“Wouldn’t it be dangerous if you were with child? You didn’t even notice the stone right in front of you.”
My face flushed at the king’s words, since we had lain together several times last night without protection. I was also aware of General Hunmu, who stood ahead with his back turned, vigilant over the surroundings.
Unable to respond, I moved my lips slightly, and the king’s gaze, which had been on me, soon shifted toward the distant mountain path.
“I’ll carry it, so give it to me.”
Just then, I heard a rustling sound. Two young children were coming down the mountain with a puppy while holding a bundle of unfamiliar herbs in their arms.
The children were thin and frail, their bodies making it clear they had not known an easy life. Even the puppy, weak and unsteady on its feet, struggled to keep up with them but followed with stubborn loyalty.
It was a scruffy country dog, the kind villagers often call Baduk, [1] yet, like the children, it was so endearing that my gaze lingered on it without realising. When the boy, who seemed to be the older brother, took the bundle of herbs from his sister’s arms, a pang went through my chest. If I had carried any food with me, I would have pressed it into their hands without hesitation.
Though we had changed clothes, the children, perhaps sensing our high status, kept their distance as they came. Then, without a hint of caution, the puppy suddenly trotted straight toward General Hunmu.
Both children were carrying armfuls of herbs in their arms—
“Don’t go!”
They called out, almost shouting, but it ignored them and kept coming. To my surprise, the puppy passed General Hunmu and headed toward the king’s feet.
At that moment, General Hunmu moved to shoo the puppy away, but the king raised his hand to stop him. The children also paused in their tracks, watching the puppy’s movements intently, a little tense.
‘Ack.’
The puppy, perhaps teething, opened its mouth as if to bite the tip of the king’s shoe. It was cute, but since I still didn’t know the king’s temperament, I instinctively reached out and gently pushed it away, as if to say ‘don’t.’ Then, this time, it came over to me instead and nibbled on my hand without hurting me.
In the stiff palace, surrounded by people I had to be cautious around and far from thoughts of death, seeing the puppy like that, a momentary, effortless smile unknowingly spread across my face.
Rustle.
“Your Majesty! It’s dirty!”
"I told you not to call me that.”
The king’s eyes, sharp and rigid, made General Hunmu flinch and bow his head deeply. I, too, was just as startled.
Who would have imagined that the king would stroke the head of the puppy biting my hand?
He lightly stroked the puppy with his index and middle fingers, then beckoned to the children standing at a distance to come closer. But they just stood there, staring, unable to approach.
“It’s alright.”
He even spoke unexpectedly.
Did the palace make people act strangely? The king I was seeing now was completely different from the image I had of him until now.
As the children hesitantly approached, their appearance looked even more pitiful up close. Their thin arms and legs weren’t naturally that way. It was the result of not having enough to eat.
Seeing that I had nothing to give them, no matter how I searched, I looked at them helplessly. The king then asked for their ages.
"I’m five years old this year!"
The boy, who appeared to be the older brother, remained silent, while the little girl with a runny nose answered with innocent candour.
“How old are you this year?”
"…I will be seven years old."
“You seem to be living in poverty, so how are you raising a puppy?”
"…Well…"
“Did you steal it?”
“No! This is a puppy born from our Sundong… Father said that once it grows up, he would eat it.”
Ah. Dog meat. A constant source of controversy, with even foreign media weighing in.
I wasn’t particularly fond of people who ate dog meat either, but seeing these little ones, I couldn’t bring myself to say a word.
General Hunmu wore a complex expression as he watched the king ask a few questions of a child he was meeting for the first time. Even I was astonished, so General Hunmu, who had observed the king up close for so long, must have been even more so.
"Have you already eaten Sundong?"
“Sundong… had grown old, so she was sold at the market.”
“How much did you get for her?”
"That… I really… don’t know…"
“Are you going to take those herbs to the market to sell as well?”
“Yes…”
“If this puppy were born to Sundong, what is its name?”
"We just… call him Sundol."
Sundol, unaware of the man’s status beside him, bit my hand before turning back to nip at the king’s shoe. He should have been a chubby little pup by now, but perhaps from lack of food, he was about the same size as the king’s shoe.
"Do you want to eat this Sundol too?"
“No! I don’t want to eat Sundol… but if the herbs don’t sell, there won’t be anything to eat…”
“...”
Rustle.
The king soon pulled something out of his long, flowing sleeve. Seeing him touch his clothes with the same hand that had petted the puppy, General Hunmu’s expression stiffened, but he didn’t object.
What he took out of his sleeve were coins I had only seen in pictures. I didn’t know their exact value, but as he took out two coins, General Hunmu’s eyes widened in surprise, yet the king promptly handed them to the child.
“I won’t eat him and will take good care of him. Will you give him to me?”
“Huh? But… Father…”
“I’m not simply asking for him. When you go to your father, just give him this.”
