[This fic is midquel of Snow White. The story focuses on Gwangjong’s life with Ju’s perspective. Angsty & Hurt/Comfort. Ju slowly learns the story of how Seol and her mother was so important in his father’s life.]

 

Wang Ju met the girl when he was around six…Wang Seol. It was her name and just like the meaning, she looked like a pure snow. When watching the snowflakes dancing on the air, it was breathtaking, but when he tries to touch it, it melts away. And the girl was just like a real-like mirage. Because when she sang, Ju wanted to stop the time. She stopped sang and saw him standing behind the tree. And, she smiled.

 

There was big change he found when Seol was in palace. First of all, he could feel the palace suddenly filled with laughter and brightness. When she walks around, the palace maids and eunuchs smiled warmly at her. Another change was his father, Gwangjong. The most powerful king beside the first, Taejo Wang Geon, was smiling for the first time in Ju’s life.

 

It happened when Seol was in Damiwon with Lady Munhye. The little girl wanted to make pastries and teas for the king and she was quite clumsy at making them. Ju also was with her and laughed along with her, enjoying her company. When she finished, she wanted to deliver them to the king’s chamber. Lady Munhye and Ju followed her until they reached to the door of King’s room. When Seol entered, Gwangjong looked over and smiled.

 

    “Ah, my favorite niece,” the king spoke with soft tone, “how are you?”

 

    “It’s great, uncle…”

 

Then the king noticed the tray she was holding. Seol gently approached and landed it on the table, bashfully looking down. Gwangjong could see that she brought his favorite pastries and teas. Her shy attitude only brought his smile wide.

 

    “Oh, did you made them for your uncle?” He asked as he glanced at her.

 

At her uncle’s question, Seol nodded her head. He reached out and held the teapot, pouring the tea on the cup. He giggled at the shape of pastries, no doubt she made an effort to made them.

 

    “Aw, how sweet of you.” Jung commented to his adoptive daughter.

 

    “Umm, I accidentally ruined some recipes…and mixed with some other grains…” Seol muttered, completely embarrassed at her clumsy cooking skills.

 

However, the king took a bite with no hesitation, much to Ju and Seol’s surprise. And the next thing came unexpectedly. The king smiled brightly.

 

    “My, your pastries tastes great.”

 

It was first time, Ju had seen his father smiling so radiantly. Seol perked up with wide smile, relieved that her uncle accepted her pastries. The crown prince couldn’t help but slightly envious of his best friend and cousin. Seol was the only one who brought a happiness from his father.

 

    “R-really?” Seol asked carefully.

 

    “Will make me another someday?” King asked kindly.

 

Seol nodded her head.

 

    “Of course!”

 

Ju stared at them. Forgetting his envy, he was genuinely happy that his cousin brought a light in the palace and made his father smile in such way.

 

---

Everyday, Seol and the king talked and walked together. She always listened to her uncle’s stories with wide, innocent eyes. Her favorite was the one with beautiful woman fell in love with the hideous beast. Looking at the lake Dongji, Gwangjong stood with reserved expression.

 

    “You see…I sometimes see the woman when I stay here. She was a celestial figure no one could see everyday. Long black hair, pale blue robes, and large doe-like eyes. She looked like a queen when she wore refined white hanbok.”

 

Seol was interested.

 

    “Eh?! Who was she? Who was she?”

 

King smiled fondly.

 

    “Oh…she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Strong, intelligent, and very kind-hearted. She was a woman whom I wished to see again.” Gwangjong replied in somewhat melancholic expression.

 

Looking at her uncle’s expression. Seol approached and jumped.

 

    “Then I will grow up and come to see you everyday!”

 

Wang So held her up and planted a small kiss on her cheek with fatherly affection.

 

    “I know you will be beautiful when you grow up.”

 

When hearing Jung, Seol politely bid him goodbye and ran to him. Gwangjong’s smile fades away when she ran further and further.

 

    ‘Just like your mother.’ Wang So wanted to add.

