Beginning Beyond The Horizon

Haneul looked at Sukh's body lying on the bed, recalled the past when they first met, and finally remembered the bowl of rice that Sukh kept mentioning. Haneul stroked Sukh's face and smiled slightly.

Haneul grabbed Sukh's hand and stared at Sukh's pale face. With tears streaming down his face, he murmured, "I can handle anything in this world, except your absence. If you open your eyes and smile at me, I can give up everything I have." He waited, still in disbelief that Sukh is dead. "Sukh…" he shook Sukh. "Wake up…Sukh." Haneul's eyes fell on the wound on Sukh's neck, and only then did he realize that Sukh was really dead. "If one day... I miss you so much, I will leave this place we created and come to you." He kissed Sukh's forehead.

"Your Majesty," a servant greeted him at the door, holding a golden outfit in his hand, for fear of angering Haneul by breaking into Haneul's bedroom chamber.

Haneul stared at Sukh's face and said, "What?"

The servant said, "The Bayarmaa family hopes that His Majesty will release the body of the Great Grand General for a proper burial."

Haneul didn't answer the servant's question, but asked, "Is the preparation in Mount Tai ready?"

The servant said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

The road to Mount Tai took three days of nonstop walking. When they reached Mount Tai, the ground on Mount Tai had hardened due to the coming of winter.

Haneul's tomb has been under construction since the day he became king of Tangzang. He wanted this final resting place to be one where he could be with Sukh for eternity, so his grave looks more like a vacation home in the backcountry. As Haneul stands in front of the entrance into the tomb, he recalls a memory with Sukh.

(Memory)

Late in the afternoon, Haneul concluded his morning meeting with the court ministers, where he sat in the backyard looking at the many designs submitted to him by artists.

This is the first year of his retaking the throne and lands, so Haneul is happy to start giving orders. He looked at the details of the design with great interest, but when he heard the sound of the long sword unsheathed rubbing on the metal armor close to him, his eyes immediately raised.

"Sukh," Haneul said. "Come and sit next to me."

Sukh looked at Haneul and said, "It's not appropriate for me to sit next to His Majesty."

Haneul got up, took Sukh's hand, and let him sit on Haneul's chair. Haneul sat next to Sukh and pushed many designs painting to Sukh. "Look at the designs that were submitted to me," he said with a smile. Sukh looked at some of the first few designs. "Help me decide and see which one you like best."

Sukh asked, "What is this?"

Haneul said, "My tomb."

Sukh looked at Haneul in shock, and asked, "Haneul, why are you suddenly interested in this?"

Haneul said, "We will not live forever. I know it will take a long time to build the king's tomb." He looked up at Sukh and held Sukh's hands. "Do you want to be buried in the same grave as me?"

Sukh said, "It's not right for me to be buried in the same place as you, not alone in the same grave."

Haneul said, "I don't know why I am asking you. Well, whether you like it or not, you will be buried in the same tomb as me. I have already chosen the design of the coffin." He pushed the drawn design to Sukh.

Sukh looked at the drawing and said, "I like this design."

Haneul said, "I knew you would like it."

Sukh asked, "Why are there two jade pillows?"

Haneul smiled and said, "One for me and one for you."

Sukh said, "Haneul, you can't do this. It will cause a lot of gossip in court."

Haneul said, "Are you afraid of those gossips?"

Sukh said, "I'm not afraid, but it will damage your reputation."

Haneul said, "Since you are not afraid of their gossip, then neither am I. I don't care what others say. Anyway, I am dead. I prefer to spend my afterlife with you, watching the sunset and sunrise every day." He smiled and looked at Sukh. "So, promise me, if I die before you, you must be buried here with me." He pointed at the coffin.

Sukh said, "I promised."

Haneul said contemptuously, "I know you promised me this just to keep me from talking, so I'm going to make sure I'll outlive you."

Sukh continued to look at the design drawing, and said with a smile, "You don't believe me."

Haneul sighed and said, "You always promise me to do what I ask for you to do, but when the time comes, you won't do it."

Haneul reached out to pinch Sukh's cheek, but Sukh's hand knocked Haneul's hand away. "Behave yourself." He placed a simple design on the table and pushed it to Haneul. "I like this one the best."

Haneul looked at the design and said, "This looks too simple. A pavilion?"

Sukh said, "This should be outside the tomb. Do you really want to spend eternity in your coffin?"

Haneul smiled and said, "Oh... I understand what you mean."

(Memory End)

Haneul stood in front of the gate of the underground tomb at the foot of the second mountain, and the servants and maids who followed Haneul slowly followed behind Sukh's coffin. After passing through many secret doors, they finally came to the big jade coffin. The servants began placing jars containing gold, silver and jade and necessities for the afterlife on one side of the room, while other servants slowly lowered Sukh's body into the coffin.

Haneul said, "Everyone leaves the room."

The servants and maids quickly left the room, leaving Haneul alone inside the tomb with Sukh's dead body.

