Chapter 24
When they went outside, the rain had already stopped, and only faint ink-like clouds drifted beneath the brilliantly bright moon.
“Are there usually this many people here?”
Though the sun had completely disappeared, the crowd seemed to have grown since before, and Yun-seo looked around in wonder. A moment ago, he had thought the air was lively because of the marketplace, but now he noticed everyone walking the streets had bright expressions.
“We’re approaching the Hoechun Festival.”
“Ah… that’s right.”
The Hoechun Festival commemorated the day when a Yeong Chunhwa saved the first Yongrim descendant after he blocked the gates of hell—celebrated as the return of spring. In common areas, people began celebrating seven days before the actual Hoechun Festival. Each region had different customs, and Yun-seo was curious about how people here spent the day.
“Here, here! Take a bundle of millet each!”
While walking along the main road, they saw a long line forming. The atmosphere was even more boisterous and chaotic, and as Yun-seo craned his neck to see what was happening, he heard the voice of someone nearby with a similar question.
“Are they giving away free millet now?”
“Yes, Prince Inchin has bestowed his grace for the Hoechun Festival.”
“Again? I heard he provided relief last year too.”
Prince Inchin was His Majesty’s younger sibling. At the mention of a member of the imperial family, Yun-seo instinctively hunched his shoulders and looked around. However, there were only people distributing and receiving millet, with nothing particularly noticeable.
“Your Highness! Thank you! Thank you!”
When someone at the front of the line received a bundle and bowed deeply, pleasant laughter erupted from all around. Yun-seo had heard that Prince Inchin was generous and kind-hearted, and it appeared to be true. Seeing the people’s joy, a smile naturally formed on Yun-seo’s lips as well.
“He always extends a helping hand when drought or flood strikes—better than most governors.”
“Better? Hah! His Imperial Majesty is busy guarding those dangerous areas and doesn’t know the struggles of us common folk. How fortunate we are to have someone like Prince Inchin filling that role!”
“Indeed, indeed. He truly understands the people’s lives.”
The people around nodded in agreement with the men’s loud voices.
Yun-seo found it fascinating how close people felt to Prince Inchin. To him, Prince Inchin was merely the Emperor’s sibling, and since neither his father nor his teacher ever mentioned him, Yun-seo had never paid much attention to him.
But to think there was such a generous person in the imperial family. If someone like him became a governor, perhaps such man-made disasters wouldn’t occur…
“Why are you dawdling?”
Yun-seo, his expression clouding as he recalled the poor village they had passed on their way here, came to his senses at Hwi’s urging.
After pushing through the dense crowd to reach the riverbank, they saw people floating boats and releasing lanterns from them across the river. The sight of the yellowish lanterns rising gently over the calm, quiet river was truly spectacular.
“Are we getting on one of those boats?”
As Hwi headed toward the dock, Yun-seo asked excitedly. He had never been on a boat before, and it was certain to be an interesting experience.
“Yes.”
“Wow…”
“Are you that pleased?”
“Of course! This is my first time on a boat.”
Yun-seo quickened his pace with delight.
At the dock, a rather large and sturdy-looking ferry was moored. As if they had been expected, the boatman greeted Hwi and Yun-seo with a silent bow.
As soon as the two men sat facing each other, the boat departed. Yun-seo watched the receding dock with a pounding heart. Swish, swish… The sound of thick oars cutting through the water echoed tranquilly, and the noise from the shore gradually faded.
Though they had only moved about nine feet from the shore into the middle of the river, it felt like they had entered a different world. From a boat far away came the sound of a child laughing cheerfully. Yun-seo smiled as he gazed in that direction, then felt a gaze on him and turned to look at Hwi.
Hwi was quietly observing him. Suddenly, Yun-seo wondered whether Hwi had taken time out of his busy schedule to show him this scenery, or if he had simply brought him along while enjoying some leisure.
If it was the former, what would be the reason? In truth, he didn’t understand why Hwi was so kind to him. He had told Hwi before that not everything had an intention behind it, but…
Was he this gentle with others too? Was it merely a habit for him, a kindness he could easily bestow? Yun-seo’s heart, which had been fluttering ever since he met Hwi, ached, and he bit his lip firmly. Just then, Hwi picked up something from the bottom of the boat.
