In Another Life

Take It To The Grave

The month was wrapping up and today was the day of Mingyue's ball. She didn't want to go. She wished to run away and live under another name for the rest of her life. She wanted to wear the bleak clothing that she used to hate, she wanted to make people smile again.

Recently, she's felt like such a disappointment to her mother that she didn't even feel loved anymore. Maybe the biggest reason she wanted to go back was in time to when her mother cared... where her father had loved her.

That morning she had woken up extra early, even before the servants were awake. Ms. Byun must've been asleep still because she was not tailing Mingyue around already.

Mingyue dressed in a simple black dress, she had braided her hair like she would've back when she lived as a villager. With the sun still yet to brighten the sky, it was fairly easy for Mingyue to sneak out of the castle.

A basket in one hand, and the other swung freefully as she walked, she enjoyed the fresh chilled morning air, her breath could be seen whenever she exhaled. It was funny how the simplest things could entertain the girl. The walk to the village took roughly thirty minutes, the sun had begun rising and people had started to bustle around.

She could see life again. At the castle, only a few people walked around with determination– she would know because she is one amongst many. Her life has no purpose anymore, she has no mission to complete. Yes, she may have struggled with the anxiety of if she will be able to afford food, but that was her motivation. And she enjoyed the productivity she felt at the end of the day, she enjoyed baking pastries to give to her fellow townsmen, she enjoyed seeing their smiles.

She already knew where she was going. This wasn't an unplanned trip for her. Mingyue was going to the cemetery.

"Hello, Dad. Have you missed me? Because I miss you." She greeted, pulling out a bouquet of flowers, a sponge, and a jar of water.

She ripped out any weeds that covered the aged stone, scrubbing it down until it was all clean. She didn't mind that her hands were covered with dirt or that her dress was soaked from the water. She was determined to make her fathers stone sparkle as it did years ago.

Once she was done, she arranged the flowers beautifully, hoping for him to see it as well.

"I'm turning eighteen soon, oh did you see that I've become a princess? And Mrs. Kang even took over the bakery so our legacy could live."

Tears welled up in Mingyue's eyes as she pulled the final things from her basket. It was an old stationary drawing kit that she was given for her seventh birthday.

There she sat on the damp ground, her dress was covered with water and dirt, and her hands were soiled. She balanced the stationary on her lap as she drew from her memory. Her shaky hands created shaky lines. She was not as good as she used to be, but that was to be expected. She no longer had her father there for encouragement to keep going.

It took her two hours for her to be semi-satisfied with her drawing. It was covered with tear stains and dirt, but she had tried her best, although it didn't do Mingsheng justice.

"I have to get going Dad, but I promise to visit you on my birthday. I'll make a cake and we can eat it here together, alright?"

She was wishing for a response, but nothing came. She always wished for a response even though she knew it was childish to hope for anything. She turned back to be met with Kangdae and Jake.

She tried trying her tears the best she could, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be gone for so long. I thought that I could be back before anyone woke up–"

Kangdae brought his sister in for a hug. "It's alright, just next time tell someone. We have to find the others, we were all out here looking for you before someone else realized you were missing."

When all of them rounded up, they all headed back to the castle as fast as they could. Heeseung had given Mingyue his cloak to conceal her soiled dress.

"And where were you?" Ayame questioned.

"Ayame, don't do this." Jake told her.

"What? I was literally woken up to find you. Everyone thought that you were taken, but I knew that you ran away. Literally no one would want to take you."

Mingyue paid no attention to her words, as cruel as they may be.

Ayame was fuming by the lack of reaction from the other girl. How could Mingyue have it all? She was just a poor girl from the village who's mother seduced the king. She was a piece of trash from the village. How could she have gotten everyone wrapped around her finger so quickly? They had been at the castle nearly a month and she somehow seduced Heeseung already. This was absolute bullshit– Mingyue was absolute bullshit.

The rest of the trip was silent. No one wanted to further upset Ayame, and no one wanted to defend her either.

Most of them could see the pain in her eyes, Kangdae couldn't forget the pitiful feeling when he overheard her talking to the gravestone. Him and Jake were the only ones to know what really happened, and they would take that to the grave later on, for it was not their secret to tell.

Nor would Mingyue ever reveal how much pain she's in. She will carry it with her, the weight only getting heavier and heavier until it will finally crush her to death in the end.

The girl had too much pride to let purposefully let people see her weakness, she wanted to be known for her strength, braveness, and ability to make people happy. They didn't need to know that she, herself, was not happy.