CHAPTER 3: TALES ON THE TABLE

On Wednesday morning, Dahyun woke up as early as 6.00 a.m.   Five more days until Christmas Eve, Yeonhee promised she would come back to the palace early in the morning so they could spend time together before the special holiday.  Therefore Dahyun was giddy when the sun rose and looked forward to the day she had been anticipating for the most.

However, when some time had passed, there was no sign of her cousin.  She already ate her breakfast and done reading her encyclopedia book but Yeonhee never showed up.  Until one hour before lunch, a familiar vehicle drove through the gate and stopped in front of the lobby, making Dahyun jumped on her feet and ran to the door excitedly.

“You promised early in the morning,” she said while crossing her arms at the door frame as soon as Yeonhee came into her sight from the passenger seat.

“Sorry to break your bubble little miss, but we already got here at 3.00 a.m. and got out again at 5.30.  Reckon we could do some running and shooting arrows while waiting for you to wake up!”  the older woman replied with a smug, and Dahyun was annoyed.

“You went to the archery club without me?” she sulked with a little pout.

“My apology Your Highness, but we can’t risk you getting exposed to the tabloids as usual.  Besides, you would be bored if you come with us anyway.”  Another woman - tall, dressed in tight pants, sporty suits and thick winter jacket, long dark brown hair, and sweet dimple protruded under - appeared next to Yeonhee.  She just came out from the driver seat and made Dahyun’s heart flipped at the sight of her.

“Suyun’s right!  You didn’t like what we always do anyway, so it wouldn’t do you a favour if you came along,” Yeonhee added.

“But still, you should’ve woken me up first before leaving!”

The sulk didn’t last for long when Dahyun shuffled in a slow jog to hug Yeonhee and Suyun to welcome them. 

“Is Gram home?”  Yeonhee asked oddly timid.

“Nope, she left for England last night.”

Dahyun led the two visitors into the castle and sat them in her mini library.  There were two reading rooms as big as a swimming hall combined.  One of them was the common reading room they had; often used by Queen Jiae in general.  The other one was set up specially for Queen Anne’s only daughter, the heir to the throne, Jeong Dahyun or Princess Diana.  The mini library had become her safe place, and only people with her consent could access into the room.  Only Yeonhee was allowed to come in even without her presence.

In the span of eleven years, Yeonhee had grown into a fine adult, a young pretty lady that won the heart of the nation.  She had a small face, bright eyes as well as a distinct monolids, and a pair of thin lips.  When she hit puberty at the age 11, she started to get more attention than necessary.  Paparazzis were on her tail almost everywhere.  Due to her sudden rise in popularity, she decided to move out from the palace and stay somewhere unknown to the public nor The Royal. Yeonhee had an easy journey to her school thanks to that and she remained staying out even after graduating.

The lady had a sensational talent in archery since she was younger than 10 years old.  The queen then built an archery club - Naoni Archery Club - under Yeonhee’s name and received huge interest from the public.  It accepted quite a number of members from kids to youth to elderly people.  Later on, Yeonhee got herself a great archery partner that matched her the best and now her loyal best friend, Kim Suyun.

They met twice, a few months before the queen’s death at the club.  At first Yeonhee was envious of and disliked Suyun.  The girl had a knack in holding the bow and hit bullseye with her arrow.  Was it because she was already an abnormally tall kid?  Or was she born with a skill as on par as Robin Hood?  Suyun and the bow were almost an inseparable soulmate.  And she received Yein’s unexceptional fondness for that reason.

But when the queen passed away, Suyun was the first and only kid to approach her among 100 others and provided warmth that she didn’t receive in the palace.  Yeonhee remembered Yein’s words when the queen told her Suyun would be a good friend for her, and she regretted not listening to her much earlier while the late queen was still alive.

“Did Gram have a schedule in England?  I don’t remember the press covered that in the news yesterday,” Yeonhee spoke as she flipped over the pages of “THE ELK QUEEN OF WALLGEUM,
A BIOGRAPHY” book.

Suyun smirked as she glanced at the former.  “Because the nosy paparazzis were busy stalking you instead of the queen, of course she didn’t make it to the news.”

Yeonhee tilted her head to her tall friend and arched an eyebrow.  “Dare to say that in front of Her Majesty again.”

The former stuck her lower lips out and resumed to read Dahyun’s new collection of mangas instead.

The youngest shifted her eyes between the two women when they had their exchanges and sighed internally.  “Somehow it’s still unreal to me how famous you two are on the tabloids.  It’s not an exaggeration if I say the two of you are everywhere in the news.”

