Chương 13: S.04 Memory of the Clock 03(03)

Scene 09. Yeon-jin knelt beside the sofa, presenting herself with deference. Before her, Yu-seok sat with an unburdened expression, having finished every word he had to say to Si-yeon. Beyond the wide windows of Yeon-jin's office, the lights of the entertainment district pushed back the darkness in a dim, reluctant wash. A grimy strip of nightlife without a single star in sight. Yu-seok spoke in a composed voice, intending to dismiss Yeon-jin. Yu-seok: Please rise. Vice 향주 (Hyang-ju_Master of the Province).

Yeon-jin: Did your meeting go well. Yu-seok: Yes. Thanks to you, it concluded smoothly. I said everything I needed to say. Yeon-jin: Does the 책사 (Chaek-sa_Strategist) know about this as well. Yu-seok: Of course. I do not act recklessly. In any case, it is uncomfortable speaking like this. My duties are suspended, so let us dispense with formality — please, sit across from me. At Yu-seok's invitation, Yeon-jin read the room for a moment, then rose carefully and seated herself on the sofa.

Yu-seok reached inside his thick 두루마기(Durumagi_Traditional outer coat), produced a cigarette, and set it on the coffee table. Yeon-jin promptly retrieved an ashtray from the far corner of the table. Yu-seok: There is still a trace of tobacco on it, so I took the liberty of bringing it out, rude as that may be. Yeon-jin: It's quite all right. I'm the one who should apologize — that the first place we meet is somewhere like this.

Yu-seok: I've heard you have been of great help to 본청 (Bon-cheong_Headquarters) over the years. Yeon-jin: It was a modest investment, nothing more. Yu-seok: I trust the Strategist has informed you of what is needed. Yeon-jin: Yes. I was asked to rally the provincial Masters of the Province. Yu-seok: Mm. And were you told how many. Yeon-jin: Roughly two hundred, I was told, but that is quite a number, so — Yu-seok: Gather more. I will give you a bit more time.

Yeon-jin: But, 사무장 (Sa-mu-jang_Executive Secretary) — To dispel Yeon-jin's visible unease, Yu-seok drew out a name plaque from inside his coat. Yu-seok: For the time being, content yourself with this position. Yeon-jin's words died on her tongue at the sight of the plaque laid on the coffee table. She lifted her gaze slowly to Yu-seok, unable to conceal her shock.

Yeon-jin: But my sis is still the Master of the Province for the northwest — Yu-seok: If she names a successor and steps down willingly, the appointment transfers to you without a vote, does it not. It was the name plaque of the northwest 향주(Hyang-ju_Master of the Province). A plaque tantamount to a letter of appointment. Yeon-jin stammered, curious about her older sister's condition. It was not concern. She simply felt the revenge for the destruction of her business had not yet been exacted.

That was why she wanted to know. Yeon-jin: Then, the current Master of the Province — don't tell me — Hee-jin: She is not dead, so do not worry. The one who continued past Yeon-jin's faltering words was Hee-jin, stepping through the door. Yu-seok rose from his seat and bowed to Hee-jin as she entered. Hee-jin returned the courtesy with a deeper bow, acknowledging that Yu-seok outranked her. Hee-jin entered with a somewhat pallid complexion. Her high heels wobbled slightly, but her gaze did not waver.

With Yu-seok on his feet, Yeon-jin could not remain seated either. Through the gap in the door that Hee-jin had opened, a brief wave of coquettish voices and the hollow laughter of older patrons spilled in. Hee-jin closed the door, let out a small sigh, and finished crossing the room. Hee-jin: She has a role to fulfill — how could it be stripped from her so easily. I merely paused her will and memory for a time, so that she might retrace them. Do not worry. Scene 10. Jeong-hyeon jolted awake with a gasp.

A familiar ceiling. She lay still, staring up with startled eyes at a ceiling she had not seen in a long time. The ceiling was dim. Barely any light made it through. The thick 창호지(Changhoji_Traditional paper-paneled door) kept even the brightening dawn from entering properly. The place where Jeong-hyeon opened her eyes was none other than her own family home. She could not even remember how long it had been since she last set foot here.

The agony she had endured felt dreamlike—her room sat in its usual state, untouched, carrying its familiar warmth. But that familiar warmth was an impossibility. She had been away from this house for far too long. Without so much as a wood fire burning, the room had no business being warm. Lying there, Jeong-hyeon slowly raised one long arm and flicked her wrist out of habit. Nothing responded. Still on her back, Jeong-hyeon began to laugh without a sound. Su-jeong: Get up. I know your eyes are open.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The situation she was in organized itself rapidly. Jeong-hyeon made no move to rise despite Su-jeong's forceful suggestion. Jeong-hyeon: Ah, SSibal. If I'm in this state, then there's no reason left to covet the 유물 (Yumul_Relic). Jeong-hyeon's laughter brimmed with mania. Su-jeong: How wretched. It was the same question Su-jeong had once posed to someone else, on some other day.

