Memories of You

Chapter 6

The silence was as deep as the darkness of the night, while everyone lay to rest, only the rustling of trees could be heard as the footsteps fell light on the rubble. The moonlight was bright at that hour but still the men remained invisible on the absent roads.

All of them dressed in black garbs so as to not draw any attention, they sneaked onto the palace perimeter as they drew close to the gates. Shinwon, crouching behind the trees and shrubs right outside of the back gates, was in front of the other men that accompanied him on this mission. He gently nods to the ones behind him, not speaking in fear of alerting the guards in front of them. As planned, one of the men move towards the right and what follows is loud rustling and some low commotion. “What was that?” asks one of the guards to the other. As the other replies “Go check it out”,  the former leaves his post to check out what was the fuss about. “One out”, whispered Shinwon and just on cue leaves another man from behind him. The guards on the tower watching over their area has a steady rotation and perfectly timed, comes another distraction. “What in the world is going on tonight?” said the other guard, hesitant to leave his position since the other man hadn’t yet returned. But they never needed him to in the first place. As the guard moves forward his position a bit, his attention on the dark shrubs in front of him, he stands alert looking at the wrong direction while Shinwon and two other men tread past lightly to climb the palace walls. As soon as they drop on the ground on the other side, they quickly shuffle towards cover as the watch tower guard comes back into position.

Successfully getting in, now they had no more plans. They were on their own with no idea of how to move forward but with heavy hearts, they moved forward with caution, trying to avoid anything or anyone that can alert their presence. Shinwon gestures with his hand to divide up and go separately which the others reply to with a simple nod yes. As the courtyard lay barren it wasn’t  too hard to move but avoiding the guards was another story altogether. More guards were appointed due to recently turmoil in the kingdom but it was easier to move around alone. Although Shinwon didn’t  know whether he’ll even be able to get out alive or meet his accomplices again, he moved forward with that fear within him. Their main concern was to understand where everyone resided, who stayed in which quarter and the fastest way to do the job and leave afterwards. As he moved forward he drew the positions he found on a piece of paper based on the direction he came in from.

He slowly looked through the windows and wrote down the names of the habitants of the quarters he passed, but as he reached one of them he suddenly heard sounds. On an instinct he hid behind the walls beside the opening and held his breath so as to not make a single sound. Keeping alert of his surroundings, he heard the sound of a young girl saying “Oraboni, are you awake?”. As the man inside the room replied after a moment of silence “ Ah, come in”, Shinwon froze in his place. It felt like everything stopped, he couldn’t hear anything anymore – the breeze, the crickets, his own breath... nothing. The voice was gruff and muffled but he knew in an instant who it belonged to. His attention darted back to him as he continued “You had another nightmare?” in a warm voice, to which the younger replied with a “Yes”. Shinwon couldn’t help but try to make sure, whether he had the wrong idea or it was truly what he was fearing the most. As he carefully crouches down and moves his head forward slightly to peer into the room from the crack of the window frame, the worst that he had expected of finally took form. The room and it’s  decorations made it apparent that it was the prince’s quarters and yet, there he was.

“Why... why is it him? I am not imagining things am I? No... it is the same voice... It is... the same smile”

He kept looking as Changgu lovingly pat his sister’s  head before continuing “Go to sleep, everything is alright” as she smiled at his words and lay down beside her brother’s bed. The prince moved his quilt and put it on her to keep her warm, as he kept patting in a gentle rhythm to help her fall asleep. The man outside the window, still unable to understand what he was looking at, now had visible fear on his face – fear from knowing what they were about to do... of what his own purpose was. The longer he saw the man on front of him smile, the more painful it got inside his heart. Soon enough the strength in his legs gave up as he flopped down in defeat. He felt like crying, screaming even at how cruel that moment had been for him. But he could hear the footsteps on the rubble getting closer, probably from one of the guards. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t do anything – but the thought of getting his partners in trouble soon took over his mind. Once more as he looked at the man inside the room, he found the siblings fast asleep... and he ran with light steps.

Outside of the gates, both men waited patiently nfor Shinwon to find his way out to them. As they held their breath hoping for the best, they could see a dark figure making it’s way out of the walls. They both silently rejoice as they see him tread lightly towards them. “You had us worried there” said one of the men to Shinwon while holding onto his shoulder. The taller man still in shock from wgat he saw inside fails to reply as the other man continues “Are you okay?”, seeing his worried expression. “Did they see you?” said the former thinking that is what had his tongue bounded. The urgency in the man’s voice is what breaks Shinwon out of his thoughts as he replies “Huh? Ah... no no... no one saw me”, he said, trying to sound as calm as possible to reassure them.

They make their way back triumphant, as everyone congratulates them on their success and others working on putting together the maps that all three drew. But outside of this commotion sits only one person, as his shoulders feel worlds smaller than their true size, lost in thought as he has head buried in his hands. He gets startled by the hand on his back but soon turns around to see a familiar face. “Ah... hyungnim”, said Shinwon in a soft voice as he lets out a deep sigh. The elder replied “Is something troubling you? You never said a word after you returned”, as he sat beside the younger. He took some time to wonder if he should voice out how he truly felt or if that would make things worse somehow. The older man waited patiently while looking at Shinwon’s  troubled face, wondering what might be the issue. Finally, the younger spoke saying “What if... what if there is another way to do this?”, his voice shaking in both fear of what might happen and of what the people beside him will think of him.

The older man clearly seemed surprised by what he heard, as it seemed out of character for Shinwon to say something like that. He had always had the motive and the eagerness to move forward with this plan but as he suddenly asked for another option – it seemed out of the blue to him. “You are asking this? I never expected you to...” said the man looking confused by the taller man’s words. “Hyungnim what... what if they are... they are not all guilty... what if we kill someone who...”, said Shinwon practically suffering to get his words out as his thoughts showed him the worst image. He couldn’t see that smile, that warmth tainted with blood. He knew that man meant no harm, no evil man can shine that brightly, be that gentle... be that beautiful – and the thought of him coming to harm scared Shinwon to no end. Unable to understand what he was going through, the older man held firmly onto Shinwon’s  shoulders, his strength gripping onto the taller man as he forces him to face his eyes directly before saying “Shinwon-ah, you said we were so close... we cannot afford to have second thoughts about people who never cared about us”, his face filled with rage somewhat but as he tried to calm himself down he let’s out a light laugh before continuing “You are just feeling the rush right now, it will be okay... we will do well don’t  worry”. Shinwon was no longer looking at the other man but at his own hands as it kept shaking at the mere thought of facing the prince. “Come in and have a drink, enjoy tonight” said the older as he finally let go of Shinwon before walking inside – but Shinwon didn’t move, he couldn’t.

Had they met before, had he asked for his name... would things have been different, would things have been easier.