Chapter 2- Seol

Finally together again, united in passionate bliss, a word as simple as happy could not even begin to describe the euphoric feeling Ha Jin felt at this moment as the pair lay in each other's arms. Their erratic breathing had steadied and heart rates were falling back to normal after Ha Jin had her way with him, and So had his way with her, for what seemed like forever. They had tried to take in every single aspect of one another. Memorizing every inch of each other's bodies, making up for all the lost time in the best way they knew how.

Everything was the same as if they had gone back in time to Goryeo, and Ha Jin felt like she was Hae Soo again. She could remember that first night she had fully given herself to So, and all the emotions she had felt back then. Even now, everything felt the same before the palace tore them apart. So was the same man she fell in love with all those years ago. He had taken her just as passionately and tenderly now as he did back then, treating her as though she were made of something fragile that could easily break until Ha Jin showed him that she wasn't as fragile as she was back then.

And So loved everything about it, from what she could tell. There was no anger, no hatred, no violence, and no sadness between them. He still laughed the same, still cried the same, still kissed her the same, still made love to her the same, still held her the same, spoke to her the same, said her name the same, and it was all so dear and familiar that it sent the good kind of shivers down her spine.

The only differences now that Ha Jin could see was that So's body was not covered in scars from the wolves that had attacked him, the swords that had slashed him, and the beatings he had endured in Shinju. The only scar now was just that of his face, which she'd gently kissed and caressed over and over again, still unbelieving at times that he was finally here with her and that they were together again. It still felt surreal.

The only light that could be seen in So's bedroom was from the full moon that shone through the sheer curtains of the window and a couple of candles burning on the top of his dresser that Ha Jin had taken it upon herself to light, giving off a soft vanilla scent. Ha Jin snuggled closer to So, his arms wrapping around her and holding her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head. The side of her face lay against his bare, warm chest, still slightly damp with sweat from their prior bedroom antics. Afterward, she had slipped on his black, button-down shirt, while he had pulled on a pair of black bed pants. His fingers were absentmindedly stroking her hair. She listened to the steady rhythm of his heart beating and sighed blissfully.

"Was it worth waiting a thousand years for this again?" Ha Jin smiled up at him, curling up against his side, tucking her head against his shoulder.

His fingers continued to thread through her long, wavy locks and his chuckle rumbled against her cheek and she felt his lips brush her forehead.

"It was worth it, but don't ever make me wait that long again, Ha Jin-ah."

Ha Jin giggled and hid her face against his bare skin, enjoying the sound of his voice again. She loved the sound of his voice saying her name. Her real name, in this time.

So hummed briefly. "You know, if we're going to have a family someday like we always dreamed of, we're going to have to do this again and again. We have a thousand years to make up for," he added, the corner of his mouth lifting in his trademark grin, and Ha Jin's head flew up, her eyes wide as she stared into So's half-moons.

"A...family?" she felt her heart stutter in her chest as So's fingers began tracing the outline of her shoulder blade over the thin, soft fabric of his black shirt.

And there it was. The elephant in the room. Ha Jin had been dying to ask him of the one thing she'd been avoiding, but if she didn't ask now, she may never be able to bring herself to, and may never know what had happened. It's not like she could ask anyone else if she saw them. They didn't have their memories of Goryeo like So did.

His smile fell. "What? You don't want a family with me?" So questioned her in that disappointed but familiar tone of his, and the nostalgia for Goryeo hit her in the oddest way. He glanced down at her, his expression curious.

"No, I mean... I-I never said that. Of course, I do... someday, it's just that...," Ha Jin hesitated, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes now. She sat up in his bed, clutching his sheet nervously in between her fists, and So sat up along with her, reaching over to his nightstand to grab a gray t-shirt sitting on top of it and pulled it on. He turned back toward her, his head was titled and brows were drawn. Ha Jin could tell he didn't seem to understand what she was getting at.

"Is it because we only just found each other again? Is it too soon?" So asked her worriedly, and Ha Jin shook her head.

"Well, no, I mean... kinda, but that's not really the point. I'm not talking about a family now. I...," she paused again for a moment and stared down at her hands still twisting the sheet. "My daughter... Goryeo..."

She averted her eyes, still unable to look at him properly when she felt one of his large, warm hands cover the both of hers in an attempt to still her nervous habit.

