Prologue
In a grand palace’s echoing halls,
Princess Han Heeyon aspired to the throne’s calls.
Her father’s gaze, discerning and just,
Favoured Joonseok, the rightful heir with trust.
Joonseok, a prince shaped from his youth,
Destined for rule, a sovereign truth.
But Heeyon, veiled in secrets deep,
With lover Jeong In-ho, stirred dissent’s sweep.
A hidden group in shadows grew,
Defiance whispered; their numbers drew.
Against the throne, rebellion’s shroud,
In silent discontent, hearts avowed.
A prophecy spoke of turmoil and plight,
Haunting King Sejong day and night.
Desperation led to drastic schemes,
Yet fate stepped in, shattering dreams.
Joonseok, vanished by the *Hangang’s bank,
His lifeless form found, destiny’s knot was yanked.
Amidst *Geunjeongjeon’s solemn grace,
Heeyon’s head fell, the grim outcome of her treacherous race
A thud echoed through the royal halls,
Sejong clung to the throne’s stone walls.
Half the realm cheered, the other mourned,
As three days flowed, a river of scorn.
From shadows, Heeyon rose once more,
A phoenix reborn, fate’s cryptic lore.
Jolting the realm from obsidian deeps,
In destiny’s dance, a twist that keeps.
Chapter 1
The rhythmic hum of the private jet engines enveloped Nikhil and Park Na-Ri as they journeyed toward the enchanting Jeju Islands for their wedding. Friends and family were scheduled to arrive the next day. Nikhil, the Indian weightlifting champion, beamed with enthusiasm, while Na-Ri, the Korean swimming sensation, embraced the moment with a quietly optimistic smile.
“Nikhil *Oppa, it all feels… surreal, doesn’t it?”
Nikhil wrapped an arm around her shoulders, “Love, this is finally our moment. After seven years, we deserve a celebration like this. And besides, the hotel is taking care of everything. It’s a gift for your historic swimming medal, the first for Korea after two decades!”
A stewardess moved about with an eerie precision, her eyes catching the couple in fleeting glances. She handed them flutes of champagne, her smile too rehearsed.
Na-Ri’s eyes met Nikhil’s, “I am just surprised about their generosity. Then again, it’s you, India’s blue-eyed boy”
“Na-Ri, it’s both of us, we’ve over 50 million social media followers each! We get an amazing wedding, and they get the exposure, a win-win. It’s marketing 101!”
As Nikhil and Na-Ri descended onto Jeju’s runway, the resonant rhythm of traditional drums and the graceful movements of dancers adorned in *hanboks greeted them warmly and guided them to vintage cars bound for the palace-resort.
Entering the grand foyer, the couple was met with a sensory spectacle. Traditional musicians played soulful melodies. Delicacies prepared for the occasion filled the air with their aroma. The historic walls, adorned with lanterns, cast a soft glow over the sea, pulsing with life for the Dongji festival on the winter solstice.
The hosts greeted them with a sinister harmony, “Welcome to the Dongji festival,” they whispered in unison. Unnaturally fixated gazes bore into Nikhil. In a sudden, chilling synchrony, their eyes shifted towards Na-Ri, nodding and smiling with a subtle malevolence. Then, as if a malefic puppeteer guided their movements, their attention shifted back to Nikhil, their smiles lingering with an enigmatic intensity.
A cold wave of confusion enveloped him.
They handed them a two-day itinerary promising an immersive experience of Jeju’s cultural heritage. The third day revealed their wedding festivities. As the couple traced the schedule, the hosts added, “Freshen up and join our cultural program tonight at nine—a celebration like no other, happens only once in a hundred years.”
Chapter 2
Dressed in the traditional hanbok, Nikhil looked around. Amidst the intricate symphony of scents, his searching eyes daintily came to rest on Na-Ri. Hidden behind an artificially made canopy of evergreen camellias, Na-Ri was animatedly conversing with someone… wearing a black robe.
