interested at becoming an heir for any powerful clan." Ha Jin declines, clear as daylight.
"Ah, have you given up on our 4th prince, too? We were under the impression that you two are getting married. He even risk the king's wrath—"
"Stop!" Sleeping with the burden every night, Ha Jin knows full well what So did for her. She doesn't need to be reminded of it, "Please, I don't want to do anything with the palace or the clans. I am happy here."
Ha Jin stands up, closing the discussion. She remembers to pay her respect and then turns to leave.
"Go Ha Jin Ssi," Guen Sun calls, over sipping his Makgeolli "It is not an invitation to come home."
Ha Jin momentarily stops.
"It is a command." There's a quietness in Guen Sun's voice that screams danger, "You would do well to follow or you will learn first hand the story behind the map of scars covering your beloved 4th prince' body."
The basket full of goods from the market falls from Ha Jin's hands. The goods tumbling out in the floor, becoming undone.
Woo Hee paces by the hall of their main quarters, the messenger from a few days ago is now accompanied by more men, tasked to escort her and her envoy. Four of her trainee gisaengs had packed their things and are standing excitedly at the courtyard, saying goodbye to their friends.
A plain looking errand boy comes by the main gate looking for the head mistress of the gyobang. He was escorted to the main quarters, where he hands a hastily rolled-up hanji to Woo Hee.
Woo Hee takes the letter and reads inside. The letter states that Hae Soo is to come home to the capital under her mother's order. It was signed by Hae Soo but the writing doesn't belong to her.
The messenger standing as Woo Hee's guard automatically approaches her, "Is there something wrong, Agassi?"
"I guess it would be just me and my students who will come to the palace." Woo Hee answers casually, putting a reign over her anxiety.
Hae Soo is gone by the order of her mother but as everyone knows, Lady Sewon is dead. Woo Hee wonders, which mother is the letter talking about.
A week after, the hoegyong hall opens the assembly officially for the summer and every royalty and government officials in the capital are present. Like every official season opener, the hall is in a festive mood to celebrate. It is an official day of work but everyone gathers to socialize and examine each and every one in the hall. Since all the children of the king were called back, all the princes and the princesses are present. Including their wives and their husbands.
King Taejo looks ill as he sit alone in his throne. Gone was his commanding aura, eaten by his illness, though he still look venerable in his straight posture. If anyone can observe that King Taejo spends his days trapped in an imagined world of his youth, no one says a word. They all take him as a senile man waiting for the end of his days.
A eunuch announces the start of the assembly and everyone lines to their positions. The ministries in blue uniform to the right of the king and the ones in red are in the left. King Taejos' children populate the aisle in two columns, leaving a space in the center. The queens are in their mini thrones and the astronomer in his place beside the king.
"By the grace of heaven bestowed upon me…" King Taejo is too weak to raise his voice but dignified nonetheless. "Let me bless everyone and wish an abundant rain in the coming days of the sun. May our soils be fruitful to our crops and may our farmers' harvest be bountiful in the coming months."
"As a tradition and to welcome our princes and princesses who all came home," Queen Yoo smiles generously, adding to the announcement of the king, "A festival will be held in a weeks time and everyone in the kingdom is invited to attend."
In chorus, everyone bows their head and expresses their gratitude to the king and the queen.
"Such a joyous mood it is." Queen Shinjeong comments, succeeding into making herself look amiable in front of their subjects.
"Pyehaaaaa…." A eunuch announces from the closed door at the end of the hall, "Forgive your servant. A representative from a noble family had run a little late and had just arrived."
Everyone looks around; examining which family is not present in the hall. The owner of the third chancellery seat, which belongs to the Haes are understandably no longer consider a noble family so they don't have a representative. Their seat was given to Mu's clan to manage.
"Who else is missing?" Eun whispers at Baek-Ah to his left.
"Mol-la. (No idea.)" Baek-Ah whispers back, "You're the one staying in the palace for the last two years. Was there another family inducted?"
"So hyungnim is still the holder of the Kang's chancellery seat, right?" Jung asks in a low tone to Baek-Ah.
"I guess so. Did it change? I'm not aware." Baek-Ah shrugs, watching their 4th brother. "Who is sitting in their chancellery seat for the past year?"
"Lady Shinjuwon's right hand man?" Won answers, chiming to the whispers.
The loud voice of the eunuch echoes in the hall, "Your humble servant is awaiting your summons, pyehaaaa…"
King Taejo gesture for the eunuch to let the latecomer in.
The guards open the doors wide, putting silence in everyone's murmur. They all turn their heads, curious as to who is the representative who dares to be late in their presence.
Dressed in the finest white silk hanbok with butterfly and trellis of colorful peonies adoring the hems of her chima and her short hair decorated with small white flowers for a dwikkoji, an all too familiar lady strides beside Guen Sun.
King Taejo's focus zooms in sharply at the girl. He side glances at Ji Mong, becoming aware of his adviser's failure to dispose of the girl two years ago.
Lacking the dark aura that every member of a Kang household carries, Ha Jin stands elegantly in contrast of Lady Shinuwon's right hand man. Both of them walking agonizingly slow at the path before them, capturing every attention in their stead.
