Post by velvet inkbrush of YiSoonShin on Sept 19, 2004 22:25:57 GMT -5
"You bastards!" Yi Jung shouted, as he was dragged outside. "Let me go! Let me go I said!!"
"Suh bang nim! (husband)" his wife cried.
"Father!" Soon shin struggled to free himself from the captain's grip. Slipping out of his grasp, he ran to his father's side.
Bound and on his knees, Soon Shin's father looked up at his captors and demanded, "Bastards! What the hell is the meaning of this?"
"You know your crime!" the captain shouted.
"Crime?!" he repeated incredulously. "How can you commit such an outrage against the guiltless?"
"Shut up! You conducted memorial services to that traitor, Jo Gwon Jo!" (Jo Gwon Jo was a man who was killed during the reign of king chun cho after being accused falsely of treason)
"I have done no such thing," Yi Jung muttered.
"If that's so, whose is this?" he asked, producing a wooden block from his sleeve. It was an identification card with Jung's name on it. Soon Shin's father was speechless. "Take him!"
"Yes, sir!" the guards saluted.
As they took Soon Shin's father, Soon Shin, wailing his father's name, ran in front of the men, trying to prevent their exit. "You can't! Where are you taking my father?" he cried. "You can't do this!"
Seeing his son's tears, Jung got down on his knees and told him, "Soon Shin-ah, go to your mother. Go to her!" Soon Shin tried to protest but the guards roughly grabbed his father and forced him to walk out with them. His wife and son could only watch through their tears.
Jung let loose a scream as he was tortured. Two men pulled his legs with crossed sticks, forcing them beyond their natural range of motion. As his tendons were stretched beyond their limits, each new stretch sent streaks of pain shooting through his body. When he though he couldn't take anymore, the captain raised his voice.
"Stop! The traitor Jo Gwon Jo - why did you all meet at his abandoned house?"
"We were trying to appease the soul of the departed," Jung answered in an exhuasted voice. "How is that a crime?"
"He is a criminal of high treason who broke the law and defied the king!" the investigator shouted
"Jo Gwon Jo was the greatest teacher that ever lived," Jung said
defiantly. "The earth knows that and the heavens know that!"
"Shut up! Your own father Yi Baek-rok died uttering the same treasonous words! And now you! The blood of a traitor is dirty indeed."
"Do not speak my father's name in that way!" Jung interrupted him angrily. "Men like you sully his name by even speaking it!"
"What?! You still haven't wised up yet?" Turning to the torturers, he ordered, "What are you waiting for? Continue until he learns!"
"Yes, sir!" they bowed, and Yi Jung's screams once again filled the night air.
_______________________________________________________________________
Sitting on the steps in front of their house, Soon shin broke the silence between himself and his mother. "I'm sorry. If I hadn't picked up his name card, father would not...it's my fault..." His voice broke as he began to cry.
"No, it wasn't your fault," Byoon told him.
"Is father a bad man? Is that why they took him away? Is that why?"
"Enough!" His mother's tone was harsh. "You know your father better than that!"
"Then why did they arrest him? Why?" His mother remained silent. "Mother..." Soon Shin pleaded. Byoon could not bring herself to explain so she sat wordlessly while her son wiped his tears on his sleeve.
That night, Jung spent the evening staring blankly at the walls of his prison cell
________________________________________________________________________
"No! That is absolutely out of the question!"
Holding a tray of food in her hands, Byoon tried to convince a guard to allow her to into the prison. "But he doesn't have anyone to prepare food for him. Please, let me just leave him this and I will hurry back out."
"Our orders are that he's not even to receive a drop of water, and you want to bring him food? Get out of here!"
"Please, let us just see him once then. Let us at least know if he is ill or well," Byoon begged.
"I don't think you should," the guard replied.
"What do you mean?" Byoon's voice began to rise. "Are you saying they hurt him?" Her voice softened again. "Please, just let us see him once. Please, I beg of you!" She grabbed his sleeve as she made her entreaty.
His patience worn thin, the guard pushed her roughly aside and shouted, "Go back to your home!"
Byoon fell to the ground, her carefully prepared tray now in ruins on the road. "Mother!" Soon Shin cried in alarm.
Picking up the shards of pottery strewn on the gravel, Byoon could not keep back her tears. Weeping softly, she cried, "Your father's breakfast...it's ruined!" She tried to clean the remains, but could not stop sobbing.
As they walked back to their home, Soon Shin's mother paused and reminded him, "It's about time that you go to school."
"But, father is in jail. How could I-"
"No, You must go to school. If you do not tend to your books, your father will not like it either." Byoon watched her son walk away, his shoulders slumped. Sighing, she turned to walk home.
A few paces away, Soon Shin stopped walking and turned to watch his mother's back as she walked away, basket in hand. Unable to stomach sitting in a classroom all day, Soon Shin simply sat under a tree until it began to grow dark.
