Chương 88: S.05 Time to Fly 03(02)_Modification

Scene 03_04. The room was as wide as the quarters Ji-young occupied. The floor — pre-warmed in expectation of guests — conveyed its heat at a slow tactile pace, though for Ji-young and Hyang-rim it ran a touch too hot. As the Bishop, having seated herself on her cushioned mat, moved to seat Ji-young across from her, Ji-young released her hand and first delivered a deep formal prostration toward the Bishop.

Unable to remain merely standing, the Bishop carefully received Ji-young's prostration as one returning the gesture in kind. After the two of them had exchanged their deep formalities, the Bishop produced a floor cushion for the carefully rising Ji-young. Ji-young took the cushion and lowered herself to the floor. Smoothing the ornament adorned with five butterflies at her hair, Ji-young looked up at the Bishop, now seated on her cushioned mat, with a smile. Ji-young: Have you been well, in this time?

Hyang-rim: So well that the very lack of trouble was the problem. Has the upheaval been brought to rest? Ji-young: Yes. Thanks to your awakening me, every matter could be brought swiftly to order. I should have come long before now to convey my thanks in person. I am sorry it has taken me this long to call upon you. Hyang-rim: No. However firm I-sim's last instructions may have been, the relationship between the Headquarters and the home temple is not something that can be settled in a day or a morning.

And I trust that, from here on, you and Jeong-seon will resolve it well between you. Ji-young: I wish to resolve it with the Bishop. As soon as may be. Even a day sooner. Hyang-rim smiled and shook her head. Hyang-rim: Ah, and — I have already sent Driver Lim back to you. Ji-young shook her head lightly in turn. Ji-young: It would be all right for him to remain with you longer. Hyang-rim: Ji-young. Ji-young: Yes. The Bishop. Hyang-rim: Please do not keep leaving this foolish old woman with lingering attachments.

At Hyang-rim's calm voice, Ji-young found her words barred, and could offer no reply at all. Hyang-rim: I only wish to rest a little now. Do not stand in the way of an old woman's rest. Ji-young: The Bishop. There is still much you must look after. There are still devotees here who long for the Bishop. And Jeong-seon — Hyang-rim: Jeong-seon has accepted it. Has understood it.

Of course, even when she smiles she will not truly smile, and even when she chatters there will be no words left to surface — A part of Ji-young's chest ached. Hyang-rim: Of course, she understands. Just as I would expect of her. Ji-young, taking care not to let it show, nodded slowly. Hyang-rim: How that young thing must be smoldering inside — none would know it better than the four of you butterflies. Ji-young: Yes. Hyang-rim: The time has merely come. The road that had to be walked has simply been laid.

I only hope I prove no hindrance to you. So — Ji-young could no longer answer, and only sat listening to Hyang-rim's words. Hyang-rim: Ji-young. Ji-young: Yes. Godmother. The honorific shifts. From Bishop to Godmother. At the changed form of address Ji-young uttered for the first time, Hyang-rim sat still, looking at Ji-young in unbroken regard, and swallowed dryly. Hyang-rim: I ask you most earnestly. To leave it all to you, the four butterflies, as I depart — my heart cannot be easy about it.

On one hand, there is some peace in being able to rest at last. And knowing it is you who will live alongside that thoughtless child, there is a reassurance in that too. Truly — it is a tangled thing. Ji-young: Just as the Godmother places her trust in us, all of us — even more than that — shall welcome the family we had lost as newly found, and live closer to one another than we ever did before. Hyang-rim nodded slowly. Hyang-rim: Today, you have come to protect us, no doubt.

But I only wished to hear your voices once more, and to share one more cup of the steeping liquor with you. I wished to serve you, too, the dishes from these hands — somewhat improved now, I should add. Ji-young, with a smile drawn close to the one Hyang-rim wore, nodded. Ji-young: Are you no longer afraid of fire? Hyang-rim: I am. There can be no being unafraid. Not now, not ever. Even so — the wish to serve Jeong-seon, and the four of you, dishes of my own making, has grown the larger of the two.

Ji-young: Thank you. Hyang-rim: Hungry, are you? Ji-young: Yes. So-hui said we had to come without eating, so we came in a rush. Hyang-rim: Good. Lunch, and one cup of the steeping liquor each. If you are content to drink until you are good and drunk, then drink yourselves drunk and stay. There are plenty of empty rooms here. Ji-young: Thank you. I shall eat with relish. Scene 04_01. A boisterous meal was unfolding somewhere in the distance. Lee Yeon, walking at Hee-jin's side, quietly raised her voice toward her.

