The prince who returned to the Left State Councillor's house
It was unusually quiet this morning.
The wind, the sunlight, and even the sound of people's footsteps were slow and cautious.
The azaleas in the garden were already half withered.
The sunlight lay quietly and long beneath the threshold.
I was sewing.
The red silk thread is slowly unraveling from my fingertips.
The needle moved gently through the fabric.
This time was always quiet.
My favorite time.
There was nothing special going on and no one would come to visit me out of the blue.
So, in this calm flow, I am quite pleased with who I am now.
I'm not a talkative person, nor am I a funny person.
A person who is not a fool who has unrealistic expectations about the world.
Quietly, quietly. Just living ‘my way.’
That's what I was meant to be.
therefore
I never thought I'd hear that name again.
“Baby.”
Someone called quietly.
When I turned my head, Sohwa was standing in the yard.
He seemed a little hesitant to call me.
"what's the matter."
“I think you should go to Sarangchae.”
Sohwa continued speaking, glancing slightly.
“Your Majesty, I am looking for you.”
I slowly put the needle down from my hand.
The red thread hung loosely on the back of his hand.
“…Okay. I’ll go.”
The answer was calm, but for some reason, ripples began to gently rise in my heart.
The way to Sarangchae
The steps continued slowly.
At the end of the yard, under the stone wall, a small bamboo tree was swaying in the wind.
As I passed by, I thought.
‘I hope it’s nothing serious.’
But if it wasn't something special, there was no reason for my father to call me separately.
When I opened the door to the Sarangchae, my father was sitting at the end of the veranda.
As always, straight back and silent eyes.
I knelt down quietly.
“Did you call, Father?”
“Okay. Sit down.”
It took a while for him to speak.
The tea was cold and half of the aroma had disappeared.
“…The Left State Councillor’s son-in-law has returned.”
My fingertips tingled at the name.
“…Who is it?”
“Han Noah. Your fiancée.”
The words traveled across the room.
Han Noah.
A marriage contract made between two families when they were young.
A person who left right before the wedding.
The air became heavy with just that name.
I said with my hands on my knees.
“He went abroad to study a few years ago.”
“Yes. After that, he didn’t show his face to the court.
“I stayed in Qing China along my maternal side and paid my respects to the court last month.”
I picked out the word 'coordination' from my father's words.
And then it came back to me again.
Han Noah was the eldest grandson of the Left State Councillor's family.
The sole heir to the noble family that supported Joseon. I was always cautious before that name.
I didn't say anything.
I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, my emotions would come out.
“I said I would have a wedding.”
My father spoke calmly, as if he were giving a pre-determined order.
“This is not a position you can refuse.”
I didn't raise my head.
I thought the kid was dead.
No, I lived thinking that way.
How many years
There wasn't a single letter.
A person who left without saying a word, leaving behind only the name Jeonghon.
He's back. And he's going to get married.
I held my fingertips tightly.
The name was Gowat. And the face was, well, absurdly pretty.
Her skin was white and her hair was soft like wheat that had been exposed to the sun. Her eyes were always half-closed, even though they seemed to be smiling.
“I have had no contact with him since then.”
“Isn’t that why you came back?”
I thought that was really mean.
It's like saying, 'Now that I'm back, forget everything.'
That child is someone who could not have come back in the first place.
That freedom is different from mine.
I've never been anywhere-
Did your father say that?
I remembered. The words I had heard since I was little.
The Han family is a pillar supporting the nation.
‘These are people who belong to the highest rank among the nobility.’
‘The Left State Councillor has kindly arranged this relationship for me.’
Under the name of fiancée, I could not dare to escape.
Even after that kid left, he didn't send me a single letter
If that child says, ‘I will get married’,
I was the one who couldn't decide anything.
“…When is the wedding?”
I ended up asking that.
My father didn't look at my expression. He just poured me another cup of tea and spoke quietly.
"A meeting place will be set soon. They said they'd come first from my parents' house."
‘The main house.’
A tile-roofed house on a hill near the Left State Councillor's palace.
I think I have to stand in front of that door again
I was out of breath.
I can't avoid this wedding.
Come back to the room
Sohwa quietly observed me.
He tried to speak but closed his lips as if swallowing the corners of his mouth.
“…If you have something to say, say it.”
When I opened my mouth first, Sohwa blinked.
And asked carefully.
“So, your fiancé… really came back?”
I nodded.
“Now that I’m back, I said let’s get married.”
So easily and casually.
As if those years never happened.
I feel like I was the only one caught up in that time.
“….”
After a long silence, Sohwa spoke quietly.
“...You must be very upset.”
I'm upset—
Yeah, that might be true.
But to be more precise, it's like this.
I feel dirty right now.
When she disappeared, I had a fever and was sick for two days.
I only realized it after the fever went down.
I was just an idiot and he was a free spirit.
“Did you like him when you were little?”
I said, winding the red thread.
“Yeah. Every time he spoke, he was shameless, rude, and absurd.”
Sohwa blinked.
“…Does that mean you liked it?”
“She had a pretty face.”
“But that was because she had a pretty face. As for her personality, well, I wanted to kill her.”
Sohwa covered her mouth as she tried to laugh.
I found that expression a little funny.
The momentary smile subsided quickly.
The reality was that it was a wedding again.
Before the wedding preparations begin in earnestI heard that they would come to greet you first.
And today is that day.
_______
Unfamiliar voices came and went from beyond the door.
The footsteps of the servants of the Left State Councillor were different from the start.
Even the sound of his shoes was filled with arrogance.
I was sitting at the end of the floor.
I repeat the names countless times in my head.
Han Noah.
Han Noah.
Han Noah.
The name was a sound that spread slowly like poison.
I heard someone talking.
“Confucius, please come this way.”
The sound of footsteps came closer.
Slowly press the ground with your heels.
Yes, that kid was always different from the start, even in the way he walked.
and
The door opened.
I looked up and saw the kid again.
The sunlight was setting at the end of the yard.
Below thatHannoah was standing.
Something has changed.
I've grown a lot taller since I was little.
The face has grown incredibly well
The laughter is still there.
It was a laughter that very slowly broke people down.
"yes."
He called my name familiarly.
That tone of voice, that playful tone.
In just one moment, it made me remember what kind of person he was.
“Long time no see.”
I was speechless for a long time.
I just made eye contact without even realizing that my fingertips were shaking.
“It’s been a while, and you suddenly want to get married?”
The kid laughed.
Very familiar and pretty.
“If I back down now, wouldn’t it be embarrassing for me?”
“…Is it a matter of face?”
"If you don't like it, I won't do it. But—"
Slowly he walked towards me.
And he said it without hesitation with a kind face.
“…I. I don’t have a face you’d hate, do I?”
I didn't avert my eyes.
"I know silence is affirmation. Well, I guess I'll have to accept it then."
“I just came to see your face today. Next time, I’ll come for a formal visit.”
Noah bowed and greeted them.
As always, I turned around with a leisurely pace.
Although he was outwardly polite, he was still rude.
Do you like my face?
The child disappeared without a word a few years agoNow it's back as if nothing happened.
It's true that that fact made me angry.
however
Even at this moment
That face is still—
It's breathtakingly beautiful.
…damn it.
Episode 1: The Return of the Left State Councilor's Prince - End