(from now on, Queen Min’s thought will be written in purple colour)

“Phea !!!”

Eunuch Kang came and distracted King’s thought.

“What happen?” he asked

Eunuch Kang was panting hard because of running “Min Mama. She comes to Namwol pavilion !!!”

‘What is she doing there?’ He thought.

“Phea!”. Another voice called him. He found out that the owner voice stood not far. His eyes frowned. He felt somehow familiar to the man “You’re Lord Eunhyuk's follower, right?”. The man bowed at him “Yes, I am Siwon. Chief of Lee family's soldiers. Here, Gongju… I mean Queen Min told me to give this to you”. He offered to him a roll of letter from Sungmin. Kyuhyun opened it. It’s written with only one word.

‘Gift’

Without Kyuhyun knew, Siwon was eyeing him with a deep stare. It could be called as a little resentment toward the King. But who could blame him. The King was the one who made Sungmin suffered. There was a time when he thought the King didn’t deserve to even have a single strand of her hair. However, who was he to protest. His current status wasn’t even close to be a noble. He’s just no one. His stare was back to normal instantly when Kyuhyun faced him “What is this mean?”

“You will know it soon, Phea”

But Kyuhyun couldn’t wait. He ordered captain Yonghwa and eunuch Kang to accompany him to Namwol pavilion hastily. Everyone included Captain Yonghwa indeed thought the King was worrying about Lady Seohyun. But that’s wrong. He thought of something else. Or in fact, it was someone else. When he arrived in front of Namwol pavilion, a surprising scene was welcoming him. Lady Seohyun knelt down in front of Queen Min. All of courtladies in Namwol pavilion were standing surround them with so much curiosity.

‘What is she doing?’

Kyuhyun’s eyes grew bigger in shock as Sungmin pulled a dark red ribbon from her bundled hair and gave it to the special Gungnyeo. She put the ribbon around Seohyun’s neck. The latter gaped in shock with the Queen’s sudden action. Not only to Seohyun, but it also created an uproar between courtladies in  entire pavilion. Only one courtlady who remained calm. Madam Ook.

“Min Mama, Please listen to me. Do you realize what have you just done?” Seohyun asked her in confusion.

Courtlady Han stepped forward “Min Mama, please think about it again. If you give her your ribbon, it means you sign up her as a new King’s concubine!!!”

Instead of Sungmin, who kept silent, Sunkyu was the one who answered “Queen Min has told  me that this is a gift for lady Seohyun for defending her in front of Queen Mother Insoo”

“But still…”

 “Courtlady Han, this is Queen’s order. Please prepare anything for the ceremony. Make it simple but still elegant enough”

Lady Seohyun looked at Sungmin. The latter was still expressionless toward her “Min Mama, please look into my eyes! Are you really serious about this?”

Sungmin leaned toward Seohyun, she touched the special gungnyeo’s cheek slightly. She remembered what her mother told her ‘… Lee family never have debt…’. She didn’t answer her question, instead she turned around and left the crowd. But she paused her step when she found King Cho was already standing before her “What have you just done, Min Mama?!!”

He pointed at Lady Seohyun’s direction “Is that the gift you meant?”. He eyed Sungmin coldly ‘I don’t need your gift! What are you planning Sungmin?’ He wanted to say that out loud toward the queen but he couldn’t because a lot of people around. Sungmin only nodded, stepped aside and walked passing him. For Kyuhyun, it’s the first time Sungmin turned her back toward him and he very disliked that feeling.

Courtlady Ook approached him and wanted to say something but the king ignored her and hurriedly left to catch up Sungmin. He managed to go after her. He grabbed the queen’s wrist and pulled her to face him. He looked angry toward the latter “Answer my question Sungmin? Don’t ignore me like that!” he hissed.

Sungmin’s opened but not a single word came out from her lip “Kh… hh..hh….”

Kyuhyun stunned “Su…Sungmin?”

…………….

Flashback

***********

2 hour earlier

In Queen’s chamber, Sunkyu read Sungmin’s letter that had been written in hurry by the Queen herself. “Min Mama, are you sure for doing this?”

Sungmin nodded and wrote her words to a paper ‘Yes, I must save my very last word for him soon. I don’t have much time’

Then someone knocked the door “Who’s that?” Sunkyu asked.