The two of them, having finished the meal first, were walking slowly along the home temple's garden path, the sunlight settling over their shoulders. To take in the still air of The Black Doctrine was something unfamiliar even to Lee Yeon. The one to break the silence first was Lee Yeon, brushing off her own stray thoughts. Lee Yeon: I have heard that you still hold a deep anger within you. Hee-jin heard Lee Yeon's voice but could not easily offer a reply, and simply continued her quiet, measured pace.

Drawing a light breath out, Hee-jin gave the belated answer to Lee Yeon's careful words. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Hee-jin: The truth is. It must seem an absurd thing. In the eyes of the Seventh Steward, or of the Bishop — having walked so long a span of years — why I rage, why I treat them as adversaries, must be hard to readily understand. Lee Yeon: It is not so. I do not think so for a moment.

Even more — to say that one understands would be arrogance unbecoming, on my part. It is not a word I should be allowed to utter. How could I, the perpetrator, claim to readily understand the one wronged? Still — I would have done the same. That alone, surely, is answer enough. Hee-jin: Toward the Seventh Steward, I bear no feeling at all. No — rather. The one who, in the end, saved me, was the Seventh Steward.

The presence beside me when I came to my senses was the Seventh Steward's gaze, holding sorrow and the ache of regret. For that, I am grateful. Nor have I forgotten. It was only later that I came to know — that the Bishop had instructed that I be saved before the former Oldest. Lee Yeon: Yes. For the road mattered, as I have been told. Of course, the former Oldest of that time was wounded grievously as well.

But what mattered most, so I was told, was the Strategist — the one who would deliver the flower-seed to the four butterflies. Hee-jin heard Lee Yeon's words and, belatedly, brought her steps to a halt. Beyond the quiet garden, at the small pond set there, she stood and turned her gaze downward into the clear water. Hee-jin: Even so. I needed someone to blame.

Even after I had come to know all the facts, in the end, what remained in my head was — if only 'that incident' had not been, the former Oldest could have stayed by our side longer. I might never have had to face the young Ji-young. From the very start, the events that made it necessary to save my life at all would never have existed. It is true that I held that rage deep and deep within me, and carried only the haziest hatred along with it.

Hee-jin let out her long stream of lament and looking-back, but Lee Yeon offered no word in return. Hee-jin: The end is now drawing near. But I do not regard it as revenge. That is why — though I wavered — I came to call upon you. That is why — though I had no wish to — I came to see you with my own eyes. I came to tell you that the misunderstanding has long since been dispelled. And yet, to lay down the rage entirely would render the self that once held it too cheap to bear.

I came to vow that this, at least, I would not do. Lee Yeon, a gentle smile drawn to her lips, nodded as if to say that was answer enough. Hee-jin: You must think me young, surely. Lee Yeon: To me, to all of us in The Black Doctrine — even I-sim was a young child. For a moment, it was the shadow of an elder Hee-jin had been taking pains not to summon. The presence she had been setting aside — having had I-sim recalled to her now, Hee-jin's lips closed shut, firm. Scene 04_02.

FLASHBACK In the span of a single morning, every building had been burned down nearly to ash. A small-statured, blue-skinned 도깨비(Dokkaebi_Goblin) stood watching the gutted house. A massive 두억시니(Du-eok-si-ni_The Great Goblin Lord), face thick with rage, raised a voice that rang out across the ridges toward the small Goblin beside him. Du-eok-si-ni: Eun-jae!! The small Goblin started, hurried toward the straw sandals of the Du-eok-si-ni beside her, and bowed deeply at the waist. Eun-jae: Yes! Boss!!

Du-eok-si-ni, gazing at the field of ash burned past devastation, conjured a great Goblin's cudgel into his hand. Du-eok-si-ni: Find my comrade at once!! As for the dregs that remain!! You'll kill every last one of them yourselves!!! Eun-jae: Boss! We are not permitted to take the lives of the living direc — Du-eok-si-ni: At once!!! Eun-jae faltered, swallowing her next words for a moment. The Du-eok-si-ni's two eyes had bled crimson.

The Hyung(凶_Killing Intent) of the Du-eok-si-ni was a thing rarely seen — and Eun-jae, who had taken up residence in the world of the living in the form of a small Goblin, did not refuse this time. She conjured a Goblin's cudgel sized to her own frame and, in a single instant, summoned countless Goblins through into the world of the living. Eun-jae's eyes too were stained with the red of the Killing Intent.

