Walking in the Darkness || Yeosang (A Treasure Tale)

Memoirs from Geobugi

The inevitable pull of the observatory only grew with time.

Yeosang tried to obey his father's wishes and prioritise his studies and his apprenticeship search, but every day he walked past that room and something inside him itched for it.

His third day of boredom he snapped shut his textbook and tossed it aside. Once he poked his head into the sitting room to ensure Sohyun was still asleep in her chair, knitting slowly sliding off her lap, he made for the east wing.

The key slotted in the lock perfectly, and the large door swung open, revealing the treasure Yeosang was looking for.

The biggest attraction, of course, was the massive telescope pointed through the sizeable hole in the side of the room. It took up most of the space in the large dome and was held up by metal braces that allowed it to swing around when directed.

Thankfully for Yeosang, it was deep into spring, so a warm breeze brushed the inside of the observatory. In the winter the glass panes had to be set up to insulate the room, but until the seasons grew cold it would remain open for easier access to the main event; the sky.

Yeosang dragged over a chair and stood on it to see what the large contraption was pointed at. It was the moon, or a faint ghost of the moon, washed out in the bright midday sun. Yeosang gazed at it for awhile before stepping down.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much else to look at. There weren't any clouds and it wasn't dark enough for stars and other celestial objects yet. But there was all the other equipment in this observatory, and Yeosang could experiment with it for hours in the meantime.

His conscience twinged as he lay a hand on his father's desk, but then again, he had given him the key to the observatory so surely there wouldn't be anything important in these drawers?

It seemed he was right, at least judging by the first drawer which contained only extra protractors and quills.

Yeosang had never rifled through his father's papers before, mostly because he had never been given the chance, but still as he scanned the contents of the drawers he wasn't sure what he was looking for.

Intriguing correspondence with the King or the Admiral maybe... or rough maps and chart sketches from his travels east... or perhaps...

Letters from his mother?

Yeosang packaged that thought away before it could distract him. As much as he wanted to hear about his mother, if he found letters from her to his father or vice versa he wouldn't read them. That would be a step too close to the edge of the cliff he was already precariously balanced on.

In the second drawer lay a single book.

There were, of course, bookshelves lining the wall behind the desk. But those were all books of science and theory and mathematics and Yeosang wanted books of adventure this time.

He prepared to have his hopes let down as he took the book in his hands. Why would his father be keeping a secret adventure book in his desk drawer?

But he noticed that the binding seemed hand-stitched and repaired several times and there was no title on the front. On the first page, in ink instead of moveable type, read the words "Memoirs from Geobugi"

It was in his father's handwriting.

Yeosang's stomach flipped. He jerked his head up suddenly in apprehension, and scurried over to the door to lock himself in, just in case Sohyun awoke and came looking for him.

In his hands was a collection of his father's tales as Head Navigator. He had struck gold.

Deciding quickly that reading about his father's experience was just as good as looking for an apprenticeship like he was supposed to be doing, Yeosang pulled the chair up and sat himself down.