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Ilgop 

(seven) 




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


 


“What happened?” He asked the back of her head, as she’d turned away from him. A medicine woman silently dapped at the still bleeding wounds on her back. 

    “She called me a savage Wangja-nim. She said that only a savage holds the life that I have because the gods did not favor me.” At that, he swallowed thickly and for the first time since coming into the tent, tore his eyes away from her. 

    “I could not allow her to just… say these things and get away with it-OW!” Turning back towards her, the medicine woman now pressed a bit harder than what was necessary. 

    “Chun-hei-ah, thank you for your kindness. I will further attend to her.” The older woman blinked as she turned eyes upward. 

    “Pyeha, she has wounds on her backside and legs…. wounds that only a female attendant should treat.” Smiling softly, he nodded in agreement. 

    “Eun-jung-ah will continue her treatment.” At being dismissed, she blinked but bowed her head before stepping out. A fellow attendant stepped in and bowing her head at him, began to continue where Chun-hei left off. 

    “Tiye,” He said with an exasperated sigh, glancing at the small amounts of flayed skin that rose up on her back. 

    “You have to be mindful…mindful of what I told you. Not everyone here will be as tolerant of you as I am.”

    “I don’t need you or anybody else to be tolerant of me.” He came to the head of the table and gripped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. 

    “Is that so? Then, should I have let them flog you to death?” At that, she swallowed tightly, pain entering her features once more as the girl began to slowly peel the silk away from her rear. He watched with bated breath as the girl carefully pulled, trying not to bring any skin with it until the whole of her behind was exposed. Tiye let out a groan, gripping the edge of the table to filth. 

    “P-pyeha…. if you would like, you may leave the room while I finish.” The girl squeaked, face as red as her jeodori. Letting go of her chin, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her sweaty brow. 

    “We will finish this conversation later eolin-i.” Letting her go, he smiled in thanks to the attendant and left, quietly closing the doors. 


*** 


    Hours and hours it seemed that she was on that table but when the cooling salve was spread and the linen wrapped around her tender wounds, she felt that she could finally breathe a sigh of actual relief. 

    “Thank you…” She said with a grimaced smile at the girl. 

    “Please take care of yourself Tiye-ah.” Feeling her heart warm, she watched as the girl left. Her whole body was in excruciating pain but even so… even now… she hadn’t regret anything. Soon, she heard the door slide open and in stepped Wangja-nim. Their eyes met and his throat grew tight. 

    “I won’t apologize.” She started, dropping her gaze. 

    “I’m not asking you to.” He replied, coming to draw up a chair next to her. Turning his hand, palm up, he waited patiently until she lifted her hand and placed it into his. Swallowing hers up, he smiled at the sight. 

    “I don’t want you to mistake me Tiye. I am not angry with you.” 

    “Then?”

    “I only ask that you take more heed…. better heed to the circumstances around you. That’s all.” She twisted up her mouth to reply but he squeezed her hand firmly instead. 

    “Listen.” She flared her nostrils. 

    “In a couple months time, you and I will embark on a journey that will shape the rest of our lives. Not just our lives but the lives of the People… my people.” She was quiet as she watched his thumb gently stroke the back of her hand. 

    “These people do not belong to you yet you have willingly decided to protect them… even though those in power have enslaved you, mistreated you and abused you. Perhaps it is for my sake and mine alone that you do it. For that, I cannot thank you enough.” She felt her throat constrict and her eyes grow watery with tears. 

    “For that, I shall give you a reward.” At that, she lifted her eyes to his. 

    “What reward shall I receive?” 

    “A trip home.” For a moment, she grew still and the longing in her heart overflowed into the tears that fell down her cheeks. Leaning forward, he lifted his free hand to brush them away with his thumb. 

    “You… you would do that…for me Wangja-nim?” 

    “If I could, I would do much much more eolin-i.” His voice was warm and soft like the flames of the candles in the room and it warmed more than her heart. It traveled down to her belly. 

    “What is the requirement?” She asked, voice shaky with emotion. 

    “That you mind yourself. Mind your words.” 

    “Even if I am insulted, harassed and abused? That is the price to pay for a trip to my motherland?” 

