Like the First Snow

It is already dark when Wonbeom and Soyong arrive at the village. His Queen is exhausted from the journey, and when he helps her reach the ground she holds onto him a bit longer, which only makes him happier. They are both too tired to do anything in the late evening, so Wonbeom decides they need to find a place to sleep, some tavern with guest rooms.

Wonbeom gathers that the village is very popular as it’s on a track across the country and many strangers stay here. Soon they find a guest house, and a very kind woman assures them they will sleep on fresh bedspreads and have a delicious breakfast waiting for them in the morning.

“One room or two?” the hostess asks them, looking from Soyong to Wonbeom and back. “One” is Wonbeom’s answer and “two” is Soyong’s. The hostess looks at them with a kind smile, probably thinking they are shy newlyweds.

“It’s one,” Wonbeom repeats, and before Soyong starts to argue asks her: “Do you have money to pay for a spare room?” She doesn’t answer, frowning and patting her sides. As he has suspected, she has not brought a purse with her. “Did you forget your money again?” he teases, and she gives him a death glare, but he only smiles in return.

Predictably, she doesn’t let him go inside their room with her until she changes into the simple sleeping wear she has brought with her. Wonbeom, on the other hand, doesn’t mind if she sees him change clothes, but she lies on the edge of their bedding and doesn’t even face his way.

Disappointed, he finishes changing into his sleeping wear and lies on the opposite side. Perhaps small progress is good too, as they are now sharing a room at least.

Wonbeom is too tired to even try to start a late-night conversation and he falls asleep almost immediately. However, he wakes up in the middle of the night because of Soyong’s troubled sleep. He sits up on their bedding to see her thrashing about and clutching the blanket so hard her knuckles have turned white.

“Soyong…” he calls her, but she doesn’t respond, still trapped within her nightmare. Wonbeom pats her shoulder then and she wakes, sitting up so abruptly that he barely catches her in his arms in time. She breathes heavily, resting her cheek on his shoulder. Wonbeom whispers to her that it’s all over and she is alright now.

“I was in the woods again,” she breathes out while Wonbeom draws circles on her back, soothing her. “He almost caught me this time…”

Wonbeom feels rage at the unknown assassin who dared to frighten his Queen to the point of having nightmares. He continues his attempts to calm her until her breath becomes even.

“I am sorry I woke you up,” she quietly says, pulling away from his embrace. “Please, Your Majesty, go back to sleep.”

“I could hold you the whole night if you’d like…” he suggests, concerned that she will not be able to sleep well for the rest of the night. She looks so pale, even in the darkness of the room. He used to have terrible nightmares as well, but when he held her, feeling her warmth and heartbeat, he was able to sleep well. She helped him so much in the past, and he will happily return the favor if she allows him.

“There is no need. Let’s not cross a line and make things complicated,” Soyong says curtly, lying down again. He shakes his head at his stubborn wife. He does not have any hidden intentions. He just wants to make her feel safe.

“How about we hold hands so you won’t feel lonely?” He lies on his side, facing her, and she mirrors his pose. Wonbeom reaches out his hand and Soyong timidly slides her palm into his.

Wonbeom waits until she falls asleep and then closes his eyes too. She wakes him up again later, but it is not because of a nightmare. In her sleep she rolls onto her other side and her hand almost slips out of his. Without opening his eyes, he moves closer to her so their hands stay linked, and he ends up hugging her from behind. She presses their crossed hands close to her heart and doesn’t wake him up again until morning.

A part of him knows she will be unhappy about it. However, it feels so good and right to hug like this, to greet the morning together. This is how their life is supposed to be, and Wonbeom doesn’t understand how they have everything else in their marriage, like respect and admiration, even a child, but not this closeness.

“What are you doing?” Soyong asks him when she wakes up and finds them tangled together. Wonbeom takes a deep sigh, mentally preparing himself for the backlash.

“You rolled over in your sleep,” he calmly explains into her ear.

“Then you should have let go… ” Soyong tries to get free and even hits him in the stomach with her elbow in the process. He wonders if she did it on purpose as he coughs, trying to catch his breath. Soyong stands up and looks down at him angrily as if he committed a great sin. For the only purpose of teasing her, he lies on his side imposingly, resting his head on one hand.

“I didn’t want to,” he says, smiling brightly. “My wife had a troubled sleep and it was my duty as a good husband to calm her. What did I do wrong?”

