Yewon had always thought that Wonwoo would make a good King; he had all the makings of one. He was a good leader, well-educated, peaceful, and loved by many. Now that Wonwoo actually was King, however, things seemed so far from what Yewon expected.

Suddenly, very soon after Wonwoo took reign from his father, Solen was out fighting again, conquering the lands of underdeveloped countries after a short-lived term of peace. Yewon was confused. Wasn’t he a pacifist? Wasn’t he the one that hated to fight? At least, that was what she remembered.

And the stranger thing was that Jihoon had gone to Solen a lot since Wonwoo took reign.

Yewon tried not to think too much on it. She didn’t want to be involved in politics anymore. It was not like she had the power to do anything about it anyways.

-

She was working in the hospital storage when one of the nurses told her that someone was here and insisted on seeing her. She asked to let him in, and she felt her heart stop beating for a moment when she saw him. It had been so long. Too long.

“Surprise,” was the first thing he said, a subtle smile on his face.

She was overjoyed; she truly thought that he was gone and she would never see him again. Overwhelmed with surprise and unforgettable memories, she lunged into his arms. “I’m happy you’re alive,” she managed to say, close to tears.

“Of course I’m alive,” Soonyoung scoffed as he embraced her.

“I missed you,” she told him as she pulled away to get a good look at him. “I really, really missed you.” She really did miss him, and more importantly, she missed the time that she knew him. Last time she had seen him, Seungcheol was alive.

Yewon noted that Soonyoung had changed a lot since then. He was thinner, dirtier, had darker skin and longer hair. But he also looked somewhat happier. There was this indescribable spark in his eyes that she didn’t recognize at all, but it was a happy spark.

Looking at him, no one could ever guess that he was actually a prince of Solen. He looked like a typical traveler, in worn out clothes and little belongings on his back.

“I see the short hair has grown long,” was the first thing that Soonyoung noted about her.

Yewon didn’t acknowledge that comment, as she had so many questions to ask him. “Why are you here?” was the first question to come out of . It did not make sense that he was here in Galacia. No sense at all.

Why was he not home in Solen? She then was hit with the realization that he was the one who was supposed to be on that throne right now. Not Wonwoo.

“Long story,” Soonyoung answered her. “Do you have time?”

-

Soonyoung told her a lot that night. He told her where he had been and what he had been doing for the past two years, and why he was not able to go back to Solen after Seungcheol’s death.

Apparently, he only got the bad news much after it happened, for he had traveled far from civilization and resolved to live in a cave after he found an old sage that invited him to a life of asceticism. Soonyoung went for it, because he wanted to clear his mind from thoughts of women’s bodies, and he felt the only way to do that is to get away from women completely, and there were no women in this ascetic’s cave.

He stayed there for many months, eating very little, meditating, trying to reach some unknowable mystical experience all while fighting his sensual desires.

“Did it work?” Yewon asked.

“Yes it did, actually!” Soonyoung replied optimistically. “I haven’t slept with a woman in two days!” Yewon frowned, and Soonyoung laughed. “I’m kidding. Really, though, it’s been a long time.”

Yewon could tell that that was the case. His eyes were no longer tinged with lust the way she remembered, and she could tell that the addiction that had plagued him before was gone, and that he was living well now. She was happy for him.

Soonyoung continued telling her about his time in the cave. He couldn’t reach the mystical experience that his sage had raved on about, but he did learn to appreciate nature, himself, and his place the world. His grand epiphany was that he had a royal duty to fulfill, and so he left the caves and his master, and went back to civilization.

He learned of his brother’s death from the talk of the town. It was a shock that deeply distressed and disturbed him. Because of it, he was too afraid to go back to the palace, because he thought the royals would be out to get him too, and he didn’t want to die. He was still terrified of death.

With fear preventing him from going back to his family, he didn’t know what to do with his life anymore. Soon, however, he remembered that he did have other family; he had a child.

