이무기의 복 (Mourning Bride)

12. Kneeling

San visited Wooyoung often. He tried to drop by every day in the morning or after his classes with Seonghwa to greet the stable boy and his hooved friends. Wooyoung grinned brighter every time San returned, and they sat together to talk about the mountains San came from, about the poetry and calligraphy San adored, and his passions. They talked about everything and more, skipping the boring topics about palace-related matters since they had been discussed a hundred times before and held no importance. San learned Wooyoung came from a village in the west and that he had moved to Hanyang to find work here. He was lucky to be employed in the stables and now adored his job more than anything since he was unbothered by political disputes, but got to relish the security and luxury of the palace premises.

In return for the story of Wooyoung growing up wild and untamed in the fields, San told him about his bizarre marriage to the human king and what weight it had for his growth. Despite popular myths about the dragons, Wooyoung was baffled to hear San could control the weather and the tides simply by asking nature for a favour. He marvelled at San's age for a while and grew more respectful, only to forget his awe again as their joyous mood returned.

Wooyoung became somewhat of a friend. Each time San looked forward to meeting him, his mood lifted from its glum loneliness. Even trapped in the palace, he found distraction in the form of a smiling boy.

Their relationship contrasted with Seonghwa's and Hongjoong's treatment of San. While the imoogi's heart fluttered in confusing disarray of heartbeats for the other two, they also asked respect and submission. With Wooyoung, San felt free, like a bird, to laugh as he wished and say what he wished. Wooyoung was captivating in a way that differed from Seonghwa's beauty and Hongjoong's dominance. He was simple.

Today, San got to watch as Wooyoung saddled a horse. The military minister had to travel to an outpoint in the south, so Wooyoung got to prepare his horse. He began with brushing its fur and mane to perfection while San sat on the stone ground with his tail stretched out behind him and played with his claws. Their easy talk perturbed none of the other stable hands anymore as they skimmed around San's spot to work.

"Have you ever swam in the ocean?" San asked as he watched Wooyoung's dedicated hands groom the horse. They were firm but moderate in their ministrations, every movement of the brush concise. San wondered what those hands would feel like doing his hair, but he didn't ask. Seonghwa had clarified that only the king, he, and the maids could be excused to see San vulnerable like that. Asking a friend for such favours was improper for a king.

"I haven't. I visited it a few times before but the salty water isn't the best to swim in. Doesn't it bother you?"

San shook his head. A constant smile played around his lips whenever he was around Wooyoung. The stable boy adored his dimples and complimented them every time anew. San had no other choice but to continue smiling.

"It doesn't. I can even breathe in it. It feels... Different from the lakes I grew up in. Creatures as old as dragons live down there and some lurk in depths indescribable to me. For young dragons, it can be a scary place since it's so vast and dark."

Shuddering, Wooyoung shook off the imagination.

"I think humans feel the same. We don't know of anything lurking in the waters, and we are so small in comparison. We can't even dive deep enough to see it all because our bodies give out so soon," he agreed. He patted the flank of the horse as he fetched the reins and eased them on. Idle, the horse sidled about and pressed its chestnut-coloured flank into Wooyoung's side. He leaned against the animal, showing his trust and affection for it as he cooed sweet praises at it for its patience. San heard the stallion swoon in its mind for the gentle stable boy.