Chapter 3
Thunk.
A large chunk of ice floated along and collided with something.
Dancho skillfully pushed it aside with her laundry paddle, then went back to pounding the laundry.
Through the trickling stream, Buni’s chatter continued.
“So, he’s a total scoundrel.”
“…….”
“Twelve women a day. Every single day, twelve new women. Among the gisaeng, they even gave him the nickname ‘Twelve Signs of the Zodiac.’”
Buni’s paddle paused mid-laundry. Instead, it swung in the air, punctuating her story.
“For each woman, he assigned an animal: ‘You’re the Ox, you’re the Snake, you’re the Monkey,’ and so on. Then he would imitate the animal while… well, you know. Ox, Rat, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake… Goat, Monkey?!”
“Oh, Goat.”
“Yeah, that one. How could someone manage to sleep with twelve women every single day?! Is that even humanly possible?! Is he even a person or a beast?”
“He must have stamina,” Dancho replied calmly, flipping Buni’s laundry. Buni continued drumming the wet clothes, speaking without pause.
“Anyway, if there isn’t a woman by his side, he won’t eat, won’t sleep, and won’t even pee. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he always keeps a woman next to him.”
“…….”
“And his temper! If something tasted good yesterday, he’d praise it, but today he’d scream that it’s pig slop and throw the whole bowl away. Yesterday it’s salty, today it’s bland, tomorrow it’s sweet. You can never please him. And that’s not all.”
Dancho took the paddle from Buni and handed over the finished laundry. Buni, smiling faintly, rinsed it lazily while continuing to talk.
She had apparently been to town briefly and came back with a mountain of gossip. Unpacking her stories seemed to be Buni’s pleasure, so Dancho listened silently.
“He sets fire to perfectly fine houses because he doesn’t like the scenery, drenches wandering performers with water, shoves cow dung into crying children’s mouths, kicks old men in the rear for bothering him—even if they were nobles.”
“…….”
“He lifts women’s skirts on the street, humiliates the maidservants by throwing them into cesspools, sets fire to other servants’ hair and backsides. His grandfather was a wealthy landowner in the village, and he uses that power to be completely arrogant.”
Buni’s wet pants shot up into the air from her hands, as if striking the space with frustration.
“In short, he’s a completely shameless, no-top-no-bottom, disgraceful scoundrel.”
“…….”
Buni leaned back slightly, glaring at Dancho who sat as lifelessly as she had been pounding the laundry earlier.
“Are you listening?”
Dancho flinched at her words but answered with an almost casual tone.
“Yes, I’m listening. That… scoundrel.”
Satisfied, Buni continued, smacking her lips as if the real story was just beginning.
“So after all those outrageous acts, he finally got himself in serious trouble. The person he harassed in the marketplace happened to be the visiting princess. He grabbed her hair and even tore off her headband. He actually yanked the princess’s hair!”
“Oh no…”
“No matter how influential you are in the countryside, how could you beat the palace? The princess was backed by none other than His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Yeonhwa. He got beaten by the guards, dragged to the officials, flogged severely. He was half-paralyzed, and the family had to call all the best doctors in the provinces just to save him.”
“Hmm…”
“They were looking for a place for him to recover quietly until the scandal settled, and that’s when Elder Bang of the medical hall took him in. They said it was for rest, but the real reason was that if he stayed in the mountains for a month, he might get some sense knocked into him. They couldn’t risk him running around again and destroying the household. That’s how he ended up in this remote mountain village, in a sort of exile.”
“Uh…”
Although Dancho replied, her mind was barely on Buni’s story. Thoughts of the younger sibling she had been searching for all these years filled her head.
She had finally heard news of that sibling. According to Middle Uncle, this time it seemed almost certain.
She had even sent a letter through Middle Uncle, and a reply would come soon. Just thinking about it made her heart race; she couldn’t eat, sleep, or focus on work.
No matter how passionately Buni spoke, it barely registered in her mind.
“…So!”
Thunk. Buni slammed the water-soaked jeogori onto a rock and widened her eyes.
“I really don’t understand why you decided to take this job.”
Dancho blinked, still lost in thought.
“…Huh?”
