Jaegyeom removed the mask from his face, took a few steps back, and then inhaled deeply. Without a moment of hesitation, he dove straight into the depths of the lake. The once-still surface of the water rippled violently from his swift dive.
The turtle, clinging to Jaegyeom's waist, was swept away by the shockwave of water the moment they entered. It was tossed far away but quickly regained its senses and began swimming. The turtle swiftly cut through the water, moving closer to Jaegyeom.
"Master! Are you alright?"
Jaegyeom, who had already regained a stable position, held his breath and nodded. The turtle climbed onto his shoulder and settled there. The first priority was to find Yoon Taehee. Jaegyeom widened his eyes, scanning his surroundings.
Jaegyeom's face contorted like a child's in an instant.
"..."
A familiar black robe swayed softly underwater. A voice, worn away by the passage of time and long since blurred in memory, resurfaced vividly. The turtle had warned him that everything he saw would be from the past, just memories. He had recklessly jumped in, but at this moment, Jaegyeom crumbled all too easily.
"Master! Whatever you see, it's all an illusion! You must remember that!"
The turtle, clinging to his shoulder, cried out desperately, but Jaegyeom's movements were growing slower. He could feel his strength leaving him.
"My stubborn disciple."
Myojeong was smiling kindly in front of him.
Not a day had passed where he didn't resent him. He had wished, even if just in a dream, that Myojeong would appear and ask for forgiveness. Illusion or not, Jaegyeom had waited for him to show up and beg for mercy. But he never did, not even in a dream. Not even
once...
The face he had never wanted to see again was right in front of him.
And yet,
The face he had longed to see, even just once in a dream, was also there.
"..."
As he stared blankly at the robe fluttering in the water, Jaegyeom thought,
Myojeong, are you still wearing that robe...?
***
As expected. There, not far away, he saw Yoon Taehee with his eyes closed, looking peaceful, as if he were asleep underwater.
Jaegyeom immediately swam towards him, moving his arms wide as he approached. Just then, vines suddenly shot up from the lakebed, wrapping tightly around his feet in an instant. The turtle spoke underwater.
"Be careful! This is the vine I warned you about!"
The force with which the vines pulled was beyond imagination.
Jaegyeom, caught by the ankle, let out a gasp, releasing bubbles into the water. He was being pulled further away from Yoon Taehee.
Desperate to free himself, he tried biting the vine, pulling at it with his hands filled with spiritual energy, but it was useless. The vine, tough as leather, didn't budge.
His breath was running out. Just then, Jaegyeom heard a voice.
"Gyeom-ah, what are you doing here?"
Jaegyeom's face contorted like a child's in an instant.
"..."
A familiar black robe swayed softly underwater. A voice, worn away by the passage of time and long since blurred in memory, resurfaced vividly. The turtle had warned him that everything he saw would be from the past, just memories. He had recklessly jumped in, but at this moment, Jaegyeom crumbled all too easily.
"Master! Whatever you see, it's all an illusion! You must remember that!"
The turtle, clinging to his shoulder, cried out desperately, but jaegyeom's movements were growing slower. He could feel his strength leaving him.
"My stubborn disciple."
Myojeong was smiling kindly in front of him.
Not a day had passed where he didn't resent him. He had wished, even if just in a dream, that Myojeong would appear and ask for forgiveness. Illusion or not, Jaegyeom had waited for him to show up and beg for mercy. But he never did, not even in a dream. Not even
once...
The face he had never wanted to see again was right in front of him.
And yet,
The face he had longed to see, even just once in a dream, was also there.
"..."
As he stared blankly at the robe fluttering in the water, Jaegyeom thought,
Myojeong, are you still wearing that robe...?
***
When the boy opened his eyes, it was the middle of the night.
He blinked his drowsy eyes, staring up at the dark ceiling interwoven with rafters. He couldn't remember what he'd done before falling asleep or when he had even gone to bed, so he must have slept quite deeply. His mind was foggy, and everything felt unreal.
What happened today...?
The boy slowly retraced the day's events. As soon as he woke up in the morning, he ate breakfast and climbed the mountain with Myojeong. Then, around noon, they went down to the village and visited the county magistrate's office. The magistrate's only son had been having nightmares and seeing things for a few days.
Somehow, the magistrate had heard about Myojeong and called for him to solve the issue. After helping, they received their payment.
Then…
"..."
The boy, who had been blinking for a while, suddenly sat up straight.
'Ah, that's right.'
Without realizing it, the boy let out a small sound and then quickly covered his mouth. Startled, he glanced down beside him to see Myojeong's face, who was neatly asleep.
It was a disaster. He had promised to meet the girl he saw at the government office by the stream during the time of Hae (between 9 and 11 PM, but he only just remembered. He had been pretending to sleep while waiting for Myojeong to fall asleep so he could sneak out, but ended up actually dozing off.
Earlier in the day, when he had visited the government office, the boy had met Seomal, the daughter of a government slave.
