The Founding of Daehan

Making a country, they said?

"Haneul-nim, come on, let's go."

"What? Why do I have to do this?"

"All the women do it."

"I don't need to!"

Ever since silk came into being, the first dress made for me felt like a noose around my neck — and that was the smallest size they had.

Then came real clothes, and the days of just wrapping myself in a single bolt of cloth were over.

Now there was such a thing as formal wear!

First you put on undergarments, then draped the ornaments — that was stage one.

Next came an inner layer and the main garment, more ornaments, and finally an outer robe to cap it off, finished with yet more decoration.

My clothes have far too many ornaments!

And every single time, they insisted on bathing me.

"No! I don't get dirty! Just dressing me is enough!"

"That has nothing to do with it. Come here, please."

I knew there was a reason I shouldn't have called Daka here.

Daka was possessed — like she was settling some ancient grudge — dead set on dressing me beautifully.

Today she brought those mysterious, fluttery scraps of fabric. How on earth do they make cloth that translucent? Wearing that would be more scandalous than wearing nothing at all.

"You really won't? It's my one wish."

That crestfallen face. Her special attack. No — don't do that, I said.

"Fine, I'll go..."

In the end I stripped and stepped into the bath. Apparently one had to wash before dressing.

"Your body carries a fragrance, Haneul-nim. Did you know?"

"Just talk to me casually."

"Oh, how could I ever."

*Plop.*

Daka had climbed into the tub too.

Something I'd come to realize lately: I was on the short side. Everyone kept growing taller than me.

Daka was a little bigger than I was, as well.

"Mmmmm."

"What's wrong with you? You look like a creep."

Daka genuinely loved bathing with me, and claimed I gave off a wonderful scent.

I used to think I caught a faint floral smell now and then, but now I knew for certain. The way she clung to me like this — I must smell pretty good.

"It's lovely not needing scented oils. You smell better than any fragrance there is."

Then why are you groping me while you sniff? Seriously. This is exactly why I hate bathing with you.

She doesn't skip a single spot — chest, arms, sides, belly, thighs, all the way down to my calves.

"How can anyone be this beautiful?"

"I wish I had a bit more muscle..."

I'm too smooth and squishy... excessively squishy. There's not a single hard line on me!

"Oh! What a terrible thing to say!?"

"It won't happen. Don't worry."

I'd even tried weight training, but no muscle ever came, and my strength never grew. This body seemed to come with fixed stats.

"What a relief."

I'm having an existential crisis here — why are you the relieved one?

"Underwear? Why would I wear this?"

"Isn't it pretty?"

They were dressing me in "underwear" — a rectangular scrap of fabric that covered only the chest, its strings tied once behind the back and once around the neck.

Then a pair of shorts-like things, and done.

This thing is see-through and clings to everything — why am I wearing it? And is it a triangle? Shorts? What's with the length?

"You wore these too, Daka?"

"I certainly didn't."

"Then why am I the only one? It's uncomfortable."

"Because you're Haneul-nim, of course~"

Good grief. I can't even go outside in this. Every layer is translucent, so I have to wear the outer robes too just to keep anything from showing.

One thin outer layer, and the moment it comes loose, everything underneath is on display. Has sheer fabric really existed since ancient times?

"What are we doing today?"

"You'll attend the service."

Something about giving thanks for Haneul's grace, or whatever they call it.

The more they carry on like this, the more I worry I won't be able to show my face in a few thousand years.

"Another one?"

"'Another,' you say. Some people walk for months just to catch a glimpse of you."

Huh? Months? On foot? What about the ponies? It can't be that hard to keep them?

Well, months is months — I suppose I should at least go show my face...

*THUD!*

I said stop doing that!

Every time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I enter the chapel, someone announces my arrival. It's mortifying...

"Ooh..."

"He has come."

"..."

There are even people silently weeping in awe. That's really a lot to handle...

Because of this, I can't even fly around these days. It's carriage or walking everywhere I go, and I'm exhausted~ There, there — smiles and waves while dressed in fabric that flutters at the slightest breath.

"Oh! Haneul-nim smiled at me!"

"No! That was just a smile!"

"Ahhhhh..."

Could I count as a celebrity? This must be an exhausting profession. Definitely never doing this later.

