Chapter 15. Under the moonlight. 

 

"Under the moonlight he saw the real her, under the moonlight he discovered the truth: there was no turning point, under the moonlight."

 

"Those verses have no rhyme, Seungri" Chaerin scolded him. "And it’s cheesy."

 

"Cheesy what?!"

 

"C’mon, Seungri, the protagonist saw the lady under the moonlight and he suddenly realized he was in love with her?"

 

"But it gives the play a romantic atmosphere, doesn’t it?"

 

"That’s so typical. Even a child could find something more creative…"

 

"Then, do it yourself!"

 

"Sorry, not in the mood of fixing something so bad, right kids?" and she looked to the children. 

 

"Yes! It’s really baaad!" one of the children complained.

 

"Why did I volunteer to help the children to create a play for us?"

 

"Because you think you are amazing at everything when you aren’t."

 

"Cool, lady Chaerin!" a small girl said.

 

"Yes, you are waaay cooler than uncle Seung-hyun, lady Chaerin" a small boy added.

 

"Ouch!" Seungri exclaimed. "That hurt!"

 

Chaerin rolled her eyes, ignoring him: she had more important things to do, such as making the loom work once more. If not, the Island’s children wouldn’t have warm clothes for the winter. Also, she didn't want to continue the conversation, because, deep inside, she found his verses beautiful. But she had a reputation to keep and would never recognize in front of Seungri that this proud man had done something alright for once. 

 

"What would you say, then? Eh?" but he insisted.

 

"Seungri..."

 

"What would you say? Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Just for you to know: sometimes the cheesy classical situations are the ones with the bigger impact."

 

"Maybe…" she continued with her task.

 

"Then tell me!!!! What would you say? Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?!"

 

And Chaerin lost all her patience.

 

"Do I look as a poetry expert, Kwon Seung-hyun?!" Chaerin yelled him.

 

Chaerin threatened him with a stick she was using to fix the loom, and, Seungri, who knew what she was capable of, just simply searched for a different victim.

 

"Princess Taeyeon!"

 

It seemed the princess had been having problems to rest, because she was falling sleep seconds before Seungri interrupted her.

 

"Yes?! I’m awake. What do you need, lord Seung-hyun?"

 

"How would you improve those verses, princess?"

 

"Verses? Let me look."

 

"If they are bad, just let me know, princess."

 

Taeyeon read carefully the verses, looking for different ways to perfect them. But, she couldn’t concentrate because suddenly she felt the glaring eyes of a bunch of younger girls.

 

"Do you know how to read?!" a girl about fifteen shouted. "Teach me!"

 

"Danah! Excuse my sister’s rudeness, princess Taeyeon." Song Min-Ho apologized.

 

"Whooooaaa! So it’s true then! You are our First Princess, right?" two teen girls said at the same time, joining the lousy Danah in the process. "Could you teach us too?"

 

"You don’t know how to read!" she exclaimed, surprised. "But if the Kwons know how to read, how…?"

 

"Do you think Yuri, Seungri and the Dragon could be good teachers, princess?" Danah asked.

 

And Taeyeon hadn’t to think her answer, not even a second.  

 

"True."

 

"Will you teach us, please?" the three girls said at the same time.

 

The three looked so pitiful that she could only accept.

 

"But starting from tomorrow, okay?"

 

"Hurray!" they yelled.

 

Taeyeon left the group, and started to walk through the surroundings of the small village, picking twigs in the process.

 

"Do you need help, princess?"

 

The cute Seung-wan had approached Taeyeon in silence, her hands dirty and her wide smile making close her eyes. That little girl reminded Taeyeon of her nephews back at Gyeongbokgung and had to hold her tears. Luckily, the little girl didn’t notice anything.

 

"No, I have already finished, sweetie."

 

"Why do you pick twigs, princess?" and Seung-wan blushed. 

 

"For the pigments. I need charcoal."

 

"I can carry some for you, princess!"

 

"Taeyeon would be alright, Seung-wan."

 

And she nodded, her wide smile never fading. Taeyeon learned from the little girl that she had left the continent when she was very little and couldn’t remember anything.

 

"Omma says she had to protect me of bad people. Omma!"

