Chapter Nine | The Royal Promise

Ryu's POV

I gently pushed myself away from Seo Yul once I calmed down and apologized. I could tell that he wanted to ask what happened but instead, he hands me a handkerchief. "Take it," he whispered softly. 

I took the handkerchief and wiped away my tears while looking at the tree across the courtyard. I realized that I was in the garden where Yul and I first saw my mother's memory from the moon bead bracelet. I mentally sighed at the old memories and looked back at Yul who was still looking at me worriedly.

"I'm okay, Yul," I said, not bothering to send him a smile.

"I didn't ask," He told me while placing his hands behind him.

I took a breath in and unfolded the handkerchief then folded it but backward. "You didn't have to. I can tell that you're holding yourself back," I pointed out simply.

Yul sighed and hesitated before asking, "Do you want to go with me to Cheonbugwan?"

I raised an eyebrow, confused. "Cheonbugwan?"

"That's right," my friend answered, "They're going to burn Naksu's body today."

The second I heard Naksu's name, I firmly looked at Yul. "I'll go with you," I said, completely putting aside my feelings for him and thoughts about the conversation I had with Cha Beom earlier.

Yul and I stood amongst the local crowd of those inside Cheonbugwan. In front of us was a huge stack of wooden logs and on top was Naksu's body. I gritted my teeth as I felt it was unfair to burn her. Naksu is still alive but her soul is in Mudeok's body. She's probably here somewhere watching as Cheonbugwan is about to burn her body. I was about to tell Yul how I feel about this but a memory showed up in front of my eyes, coming from him.

Young Yul was in his old yellow jeorogi. He was sitting on a tree branch and next to him was the same girl from Mudeok's memory the night before. The girl was giving back a familiar blue flute to Yul.

The memory ended and my breathing hitched in my throat. I finally confirmed that the girl in Yul and Mudeok's memories is really Naksu. I looked at Yul as he stared at the blue flute in his hand. My heart ached as I realized how he is feeling right now. He must be wondering if the girl he met years ago at Danhyanggok was Naksu. The girl who happens to be his first love.

I gritted my teeth and looked away from Yul. I can't think about this right now. Naksu's body is about to be burned and somewhere in the crowd, she's here. The reason why Wook was in a hurry to leave this morning was because of Mudeok. I told him that she had left Songrim the night before and didn't return back to our house and this worried him. I'm not sure if Wook found her this morning but if he hasn't then I should help him out.

"Begin," Jin Mu's voice rings out.

"Yes, my Lord!" The guards of Cheonbugwan replied.

Two mages with lit torches then stepped forward and started to light up the wooden logs. I looked away from Naksu's body and over at Jin Mu. I glared my eyes at him and remembered how he ended up being Assistant Gwanju. It was 7 years after my father passed away. 7 years after I was born that is. I heard the announcement and was on my way to Jinyowon to see Buyeon and Choyeon. I remembered how I stopped the holders of the palanquin and ran out when reaching Cheonbugwan's doors. The ceremony for the Assistant Gwanju was in place and I saw Jin Mu was about to take the sword that belonged to my father. Anger riled up in me and I ran over to the center of Cheonbugwan which is where Naksu's body is now in the present time. I shouted at Jin Mu, telling him how he doesn't deserve the role and that the sword doesn't belong to him but to my father. The guards nearby tried to take me away but before they could the King of Daeho stopped them. He walked away from Jin Mu and stood in front of me before kneeling down.

"Are you the young daughter of the late Lee Eunah?" The King asked with soft eyes and a gentle voice. I clenched my fists and nodded my head. The King smiled at me and continued, "You look just like your mother but your eyes..."

"Are like my father's," I said finishing his sentence.

That day the King promised me something that only he and I knew. The sword that he gave to Jin Mu was not my father's but a replica without the writings that were originally written on the sword. I was shocked when he told me this but soon relieved when he added that if I want my father's sword, he would like one of the moon bead bracelets that my mother used to make when she was alive. I didn't know what that was but I didn't tell the King. So a promise was made between us two. A moon bead bracelet was to be given to him and my father's sword to be given to me.

A few years later when I was 12, Maidservant Kim came into my chambers with a box. She gave it to me saying that my mother was talented in crafts and made a few of these bracelets before she passed away. I opened the box and there was this beautiful moon bead bracelet. But it was nothing ordinary. I can feel a different kind of energy surging through each one of the beads. It took me some time to figure out what it was but with Yul's help, I found out that in each bead were my mother's precious memories of her and my father.

After that, I remembered the promise between the King and me. I asked Maidservant Kim if there were others just like this bracelet that my mother owned. She told me that there were two. One that belonged to my father but that was buried with his ashes, and the other should be somewhere in my mother's old room. So I went to look for it. After hours of searching, I finally found it in an old, small yet expensive pouch. I took it out and saw a similar moon bead bracelet. But when I touched it a memory of what I believe was of my mother when she was a few years older than my age appeared. The memory was not like those of her and my father. It was gloomy and scary as I went through each one. All of them had the same feeling and the same person. A young man in expensive silk clothing was with my mother. I was confused as to who this was but all I cared about was to fulfill the promise and get my father's sword.

The next day I lied to Maidservant Kim that I was going out to see Choyeon. She wanted to come with me as she didn't trust the people outside to be near a 12-year-old but I was able to convince her for me to go alone. It wasn't hard. All I had to do was say good things about her and then talk as sweetly as possible. If I was Wook, she might have hit him a couple of times for sweet talking to her but unlike Wook, Maidservant Kim trusts me the most. After getting her permission, I left my home and went to Cheonbugwan. The last thing that the King told me when I was 7 years old was that he'll be visiting Cheonbugwan every once in a while on the 14th and 28th day of the month. And today was the 28th of February.