 

Little did anyone knew, Ju was watching them from afar noticing his father’s look. He realized it was quite late and must return to his chamber before his mother could scold him.

 

---

Ju was eight when his mother Queen Daemok passed away. In reality, it was his father who killed her for “committing treason”. He was shocked to learn from his furious father, it was his mother who sent the assassin to kill Seol. It didn’t take him long time to realize that his mother tried to kill his cousin because she was the king’s lover, Hae Soo’s daughter.

 

The Crown prince once asked Baek-Ah who was she and he learned so many great tales of Hae Soo had done for his father. And that’s where Ju’s resentment towards his father faded and was replaced with…compassion and…regret. He was slowly regretting for himself to be born. He believed that his birth must have drove them apart.

 

Every night, Ju peeked outside and saw his father roamed around like a madman, searching for his person who have been dead many years ago. One time, Ju had seen him wandering in the rain. Choi Ji-Mong and Baek-Ah tried to calm him, but it was no use.

 

    “What did she ever done wrong?”

 

Ju could listen to a voice of broken man.

 

    “Is it a crime to stay with her? Is this another punishment from heaven for the hatred and vengeance I held for years?”

 

    “Your majesty! Please!” Baek-Ah tried to call out his half-brother.

 

Looking up at the sky, the king seek for the light. He remembered the day Hae Soo took off his mask and concealed his scar, his painful emotions away. During that rainy day it brought him a feeling of acceptance from her. Now, he felt like the heavens were trying to play with his fate.

 

Silently sobbing then, he roared out in anguish. Tears releasing from his eyes as he wailed. It was first time Ju had seen his father cried. And for that moment, he swore he saw a white silhouette of a woman behind his father, hesitantly reaching her hand out to him but faded away.

 

---

When Ju saw Seol for the first time in long separation, he couldn’t be more happy. Seol has grown up into a fair lady. He persuaded her father to let her visit the palace and Wang Jung agreed for he finally realized the queen was long gone.

 

Seol displayed the true work of art when she had gotten a role of Bangsangshi. Her swordsmanship was beyond what he had expected and as she revealed herself to the king, his darkened expression washed away and was replaced with the same joy he made when little Seol was around him.

 

    “Welcome back, my dear niece…”

 

Ju had seen his expression and he could see how much the king wanted to embrace her. The Crown prince learned that Seol was actually the lovechild born between the king and his love Hae Soo. However, it didn’t matter because she returned. Which mean, she could bring more light in the king’s life on behalf of her mother.

 

 

---

It didn’t take long time to make Ju realize he have been harbouring such intimate fondness, love even, towards the king’s daughter. But when he took the hint that Seol finally realized the secret behind the abandoned queen’s quarter, he was actually fearful and remorseful. He didn’t want the girl to resent both himself and the king.

 

Fortunately, Seol let him enter the room. She confessed that she finally found out what happened to his mother and profusely apologized if she reminded him his old pain and scars. Ju knew how to move on from his past, so he brushed off and apologized in return. He was sorry that his mother, Hwangju family had brought pain to her mother Hae Soo.

 

After promising another day they could spend, he went out and told his uncles, king, and his sisters she needed a time alone. When the king worriedly approached to the door, Ju instinctively blocked the way with firm eyes.

 

    “Your majesty, I said she needs a little time alone. Please, understand.”

 

It was the first time he raised his voice and spoke his mind wisely to the king he called “father”. Ju inwardly found himself surprised too, for he was always a coward who often cowered in fear of Gwangjong’s presence.

 

    “Fair enough.”

 

And the king left Damiwon. A slight dread filled Ju’s face but thinking of seeing Seol again later, he forgot his fears immediately.

 

    “Let’s go.” Ju told his sisters and left the scene with small smile of satisfaction, ignoring A-Ran, Bo-Hwa, and Moon-Duk’s questions.

 

---

It was A-Ran, Princess Wang A-Ji, and Cheon Chu-Jeon’s wedding at the end of the Spring. Everything went smooth until his sister spoke.

