The Secret of the Vessel
"Aaaah! Not there! Let me do that part myself!"
"Hold still, kid. You've got a wound on your back."
"Oh my, look at that smooth skin. But you're way too skinny. Did all your fat just go to your chest? Do you even eat?"
"Your hair's so damaged. You need to soak it in iris water."
Her body was being jostled this way and that. Han Yujin's half-dazed soul was jostled right along with it. It was hell. Hell of a different kind.
Inside a massive wooden bathtub steaming with heat, Han Yujin sat completely naked, surrounded by four women. They scrubbed every inch of her body and washed her hair.
Han Yujin's soul was that of a man. No matter how much her body had changed into a woman's, over twenty years of living as a male wouldn't vanish overnight. And yet here were these strange women touching and washing her body without a hint of hesitation.
"Please… just let me wash myself…"
Han Yujin's face burned like it might explode as she hugged her knees and begged.
"What's there to be shy about? We're all girls here."
"Yeah, just let your big sisters take care of it. You'll feel refreshed in no time."
"Or are you the type who…"
At the suspicious tone, Han Yujin swallowed hard for no reason.
"…can't even go to the bathhouse with friends?"
"Oh, sweetie. Bathing with friends is so much fun."
"We'll go together from now on."
They dismissed her reaction as mere shyness from a bashful girl. If anything, their hands grew even more insistent and thorough.
Uwaaaah! Han Yujin screamed internally.
Fighting a horror would have been better. This was chipping away at her sanity at a whole different rate.
A glance to the side showed Kruru suffering in the next tub over.
"Let go! This body hates water! My fur's getting wet, nyang! Uwaaang!"
Hm. Ever since passing through that gateway tree, Kruru had turned into a black cat. According to Santokki, everything's true nature would be revealed beyond the tree.
To me, it looks like half-truth at best.
Kruru was in perfect black cat form, not a tentacle in sight.
"I-I'm dying, nyang!"
The thing was being held down by two women and force-fed a bubble bath. It looked like a drowned rat, which might have been funny, but with her own nose full of stone, Han Yujin had no room to laugh.
After a warlike bath session, Han Yujin was dressed in a fresh, modified hanbok. A pure white jeogori that matched her silver hair, paired with a deep red skirt. Her hair was neatly parted and draped over her shoulders.
The mirror reflected a perfect young lady straight out of a historical drama.
"…Ha."
A sigh escaped Han Yujin's lips.
What the hell is this? If anyone sees me like this, I'll be teased forever. Absolute secrecy.
"All ready? Time to see the clan head."
Slide. Iaram opened the door and stepped in. Her eyes sparkled at the sight of Han Yujin.
"Whoa… you're like a living doll. Wanna just stay here and live with me?"
"Pass."
"Aww, why not? Did I hurt your feelings with that sudden attack? That box had something demonic in it, you know. I was worried about you."
So damn clingy. Han Yujin revised her assessment of Iaram—aka Santokki. Crazy bitch.
Iaram caught her glare and cooed, "Oh, even glaring is cute," but Han Yujin cut her off.
"Whatever. Hurry up and introduce me to this clan head so I can get out."
She grabbed the box and replied curtly.
Guided by Iaram, they arrived at the largest tiled house right behind the sacred tree. The plaque reading Gyubanggok sent an inexplicable chill down her spine.
Thick incense hit her as she entered the room. The clan head sat in the place of honor at the far end, pipe in mouth, staring straight at Han Yujin.
"Sit."
Han Yujin hesitantly took a seat across from her. Kruru hopped onto her lap and curled up.
The clan head, Ser Eunhwa, exhaled a long plume of smoke before speaking.
"So, feeling refreshed now?"
"…Yes. Thanks to you."
"This one."
Thwack! Stars exploded before her eyes. Han Yujin blinked wide in shock, a tear rolling down her cheek as she clutched her head.
Ser Eunhwa took another puff from her pipe.
"How can a girl hand her body over to strangers so carelessly? What if that bath was a ritual sacrifice?"
"…A ritual sacrifice?"
"No. Just a bath."
Han Yujin bristled with indignation, then calmed at the sight of the pipe. Technically, the clan head wasn't wrong. From the guardian fox spirit to the massive tree, the will-o'-wisps, and this bizarre Joseon-era backdrop—caution was warranted.
Han Yujin was just a bit weak to it. To affection from elders, maternal warmth. A holdover from growing up without parents.