“I swear they’re so annoying and I’m sure Suyun finds them inconvenient too,” Yeonhee said and saw her friend nodded her head.  “Again, did Gram have a schedule and will she be back before Christmas?” she rephrased her unanswered question and stared at Dahyun desperately.

“She has a private event invited by the Ministry I believe.  I heard she’s meeting Prince William of England and his fam as well, but I bet she won’t stay for long.  Gram hates events like this as she’s getting old.”

They said no more and stepped out of the library to eat lunch that was served.

After Queen Anne and her wife passed away 11 years ago, Queen Mother - Queen Jiae was named as the interim ruler of Wallgeum.  The next line in succession of the throne was originally Dahyun, but a king or queen has to be 18 and above to rule the nation.  Therefore, Queen Jiae had stepped up while waiting for Dahyun to hit of age.  She had less than 3 years to go.

Less than 48 hours since that conversation, Queen Jiae had returned from England and the small royal family had seated together for dinner after a while.  Suyun had left the palace to her home not long after lunch.  Dahyun and Yeonhee did many fun activities together and they enjoyed the times they had, until the queen came back and the palace had become grimly awkward again.

“Seems like a member of the foreign council took a lot of interest in you, asking me what you’ve been doing after your graduation and saying he’d seen a lot of photos and articles about you in the tabloids.  I said you’d done this and that but not much that I’m familiar with, said you have the tendency to keep a secret about yourself from me.”

That was a scary start.  Yeonhee kept her head down and sneaked a glance nervously.

“He said he’s been wanting to see you again after the last time he did when you were still very young.  Always knew she’d grow up so pretty, so beautiful, he said.”  There was no mistaken that the queen wasn’t very pleased.  In fact, anyone could see the way her face grimaced when she was imitating the council member that was praising her granddaughter.  Yeonhee felt bad and terrible but Dahyun had a hard time suppressing her laughter.

“Say, why not you travel for the next event trip instead of me and meet him?  He’s dying to see you, I bet he’ll be very thrilled,” she said, not looking up.  Yeonhee couldn’t see her expression.

“When and where the event will take place?” she asked carefully.

“Japan, the night of Christmas.  Daeyeol will go with you and Deputy Prime Minister Brian Kang is going as well.  You should go.  Practice your deeds for good use.  Train for the Royal Secretarial Office at that, and time to serve as the nation’s princess for good at once, don’t you?”  A hint of malice was detected from her tone despite her expressionless face, but Yeonhee said nothing.  “You can bring Dahyun as well.  It’ll be a perfect time for her to feel how it was to travel as a royal princess.”

The last statement shook both her granddaughters.  “Gram, I don’t think it’s wise for me to tag along.  I thought we agreed to keep me low from the press before I’m of age,” debated Dahyun in disagreement.

“Oh do not worry about that,” Queen Jiae kept her poker face before resuming smugly, “Princess Yeonhee knew exactly what to do to keep you protected from the paparazzis.”

After dinner, it was obvious that Dahyun didn’t favour her grandmother’s order.  She sulked in her room and sketched randomly on her drawing book.  Yeonhee followed her steps silently and stood next to the girl

“Don’t be mad.  Her Majesty wasn’t wrong when she said it’ll be a perfect timing for you to adapt to this life full of responsibilities and publicity.  Sooner or later you’ll have to get used to it.”  She began kneeling down beside Dahyun and softly squeezed the younger girl’s thigh.  “Besides, I will make sure you’ll never get caught by reporters just yet.  Suyun and I will protect you, I promise.”

Dahyun started smiling and finally felt reassured.  She reached Yeonhee’s hand and intertwining their fingers.  “Thank you, Yeonhee.  I love you.”

Night before Christmas Eve, Eunbi invited her students over to her place to have the meals that she promised.  She wasn’t alone when they arrived.  Her half-sister, Bae Irene met them at the door and led them inside while letting them know what Eunbi was up to in the kitchen.  She stepped out a moment later with an excuse of having a date and left the condo unit to themselves.

“Your sister is really hot.  What’s her lover’s name?” Yujin asked with full interest and a cheeky smile plastered on her face.

“She’s dating Wendy from her workplace, a girl migrated from Canada.  She’s loud compared to Irene, but I think they’re a match made in heaven,” Eunbi answered while still stirring something from the pot on the stove.

“How come you’re with us before Christmas Eve and not on a date like your sister?  Don’t tell me you’re still single,” Chowon added and smirked while waiting for an answer from the teacher.

“Oh, I’m still finding someone to date, thanks!” the older woman said with an eye roll towards the feisty girl.

“What happened to the Ms. Kang that you brought home for Christmas last year?” Sohee asked nonchalantly while helping Eunbi serving pecan pies that the woman baked herself on the table.