"Your daughter, Soo-ya?"

And hearing her old name, Ha Jin lifted her head to stare into those deep brown eyes of his, that were no longer half-moons but looking at her intently and warmly. That sure got her attention.

Ha Jin's eyes flit back and forth between So's, wondering. "I... did you know?" she asked him, hands still clenching the sheet. So slowly nodded his head up and down. Despite the fact that he was unsmiling, his eyes were still warm. There was no coldness there. "Do you... despise me for it...?" So shook his head back and forth, closing his eyes.

"I found out about her, yes, but it was quite a few years later after you had passed away. Jung had brought her along to the prayer towers you left at the palace on the anniversary of your death."

So leaned back against the headboard of the bed, drawing his knees up and resting his elbows on them, his fingers lacing over one another.

"He had broken the rule of his exile by showing up, and then I saw her. She was running and bumped into me just like you had once. She even held onto her head saying "owww" just like you did, back when we'd only first met and barely knew each other. I just knew something was different about her. "

So smiled fondly at the memory, and Ha Jin remembered that moment as clearly as if it were yesterday. She still remembered crashing into his battle-hardened chest. If only she had accepted then that she was his person...

"It was strange, though," So continued breaking her from her thoughts. "I had consented and allowed Jung to remarry, but this child was much too old to be his, even though he had informed me that she was his child."

"So-ya, I am so very-," Ha Jin began but was silenced as So raised a hand to her shaking his head.

"I also knew that you hadn't lived with Jung long enough to be able to have his child, so who else's child could it have been but mine? When I saw her, when I saw our daughter, she was wearing your hairpin. The one I gave you when I gave you my heart, all of those years ago," So sighed wistfully and closed his eyes almost painfully, attempting to smile. "I knew for sure that she was mine the moment I saw that hairpin."

Ha Jin could feel the starts of tears prickling behind her eyelids at the thought of her daughter, at the thought of So seeing her, of knowing that it was their baby, and she no longer felt like Ha Jin anymore, but Hae Soo again. Her heart squeezed miserably in her chest, and Ha Jin raised a hand to her chest, clenching her fingers around the fabric of So's shirt.

So glanced at her and let out a soft huff before smiling. "Soo-ya," his deep voice rolled at her name in the dimly lit room. "She did not grow up in the palace. I watched her grow up outside of it. Jung was a good father to her. You would have been pleased and very proud. Our daughter grew up into a very fine young lady."

Ha Jin, no Hae Soo, let out a long, shaky breath, but she still could not raise her head to meet his eyes as the shame and guilt seared through her insides and licked at her heart like flames. She sniffled as the impending tears burned her nose, and her attempts to compose herself. She tried blink the tears away, but only made them fall instead, and once they fell, the wouldn't stop as a heaviness settled over her she had wanted to avoid. This was supposed to be happy, and here she was bawling her eyes out again. She felt the weight on the bed shift as So leaned forward and placed both of his hands on her shoulders.

"Look at me," he ordered her gently, and she lifted her face, the image of him blurred by her tears. "I do not resent you. I understood back then why you did what you did, and I still understand that now. It has not changed." Ha Jin let out a sob and So pulled her into him, her face hiding in the crook of his neck as he shushed her and stroked the back of her head.

"I know you left the palace because you were both sick and pregnant with my child. I know you feared giving birth to her in the palace because of how scary and lonely it is there. I know you didn't leave because you hated me, but because you wanted our baby to live freely, unlike us. Isn't that right?"

Ha Jin wept loudly in his arms in response, unable to properly answer, as So gathered her closer and rested his head against the side of hers, rocking her back and forth gently. "It's okay, Soo-ya. It's okay," he told her knowingly. "It's all in the past. You know that our Seol lived a full life, free and filled with happiness. She married into a good family, to a husband who loved her and that she loved equally, just like we loved each other and still do. She was happy. I promise."

"Did... did she ever learn? Did she ever find out who you were?" Ha Jin asked between sobs, her voice muffled into his neck, tears soaking through his shirt.

She felt So nod his head. "Yes. She eventually did figure it out. Jung had told me that your last plea was for our daughter to not be raised in the palace. He told me that you worried about it until you died. I honored your last wish and kept the promise as well, but Seol was like you. She was far too smart for her own good. Jung brought her by the palace often and the older she got, the more intelligent she became. She confronted both Jung and me one day about it at 13 years old, and it was Jung who admitted the truth to her. I never had any intention of telling her, but I guess he couldn't keep the truth from her anymore. It was relieving in a sense."

