The Gift
After parting ways with Bok-hee and returning to Chwiseondang, a monumental task still lay before me.
The King’s summons had come entirely without warning.
And just as Bok-hee had warned, the sheer curiosity of the Chwiseondang court maids was bound to be staggering.
“It’s Bong-bong!”
“Bong-bong, you’re back safe?”
“Good heavens, what in the world happened? Did you truly get to see His Majesty the King?”
Just as expected.
In the blink of an eye, I found myself thoroughly besieged by the Chwiseondang maids.
...Still, there was no place like home. The contrast between this warm fuss and being surrounded by the hostile Bogyeongdang maids earlier was night and day.
“Quiet, now! What is the meaning of such unseemly commotion? Bong-bong must attend to Hui-bin-jaga at once, so clear the way, every one of you.”
Appearing like a whirlwind, Court Lady Han swiftly brought order to the chaos with practiced authority before escorting me straight to Jang Hui-bin’s quarters.
The moment I stepped inside, Hui-bin’s anxious inquiry came flying at me.
“For what reason did His Majesty summon you?”
“Well, you see... the King told me that I remind him of Princess Myeongan-jaga. He said looking at me brought back memories of old times...”
In front of Hui-bin, I deliberately kept my mouth shut about the red mole or the clan name of Seok.
I was convinced that was a private secret between the King and myself.
“He said you reminded him of Princess Myeongan-jaga? Ah... now I understand.”
Fortunately, Hui-bin believed my words without a trace of suspicion.
Then again, who could look upon a child with such an innocent, cherubic face and doubt her?
“His Majesty often speaks of the late princess. His affection for his younger sister was always so deeply tender, after all...”
Hui-bin stroked my head warmly, as if finding me utterly endearing.
“And yet... was there no other mention made?”
Her voice grew cautious, tinged with a quiet hesitation.
It was obvious she was wondering whether her own name had crossed his lips.
Watching the first-rank royal consort harbor fragile hope and fret before a mere four-year-old child maid tugged unexpectedly at my heartstrings.
“The thing is, Hui-bin-jaga.”
“Yes? Speak, child.”
“His Majesty is coming to Chwiseondang.”
“His Majesty is? Did he say he would come to see you once more?”
At her question, I lightly shook my head.
“No. Not for me. He is coming to see you, Hui-bin-jaga.”
“...”
Hui-bin’s expression went blank for an instant. She blinked slowly, dazed.
“...He is coming to see me? His Majesty is?”
“Yes. He promised. With me.”
“His Majesty made a promise...? Tell me how such a thing came to pass.”
Impatient and desperate, Hui-bin leaned forward toward me.
...Her yearning for a reunion with the King was truly that profound.
“I told His Majesty myself. I asked him to come to Chwiseondang to see Hui-bin-jaga.”
I was never one to boast or take credit, but this time was an exception.
I made every effort to let it show that the King’s impending visit was my personal achievement.
Sometimes, after all, taking credit was necessary.
Especially now, when securing Hui-bin’s complete trust was paramount.
Now that our fates were entwined in a symbiotic bond where keeping her alive meant saving my own neck, we needed to be completely on the same side.
“You did...? What did you say to him?”
“I told him that Hui-bin-jaga misses His Majesty dearly.”
Hui-bin’s eyes wavered with turbulent emotion.
Her expression was a swirl of confusion, caught between wondering if my words were the truth or merely the innocent babble of a child.
“How could a child as young as you possibly know that I missed His Majesty?”
“I knew because Jaga always looks so sad. Whenever the sound of the King’s procession passes by in the distance, and whenever you gaze toward Changdeokgung Palace...”
“...”
I could see Hui-bin’s lips tremble faintly.
Even if I were truly just an oblivious four-year-old toddler, how could anyone fail to notice?
The sorrowful yearning in her eyes whenever she gazed past the palace walls.
The way she spent hours dressing up so exquisitely day after day, only to sink into disappointment, and then powder her face all over again the next day...
“Hui-bin-jaga.”
“...Yes, little one.”
“Bong-bong doesn’t want Jaga to be sad anymore. I want you to smile every single day.”
“Ah...”
A sigh like a choked lament spilled from Hui-bin’s lips.
Before I could even register what was happening, she gathered me tightly into her arms—a gesture completely beyond my expectations.
The embrace of Jang Hui-bin was astonishingly warm.
“I have always been so terribly lonely. I thought there was not a single soul in this palace who understood my heart. And yet... to think a child as small as you would comfort my aching soul.”
