Undiscovered Tune

The existence of witchcraft and sorcery was not known to many, yet it was a common knowledge among the royals. They had studied how to determine that a person was under a spell, or a practitioner of the forbidden craft. For centuries rulers of all the kingdoms tried to suppress its rising to protect their people. The exiled and executed those who were discovered to be witches or sorcerers. However these witches and their spells still continued to plague their victims time and again.

Some spells were irrevocable, and some easy to break. The graveness of their effects varied too. In Joonyoung's case, the effect of the spell cast on him was on his son.

Roy had risen early that morning. The events of the previous night still clouded his memory. He did not know what to make of it; he did not know what to make of himself. It pestered him that he had done such unthinkable acts; yet what pestered him more was that he felt no guilt in what he did with Joonyoung.

"He's cursed," he said to himself, knitting his eyebrows into a frown. "How?"

In the daylight, he was able to see his surroundings better. He looked around his--or rather, Joonyoung's room. It was spacious and well-furnished. He concluded that Joonyoung must make a good profit out of his music.

He spotted the portrait that hung on the wall. It was a painting of a woman who had almond-shaped and hazel brown eyes. Her features were not plain, everything about her was attractive. She was enchantingly beautiful. Below the portrait's wooden frame was a golden plate etched with the words: "Yoomi Jung. 1808-1831."

"She must be his wife," the prince thought. "Beautiful, indeed. Too beautiful to be human."

Roy wondered if, by any chance, she was the witch who had cursed Joonyoung. But he knew it was highly unlikely. Why would she curse her own husband? And if she was a witch, she would not have died. She would live to a hundred or more.

It was unlikely that she was a witch, yet because of the eerie feeling Roy had as he looked upon her picture, he could not dismiss the fact that it was possible.
 

Roy dined with Seungwoo for breakfast. The child was delighted to see and know that his friend had stayed with them. He entertained the prince as they ate. He explained that his father was still fast asleep.

"He must be exhausted from playing the piano all night," Roy said to the boy.

"I guess he is, but he seems more tired than usual," Seungwoo commented, "As if he had been doing something else after the ball."

The prince nearly chocked on the slice of bread he bit from.

"Are you alright, your highness?" Seungwoo asked in concern as he passed a glass of water to the prince.

Roy took three long sips from the glass before he could answer the child. "Yes, I'm alright. Thank you, Seungwoo."

"By your father 'doing something else' after the ball," Roy asked out of curiosity and worry, "what do you mean by that?"

"Perhaps he stayed awake to compose new songs, or finish the book he was reading," Seungwoo replied, completely innocent and naïve about what had transpired the previous night.

Roy smiled in relief. "Don't you have to attend school?"

"I cannot," Seungwoo replied with a pout, "but I'd want to."

Roy asked the child why, and the boy explained that he was too sickly and he could not stand under the sun or even be hit by its rays.

It explained why Seungwoo was unnaturally pale. It became evident to Roy that Seungwoo was the recipient of the effects of the spell casted on Joonyoung.

The prince was to depart from Giemsa before noon. In the spare hours before he left, Seungwoo became his companion.

The child cheerfully toured him around the house. Seungwoo took him by the hand and happily conversed with him as if he, too, were a child, yet when he asked Seungwoo about serious matters, the boy was able to give him intelligent answers.

Roy greatly enjoyed Seungwoo's company. The child was affectionate, and his cheerfulness made the prince feel happier too.

Seungwoo eventually led the prince to the study. The room was filled with tall bookshelves. Roy was quite impressed with the numerous books Joonyoung had collected. He looked at their titles and realized that he and Joonyoung had similar preferences in the novels they read.

He picked out a children's book and invited Seungwoo to sit beside him.

"I shall read to you," Roy told him. The child nodded and smiled eagerly.

"But I have never tried reading to anyone before," the prince admitted.

"I'm sure you'll do well. You can pretend that I'm your son," Seungwoo replied as he leaned on the prince's shoulder.

Joonyoung's son, as his son. The thought of it made his heart flutter.
 

Joonyoung still had not risen when the time for Roy to set for Monte George came. Seungwoo had suggested that he would wake his father up so he could bid the prince goodbye, but Roy told him not to do so.

Roy did not think he could leave if he saw Joonyoung. He did not want to part with the pianist.

And Joonyoung felt the same way. He pretended to be asleep. His stomach was already gurgling, yet he refused to come out of the room lest he saw Roy. If he did, he was sure he would beg the prince to stay longer...or forever.

Roy and Seungwoo were to say their goodbyes in the living room. There was another portrait of Yoomi hanging on the wall. Her eye-catching beauty which shined even through the picture made it difficult for Roy not to notice its presence.

"Is she your mother, Seungwoo?" Roy asked to quench his thirst for answers.

"Yes, she is," Seungwoo replied and turned to stare at the portrait as well. "She's lovely, isn't she?"

"I don't remember anything about her at all, though. I wish I did. She died when I was a baby," Seungwoo said wistfully.

Despite his suspicions about Yoomi, Roy could not help but feel sorry for the child. He ruffled Seungwoo's hair gently to comfort him. "Do you sometimes wish your father would remarry so you would have a mother again?"

Seungwoo shook his head in disagreement. "But I do wish dad would have more friends. He is usually lonely. It would be nice if he were to have a companion. And wouldn't it be nice if he did? It would seem like I had two fathers," he said with a smile.

"Two fathers?" Roy was amused by the boy's idea.

Mrs. Neisseria entered from the front door to inform the prince that his carriage and belongings were ready.

"I retrieved your coat from the hallway in front of master's room, your highness," she said. "I wonder how it got there, though."

"Ah yes, my coat. It seems like I left it there since it was drenched...and I did not want to damage the wooden floorboards in the room." Roy was surprised with his own ability to concoct excuses.

Mrs. Neisseria did not ask about how Joonyoung's necktie had ended up with Roy's coat, much to Roy's relief.

"I must leave now, Seungwoo," Roy said to the child. "Farewell. Kindly relay my gratitude to your father for his hospitality."

Seungwoo embraced Roy. The gesture surprised and moved the prince. "Are you going to come back, your highness?"

"I shall. I promise, though I am not certain when. But I will return," he promised. He embraced the boy as well.

"I must go on my way now," he said to Seungwoo. "Be healthy, and obey your father. Tell him I said goodbye."

"I shall," Seungwoo replied. "Have a safe and speedy journey, your highness."

"May you never return to this house!" it was said in a spitting yet silent whisper. It was a woman's voice. One Roy had never heard. He looked around and realized both the housekeeper and the child were oblivious to the sound.

He left without looking back at the portrait.

But he swore he would return.