CHAPTER 7 : An Ocean Full of Secrets

◊Goryeo Empire, 1034

Rain began to plunge from the vast grey sky above and seep into the soil of Goryeo the minute the 10^th Goryeo’s emperor’s trustworthy royal messenger arrived at the front gates of the palace. His horse halts as the young man reveals his identity. As if on cue, the palace guards immediately grant access to the worn-out man who has been travelling all over Goryeo and China in his mission of delivering the emperor’s words to the likes of those he wishes. Alas, he should have known better as it has been his job for the past few years. While the palace maidens are assigned to diligently sweep the dust and dry leaves off the ground, palace guards exist for the sake of safety and the ministers are there for nothing but criticism, messengers are the emperor’s pigeons. They are meant to flutter off once told and return with whatever sod or joy they should, and toss it into their owners’ eager faces with absolute zero knowledge of the news they carry.

 That has exactly been his job yet playing the role as the emperor’s dog has its own flaws and cons. All these years he spent out of the confines of the palace, Lee Sung Yeol has to brave through thieves, bandits as well as the weather in his endeavors while pretending and convincing his attackers that he is a travelling painter who does not own any ridiculous, non-existent things they call ‘scrolls’. If luck is on his side, he could slowly slip pass death in the hands of rogues however if the odds are not in his favor, he gives up the scrolls and return with his mind mentally prepared for a day or two in the cells for losing the scroll not to mention exposing whatever forbidden words the object heaves. Even so, Lee Sung Yeol has not been as careless as he was before once Hwang Myung Jong became emperor under the watchful eyes of China’s emperor, Wang Sung Kyu. Instead, things became more thick and intense in addition of the said Chinese ruler’s mischievous attitude. Tolerable yet irritating as his blows are not those of gentle nature but excruciating and full of impact.

While chaos breaks loose between the countries, the messengers have to bear the brunt of it and gallop their horses across mountains and rivers to deliver ‘love’ letters.

Gingerly, Lee Sung Yeol boards off his steed and unlatches his sack-full of scrolls as General Nam Woohyun unexpectedly approaches him in the rain.

“May I be of assistance, General Nam?” The messenger mumbles and squints his eyes through the droplets while trying to seek refuge from the drizzle.

Leaving the question hanging in midair, the elder man nods towards the lanky latter’s sack and ushers him towards the emperor’s quarters, “Lee Sung Yeol, you have returned. The emperor has been waiting for your arrival.”

“I could see that. And, is it just me or has the air turned sour?” Sung Yeol comments as they walk past several palace maidens who were comforting one of their members who has her face buried in her hands and a tray full of delicacies set on the floor. Oddly, the dishes are untouched and seemed to have been the same way as it has been before sent in to the emperor’s workroom.

Oh dear.

“I’m afraid so,” General Nam admits regrettably, “Hwang Myung has not been in his best mood up till recently. He spends his days in his study doing nothing but work. Whether it involves the citizens or Wang Sung Kyu, he would submerge into a cocoon of his own world and continuously work his day through till midnight… To top it all off, he neglects his health and slumbers in his study instead of his own chambers… No one could answer the question as to why this has taken place. Therefore, be careful with the words you are bound to speak. Wrong ones might send your head flying off and your body buried.”

Once they reached the venue, the palace guards who have been guarding from the outside announce their arrival and the both of them entered.

Unmistakably, General Nam has been right in all his claims.

At the opposite end of the room, Hwang Myung Jong has his eyes scanning through numerous scrolls and books bared before his eyes as though he has not moved an inch from where he is since dawn, or even days ago. The windows are securely shut, creating a dark atmosphere, wafting thick tension in the eyes of Lee Sung Yeol. Though it is clearly day time, the candle lamp sitting on the emperor’s table top is still lit with the candle short in height and ready to have its life end there and then.