“A good husband would show understanding to his wife’s request for boundaries.” She looks so irritated that it makes Wonbeom only want to tease her more.

He gets up and moves to her. With every step he takes towards her, Soyong takes a step back, until her back bumps into the wall of the small room. Wonbeom places one hand on the wall, right beside her head. She frowns and tries to move away, but he blocks her in the same manner with his other hand.

“I’m tired of being an understanding husband,” he whispers in a hoarse voice. “How long must I be understanding when it doesn’t give either of us what we really want?”

“And what exactly do we both want?” she whispers back, a blush starting to appear on her face and neck.

Wonbeom smirks as he moves forward, shrinking the distance between them. He focuses his attention on her lips, licks his own, and…

Soyong ducks down and escapes his trap under his outstretched arms. Wonbeom sighs and thumps his head on the room’s wall with a muffled thud.

“Please leave. I need to change clothes.” Soyong opens the door and moves beside it. He has no other choice but to comply.

She can be stubborn and proud all she wants, but her actions betray her. Wonbeom spent the last year trying to find the answer of who he truly loves and already decided everything for himself.

Many things could be figured out even at a distance, like how she acts and how kind she is. Her passion for work is clear with the plethora of ideas she has implemented at court. She is the Queen. His Queen. The more he knows her, the deeper he falls in love.

While he was carefully learning more about what kind of woman she is, Soyong wasn’t so subtle with her true feelings: she would follow him around the palace covertly, watching over his training sessions or observing him reading books in his favorite gazebo. Once Wonbeom caught on to her, he tried to impress her. For instance, he would take off his cheolik¹Cheolik – fighting garment. At the show, Cheoljong usually wore blue and gold one. for training, pretending it was too hot and that he was overworked. He even completed a series of pushups in his chambers before heading out to the training field. Hong still laughs at him for that, but Wonbeom hopes his wife enjoyed the view that day.

He could see it when he comforted her so she could sleep well last night and when she started blushing shyly this morning: she still loves him. Soyong foolishly thinks she may be able to escape her feelings and desires. But Wonbeom knows from his own experience it’s not possible. Every time she tells herself she must not follow her heart she will fail. The heart will always win no matter how much valid reasoning a mind could offer. She will fail just as Wonbeom failed to restrain his own feelings for her in the past.

Soyong wears the same garment she wore yesterday, except with simpler makeup. Her natural beauty does not require any enhancement, but Wonbeom found her very attractive yesterday as well. She radiated power that could bring down anyone who foolishly decided to oppose her. When he saw her in such a state yesterday, he wanted nothing more than to fall to his knees and ask for orders.

Though today, her innocent and natural look makes him want to give orders and for her to obey. Wonbeom has always found this duality in her to be thrilling. No matter what Soyong does, she’s able to arouse the deepest desires in him.

They head out for breakfast together, and while sharing a delicious meal of gukbap²Gukbap – hot soup with rice., Wonbeom notices Soyong doesn’t look as incensed as earlier. He observes how she eats at a much slower pace than him and is far more graceful while eating. Wonbeom has no excuses; he just loves this dish so much that it takes only a few minutes for him to finish the entire bowl.

“How do you find the food? It’s not your usual meal, but I think the hostess made it well,” Wonbeom carefully starts the conversation, testing the waters to see if she is ready to speak with him again.

“I eat gukbap more often than you might think, Your Majesty.” She raises her eyes from her bowl and even smiles softly. Wonbeom is relieved to see she is no longer angry. “You saw my usual breakfast at home. Do you really think I could eat all that without getting as round as a ball?” she jokes. “Hong Yeon tested all my food long before the palace rules made her do so. So it is only fair for me to try her usual food as well.”

“But why that time…” he stops his question midway. He was about to ask why she had been so interested in gukbap that time after her vegetative state if she had tried it before. It was the spirit’s curiosity as he understands now.

“Bong Hwan wanted to taste it so he could cook it for the Grand Queen Dowager.” She doesn’t sound sad discussing the spirit again. There is only a hint of nostalgia in her voice.

“Do you miss him?” He has never asked her this before. They had only talked about what Wonbeom felt about the spirit possession, but Soyong is the one who lived with that spirit for some time. She must be feeling a sense of loss, and Wonbeom inwardly chides himself for not comforting her about it earlier.

“I do not miss being possessed, but I wish we could meet again face-to-face,” she admits with a subtle smile. “He was a good man with a true passion for cooking. I’m sorry you never tried his dishes.”

