🚨 Warning: This chapter includes depictions of torture and emotional/psychological distress. Please remain mindful of this as you read. If you feel uncomfortable, do not hesitate to stop reading. 🚨
“Why did you grant Yewon’s request? I will decide what to do with that woman based on your answer.”
Rustle.
At the words that the king would decide what to do with me based on his answer, General Hunmu raised his bowed head.
“Because Your Majesty has become brighter than before.”
"No."
“...”
"Tell me the real reason. This is your last chance."
The real reason.
What exactly did the king know, and what reason did he think General Hunmu had for helping me?
Even in the chill of dawn, my hands grew damp again with cold sweat. The king’s gaze, watching the briefly silent General Hunmu, grew colder by the second, like ice.
“My late great-grandfather, like that woman, came from the same strange world.”
“!”
“The man from the unfamiliar world, whom Sahwa mentioned previously as the first to fall into this place, was actually my great-grandfather. After countless failed attempts to return, he was recognised for his accomplishments, became a yangban, [1] and rose to a high official position.”
“That stranger was your great-grandfather?”
“Yes. But neither my great-grandfather nor the king at the time wished for it to be known, so everyone kept it secret. I grew up hearing the story of my great-grandfather, who always wished to return, and seeing that woman from the unfamiliar world stirred my compassion. If there is a reason, it is due to my personal feelings.”
The man said to have come from an unfamiliar world was actually General Hunmu’s great-grandfather. How could they have hidden it so perfectly?
Was that why he was less surprised than others when he first saw me?
Although it wasn’t explained in detail, the mere fact that the stranger was General Hunmu’s great-grandfather was shocking enough.
However, the king didn’t seem particularly surprised. Rather, he seemed as if all his attention was focused on some other specific fact.
"Is that really the only reason, Hunmu?"
“...”
"I asked if that is truly the only reason."
"Yes. That is all."
The king slowly descended the stairs. Was it because of his unhurried pace?
For some reason, I had a frightening feeling that this dark dawn would not end easily.
"Yewon."
"Yes."
“I told you about this before. Do you remember?”
"What...? What do you mean…"
"I said that you would regret not killing me."
The long-ago incident when he handed me a sword himself and ordered me to kill him — a moment I had long forgotten, until I saw the king’s changed expression.
Bringing up that story again, the king gazed at my flustered expression as if he wanted to see every muscle in my face, drawing even closer. For a moment, I felt the urge to step back, but I planted my feet and held my ground. Then he lightly tapped the end of my sleeve, which was almost dry now that the rain had stopped.
“Isn’t it truly remarkable that, even with rain pouring down like that, not even the cuff of your sleeve got wet?”
Though the king hadn’t witnessed what happened in the cave, each word he spoke felt as if he had seen it all, and my lower lip trembled, betraying my anxiety.
If I hadn’t been preparing for the civil service exam and had gained a bit more experience in the world, could I have eased the king’s coldness in this moment? Would I have been able to find the right words, the right expression, to do so?
"You there."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
“Break General Hunmu’s legs for leaving the palace without my permission, and tear him limb from limb to death.”
“!”
What? Could it really be true, the words I just heard?
While I was still denying reality, two men, who seemed lower in rank than General Hunmu, suddenly grabbed his arms from either side, their faces set and stern as they followed the king’s order.
When the first decree was announced, I had been anxious and fearful, not knowing what punishment it entailed, but now I understood clearly: the king had commanded that he be torn limb from limb and killed.
“Your Majesty!”
As the men grabbed General Hunmu by his arms and lifted him to his feet, I sank to my knees when I saw that no one stopped them. The shiver running up from my toes, just as when I witnessed Sucheong’s death, mingled with the cold of the early dawn and made me tremble all over.
“It’s my fault! I stubbornly went out even though I knew I shouldn’t. I thought that if I met that elderly woman, I might find a way to return to my original world. That’s why I went. That’s why I sought her out."
“You thought you might find a way to return to your original world?”
“…Yes… Even though I knew… I shouldn’t…”
“I commanded you to stay by my side. From the start, you had no intention of obeying that command, did you?”
“Haa… it’s not like that…”
“How dare you.”
“Your Majesty, I was wrong. When I saw the elderly woman in the palace, I lost my reason for a moment and did something I should not have done. If there is any fault, it lies with me. Please… withdraw the punishment you gave to General Hunmu."
“...”
“Please… I do not want to see anyone else get hurt or be put in danger because of me.”
“It seems there was truly much you didn’t tell me. Who else got hurt because of you? I even spared Buyeon Yuhwa.”
Not knowing how to explain the matter of Sucheong in front of the king, I kept stumbling over my words. Back then, I had made an impossible request to General Hunmu and left the palace, but I could no longer answer and bowed my head.
“Killing General Hunmu was my consideration. But I have changed my mind.”
“Pardon..?”
“I will make him scream that death would be better. You there. Punish General Hunmu with Gakseok until both his legs and every joint in his body are shattered. I will witness it myself, right here, right now.”
Gakseok. I later learned that this horrifying punishment was unlike anything I had ever even seen in dramas. The condemned would be tightly rolled in a straw mat and then struck with stones, forced to hear the sound of their own bones shattering. It was a punishment reserved only for those who had committed the gravest crimes.
No sooner had the king finished speaking than the courtiers hurriedly brought the mat and stones. Even then, General Hunmu remained perfectly still, silently enduring everything happening to him. Even as rough hands pressed him onto the mat, he did not utter a single word of protest, not once, despite the horrific punishment that was about to be inflicted.