"Tch. Looking up at me like that, all pitiful—I can't even scold you properly. So sly. Sly."
"Sorry?"
"No need to apologize. Chin up."
Han Yujin peeked up cautiously. Then—poof. Something soft enveloped her face. Only after barely peeking out did she realize she was being hugged.
Pat pat. The clan head held her close, stroking her back.
"Good girl. That box had one of Gyubanggok's own. You must have suffered. I can guess what happened without asking."
"Mmph."
"Sowol's mother—did she go peacefully with a smile, the one you saved? She must have. Entrusting her child to you, she could pass smiling. Thank you."
Only after Ser Eunhwa released her did Han Yujin gasp for the breath she'd held. The once icy gaze had melted into dripping honey.
"The lady… she left with a smile."
Han Yujin pulled the hairpin from her bosom—the mother's keepsake. Ser Eunhwa accepted it gracefully and caressed it tenderly.
Ser Eunhwa. Hand Lost But Brain Fixed a Bit. Despite her destructive gallery infamy and cold looks, Han Yujin thought she seemed somehow warm, motherly.
The clan head returned the hairpin lovingly.
"It's the mark of a Gyubanggok member. Keep it."
She smiled softly.
"By the way, child. That body of yours isn't truly yours."
"…!"
A shiver ran through her. Han Yujin scooted back instinctively, and Ser Eunhwa laughed aloud.
"What are you so afraid of? The guardian let you in, and you're sitting here now. Nothing to fear."
"S-still."
"It's fine. Come closer. Let me see those eyes up close."
Han Yujin forced herself to meet the clan head's gaze. Ser Eunhwa scanned her eyes calmly.
"That baleful energy in your eyes… it's the mark of a vessel that can hold an Outer God Fragment."
A vessel for an Outer God Fragment? Her eyes blinked rapidly at the unfamiliar info.
The clan head continued steadily.
"You must have endured the agony of your soul tearing apart. Any normal person would have gone mad by now. But you held on. Clung to life fiercely."
Her eyes grew misty. Han Yujin seized the opening.
"What's a vessel?"
"Have you heard that consuming an Outer God Fragment makes you stronger?"
"…Yes."
"They grow strong, but they go mad. They took in something beyond their station—it's inevitable."
"Ah."
"But a vessel is different."
"…?"
"A vessel can hold an Outer God Fragment intact. That's why it can contain them all. And if it gathers every piece…"
Ser Eunhwa's eyes lingered on Kruru, who flinched and trembled.
"This world will cease to exist. That's why the rule is to destroy any vessel on sight."
"……"
Han Yujin blinked blankly. She couldn't quite feel it viscerally. Me, a vessel that collects Outer God Fragments? Sure, she'd known her body was unusual, but that was it. Maybe she'd been deliberately avoiding dwelling on her gender-swapped form.
So? Does that mean I just die like this?
"Whew."
Smoke trailed from the clan head's lips. Her wooden prosthetic hand gently removed the pipe.
"If Unique Company or the Special Disaster Management Division found out, they'd kill or dissect you on the spot. Unique would experiment for profit. Special Disaster would eliminate the threat."
"So… am I fated to die? Will you kill me too, clan head?"
Ser Eunhwa smiled gently.
"Child, vessels are born with the instinct to hold something."
Her gaze fell on Kruru.
"You brought that box. You risked your life to protect and deliver the daughter of one of Gyubanggok's own. That alone shows your goodness."
…Good? Me? Han Yujin flustered at the first praise of her life.
"And not just that. You have an Outer God Fragment right beside you, yet you weren't devoured—instead, you made it a companion."
She stroked Kruru on Han Yujin's lap. Kruru tensed briefly, then purred under her touch.
Traitor.
"You're a confused, precarious child, but also kind. You might even control that apocalyptic power."
Han Yujin hadn't expected to learn her body's secret like this. She might have been dragged off clueless by Unique Company. Or quietly erased by that government group, Special Disaster or whatever.
Ah. The bank. That sky-high appraisal there. Maybe because of this.
How should she accept this truth about herself? Han Yujin dipped into mild confusion, then snapped back.
Eh, just keep living like I have been, right?
Ever since possessing this body, crises had come huge and relentless. But she'd bulldozed through them all the same.
Might as well keep surviving hard. While gallery-trolling hard too.
…And so she accepted it with startling nonchalance.
Watching her, Ser Eunhwa smiled brightly.
"Will you stay in Gyubanggok?"