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A thief fell in love with a prince in a kingdom painted in black shadows.
Gunwook had first scaled the palace walls for a cinnabar vase, a treasure so valuable it could feed thousands if sold. Instead, he found himself returning night after night for Matthew, a priceless jewel who waited for him in the highest tower.
Their meetings began with suspicion and ended with laughter carried by the wind and promises whispered to the stars. While the kingdom slept, they spoke of freedom and of running to distant lands, together.
Matthew was born into a gilded cage. Gunwook belonged to the darkest sewers. Yet, they fit perfectly.
A reason why fate dealt a cruel game.
When the king discovered the truth, judgement came swiftly.
Gunwook was dragged to the execution grounds with his hands bound behind his back. Black clouds hung overhead as rows of archers raised their bows.
Matthew fought against the guards restraining him.
“No!” he cried. “Please, Father!”
The king never paid a mind.
However, even with death standing before him, Gunwook gazed at him gently.
“Do not cry for me,” he said. “My body may leave you, but my soul never will. It will remain beside yours for as long as time allows.”
Matthew’s vision blurred with tears. “I love you, Gunwookie.”
Gunwook smiled. “I know. I love you more, Matthew-hyung.”
The arrows flew. One struck directly into his heart.
Matthew’s scream echoed across the grounds, before black clouds swallowed him.
When he awoke, dressed in pure red, servants surrounded him.
A wedding robe….
The colour burned his skin.
Only three days had passed, but the king had already arranged a political marriage with a neighbouring kingdom.
Peace, they claimed. Duty, disguised as destiny.
Matthew scoffed derisively.
What was destiny if it demanded the sacrifice of one he loved?
He sat in silence while servants fastened gold ornaments into his hair, never daring to meet his eyes.
Outside, the palace celebrated. Inside, he had already died.
As evening approached, he slipped away. His feet carried him through corridors until he reached the highest tower in the palace.
Their tower, where they shared stolen kisses and warm embraces.
The wind greeted him as he stepped onto the balcony. Far below stretched the execution grounds where Gunwook had breathed his last.
Red blood had soaked into the earth, blackening the soil.
His knees trembled as fear tightened around his chest.
Then he glanced down and saw him.
The image mocked him; Gunwook stood below exactly as he had on the day of his execution, hands bound behind his back, only this time he was desperately shaking his head as though begging him to live.
A broken laugh escaped Matthew.
Even now, he was still trying to protect him.
“I wish we had never met,” he whispered, tears sliding down his cheeks. His voice cracked, “I wish you had never climbed that tower. I wish you had never loved me.”
Phantom Gunwook shook his head vehemently.
“But you did.” Matthew smiled as he climbed onto the stone parapet. “And so did I.”
The evening sky blazed red above him. Promising a love forged through blood.
“You promised you would stay beside me.” He took one final breath. “So I’m coming to find you.”
And he jumped.
With a wash of red, the greed of those who ruled their world ended with them.
~~~~~~~~~~
Centuries passed.
Kingdoms crumbled, palaces became ruins and names disappeared from memory. Though, some promises refused to die.
In the present, Gunwook, an antique collector and Matthew, a history professor would find their paths crossing.
Their punishment was to bore the burden of remembrance.’
The tower. The execution. The fall.
Most of all, they remembered their love.
Matthew had spent years searching for a story no historical record seemed willing to tell.
Every record he uncovered only led to disappointment. According to history, a crown prince had accidentally fallen from a tower on the day of his arranged marriage.
The king, so as not to delve into the throes of their forbidden love, had their history erased mercilessly.
Still, he refused to stop searching.
His perseverance paid off when he found a single clue.
A cinnabar vase.
The very same vase that had brought them together centuries ago. It was scheduled to appear at an auction and hope stirred within him for the first time in years.
When the evening arrived, he entered the auction hall and immediately noticed another bidder. A man seated several rows in front of him and something about him felt oddly intimate though the professor couldn’t explain why.
The auction began.
The bidding for the vase quickly spiralled beyond reason, neither man seemed willing to surrender.
“Five thousand dollars.”
“Ten thousand dollars.”
“Fifteen thousand dollars.”
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
“Twenty-five thousand dollars.”
By the time the final bid was called, the price had climbed far beyond the case’s true worth.
The hammer struck.
Sold.
The other man had won and disappointment settled heavily in Matthew’s chest.
Then as if pulled by an unseen force, he glanced up. Across the room, the winning bidder was already staring at him.
His dark eyes widened as certain recognition flashed between them.
The noise of the auction hall disappeared.
All that remained were those eyes, the same eyes that had once looked tenderly at him under the guidance of the stars and had smiled in the face of death.
They crossed the room at the same time, stopping only when they stood an arm’s length apart.
Matthew felt tears gathering in his eyes as he whispered. “Gunwookie, you found me.”
Gunwook’s smile trembled. “I never stopped searching, Matthew-hyung.”
Moonlight streamed through the tall windows, darkening the once black sky and painting the cinnabar vase in a vibrant red hue.
A colour of dawn after an endless night, when promises had finally been fulfilled.
Matthew’s thief reached for his hand.
Gunwook’s prince intertwined their fingers and smiled.
At last, fate had returned what it had untimely stolen.