The Kinsman: A Sequel to Hwarang: The Saga of the Sooks Book #5

Chapter 35: Han Sung

"Dan Se." Her soft voice sounded behind him. Surprising him.

He turned to face her.

"Tell me the whole of it."

A deep ravine suddenly cracked his forehead in half. "The whole of what?"

"How did you come to kill your brother? Start at the beginning, please. And proceed to the end. And I will try not to interrupt you. Or to read anything into what you say."

"What?"

She took a step towards him. "I need the whole truth. Whatever it is."

He stared at her in silence for a few moments. The last time he had attempted to have this conversation with her, it had ended in disaster.

"What if I do not wish to tell you?" he murmured quietly.

"I need to know."

"Why?"

"Because that moment of your life defined who you are today. And I cannot help you to heal fully if I do not understand what motivated you to kill your brother."

"Nothing motivated me to kill my brother!" he gasped. "Dear God! Is that what you think of me? Still? After all that has passed between us? You still think I'm capable of murdering my brother?"

"No," she whispered. "I do not. That is why I am here right now." She took a deep breath. "Dan Se. What happened?"

Of course, Jung Sook had already told her the truth. But Mi Sook wanted to hear it from Dan Se's own lips. She wanted to climb into his head and heart and see it from his perspective. How else was she to help him? Or herself?

This felt like their last chance.

He heaved a deep sigh and turned away from her. To gaze out the window once again. He stood staring out at the beautiful scene before him. But truly, he did not see it. He could see only the terrified face of his baby brother as Han Sung stepped in front of his blade.

"Minister Park refused an audience with my grandfather. That is where it began. It ended with Han Sung's death."

"No," she breathed the word.

He turned towards her in confusion. "No?"

"It did not end with Han Sung's death. For you and I are still bound up in what happened that day. Tell me the whole of it," she insisted, weighing each of her final words heavily.

He sighed just as heavily. "My grandfather said that if he could not be adopted into Minister Park's family, that would be the end of my family. He said that the only way Minister Park would accept him again was if he brought him the head of the king." His heart sank as he remembered believing that his hwarang, his friend, Seon Woo, was the king.

His voice wavered for a moment then strengthened as he continued, "I was Seon Woo's Nando then. We practiced swordplay together all the time. My grandfather believed Seon Woo was the king. And he asked me to bring him his head. He told me that if I failed in such a mission, he – and Han Sung – would drink poison." He glanced up at her. "So, you see, I was trying to save my brother from death. Not to kill him myself."

Tears clouded her vision. Jung Sook had told her this, but hearing it confirmed by his own lips horrified her. She flew across the room towards him.

"Oh, Dan Se!"

She came to an abrupt halt. Directly in front of him. And gazed up at him out of stricken eyes. But she was afraid to touch him. Though she longed to throw herself at him and wrap him tightly in her embrace.