“But I did,” Wonbeom confesses. “I asked Man Bok to cook everything from his recipe book he wrote under your instruction.”

“It’s not the same, Your Majesty,” she laughs. “Man Bok isn’t half as good as Bong Hwan!”

“I had no other choice.” Wonbeom smiles too, relieved they are finally able to discuss the spirit with ease. “What is your favorite dish, my Queen?”

“What is yours?” she asks, narrowing her eyes quizzically.

“C.O.S.I.”

“Ramyeon.”

They answer at the same time, both surprised by each other’s responses. “C.O.S.I.? Really?” Soyong blinks in surprise.

“I’m fascinated by the deep meaning of this dish. Crunchy outside but soft inside, like Yin and Yang…” he poetically declares. “Why ramyeon? It is just noodles.”

“Just…noodles?” Wonbeom finds it adorable how offended she looks by his words. Her eyebrows come together and her voice becomes ridiculously frustrated: “And I thought you craved for it!”

“What?” he only manages to ask before she abruptly stands up and leaves the table.

He has long suspected ramyeon has a double meaning, but he still can not confirm what it is. Frustratingly, his Queen is of no help with the mystery.

“Could you just tell me the meaning of it?” He also gets up and runs after her, desperation clear in his voice. “My Queen!”

She refuses to satisfy his curiosity, and even pouts at him for offending her favorite dish. The page with the word “Ramyeon” still isn’t finished in Queen’s Dictionary. He left a place to add the second meaning but now doubts if he will ever find out the truth.

They walk together across the village, looking around and seeing friendly people here and there.

When Wonbeom became free from the ties of the Andong Kim clan, he sent his trusted people across the country to find out how his subjects lived. The areas where people suffered the most received new officials and were quickly offered aid. Those who made the people’s lives a living nightmare were punished.

Little by little, Wonbeom started to make people’s lives easier. There are still reforms to be made and laws to be changed in adjustment to the modern world. But it will take time, and Wonbeom understands that he must at least make the current laws work as they are supposed to.

When his people came back with their reports, they learned some places in Joseon were not as in bad shape as others. This large village for example: his men found the people here did not struggle much and no one had a bad word to share about the local officials. And notably, there was much praise for Park Yul Mu. Upon hearing that, Wonbeom invited Yul Mu to Hanyang, to listen to his ideas and to later offer him a position at the royal conference.

“What do you think about this place, Your Majesty?” Soyong asks curiously.

“Not sure yet,” he sighs. “Maybe we could visit a tavern to learn some gossip about this place?”

“It’s too early for the drunkards to start complaining, don’t you think?” Soyong asks, giving him a dubious look.

Actually, the time of day doesn’t matter for complainers as long as they have company and a drink. Especially if someone else is paying. Wonbeom may be able to pry some information out of them if he goes in alone. With Soyong’s presence, they might be less chatty and more… flirtatious.

He gets annoyed at the mere thought. If he starts a fight they definitely won’t hear anything useful.

“How about the bookshop? We just passed it,” Soyong suggests. “People usually gossip with the sellers, and there are usually more intelligent buyers for books.”

“Alright, let’s try this, my Queen,” Wonbeom agrees. He still thinks the tavern is a better place to search for information, but Soyong is right in that the shopkeepers know a lot too.

The store she alluded to turns out to not be just a bookshop, but a place where one can buy a variety of goods.

“Welcome, welcome, master and my lady.” The seller is an older woman, and like everyone else in the village, she greets them with a bright smile. “Can I help you?”

“Yeobo³Yeobo\Jagiya – honey or darling, nicknames common among Korean couples., what do you say?” Soyong suddenly changes her demeanor, her voice turning coquettish and her eyes twinkling with excitement. “We were traveling for so long. Can I get something here?” She pouts and hits his shoulder as if he would ever refuse her anything.

“Of course, jagiya,” Wonbeom says sweetly, playing along. Soyong jumps a little with excitement and starts to examine the shelves of various goods. “We are just passing by,” Wonbeom explains to the seller. “If we buy gifts in every place we stay, our horse wouldn’t be able to stay upright. But this place looks… expensive.”

“We have a lot of sellers going through the village. Sometimes things stay here — usually, if someone has bad luck in tujeon⁴Tujeon are the traditional playing cards of Korea used in the latter half of the Joseon dynasty. They are also known as tupae.,” the woman tells them.

