Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Heaven Sent 5
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Ibi turned her head and coughed. Thick dust billowed up around her.
The space behind the partition had been neglected for so long it was a total wreck. The musty smell of damp mold hung heavy in the air. There was a faint rustling, like something small scurrying about. It sounded like bugs, but she couldn't be sure they really were.
Ibi peered deeper inside and involuntarily took a step back.
It was a cramped space, barely wide enough for two or three people to lie down side by side. But the entire back wall was plastered floor-to-ceiling with yellow talismans, not a gap between them.
Countless bright red strings stretched from the walls like spiderwebs, slicing the air into dozens of sections. Hanging from those thin red cords were so many bells it would be impossible to count them all.
There wasn't even a breeze indoors, yet she could've sworn she heard the faint tinkling of bells...
"It's right there."
Haewon pointed to the center amid the bells. A round table stood there, with a single sheet of paper on top.
Even in this scene that looked ready to birth a mold monster bursting from the walls, the paper was remarkably intact—only its edges slightly worn.
"I'll grab it."
"Wait."
Ibi grabbed Haewon's sleeve as he started to rush in. He turned with a puzzled look, and she gazed up at him anxiously.
"It's fine. Nothing'll happen. I'll get it."
In the end, Haewon squeezed inside.
Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle. The bells shivered all at once. It was only for a split second, but Ibi felt it too.
But nothing happened. Haewon returned with the paper and quickly checked its contents. Soon, his face lit up with joy.
"It's the marriage contract."
At those words, Ibi hurriedly scanned the paper too. There were bizarre, hard-to-read symbols and marks, but the contract terms were clearly written in Korean.
And among the conditions was explicitly stated: "Must never have sworn eternal love to anyone else." Even the date was there.
A slow but certain realization dawned: We've done it.
With this alone, that sham marriage could be voided.
September 15th.
Nati visited Flower Mugwort Tea House. Ibi had worried he might not show up for a while like last time, so this was a relief.
Whether he'd forgotten the incident at Gyeongmyeongsa Temple or not, Nati greeted Haewon with his usual sly demeanor. But when Haewon and Ibi presented the contract they'd found in the shrine, his expression changed.
"And this too."
Next, they pulled out the video from five years ago with Saetbyeol.
Nati watched it in silence for a long while. Then, suddenly clutching his forehead, he fell deep into thought.
It was a side of him neither Ibi nor even Haewon had ever seen.
Only after a good stretch did Nati finally lift his head. He stared straight at Haewon.
"Even if I told you to give up... you wouldn't listen."
"......"
Haewon didn't reply. He didn't nod either. But everyone there understood his unspoken intent.
Nati sighed and stood.
"Then follow me."
Nati led the way out of the tea house. The other two trailed behind. As soon as they stepped outside, Nati looked up at the sky.
"The heavens are clear today."
He said it again.
"Too clear."
Then he set off wordlessly toward somewhere.
It wasn't long before Ibi and Haewon realized their destination: Gyeongmyeongsa Temple. A queasy feeling stirred, but there was no turning back now.
The collapsed main hall still lay abandoned. But this time, Nati veered not toward the temple buildings, but a side path to the graveyard. Through the thick underbrush, a wide cemetery came into view.
At the entrance, Nati stopped and turned to Haewon.
"I told you before that Ta Baek-ryeong was buried at this temple. That was literal."
He pointed to a certain grave midway through the cemetery. A small mound with a modest stone, utterly unremarkable.
"That's the one."
"What about it?"
"Go take a look."
"......"
Haewon hesitated. Partly from confusion, but also reluctance to approach.
According to Nati's earlier explanation, this Ta Baek-ryeong created a fake body to descend to earth for amusement. So this grave must hold that body.
"You'll understand once you see."
"......"
Haewon seemed to steel himself and heed the words. Clutching his contract in one hand, he slowly approached the grave.
"Shall we sit for a bit?"
As Haewon walked off, Nati said to Ibi. The two sat side by side on the pavilion at the cemetery entrance.
Ibi glared sullenly at Nati. He didn't meet her eyes. That irked her.
This case had been a riddle from the start. Every aspect of it. Like mocking them by hiding clues in invisible places, daring them to solve it.
Yeah. From the very beginning. From the first glimpse of that letter.
"Hey. Nati. Look at me."
Ibi forcibly turned his head to face her.
"...Why?"
"Just explain it straight for once. Why do you know everything but keep hiding it? You could explain. Are you afraid we won't get it?"
"I am explaining."
"Huh?"
"Ever heard 'seeing is believing'?"
Ibi furrowed her brow sharply. Was he dodging with vague nonsense again?
"Hey. No changing the subject. Explain properly. For example... right, what exactly is this Ta Baek thing? A ghost? We still haven't heard that clearly."
"Ah, my dearest husband. I hope this finds you well."
"Sigh."
Nati sighed and abruptly pointed at the sky.
It was early evening.
Too early for stars, she'd thought—yet smack in the middle of the sky hung a bright yellow star, pinned like a thumbtack.
"Today, Ta Baek-seong burns at its brightest. Probably the brightest it'll be all year."
Ibi felt like she'd been smacked hard across the head.
"What...?"
"Please forgive me for greeting you only in writing. As you know, the night sky dividing our worlds is endlessly vast."
"An... incredibly ancient soul spirit. It's been called by countless names over time."
"Our distance is so great that I can't even predict when this letter might arrive. But one thing I can be sure of."
"When it reaches you, my husband, our union will be near."
"Called Ta Baek-seong for shining brightest in the early evening sky."
"How long have I waited? I'm still waiting. But knowing this wait will end someday lets me endure. Through countless cock crows, that many dawns."
"It rises, shines eternally, then fades."
"Called Gyeongmyeong-seong for driving out darkness at dawn, bringing the first light."
"Do you remember the day our eyes first met? Just before sunset. A lonely pup barking pitifully comes to mind."
"Called Dog Star for rising when hungry dogs bark at dusk."
"I am she who wears the Lapis Lazuli Veil and visits the underworld, forgiving no beauty greater than mine."
"Ishtar, Aphrodite."
"On the appointed day and hour, I shall cross the heavens to fetch you."
"And its most famous name is, of course..."
Haewon's footsteps halted. Right before the gravestone.
He'd meant to inspect the grave as Nati said, but a sudden gaze made him flinch and look up.
A single star shone softly down on him.
"......"
As he lowered his eyes in relief, a woman now stood before him.
Dragging white mourning robes, her face veiled in white cloth.
Haewon swallowed hard. It's okay. He'd prepared for this over the past few days. It would work.
"Ah, my dearest husband. You've come for me. I never doubted you would."
With trembling hands, Haewon held out the marriage contract.
"Sorry, but I have something to show you first."
"...What?"
The woman's voice rose sharply.
"You know what this contract says, right?"
Next, Haewon pulled out his smartphone and played the video from five years ago.
The woman reached out, as if to see it closer. Haewon handed it over without resistance.
In the twilight cemetery, the sound echoed: young Haewon vowing eternal, true love.
The woman's hand began to shake violently.
"......"
Haewon first thought it was rage. But soon realized it wasn't.
Transparent tears streamed from the edge of her uncovered mouth. Not tears of anger or sorrow.
Joy.
Something was wrong.
Haewon hurriedly looked at the name on the gravestone.
"You really haven't forgotten me."
The woman's hand moved. She lifted the veil from her face.
The white cloth became a bridal veil, the trailing mourning robes a wedding dress.
"I'm so happy."
Haewon, seeing the name on the gravestone, froze in place.
'Park Saetbyeol'