Was Na-Ri planning a surprise?
Despite the cacophony around him, Nikhil’s attention was drawn towards an obsolete manor, an extension of the resort they were put up in. The resort owners, a nonagenarian couple, were assisted around by individuals in black robes, but they had since vanished.
What was it about black robes?
In the cold evening, the low-lying fog shrouding the manor made it seem like an apparition. Nikhil shivered as enigmatic uncertainty gripped him.
And then, he heard it. Ominous music… reeling on in the distant deserted manor, interspersed with a whoop of excited revelry.
“Ladies and gentlemen…” The emcee’s voice startled Nikhil bringing him back to the event. Na-Ri joined him, her beguiling slanted eyes aglow with a captivating brightness.
Did she hear the music as well?
“… The next event for the evening is the scavenger hunt, the one who finds the maximum number of items from the list is the winner…”
The remaining words drowned in his chaotic thoughts and before he knew Nikhil was walking on autopilot towards the manor. His fingers entwined themselves in Na-Ri’s as she dragged him along.
Approaching the manor, Nikhil looked around at the clinging vines that clawed at the weathered manor’s stone, suffocating its once majestic façade. The inner sanctum was dimly lit by candles revealing the dust-shrouded interiors.
“Wh…why are we here…?” Nikhil’s voice trembled from the spectral chill hanging heavily in the air.
“*Jagi…” Na-Ri clung to him. “… It’s an important night…” Her voice drowned in heavy footsteps reverberating through the hollow corridor.
“Let’s get out of here, Na-Ri…” Nikhil made a vain attempt to sound firm.
“NO… I mean… Oppa, just look around…*aju yeppeuda…!” Na-Ri’s eyes twinkled with unfathomable emotion.
“Let’s leave… NOW.” Nikhil declared.
“Ok, Oppa… Why don’t you wait here? I will be right back…”
Before he could respond, Na-Ri disappeared into the darkness.
Nikhil shuddered; the air hung thick, synonymous with haunting music from eons ago. Right then as if on a capricious whim, the candles began to flicker violently as the music transformed into dissonant chords. Nikhil clutched at his chest breathing heavily, as dark shadows pirouetted around him. Clouds of midges spun a haphazard dance right before him, sending shivers down his spine.
“Na…Ri…” He gasped.
“Oppa, I am right here” Na-Ri stood before him adorned in a ceremonial robe identical to those individuals from earlier. Her soft hands dragged him further inside a passage and he stumbled, cascading onto a surface, both frigid and clammy.
As he got his bearings in the dim light, he saw Na-Ri walking towards a crumbling mausoleum at the far end of a room. The discordant music began to ebb and soft incantation floated everywhere. Men and women in identical ceremonial robes sat encircling symbols etched on the floor. Suddenly, a couple of torches sprang to life.
“Hail *Jacheongbi… the queen of realms…” Na-Ri bowed in reverence to a tall statue that seemed to come alive, its eyes blazing with dark power.
Nikhil watched in horror, the chilling screams intensifying as the bristling posse of macabre dark shadows struggled to loosen and move ahead, yet held back by an invisible tether.
Chapter 3
In the ancient tapestry of time, devoted followers of Han Heeyon, guided by her lover Jeong In-ho, gathered around the sepulcher to which she had been banished. A tempest of fury had gripped the King, leading to a royal decree,
“In the realm’s fringe, her grave shall lie,
Banished far from regal ground, beneath the sky.
For deeds of treachery, a fate decreed,
On the outskirts’ edge, her resting proceeds.”
The earth trembled as they unearthed her final resting place. Her dismembered body, meticulously arranged and shrouded in silk, elicited mournful ululations from her followers, birthing a song of retribution and insurrection,
“In shadows profound, our queen’s essence lay,
Unjustly damned by mortal ties, cruel and fey.
