Secret of the Red Lotus Flower (빨간 연꽃의 비밀)

Chapter 17

Kwang-sun scratched the back of his hand and yawned. Guarding the back gate was one of the most boring jobs to do in the palace. The majority of the guards had jockeyed for the main gates tonight in order to show off for the royal family and other high-level officials. The senior guardsmen would hope to impress the guests and secure promotions while junior guardsmen, such as himself, were shunted to the least-visited gates.

However, Kwang-sun didn't mind being placed here tonight. The quiet back gate gave him more time to think about the vibrant young woman he met a little over two months ago. Who would have thought that a simple night watch assignment at the Detached Palace would bring someone like Pak Yeo-jin into his life? She was everything he didn't know he wanted in his life.

It was hard to believe that it had only been four days since they saw each other and shared their first kiss. Everyone said that Kwang-sun was slow-witted, but even he knew that he had to act quickly or he would lose her for good when she left Hanseong. Luckily, if the employment offer panned out, that wouldn't be an issue anymore. The new post wasn't as prestigious as the royal palace, but it would be closer to her and provide enough coin to ask her to marry him.

The guard's daydreams were interrupted when he heard a loud knocking noise. Kwang-sun quickly snatched up his dangpa spear and snapped to attention, thinking that a senior guardsman had come check on him. After a couple of moments, he realized that there was no one was approaching him and that the knocking was coming from the back gate.

"Who-who goes there?" Kwang-sun asked with a shaky voice. He pointed his dangpa spear at the gate as if to ward off whoever was knocked on the other side.

"It's me. Prince Bon-hwa. Open the damn door," the voice from the other side commanded.

Kwang-sun quickly leaned his dangpa spear against the wall and fumbled latch for the gate. As the guardsman opened it, a man tumbled face-first into the courtyard, a gat hat lay crumpled next to him. Kwang-sun quickly knelt next to the figure and turned him over to see that it was indeed the king's eldest son. The bearded young man reeked of cheongju rice wine and cheap perfume.

"Kwang-soo? When did you get so tall?" Prince Bon-hwa slurred as he looked up at the guardsman.

"It's Kwang-sun, your Excellency," the guardsman said, helping the inebriated man off of the ground. Prince Bon-hwa hung limply in Kwang-sun's embrace.

"No, I'm certain it's Kwang-soo," Bon-hwa reiterated before hiccuping. From the overpowering smell of alcohol on the prince's breath, the guardsman knew there was little point in debating with Bon-hwa in his current state.

"What are you doing at the back gate, your Excellency? Shouldn't you be at the Baekgwan Hweui banquet?"

"Was that tonight?" Bon-hwa asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. The prince placed a finger on Kang-sun's lips to shush the guardsman. "Don't tell my mother about this. She will be so mad if she knew I forgot. I should go give Crown Prince Ha-neul my congratulations."

Prince Bon-hwa let go of Kwang-sun and unsteadily bent over to pick up his gat from the ground, placing the smashed hat back on his head and tied the flopping ribbons under his chin again. Before Kwang-sun could protest, the prince started to stumble toward the right-most path. He paused for a second and reoriented himself towards the left-most path. Instead of walking a straight line, the prince wove back and forth along the path. Kwang-sun didn't know whether or not he should abandon his post to help the prince. Suddenly, the prince stopped and turned back toward the guardsman.

"I'ma-I'ma going to go over to that tree and rest a bit," Prince Bon-hwa said. "Don't worry about me and go back to guarding the gate. We have to be careful; there are a lot of drunks out tonight and we can't let any of them into the Royal Palace."