    “Should you wish to live then yes. Everything I’ve worked for… the progress I’m trying to make with you will all be for naught if you die before it reaches fruition.” 

    “What progress are you trying to make? With me?”

    “Like you, the lower classes of people in this society are also abused, mistreated and put into slavery. I’ve seen it with my own eyes and it is something that I detest. I seek to show the nobility the error of their ways.” 

    “You think they will acknowledge their wrongdoing from one woman? A woman mind you that does not belong to their ethnicity?” A passionate fire rose up in his depths, dark and intense. 

    “Should they wish to follow me then they will.” 

    “And if they don’t?”

    “They will be stripped of their status and forced to live as the very slaves they once ruled over.” Her eyes grew wide and she took her hand back from him. 

    “Wangja-nim… the things you speak of… they’re dangerous. They’re…. revolutionary and… and most certainly can get you killed should anyone hear you.” At that, he stood and gently placed a hand on the crown of her head. 

    “It’s a good thing that I have someone who has taught me to be fearless is it not?” Smiling, he winked at her. 

    “I will visit you again eolin-i.” 



*** 


    

    Over the next month and two weeks, he came to visit her in the medicinal quarter. Most times, he requested a small desk be brought into her room and he studied there until it grew dark. Other times, when the candlelight was dim, he’d sit next to her and read her stories, stories she’d never before heard of.

     Mystical dragons and the birth of the sun. The birth of the moon and the love affair they had for each other, only to be doomed from the start. How the solar eclipse was their moment, their time to spend expressing their love. The force of it making the earth black but for a moment, the corona symbolizing their complete and final union. 

    He’d take her on journeys through the folklore of ancient times and she always lamented in the fact that she never got to hear it end because she’d fallen asleep to the sound of his voice, calm, quiet and soothing. This night he was reading about a powerful female ruler who had led her people to victory only to put on trial for murder. She had healed enough that she could lay on her side and this night she faced him, arm up underneath her head. Lifting up from the book, he smiled at her engrossed expression and laughed some, making her pout. 

    “What?”

    “You are so cute Tiye.”

    “Well? You can’t just leave off at that part! She’s about to be hung for something she didn’t do!”

    “I was afraid this story might be a bit too dark for bedtime.” 

    “I’m invested now Wangja-nim. I must know how it ends.” Chuckling, he closed the book. 

    “I think for now you need rest.”

    “But-”

    “No buts. Come on.” Whining childishly, she sucked her teeth and closed her eyes as he blew out the lamps. 

    “I’ll visit you tomorrow after I come back from my ride.” He spoke quietly, pressing his lips against her forehead. 

    “Mm.” 

    “Sleep well.”

    “Mm.” Hearing his chuckle travel towards the door, she felt a smile of her own come to her face. 


*** 


    Dismounting, he leaned his head back, allowing the wind to pick up on his flushed skin. Taking open mouthed breaths, he closed his eyes, savoring the burn in his legs and glutes. He’d pushed Dong-Il hard today and he was really proud of him. The beast panted just as hard as him and he smiled as his muzzle nudged against his backside. 

    “You did so good today Dongie. So good boy.” He could feel the heat from his nostrils scorch his hand and lifted them to scratch his ears. 

    “Apples and carrots await you my friend.” 

    “May I take him Wangja-nim?” 

    “Sure.” Handing Byung-Ho his reins, he slid the wet hair back from his face. As he approached the medicinal quarters, he was stopped by a few attendants. 

    “Wangja-nim, you mustn’t enter.” Lifting an eyebrow, his expression asked why. 

    “The girl is getting her dressings changed.”

    “Ah.”

    “And she bleeds. We must prepare a bath for her.”

    “She bleeds? She should be almost completely healed should she not?” One of the attendants blushed. 

    “No pyeha…her time of monthly bleeding has started.” This time both of his eyebrows lifted and his lips formed a small ‘o’. Ruffling his hair sheepishly, his cheeks grew warm.

    “A-Ah. Right. Well, I shall return later then.” Bowing in thanks, they smiled at each other at his retreating back. 

