The King’s Brother

Exactly eight years later, in the palace of the king at the center of a Northern village, a prince sat on the balcony of his living quarters. He stared at the wide starless sky with dark, piercing eyes. He scrutinized the dark expanse and came to a troubling conclusion.

Something is about to happen tonight. Something bad.

“Brother, there you are. I’m forever looking for your whereabouts.”

The prince turned to see his brother the king as he entered the room. He stood and bowed low.

“My apologies, King Sunggyu,” he answered as he straightened. “Are the preparations ready?”

“Yes, Myungsoo. We’re all waiting for you,” Sunggyu replied. He looked at his brother closely. “Is something bothering you?”

“It’s just…” Myungsoo faltered. Should I tell? This could cause unnecessary panic. “It’s nothing. I just noticed how dark the sky is tonight. A storm might be brewing.”

Sunggyu looked out of the balcony. “Indeed, it is quite dark tonight. But we’ll attend to this later on. The guests from the South are here. Come.”

Sunggyu went out of the room first. Myungsoo hesitated and looked back at the sky. Then he took his cloak hanging from a coatrack and followed his brother.

The dinner was excellent, but Myungsoo was a little distracted throughout the event. Whenever one of the guests would ask him a question or ask for his opinion, he would take a bit longer than a moment to respond. He had a far-away look on his face for the whole evening and his eyes would occasionally wander towards the windows on the south side of the dining hall. Sunggyu noticed this and kept sending him warning looks and nudges under the table, but Myungsoo wouldn’t heed him either.

Later, after the guests have departed and Myungsoo has returned to his room, Sunggyu confronted him.

“Myungsoo, what was that earlier this evening?” he demanded in a frustrated manner.

Myungsoo blinked at Sunggyu, not quite catching his drift. “I don’t think I’m on the same page as you, Sunggyu.”

“You could have at least shown some interest to our guests,” explained Sunggyu. When Myungsoo opened his mouth in protest, Sunggyu raised a hand. “I know that you’re worried about what the empty night sky might mean. But I told you we would attend to that matter later.”

Myungsoo looked at his older brother humbly and dipped his head. “I understand. I’m sorry if I ruined our meeting.”

Sunggyu nodded. “I forgive you. Now, do me a favor and get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow, we shall discuss this problem that has kept your mind at work. This might affect the kingdom, so I want you to not just be physically present, but mentally as well.”

“Yes, my King.”

Sunggyu’s expression softened. He gazed at his little brother, so grown up and such a loyal subject. He would prefer Myungsoo to inherit the throne than any other man in his realm, may it be a relative or a very close family friend. He reached out and put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, before turning and going out of the door.

Myungsoo watched him leave and went to prepare for bed.

Myungsoo had been right in his suspicions. Something terrible did happen that night. But not to him; rather, it happened to his older brother, the king himself.

It was late in the night, and yet Sunggyu could not sleep. He rose from his bed and opened the huge windows to the east of his room. The moon was shining brightly, but a great part of it has been hidden behind thick clouds. There were still no stars.

Sunggyu frowned deeply. This is more serious than I thought. He whistled and a passing breeze carried the simple tune. In a moment a glowing ball of light flew to the window right in front of Sunggyu’s nose. It was no bigger than a palm, and flitted restlessly here and there.

“Greetings, Lay. What have your fairy ears heard the winds say?” asked Sunggyu.

The glowing ball of light flew to the king’s ear and rapidly whispered incoherent words that only the two of them heard. When it flew away, Sunggyu looked even more troubled than he did.

“An accursed gift? What is that supposed to mean?” mumbled Sunggyu to himself, pondering on what the little fairy said. He thought about what the gift might be until his head throbbed. He decided to leave it until tomorrow and pulled his windows close. Just as they were an inch apart, a silver flash slipped through and landed on the rugged floor beside his feet. Sunggyu bent down to pick it up.

It was a piece of a glass mirror. It was big enough for him to see the reflection of one eye, and it was strangely as heavy as a damp feather. He examined it, turned it over and over, but nothing seemed to be out of place, except being extremely light. So Sunggyu put it on his bedside table and went to sleep.