The Goblins crossing over from the Between World into the world of the living, upon seeing Eun-jae and Du-eok-si-ni, seemed to grasp the whole of the situation at once, and every Goblin's eyes had taken on the same red of the Killing Intent. It was then that, from a house on the brink of collapse, the young Hee-jin came stumbling out. Eun-jae, catching sight of Hee-jin's wavering steps, quickly drew the Killing Intent from her eyes and darted forward to catch Hee-jin as she was about to fall.

Though it was Hee-jin's first sight of the Killing Intent in so many Goblins, she did not startle, but propped up as she was, she sank to her knees and delivered a deep formal prostration to Du-eok-si-ni. Hee-jin: The Du-eok-si-ni!! I beseech you!! Find our Oldest!! Du-eok-si-ni, who had momentarily withdrawn the Killing Intent, took strides with a pained look on his face, and with each step the earth shook and the burnt timber pillars collapsed.

Roof-tiles came tumbling down, but Du-eok-si-ni, paying no heed, came to a stop right before Hee-jin. Lee Yeon, who had come out trying to stop Hee-jin, emerged late. After taking in the Goblins arrayed around them, Lee Yeon, tension drawn across her face, scanned her surroundings for a moment. The Goblins, with the Killing Intent set in their eyes, looked ready to take the lives of the living at any moment. Du-eok-si-ni: I'll find her. Kim-seobang. But. And.

The chaff still left inside, every last one — I'll get rid of them mys — Hee-jin, unable to steady her swimming gaze, paid no mind to the blood streaming onto the ground and raised her head to look up at Du-eok-si-ni. With her upturned gaze, she shook her head. After watching Hee-jin's careful refusal for a long moment, Du-eok-si-ni asked the reason. Du-eok-si-ni: Why do you stop me. Kim-seobang. Hee-jin did not answer. She already knew that all those who had committed the true wrong had long since been dealt with.

Hee-jin slowly bowed her head and answered. Hee-jin: Those who remain here, the misguided ones — they are the ones who aided us. All the misguided ones who had taken aim at us, killing off The Key candidates, have already, all of them. Du-eok-si-ni once again let red flood his two eyes, and turned to glare at Lee Yeon, who stood there having done nothing. He leveled the cudgel at her. Du-eok-si-ni: You. Kim-seobang. Lee Yeon: Yes, yes. Du-eok-si-ni: You. Did you aid these Kim-seobangs here.

Lee Yeon managed, barely, to nod. Du-eok-si-ni, weighing many things at once, hesitated at Lee Yeon's answer. As though pulping her right where she stood would not unburden his fury, Du-eok-si-ni, seething, was the first to roar. Du-eok-si-ni: If this is a lie!!! Du-eok-si-ni's hatred rang through the mountain ridges. Yet his words did not run out fully.

Beyond the opened south gate, the Bishop entered carrying the unconscious I-sim — and at the sight, Du-eok-si-ni hurled his enormous body forward toward I-sim, whom the Bishop had carefully set down from her arms. Du-eok-si-ni stooped his house-sized frame and first checked I-sim's state, laid out on the ground. After confirming the small rise and fall of I-sim's faint breath — once it was clear, mercifully, that life still remained — he struck the Bishop's body with the cudgel.

Under a swing larger than her own body, the Bishop was sent flying limply, crashing through and bringing down a fully burnt-out house. Lee Yeon, horror cracking her face, sprinted toward the direction in which the Bishop had been hurled. Du-eok-si-ni: Across every direction!!! Your filthy waters remain!!! That my comrades' lives were all burned away!! That every last one of them was driven up into the Between World!!! That was your filthy black water!!! The hatred of Du-eok-si-ni rang in every direction.

In his eyes the Killing Intent sat deep. The bearing of one who, at any instant, would crush the Bishop underfoot like an insect. Behind Du-eok-si-ni, countless Goblins stood with their eyes flooded red, awaiting his instruction. From the wreckage of the house, the Bishop was crawling her way out. With Lee Yeon's help, she emerged from the collapsed building unharmed, but with her leg broken she could not even stand, and prostrate, she faced the hatred of Du-eok-si-ni.