“Since we’re here, let’s release this too.”
Hwi handed Yun-seo a sturdy-looking sky lantern. He told Yun-seo to hold it carefully while he lit the wick fixed in the middle of the frame. Soon, the white lantern glowed with a yellowish light.
That light reflected in Yun-seo’s eyes as he looked at the lantern with curiosity. Yun-seo held tightly to the lantern, which seemed ready to fly away at any moment, and waited for Hwi’s signal.
“Usually, people make a wish before releasing a lantern.”
“Is that so?”
“What will you wish for?”
“I…”
Various thoughts stirred in his mind, but only one made its way through his lips.
“Please let me depart safely.”
“…”
“What about you? You should make a wish too.”
Yun-seo wanted to know what wish Hwi might have. But Hwi silently reached out, supporting Yun-seo’s hand from below and gently pushing upward. The lantern left Yun-seo’s fingertips and rose gently into the pitch-black night sky.
If a wish-laden lantern reaches the sky, will that wish come true? He hoped so. He hoped that everyone’s deepest wishes would be fulfilled, and that worries and anxieties would disappear beyond the sky. Even Hwi’s.
“Is your reason for going to Yehang to leave this country?”
Hearing the low voice, Yun-seo lowered his gaze from the receding lantern. Hwi’s face, looking silently at him, was as serene and beautiful as the night scenery over the lake.
Having no reason to hide the answer, Yun-seo replied calmly.
“Yes.”
“You have no thoughts of staying in Great Yeong and finding your path here?”
Mysteriously, a Yeong Chunhwa’s abilities can only be exercised in this country, Great Yeong. Once across the border, the protective nature of a Yeong Chunhwa loses its power, allowing one to live as an ordinary person in a foreign land.
Without Yeong Chunhwa, the power of Yongrim becomes useless, so historically, attempts to remove Yongrim from the country have repeatedly failed. Yongrim and Yeong Chunhwa were forced to live only in this country.
Here, he was nothing but a Yeong Chunhwa. And unless he entered the imperial palace, he would become a permanent fugitive. So naturally, he should answer in the affirmative, and if it had been before, he would certainly have done so, but somehow his lips wouldn’t part.
If he crossed the sea route and moved away from this country, it would also mean parting with the man before him. A deep lingering attachment surged like waves washing over his ankles.
But one thing was certain: if he remained here and was caught, the end would also be separation.
“Yes.”
“…”
“One can never escape the restraints in the place where one was born and raised. I fear and hate such a life more than death.”
Being confined to the inner quarters as soon as he was discovered was partly for safety, but the greater purpose was to control his body and mind. There was nothing more troublesome than freely interacting with others and developing feelings for an innocent woman or man, causing one to want to abandon their duties.
Although his body and mind were his own, he had to live the rest of his life mortgaged to an emperor whose face and name he didn’t know, trapped in an ornate box. And inside that box, all he would hear about was the emperor, the imperial family, Yongrim, duty, responsibility, obligation…
The moment he entered the restraints, So Yun-seo would disappear. Inside, personal desires or dreams had to be castrated, and one could only live as a Yeong Chunhwa. And that wasn’t all—if he became an empress, then empress; if a concubine, then concubine. He would have to bear that role as well.
Moreover, his father hoped that he would not only captivate the emperor with his protective nature but also rise above him, so sometimes he wondered if he was supposed to be a Yeong Chunhwa who would save the country or become the infamous root of the nation’s downfall.
If he entered the palace, his father’s obsession would only intensify, and he had not the slightest intention of moving to a larger, more treacherous cage after having been confined for several years. How could such a life be called “living”?
Hwi closed his eyes momentarily, then opened them again and nodded faintly. His gaze shifted away from Yun-seo toward something else. Though Yun-seo couldn’t tell what Hwi was looking at, his demeanor felt somehow lonely.
He didn’t understand why this emotion emanated from a man who seemed to have grown up without knowing any lack. But even if one was materially affluent, it was difficult to know what was inside.
“What about you? Do you… have any plans to establish yourself in another country and run your merchant group?”
While moving one’s residence would certainly not be easy, it might not be entirely impossible for a merchant group that frequently crossed borders. Yun-seo unconsciously held expectation as he waited for Hwi’s answer.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
