Page 37 of King Foretold (Realm of Four Kingdoms #2)

While Hwanung had granted the bear her wish to become human, who she became had been entirely up to her. Her serene beauty, her sharp intellect, and her quiet strength had all come from within her. And the woman she became brought the god to his knees.

Hwanung had been born the son of Hwanin, the god of the heavens, but he could not turn his gaze away from earth.

The humans, so fragile yet so full of hope, had enchanted him, and he had longed to guide and protect them.

So Hwanin, knowing his son would never be happy in the heavens, had granted Hwanung permission to rule earth and its people.

He had descended to Mount Baekdu onto the Sacred Tree of Life, Shindansu, to establish the divine city of Shinsi. Hwanung, the god of earth, ruled the humans with wisdom and compassion, never forgetting the trust his father, Hwanin, had bestowed on him.

But when Hwanung set his eyes on Ungnyeo, he understood his true purpose. The god of earth took the form of a man so that he could be with the woman he loved. All he had to do was convince her to spend a lifetime with him.

“Be my wife,” he said.

“I am not worthy, my lord,” Ungnyeo demurred.

“It is I who is unworthy, but I will do anything to deserve you,” he vowed. “Let me earn your love and trust.”

“On the peak of Mount Baekdu, there are wild and beautiful flowers called the cloud .” She lowered her eyes. “If you bring me a cloud blossom every day for one hundred days, you will have my love and trust.”

Every day, Hwanung climbed Mount Baekdu.

Every day, his frail human body threatened to give out.

But every day without fail, he brought his beloved a cloud blossom.

Giving up was not an option, for he could not imagine life without Ungnyeo.

On the one hundredth day, Hwanung crawled the last of the way toward her.

“Ungnyeo, I cannot accept your love and trust, because I will not live to see the sunset.” He held out the cloud blossom with a trembling hand and collapsed to the ground.

“I cannot take your heart with me to the next life, my love. Hold on to your heart, and give it to someone who is worthy of you.”

“Once I foolishly believed myself to be in love with another, but that was not love. I know what true love feels like now. From this moment on, my heart will beat for no one but you, my lord.” Ungnyeo fell to her knees, tears flowing down her perfect cheeks, and she collected her tears into a bowl filled with the cloud blossoms he had given her.

“When the time comes, I will follow you on to the next life, but that time is not today. Drink, my lord, so that I may be your wife.”

Hwanung sipped the cloud blossoms steeped in Ungnyeo’s tears and felt life return to his veins. The god of earth rose to his feet with his bride.

“Ours is a love destined by the heavens,” he said, cradling her hands. “I will love you until my dying breath.”

“And I will love you in this life and the next,” she vowed.

In a union of earth and the heavens, Ungnyeo and Hwanung became wife and husband. Their love remained true, and they were blessed with the birth of their son, Dangun.

Dangun became the first king of Korea and ruled for nearly two thousand years until he ascended to Shinsi as the god of Mountains.