 

Seung-wan ran towards her mother, who was washing some blankets on a big pile. Taeyeon remembered lady Hyori was a famous gisaeng, and a good friend of lord Heechul. She was known as one of the most bewitching women in Hanseong. But little was left of  that exotic beauty, and all Taeyeon could see was a happy mother.   

 

"Sorry. I’ve heard the girls have annoyed you for a while, princess."

 

"Do not be, lady Hyori."

 

"If you don’t want to, you don’t need to teach them anything."

 

"Are there any books here at the camp?"

 

Hyori smiled with pride. She remembered Taeyeon when she was a spoiled teenager. A selfish girl turned into a determined woman.

 

"Ask Kang Seung Yoon, he has a small collection."

 

And, effectively, Kang Seung Yoon, who was reading at his small house, had a small but decent collection of books. Most of them were about ships and navigation, but, Taeyeon was capable of finding some poetry and a children’s book.

 

"I used this book to learn, it is really precious for me!" he complained, not sure if he wanted to lend the book to the princess.

 

"Don’t worry, Kang Seung Yoon, it is also precious for me: it was my first book too."

 

"You should teach the other boys to read too, apart from Choi Min-Ho and me; the others can’t read nor write."

 

Taeyeon wasn’t surprised, because, although it was hers and her brother’s dream to create small schools, the state coffers couldn’t allow the investment. So, in Joseon, most of the people didn’t have access to basic knowledge, such as being able to read and write their own names. And that helped nobles to gain control, because, they forced the humble to sign contracts they were unable to understand.

 

"Thank you kindly, Kang Seung Yoon."

 

She worked on the books the rest of the day, full of doubts because although she had always liked to read, teaching someone it was a completely different story. She felt so much pressure that she didn’t know where to start and read all the books trying to find easy activities. So focused she was on her job, that it was dark night when she realized it was time to get sleep. A small cold dish she didn’t remember anyone to bring, lying near her.

 

"Go to sleep, Taeyeon." Chaerin put a pillow on her head, to avoid the light of the candles. "Why do you waste your time helping the ones who had kidnaped you?"

 

"Then… why did you help to fix the loom?"

 

"The children."

 

"Same."

 

Chaerin nodded and was about to light another candle for her friend when Taeyeon interrupted her.

 

"You don’t have to do it."

 

"Of course I have to! In a few minutes it will be your birthday, Taeyeon. And I always promised to follow all your wishes during your birthday. It’s my gift."

 

Taeyeon opened his eyes widely. “Time has passed so fast!” she thought. It seemed like yesterday when she was on her palanquin with Mi-young and Chaerin, towards the sea.  

 

 

___ Flashback ____

 

 

"He just never speaks to me, Tae!" Mi-young complained. Her head lying on Taeyeon’s lap: the road was uneven and the servants were struggling to carry them without beatings. And Mi-young felt nauseous.

 

"It’s Seungie!" she yelled. "He’s super shy."

 

"A king shouldn’t be shy…"

 

"Then you’re going to marry a shy one."

 

"Shhhh! Tae! Do not take things for granted!"

 

"But, it’s going to happen and we’re going to be sisters at least!" Taeyeon smiled.

 

"He hasn’t answered the Emperor’s proposal, yet." Chaerin.

 

"Do not kill the mood, Chae!" Taeyeon complained, and the princess took Mi-young’s hand, to comfort her. "We’ll be sisters, I can feel it. And, before my next birthday."

 

"How can you be so sure?" Mi-young asked, still worried.

 

"Because my instinct had never failed me. Trust me, on my next birthday, we’ll be celebrating it together as sisters."

 

 

___ End of Flashback ____

 

 

"My head hurts a lot. I’ll go for walk."

 

"Take a knife with you."

 

Taeyeon giggled.

 

"You’re so exaggerated, Chaerin."

 

 

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"So… of all the people inside your Ministry, you and lord Jung Yun-ho are the only ones with right to look at the Palace administrative documents, am I wrong?"

 

"Not, lord Heechul" Park Chanyeol answered.

 

"But… what should I do to check them if someday I need it?"

 

"What’s your porp…?"

 

"The Queen wants a list of all the people who had consulted or had right to touch the Royal Budget somehow over the last ten years." he interrupted. "My birds can’t get me the information."