Physically, the honorable man has a thinner figure with his cheeks slowly caving in and his eyes exposing restless, deep, dark circles. Yet his fair face does not show any signs of being lethargic, hungry nor sleepy. He is just, very occupied.

The emperor’s eyes slowly make their way up from a scroll and towards the two gentlemen who have been analyzing his current state like a newly found specimen.

“Are the two of here for some sort of importance?” Hwang Myung rests his back onto his wooden chair and pinches the bridge of his nose with his eyes shut.

The gesture was immediately responded with Sung Yeol hurriedly making his way to greet, bow and place the scrolls he carries onto the table. “These are the ones the emperor has bid while these are from his consultants…” Sung Yeol points out in a hushed tone while the emperor’s hands reach out and unleash the contents of the rolled papers to be read. “How was their treatment?”

Hwang Myung’s voice suddenly pierced through the silence, setting Sung Yeol fumbling to find the words to convey without trampling onto the emperor’s current fragile condition, “Quite hostile, if I may say so.”

“Well, it is as expected. I have first-handedly harmed one of Wang Sung Kyu’s subordinates and admitted my vulgar actions. Consequences are bound to land in one way or the other…” His voice trails off once his eyes run into a particular information stated in the scroll.

“You’re Highness?” General Nam twitches.

The emperor raises his hand in silence before saying, “I am to be punished…”

The general and the awed messenger exchange worried glances. “How will that…”

“Exactly like what I have stated earlier on. These vulgar things I do… come in with expensive prices. Even so, fear not, the other party shall only raise their stakes against me if I am able to withhold strength in my evidence in stating that Lee Sung Jong is innocent and that death was granted upon the unfortunate Chinese consultant based on concrete, reasonable reasons,” Hwang Myung sighs as he holds up the scroll, “Our situation could have been more dire, if I must let you know.”

His audience could only remain silent. General Nam bore in stares through the ground while Lee Sung Yeol avoids glancing towards the emperor.

This was not part of the deal, the voice in Sung Yeol’s mind repeats itself as if trying to knock off his patience while conjuring back the event that had taken place between him and Wang Sung Kyu during his last visit to China. The elder man clearly assured him that all he ever wanted was Hwang Myung’s despair. Once his toy wears out, Hwang Myung will be returned in one piece, nonetheless. But now, there will be no guarantee that Hwang Myung will be alive by the time Wang Sung Kyu’s game ends.

Just then, a knock came by the door and a palace guard requested for General Nam’s leave, leaving only the distraught messenger and his object of fascination in the confines of the study.

“Well, you have done a job well done in delivering these to me, Lee Sung Yeol. I thank you for all the trouble. Without my subordinates… whatever am I supposed to do?” Hwang Myung flashes a quiet dimpled smile while his fingertips run across the surfaces of the opened scrolls, “You may have your leave now.” 

“Understood,” Lee Sung Yeol slowly clutches a pouch situated on the internal part of his sack.

The emperor suddenly finds a securely folded envelope placed in front of his eyes, crashing into his focus.

He picks it up and glances toward the messenger, “What could this be?”

The messenger hesitated at first but finally speaks, “It’s a medicine I obtained from the royal doctor before I left Goryeo to deliver your scrolls to Wang Sung Kyu. It is more of the vitamin type… In times like these, you need them to keep up your performance. So, I am giving this to you since I have yet to make use of it.”

The emperor patiently takes in the information and smiles back in reply, “Very thoughtful of you, Lee Sung Yeol. You have not changed one bit since we were children. Though I am older, you are always taking good care of me. I appreciate your concerns for me.”

With his eyes gleaming the color of deception, Lee Sung Yeol bows and turns away to depart, “The least I could do.”

◊

“Has it been days or weeks? I think it has been weeks…” Lee Sung Jong puts a tongue in his cheek while he flips through one of the books he has brought along together with him from South Korea.