“It’s me. Dasom”

Courtlady Dasom informed them that Siwon was waiting in front of pavilion. Sungmin already expected that the tall man would come to bring news about her brother. After Sunkyu dressed her, the courtlady paused when she’s going to apply some face powder on Sungmin's face. Her heart felt bitter as she finally noticed Sungmin’s swollen eyes because of crying “Min Mama…”

Sungmin didn’t like Sunkyu took a pity on her, so she took a letter and a brush beside her. She wrote ‘Make it thick’. The courtlady quickly understood, took a deep breath and shook her head slightly. She assured herself that she had to be strong for her queen.

They met Siwon, the tall man informed them that Lord Eunhyuk and his troops would be sent out from Hanyang that day. Like Sunkyu earlier, Siwon noticed something strange toward the queen but Sunkyu shook her head silently to the man, sending him an eye signal to mention anyting about it to Sungmin.

“I am sorry, Min Mama. You can’t meet Lord Eunhyuk” One of royal guard blocked them to pass the gate.

Sunkyu shouted at them “How dare you to prevent Min Mama to meet her own brother!!”

The royal guard bowed “I am sorry, this is King’s command. Min Mama can’t meet him”

As they struggled trying to pass royal guards, sounds from cart wheels and horse's footsteps were heard and quickly passed by in front of Sungmin’s eyes. Each cart carried a wooden cage on it. The first cage was filled up with some men while the second was only filled with one person. The man’s clothes was in mess with some scatters on it's fabric because of receiving a whip punishment. His hair was disheveled and his head kept hanging down. No one noticed who he was except Sungmin. She recognized that figure very well.

Sunkyu looked at Sungmin and finally noticed too as the latter tried with force to cut through the royal guards blockage. One of royal guards seemed like pushing out the queen, making Siwon was built in anger. He grabbed the guard’s collar and shot him with an intense glare “Don’t you dare to touch her or you won’t see the sunlight ever again!!” he hissed to the guard, made him shaking in horror and didn’t realize his spear had fallen to the ground.

“Oh Phea, you've come!!!” Sunkyu pointed out to somewhere suddenly making the rest of royal guards bowed in an instant thinking their King really came. But it’s just a lie to make Sungmin managed to pass them.

Sungmin run to go after her brother’s cage. She wanted to fulfill her brother’s last wish.

“Opp........Op..........” (Oppa......Oppa......)

She tried to shout that word out loud but it’s too late. She thought she could manage to save her last word for her brother but she had lost her voice. She kept shouting with all her might but it remained useless. She really hoped her brother could turn his back to face her but  the latter didn’t even know that she’s standing there. She shouted again and again yet no sound of her voice remained. Just silence. She fell down with her knees to the ground. Regrets were shooting her heart. Giving a terrible pain that made her could hardly breath. She didn’t expect that her brother’s punishment would be decided this soon. Never she thought her brother would leave her side this way. Her heart kept screaming No! This is not true as her tears were forcing to roll down again.

But she didn’t want to give up. She lifted her face slowly to see her brother’s figure again. Her eyes were lightened up in surprise as she found the man had turned back at her. She stood up again and looked at the man without blinking. As if her eyes could hold him any longer. Although the distance between them was pretty far but Sungmin was certain that her brother was smiling. 

Sungmin tried to call him Oppa again, eventhough she lost her voice at least she hoped the man could see her lip movement.

‘Oppa!!’

She’s not sure if he received the message or not. But the gummy smile he gave her was making it certain that at least her love toward the man had been delivered. She held her chest. Tears kept coming as she locked her eyes to the cart, kept calling her brother which only could echo in her mind, until it disappeared from her sight.

…………………..

End of Flashback

***************

In Queen Pavilion

“How is she?” King Cho asked royal doctor about Queen Min’s condition . The doctor asked him to talk outside Queen’s chamber. By looking at his expression, Kyuhyun knew that Sungmin’s condition was quite serious.

The doctor bowed down before answered “I am sorry Phea. I don’t know what exactly happened. I am sure yesterday, the last time checked, she was perfectly fine. But today when I check , it gets some inflammation. is very red. If this case is as same as other general cases, she will be recovered before one week with our herbal but…”

“But what?”

“The symptom. It’s quite strange…”

Kyuhyun frowned “Do you mean someone has poisoned her?”

