The Thirtieth Stanza - 관습도감 (Royal Stanza)
Read from the beginning.
NOTE: AN ENGLISH-KOREAN GLOSSARY HAS BEEN PROVIDED FOR REFERENCE AT THE END OF THE ENTRY, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL READING.
-THE TWENTY-SIXTH STANZA-
Hyun paused at the top of the hill to let her horse catch its breath.
From the top, she could see a clear view of the surrounding city; to her left, the ocean curved its way around the gently swirling spit of sand and towards the jagged formations of rocks that, Yonghwa had told her, were formed millennia ago by the heavenly spirits that first set foot upon the Korean Peninsula.
She grimaced as she shifted her seat in the saddle. After a night’s worth of riding, they were becoming…sore. To say the least.
“Okay.” She said to herself. “I’ve covered that part of the city…” She frowned towards the more populated southwestern part of Busan. “That leaves the northwest.” She turned her gaze a couple degrees to the right, and let out an automatic sigh.
The view was dominated by single-room, squat shanties that were either in disrepair or on the verge of collapse; it was clear that it wasn’t one of the more affluent areas of Busan. The paved roads had fractured long ago, and the alleyways stuck out at haphazard angles.
Hyun leaned forward on her horse resignedly. “You can do this, Seo Hyun.”
She spurred the horse forward. It started heading down into the city at a brisk trot.
---
Yonghwa knelt to the ground and examined the floorboards.
He hated to admit it to himself, but he was secretly looking for it. For the human-shaped discolored patch on the ground.
When he didn’t find any of the suspicious spots he was looking for, he felt slightly relieved - and also somewhat ashamed of himself.
Although the walls had long rotted away - all that was left was a couple of posts sticking up from the gray ground like lone flagpoles in the middle of a desert - he could still make out the outlines of the general shape of the building. It was exactly as he had remembered it…
---
Five Years Ago
“Yonghwa!”
His mother gestured to him as he approached his house. The thatched roof had recently been replaced - the outcome of two days’ worth of hard work on his part - and it sparkled in the Busan sunlight. He gave his dog a quick pat on the head before answering his mother. “What?”
“Do you know when your father will be back today?”
Yonghwa’s heart sank. Of course. “He’ll be back early today, I think.”
He watched as her face fell slightly. “Oh, I see.” She sighed and cleared her throat. “Go inside and get cleaned up, why don’t you?”
Trudging inside, he glanced behind him at his mother’s profile.
---
Sooyoung jolted awake.
Jonghyun sat across from her, glaring at her as if she would vanish at any second.
She bristled under his gaze. “What?”
His bloodshot eyes flickered for the slightest moment before resuming their steely stare.
“You haven’t slept, have you?”
“I can’t sleep.”
Sooyoung found herself in the awkward situation of trying to comfort her kidnapper. The irony would’ve been hilarious, if she had been able to appreciate it. Unfortunately, she was not.
“Why not?” She asked.
She noticed that he seemed to calm down a little whenever she spoke to him. Well. Better keep talking to him, then.
He ignored the water-soaked rubble on the ground and took a seat. Meanwhile, she was using all of her energy to prop her butt against the wall and not ruin her jeogori.
Now, he pointed a slightly trembling finger at her. “You don’t have a right to say anything.”
She stuck up her chin. “It was you who ended it. It was your fault. You knew what was going to happen, and you did it anyway. Did you really think I could just…let it go?”
He didn’t seem to be paying attention. “You still have your accent.” He muttered before standing up and walking around in circles again. Actually, it was more of an oval shape.
Sooyoung felt a slight dampness in her eyes as she watched Jonghyun return to his former, slightly neurotic self.
---
Five Years Ago
Sooyoung clutched a cape around her as the cold night air blew around her. She was waiting for someone; finally, she spied a figure running full-pelt down the street. She stood where she was, waiting for him to come to her.
He was out of breath. She waited until he could have a chance to breathe for a while, then asked impatiently. “Why did you bring me out here?”
Jonghyun looked up at her with a mixture of fear and disbelief. “Did you know??”
“Know what?”
“About him! And his family!”
Sooyoung let out an invisible sigh. “What are you talking about?” She said, knowing full well what his response would be.
“His mother.” He stressed. “She - she - ” He raked a hand through his hair, his usually calm visage contorted into a ball of anger. “How dare he - ”
She attempted to calm him down, and shook him firmly on the shoulder. “I know. I know.”
