Scarlet Heart: Once More, To You (Alternate Ending)

An Error in Memory

So stared blankly at the white mound of rice that sat in front of him. He held a pair of chopsticks absentmindedly, his hand hovering above a plate of seasoned vegetables.

His mother frowned.

"I made all of your favorite dishes, So. Are you not hungry?"

He blinked and redirected his gaze towards his mother.

"It's not that... mom."

He sighed, as if the mountains of the earth held him down by the shoulders.

"What's on your mind?" She was concerned.

"If I find a place without loneliness... come with me to that place."

Her gaze of concern was replaced with that of curiosity.

"Have you ever heard that song before?"

She hesitated before giving him a small smile.

"That song has been around for ages. It originated from the Goryeo dynasty."

"The Goryeo dynasty?"

She chuckled.

"Did I perhaps... like history a lot? I just... can't seem to remember. But there would be no other reason... as to why I remember that line so clearly."

"So... you hated history. I'm surprised you even know of such a song."

He flinched as he felt a sharp pain at the side of his head. An image flashed before his eyes, but before he could register it, it was gone. He excused himself from the table and retreated to his room.

He closed the door and sat on the wooden floor, his back against the wall. So was frustrated—he felt so helpless and lost. As if he was stranded in the middle of the ocean, with the menacing water up to his throat, surrounded by nothing but infinite waves of blankness. It was suffocating.

He needed answers.

--

A deep, ghoulish shade of red stained the ground. Bodies drenched in blood lay scattered around him. The air reeked with the nauseating smell of death.

"It's only... a gift that you can give me."

He tried to run. But he was unable to do anything but watch. The man that was... him.

He knew he had no choice. It was what the boy wanted. Memories, although they had been brief, played out before him. A birthday party. Loud laughter. Childish jokes. Times he had wished would stay forever.

Eun.

And before he knew it, he was crying. Hot tears filled with rage and sorrow rolled down his cheeks as he gazed into the eyes of a boy who had once known nothing but love and kindness. Now they were filled with nothing but sorrow. The world had destroyed the heart of innocence.

The boy begged silently, this time with his tear filled eyes.

They had come too far to turn back.

His hands trembled uncontrollably as he raised the bloody sword above his head.

Forgive me, Eun.

Then he struck. As soon as blade hit flesh, he jolted awake.

He was beginning to remember.

He had been a... King.

--

That night, Ha Jin fell asleep at the library. And she did not dream.

--

The next morning, So headed to the library. After lots of assistance, he finally located the section dedicated to the history of Korea. He frowned as he reached a particular section of the library, where the books seemed tattered and filled with loose threads. He smoothed his fingers across the spine of a large, brown book that looked older than life itself. ­­­­He pulled it from the shelf and began to flip through the pages when his worst fear was confirmed. He was absolutely illiterate.

Not giving up, however, he brought the book to the help desk and gave an apologetic grin at the librarian, who had helped him only minutes ago.

"If I find a place without loneliness... come with me to that place. Do you perhaps know where this song came from?"

The librarian gave him an inquisitive glance, shrugged, and opened the table of contents. After a moment, she flipped to a page where the title of the chapter was printed in large, bold letters: The Life of Gwangjong.

Another pause.

"It says here that Princess Yeon Hwa had sung that song every night in the garden during her nightly walks. And one night, Gwangjong had heard her. That was when he had fallen in love with her."

He opened his mouth to ask yet another question, only to be silenced by the librarian's glare. He thanked her once more and returned to flipping through the book. The images, at least, he could understand.

There had never been a Hae Soo. She had been an error in his memory.

It had been Yeon Hwa, not Hae Soo.

--

Ha Jin began to panic. She flipped through the pages of the book hysterically—her eyes were surely playing tricks on her. There was no way history had been rewritten overnight. She closed the book and raced back to the shelves to produce another book. This was a book specifically about the royal families.

She sighed with relief when she saw that the Hae family still existed. Then she turned to the page about Hae Soo. About her.

Hae Soo had drowned.