    


*** 


    When she fell asleep, this time she didn’t hear Wangja-nim’s voice. She wanted to tell him just how excited she was…in viewing her body. Mishil was wrong. The gods were indeed in her favor because even with the severity of the lashing she’d received, only a few minor scars remained. Scattered here and there in odd places on her legs and back, over all her smooth complexion had returned. She felt proud of herself, of her body. Sighing in the darkness, she turned towards the light of the moon. 

    That one hadn’t left her. The tale of the sun and the moon falling in love with each other. Opening her eyes, she looked outside of the window upwards at it. How lonely it must be. Without its lover. How cruel of a fate it must be. To be teased with your dearest only to be forced away in the end. For centuries… millennia…the same cycle over and over. Turning onto her back, she gripped the light linen placed underneath her. It felt good to be able to be on her back again and even more so to sleep there. Glancing up at the ceiling, she allowed slumber to claim her once again. 


*** 


    

    Sweet smelling dressings were rubbed into her hair, unbraided and down her back. Lifting the large wooden comb, its wide teeth parted the desired sections. Soft brown hands laid a line of grease upon her scalp. She smiled as lips kissed the hair. 

    “Mama…” 

    “Yes my child?” Opening her eyes, she glanced up at her mother, who this time did not wear the paint of war. This time, the small beautiful nubs were each painted with a different color and it made her blush, knowing just what it meant. 

    “Why do you wear the paint of a mother-in-law?” The woman laughed warmly and turned her head forward as she began to comb through her thick coils. 

    “Have you not seen you own face? Have you not asked yourself why you look the way you do?” At that moment, she wanted to get up and see just what she spoke of but knew she’d get popped should she attempt it. 

    “Have you forgotten the way? Our way?” 

    “No Mama! Of course I haven’t.” Making a satisfied sound in her throat, the woman continued to braid before letting her hands pat her shoulders. 

    “Go and put on your garments for your love draws near.” 

    “Mama why do you keep mentioning a love? I have no love.” 

    “There yonder. The love I speak of is there.” Turning eyes towards the sun, a man came towards them. She couldn’t see his whole face but she could see enough to know that he wasn’t one of them. He was something else entirely.

    “You haven’t much time my child. The sun will set and you will rise. Now is the only time you may have together.” Feeling her heart race, she hurried into the nearby tent and stood still as garments of a bride were put onto her body. A headdress adorned her hair and gold bands were slipped onto her arms and wrists. As she parted the fold of the tent, she was met with a hand… the hand of the man. He said nothing and she could only make out his lips, which were curved up into a smile. 



*** 


    

    When she awakened, sweat chilled her and she groaned, turning onto her face. 

    “Tiye-ah,” 

    “Yes?”

    “One of Wangja-nim’s concubines is here to see you.” Lifting her head up from the cot, her brow knit together. One of his concubines? Why was she here? Groaning again, she lifted up and began to bind her chest when a slender hand slipped through the flap and a face peered in. 

    “Are you Tiye?” Looking into the face of a beautiful woman, she blinked. 

    “Yes. I am her.” The woman smiled and to her surprise, dimples appeared in each cheek. 

    “Great. We have a lot to discuss.”

    “Do we?” She asked, finishing her wrapping. The woman came further into the room and grabbed the pin, sliding it in to hold the bindings together. 

    “We do.” 



*** 


    

    Four men gathered around the table, three of which eyed the way the fourth was pacing. 

    “In a month’s time we shall travel to Song.”

    “Indeed.”

    “Are we all ready?” Yoo-shik nodded without hesitation. 

    “I’m ready Wangja-nim.” 

    “Mal-Chin-ah? Sang-Ook-ah?”

    “Ready Wangja-nim.” The men nodded. 

    “I don’t need to explain the severity of this journey for us. What this means for our loved ones. Our people. Our land. An alliance with Song will provide a greater security net for both nations against the rising Mongols. We must ensure that we not give them a chance to take our livelihoods from us.” 

    “Yes Wangja-nim.”

    “By now, I’m sure that each and every one of you are ready to lay down your lives for that cause.” Again, the men nodded, faces of utmost seriousness. 

    “Yes Wangja-nim.” Finally, he stopped pacing and turned to face them all. 

    “Very well then. Let us prepare.” 



*** 


    “Wangja-nim is your lover is he not?” She felt her cheeks warm. 

