Episode 222

A distant voice came from somewhere.

“Seol Young-rang, let me go.”

In his blurred vision, he saw Zaha sitting. His hand was holding tightly to the hem of his clothes.

“You plan to end it like this? You made it this far, and you just want to sit down here? Are you asking me to prepare a funeral right now?’

“…”

“What? You don’t want to hear the word funeral? Then open your eyes.”

“….”

“If that happens, I’ll probably have to prepare for a funeral by tomorrow. If my words are right, I will use the Blue Ice Pavilion in my…”

His voice broke.

Seol Young opened his eyes, and the illusion vanished then he saw familiar people.

“Second-rang, third-rang….”

“Are you alright?”

They went closer to him.

His vision cleared up, and he saw two faces. Both with red swollen eyes, but they had mourning clothes on.

This is the reality.

“….”

Seol Young looked at the faces of his two brothers in silence. After the black barrier had blocked his vision and mind, he had been confused for so long.

Everything that had happened while he was dazed passed through his mind. It was late, and his heart was pounding.

“Zaun-rang collapsed….”

“Don’t worry. Right after that, she went into labor and gave birth to a third daughter earlier.”

“The child? The one I met before fainting….”

“That child is fine, too. He didn’t know what to do, but he put a cloth on your head and calmly called out people.”

Right.

Seol Young sighed.

“Sorry. I lost it and went into the tomb. It wasn’t normal for me to do that… Everyone must’ve been surprised.”

“No matter how surprised we were, you are the one in that situation, right?”

Song Ok’s eyes were red. The three brothers were at a loss for words.

There was something they could understand without having to speak. It was the emotions and memories they shared.

After a while, Hyo Wol spoke,

“All the Hwarangs know how shocked you are. It’s not surprising, though. If you had gone through the same thing next to me, I would’ve lost it. You actually held yourself quite well. So do not think about anything and get some rest.”

“No. It’s time for me to get up.”

Seol Young asked to be raised from the bed and went down.

He couldn’t just sit here anymore. He thought the door would open up, and Zaha would come inside with an alcohol bottle.

Seol Young shook his head and brushed the illusion off.

“I must’ve been unconscious for a day. Is Great-rang still in the Hwarangs’ Hall?”

“Yes.”

When he came out, the sky looked blue, and the snow that had piled up everywhere shone in the winter sun.

“Seol Young-rang, are you awake?”

The trainees carrying firewood stopped walking and bowed their heads. The snow behind them was shining.

In the place where the curse that wandered for so long had vanished, only silence remained. In the same way as eight years ago, the supernatural calamities suddenly stopped. And so did the warning from the heavens.

Everyone seemed to be back in place.

Among them, the High Governor of the Hwarangs dying and returning again to do the same thing was only known to a few people.

‘He sensed that the evil spirit he had slain was about to come back, so he returned from hiding to settle it once and for all.’

It was only known like that to the people, and Seol Young headed to the Moon Palace.

Everyone was gathered there.

In the meantime, an official ceremony was held to honor the High Governor. It had been a position he had held for eight years.

Jin Rim and the other leaders looked awkward. That was how strong the role of the High Governor was.

Jin Rim’s gaze wandered and then turned to Seol Young.

“Seol Young-rang is here?”

“Yes.”

Seol Young greeted everyone and approached them

Books, scrolls, and documents were all scattered on the desk. It was about various formalities and events.

“State funeral?”

At Seol Young’s question, Jin Rim nodded.

“An order from the King to hold a state funeral in a grand manner to honor his merits. Since he held a high position, it seems like the ceremony will happen with the Crown Prince present. And it had been decided to use that as an example and put up a shrine. But I wonder what’s the use of all that.”

“Right.”

Seo Geom held a miserable look.

“No matter how honorable the funeral is, what about the High Governor? What is the use of a funeral without a body?”

Their eyes were red. Everyone had cried or was holding back their tears.

Guilt, sadness, regret, anger…

No one said anything out loud, but the emotions they felt were clear.

