Misplaced Loyalty

Jin-Ri's words struck Young-Sik's heart with a brutal force like a blade cutting deep. The agony was unlike anything he had ever known, a hollow ache that stole his breath and drained his strength. He stood there, paralyzed, unable to move. Jin-Ri remained by the door, her gaze fixed on him, cold and devoid of warmth.

With every step he took toward the woman he adored, the world's weight pressed down on him, each movement feeling impossibly heavy. But once again, Kwan intervened, blocking his path to Jin-Ri. "You cannot approach Lady Jin-Ri, the future consort of King Man-Ju," he declared, his voice firm yet laced with sorrow. Lifting his gaze, the sadness in his eyes was unmistakable. "Please, Your Highness, I wish it were different. I don't want to be the one to keep you apart," he murmured, his heart breaking for them both.

Young-Sik glanced around at the people around him. He felt like his throat was being squeezed and his chest crushed. He turned around to leave when the King called him, "Aren't you forgetting something...brother?" Young-Sik stopped, turned to face the King, and bowed, "On your knees!" Man-Ju said he was not satisfied with the courtesy shown to him by the prince.

The prince turned around; he weakly bent his knee to bow to the King. Man-Ju relishes the moment and wants to humiliate the prince further, saying, "Lower, I want your face kissing the floor."

Jin-Ri felt her heart ripped to pieces when Young-Sik lowered his head to the floor. He could see the prince was broken and beaten, and she knew it was all her fault. Her eyes finally showed emotion when the King placed his foot on top of the prince's head. "Remember this day, Young-Sik, the day you are reminded that you are below me. Always remember that you do not deserve the admiration and love of the people. Only I am worthy of love and loyalty from my people."

Man-Ju took his feet off the prince's head and looked at Kwan. "What are you waiting for, Captain Gi? Take my beloved back to her mansion," The King arrogantly ordered. Kwan swiftly bowed to the King and gestured to Yeng to usher Jin-Ri back to the consort's mansion.

Once Jin-Ri and her entourage left, Man-Ju addressed the prince, "Get up, you look pathetic down there, and get out of my house."

Once the prince was outside the King's mansion, the doors were slammed shut behind him. He dragged his feet walking away. Young-Sik roamed the palace grounds aimlessly until he reached the bridge over the palace lake. He leaned over the stone rails and lifted his head to the crescent moon.

"Yong?" a voice he recognized called out, cutting through the air. He turned to see Jin-Ri at the end of the bridge, looking stunning and poised. "I need a moment alone with the prince," she declared. Kwan, Yeng, and her entourage bowed and shuffled away, leaving her in solitude.

Young-Sik stood rigid, waiting for her to come closer. She halted a few paces away, her expression unreadable. "Are you okay?" she inquired, her tone almost mocking.

He tried to close the gap, but she stepped back, keeping her distance like he was some plague. Young-Sik froze, confusion and frustration bubbling inside him. "What the hell happened?" he demanded, his voice shaking. "Why did you do it?"

Jin-Ri hung her head, utterly ashamed, unable to face Young-Sik. Eventually, she mustered the courage to look at him, but the words she needed to say just wouldn't come out. Fed up with the silence, the prince demanded, "What did you feel when the King used his power to humiliate me?"

"Why on earth did you let him do that?" Jin-Ri shot back, her anger boiling over. "You're the prince! You've fought off countless evils, invaders, and assassins. You even conquered a deadly disease! So why the hell did you stand there and take it?"

"How about you? Didn't you pledge your loyalty to him?" Young-Sik shouted, expressing the heartache he felt inside, "You broke my heart, Jin-Ri! You turned your back on me!"

"I did it to save your life!" She shouted back, and both of them became silent, breathing deeply as they continued staring at each other.

"Why would my life be in danger? What do you mean to save my life?" Young-Sik asked, completely confused.

"The King wanted you dead; he interpreted your little outburst as a direct attack on him and used it as an excuse to have you beheaded," Jin-Ri revealed to him

"So, you had to step in and save me?" Young-Sik said, "You didn't have to do it; I could have taken care of myself," he expressed to

"What would you have me do?" Jin-Ri asked her voice trembling, "Just to stand there and let you die?"

"At what cost? Your freedom?" Young-Sik blurted out what he dreaded, and Jin-Ri was chained and tied up, a prisoner to the King.

Jin-Ri wanted to reach and caress her beloved's face, but she pulled back, restraining herself. She then stared at him, with begging eyes, "He knows where my parents are, he threatened Yeng, and he wants to kill you."

The memories of that day crashed in Jin-Ri's mind, like waves crashing onto a sandy beach. King Man-Ju circled her with his eyes, indulging themselves upon Jin-Ri's visage. "Anything? Anything you say?" Man-Ju expressed gleefully

Jin-Ri nervously nodded her head, She wrapped her arms around herself. Man-Ju's stare was so intense it felt like hands touching her. "Anything for my beloved prince," she said, clearly expressing that her heart will always belong to the prince.

