"Hyung!"
Prince Wulsung paused in his steps when he heard someone call out to him. He turned around and looked in the direction the from which the voice had called. He found the owner of the voice standing across the lake, accompanied by his long line of entourage of maids and eunuchs. It was his brother, the crown prince Lee Hwon. Prince Lee Hwon waited patiently until his brother's eyes fell on him, then he put his hands up and waved vigorously at prince Wulsung with a big smile on his face. Then on a second thought, he gestured at prince Wulsung to remain where he was standing, while mouthing the words. Then he hurriedly walked across the bridge to get to him. Prince Wulsung watched prince Lee Hwon walking across the bridge, and his entourage swiftly following behind him like a long tail. Prince Wulsung could tell from the big smile on prince Lee Hwon's face and by the way he walked that he was excited to see him. It had been a long time since they last saw eye to eye, even though they both lived within the palace. Their quarters weren't so far apart, and yet, they barely ever got to see each other. It had been that way ever since prince Lee Hwon became the crown prince. Prince Lee Hwon was never really available as he always had things to attend to. While prince Wulsung had plenty of time on his hands, which was one of the reasons why he was always wandering beyond the walls of the palace. In the past, he spent most of his time with prince Lee Hwon, the two of them were literally inseparable. But after Lee Hwon was appointed the crown prince, things had changed and the two of them had grown apart.
"Hyung." Prince Lee Hwon called again, smiling broadly as he came to stand in front of prince Wulsung. His entourage stopped a few paces behind, but his personal bodyguard followed him, standing just behind him.
"Your highness." Prince Wulsung bowed.
"Oh, please brother. Don't be like that." Prince Lee Hwon protested. "You are my big brother and my closest friend. Please, do not be like that to me." He said. The age difference between the two of them was no more than a month, but prince Lee Hwon would not stop addressing prince Wulsung as his big brother, even though the later believed that Lee Hwon acted way more mature than he.
Prince Wulsung sighed inwardly as he smiled back at prince Lee Hwon. The crown prince looked sound and healthy, but he was slightly unrecognizable to Wulsung's eyes. It wasn't just his garment that had changed, his entire personality too had changed.
Prince Lee Hwon had always taken his duties seriously, even as an ordinary prince. He had always been obsessed with doing the right thing and would not do anything that was not expected of a royal born, like wandering around the streets of the capital in disguise. Prince Wulsung had suggested it on several occasions when they were both still very close, but prince Lee Hwon would not do it. It didn't stop prince Wulsung from going, but then he had gone in secret all that time, because he did everything with Lee Hwon, and the later would have felt betrayed if he knew that Wulsung did things without him. Prince Lee Hwon had always been inflexible and a fervent follower of of the confucian laws, but even then, he used to have a more bubbly personality. He used to smile easily and when he was around prince Wulsung, he was carefree. But since he had been appointed to the place of the crown prince after the passing of his elder brother, the formal crown prince, prince Lee Hwon lost his bubbly personality, and he rarely had any reasons to smile, as prince Wulsung had observed from afar. Maybe, it was because he still missed his senior brother, or maybe it was because of the burden of the crown. Prince Wulsung couldn't tell. But he felt pity towards Lee Hwon. The young boy had had to mature quickly to meet up to the standards of the crown. He was constantly under criticism by the officials and even from the people who did not even know him yet.
Prince Wulsung had heard several whispers around the capital about prince Lee Hwon. Some were of the opinion that prince Lee Hwon did not deserve his place. Some thought he was a coward who was constantly hiding behind his father's strength and glory, and others thought he would be a weak king since his father shielded him so much from the reality of life, and fought all his battles for him.
Prince Wulsung could neither understand how these rumors had originated, nor could he phantom the reason why the people thought of prince Lee Hwon like that, even though they had never known him. As far as prince Wulsung was concerned, prince Lee Hwon was the very standard of perfection. He was a honest human and a gracious prince. Those were traits that he always envied about prince Lee Hwon. Prince Wulsung wished he could do something about the rumors to correct the perspectives or at least, shut the mouth of those who spread such vile rumors. But then, he couldn't do much without revealing his identity. So, he turned a deaf ear to the rumors, hoping that one day, prince Lee Hwon would become king and prove them all wrong.
"We barely ever get to see these days. How long has it been since we last met? Three years?" Prince Lee Hwon spoke excitedly, laughing at the exaggeration he had expressed. Prince Wulsung laughed too.
"I see you now and then, but it is you who is never really available." Prince Wulsung replied.
"No, hyung. It is you who is actually never really around. I hear you've been exploring the city all by yourself." Prince Lee Hwon said.
"Well, now that you are too busy to stop me, I am making good use of my chances." Prince Wulsung grinned. Prince Lee Hwon laughed aloud, then he leaned in and whispered.
"These days, I wish I could sneak off with you now and then."