One of the assigned palace maidens, Oh Hye Rin sighs as she carefully trims Sung Jong’s messy bed hair into a bowl cut, “It probably has been,” She agrees, disdain clearly evident in her statement.

Both of them are at the courtyard placed near Hwang Myung’s chambers. Sung Jong is seated on a mahogany stool while the palace maiden remains standing behind him with a pair of scissors in hand. They had been doing nothing but litter their time away with nonsensical chatters ever since morning came. From topics ranging on food, they proceed to converse about palace gossip and finally their talk linger to the 10^th Goryeo’s emperor. Just as similar as the talk that have been circulating around the compounds, Hwang Myung has been in no good shape. Thus, it has thrown Sung Jong into a realization that this impact could have also been caused by his presence. But then again, leaving Goryeo is not as easy as it sounds.

After the night Myungsoo had left him with no answers to his questions, Sung Jong became even more adamant to leave Goryeo. He has to, if chaos is the only outcome to his actions. For next few days that followed, Sung Jong finally sorted out several methods he could attempt in finding his solution. One of the many ways that he has confidence in involves the phoenix he discovered on the second level of the Geunjeongjeon. He recalled to having touching it before the storm began to brew and before the occurrence of his accidental ‘time travelling’ through a very comedic route. To his dismay, the said building has just started repairing. No one is allowed to enter at all costs for safety purposes.

“At this rate, Goryeo’s bound to be a pile of dust by the end of the day…”

Once she is satisfied with her work, the palace maiden proceeds to dust off the hair from Sung Jong’s face and shoulders when another maiden approached them and stated that Noh Yi Young is requesting for her presence at the royal kitchen.

“Ah, then I shall make haste, but will you be alright being here all alone, Young Master?”

Sung Jong only nods cheerfully and waves her off, “Do not worry too much. I am a grown man and I have confidence in my skills of kung fu,” He chuckles.

As soon as she left, Sung Jong returns to his seat and stares off into space. He takes in a deep breath and tries to imprint the beautiful landscape into his mind. Perhaps someday he’ll never be able to run into another garden such as this and if he doesn’t quite recall the view, he is sure to regret it gravely.

“I wonder what flower is---”  

 "It's a mugunghwa. Or simplified as 'Rose of Sharon'." A familiar voice continues his sentence. 

◊

Sung Jong awoken from what seems like a very, long slumber in a room smelled of spices, wood and mainly vanilla. The heavy air that weighs on his chest causes him to roll onto the other side of his ribs and breaths heavily, trying his best to fetch fresh air instead of suffocating himself. After coughing for several moments, he finally settles into a more calm state and he begins to take in the changes of his environment.

His head slightly tilts to the left and finally to the right side of his shoulders.

It seems to be a room covered with soiled straw mats and occupied with shelves of jars containing numerous unknown objects in multiple colors. The windows are draped with wooden planks, disallowing the internal from running into the peripheral view of outsiders while the room is eerily lit with a candle lamp right next to his own figure.

He would panic but the situation seems rather odd to the young man. If ever this ‘captor’ wishes to harm him, there should never be a reason to let him lying around free from ropes or chains.

Lee Sung Jong slowly drags his numb body towards a wall and leans as his hand carefully runs a check on the nape of his neck when a stinging feeling has been disrupting his train of thoughts.

“Where am I…?” Now that he has fully regained consciousness, he takes his time to figure out his whereabouts. He stands up and even goes through the racks one by one to have a closer look at what seems like a human eye when a deep, low voice approaches him in the dark, “Good evening, young man,” The words waft into the air, followed by low snickers.  

His head whips around towards the source and he could make out the figure of a cloaked man seated on the mat next to the sliding doors through the darkness. A book lies open on one of his thighs as though he has been observing the curious latter all along.  

The approach was too sudden that Sung Jong jolts in surprise and nearly knocked into one of the jars, “Who are you and what do you want?” His expression instantly turns bitter.  