"Ha Jin-ah?" Baek-Ah and Jung whisper under their breathe. Knowing Hae soo, they are worried that she is here against her will. They turn to their 4th brother, watching Hae Soo and Guen Sun pass him without any recognition.
For a second, a fleeting surprise passes So's face but he quickly hides it and reverts back to his neutral expression.
"Pyeha, may I present you the daughter of the House Kang, Lady Hae Soo." Guen Sun bows and Hae Soo slowly comes down to her knees, rendering a curtsy in front of the king. She swallows, feeling the tingling pain above her knees. She isn't allowed to kneel for too long or her legs would start shaking from the strain.
"In light of our 4th prince ascending to the highest position of the royal army, rendering him unable to manage the chancellery seat." Guen Sun glances at So, "Lady Hae Soo will be the lady consort's new representative in the court. Lady Shinjuwon would like to ask everyone to extend the same courtesy to her daughter."
The whole hall falls to silence, wary of the girl that majority of them condemned, two years ago.
The Hoegyong Hall stands empty save for the one guard at the door, the king at his throne and Hae Soo at the aisle. After its occupants where dismissed not long, the empty hall falls gravely silent as King Taejo examines the girl he had casted out long ago.
Ha Jin might be in one of the finest hanboks, groomed and looking like the lady of a noble house but underneath her clothes, she is all skin and bone. The exhaustion of the hard work for the last two years had taken toll on her body and she had lost weight. If not for the right measurement of her hanbok hugging the precise corners of her body, her petite frame might have look like a hanger for her pretty hanbok.
"Are you comfortable with your clothes?" King Taejo wonders how such a small frame could carry all those jewelry adorning her hair.
"Eh?"
It's not just King Taejo, who is doing a thorough observation but also Ha Jin. The question causes a confusion to her.
"You don't look so well in spite of the finery surrounding you." King Taejo points out. "Is't because you've been neglecting yourself. You don't look like you've been living a great life under your adoptive household."
There's a tightness in Ha Jin's chest that she had long pretended not to be there. She observes King Taejo carefully, her brain automatically searching her history notes even if she doesn't want to.
"Have you come to exact your vengeance on me?" King Taejo frankly asks, sane and sharp, "Or were you dragged here against your will once more?"
Ha Jin doesn't answer.
King Taejo signals for Ji Mong, who is standing silently by the corridor, hidden in Ha Jin's sight. Ji Mong approaches the king, composedly.
"Will you bring me my incense, the one you light up for me, every night." King Taejo commands.
Ji Mong tenses but it doesn't show, "Pyeha, such remedy is only serve before you sleep. It might cause you more harm, if there is an over dosage."
"Light at least one then. I'll save the two before I sleep." King Taejo insists.
"Pyeha-"
"Light one, Ji Mong-ah. Myeong-ryeong-i-da (It's my command)" King Taejo cuts his adviser's objection. "Oeseo! (Quick!)"
Ji Mong has no choice but to follow the order. He leaves for a while, wondering if he could replace the incense with a plain one but it has a distinct smell. The king might get suspicious if he replaces it.
"I have grown fond of the smell of that incense, I'd very much like to share it with you."
"You are very gracious, pyeha."
Ha Jin finds the king odd, deliberating if the king is on his right mind or not. He looks sharp to Ha Jin but weaker, not like his old self. His health had deteriorated and she had heard rumors that he is slowly losing his mind.
It's the year 945. Did the king live this far?
Ha Jin doesn't remember which year King Taejo died. She isn't good at memorizing numbers. She only remembers the names of the king used when they ascended the throne. Not even their real name.
Shortly, Ji Mong comes back, holding an incense stick and an incense holder. He hesitatingly puts it at the table in front of the king, hoping Ha Jin is far enough in the aisle to be affected by it.
Poised to light it, King Taejo stops Ji Mong from lighting the incense, "Hae Soo Ssi, will you light this for me?"
"Yie?" Ji Mong hides his nervousness.
"I hear the girl, has some skills with concocting scents and basic medicine. It will not kill her to light one incense."
Since Ji Mong is aware that he is being watched, he has no choice but to hand the match over to Hae Soo. Ha Jin is lost but she approaches the table, receiving the match. She minutely inclines her head and unsuspectingly lights up the incense. She blows over the end of the stick, getting rid of the tiny fire and leaving the embers to burn on its own. The smoke rises under her nose. It is odorless and looks like an ordinary incense to her. She puts it at the holder then goes back to her position in the aisle.
"I feel better now." King Taejo inhales.
Ji Mong goes back to his corridor, watching on his own.
"Did you know why your parents had to die, two years ago?"
Ha Jin looks up from the aisle, their discussion growing serious.
King Taejo reads Hae Soo carefully, "Your parents are one of the kindest people I have ever met. Maybe the only nice people in my court. They weren't the scheming type. If they were, they wouldn't find themselves at the end of a tied noose."
