If Silk Flowers Bloom by the Water’s Edge Chapter 98

As she listened to the wails, or rather, the non-wailing wails of her family members celebrating that the Young Lady was alive, Chaehwa’s focus gradually grew sharper. Could a person really remain composed after being bedridden like a vegetable for three months? Even though she had been well aware that time flowed differently inside the vision-grass compared to reality, seeing the numbers change on the calendar with her own eyes made her heart ache. No matter how extraordinary a shaman might be, they couldn’t turn back time, could they? She felt so immensely regretful about the three months she had wasted just lying there that words did not easily escape her mouth.

“My child.”

However, her grandmother’s cheeks had grown hollow and haggard over those three months. At that anxious touch frantically sweeping over her cheeks, Chaehwa could not keep her mouth shut.

“I’m fine, Grandmother. You must have worried terribly all this time.”

“You are back, so that is enough. You are back, so that is enough…”

She had assumed that her grandmother would tie her up with ropes and lock her in the storehouse for stubbornly insisting on going to the department store the moment she woke up. Yet, the voice of her grandmother, who was simply grateful that her only flesh and blood had returned alive, was steeped in exhausting times. It was not difficult to picture her grandmother’s days, during which she must have offered devotions and prayers every single day for her granddaughter who wasn’t returning.

“Let us speak of this later, gradually. You haven’t eaten a proper thing for ten days. Let us first soothe your stomach with some porridge…”

“Ten days?”

“Yes. A child who said she was going shopping at the department store vanished without a trace. Not a single corpse turned up even after combing through the entire country, so I figured you had entered the vision-grass. Splendidly enough, it seems you brought Yeonrye, Shinwoo, Jangsi, and even that outsider to the front gate ten days ago.”

To explain the story, it went like this: Ten days ago, Chaehwa, who appeared out of nowhere dripping with sweat despite the spring weather, knocked on the front gate and collapsed forward the moment she saw the family members’ faces. Resting behind her back were four people lying down with their hands gathered like corpses, which naturally shocked everyone out of their wits.

Since then, she had been sleeping as if dead, so the old woman Yomyeong had fed her medicine to restore her stamina four times a day. Having to nurse someone in her old age when it wasn’t even in her destiny, the old woman Yomyeong had grown completely withered and aged in the meantime. Looking at the family members who had reportedly cut off all food along with her, Chaehwa gritted her teeth. The Maeng shamans, in any case, have never been helpful a single day in her life.

“What about the others?”

“Seeing that you have woken up, Young Lady, they will likely recover their strength within about four days. It is a profound relief that they fared this well after being targeted by those vicious things. And with new recruits and apprentice haenang in tow, no less.”

“But Chaehwa. I clearly divined that the energy of the Maeng shamans was depleted before sending you to the department store. Who on earth summoned the vision-grass gatherer?”

Her grandmother, who had just suggested discussing things gradually, let her eyes gleam as she made a sharp observation. An ambiguous smile surfaced on the face of Chaehwa, who wanted to crush the mastermind with her own hands. If her grandmother intervened, even things that could go well would end up ruined. Furthermore, Shinwoo would end up stripped of everything and kicked out.

“It seems your divinations aren’t always correct, Grandmother. I can barely remember… and my head keeps hurting too…”

“Stop it, stop. You must rest. Hmm? What am I to do with my child being this weak?”

Even during her childhood, if she just tripped and scraped her knee, her grandmother would lose sleep over it all night. Even when flying into a rage and storming about saying she would flog someone, her grandmother would grow frightened at the news that Chaehwa had skipped a meal. How lonely must a life be when it revolves solely around one person? While Chaehwa’s basket contained airplanes, travel, maps, and the world, her grandmother’s basket was entirely filled with her granddaughter. Holding her humble basket and rejoicing as if she possessed the whole world, the grandmother took hold of her granddaughter’s feet.

Chaehwa held the hand of her grandmother, who probably hadn’t slept a wink, and played the part of a sweet granddaughter. She figured she could live inside her grandmother’s basket for at least a day.

🌹₊ ⊹

She had read in a book somewhere that even if a person becomes a vegetable, their ears remain open. The wild greens that grow in spring have an exceptionally wonderful fragrance that enriches the dining table. Once her period of eating porridge ended, various wild greens were placed on Chaehwa’s table alongside eel, samgyetang, and gomtang to help restore her stamina.

The kitchen staff expected her to eat like a beggar who had starved for three days, but Chaehwa merely took a few bites and stopped. After all, the others who had returned alongside Young Lady Chaehwa were still trapped in a deep sleep. Out of guilt for being the only one perfectly fine, Chaehwa could be seen withering away day by day.

“Young Lady.”

“I’m just going to get a breath of fresh air.”

“Still…”

They could only guess that the absence of Yeonrye, who was sleeping as pale as a white rice cake, must feel immense. Another family member who was attending to the Young Lady sighed quietly while looking at the back of her figure as she put on her floral shoes. Though she didn’t voice it, with Shinwoo, her prospective fiancé; Yeonrye, who cherished the Young Lady terribly; and even the two young haenang suffering such a calamity, the Young Lady’s heart must be boiling with anxiety.

Bundling up books and snacks, Chaehwa went to visit the sickroom at the exact same time every day. The order in which she dropped by was also similar yesterday and today. She would wipe Yeonrye’s forehead, leave snacks for Jangsi, and finally stay in Yirok’s room for a long time before leaving. The family members assumed that the reason she skipped Shinwoo was because they were close. They thought the Young Lady’s heart was as fragile as a dandelion, leaving her unable to bear looking at Shinwoo, who was destined to be her fiancé.