Her slender shoulders trembled softly.
Drip, drop. Tears fell upon the crown of my head.
“Please do not cry, Jaga.”
“Sniff...”
“You really mustn’t cry. All right?”
The King might very well drop by tonight; it wouldn’t do for her eyes to be swollen and puffy.
“Jaga, stop your tears. Hush now.”
Only upon hearing my gentle scolding did Hui-bin’s weeping subside.
“Goodness... to show such a pitiful, frail side before an innocent child...”
Watching Hui-bin hurriedly dab away her tears, a stray thought crossed my mind.
...Should I have just told her to keep crying?
Bathed in tears, her poignant, tragic beauty was so breathtaking it could steal one's soul.
“There, see? I am done crying. Just as our little bokdeongi wished, I will only smile from now on.”
Hui-bin turned to me with a radiant smile.
My heart just skipped a beat.
I swiftly retracted my previous thought.
Yes, indeed—Hui-bin looked by far the most beautiful when she smiled.
Late in the afternoon, the Crown Prince came to find me.
Or more precisely, he stopped by on his way after paying his daily greetings to his mother, Jang Hui-bin.
Having just been in the middle of an afternoon nap, I stumbled out into the courtyard with my hair disheveled and face still drowsy, only for the Crown Prince to hold something out to me.
“Bong-bong. Take this.”
“What is this, Your Highness?”
Dazedly, I accepted the object he offered, carefully wrapped in fine silk cloth.
“Unwrap it and see.”
My inner instincts urged me to rip it open with wild abandon, but remembering my royal decorum, I carefully loosened the knots of the silk thread and parted the cloth.
“Oh?”
Revealed from within the silk wrapping was a small doll.
Ah, and not some grotesque monstrosity like Boom-boomi, which still haunted my quarters.
This was a charming, cotton-stuffed doll shaped like a young girl, crafted out of rich silk.
“There was not much I could give you with my own hands. So I asked the maids of the Sewing Bureau to make this for you, though I know not if it will be to your liking.”
Uh, well.
To be perfectly frank, I was never particularly fond of dolls. Moreover, my recent traumatic experiences involving dolls had given me more than enough reasons to swear off them for good.
And yet, this doll...
Wait, this is an authentic historical artifact, handmade by royal court seamstresses!
If preserved until modern times, this would be sitting in a national museum behind velvet ropes, labeled: ‘A precious cultural relic shedding light on the play culture of Joseon royal children.’
“Yes! I love it so much!”
Overjoyed from the bottom of my heart, I practically cheered.
Clutching the masterpiece born of a palace seamstress’s painstaking needlework, I beamed up at the Crown Prince.
“Bong-bong is so happy! The doll is so pretty!”
“Does it truly please you that much?”
“Yes! So very, very much!”
Receiving such an exquisite doll was delightful in its own right, but far more touching was the tender thoughtfulness the Crown Prince had poured into the gesture.
‘He must have felt so bad when I told him my older brother had passed away.’
The Crown Prince was only thirteen this year.
Yet the breadth of his empathy and maturity eclipsed that of most grown adults in this palace.
‘Such a good soul.’
The fleeting thought crossed my mind that, one day, in whatever small way I could, I wanted to become a source of strength for him.
“In that case, Bong-bong, why not give the doll a name?”
“A name?”
“Indeed. Did you not carry around a doll before and call it by a name? Boom-boomi, was it?”
To dare compare Boom-boomi to such a priceless treasure! Inconceivable!
“Uh... this doll’s name is...”
I racked my brains to meet the Crown Prince’s expectant, sparkling gaze, but honestly speaking, naming things had never been my strong suit.
Then, a spark flashed in my mind.
“I chose a name!”
“Oh? And what do you intend to call her?”
“Barbie!”
The Crown Prince blinked in mild bewilderment.
“...Bap? Rice?”
...Crown Prince, do you take me for some gluttonous rice fiend?
“No! Not bap! Barbie! Bar-bie!”
“Barbie, you say...? A peculiar... no, a wonderful name indeed. Very well. Let us call her Barbie.”
“Yes! Thank you so much for giving me Barbie!”
I bowed deeply at a formal ninety-degree angle toward the Crown Prince.
A soft, fond chuckle escaped his lips.
And just like that, I became the proud owner of humanity’s very first Barbie doll!
...And then, the following day.
A tremendous shockwave ripped through Chwiseondang.