If Silk Flowers Bloom by the Water’s Edge Chapter 40

The gentle breeze felt good. A nap was one of the items on the list of ‘100 Things Chaehwa Loves.’ She dreamt of taking out the candy basket her grandmother had secretly hidden and popping a piece into her mouth. Chaehwa, deep in a sweet slumber, couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality and licked her lips. It was just as she was smiling happily, putting a fist-sized candy in her mouth.

“Young Lady.”

“Ugh, huh?”

The voice sounded so vivid for a dream that Chaehwa sat up with a start. The sun was giggling through the large window behind the blackboard. The man sitting in front of her laughed out loud seeing Chaehwa frown from the glare.

“It’s bright, isn’t it? Just a moment.”

The person who took out a book and created a shade over Chaehwa’s forehead was Shinwoo. Receiving his natural courtesy, Chaehwa got up and stretched out refreshingly. With Teacher Myungil also gone, the only ones left in the classroom were Shinwoo, Chaho, and a still-sleepy Chaehwa.

“Where did everyone go?”

“It’s lunchtime. You should eat too, Young Lady.”

“Ah….”

No wonder she didn’t feel much of an appetite at the mention of lunch. Seeing the mercilessly empty seat next to her, Chaehwa clicked her tongue. She had managed to endure until Korean class, but when the next subject, math, came along, she couldn’t help but fall asleep. And what about Korean history? It was a four-period block of classes, but Chaehwa’s memory cut off after the first period. Feeling embarrassed, Chaehwa slammed the book she had used as a pillow shut.

“Aish… you must have seen everything.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing, nothing. That Yirok kid won’t come even for lunchtime, will he?”

She wanted to ask it casually, as a passing remark, but at the word ‘Yirok,’ both Shinwoo and Chaho’s expressions changed subtly. Shinwoo quickly returned to his usual gentle face, though. Chaho, who had been reading a comic book, wore a rare scowl. Chaehwa, who couldn’t have missed it, watched Chaho intently.

“By the way, Chaho, what’s that on your neck?”

“Ah… this?”

“Why are you wearing such an unfitting scarf around your neck?”

At that, Chaho smiled brightly and offered to show her the inside of the scarf. Just as Chaehwa, who would never have dreamed it was a scarf to hide a mark on his neck, clasped her hands together, Shinwoo intervened.

“It’s because he has a cold. Old Lady Yomyung thought Chaho might get seriously ill… right, Chaho?”

“Really?”

Although she was displeased with the two of them exchanging strange glances without her, she sensed it was a topic they didn’t want to talk about. Trusting the two, Chaehwa hugged her books tightly to her chest and stood up. Regardless of whether the two were bickering as they followed her, there was only one person filling Chaehwa’s mind right now.

‘Should I try calling him? No, what’s with him being all high and mighty, saying he’s busy when he’s just a Haenang learning things.’

As she recalled Yirok’s eyes turning dark with concentration during class, she found herself outside the classroom. A chilly wind blew past Chaehwa with a whoosh, but the sunlight was as strong as summer.

Behind Chaehwa, who quickly slipped on her flower shoes and headed to a place where Yirok might be, she heard voices.

“Why is she going that way?”

“I guess she doesn’t feel like eating lunch today.”

“Young Lady.”

With two uninvited guests she wished would stop following her, Chaehwa quickened her pace. If Yirok went too far away, even Chaehwa would lose him, so she had to catch him quickly before he flew off like a crow in mating season. Chaehwa, who had a lot to say, thought the two guys following her would give up after a certain point.

She stepped on the yellowed winter grass and crossed a stream covered in thin ice. Would he be eating lunch near the scenic pavilion? Or would he be sitting grimly over at the Gwimok Rest Area? As she added a dash of excitement to her previously anxious steps, even the familiar path felt like an adventure, an escape.

“Young Lady.”

Ignoring Shinwoo’s desperate call, Chaehwa ran like a rabbit. Shinwoo, who had known Chaehwa since she was seven, cast his bait well.

“Today’s lunch includes your favorite yukjeon.”

Her foot slipped at the word ‘yukjeon,’ but Chaehwa finally found her target. It was in front of the Bugundang shrine where the new bell cried every dawn, a place where two evergreen pine trees faced each other like a married couple, even in winter.

Sitting on a bench set before that pine tree couple, Yirok was eating bread. She started to suspect that Yirok might actually be in love with bread. He was the type who wouldn’t even pick up a spoon no matter how grand a feast fit for a king was prepared for him. While inwardly chiding him, Chaehwa filled her cheeks with air and prepared to call out to Yirok.

“Yirok, you…!”

Yirok, who was reading a textbook while eating bread, had a visitor. Her lips, which had been spread in a wide smile, closed without uttering a word. It was because of the book being carefully held out in front of the picturesque boy, before the pine trees.