At their home, Byoon tried to distract herself with her sewing btu found that she could not keep her mind off the days events. Sighing again, she set down her needle.
The next morning, Yi Jung and the other supporters of Jo Gwon Jo were dragged out of the prison and forced to walk the streets bound with placards bearing their crimes hung around their necks. Sore from the torture and fatigued from lack of food or water, they were barely able to stand up straight.
Upon hearing the news, Soon Shin and his mother ran through the streets, looking for Jung. They were met by the sight of the dishevelled party shuffling behind a guard on horseback. The local villagers taunted them and pointed as they passed. Soon Shin's classmates also ran to see what all the fuss was about. Pushing her way to the front, Byoon tried to refrain from crying in front of her husband. Song Ryong, also in the crowd, was in shock at seeing Soon Shin's father in such a state. Making their way to the crowd was Kyoon and his mother. Seeing Yi Jung, Kyoon said, "Hey, thats-"
"Is there someone in that group that you know?" his mother asked.
"It's Soon Shin's father."
"Father! Father!" Soon Shin ran crying to his father who buckled from exhaustion. "Father!"
"Hey! Don't you think you'd better get up? Maybe you need another beating," a guard shouted at Yi Jung. "Get up!"
"Don't hit him!" Soon cried at him. "Don't hit my father!"
"Beat it, runt! Get out of the way!" The guard kicked Soon Shin, sending him sprawling on the ground. "Get up and walk!" he ordered Yi Jung but Soon Shin had already scrambled to his feet and was yet again trying to free his father. "You little sh*t, I told you to get lost!" He kicked Soon Shin aside again. Song Ryong watched, horrified. Kyoon started to walk to Soon Shin but was stopped by his mother.
"What do you think you are doing?"
Kyoon turned to his mother. "Mother..."
"Don't get involved," she said firmly.
"My friend is in trouble, is he not?" Kyoon responded. His mother frowned as he approached the guard.
Running up to the man, Kyoon shoved him aside. "What the hell are you?" the guard shouted angrily.
"Why must you hit even him?" Kyoon shouted back, pointing at soon shin. "He's just a kid!"
"Why you little - get out of the way!" The guard sent Kyoon sprawling on the ground next to Soon Shin. Pointing his sword at Kyoon he warned, "If you take one more step, you won't be able to go home in one piece either!" Turning to the prisoners, he shouted, "Alright! We're going!" Soon Shin's father looked at the two boys watching him from over his shoulder.
Kyoon helped Soon Shin to his feet, but after watching the procession leave, Soon Shin turned and ran.
"Suh bang nim! (husband)" his wife cried.
"Father!" Soon shin struggled to free himself from the captain's grip. Slipping out of his grasp, he ran to his father's side.
Bound and on his knees, Soon Shin's father looked up at his captors and demanded, "Bastards! What the hell is the meaning of this?"
"You know your crime!" the captain shouted.
"Crime?!" he repeated incredulously. "How can you commit such an outrage against the guiltless?"
"Shut up! You conducted memorial services to that traitor, Jo Gwon Jo!" (Jo Gwon Jo was a man who was killed during the reign of king chun cho after being accused falsely of treason)
"I have done no such thing," Yi Jung muttered.
"If that's so, whose is this?" he asked, producing a wooden block from his sleeve. It was an identification card with Jung's name on it. Soon Shin's father was speechless. "Take him!"
"Yes, sir!" the guards saluted.
As they took Soon Shin's father, Soon Shin, wailing his father's name, ran in front of the men, trying to prevent their exit. "You can't! Where are you taking my father?" he cried. "You can't do this!"
Seeing his son's tears, Jung got down on his knees and told him, "Soon Shin-ah, go to your mother. Go to her!" Soon Shin tried to protest but the guards roughly grabbed his father and forced him to walk out with them. His wife and son could only watch through their tears.
Jung let loose a scream as he was tortured. Two men pulled his legs with crossed sticks, forcing them beyond their natural range of motion. As his tendons were stretched beyond their limits, each new stretch sent streaks of pain shooting through his body. When he though he couldn't take anymore, the captain raised his voice.
"Stop! The traitor Jo Gwon Jo - why did you all meet at his abandoned house?"
"We were trying to appease the soul of the departed," Jung answered in an exhuasted voice. "How is that a crime?"
"He is a criminal of high treason who broke the law and defied the king!" the investigator shouted
"Jo Gwon Jo was the greatest teacher that ever lived," Jung said
defiantly. "The earth knows that and the heavens know that!"
"Shut up! Your own father Yi Baek-rok died uttering the same treasonous words! And now you! The blood of a traitor is dirty indeed."
"Do not speak my father's name in that way!" Jung interrupted him angrily. "Men like you sully his name by even speaking it!"
"What?! You still haven't wised up yet?" Turning to the torturers, he ordered, "What are you waiting for? Continue until he learns!"