A chapel service is nothing special. It's essentially a history class — retracing what I've done and reflecting on its meaning. Very heavily embellished, of course.

Take that time I cursed during battle not long ago: apparently I acted with the self-sacrificing spirit of one trying to shock their people back to their senses.

I was just frustrated, though...

"So frustrating."

"Why? Is Temple life not fun?"

"It's a burden."

"They only act this way because they love you, Haneul-nim."

"And that's exactly why I'm stuck doing this again today."

Once again I'd bathed, sat in the chapel like a totem, waved my hands, and now I was on my way back.

Hm? Is that Cheol? Oh my. He's gotten so old.

"Hellooo~"

"Haha. Why are you so low on energy today?"

Because it's boring, that's why. The dopamine of battle was just too strong.

"I'm bored~"

"Why not go outside for a bit? Do that."

"You mean that sincerely?"

Go outside? I'd be stuck on the road, unable to move an inch, if I did. Are you setting me up on purpose...

"I'm not doing it on purpose, so stop glaring like that. You're scaring me."

Oh? This kid. Can he read minds?

"What brings you here, then?"

"You remember what you told me before, don't you? About the nation?"

"Mmhm."

"What exactly would it be? Something different from what we are now?"

Is he asking about the concept of a state? To be honest, I'm not well-versed in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠politics myself...

Well, we'd figure it out together once we sat down. He's a clever one.

"Let's go. This will be a long talk."

"Yes."

"Daka, bring us some flower tea."

It was part of the sanitation campaign I'd been pushing lately: boil your water before drinking. So we were drying every edible leaf and flower we could find and brewing them into teas.

Chrysanthemum was still the best, in my opinion.

"Right. Where to begin. Ah — you remember the incident at Haseo, of course?"

"Of course. I was so shocked."

"Even if I hadn't been there, would that many still have come?"

"Ah... well."

Absolutely. Even if they had come, they'd have waited until everyone was dead and the raiders gone, then marched out for revenge.

"What we have now is called a confederation of tribes. They help each other when they can, and that's the extent of it."

"Hm... that's true. Nobody steps actively into one another's affairs."

I didn't know the exact numbers, but Sinsi alone must have held tens of thousands of people by now.

"What we're doing is binding that union together with tremendous force. Sharing each other's crises, striving together to live better. For us it's relatively easy — we all look alike and speak alike, don't we? That's what we call a single people: one ethnicity."

My long-winded explanation continued.

Binding people to one another under the name of nationalism to forge a powerful alliance; the prerequisites for a strong state — population, and the policies needed to sustain it.

Then the strengths and weaknesses of republics, communism, rule by dictator. And finally, the most important thing of all: preventing political corruption.

"Goodness... how do you know all this so well, Haneul-nim?"

"I read a lot of books."

"None of the books we possess contain such things."

That's right. Because it's the blood-soaked history your descendants would spend thousands of years being crushed and broken to write.

"Yes. These are questions you'll all have to think about, and think about again. There is no perfect answer."

"Thank you. I'll speak with the others."

What we discussed over the course of several days was written in the book now resting in Cheol's hands. I don't know the answers either — not when it comes to politics.

"Cheol."

"Yes."

"I pray that you all carry this well. If this place your parents and I built together ever strays down another path, I will be the one to tear it down."

That said, I'd only do what I could. A child walking the wrong road must be knocked flat on their rear even if I have to break a leg beam over them.

"Yes. All things shall be as you will..."

Hey? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I said I'd smash it, didn't I? Why are you getting *happier*?

What is this? Something feels off. You're not developing some strange understanding of things like Garungda, are you?

And so, napping now and then, visiting the children, dropping by the chapel — the time slipped away.

A great deal of time had passed. I could tell that years upon years had gone by, at the very least.

They counted time from the very spring I taught them letters — the third spring, the fourth spring, and so on.

So this was already the forty-second winter...

Daka had grown old and passed on, and other caretakers had taken up her role in attending to me.

Damn it. I thought I'd escape the totem life, but these kids are even stricter.

"Haneul-nim must remove her garments to sleep."

"Uuugh. I'll just have to put them on again tomorrow — let me sleep as I am."

"That will not do."

Utterly inflexible. Not a shred of compromise. Rules without exception — and if you balk, they declare that their own useless lives should end. What can you do but give in?