So chuckled a bit as he rubbed his hand soothingly over Ha Jin's back. "She was a spitting image of you, even when she was angry, and boy was she angry that day. She stormed out, and I found her by our old place near Lake Dongji. I sat down there with her and we had a very long talk that day and explained to her why we had to keep it a secret that I was her real father. She hugged me for the first time that day. Nobody else in the palace ever found out the truth, however. Just me and Baek Ah, of course. We kept it all between ourselves for Seol's safety. From then on, whenever Jung brought her to the palace to visit, Seol and I would take a walk, sit there and just talk. She asked me to tell her stories about you."

Ha Jin lifted her tear-streaked face from So's shoulder and sniffled, pulling back a bit and looking up at him. She could see the pain in his eyes at recounting these memories and felt terrible for bringing them all up during what was supposed to be a happy occasion, but she had to know, and he seemed willing to tell her all she wanted.

"What sort of stories did she ask to hear?" she finally brought herself to say, her voice drawn and tired from crying.

So glanced down into his lap and smiled his crooked smile. "She wanted to know all about you. What kind of person you were, and how we met. She wanted to know when and how we fell in love and what kinds of things we did, and if we were happy...," So's voice trailed off.

"I left out most of the bad things, but she was always pleased to hear a new story every time, and I always had something new to tell her." So looked up into Ha Jin's face and raised his hands to cup her cheek, brushing away new tears with his thumbs. "She loved you, more than you know."

Ha Jin's eyes flooded with more tears at these words as her face leaned into So's hand. "She loved me. She didn't remember me, but she loved me?"

"Because her heart was just as big as yours. She may not have ever known you because she was just a baby when you left our world, but she loved you. Baek Ah even took it upon himself to draw a picture of you specifically for her. She kept it with her all of the time, and we always caught her looking at it." So told her gently. "She always talked about how beautiful her eomma was and it pleased her to know that she looked like you."

She placed a hand over her stomach, remembering what it felt like when their daughter was growing inside of her. She remembered well the first movements of her baby, the fluttering sensations, the kicks, and rolling movements. It wasn't something that could be so easily forgotten, the feeling of carrying a life inside of you. The feeling of carrying a life that she and So had created together in a pure act of true and honest love.

"My little girl," Ha Jin, no she was Hae Soo in this moment, whispered. "I'm so glad that she didn't resent me for dying before she could ever get a chance to know me."

So shook his head fervently. "No, Soo-ya. Anyone she ever spoke to about you had nothing but good things to say always. She loved hearing stories from everyone about you that you remembered you. Me, Jung, Baek Ah, Ji Mong, and the court ladies even. It made her happy, and she always smiled getting to hear all about you. She had your smile, and loved hearing people say how much she looked like you."

Ha Jin sighed heavily, leaning against So's shoulder as he slowly pulled her back down to the bed to lay down with him, his arms placed comfortingly around her, his hand running up and down her back to soothe her.

"Thank you, So-ya, for telling me. I know that it must have been so hard for you and so painful. For all of that, I am truly sorry, but I am so glad you told me," Ha Jin stammered her gratitude. "I just had to know. I had to know if she grew up happy, safe and knew how loved she was."

So nodded his head and swallowed hard. "She did. She knew how loved she was, and it was a liberating thing watching her live her life in freedom and not in a prison like the palace."

Ha Jin could feel her eyes growing heavy as she closed them, the exhaustion weighing over her now. "I'm so glad, I'm grateful to both you and Jung."

She felt So's lips gently on her temple, his voice barely above a whisper. "Maybe someday, our Seol will come back to us. Sleep now, Ha Jin-ah."

Those were the last words she heard before she drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep, her heart considerably lighter. She never heard So finally let out his own soft sob, and never knew of the tears that he let roll off the sides of his face and hit his pillow that night before he too found sleep. She might have guessed but did not know just how much suffering he had endured, and how he longed to have raised their baby girl together. She did not know what he had to give up, and what he once lost too.

