I had hopes that this was going to be just another birthday party that was going to pass in a few hours, but that was not what fate had in story for my family. First of all, after my sister almost made a laughing stock of my brother by chasing him around the bonfire, he actually had the nerve to sit-down next to his woman and publicly hold her hand in front of everyone, even her own mother who seemed to be stunned into silence. Second of all, my twin sisters seemed to dead set on not leaving me alone and constantly wanted to climb all over me until they found a comfortable spot to sit in, which was basically all over my legs so I couldn't move even if I wanted to. And then my cousin Geom made his way towards us with a village girl who we all knew with a big smile on his face that wasn't dissimilar to his father's. But that wasn't all to come; after a rather festive party and an enormous feast, we had a rather uninvited guest that completely shifted the mood for everyone completely.
"Isn't that The Third Prince's concubine? What on earth is she doing here?" "Shut up idiot, don't open your mouth anymore." "What! What did I say? I've seen in her in the palace plenty of times…" "Hwan! Shut up, or so help me god I will bend you over my knee and sort you right out." "Hyuk? Why has your face changed? What's going on?" "You just won't shut up will you baby brother?" "Sister? Can somebody tell me just what the hell is going on here?" "You're right, she is the prince's concubine indeed, but she isn't just that." "Then who is she? Sister?" "She is my mother-in-law, Hwan, the one that nobody talks about." "What…"
"I see that everyone is rather enjoying this party that is going on. What exactly is the occasion here?" "And just who the hell let you in here? What do you want?" "Am I not allowed to come to the village of the man who saved my life?" "Not when you betrayed his son and completely dishonour the Seo name!" "What are you taking about Nam Seon-Ho? It is because of you that I lost my family! It is because of you that I became trapped in the place!" "Ok sure, blame me for every wrong decision that you made. Now get out of here and be gone!" "Father? Why are you shouting her?" "Be quiet, Hwan!" "Hwan? As in, Seo Hwan? Isn't this your third child, Seon-Ho? And these little girls must be your second set of twins?" "Don't come anywhere close to them you wench! Bo-Geom! Take the twins back to your home immediately!" "And who is this woman with my son that looks completely identical to her mother? That cannot be Seo Hana can it? The little girl who ran rings around my son until she made him desperate enough to stay celibate just for her? She is just another manipulator, just like her god-damned mother!" "Han Hui-Jae! Just who do you think that you are talking to! Don't you dare talk to my wife like that!" "Chul? Did you really just raise your voice to you own mother? I haven't seen you in years and this is how you treat me?" "Mother? What mother? I have my own mother? Aren't you the concubine of The Prince now? Since when have you been my mother?" "Of course , I haven't ever set foot here before and already I am hearing non-stop praise about my sister-in-law who stole my entire life!" "Father, why are we all just standing here? If a concubine has run away from the palace, then we have to to report her before anytime finds her here and burns this village to the ground!" "Because that is how selfish she is Hwan, and she always has been." "How old is this boy now? 16? 17? Isn't he around the same age as my son, Geom?" "You should just leave! Quickly! Nobody wants you here!" "You as well, Geom?" "Don't you have a husband now? And a Prince at that?" "Geom…"
"Han Hui-Jee…no, I mean Mistress Han, is there a reason why you have retuned to the village that you turned your back on?" "Are you really going to dress me as such? Husband?" "I think not! Have you lost your mind! Right, since you have spoiled the mood once again, it is time for everyone to disperse with no arguments at all, especially the children." "I have travelled for miles to get here just to see my own family, or what I could have had if you didn't abandon me! Are you really going to be this cruel, Hwi?" "It's not like you did anything for anyone to miss you anyways. My sister was burdened with all of your duties, in case you cannot remember." "Speaking of her, where is she? Where is the one who ruined all of our lives?" Before she could even finish her sentence, I was ready to charge at this mad woman for slandering my mother if Hyuk, Chul and Geom didn't all pounce on me at once to stop me. And in the midst of wrestling with them I turned around to catch a glimpse of my father to see what on earth he was doing, letting this mad woman attack our mother over and over again. But for the first time in my life, I could only cower in fear as I saw the darkness that my mother sometimes talk about written all over his face. He wasn't just angry, he was pissed off at hell, and he looked just as ready as I was to fight this woman, if he wasn't holding my mother in his arms that was. My mother looked as if a ghost had reappeared back into her life and she was almost frightened to death. I wanted so badly to reach out to her and hold her, but there was no chance that I was going to let this demented woman out of my sight anytime soon, no mater who's woman she was. "Uncle, you had better clear this woman away before I do something to her and throw filial piety out of the window!" "Calm down Hwan! You go and look after you're sisters, whist I deal with this! That's an order as chief, boy!" "Father!" "Hwan, listen to your uncle and do not let us repeat ourselves!"
"That boy…yes, I have my own child; Dae-Jung, but I guess that Hwan could have also been mine if…" we never knew what that sentence meant or how it ended since I was wrestled by three men into my sister's home and locked up there where my sisters were waiting for me. And if it wasn't for them, then I would have already tore down the door to reach my mother. But after a while, even my own cousins seemed just as devastated as our father's were and came to visit the twins for some solace just as they always did. Whenever anyone was feeling down and out, they always came to see my robust twin sisters who hadn't cried for anything since they were babies. Just looking at them could put one at peace and leave them with a big smile on their faces since they took after my mother more than Hana ever did. But I really did feel bad for my cousins when I saw just how hopeless they looked right now.
"I'm sorry if I offended you with my behaviour earlier with your…" "Well well well, I never thought that I would live to see the day that Seo Hwan would be apologising to anyone." Chul replied with a small smile whilst Geom had buried his face into his brother's lap with a face on him that no-one could read at all. "You really aren't angry at me, cousin?" "Hwan, it isn't your fault that she is here at all, she would have found us all eventually." "I didn't know this before but, not all women are suited to be mothers just because they can conceive us. My mother tried, but she just wasn't maternal at all, she wasn't anything like your mother and she could never compare herself to her." "And Geom?" "He feels the same way, don't you worry about it. But he's the baby of the family, so he's more emotional about it than I am." "So what will happen now?" "My father will try to drive her out of the village before her husband finds us and kills us all." "And if he can't do it?" "Then this selfish and deranged woman has just endangered all of our lives, and we need to prepare to fight against a prince and his damned army." "There is no way that we can win then, he will obliterate this place for sure." "The only thing we can do is evacuate everyone when the soldiers make their way here." "But to where? Where can we find a space big enough to accommodate everyone?" "We need to start scouting soon. As soon as possible. This place means way too much to our parents for us to give up; he have been working on this place for years and have halfway achieved their goals." "Chul and Geom, you go and scout whilst I talk to the village elders about this situation." "I'll go and find mother brother, she was in a right state when that woman appeared out of nowhere."