Yet in the eerie howls of the night, she’d weave,
A spectral return, vengeance to retrieve.”
Jeong, a stoic observer, stood amidst the sombre tableau, tears tracing lines down his cheeks. Death, he knew, could not sunder their connection, for he harboured designs beyond the mortal realm.
A few days later, in a hidden chamber within an ancient structure, hooded figures gathered around a meticulously etched circle on the stone floor. Eerie symbols adorned the walls, illuminated by candles, all unfolding under the haunting ambience of a blood moon on a winter solstice night.
Shaman Jeong, draped in a crimson robe with esoteric symbols, stood at the circle’s periphery, His followers, faces obscured by hooded robes, knelt in deference to the impending ritual.
“Brothers, sisters, the time draws near,
Jacheongbi’s presence, let us revere.
Sacred words, symbols entwine,
Opening gates to realms malign.”
Hooded figures chanted in a low, rhythmic tone, their voices harmonizing with an otherworldly resonance. As incantations reached their zenith, the chamber’s temperature dropped, and an otherworldly aura enveloped the room. Eyes ablaze with unnatural fervour, Jeong called out with unwavering conviction,
“Jacheongbi, queen of realms unheard!
Manifest, share wisdom and power,
in shadows profound, let darkness tower.”
A dark presence filled the dim-lit space, whispers echoed, a chilling embrace. Cold wind swept, candles extinguished. In the circle’s centre, a faint, shadowy figure materialized. The air crackled with energy as the manifestation took form. Eyes gleaming with malevolence, the silhouette of Jacheongbi loomed over the cult.
Jeong, now trembling with awe and reverence, held out a grotesque offering—a macabre display of severed limbs and blood-soaked artefacts arranged in a nightmarish tableau.
“Accept our tribute, blessings nigh.
Bring my queen back, grant powers dark,
in shadows eternal, leave an everlasting mark.”
A sinister smile played across the shadowy figure’s face, and the chamber resonated with low, ominous laughter. Its eyes glowed brighter as an aura of dark energy enveloped Jeong, and the lifeless body of Han Heeyon.
“Jeong In-Ho, leader steadfast and true,
a gift profound, immortality anew.
May your essence echo through the shadow’s sway,
eternal presence, where darkness holds its sway.
For Han Heeyon, lost in shadows’ view,
breath of life, a gift renewed.
A soul reborn, in shadows’ cue.”
Jeong In-Ho felt an otherworldly surge of power coursing through him, and a sense of immortality washed over his trembling form. The lifeless body of Han Heeyon twitched, then took a sudden, gasping breath.
“Newfound gifts, mortals, wield with care,
the pact sealed, darkness you shall bear.
Through ages long, eternally bound,
carry the shadows, let the darkness resound.”
With the utterance of those words, the mysterious presence dissipated, leaving behind a disquieting sense of contentment. Jeong In-Ho, now draped in the mantle of immortality, and Han Heeyon, reborn, exchanged glances infused with a blend of wonder and realization.
Seizing the throne through ruthless power, she maintained an iron-fisted control over the kingdom. Beneath the tapestry of shadows and deceit, past actions were veiled and swept away in retreat.
Over the passing years, an unsettling truth gradually unfolded—Jeong In-Ho and Han Heeyon, the immortal souls, found their bodies succumbing to the effects of time, a phenomenon revered and unexpected. Engaged in a ceaseless race against the relentless march of time, they grappled with the curse of immortality that manifested in their ageing bodies, subject to frailty’s relentless scroll. In each century, their existence became a frantic dance with fate, as they sought new vessels to elude the inevitable decay, a desperate attempt to defy time’s cruel gate.
Chapter 4
Shrieks filled the staccato harmony of the incantations as Jacheongbi swayed along her axis; its pockmarked cheeks and nose devoured by time’s scavenging sojourn. It swaggered atop the slab stone casting a hollow gaze on the young couple. It was alluring yet terrifying…
‘MAY DARKNESS RULE…’ Jacheongbi’s roar echoed through the sanctum.