Ha Jin woke the next morning, rubbing the sleep out of her bleary eyes. The sun was making it's presence known, shining brightly through the window. She glanced around before quickly finding herself awake, remembering the previous day's events. She stared down at the bed, realizing she was in Kim Joon So's bedroom, and that yesterday and last night had not been a dream. It was all very real.

She looked to the side where So had slept, and it was empty. Rumpled but empty, suggesting he had definitely been there. She had woken up in his bed alone. So was not there, so where was he? Ha Jin sat up and stretched, still wearing his button-down, and ran a hand through her hair, wondering where he might have gone. She listened intently and could hear the sound of the shower running.

Ha Jin grinned to herself and stood up from his bed, walking over to the mirror on his dresser to take a glance at herself before making her way to the bathroom door. It was cracked open a bit, and she tapped her fingers on it.

"So-ya? Is that you in there?" she called gently and she heard his voice chuckle from the bathtub.

"Who else would be in here?"

Ha Jin blushed and stepped inside. "Would you maybe like a little company?" she asked him slyly, tipping back the shower curtain with one hand, her other hand slowly unbuttoning his shirt, and she gazed up at him with a raised eyebrow and a playful grin on her face.

"I'd love some company," So replied, opening his dark eyes and smiling back at her.

Ha Jin could not help but feel incredibly turned on as she watched the water drip down his face, off the tips of his hair and down his perfectly chiseled form. She slipped out of his shirt, allowing it to pool at her feet on the bathroom floor and stepped into the tub, under the hot water with him.

His arms wound around her, and Ha Jin began tracing her fingertips up the slick, wet skin of his back before her fingers buried into his soaked hair, digging lightly against his scalp and pulling him down for a kiss to which So eagerly complied.

Their passion wasn't as long-lived as she had hoped however. The hot water didn't want to last them going twice, but they left the bathroom that morning thoroughly satisfied and feeling more in love than they ever had before. Ha Jin recalled the words she had once told So, back when he was King Gwangjong.

"If we had met in another world and at another time, I was thinking how great that would have been. If only that could be... I wouldn't fear anything. I could freely... Truly, I could freely love you all I wanted."

Now she could. She could freely love him without the worries of palace politics trying to ruin things for the both of them. She could be with him without fear that someone would try and tear them apart by political marriages. She could give him her entire heart and soul without fear or anxiety claiming her health and her life. They had that opportunity, and Ha Jin was not going to let anything take that away from them. That chance would never go to waste. They were together now, and she would hold on forever.

After their shower, So had taken it upon himself to help Ha Jin towel dry her hair, before running a brush through her long, damp locks, and the two laughed fondly over memories of spending very private time in the Damiwon bath that nobody luckily ever found out about. It was nice, talking about the good times they had shared and not the suffering they had endured, but it was even better that now they could make new and much happier memories together.

Ha Jin watched as So styled his own hair, those long bangs of his still falling over the left side of his face, and she smiled, reaching a hand up to his face to brush them back and trace his scar for the thousandth time. "We'll go into town later and stop at my work. I'll cover your scar for you again if you'd like?"

So smiled crookedly at her and nodded his head. "I'd really like that, but first. How about breakfast?"

"Hmmm," Ha Jin stated thoughtfully tapping her chin after slipping on yesterday's clothes. "How about I cook you breakfast?"

So, still grinning that lopsided smile of his, scooped up Ha Jin in his arms.

"Omo!" she yelled out in surprise as she felt herself being swooped up like a damsel in distress, which she was far from being at that moment. As So lifted her up, she squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck and kicking her bare feet playfully, her head back against his arm and the room filled with her laughter.

"You're going to cook me breakfast? Wow. I'm going to feel like I'm being treated like a king all over again," he told her as he carried her out to the kitchen and leaned in to steal a kiss before sitting her back down on her feet, the two of them laughing openly and freely.

"Well then, Pyeha, allow me to serve you," Ha Jin responded teasingly, kissing him once more.

"Careful now," So warned, his eyes glinting playfully. "I might get too used to this."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Ha Jin replied with an air of finality.

So just shook his head laughing and pointed her to where all his food items were in the cupboards along with helping her get out the pots and pans she needed before she shooed him away. He seated himself at the kitchen table, stealing glimpses of his lady fixing him breakfast for the first time in a very long time. Ha Jin busied herself, preparing skillets for frying eggs, bacon and other various breakfast delights. She was going to make him a spectacular meal for their very first one together in this lifetime.

