Across the Centuries - A Soonjung short story
Title: Across the Centuries
Pairing: Lee Soon x Jang Okjung
Rating: PG15
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Oh also, though historical figures are mentioned in this work, the events in this story are pure, unadulterated fiction.
Warning(s): None really. Maybe some strong language.
Summary: 300 hundred years after Lee Soon loses the great love of his life to an unjust death, they meet again. Only now, he is no longer the king and she is no longer history’s greatest femme fatale.
[Written because I am incredibly angry with the ending of the drama. I feel jilted after I spent all that time watching and waiting for a HAPPY ending. -___-”]
The 10th day of the 10th lunar month
Joseon, 1701
In the moments following Okjung’s death, Soon refused to move. He sank to the ground, still cradling her lifeless body in his arms, and he wept openly for his lost love. Over and over again he murmured her name into the wind, wanting nothing more than for her to open her eyes so that he could apologize for his inability to protect her, despite his many promises.
Behind him, Hyunmoo, Prince Dongpyung, and Lady Eom wept openly for the departed soul of Jang Heebin. But to them, she had been more than just Jang Heebin, a high ranking member of the internal court. She had been Jang Okjung, a beloved friend and comrade, and now she had left them. And so all parties wept. They wept for the man who had lost the only woman he had ever loved, for the young prince who would grow up without ever getting to know his mother, and for the woman who had died a wrongful death to protect the people she loved.
Thus, for a what felt like hours thereafter, time stood still as they mourned the loss of the woman who had lived and died for love. And off in the distance, Choi Sukbin hovered near the entrance of Chwiseondang, watching fearfully as the king openly wept over the body of the woman she had driven into the arms of death, realizing only in that moment the gravity of her actions and the imminent death that awaited her when he found out.
When day finally began to fade into night, Prince Dongpyung approached his still weeping nephew and placed a comforting hand on his slumped shoulder. “Your majesty, it’s time. Let Lady Hong take Heebin inside and dress her for her final journey.”
Soon shook his uncle’s hand off and stood with Okjung’s limp form in his arms. “No. Even though I could not protect her, I’m going to dress her and send her off by my own hands. Everyone else return to the main palace and prepare for the ceremony tomorrow.”
Everyone watched in stunned silence as Soon carried his lost love back into the home he had built for her on the broken promise of living a long life together with many beautiful children, tears streaming down his face at the thought that it would be the last time he would ever enter Chwiseondang with his beloved Okjung.
And so, on a crisp Autumn afternoon, on the 11th day of the 10th lunar month in the year 1701, dressed in her finest gown and with her beloved by her side, Jang Okjung was laid to rest.
312 years later
Seoul, 2013
Some three hundred years later, in the metropolitan city of modern-day Seoul, Lee Soon’s reincarnated soul sat behind a large mahogany desk in his office on the top floor of his family’s cosmetics company. Even in this lifetime, he had retained the name give to him centuries earlier and the memories of his past life still floated around in his mind, reminding him that somewhere in the world was his beloved’s reincarnated soul.
In this life, Lee Soon was the 26-year-old CEO of JK Cosmetics, known for his cold demeanor towards the general population. Even as potential new interns filtered in and out of his office, he paid minimal attention to them, asking only a few basic questions before dismissing the hopefuls with a wave of his hand. Until a familiar, gentle voice floated into his ears.
“Hello. My name is Jang Okjung and I’m 25 years old. Please take care of me!” Even 300 years later, Soon still knew that flowery voice better than anyone and he looked up from his papers in shock.
Sure enough, standing before him dressed in a plain black dress suit with her dark hair pulled back into a tight braid was the love he thought he had lost forever. A bright smile pulled at his lips despite the tears welling up in his eyes. Even after three centuries, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
He knew that there was no way she could possibly remember her life as a royal consort, but even so, he didn’t care. He had found her reincarnated soul and this time, he was never going to let her go. No matter what, he was going to live and die for her, just as she had done for him all those years ago.
“I’ve finally found you... Jang Okjung.”