Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Translator: Penny
Chapter 31
For Park Do-joon, who lived for eternity, Han Yu-hwa was a fleeting amusement.
Surely, that must have been the case at first.
-Creak.
"Well, here is Han Yu-hwa, the eldest daughter of the Han family, whom you, sir, have been so eagerly seeking. Does that ease your mind somewhat?"
"Oh dear, it seems there's been some misunderstanding...
It was the young lady's brother I wished to see, not the young lady herself."
"...Pardon?"
A first encounter born from a confluence of misunderstanding and coincidence.
Soon after, he realized his mistake, and Han Yu-hwa's cheeks and ears, slowly turning red, were quite a sight to behold.
After that day, the frequency of his visits to Han Yu-hwa's house decreased from once a month to once every two weeks.
From once every two weeks to once a week.
Eventually, he visited Han Yu-hwa almost every other day.
After all, it was amusing to see Han Yu-hwa startled every time she met Park Do-joon's eyes, quickly lowering her gaze.
Even when he simply wore his usual subtle smile, she would be at a loss, like a chestnut about to burst from being overripe.
Then, once in a while.
When an unexpected downpour forced him to stay by Han Yu-hwa's side a little longer than usual.
"So, you're saying you've never taken a single step outside the gate?"
"Yes. Is there a problem with that?"
They had a slightly deeper conversation than usual.
And somehow, he learned that Han Yu-hwa had lived a life like an orchid in a pot in her bedroom.
No matter how grand a Tiled-roof house may be, it is narrow compared to the world outside.
And so, the very next day.
"Sir, please walk a little slower. It is difficult for me to keep up with your pace with my slow steps."
"Oh dear, I thought I was walking slowly enough already. Was I not?"
With words and an attitude that were almost coercive, he brought Han Yu-hwa to the marketplace, showing her what is known as 'seeing the world.'
This was, after all, a new side of Han Yu-hwa, who always tried to act dignified.
In other words, it was nothing more and nothing less than wanting to see her amazed by the world outside the Tiled-roof house, marveling at every little thing.
However, at that moment when a merchant with a long beard in the corner of the marketplace offered Han Yu-hwa a pretty flower hairpin.
And at that moment when Han Yu-hwa, having bloomed a flower on her beautiful hair, turned her head towards Park Do-joon.
"Why... do you say nothing? You must tell me if it suits me or not."
Which was the flower.
And which, was Han Yu-hwa.
He was momentarily unable to distinguish.
It was perhaps inevitable that Han Yu-hwa would tilt her head at Park Do-joon's appearance, which was quite different from his usual light and playful self.
Of course, he never uttered it aloud.
Nor did he admit it to himself.
But the fact that Park Do-joon had come to cherish Han Yu-hwa since that moment.
The fact that even the bottom of his usual light banter had begun to be tinged with affection, could not be denied.
He treated her more carefully than a piece of porcelain on a small table, which could easily be broken.
He valued her more than any other relationship Park Do-joon had ever formed.
It was not an emotion that completely excluded love...
But rather than a romantic affection between a man and a woman, it was closer to a wish that Han Yu-hwa would be happy at all times, as one person to another.
...And so it was.
That he finally reached out to Han Yu-hwa, who was lamenting her fate of being married off to a man old enough to be her father, was because of that.
"I will tell you again and again, young lady. Why foolish flowers continue to bloom."
Of course, it was by no means a momentary impulsive choice.
He planned to have her live the rest of her life as the adopted daughter of an acquaintance living near the capital.
It would be a more arduous life in many ways than living in a grand Tiled-roof house.
Nevertheless, it would be a free life, full of things that Han Yu-hwa could see, feel, and remember as much as she wanted.
Han Yu-hwa also did not regret taking Park Do-joon's hand.
On that day when she left home without her parents' knowledge, a part of her heart ached for a moment, but there was no other choice left.
Thus, Han Yu-hwa's parents, whose connection to the powerful Kim Pan-seo had evaporated overnight, were greatly angered.
In the end, they completely excised her existence as if Han Yu-hwa had never been their child in the first place, so that no one could find her.
After that, Han Yu-hwa, who had lived her whole life as a young lady from a noble family, tried her hand at rough farm work for the first time, and went on picnics with Park Do-joon to scenic spots.
One day, as Han Yu-hwa was enjoying relatively pleasant and happy days.
"T, the Government troops are all over the capital. They're trying to catch you two, of all people!"
By sheer chance, an old woman who witnessed Park Do-joon's strange power reported Park Do-joon and Han Yu-hwa to the government office.
