The Night the Morning Star Shone Bright
I was held securely in Goggle-eyed Ahjussi’s arms.
Under normal circumstances, I hated being held or carried by others, but right now, I had neither the luxury nor the presence of mind to care about pride. My entire body was still shivering uncontrollably from the sheer terror of what had almost happened.
Without the slightest hesitation, he strode forward with me in his embrace. Passing the village shrine, we soon turned onto a broader thoroughfare where townspeople occasionally strolled past.
“Bong-bong-ah…! Hwang Bong-bong! Bong-bong-ah!”
“…Hamanim?”
That frantic cry belonged to none other than Seol-hyang. In the distance, I caught sight of her searching in every direction like a madwoman, her face pale with dread.
At the sight of her, Goggle-eyed Ahjussi drew to a halt.
“Can you walk on your own?”
“Yeth. Ahjuthi… No, my lord. Thank you for thaving my life.”
I offered him a deep, sincere bow of gratitude from the very bottom of my heart.
“Bong-bong-ah.”
“…Yeth?”
“That woman who abducted you—do you know who she is?”
“Uh… yeth. Her name ith Suk-jeong, but around Chwiseondang, people call her Little Mistress.”
“Little Mistress?”
“She’th the little mistress from Lord Jang Hui-jae’s household…”
It was not as though I hadn't hesitated before revealing her identity. Suk-jeong was the concubine of Jang Hui-jae, Lady Jang’s older brother. Once the truth came out, there was no telling whether the sparks from her crimes might fly toward Lady Jang herself.
Even so, my resolve remained firm.
Even if it means taking a risk, Suk-jeong has to be eliminated.
Whether it ended with Lady Jang cutting ties with her completely, or having the madwoman exiled after answering for the kidnapping, Suk-jeong was someone who had to be purged from Jang Hui-bin’s side by any means necessary.
“I see,” he replied simply. “You may run along now.”
“Yeth, my lord.”
I bowed politely once more. Yet just as my eyes met his, he spoke softly.
“Take care on your way back, Bong-mok-ah.”
My entire body froze.
…Did I just hear that right? He definitely said ‘Bong-mok-i,’ didn’t he?
“Did you… did you jutht call me Bong-mok?”
“I did.”
“How do you know my real name?”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips, momentarily softening his intimidating, sharp-eyed visage.
“Let us simply call it a coincidence.”
“…….”
Frankly, that was utter nonsense. I could understand him knowing the name Bong-bong—given his position as one of the King’s close retainers, he could easily have heard it mentioned. But Hwang Bong-mok was an entirely different matter.
I only learned my true birth name today!
How on earth could he know it? And what kind of preposterous coincidence would allow him to just happen by and save my life in the very heart of Hanseong? It was then that a remark the King had once made surfaced in my memory.
‘Therefore, this King intends to look into your parents.’
Could Goggle-eyed Ahjussi have been investigating my background under the King’s royal command? My thoughts spun in circles, but I quickly forced myself to push them aside. Seol-hyang’s desperate cries were ringing in the air, and I couldn't leave her searching in agony any longer.
“Seol-hyang Hamanim!”
Screaming her name with all the strength my tiny lungs could muster, I charged forward as fast as my little legs could carry me.
“Bong-bong-ah! Ah, Bong-bong-ah…!”
Seol-hyang, whose face had looked half-crazed with panic, caught sight of me and bolted over at a breakneck sprint. Having thrown off her shoes without even realizing it, she threw her arms around me in her padded white socks, hugging me so fiercely it knocked the breath from my chest.
“Where did you go?! Where were you all this time?! Do you have any idea how terrified I was that something terrible had happened to you? Look at me—are you hurt anywhere?”
I wanted desperately to reassure her. I wanted to tell her I was sorry for worrying her, that I hadn't meant to wander off, and that she shouldn't cry because I wasn't hurt at all.
Yet not a single coherent word managed to escape my throat.
“Waaah…!”
A sudden, overwhelming sob burst from deep within me. The moment I looked into Seol-hyang’s frantic face, every ounce of terror and tension I had desperately held back crumbled into dust, and the dam broke entirely.
“Bong-bong-ah, it’s all right. You’re safe now. I found you, so everything’s fine… Bong-bong-ah…”
Seol-hyang buried her face in my shoulder, embracing me tighter still.
“I’m sorry. I swear I’ll never leave you alone again. It’s all my fault. I was careless…”
“No, it’th not… *hic*… It’th not Hamanim’th fault at all…! *Uwaaah!*”
The tears refused to stop. Clinging to her warmth with my face buried in her collar, I sobbed my heart out for a very long time.
On the journey back toward the palace, I rode quietly on Seol-hyang’s back.
“To think such a dreadful thing happened… Our poor Bong-bong, how terrified you must have been. How utterly frightened you were…”
Her back trembled with violent tremors as she listened to the full story of my abduction. Though I couldn't see her face, the pure, unadulterated fury radiating from her body was unmistakable.
“This cannot be overlooked. No matter how deranged that woman is, there is a line one must never cross! I will report every detail to Hui-bin-jaga. Even if she is Lord Jang Hui-jae’s concubine, I will never, ever let this slide!”
I agreed wholeheartedly with her outrage. Informing Lady Jang was an unavoidable step, though I couldn't predict how she would react. It would be ideal if Lady Jang made a resolute decision to sever all ties with Suk-jeong, but there was always the risk that affection for her exiled brother might stay her hand.
Still… what does Goggle-eyed Ahjussi plan to do with Suk-jeong?