"They were innocent." Ha Jin closes her hands on her chima, holding herself from trembling. The reminder of her parent's fate is an unwelcome to pic for her. She's starting to feel that familiar anger but losing her temper will get her nowhere.
"Indeed they were. And that is why they are dead." King Taejo's words are cruel and frank, "You see, Agassi, my court is not for the weak nor for the pure hearted. This kingdom wasn't build by prayer and kindness. It was won by war and formed in blood. I had casted out my children out of the palace not to punish them but to force them to grow-up so when the time comes… a time like this. Any of them could take on the throne on their own."
Ha Jin only listens, waiting where this discussion is going. Her chest is tightening and the wide walls of the hall are starting to feel like a cage.
"You have come back from the dead." King Taejo side glances at Ji Mong, "Once? Twice? Remind me how many times now? I'm sure it is not by pure luck. For such a small girl, you hold quiet a power in your hand."
King Taejo catches Hae Soo's gaze and holds it, "So tell me, who are you really, Hae Soo Agassi?"
Ha Jin opens her mouth to answer. The incense seemingly constricting her throat, "I am merely an unlucky servant who happens to be at a wrong place, at a wrong time."
"I see differently." King Taejo disagrees, "I commanded my own people to ask about you after you disappeared. Every one who had come in contact with you, the trainee gungnyeo(s) in the Damiwon, your little group of friends, the servants in your cousin's household. All of them say the same thing. You are different ever since your drowning. They don't recognize your behaviour or you at all... Almost like you've become a different person over night."
Ha Jin is anxious now. She doesn't know if she was only imagining it but the incense is making her dizzy and so is the king.
"Did you know… I sent my adviser to kill you?"
Ji Mong doesn't react from the corridor.
"And of course he failed. Why? Because he sees something in you that I almost missed myself." For a second, King Taejo turns his attention to the smoke rising from the half burnt incense, "You are not from here, Agassi… Are you?"
Ha Jin doesn't know how to answer that. Coming back to present times had crossed her mind many times but the burden of survivor's guilt keeps her grounded here. Coming back would be like a free pass from all the sacrifices made for her in this lifetime. She doesn't think she deserve that.
"I think you're not. I think, like my adviser you have seen far in the future or you are from the future, yourself." King Taejo focuses on Ha jin once more, "You knew things before everyone else does."
"Anibnida." That at least is true to Ha Jin. She doesn't know the future but she had read the past, at least an outline of it from her history books that more or less is not very helpful to her. Not everything was written in the history books and as Ha Jin learned it the hard way, there are many sides in history and all of them equate to someone else's life on the line.
"Do not lie to this old man, Agassi. We are both aware I do not have much time left." King Taejo sighs, "I wanted you out of my palace and out of any of my sons' reach because I am afraid you hold too much power in your hand that you do not know you have."
Ha Jin doesn't follow.
"Yes, Agassi. You're small delicate hand holds the key to the next owner of this throne." King Taejo patiently explains.
"I do not want it." Ha Jin clasps at her chest, struggling not to grasp for air. She remembers what she calls the unnamed girl in history.
Helen of Troy. I am not her.
"Your refusal to wield your power makes you more dangerous. You easily dismiss your actions without understanding that it impacts people around you. And the people around you run this kingdom, Agassi. They do things at your behest. They do things for you."
"What do you wish of me, pyeha?" Ha Jin asks, looking everywhere but the king. She is uncomfortable of the discussion. It wasn't her choice to be caught in the middle.
"Do not hold back the future, Hae Soo Ssi. I know you've seen two of my sons becoming a king."
Three. Three of your sons will be king.
Ha Jin corrects in her head.
"Will you help usher that future? Will you choose only one of them to reign long? Or Will you hand the throne over to someone else?" King Taejo would love to see the answer but alas, time only permits him to impart a few words to the girl and hopefully she makes the right choice, "Your unwillingness to take sides will cause you more lives. Make your choice, Agassi and make it happen. After I'm gone, the kingdom could only survive a turmoil for so long. Your choice will affect millions of people and will resonate in time. So choose wisely."
The discussion comes to a close and King Taejo could finally succumb to the tempting illusions that the incense offers.
Ha Jin leaves the throne room and exits its massive door, stopping at the steps of the Hoegyong Hall. She looks around. The courtyard is deserted but she hears hooves of horses, people running everywhere, swords drawn, parries exchange, cries of soldiers as one gets struck while the other defends. It's becoming louder and louder. They are not real but Ha Jin is drowning inside the flash of memory. She falls into her knees, her hands closing in her ears.
A war is coming and Ha Jin finds herself at the middle of it whether she likes it or not.
Footnote:
1 Surname Go is not a very popular surname during Goryeo though records show that surname 'Go' had been existing and is used by a Royal family in Goguryeo. The family are believed to be of Chinese descent and traces their lineage with the Yellow Emperor of China.
2 Cheo-eum boep-kess-seub-ni-da - It literally means 'I'm meeting you for the first time'
Editor's note:
I wanted our 4th prince to be the one to find her at Jeonjo but it just doesn't make sense. So is in China and Jung is the one sent in the south. (At least, it wasn't Wook?) :))