“But…”
“Do you know the value of this?”
“I don’t know....”
“Your father will probably like this even more. Take it.”
The child put down the bundle of herbs he had been carrying, nearly as large as himself, and carefully accepted the coins the king offered. Yet he hesitated, glancing back and forth between his younger sibling and the king.
“You mustn’t show this to others for no reason. Your father will be pleased even if you don’t bring the herbs, so take your younger sibling and go home.”
“Is this more money than what we would get from selling the herbs?”
The king said nothing and simply stared at the child. The child’s timid, shrinking demeanour, fearful of being scolded, revealed the father’s temperament even to someone who had never seen him.
“If your father asks who you met, tell him the person looked like a madman.”
Startled, the boy looked up at the king. Yet the king simply patted his head, as if signalling him to go. The boy set down his younger sibling’s bundle of herbs, held her hand tightly, and ran down the path. He didn’t know the exact value, but he clearly understood that the coins were valuable.
The king, who had suddenly received a puppy named Sundol, quickly wiped his hands with the cloth that General Hunmu hurriedly handed him. Then, paying no mind to getting his hands dirty again, he scooped up the puppy, which was still gnawing on his shoe, and set it gently into my arms.
“You shall raise it.”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t you smile when you saw it earlier? You were grinning so freely, showing a smile I’ve never seen before — wasn’t it because you wanted to raise it?”
“No… It’s just… because it’s cute…”
“...”
“Am I allowed to raise a puppy in the palace…?”
“It’s better than being eaten, I suppose.”
The king suddenly placed a puppy in my arms and rose to his feet. Holding the tiny, almost weightless puppy, I stood with him while General Hunmu stared at the king, unsure of how to react.
“How much longer will it take to reach the temple from here?”
“We haven’t even made it halfway yet.”
“We’ll need to walk briskly. Lead the way.”
He, acting in a way completely unlike his usual image, soon fell back to follow behind General Hunmu, who was guiding the way.
Even in a stranger’s arms, the puppy settled in without a trace of caution. Up close, its round eyes and short snout made it look even cuter. Yet, despite the masculine-sounding name Sundol, it was actually female.
I still wasn’t completely sure if it was truly allowed to raise a puppy in the palace, but for now, I held Sundol, who blinked sleepily, in my arms and followed the king.
The king, whose name was Hae Neuru.
Who exactly was that man?
By the time we reached the temple while carrying Sundol, who had suddenly come along and now rested in my arms, it was late afternoon, and we had walked enough to work up a sweat.
The climb had been far from easy, and General Hunmu, holding Sundol in my place after she had fallen asleep, still seemed bewildered by the king’s behaviour earlier that day. Yet the one who had actually startled us let out a sigh as he watched the bell swing in the wind, jingling softly.
Seeing him outside the palace, his expression certainly seemed a bit more at ease. Though just the fact that he had come all the way here with us was already surprising enough.
Watching the people who had quietly come to pray, I too felt a reverent calm at the scent of incense that could only be found in a temple.
Although it was not the main reason I had come, I felt moved to offer prayers for the peaceful rest of Sucheong, with whom I had briefly crossed paths.
However, the king did not enter the inner hall where offerings could be made. He simply quenched his thirst and, while General Hunmu went to meet the monk arranging for an overnight stay at the temple, quietly watched the people passing by.
“…Will you not offer a bow…?”
I asked because when I went to the temple as a child, I always went inside with my parents. At that, instead of meeting my gaze, the king looked at his own hands and then looked straight ahead again.
“These hands are stained with too much blood.”
Flinch.
“What would happen if I went in and prayed with hands like these?”
“...”
“Wouldn’t the vengeful spirits of those who died because of me cling to me and strangle my neck?”
Unable to reply, I pulled the sleeping Sundol a little closer into my arms.
Seeing Sundol sleeping peacefully, whether in General Hunmu’s arms or in mine, the king soon went to the well tucked away in a corner of the temple to wash his hands. Watching him drink from it and wash his hands repeatedly, I felt a sudden, tender ache in my heart.
The emotions I felt weren’t simply because of his behaviour over the past few days. As his story gradually unfolded, revealing hardships that were far from easy, I began to think that perhaps he, too, was a victim of this era. Certainly, the way he gently petted Sundol or handed coins to the child while instructing him to say he looked like a madman made him seem like a man with a heart warmer than most ordinary men.
Though we had arrived at the temple, we didn’t go inside. Instead, we sat outside, letting the breeze wash over us as we shared a quiet moment together. The gentle wind, like the slowly deepening closeness between the king and me, stirred my hair pleasantly.
Ding-ding.
Ding-ding.
Setting aside religion, I loved the fish-shaped bell at the temple most of all, its sound mingling with the sunset to create a breathtaking scene.
