It had been weeks, no, months since his little son had disappeared. Until now he had searched for him everywhere. In Gongju, Gyeryong the cave village and even in Sujong the area belonging to the Black Army. But nowhere was the slightest trace of him. Yunho was exhausted from searching and just could not continue anymore. Maybe he should give up hope. Children abducted by the enemy barely made it back alive or back to their homes. Yunho was far from being able to keep his promises. His son was likely already lost, maybe he already became a part of the Black Army, or he was sold to foreigners as a slave. Yunho also missed his wife Bona and his older son Yoongi. He already could recall vaguely of happy moments with his family. At last, he was back in front of his house again.

But somehow a strange feeling enveloped him. Something had changed. His keys did not fit the lock anymore. He rang the doorbell. A young woman opened the door.

“Yes please?”, she asked politely.

“Excuse me, do you work here?”, Yunho countered all confused.

“Work? I live here.”, answered the woman grimly.

Yunho raised an eyebrow and looked at her in disbelief.

He inquired curiously: “Living? Does the Jung-family not live here anymore?”

The young woman suddenly looked at him very sadly, as if her whole world broke in hundreds of pieces.

“Do you not know yet? The Jung family members are all dead.”, she said seriously, “Bona committed suicide, after her little son disappeared and her husband left. The autopsy had revealed that it was poisoning. Officer Jung has been gone for a while now. Perhaps, he is already dead too, killed by the members of the Black Army. Who knows? And the other son ran away and was not seen ever since.”

Yunho could not believe what he was hearing. This had to be a bad joke, a nightmare. How could all of this in a few months? What had happened to his happy little family?

“No...”, he stuttered to himself with a shaky voice.

“Excuse me, I unfortunately cannot help you. Are you a relative of the Jung?”, asked the young woman.

When Yunho hesitantly shook his head, she shut the door with a sigh.

Yunho trembled. No, this just could not be true. It had to be a nightmare that he was stuck in. His eyes became watery, and his throat tightened. He had to swallow several times. His nose turned red, and he covered his mouth wis his left hand. His cheeks were subsequently covered with his tears and finally his knees buckled. He dropped to the floor. He clenched his fists and ripped off some blades of grass in the process. His expression reflected pain that got the upper hand in his heart. He bit his trembling lower lip and tried to suppress his grieve. It was simply too much for him to take. What just happened to them? Should he kill himself to escape this misery? No, he could not, he had sworn an oath to the king. He was a middle-ranked officer and was not to take his own life, otherwise he would be reborn as the lowest creature ever existing.

It was better to leave Gongju. He had to leave behind the cursed kingdom if he wanted to escape. This place led one bad event after another, he had to get out of here no matter what. But was that cowardly? Was he just running away instead of facing reality? But Yunho no longer had any reason or desire in this village. All Yunho's fortune, his family and his house had been taken away from him. People already thought he was dead. So, he practically would no longer have to oversee the kingdom. Yunho had to get rid of the pain, otherwise it would put him to the edge of his life. His mental state would not take any more suffering. There was only one way to escape it all. A new live in a foreign place, as a new person with a whole different identity. But he did not want to leave the village as someone that people thought dead of. He was not a traitor. Certainly not. Therefore, he made his way to the palace in the back center of Gongju.

On the way to the palace, he looked at all the buildings, booths, and people one last time. The empty bazaar, the children playing, the abandoned dogs, the stray cats and the many officers who once were his beloved colleagues. They stood around guarding the kingdom from the fighters of the Black Army and nevertheless one of enemy had made it to Yunho's house and had kidnapped his son. Guarding my . They smiled at people walking past them. So happy as they all seemed, they were not at all. Or were they and it only felt like this to him now, because Yunho had a miserable fate upon him? After all, he was also happy before all of this happened. Maybe it was just him, destined to lead such a sad life.

When he got to the palace, a guard noticed him immediately and stared at him with a shocked expression as if he had seen a ghost. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Yunho once again. Then he ran down the steps