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Chapter 9
Until now, the ranks I’d seen were usually bright fluorescent colors.
But this time, a reddish hue like the evening sunset was mixed in.
The strange, indescribable sense of discomfort made my throat itch.
“Achoo!”
I covered my nose with my robe ribbon and climbed onto the wooden floor of the pavilion. As soon as I entered, servants brought in the meal table.
The expression “the table legs are bending” fit perfectly—every inch of the enormous table was packed tightly with side dishes.
My parents were so delighted to be eating face-to-face with us as a married couple that they couldn’t stop smiling for even a moment.
Mother’s plump white fingers constantly moved, placing food into my husband’s bowl, while Father insisted on pouring him alcohol even though it was still broad daylight.
Honestly, I understood them.
If Mok Seonhu were my son-in-law, I’d probably act the same way.
Even though they knew our relationship wasn’t exactly affectionate, my parents pretended not to notice.
This definitely wasn’t what normal newlyweds in this era looked like.
I still couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some hidden truth behind this marriage.
Father spoke up, clearly hoping his son-in-law would take his side.
“Son-in-law Mok, please talk some sense into your mother-in-law. She nags me all day long over the central gate shops. Surely it’s time to let it go now. You’re the only one in this house who can stop her.”
“What are you talking about?”
Mother glared at Father.
Seriously, why was he suddenly acting like this after staying quiet all along?
He looked like a little kid cornered by neighborhood bullies who had suddenly spotted someone on his side.
His face puffed up triumphantly, while Mok Seonhu responded with a devastatingly beautiful smile.
Even my heart skipped from watching nearby, so Father and Mother were practically grinning ear to ear.
If they smiled any wider, they’d turn into the Joker.
“Son-in-law Mok, I had some clothes tailored to your measurements. You should try them on later.”
I worried he might reject Mother’s kindness and hurt her feelings.
“Mother, when did you even make those without me knowing?”
“What do you mean without you knowing? They were made while you were there.”
Good grief, Mrs. Oh. You can’t say things like that.
My face burned hot, and I lowered my head quickly.
Mok Seonhu glanced at me, maintaining his angelic smile as he replied in a voice dripping with honey.
“Thank you, Mother-in-law.”
“No, no, Son-in-law Mok. You’re supposed to stop your mother-in-law, not thank her. Isn’t that right, Anyong?”
Whatever. Let it all burn.
Without even looking at Mok Seonhu, I answered grumpily.
“Yes, Father. Of course not. Absolutely not.”
Even though I sounded sulky, my parents burst into cheerful laughter while the corners of Mok Seonhu’s lips twitched.
At this point, I was honestly amazed by Ahn Anyong’s courage for rejecting a man beloved by literally everyone.
After lunch, Mok Seonhu and I walked side by side back to the separate residence.
Behind us quietly followed Rank-4 servant Paengmun and rankless Malsun.
I had no idea why someone like Paengmun was working as a servant, but it definitely wasn’t normal.
Could he secretly be the descendant of traitors?
A noble family heir hiding after committing a crime?
Or maybe he’d awakened as a genius by secretly learning while watching his young master study from the sidelines?
No, impossible.
His young master was basically a supercomputer equipped with a beautiful brain.
As soon as we passed through the middle gate into the courtyard of the residence, Mok Seonhu stopped walking.
“You may return now. Don’t you have afternoon studies?”
“Yes, but…”
“Studying requires perseverance.”
Mok Seonhu added coldly and sternly.
It was the exact thing I always used to tell my academy students.
I never realized those words sounded this annoying.
For the first time, I completely understood the feelings of students who skipped class.
“I don’t have to go. As long as my younger brothers do well, that’s enough. They’re the ones taking the civil exams, not me. I’m a woman, after all. And…”
“And?”
One of Mok Seonhu’s handsome brows rose elegantly.
“I can catch up even if I study only a little.”
This body—no, this soul—might be rankless now, but originally it had been Rank 1.
I lifted my chin confidently and looked up at him.
“I already learned everything for the morning session. Afternoon study is just review. I can review perfectly fine on my own.”
To truly memorize advanced English vocabulary needed for the CSAT, you had to review it at least seven times.
Most people only remembered about twenty percent after sleeping once. By the next day, most of the words memorized two days earlier had already vanished into the river of forgetfulness.
And the only way to block that river was review.
Reviewing vocabulary before sleeping.
Since I considered Chinese characters and advanced English vocabulary to be roughly the same level, I designed the curriculum so new material was covered in the morning while afternoons were devoted entirely to review.
It was a special course for my rankless younger brothers.
Of course, I was an exception.
“I’m serious.”
I looked up at him earnestly.
At that moment, a single white magnolia petal drifted down from somewhere and landed on my forehead.
Mok Seonhu reflexively reached out, tapping the petal lightly away with his long fingers.
For the briefest instant—
A fraction of a second so tiny it was almost immeasurable—
His guarded expression disappeared, and pure eyes looked at me.
Like a beam of light that had traveled through deep space for ages finally brushing past me.
But the moment vanished.
Mok Seonhu’s face returned to its usual blank expression as he glanced around, apparently searching for where the falling petals were coming from.
Maybe next time I should coat the flower petal with superglue.
“My younger brothers will study harder if I’m there.”
“…Fine.”
After giving a halfhearted farewell to Mok Seonhu’s profile, I passed the Rank-4 servant and crossed back through the gate.
“Becoming a famous CSAT instructor wasn’t this hard. This is hard.”
“Huh? My lady, what did you say?”
Malsun asked while staring at Paengmun’s retreating figure.
She was so obvious that it would be harder for Paengmun not to notice.
If he was pretending not to know, it probably meant he had no intention of accepting her feelings.
