Sweetheart Kanis
SEOUL
I was born to a wealthy family of nobles and military leaders. To that end, it was always told to me that I was born with a gold spoon in my mouth. However, I never asked to be wealthy; I just wanted a normal and happy life. My father was always busy and my mother couldn’t have cared less about her children. In our family I was the eldest brother among three and one sister, modest in size compared to the other noble family's.
I had the unwanted burden of upholding the family name and becoming someone I did not wish to be. While I wanted to be a normal scholar, I was instead pushed to be a guard in the king's army, or some sort of leader. I had to pretend to be ignorant of these plans and study in secret, so that I would not be forced into that life. Instead of the noble crowd, I associated myself out with the people society had rejected. Why I did this, among other things, was a mystery to myself, in part. I only knew that it felt right, and therefore that is the path I set myself on. I knew who I wanted to be, but it would be difficult.
. One day at dinner we heard the news that my father had be killed in battle. For a time, we were all in shock. How could this be? One of the greatest warriors to serve had fallen to the enemy? It was as though our glass life had been shattered, and after that day everything changed. My mother became gravely ill and hardly ever spoke to us or anyone. I knew she was embarrassed that I would be the one who had to carry on the family name. My sister vanished one day, causing my mother to withdraw even further. My other brothers wanted nothing to do with the family, and they left to distant lands. I was the only one left to care for my mother, and what was left of my family’s estate.
I could not bear to see what was happening. What made it worse, was that nothing I could do to stop it. Eventually our home was taken from us, and everything we loved was ripped away. Mother died to what in the end was a broken heart. That left me alone in the world now, with nobody to rely on. I turned to thieving in desperation, surviving any way I could. The thought was common however; ‘how could I have sunk this low?’ Now I truly was like those people I once called friends, the people who were street thugs and thieves
I kept thinking to myself, ‘why me, instead of becoming a scholar like I always dreamed, now I was fighting other people’s battles, hiring myself off just to make enough money to survive?’I was convinced that I’d never be anything but a coward, someone who ran from destiny and ended up with nothing. In the end, I was not happy with who I let myself become. That was when I saw the poster on the wall advertising the royal school exams. The palace was looking for more skilled men. I knew that I could do it, since I had studied my entire life for this one event. But now that I was a wanted man, how could I even have such hopes?
On the day of the exam I showed up regardless. They knew who I was of course, but I did not care. I was going to pass the exam and finally achieve my dreams, vagabond or not. After that day, achieve my dreams I did. I was able to secure the top spot in those exams and bring my family back up from the ruins we were in. While I never did see my siblings again, I did become a good friend of the king, and his inner circle.
Life is full of unexpected things, but you will never know the bigger picture until you try.