 

Everyone with a position at Court knew about lord Heechul’s birds and their efficient techniques to give him the information in subtle ways. Most of the men inside the Ministry of Defense loved gisaengs. And, luckily, he had so many good friends in those houses… A little excess of alcohol and a night of passion made those men forget subtle interrogations easily. But, it seemed men won’t talk about administrative stuff while letting their lust run wild and free. So, he had to use some other kind of birds, and he had to turn to his loyal friends. Park Chanyeol being one of them. Park Chanyeol was a good friend and a strange Park of the East: loyal, hard-working and humble. For what Heechul could witness, he seemed as the only family member who was really affected from Park Bom’s death. After a strong discussion that led his father, Right State Councilor Park Sung-woo, disinherit him, Kim Heechul helped the single father (Chanyeol lost his wife giving birth to a baby boy, who had the same name) to find a job as a humble scholar. He would never betray him.

 

"Should I know what are you weaving, lord Heechul?"

 

"Sometimes, ignorance is bliss, my friend. The less you know, the better for you and your boy."

 

Chanyeol nodded.

 

"You should ask to lord Yun-ho or me for permission, then, the Royal Secretaries would study your petition and in three days we would told you if you have the access."

 

Ever since they discovered the irregularity with the Shepherds, and due to the Queen’s “recovery”, their investigation had been delayed. So Heechul decided to create a list with specific names of everyone who had access to the accounts. That way they could shorten their list of suspects.

 

"Is it always like this? Wow! I am shocked by the rectitude of our Royal Secretaries!"

 

"Was it ironic?"

 

"Of course it was, Chanyeol. You’re talking with me, after all."

 

"There is another procedure, too."

 

"Tell me the real procedure, then, and, please, tell me you have a register!"

 

And Park Chanyeol smirked.

 

 

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"This is a full list of all the people who had access to the administrative accounts for the last seven years, my Queen."

 

Mi-young and Bo-Ah glared at Heechul, shocked. He had proven to be a very efficient ally, who had made them make up for the Queen’s “illness”. Unluckily she truly caught a cold: she wasn’t used to relax, so, when she did, it seemed all the diseases she had been trying to avoid attacked her at once. It had been annoying at first, but, having the chance to fully rest for a few days had made Mi-young feel refreshed and ready go once more.

 

"You will feel displeased, milady."

 

"Why?" she tried to blow her nose with discretion, she was a Queen, after all. Even with a cold.

 

"We have some important people here, including all the Royal Family."

 

Mi-young took the parchment Heechul was offering her. And, indeed, almost everyone influential in court was on that list, even herself.

 

"Then the three of as are suspects, then." Mi-young giggled.

 

Bo Ah approached, and also looked at the list.

 

"We can’t shorten the list." she sighed. "We are at the same point."

 

"Then, you should go to the Northen Borders, lord Heechul." the Queen suddenly suggested.

 

"Why?"

 

"Sometimes we ignore the peasant’s testimonies. The budget increased too much to get unnoticed at the border. Something unusual happened, and maybe someone noticed it. We should interrogate them."

 

Once more, Heechul realized the Queen was a witty woman, even wittier than him, which was quite surprising. Not everyone had been able to advance to his movements and plotting. Maybe he didn’t know it yet, but the King had chosen wisely when he decided to marry her.

 

"I can send my birds, your majesty."

"The information might be distorted. No, I do not want any type of infiltrations, lord Heechul. You shall go tomorrow. I have heard you have proprieties in the North, nobody will suspect."

 

"You have been thinking about this for a while, have not, my Queen?"

 

Mi-young pretended to ignore Heechul’s last sentence, and pretended to be interested in the list.

 

"If you discover something, this list might be useful as proofs so… Achooo!" Mi-young snooze and once she recovered, looked at the First Palace Lady, a serious expression on her face. "Lady Bo Ah, every single day, when you help me to get dressed, we must hide this list into my undergarments. No-one would dear to look for it there."

 

"Of course, Queen Mi-young."

 

"You shall retire and rest, lord Heechul. You have a long trip tomorrow."

 

 

 

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Seung-hyun was on his office, reading some Annals and diaries from his crew. It seemed the Silver Dragons had already hidden for the Monson season, and it was impossible to track them down. He was so mad about it that he couldn’t concentrate, specially that day: it was going to be Taeyeon’s birthday in a few hours. And he couldn’t be with her on that special occasion.

