If Silk Flowers Bloom by the Water’s Edge Chapter 35

Was it about 10 years? For the first time in a long while, I enjoyed the scenery of softly piled winter snow. Cuddling a pretty doll and humming a tune made me feel like I had returned to my childhood. Seeing how much snow is falling at Chukjangji this winter, it seems the heavens are excited too. I was singing a line from my favorite song and taking in the scent of winter to my heart’s content, when the hand stroking the doll stopped at the sound of a door being opened without permission.

“Lady Sarira!”

At the sight of the old subordinate who came in clutching the door, on the verge of falling, Sarira couldn’t hide her pity. How long has it been since her knee surgery, yet she throws her body around like that. Tsk tsk, clicking her tongue, Sarira picked up the doll’s hairbrush that was on the floor.

“Halmeom. You’ll sprain your ankle this time, you know? You said you hate going on the operating table more than your son’s divorce.”

“Jangryeong is dead, Lady Sarira.”

“Jangryeong? Who’s that?”

Although Halmeom had served Sarira with utmost devotion for many long years, the mistress’s indifference sometimes made her shudder. Jangryeong was from the Yuseong family and had been Sarira’s confidante for over 15 years. Finding such a skilled Maengmusa these days was like finding a needle in a desert. Whenever they found a capable one, they were all afraid of Nanjubeol’s Chaehwa. Still, Jangryeong had risked her life to perform the curse ritual. To be precise, she had placed a curse on the person Sarira had ordered, and news had recently arrived that Chaehwa had taken the bait. Though she had her doubts, she had heard that a blind ghost of all things had been planted, so she thought it might at least leave a scratch on the proud lady of Nanjubeol. But the curse was broken, and in return, the contract with the Yogwi was forcibly terminated, resulting in Jangryeong’s death.

“I mean Jangryeong. Isn’t she Jiju-nim’s confidante? The one you ordered last year to plant a blind ghost in Chairman Baek Mun-yeol’s youngest daughter…”

“Ah… right. I did order Jangryeong, yes. But so what. If it was last year’s business, I don’t remember it, Halmeom. That was when the pain of my arm rotting away kept me from sleeping. You know. I get headaches if I sleep less than eight hours. It seems memory loss comes along with it… probably.”

“Jangryeong is dead, Jiju.”

“Is it me… or has Halmeom gone senile? I said I get it. That Jangryeong is dead.”

Sarira, laughing like a young girl, turned her back on the snowy landscape and came into the warm room. The Halmeoms, who served as butlers in each of the musa families, were generally very loyal. For the most part, that is. Sarira lay down on a soft cushion and made the doll fly like an airplane. Dozens of needles were stuck in the doll, which was dressed in a silk hanbok.

“Our Chaehwa. She succeeded in killing my person again.”

“How about we stop sacrificing the Maengmusas? There is opposition from within as well. In any case, no matter if we plant a curse or use a Yogwi, they’ll strike back one hundred percent of the time, won’t they.”

At first glance, the relationship between Maengmusa and Jeongmusa seems unfair. A Maengmusa can kill anyone, curse anyone, and commit evil deeds with a Yogwi. In contrast, a Jeongmusa could only use a Yogwi with good intentions, under the pretext of training. But look. There is a reason why the war between Maengmusa and Jeongmusa is still active even in the 21st century.

It was no use for a Maengmusa to lay the groundwork for a curse and call a Yogwi to cause harm. If the opponent was a powerful Jeongmusa, what was sent would return exactly as it was and shake one’s very lifeline. The saying that defense is a more advantageous form of combat than offense—that was a saying for Jeongmusas. Sarira herself had suffered the same fate.

She had tried to kill a child who was born with the prophecy of being the greatest among musa, only to be hit with a reversal from that very newborn. Therefore, curses had to be done with caution, and the use of Yogwi also had to be done with caution. It’s a world where it’s hard for the bad guys to eat and live well. To think that someone who makes a living doing good deeds was born with the disposition of a strong person. Isn’t this, indeed, the heavens being unfair?

“Wouldn’t it be better to lose interest in Nanjubeol now, Jiju.”

“I hear Yirok is doing well, right?”

“Let’s call Yirok in as well. To be honest, that child… has no talent as a spy. Perhaps because you raised him, his personality is just…”

“Just?”

Sarira, who had been affectionately twisting the doll’s neck, smiled and glared at her Halmeom. As her white hair fell, covering half her face, it showed just how much Sarira was holding back. Her hair standing on end, Halmeom stepped back and bowed her head.

“According to the inside spy, he seems to be on friendly terms with the young lady. It seems he hasn’t forgotten what you ordered either.”

“Then that’s settled… the body?”

“Pardon?”

“Jangryeong. The body. The corpse that died from being struck by the Yogwi our Chaehwa personally sent back.”

“That will be taken care of by the Yuseong family, which Jangryeong belongs to.”

“Bring it here. Say that the Bansi family will take care of it. No, say we’ll even hold a funeral.”

“…But there will be opposition.”

“Let them. But if they don’t hand it over willingly, tell them something other than me will go. Hmm? Halmeom.”