20 minutes later, I see a big, white horse and a few black horses coming my way. I took a step back as they stopped in front of me. Then the owner of the white horse got off and walked over to me. I recognized his jeogori and knew he was the King.

"Is that who I think it is?" He called out with a warm smile.

"Your Majesty," I replied back with a bow.

The King chuckled happily when seeing me. "Young Miss Jang, you've grown from the first time we met. May I ask why you are out here alone?" He asked gently.

I took a deep breath before raising the pouch between us. Then I answered, "I believe I found a moon bead bracelet of my mother's."

"Y-you did?" He asked to which I nodded my head.

Then the King took the pouch from me and checked the inside. He gently grabbed the bracelet out and I watched as his face went from hopefulness to curiosity to shock to sadness. 

"Your Majesty, is everything alright?" I asked, worried when seeing tears form in his eyes.

The King then forced a smile and shook his head as he placed the bracelet back inside the pouch. "Yes. It is. No need to worry, little one," he replied back before standing back up, "A promise is a promise, and since you got me what I wanted... I shall give you your father's sword."

My eyes widened and a big, bright smile appeared on my lips. When the King saw this he laughed softly and said, "I'll have someone bring your father's sword to the Jang Residence by tomorrow, little one."

I quickly bowed while saying, "I am forever grateful for your kindness, Your Majesty!"

The next day the king kept his word. Maidservant Kim was surprised and confused as to why my late father's sword was sent to our place so suddenly after 12 years. That was the day I promised myself that I'd continue my father's legacy and another reason why I chose Songrim for my training.

After going down memory lane, I saw Mudeok on the other side and noticed Wook walking over to her. "I guess he already found her..." I muttered under my breath as I looked away from them and over at Yul who was deep in thought.

"Yul, you're zoning out," I said, slightly worried.

My friend looked at me and softly smiled. "Do you want to walk around before heading back?" He asked after apologizing.

I thought about it while glancing over at my cousin and his maid. Then I nodded my head when  I looked back over at Yul. "Sure."

We both started to walk out of Cheonbugwan and silence engulfed us as we passed by the merchants and their stalls. It wasn't an awkward kind of silence but it did bother me. I wonder what Yul is thinking at a time like this. Is he still thinking about Naksu's body? I mentally sighed at the question and stared into the distance. 

"Ryu! Unnie!" A voice called out, bringing me back to my senses.

I turned around to see who it was and saw Choyeon walking over to me and Yul while waving her hand in the air. I smiled at my friend and waved back. Then she hugged me tightly and asked, "How are you? Are you okay? About last night, you're feeling better, right?"

"One question at a time, Cho!" I exclaimed while trying to breathe.

Then Yul joined in. "Choyeon, let her go. She can barely breathe."

"Oh! Sorry!" Choyeon gasped as she pulled away with a pout.

I shook my head with a short laugh and said, "It's alright."

Then I added, "I'm okay. I'm feeling much better. Thanks for asking, Cho."

The young lady of Jinyowon smiled in relief and then she handed me a dark pink box. "That's great! You have no idea how worried I was. By the way, here are some chocolate cookies," she said as I gently took the box from her.

I opened it and happily laughed while taking a bite of a chocolate cookie. "Aigoo! Choyeon! You know me too well-" But I got cut off when Yul grabbed the box from me.

I glared at the tall boy and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Chocolate isn't good for you," he simply answered.

I raised an eyebrow and was about to say something but Yul started to walk away. Then Choyeon faked a cough and asked, "Do you still get super hyped after eating chocolates?"

I looked away from Seo Yul and over at the girl beside me before groaning out loud. "It's just chocolates! Chocolates are supposed to make you feel that way!" I exclaimed, hoping Yul would hear me but the 21-year-old was already too far.

Then Choyeon laughed softly and patted my shoulder. "No worries, unnie! I have another box of chocolates right here," she whispered while showing it to me.

I mischievously smiled and took it while saying, "They say eating something sweet will make you feel better. Thank you, Choyeon! You're the best!"

- end of chapter nine -

word count: 2146

not yet edited!!

🌼 a/n:

sjskjsksjs idk if this chapter is more of a filler or- anyways I'm back lol 😂

it's official, I've taken a leave of absence from uni. 🤧 I'll be taking a break for the first term of this coming school year but uh I'll be back in the second term since I might be needed for the student publication- 💀

To MOAs in the Philippines... bruh has anyone applied for the MOA membership in Weverse?? Did they announce the ticket prices on there?? Because istg me and my friends are planning to either buy VIP standing or Lower Box A/B sjskjsksjksjs BUT WE DON'T KNOW THE TICKET PRICES YET- we also broke af. One of my friends won't stop buying merch and albums hence why she only got like 1k left... and my other friend is waiting for money to drop in because her mom or uncle, I think, has to pay her back...? 💀💀💀 then there's me with my freelance and art comms but no one wants me gg. 🤡

MAYGAWD SM TICKETS PAKI BILISAN NAMAN OH AHAHAHAHA ILANG MONTHS NA HINIHINTAY NAMIN YUNG ANNOUNCEMENT NG TICKET SELLING 😭💔

Me these past few months: Alexa, please play Yeonjun's cover of Song Cry.

ayt enough about that lmoa...

this author's note went from a short planned note to a rant section. 🙃🔫

I hope y'all have a good day/night, LCVENIs. 🧡