    “No…he..he isn’t.” Pursing her lips, she smiled. 

    “Are you aware of how he feels about you?” 

    “He feels nothing… nothing at all but platonic friendship.” At that, the woman laughed and she felt insulted. 

    “Oh my dear, I wouldn’t use those words at all. He most certainly has more in his heart for you than just friendship.” 

    “And you know this how?”

    “Because I am the one he bedded that night he was intoxicated, seduced by the moon’s glow and the scent of my peony perfume.” Her eyes bugged out of her head. 

    “Y-You are?”

    “Yes. I know Wangtaejabi-nim told you. She tells all the harem gossip one way or another.” Stepping back from the woman, she swallowed thickly. 

    “What is your purpose for coming to me?” 

    “A couple reasons. One is to make sure that you protect his heart.” 

    “What?”

    “Had I not had a lover before, surely I might have fallen in love with the prince from that night forth. He loved my body the way he wishes to love yours.” At that, she remained silent, watching as the woman glanced around her. 

    “His heart is fragile and like glass. He needs someone who he can trust irrevocably and full heartedly. Someone who can nurture his spirit and give him solace when the Throne becomes too much to bear, too much to handle.” Turning eyes onto her, she smiled in a friendly manner. 

    “I believe you are the person who can do all of the above.” Heart beating wildly in her chest, she let the woman sit on her cot. 

    “Secondly, I came to you because of this: I wish to go with you.” At that, she couldn’t help the laugh that came from her. 

    “Now I am most certain that you have lost your mind. What place do you think you have on this journey?” 

    “My man is going on this trip and I wish to be with him.”

    “Your man?”

    “Sang-Ook.” 

    “Isn’t he a royal guard?”

    “He is.” The questions spun around in her mind before the unnamed woman answered. 

    “Though I belong to Wangja-nim, I belong to him only by body alone. My heart belongs to Sang-Ook and he and I will be together. Whether in secret or not, it doesn’t matter.” 

    “Should you betray Wangja-nim for another man, you’ll be put to death.”

    “It doesn’t matter. For him, I will gladly surrender up my life.” 

    “So you want to go to be with your man but what can you offer us? We cannot be held responsible for you should you perish. Can you even fight?” The woman smirked. 

    “Do you think all Korean women are weak and docile?” At that, she was quiet as the woman came up to her. 

    “I assure you Tiye. We are not all the same. I can and will fight. Not just for Sang-Ook but for my people to be in a season of eternal prosperity and peace. This thing we are facing is bigger than anything we can ever imagine. I come to you woman to woman to ask that we join forces for the greater good.” Looking at the woman intensely, she felt a stirring in her chest. 

    “What is your name?” 

    “Hae. Yi Hae.” 

    “You may come only if you uphold your weight. We’re dealing with four men on this team and they haven’t been too friendly towards me. I can only imagine how they will feel about you, a concubine in the prince’s harem wanting to take up arms.” 

    “Very well. I will prove to you my worth.” 






Chapter End Notes:

 

A/N: Alright guys! I have set the stage and all of the actors are upon it. Get ready because it is going to be a RIIIDEEEE. Our Cheollie is revolutionary isn't he? I have pictures, gifs and even a video below because as with all of my other stories, I an VERY visionary BUT for some reason... with this tale I have been very auditory as well! I will include what voice I imagine Cheol-Su having speaking, laughing and even reading to our little Tiye. The person whose voice it belongs to might surprise you? Or not. LOL. Don't come for me when you find out okay? I can't control these things LOL. hahaha. Till next time! Love you and see you soon! God bless! 

D&L


Yoo-shik:

Sang-Ook:

THEEE BEAUTIFUL SO JI SUB *insert droll emoji* 

Mal-Chin:

Our second heroine Yi Hae:

The way(s) Cheol Su be looking at his baby LOL cause he so obvious with it. Tiye tryna not see it but it's plain as day LOL:

Visual: Park Hyung Sik (I will use a lot of him in the future chapters FYI) 

Our handsome prince practicin his archery:


AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST: 

Cheol Su's voice... AT LEAST TO ME *prepares for the weave and wigs to fly* 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTe4f-bBEKg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlRimyjvfHc


 







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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.