Soonyoung thus resolved to find that child, who was supposed to have been born at this point. Thus, he set off in search of Haein, and he found her exactly where he expected her to be: working in the library of her hometown.

The child was never born, apparently. Haein had aborted it.

But that was not the important part.

“What do you think happened to Seungcheol, Yewon?” Soonyoung suddenly asked her when he got to that part of the story.

“The royals wanted him gone,” Yewon answered. “That’s what Wonwoo told me.”

“That’s only half the story, you see…”

Yewon felt the anxiety well up inside her when she heard that. She really didn’t like where this conversation was going. She had already long accepted what had happened to her late husband, but now it was coming back to haunt her again.

“Yes, the royals hated him and wanted him gone,” Soonyoung explained, “nut they also loved Wonwoo and wanted him to be King. And Wonwoo himself also wanted to be King. And Wonwoo hated Seungcheol. And Wonwoo also… he also loved you.”

“What are you saying?” Yewon stammered, beginning to tremble.

“Why do you think Wonwoo wanted me out of the palace so badly back then? Why would he arrange for me to leave? And why would he tell Seungcheol about our affair? He wanted me out, Yewon, because I was in the way. I was second in line to the throne and blocking him. I guess he didn’t have the heart to murder me like he did with Seungcheol…”

Yewon shook her head. “No, no. You’re wrong,” she denied it. “Wonwoo would never do that.”

Soonyoung gazed at her with an apologetic look on his face, and Yewon began to tremble as the new information came crashing down on her. He gave her a moment to collect herself and process before he continued talking.

“Wonwoo had told Haein that he wanted to kill Seungcheol when Jinye was executed. Haein thought she had talked him out of it, but apparently not. Apparently, Wonwoo was waiting until I was gone to kill him, because if I were gone and Seungcheol was dead, he would be the heir. And if he were the heir, he got to marry you. As you know, he was crazy in love with you…”

Yewon couldn’t come to terms with it. This was not right. This was not Wonwoo. This was not the sweet-tongued prince that she knew. This was all crazy speculations, and it made no sense. Seungcheol was killed by the royals. Those were the villains in this story, not Wonwoo.

As one part of her passionately rejected the possibility, the other part of her had already begun to rationalize it. Wonwoo, who was always so calculating and shrewd, who always knew what would happen and how things would play out… did he plan all of this?

Did he know that Soonyoung would be gone and would never return?

Did he know that if Seungcheol were to die, he would be next in line for the throne? And that he would be the one to marry her because Seungcheol’s will had solicited that she marry the heir?

Would he really do something so evil for power and for her hand in marriage?

He hated Seungcheol, the rational part of her mind reminded her. And he was always hanging around the royals, who also hated him.

Yewon closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to calm her heaving chest. This was too much for her to take in. Too much pain and trauma and pent-up anger resurfacing and driving her mad.

“Haein made me realize all of this,” Soonyoung continued. “She knows how Wonwoo thinks, and she knows that he had been planning it for a very long time. She told me that she wasn’t sure if he would actually carry through with it. But when she heard the news of Seungcheol’s murder, she knew it was him and his clan of royals who planned it. The poor guard was only the chosen scapegoat because he was easy to manipulate.”

“I… I can’t accept this,” Yewon managed to say. She still had faith in him.

“Did you know that my father died in the harem?” he suddenly asked.

Yewon didn’t answer. She didn’t understand what that had to do with anything.

“Wonwoo’s mother works in the harem,” Soonyoung explained, and Yewon caught on to the implication.

She suddenly stood up shaking her head frantically. “I don’t want to hear anymore, Soonyoung. Please stop. I can’t bear this any longer.”

“Well, you have to bear it, Yewon,” Soonyoung said, also standing up to face her. “There’s more I have to tell you…”

“The past is gone, and there’s nothing we can do to change it. I don’t want to think about the past anymore, and I certainly don’t want it to torment me. So I don’t want to know anymore. Please, stop telling me these things.”

“Fine, I’ll stop telling you about the past,” Soonyoung proclaimed, “but I will tell you about the future.”

