37
840 Words
The rain continued through the night.
By morning, the roads were wet, and the air smelled fresh and cold. The sky was still gray, but the heavy storm had passed.
Jin Woo stood in the courtyard of his residence, adjusting the sleeve of his robe. A horse was already prepared for him.
He looked calm, as always, but his thoughts had not rested since yesterday.
Han Seojun.
The forgotten records.
The place Minister Choi had written down.
It was not far from the capital, but it was far enough to be ignored by most people. That made it the perfect place to hide something.
Or someone.
Jin Woo mounted the horse without another word and left before the city fully woke.
The streets were still quiet. Shop doors were closed. Only a few workers and guards were outside.
He preferred it this way.
Less noise.
Less attention.
The road outside the capital stretched long and empty.
Trees lined both sides, their leaves still wet from the rain. The sound of the horse’s steps was steady and clear.
Jin Woo let the silence stay.
These quiet roads always brought memories.
Years ago, he had traveled this same road with Ara sitting beside him in a small carriage. They had just returned from visiting the market outside the city.
She had bought too much, as always.
Fruit, cloth, small toys for no reason at all.
Jin Woo had looked at the bags and sighed.
“You plan to buy the whole market?”
Ara had smiled proudly.
“Maybe.”
“You said we were only buying rice.”
“Yes. And then I saw other things.”
“That is not how plans work.”
She laughed softly.
“That is exactly how plans work.”
He remembered the way sunlight touched her face that day. The easy warmth in her voice. The simple peace of that moment.
Back then, he thought those ordinary days would last forever.
He had been wrong.
Jin Woo’s hand tightened slightly on the reins.
The memory faded, but the ache remained.
He kept riding.
After nearly two hours, he reached the place written on the paper.
It was an old government storage house near a small village.
The building looked forgotten.
The wooden walls were worn. The roof had missing tiles. Weeds had grown near the entrance.
No one would think something important was hidden there.
Which meant it was exactly the right place.
Jin Woo got down from his horse and looked around.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
Only the sound of wind moving through the trees.
He stepped closer and pushed the door open.
It made a long, dry sound.
Inside, dust covered everything.
Shelves stood against the walls, filled with old boxes and tied bundles of paper.
The smell of age filled the air.
Jin Woo walked in slowly.
His eyes moved across the room.
Nothing looked touched.
But appearances often lied.
He started with the nearest shelf.
Old land records.
Nothing useful.
The next shelf.
Tax reports from ten years ago.
Still nothing.
He kept searching.
Carefully. Patiently.
Time passed without notice.
Dust settled on his sleeves.
Still he continued.
Then, near the back of the room, he found a locked wooden box.
Simple.
Small.
But different.
Unlike everything else, it had been cleaned recently.
Jin Woo stared at it.
Someone had been here.
Recently.
He knelt down and examined the lock.
Old, but not weak.
He reached into his robe and pulled out a thin metal pin.
A habit from years in court where trust was often dangerous.
After a quiet moment, the lock opened.
He lifted the lid.
Inside were only a few papers.
Too few for a box kept this carefully.
He picked up the first one.
A transfer order.
A military report.
Another official notice.
His eyes moved quickly.
Then he found it.
A letter.
No official seal.
No signature.
But one name written inside.
Princess Seraphina.
Jin Woo’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
He read every word.
Each line made the silence around him heavier.
It was not a confession.
It was worse.
It was proof of secret meetings, private orders, and movements hidden from the court.
Enough to know that the princess had been building something in the shadows long before Ara’s death.
Enough to know this was not obsession alone.
This was control.
Planning.
Danger.
Jin Woo folded the letter carefully.
His heartbeat remained steady.
But inside, something cold settled deeper.
He reached for the next paper.
Before his fingers touched it—
A sound.
Footsteps.
Outside.
Jin Woo stood immediately.
Slowly.
Quietly.
The footsteps stopped near the entrance.
Someone was there.
Watching.
His hand moved to the small knife hidden at his side.
Not for attack.
For certainty.
The door opened.
Light entered first.
Then a figure stepped inside.
Tall.
Familiar.
For one second, neither of them spoke.
Then the man sighed.
“I was hoping I was wrong.”
Jin Woo stared at him.
Han Seojun.
Alive.
Standing right in front of him.
- Writer