“MAY DARKNESS RULE…” All the dark-robed figures rose while chanting it unanimously.
Metrically…
Na-Ri held up the tattered diaphanous parchment, her trembling hands, rocking back and forth, chanting in fanatic captivation. Nikhil watched wide-eyed frozen in his spot as the nightmare unfolded…
“Wha…what the… Oh God… Na-Ri…” He muttered.
Na-Ri’s eyes glistened with rage nictitating furiously. But almost immediately her stance softened.
“*Jagi…” her ardent voice was heavily laden with ominous intonations. “…. I have waited for this day ever since I joined the group as a young adult. We both are the chosen ones. Now… it’s almost time.”
Her eyes filled with unshed tears, a gleaming reservoir of unspoken terror lurking within.
“Ttt…time for ww…wwhat…?” Nikhil barely whispered, his voice failing him. Who was this woman?
‘DARKNESS YOU SHALL BEAR…’ Jacheongbi hollered and everything came to a standstill, the ethereal entities paying their obeyance to the personified ghoulie.
“Oppa…we will soon be bound in eternity. This…” she pointed towards the cavernous structure behind. “… is our holy altar and Jacheongbi will solemnise our holy union…
Creaking sounds resonated through the desolate room as the wheelchairs bearing the old couple, the resort owners, were brought in by black-robed men. As they approached the centre where Nikhil and Na-Ri stood, the torches cast long shadows along their wrinkled faces. As the floor beneath their trembling wheels echoed with the ghostly footsteps of the past, Jacheongbi’s eyes transformed into pools of darkness that seemed to draw them into the abyss of its pallid hauntedness.
The shadows that had stilled now began to dance and the temperature plummeted. Nikhil tried to scream, but he had no more control over his body.
His eyes widened with a terror-filled intensity as two well-built garlanded men walked in with gleaming daggers. With a ferocious blur, the swift weapons found their targets in the old couple’s weathered throats.
Na-Ri dipped a stick in the crimson tableau surrounding the dead old couple. She moved closer to a shell-shocked shuddering Nikhil and drew gothic symbols on the floor. The temperature dropped further, the air charging with mystical energy.
“Oppa… This …holy night is where it all began centuries ago…” Na-Ri’s monomaniacal gaze roved around as she continued to chant. The manor’s hidden catacomb awakened with an eerie vitality, eldritch murmurs traversing through the timeless corridors. The air grew thick with otherworldly energy, even as a distant moan echoed through the sanctum.
The shadows now seemed to writhe with a life of their own. Na-Ri finished chanting, rolling the gossamery parchment and the air vibrated with ghoulish malevolence. As if in a trance, she walked towards a dark corner, controlling the reins for the ethereal beings eager to enter the human firmament. She reached up to a loose stone tile and removed it, bringing in a snowy cold daft along with the vision of the Argentine moon.
Jacheongbi swayed further threatening to fall any moment yet an invisible phantasmal force seemed to have it in its grip. The whispers intensified and Nikhil began to heave… his breath getting laboured every time he tried to inhale. Jacheongbi lurched further maniacally as the torches flickered in an increasing crescendo. Each corner of the putrid tenebrism harboured terror waiting to unleash it on unsuspecting humans.
Let the darkness resound….
“Oppa, the moon is… saviour… the witness… as we transcend…”
Na-Ri’s breathless words slithered froth wrapped in an eerie aura. She moved closer to a petrified Nikhil who seemed to have turned into a stone. Circling him she began to dance, her spectral grace, her movements synchronising with the haunting melody permeating the sanctum… each step, an unsettling waltz with the shadowy entities.
“HAIL… Jacheongbi… sinseonghan malgwa sangjing-i eolghyeo issda… LET DARKNESS TOWER…” Na-Ri bellowed.
