If Silk Flowers Bloom by the Water’s Edge Chapter 31

The place where the ritual was to be held was none other than the Baek family’s villa in Gyeonggi Province. There, in a place with a fine view brimming with valleys and mountains, Chairman Baek’s youngest daughter, Ms. Baek Uiyeon, was said to be confined and recuperating. In the car on the way to the villa, Secretary Yoon’s tablet proved useful.

“What’s her name?”

“Uiyeon… Baek Uiyeon….”

“Ms. Uiyeon. Do you remember exactly when those symptoms started?”

The content of the video the Baek family had presented as preliminary data was a real snooze-fest. A regular house decorated like a hospital, a family doctor called to the home for fear of public scrutiny, the typical treatment process…. It was one of the steps modern people who believe shamans are con artists go through.

Chaehwa lost interest and immediately played the next video.

“Aaargh! Aaaaargh!”

A shaman performing a gut and dancing on blade-like stilts, the client’s daughter lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth and convulsing. This too was a common sight, so Chaehwa’s finger skipped past the video without finishing it.

“Ms. Baek Uiyeon.”

Finally, a video worth spending time on. Chaehwa put a sweet chocolate cookie in her mouth and watched the video. Secretary Yoon, who was pouring tea into a thermos cup, also focused with curiosity.

“From now on, this ritual is all for you, Ms. Baek Uiyeon. It won’t be too painful, so don’t worry. It’s just that… things will be a little different than before. If that’s all right with you, of course.”

It was a trick, dressing in a traditional hanbok to look like a shaman. Moving as swiftly as a rat was the advantage of the Maengmusas, after all. The only Yogwi in the outside world strong enough to catch a shaman’s eye were just riffraff. Contrary to common misunderstanding, the air in the outside world was murky, and the clear energy of the past no longer flowed through it, so nothing but lowly spirits were willing to come. Only when requested by a musa would any useful beings set foot in the outside world. In a word, the musa acted as a bridge for the yosu to cross over.

Occasionally, there were beings whose eyes were opened, but even their power would eventually fade with time. Most people were fated to live their entire lives without ever knowing what a true Yogwi looked like.

But once in a while, a Yogwi with malicious intent would make an appearance in the world. Aren’t uninvited guests called intruders? A Yogwi who came to the outer lands was no different from an intruder, either holding a grudge or simply being inherently evil. It was the job of a Jeongmusa to send back or destroy a Yogwi that caused harm, and the job of a Maengmusa to make good use of them. In many cases, the very appearance of such a Yogwi was the result of an artificial summons by a Maengmusa in the first place.

If the Yogwi harbored a grudge, things were simpler. Once the grudge was resolved, they would be helplessly sealed by the ritual. But a Yogwi that purely enjoyed harming people had to be destroyed.

“You just have to return my daughter to how she was before. I ask for nothing more.”

Chairman Baek, gaunt from weight loss, appeared in the video. It was incredibly convenient to be able to review past events all at once thanks to the CCTVs installed throughout the house. Chaehwa paused the video and, as soon as she got Chairman Baek’s consent, zoomed in on the brightly smiling woman’s face.

“She’s from a Maengmusa family. Her name was… Jwang-soong… Rang-jwa-ang… something like that?”

“‘Jangryeong,’ my lady.”

“Right, right. Jangryeong. She’s a subordinate of the Bansi family, isn’t she?”

“Yes. That is correct. You’re so clever, my lady.”

With an exaggerated compliment, Secretary Yoon took the tablet. Chaehwa, who had been eyeing the latest model, licked her lips and wiped the chocolate from her hands with a tissue.

“I was a little happy last night. But I’m not happy at all now. I feel like I’m trapped in a pitch-black world.”

“…Then shall we go shopping after we finish the case?”

“Forget it.”

It was no use trying to appease a crying child with candy. She knew she was no longer a child who got excited over her grandmother’s candy basket. No matter how big and sweet the candy, it would eventually melt away. Happiness is fleeting; rather, she wondered if the period of reminiscing about dreadfully sweet memories didn’t just make the rest of one’s days miserable.

“Um, by the way, my lady. I think the Maengmusas have been getting more rampant lately. I think I understand Jiju-nim’s concerns… this case also feels like an attempt to lure you outside.”

“I suppose so. It’s not the first or second time. But we can’t refuse a case like this, can we?”

“That’s true, but…”

Turning off the tablet, Secretary Yoon carefully observed Chaehwa, who looked displeased.

Chairman Baek was a strong, stubborn man, but he couldn’t easily give up the only hope of saving his daughter and begged Chaehwa. Chairman Baek explained that his daughter had changed about a year ago, but she had actually started changing two years ago. Initially, something on the level of a lowly spirit had entered her, but whether the shaman had scammed them or the gut had gone wrong, it had backfired and provoked a greater Yogwi. After all, a weak and mentally ill person was more appetizing to a Yogwi than a healthy one.

