Chapter 5: Daehyun – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

King Yeonsan summons Daehyun to a hunting party and immediately tests him. Believing Daehyun is hiding his archery skill, the king presses a sword to his throat and threatens to kill him. Daehyun deflects by invoking his grief over Yeonsan’s mother, Deposed Queen Yun—a memory that always softens the king. Yeonsan gives Daehyun one chance to prove loyalty: kill something without hesitation. Daehyun agrees he would kill “anything” or “anyone,” but the king orders him to execute his own horse, Jeong-Hui, a gift from their father. Daehyun shoots the horse through the eye, then finishes it with his sword. Shaken, he excuses himself to bury the animal but suddenly remembers the girl he accidentally shot earlier. Racing back to the spot, he finds her gone, only an arrow left behind. He orders his friend Hyukjin to arrange the horse’s burial and to send word to Wonsik to locate the girl.

Key Events

• King Yeonsan confronts Daehyun about his hidden archery skill and threatens execution.
• Daehyun invokes the memory of Yeonsan’s mother to calm the king’s fury.
• Yeonsan demands Daehyun kill his own horse as a test of loyalty.
• Daehyun shoots and stabs Jeong-Hui, his beloved horse, to death.
• After the hunting party leaves, Daehyun returns to find the injured girl missing.
• Daehyun orders Hyukjin to bury the horse and to find the girl.

Character Development

• Daehyun begins the chapter trembling under the king’s scrutiny but learns to hide his fear. He shows great mental agility by using the memory of Queen Yun as a shield. The killing of Jeong-Hui pushes him to the edge of moral collapse; he numbs his conscience to survive. His final actions—ordering the horse buried and sending men to find the girl—reveal that he still clings to a sliver of decency and responsibility.
• King Yeonsan is portrayed as unpredictable and cruel. He delights in manipulation, forcing Daehyun to destroy something he loves. The king’s one red eye (a possible symptom of weeping or madness) and his reference to “being less alone” suggest he seeks to corrupt others to share his isolated darkness.
• Hyukjin appears briefly as a loyal friend who follows Daehyun’s urgent commands without question.
• The girl (likely Iseul) remains an offscreen victim: she escaped the scene but left her arrow, leaving her fate uncertain.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

• Loyalty Tested Through Sacrifice: Yeonsan measures loyalty not by skill but by willingness to destroy what one loves. The horse becomes a symbol of Daehyun’s childhood and fatherly affection—killing it severs his last warm memory.
• Mother as a Shield: Daehyun uses the king’s grief for his mother to deflect violence. The memory of Deposed Queen Yun is a recurring motif; it is the only thing that humanizes Yeonsan and gives Daehyun leverage.
• The Name “Jeong-Hui”: The horse’s name means “right, proper, correct” and “bright, splendid, glorious” —ideals Daehyun is forced to betray. The act of killing it symbolizes the extinction of those values.
• Descent Into Darkness: Daehyun recalls his brother’s warning that playing the king’s games will make him cruel. He fights this fate but recognizes he is already drowning in it.
• The Abandoned Arrow: The arrow left in the tree suggests the girl escaped, but it also marks the spot where Daehyun caused harm. It serves as a physical reminder of his guilt.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a turning point for Daehyun. He is forced to cross a moral boundary by killing his horse, a act that scars him and strengthens his resolve to not become like the king. It also advances the plot by separating him from the girl he injured: his search for her will drive the next phase of the story. The chapter deepens the psychological conflict between survival and conscience, and reveals how Yeonsan uses emotional manipulation to keep his court in line.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does King Yeonsan choose Daehyun’s horse as the target for his loyalty test, and what does this reveal about the king’s character?
   Yeonsan picks the horse because he knows it is precious to Daehyun—it was a gift from their father. By forcing Daehyun to destroy something he loves, the king demonstrates that he values absolute submission over ability or affection. This reveals Yeonsan’s cruelty and his need to isolate others by corrupting their innocence.

2. How does Daehyun’s use of the memory of Deposed Queen Yun serve as both a shield and a weapon?
   The memory works as a shield because it makes Yeonsan hesitate—he still grieves for his mother and cannot bear to harm someone who honored her. It also functions as a weapon because Daehyun deliberately reminds the king of his loss to manipulate his emotions, forcing Yeonsan to see Daehyun as a loyal brother rather than a threat.

3. What does Daehyun’s reaction after killing Jeong-Hui tell us about his internal conflict?
   After the killing, Daehyun’s hands shake, he drops his sword, and he initially plans to bury the horse—showing deep remorse and a desire for atonement. Yet he also numbs his feelings mid-scene to survive, revealing a conscious attempt to suppress his humanity. His sudden switch to searching for the girl indicates that his guilty conscience cannot be silenced.