Toward the end of the feast, when the guests were leaving, some of them staggering out the door on the arms of attendants, Sunggyu appeared. After two weeks of living in Seollan’s home, he had “left for home,” reverting to his fox form, occasionally dropping in to visit Seollan in human form when they were alone. Recently, Seollan hadn’t seen him much at all, and she had noted his absence during the ceremony and celebration.

“I wish you a long and happy marriage,” Sunggyu said to the newlyweds. He was completely sober, but Seollan suspected that if he could have, he would have drunk until he passed out. "Goodbye."

“Thank you for coming,” Hoya said. Seollan had yet to explain to him Sunggyu’s true nature and his role in saving his life. She made a mental note to do that in the future.

“You need to come see our children when they’re born. You can be a godfather to them,” Seollan insisted. But even as she said this, she knew deep down that he would not. She wanted to hug him goodbye, but she couldn’t, not with people around who might gossip and accuse her of infidelity. 

The look in Sunggyu’s eyes before he turned to leave told her that she would never see him again.

***

“Well?” Seollan asked, trying not to sound impatient.

She and Hoya were in their wedding chamber, located across the small courtyard from her original bedroom. The interior was decorated for the occasion, the characters for happiness written on paper that hung from the walls. Eunjin and Hoya’s attendant had both exited the room after assisting them in removing their outer coats, leaving them to do the rest themselves.

Since then, Hoya had taken off his hat and set it on the table, then lifted Seollan’s headpiece and placed it aside as well. She herself pulled free the dragon pin to let down her hair. At present, she was sitting on the bed, and he was standing by the table, avoiding eye contact.

“I—” he began, turning to her, but then he shut his mouth as words failed him.

Seollan was tempted to sigh in exasperation, but she knew that would only make things worse. Normally quite confident, for once Hoya seemed to be at a loss, and he would no doubt mistake her frustration as disdain and become even more flustered.

She wouldn’t presume to speak for him, but she had been anticipating this day for a while. Not looking forward to it, exactly, but she had seen it coming. Of course she had. Every woman was raised knowing that this day would happen.

She almost had to pity Hoya because he was perhaps even less prepared than she was. So she waited.

“This is embarrassing,” he muttered at last.

Despite her promise to herself a few moments ago, her sarcasm reflex took over, and she had to snort. “Embarrassing? You came this close to completely stripping in front of me, and you’ve already seen me before. ‘Embarrassing’!”

Hoya blinked. “What…? I have?”

“The time at the stream?” she prompted. She supposed it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t remember. She herself had practically forgotten that moment of mortification until just now as well.

Recognition dawned in his eyes, followed by astonishment. “Wait. That was you?”

Patience is a virtue, Seollan. Patience. “Yes, that was me.”

“…oh.” A blush crept onto his face.

“Anyway, if you don’t want to, then just say so. It doesn’t have to be tonight.”

He shook his head. “They’re going to check tomorrow morning though.”

“It’s not that hard to make a fake blood stain,” Seollan pointed out.

“…right.”

“Society is stupid,” she plowed on. “It’s not like I’m likely to get pregnant the first time, so why does it matter whether we do it now or later?” She glanced back at Hoya. “And you need to make up your mind.”

“But I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do,” he groaned, sounding more like a boy in his teens than a man of twenty-two.

“Ha. Because I’m obviously the local expert,” Seollan scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“How are you so calm, anyway?” He crossed his arms, and his thick brows sloped downward in a scowl.

“Who said I was calm?” She wasn’t. Not on the inside, anyway. In fact, she was beginning to think she might have a heart attack.

“You seem a lot more relaxed than me, at least.”

The long pent up sigh escaped, and Seollan grabbed Hoya's right hand and placed it on her chest. Even through the layer of clothing, he could feel her racing heart.

“Oh.”

Tugging on his arm, Seollan pulled him onto the bed beside her. He didn’t resist and reached his hand out to play with the string to her inner coat. “I guess I should just stop hesitating and get this over with,” he murmured.

“We’ll figure this out,” she assured him. “Somehow.” Hoya got up for moment to put extinguish the candle on the table and settled down on the bed once more. “I mean, surely it can’t be worse than war,” she remarked.

He was silent for a moment.

“No, I suppose not.” Undoing the string, he slid the silk jacket off of Seollan’s shoulders.

***

Under the cover of night, Sunggyu snuck into the Yong family’s ancestral shrine for a final time to say goodbye to an old friend.

“You were free to go once you brought her back,” Junhyung said. “I never had any intention of keeping you here. I’m surprised you stayed as long as you did.”

“I had to wait,” Sunggyu responded. He had waited until he was sure that Seollan’s happiness was ensured.

“I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “It wouldn’t have worked out anyway. She’s alive and corporeal, and I’m just a fox spirit.”

“What are you going to do now?"

"I dunno. Go wherever my feet take me, I suppose." It had been a long time since he had felt so lacking in purpose.

"I see. Farewell, good friend.”

“Farewell.”

As Sunggyu stepped over the door frame, he shed his human form, abandoning it for good. It had taken him an enormous amount of energy to maintain it. Over time, he had become more and more insubstantial, forced to use an illusion to appear solid. Now, in his fox form, he was snowy white and fading out, barely visible unless he moved, his translucent figure refracting the air around him.

He had lied to Seollan. In truth, he had not received any sort of spiritual promotion. Saving her and the general had permanently crippled his spirit. It was remarkable that he had lasted this long at all. He was near his end. He would soon vanish from the universe completely, his soul dispersing into nothingness without a trace to show that he had ever existed.

However, as he padded along slowly, ears and tail drooping, a burst of light flashed before him, blinding him. In the next moment, the light diminished, revealing a glowing figure. There were no words to describe her presence and beauty, and he knew at once who she must be.

“Mago?”

“Yes, that’s me.” The first goddess and mother of the universe, Sunggyu marveled. To think a lowly fox spirit like him was meeting her.

“What is it, Great One?”

“The gods have witnessed your dedication, and we have decided to reward you for this.”

Sunggyu felt an odd surge of energy. He stared down at his body, which was no longer dissipating, not believing that this was happening. Could it be…?

The goddess read his mind. “Yes, Kim Sunggyu. You’re getting a second chance. A real one, this time.”

And in the blink of an eye, he was gone, his spirit joining the innumerable souls cycling through the continuum that joined life and death.