“I see so many pretty things!” Soyong plays with several different trinkets, putting her enthusiasm on clear display.

“But isn’t this village a bit out of the way if one is heading to Hanyang⁵Hanyang was the capital and largest city in Joseon. It was the center of the country’s government and home to the royal family and high ministers. As a result, the city hosted a constant undercurrent of political intrigue between various factions vying for control of the government. Now it’s Seoul – the capital of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). from the nearest port?” Wonbeom casually asks.

The shorter route has far wealthier villages that used to be home to a great number of corrupted officials. What makes people take such a detour? Wonbeom has a guess but would like to hear how the villagers explain it.

“Our former master and head of the village helped a lot to bring life to this place,” the seller says, but it doesn’t answer his question of how.

Wonbeom doesn’t push it as he doesn’t want to raise suspicion with his curiosity. He may ask more once Soyong chooses something and the seller gets her money. Wonbeom busies himself by pretending as if he is also interested in what the shop has to offer. He takes one of the books from the nearest shelf and flips through the pages.

Another ridiculous novel about a romance between a court lady and a eunuch, he snorts.

“You don’t like the book, yeobo?” Soyong asks, looking at him from the other end of the bookshelf.

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking how ludicrous those novels are,” he says, smirking. “I mean, what kind of romance could a eunuch possibly have?” Wonbeom laughs at the mere thought of it, but Soyong looks puzzled. “I mean…” He starts blushing as she waits for him to explain. “They don’t have… you know…” He raises his eyebrows suggestively.

“They have their tongues,” Soyong blurts out and covers her mouth right away, seemingly flustered at her own words. Her cheeks turn a faint shade of pink, but Wonbeom feels like his whole face is burning and probably turning a deep scarlet hue. He slams the book closed and puts it away on a shelf, avoiding looking Soyong’s way.

“I will take this.” Soyong walks towards the shopkeeper, holding a jewelry box with a floral pattern. Wonbeom pays for it, still feeling his ears burn. The seller smirks knowingly, seeing how they avoid each other’s eyes.

“You must be very grateful to your former master. This village seems wonderful,” Soyong casually continues Wonbeom’s previous line of questions.

“We are,” the seller says. “Alas, our talented master left this place some time ago. Now he works in Hanyang as I last heard. We don’t know what will happen with our village…” she sighs morosely.

Unable to continue the conversation without seeming suspicious, they leave the store. They walk down the street and then step aside to talk.

“What do you think? She meant Yul Mu, right?” Soyong looks at him. “We didn’t find out much though.”

“I don’t think we need anything more,” Wonbeom voices his thoughts. “What we don’t hear and see is also important. As water always finds a way to continue its path, the smugglers find another road to travel. On the shorter road, they had to pay greedy officials, so they found a cheaper way instead.”

“But that doesn’t explain why the people here praise Yul Mu so much. Usually, villages also struggle under a corrupt official’s demands,” Soyong says.

“Only if the village does not also benefit from it,” Wonbeom notes. “I was deceived, my Queen.” He looks around at the commoners walking around the market and takes notice of their seemingly new clothing. “He didn’t make any reforms here to help the people or organize anything. He buys their loyalty! He shared the money he got from the smugglers and the people were grateful. But once he left, these people were doomed to return to poverty.”

“Don’t blame yourself too much, Your Majesty.” Soyong places her hand on his shoulder. “It seems he has fooled many people. He uses his charisma to gain people who are loyal to him.”

“There’s something else, my Queen.” He takes her hand from his shoulder into his grasp. “As much as I despise the idea, you will have to go back to the Park estate.”

“What changed your mind so suddenly?” She looks worried for him as if it’s him who will go into the tiger’s den.

“Look around, my Queen. What else do you see?”

Soyong turns her head, observing the street. They see a lot of women, children, and old people…

“No young men.” Soyong turns to him, her eyes wide with realization, and Wonbeom nods in agreement. It’s a big village and they have barely seen anyone of age for a fight. “He recruited a lot of people here.”

“Precisely, my Queen. And he may hire even more.” Wonbeom squeezes her hand. “I hate to ask you this, Soyong-ah, but we need to end this with a fast, unexpected attack.”

“I told you I’m in this until the end.” She places her free hand on top of their already linked ones. “I know you are worried about me, and I worry about you just as much.” He looks her in the eyes and sees it all, her love and concern for him. “My brave King will be in the middle of this battle, won’t he?”

