“wirimwasawoman.”
AtPaehyeon’sstrangelookandquietwords,Jaegyeomstoppedbreathingaltogether.
“...What?”
Disbeliefspreadplainlyacrosshisface.
wirimwasawoman?
twasalmostimpossibletobelieve.
hinkingback,wirimhadbeensmallerthanMyojeong,withaslighterframeaswell.ButJaegyeomhimselfhadbeenveryyoungatthetime,farsmallerthanhewasnow,sotohiseyes,wirimhadsimplylookedlikeanordinarygrownman.
otonlythat,wirimhadwornherhaircroppedshort.Shedressedlikeamantoo,andherswordsmanshiphadbeensooverwhelmingthatevenMyojeongacknowledgedhersuperiority.erpersonalityhadbeencool-headed,easygoing,broad-minded—everythingJaegyeomhadinstinctivelyconsideredmasculine.
Andbecauseshehadlivedsofaroutsidethecustomsandetiquetteofthatera,hehadnaturallyassumedshewasaman.
“Butherhairwasshort,andshewasthegreatestswordsmanunderheaven...”
Jaegyeomstammeredouttheprotestbeforetrailingoffhalfwaythrough.
venashespoke,herealizednoneofthosethingsactuallybelongedonlytomen.
herewasnoreasonawomancouldnotcutherhairshortinthosetimes.
oreasonawomancouldnotbecomethegreatestswordsmanunderheaven.
Besides—
hadn’therecentlymistakensomeoneelseforamantoo?
Youmusthavethoughtwasaman.
Suhyang,whomhehadmetlongago,hadalsowornahorsehairhatandascholar’srobe.
Backthen,wanderedarounddisguisedasaman.Anyoneunfamiliarwithwomenprobablywouldn’thavenoticed.Butinthosedays,itwasn’tparticularlyunusual.hereweremanywomenwhodisguisedthemselvesasmen.twassimplyadifficultworldforwomentosurvivein.
ookingutterlybewildered,Jaegyeompressedahandagainsthisjaw.
oway.
wirimwasawoman...
ewasalreadystunnedenoughbythatrevelationalone.
Butshehadalsobeencarryingachild.
AsJaegyeomreeledfromtheimpossiblestory,asentencesuddenlyflashedthroughhismindlikelightning.
DoyouknowthatMyojeonghasalover?
Acoldshivercrawledslowlydownhisspine.
Why—
whydidthatmemorysurfacenow,ofalltimes?
owthatheknewwirimwasawoman,thethingsSuhyanghadoncesaidabruptlybeganfallingintoplacelikeobstaclesscatteredacrosshispath.
twasstrange.
Completelybaseless,andyet—
thevaguepremonitionthathadlingeredsomewhereinthebackofhismindwasrapidlysolidifyingintocertainty.
o...itcan’tbe...
Cometothinkofit,afterreunitingwithwirimyearslater,Myojeongwoulddisappearforseveraldayswhenevertheseasonschanged.
ealwayssaidhewasgoingtovisitwirim,wholivedfaraway.
Andeverysingletimehelefttoseeher,hehadseemedoddlyexcited.
Butwhenhereturned,hewouldalwayswearastrangelytroubled#оvеlight#expression.
Sometimesheevenpacedaroundtheyardwhilewaitingforlettersfromwirimtoarrive.
venJaegyeom,whowashopelesswhenitcametounderstandinghumanrelationships,hadknownbackthenthatsomethingaboutitwasdifferent.
Still,hehaddismisseditasnothingmorethantheclosenessbetweenoldfriends.
Myojeonghadintroducedwirimasanoldcompanion,andthetwotrulyhadseemedcloseandinformalwitheachother.
Yetsomehow,evenamidthatfamiliarity,therehadalwaysbeenastrangetensionbetweenthem.Alingeringsenseofrestraint.
Coulditbe—
couldtheloverSuhyangmentionedreallyhavebeenwirim?
“hen...thechild...”
Jaegyeomhesitatedbeforeaskingunevenly,
“Doyouknowwhothefatherwas?”
Paehyeonshookhishead.
“hat,donotknow.”
ehadonlytraveledtogetherwithwirimforasingleseason.
heyhadneverbeenparticularlyclosetobeginwith.Afterward,theymerelycrossedpathsfromtimetotime,andPaehyeonknewverylittleaboutherprivateaffairs.
obeginwith,hehadlittleinterestinhumanlives.
Andevenifhehadcared,pryingintoothers’personalmatterssimplywasnotinhisnature.
Besides,wirimherselfhadnotbeensomeonewhospokemuchaboutherownlife.
Stillgrippinghischin,Jaegyeomsankintothoughtwithastunnedexpression.
Myojeongwasamanwhoshouldneverhavelovedanyone.
