[Intro: Whispered, over gayageum and distant bamboo flute] The city sleeps. The palace listens. And still, I wait for you. [Verse 1] Four thousand lanterns drown in rain, Your footsteps find me once again. A folded letter, a borrowed name, Two silent hearts inside a dangerous game. You wear your lies like woven silk, I taste your fear against the guilt. I taught you how to disappear, But never how to leave me here. [Pre-Chorus] I should have sent you home tonight, Should have extinguished every light. But every rule I ever knew Falls to its knees when I see you. [Chorus] If loving you is treason, Then let the heavens know. You're the secret I keep breathing, The only truth I can't let go. I can deceive a king, Make a thousand shadows move, But I cannot command this heart To stop belonging to you. So meet me where the wild winds turn, Where no one knows our names. Let the whole of Hanyang burn Before I deny this flame. [Verse 2] Your message trembles in my sleeve, A thousand things you cannot leave. You say my freedom isn't yours, Yet I keep waiting at your door. I gave you back the life they stole, But who will free your guarded soul? You call me cruel, then stay till dawn, And curse the man you lean upon. [Pre-Chorus 2] You are no weapon in my hand, No pawn to move, no last command. If you should choose the morning light, I'll let you go, though it kills me tonight. [Chorus] If loving you is treason, Then let the heavens know. You're the secret I keep breathing, The only truth I can't let go. I can deceive a king, Make a thousand shadows move, But I cannot command this heart To stop belonging to you. So meet me where the wild winds turn, Where no one knows our names. Let the whole of Hanyang burn Before I deny this flame. [Bridge: Strings rise, vocals become raw and intimate] Tell me, is it me you fear, Or the life that brings you near? Is it duty, is it shame, Or the way I speak your name? I have promised I would guard you, Never asked you to be mine. Yet I pray against the morning Every single borrowed time. If the dawn should find us guilty, If the court should call us lies, Would you still reach through the darkness? Would you meet me with your eyes? [Final Chorus: Full orchestra, soaring vocal] If loving you is treason, Then write my sentence slow. Let them take my rank and reason, There is one thing they won't know. I can deceive a king, I can bury every clue, But the one truth I cannot hide Is the life I dream with you. Let the bells announce the morning, Let the palace draw its lines. I would rather face the gallows Than pretend your heart was never mine. [Outro: Instruments fall away, almost whispered] The city sleeps. The palace listens. Leave the letter. Keep the key. If tomorrow takes you from me, Keep one promise. Remember me. Not as the man who saved you. As the man who loved you and let you be free.
