It was a pleasantly refreshing morning the palace. The scent of the spring wind blew softly, tickling every people's nostrils. Waking up from a deep sleep, the King seemed like he could not muster enough strength to get up. His legs numbed, and his feet felt like nailed to his bed. When his last memory about the endless-like search for his son and wretched brother, he finally got back to his senses. Wiggling his toes, he tried to move his body. Wearing his white silk night robe, he stood up from his bed and went out of his chambers to confront the Prime Minister. He did not give a single care to the court ladies and palace officials who were whispering at the corners, casting stolen deriding looks at him. Upon striding down the palace grounds, he noticed two young boys, around the age of ten, running. He paused and looked at them.
"Hyungnim, come on! We are going to be late. Our father would be furious."
"Sae Yoo, wait!"
The King's eyes widened in shock upon hearing the name, "What?"
At that moment, he realized that he was in another dimension. He could be dreaming, or worse, he could be dead. It was an act to deceive him, or perhaps to console him; to help him accept the fact that his beloved son was gone.
"What is that?" the boy in a red, royal durumagi cloak scratch his head in annoyance.
"Come over here. Our father is already here. Pay your respects," the other boy, who could be his older son, Sae Joo said.
Unknowingly, tears flowed down Jae Joong's eyes. It never stopped, like waterfalls filling water into the river. The two boys walked towards him. They genuflected, hanging their heads in a bow.
"Father," the two said in unison.
Jae Joong's heart melted upon hearing the word, 'father'. He crouched down and hugged the two boys tightly. It was one of the best moments of his life. No words could explain how much he wanted to plead for the hands of time to stop ticking. It felt so real, surreal in fact. Letting go, the two boys looked at him with confused faces.
"Why are you crying?"
Wiping his tears, he smiled at them. "It is nothing. I am just extremely happy."
"Me too, Father," Sae Yoo uttered.
He caressed their faces, staring at them for a couple of seconds, "Sae Joo, Sae Yoo... my sons, my beloved sons. I want to stay here and be with you forever."
Sae Yoo shook his head. "No, Father. You should come back."
The King shook his head in return. "No, I do not want to." Looking straight to his father's gloomy eyes, Sae Yoo held Jae Joong's hands and pleaded.
"Please save me."
~~•~~
The King's eyelids moved skywards, opening his eyes. His body was motionless. The only thing that motioned was his eyes, which darted around the room, scanning it entirely. He was not dead. It was a dream—a dream he had hoped not to finish. He wanted to stay in that deceitful realm, caring for nothing but his family. However, as he remembered the last words of his son in his dream, he had a new purpose in life: He shall save him at all cost, and make sure that his identity would remain a secret in this lifetime. What was the purpose of being a ruler, protecting the whole kingdom if he could not protect or save his own blood and flesh?
"Sire, are you awake?" a familiar voice asked.
Squinting his eyes, he turned his head left, recognizing Dae Wong who was sitting before him. He had been in the King's room, monitoring any progress for two days. Getting up from his bed, Jae Joong was assisted by Dae Wong. The minister gave him a cup of water. Leaning against the wooden railings of his bed, the weak king drank the water, gulping it all the way up until its last drop. The feeling was very refreshing. That small amount of water felt like a thousand liters, drenching down his dry throat.
"What? Two days? Have I been asleep for that long? That is ridiculous."
"I beg to disagree, Sire. Yes, I was telling the truth. You have been unconscious for two... long days."
Gaping in surprise, the King asked all the things that happened on that span of time. The minister reported everything, starting with the Queen's funeral. In his absence, the council had decided to have the funeral for just a day. Just like what happened at the eclipse ceremony, a lot of people from different parts of the kingdom went to the palace to mourn for the Queen, and to see her last moments.
The King was practically speechless. His swollen eyes were the epitome of true victims of tears for the past days. Crying became too tiresome for him. Thus, no tears came out from his weary eyes. Indeed, this was another heartbreak for him. He would not be able to see his wife's face in this lifetime. An extreme sense of guilt and regret stabbed his heart a thousand times. His last moment with his wife had been very chaotic—full of arguments and trust issues. But out of nowhere, his thought shifted to something that the minister said a while ago. "Wait, what? The council? Did you mean you... conducted a council meeting without the Prime Minister?
