If Silk Flowers Bloom by the Water’s Edge Chapter 100

What kind of misfortune is it to be with someone you dislike on a day with beautiful sunshine and a pleasant breeze? She had a connection from childhood with the man squatting beside her and smelling the scent of the flowers. Since their families knew each other, they had crossed paths a few times. He was a loafer who tried to act like an older brother, using the fact that he was two years older as his weapon.

“You don’t take care of all this yourself, right? The subordinates must go through a lot of trouble…”

Chaehwa, who kept her arms crossed and didn’t utter a single word, replied with a snort this time as well. The title of an arranged marriage meeting set up by the elders sounded grand, but the expressions on both of their faces were identical, as if stamped out. The counterpart was simply yawning out of boredom.

“Whether someone grows flowers or boils them… coming from a gentleman who has never raised a single dandelion with his own hands.”

She had just brought him to her quarters to avoid getting caught by the family members and entangled in pointless rumors. Since Yeonrye, who woke up the day before yesterday, was staying fixed at the quarters, she would probably serve as a witness. A witness that absolutely nothing happened between her and the loafer.

“Stop looking. Let’s sit down somewhere. My legs hurt.”

“Is it because you are indeed a precious Young Lady? You have no patience… My goodness, what do people see in you to praise you so much? I can’t comprehend it at all…”

“I’m leaving.”

The fact that he and she were in the exact same position, being pushed into an engagement by the pressure of the elders. It was irritating how he walked around with a hollow smile like a scholar who had no interest in the ways of the world. Tsking at the back of his head as he stood there looking smart, Chaehwa fled to the backyard.

She wanted to reduce even a fraction of the time she had to spend with a leisurely young master who loved flowers and sunshine. Stepping into the backyard, what Chaehwa pictured was Yirok’s face as he slept soundly. Burning her with anxiety, she wondered whether he would wake up today or tomorrow. Just in case, she was even sharing her energy with him behind her grandmother’s back.

While Nanjubeol was rejoiced by delivering the news that Yeonrye, Shinwoo, and Jangsi had woken up one by one. Only Yirok, who had smiled while bleeding from his thigh, was causing trouble until the very end.

“Why such a deep sigh?”

“Ah, you startled me.”

“Here. A gift.”

“What is it.”

It was truly an utterly obnoxious greeting, but her ears perked up at the word ‘gift’. However, what the man handed over with a gentle smile was a plump caterpillar. Watching it squirm on top of her palm, Chaehwa put on an absurd expression.

“Just how old are you? I even converse with bizarre demons that have caterpillars for heads. Did you think I would look at this and say, ‘Oh my, you startled me’?”

“This is exactly why I dislike shaman women like you. I simply prefer innocent, ordinary women who know nothing of the world.”

“The feeling is mutual. Shaman men can’t even compare. Do you know how cute and sweet ordinary men are…”

She was currently in the middle of a staring contest with the man who threw a caterpillar at her and made a trivial joke. As if his playfulness was reaching a peak, the man broke off mid-sentence with a laugh.

“So that rumor about you is true? That you’ve completely lost your mind over the newly arrived outsider.”

“…Who says so?”

“Because I have ears to hear too. I don’t know why Shinwoo was suddenly pushed out and I became the candidate. But the great Grandmaster of Nanjubeol seemed exceptionally desperate.”

It felt like only the day before yesterday since she returned from the vision-grass, yet her grandmother was breathlessly searching for an engagement partner. If something went wrong with Chaehwa, something would go wrong with Nanjubeol. Was she worried that her granddaughter might meet a bad end without leaving behind a single descendant? She knew her grandmother’s heart wasn’t simple, but she felt considerable dissatisfaction about being attached to an unwanted partner.

“I am fated to die while following whatever the elders order me to do. It doesn’t matter who that woman is, but…”

To think that the one thrust forward the moment Shinwoo was disqualified was this playful older brother. As if afraid it might die, he carefully took the caterpillar back. His touch as he released the caterpillar into the pretty flower bed was extremely gentle.

“If you leave it free like that, it becomes a butterfly. If it falls into your hands and ends its life, it remains a caterpillar. Even a mere insect has wings. Yet, how many men live worse lives than this caterpillar here. But you are different, Chaehwa.”

He was an older brother who was just as interested in the items and people of the outside world as she was. However, having lived a life even tighter than Chaehwa’s, he said his books and videos had long since been confiscated. As a fellow comrade, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of sympathy.

What kind of shadow lay hidden behind his peaceful face, which looked as though he had mastered the principles of the world? The man extended his clean hand, which had been holding the caterpillar, toward Chaehwa.

“So, if you truly dislike Shinwoo and that outsider, let’s be together. You and I can even live in the outside world sometimes. How about it? I also prefer you over other shaman women.”

“…No.”

It could be a fairly appealing proposal, but Chaehwa’s shake of her head was resolute. With a face that expected as much, the man withdrew his hand and made a clean retreat. Perhaps this man who was like an older brother might be the most perfect choice she could pick. Where else would there be a shaman husband who would understand her having hobbies in the outside world?

However, her body was already overwhelmed just by the thought of Yirok, who must be fighting alone in his sickbed to stay alive. This was not the time to weigh options and select a perfect groom. The man shamelessly bluffed, saying he would head back after having a bowl of sweet rice punch.

“Fine. The rice punch made by our family is the best in the world.”