 

    “Can you sing for us as your gift?”

 

Ju turned to Seol who was blushing. She coughed briefly and stood straight as she began to sing. The moment she sang one line, the Crown Prince froze and focused on her. Smiling when singing, she have become a center of his world. But when he looked behind her, he swore he saw a glimpse of shining silhouette, or the mirage of beautiful woman who looked like Seol. The same woman who he saw during the stormy night when the king roamed around the palace. With his conflicted eyes, he quietly walked away.

 

    ‘Who was it?’ He wondered.

 

---

    “Please, for this night—or one moment—forget that I’m the Crown Prince…for I wish you could see me as a man.”

 

Ju confessed. He, the crown prince, literally begged to earn Seol’s affection. He was feared that he would be alone if she was married off somewhere. And he deeply cursed himself for being born as a prince. But his melancholy stopped when Seol grabbed his left hand intertwined, then took him in her arms with the words he had wished so much in years.

 

    “Ju-ya…”

 

Oh, he would have melt the moment she called his name.

 

    “I’m already your person.”

 

Ay, he was now in clouds of heaven. With his arms around her waist, he invited her his intimate secrets as his lips brushed to hers. A pinch of passion sparked as she accepted him.

 

---

It wasn’t surprising when the king figured out Ju and Seol’s affair. Ju knew how the king was protective of his daughter to the point of giving the crown prince death threat if he ever laid his finger on her. Ju frowned when the king accused him of “tainting” Seol. The king lost it when Ju spoke his mind with the lack of fear.

 

    “Before becoming a father of Goryeo, I am a person who possess a heart of man.”

 

---

Ju couldn’t be more thankful when his sisters accepted Seol even if they know about her identity as a love child between Gwangjong and Court Lady Hae. Also when Seol accepted herself as Wang So and Hae Soo’s daughter. He stifled his tears when he overheard the king and her conversation. He smiled in content from the moment Seol called the king a word he wanted to hear.

 

    “Please, stay with me…father.”

 

Ju left as he could hear the king’s blissful sobs.

 

---

The crown prince heard one time from Seol there would be a mother’s day around the beginning of may. Since he knew Soo had no mother, he decided to make a stone tower for her. Each and every night he would go out and collect stones to make a stone tower. He was aware of the fact that normally mothers built them for their children. Yet, he wanted to build one for Seol and he wanted to tell the spirit of her mother—the apparition of woman he saw—about her daughter’s life.

 

Another day, and Ju would visit the stone tower and often saw the same apparition who smiled at him. He never heard her voice, but it was always him who talked about Seol. One day when he let Seol see the tower, he heard a quiet whisper from Seol’s mother.

 

    “Thank you…”

 

Ju looked up and smiled as he and Seol returned to palace.

 

---

As Seol reached to the age of young adult, her absence in palace was frequent. She often went back to Chungju to help her brother who has become a soldier. She also went to elder queen Hwangbo’s residence to heal her. She asked Ju to watch their father while she was gone and he obliged to it.

 

She could only visit a little as she gave Gwangjong medical teas and healthy pastries to heal his health for he was ageing also.

 

But it was a beginning of what they hadn’t seen from the king.

 

Gwangjong always went off to Buddhist temple and prayed. While the rest of the night, he lies on the bed with Ju, Baek-Ah, or Ji-Mong stayed beside him.

 

One time, the king laid on his bed. By looking at almost skinny face, his health was in critical state. He opened his eyes and glanced at his left side and felt a cold breeze entering from the window. His eyes then set on the illusional silhouette of a little girl standing beside with innocent smile.

 

    “Seol-ah…,” the king spoke in hoarse tone, “the weather’s cold…come in…”

 

Baek-Ah and Ju looked up and found out their king was developing a hallucinosis.

 

    “Seol, my sweet child…you came to see me…you’ll be scold by Jung…”

 

Gwangjong reached his left hand and was presumably patting the child’s head. But in reality, his hand was only patting on an empty air. Baek-Ah and Ju glanced one another with grim expression.