Du-eok-si-ni: These Kim-seobangs who followed your kind!! You!! Bishop: I am sorry. The Du-eok-si-ni. The Bishop's voice, prostrate, was trembling. Bishop: The sin of having miseducated my child — I shall bear it. I am sorry. Du-eok-si-ni, looking pleased to have his answer, raised the cudgel high and brought it down to drive it through the Bishop. Black wire flew, and lashed around Du-eok-si-ni's cudgel with full force. Before it could reach the Bishop, prostrate on the sand-strewn ground, the cudgel halted dead.

Recognizing the Black wire I-sim had cast, Du-eok-si-ni turned his head and shifted his gaze back to I-sim. I-sim: My comrade. To I-sim, who could not even open her eyes properly, Du-eok-si-ni came near and laid his blunt clawed hand gently atop I-sim's small head, stroking her with care. I-sim, as though feeling sorrow deeper than pain, said nothing and merely let her tears fall. I-sim: To me, who has lost everything, this is the only friend I have left. Do not take her. The wrong — that friend did not commit it.

At I-sim's voice, carrying a weighted weeping, Du-eok-si-ni did not press further. He stood watching, in silence, the welling of I-sim's tears. I-sim: What it is I have done — I do not know. Boss. What am I to do now? Scene 04_03. Because she had resolved not to let it show, Hee-jin closed her eyes firmly, drew her breath out, and steadied herself. Hee-jin: Why I act so selfishly — I will not ask that you understand. Lee Yeon: I would not dare to say all of it, but in part, at least, I already do.

Hee-jin: Once I lose my own way by my own hand — I shall remain as a stone in the path for all. Lee Yeon turned the body she had angled toward Hee-jin and gazed, blankly, down at the same pond Hee-jin had been gazing into. Lee Yeon: Though I understand, if that understanding does not stop what must be stopped, I would not send the Bishop on her way either. The four butterflies, too — they would not have sent I-sim on hers. A grief deeper than hatred.

A hatred understood will remain, will linger, as a 한 (Han_Grief-Resentment) carved into the bone. Facing an irreconcilable opposite, each will level their Grief-Resentment at the other. I understand the hatred, and the life that hated. Because I understand, it shall become Han. And Han, in time, must be loosed. To have understood will not make one a stone in the path. Not for anyone. Hee-jin, hearing the depth of Lee Yeon's meaning, slowly nodded. Hee-jin: Indeed.

Lee Yeon: The Strategist holds the Oldest dear as well. That is why you have resolved to lose your own way by your own hand. Hee-jin: There is much I have yet to repay. Even if I do not step forward, someone may take the seat in my stead, but they will not be as fitted to it as I am. Lee Yeon: That is why I have understood. You yourself, the Strategist, have already understood everyone, too. Hee-jin: Then. What I feel now — is it 'Han'? Lee Yeon: As I said.

The reason you came to hold the hatred is because of a past we could not stop. To a victim wounded by the past wrongdoings of ours — to say, 'You merely bear Han, you could not have known hatred,' would be hubris. That, regardless of the speaker's intent, is not a word the perpetrator who broke everything may speak. I only conveyed that we, at least, understood — so that we may face one another with some ease.

We can only convey that we are sorry, and wish that you, the Strategist, may walk forward in the way you wish. We can only wish that the four butterflies, one day, may spread their wings carrying their own intent. That the flower destined to deliver the flower-seed to those butterflies may bloom in full. Hee-jin straightened her back, her expression notably lightened. Since the cold of the day still held, the breath she drew in the dusk wind left her lips as a pale plume.

Hee-jin: What is there I might possibly offer to the Bishop, in word? Lee Yeon, at Hee-jin's question, carefully shook her head. Lee Yeon: There is no need to do so. Truly, it is a sorry thing to say, but if there is one thing I might dare to ask — Lee Yeon raised her cold hand and gently laid it across the center of Hee-jin's chest. Lee Yeon: That, one day, it may settle in the depth of your breast as Han. Even that alone — we would be grateful for it.

If you come to hold it as Han, then at the very least it shall mean you have, in the end, understood us, the Bishop, the wrongs of ours. Lee Yeon's cold sincerity reached Hee-jin's chest. Hee-jin, looking at Lee Yeon in silence, slowly nodded. As Lee Yeon lowered her hand, drawing a faint smile, Si-yeon and Jeong-seon came into Hee-jin's field of view, walking along the path with Hyang-rim. Without a word, the two of them turned their steps and made their way back to the somewhat noisier ground of the meal.