Chương 58: S.04 Memory of the Clock 10(05)

Scene 13. As if no human hand had touched it for a long time, a slightly desolate air drifted through the place. The wooden front gate, already half-broken, hung tattered. From the gate came a creaking sound at the wind that pushed in. In the not-narrow yard, a black current of water surged up like foam. Drops bursting and shaping a black water that boiled up forced its way into shape, bursting and scattering all at once, and shaped a perfectly intact Su-jeong. Su-jeong, with a small sigh, slowly moved her steps.

It should have been Su-jeong's old quarters where no one ought to be, but from Su-jeong's small, crumbling room came rustling sounds along with a thin moan. Su-jeong stepped onto the 마루(Maru_Wooden floor of a hanok) with her shoes still on, then opened the closed door of her own room with a familiar gesture. Su-jeong: So, do you feel like, doing it now?

Su-jeong's chill gaze fell on the inside of her own room — where, set down at the center, bound with a 금줄(Geum-jul_Ritual Taboo Rope to suppress power), was Seong-hyeon. With black mirrors laid out on every side, infinitely copying his own form as if reflecting it without end, Seong-hyeon, in tense rustling, was working his two wrists. Su-jeong: I'll see to it that your Boss doesn't find out you're Doe Yu-seok's flunky. I won't kill your boss either, won't kill the working girls. So, just nod. That's all it takes.

At Su-jeong's calm, chilling persuasion, Seong-hyeon, watching her with caution, with effort shook his head. Su-jeong: I'll show you... once first. The sight of everyone around you, dying. Su-jeong drifted a simple gesture and closed the door. Seong-hyeon, left alone again, stared with frightened eyes into the countless mirrors that had been shaped. The countless Seong-hyeons within the black mirrors drifted on every side began to drift forms different from the Seong-hyeon set down at the center of the room.

The exhausted Seong-hyeon thrashed his body as if in panic, but with the cloth stuffed into his mouth, Seong-hyeon's voice could not carry far. Su-jeong, who had closed the door, stepped slowly out onto the maru and seated her body on the edge of the maru. Seong-hyeon's muffled screams arrived like a ringing in the distance, but Su-jeong, with a face holding no particular thought, only let out a small sigh. Scene 14.

So-hui, without even fixing her tousled hair, let her body, which she had raised, drop back down again as if it were a bother. In the living room, three people were already in a state of utter wreck, facing the lighting that drifted past the dimmed garden. Only the unkempt traces So-hui hated so much were strewn about the floor. Such a living room of So-hui's rang out with a clattering alert. Si-yeon opened her eyes and checked the large window.

Standing at the window, looking pitifully into the inside, Ji-yeong had unwound her bracelet and was relentlessly calling the intercom with the ends of the wire. Scene 15. Ji-yeong, guided in by Yeon-su, moved her steps into the living room. While Gyeong-seo, having raised her body in a hurry, was scrambling to do something with the strewn odds and ends and food, Si-yeon, who had opened her eyes, was letting out a yawn with all her might.

As Ji-yeong sat down and began clearing up the leftover food together with Yeon-su, Gyeong-seo, in panic, swatted Ji-yeong's hand away. Gyeong-seo: Aigoo!! Aigoo!! The Oldest!! I!!! Will do it!! I!! Ji-yeong: Aigoo~! No, no, ma'am. Yes~ how exhausted you must be. Made you do overtime, made you make clothes, made you do training that doubles as escort duty — even if you drank and threw curses left and right, I'd have nothing to say. Yes indeed, that is so.

Please, do lie down some more~ I'll tidy it all up~ Yes~ yes~ Gyeong-seo: Aigoo!!! I!!! Si-yeon: Ah, SSibal, jinjja, you're so damn loud, go cry outside. So-hui: Sis, what about food? Ji-yeong: I haven't eaten, so since you all came down, I came by to say hi, and what is this, a pigsty? So-hui: Ah, this morning Gyeong-seo was throwing a fit saying we should drink. We only drank a bit in the evening, but I didn't realize so much time had already passed. So-hui's voice came in from beyond the bathroom.

