Destination — End of the Line
Seoryeong came down the mountain path as the sun sank low. And, as habit demanded, her thoughts turned to him once more. She couldn't forget the face of Myeong-do looking down at her from the branches of that tree the first time they met. Unlike her, he had met the sunset with his whole face and shone brilliantly. He was the one who had held her in that honest, unwavering gaze of his.
He had spurred his horse forward and charged recklessly ahead.
Seoryeong looked up at the sky. Where do I go now? She had already seen Jeong-an, so truly nowhere came to mind.
So Seoryeong descended in the opposite direction, a different way than she had climbed. She would go to the river first, board a ferry, and drift wherever the current took her. That was what she thought.
A vein stood out on the back of the hand gripping the horse's reins.
With her bundle in hand, Seoryeong made her way down the mountain trail. Unlike before, her meager belongings were nothing but light. Remembering the days when she'd sprawled helplessly on the ground, scrambling alone, a laugh slipped out of her.
Even back then, Myeong-do had been there. That man who had said it was only natural for the strong to carry the burdens of the weak, his own heavy pack slung across his back.
At last the river appeared before her, shimmering in dizzying waves of light. That sorrowfully glittering water would have flowed on just fine even while Myeong-do never opened his eyes again.
As the sun rose and set, as the moon did the same, as the heartless leaves budded and fell — so things would bloom and wither in their turn.
Without Myeong-do.
And without Seoryeong at Myeong-do's side.
"So I'll live well enough, then…."
And with that, Seoryeong took another step forward.
That was when it happened.
"Seoryeong!"
She turned. Against the backdrop of a blazing sun, the man was impossibly, brilliantly visible.
From far in the distance, Myeong-do was coming.
In that instant, every sound in the world fell silent. There was nothing left to hear but the pounding of her own heart.
Myeong-do leapt down from his horse and ran toward her with long, unhurried strides. Seoryeong, staring at him in a daze, moved one step, then another — and then, without thinking, broke into a run.
The white Heavenly Fortune String tied around her wrist came loose in the wind and fluttered away like a sigh.
The two who had stood at opposite ends of the world drew closer and closer. Three steps, two steps — and at last, one.
The riverbank where waiting had melted away glowed a beautiful gold. Every time the wind stirred, the ripples shivered and broke apart. The soft murmur of flowing water pierced the silence.
Beneath the slanting sun, the two of them finally found each other again.
"…How did you… how are you here…."
"Where are you going?"
Myeong-do bent at the knee, gasping for breath, and Seoryeong could only stare at him blankly. Tears fell, one after another.
"Did you come to see me off?"
At her question, Myeong-do let out a hollow laugh. Then he shook his head.
"What kind of man would merely watch the woman he loves walk away?"
I have to stop crying. I have to stop — now.
"His Majesty has commanded me to serve as an inspector, traveling the world on his behalf. I am no longer a royal officer."
Slowly, Myeong-do reached out his hand toward Seoryeong, who had broken down in tears.
And at last, love was gathered into a wide embrace.
With trembling hands, Seoryeong held him back. Her white fingers gripped the blue of his long robe as though she would never let it go.
As if the two of them were the only souls in all this vast world.
On the glittering riverbank where they had found each other again, they traded all the words they hadn't had time to say.
Their shadows lay folded over one another on the calm water's edge, without so much as a crack between them.
"So I intend to go with you."
"…Do you even know where I'm going?"
"Anywhere at all."
Myeong-do caught her cheek in one hand. With his thumb, he wiped the tears streaming down that soft, warm skin.
Then, slowly — very slowly — he lowered his lips. Their destination was Seoryeong's forehead. It was a kiss like the handling of something precious.
Holding both her cheeks, Myeong-do pressed his lips together as if taking an oath.
"…What was that?"
Seoryeong grumbled at the chaste, innocent little touch. His face flushing red, Myeong-do scrambled to explain.
"We are not yet wed, so I have no choice. The proper procedures must be observed…."
Honest to a fault, even over a single harmless kiss. And yet that was precisely what made him so unmistakably Myeong-do.
The man who had always walked a straight line. The man who had caught her at the cliff's edge of death itself.
"Honestly! Who ever said they'd marry you?"
Seoryeong kicked him squarely in the shin. As Myeong-do wobbled for a moment, she spun around and stalked off — and he hurried after her at once.
"Then would you marry some other man instead of me?"
"Ugh, who knows."
"That is absolutely unacceptable. Surely you weren't planning to take another man into your service while I lay sleeping—"
The laughter burst out of Seoryeong before she could stop it. Myeong-do, who had been watching her with anxious eyes, seemed to realize it was a joke and broke into a smile of his own. Seoryeong took his hand, threading her fingers firmly through his.
With her free hand, she wiped away the tears that had been falling only moments before. As briskly as she could manage.
"Look at you, showing off."
"Would I do anything half-heartedly? I always give my utmost devotion."
"So where do we go first?"
"Wherever your heart leads. I will follow."
The two of them walked side by side along the golden riverbank. Seoryeong's yellow skirt rippled in the wind, and Myeong-do's long blue robe swayed in time with it. The crunch of pebbles underfoot sounded gentle, almost tender.