However, Chaehwa’s expression upon coming out after seeing Yeonrye and Jangsi was utterly composed. Her heart had eased because she had a premonition that they would wake up within two days. As for Shinwoo, she didn’t even want to think about him. There were four injured people, making it impossible to let it slide as if nothing had happened. The price for throwing oneself into a foolish trap must absolutely be paid. That was the law of the shamans.

Chaehwa’s face, which had been frostily stiff while thinking of Shinwoo, only melted away when she stepped onto the wooden veranda of the hanok where Yirok was staying. She read books that she herself enjoyed to him for about two hours and even fed him his medicine directly by hand. The family members tried to dissuade her, saying it was a task for subordinates, but Chaehwa’s heart could not rest otherwise.

From Shinwoo to Yeonrye, their eyelids twitched as if they were about to wake up, but Yirok was practically no different from a corpse. Whenever anxiety crept in, making her wonder if she had somehow left him behind in the vision-grass world, she was able to calm down by wiping Yirok’s face and feeding him his medicine.

She felt that if she skipped a single day of visiting the sickroom, the heavens would grow furious and snatch Yirok away. Today as well, Chaehwa threw open the door to the medical ward used as the sickroom, but she stood there blankly, unable to take even two steps. For there was a woman who had come to visit the sickroom earlier than her.

Unsettled for a brief moment by the unfamiliar appearance she hadn’t seen in Nanjubeol, the woman with short-bobbed hair lowered her head first and acknowledged her acquaintance.

“Young Lady. It is so wonderful to see you looking this healthy.”

While recalling the woman’s name, Chaehwa calmly closed the door. The gaze of the silently smiling woman lingered on the book and snacks held in Chaehwa’s hands. It was Juhee from the Baekyeong clan. Chaehwa, who barely managed to remember the name, likewise put on a display of politeness.

“To think I have made you take such a precious step all the way here. It is due to my own shortcomings and inadequacies that I have made a precious haenang turn out like this.”

“If you are inadequate, Young Lady, then where in the world is there a remarkable orthodox shaman? Even though Yirok is a cold and frosty child… I was worried. I brought along some porridge and snacks that Yirok used to eat well back at our household.”

“Is that so?”

Looking at the golden bundle hanging from Juhee’s hand, Chaehwa knitted her brows faintly. In any case, a guest was a guest, so she couldn’t just turn her away at the door. When she pointed to a chair, telling her to sit, Juhee conversely shook her head.

“I only intend to catch a brief glimpse of his face before leaving. Since you are taking such good care of him, Young Lady, it seems there is nothing more for me to do. Once he wakes up, just tell him that I stopped by and left. And this… I will leave it here, so make sure he eats it.”

It sounded as though she were emphasizing the golden bundle, almost as if the food from Nanjubeol couldn’t be trusted. Perhaps her mind had grown narrow since it hadn’t been long since she regained consciousness. Chaehwa painstakingly ignored the irritation rising within her and readily stepped aside.

“Nanjubeol will take good care of him, so do not worry. We will soon deliver good news to the Baekyeong clan as well.”

“Yes, Young Lady… and Yirok. You must absolutely open your eyes and come visit the Baekyeong clan to give your greetings, okay?”

Unbefitting of someone who had come to visit the sick out of worry for their illness, Juhee sported flashy fingernails. She stretched her hand toward the forehead of Yirok, who was asleep as if he wasn’t even breathing. For whatever reason, Chaehwa’s body moved first.

Tak! She blocked her by grabbing Juhee’s wrist. The two simultaneously exchanged glances that carried their true feelings. Unbearably uncomfortable with the other person, Juhee, who even had her wrist grabbed, furrowed her brow overtly.

“…Young Lady?”

“I do so out of worry. Do not touch Yirok carelessly. He is hovering between life and death after being targeted by some potent Maeng shaman. I fear that even you, Ms. Juhee, might meet a bad end.”

Yet, contrary to her words, the gesture with which she flung Juhee’s wrist away was freezing cold. Juhee, who rubbed her own wrist where a mark had been left, had the corners of her mouth twitch as if flustered.

“Since you show such consideration… thank you. Come to think of it, it seems better for me to deliver this directly myself. Rather than troubling you, Young Lady…”

Juhee spoke while tightly hugging the bundle she had suddenly been dying to give away just moments ago. It was the moment Juhee’s feet, as she hurriedly made her exit saying her goodbyes, caught on the threshold. Chaehwa, who had been watching her silently, called out to halt her in a low voice.

“Leave it behind.”

“…Pardon?”

Juhee turned around, completely unable to hide her bewilderment. The face of the Young Lady, stripped of all politeness toward a guest, was waiting for her.

“You brought it to give to Yirok, so why are you taking it back? Leave it behind. I will take responsibility and deliver it.”

“No… because it is food, after all. It might spoil.”

“Yirok will wake up soon. Leave it behind.”

At Chaehwa’s firm words, Juhee couldn’t even manage a smile and slowly set the bundle down. As if trying to hide her expression, Juhee skipped her farewells midway and quickly put on her shoes. Watching the back of her figure as she fled like someone who had something to hide, Chaehwa relaxed the tension in her eyes.

“Why is she creating a fuss trying to touch him and all…”

To think she wishes for him to come to the Baekyeong clan soon. Her arms fiercely crossed, Chaehwa slowly regulated her breathing. Oh, yes. This time, she intended to make sure there would be no vacations for the haenang.