Clearing his throat, Dae Wong dipped his head in a sheepish bow. "That was the thing I forgot to say, Sire. The Prime Minister had returned to the palace the next morning after you passed out."
Surprised with what the minister said, he gathered his strength and rose from his bed, walking wobbly to the door.
"Let us talk later."
"Sire, where are you going?"
"Jung Ho... We are not finished yet."
~~•~~
When the King had reached the Prime Minister's chambers, a lady-in-waiting notified him that the Prime Minister was having a lone tea party at a small gazebo, standing on an artificial lake with water lilies. Biting his lips in fury, Jae Joong left his brother's pavilion. He strode down the palace courtyard until he had reached wooden bridge going to the gazebo. Upon standing at the far end of the bridge opposite his brother's location, he saw the Prime Minister sipping his tea while being attended by court ladies, some palace guards and hwarangs guarding him on the vicinity.
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Jae Joong paused. "Prime Minister," he firmly said, his voice was a bit raised.
All of Jung Ho's retinues bowed their heads. Jae Joong sauntered, calming his nerves until he reached the façade of the gazebo.
"Good morning, Sire. Have a seat," the Prime Minister greeted, smiling at him. With a short, cold glance, the King sat down on a vacant chair in front of the Prime Minister. A heavy sigh discharged from Jae Joong's lips. "You look incredibly fine. Looking at you, I guess you did not acquire any fractures aside from those bruises on your face."
"Leave us!" Jung Ho ordered his retinues.
When all of them had left, the King stood. He slammed the table and grabbed the Prime Minister by his collar. "You evil, where is my son?"
The Prime Minister sneered, his lips sculptured into a wry half-smile. "Curious? How am I going to speak properly if you are grabbing my collar?" The King released his brother's collar, and the Prime Minister fixed his lapis durumagi cloak. Jae Joong placed his hands on his waist, breathing heavily. "Speak." his eyes glared fiercely.
"Prince Sae Yoo... is dead."
"No! I do not believe you," Jae Joong shook his head, his eyes expanded and his nostrils flared.
He continued, "He is not dead; you are just hiding him somewhere. Where? Tell me!" he snapped out.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Your son is better off dead. This is for the good of the royal family. This is for the peace of the entire kingdom. I know what you were planning. You wanted to keep the son's identity and banish him away from the palace," Jung Ho said.
Jae Joong did not respond, his glaring eyes anchoring Jung Ho's.
Jung Ho continued, "That is extremely preposterous! What if he grows up, looks for his family, and with fate's trick, finds himself in the palace? When that happens, it would be in no time before he finds out his true identity, and soon, our people will find out too. When they discover that you have a hidden twin, they will rebel against you. Is that really what you want?"
Jae Joong's face became dreadfully pale. His breath heaved to his chest. It took a few awkward seconds before he was able to respond. "I know! I know! But, killing my poor son was not the best option. I had ordered the Head Nurse to keep my son because her family would move to..." The King was not able to finish his sentence, for he remembered the sudden disappearance of the Head Nurse who had been bounded to meet her family.
"Right. We were at the foot of Ojin Hill that night. The Head Nurse must have gotten there to wait for her family. I know you were not there to get some fresh air. Drop the act. Tell me. What... did you do... to her?"
Jung Ho smirked and sipped his tea. "I am not sure." He leaned his elbow on the table and rubbed his chin, looking upward. He continued, "I also wonder where they are."
"Stop fooling around!"
Pursing his lips into a fine thin line, the Prime Minister stared intently to the King, conveying his displeasure. "What are you going to do now? Punish me? Kill me? Go ahead, Sire. You know the fact that doing those things would not bring your dead son back to life."
Digging his nails into his pale palms, the King rolled his trembling hands into a ball of a fist. The Heavens knew how he badly wanted to maul, maim, or even kill his brother. Jae Joong was probably not in his best state of mind, for thinking of those horrendous, morally-questionable thoughts. He tried to console his burning ego, hungry for vengeance. Luckily, he was able to compose himself. The fear and inferiority towards his brother slowly disappeared into the thin air as he contemplated. There was a voice in his head, saying that this fight should not end this way. The claws of death would be extremely disgusted to touch even one strand of his diabolic brother's hair. He has had enough.