The suspicious man only peers through his long bangs from under his cloak and comments, “Quite hostile, are we? Can’t recall who I am?”

“Why should I even?”

 The man shakes his head in amusement, “Hmm, I am not one to judge the capacity of your memory but I suggest that you have a seat and remain silent,” The man speaks as he motions his hand for his guest to settle down in front of him, “I believe we are overdue for a chat, Lee Sung Jong.”

“How ‘bout NO? I am sleepy and the last thing I need is a weirdo like you coming up to me and trying to buy me in for ion,” Sung Jong rolls his eyes and begins to proceed towards the door when he accidentally tripped onto a long cylindrical, metallic object lying on the mat near the hooded man, “Hey! What’s up with your room…”

Once his eyes landed onto the object, the words immediately dissipate from his mind. His thoughts become blank as though it has been bleached totally white.

The young man’s hands carefully picks it up while his eyes quizzically searched answers from the mysterious figure seated next to him.

His stammers while burying the object into his chest, “How… Isn’t this…”

“A flash light? I am very well aware of that,” The man chuckles, “Sit down and I shall give you answers.”

◊

For the rest of the evening, everything else seems to pass by in a blur. He can’t seem to register the events that had taken place earlier that evening. Strangely, the stranger’s words linger onto his every pore even till his feet finally sends him back to Gyeongbokgung palace with a listless expression plastered on his face. The puzzled palace guard immediately sends him in while the others who were also on duty inform the bewildered palace occupants of Lee Sung Jong’s return after abruptly disappearing from the surface of the palace grounds.

As soon as he reaches Hwang Myung’s chamber, his legs buckled under him and set him crashing to floor.

He could feel all the negativity flooding his vision. His mind felt numb and so did his body parts. Everything felt cold and miserable and it makes him sad.

Cold.

“I… I’ll make tea…”

Leaving the spot where he sat, Sung Jong staggers his way towards the beautiful tea set situated above a rounded wooden table. His hands tremble as they hastily pick out tea leaves from the boxes Oh Hye Rin had given him. The random mixture of fragrances that sneak into his nostrils blankets him and shoos away his worries. Even so, the young man’s shaken state of mind causes him to clumsily drop the jug of hot water he was holding onto the floor creating an ugly symphony that hurried his companions into the confines of the chamber with creases between their brows.

But their presence did not falter his disposition. Swiftly, Lee Sung Jong purses his lips as he bends down to collect the broken pieces of the jug without sparing glances at neither of them.  

“Young Master Lee! Are you alright?” Dong Woo approaches him yet the question is left hanging in the atmosphere as though it had never been asked.

Petrified and baffled by Sung Jong’s unusual behavior, Noh Yi Young snatches the young man’s hands into hers and averts his brown orbs from continuously staring at the floor, “Master, just leave this to me! So tell us, what happened!?”

“Where have you been? You suddenly disappeared out of clean sight!”

“Young Master... your hands are so cold…”

“What happened??”

“Please, respond to us! Please! Young Master!”

 Sung Jong softens his expressions as his eyes run themselves across the faces of those who have been giving him endless comfort, not to mention affection.

He smiles up at their confused faces and shakes his head in reply, “Nothing to worry about… I only… went out for a stroll.”

“But the odd thing is, no palace guard saw you walking out!”

“You should have told us!” Oh Hye Rin abruptly bursts, “You should have told us! You should have told us! Everyone was so worried. Don’t you understand what we felt when you suddenly up and left like that!?”

“I didn’t leave… I just…”

“No! You are different!” Vice General Dong Woo interrupts, “We have yet to fully understand your sudden arrival at Goryeo… So that makes you DIFFERENT! If you leave, it’s bound to make a big difference!”

Sung Jong clamps his mouth shut and after several long seconds stifles a laugh as he turns to look at Noh Yi Young who has been silent the whole while to seek refuge.

