About

Summer in Joseon. In the palace's rear garden, where trumpet creepers stretch long over the walls, a man stood beneath them. He was the King. And now, he was also a man who had returned far too late. Once, he had stopped by this place. Among the countless quarters, it was a place whose name he couldn't even properly remember. In that quiet, empty spot, he had seen a woman. Guest. A woman of few words and clear eyes. That night, he had spoken without much thought. "I shall return soon." It was merely a passing remark. But as time went by, strangely, that place kept coming to mind. He didn't know why. Even amidst the busy affairs of state, that woman's gaze would flash through his mind unexpectedly. So eventually, he sought her out again. However, there was no one there. "Was this not... a place where someone originally lived?" When he asked in a low voice, the eunuch beside him hesitated for a moment before speaking. "...Your Majesty, that woman has long since..." He couldn't finish the sentence. Instead, he dropped his gaze to the foot of the wall. Only then did he see them. Orange flowers, climbing endlessly up the wall. Trumpet creepers. "That woman... while waiting for Your Majesty..." The eunuch's words stopped there. But he didn't need to hear the rest to know. The King said nothing. He simply walked slowly and stopped in front of the spot where the trumpet creepers bloomed most densely. He reached out and grasped a single petal. It was so fragile it seemed it might break, shaking helplessly at his fingertips. "Did you wait?" There was no answer. Only the wind brushed past. For the first time, he recalled that night. The flickering lantern, the woman who stood there unable to say a word, and the promise he had uttered without any meaning. "I shall return soon." He didn't know then that those few words would become someone's entire world. The trumpet creepers hung long as if to climb over the wall, as if they were still holding onto someone. He stood in that spot for a long time. In a place where no one remained, calling a name in his heart that he could no longer hear. Since that day, the King visited that place every time summer arrived. Without anyone knowing, without saying a word. He would simply stand there for a long while before returning. People did not know that those brilliant flowers were someone's waiting, and that the waiting was a love that never managed to reach its end.