5: The Story of Yuna's Aunt

          Yuna felt someone gently pat her back while softly humming a lullaby. She could smell a light jasmine scent that was coming from the person that held her. She turned her head to get a good look at who it could be. She was shocked to find out that it was her mother. Yuna never had the chance to meet her mother. Her mother passed away when she was only 3 years old. She barely remembered anything about her.

          All the maids in the room cooed with awe as they witnessed the mother and daughter. The baby was so adorable and obedient. The baby stared at the mother lovingly and she wasn't crying obnoxiously like other children. They were in awe of how affectionate the mother and daughter were. If only her father could make it back to see how lovely his daughter was. He was out at war while his wife was busy giving birth to their child.

          Her mother's slender hand caressed her cheek softly. "My child, I see that you are beautiful and wise. The way you obediently stay in my arms shows that you are wise. You remind me of her, your Aunt Yuna. I will name you Yuna after your auntie. In commemoration of how much she meant to me. I hope that you will become just like her."

Sena (Yuna’s Mother) began to reminisce about her younger years when her sister was still alive. She used to be such a remarkable lady. She was loved by many for her beauty and intelligence. She shaped the way for many young ladies that were seeking a successful life. She oddly always had a way to help those around her.

Sena began to tear up thinking about all the times she spent with her sister. She was such a selfless person. She was a bit too selfless in her opinion. There were times when Sena wanted her sister to think about herself more often, but she never did. She always thought about everyone else except herself. Sena was forever grateful towards her sister, Yuna. She wouldn’t be where she was if it weren’t for her sister.

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During the autumn season, it began to pour outside, and many people scurried inside to avoid the rain. Sena had been standing outside at the lotus pond in her neighborhood when it began to rain. It was pouring outside and the leaves that had fallen from the trees had turned to muck. Her slippers were covered in muck and her hair was drenched from the rain. She was wearing a white light pink hanbok (Korean traditional clothes) that did no justice for her. The light-colored clothing had attached to her skin and became transparent. 

          She ran over to a tea shop to take cover from the rain. While she was panicking, she didn't notice a boy was in front of her. She ran smack dab into his chest. She looked up to find a handsome young man looking into her eyes. His long slender fingers worked to move her bangs out of her face. It was love at first sight! The boy had never seen a girl as beautiful as her. The fragrance that flowed from the slight wind reminded him of cherry blossoms. This scent was coming from her! She had round sparkly eyes and small red lips that were so enticing he could just kiss her.

At the time, neither of them knew each other’s identities. They had blindly fallen in love with each other. Unfortunately for them, their parents were mortal enemies. The Kim and Yoon household were always at each other’s throats; especially Yoon Beom-soo (Sena’s Father) and Kim Daemin (Junho’s Father).

Yoon Beom-soo was a general and the left prime minister during this time period. Although he had a high position, many of the nobles detested him. He was well-known for being a tyrant and a coldblooded killer. Although he was detested by the nobles, he was still valued by the emperor. The reason being that General Yoon Beom-soo was loyal to the emperor regarding keeping their nation safe from neighboring countries. His bloodlust was known to have been extreme to the point of being a psychopath. He loved the feel of blood on his hands. He also had a hot-temper that caused many to dislike him.

Sena and Yuna were not close to their father and that was the reason why Sena was inclined to ignore her father’s wishes. Her father had neglected both of them because they were born as daughters and not as sons. He had a strong belief that only sons could be considered as family, because they would continue the family bloodline. He loathed having daughters because they would be married out of the family. He didn’t like the idea of having to pay a dowry to their future husbands.

On the other hand, Junho’s father, Kim Daemin was a well-known scholar that became the right prime minister. The Kim Family had many literary scholars that resided in their household. They put knowledge in high esteem rather than martial arts. They were the exact opposites of the Yoon Family.

Daemin and Beom-soo always butted heads whenever they were together at social events. They were always trying to scheme against the other, hoping that there would be a successful assassination attempt. Surprisingly, the Kim Family was exceptionally good at defending themselves against the Yoon Family.