Cometothinkofit,eventhegodofcalamityhadoncesaidsomethingstrange.
Youbrat.’minnopositiontomarry,evenifwantedto.
Cansomeonegetmarriedalone?Youneedanotherpersonforthat.
AndMyojeonghadsaidsimilarthingstoo.
Forsomereason,hehadbeensomeonewhocouldnotmarry.
herewasnoproof.
othingconcrete.
ehadneveractuallywitnessedanythingsuspicious.
Andyet—
theintuitionpressingagainsthimnowwasstrangelypowerful.
tfeltasthoughcountlessscatteredfragmentswerefinallysnappingtogetherintoasingleshape.
WhatifMyojeong’sloverreallyhadbeenwirim?
WhatifthechildwirimcarriedhadbeenMyojeong’s?
adMyojeongintendedtobuildafamily?
henhowhadwirimdied?
hemomenthisthoughtsreachedthatpoint,hisheartbeganhammeringviolently.
“hen...whathappenedtothechild?”
Jaegyeomaskedabruptly.
“Diditdietoo?”
“Whoknows?twastwohundredyearsago.”
nlyafterhearingtheanswerdidJaegyeomrealizehowfoolishthequestionhadbeen.
wocenturieshadpassed.
Myojeongandwirimwerebothlongdead,andevenifachildhadexistedbetweenthem,wonderingnowwhetherithadlivedordiedwasmeaningless.
Rightthen—
BA!
hedoorbehindthemburstopen.
Jaegyeomflinchedandturnedsharplyaround.
Yoonaeheestoodthereexpressionlessly.
isgazefirstlandedontheswordlyingonthefloorbeforeslowlyliftingtowardJaegyeom.
“......”
“......”
Withacoolexpression,aeheesilentlyheldJaegyeom’sgaze.
ehadwokenafterhearingnoiseandassumedhewouldfindJaegyeomandPaehyeonfighting.
ehadexpectedchaos.
nstead,thetwohadapparentlybeenhavingaconversation.
aeheebrieflyglancedpastJaegyeomtowardPaehyeon,asthoughsilentlyaskingwhathadhappened.
Atthatmoment,Jaegyeomnarrowedhiseyes.
“You...”
esuddenlystrodestraighttowardaehee.
hemurderouspressureradiatingfromhimwassointensethataeheebrieflythoughtJaegyeomwasabouttoslaphimforlockinghiminside.
Butinstead—
Jaegyeomabruptlyseizedthefrontofaehee’sdurumagi.
“You—this...”
isvoiceshook.
“Wheredidyougetthis?”
aeheeflinchedslightlyandlookeddown.
“hiscoat.Wheredidyougetit?!”
“...What?”
aeheeaskedblankly,unabletounderstandthesituation.
“owdoyouhavethiscoat...?”
Jaegyeom’shandgrippingthefabrictrembledviolently.
“his...thisisthecoatMyojeongusedtowear...”
isfingerstightenedaroundthetiesoftherobe.
herewasnomistake.
Attachedtotheknotwasasmallleaf-shapedembroiderysewnincrookedthread.
twastheleafJaegyeomhimselfhadstitchedontoMyojeong’scoatlongagowiththehelpofagovernmentslave.
“......”
aeheefrozeandlookeddownathisownclothes.
“Whatdidyoujustsay?”
“saidthisisthecoatsewedforMyojeong.”
Jaegyeomspatthewordsoutthroughtremblingbreaths.
“......”
Atthesuddenrevelation,aehee’sbrowsslowlyfurrowed.
“Answerme!”
Jaegyeomshouted,clutchingthecoattiestightly.
“Wheredidyougetthiscoat?!”
ecouldnotunderstandwhyYoonaeheewaswearingsomethingthatbelongedtoMyojeong.
ehadfailedtonoticeitearlierbecausehismindhadbeentoochaotic,butnowthathesawitclearly,therewasnopossibilityofmistake.
hecrookedembroideredleafwasunique.
nlyonecoatintheworldcarriedit.
“hiscoatbelongedtoSaero.”
Ataehee’sanswer,Jaegyeomstaredathimwithshakingeyes.
“...Saero?”
“Yes.neoftheintelligentghosts.”
Jaegyeomdrewaraggedbreath.
heviolentagitationconsuminghimmomentsagoabruptlyfaltered.
“......”
henhisfaceslowlyhardened.
“’mnotfallingforyourtricksanymore.”
“What?”
“hat’salie.”
AllthecolorhaddrainedfromJaegyeom’sface.
“-ellmethetruth.”
Anoverwhelmingterrorsuddenlyseizedhim.
“You...”
isvoicetrembleduncontrollably.
“W-Whatexactlyareyou...?”
Ashespoke,JaegyeomslowlybackedawayfromYoonaehee.