He stopped short. “You - knew?” He said incredulously. “How - ”
“He told me.”
Jonghyun looked like all the strength had suddenly vanished from his legs. “Did he?” He leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. The first sliver of the moon peeked above the rooftops.
Sooyoung looked him over carefully. “Please don’t tell him that you know.”
“I wasn’t planning on telling him.” He muttered darkly.
“And don’t do anything stupid.”
He shot her a glance filled with determination. “That depends on one’s definition of stupid.” He held up a warning finger. “I promise you, if he does know, and doesn’t do anything about it, then who’s the evil one here? Answer that for me.”
“He’s scared, Jonghyun. Think of how he feels, having to live with that.”
“He didn’t do anything! He just stands there, and just - lets her go on with what she’s doing! It’s ridiculous!” Pacing in front of her, he took out his anger on a small pebble. They both watched it roll down the street and out of sight.
Sooyoung put a finger on his chest. “I trust Yonghwa. You should too.”
“To hell with…”
She cut in abruptly. “No, to hell with you. Can’t you see that he’s just trying to do what he thinks is right? And you were planning to go to him and shout in his face, weren’t you?”
“No.” There was genuine surprise in his voice. “I don’t want to talk to him any more than I have to.”
Sooyoung narrowed her eyes. “Stay out of his way. Got it?”
---
This was it, Yonghwa thought.
He unsteadily climbed through the ruins, coughing slightly at the remnants of the ash that still littered the ground. It was a testament to the strength of the fire that took out an entire city block.
Moving aside a crumbling wooden beam that fragmented into dozens of pieces at the touch, he realized he remembered this room.
Yes, this was where she had -
---
Six Years Ago
Yonghwa heard whispers.
Normally, whispers wouldn’t have been a strange occurrence in itself; her and his father often stayed up late, talking over family matters.
However, his father was not here today.
His curiosity piqued, he quietly stood up, slowly pushing his blankets aside and standing up on the ondol, which was thankfully not turned on today - otherwise, his feet would’ve stuck to the stones.
Creeping out into the hallway, he heard slightly - but only slightly - raised voices coming from his parents’ room.
He recognized his mother’s voice, and…someone else. They were talking urgently about something; he assumed it was a grown-up matter, and was just about to return to bed when -
“ - pregnant - ”
Yonghwa froze, his eyes widening.
“What??” An unfamiliar man’s voice rang out from within the room.
“Shhh.” Her voice was soothing. “He’s sleeping.”
“This is ridiculous…impossible…”
“What are we going to - ”
---
Yonghwa breathed in deeply. Even this far inland, there was still a tinge of the calming ocean smell.
It was comforting, in a way - that he now knew that his memories were behind him. They weren’t the horrible nightmares he had imagined them to be.
His memories, locked inside that secret dark room within the recesses his mind, sensed this weakness in his defenses, and resumed their fervent struggling.
Yonghwa smiled nostalgically. After all, even bad memories constituted nostalgia.
---
Five Years Ago
Jonghyun laughed maniacally. “I did it. I did it. I did it!”
Sooyoung looked at him perplexedly. “Did what?”
He triumphantly raised the blackened match in the air. “This.”
She took the burnt match, and stared at him, confused.
Jonghyun sighed dramatically. “One less bad person in the world.” He smiled into the sky, quite pleased with himself.
It took a second for the words to sink in, then -
He watched as Sooyoung sprinted down the street, then at the match she had thrown onto the ground.
Picking it up gently, he brushed the dirt off carefully. “You, my friend.” He said, holding it up to eye level. “Are a savior.”
---
Sooyoung sighed tiredly. “What’s the point of keeping me here?”
Jonghyun turned around from examining a miniscule crack in the walls. “The point?” He laughed. “The point, my dear Lizzy, is that I’m having just too much fun.”
She narrowed her eyes as Jonghyun opened the rucksack again. “Where are you, my lovely…” He rummaged around, pulling out some odds and ends. “Ahh, there you are.” He used both hands to scoop out something she couldn’t see. “Remember this?” A sly, slightly crooked smile drew over his lips as he dangled the object in front of her eyes.
Squinting, Sooyoung looked closer at the small, flat stick. She gasped as she recognized what it was; a sudden flash of red came over her line of vision as she struggled against the ropes again.