The Emperor appointed two opposite personalities as the left and right prime ministers. It was a strategy that was effective in establishing checks and balances. The Emperor knew clearly that the Kim and Yoon Family were great together as a team when it came to running the country.

He did know about the constant arguments and battles between the two, but that didn’t stop him from appointing them their positions. He knew that both families were capable of defending themselves and weren’t afraid to voice out their opinions. It became obvious to the Emperor that it was an advantage for him if they were at odds with each other.

Sena and Junho’s marriage was disapproved by not only their fathers, but the Emperor as well. The Emperor had already accounted for the possibility of both families joining through marriage and declared a decree that all nobles must file a permission of marriage form. The form contained requests from nobles to the emperor on their marriage partner and an exact date for marriage. If the marriage is denied, they are given a new marriage partner in place of their current fiancé.

Some of these nobles were known to have committed suicide because they weren’t allowed to be with their lovers. Others were lucky to be granted permission from the emperor. Sena and Junho were destined to experience heartache.

The couple soon discovered each other’s identity at the emperor’s birthday party. They were too in love with one another that their parent’s opposition didn’t stop their romance. They would sneak out to see each other under the moon. Their love grew to the point of no return.

On one of those nights, Junho and Sena were caught by her sister, Yuna. There was no way to get out of the situation because they were found kissing in the middle of a field. There was no way that they could just be friends. Yuna was very smart and she was able to immediately identify Junho as the Kim Household’s eldest son.

Sena was reprimanded for her naivety and inappropriate behavior. Although, Yuna disapproved of their skin ship, she did believe in true love. She encouraged them to continue their love but requested that they be more cautious and aware of their surroundings.

Eventually, a problem arose in their relationship. Sena’s family received a letter from the emperor proclaiming that her marriage partner was decided, and it would be to the Jang Household’s eldest son as the 1^st wife. He was known to have over 20 concubines and their household was very chaotic. The 20 different concubines would scheme and fight against each other on a daily basis.

After hearing about the letter, Sena locked herself in her room. She grew so depressed that she began to lose excessive amounts of weight due to starvation. She refused to eat anything after learning of her arranged marriage to a playboy. She detested Jang, Sejoon so much that she wanted to run away desperately. Sena could not tell Junho about any of this, because she didn’t want to lose Junho. Her love was so strong, but her heart was too weak.

Yuna watched as her sister suffered from heartache. She could not bare to watch her younger sister go through such pain. Yuna began investigating the reason behind this sudden marriage that sprung up out of nowhere. There was no way that Sena would be requested to marry so soon when Yuna herself hadn’t even gotten married. Usually, the eldest daughter is the first to get married. The youngest is always the last to get married.

While investigating, she discovered that her father was behind this. He had also discovered Sena and Junho’s love affair. She had no clue as to why her father chose to be discreet. She expected for him to be more confrontational. He tended to be hot-blooded and most of his opinions were always voiced out in the open. He wasn’t afraid to hurt either of them.

After discovering why Sena was to marry, Yuna made a big decision in her life. She decided to sacrifice herself for her younger sister. She wasn’t interested in men or women. She just wasn’t the type to love easily because she witnessed her father abusing her mother. Sena was too young to remember any of it, but Yuna remembered it clear as day. In fact, her mother’s death was caused by her father.

Yuna and Sena’s mother was pregnant with another child, but their father began to fall out of love with their mother. After going to war, their father grew cold and detached from the family. He wasn’t always like this, but the war had changed him. He unknowingly grew in love with his new hobby, killing. He loved being able to cut the throats of his enemies and being bathed with their blood.

Their mother grew scared of his new persona and felt lost when her lover didn’t come back from the war. He became a monster that enjoyed killing more than anything. Their father would never hurt his own family, but it all went downhill on one fateful evening. He was so focused on trying to kill and scheme against Junho’s father that he accidentally killed his own wife.

He was frustrated and so hot-tempered that all he could see was red. He did not pay attention to his surroundings and began to break everything that he could see in front of him. He was furious with Daemin for making a fool of him in front of the emperor that he could not control himself. His wife snuck in the room, in hopes to ease his anger.