 

The king was always busy and couldn’t spend a lot of time with his family, but, he made himself a promise: to take a free afternoon when someone had his birthday to celebrate it together, as family. He loved to see his little sister’s annoyed face when the gifts he offered her were so tacky she would felt ashamed to wear them in public. But, since she had always been considerate, occasionally (especially when Daesung or he remarked it), she felt the obligation to wear them. And those days, he won’t stop annoying her with terrible jokes about her looks.

 

Nevertheless, for the first time in his life, he wouldn’t be able to do it, and, he felt blue.

 

"You can retire Lee SooHyuk, I will go to sleep in a few minutes."

 

"Do you want me to send those royal decrees before? They will arrive earlier to Daegu if the messengers leave right now."

 

"That would be perfect, lord SooHyuk."

 

And, as efficiently as always, SooHyuk left the chambers in seconds, leaving Seung-hyun, once again, alone. He enjoyed that feeling, you know, the feeling of being alone for a while, only with the loyal shadow of the Thunder following his steps. That way, he was able to be, just for a few seconds, Seung-hyun and not the King of Joseon. It has been ages since the last time he felt a normal being, only Park Bom was able to make him feel like a commoner. And he missed the feeling terribly.

 

He walked without a concrete direction, and, once more, saw candles at the Queen’s palace. That morning, First Palace Lady informed that Mi-young had suffered a small relapse and would stay in bed for a few more days. So, seeing her shadow moving around her chambers, without following the physicians’ advises angered him.

 

"Mi-young!"

 

Seung-hyun opened the doors of the Queen’s chambers suddenly, without letting the officers to announce his arrival. Mi-young, who was washing her hair, froze.

 

"Oh! Excuse me, my Queen! Sorry, sorry, sorry!" and he bowed a little and blushed so much his cheeks seemed persimmons. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

 

"Take this, your majesty. Cover yourself a little."

 

Bo Ah offered to the queen a long coat, to cover better her nightgown, and Mi-young obeyed unable to look away the king. He was truly sorry for the intrusion, and it was too shocking to see him bowing that she couldn’t help it but laugh.

 

"Hahahahahahaha!"

 

"It is not funny, my Queen!" and he pouted. "If you laugh like that it makes my apology worthless!"

 

"Excuse me, my King. Do not be sorry, we were being noisy. Sorry for the inconvenience we have caused."

 

The king didn’t move from his position, and after he realized how long and wet the Queen’s hair was, he had to look away a little, for respect. She was getting ready to go to sleep.

 

"How are you today, my Queen? First Palace Lady told us you had a relapse."

 

"Better, my King. That is why I decided to wash a little, to leave this sickness behind."

 

"I am pleased to know you feel better, my Queen."

 

There was a long and uncomfortable silence in the room, because the King didn’t move nor tried to look to the Queen, so Mi-young had to intervene. “Because this childish attitude is pissing me off! Why no-one told me I was getting married to a kid who gets shy at the most unusual situations?” she thought.

 

"Would you like a tea, my King? You seem startled."

 

"No." he said cuttingly. “That was so rude, Seung-hyun, improve it!” he scolded to himself. "No, thank you. I shall retire."

 

He left the room for a second, but, when Mi-young was about to get rid of the coat, she was startled once more by the door, who opened suddenly once more.

 

"Tomorrow I will go to the temple to pray for First Princess Taeyeon return on her birth day. I know you are good friends, so, would you like to present your respects to the Gods? If you feel better, of course."

 

"I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the First Princess birthday. Of course I will go with you to pray, my King."

 

He left in a hurry, holding his urge to smile and leaving Mi-young speechless and unable to move.

 

"Shall you get ready for bed, your majesty?" Kwon Bo Ah suggested. Her trouble to hold the need to laugh was killing her and felt the need to end her work as soon as possible.

 

"Yes…"

 

Mi-young followed Bo Ah instructions as if she hadn’t any will, no complaints when the brush got stuck into her long hair.

 

"We should not have told the King about my cold, Bo Ah."

 

"Indeed, milady. He seemed quite worried."

 

Mi-young lay on her bed, waiting to be covered by the sheets.

 

"But, honestly, I didn’t expect him to come and check if I was alright."

 

"I, on the contrary, knew he would come."