“Malsun, how are you planning to seduce Paengmun?”
Malsun glanced around before mumbling with utmost seriousness,
“We just have to keep bumping into each other.”
A bold answer worthy of Romance Rank 1 Malsun.
“Hah! This is impossible. I need another method.”
Late that night, while reviewing lessons alone in the study of the separate residence, I finally threw the brush onto the desk in frustration.
The brush rolled across the polished wooden floor, splattering ink everywhere.
One large droplet even smacked against my cheek.
Damn it.
This was like handing someone a rusty knife and telling them to prepare sashimi.
Even a Japanese chef with thirty years of experience couldn’t do that.
Memorizing the Thousand Character Classic wasn’t difficult.
The problem appeared somewhere completely unexpected.
Writing tools.
Specifically—the brush.
I’d never had especially beautiful handwriting to begin with, but after getting used to phones and laptops, I’d practically forgotten how to write by hand at all.
And now I was suddenly expected to use a brush for the first time in my life.
The moment I held it, my fingers twisted awkwardly.
My irritation exploded.
Should I invent a pen?
Make pencils out of charcoal?
Write on the ground with sticks?
But anything like that would stand out too much.
I still hadn’t fully adapted to this world, so attracting attention felt dangerous.
What was I supposed to do?
I was furiously yanking at my hair when a voice came from behind me.
“What happened?”
Ugh. Why now of all times?
I quickly tried smoothing my tangled hair with both hands.
As punishment for forgetting this era had no shampoo or conditioner, my hair only tangled further together with the ornaments until it resembled a twisted pastry.
The hairpins and ornaments trapped inside began stabbing my scalp.
Sensing someone approaching, I slowly turned around.
Under the dim lantern light stood a man with half-tied hair bound by a white ribbon, dressed in white scholar’s robes.
Mok Seonhu looked so unreal he seemed barely human.
Meanwhile, I looked like this.
“Stay still.”
Mok Seonhu extended his long arm and began removing the hairpins from my tangled hair.
I almost said I was fine and could do it myself, but stopped.
My eyes drifted to the Adam’s apple of the man standing so close before rising slowly to his smooth jawline, elegant nose, and long black eyelashes.
It was my first time seeing him this close.
There really wasn’t a single flaw in his face.
“Ow!”
One ornament with dangling decorations got yanked out along with several strands of hair.
Was he doing this on purpose because I scratched the back of his hand before?
Seeing my reddened face, Mok Seonhu asked in a tone utterly devoid of sympathy,
“Shall I call a maid?”
“No! It’s fine. Jeongo’s clumsy—she’d rip even more out. Just untangle it carefully.”
“Then since it’s my first time, please forgive me for being unskilled.”
If it wasn’t your first time, I’d be even more upset.
Mok Seonhu resumed carefully untangling my hair.
“You…”
“Yes?”
“If studying is that difficult for you, then stop. At this rate, you’ll go bald.”
As he placed the hairpins into my palm, he spoke calmly.
So he thought I was frustrated because studying was hard.
Not because of the brush.
Well, understandable.
“Knowing how to read is certainly better than not knowing, but there are some things in life that simply can’t be done.”
“I can do it.”
It’s the brush that’s the problem!
Ugh, this is so unfair.
“If you let it go, your heart will feel lighter.”
“I said I can do it.”
Mok Seonhu’s gaze swept over the paper where I’d been practicing.
Just try laughing.
He didn’t laugh.
Instead, with a stiff expression, he picked up a book and left the study.
If you let it go, your heart will feel lighter.
The expression on his face when he said those words had seemed bitter.
What had he let go of?
Was he full of resentment because he had talent but couldn’t take the civil exams?
I truly couldn’t understand people of this era, shackled for life by ridiculous superstitions.
After roughly combing my messy hair with my fingers, I left the study and returned to my room.
“My lady! What happened to your hair? And what’s on your face?”
When I rubbed my cheek with my finger, black ink smeared across it.
Messy bird’s-nest hair and black stains.
Refreshing.
I was definitely a different person from Ahn Anyong.
And yet strangely, I was becoming more and more like her.
Was it a side effect of possession?
Sometimes emotions unlike my original self surfaced, probably remnants of memories left in Ahn Anyong’s body.
After washing and changing into sleepwear with Jeongo and Malsun’s help, Malsun asked carefully,
“My lady… what about the young master?”
“He said he’s reading.”
Jeongo frowned at the realization that we were sleeping separately even after coming to my parents’ home.
“If Madam finds out…”
“She can’t. So you two be careful too.”
“Yes.”
I liked Mok Seonhu’s beautiful brain and beautiful face.
But that didn’t mean I was willing to sleep beside a man who didn’t like me back.
At least, not yet.
The next day after lunch, I stopped by the calligraphy shop.
There were so many different brushes that I simply asked the owner to choose one for me.
“Please give me the firmest one possible.”
“In that case, perhaps you’d like a rat-whisker brush or a deer-hair brush.”
“Which is firmer?”
“The rat-whisker brush is firmer.”
Rat whiskers?!
I took a horrified step backward.
“Th-Then I’ll take the deer-hair brush.”
“The deer-hair brush is made from—”
“Stop. I don’t want to know. Just give it to me.”
Better not to learn what it was made of.
There was no rule saying it couldn’t be even worse than rat whiskers.
After paying and stepping outside, the spring sunlight felt much hotter than before, stabbing into my eyes.
“My lady, my lady!”
“What?”
“Look over there!”
Where Jeongo pointed, three or four scholars stood kicking someone on the ground.
The moment I saw the face of the man curled up while trying to shield himself from the blows—
My hands and feet turned ice cold.
