A Crane Among Wolves

by June Hur

“In dark times, every mother becomes your mother, every child your child, every sister your sister…” She picked up the coat strings of my jacket and tied them into a ribbon, closing the front. “… and every stranger-in-need a friend.”

“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.”

“Sometimes,” Yul said, plucking a few and dropping them into my basket, “a little sweetness cheers the soul.”

“History moves its course, Young Mistress Iseul,” he murmured, flipping the page of his journal. He took up his calligraphy brush again. “But it is the youth who point the current in its direction.”

“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.”

“We all have the faculty to differentiate good from evil,” Daehyun murmured. “But greed closes the eyes of some, turning people into wolves who throw all ethics and values to the wind.”

The truth reminded me of that crane; the truth was strong. It held the courage to strike out, no matter how ferocious the oppression.

“Instead of risking your life to merely see her, risk your life to free her.”

“The path we are to take will be littered with death. Freedom will always come at a cost.”

I think even one’s beliefs and values collapse under the weight of fear.”

But a sword that has lost its heart for its master becomes but a useless object.”

Wonsik ran both hands over his haggard face, and shaking his head, he murmured, “My daughter died when she was fourteen. My son’s betrayal nearly killed me. The ones I loved most dragged me through the darkest of hours. Yet in the next life, I would still love them again.”

“We will all die in the end,” I said lightly, “but most of us simply do not know when.” I would likely never see him again after the Great Event, and this thought emboldened me to spare a few words of kindness. “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. Perhaps Wonsik will go with you.”

“I suppose I was quite despicable when we first met,” he murmured, cracking open the window. The smell of rain swept in. “Hopefully in the next lifetime, we will meet again,” he said, glancing down at me. “And in kinder circumstances.” I gazed up and offered him a small smile. “I hope so, too.”

“One must believe in something. And when the Great Event is over, and the kingdom rises anew, you must return and give that ring back to me. You had better, or I truly shall haunt you for all of eternity.”

Mun-gyeong-ji-gyo. A friendship worth sacrificing one’s life for, without any regret.

“I swear,” he whispered in a low voice, as though to himself, “the next person to harm you will die by my own hands.”

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.”

To Suyeon I would go. To the girl I had once resented. To the girl I had always loved.

“You must change the heavens. So go, daegam. Go and move the heavens for her.”

You must betray or be betrayed. That is the way of the world, daegam.”

“Iseul and her weapon of choice,” Daehyun whispered, almost endearingly. “Why did we trouble ourselves with this coup nonsense when we could have sent you in with your deadly rock?”

“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.”

“Many often find it irrationally difficult to do what is right.”

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.

“You care about me.” “You damn fool, of course I do!”

“The night is brighter with you here, Iseul-ah.”

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.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. Tell me to leave,” he urged me desperately. I knew I ought to bid him farewell, yet my hands would not release his sleeve. “And if I do not?” After a long, tense moment, he leaned in, pressing his forehead gently against the curve of my shoulder. “Then I will be yours,” he confessed, his voice a soft caress, “and I shall be your ruin.”

Tomorrow, the kingdom could sink into the sea. Tomorrow, all the elders we trusted could betray us. Tomorrow, the fog might consume everything we loved. But I had him today. And he had me.

“Are you quite certain about this?” He hesitated again, his voice a rough whisper. “You would brave a life with me?” “I would brave this life,” I murmured against him, “and a thousand more.”

“You are always teasing me one moment,” she mumbled, “then stealing my heart the next.”

He was suddenly reminded of Wonsik’s words: There is never a good time to love. They were mortals, with all their days numbered. Life would always be difficult for most, the world always harsh and cruel. There was never the right time to seize joy. One had to learn to laugh and love even in the darkest of times.

Each ending is a new chapter, and I quite enjoy this new tale of ours.”

“You are my heart, Hwang Iseul. I’m quite certain I’ve been searching for you across lifetimes.” He then gently brushed his lips against hers. “Loving you,” he whispered, “feels like coming home.”