Where on earth do they learn this stuff?

"Haneul-nim. The administrative officer has arrived. What are your orders?"

"Cheol? Tell him to come in. It's been a while — we'll share a pot of tea."

Hmm, this one had a habit of keeping to himself ever since he asked about nations, dropping by only when something puzzled him.

"Greetings."

What the — when did you get this old? Was my sense of time really that terrible?

"Cheol? You're a grandfather now?"

"Not quite yet? Fifty is the prime of life, after all."

Oh. Fifty. The age of knowing Heaven's will, is it?

"Well, you do look healthy."

What grandfather on earth has muscles like that? He's probably stronger than I am.

"Haha, but more importantly—"

*WHUMP.*

What is this enormous book? Is it a weapon? One strike with that corner and most men would die on the spot.

"What is that? A weapon?"

"Ehahahat! A weapon? Hahaha!"

What's gotten into him? Did I say something funny? He's cracking up.

No title on it. I flipped through the pages and — whoa...

This was the equivalent of hauling in the Great Code of a Joseon-era law book. Why is there so much written down?

Politics, economy, culture, religion...

Hm? Religion, huh. Let's have a look.

Well... no religious conflicts within our borders, then... We're practically a theocratic nation already.

But we'd run into disputes with other faiths eventually...

"You worked hard on this. Well done."

"I have greeted twenty springs since I began."

What? Twenty years? It's been that long? I've been out of the Temple for so long my sense of time has rotted.

"But how many of us are there, really? Did we need something this thorough?"

Our city ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠has grown crowded, sure. But aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?

"I beg your pardon? Our entire people have consented to it."

"Our people?"

Our people? How far does that word extend?

"How far?"

"Hm. Most of the lands our feet have touched. Nearly all our brothers of similar face have given their consent."

"And the maps?"

"There are too many newly joined territories to finish drawing them all. Here, look at this one instead."

Whoa. They've drawn an enormous number of maps.

The new plains? The Manchurian plains? A great river in the north would make that the Amur, and — the lake too? Halfway down the peninsula already?

"This big dot here on the right — what is it?"

"Ah. There is an immensely large lake there. At first we mistook it for a sea."

Right. Lake Khanka.

"You've reached there too?"

"Yes. Life around it must have been hard as well. We converted them through the exchange of food and goods."

Huh? Converted? Converted?! You mean missionary work? It's not as if we have full-time missionaries — can administration really keep up on horseback?

"If the land grows this large, how will it all be governed?"

"We will build great roads radiating out from Sinsi. It will be a colossal undertaking. It cannot be finished in my lifetime, but my children's children's children will carry it on."

Aren't your dreams a bit too big?

"Things built too large tend to collapse all the faster."

"With you present, it will be fine. There may be times when we shrink for a while, but we will become a nation that never falls to ruin."

Where does all this confidence come from? I said no!

"What a burden..."

Fine. Do as you please, then.

"If we plant potatoes in the remaining lands, and the roads are laid, every person alive can be fed until full."

That damned potato. One day I'll reveal its true identity...

"Yes. Work hard. I'll be rooting for you."

"I will take up the position of first Grand Chancellor."

So this kid had a hunger for power all along. Come to think of it, his father had that same streak he pretended not to have.

"Ooh~ The highest office there is!"

"I'm told I'd be second."

"Huh?"

Huh? Wasn't the prime minister — the chancellor, whatever — supposed to be the highest office?

"You will be here, won't you, Haneul-nim?"

"Why me?"

"You need only make the final decisions. We will handle all the work ourselves."

Am I some figurehead owner? If that's the case, why not just handle it among yourselves — why drag me into it...

"Can't you all just do it yourselves?"

"The governance of an unchanging dictator, free of greed for power and wealth, as you once described — it left a deep impression on us."

No— no, wait. Don't do that. That's a lifelong slave contract, isn't it? Don't tell me I can't get out of it!

"Does it really have to be that way? Just try hard to govern well without falling into corruption."

Garungda. What kind of education did you give this boy? He's throwing dung straight at me!

"No. Humans are weak. We are helpless before temptation. We need you, Haneul-nim."

I'm sorry. I'm no different from the rest of you...

Forty-three springs after the letters were spread among the people and the recording of history began.

The nation of Daehan was founded.