"There is a problem though, my prince. If you notice, I travel in disguise. How do you plan on ditching your long tail?" Prince Wulsung whispered back.
"What long tail?" Prince Lee Hwon asked, his brows creased in confusion.
"That long tail." Prince Wulsung replied, nodding towards the long train of maids and eunuchs that lined up behind prince Lee Hwon. Lee Hwon broke into laughter when he understood prince Wulsung's point, and the later joined him. The two of them laughed out loud for a while, then an awkward silence followed after they stopped laughing.
"You are on your way to class, I see." Prince Wulsung spoke first.
"Yes." Prince Lee Hwon nodded. "And I see you are off to explore the city again." He said, gesturing at prince Wulsung's simple clothes.
"Yes." Prince Wulsung nodded. An awkward moment of silence passed.
"So, what do you do out there? Do you paint? Do you still paint these days?" Prince Lee Hwon asked.
"Yes. But today I am not going to paint. I need to get something from a merchant." Prince Wulsung replied. Another brief silence passed, then Wulsung spoke again. "Extend my warmest regards to Confucius. Tell him I am still struggling to live by his laws." He smiled. Prince Lee Hwon laughed and replied.
"You tell the city merchants that I sent my regards. And I hope they are not doing anything illegal."
"I will." Prince Wulsung laughed in response, then he bowed and began to walk away.
"Let's meet up again. Soon." Prince Lee Hwon called after him. Prince Wulsung turned around and replied.
"Sure. Let's do that."
"I would make sure to get rid of my tail by then, I promise." Prince Lee Hwon called again, and prince Wulsung laughed.
"Okay." He called back. Then he watched prince Lee Hwon and his entourage walk away before he continued on his way.
As he watched his younger brother walk away, prince Wulsung thought that maybe prince Lee Hwon had not changed very much anyway and as he continued on his way, he reminisced memories from the days before prince Lee Hwon became the crown prince. The days from before his elder brother, the formal crown prince, died. Prince Lee Hwon had always been a proper prince, maybe even more proper than his elder brother. He always had the grace of a crown prince, more upright than the rest of the king's son. And when his elder brother passed, there was no confusion that prince Lee Hwon would become the next crown prince, as he was both the only grand prince, and by far, the king's favorite son.
Prince Wulsung still held on fondly to all the memories they had made, but he knew that they could never be that close again. They were on different paths now. He felt sorry for the weight of responsibilities that prince Lee Hwon had to carry, but he knew that no one was more suiting to shoulder those responsibilities than prince Lee Hwon.
"He would make a fine king." Prince Wulsung whispered to himself as went on his way.
So Dam sulked as she made her way to the merchants' store. She had thought about her agreement with Soo Hee through the night, and she decided that she might have made a mistake agreeing to it. So, when she woke up the next day, she tried to sweet talk her way out of the pact.
"Why don't you just let it be, my lady. Instead of risking this and provoking him even more, let's find a way to gain your father's forgiveness. Then you can go to the merchants yourself." So Dam suggested.
"So Dam." Soo Hee had called with a calm but biting tone. "You remember my promise yesterday, right? I said for the rest of the year. And although you may think I am not one to keep my word, I am determined to keep it this time, just as you are determined to break yours this time."
So with that threat, So Dam set out on her way, grumpy and grumbling for most part of the journey.
On her way, So Dam got the paths mixed up and at some point, she was almost sure that she was lost. She had only been to the merchants once, and then, Soo Hee had led the way. So Dam was no good at memorizing paths, so she could not recall exactly what path they had taken. All the roads appeared both familiar and identical. She had been through the capital countless times, but these paths were foreign to her, as she mostly did not have any business here.
As So Dam stood in an alley, trying to figure out her next move, two mysterious men began to approach her. So Dam stood still, frozen with fear and her heart racing wildly. The men looked mysterious, but they didn't look like the street thugs. They looked like middle aged gentlemen, dressed in plain black clothes. They could be officers, but then they looked foreign and unaccustomed to the paths. As they drew closer, So Dam noticed that one of them had a sword on his side and seemed to be a guard to the other. Hope filled her heart as she thought that they were probably just two gentlemen, getting about their business. But even then, she remained still.
As she watched them approach, her eyes locked with one of the men's eyes, the one who wasn't wearing a sword and appeared to be the master to the other man. He looked at her questioningly and she quickly looked away, bowing her head in courtesy. They walked past her without saying a word, and So Dam heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
She looked up to watch and make sure that the men really went on their way, but just then, a young child ran into the man who was not wearing a sword, and he fell to the ground.
"I am sorry sir. I wasn't looking." The little boy apologized to the man.
"That's okay child. It was an accident." The man bent over to comfort the boy, stopping the other man, the one with a sword, who had swiftly swung into action to protect him. So Dam was right after all. They were guard and master.