The deja vu was palpable, but the counterpart was different, the reaction was different, and her own circumstances were different. Su-jeong moved from the threshold into the room and sat beside Jeong-hyeon's bed. Su-jeong: There's plenty to do. Wretched or not, you'll have to bear it. What's a thing like you going to do about it. Even hearing Su-jeong's mockery dressed in composure, Jeong-hyeon did not sit up. Su-jeong glanced down at her, then murmured evenly.

Su-jeong: If you just lie there, the others will take every chance you have to settle the score. At Su-jeong's calm provocation, Jeong-hyeon pressed her eyes shut and let out a massive sigh, as though expelling it all at once. She dragged her body upright, slowly. Jeong-hyeon: Who brought me here? Su-jeong: Ju-hee. Jeong-hyeon: So you were waiting, knowing. Su-jeong: That's right. I was watching. I told her to wait for you to die. Jeong-hyeon nodded, her head heavy and limp.

Jeong-hyeon: So that's why you let me walk out without a fight? Because I was going to die anyway? Su-jeong: How wretched. At the same words returning a second time, Jeong-hyeon twitched the corner of her mouth into a small, mocking sneer. Jeong-hyeon: We're all about to die anyway — wretched about what. Well, looking at this sorry state of things, the whole board was set from the start. Just game pieces being played. Su-jeong: And you're only realizing that now? Jeong-hyeon: Promise me one thing.

Su-jeong: What kind. Jeong-hyeon: That Strategist bitch has it coming. I need to have some fun with her. Su-jeong rose from the bed, her expression unchanged. Su-jeong: If you can, by all means. She carried her steps from Jeong-hyeon's bedside to the paper-paneled door and slid it open. Dawn was breaking. Su-jeong: But — A tender, blinding morning light poured gently into Jeong-hyeon's dreary room. Su-jeong: You won't be able to. Scene 11_01. Every memory received, every will laid bare.

A deep, bone-soaking grief surged with the rest. Yeon-su, who seemed not to have slept properly in a long time, had fallen into a deep sleep without realizing it, her exhaustion finally visible. So-hui checked the watch on her wrist, then approached Yeon-su, who had fallen asleep in what used to be So-hui's own room. Afraid that shaking her awake would startle her, So-hui draped a light veil of 청사(Cheong-sa_Blue Thread) and moved closer in silence. But Yeon-su, deep in sleep, flinched and opened her eyes.

Registering her own state a beat late, Yeon-su gathered herself in a slight rush and sat up from So-hui's bed. Yeon-su: I'm sorry. I must have fallen asleep... A sheepish apology. A good deal of misunderstanding seemed to have cleared—her voice was calmer than before, though hoarseness from the deep sleep could not be helped. So-hui withdrew the Blue Thread and shook her head at Yeon-su. But Yeon-su had not healed enough to face So-hui directly yet; she could not meet So-hui's smile and turned her eyes away.

So-hui did not reproach her for it. So-hui: You must not have slept properly in a long time. You were out cold. Yeon-su nodded in silence. Yeon-su: I had no one left to protect, and the sis who protected me was gone. So-hui: And now? Yeon-su let out a small sigh at So-hui's question. Yeon-su: If it's true — if all of it is true — then I can't keep being like this. Not anymore. Her voice was hoarse, but the resolve in it was firm. Yeon-su nodded.

Young as she was, she could not yet raise her head, but the decision was there. For So-hui, that was enough. Yeon-su sprang to her feet. Her eyes still carried the haze of incomplete waking, and the hair at the back of her head stuck up in a bird's nest of tangles. The hunched girl straightened her back, then bowed deeply. Yeon-su: I'm sorry for keeping you so late. At Yeon-su's still-dazed apology, So-hui let a light smile settle on her face, turned before Yeon-su could, and started walking.

So-hui: I called a taxi. It'll be here soon. Let's go down together. Scene 11_02. On the cold asphalt, Yeon-su was performing a full prostration. Normally So-hui would have stopped her in horror, but this time, she could not turn the bow away. In front of Ji-young's apartment—where Ji-young had lived, where So-hui had stayed with Ji-young. Before the reserved taxi arrived, Yeon-su was bowing to So-hui with her forehead to the ground. Yeon-su: 밀정 (Mil-jeong_Secret Agent) Doe Yeon-su.

I will engrave the 안내자 (Annae-ja_Guide)'s guidance deep within me. She completed the bow and rose to her feet. So-hui stepped forward wordlessly and wrapped Yeon-su's thin frame in a warm embrace. So-hui: I'm sorry. Secret Agent. Yeon-su did not mistake it for the same embrace. The scent from So-hui's arms was nothing like Yeon-hui's woody fragrance. And that was how she could tell.

