Secret of the Red Lotus Flower (빨간 연꽃의 비밀)

Chapter 8

Soo-yun sat alone in her bridal gown in her room in the Byeolgung. She looked around the bare room that had been where she had slept for the past two months. Most of her clothes, jewelry and personal items had been packed up to be transported to Gyeongbokgung, the royal palace. In a few hours, there would be no evidence that she had ever been here at all.

Two months ago, she would never have thought that she would have become so attached to this place. It was just a building and a constant reminder that her future. However, it was here that she had been free of her father's control. It was here that she had spent her days waiting to meet the Crown Prince. This was the closest she had felt warm, sheltered and content in her entire life. Yesterday had changed all of that.

Soo-yun knew that, at this exact moment, the Crown Prince was performing the Imheonchogye ritual. In front of the entire court, Ha-neul would bow before his father who would then command him to go fetch his royal bride and continue the traditions of their ancestors. After the king gave his son a special cup of wine, the Crown Prince would begin the Chinyeong wedding procession to the Detached Palace. In a few short hours, the two of them would be wed.

Yeo-jin and the other court maids had spent the morning helping Soo-yun with her makeup and bridal hwarot gown. Soo-yun barely remembered it; she had been so numb inside. She sat silently like a life-sized doll while they slipped the robes over her shoulders, artfully arranging her hair, and expertly applied the makeup.

The hwarot gown was so much lighter than the jeokui from yesterday but Soo-yun still felt weighted down by it. The hwarot had a red exterior with a blue interior to symbolize the yin and yang relationship between the husband and bride, although hers having a deeper shade of maroon to differentiate it from one worn by a commoner. The middle section of her sleeves were made up to stripes of white, blue, red and yellow colored fabric that represented the five cardinal directions with light-pink substituting the black since that color represented death. The last part of her sleeve was a wide band of white fabric embellished with crimson embroidered flowers. Every inch of the body of the gown was covered with exquisitely sewn flowers, birds, and Chinese-derived hanja letters, each with a different meaning and blessing for the nuptials.

Soo-yun couldn't help noticing, with bitter irony, the number of butterflies embroidered on the hwarot since they symbolized harmony in marriage and eternal trust.

Mulberry extract had been applied to her hair to enhance its natural ebony color while camellia, apricot, and castor oil were used give it an extra shine before the lustrous length was braided and tied back in an elaborate bun. The hwagwan coronet of pearls, colored beads, and gold thread was pinned to the top of Soo-yun's head to hold it all in place. Attached to the hwagwan was two large black doturak daenggi ribbon with patterns of gold that ran all the way down her back. A two-foot long, dragon-headed yongjam hairpin was driven through her bun while deep-purple and gold deurim daenggi ribbons with strings of tiny pearls on the ends were hung from either side of the hairpin and draped over her shoulders to rest on the front of her chest.

She wanted to rip it all out, fall to her knees, and scream at the top of her lungs. A mixture of decorum and defeat kept her still and silent.

White rice powder mixed with clam shell powder and ground pearls gave the white base of her makeup a subtle apricot hue. A special crimson yeonji with honey and pomegranate juice was applied to her lips to accentuate their natural color and keep them hydrated. Oak powder and beech charcoal were employed to make her eyebrows darker and red clay with a touch of gold dust was used as eyeliner to add a degree of elegance to her almond-shaped eyes. A vivid red circle was placed on her forehead and both cheeks for good fortune.