From the look of things, the child looked like a street beggar and the incident did seem like an accident. But as the men let the child go and he began to walk towards So Dam, she noticed him hiding something in the sleeve of his clothes. So Dam immediately recognized the trick that the child had just pulled. It was a common stunt that criminals used to steal from unsuspecting people around the capital. The child was a thief, and he had just stolen from the men. She knew this, and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't overlook it. As the boy walked past her, So Dam grabbed him by the arm. The little boy tried to wrestle himself away, but So Dam held on to him.
"My lords!" She called out to the men who were turning to continue on their way. The men turned back around, and she waved at them. "A moment please." So Dam called out, then she dragged the protesting boy towards them. The men watched with confusion and curiosity as she approached.
"The child doesn't have to apologize again. He has been forgiven." The man without a sword said to her when she reached them.
"Well sir, I don't think he did." So Dam smiled. The men looked questioningly from her to themselves, and then back to her. "I see you are strangers to the capital, if not you should recognize this stale trick." So Dam said.
"What do you mean?" The man with a sword asked impatiently, stepping forward, but the other man held him back. Then he smiled at So Dam and asked.
"Speak child, what do you know that I do not know?"
So Dam heaved a heavy sigh of exhaustion from dragging the child who had protested and wrestled against her like an angry bull, then she answered.
"You see, first, you will have to promise me that you will forgive this child just as you have already done, even after knowing what he really did."
The man with the sword shifted impatiently, but again, the other man calmed him down. His smile was warm and sure, and his eyes looked soft even though they exuded so much authority that So Dam could not understand. She quickly looked away again.
"I promise." The gentleman said.
"Well sir, I suggest that you check for your purse. I don't think it's still there." So Dam said. The gentleman felt around his belt and skirts, then he looked up at So Dam and down at the little boy. "Gone right?" So Dam shrugged. The man smiled and nodded his head. "You see, please don't be mad at him. I believe he was hungry and that is why he stole from you. The amount of hungry people in the capital these days is appalling. It is a crisis, I tell you. So please sir, forgive the child." So Dam pleaded, then to the boy she said. "You, apologize properly and handover the purse." The boy knelt down and pulled the purse out of his sleeve.
"I am sorry sir." He apologized again.
The gentleman bent over him and patted his head, then he stooped beside the boy.
"That's okay now child. You must learn from your mistake today. No matter how bad things get, do not resort to the wrong ways of doing things. It doesn't pay." He advised the boy, then he collected the purse and pulled out two pieces of silver which he gave to the boy. "Here. Get yourself something to eat, and don't steal again." He said.
"Thank you sir!" The boy cried with gratitude and got on his feet, then he turned around to run away, but So Dam caught him by the ears, pinching it until he winced.
"You hear that? You hear the kind gentleman? The next time you steal from someone, you won't be so lucky! You will get your hands chopped off and your eyes pulled out!" So Dam warned him, then she let him go and he scurried away. So Dam turned to the gentlemen. The one without a sword was laughing. She bowed to him. "Thank you sir. You are a good person. It is a humanly virtue to forgive, but the gift of empathy comes from the high heavens. You have a heart from the heavens, my lord." She said and bowed again. The man nodded in acknowledgement. "I will be on my way then." She said, then she turned around and walked away.
When So Dam had walked away and he was sure she would not hear, Im Seok Jun leaned in and whispered.
"Your majesty, do you think she knows who you are?"
The king laughed aloud. A bubbly, cheerful laugh that resonated throughout his entire being.
"No. No, I don't think she does." He said, still laughing. "I think she is just a decent young lady who will become a dramatic mother and nag her sons into being proper gentlemen. She is so refreshing. She reminds me of my mother." The king stared fondly in the direction So Dam had gone, then he turned back to Im Seok Jun. "Are we close now?" He asked, the seriousness returning to his tone.
"Yes your majesty. It is just around the corner here!" Im Seok Jun replied, then he led the way.
They were investigating an intel linked to a case that still bothered the king. The case surrounding the death of the late king. Someone had tipped Im Seok June off that a dealer, who was suspected to have sold the poison that was used on the late king, was in the area. The dealer was still a mystery as the late consort Yoo Bin did not reveal her source. But a court lady who worked in her quarters and was also involved in the scheme, confessed that consort Yoo Bin did not purchase the poison by herself. It was sent to her from within the palace, but no one knew the true source.
Therefore, the king had been searching for a dealer who sold poisons, and this one they were investigating now happened to have disappeared from the capital just before the purge. Im Seok Jun had asked to go alone, but the king insisted on going along in disguise. And that was how they found themselves in the alley.
What they did not notice all the while was that the little boy who So Dam had arrested had companions lurking in the corners. They had sent the little boy to get the purse from.the men, and So Dam had thwarted their plan. Now, as the king and his bodyguard went on their way, the criminals grudgingly followed after So Dam.