Beom-soo (Sena’s father) saw a vase and threw it at the door in fury. Sena’s mother came in at that time. The vase did not hit her directly, but the broken shards recoiled and went straight into their mother’s stomach; instantly killing their pregnant mother and their unborn sister. 

Yuna was a kid that never met her father because he was always out at war. She only interacted with him on occasion and she could only remember him being cruel and evil. She was afraid of her father, but she wanted to be brave like all of her ancestors. She had the heart to become a general and loved the sword.

Because she was a girl, she was not allowed to touch the sword. She became curious one evening and snuck into her father’s closet to look at his sword. She knew that she could get hurt if her father discovered her, but she didn’t let the fear stop her from her curiosity.

While admiring her father’s sword, she heard heavy footsteps at the door and her father grunting and cursing, “D*mn Damian! If only I could’ve killed him sooner, I wouldn’t have to deal with this humiliation!” Before he opened the doors to his room/study, she dived into the big closet and hid. She could see through the space between the closet doors.

Yuna watched as her father killed their mother. She knew that it was an accident, but she still believed that he caused her mother to die. The tears came pouring down and her breathe became uneven. She tried so hard to stay quiet because her father was right in front of her. She grew to despise their father when she saw his expression. He seemed pleased as if he were waiting for this to happen.

He called for the guards to dispose of their mother’s body in the woods. He treated their mother like garbage. The guards felt bad for the kids and so they were raised by the servants in a run-down hut within the Yoon Family’s estate. Their father did not kill them and chose to ignore their existence instead. They were too weak for him to pay attention to and they weren’t bothering him. The only time that their father actually paid attention was when he discovered that Sena was involved with his rival’s son.  

Sena began to notice changes in her sister’s behavior. Ever since she told Yuna about the letter from the emperor, she became distant. She spent less time with her, and she looked to be always busy. It was hard for her to get her older sister to come visit. She finally got her sister’s attention one day. She confronted Yuna about her behavior, “Why haven’t you been coming to visit lately? Are you mad at me or something?” Yuna frowned, “No, I’m not mad at you. I’ve just been busy lately.” Sena sighed, “Not that excuse again. I’m sick of hearing you say you’re busy when I know that you’re just making up excuses to avoid me. So, tell me now. Why have you been avoiding me?"

Yuna was swift when it came to thinking up a solution. She replied, “It’s a secret. You’ll find out soon enough.”

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          Sena did eventually find out why her sister wasn’t telling her anything when she received a revised letter of marriage from the emperor. The emperor sent the same letter, but there was one difference. Her partner’s name changed from the Jang Family’s eldest son to Kim, Junho. She was so shocked by the letter and she couldn’t believe that the emperor allowed their marriage.

          Sena was overjoyed by the sudden news that she immediately sprinted towards the fields where she could find Junho reading. She saw Junho standing in the fields and she quickly ran as fast as she could toward him. He saw her and opened his arms. She leaped into his arms. Sena told Junho about everything including the changed letter. Junho became so happy that they spent the whole night together outside.

          The next day Sena went home to find that all of her sister’s belongings were gone, but there was letter on top of her desk. The letter wrote:

Dear Sister,

          I’m sorry I had to leave you so suddenly. I just couldn’t face you to tell you the truth. The reason why I was acting so different this whole time was because I wanted you to be happy even when I’m gone. I bet you’re wondering why the emperor suddenly let you get married to Junho, right?

          It’s because I made a deal with the Emperor. I offered him my hand in marriage in order for him to accept your marriage to Junho. I know this may be shocking for you, but please don’t give up on your love. I fear that you will try to save me from this loveless marriage. Please don’t. I’ve never planned on marrying for love anyway.

          The Emperor did not want the marriage between you two because he knows that Junho’s future family will be invincible. He just needs some way to keep your family from ruining him in the near future. In order for this to happen, I had to be the person to step up and allow our family to show our loyalty to the Emperor by offering my hand in marriage. Please understand.

          I’ve already moved into the palace and I won’t be able to visit very often. I hope that you and Junho are safe and live happily. I’ll keep in touch.

                                                                                      Love,

                                                                                       Yuna