✨ Special shoutout to my wonderfully sweet Ko-fi supporter, Jinari!
I cannot thank you enough for your amazing support~! (∩˃ω˂∩)♡˚₊‧⁺˖
・・・・・
Perhaps because the temple was deep in the mountains, the evening air grew chilly, so we went into the room a little earlier.
The puppy, whose name changed from Sundol to Narae on the very first day I started raising him, was fortunately taken in by General Hunmu for the night, though I couldn’t help but wonder what meaning lay behind the new name.
I missed the chance to ask because the head monk of the temple passed by and I had to greet him, but in any case, between the naming and everything else, I had seen many unexpected things today.
Still, being in the same room like this made me tense again.
The king lay down first on the bedding that had been spread out. He was never one to hesitate, but I fidgeted with my clothes, unsure how to lie down next to him. If I had my phone, I could at least distract myself with something, but since this was a temple, there was nothing but the occasional sound of a bell breaking the silence.
Come to think of it, I wondered where General Hunmu would sleep.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Pardon?”
“You must be tired from walking so long, so just lie down.”
“I… I’m still fine.”
“This is a temple. Of course, I wouldn’t try to embrace you here.”
“...”
The king gestured to the spot beside him and moved aside. Since he even mentioned it first that it was a temple, it made me feel I could be at ease.
When I carefully lay down beside him, the king got up and blew out the candle that had been faintly lighting the room. The darkness made me tense again, but fortunately, he just lay quietly beside me and did nothing else.
Yet, once I lay down, a fatigue I hadn’t noticed until now hit me all at once. The walk had been long, especially since we had suddenly ended up carrying the puppy along the way.
"Why did you want to come to a temple?"
"There’s a temple where I used to live as well. Since I don’t know this place very well yet, it was the only place that came to mind…"
“...”
"By the way… does the name you gave, ‘Narae,’ have any particular meaning?"
“It’s a name I gave because she resembles you.”
“I’m not really sure… what ‘Narae’ means.”
"Is it a word you don’t use where you live?"
“As a name… it is sometimes given, but…”
"It’s also called ‘Nalgae.’ Do you know what Nalgae is?"
“Ah... so ‘Narae’ [1] means wing.”
"Just as you suddenly came here one day, that puppy also appeared out of the blue. It came as if by chance, almost as if it had wings, so I named it ‘Narae.’"
Narae. It was familiar as a celebrity’s name, but I didn’t know it meant ‘wing.’
It was quite a delicately chosen name.
“You don’t like it?”
"Not at all. It's a beautiful name.”
"I suppose if you had wings, you would have returned long ago to the world you once lived in."
The king turned his body toward me. Because of the issue with him making me drink for several days in a row, I tensed up instantly, as if I could see him right in front of me, even in the dim light.
“Yewon.”
"...Yes…"
"If you had wings, wouldn’t I have broken them?"
Flinch.
"Coming to the temple just for you — I can’t help but feel I must be crazy myself. So if you had wings, I’d have torn them off with these two hands."
“...”
“I can’t go in there, but since you’re here, go ahead and pray. Pray for my interest to stop before it grows any further. Even I don’t know how I might change.”
He spoke calmly, yet it was by no means a trivial remark. It made me realise that he might not always be able to control his own emotions.
I held my breath and stared up at the dark ceiling. The king, watching me like that, straightened back up, but the tension in my body didn’t fade easily.
Sleep wouldn’t come, but I closed my eyes, thinking it might bring me some peace if I forced myself to sleep.
What would happen if the king’s interest in me were to ever fade?
This was truly a place where nothing was certain. I wondered if I would ever be able to find a way back before then.
“What kind of person was your beloved?”
I opened my eyes wide. Somehow, I hadn’t given Kyuhyun a single thought until the king spoke.
It felt so unfamiliar that a sudden chill ran through my chest. The more time I spent here, the more my memories of Kyuhyun and my feelings for him grew faint, fading bit by bit.
What kind of person was Kyuhyun? At the king’s words, I fell silent for a moment, as if rummaging through my memories to find the answer.
“…He was a diligent person. He was kind and understanding.”
“What do you mean by ‘understanding’?”
“…We couldn’t meet often because of my studies, but he never got angry or upset. Instead, he understood and encouraged me to work hard.”
“He was your betrothed, so that was only natural. After all, you said that where you lived, women could even hold official positions.”
“Where I lived, it was more common and easier for men and women to meet than it was here. He could have been with another woman, yet he waited for me for several years.”
“What a strange place. You say it’s common for men and women to meet?”
"…It’s a little difficult to explain."
“Do you miss your beloved?”
Even just yesterday, I had lied, pretending to cry because I missed my mother, so I hadn’t thought of Kyuhyun at all. But it would have felt strange to say otherwise. Yet, since we had been so close physically, it didn’t feel right to say I missed another man, so I remained silent.
“Looks like he’s on your mind a lot.”
“…Not that much.”
“So, have you gotten used to me now?”
“What…?”
“If you had remained silent, I might have let you forget, just like yesterday, but you avoided it well.”
Earlier, he had clearly said that since this was a temple, he wouldn't embrace me... I shifted as if to pull away my arm that was lightly touching him, but the king’s hand soon grasped my wrist. My startled flinch must have been clearly felt through my arm.
But despite having spoken so dangerously, he interlaced his fingers with mine. Then, soon after, he fell asleep before I did, breathing evenly.
I didn’t want to admit it, but seeing him hold my hand as couples do where I live made me momentarily forget that I was in such an unfamiliar world — perhaps it was because he had mentioned Kyuhyun.
“...”
It would be troubling if he kept showing me these unexpected sides of himself and gradually made me start to get used to this place.
But now that I was raising a puppy, it was obvious that this place would feel even more familiar than before. It would be even more so if I got married and had a child.
I wondered if the man who had come from a strange place had gotten married here. There weren’t many records left, but suddenly I wanted to know more about him.
The night deepened. The king, asleep beside me and breathing steadily, still held my hand, his grip not even loosening enough for me to pull away slightly.
Rather than forgetting Kyuhyun, it felt as if the king was forcibly pushing his way into that space.
Translator's Corner:
Hi everyone! This is the last part of 'A Turbulent Night, the King' chapter. I just didn't know where to split the chapters, so this one ended up being a lot shorter... oopsies. I'll post more this week, so please look forward to it~ (I didn't have much time last weekend as I was volunteering for an event!)
⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡ ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆
[1] Narae (나래) is a variant of the native Korean word Nalgae (날개), which means 'wing.' Source: https://fluentinkorean.com/beautiful-korean-words/
https://www.behindthename.com/name/narae/submitted
⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡ ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆
If you notice any errors or broken links, please let me know and I will get that fixed~ Additionally, if you would like to support me, I have a Ko-fi ~ Thank you! 💖