After searching every house and tent inside and outside the camp and failing to find Sukh, Haneul gathered the remaining Kakungga at the training camp. He made them stand late into the night, demanding to know Sukh's whereabouts. But since the Kakungga didn't know where Sukh might have gone, they couldn't provide Haneul with satisfactory answers. So, he ordered his soldiers to guard the people and not let them rest.
Just before the sun went down, Sukh finally approached the camp. He saw the Kakungga people standing in a row like a group of prisoners of war. As soon as the they people saw Sukh approaching, their eyes lit up with anger. Then, when Sukh approached an older Kakungga woman, she spat at him.
"Murderer," she whispered through gritted teeth. "Shameless murderer."
Then, the people closest to Sukh began spitting on him, but Sukh bowed his head and let them continue.
Four soldiers rushed in, yelling at the Kakungga. "Stop your actions at this moment, otherwise…"
"Otherwise, what?" the old woman challenged. "You're going to kill us? Kill us, since you've already killed many of our family members. We have nothing to fear anymore."
"Let it go," Sukh said, his voice quiet. "They are still in grief."
"Yes, Great Grand General…" the soldiers responded, backing down.
Sukh asked, "Where is His Majesty?"
"His Majesty is resting in your tent," a soldier replied.
Sukh thanked the soldiers and moved towards his personal tent.
Haneul was inside Sukh's private tent when a guard rushed in. "Your Majesty," the guard knelt. "Great Grand General Bayarmaa is back."
Haneul stood up abruptly. "Where is he?" Haneul asked, his voice filled with urgency.
"He's coming with other soldiers," the guard said.
Haneul walked out of the tent quickly and met Sukh. He rushed over and grabbed Sukh's hands. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. "Did Keme hurt you?"
"Godfather didn't hurt me," Sukh replied. "I just came from the capital."
"You came from the capital?" Haneul asked, puzzled.
Sukh nodded. "This time, you were too reckless…" He gently pulled his hand away from Haneul's and walked into his tent.
"No one can enter the tent without my permission," Haneul instructed the nearby soldiers.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the soldiers affirmed.
Haneul lowered the curtain to cover the door. When he looked sideways, Sukh had already taken off his clothes. He hurried to Sukh and asked, "Are you taking a bath?"
Sukh didn't speak but nodded at Haneul.
Haneul knew that Sukh was angry with him, so he tried not to provoke him. He touched the water, which had grown cold. "Let me tell them to change the water," Haneul offered.
"No need," Sukh said. "During the years I've been stationed here, the water for bathing has always been cold." He looked at Haneul. "Want to take a bath with me?"
Haneul smiled. "Yes." He quickly took off his armor and got into the tub with Sukh.
"Turn around," Sukh said, "I'll wash your hair."
"Sukh, I know you're angry with me," Haneul began, his voice soft. "But this time I was worried about you. I caught an assassin, and she said Chief Keme captured you and asked the mages to lock you in a magic cell. Please forgive me… don't be angry with me…"
"Haneul, I'm not mad at you," Sukh said gently. "Let us learn from this reckless action. In the future, you must promise that you will not be so unscrupulous again."
Haneul turned and took Sukh's hand. "I promise it won't happen again."
Sukh stroked Haneul's face. "I don't want anyone to say that my perfect king is a treacherous king. I want everyone to praise and love you as much as I do." He smiled at Haneul.
Haneul pulled Sukh into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I admit I was wrong this time… I let my anger make me do something unforgivable, but I did it because I cared so much about you… I can't imagine living a life without you by my side."
Sukh smiled at Haneul and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Whatever you do in the future, you have to make sure that the decisions you make do not harm innocent people or bring as little harm to the people as possible."
"I promise," Haneul said.
Sukh didn't sleep at all. At four o'clock in the morning, Sukh kissed Haneul's forehead lightly and pulled the thin blanket over Haneul's body. He put on his shoes slowly, trying not to make any noise. He walked to the door, turned around, and took one last look at Haneul. He murmured, "Haneul, I used my whole life to repay you for your bowl of rice. In return, you loved me unconditionally. From now on, we will not owe each other anymore." He walked out the door.
Sukh walked along the riverbank but didn't see any corpses in the river. He sat by the river, staring at the water; although the bodies of the Kakungga had been submerged at the bottom, the river was still red with their blood from the day before.