But of course, that small portion of mirror is one of the four that were thrown to the four compass points: the piece that hurtled towards the North. As Sunggyu slept, the mirror shook with utmost subtlety, and Sunggyu began hearing in his mind the curse uttered by its maker:

Whoever the keeper of this mirror may be
May it be king or slave or a man free
The beauty in here that he shall see
Will be the cause of cursed vanity

Sunggyu’s mind filled up with his and Myungsoo’s past. His dreams relieved their history’s horror. He dreamt of how they were pushed around by their stepmother the queen. He saw again how their father died and how he had to fight for his inheritance in a duel-to-death with their stepmother’s son. And the last, but what was most highlighted in his nightmare, were his insecurities.

When they were younger, everyone praised Myungsoo’s refined looks, perfect stature, candle-stick fingers, and all the other qualities that made him the perfect one, the ideal prince. Meanwhile, no one looked at the elder son with as much respect for his appearance. Most of the time Sunggyu would blend into the background while the people of the kingdom praise Myungsoo.

Sunggyu woke up in cold sweat. He panted as if he had run a mile. His breath came out in translucent puffs of air. He glanced at the fragment of mirror on the bedside table.  It had a thin purple glow around it, and it was quivering slightly. He picked it up and stared at it. For a second the eye that stared back was not his own. It had a black iris with infinite depth. Then it shifted to Sunggyu’s brown orb.

As if propelled by their own will, his feet started walking towards the large mirror in front of a wardrobe across the room. Sunggyu stared back at his reflection in the plain mirror, and saw what other people see, even in old age: a plain man without any outstanding physical appearance. The bewitched mirror glowed brighter in his hand. Sunggyu placed it on the plain mirror, right above where his original right eye was. Through the bewitched mirror he saw a new eye: it was wider, perfectly shaped, and its iris was colored vibrant green. Sunggyu was taken aback. But when he blinked, the new eye blinked as well. Sunggyu looked at it at a closer range.

It was perfect, and it was his.

A quiet voice began whispering in his mind.

You like it, don’t you? Yes, it’s beautiful, and it belongs to you. You could be a lot more than what they see. You could be even more beautiful than Myungsoo. You want to be noticed for being a handsome king, don’t you? All you have to do is find the other parts, and all the beauty that has been withheld from you will be yours. All yours.

Myungsoo’s eyes snapped open. He bolted up and grabbed his robe. He slipped it on as he went out of his room and went in the direction of the king’s quarters. He had heard a malicious cackle across the corridor, or maybe it was just his mind that was convinced something terrible is going to happen that night.

When he arrived at the doorstep, he tried turning the knob, but it was locked. He tried knocking and calling Sunggyu’s name, but nothing happened. Nobody came to the door. Myungsoo knew it was rude to listen through doors or peep through keyholes, but this had to count for an emergency. He peered through the keyhole first, but the scope of his vision through the tiny slit was so little that he didn’t even see Sunggyu. So he pressed his ear against the cold wood and listened intently instead. He heard a voice—Sunggyu’s—and it seemed to be talking to something, but he could hear nothing else. No other voice.

“Yes, I shall find them. But where…”

He paused. Myungsoo held his breath.

“That’s right. Myungsoo… I have to get him out of the way… Then I will find the others…”

Myungsoo breath hitched. He peeped quickly through the keyhole again, only to see Sunggyu charging towards the door. He stepped back a moment too late and the door was pushed against him. He fell on the cold marble floor. He looked up and saw Sunggyu staring him down, but something about him was different. Then he noticed it: Sunggyu’s eyes were as dark as midnight.

“S-Sunggyu… What happened to you?” asked Myungsoo.

Sunggyu’s head twitched, his eyes turning brown for a second, then turned black again.

“You… Myungsoo… Must… Kill…”

Myungsoo scrambled backward and on his feet. “What are you talking about? What is going on?”

Sunggyu didn’t answer and turned to a skeleton armor. There were about five of them lining the walls of the corridor. Sunggyu reached out and took the rusty sword from the armor and pointed it at Myungsoo.

“Sunggyu! Are you going to kill me?! Sunggyu, stop!”

“How dare you order a king?” Sunggyu roared. He slashed a big arc toward Myungsoo.

Thanks to his quick reflexes, Myungsoo managed to avoid the blow and grab a sword of his own.

