TRIGGER WARNING: Child Abuse
Seokjun Yoon is the youngest child of Queen Saerin and King Yohan Yoon; the most beloved for being the last member to join the Royal Family for the time being. They were truly beloved, especially by their grandfather, Howoo Yoon, who saw the potential in Seokjun. A ruler with tenacity and ferocity. A ruler that will bring peace to the Earth Nation. A ruler that he can use as a marionette to continue imposing the unyielding power and authority of the Yoon’s. He began training the young child as much as how he trained his son, King Yohan. Gradually, the twinkle in Seokjun’s eyes began to fade and dim, and soon enough, this was not left unnoticed by the Queen. The Queen, as their mother, trusted her father-in-law to take good care of her son, but she made the mistake of finding the good in him and trusting him. As a result, she asked to stop the training. Enraged, the elder “punished” Seokjun in the middle of the night.
That was the last straw.
At that very moment, Seokjun awakened but already at a cost. After the incident, the Queen ordered the banishment of her father-in-law. Seokjun requested to leave the palace and reside somewhere else. The monarchs obliged, provided that Seokjun would step up to take responsibility for the rural community. As a teenager, they did not understand what this meant, but it had become clear when he became older. With approval of the Queen, King Yohan accompanied his son to their ancestral home on the outskirts of Eunheul and met with the loyal caretaker of the abode. From then on, he began to flourish and return to his bright and bubbly energy. He would visit the palace occasionally, especially when he was summoned by the Queen or when his siblings have persuaded him to return, but other than that, he was living the life that he had wanted.
A young and bubbly prince—Prince Seokjun Yoon was the youngest of the Yoon siblings and had become the light of the family. He was most beloved by everyone, not only because they were the youngest, but also because of the warm and vibrant energy that they radiated. They became a beacon of joy of the Yoon household. Though it would also seem that the Queen and King did not pressure Seokjun to think about the throne despite having expectations from her other children to inherit her power and authority over the Earth Nation.
If the Queen and King did not see the potential in Seokjun, well, Howoo Yoon did.
Howoo Yoon was Seokjun’s grandfather, Yohan’s father, and King of the 6th Generation. He saw the potential in Seokjun. “A ruler with tenacity and ferocity,” he mentioned to one of his loyal subjects, “A ruler that will bring peace to the Earth Nation.” In reality, he was just planning to use the young prince as a marionette to continue imposing the unyielding power and authority of the Yoon’s. He believed that Yohan was too weak and incapable to succeed the throne himself for he was not chosen by his wife and Queen of that generation. With that, he approached the Royal Court to request to train Seokjun himself. Queen Saerin and King Yohan were skeptical of the request—both knowing well the atrocities of what the man had done to Yohan—but kindness could have been considered as King Yohan’s fatal flaw. King Yohan approved the request but Queen Saerin had one condition: one wrong move and she would not hesitate to punish Howoo.
Of course, Howoo agreed to the condition. It was one wrong move known to the Royal Court anyway. What if that wrong move was never known?
At the age of seven, Seokjun started their formal education as an elementary student in a prestigious school. Every after school, they would be escorted back to the palace for their training with Howoo. The training involved the different ways that he could inherit the throne, starting from their posture, etiquette, and other important matters to the Royal Throne. These topics would have been fine, but Howoo’s methods were strict and brutal. One wrong move and he would whip the child on their legs. Wounds and scars would form on their legs. Blood would trickle down their skin and to the floor, only to be cleaned by one of Howoo’s loyal subjects. If it somehow stained Seokjun’s clothes, the evidence would quickly be cleaned as if nothing happened. If Seokjun cried, they were threatened that Howoo would do something worse to their siblings. Seokjun did not want their siblings to be involved at all, so they kept quiet.
The cycle continued for years. Seokjun endured the pain and the abuse that they had undergone to protect their siblings from their grandfather. The light and joy of the Yoon family had gradually dimmed. This was not left unnoticed by the Queen and King. Howoo was summoned to the Royal Court for questioning but the sly elder had slithered his way out of the Court unscathed for the Queen and King did not have any evidence of Howoo’s schemes and Seokjun was not telling anything to the family in fear of what Howoo had planted into his brain—that Howoo was also capable of hurting their siblings. Seokjun did not want that.
The training continued until Howoo had a conversation with the King and Queen. Despite the efforts of the old man, the monarch had not chosen any successor, and they were unsure of whether Seokjun was ready. He was furious, naturally, and yet again he failed to have someone he trained to claim the throne. He was running out of time because of his old age and crippled state, and Seokjun was his only remaining chance in extending his power and authority. His vision turned red.
In the middle of the night, Howoo intruded in Seokjun’s bedroom. Their grandfather grabbed Seokjun by the leg and dragged them outside the bedroom. Startled, Seokjun shrieked and began to cry for help. He was immediately silenced when Howoo bended a ceramic bracelet he prepared and wrapped the ceramic around Seokjun’s mouth to silence the teenager. Seokjun thrashed and did everything that they could but they were restrained using the same ceramic as well. Howoo bended the ceramic restraints to lift the body of the teenager and move them towards one of the underground halls of the Palace, something that Seokjun did not know such a place existed.
Cold, cement bricks welcomed both of them in the empty hall until it opened to a chamber. The same rocks made up the walls of the chamber, looming coldly over Seokjun as if they had piercing eyes. “You have failed me, Seokjun.” Those were the only words that Howoo muttered before throwing the teenager towards the bricked wall. Seokjun groaned and cried silently. With blurred and tear-stained vision, they tried to assess what was happening. Something that they had not noticed before was a small patch of hot coal at the other side of the chamber, and Howoo was holding a long, metal stamp with what seemed to have the insignia of the Earth Nation at its end. Seokjun squirmed and thrashed. They finally understood what was happening.