"Yes, sir!" they bowed, and Yi Jung's screams once again filled the night air.
_______________________________________________________________________
Sitting on the steps in front of their house, Soon shin broke the silence between himself and his mother. "I'm sorry. If I hadn't picked up his name card, father would not...it's my fault..." His voice broke as he began to cry.
"No, it wasn't your fault," Byoon told him.
"Is father a bad man? Is that why they took him away? Is that why?"
"Enough!" His mother's tone was harsh. "You know your father better than that!"
"Then why did they arrest him? Why?" His mother remained silent. "Mother..." Soon Shin pleaded. Byoon could not bring herself to explain so she sat wordlessly while her son wiped his tears on his sleeve.
That night, Jung spent the evening staring blankly at the walls of his prison cell
________________________________________________________________________
"No! That is absolutely out of the question!"
Holding a tray of food in her hands, Byoon tried to convince a guard to allow her to into the prison. "But he doesn't have anyone to prepare food for him. Please, let me just leave him this and I will hurry back out."
"Our orders are that he's not even to receive a drop of water, and you want to bring him food? Get out of here!"
"Please, let us just see him once then. Let us at least know if he is ill or well," Byoon begged.
"I don't think you should," the guard replied.
"What do you mean?" Byoon's voice began to rise. "Are you saying they hurt him?" Her voice softened again. "Please, just let us see him once. Please, I beg of you!" She grabbed his sleeve as she made her entreaty.
His patience worn thin, the guard pushed her roughly aside and shouted, "Go back to your home!"
Byoon fell to the ground, her carefully prepared tray now in ruins on the road. "Mother!" Soon Shin cried in alarm.
Picking up the shards of pottery strewn on the gravel, Byoon could not keep back her tears. Weeping softly, she cried, "Your father's breakfast...it's ruined!" She tried to clean the remains, but could not stop sobbing.
As they walked back to their home, Soon Shin's mother paused and reminded him, "It's about time that you go to school."
"But, father is in jail. How could I-"
"No, You must go to school. If you do not tend to your books, your father will not like it either." Byoon watched her son walk away, his shoulders slumped. Sighing, she turned to walk home.
A few paces away, Soon Shin stopped walking and turned to watch his mother's back as she walked away, basket in hand. Unable to stomach sitting in a classroom all day, Soon Shin simply sat under a tree until it began to grow dark.
At their home, Byoon tried to distract herself with her sewing btu found that she could not keep her mind off the days events. Sighing again, she set down her needle.
The next morning, Yi Jung and the other supporters of Jo Gwon Jo were dragged out of the prison and forced to walk the streets bound with placards bearing their crimes hung around their necks. Sore from the torture and fatigued from lack of food or water, they were barely able to stand up straight.
Upon hearing the news, Soon Shin and his mother ran through the streets, looking for Jung. They were met by the sight of the dishevelled party shuffling behind a guard on horseback. The local villagers taunted them and pointed as they passed. Soon Shin's classmates also ran to see what all the fuss was about. Pushing her way to the front, Byoon tried to refrain from crying in front of her husband. Song Ryong, also in the crowd, was in shock at seeing Soon Shin's father in such a state. Making their way to the crowd was Kyoon and his mother. Seeing Yi Jung, Kyoon said, "Hey, thats-"
"Is there someone in that group that you know?" his mother asked.
"It's Soon Shin's father."
"Father! Father!" Soon Shin ran crying to his father who buckled from exhaustion. "Father!"
"Hey! Don't you think you'd better get up? Maybe you need another beating," a guard shouted at Yi Jung. "Get up!"
"Don't hit him!" Soon cried at him. "Don't hit my father!"
"Beat it, runt! Get out of the way!" The guard kicked Soon Shin, sending him sprawling on the ground. "Get up and walk!" he ordered Yi Jung but Soon Shin had already scrambled to his feet and was yet again trying to free his father. "You little sh*t, I told you to get lost!" He kicked Soon Shin aside again. Song Ryong watched, horrified. Kyoon started to walk to Soon Shin but was stopped by his mother.
"What do you think you are doing?"
Kyoon turned to his mother. "Mother..."
"Don't get involved," she said firmly.
"My friend is in trouble, is he not?" Kyoon responded. His mother frowned as he approached the guard.
Running up to the man, Kyoon shoved him aside. "What the hell are you?" the guard shouted angrily.
"Why must you hit even him?" Kyoon shouted back, pointing at soon shin. "He's just a kid!"
"Why you little - get out of the way!" The guard sent Kyoon sprawling on the ground next to Soon Shin. Pointing his sword at Kyoon he warned, "If you take one more step, you won't be able to go home in one piece either!" Turning to the prisoners, he shouted, "Alright! We're going!" Soon Shin's father looked at the two boys watching him from over his shoulder.
Kyoon helped Soon Shin to his feet, but after watching the procession leave, Soon Shin turned and ran.