Seol Young finally realized why he was here.

Someone had to finish it, and that was him.

Because Zaha, who came back from the grave and changed, was the only person who knew Seol Young’s true face.

So, he had to convey Zaha’s will. His role was to be the bridge between the dead and the living.

Seol Young looked around and asked Jin Rim,

“Was a will written? We left a lot before heading to the Ghost Bridge.”

Jin Rim frowned and shook his head.

“None.”

“There is no will?”

“Right. He said he put it in the box, but there was nothing there. It seems he lied about it.”

“It cannot be…”

Seol Young’s face darkened. A sudden farewell and nothing left behind?

Like eight years ago, he prepared to leave alone this time, too. At least he had the time to prepare his mind.

‘So I thought he left something behind.’

Seol Young’s eyes, which had been wandering aimlessly, stopped at the corner where books were piled up.

It was the calendar and books that Zaha got from the King. And he recalled their conversation at that time.

-If what we are going to do ends up successful, next year and then the next year, and more will come… Then I just want to live my life on my own terms.

Seol Young slowly approached it as if possessed and picked one book.

Baek Eon asked,

“What is it?”

Seol Young turned around and showed it to everyone.

“There is a name written in it.”

“Name?’

Song Ok, who was standing in the back, stepped forward.

“That is me?”

He picked up the one that had his name and then stood still.

“What is it?”

Jin Rim asked. Instead of answering, Song Ok held the book.

“The High Governor left his will here.’

It was written clearly on the front page.

‘Do not drink too much on an empty stomach. Take the pine tree in the garden, which you wanted to covet. Give it to your father and ask him to grow it for me.’

Beside him, Hyo Wol hurriedly opened his,

“Mine too.”

His was there, too.

‘Hyo Wol-rang, it is painful if one is too popular, so do not smile too much.’

“…”

Everyone had odd expressions, and soon, they moved to find theirs.

And then Baek Eon,

‘Baek Eon is the most mature one of the leaders, but when I saw you eight years later, you were smiling a lot because you had freedom. As a price to make you smile, I put in some pocket money along with the tea sent to Hyo Wol. It’s fine to be thrifty kid, but some parts of your residence need to be fixed.’

And to Seo Geom,

‘Your Hyung was a great Hwarang and one I was proud of. Whenever I see you play the flute he treasures, I remember him I engraved the characters of Jun and Eom with my own hands.’

And to Hwa Un,

‘Your hatred wasn’t due to a lack of courage, so do not apologize for it and develop more of a benevolent nature. In that way, I am entrusting my Water and Moon Avalokiteshvara, which is in my study, to you. Cherish it all your life.’

And to Mu Won,

‘If I had been there in the past, I would have fixed your leg. Each time I saw it, I felt bad that I couldn’t do anything anymore. I made a pill and left it at your training center, so make sure to take it and get help from the people around you to get yourself back to normal.’

And he left this to Jin Rim,

‘When I came back after eight years, I saw that you did an amazing task teaching the juniors. I think any of them will do well as the next Governor, so you can step down with peace of mind. Take all the books in my library that you want and have a good time.’

When he first vanished eight years ago, he left no message.

As if he regretted that, he left a greeting.

Did he do everything he wanted to because he died?

Seol Young recalled what Zaha said,

“High Governor said that all of this is like a natural disaster. He said it couldn’t be stopped at all, but he said that if he tried to stop it by force, he would fail. He failed once before, and he came back to try it again.”

A choice made to save many people.

This wasn’t one done to kill the enemy but an exchange for his life for those he cherished.

The books held what he was telling all of them.

‘Do not be sad and continue to live.’

It was the moment when the dead was comforting the living.

Everyone’s eyes went wet again. Then Jin Rim got up and opened the door.

“All Hwarangs come to the hall and ask them to honor the legacy that the High Governor has left behind.”

“Yes.”

And then he picked up one more book and handed it to Seol Young.

“Seol Young-rang, here it is.”

“Yes.”

Seol Young cherished the one with his name.