“Can’t I pack some to go?”

“They will probably welcome you with open arms and give it to you by the whole earthenware jar. Will you be okay?”

“I exercise these days. It’s fine.”

With silly jokes and words, they erased the heavy relationship existing between them. Chaehwa, who had been grumbling all day because she hated the engagement, was finally laughing with sincerity. At the sound of footsteps approaching from behind, Chaehwa’s gaze moved nimbly.

“The two of you are enjoying a sweet walk here.”

“Grandmother.”

“Hello.”

Her grandmother, who said she would merely arrange the meeting and tactfully stay out of the way, was standing in the backyard. Welcoming her grandmother with a dazed feeling, Chaehwa soon noticed a strange change. Her grandmother’s eyes as she looked at the two of them were plagued with anxiety. Tilting her head, Chaehwa stared blankly behind her grandmother.

“You were looking for rice punch, right? I happened to have it prepared. I even placed a special order with the kitchen mother so the two of you could enjoy it deliciously.”

“A special order?”

However, her doubts were soon pushed aside by the Grandmaster who came to cross her arms. Suppressing her inexplicably uneasy heart, Chaehwa moved her feet along with her grandmother. Let’s just get through today. Only by accumulating blessings and fulfilling filial piety will Yirok wake up safely.

The reason she didn’t sabotage the secretly prepared arranged marriage meeting as she used to do in the past was all for Yirok. She quietly peered at her grandmother, who was smiling like a pear blossom, completely unaware of her granddaughter’s pitch-black inner thoughts.

Even if she died and came back to life, Grandmother would never change. Her grandmother had made a choice, and Chaehwa hardened her old resolve once more. The straight gazes of the two women, which would absolutely never cross paths, lingered on the same tree.

🌹₊ ⊹

“Yirok is being strange.”

The moment her body recovered, Yeonrye, who had been polishing the Young Lady’s quarters so smoothly that a fly would slip, snapped her head up. Seeing Chaehwa sitting gloomily with a bundle of snacks made her heart ache. The person who had been excitedly humming a song until morning was now worse than a withered bean sprout.

“Is Master Yirok using studying as an excuse not to come out again?”

“He even turned his cell phone off. Even during the class that finally opened yesterday, he came in the absolute latest as if trying to avoid seeing me. Even though I was clearly sitting there, he chose to sit in an empty seat far away.”

“It’s because he hasn’t fully recovered from being sick…”

“That’s why even when I bring him sweet rice cakes and things, he doesn’t eat them. Even though I brew medicine that is good for his body.”

“Young Lady. Master Yirok must have days when he wants to be alone too.”

In reality, the one to worry about seemed to be Shinwoo rather than Yirok. Yeonrye had turned into a snow-white pigeon in the vision-grass world and flown around the city. Was she not a bird carrying confidential information tied to her leg, no less? For a while, she had even forgotten the fact that she was a human and flew around until her wings were about to fall off. Whether it was a misfortune or a blessing that her memories returned while she was stuffing herself with feed. Whenever she thought of that time, she wanted to plunge her nose into a plate of water and die.

“Master Shinwoo stopped by today as well.”

“I told him not to come for the time being.”

The Young Lady, who slammed down the snack tray with a loud clatter, furrowed her brow. Her gaze was so cold that the atmosphere froze over, preventing anyone from speaking to her a second time. Watching her reactions, Yeonrye quietly shut her mouth. She should blame her own head for not remembering the detailed circumstances. When she opened her eyes, she was a pigeon, and when she opened her eyes, she was in Nanjubeol. In the meantime, Master Shinwoo had become an eyesore, and Master Yirok was treating the Young Lady like cold rice. Yeonrye, to whom the events between the three of them felt a lifetime away, cautiously spoke to the Young Lady, who sat looking only out the door.

“The news of your engagement, Young Lady. Could it be that he is being careful after hearing about it?”

“…What?”

“Since Master Yirok is quick-witted…”

“How do you know that? I didn’t tell anyone. I even kept everyone’s mouths shut, telling them not to speak of it.”

“Of course everyone knows that. Does keeping mouths shut mean people won’t find out? The young master you are to marry also frequently enters the inner quarters.”

“Why does he enter? Did that guy not go home?”

“The Grandmaster calls for him. She gives him delicious things too…”

As she spoke, Yeonrye crept backward, terrified of the Young Lady who was inching closer. Her eyes growing as round as if she had awakened to a truth that didn’t exist in the world, the Young Lady soon opened her mouth. What came out was a faint shriek.

“So that’s what it was!”

Seeing how delightful it was for Master Yirok to open his eyes and walk around, she was indeed a loyal subject to the Young Lady. However, regardless of the Young Lady’s heart, Yeonrye found Yirok’s behavior to be utterly arrogant and presumptuous, making it resentful. How dare he act jealous, relying on the Young Lady’s favor?

Chaehwa alone realized late what even a passing stray dog knew about Yirok’s inner thoughts, and she slipped into her innocent floral shoes, crushing them.

“Young Lady! Still, it is late, so today…”

The silk hair ribbon of the Young Lady, who didn’t listen to a single word she said, had already vanished from her sight. Setting down her rag, Yeonrye let out a chuckle and shook her head side to side.

She has the strength of a giant, a giant. Thinking there was no need to worry about the Young Lady’s health, Yeonrye sat down with a light heart. It was an early clock-out time, thanks to Master Yirok.