While Myojeong went to the inner quarters, where the magistrate's family resided, to handle some matters, the boy waited by wandering around the office grounds, waiting for him.
On one side of the spacious yard, there was the residence for the government slaves, and a few female slaves were huddled together on the veranda, sewing.
It was there that the boy saw a girl around his age, named Seomal.
Seomal, who was in the middle of sewing, stood up for a moment, perhaps to run an errand. The boy, who had been idly wandering nearby, quietly approached her.
'Uh, um...'
Seomal looked at him with a puzzled expression.
'Excuse me, but could I ask you for a favor?'
'Huh? What is it?'
Well... um, can you teach me how to sew...?'
In a shy voice, the boy explained his situation. He said that he lived alone with his teacher, and since neither of them knew how to sew, they just wore their clothes as they were, even when they got frayed or torn. Recently, while practicing swordsmanship together, he had accidentally sliced through the tie on his clothes, and now it was hanging loose, so he wanted to sew it back on.
Myojeong always wore the same black robe. The one he wore today was that very robe. The man didn't seem to care much, but it kept bothering the boy.
You want to sew the tie back on?'
After listening to his story, Seomal pondered for a moment, then offered to sew it back on for him if he brought the garment. The boy shook his head.
'No, that's okay. Just teach me how to do it, and I'll do it myself.'
Seomal's eyes widened in disbelief.
'Oh my, how can a boy do sewing?'
Embarrassed, the boy lowered his head and stared at his feet.
Well, it's good to know how to sew, even if you're a boy...'
Seomal chuckled and said she couldn't teach him right now because there were too many eyes around. The boy, looking dejected, replied, 'Alright...' and nodded slightly.
'Hey, how about this?'
Seomal suggested they meet by the stream during the time of Hae, when everyone would be asleep. She promised to secretly sneak out and teach him how to sew. The boy nodded eagerly, his face lighting up.
***
And so, the boy planned to meet Seomal late that night.
He wanted to not only sew the tie on Myojeong's robe but also embroider it beautifully, making it a surprise gift. That's why he hadn't told anyone, pretending to sleep so he could sneak out... But as he lay there, his body became tired, and he accidentally dozed off. By now, it was deep into the night. The boy was in a dilemma.
Damn it, what do I do? Should I still go?
He glanced at his teacher, who was lying next to him,
'Myojeong... are you asleep?'
Just in case, he whispered in a tiny voice. Luckily, it seemed Myojeong was deeply asleep. The boy waved his hand gently over his face, then quietly got up. He tiptoed across the room, carefully opened the paper-patched door, and slipped outside. He grabbed Myojeong's robe, which was hanging on one side of the porch, and began running. As he neared the stream, he could hear the gentle sound of water flowing.
The boy, holding Myojeong's clothes close to his chest, look around the area by the stream.
'Hey... the one who's good at sewing...'
The moonlight was unusually bright tonight, illuminating the night.
However, no matter how much he looked around, he couldn't spot Seomal anywhere. Just as the boy scratched his head, wondering if she had grown tired of waiting and left, a voice suddenly called out from behind a large rock.
'Hey! Why are you so late?'
Startled, the boy quickly turned around. There was Seomal, with her hair neatly braided in a ribbon, holding a small bundle in her hand.
She shot him a slightly annoyed look.
'Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting? I was about to leave since you weren't showing up.'
'Oh... I fell asleep by accident...'
The boy, his face slightly flushed with embarrassment, lowered his head. Seomal pulled out several spools of thread and a small sewing kit from her bundle. Under the moonlight, the boy began learning how to sew from her.
'Look. First, you insert it here, then pull it down through here...'
It was dark, and the boy's hands were clumsy, so he kept pricking himself with the needle.
'Ouch... damn it, that hurts!
He muttered a small curse, sucking on the blood from his finger.
'Oh, come on. I've shown you how to do it so many times, and you still can't get it? Let me just do it for you!'
'No, 'll do it myself'
Determined, the boy kept sewing, enduring Seomal's scolding. As they worked on the sewing, the two engaged in various small talk.
The boy, who wasn't used to interacting with people, especially girls, stammered awkwardly in response to Seomal's questions.
Seomal bombarded him with questions like, 'Can you see ghosts too?', 'Are you a shaman then?', and 'Do you wander around all over the provinces?'
'By the way, your father, he's quite dashing. Ever since he stopped by the government office earlier, everyone's been talking about him, saying how cool he is!
Seomal smiled brightly as she spoke, and the boy awkwardly replied,
'He's not my father. He's my teacher.'
'What?'
Seomal's eyes widened, and she added, Well, he does look a bit young!
'So, you live with your teacher, just the two of you? He's never gotten married?'
Yeah...'
'Really? He's never going to get married? He looks like he's past the usual age for marriage, though...
Yeah, I guess...
With you always by his side, don't people mistake him for a widower with a child?'
"..."
Faced with her endless stream of questions, the boy found himself at a loss for words.