The one holding her now was not the Yeon-hui who had walked beside her all those long years—but another presence, one Yeon-su could lean on. A small measure of comfort had come, but acceptance was still difficult. At So-hui's murmured apology, Yeon-su shook her head gently. Yeon-su: No. Yeon-su drew back from So-hui's arms and bowed her head in a formal, respectful gesture. She still could not bring herself to look up. So-hui calmly smoothed down the bird's-nest tangle of Yeon-su's hair.

Yeon-su, flustered, scrambled to flatten her flyaway strands herself, stammering as she batted So-hui's hands away. So-hui watched, letting a smile slip through unnoticed. Yeon-su: Then — I will be preparing. As Yeon-su's words trailed off, the reserved taxi pulled up. So-hui stayed with Yeon-su to the last, steadying her, and saw her into the cab. She watched the departed spot in silence, thinking for a moment. When the taxi was no longer visible, So-hui turned around.

A taunting grin stood waiting right in front of her. Scene 12_Falsehood. So-hui, alarm breaking through her composure, flung out 적사(Jeok-sa_Red Thread) to engage Ju-hee, who had appeared before her. Ju-hee did not flinch—she slid backward, letting the thread glance off to one side. The distance Ju-hee opened by deflecting gave So-hui a moment to collect herself. Ju-hee, too, did not press forward. She had no intention of cornering So-hui. Surveying the surroundings came first.

Getting pinned between So-hui and Si-yeon was something she wanted to avoid. Ju-hee: Ha, SSibal, seriously — go here, go there, orders out the ass. This goddamn 사절단 (Sa-jeol-dan_The Envoy's Legion) or whatever the hell it is. So-hui observed Ju-hee's jeering, then discarded her composure in favor of a light smirk of her own. Ju-hee: I was waiting for her to leave. Maybe I waited for nothing. Feels like I could just wipe you both out right here. So-hui: How did you find this place? Ju-hee: Followed you.

Watched you the whole way. Just wanted to learn the location, then went to run errands and came back. They never stop sending me places. So-hui: Ah. I see. So-hui smirked as though mocking her, folding her arms for good measure. It was closer to derision than composure. She brushed the ground idly with the toe of her shoe, not even bothering to look at Ju-hee, displaying open irritation at having to deal with her. Ju-hee: And that confirmed it. A Guide really can't see something that's dead-dead.

You didn't notice me tailing you the entire time. But just in case that beanpole's eyes caught something through me, I waited for her to leave first. Ju-hee shifted her footing. She carried nothing, but the simple fact that she was already dead—and therefore could not die again—was enough confidence to believe she could take So-hui. So-hui read Ju-hee's intent and uncrossed her arms. Ju-hee: I was waiting for you to be alone — Ju-hee closed the distance in a flash, reaching So-hui's face in an instant.

So-hui was not caught off guard, but saw the need to repel her quickly. She sidestepped Ju-hee's charge and fired Red Thread. Ju-hee did not dodge. She drove her charging body straight forward, closing the gap even further. So-hui whipped her other hand out, scattering more thread. The sleeves of Ju-hee's 춤사위(chum-sa-wi) swept through the air as she seized every strand of So-hui's Red Thread barehanded, twisting them in her grip. The two stood locked, tension drawn taut between them.

Ju-hee grinned wide, repaying So-hui's earlier composure and mockery in full. The bare hand that had grabbed the thread was shredded—flesh hanging in ribbons—but 검은 물(Geomeun-mul_Black Water) was already seeping from beneath the torn skin, rebuilding Ju-hee's hand to its original shape. The brief standoff collapsed in an instant. Ju-hee yanked the thread tangled in her fist and broke So-hui's balance.

She drove her fist into So-hui's face, then clamped So-hui's slender wrist in a 금줄(Geumjul_Ritual Taboo Rope) grip and began wrenching her arm this way and that, toying with her. So-hui, caught in Ju-hee's hands, attempted to break free with her own footwork, thread or no thread. Ju-hee dismissed the effort, swept So-hui's legs, and slammed her onto the asphalt. With So-hui's wrist still locked, Ju-hee twisted hard, popping the joint out of its socket. A short scream tore from So-hui.

Watching, Ju-hee let out a taunting note of regret. So-hui: You lot really hate the word "imitation," don't you. Ju-hee: So what are you gonna do about it? You think a dead me is going to lose to some phantom trick of yours?! Of course I can. At the easy smile So-hui wore from the ground, Ju-hee's expression betrayed something gone wrong. The arm opposite the one gripping So-hui dropped lifelessly to the pavement. Scene 13. Ju-hee sat with 청사(Cheong-sa_Blue Thread) coiled around her neck.

So-hui, looking as though she had never taken a single scratch, was walking away—unburdened, light on her feet. She did not even leave a parting smirk behind. A luxury, she decided.