[TOMORROW X TOGETHER Beomgyu] To the point of aching

Episode 9. The Truth of That Day

After a long silence, Kim Yuhyung finally sank down onto the seat.

 

"Dana, step out for a moment."

 

Dani quietly withdrew, and only father and daughter remained in the room.

With the wooden token in hand, Kim Yuhyung stared at it for a long while.

After a while, he began to speak with difficulty.

 

"...Ten years ago, I had a friend. His name was Choi Siheon, and he was the Chief Commander. He was your betrothed Beomgyu's father."

 

A lump rose in Yeoju's throat.

 

"Beomgyu……?"

 

The three forgotten syllables of that name pierced straight into her chest in an instant.

 

"Yes. The two of you were betrothed when you were very little. The fact that you're so shocked means it must have still been lingering somewhere in your heart."

"Then... what happened to that household?"

"Choi Siheon was framed on charges of secretly raising a private army and plotting treason, and was executed."

"...Did he really do something like that?"

"No. In truth, it wasn't Choi Siheon who was raising a private army, but Jo Seunghak, the Left State Councilor."

"...Jo Seunghak?"

"He must have wanted to make his move before he was exposed. That bastard decided to pin the whole crime on Choi Siheon."

"How could something like that happen..."

"He secretly planted weapons in the Choi family's warehouse. So it would look like Choi Siheon had raised troops and plotted treason."

 

Kim Yuhyung's voice trembled low and hard.

 

"And he told me about the plan in advance. By secret letter."

"Why tell Father..."

"Because he knew I was close to Choi Siheon. He told me to keep quiet, or to commit perjury and say I'd seen him raising troops."

"...And if you didn't obey?"

"He said he'd start with you and your mother."

"I... was afraid. So I couldn't tell Choi Siheon, and I couldn't tell the court the truth either."

"Then one day, Jo Seunghak sent another secret letter. He said something would happen within a few days, and told us to quietly return to our hometown with the family."

"So that's... why we moved to the countryside?"

"I told you your mother was ill. That wasn't true."

 

The world went dim before Yeoju's eyes.

 

"...Back then, I even left without saying goodbye to Beomgyu. Father said Beomgyu had gone to a neighboring country to study, and that I could never see him."

"...I'm sorry. Back then, that was the only way I could say it. If I'd told the truth, neither of us would have gotten out alive."

"Then after we left..."

"Not long after we left, Jo Seunghak set fire to the Choi household. And then he immediately took Choi Siheon away."

 

The color drained completely from Yeoju's face.

 

"Madam was shot and killed by arrows while trying to escape with her son."

 

Her hands began to tremble before she even noticed it.

 

"Then... what about Beomgyu? What happened to Beomgyu?"

"...I thought he had died too. I thought he must have been struck by arrows along with his mother."

 

Kim Yuhyung set the wooden token down in front of Yeoju.

 

"...And not long ago, there was a guest staying in this house."

 

Yeoju's eyes widened. A thought flashed through her mind: No way.

 

"No way... that guest was..."

"Yes. That child was Beomgyu. Even I couldn't have guessed it before I saw the jade token."

 

It felt as if her breath had stopped. Her legs lost all strength, and Yeoju almost collapsed right there.

 

"How... how could I not have recognized that..."

"I was the same. That child, whom I thought had died, came back alive and even stepped into my house. Even after seeing the jade token, I still couldn't believe it for a long time."

"Back then, that child was always smaller than you. Who could have guessed he'd grown this much."

 

Rolling that name around in her mouth again, the fragments of forgotten memories one by one returned to their places.

A summer day bandaging a wound with a daenggi, faces laughing side by side in the courtyard.

The person who said he'd lost his memory, yet was the one who recognized plum blossoms so well, and casually pointed out the Big Dipper.

All those moments had never really been forgotten; they had remained, etched into her body.

 

"Then why don't I... have the jade token? It must have had a matching pair originally."

 

The corners of Kim Yuhyung's eyes turned red.

 

"...I got rid of it. I wanted to erase even a little bit of our tie to the Choi family."

 

Yeoju could no longer say anything at that.

 

"Then why did you drive that person out now?"

"...If that child stayed here, Jo Seunghak wouldn't leave us alone."

"Then that person is now, alone..."

"He'll still be looking for the secret letter. The evidence that can prove Jo Seunghak's crime. The one I've had for ten years."

 

Yeoju's eyes widened.

 

"Father, you have that?"

 

Kim Yuhyung nodded heavily.

 

"I couldn't throw it away, and I couldn't use it, so I simply held onto it for ten years."

 

Yeoju's legs wobbled as she left the room. She could barely keep herself upright by bracing against the wall.

Only one name kept circling in her mind.

 

Beomgyu. Not a name she had forgotten, but one she had lost.

 

And with that name, every moment of the past ten-odd days returned in a completely different light.

Yeoju sank down right there and cried in silence for a long time.

 

 

 

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Just in case the family relationships are confusing, let me explain

• Choi Siheon - Choi Beomgyu

• Kim Yuhyung - Kim Yeoju

• Jo Seunghak

they're family like this!!