"Jung Ho, you should not die. You should bleed until your veins become dry like a desert. Killing you would be a waste of time. It may not be on my era, but you wait; someone would have enough strength more than mine to rip you apart into pieces," Jae Joong thought, staring and cursing at his brother.
"No, I will not punish nor kill you. You are right. Sae Yoo will not rise up from the dead," Jae Joong said.
The Prime Minister stood and walked towards the King. Smiling, he tapped the King's shoulder. "Hyungnim, believe me. This is for the better." He hugged his older brother tightly like what they had used to do all those years back.
"Right. For the better." Jae Joong's eyes were in full contempt.
~~•~~
Leaving the gazebo, the King, with some palace guards and hwarangs descended down the underground dungeon. He ambled towards the torch-lit dungeon and stopped at Chil Yook's cell—a large wooden-barred cell filled with hay beds. He noticed the new Chil Yook, who seemed to be a complete stranger for him, sleeping—his huge eye bags hanging low, lips as dry as a desert, hair was undone tangling messily past his shoulders.
"Chil Yook," Jae Joong called out. The scruffy prisoner woke up, and he sat up.
Jae Joong continued, "This will serve as your final warning. You know for the fact that there are concrete shreds of evidence which point you in killing those helpless hwarangs in Daeya."
Chil Yook did not respond, but his bloodshot eyes were fastening the King's.
Jae Joong resumed, "There will be a public trial tomorrow regarding your heresy and treason. With the witnesses and pieces of evidence pointing towards you, the trial will not even last half an hour, for you will be punished readily... But I would like to give you an offer."
Chil Yook's eyes were alerted. "Offer?" he uttered.
"Yes. Your punishment would not be as heavy as death if you confess that all those things that you had done were ordered by the Prime Minister, which is true. Is it not?"
Chil Yook raised a brow. He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Forget it, Sire. You can slay me if you want since I was the one who killed those hwarangs. The Prime Minister has nothing to do with what I did. I did that because I wanted too."
"You knave! Fine. Do whatever you want. Do you expect the Prime Minister would save you? You are his henchman so I assume that you are the one who knows his character the most. Quit dreaming. He will not move even a hair just to save you, knowing that his position might be at risk... That is the type of person your master is." Jae Joong glowered, and then he left.
~~•~~
Striding down the palace courtyard, Lady Min's heart pounded erratically as she recalled what she had seen in the palace's bulletin boards minutes ago. She headed to the Pavilion of Intelligence, a big pavilion where the royal library was located. It was a huge room filled with different dividers organized from left to right, based on eras. Different types of publications could be seen inside such as War Tactics, Principles of Buddhism, Calendars, Anecdotes of the Past Rulers, and the most important—the yearly historical records of the kingdom. Only Seonggols and first rank Jingols were allowed to visit the royal library in order to maintain the confidentiality of the records. Disregarding the guards' presence outside the library, Lady Min pushed the door and stormed inside. She saw the Prime Minister sitting on the table, reading a book she did not know.
The Prime Minister threw a short glare, then he smirked. "Lady Min, make sure that whatever you would be saying is important, worth the waste of my time." Lady Jang strode, moving closer to the Prime Minister.
"My Lord, it is bad news. I saw on the bulletin board that there would be a public trial tomorrow regarding the case of Chil Yook and Lady Jang."
Jung Ho's eyes grew large, and his eyebrows rendezvoused in a frown. "What?" he hissed.
Lady Min's eyes narrowed upon seeing the Prime Minister's reaction. She even doubted the authenticity of the time and world she was in and even her master in front of her. "Is he really shocked? This is incredible. I think it is the first time I saw him like this. What a strange sight." Lady Min thought.
Clenching his ball of a fist, Jung Ho sat up straight. His eyes dwindled as he schemed about something. Turning his head to Lady Min, he smiled.
"Right. Chil Yook and Lady Jang must die."
__________
NOTES:
Hyungnim (형님) - a Korean honorific term used by males to address their older brothers or any other older males.
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