I Wished For You [Michaeng]

Chapter 12: I Remember

A/N: Here's what you've all been waiting for! The moment they finally remember each other! Enjoy!

CW: slight homophobic language, but it's more so just how society was.

Glossary of terms:

Gyeonujiknyeo: the Korean retelling of the Chinese folktale "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl"
Gyeonu: Cowherd
Jiknyeo: Weaver Girl
Haneunim: Celestial Emperor
Chirwolchilseok: the seventh day of the seventh month
Eunhasu: Silver River (another name for the Milky Way)
Ojakgyo: a bridge formed by crows

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They were on top of the hill that separated the palace and the village. All that illuminated the world around them was the bright moon and stars. This was one time when Mina was actually allowed to go out. So, they were lying next to each other with their hands intertwined and Mina watched as Chaeyoung traced the shape of the stars. Her bright brown eyes, that smile that always made Mina melt, her eyebrows creased in concentration. To her, she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Is something wrong? You're staring," Chaeyoung said.

"No, it's just that you seem to be very interested in this," Mina said.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Mina looked at her friend as she looked at the sky. "Yeah, it is."

"Do you know about the stars?"

"What about them?"

"The stories."

Mina did know some. Her father told her stories like that, but she wanted to hear one from her dear friend, so she lied, "No. Can you tell me about them?"

Chaeyoung turned to face her. They were barely centimeters apart. If Mina had only leaned in just a little bit closer, it could've happened sooner than it did. She knew it was a terrible thought; to want to kiss her friend, but she knew she could no longer deny it. At sixteen, she didn't fully understand what it meant to be in love, but if this was what love felt like, then she had fallen, fallen in love with her dear friend.

"Gyeonujiknyeo, the story of two stars who were separated by the Eunhasu. It is said that on Chirwolchilseok, Gyeonu and Jiknyeo moved very close to each other. It's the only day they're allowed to meet. That's where the legend originated."

Mina knew this story, it was one of the more well-known legends about the stars. She kept quiet about it though and listened intently to the story.

"Jiknyeo was the granddaughter of the Haneunim and was known for her weaving skills and diligence. The Haneunim loved his granddaughter very much and arranged for her to be wed to the cowherd from the opposite side of the Eunhasu. Jiknyeo and Gyeonu, however, became lazy in the sweetness of their honeymoon, and this greatly angered the Haneunim, who separated them to live on opposite sides of the Eunhasu, allowing them to meet only once a year, on Chirwolchilseok. When the Eunhasu kept them from uniting even on Chirwolchilseok, the crows and magpies of the terrestrial world flew up to the sky and formed a bridge for them by lining up head-to-head. This bridge came to be called Ojakgyo and it is believed that each year, after Chirwolchilseok, all the crows and magpies fly back to earth with their heads turned bald from constructing the bridge. Rain on Chirwolchilseok is believed to be the reunited couple's tears of joy, while rain on the following day is believed to be the parting couple's tears of sorrow. It's sad isn't it, forced to be separated for the entire year except for one day?"

"I can't imagine living like that. It must be very difficult for Jiknyeo and Gyeonu."

"They say love has no boundaries, but that's not true at all. Love is such a complicated emotion. I don't really understand what it means. Have I fallen in love? I don't know."