It was Jangsi, whom she had also seen during class, handing a book to Yirok. The thought of what he was doing instead of going to lunch was quickly replaced by Yirok’s reaction that followed. Yirok, who she had naturally expected to ignore the book, asked Jangsi something. He didn’t return the book.

Feeling her energy drain away, Chaehwa simply became a spectator.

“Young Lady.”

Shinwoo and Chaho, who had caught up to her in the meantime, grabbed the dazed Chaehwa’s shoulders to steady her. It wasn’t difficult for the two of them to spot Jangsi and Yirok, who were not far away.

“Yirok.”

Shinwoo called out to Yirok as if calling a dear friend. Yirok, who was having a friendly conversation with Jangsi, turned his head in the direction of the sound. When his eyes met Chaehwa’s, he stared straight this way without a hint of surprise. Only Jangsi, who had been talking to him, was fidgeting, not knowing what to do. Chaehwa wanted to question his confident gaze, but she was aware enough to know that it would be strange for her to do so.

“Let’s go.”

“Pardon?”

“You said they’re serving yukjeon for lunch. We have to eat.”

Chaehwa lifted her skirt, signaling with her whole body that she was leaving. Shinwoo and Chaho’s feet soon followed Chaehwa as she moved away from the Bugundang.

The way back is so long.

Feeling a large stone settle in her chest, Chaehwa often paused while walking to let out a long breath.

I’m just going to eat yukjeon until I burst. Chaehwa stopped walking and turned off the power on the cell phone in her pocket. A revenge that wasn’t even revenge. She knew it was a stupid thing to do, but Chaehwa couldn’t seem to quell her anger.

It was truly a day that didn’t match her dream.

🌹₊ ⊹

Nanjubeol’s Chukjangji, ‘Yeon and Mangul,’ was a terrain where a pond, streams, and hills were appropriately situated. The training ground was located behind the main house of Nanjubeol, which was built on the most prime land among them. A pavilion built at the top of 108 steps, with a view of the pond and a humble hill. It was here, in a place that could comfortably accommodate dozens of people, that the real warrior training began.

The teacher was Old Lady Yomyung. For Yirok, who was attending the bookless training for the first time, everything was unfamiliar, and everything was difficult. It was his first time receiving a formal Jeongmusa lesson, and more than anything, the gaze of the person leaning against the pavilion railing was bothering him.

“Young Lady. Wouldn’t it be better to at least sit down to observe the training?”

“I’m comfortable here.”

But no one would believe those words. Among the Haenangs gathered here, except for Shinwoo, none had a Yogwi they could command with their own power yet. A Yogwi that was compatible with oneself, and therefore the first Yogwi to be summoned, was an important part of a warrior’s life.

And to summon a Yogwi, opening one’s own abyss was an essential condition. Only by opening the abyss could one obtain their own unique opening mark, which allowed them to see Yogwi even in the outside world. Others couldn’t just draw the character for ‘sky’ for you forever, could they?

But Chaehwa, a Jeongmusa who was already at the pinnacle and had no need for such training, had insisted on requesting to observe the class. It would have been fine if she had just behaved normally. But there she was, precariously perched on the pavilion railing, glaring at one person.

“Then, everyone ignore the Young Lady. It would be best to start by focusing on the scent of the sleeping grass.”

Just as Old Lady Yomyung lit the sleeping grass, Yirok glanced toward the railing. It seemed he was the one person she was targeting. Her eyes were blazing as if she had eaten something bad for lunch. Whenever their eyes met by chance, she was busy sending him incomprehensible signals. At this rate, the training was doomed to fail. While everyone was focused on the explanation of the training, Yirok mouthed his words.

‘Why.’

It seemed she understood the very short word. But Chaehwa didn’t answer and only added more matches to her eyes. After looking at her blazing gaze, Yirok shook his head. It wasn’t just a one or two-day affair for that young lady to have an upset stomach from eating something wrong.

“To meet a Yogwi, share conditions, and make a contract, you must first know how to enter your own abyss.”

As the special incense Old Lady Yomyung had lit grew stronger, Yirok’s mind also became hazy. Old Lady Yomyung, who was sitting in a formal posture, became blurry, then split into three as if cut with a knife.

“If you feel strange or sick anywhere, raise your hand immediately.”

The effect of the sleeping grass seemed a bit strong, so he wanted to raise his hand. But his body had lost its strength, making even that impossible. Feeling his head spin, Yirok sensed something was wrong and looked to his side.

Chaehwa was gone, and the sky and ground were dyed a deep ink color. His vision blurred to black with a head-splitting pain. It all happened so suddenly; he didn’t even hear Old Lady Yomyung’s last words.

“Then, shall we begin?”