Jiseok Short Story Collection

You don't have to hide anymore

If it had been any other day, I would never have taken so much as a single step beyond the safe walls of Gweol. But as tensions between the neighboring kingdom and our family suddenly escalated, I was sent far away as a pawn in a political marriage for peace."Your marriage is the only thing that will preserve the peace of this land."Abamama's heavy, resolute voice still echoed relentlessly in my head, constantly reminding me of the royal duty that weighed down on my soul.

It was a quiet, humble procession that had deliberately removed all the splendid royal banners in order to conceal my identity until we safely passed through the gate on the outskirts of the capital.

Through the narrow gap in the silk curtain, I quietly watched my personal bodyguard, Jiseok. With a hardened expression and a face that revealed nothing, Jiseok rode silently beside the palanquin I was in. My feelings toward him sank in my chest like a lump of lead, filling me with deep sorrow. I knew all too well, painfully so, that once I rode off to marry a stranger, Jiseok's duty would end and he would return to Gweol. Then I would be a prisoner in a foreign land, surrounded by people I knew at all.

Then suddenly, a fierce roar that raised the hair on my neck tore in all directions, shattering the heavy silence.

The terrifying clang of swords colliding filled the area around us, and the sharp hiss of arrows slicing dangerously past the palanquin walls struck my ears. As the horses began to rear in terror, the palanquin shook violently. Before I could even register the danger, a strange man roughly yanked open the door. With murderous eyes, he tried to force his way inside. The moment I shrank back in terror, a sword appeared from somewhere and pierced straight through his back with lethal precision. The man collapsed heavily onto the floor of the palanquin. Crushed by overwhelming fear, I screamed, but when I lifted my head through the open doorway, he was standing there. My savior. My Jiseok.

He quickly sheathed the bloodied sword and, without the slightest hesitation, grabbed my hand tightly. Carefully guiding me over the body of the fallen man, he wrapped my waist in his armored arms and lifted me effortlessly. Then, amid the uproar of the battlefield, he swiftly carried me to safety. With the quick, skillful movements of someone born to the military, he cut through the chaos and pushed me into a completely different palanquin that had been waiting separately from the original royal procession.

"Are you okay?" Jiseok asked, breathing hard. He gently cupped my face with his warm hands, carefully checking from top to bottom for any hidden injuries, then softly wiped away the tears running down my cheeks.

"I'm fine. Was all of this... your plan?" I asked in a low, trembling voice as my body still shook with adrenaline.

"Not bandits, but this palanquin is the real one." Jiseok let out a low, breathless laugh. Only then did the stiffness in his face melt away, and he pressed a tender, lingering kiss to my forehead. "You don't have to hide anymore. Let's go far away, somewhere no one will ever find us."

A wave of uncontrollable relief swept over me. When he pulled me firmly into his arms and held me close to his chest, I nodded back just as fervently in agreement. His embrace was reassuring, as if to settle my slowly ebbing anxiety. Outside, the wheels of the fake palanquin began to creak as they slowly rolled forward, carrying us away from the vast prison of royalty and toward a future that belonged only to the two of us.