“Noh… Noh Yi Young, I---”

“Everybody has their own set of problems. It will only seem childish to complain and be of no help to the other party. We perfectly understand that but, if you ever face conflicts in life, we are here too. Be strong, Young Master. There are no trails with no bumps. The same goes for life. I am confident that once time needs you back to where you were before, you will know when it happens,” She hushes as her nimble fingers places the large fallen pieces onto her handkerchief and stands up to walk to the door, “because when it does, everything shall be ‘normal’ and there might not even be a trace of you left… not even a single strand of hair,” Though her back is facing the others yet, there is no doubt that is strained with the effort of forcing back unnecessary tears. He could feel her eyes red and welling up. Her cheeks boiling and her nose blocked.

Right at that moment, things began to click in. It has been nearly three full months since his arrival. He has yet to leave yet without realizing it, people who he has known during his stay so far, has been gripping at his very existence and keeping eyeful glances as to not have him dissipate into thin air the next second their eyes leave him.

He is eager to leave but would these people he is bound to abandon are prepared to face the worse of his sudden absence? Will he be remembered? Will he be able to recall his stay in Goryeo? Will ‘Lee Sung Jong’ just be one of the many other names slipped out in between the pages of Korea’s history textbooks? He has yet to know.

Sung Jong chuckles as he stands up, reaches out to his companions and places his arms around their shoulders, attempting to calm them. Envelope them in comfort. Assure them that his voice, arms and presence are not imaginary but solid and alive.

At least, for now.

 “Settle down, guys,” He hushes,“I am here and I am not leaving just yet.”

Just then Sung Jong catches glimpses of Hwang Myung’s heartbroken figure in the darkness through the open doors of the chamber. His eyes are just as expressive as his sagged shoulders. His furrowed eyebrows disturb the balance of his handsome face as well as his clenched jaw. However, he remains unruffled. Stoic in many ways and heart-wrenchingly beautiful in his hongryongpo.

Quickly, Sung Jong buries his face into the little cocoon he created with the help of his companions and his own thin arms. Trying his best to hide his overflowing emotions. Because, as natural as the rain come and go, his tears continuously pour out.

Destiny is something he can’t see, complain about nor pelt for shoving him into trouble and mud. Something he can’t control. And the same goes for time. 

Sung Jong sighs as Howon's words resonates deep in his mind. They repeat and repeat like a song of a broken record even though he wishes them to be gone. 

“No one could reverse, pause nor fast forward time. Those who have just the right amount wishes to end it while those who have so little beg to lengthen it. It’s a rather meticulous job, if I must say so. Thus, in exchange for your return, memories of you will be cut, deleted, erased and wiped out, clean.”

◊

A/U: Date Masamune here! Sorry for the long wait but here's chapter 7 ^^ My Beta and I have been very hectic with our own respective lives so producing new chapters might take a while but I am very happy for having such nice subcribers like all of you who didn't leave this series because of my 'turtleness'. I hope you enjoyed reading chapter 7. 

And before new chapters come in, I am going to clarify certain things most of you might be confused about ever since the 1st chapter:

-'Goryeo' is an old term used to refer to Korea (as in both the South and the North).

-You might expect to come across strange reactions from the citizens regarding Myungsoo because ruling emperors are meant to have MANY wives yet Myungsoo chose to stay single.  

-Cloaked man =  Lee Ho Won = Hoya (if I am not mistaken, 'Howon' is Hoya's real name)

-'Hwang Myung' is referred to as Myungsoo. His full name as the 10th Goryeo emperor is 'Hwang Myung Jong' and NO, 'Myung Jong' does not originate from 'Myungsoo + Sung Jong' because in the olden days, most emperors have 'Jong' at the end of their names. And again, NO, you would not find 'Hwang Myung Jong' on Goryeo's list of emperors because Hwang Myung Jong is created based on the 10th emperor. He is not HIM. 

That is all ^^ However if you have more questions, feel free to ask!