Haneul climbed into the coffin and lay beside Sukh. He stretched out his left hand and held Sukh's cold hand, tears streaming down the corners of his eyes. Haneul turned to his left, resting his head on Sukh's shoulder. He said softly, "My beloved, from now on I will miss you a lot. It will be a long time before we meet again. You can sleep here peacefully and continue to dream and remember to visit me in my dream." He reached out and kissed Sukh's temple. "You'll never be far from my heart because that's the only place I'm sure I'll find you."

Standing in the court, many ministers frowned, because Haneul hadn't attended the morning meeting for two months. Hours pass, and the ministers sigh with heavy hearts, as their king still hasn't recovered from the loss of Sukh.

"I think today is another day of hopeless waiting," Minister Fo said, shaking his head. "Shall we leave?" He turned to look at the many ministers standing behind and beside him

Minister Choi said, "His Majesty needs to attend morning meeting." He looked at Qadan. "General Bayarmaa, since the Great Grand General and you are a family, you should ask His Majesty when he wants to attend the morning meeting. Grief can wait, but the needs of the Kingdom cannot wait."

Instead of answering Minister Choi, Qadan chooses to ignore him.

One of the ministers said, "How can General Bayarmaa give His Majesty any reason to come to the meeting? The Bayarmaa family can't even bring home the Great Grand General's body and give him a proper funeral."

Seeing Haneul's personal servant enter the court from the side door, the ministers shook their heads one after another. The ministers who had been waiting for Haneul's arrival since four o'clock in the morning had already guessed that the servant would announce that Haneul would not come to the meeting.

The servant said loudly, "His Majesty has arrived."

The ministers gasped and looked up at Haneul as Haneul entered the meeting hall. Haneul sat down and looked down at the ministers. He said, "As we all know, our beloved general has passed away. This is the greatest loss for our kingdom. We have ordered them to build a statue of Great Grand General Bayarmaa on Sky Hill."

The ministers in the courtroom gasped and shook their heads.

One minister said, "Your Majesty, there is only one temple in Sky Hill, which is dedicated to the emperor and gods. It is not appropriate to tear it down and replace it with Great Grand General Bayarmaa. This will definitely bring chaos to Tangzang."

Haneul said, "We have decided that when the people of Tangzang see the sunrise, they will remember that it was the Great Grand General who helped us unravel this land."

The ministers shook their heads again and again.

Minister Lee said, "Your Majesty, by doing so, Your Majesty is placing the late Great Grand General Bayarmaa equal to the emperor of heaven. Please reconsider."

Haneul stubbornly said, "We have already decided that the construction will start in two days. Anything else?" He looked at the ministers in the meeting chamber madly.

Qadan approached and said, "The Bayarmaa family wants to know when we can bring Sukh's body back for burial?"

Haneul looked at Qadan and said, "General Bayarmaa, you don't have to worry about this. The Great Grand General's body has already been laid to rest."

The ministers gasped.

Qadan looked at Haneul frantically, "Where?"

Haneul said, "We buried him in Mount Tai, in our royal chamber."

Qadan wanted to argue again but couldn't find a reason. Was never seen or heard of before of a non-royal birth being buried in the same royal tomb as the king, so instead of fighting Haneul, he remained silent. From Haneul's actions, Qadan knew that Haneul wanted the ministers present to see clearly that no one could be above the Bayarmaa family except Haneul, especially those who shared the same bloodline as Sukh.

Minister Choi said, "Your Majesty, how could Your Majesty bury a commoner in the royal tomb. This is… too outrageous…"

Haneul said, "Minister Choi pays attention to your words. Great Grand General Bayarmaa is not a commoner. He is Tangzang's Great Grand General, the one and only Great Grand General of Tangzang." He looked at Qadan and suddenly changed his tone. "If the Bayarmaa family wants to pray and pay respect for the Great Grand General, they can go up Mount Tai with us when we visit the Great Grand General. We will go there in three days."

The ministers were shocked and lost their minds about the topics of the meeting.

Haneul stood up and asked, "Anyone else want to add to this thread?" Haneul waited, but there was no answer. "In that case, dismiss."

It's the first day of winter, but the snow hasn't fallen yet. Since the creation of the magical river, Tangzang has been attacked by other kingdoms many times, but all of them were unsuccessful. The invaders could neither cross the magical river nor break through the two armies at both ends.

Before dawn, Haneul and his three personal servants walked slowly up Mount Tai. At the top of the mountain where the royal tomb is, the servants put the two baskets on the table in the small pavilion, and then they walked down the mountain, leaving Haneul sitting alone at the stone table.

Haneul took out the dishes and put them on the table. He poured two cups of wine and placed one across from him. He smiled and said, "Sukh, the snow hasn't fallen this year. I will visit you less in the future, because I need to do more to become a better king."

Haneul started eating and talking as normal as when Sukh was alive. He put the plate back in the basket when he finished eating. The snow began to fall on the mountains.

Haneul stood up and walked out of the pavilion. He reached out to feel the snow floating around him. He smiled and said, "Sukh, it's snowing."

As the snow slowly melted on the cold ground, the sky began to turn red everywhere. Haneul looked up, the original white snow had turned red.

Haneul smiled and said, "Not only my tears turned red, but also the tears from heaven also turned red." He put his right hand on the door of the tomb. "Sukh, today's sun can never replace yesterday's sun. Sleep well and wait for me."