The royal doctor bowed again. He looked so nervous because whatever diagnose he made, it would cost his life if he got it wrong “Phea, my assistant and nurses have  investigated all food and drink that Queen Min ate last night include with herbal drink from Courtlady Ook. But no trace of poison in them. I know one poison from china that can cause someone mute but the symptom is worse than Queen’s symptom. That poison can cause someone can't eat forever so I doubt Queen Min is poisoned by it”

Kyuhyun sighed then turned to stare at Sungmin’s chamber door. He was there with her last night. He put her in his embrace when the latter was crying hard in a whole night. He himself didn’t know either what's making him to do that to her. As far as he knew, it’s only lady Seohyun whom he allowed to be in his embrace until that night. He didn’t know what came into him. Her tears. He knew they were not fake but real. And what more shocking him was Sungmin’s action by making lady Seohyun as his new concubine. He did love the special gungnyeo but that’s not the main case. Not that way.

‘Sungmin, what are you really planning?’

***

About concubine coronation, of course it created  uproars not only in Gyeongbok palace but also in the entire Jonseong. A lot of rumors came from everywhere about Queen’s reason to make the special Gungnyeo as the King’s new concubine. Mostly, they assumed that Queen Min planned something to make Lady Seohyun suffering more. But there was a certain rumor which was pretty interesting that the Queen had started to get bored with the King and didn’t want to deliver a baby for him so she gave the duty to lady Seohyun instead. However, it came to King Cho’s ears and made the man chuckled with such a ridiculous rumor. But a certain thought did come to his mind slightly, what if the rumor was true? 

Queen Mother Insoo  and Lee faction often came to Queen pavilion for persuading the queen to cancel her decision but the latter remained unmoved. She insisted to make lady Seohyun to become a new concubine. When the ceremony started, the entire palace still couldn’t believe with the scene in front of them, as the queen remained calm and had no expression putting a concubine crown on Lady Seohyun’s head. The woman who always lost her cool toward the special gungnyeo because of jealousy, now shocked the entire palace include the King himself. Her expression was as cold as ice, without a single fake smile anymore.

About the Queen’s voice, week after week there was no sign of the Queen’s voice to be recovered. She communicated only by writing her words on paper or by lip movement. Sunkyu who’s always over reacting with all stuff-related with the Queen remained calm, even starting to learn body language and how to read lip movement.

A year passed, the Queen still remained mute. Some people worried about her condition but some other thought it’s a punishment from heaven because the queen was always acting ruthless. So that the Queen deserved it. Some rumors also spread out  through the kingdom about how the Queen became mute. Mostly believed the Queen became mute because of the King’s curse. No one knew from where the rumor came from but it was said  that it happened when the King shouted at her 'Don't speak!!' on their royal first night. This time King Cho was the one who got annoyed about this rumor and ordered the entire palace to stop the rumor to spread any further and punished whoever started it.

“Quit sulking, Sungmin!!”

King Cho visited her every once in a while. Which even more often than before their royal first night. “I know you're fully recovered now. What you have to do is you must try to talk first”

Sungmin took a paper and wrote her words.

‘if it make you visit me more often like this

I will keep to be mute forever’

Usually if the Queen did speak those kind of words, it would be followed by her haughty smile. But after that royal first night, never did she smile to anyone. All the queen’s jobs like tea ceremony or meeting some deputy from another kingdom had been offered to lady Seohyun by the Queen herself. It seemed like she threw away her duty and didn’t care about her position as a Queen anymore. Sometimes Kyuhyun felt it was even worse than Sungmin’s fake smile itself.

However, Kyuhyun still held his pride as a man as he didn’t want to stay any longer to humiliate himself because of visiting Sungmin. But still, he had to admit that he would probably visit her again because of his curiosity to find out Sungmin’s real intention for acting like that. He believed that the Queen became mute was not physically but psychologically.

***

Day after day, Lee faction became weaker. Some of their placemen got caught for corruption and sent to the jail. It seemed like when the Queen lost her voice, Lee faction also lost their mojo. In other side, Choi faction became stronger and slowly spread their influence through Jonseong. Unlike Lee faction who consisted of old nobles, Choi faction consisted of young scholars with so much idealism. Slow but certain, they moved to support Lady Seohyun and claimed themselves as the concubine’s followers.

“Min Mama, please don’t throw us away… Please think about Lee faction!!!”. All Lee faction members include Prime minister knelt down in front of Queen’s pavilion. Only Lady Yuri who was allowed to enter. When she got out from inside pavilion, she gave Queen Min’s letter to her husband.