"In spring, let's go to the Five Blessings Festival — and you're buying me the most expensive charm they have! Remember how you snapped my Five Blessings String? Ten years I treasured that keepsake. You'll pay a fitting price for what you did to it."
"Yes, my lady. I shall."
"And this summer, let's ride the ferry again. Oh — and in autumn, there's a huge market opening on that side, by the western quarter. Buy me pumpkin rice cakes."
"Yes. What else do you wish for?"
"And in the winter—"
Seoryeong went on making promise after endless promise. Like someone who had wanted to do exactly this all along.
Slowly, the two of them drifted into the distance. Even walking away, they kept glancing back at each other, as if they couldn't help it.
What waits for us beyond the horizon? Good things and bad will both come calling — but with you beside me, I can face any of them. All the days we'll write together as we live on — what stories will they hold? This moment, when it feels like we might wander without a destination for the rest of our lives and it would still be all right… maybe that's because we are each other's—
Chapter 16
The Final Destination
—Because we are each other's final destination.
The screen slowly darkened, and a spare, resonant toll of the temple bell washed over the hall. Letters announcing the parting rose gently into view.
We sincerely thank all the viewers who have loved Strange Tales.
And with that, Strange Tales was over.
From somewhere came a sound like a heartbeat. Someone had risen from their seat and begun to clap. One, then two… the applause swelled, spreading until it seemed it would fill the entire theater.
Some of the audience wept; others were laughing. Their reactions were utterly honest, steeped in that lingering afterglow that only comes from encountering a truly great work.
Yeo-reum — no, Seoryeong — walked toward the front of the stage as if drawn by a string. She gazed out at the audience with a dazed expression. Director Jjang and Myeong-do took her hands on either side.
Their joined hands rose high above their heads, then descended in one fluid bow. Another wave of applause, laced with cheers, poured down upon the actors who bowed before them.
When Seoryeong, who had held her bow for a long moment, finally lifted her head, what appeared before her was—
▸100% of the audience has focused their attention on you!
▸ Current Audience: 270
▸ The stage has been successfully concluded.
▸ Current Heat of the Space: 100°C[A]
A status window — like a certificate of proof.
Beyond the glittering pane of light, flashes kept bursting in Seoryeong's direction, one after another. The click of the shutters, so like the pounding of her own heart, stained her ears and lingered there for a long, long time.
Even after the screen had gone completely black, not a single member of the audience rose to leave.
As if none of them could bear to say goodbye to Strange Tales.
"Ms. Han Yeo-reum! Just one moment, please!"
"Your performance in the final scene was remarkable — if you could just give us a word—!"
The reporters seated in the theater switched on their cameras and swarmed toward Yeo-reum as if spellbound. The guards who had been waiting nearby moved to block them.
"I'm so sorry, I have another engagement scheduled. Interviews will be conducted at a later time! Thank you!"
Even as the cast of Strange Tales was escorted out of the theater, the reporters kept pressing after them. If anything, it was even louder outside than in.
Click—! Click—!
"Over here, just one look this way!"
"Ms. Han Yeo-reum! Ms. Han Yeo-reum!"
The reporters who had covered the Strange Tales photo wall hadn't gone home either. Shutter bursts fired with relentless enthusiasm, desperate to capture even just the back of Yeo-reum's head as she moved along in a daze.
The shutter sounds didn't stop until the elevator carrying her away finally closed its doors.
"…Did I… really do well?"
Inside the elevator, Yeo-reum clutched the hem of Geum Bit-gang's clothes beside her. Her fingertips were trembling.
"Don't be ridiculous."
Geum Bit-gang answered as if scolding her, looking at Yeo-reum with an expression that said the question was absurd.
"Close your eyes tonight and open them tomorrow. The whole world around you will have changed."
No Jeong-yeon said it with a smile. Short, and perfectly clear.
Inside the descending elevator, Yeo-reum tasted the strange sensation of rising without end.
The applause she had heard moments ago. The countless eyes that had been fixed on her. The flashes so bright they nearly blinded her.
It all hit her with overwhelming immediacy. Articles were being uploaded in a furious race, one after another, in real time. The speed was enough to drive a person mad.
— A Rookie Actress Lands a Thunderous Blow: Han Yeo-reum's Otherworldly Acting Ignites Strange Tales
— Flawless to the Very End: Strange Tales Proves Cable Drama Is Now "Trust and Watch"
— A Happy Ending After All… The Myeongnyeong Couple's Most Beloved Moments in Strange Tales
The click counts climbed at a blistering pace. It was no exaggeration to say that the entertainment section of every major portal site had been filled wall to wall with Strange Tales.
The audience members still lingering in the theater remained steeped in the afterglow.
"…That was no joke…."
"Excuse me, tissue. Ugh, I can't stop crying."
"Hey, the fan posts are already going up. Look. It's insane, seriously."
Some scrolled through photos of Yeo-reum saved in their phone galleries; some were recounting their impressions to friends; others were combing through the reactions spreading across the internet.
Watching all of it, Jegal Rok's fist slowly tightened. From here on out was the true beginning.