Jonghyun laughed, delighted in her reaction. “I thought you might remember.” He sighed nostalgically. “Oh, how angry you were then…”
---
Five Years Ago
Jonghyun frowned slightly as Sooyoung, her face black with soot, came into his shack, her eyes swimming with tears. He had been in the middle of practicing his haegeum.
“How. Dare. You.”
He merely smiled.
“How. Dare. You!”
“It was…for the greater good.”
“For the what?” She shrieked. “She’s dead!”
“Exactly.”
“Are - you - insane??”
“I prefer to think of myself as the only one that’s sane.”
Sooyoung held up a hand to slap him, then thought better of it. “You killed her.”
“Not me. The fire did.”
He could see her clenching her fists, and made a mental note to keep the high ground.
“You’d be disappointed to know that Yonghwa’s alive. Thankfully.”
“I’m not disappointed. He was merely…misguided.”
“Good god, you sound like one of those religious zealots from China.” She grunted disgustedly, and made to leave.
“Would you care for lunch?”
“I’m going to check on Yonghwa. You enjoy your lunch. Must taste good, wouldn’t it?”
---
Sooyoung shrieked a loud piercing wail that made the walls shake, and held her hands to her ears. “You were such a fool back then.” She said, with a hint of sadness. “You’re still a fool.” She looked up at him. “Just with the added benefit of…being psychotic.”
“Psychotic?” He looked amused to hear it. “I’ve heard worse.”
---
Five Years Ago
“You stupid, filthy, imbecilic, sorry excuse for a human, piece of garbage!”
Yonghwa knocked him down to the ground and proceeded to punch him in the face, and it was only when Sooyoung started to look slightly pained that he stopped and left him coughing on the ground, blood seeping out of his mouth.
He left him on the ground and pulled Lizzy away, walking at a brisk pace down to the beach.
She watched his face, the slight bruises he had sustained from the fire finally starting to heal - but she knew it didn’t cover the bruises that she couldn’t see.
She wasn’t surprised to hear his next words.
“I’m leaving, Lizzy.”
“Where will you go?” Tears welled in her eyes as she watched her friend doodle on the sand with a stick.
“My father’s taken a post in Seoul. We’ll go there.”
“Will you be all right?”
“I’ll be just fine.” He said, avoiding her eyes.
“What about your - ”
“She’ll be just fine!” He threw a fistful of sand toward the ocean. The seagulls scattered, cawing in protest. “Just fine!”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Yes, it was! It was my fault that she - ”
“Don’t talk about it.” She advised.
Yonghwa turned around, fury in his eyes. “You don’t understand.” He accused. “No one does. No one realizes what I did. So - ”
She kissed him.
He felt her lips gently touch his, and all of his anger ebbed away.
She let go hesitantly, carefully, then took a step back.
“I’m sorry.” He said, his eyes downcast. “I’m sorry.”
She hugged him fiercely. “Goodbye, Jung Yong.”
The tears started to flow. “Goodbye, Lizzy.” He squeezed his eyes shut, willing for the hot tears to stop.
It tickled where her lips had touched his. He ran a hand along his mouth, letting the sensation fade away.
“Don’t worry about here. I’ll do the best I can.” She assured him.
“What will happen? People will start calling you a bookworm again.”
She shrugged. “I’ll manage.”
Yonghwa turned away, his footsteps heavy. “I’ll never forget you.” He promised.
Lizzy watched him walk around the corner, the red sunset illuminating the ocean behind his back.
---
Hyun heard a distant shriek come from the industrial area.
“Yonghwa!” She yelled.
There was no response. She tried again, but was met with another wall of silence.
“Could be worth checking out.” She said to herself.
She hoped Yonghwa would be all right. And Sooyoung, of course.
Her, too.
---
Glossary
관습도감: A government institution founded in the waning days of the Koryeo Dynasty and re-established by King Sejong, which focused on the musical arts. It supplied all music for royal use, including Royal Musicians, royal concerts, and parties, and trained its own in-house musicians, for which the competition was fierce.
Haegeum: a two-stringed instrument that was balanced on the knee and played sitting down with a bow. There also exists a five-stringed variant.
Jeogori: a traditional blouse worn by Korean women, as a part of hanbok.
Ondol: a flooring made of various heat-conducting stones. A fire would be built underneath it, warming the stones and creating a heated surface to sleep on. Today, most ondols are electrified.
---
Related Readings
No related readings for today.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The big 3-0. Whoo. Much thanks to everyone that's stuck with the story so far.