Chapter 27
It was a familiar ceiling.
My room in the Outer Quarters of the Namgung Estate.
I lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Who would have thought I’d come to miss the Namgung Estate? The journey that took me through Liaoning Province and all the way to Shaanxi. Even though I had taken it easy, the continuous travel seemed to have worn me out mentally.
It was peaceful.
I was grateful for the simple fact that I could lie down so comfortably. When I was staying at the Moyong Family, it felt like I was sitting on pins and needles. Even when I tried to ignore it, it was hard not to notice people whispering whenever they saw me.
‘I don’t want to do anything.’
I was already doing nothing, but I wanted to not do anything even more intensely and actively. You think that’s nonsense? I don’t know either. Even though I was too lazy to lift a finger, I wanted to enjoy my freedom even more.
‘I should unpack my things.’
There wasn’t much. It would only take a moment to sort through the small amount I had. But I left it as it was. Because I wanted to rest.
Maybe that was where I went wrong.
Lunchtime.
The sun had already been high in the sky for a while.
From outside the window, I could hear the Namgung Family members working diligently through the day. Lying there, their busy sounds became the background music that made my rest all the sweeter.
“Gaga, have you eaten?”
Yeon-hee came to see me, probably because she had some free time in the afternoon. She looked at me, sprawled out like a dried squid in the sun, but not with a judgmental gaze… As always, she smiled brightly as she asked after me.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“I don’t have much of an appetite.”
“No wonder you’ve lost weight. You should be eating a lot right now… Just wait a bit. I’ll bring something for you.”
“No, it’s fine. Really.”
“They say eating is a habit. Did the Moyong Family starve you or something?”
“It’s not like that. I’ll eat later, so don’t worry about it.”
Maybe it was because we had been apart for so long, but Yeon-hee was even more attentive than before. I appreciated it, truly. I just didn’t have much of an appetite at the moment.
“Are you very tired?”
“A little.”
“That makes sense. I heard that my father asked you to do something, but I didn’t know it was to visit Samahyeong Jin-in. It’s such a long way from Liaoning Province to there…”
“Well, I treated it as a chance to see the martial world again after a long time.”
“Exactly! You could have gone after returning to the estate with me. The master could have even checked our compatibility!”
Samahyeong, the old master.
What’s going on with this? You were so adamant in denying it, yet your reputation has been reduced to just being a fortune teller.
“Is that old fellow really that famous?”
“Of course. There are plenty of so-called fortune tellers and shamans out there, but most of them are just con artists with their heads in the clouds. In contrast, Samahyeong Jin-in truly reads the energies of the heavens.”
“Hm, is that so.”
“My father wouldn’t have asked him for help unless it was something very serious. In a way, it was a good opportunity for you, Gaga.”
Well, Namgung Hyuk wouldn’t lower himself to ask just anyone. So, all the things that fussy old master said must have had some basis. Which made things rather troubling.
‘A fate to suffer from love troubles.’
If there was a fate decreed by the heavens, couldn’t it have been something a little more useful? Like a fate to reach the pinnacle of martial arts or something. What was I supposed to do with a destiny of being surrounded by women? I could only hope that he had given me a bogus reading because he didn’t like me.
“What did the master say?”
“…”
“Gaga?”
Yeon-hee asked innocently, with a look of concern as if she was worried he might have said something bad. With her eyes on me, it was hard to answer easily.
How could I say it?
That I had a fate where women would flock to me even if I just lay around.
But it felt wrong to outright lie to Yeon-hee.
“Well, he just said that things might not always go the way I want, so I should avoid trying too hard to impose my will and let things go smoothly.”
“That’s a bit vague.”
“Right? Even a renowned Taoist must have a hard time reading things sometimes.”
“Hmm. It’s hard to believe the master would leave things so vague…”
The answer I chose was ‘not to lie.’
Well, why not? It was true.
I didn’t like the idea of being surrounded by women.
Samahyeong told me not to struggle against that fate. Isn’t that what he meant?
Yeon-hee looked unconvinced.
“Did he say anything about me?”
“I don’t know. He only talked about me. Maybe I should have given him a gratuity or something?”
“Oh, no way. He doesn’t accept those. He says, ‘It’s because it’s what I must do.’ That’s what he told my father when he tried to offer him a large sum of money.”
I thought Namgung Hyuk might have given him something since he didn’t ask me for anything. So, it was free of charge? At least that part set him apart from the Wudang Sect’s Taoist charlatans.
“Oh, right. I almost forgot. I brought something for you.”
“Huh?”