“Why would you serve a disgusting scoundrel like that? Elder Bang was born obsessed with money, sure, but why would you get involved? The elder will probably just brew a few potions and wander around while all the hard work falls on you. Why voluntarily take on such suffering for someone so utterly shameless? Huh!”
Just then, Dancho, having grown taller in the moment, shoved the laundry basket into Buni’s arms. Before Buni could react, Dancho grabbed the paddle and bolted away.
“Wait, what—what’s going on?!”
Without even looking back, Dancho shouted:
“I have to go meet him!”
“Meet him? Who?”
“The scoundrel you were talking about!”
Dancho swung the paddle like a weapon as he ran.
Buni gaped, dumbfounded.
“Why the paddle?!”
He moved so fast that he already looked as small as an ant from behind. Buni called out one more time:
“Thanks for helping with the laundry!”
The stream replied with a soft gurgle. Buni sniffed and wrung out the water-soaked laundry.
“Anyway, Dancho’s just far too compassionate…”
No doubt the elder must have complained about it, otherwise why would he take this job?
“You foolish, foolish boy, oblivious to how the elder exploits you.”
Muttering affectionately, Buni finished her work quickly, eager to catch a glimpse of the shameless scoundrel herself. Then suddenly she muttered:
“I hope that scoundrel gets lost on the way to Bangbangyi Pass.”
Satisfied with her curse, she smiled as the laundry piled neatly in the basket.
⋆★⋆
Uh-oh.
Dancho looked up at the sky, clutching his skirts and quickening his pace. Soon, it looked like the snow would start pouring again.
“Of all days, it has to be today.”
The freshly fallen snow already reached his knees with every step. If he didn’t escort the guest quickly, the mountain would be blocked by snow. On a day like this, freezing to death would be inevitable.
“Today’s timing… just perfect.”
He gasped for air. The mountain trail was rough enough, and the thick snow made every step exhausting. His nose was cold, his forehead dripping with sweat.
Fortunately, taking a shortcut gave him some buffer to reach on time. But he couldn’t slow down—not when failing the task meant freezing the guest to death.
Haah… Hoo…
To bring his sibling back, he needed money. A ransom of a whopping 100 nyang.
He had been saving desperately, but it wasn’t even close. Just when he was struggling for a way to gather that huge sum, Elder Bang made a proposal: take care of Lord Mangjong for a month, and get 50 nyang.
Dancho knew the truth. If Elder Bang was willing to give 50 nyang, he likely profited at least five times more. The reputation of Lord Mangjong was notoriously terrible.
“100 nyang, please.”
“What? Do you even know how much money that is? A thirteen-room tiled house in Bukchon costs 150 nyang.”
He said it boldly, knowing no one else could do the job.
Most visitors to the mountain retreat were patients. While there might be plenty of servants, finding a skilled worker like Dancho who could handle herbs and treatment properly was nearly impossible.
“120 nyang.”
“Dancho…”
“130 nyang.”
“Dancho…”
“140 nyang. That’s my final offer, or I’m leaving.”
“Fine. 100 nyang. Let’s do it for 100 nyang.”
Dancho didn’t care how much Elder Bang profited. For her, 100 nyang was enough.
She was uncompromising about wages, but she knew the elder wouldn’t give any more. Likewise, the elder had no other capable worker, so the agreement suited both.
“Food and other expenses for the lord are separate.”
“Why are you suddenly so strict? You were strict already, but now even more—”
“50 nyang upfront.”
To Dancho, Lord Mangjong was literally a heaven-sent opportunity. Take care of him properly, and she could gather the ransom money to bring back her sibling.
“I hope he hasn’t gone wandering off on his own.”
She felt anxious. She’d heard the lord was temperamental and impatient—not someone who would quietly wait.
“Do whatever you want, just stay near Bangbangyi Pass.”
On heavily snowed Mt. Muwol, there was a place called Bangbangyi Pass. In winter, outsiders often got lost wandering in circles, hence the name.
Even locals could easily get trapped there, sometimes freezing to death until spring.
Of course, surviving it meant avoiding becoming food for the white tiger said to roam the pass.
On heavy snow days, Dancho sometimes earned money as a guide. Being able to see the mountain like the palm of her hand made it a lucrative job.
Thunk-thud.
A branch, weighed down by snow, dropped a lump. Dancho dodged skillfully and stepped forward.
“Who’s there?”