Suddenly the room sank into an abyss of impenetrable darkness with the sliver of moonlight the sole source of shivering luminant grace. Nikhil turned towards the open hole in the wall. Crimson hues eclipsed the moon as it bled into the dark mauve sky around…
The murmurs intensified, and Jacheongbi wobbled on a dangerous tilt. Nikhil grimaced in silent agony as the sinister entities treated his body like a canvas to unshackle their artwork. He watched in helpless horror as the tendrils of shadows left him and snaked their way around Na-Ri. She screamed as her body contorted. The men with daggers inched closer to Na-Ri and Nikhil.
“Sooon…. Oooppppa…*salanghaeyo, Na-Ri always loved Nikhil… forever…” Na-Ri struggled to speak. The manoeuvre repeated, her body convulsed and she tumbled. The entities swarmed over her like avian scavengers on a fallen forest animal
Nikhil wailed as tears meandered their way through the soot gathered on his face as he tried to reach out to his lady love. The symbols dug deeper… blood oozed out and crusted instantly on his powerless pale skin.
Suddenly Na-Ri’s body shuddered as she woke up, completely healed, her eyes now ablaze with a strange glow. The sanctum echoed with triumphant whispers.
…. In destiny’s dance, a twist that keeps.
Outside the manor, thick fog allied with relentless snowfall draped the landscape, in an ethereal shroud. A few hundred meters away, in the deepening solstice, Jeju celebrated the Dongji festival with soaring spirits, oblivious to the mayhem that just befell their thresholds.
Epilogue
Two days later..
The soft sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows as Na-Ri took a deep breath, her heart pounding in rhythm with the gentle melody played by the pianist. Nikhil stood at the altar, his eyes locked onto hers, a mixture of joy and anticipation reflecting in his gaze.
Na-Ri’s father placed a tender kiss on her cheek and passed her hand into Nikhil’s waiting grasp. The officiator, a wise and warm presence, began to speak, weaving words of love and commitment that wrapped around the couple like a cocoon. The exchange of vows echoed through the hallowed hall, each promise, a testament to their shared dreams and the uncharted path they were embarking upon together.
“By the power vested in me,” the officiator declared with a twinkle in their eye, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The words hung in the air, a moment suspended in time before the couple sealed their union with a lingering kiss.
The groom whispered in the bride’s ears, “Han Heeyon, my love, to the moon’s sweet track, adore you endlessly, and never look back.”
“Jeong, my love, my celestial guide,” the bride murmured in the embrace of their shared moment, “in the symphony of time and tide, with you, my soul forever shall confide…”
***
Co-authored by Priya Nayak Gole and Shankar Hosagoudar
Glossary/Author’s notes:
- The winter solstice is a specific moment when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky and appears to stand still. It happens annually on December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and marks the shortest day and longest night of the year.
- Dongji (in S.Korea) celebrates the winter solstice, usually around December 21 to 23, and is observed on the longest night of the year. Symbolizing the victory of light over darkness, Dongji represents that the days will start to grow longer and bring a sense of balance and harmony to people’s lives.
- Jacheongbi is primarily an earth goddess in Korean mythology. Indeed, her name, ja-cheong, can be translated as ‘wants for oneself’ – indicating independence and self-reliance coupled with compassion, a long-standing model for Jeju women
- The Hangang River is a major river in South Korea that flows through the capital city of Seoul.
- The hanbok is a traditional clothing of the Korean people. The term hanbok is primarily used by South Koreans
- Geunjeongjeon Hall, the largest hall at Seoul’s Gyeongbokgung Palace housing the Joseon Dynasty king’s throne
- Korean slang/ terminology:
- Oppa: here, romantic interest
- Jagi: My love
- aju yeppeuda: It’s so pretty
- salanghaeyo: I love you
Total word count without author’s notes and glossary – 2997 words.
Cover picture credit: Stefan Keller from Pixabay
