THWCS 28

Chapter 28

“Pretty!”

At such a simple remark, Yeongwon’s face broke into a broad smile.

It was a fact that could be seen at a glance.

Just as she thought this might be the end and began tidying up, Dallae rolled her eyes and added,

“And it’s scary but nice. It really reminds me of a gwi-myeon-wadang [demon-faced roof tile].”

“Gwi-myeon-wadang?”

Yeongwon looked puzzled at the unfamiliar term. Dallae, smiling brightly, pulled something from inside her belt and showed it to Yeongwon.

It was a broken piece of tile, but not an ordinary one.

The tile fragment depicted a grotesque demon with a large nose, knothole-like eyes, sharp teeth, and raised eyebrows—humorously carved despite its fearsome appearance.

“My father drew this. The family head said he protects our Ja-do from evil spirits. And he’s never yelled or hit anyone. Last time, he even gave me this.”

Dallae shyly pulled a folded, worn piece of paper from her sleeve and unfolded it.

Inside was a dried white flower petal. Seeing it, a faint sadness flickered across Dallae’s usually bright face.

“My mother likes buckwheat flowers, but she’s unwell. Buckwheat flowers only bloom on distant mountains even in Ja-do. That day, there were buckwheat flowers on the family head’s clothes, so I dared to ask about them. The next day, when I came, there was this much buckwheat flower on an empty table.”

Yeongwon went momentarily blank at Dallae’s smiling words.

In Dallae’s story, Isin seemed like a completely different person than the one she had known.

“Is that really… about the family head?”

“Yes. I told my friends too, but they called me a liar. The elders said the family head was useless and would ruin Ja-do… But I don’t think so.”

Yeongwon frowned.

She recalled the elders’ blatant rejection and hostility.

Even though Isin was the head of the Geom family, why did they behave this way?

“Ah! I have to go to the mountains to gather vegetables. Can I go now?”

“Oh, sure. Take care.”

Yeongwon quickly stepped aside, realizing she had been holding Dallae back.

She turned her eyes and met Sorae’s gaze.

“…I still don’t know what kind of person the family head is.”

Yeongwon agreed silently with Sorae’s words.

They walked again toward the inner gate of Yeonggyeongdang.

Inside, it seemed silent, as if no one was there.

If Dallae had brought breakfast a moment ago, someone might have been inside, though.

“Family head Geom! Are you there?”

With no other servant to deliver the message like in other yards, Sorae called out loudly in front of the inner gate.

“Family head Geom! Our lady wants to see you! Are you not here?”

Sorae’s voice filled the quiet courtyard of Yeonggyeongdang.

She called several more times, but the courtyard remained silent.

“I guess he’s not here. Let’s go back, my lady.”

Yeongwon pursed her lips, staring into the inner gate.

She saw the dirty yard she had noticed yesterday, the dust-covered main hall, and the withered flower beds.

“If I’m going to take responsibility for the life I owe him… I can’t just persuade him with words, can I? The only way is marriage. I have to change his heart.”

“Pardon?”

Yeongwon stepped into the yard, staring quietly at the interior.

“My lady?”

“You said ghosts appear in this yard, so no one dares to come near, right? Are you afraid?”

“…It’s midday; what is there to fear?”

Sorae tilted her head at Yeongwon’s question.

Smiling, Yeongwon crossed the gate and entered the yard.

It was a heavy step, but one she took herself, having come to this part of Ja-do.

Yeongwon bent down near a pile of tools scattered in the yard and looked for a broom.

“My lady! What are you trying to do?”

“I’m cleaning.”

“Pardon?”

“If I want to change his heart, shouldn’t I first treat him well? My father said that to move a person’s heart, you must use your heart.”

Yeongwon gripped the coarse broom with both hands and began sweeping the yard clumsily.

“My lady! I’ll do it. Your clothes will get all dirty.”

Startled, Sorae rushed toward Yeongwon.

As the sun set in the west, casting the yard in twilight, Isin stepped over the wall into Yeonggyeongdang’s courtyard and froze in astonishment.

The overgrown flower beds, weeds sprouting grotesquely between stones, piles of rotting leaves and broken branches scattered across the yard—all were gone.

Isin’s eyes fell on the area where the tools had previously been piled like trash.

He raised his eyebrows again.

The tools, which should have been scattered without order, were neatly arranged.

“What…?”

Could the Geom servants have collectively lost their minds?

Even in the daytime, they were terrified to approach this place.

Or had the elders cleaned the place to prepare him for marriage?

While turning over these perplexing thoughts, he froze in place.

The main hall, which should have been covered in cobwebs and dust, revealing only a gray tone, now showed the natural color of the wood.

Even the low table, long abandoned in the inner quarters, was neatly placed in the center of the hall.

But this was not why Isin froze.

It was because of the woman lying face down on that low table.

Wearing a pale pink skirt and milky-white jeogori, her hair loosely tied with a pink ribbon, the woman’s face was half-hidden by her arm—but Isin recognized her instantly.

It was Yeongwon.

For a moment, Isin didn’t know whether to be angry or laugh in disbelief.

Should he be mad that she had barged into an empty yard and cleaned it herself? Or would it be madness to be upset at her cleaning?

But laughing in disbelief didn’t feel right either.

It was impossible not to understand why Yeongwon was doing this.

He had let his guard down.

Since Isin became the head of the Geom family, Yeonggyeongdang had been practically off-limits.

After sunset, ghosts often appeared in Yeonggyeongdang, and its servants were always terrified by them.

Shortly after he became the family head, two laborers working there died—one paralyzed by illness, the other mysteriously hanged in his room.

Rumors spread that one died of fear due to Isin’s temper, and another by intimidation.

While Isin was away on a sudden inspection, a maid cleaning the detached quarters was possessed, and seven Yeonggyeongdang servants died at her hands.

Rumors claimed that the vengeful spirits killed by Isin numbered in the dozens or hundreds.

By the time Isin returned, Yeonggyeongdang had been left completely empty.

Stories of ghosts spread uncontrollably throughout Ja-do.

No one wanted to work at Yeonggyeongdang, and Isin left it that way, thinking it didn’t matter.

He even found it convenient that no one bothered him.

He had never sought special treatment as family head, nor wished to mingle with the family.

Born as a “mud-leg,” he lived independently, so having no servants was no problem.

He had lived like this for ten years.

Even he had forgotten the clean and orderly appearance of Yeonggyeongdang when he first became head.

Yet today, he saw the courtyard partially cleared of its long-standing grime.

Isin trudged up to the main hall.

Yeongwon, exhausted, didn’t even notice when he sat on the floor; she was asleep in a flurry of activity.