“Soonyoung, please…”

“You have to listen to me, Yewon. Solen is now being ruled by a wicked tyrant who murdered his brother, and who is now risking wars by conquering land from other people.”

“And there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it,” Yewon replied, hoping that Soonyoung would stop talking.

“There’s a lot you can do about it, actually!”

“I don’t want to do anything about it,” Yewon replied frenziedly, shaking her head. “I don’t want to be involved in this anymore. I’m now living a fulfilling life working this hospital, and I don’t want to be tangled in politics. So please, I don’t want to hear any more of this.”

Soonyoung frowned at her, disappointed. “You’ve changed a lot, Yewon. And not in a good way. I miss the impassioned young woman you were in Solen.”

“And look what that passion did to me!” Yewon replied, eyes suddenly b with tears. “I’m broken, Soonyoung. When he died, my spirit died with him.”

Soonyoung’s expression softened at her outburst, and he fell quiet for a moment until she was able to collect herself and wipe her tears.

She had really thought she would never again cry for Seungcheol. She had thought that the wound was now bandaged and healed, but Soonyoung had just come and opened it up again. She couldn’t help it. For the first time in a year, she was crying for him again.

“I loved him too, you know,” Soonyoung told her, choked up and also on the verge of crying himself, “and I loved my father. And I loved Seokmin as well. They were all taken away from me, but I did not let their deaths kill me too, and you shouldn’t either.”

“Well, I guess you’re much stronger than I am,” Yewon muttered. “Now, if you would excuse me, I’ve had enough for one night–”

“Fine, I’ll leave,” Soonyoung cut her off, “but before I do, I just want you to know that Wonwoo is forcing Yulhee to marry your brother against her will. But maybe you don’t care, because your spirit has been killed or whatever…”

Yewon narrowed her eyes. “What?” she probed, suddenly giving Soonyoung her attention.

“Finally, you’re interested!” Soonyoung muttered, and then carried on to explain: “Haein kept in touch with some of the maids in the palace, and they write her letters about what’s happening there. Apparently, our little Yulhee has been suffering a lot since our father died. She's been isolating herself in her room and sometimes she even harms herself. She feels so alone, because everyone left her: me, you, Seungcheol, and her father. Now, even Wonwoo is treating her like a slave and making her marry Prince Jihoon.”

“But why?” Yewon asked. The union did not make sense. There was no more war between the two countries, and Jihoon had been nothing but an enemy to Solen. How could Jihoon marry into the family upon which he wreaked havoc? How could he marry a girl that was sterile because of him?

“Because Wonwoo wants the two countries to join forces so he can continue his conquest,” Soonyoung answered her. “Remember how your marriage to Seungcheol was a move toward peace? Well, this marriage is kind of like a move toward war.”

-

Letter #12

Dear Yewon,

My beautiful little sister is one of the very few people I can readily admit to loving wholeheartedly. She has been a constant source of energy in our boring palace, a constant reminder of the simple spirit in us all. What’s fascinating about her is how she retains her childlike nature no matter how old she grows, and I love that.

You and her are quite alike, actually. Both of you are merry young women with the curiosity of children. I never told you this, but when I first met you, I immediately saw Yulhee in you. The wonder in your eyes when you came into the palace, how you danced with such spirit in our first banquet, and how you snap so easily, all so much like a child. And during our first night together, you were so scared, like a child. It’s the reason I could not find it in myself to touch you that night, and the many nights after that too.

A few days ago, Yulhee came to me and told me that she loved you so much, and that she thought of you as an older sister. She told me she didn’t want you to leave, and she was afraid that you and I would separate, meaning you’d have to go far, far away. I assured her that you are not going far away, and that you’ll be there for her for the rest of her life.

Thank you for taking care of little Yulhee and becoming a wonderful role model for her. I wish our Yulhee grows up to be as beautiful, kind, and youthful as you are.

Love,
Seungcheol

A/N: not as long as i thought it would be, but long enough, i guess! six more chapters guys...