Even in So-hui's voice lingered a yawn from sleep not yet fully shaken off. Ji-yeong: Haa.... I thought I was going to get a meal out of it. Si-yeon: I'll make you something quick. Just hold on a bit. Gyeong-seo, with her head pressed to the floor, curled her body and stayed still. When the wailing was no longer heard either, Yeon-su, watching Ji-yeong's face, slyly nudged Gyeong-seo with her foot. Gyeong-seo, just like that, toppled to the side and went on sleeping. Scene 16.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Sitting in a circle in the living room, they were eyeing each other, the steaming stew set onto the meal table. Si-yeon, who had brought out a 매운탕(Mae-un-tang_Spicy fish stew) doubling as a 해물탕(Hae-mul-tang_Seafood stew) finished off after the sliced raw fish, lifted the lid, and as if she had been waiting, Ji-yeong picked up her spoon and scooped a great mouthful of rice. So-hui: Did someone starve you?

You're eating like a man possessed. Gyeong-seo, unable to even pick up her spoon, was busy reading Ji-yeong's face. Ji-yeong: I've only been eating eye-watching meals, I'm dying. Si-yeon, you come and eat too. Si-yeon, unable to refuse Ji-yeong's prodding, came over to her seat and settled her body. Looking at Gyeong-seo's bowed head, Si-yeon drew a puzzled expression. Si-yeon: What's with you. Gyeong-seo: Shut up. Please. Ji-yeong: Eh? What're you doing? Not eating?

Gyeong-seo, as if she had been waiting for Ji-yeong's instruction, finally and carefully picked up her chopsticks to start eating. So-hui: By the way, you're not in hanbok today? I wanted to see sis in a different hanbok. Ji-yeong: Hm? Ah. Should've worn it. The one Gyeong-seo made me is really pretty. Gyeong-seo: Oh! There's! One more left!! Ji-yeong cast a sharp look at Gyeong-seo. Ji-yeong: That one's got somewhere to be used. Gyeong-seo: Ah, that's true. Uh.... I'm, I'm sorry.... Ji-yeong: Hmph.

Happy to be drinking without me, are you? Si-yeon: Sis, I missed you. But, sis said you're not someone who can just be plain happy these days. So-hui stopped me. Said you'd come when you wanted to rest. Ji-yeong: Ha. This is why you can never fool the Guide. With rice in front of her, Yeon-su raised her hand ever so slightly, like an elementary school student, and called out to Ji-yeong in a small, child-like voice, hesitating. Yeon-su: Um, The Oldest. Ji-yeong: What? Twig? Yeon-su:.... Um, the thing is.

If I, hypothetically, had something come up that I had to go out for in a hurry, I was wondering what I'd have to do. Ji-yeong: Hm? Just go? Why? Yeon-su: Because the escort here would be empty. Ji-yeong: Aigoo, even so, leaving it for a few hours is fine, so go take care of business and come back. Get some fresh air too. It's a temporary external posting anyway. Yeon-su: Thank you. Ji-yeong: But. Gyeong-seo's not allowed. Gyeong-seo:.... Yes.... Ji-yeong: Gyeong-seo, you're nailed down here.

Gyeong-seo: Haa —— Ji-yeong: Heyy!! Did you just sigh?! Heyyyy?! Gyeong-seo: I haven't. That wasn't a sigh, that was an exclamation of joyous cheer. Haaaaooooo! Si-yeon: You really learned the social-life game in the most fucked-up way. So-hui: Ah, sis. Are you hurt anywhere? Ji-yeong: Mm. Well, perfectly fine. I always feel this way, but it's not as big a deal as you'd think. So-hui: Now that sis is our adult, always be careful. Ji-yeong: Haa.... Jo So-hui. Do you nag Si-yeon like this too?

Are you going to keep nailing me down as the Oldest even here? Hey, Lee Si-yeon, does Jo So-hui nag you to death?? Ji-yeong, with a great mouthful of rice tucked in her cheek, chewing, returned a barb to So-hui's quiet concern. So-hui, of course, could not just sit and listen. So-hui: Ha. Look who's talking, the one fixated on Yeon-hui. Yeon-su, chewing on So-hui's words, came belatedly to her realization. Yeon-su looked at Ji-yeong with startled eyes.

Yeon-su, in an out-of-nowhere prosecutorial tone, pressed Ji-yeong. Yeon-su: Wait now, The Oldest. How long have you even seen our sis. Ji-yeong, with shoulders going slack, looked steadily at Yeon-su's prosecutorial tone. Ji-yeong: Hey. I've seen her at least as long as your age, so eat. Hm? I'll get indigestion. Looks like I'll be eating eye-watching meals here too. Yeon-su: Ah, I, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. Ah. The thing is, it caught me off guard. No, not off guard. Hm.

