Chapter 16
Yeonwon’s mouth dropped at her sharp reply. Her expression was amusing, but he couldn’t laugh outright.
“Or are you my sister-in-law? Why are you nagging so much?”
Yeonwon gritted his teeth. Gathering all his patience, he finally got to his feet.
“It looks dangerous. This won’t do. I’ll handle it.”
He reached for his sword. Dodging his hand, Dancho turned her body, and in that motion, their bodies aligned. In the process, he ended up embracing her from behind. His hand overlapped with hers on the sword.
It was completely unexpected.
“…….”
“…….”
Pitch-black silence filled the room. Dancho didn’t dare breathe and subtly shrank her neck. Her heart began pounding as if it would burst from her chest.
It seemed even he hadn’t anticipated this. She could hear his shaky breath brushing against her ear. Each exhale was fully felt, imprinting itself on her senses.
She hadn’t known that simply listening to another person’s breathing could feel so strange. The face she always saw in front of her was now behind her, only a change in position, yet she felt restrained, as if her whole body were bound.
His breath, his natural scent, the expanse of his chest, the arm stretched over her shoulder from behind, his large, broad hand, the smell of the herbs she had applied, and something else…
Like the embrace of someone from long ago—terrifying yet somehow safe.
All of it poured into her in a single, fleeting instant.
It felt strange, as if someone had lifted her off the floor.
Her tense eyes rolled helplessly until they landed on the sword’s blade. She saw his eyes reflected in it, and their gaze locked.
“My goodness.”
She tore her eyes away in panic. Her chest heaving, she took a deep breath. Even the slightest movement made her brush against him, causing the fabric of their clothing to rustle.
She couldn’t even exhale now. She couldn’t look at the sword. Her eyelashes trembled as her gaze fixed on the empty space ahead.
The few moments of flickering lamplight felt stretched into eternity.
“……!”
His hand moved from covering hers to the side. It brushed her pinky finger before guiding the sword tip back into its sheath with a precise, light motion.
Clack.
Startled by the simple action, Dancho’s shoulder twitched. It was as if he were signaling her to wake up.
“…….”
Yeonwon stepped back, holding the sword. The warmth at her back instantly receded. Blinking rapidly, she pulled herself together and looked down at her own empty hands, feeling strangely hollow.
“Please rest, sir.”
Dancho hurried to the door. Without waiting for a reply, she moved, then paused to gather her sewing needle and cloth before stepping out again.
A cold breeze rushed in as the door opened. She disappeared from view as she closed it quickly, her footsteps retreating toward her own room.
The faint sounds of her opening and closing the door, the extinguishing of a lamp, the rustle of fabric, the noise of pulling out bedding…
…and then silence.
“……haah.”
Only then did Yeonwon slump forward as if the ropes binding him had been untied, bracing himself with his arms on the floor to steady his breath.
His heart had been in turmoil. He had almost embraced her, turned his face, and pressed his lips against hers.
If he hadn’t been holding the sword, he probably would have.
He let out a soft laugh through ragged breaths, followed by self-reproach.
Why here, of all places? With an innocent commoner taking care of him? With a naive woman who didn’t even know who he was? Acting like a pathetic man.
His gaze drifted to the sword he still held. It lingered where Dancho’s hands had been.
⋆★⋆
Dancho lay in bed, buried under the covers from head to toe, holding her breath.
Her heart had yet to settle, and she curled up tightly, drawing her legs close.
She didn’t understand what had just happened.
Why was her heart racing, her face burning, and why had she not even looked at his face when leaving the room?
At that moment, no thought came to mind—only the cozy feeling of his arms around her back. Every subtle motion from him had felt as if it took shape right in front of her. She wondered what he might be thinking.
“Once you get used to a man’s embrace, you can’t let go.”
She couldn’t help recalling Bunyi’s words. The remark she had brushed off now seemed serious.
It had just been a quiet night. Their bodies had accidentally touched. It was unexpected. That was why her heart had fluttered doubly.
Leaving his embrace would have solved everything. She could have scolded him. She didn’t need to reach for the sword in the first place. She had made the situation because she wanted to linger in that room.
“So you, too, will have no entanglements.”
When he drew the line regarding today, she felt relieved that she wouldn’t be dragged into complications. Truly, she thought, what luck.
Yet, a small, nagging piece of discontent had arisen within her. A stubborn little irritation.
“I’m glad. I don’t have to serve you all the way to the government office.”
She meant it sincerely. What need was there? Maybe if he offered a thousand nyang, she might understand.
But…
There remained one thing she still didn’t understand.
The only thought she had was that she had to help him.
Even touching the blood-stained body, cleaning up the corpse, and erasing the traces didn’t faze her. She still couldn’t believe she had done it.
Why had she done it?
She should have turned back immediately, descended the mountain, and reported to the government office. She should have trembled in fear. She should have obeyed the furious man.
Yet she had done none of that. Even though handling a dead body terrified her, she wiped his tears and helped him to the end.
And afterward, she didn’t fear him. She prepared meals, sewed his clothes, and even polished his sword, staying by his side.
It wasn’t enough to say she acted out of selfishness to avoid losing a hundred nyang. True, she had some selfishness in her motives, but in one corner of her heart remained something unexamined.
That piece had kept her in his room. She believed his words that no one would question her, and though she couldn’t answer why he asked, she stayed.
Perhaps she wanted to hear something from him. Something he might say. She didn’t know what, but whatever it was, maybe that’s why she couldn’t leave.
“Was I bewitched?”
It felt as if some spell had been cast.
By the man who, annoyingly, didn’t ignore her and answered her words.
By the man who, though scolding her, left her portion of food.
By the suspicious man who handled the sword skillfully, yet had collapsed from poison.
By the strange man who, despite all that, cared about pickled radish.
Her chiding for going through all this just for a hundred nyang didn’t feel unpleasant.
Even by someone who wasn’t truly a misfortune, he seemed like an older brother she wanted to give an extra spoonful of warm rice.
Her heart felt bewitched.
Yes. That’s why her heart still raced.
Bewitched.
By that strange man.
“…….”
She pulled down the covers and slowly withdrew her hand. She remembered the warmth of his hand on her own more than the fear of holding his sword.
“No….”
But it stopped there. She naturally restrained her heart.
No.
Moonlight traced the outline of her hand. Dancho stared at it for a long while before clenching it into a fist.
I mustn’t hold anyone in my heart.
⋆★⋆
Dawn was breaking over the distant mountains.
Despite the cold, Aulmu had opened the window, restless with worry, and suddenly raised his head, sensing something pressing in.
He set down the letter he had been reading and rose from his seat. Having woken from a half-sleep at dawn, he pressed his tired eyes for a moment, then looked out the open window.
For a moment, he heard dry leaves swept by the wind.
Then came a heavy, distant vibration, and Aulmu’s ears pricked. Sensing danger, he immediately left the room.
He crossed the courtyard, passed through the inner gate, ran across the yard, and arrived at the main gate.
Opening it, he stepped outside and stared into the darkness. His chest swelled as he braced himself for what was to come.
“……!”