 

Wang So smiled until another vision appeared with Seol covering her face and looking down, sobbing quietly. The king looked worried all of sudden.

 

    “What’s wrong? Why are you crying…?”

 

Another vision in his eyes changed with Seol in Cheondeokjeon, wailing in the dark. Now, the king grew paranoid as he heard auditory hallucination of his little girl.

 

    “I’m sorry…”

 

The king slowly sat up, his two arms attempting to call her out.

 

    “I’m sorry I was born…I killed mother…!”

 

Wang So shook his head.

 

    “…no…!!! Don’t say such thing!”

 

Ju and Baek-Ah wasn’t sure what to do, wither they should stop him or not. On the other hand, Wang So’s eyes had spotted young Seol and Soo with sorrowful eyes slowly fading. A cold sweats dropped from the king’s forehead as a tears escaped from his eyes.

 

    “Seol-ah…! Seol-ie, my baby! Where are you going? Where are you?!”

 

Before his body couldn’t take more strength, Baek-Ah was quick to help him sat up. Ju looked to the king’s left side and he saw another apparition of woman, who was Seol’s mother, silently crying at her person.

 

    “Your majesty!” Baek-Ah called out his half-brother.

 

Gwangjong blinked his eyes as another tears dropped. He looked down and quietly wailed.

 

    “Baek-Ah, will I be able to tell her…? What should I do if I leave…there are still many evil lurking to harm her,” the king closed his already soaked eyes, “what if Seol regrets being born? What if she blames herself for everything that happened to her mother?”

 

Ju looked at his father. It didn’t take him long time to realize the king was no immortal. He was human. And when the time comes, he will leave the world. Rubbing his almost teary eyes, Ju left the chamber and went to search for Seol.

 

 

And her, Seol and Ju entered the room of dying king. In his white royal robes, Gwangjong looked up and saw his two children beside. His wrinkled, and thin hand reached to Seol’s cheek.

 

    “Father, do you want to go to mother?”

 

Gwangjong felt remorse of leaving his daughter alone. But, he instinctively nodded his head. Seol reminded him how she was grown and was able to defend herself as he didn’t need to worry. He then glanced at Ju’s hand had was hold Seol’s protectively from letting her collapsed. Years have passed and he realized how much his son reminded of himself when he was young.

 

In his dreams, Wang So had saw a woman in front of him before. The woman who was wearing a queen’s robe. She wasn’t Queen Daemok, she was not Hae Soo. But the woman who stood before him was his daughter wearing a robe of true queen. So had seen his daughter when she was six. She had a large, innocent eyes, small height and always ran towards him with wide smile. In the dream, she was fully grown and was standing in front of him. With headstrong and graceful aura looming over, she held his hand once giving him kind, reassuring smile.

 

    ‘Now, go…go to mother and live your next life with her. She’s waiting…’

 

Gwangjong smiled as he recalled the memory of his person in Lake Dongji waiting for him. He closed his eyes as he exhaled his last breath with the name of a woman he loved.

 

    “Soo-yah…”

 

Ju held Seol before she could collapse on the floor. She wailed and called out for her father over and over. Jung and Baek-Ah looked away in tears as Ji-Mong looked down. The Crown Prince looked up and saw an apparition of Wang So gently left in tears and smile while singing.

 

    “If I find a place without loneliness,

 

    come with me to the place…”

 

The spirit of a lost man kept smiling as his eyes let the tears flow in happiness.

 

    “Let us go together…”

 

Ju and Seol saw the sky above and saw the encounter of yin and yang. The sun and moon merged together as one.

 

    “My Soo…”

 

And the spirit of Wolf-Dog, a lost prince, with genuine, radiant smile…he was gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: According to some history book and resource, there was an eclipse when Gwangjong passed away. In the end, the spirit of Wang So was singing the same song Hae Soo used to sang during Eun's birthday in Episode 7.