“Sunggyu, I don’t want to fight you!” said Myungsoo.

Again his statement was ignored. Sunggyu advanced toward Myungsoo and started a duel. Myungsoo had no choice but to defend himself. Sunggyu used offense, while Myungsoo remained on defense, not wanting to hurt his brother. All the while, Myungsoo tried talking some sense into Sunggyu, trying to bring him back. Something evil was at work here, and it has succeeded in taking control over Sunggyu.

They fought went on without any sign of succumbing from either man. Myungsoo didn’t want to hurt Sunggyu, which puts him in a rather difficult position, since the older one was more trained with the sword than he was. Their duel took them farther down the hall, until they were out on the balcony. And Myungsoo’s back was to the ledge. One false move could have him tipping over.

Then suddenly, Sunggyu executed a calculated move. Myungsoo’s sword was thrown from his hand, and Sunggyu’s own blade was pointing at his throat. It was like the world stopped. Sunggyu was panting. Myungsoo was frozen, held by the mercy of Sunggyu’s sword.

“S-Sunggyu…” whispered Myungsoo hoarsely.

Sunggyu pressed the blade closer to Myungsoo’s skin. Myungsoo could feel the cold death-inducing blade pressing on his neck, ready to slash it open. Sunggyu’s breathing was uneven; Myungsoo could hear rage and anger, but also a tiny bit of distress. That gave Myungsoo hope. Somewhere in there, Sunggyu was fighting whatever evil force was controlling him from the inside. Myungsoo also noticed the fast switches of his eye colors: from brown to black to brown again.

“Sunggyu! Listen to me! I know you’re in there!” said Myungsoo loudly, which was quite valiant of him, since he was held at blade’s mercy.

The sword faltered. Sunggyu’s whole arm was vibrating. Slowly, the sword left Myungsoo’s neck. The prince took this chance and dodged out of the way. He picked up his fallen sword and brandished it, just for defense. Not that he needed it.

Sunggyu was shaking uncontrollably now. He crouched on the ground, and he has let go of his sword. His trembling hands were clutching his head as if it would come off if he let go of it. He was mumbling things to himself, like stop and not Myungsoo and finally, he grasped his sword again. Myungsoo felt himself go cold.

But instead of going after Myungsoo, Sunggyu slashed at the air blindly, trying to hit an invisible enemy. Myungsoo stepped back a few steps to avoid getting hit. He dared not call his brother again; he might just put himself in danger.

Just then, Sunggyu stopped attacking space. He turned to Myungsoo, his eyes dark. As he took a step, the eyes changed to brown, and he stopped moving again. Sunggyu looked up at Myungsoo with the warm brown eyes that used to look at him with love every day.

“Myungsoo…” Sunggyu whispered hoarsely. “Run.”

But Myungsoo, who was too stunned to process what Sunggyu told him, just stood there as if he’d turned to stone.

Then, as if it didn’t already, all hell broke loose.

Sunggyu let out a terrible yell. He gripped the sword tightly and drove it to his chest without hesitation, screaming, “Get out of me!”

Myungsoo’s jaw dropped as he watched his brother bury his sword deep into his torso. From the bloody hole a black entity burst forth. It hovered in the air, as if looking for a new host. Myungsoo dropped his sword and gaped at it, before realizing that he had to run. The black entity chased after him, down the stairs, through the halls, past the doors. It finally cornered him inside the dining hall.

Myungsoo looked around frantically for an exit. All the other doors were locked, and his only escape was behind the black thing. It hovered above him for a moment, before surging forward and forcing itself down the prince’s gullet. Myungsoo gagged and clawed at his throat; he felt that he was choking and he gasped for air. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped fighting. He looked up, his eyes became black as midnight, just how Sunggyu’s had been. The evil voice that drove Sunggyu to kill himself spoke to him.

There is no one against you now. Rule this land, for you are fit to be king, because you are the most beautiful thing that has ever lived.

The shard of the cursed mirror appeared magically around Myungsoo’s neck. It was bound by a golden chord, and when he looked into it, Myungsoo saw a perfect eye, perfect lips, and a perfect face. Even the so-called perfect one is not spared from his own insecurities.

The royal brothers never got to see the light of dawn ever again. And Sunggyu’s death had been in vain.