Page 69 of King Foretold
“Lucky you.” I shove at his chest but stop when he stares at the lake, his expression turning bleak. “Ethan, what’s wrong?”
“Do you know the Korean folklore about the seonnyeo and the woodsman?” His voice is barely above a whisper.
“The one where the woodsman finds a seonnyeo bathing in the lake?” I lay a hand on his cheek, wanting to reach him through his pain, but his gaze remains trained on the water. “He hides her clothes to stop her from flying away so she will have to marry him.”
In the old story, the woodsman saves a magical deer, who grants him one wish. The woodsman wishes to marry, so the deer tells him how to make an angel from the heavens his wife. The woodsman must steal the seonnyeo’s celestial dress while she bathes in the lake so that she won’t be able to fly away. Then he must hide her clothes from her until they have three children.
The woodsman does exactly as he’s told to claim a beautiful seonnyeo as his wife. But when their second child is born, the angel begs him to return her dress. Ignoring the deer’s warning, the woodsman gives his wife her clothes because he loves her dearly. And as soon as she has her celestial dress back, the seonnyeo flies away into the heavens, holding a child in each arm. The woodsman understands too late that the deer told him to wait until they have three children, because she could carry only two in her arms.
I never liked how the humans made the woodsman a lovesick victim and the seonnyeo a conniving, unfaithful female. That bastard forced her to marry him—forced her to bear his children. Is it any wonder she escaped from her captor the moment she got the chance?
“The humans got it all wrong, you know.” A muscle tics in Ethan’s jaw. “There was never a foolish, lovesick woodsman—only a cruel, greedy one. And the seonnyeo never got to fly away with her children.”
“Oh Ethan . . .” I whisper.
The royal line in the Kingdom of Mountains are descendants of the first woodsman, the most powerful being of Mountains. His father was the woodsman who forced the seonnyeo into marrying him, and his mother was the angel from the heavens—a noble maiden bathing in the lake, seen naked by a powerful male. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how he blackmailed her with hervirtue. How he forced her to accept his hand to avoid bringing shame upon herself and her family.
Women in the Joseon Dynasty were taught that their virtue was worth more than their lives. When a girl turned fourteen, she was given a small silver dagger to keep on her body at all times. If a man raped her, she was taught to kill the rapist first, then end her own life. That was what the silver dagger was for—to dispose of her unpure, worthless self.
Purity culture has been fucking women over, be they human or shinbiin, for as long as men took it upon themselves to determine a woman’s worth. Not only in Korea but also everywhere in the worlds. Not only in the Mortal Realm but also in the Realm of Four Kingdoms. To this day, they use our bodies to objectify us or shame us, depending on what suits their needs.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “But your mother did not stay a helpless victim. She captured the hearts of her people and gave them hope. She opposed and outsmarted a tyrant king. Because of her strength and courage, the prophecy of the King Foretold will be fulfilled.Youwill be her legacy.”
“Thank you.” He gently sets me down on my feet and presses his forehead against mine. I step back and look away from him as Jihun approaches.
“My prince.” His jaw clenches as he holds my eyes for a second too long, then he scans the surroundings. “We need to get out of the open and find cover for the night.”
“Of course, Captain.” With a faint smile, Ethan cocks his head at me. “Do your thing, Sunny.”
“Since youaskedso nicely,” I snark but turn my gaze toward the wooded mountains. I see the lay of the land in a single glance, the familiar gi of Mountains a balm on my weary soul. “There’s a cave nearby, hidden by the trees. We can camp there for the night.”
“I still cannot wrap my head around that.” Jihun’s lips quirk into a wonderous grin. “Please lead the way.”
I roll my eyes at him, but it feels gratifying to be good at something for once. I’m actually proud of my magic gi goggles. My steps feel light as I lead them toward the cave.
“Your eyes are still brown.” Ethan falls into step beside me, studying my face. “So you don’t have to open your spirit eyes to see everything anymore?”
“Not exactly everything.” I purse my lips. “I can perceive the gi of living things, including trees, mountains, bodies of water ...”
“Don’t forget caves,” Ethan adds with a teasing smile. I’m so relieved he’s back to himself that I beam back at him like a dork.
“Yes, anything created by nature. Inthatsense, my spirit eyes still work the same way.” I wipe the dorky smile off my face with some effort. “But the more accurate way to describe this ... evolution of my power is that my spirit eyes are always open.” I steal a glance at Jihun, who walks quietly on my other side, listening to every word. “With a bit of focus, I can see the gi around me with my physical eyes. I don’t even have to dip heavily into my magic.”
As we trek toward the cave, we run through our plan for tomorrow and bring Ethan up to speed on my proposal to use acupuncture to temporarily paralyze the king.
“That sounds dangerous,” he immediately objects.
“And trying to overpower him with brute magic forcedoesn’t?” I gape at him. “What part of infiltrating the palaceisn’tdangerous?”
“But you have to get close to him,” he insists. “What if he catches on and—”
“You make it sound like you and Jihun won’t be right there beside me.” I throw my hands up. “You also seem to have forgotten that I can take care of myself.”
“I agree with Sunny,” Jihun says, stepping in. “It’s a risk worth taking, Your Highness.”
I beam at him and mouth,Thank you.
Ethan narrows his eyes—and I tense myself to argue more—but he releases a sharp sigh. “Okay. That’s two to one. I concede.”