"Tell me, So-ya. Since you're no longer a king or a prince in this time, what do you do for work?" Ha Jin asked, breaking the silence and giving them a chance for more conversation. In truth though, she just wanted to hear the sound of his voice talking to her. It reminded her that he was really here.

"I'm a martial arts instructor at a dojang just a little ways from here," So began, his arms folding across his chest. "Given how my talents from Goryeo ended up following me here, I took a serious interest in teaching students various forms of martial arts."

"Did they really?" Ha Jin asked him, turning her large eyes his way. "That's amazing! It's kind of like how my talent for makeup and skincare followed me to Goryeo when I arrived there."

So laughed and nodded his head. "Yeah, I suppose that is a good way of looking at it. After I healed up from the accident, I got myself back in shape and ended up becoming an instructor for the school. I am currently teaching Jung there as well, but he has no memory at all of Goryeo. He's a little slower on picking it up here in this time, but it's alright. I'll get him there."

So smiled, showing her all of his perfect, white teeth and Ha Jin glanced over her shoulder at him as she flipped bacon in the skillet.

"I genuinely enjoy it. Teaching, I mean. I wonder if that was how Grand General Park felt when he taught me and his other students? It's a rewarding feeling watching your students accomplish something new. He's the owner of that dojang, shockingly enough, but I don't see him as often as I'd like. When I went there to brush up on my own martial arts, they were so impressed with my skills, they ended up making me head teacher right behind him."

Ha Jin walked up to So, leaning down to give him a peck on the cheek. "It makes me so happy to see you doing something that makes you happy and that you enjoy." And she truly meant those words. For once in his life, he was doing what he wanted and not what he was forced to.

"Maybe you'd like to come with me to the dojang soon? I'm off work today, but it'd be great if you came along some time and met some of my students. You could see what I do and how I teach them."

Ha Jin nodded her head happily. "I would love that! Do you have a specific age group you teach?"

So shook his head. "I teach groups of all ages. From very young kids all the way up to adults, and my schedule is spread throughout the week for specific age groups. I've been having to make adjustments though, because according to Soo Kyung, I'm very high in demand, especially by parents. They've even asked me to start traveling to other dojang locations, just so I can teach their kids," he laughed and rubbed the back of his head, a red tinge on his face.

"I'm so proud of you, So-ya," Ha Jin said, smiling warmly at him. "It's incredibly relieving and freeing to see you doing something you genuinely enjoy and something that makes you really happy. I can tell that you love your work and the pride you take in what you do."

So waved his hand dismissively at her and Ha Jin laughed again, turning back toward the stove. Her cheeks were starting to hurt from all the smiling, but she didn't care. It was a long time coming. "Tell me about you, Ha Jin-ah. You mentioned earlier we could stop by your work later and you would cover my scar. I take it you're still working with makeup?"

Ha Jin nodded her dark head. "Yes! I'm back to working with makeup again. I have a lot of customers and clients who like to request me to do their makeup for them. It makes me feel good, to know that I can make others feel good about themselves," she sighed. "We sell a lot of products that began during the Goryeo era and those are very high in demand. Do you remember the rose oil that Baek Ah got me one year for my birthday?."

She glanced at So whom nodded his head, his chin was resting in his hand while watching her and listening intently to everything she was telling him, and something warm blossomed up inside of her chest. It was so nice to be able to do this with him. It was a normal, happy life they could lead together. She was just about to tell him more when there was a loud pounding sound coming from So's door.

So jumped up, surprised at first, before the knocking became more frantic sounding. "I'll be right back," So told Ha Jin, as his brows drew in, confused on who would be on the other side of his door pounding on it that hard.

"What in the-!?" So began as he flung open the door and on the other side of it stood a very panicked looking person in front of him.

"Hyungnim!?" the man's voice sounded alarmed, and Ha Jin nearly dropped her spatula at the familiarity of the sound of it.

"Baek Ah...?"

Author's Notes: So... I was originally going to keep this a one-shot story only, but I had people actually ask me if I would please continue it. I don't plan on making this extremely long. It might have a few chapters. I don't honestly know what'll happen, but I want Soo to be reunited with the important people, so yeah... and ah I apologize for the sort of cliffhanger? Lol Btw I suck at chapter titles. My apologies.