“Sohee, I never thought you could expose me like this,” Eunbi glared at the young girl who was concentrating on her work at the table.

“Oh come on, we all know you two are cousins and it’s no secret that you guys spent Christmas every year together!”  A straight dark-haired girl spoke.

“Ms. Kwon doesn’t mean that, Yujeong.  She meant about the girlfriend, or is it former, that Ms. Kwon dated last year,” Jiheon retorted as Yujeong’s cheeks went pink.

“Well, you both aren’t wrong,” Eunbi sighed dejectedly as she finished cooking.  “I didn’t know that Sohee and I are cousins is a well-known fact, and as for Hyewo- I mean, Ms. Kang that I dated last year, we broke up in summer, or was it late spring this year, although I already introduced her to my entire family.”

They began digging in after Eunbi fully set the table.  She had cooked spicy udon with pickled radish and crispy chicken skin, a recipe she learned from Sohee’s mother once.  The pecan pies she made were also on the table, along with organic orange juices in each glass per person.

Forgetting the topic about Eunbi’s girlfriend, the girls and their teacher started talking about other more interesting subjects like family issues, club trainings, private lessons and so on.

Yujin boasted about her captain commander father, Chowon talked about her martial art trainings, Jiheon said something about her orchestra practices and lessons, and Yujeong opened up about her family struggles - her overworked but underpaid father, her ill mother and never-ending arguments with her siblings.  Eunbi felt sorry but could say nothing else than “Be patient and stay strong!  Siblings have to stick together during tough times, so I hope you and your siblings will fix this fighting issue soon and put an end to that for good.”

They continued to talk about more topics to come, until Yujin came up with the history of Baekjin’s foundation.  She heard from her father that it wasn’t built so long ago, but it’s got something to do about the nation’s security system.  She asked her teacher if it was true.

At this, Eunbi suddenly grew quiet for about a minute and was seen her dry lips.  The younger girls all looked at and anticipated for the older woman to speak up patiently.

Eunbi traced her jawline with her fingers.  “Have you guys ever read Graceful Kingdom of Wallgeum, The Generations?”

The girls shook their heads timidly, never even heard of that, but Sohee silently poked the chicken skin with her fork and said, “I saw it in the library at “Historic” section, but couldn’t finish when King Jeong Eric started to rise.”

Eunbi nodded, impressed.  “So close,” she said.  “Well, maybe I could share you a story that was never told anywhere else…

“In 2001, shortly after King Jeong Eric’s death, there was another tragic death that involved a family.  A wonderful but modest family.  Our nation was very shocked with the news of the family’s death.  The mother once was well-known and very loved in Wallgeum.  But on that night, death took her life and her husband’s in the most tragic way possible.”

“Were they…murdered?” asked Sohee grimly.

“…yes,” said Eunbi with slow nods.  There were gasps and half of them had their jaws dropped, palms on their mouths.  “However, nobody knew exactly how they were killed.  Only the fact that it was painfully cruel and so unfair.  Their child witnessed their deaths and there was saying that it was so brutal that she didn’t want to mention nor remember them anymore.”

“The child survived?” Yujin asked with a tone of delight.

“Yup, very well alive and seems very healthy too.”

“Who are they?” inquired Yujeong.

Eunbi smiled mysteriously and they wondered.

“This story was never told for a reason.  People who lived during those years knew but then got shut down and can never talk about it any longer.  You will never hear this story again and will never know the identities of the family.”

“There must be some blogs or articles about it online, right?  I don’t think it will be that hard to find,” Chowon said and took her phone from the table.

Eunbi shrugged.  “Try googling it, I’m confident you can find nothing.”

“No way, Ms. Kwon wasn’t exaggerating about that!”  Jiheon exclaimed after scrolling her phone’s screen fast.

“They got shut down too?”  Sohee looked at Eunbi curiously.

“Yeah, because we believe it’s a confidential matter that can’t risk being exposed to public.  But from that incident onward, Baekjin Foundation was developed and the school existed to protect the nation.  Our future was bright and secured.

“Listen,” Eunbi suddenly leapt forward and became as serious as they had ever seen from the teacher.  “What you heard from me right now, it will end here.  You can never talk about this anywhere else and no anymore.  You guys, we all are, forbidden from talking about this any further.  If we do, we could get slaughtered.”

The girls became appalled, couldn’t tell if Eunbi was telling the truth or lie.  But surely the threat worked and they never spoke about it ever again.

New chapter updated! I'm sorry it took me long from the last, but I hope you'll enjoy this! Yeonhee had grown into an adult and Dahyun into a teenager <3 I personally love the bond between Teacher Eunbi and her students ^_^ What do you all think? Subscribe and comment :D