As a result, Park Do-joon and Han Yu-hwa, who became fugitives overnight, were finally caught up with near a river in a rural area.
-The footprints end around here. They must be hiding somewhere in those reeds. We must arrest them and eradicate those wicked things from this land-!!
They were placed in a painful situation where one of them had to sacrifice themselves.
But was it because he had overexerted his power during the escape?
Or was it because the full moon night, which was like poison to Park Do-joon, had finally arrived?
"Whatever happens, whatever you hear, do not ever look back."
Park Do-joon was so weakened that he could not even easily hold the fingertips of Han Yu-hwa, who was slowly turning her back on him.
And so, one step.
And another step.
Eventually, Han Yu-hwa, who had finally reached the edge of the reed field.
Only then did she slowly turn her body towards Park Do-joon.
"…With my sinful body, I dare to ask a favor of you, my benefactor."
Acknowledging that the grace she had received from Park Do-joon was by no means a given.
Han Yu-hwa, who should have ended her life as a plaything of a man she had never even met.
Apologizing, belatedly, for putting Park Do-joon in such a painful situation for the sake of a short farewell of less than three years.
"Please."
For the only thing Han Yu-hwa could do at the very last moment.
At the same time, for the only thing she could do for him.
Forcibly biting her trembling lips.
However, revealing the signs of regret and sorrow that had been slowly flowing down her cheeks for some time.
Unable to hold back until the very end.
"Please, be well."
Finally, moving one step further away from Park Do-joon, completely revealing herself outside the reed field.
Afterward, all that could be felt from the two eyes staring straight ahead at the Government troops beyond was resolve.
-Haa...
A breath was exhaled.
A breath containing trembling, fear, and lamentation, all of it.
At the same time, a quiet breath that would soon be completely cut off was exhaled for the last moment.
-They said she uses Wicked art. Do not approach, shoot to kill!!
And so, countless bowstrings were finally drawn all the way towards Han Yu-hwa.
In less than a second from then, at the moment when sharp arrowheads flew towards Han Yu-hwa with the sound of cutting through the wind.
-Thud.
Han Yu-hwa's last step to move even further away from Park Do-joon was finally taken.
At the same time, thwack.
Countless arrows flew fiercely and mercilessly pierced her small body.
Without sparing her slender shoulders, her dirt-covered chest, her arms full of small scratches.
-Thwack.
-Thwack. Thwack. Thwack….
Only to cut off the breath of that bewitching fiend, they drove those hard and sharp blades even deeper.
-Thump.
Her small knees buckled weakly.
Soon, the red liquids that were slowly seeping out, dyeing her white Jeogori red.
Even so, slowly.
Forcibly holding onto her fading consciousness, she struggled to lift her head.
Facing the clear and vast night sky without a single cloud.
Facing the place where her only sanctuary had come from, and the place to which it would return.
"Please... be well..."
She quietly murmured Han Yu-hwa's last wish in a small voice that no one could hear.
Only then did she slowly fall to the ground, completely letting go of even the last trace of life, a lonely and desolate small figure.
Eventually, no warmth could be felt from Han Yu-hwa, who had completely collapsed on the boundary between the reed field and the roadside.
All that Han Yu-hwa, who had finally passed away, had left behind was a single tear that flowed out from her right eye, which had not been fully closed.
"...Cut."
Without any exclamation.
The incredibly rigid okay sign from Song Tae-kwon, the director of photography.
Even so, he was not criticized for being harsh because everyone around him knew that it was not a reflection of underrating Ha-eun's acting.
It was, in a way, a natural thing.
All the staff, including Song Tae-kwon.
No, even the extras who had been directing only hostile gazes at Ha-eun until just before had already been swallowed up by Ha-eun's acting.
The acting that Kang Seon-woo had spoken of years ago, which focused on the situation rather than the character, and the acting in the way that Ha-eun originally possessed were turbidly mixed together.
At the same time, what Yoo Seong-ah of the past had called something that only Ha-eun possessed.
It could be referred to by various names such as atmosphere, aura, and charisma.
That which could not be accurately explained by any name was now.
'...They say actors speak through their acting.'
By forcing other people's emotions and thoughts into what Ha-eun intended, she left no room for any other thoughts to creep in.
No one on the set could feel anything other than what Ha-eun intended.
Acting like a deep, viscous swamp that, once swallowed, could never be escaped.
It was the kind of acting that was enough to realize its horror simply by facing it, without any flamboyant exclamations.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny