Fate
“The kings and princes have all died, and now only Yeo is left. Give your sister to Yeo when he becomes king. Protect Yeo for me.”
Shin looked up at the king in confusement.
“Help him walk only the right ways, help him make good choices, and most importantly, don’t let him die. Tell him that I loved him by not loving him. Forgive me. This is all I could do.”
The darkness that was spreading through the kingdom. Shin knew how the king was feeling so he nodded. His Majesty had not said much, but he started to cough violently. Shin looked at the frail king and bowed down.
“I will take your orders.”
Yeo’s older brother, the king, died, and Yeo became the country’s king, at the age of 7. On the palace grounds, Goryeo’s ministers bowed down to their young, new monarch. On the stairs closest to Yeo, Joong Heon stood there, with the most proudest look on his face.
Joong Heon wasn’t born as someone who was meant to be king, so he had made a king of his own. The king of this world was under his feet; the monarch was under Joong Heon’s feet. The world was now his.
*
Time had passed, and it was time for Yeo to get married. Joong Heon didn’t want a soldier’s sister to be the queen of the land, but even he couldn’t do anything about the late king’s will. The two were to be married.
Sun Kim was a beautiful girl. She wasn’t born with wealth but she had grown up in a loving family; anyone who looked at her felt loved too. Sun Kim cared dearly for her brother who was always at war. The two were very close. Shin felt very worried indeed. He didn’t want to send his lovely sister to a person who was under Joon Heon’s control.
His sister, who was still young, knew nothing about this, and was just excited to see the king. Some of the palace maids had come to teach her the ways of the palace, but none of the strict policies came into her ears, she was just so excited.
With plates on her head and either side of her shoulders, she walked across the yard. Sun was walking hesitantly because of the scary glances the palace maids gave her. The servants that worked for her, were laughing at the strange sight. One of the palace maids shouted at the servants and they all scattered quickly to their places.
“Huh?”
A boy had been peeking over the fence, looking at her. Their eyes met. The moment she got flustered, the plates fell to the floor. Shards of ceramic flew everywhere on the ground. Sun didn’t care about that though; she just wanted to know who that boy was.
The boy had peeked over the fence to see who the to-be-queen was; the boy was Yeo. He had meant to just have a peek, but the beautiful girl made him forget about everything.
It was the day when Sun was entering the palace. Soldiers and palace maids were walking next to the carriage where Sun was. Whenever the carriage passed by, the people bowed down to their new queen.
Sun opened the window of the carriage but her brother still wasn’t there. They didn’t even know when they could see each other again, but he still hadn’t come to see her off. She closed the window again, angrily. The window slowly opened again. Sun peeked outside and saw Shin was walking a step behind from the carriage. Her face brightened.
Shin walked closer to the carriage as Sun stuck her head out. His footsteps were heavy.
“Where were you all morning? I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you before I left.”
“I should have done so. I don’t know why I came all this way to see your ugly face.”
“The way to the palace has become so much prettier since you have come.”
Hiding his true feelings about how he felt about his sister going into the palace, Shin smiled.
“But is the king, how does he look?”
“Why are you caring about his appearance? You should be caring about his personality. Don’t worry. He’s good-looking.”
“Really? Then what about me? How do I look today?”
Sun tidied her hair and smiled at her brother. Shin looked at her sister.
“You look ugly.”
“Would the king think that I’m ugly too? What happens if he doesn’t like me? Do I come back home?”
“The king has already seen you.”
“Me?”
Sun remembered the boy that had watched her over the fence. She smiled; he had been good-looking.
“He did come to see me… What did the king say? Does he like me?”
“He said you were ugly.”
She should have hated her brother whenever he said those mean words, but Sun knew that her brother was just sad to see her go.
Shin looked at his sister. When she entered the palace, he would truly be one of the king's men. He needed to free the king from under Joong Heon’s feet; it was the late king’s last request.
“You need to come see this ugly sister often.”
“Your brother is busy at war. Just think that no news is good news.”
“Is it that hard to say some good words to your sister?”
Sun looked up at her brother.
“Don’t worry about me, Shin. I’ll be happy. Really.”
*
She had entered the palace, but it was so hard to see the king. There were so many eyes watching at the palace, and out of all of them, Joong Heon’s eyes were the scariest. The only thing Sun could do was watch the king from afar.
Sun was watching the king shooting arrows. The way he aimed the bow at the target looked as good as her brothers.
Yeo didn’t know that Sun was watching him; all he could think about was the news his servants kept telling him.
“We have just received a message from Shin Kim. We have won the north war.”
“We have just received a message from Shin Kim. We have won the east war.”
“We have just received a message from Shin Kim. We have won…”
A mere soldier, Shin Kim, had become a royal family overnight. Joong Heon whispered in the king’s ear again.
“Our people shout in excitement whenever Shin comes back to the land with a message of victory. Stop complimenting him and tell him that we are worrying about the safety of his sister. The palace is being mocked; the queen might not be safe any longer.”
The arrow missed the target and hit the ground. It seemed like him; the arrow that was thrown away on the ground. He had been treated like a god since he was born; there was no one who could take his place. But now someone was threatening it. Shin Kim was one of his servants, but it wouldn’t be long before he tried to climb his way up too. Joong Heon’s mouth always told the king that he was the best, but he always told him that he wasn’t good enough. He needed to be better. Being the best wasn’t enough.
“He must not be good at shooting,” Sun muttered to herself. Everyone had their weak spots. She was glad that she could at least watch him. Not knowing that his heart was burning with anger, she kept watching him.
“How could he not even visit me once? He makes even the most patient woman crazy.”
Sun pouted her lips and stared blankly at the wall.
There was a bright moon in the sky. A palace maid came running to Sun.
“The king is on his way here!”
After grabbing a handful of her dress in her hands, Sun quickly ran outside. It was against the rules, but no one was fast enough to stop her. The dress she was wearing to meet the king was not a comfortable one, and she fell over backwards, when two hands caught her.
His face shone even at night. It was Yeo. Their eyes met, and they stayed like that for a while. Sun’s cheeks started to get hot.
“You’re heavy.”
Yeo’s low voice shocked Sun and she quickly got up and bowed over.
“I heard that a heartless man had come to meet me.”
Yeo felt the heaviness in her words and felt sorry.
“... Where were you going in such a hurry?”
“To see you.”
“But I was on my way.”
He had never come before. Sun could feel tears forming in her eyes. She was terribly upset.
“I thought it would be nicer if we both came.”
Yeo could feel the truth behind her words. He could see the moisture in her eyes; he was slowly falling for her. After all, he was only a boy too. Like a flower bent towards the sun, Yeo’s heart bent towards her. Although he was a boy, he was a king. He looked at Sun with a straight face, scared she might be able to see how he felt.
*
Of course, the first person who figured out how Yeo truly felt was Joong Heon. He knew everything about the king; he had fed him and raised him. Joong Heon needed to scare the boy again.
“When you hold something weak in your hands, you have to hold it lightly. If you hold it tightly because it is precious, it will surely die. And it will be that hand that killed it.”
Joong Heon was Yeo’s teacher and parent, and now he was afraid of him. He knew the hidden meanings behind Joong Heon’s teaching.
‘Everything you treasure will die.’
A few days ago, Yeo saw a palace maid carrying a bowl of medicine in her hands for the queen. He had thrown an angry fit by throwing the medicine on the ground and telling them to never give the queen any more medicine. Yeo knew exactly what Joong Heon wanted, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted the same anymore. The only thing he could do was throw medicine on the ground. Joong Heon had already taken over him.
“Too young. From a bad family. His queen from a worse family. Some of the ministers and Chul Joo Shin were talking about you yesterday while drinking alcohol.”
“... But they haven’t said anything wrong.”
“Especially when someone is right, it’s your job to tell them that it is wrong. Show everyone how right you are by beheading Chul Joo Shin’s head.”
Yeo’s eyes widened.
There was never a day when his people’s neck’s were safe; Joong Heon was slicing their heads off with Yeo’s hands. But there was no way but to do what Joong Heon was telling him. There were so many people that were trying to figure out his weakness, and his bad family was one of them. The king was just a human. He was frail and weak.
And so, he called the person who scared him the most. He called the person who was unlike him, perfect. Yeo looked down coldly at Shin. A big sword was given to Shin.
“I give you this sword with anger and concern. Go away as far as you can, and don’t come back.”
Shin Kim lifted his head and looked at the king.
“Your Majesty, you can’t mean…”
No words would come out. He had fought in all those wars for the king, and for the king’s people and land. But that king had ordered him to die. Young Yeo was so ignorant; still being controlled by Joong Heon. Shin was furious at himself for not being able to do anything. Ordering him to die at war not here, Shin knew, was for the queen. Yeo loved the queen, but the queen was his sister.
“Your Majesty, Goryeo is yours. You ordered me to protect the north, so I did. You ordered me to kill the enemy, so I did. My sister is here, and my people are here…”
“But that is my worry, not yours.”
Shin froze at the king's words. He could hear Joong Heon out of Yeo’s mouth. The fake world Joong Heon had made for Yeo was what he believed in.
“Inform me of your death. I will inform you of my sadness. This is an order.”
Shin got thrown away to war again; but he was going to survive. He was going to survive and save the queen and the king. The king's order was going to change from his death to Jonng Heon.
*
Sun knew that it wasn’t the king who had ordered all these beheadings. She went and found Joong Heon. The queen had come to visit him, but Joong Heon did not even bow down. He looked at her as if he was looking at a peasant girl.
“Don’t shake the king anymore. Don’t cover the king’s eyes anymore. Killing Chul Joo Shin was not right.”
Joong Heon did not even listen to the queen’s words.
“Everyone is saying that it was a rightful death, but you’re saying it was not. Whether it is me who is covering his eyes, or him, who closed his eyes.”
“You dare!”
“You, dare!”
Sun’s fists shook with fury.
“Yeo is the late king’s son, but I raised him, so I am rightfully his father. The person who put Yeo on the throne, and the person who gave the world in his hands, was me. Am I wrong? You’re only a soldier’s sister, yet you try to tell me off. Know where you stand. The person you need to tell off is not me, but your brother. He has come back from what was meant to be his last war with victory.”
What was he saying? Sun’s heart started to beat faster. It was beating so fast, she thought it was going to stop. The king had ordered her brother to die at war, when all her brother had did, was fight for the country. She clenched her dress tightly, hoping that this order was too not of the king’s own accord.
“The people are saying that there are two kings in one country. There can’t be two suns in one sky. What is this if it isn’t treason?”
Her brother was to die for treason. Sun’s mind went blank.
But it couldn’t be. How could she believe in what Joong Heon had told her? Joong Heon had killed thousands of innocent lives with his tongue.
Sun found the king sitting next to Joong Heon. She didn’t give a glance to Joong Heon, and stared only at the queen.
“Please care for the soldiers as well as the officials. Please bring General Shin Kim in from war to protect you. And please… Please keep Joong Heon Park away.”
Yeo’s face creased and he clenched his fists. Of all the things she had said, he could find no concern for him. It was all for her brother and her family. He had thought that Sun’s eyes were pure and innocent, but now he saw them again, she was just another person trying to steal his place. Jealousy had blinded him.
“Is this how everything ends? Are you starting to show your true colours? Does your family say you’re the only hope in your family? Does your brother say that?!”
“Your Majesty!”
Sun was trying her best in every way to show the king her truth, but nothing came through to him.
It was the weakness he didn’t want anyone to know; especially Sun. His fear.
“I am only a king trying to protect its people! How would a mere soldier protect that king? Do you even know what you’re requesting? Your brother wins wars that were impossible to win, and comes back to my land as a god.”
The king was shaking in fury.
“I told him again and again to not come back, but he looks down at my power. How do you know whether he’ll protect me or kill me with that sword?”
“Your Majesty!”
“No one can be the god of my people! And that is why it is treason!”
He had truly ordered the death of her brother. Sun stopped talking.
The darkness in the depth of the king’s heart was now making him ill; not even the woman he treasured could comfort him. Joong Heon smiled; the only thing the king believed in was his words.
“A mere soldier is starting to gain power; the officials are complaining. Behead General Shin Kim and show the world that you are right.”
Everyday was a nightmare. Shin was still at war; there was nothing Sun could do. She didn’t know if her brother would die and not be able to come back, or come back alive, and die. The colour from Sun’s face had vanished. The palace maids tried to get medicine for her, but the king stopped them again.
In broad daylight, the king went to find the queen. Sun had not managed to get ready for the unexpected visit, so she was only wearing a single dress.
“Your brother has won the war again! Who do you wish would live out of us?”
“Your Majesty!”
“Answer me or have you already chosen? But after all, even if either of us die, you have nothing to lose, don’t you?”
Sun bit her lip. She had always loved the king who pushed her away. It seemed like destiny; the late king’s will. It was love at first sight; the boy who had been peeking over the fence. It made her flutter; watching the king from far away. And when she had been in his arms under the moonlight; she had fallen in love. Even though that boy had ordered the death of her brother; she loved him.
“You’re so cruel…”
“Do you really want to die? And what are you wearing? Do you have no respect for me anymore?”
Yeo ordered the palace maids to bring in the queen’s jewellery box.
“Why do you not have these on? Do you think I gave you these to put in a box? I can’t figure out anymore whether my enemy is Khitan or your brother.”
“Joong Heon is the enemy.”
The queen answered him with a sorrowful voice.
Joong Heon. Joong Heon was the only one on the Yeo’s side. The king opened the box and took out a jade ring. He snatched the queen’s wrist and looked at her with furious eyes.
“The enemies have not managed to kill your brother, but today, I will.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Your brother’s sin is treason; you will wear this and greet him like a queen.”
Yeo put the ring on her hand, forcefully. Tears were streaming down Sun’s face; sorrow was making her breathless.
The king was hurting too. Only if Shin had died at war, Sun wouldn't have been this sad; Yeo hated Sun for only hating him.
“Whose side are you on? Have you ever been on my side? Have you ever thought about me, once? Have you ever loved me?”
Sun could feel her heart crumbling down. The king didn’t know how she felt. With trembling hands, she dared to slap the king’s face. Yeo looked down at Sun with a furious and surprised face.
“Don’t be on his side. That is the only way you’ll live. You will need to decide. Whether you will live as my woman or the sister of a traitor.”
Sun clenched the fist with the ring, and answered truthfully. Her heart had never changed.
“The woman who loves you is the sister of a traitor.”
Tears dropped down her chin; they were tears that were foreseeing death. She was willing to accept that death.
To Yeo, Sun’s answer was just telling him that she was on his brother’s side. Even his queen had left him, the people and the queen were all not on his side. There was no one who loved him.
*
Yeo blinked slowly. He closed and opened his eyelids again and again, but the scene he was looking at was the same. The never-ending nightmare; his repeating life; a long dream called reality, haunted him.
“After removing the group of treasonists, the cheers for you have become greater. I have requested some alcohol before the meal. This alcohol has a beautiful fragrance and is known for the perfect mixture of sweet and sour…”
Yeo needed to wake up from his dream. He got up onto his feet and flipped the table of food over. A loud crash could be heard, but he was still in his dream.
The robe made from golden thread was a wreck; he wasn’t wearing his crown - his hair was a mess. With dizzy eyes, he flipped over the table again. His eyes were always far away; years had passed but it was getting worse.
Yeo had become an adult now but he went around the palace with his ragged clothes and messy hair. There were rumours about the king gone insane. A lot of time had passed since Shin and Sun Kim had died, but Yeo still hadn’t gotten over it. Joong Heon was starting to get a bit annoyed.
“Your weak body is making people concerned. Bring in the medicine.”
Medicine. The medicine that had killed his brother, cousins, and nephews had come to him now. Yeo laughed in astonishment.
The servant maid who was handing the bowl of medicine was shaking. Everyone knew what this bowl filled.
“Drink it completely even if it is a bit bitter. It will make your mind and body clearer, and you can show the world how strong you…”
The king drank the medicine down completely.
“Would this much strength be good enough for you?”
His family had all died, but he was dying too. There was no answer to Yeo’s question. Joong Heon had already crept out of the king’s room.
The king’s room was already a mess. The sallow faced king was doing something on the floor. For days already, he had not had a single thing in his mouth except medicine. With the brush, he kept drawing. As more lines were drawn, the image slowly started to show a woman. There were already hundreds of ruined portraits on the floor next to him.
“Tell me,” the king asked the palace maid standing next to him. She was one of the maids that had served the queen.
“I can’t remember… Which one is the queen’s face? Did she smile like this, or did she cry like this?”
“Your Majesty…”
“I tried not to forget, but this person must not want that either. I can’t remember.”
The smiling Sun, and the crying Sun; they were all Sun Kim. The palace maid laid something in front of him. She had kept something in case the king looked for the woman he once loved.
Yeo opened the things wrapped in silk, carefully. Inside was an elegant royal dress. Sorrow overwhelmed the king; it was the dress Sun had died in. On top of the dress, was the jade ring he had forced onto her finger. Hot tears fell down his cheeks.
He missed the girl who looked at him in surprise over the fence, but the only thing he had was her blood-covered dress. He had held his most precious thing too lightly, it had dropped out of his hands.
With the ragged clothes and messy hair, the king left the palace. It was night, but there were some stores that were still open. Yeo hugged the last remains of the queen in his arms and walked around the street like a lunatic. The people were on the floor, bowing down, waiting for him to pass by.
“Who will wear this elegant silk dress now? Who will wear this beautiful jade ring now? Who will wear this elegant silk dress now? Who will wear this beautiful jade ring now…”
The king walked around the street in sorrow. He was insane with sadness.
“Give it to me. That beautiful jade ring.”
In the midst of the silent people, a elderly woman called out to the king without any fear. Yeo stopped to look at her; she was Samsin. He threw the ring to her.
No one wanted the silk dress, so Yeo burnt it into ashes. The king returned to the palace empty-handed. There had been nothing in his hands to begin with; there was nothing left in his hands anymore.
The picture was only a picture, it was not her. With a frail body, the king muttered to himself.
“No one has loved me. Not even my people, my servants, my woman, or myself. The end has come… But still, no one loves me.”
The servant maid serving the medicine bowed down. The king ordered her to bring in more medicine; death wasn’t coming soon enough. Her hands trembled with fear while she served more medicine.
No one had loved him, and he had never been able to love anyone. If he woke up from this long dream, the woman he loved - the elegant and beautiful girl - would be with him again.
“I know what is in there. Bring in more. This is an order.”
He ended his own life; no one there was there to wipe away his tears.
1 Comments
The sad past life story in chapter 14! Write comments and give me feedback!!
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