“You know me well.” He reaches out his hand to caress her cheek and she gives him a melancholy smile.

They leave the village in a hurry on a horseback ride that still makes Soyong uncomfortable. But she does not voice any complaints this time, nor does she ask for a break. However, they eventually have to stop as the horse grows tired. The trip to Yul Mu’s former village was made after their short break at Kim Jwa Geun’s home, so the ride back to the royal villa can’t be made in one go.

They walk beside each other, deep in their own thoughts. He doesn’t want to risk her life by sending her into enemy territory. But the map she mentioned before will give them an invaluable advantage. They will attack the camp and end it quickly. The conspirators won’t have any forces against him and he will punish them one by one.

“Aigoo⁶Aigo (아이고) is a Korean exclamation expression which is similar to the English expressions ‘Oh!’, ‘Oh Dear!’, ‘Oh My!’, ‘Oh My God!’ ‘Geez!’, and so on., who do we have here?”

A man’s voice distracts Wonbeom from his thoughts. He looks ahead to see a group of three robbers approaching as if the conspiracy alone wasn’t enough trouble for them.

“Hide behind me, Soyong-ah.” He reaches out his arm, shielding her from the robbers. Being as there are only three of them, he can easily defeat them on his own. He must only make sure no one touches his Queen while they fight.

“Oh my…” Soyong peeps out from behind him. “Oh, it’s so exciting!” she suddenly exclaims, stopping the robbers in their tracks.

Wonbeom gapes at her reaction. He should be used to his Queen’s surprises, but he does not understand what could make her so excited about an oncoming attack. And something tells him her excitement is not coming from thoughts of him honorably saving her. He lets out a weary sigh, preparing himself for whatever she has in store.

“I thought I wouldn’t have any opportunity to practice in an actual dangerous situation.” Soyong walks around him and steps forward, a wide smile adorning her face. With ease, she pulls a knife out from her sleeve. Wonbeom can’t form any words: this is the last thing he would expect Soyong to do. From the spirit – yes. From Soyong – never.

“Ya, are you crazy?!” One of the robbers hesitates. “You, calm your woman!” he shouts at Wonbeom.

Finally pulling himself together, Wonbeom tries to look completely neutral to the whole situation.

“What can I do? If she wants to train, no one can stop her,” he says, trying to look unbothered. He will interfere if they attack, but right now her unexpected behavior is actually helping them.

“You two are crazy!” one of the other robbers yells. “Ya, let’s go…” He pulls his friends away.

When they are left alone, Soyong sighs loudly and relaxes. She faces him with a smile, but it fades a bit when she sees his questioning look.

“I’ve noticed people prefer to avoid strange behavior like that,” she explains, looking more like her usual noble self.

“Where did you get the knife?” Wonbeom asks. Since when has she carried a weapon with her? She made that act look so effortless he doubts whether she was acting at all.

“Ah, this?” Soyong raises her hand with the knife. “It’s Seo Hwi’s present. I asked him to teach me how to throw it so I can protect myself,” she says enthusiastically. “After so many assassination attempts I figured I need to protect myself somehow. And I can’t carry a sword or a rifle with me. And definitely not a bow and arrow…” she reasons with complete seriousness, but Wonbeom finds it so adorable.

“Did you consider all of this?” Wonbeom laughs and she nods shyly. “And how is your progress?”

“Bad, actually,” she pouts. “So I’m glad they left or I would have embarrassed myself…”

“It’s because you didn’t have a good teacher,” Wonbeom concludes, feeling envious that another man had a chance to teach her. He takes her free hand in his and pulls her away from the road and into the forest.

They find a good spot for training. Wonbeom ties the reins to a branch so the horse won’t run away. He picks another tree as a target spot and measures a distance of ten steps from it.

“Show me what you can do first.” Wonbeom stands by her side, his arms crossed on his chest. She looks timidly at him but acquiesces, getting in her stance and throwing the knife. It hits the tree and falls to the ground.

“You are doing it wrong.” He shakes his head with a sigh.

“I know,” Soyong lets out through clenched teeth.

Wonbeom ignores her irritation; at this point, it’s nothing new in their relationship. So he just walks to pick up the knife from the ground and returns to her.

“Take a step back,” he commands. “Relax your shoulders… Now, change the angle and try again.” He demonstrates the proper motion a few times. “Use the same force as before.”