Well, if the two of you are happy I'm all for it, whatever. Ji-yeong: Aigoo!!! Hey!! Someone drag this kid out of here!! Yeon-su asked Gyeong-seo for help. Nudging Gyeong-seo's knee with her foot, with only her lips twitching she asked silently with mouth-shape. Yeon-su: Isn't it that? What is it? You know? At Yeon-su's mouth-shape, Gyeong-seo, wordlessly, with bowed head, only shook side to side. Ji-yeong, having emptied her bowl whole, was patting her belly with a satisfied look.

Wiping the heavy red stains around her mouth roughly with a tissue, drinking down water, she spoke to So-hui and Si-yeon. Ji-yeong: I met him today. I've passed it on, so all that's left is to move. So-hui, hearing Ji-yeong's words, nodded. Yeon-su: That son of a bitch, was he doing all right. At Yeon-su's question, Ji-yeong pursed her lips and shook her head. Ji-yeong: You think he'd be at ease? Especially the people who put on that whole fine, grand front — there's nothing inside them.

He can't be at ease either, locking up his own younger sibling. On the outside he probably looks like he's flailing about and throwing fits, but, hey, even to my eyes he just looked like a frightened little uncle-boy. Mother wasn't wrong about a single thing. As Ji-yeong, holding the tissue, was carrying her rice bowl toward the sink, Gyeong-seo, with startled eyes, blocked Ji-yeong's way.

Ji-yeong dexterously bent her waist like a flash, slipped past the blocking Gyeong-seo, and set her own rice bowl up on the sink. Ji-yeong: Anyway, ah, I think I'll sleep here tonight. I've already told headquarters, so don't try to stop me. And, Twig. Yeon-su: Yes. The Oldest. Ji-yeong: Bring out the booze. Scene 17_01. Yeon-jin, as if having finished her preparations to sleep, paced barefoot across the cozy room in a comfortable robe.

The 아랫목(A-raen-mok_Heated lower floor) shaped of stone she felt was hot to walk on with bare feet, but since she was about to climb up onto the bed soon anyway, she paid it no great mind. The deepening night was draped dimly across the 창호지(Chang-ho-ji_Traditional paper-paneled door) beyond the rolled-up 무렴자(Mu-ryeom-ja_Shoulder-height bamboo screen). The thing that halted Yeon-jin's slow steps as she headed toward the bed to sleep, was a measured voice from beyond the room door.

Yu-seok: Master of the Province of the North-West. Are you asleep. Yeon-jin, finding it unexpected, gathered her body that had been about to lie down, drew the front of her robe closed, and put her indoor slippers back on properly. Moving in slightly hurried steps, she opened the firmly shut door of the room and passed her answer with the action itself. Beyond the opened door stood Yu-seok.

As if he had not yet finished his preparations for sleep, Yu-seok, in an ordinary work 한복(Han-bok_Traditional Korean dress), watched Yeon-jin, who had finished hers, and made a light remark. Yu-seok: If you were preparing to sleep, I shall come back la —— Yeon-jin: It's quite all right. It's not yet time to sleep. As you know, for me, night is when business is at its peak. Yeon-jin readily welcomed Yu-seok inside.

As Yu-seok's careful steps came in, Yeon-jin, smoothing her long straight hair as if tidying it, closed the opened door. Drawing Yu-seok's steps deep inside, she beckoned him toward an empty table and chair. Yu-seok, at Yeon-jin's invitation, seated his body and drifted an awkward smile. Yu-seok: Master of the Province, this is, in fact, my house. At Yu-seok's light jab, Yeon-jin only belatedly grasped the truth, and drew her awkward smile a touch larger.

Yeon-jin: Quite right, I'd forgotten that I'm the one being put up. Hearing Yeon-jin's banter, Yu-seok, with a small sigh, straightened his back as he sat. Yu-seok: There is something I came to ask of you. Yeon-jin too seated her body across from Yu-seok in the empty chair and meant to hear the rest of Yu-seok's question. Yu-seok: The reason you saw profit in failure. I have not yet heard.

Yeon-jin, who had briefly recalled the sentence she had stored away, nodded belatedly and made to spool out what she held within.