Halmeom was about to say something but bowed her head as if in understanding. Sarira, who lay down happily on the cushion whether Halmeom left or not, picked up the doll with the broken neck. As she stuck a black needle into the doll modeled after Chaehwa’s portrait, Sarira was genuinely delighted.

As you sow, so shall you reap. Those words suited the chilly winter quite well.

🌹₊ ⊹

Curse reversal, Yogwi Gwire. That difficult ritual, which he had only learned about in writing, Chaehwa performed as easily as blowing a bubblegum bubble. Asking for the name of the one who summoned the Yogwi, asking for the content of the promise made between the contractor and the Yogwi, and unilaterally having the Yogwi break that treaty, thereby causing harm to the contractor. That was Yogwi Gwire.

The blind ghost was quite a strong demon, yet it was subjected to Gwire, and the one who summoned it probably did not escape death. Having accomplished what was the most satisfying revenge from a Jeongmusa’s perspective, Chaehwa herself was indifferent.

The victim, Baek Uiyeon, threw up a basin of dead blood and regained consciousness an hour later. Chairman Baek, who ran over upon hearing that the ritual was over, only gave Chaehwa a deep bow after seeing his daughter speaking normally. Chaehwa, who was scheduled to receive a handsome reward, declined the deep bow and asked the chairman’s secretary for one thing.

“The chairman said that if there is anything you want or desire in the future, you just have to say the word.”

“Then, if you don’t mind, could I have a word…”

“Pardon? Yes.”

At the chairman’s secretary’s words to tell her anytime if there was anything she needed, Chaehwa whispered in her ear. It was a scene the other Haenangs, busy celebrating their victory and praising the Jeongmusa, did not see. By chance, only Yirok witnessed Chaehwa’s secret deal. It’s always like this. He sees things others don’t. Perhaps it was his own fault that he kept seeing such things. Maybe because of his spy instincts, his gaze had become loose. It was something beyond his control.

The old butler of the Bansi family had once criticized him, calling him a ‘gloomy and ungrateful boy’. He agreed.

While the Haenangs were chattering about the Yogwi, Yirok silently loaded the items and dishes used in the ritual into the car. Even if he was the only one doing the cleanup, it didn’t matter much. It was his nature to find carrying luggage more comfortable than mingling with people.

The moment he closed the trunk of the van after neatly stacking the items, Yirok’s expression hardened. Jangsi, who was holding a janggu, trembled as if startled. Not knowing how long she had been standing there, Yirok moved his feet to get the next load. Jangsi, who seemed to be hesitantly making way, spoke to him just as Yirok was passing by indifferently.

“Thank you….”

Yirok stood still, suspicious of Jangsi who was trying to talk to him, fidgeting and unable to even make eye contact. It was also because he hadn’t yet discarded the suspicion that Jangsi was an inside spy. Yirok looked at the Haenangs who were chatting leisurely before turning his eyes to Jangsi.

“Do you usually say thank you at any time?”

Picking up a plate that had fallen on the floor, Yirok asked casually. Jangsi shook her head wildly as if possessed and said.

“No, really, thank you.”

“I haven’t done anything for you to be thankful for.”

Opening the car trunk and putting the plate inside, Yirok also held out his hand to Jangsi. At the gesture asking for the janggu, Jangsi seemed flustered and let out a strange groan, ‘ah, ah’. At that, Yirok sighed and pointed to the janggu tied at Jangsi’s waist.

“That… if you’re going to use it as a bag, you can keep wearing it.”

“Ah!”

Hastily taking off the janggu, Jangsi handed it over with both hands. Without looking, Yirok took it and placed it neatly in a corner of the car trunk. The food waste could probably be taken care of by talking to the person called the secretary. Having finished his work, Yirok leaned against the car trunk and caught his breath. But Jangsi didn’t leave. Yirok suddenly found dealing with Jangsi bothersome and furrowed his brow.

“You spoke to the young lady, Yirok… and had me play the janggu, right? They usually don’t entrust such an important role to me.”

He wondered what she was thanking him for, and it turned out she was having a strange misunderstanding. This was the problem with lonely people. They couldn’t let go of a single kind word, a single moment, and saw the other person as a saving angel. What Yirok wanted was information about the inside spy, not to comfort a bullied girl. Getting close to him would do no good for the Haenangs who would remain at Nanjubeol.

“Thank you for treating me normally… even after seeing that.”

“Thank you?”

“Yes. It might not be a big deal to you, but…”

“If you’re thankful, should we not talk to each other from now on?”

Her courage kicked away, Jangsi lowered her head as if hurt, but soon nodded silently. He had left a lifelong scar on the heart of a girl full of wounds. Feeling awful, Yirok kicked at the cement ground in frustration.

“My lady!”

“Look at this. Chaho caused trouble again.”

“He’s going to get scolded by Old Lady Yomyung now.”

The world, excluding the two of them, was full of laughter and vitality, like a flower garden. Chaehwa’s clear laughter, returning to the center of it all, came on the autumn wind. A laugh that made the people around her special. That was the person Chaehwa was. It wasn’t his fault that his eyes were drawn to her.

Yirok repeated to himself, as if making an excuse to the deaf sky.