“But the distance is greater now. Shouldn’t I try to throw it harder?” she questions. “You were already throwing too hard…”

“Because it wasn’t enough before and the knife usually dropped halfway!” she interrupts him, defending herself.

“Well, we’ve moved back now. Just keep using the same amount of force you used on the first try. That’s what you’re comfortable with,” he calmly explains. “I want you to find the distance that works the best for you. I want you to feel success.” He walks behind her, fixing her shoulders. “Feel it, and you can work on different velocities and angles later.” He lifts her hand with the knife, guiding her on how to hold it properly. “But you need to get the idea first.” He finishes his speech right by her ear.

Wonbeom steps aside and nods to her to try. She throws and it doesn’t work again. Patiently, he picks up the knife again and returns. Soyong tries different distances, taking a few steps back each time. Finally, her knife hits and gets stuck in the tree, right at eye level where a target would have been painted on. She smiles at him, but he asks her to repeat her success first. She throws, again and again, hitting the tree each time.

“I got it! Five out of five, at last!” Soyong claps her hands triumphantly and bursts into joyous laughter. “It’s so thrilling!”

Wonbeom finds her ineffably lovely when she’s so excited, and he can’t hide his own smile. Seeing her so happy makes him perform a dangerous move: he steps forward to kiss her on the cheek. He does it in a rush of his own feelings, and he’s glad she doesn’t have a knife in her hands right now so he might survive it. Soyong looks at him in surprise, placing her palm against her cheek.

“What are you doing?” she murmurs, sounding half-alarmed and half-excited.

Instead of answering, Wonbeom moves closer, placing one hand on her waist and the other around the back of her head. He doesn’t give her a chance to protest and clasps their lips together. She makes a noise and her hands find their way to his chest to push him away.

“If this all…” She catches her breath, looking up into his eyes. “If it all reminded you about…”

“Soyong-ah…” He moves his hand from the back of her head to her cheek, caressing it gently. “Please stop talking…”

He pulls her even closer to him.

“This is our moment,” he whispers, searching her eyes for approval for him to keep going.

The wait feels like centuries and every heartbeat is an ache only Soyong can cure. Her features soften a little and this is all Wonbeom needs to move forward.

His lips caress hers, and she answers with light and soft movements. Her hands don’t push him away but instead travel behind his neck, pulling him closer to her. They part only to catch their breath, both of their chests heaving. Wonbeom’s pulse is rising and a heartbeat echoes in his ears. They join in a more demanding kiss, his tongue forcing her to part her lips, drawing a low moan from her. Wonbeom swears the whole world could collapse, but he would hear only the sound she makes when his tongue invades her.

Wonbeom’s hand goes away from her face only to move down to her waist, and then slide down on her hip. She squeaks in surprise when he pulls her hip up against his waist, and she now has to hold onto him tighter so she won’t fall when he bends her forward a little.

They lose track of time in their embrace as their mouths move in tandem, drawing faint whimpers and moans from each other. And if it isn’t for a loud noise from the main road, Wonbeom is content to carry on like this all day.

Author’s notes

Actually, I didn’t plan for them to kiss this early, it was supposed to happen in later chapters but Wonbeom couldn’t take it anymore. And who am I to stop the King? XD I hope the dorky version of Soyong and Wonbeom in this chapter doesn’t sound too out of character. They are not always so angsty lol

PS I was supposed to make them talk about Seo Hwi but in every chapter, their conversations draw away from him. Sorry Seo Hwi-ah, our royal couple is a bit busy :p

PSS Poor King still clueless about ramyeon XD

• 1
  Cheolik – fighting garment. At the show, Cheoljong usually wore blue and gold one.
• 2
  Gukbap – hot soup with rice.
• 3
  Yeobo\Jagiya – honey or darling, nicknames common among Korean couples.
• 4
  Tujeon are the traditional playing cards of Korea used in the latter half of the Joseon dynasty. They are also known as tupae.
• 5
  Hanyang was the capital and largest city in Joseon. It was the center of the country’s government and home to the royal family and high ministers. As a result, the city hosted a constant undercurrent of political intrigue between various factions vying for control of the government. Now it’s Seoul – the capital of the Republic of Korea (South Korea).
• 6
  Aigo (아이고) is a Korean exclamation expression which is similar to the English expressions ‘Oh!’, ‘Oh Dear!’, ‘Oh My!’, ‘Oh My God!’ ‘Geez!’, and so on.