While I had confessed everything else to Seol-hyang, I had deliberately kept his identity a secret, claiming only that a passing martial artist had stepped in to rescue me. If my suspicion was correct and he truly answered directly to the King, word of what Suk-jeong had done would reach the throne in no time.
A royal execution.
The sudden, chilling thought crossed my mind, prompting me to shake it away. Even so, the crazed words Suk-jeong had shrieked over and over continued to echo in my ears.
‘Yesterday, the Morning Star appeared in the southeast! Do you know what that means?! Sinners will pay for their crimes, and those who harm others will face retribution!’
I tilted my head back and glanced up toward the heavens. It was still afternoon, yet against the pale blue expanse of the sky, the Morning Star—Venus—shone with a stark, cold brilliance.
“Have you uncovered anything?”
At the King’s solemn question, Kim Che-geon raised his head from his prostrate position on the polished wooden floor.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Within the cavernous silence of the Daejeon, Kim Che-geon rose and approached the royal dais, presenting a single folded sheet of paper. The King accepted the document and slowly unfolded it before his eyes.
Hwang Ho
Cheok Yu-hwa
For an exceptionally long moment, the King’s dark gaze lingered upon those two names.
“This is a transcription of the letter discovered inside the house where Hwang Bong-bong once resided,” Kim Che-geon reported quietly. “Though this subject has yet to ascertain who left the letter or for what purpose, the names recorded are believed to belong to the child’s family.”
“Why is the child noted here as Hwang Bong-mok?”
“Hwang Bong-mok was her birth name. This subject verified the matter directly with the child.” Kim Che-geon paused, carefully measuring his tone before continuing. “Furthermore, Cheok Yu-hwa… is believed to be the child’s late mother. However, the surrounding neighbors appear to have known her solely by the name Cheon Yu-hwa.”
“…Cheon Yu-hwa, you say.”
The King murmured the name under his breath. Altering the surname Cheok to Cheon must have been the desperate struggle of a surviving woman striving to stay alive after her clan’s brutal extermination.
“And what of her life?”
“She passed away while giving birth to Hwang Bong-bong. A woman residing next door confirmed having witnessed the burial rites.”
Crinkle.
The paper clenched within the King’s fist crumpled beneath his tightening grip. A suffocating, boundless silence descended over the great hall, settling like lead upon the air.
“Your Majesty. There remains much to investigate, and the fate of the child’s older brother is likewise uncertain. Thus, if this subject may dare inquire…” Kim Che-geon hesitated briefly before asking, “Do you wish to pursue an investigation into the Cheok clan?”
The King’s solemn eyes bore into his commander. Cheok Yu-hwa had been the very last survivor of that fabled, ruined bloodline. Now, she was dead. No soul bearing the name of Cheok remained upon the soil of Joseon—save for the young child carrying her blood.
Once more, the King cast his eyes down upon the paper. Nestled between the names of Cheok Yu-hwa and Hwang Bong-mok was another name: Hwang Jin-gi.
“Investigate the child’s brother.”
“It shall be done as Your Majesty commands. However, Sire… there was an incident.”
“An incident?”
“While covertly shadowing Hwang Bong-bong and her accompanying court maid after they left the palace, a woman attempted to abduct the child and take her life.”
In an instant, the King’s eyes shook violently. His knuckles turned white as his hand clamped down on the armrest of the dragon throne.
Seeing his monarch's sudden distress, Kim Che-geon hurried to add, “This subject intervened and rescued the child. She is entirely unharmed and safe.”
A long, shuddering breath of relief slipped past the King’s lips. Composing his posture, Kim Che-geon calmly recounted the full details of what had transpired: that the assailant was the concubine of Jang Hui-jae, and that she had recently been expelled from Chwiseondang for stirring up trouble.
“In this subject’s humble judgment, her mind did not appear sound. She was muttering strange, delirious ramblings and seemed thoroughly obsessed with the child.”
“Jang Hui-jae’s concubine… Jang Hui-jae’s concubine sought to murder Hwang Bong-bong…”
The King lapsed into heavy contemplation. As the concubine of Jang Hui-jae, she was irrevocably tied to Hui-bin. Even if Hui-bin had cast her out, the connection between them remained undeniable in the eyes of the court. If the woman’s crimes were investigated through official channels, the ensuing political firestorm would inevitably scorch Hui-bin as well.
…Hui-bin.
What were his true feelings toward her now? Even he could no longer say with certainty. Was it mere pity? Bitter regret? Or did an ember of the love he had once carried for the only woman who had truly captured his heart still smolder beneath the ashes?
Yet his hesitation was brief.
“That woman.”
The King’s gaze hardened into cold, merciless resolve as the royal order fell.
“Execute her.”
“Your royal command shall be executed, Your Majesty.”
Grasping the King’s intent without need for further words, Kim Che-geon bowed low.
Kim Che-geon departed the palace grounds without delay. His destination was the dilapidated, abandoned shamanic shrine where Suk-jeong remained bound.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
Even with the cloth gag stuffed firmly between her teeth, the woman refused to cease her frantic muffled cries. Thrashing against the hemp cords binding her limbs, she writhed on the dusty earthen floor, desperate to crawl away.
Yet Kim Che-geon was the King’s faithful sword. He granted the woman no opportunity to make excuses, nor any chance to plead for mercy.
Flash.
A cold gleam of steel sliced through the dim interior.
A stifled, final shriek reverberated off the rotten wooden walls before dying away into silence. The blade, soaked in the blood spilling from Suk-jeong’s lifeless form, cast an eerie, crimson reflection in the shadows.
Above, in the darkening twilight, Taebaekseong burned with fierce, solitary brilliance across the night sky.