Sukh sighed. When he stood up, his left calf felt sore. He walked slowly into the river, and the deeper he walked, the sorer his calves became.
A guard rushed into the tent suddenly and found Haneul still sleeping on the bed. The guard raised his voice. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Haneul woke up slowly and sat on the edge of the bed. He turned to look for Sukh, only to find that he was the only one sleeping on the bed.
Haneul frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Your Majesty, someone saw Great Grand General leave the training camp," the guard said.
Haneul stood up, grabbed his robe, and put on his shoes. "Where did he go?" he asked.
"Great Grand General has gone to the river," the guard replied.
Haneul rode his horse back to the river, followed by the palace guards and some soldiers.
Haneul saw Sukh walking into the river. He whipped his horse vigorously, making it run faster towards Sukh. Haneul had no intention of stopping his horse by the river. Haneul looked at Sukh and called out, "Sukh, come back…"
Sukh heard Haneul's voice, but he had made up his mind and continued walking deeper towards the middle of the river.
Seeing that Haneul wanted to ride his horse into the river, Sukh shouted, "Don't take a step closer to me!"
"Okay," Haneul pleaded, "but come back. You said you forgive me."
"I forgive you, but I can't forgive myself," Sukh said, his voice filled with anguish. "I'm the one who led these people to die so tragically. I'm the one who will bring your downfall."
"Nonsense… come out of the river!" Haneul demanded.
"Haneul, it's true," Sukh stated. "Your concern for me has blinded you and created an opportunity for others to use your hand to kill Chief Keme and his mages."
"I know it was my fault," Haneul said, his voice breaking. "I swore I would change myself and I would never let this happen again. I have apologized to the Kakungga people, both living and dead."
Sukh said coldly, "Haneul, you know what? An apology doesn't change anything. An apology doesn't reverse the actions or correct the damage that has been done. An apology is just nice words to hear."
"I can explain," Haneul said, "but first get out of the water. If you don't come out, I will come in and pull you out!"
"Don't come into the river!" Sukh shouted angrily. He raised the knife to his neck. "If you come, I will kill myself in front of you."
"Okay… you're angry, put down the knife," Haneul said, his voice trembling. "I won't go into the water."
Sukh looked at the red river, and the suddenly dead Kakungga floated beside him. He looked at Haneul. "If you know I'm hurt, do you worry about me?"
"I do," Haneul said immediately.
"When you know I'm gone, will you miss me?" Sukh asked.
"Come out of the water and we can talk for as long as you want," Haneul pleaded.
"Answer the question!" Sukh shouted, his voice cracking.
"I do," Haneul said, tears in his eyes. "If you're not with me, I will miss you, worry about you until I see you. Get out of the water now!"
Sukh looked at Haneul, his own eyes brimming with tears. "Do you think these dead family members will miss them too?"
Haneul didn't answer, but he dismounted anyway.
"Don't move!" Sukh yelled.
"If you don't want me to move, then you just get out of the water," Haneul countered, taking a step forward.
"It's not fair for them to sleep in this icy cold river they built to protect you when you're sleeping in a warm, soft bed," Sukh said, before diving into the river.
Haneul quickly jumped off his horse and ran into the river full of dead people. The palace guards quickly chased after him.
Under the water, Sukh opened his eyes; he only saw red. He put the knife to his throat, and the sharp blade cut across his neck. He closed his eyes.
Haneul grabbed Sukh's body and pulled him out of the river, only then realizing that Sukh was choking and dying. He hurriedly dragged Sukh to the riverbank and held him in his arms.
"You promised to be with me forever!" Haneul cried, his voice breaking. "I order you not to die!"
Sukh tried to open his mouth but couldn't make a sound. He could only forcefully write two words on the sand beside him. He looked at Haneul, smiled weakly, then closed his eyes and died in Haneul's arms.
Haneul cried his heart out, feeling empty, as if his world no longer made sense and wasn't worth living in. At that moment, he finally understood why Chief Keme had committed suicide.
Haneul reached out to hold Sukh's hand and found the two words Sukh had written before he died. He cried hysterically. "Ha…ha…ha…" he sobbed, hugging Sukh tightly. "I promise… I promise… I'll be as good a king as you've always wanted me to be."