The Sunrise — Wook

Baek Ah became the messenger of Hae Soo’s final wish. He delivered Chae Ryung’s letter to Wang Won, the Ninth Prince, before he drank the poison. And to Wang Wook, the Eighth Prince, he came with a message that Hae Soo had never managed to send while she was alive. “Greetings to you, dear brother,” Baek Ah bowed respectfully to his elder, following tradition. “How have you been? Is everything well with you?” “I’m glad to see you, Baek Ah,” Wang Wook replied with a sad smile. “You visit me more and more rarely these days. I’ve heard you are constantly wandering.” “Yes, brother. Nothing binds me to one place anymore, and I prefer to stay closer to the people.” “You still make sketches of people’s lives?” Wang Wook remembered the old assignment Taejo Wang Geon had once given the Thirteenth Prince — to capture everything he saw outside the palace in drawings. “Less often now, but sometimes,” Baek Ah replied evasively. “But I came to give you something.” “Has our Wang So decided to honor me with a message?” Wook smirked sarcastically. “Do you still hold a grudge against him?” Baek Ah asked sadly. “No. I am content with my quiet life away from palace intrigues. So, what have you brought?” Baek Ah silently held out an envelope, and only after Wang Wook took it he said quietly: “From Hae Soo.” Wang Wook looked at his brother in astonishment. “She has left this world, brother,” Baek Ah said, plunging the Eighth Prince into even greater shock. Wang Wook staggered, but the Thirteenth Prince caught him in time and kept him from falling. “I’m sorry. I was not fortunate enough to become the messenger of her last wish. I do not know what is written in the letter, but I believe she wanted you to receive it.” “Thank you, Baek Ah.” “Then I should go. I will try to visit you more often,” he said hastily and left. Left alone, Wang Wook slowly made his way to his study. His hands were trembling, but he could not show weakness in front of the servants, who had already noticed the change in their master’s mood. He sat down at the same desk where he had once written a poem and given it to Hae Soo. The same desk where he had broken the bracelet he had given her as a token of eternal love. The same desk where the soap she had gifted him on that snowy day — when Hae Soo first came to the palace — was still kept. The letter was long. Beautiful, intricate characters lay upon the paper as though that was the only place they truly belonged. It struck Wang Wook as strange that the handwriting resembled Wang So’s style, yet the contents made it clear that it was Hae Soo who had written it. Greetings to you, my dear prince. I am writing so that after my death you will hold no resentment toward me. I wish for you to let me rest in peace. Will you do this, at least for the sake of my dear sister Myung Hee? I remember the summer when I first saw you. You may not believe me, but the day you broke down the door to my room was truly the first time I ever saw you. It was not because of memory loss. I came from another world. I do not know how it happened. Perhaps Choi Ji Mong could explain it to you. But that is not what I wish to speak of now. Life leaves me with every breath I take… Do you remember how you taught me to write? The first thing I learned was to write your name. “The Sunrise,” you said it meant. And you became my sun, illuminating my world. When I arrived here, I was afraid. I did not know how I was supposed to behave. I had to pretend and live the life of a girl I knew nothing about. Do you understand how frightened I was? But you surrounded me with care. You gave me hope for a bright future in this frightening world of your father’s reign. For that, I am deeply grateful. I often recall how you saved me from the Fourth Prince’s sword on the night of the ritual, and from the bandits who attacked the Fourteenth Prince, seeking to sever his arm. I was so foolish! Armed with nothing but a stick, I rushed at a group of cutthroats. But you arrived in time. And it seemed to me that you would always protect me and help me. Even when they wished to marry me to your father, you abducted me together with the other princes, and later came to the bridal chambers to stop the marriage. You protected me so much that summer. And then I thought that after all the misfortunes of my past life, I had finally found someone who would never leave me. But you left… and for that I thank you too… There is no place among you — such wonderful princes — for a girl from the future. I wanted to change the course of history, but I realized too late that I had lost the present while trying to prevent the future. What could I have done? Now you know more about me than anyone else. I hope you will forgive me. I did not betray you. I was afraid. Afraid that the most cruel things we read about in history lessons would come to pass. And they came to pass anyway. I feel guilty for much of it. Your elder brother, the last king told me just before his death that it was all my fault. That because of me discord began among the brothers. That my appearance was the cause of everything. I fear that this may be true. This thought gnaws at me every day, stealing my breath away. I hope you will forgive me. Farewell, my prince, my Surprise, my Wook. Live a long and happy life. Hae Soo. Wang Wook did not even notice when tears soaked his face. “Poor girl. I have nothing to resent you for. Rest in peace. If you truly came to this world, then perhaps we will meet again someday —and then I will no longer be a weak prince and will be able to truly protect you from misfortune. Please forgive me as well,” he whispered into the emptiness, folding the letter back into the envelope and locking it away in the same drawer with the soap and the broken bracelet.