Inside a thatched cottage in the rugged exile of Ganggye in the north, where the wind blows desolately and the cold cuts to the bone.

Jeong Cheol was grinding ink that was growing cold, relying on a single candle. Until recently, he was the King's most powerful blade in the heart of Hanyang. However, the moment he touched the King's wrath by mentioning the appointment of the Crown Prince, what returned to him was not warm favor, but a thunderous divine punishment.

"Since my nature was so fiery and arrogant, how could I have fathomed His Majesty's deep intentions? It is all my fault, all my fault."

Jeong Cheol bit his lip, squeezing the brush until his knuckles turned white. What tormented him more than the slanders of his enemies was Seonjo's cool, cold gaze as he struck him down. A colleague, 'Gap-nyeo,' who entered the room, clicked her tongue at his haggard state and shouted.

"Get a hold of yourself, Scholar Jeong! His Majesty did not send you here to protect you. He threw you like a piece of meat before the hounds of the Easterners and is laughing alone in the palace!"

"No... Even if His Majesty has discarded me, I am his subject."

Jeong Cheol glared at Gap-nyeo with flashing eyes. The clear-headed words of his colleague pierced his heart, but Jeong Cheol could not admit it. At daybreak, Jeong Cheol recklessly climbed a steep mountain, hoping to hear even a whisper of news about the Lord. However, thick clouds and mist covered the peaks, hiding not only the sky of Hanyang but even the ground beneath his feet. His chest felt tight, so he went down to the river, but the crazed wind and waves kept the boats tied up. It was as if the whole world were trying to isolate him from the King.

Returning to his cold room at night, he fell asleep, crushed by fatigue and intense longing. In his dream, the Seonjo he so craved finally appeared. Wearing his dragon robe, Seonjo sat on a high throne, looking down at Jeong Cheol with a gaze of ridicule. Jeong Cheol prostrated at his feet, trying to apologize and confess his loyalty with all his might, but his voice would not come out, choked by suppressed sorrow. Only the King's face wavered in his tear-stained vision.

Cock-a-doodle-doo— The dream was shattered by the heartless crowing of a dawn rooster. All he could grasp was the bitter northern wind and snow.

"I would rather become that fading setting moon... To flow quietly through the night sky and shine a sorrowful light for a moment on the window where he stays before disappearing."

At my sad plea to merely watch from afar without even reaching the Lord, Gap-nyeo's eyes flashed coldly as she clicked her tongue.

"What do you mean, the moon!"

Gap-nyeo's voice pierced the quiet room like a blade.

"What use is becoming a gentle moon that fades away after watching from a distance? Throw away that sorrowful light that the Lord won't even notice. If you truly wish to move his heart—"

"Become instead the heavy rain that pours down all night long." My eyes wavered at those words.

"Yes, I shall not become the setting moon."

"I would rather be the heavy rain that pours all night. I will strike the roof of the palace where he stays alone, soak his robes, flow down his cheeks... and finally, I will surely drench his entire body."