The Foreigner 외국인

Chapter 8

8.

"The king is waiting for you," a guard informed Lee Ara as she and Officer Yang walked through the palace gates.

"Me?" the foreigner asked, pointing at herself.

"Yes, he is in the eastern garden." The Jurchen woman sighed, wondering why Yi Jin was up so early. She walked towards the east side of the palace, wondering a couple of times if she was lost, before noticing the red and gold of the king's robe peeking through the fog.

"What do you want?" she asked informally as they walked towards each other.

"I just wanted to greet you on your first day." Yi Jin smiled.

"You could have come to the gates," the foreigner responded coldly.

"Fine, I wanted to greet you alone," the king admitted.

Lee Ara looked around quickly: no guards, court ladies or eunuchs in sight. "Did you sneak out?" she joked, wondering how someone wearing such a bright colored robe could walk around the palace unseen.

"Perhaps." The faint smile on his face suddenly disappeared, and he asked with a grave tone, "Do you blame me for what happened two years ago?" Lee Ara took a deep breath and thought about it for a few seconds.

"No, I do not blame you. I merely blame myself," she responded honestly.

Yi Jin frowned. "Why would you blame yourself?"

Lee Ara looked down, but her eyes were empty, as if her soul had remained in the past. "What happened was the direct result of the choice I made the day I rescued you in the mountains. Doctor Han and Lee Gong both warned me that there would be consequences, but they also thought that it was the right thing to do."

The king looked away. Her answer did not ease any of the guilt and shame he felt surrounding the unfounded attacks on the Jurchens and his accession to the throne. He would have preferred that she blame him.

"Lee Ara," he whispered as she looked up at him again, "will you open your heart to me once more?" She had expected him to ask something so blunt.

"Yi Jin," she started, but the king interrupted her with a smile, "you cannot call me this here." Lee Ara sighed loudly, and without thinking, took a step forward and reached for his face before kissing him. Yi Jin was so surprised that he almost took a step back, but instead put his arms around her and returned her embrace.

The queen had awoken in her chamber after fainting at the Throne Hall, and immediately been informed about the king's newly appointed personal guard. She did not know what to think. It seemed that there were a lot of things she hadn't been told about, especially surrounding the events two years ago. After his father's death, the king's sorrow had been palpable; however, the queen now wondered if he had been mourning someone else.

She'd had trouble sleeping that night, and had arisen early. She decided to take a walk in the garden to clear her mind and was surprised when she spotted the king through the fog. She had started walking towards him but stopped in her tracks after noticing the foreign woman, in a royal guard uniform, join him.

She held her breath when she saw them kiss. On one hand, this made her heart heavy, but on the other she felt a sense of relief. During the short conversation he'd had with the foreigner, the king had smiled more often than he had in the past two years.

Lee Ara pulled away, suddenly worried that someone might see them, and cleared her throat. Yi Jin held on to her arm as she took a step back. He never wanted to let go of her again.