786.
When the voice was heard beyond the door, the Princess of the State of Lu stopped breathing first. It was not surprise. It was not expectation either. It was closer to the realization that she no longer had the strength to run away.
"Your Highness. It's Park Seongjin, the middle general." The name was heard. It was not an unfamiliar name, but it was not a name she expected to hear at this moment. Her hand touched the doorframe. The paper-covered door trembled lightly. The tremor traveled from her fingertips, up her arm, and into her chest. The door opened. At that moment, time seemed to stop. The outside air flowed in, but no wind blew. There was no sound. Only the light very slowly changed direction.
A man stood in front of the door. No armor, no weapon. But his presence was as heavy as an entire hall. He did not move. He did not enter, nor did he step back. He simply stood there. The moment his gaze met hers, the Princess of the State of Lu knew. There was no need to run, no reason to hide, and no words to explain. His eyes held no surprise, no pity. Only a certain, trustworthy certainty.
"You're here." The words reached her heart without passing through her lips.
She leaned against the doorframe. Her legs didn't give way from weakness, nor was she about to fall. It was just the relief of no longer needing to hold on. Her lips moved. She wasn't trying to call his name or speak. It was only a breath that escaped without sound.
He did not approach. He did not reach out his hand. Yet, just by standing there, everything she had been hiding, waiting, and enduring over the past days collapsed. The nights when she had lowered her breath in fear of someone opening the door. All of it ended by his presence.
The Princess of the State of Lu closed her eyes. There were no tears, no sobs. It was just the feeling of time, which had been frozen, starting to flow again. And only then did she fall forward.
Upon reaching the king, Park Seongjin carefully laid her down. At that moment, the king collapsed. He poured out his grief. "The Queen... the Princess..." His words were lost. The King took a step forward and then sat down. There was no dignity, no majesty. It was a soundless weeping. It was not the cry of the King of Goryeo, but that of a man afraid of losing a woman he loved.
"What happened...?" Park Seongjin answered quietly, "She was sedated. The worry and fear had accumulated, so her condition wasn't good. Right now, rest is the best course. Quietly, and…"
"Where? What's wrong with her?" The King asked, but Park Seongjin remained silent, pointing to his chest.
"There's no injury or illness. Her heart has been worn down." The King did not move away from her side. He reached out but then withdrew his hand, as if afraid to wake her. Park Seongjin again tucked the blanket over the Queen and carried her to her chamber. During this, he did not touch her unnecessarily. The King followed like a shadow. Not a step apart.
After laying her down, covering her with a blanket, and instructing the attendants to stay by her side, Park Seongjin went outside. The yard had fine earth scattered over it. It was quiet, the footsteps silent.
He walked slowly across it. Everything was not over, but at least for now, one life had returned to its rightful place. That was enough.
When the King came out of the palace and saw Park Seongjin standing in the yard, his steps faltered for a moment. His face, which had been filled with fear of losing a woman, was no longer the same. The sorrow had faded, and responsibility had returned. It was the moment when the man who had regained his love became the King of Goryeo again.
The King said, "Middle General Park Seongjin, I thank you."
Park Seongjin bowed his head, "I am glad. Heaven helped us."
The King took a step closer. His gaze had hardened, and his voice was low but unwavering, "How should I repay you?"
After a moment of silence, Park Seongjin spoke, "Please protect Goryeo, Your Majesty."
The King's eyes changed upon hearing this. The traces of emotion disappeared, and clarity returned. The hesitation vanished. The King did not ask any more questions. He turned around immediately.
"I will go to the main hall." The King gave a clear command as he began to walk, "Investigate. Identify the culprits. Punish them without exception, and correct the positions of the people."
The words were brief, and the orders were clear. The air inside the palace shifted. The trembling order began to settle into place. Park Seongjin watched this for a moment before leaving the palace without saying anything. He was where he needed to be, and he had completed his task.
As he returned home, the spring had deeply settled in the place where his journey had ended. The plum blossoms had already faded, and the peach blossoms had spread beyond the wall. The petals did not struggle against the wind and fell slowly, without haste. The air that flowed through the alley carried the scent of earth and fresh leaves, and it was a scent that didn't blame the one who had returned after a long absence. The breeze was light, brushing by without touching his clothing, and the sunlight still reached the yard without tilting.
It was a light that felt as if it had something to say, as if there was still more to be done. He briefly took it in, letting it fill his eyes. It was a daylight unlike the many mornings he had seen in the battlefield, a daylight that asked for nothing. Standing before the door, his steps stopped. He stood for a moment, as if taking a breath at the thin boundary that separates the inside from the outside. Though leaving and returning through the door was no different, the time passed between them was not light.
Yet, the door made no sound. It did not question, nor rebuke. And so, he did not stay any longer. As if nothing had happened, just as he had always done, he reached out and opened the door. The spring light that entered the house touched his feet, quietly, like the heart of someone returning home.