His body jolted awake and he reached his hand out desperately, only to grasp nothing. He had had the same dream again. It had been seven years since Hae Soo had died, yet every single day was just another excruciating memory that he forced himself to repeat. It was the only way he could bear with living.  Without Hae Soo there was nothing. When Hae Soo had left, she had taken all the color in his world with her. His world was nothing but a gradient of black and white. Without Hae Soo he was nothing.  

He sat up weakly and outstretched his shaky hand to reach for the teapot that lay on the table. He missed and the teapot went crashing onto the ground, exploding into dagger-like shards. He sat motionless, staring blankly at the mess on the floor.

After what seemed like an eternity, the doors opened and several servants rushed in, their heads bowed in fear. Their shoulders relaxed as they realized the king was not angry; that it had simply been a slip of his hand. Wang So was never angry anymore—just tired and sad. His sadness no longer held blame nor resentment, no longer had the capacity to hold anything but his love for Hae Soo. That was the only thing that refused to dwindle.

Moments later the servants left, only leaving him once again in the silence that was ingrained in his bones. He no longer had anyone by his side. Ji Mong, whom he had trusted would stay by his side to the last of his days had left ages ago. Baek Ah, the one prince whom he had truly thought of as a brother, refused to support him anymore—he simply couldn’t bear it. Hae Soo, the girl who had seen him for who he truly was, and the one who had loved him regardless of all of his flaws, had left… just yesterday. The wound in his heart was still fresh, unable to mend.

And just like that, one by one, everyone left with the passing wind.

He chuckled softly and lie down on his bed, his hand trembling as it traced the skeleton of his scar. He knew his time was coming soon, and he was completely at peace with it. Welcomed it, actually. Maybe then he could see