Take a break for a while

back to your former feeling

and become my mouth

It needed sometime for Prime minister Leeteuk to digest what Queen Min meant. “Our former feeling… It’s that mean…”

Lady Yuri nodded at him “Yes, as a shadow”

With only those words, Lee faction gained their strength again even though not as much as before. They had put their attention too much to get royal family trust as they forgot about their real main strength. But still some of their followers got disappointed toward the Queen. Some of them even deserted their own faction and moved secretly to Choi faction, except the main members who kept a faith toward the Queen. At that time, Lee faction were busying themselves to maintain their position in royal council and concealed any of their flaws.

Another two years passed. The queen kept silent and everyone believed that she’d never smiled even once, except one person. Courtlady Sunkyu. She knew that the queen would smile on day 12^th and 24^th every month when standing at the edge of her roses garden.

Sungmin would smile beautifully as she heard a melodic gayageum sounds being played by someone from somewhere in the valley. She couldn’t find the player as she wasn’t sure whether the player did play it there or it was only some echoes sound from somewhere. She only knew that in the valley, there were a dense forest and her mother’s grave.

One day, the news about Lady Seohyun got pregnant spread out through the gyeongbok palace. It didn’t surprise Sungmin at all because she knew sooner or later the concubine would carry a baby. However, eventhough this time she was the one who ignored the King, she couldn’t ignore the pains in her heart as she heard the news. Of course, despite of the good news was come from a concubine, Queen Mother Insoo became so happy since it had been ages she was longing to have a grandchild. And it pained Sungmin more when she celebrated this pregnancy with a party.

‘Sunkyu, I want to visit my parent's grave’

She didn’t attend the party instead she went to visit her mother grave with Sunkyu and some of her courtladies. Siwon and some guards also accompanied her. But unlike her usual, this time she wanted to be left alone beside her mother's grave. Sunkyu quickly understood and asked others to distance themselves from the Queen.

She stared at her mother’s tomb.

‘Mother, I want to meet him’

Unshed tears slowly streamed down through her cheeks. It was her first tears after 3 years. She thought she had reached her limit. In three years, not even once she heard about her brother news. She only knew that the man had been sent to Jeju Island as a slave but never she heard anyone had seen her brother in Jeju. She did ask King Cho about it but the latter never answered her. She felt desperate. Hopeless. Never she expected the word impossible could be so real.

‘when can I be happy?’

She caressed her mother's tomb. Sometimes she did regret to be born in Lee’s Family but never even once she  regretted as Lady Soo Ae daughter. She wondered if her mother was still alive, would she feel disappointed toward her? For becoming weak like this. For giving up. 

(gayageum sounds)

She was stunned hearing a familiar sound. The one she always heard from the edge of her rose garden. She stood up and her eyes kept wandering around to search the source of the beautiful sound. It felt so far yet so close.

She loved the song. Each tone of it was encircling her like an invisible bandage, giving a cool sensation over her wounded soul. She really wanted to meet the player, so without informing Sunkyu, she left alone and walked out to search that person.

She finally found a small cape. She noticed the sound echoed from there. She's always dislike of darkness but her curiosity won over her fear. She got inside and kept walking until she found a sort of light as another hole of the cave appeared before her. It seemed like the cave was a tunnel out to a hidden place.

As she got out from the tunnel, she found out a beautiful lake surrounded by sun flowers. On the edge, stood a wooden shed without wall with someone was sitting inside and playing a gayageum. She was sure the player was a woman because she wore a woman hanbok. She watched her slender figure from behind. She could see the latter’s pointed fingers were dancing beautifully between the gayageum strings.

This time she didn’t want to close her eyes to enjoy the melody. She was afraid if the latter would vanish into the air as if it was a dream. But suddenly she felt dizzy and everything near her started spinning around. She lost her balance and fell on the fresh green lawn.

The player noticed her then turned around to approach her. “Agashi¹, Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Sungmin couldn’t answer the player as her sight slowly became blurry  and soon to be dark….

TBC

¹Agashi  : Younglady, Miss

A.N : Finally, here the 6^th  chapter ^^. I am sorry for my late update. I felt sick lately and my hurt because of too much sitting hahaha XD (but I feel better after getting some massages). At first, I planned this story become short chaptered fic with 5 chapter, then  it changed to be 10. Now, I am considering to add Kyuhyun role in the future time. So, if you don’t mind, this fic will be longer than 10 chapter. What do you think?? I hope you don’t get bored TT__TT. Sometimes I got writer’s block, but when I reread your comments again, my fingers starting to write more XD. Thank you so much for your comment. And welcomes to the new subscribers  and readers ^^.

 Please comment  and tell me what you think  XD !!!