 

"How could you know?" and Bo Ah covered the Queen with the soft and light sheet.

 

"Well, your majesty, I have a talent and I usually notice things before they happen."

 

"What things, lady Bo Ah?"

 

Mi-young was about to get up once more, but, Bo Ah stopped her with a soft whisper.

 

"Nothing, your majesty, nothing."

 

 

 

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Both the King and the First Princess had the habit to walk without a concrete direction when they were sad. They just led their instinct to guide them, because, somehow, they were able to see the light once more.

 

Since she turned twenty, Taeyeon disliked to celebrate her birthday, because it reminded her that, once again, she was unwed and without the joy of children surrounding her. A few more years and the dream of a united family, as the one she had, would disappear. No-one would ever marry a woman in her late twenties, not even if that woman was a Joseon Princess.

 

Also, it was her first birthday away from her family, and, the feelings she had been trying to hide exploded so suddenly she couldn’t stop crying. “How much I miss you, brothers, nephews… mother!” she thought.

 

The full moon was shining strong enough to guide Taeyeon through the dark night. On her left, the dark and foggy forest, on her right, the black and vast sea. A sea so calmed she couldn’t believe a few weeks before she had almost died because its waters were swelling. But, that day, it shined as silver thanks to the moonlight and the soft waves created relaxing sounds when they crashed on the rocks.

 

The ethereal dance of the lights and the waves hypnotized Taeyeon, who, in tears, approached to a small cliff, where she could see everything.

 

A wolf barking scared her, and, to avoid an attack, sat on a high rock, contemplating the scenario and watching the moon, hoping her dear ones would be doing the same as her. With that thought in her mind, she felt less lonely, and she smiled. Tears falling through  her checks.   

 

 

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Jiyong carefully descended the cliff, walking towards the hamlet. After a few days off, he felt once more with enough courage to carry on his life, never forgetting to honor Sandara’s death.

 

He was focused on not falling until the warm breeze distracted him from his path. Some sand entered in Jiyong’s eyes, and he had to stop and take out the sand. It was so annoying his eyes got wet. Once he was able to open his eyes once more, he saw her.

 

Taeyeon was sitting on a rock, near the cliff, watching the full moon with tears and a wide smile on her eyes. The braids of her dark hair were loosen and her usually dark eyes sparkled under the soft and silver moon. Her skin was smoother and paler than usual, and Jiyong couldn’t tell the difference between her white hands and the sleeves of her hanbok. She seemed out of that world, as a fairy who was visiting the world of the living once in her lifetime. Because it was impossible a woman as beautiful as her couldn’t belong to that world. A woman as beautiful as a goddess. However, that was not Taeyeon’s real beauty. Because, the more you knew her true nature, the prettier she became.  

 

It was her soul what made her external beauty shine even more. Sometimes beauty hides rotten insides, but, in the case of the First Princess Taeyeon, it wasn’t like that. She was all tears, but, Jiyong thought he had never seen her as beautiful.

 

 

“Under the moonlight he saw the real her”

 

 

Because, that night, she represented both sides of her personality. The gentle and the stubborn, the brave and the unconfident, the adaptable and the complaining, the determined and the doubtful... All those characteristics won’t work together in another person, but, in Taeyeon’s case, that only made her more beautiful in Jiyong’s eyes. He was so in awe and paralyzed he could only say…

 

"I hope you can forgive me, Sandara. Please. Forgive me."

 

Once he felt the first tear melting in his mouth, he realized he had committed one of the biggest sins he could had ever committed.

 

 

 

“Under the moonlight he discovered the truth”

 

 

 

The way he risked his own live when the Joseon Princess was unable to swim, how he got annoyed because a strange doctor touched her, his need to defend her from obscene comments from his subordinates and his never ending excuses to let her stay. Because, he could have just exchanged Taeyeon when they were in Japan, the only thing he had to do was ask for the Joseon ambassador. He always had a different choice, there had been there all the time, and, honestly, they were far more rational than the decisions he had made. But… the simple idea of never seeing her again, of forcing her to leave, it was just something he wasn’t able to handle yet.

 

At first, he didn’t know why he had chosen the worst and most complicated path. But, after seeing her there, a vulnerable yet strong ethereal fairy under the moonlight, he realized that, for him…

 

 

 

“There was no turning point, under the moonlight.”