“No… Your Majesty! I will take the punishment instead.”
“We shall begin the Gakseok.”
"Your Majesty! I will accept the punishment! I will never go out again! I, too, have gone out and regretted it deeply. I misspoke in front of General Hunmu, who is extremely loyal to Your Majesty. Please… please calm your anger. Your Majesty… I was wrong. I will never act like this again."
Thud.
“Ah! Your Majesty! Please!”
Kneeling, I grabbed the hem of the king’s robe. At the sound of the stone striking, I couldn’t even bring myself to turn my head, my hands trembling uncontrollably.
“Your Majesty!…”
Thud.
“Your Majesty! Please… I will not go out again. I will never leave again… Your Majesty, please forgive me.”
At the sound of the second stone striking, General Hunmu’s groan rang out. Tears welled up in my eyes, wetting the king’s feet, and my hands gripping the hem of his robe strained so hard that veins stood out, but he remained silent.
He neither rescinded the order nor looked at me as I wept and begged.
Thud.
"Your Majesty… please, kill me instead… Since I came here, General Hunmu… sniff… whose loyalty surpasses all others, has lost Your Majesty’s trust because of me, so it would be better to kill me. Please kill me, and do not lose the loyal General Hunmu."
Swish.
“Gasp!”
“You had already become like one of the palace people without me noticing. Who taught you to speak like that?”
“…Sniff… Your Majesty…”
“Did General Hunmu teach you that? I already told you there was no need to go out of your way to learn the courtly words used when addressing this loathsome king.”
“…Having spent time here… sniff… without even realising it… I have already begun to adapt. I, who came from a strange world, have already grown accustomed to life in the palace. So please… Your Majesty… I beg you to stop this punishment. I will never again even dream of returning home.”
“...”
“Just break my legs instead, so I can never leave... sob.”
Swish.
“!”
As I spoke through tears, the king suddenly twisted my body around. There, bound in a straw mat, lay General Hunmu — already struck three times with a stone. Though his body was wrapped tight, his clenched teeth and closed eyes betrayed the agony he was enduring.
“Hngh… sniff…”
A sob, wrung out through my tightly pressed lips, continued to echo through the silent palace. Then the king’s voice cut through it, his hand pressing gently but firmly on my shoulder from behind.
“Did I not command you to kill me back then? Whenever my orders are not followed, things like this always happen.”
“Sniff… Your Majesty…”
“As time passes, you will regret it. That you did not kill me.”
“Your Majesty… please… punish me.”
“Just you wait.. After I see with my own eyes that General Hunmu’s bones have been shattered, I will hold you accountable as well."
Even though I knew he was a king so ruthless and cold, I momentarily forgot when he showed such tender actions. I forgot when he held the puppy Narae in his arms and even named her himself.
Why had I ignored the strict palace rules that always appeared as standard lines in dramas?
I soon saw the man raising the stone high again, and I clutched the king’s legs. The courtiers gasped at the sight, but nothing came to mind except that I had to save General Hunmu.
“Your Majesty… I will do anything… I will do whatever you command… So I beg you… Please stop.”
Thud.
“Your Majesty! I will do anything! I will do whatever you desire… If… ah… a child… pregnancy… sniff… a child…”
“...”
“If you want a child… if you want... a child… sniff… I will do that too… So please…”
“Are you saying you would even bear my child?”
“If you wish… I will do it… If that is what you desire from me, I will do it… Anything… anything at all.”
“If you so desperately want my child, then I suppose I must grant it.”
Swoosh.
“Ah!”
“Stop the Gakseok once General Hunmu’s legs and the bones in his hands are broken.”
“!”
“Why? Shall I have him crushed with the Gakseok until every bone in his body is shattered?”
“Sob…”
In the end, the king, showing no intention of stopping short of breaking the bones in both legs and hands, forcibly lifted me from where I had collapsed. Without withdrawing his command, he grabbed my hand and strode purposefully into the room.
He didn’t even take off his shoes, leaving damp, muddy footprints scattered across the clean wooden floor. He roughly opened the door and shoved me inside.
Tuk!
With the closed door behind him, the king looked at me as he loosened his clothes. Outside, the Gakseok continued, stones gouging into General Hunmu’s body like knives, yet he undressed before me with an emotionless gaze.
Tears streamed endlessly, blurring my vision, yet even through it all, the king’s gaze, sharp as a blade, relentlessly pierced my pupils.
But no matter how that icy blade dug into my eyes, I couldn’t remain still, crying forever.
I hastily tore off the clothes I was wearing as if they were nothing but rags. Before he could undress me, I had taken off my jeogori, my chima, and even the chest cover and underwear that hid my breasts.
The king, who had been undressing, stopped and stared at me intently, yet I felt no shame.
He stood there naked, but at that moment, I embraced him tightly, despite how terrifying he was. My hands, pressed against his back, trembled like aspen leaves in the wind, but it was all I could do.
“…I will give birth here, adapt, and live here. I will try harder to adapt and endure... I will never again speak to General Hunmu… So please… please… do not lose that loyal man… stop the Gakseok… I beg you, Your Majesty.”
Translator's Corner:
[1] A yangban was a member of Korea’s highest social class during the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), consisting of civil (munban) and military (muban) officials. They enjoyed privileges, including social exclusivity and intermarriage within their class, and were considered the literati of Joseon Korea. Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/yangban-the-cultural-life-of-the-joseon-literati
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