Man-Ju was able to read between the lines and violently held Jin-Ri on her shoulders. "If you want to save his life as early as now, I want you to remember this one simple thing. Your body, mind, and heart belong only to me!"

Kwan stood up, ready to remind the King, "Your Highness, you can't, she is the prince's..."

"Shut up, you lowlife!" The Queen roared at Kwan, "Even if the King needed your opinion, He would not ask for it."

"Don't harm the prince, set him free, and I will be yours," Jin-Ri declared, prompting a shocked reaction from Kwan. He lifted his gaze and directed it towards Jin-Ri, in time to witness tears streaming down her face.

Man-Ju gave the court maiden a terrifying threat: "If you turn your back on your word, I just want you to know that before you and the prince could be together, I will skin him alive, cut him into little pieces, and put them in a box as a gift for you. If I could do that to my brother, imagine what I would do to your parents."

Jin-Ri's eyes widened in shock. "Oh yes, I know where they are. I also know that little kisaeng girl in the market is your friend."

"No, no, no, don't hurt them, they have nothing to do with this," She begged the King and Queen

"Then we have an understanding?" The King asked Jin-Ri, who nodded to him, "Perfect, My Queen, please set the ceremony for tomorrow," he told the Queen

Queen Ji-Hye approached the King and said, "Unfortunately, Your Highness, the envoy from Guiong will arrive tomorrow. If you want, I can set the ceremony for Jin-Ri's appointment as consort the following day."

"Do it," the King simply replied. He then caressed Jin-Ri on her face, savoring the sensation of her skin on his. "Don't worry, I'll send for your friend, she can be your lady-in-waiting."

Young-Sik wanted to envelop Jin-Ri in his embrace. He wanted to sweep her off her feet, but like Jin-Ri he held back, "You should have waited for me, you should have just stayed quiet. Yet you chose not to trust me, you chose to think I would have not been able to protect those dear to you?", he told her

"I'm sorry, I did what I must at that moment, believe me. Please, tell me I'm wrong, tell me there's a way out of this nightmare, my prince, take me away from this despair." She pleaded, desperate for him to convince her she was meant to be by his side. "I don't care if he hunts me down, I would rather live in hiding, in the shadows, than be in the light without you!"

He lowered his gaze, leaving Jin-Ri in stunned silence. "I cannot betray my King," he replied, his voice heavy with sorrow. Each word felt like a weight pressing down on her chest, echoing in her mind like a storm that shattered her heart.

"You... can't betray... your King?" she stammered, her voice breaking. "He threatens the lives of those I love; he has already taken everything from you, and still? He wants to ruin us both... and all you can say is 'I cannot betray my King'?" She squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You let someone with everything strip away what little we have, and you do it with a smile?"

"I made a vow to him. I am bound to serve him; I cannot defy him," Young-Sik said, deepening the wound in Jin-Ri's heart.

Jin-Ri began to walk back, stepping away from Young-Sik. "Loyalty in service of that one person who wishes harm on you." She turned around. "Captain Gi!" she called out, prompting Kwan and Yeng to run to her. "Take me back to my mansion...I am done with the prince."

Young-Sik just watched as Jin-Ri turned her back on him and walked away. Yeng approached him, "I always thought how brave you are, but I guess when it comes down to standing up against the King, you're a coward." After saying her piece, she followed Jin-Ri back to her residence.

Kwan stared at the prince for a while, then he too turned his back and walked away."Why did you betray me, Kwan?" he asked his friend

Kwan turned around and answered, "I didn't betray you, Your Highness. I am in service of the King...just like you." He then turned around and followed Yeng.

After the people he cherished left him, he howled in despair and started to pummel the stone railing of the bridge. He continued until both of his fists were bloodied and bruised.

From behind him, two hands gently took his hands, wiping the blood from them. He looked at the owner of the hands and saw Queen Ji-Hye tenderly cleaning his wounds. Young-Sik quickly retracted his hands and bowed to the Queen, "Your Majesty."

"Your injured prince Young-Sik, please let me see your hands," she insisted, reaching for Young-Sik's, which he quickly hid behind him. Jin-Hye smirked, "Do I have to pull rank and order you to show me your hands?"

Timidly, Young-Sik showed his hands to the Queen. "You shouldn't go punching things that are harder than your hands, or you might get hurt".

Young-Sik kept his hands behind his back again and bowed to the Queen. "Thank you for the concern, Your Majesty. It is well appreciated. Yet I assure you, I can manage. I will take my leave now." He then bowed to her one more time and walked away.

The Queen was about to make her way when she saw Minister Lim approaching them. The old man bowed to the Queen and then addressed her entourage, "Leave, I need to speak to the Queen."