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My parents do not love me when I am weak, when I fail them, when I err. Who am I, if I am not the perfect daughter?
“We live in a terrible time,” Yeongho said. “An era when the truth is a crime. And there is nothing we can do about it—”
I was afraid of this love for her, afraid of the intolerable agony that came with loving anyone at all.
It is fine. This is our fate. We must be silent even when we are in pain; we must endure.”
han. The feeling of outrage, the vicious urge for vengeance to right the wrong, pierced by the acute pain and grief of knowing our overwhelming odds at ever claiming justice.
“You will not always be the wisest, nor the strongest, nor the bravest. That is why we need friends. They will guide you down the right path, no matter how dark it grows.”
We all want the reward, but we mustn’t endanger the lives of innocent men.”
I would run to someone I trusted, someone who would wish me no ill,
At least then our suffering, when shared, might have turned into fond memories.
“You need to stop charging thoughtlessly through challenges. Sometimes you must learn to take your time and strategize.
he knew history was the wisest teacher.
No young person had any future in this kingdom. All that consumed our minds was whether we would even live to see tomorrow.
when you numb one feeling, you numb them all.
There are too many sorrows in life to feel each too deeply.
“One is imprisoned by a thousand rules as a woman, and no one will explain to me why such rules exist.”
He did not want to care. Indifference was all that had kept him sane.
“We live in a time when we must hide our innermost thoughts.” Wonsik moved a janggi piece across the game board. “A time when speaking truthfully can result in our execution.
“The ability to exercise your judgment is invaluable, especially during times when anxiety threatens to sweep you into a current of indecisions and dangerous conclusions.”
Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish.”
“When one is able to differentiate good from evil, it is impossible to accept the way things are.”
The truth reminded me of that crane; the truth was strong. It held the courage to strike out, no matter how ferocious the oppression.
“Because rape is about power; it is never about desire or love,”
“The path we are to take will be littered with death. Freedom will always come at a cost.”
“I am just here until I am not. I do not think of one, five, or ten years in the future.”
“Whether your days are many or few, daegam, I hope you will embrace each one. I hope you will go visit the sea, and perhaps find a good friend to accompany you.
None of it is your fault. Let the king, and the king alone, carry the weight of all his crimes. Do not fall victim to the king’s games. He enjoys—nay, he needs—to set people against one another, to set people up against their own selves.” He glanced down at his reflection in the tea. “He encourages the monstrosity in others to justify his own.”
power cannot protect us from the greed and wrath of others—and it will not protect us from ourselves.
You will be far happier if you choose the simple life among the mountains and waters. Peace of mind is the most precious gift.
“Focus yourself on the details. The truth is right before you.”
Mun-gyeong-ji-gyo. A friendship worth sacrificing one’s life for, without any regret.
“You do not wish to … kiss me?” He offered me a wry smile. “What does it matter what I wish?” he said quietly, striding up and brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You said no, and I will receive your word as a royal command.”
He indeed felt ill. Everywhere he looked, he found her.
She would always be Iseul, no matter how she appeared, no matter how much she changed.
“She is a capable young woman; do not forget that,” Yul pressed. “And if you wish to reunite with her, then there is only one thing you must do, daegam.” He finally looked up at the innkeeper, his lips pale and his face drawn. “You must change the heavens. So go, daegam. Go and move the heavens for her.”
“Hwang Iseul,” his voice rasped, his hands gripping tight onto my skirt, “if by any chance we do not meet again in this lifetime, then I will find you in the next—or as many lifetimes as it takes to see you again.”
“So long as you live, we’ll have the rest of our lives to find each other again. And I will find you again. I promise.”
Never ignore coincidences. Wonsik’s warm and deep voice rumbled through my soul. Probe them apart until you are absolutely certain that there is no connection.
“It’s not you who are tarnished, but them! The king, his chehongsa officers, the coup leaders—anyone who would think to blame you for their crimes! They are the ones who should be ashamed!”
“Why is it so irrationally difficult for men to simply leave women alone?!”
The dead are dead. He knew that was what they would have said—Hyukjin, Wonsik, his mother, and his brothers. But she is still among the living. Be good to those who are still alive.
This darkness seems without end, and yet…” He glanced at me, his touch trailing from my wrist to the very tip of my finger, before intertwining his with mine. “The night is brighter with you here,
“I cannot have my future ruined by those determined to capture me.”
We mortals exist for but a season, and yet we love as though we are bound by eternity.
Life has been and will always be painful and lonely, and the only way to make this life endurable is that we all work together, for each other.
What is freedom if I cannot share it with my dearest friend?
“All I desire,” he whispered, tenderly caressing her hair, “is to live a peaceful and honorable life, and above all, to be remembered well by you once I’m gone.
It is imperative to confront history because it repeats itself when ignored.
thank you for bearing witness to this tragic chapter in Korea’s past. Thank you for not looking away.