The king, sitting there amidst it all, looked so perfectly in place that I would have wanted to take a photo if I had a phone. Watching the king I had once feared, I found myself wondering what he might be thinking.
Startled by my own thoughts, I shook my head when, from a distance, General Hunmu approached, as if his conversation had just ended.
“Since we came on such short notice, preparations aren’t fully ready. Though it may be inconvenient, it seems we’ll have to stay here for the night.”
“If not here, there’s really nowhere else to go.”
“They said dinner will be ready soon. And they would make things as comfortable as possible…”
“Very well. It’s fortunate that there’s at least a room available for us.”
“Yes. But there’s only one room right now.”
"Yewon."
"Yes?"
Startled, I answered when he suddenly turned to me and spoke my name. At the same moment, Sundol, who had been asleep, woke up as well.
“With only one bed, it seems we’ll have to share it tonight.”
His lips and hands kept catching my eye, and now, having come to the temple and having to share a room with him, my lips twitched involuntarily for a moment.
Of course, if we were leaving the next day, there wouldn’t have been time to prepare, and it already seemed too late to go down to the village, so it was an unavoidable situation. But wasn’t this the first time he called me by my name like that?
I didn’t really have the authority to decide, so I remained silent and just nodded slightly. But where would General Hunmu sleep?
Even later, when we ate the meal provided by the temple, he didn’t sit with us. Though it was a simple meal with some seasoned vegetables, he seemed apologetic even though it wasn’t his fault and stepped outside, saying to call him if anything was needed.
When he was with the king, he maintained an almost mechanical consistency, staying right beside him and showing no sign of when he ate, went to the bathroom, or slept.
Having worked up a bit of sweat, I wasn’t very hungry, so I shared the leftover rice with Sundol, the puppy I had suddenly come to raise, and washed up quickly.
Perhaps because I hadn’t eaten the instant foods I usually bought at convenience stores since coming here, my skin felt smooth to the touch.
Anyway, since this was a temple, sleeping in the same room shouldn’t be much of a concern. I was the one who had suggested coming, so I’d just have to put up with any inconvenience.
"Did you eat well?"
On my way out after washing up, gentle Sundol was still licking her paw in the same spot where I had fed her earlier. When I approached and spoke to her, she tilted her head this way and that, then went back to licking her paw. Still, even though she was female, the name ‘Sundol’ seemed a bit rough — maybe I should give her a different name?
Having moved past the intense emotions I had felt yesterday, to the point of being painful, I was finally able to think about naming the puppy. This was certainly thanks to the king’s thoughtfulness toward me.
“What name would be good? Choco, Tofu, Poppy… but calling her that might feel strange. So, what should I name her?”
“What are you doing?”
"Oh my gosh!"
I crouched quietly, thinking of a name, when the king, perhaps having washed like me, suddenly appeared from behind and poked his head in. Sundol, who had been licking her paw, jumped up and wagged her tail, seeming to like him even more than me.
“I was thinking… maybe I should give her a new name, since she’s female and ‘Sundol’ sounds more like a male name.”
“Since when were names strictly male or female?”
“…It was just my thought… ‘Sundol’ seems like a fine name, too.”
“I gave her to you to raise, so name her however you like.”
"...Hmm..."
“...”
“I think I need a little time to think it over.”
“Now that I look at her, doesn’t she resemble you a bit?”
“Eh? You mean the dog and me?”
"Hunmu."
The king called him over just as he had placed the blankets in the room. Standing nearby with his head lowered, General Hunmu’s height and build gave off an image similar to the king’s. Knowing they had been childhood friends made the resemblance even more striking.
“It seems like Yewon and the puppy share some similarities. Am I the only one who feels that way?”
"Excuse me?"
Having heard the king’s words, General Hunmu stared blankly as if he hadn’t quite understood. Then the king pointed directly at Sundol with his finger and gave me a knowing look.
“I’m talking about this puppy. Doesn’t she look somewhat like Yewon?”
Still, to say I looked like a puppy…
That look of bewilderment wasn’t mine alone; General Hunmu wore the same expression.
Unable to respond, he simply lowered his head and glanced at the puppy, who wagged her tail before sitting down.
“I guess I’m the only one who feels that way.”
“No, Your Majesty. Now that I look, there are indeed some similarities.”
‘What similarities are you talking about?!’
Feeling embarrassed just standing there while the two of them talked about me, I bit the skin of my lower lip. Then, suddenly, the king looked at the puppy and mentioned the new name he planned to give her.
“From now on, it would be best to call her Narae.”
Translator's Corner:
[1] Baduk (바둑) is the game of go, which has round black and white stones placed on a board. In this context, it is used as a common name for a dog with black and white spots mixed in its fur. Source: https://wordrow.kr/basicn/en/meaning/56486_%EB%B0%94%EB%91%91%EC%9D%B4/
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