Maybe In Our Next Life ("Queen for Seven Days" Fanfiction)

01. Maybe In Our Next Life

Jeonha,

The past years without you has been a lonely and dreary existence. I long for the nights because it is the only time that I could be with you in my dreams, and dread the mornings when I will be met with the harsh reality that I am here and you are not.

I wish we did not have to suffer the ill-fate that has been brought upon us. We could have been free from the burden that your throne has brought, the very throne that has robbed you of your life for five years and the same one that has robbed me of you for three and a half decades now. I cannot fault you for it, however. You are a kind man, whose ideals and principles were set in stone. You chose to uphold those beliefs because you believed it was the right thing to do. I will not hold it against you, because it was what your heart had urged you to do.

If we had fled the palace and the capital altogether, perhaps we could have lived quietly in a province far south. We would probably still be together, raising our children and living life day by day. It would've been a simplistic life, one that did not include the lavishness of the palace, but we would still have each other. As I write, I cannot help resenting you for not choosing that.

I am now at a certain point wherein I wonder what could have happened had we chosen another path. But even now, looking back on everything that had happened, deep down I know that there was nothing we would have done differently. At that time, we each did what we thought was best. Perhaps if we had known the extent of the consequences of our choices in the long term, maybe we would have chosen another less tragic life.

Nae sarang, the distance and time that we have spent apart has only made my heart grow fonder with love and yearning for you. Indeed, it is cruel that two people who truly love and cherish one another would have had to be separated in this manner. If I could go back to the time when we first met as children, perhaps I would have persuaded you to run away with me to a place where nobody knows us. A place where you did not have any obligations to your people or to Joseon. A place where we could be just a normal boy and girl who fell in love with each other.

But what is done is done. As much as it pains me to say this, it is too late to change our circumstances. You are the King of Joseon, and I am just Shin Chae Kyung. The woman who can only love you from afar, because you will be safer that way.

I can only hope and pray that in our next lifetime, we will meet again not as star-crossed lovers with a tragic end, but as lovers who will grow old together and experience the abundance of happiness that we were denied of in this life.

Lee Yeok, saranghaeyo. Naneun dangshineul jungmal mane saranghae. In spite of everything, please never doubt that I loved and will continue to love the man that you are and will become.

Yours always and forever,
Shin Chae Kyung