“A gift. I thought I should bring you something since I went so far away.”
There wasn’t much point in continuing to talk about Samahyeong, so I pulled out a gift from my bag to change the subject. It was a handkerchief with floral embroidery on the corner. They say women like this sort of thing.
“It’s not much. I thought of you while looking around the market stalls in Shaanxi.”
“Gaga…”
“Is it too plain? Are you disappointed?”
“No, not at all. Even the colour is just my style. Thank you, Gaga.”
It was just a small handkerchief, barely a palm’s width, yet Yeon-hee accepted it as if it were a treasure. Wow. It’s nice when a gift gets such a good reaction. It makes giving it all the more enjoyable.
“Hm?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s just that I think I smell something. The handkerchief has a picture of canola flowers, but why does it smell like roses? How strange. Is it rose petals? Or maybe, it smells a bit like perfume…?”
A rose scent.
The moment Yeon-hee mentioned the scent of the handkerchief, my mind sounded an alarm. Rose petals. I had heard that name before. And quite recently at that. The scent of roses—its strong fragrance filled my nostrils. Ah.
“Gaga?”
“Yes.”
“The scent is nice, but it feels like it got absorbed from somewhere else?”
“Haha, I wonder why. It could be because I picked up a lot of stuff while traveling, and they might have mixed together. It’s a common thing.”
“…”
Was my tone too unnatural?
Yeon-hee said nothing. She merely furrowed her brow as if deep in thought. Then, suddenly, my senses became alert.
What’s this?
It was as if my senses sharpened to the level they would during a life-or-death duel.
“How curious. Why is there a scent that only women would use coming from Gaga’s luggage?”
“Yeon-hee?”
“I’m just curious. How strong must the scent have been to linger on a gift you intended for me? Can you tell me why?”
Her voice was icy.
It was as if I could feel the chill of the northern regions. Strange. This isn’t the Moyong Family, it’s the Namgung Estate. Why does it feel so cold here?
“Come to think of it, I’ve heard that it’s hard to see flowers in the north, but they do grow rose petals there. Isn’t that quite a coincidence? Don’t you think?”
“I suppose.”
“‘I suppose’ isn’t the right answer! Confess quickly!”
***
I explained the situation to Yeon-hee as gently and concisely as I could.
Moyong Hye had given me a scented sachet. I thought it would cause more trouble if I refused the gift after already beating up Moyong Chun twice, so I accepted it. Yeon-hee frowned when she heard that Moyong Chun had made another move, but she kept a blank expression while listening to the rest of my story.
“Gaga.”
“…”
“Why do you look so worried? I’m fine.”
Her eyes said otherwise.
“If you cheat on me, I die, and you die too.”
That warning I’d received before leaving the Namgung Estate.
Right now, Yeon-hee’s eyes were exactly the same as back then.
“Are you angry?”
It’s foolish to ask an angry person if they’re angry, but the words slipped out of my mouth reflexively.
“Angry? At you, Gaga?”
“Yes.”
“How could I be angry at you, Gaga?”
“It seems like you’re angry.”
“I’m just… It’s the girl from the Moyong Family that I find despicable.”
Yeon-hee’s tone was flat.
“Using the status of her family estate to create a situation you couldn’t refuse, how typical of the Moyong Family’s bloodline. They have just enough sense to be aware of their place… Even if they only have the eyes of a blind owl, they still recognize the glow of jade. They don’t know their limits, trying to claim what’s beyond them. It’s such an obvious ploy; it’s not even funny.”
Yeon-hee’s voice grew louder as her emotions seemed to build, her muttering turning into a fierce monologue. All I could do was listen like a guilty party.
“Gaga, is this because of what I said before you left?”
Yes.
I want to run away right now.
Yeon-hee walked over to me without waiting for a reply.
One step, another step.
Slowly, yet decisively.
I accepted her embrace as she wrapped her arms around me from behind.
“It was just something I said out of concern. There’s no way you’d cheat on me, right, Gaga?”
To her, it wasn’t about trust but about the obviousness of the matter.
That’s what Yeon-hee seemed to be saying.
“Even if a traveller takes shelter in a hut during a storm, they don’t turn it into their home. It’s possible. So I don’t mind at all.”
Why did her words sound like she did mind?
That thought crossed my mind.
No matter the situation, it felt like she was saying that the two of them should never meet again.
“Gaga, aren’t you getting hungry?”
“Yeah, I think I’m a little hungry.”
“Right? I heard they got some good fish today. I’ll go prepare some right away, so wait here.”
I must have been hungry.
Probably.
—
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