The woman from the Maengmusa family had somehow heard the news and rushed over to use Chairman Baek’s daughter. For about a year, it would have seemed like the ritual was a success and she was cured. But the year after the seizures returned must have been a living hell. It wasn’t treatment; it was exploitation. Chairman Baek’s precious daughter was used as bait.

Even in a situation where she couldn’t even guess what the opponent hiding behind the veil was planning, Chaehwa was completely unconcerned.

“My lady. That young man is a newcomer, isn’t he? An outsider.”

“…Who are you talking about?”

“Um… I heard his name is Yirok. Kim Yirok.”

“Ah, Yirok.”

“He was handsome, wasn’t he? Tall, too. Are you on friendly terms at Chukjangji?”

Any topic was fine as long as it could lift my lady’s sunken spirits. Coincidentally, there was an interesting story she had heard as she was leaving Chairman Baek’s house. The helpers who did the housework for the client had gathered around Secretary Yoon and asked about a Haenang. They asked if the young man who looked like a student was a shaman.

There was no need to explain the concept of a ‘musa’ to ordinary people who were unfamiliar with it. But even in Secretary Yoon’s eyes, he was a very good-looking young man.

“But why do you ask about Yirok?”

“Pardon?”

“Are you interested in Yirok? He’s a minor. Be careful, Secretary Yoon.”

“Ha… How old do you think I am? I’m old enough to be his mother. Of course I’m not asking because I’m interested.”

“He’s a huge brat. He looks innocent and nice just by his face, right? That’s a trick.”

“Ah, is that so….”

“And you know what. I’m only telling you this, Secretary Yoon. Don’t tell Grandmother, okay? Yirok even flicked my forehead and swore at me.”

“Pardon?”

“Isn’t that terrifying? Don’t even get me started. He only eats scraps of bread all the time, as if he thinks the food is poisoned. How can he be so difficult?”

“Oh my… I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t, Secretary Yoon. He’s only like that to me.”

My lady scooted closer, getting up from her seat as if she’d gotten excited, which was a bit overwhelming. Secretary Yoon smiled and stealthily moved to the outer seat.

“Oh… so unlike his appearance, he’s a very, head-on type?”

“That’s it. A head-on brat.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to just ignore him? If he’s so disrespectful to you, my lady.”

Secretary Yoon deliberately made a probing comment in a casual tone. After all, contrary to what my lady was saying, her expression looked proud. As expected, Chaehwa returned to her seat as if she had little interest. Only Secretary Yoon saw the corners of her mouth twitching upward. She listened to my lady’s words with a gaze full of interest.

“He’s not disrespectful every day.”

“I see….”

With Chaehwa’s single remark, silence filled the car. Secretary Yoon could only guess Chaehwa’s mood from the flower-embroidered shoe dangling in the air and the indecipherable tune she was humming.

Her mood has never improved this quickly before.

As she took back the tablet and turned it off, Secretary Yoon’s mind drifted elsewhere. Perhaps a great change was coming to the Nanjubeol family. For example, something like a coming-of-age rebellion for the kind and preciously raised young lady. Secretary Yoon lowered her head slightly and smiled affectionately.

🌹₊ ⊹

Baek Uiyeon, Chairman Baek’s daughter, broke off her engagement due to personality differences with her fiancé, after which she was tormented by a lowly spirit. She met a Maengmusa and things were quiet for a year, but the symptoms reportedly began to recur early this year. According to Secretary Yoon, who had gathered the information, Chairman Baek didn’t contact the Maengmusa side; rather, they came to him with their bundles and a business card. They earned Chairman Baek’s trust by putting forth a professional attitude, saying they wouldn’t take any money if it wasn’t effective.

What happened after that was obvious. Her aggression and appetite had worsened compared to when she was possessed by the lowly spirit, just as the Maengmusa had intended. Chaehwa instructed the Haenangs to prepare thoroughly, as chasing a Yogwi was a battle of time rather than skill. To the client’s eyes, it had to look like a shaman’s gut, so Yirok and the Haenangs set up a ritual table and brought a janggu drum. Explaining the rituals of a musa would be like reading scriptures to a cow; for ordinary people, the formal presentation was what was important.

Yirok, having placed a large pig’s head on the table, straightened his back. He had some experience preparing for rituals in the Bansi family, but this was his first time in a real situation. The other Haenangs seemed to be just as nervous; those once-lively people were sharing calming pills and looking weak.

“Excuse me, Haenang Yirok?”

Everyone was huddled around the reliable Shinwoo, so Yirok was setting the table alone. The woman who approached him as he was collecting his thoughts was Secretary Yoon. Fanning herself with a file folder, she exuded the scent of perfume.

“Are you busy?”

“I’ve finished.”

“Ah…. Then, would you like to go somewhere with me?”

The ritual was set to begin in 15 minutes at the latest. As Yirok stood there silently, not understanding, Secretary Yoon gave a chilly eye-smile.

“Lady Chaehwa is calling for you.”