A Gift from the Heart (2)
“……”
Her face flushed bright red.
Dang Ihyeon went on carefully, “What we did for you, Huiseon, is nothing compared to what you gave us. I only wanted to prepare something that might repay even a little of that feeling.”
Im Huiseon gave a strange little smile. “Hmm... then you didn’t really have to hand it to me yourself, did you? You could’ve given it to me through Ihwa. Is there some reason you insisted on bringing it personally, Hyeon?”
“T-That... because I’m the eldest son. As the representative...”
“Really? Is that really the reason?”
“……”
There was no answer.
Only the sight of Ihyeon’s reddened face.
Huiseon felt a faint ache in her chest.
Then, all at once, she squeezed her eyes shut.
She held both hands out in front of her. “...Here. Put it on me.”
Ihyeon froze.
“I-I mean... now I’m even more nervous...”
“If it’s from you, Hyeon, I’d be happy even if it were just a tiny little thing.”
At that one line, the weight on Ihyeon’s shoulders eased a little.
He slowly reached into his robes.
A small pouch he’d carried against his chest for days.
He placed it in her hands.
Her tightly shut eyelids trembled, then slowly opened.
“...Ah.”
Fine silk.
A carefully tied knot.
And, in the center, the faint gleam of an embroidered Virtue.
“Hyeon... this...?”
“I kept thinking about what to give you... and ended up making it myself. A sachet means a lot to me. If you like it—”
“I love it.”
Huiseon’s eyes sparkled as she leaned closer.
“It’s seriously... so pretty...!”
She lifted the sachet to the tip of her nose.
A soft fragrance drifted out.
“Mm... it smells so nice... Hyeon, to make something like this... for me...”
She looked at Ihyeon with a face full of feeling.
“Thank you. Truly... it’s the best gift I could’ve asked for.”
The tips of Ihyeon’s ears turned red.
He snapped his head away.
Huiseon held the sachet out toward him.
“Hm?”
When Ihyeon stared blankly, Huiseon grew shy and pointed to the knot at her waist.
“Hang it here for me.”
Ihyeon’s face burned.
“T-That...!”
“You’re not going to do it?”
She smoothed her skirt and teased him sharply, though her own voice was trembling. “If you gave me the sachet too, you’d better see it through to the end!”
“……”
In the end, he took the sachet back.
One step toward Huiseon.
Then another.
He bent down and reached out.
The brush of her skirt grazed his fingers.
Both of them swallowed hard.
They were close enough to hear each other’s hearts pounding.
He tied the sachet to the sash at her waist.
His fingers trembled as he pulled the knot tight.
Ihyeon lifted his head.
For one fleeting instant, their eyes met.
“Ah...!”
Her face was red too.
Huiseon turned away in a fluster.
Without meaning to, Ihyeon smiled.
“This time, you’re the one who looked away first, not me.”
It was the first time he had ever teased her like that.
It was also the first time he had smiled at her like this.
Still facing away, she answered through the side of her ear, “Don’t say it...”
* * *
The sun had already sunk completely below the horizon.
“...We’re late.”
“Come on. I’ll take you home.”
The two of them matched their steps.
Tap, tap.
It was the first time they had ever walked alone together.
And even more so, the first time they had walked this close.
With every step, their arms swayed and brushed.
Then their fingertips lightly touched.
They both jumped in surprise and yanked their hands back.
“...”
“...”
Huiseon let out a snort of laughter.
Ihyeon smiled a little too.
It was dark enough that they couldn’t see each other’s expressions very well.
But just this once, there was no need to.
Huiseon gazed at him.
“Your smile... it looks good on you. Smile more often.”
“...I will.”
And so they left the lane and came out onto the main road.
Their hearts were much closer than before.
There was someone watching the backs of the two of them.
......
It was Dang Hogyeom.
* * *
Clang! Clang!
The hammer in Ihyeon’s hand moved without pause.
Chi-i-i-ik...
He plunged a shaped metal fitting into water to cool it.
He fitted the parts into the grooves of the metal tube and secured the plate in place.
Click.
The smoking stand was set atop the table.
“...Phew.”
Today’s quota was done.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ihyeon rose to his feet.
He was just about to go back to his room and rest when—
“Hyeon-ah.”
His body stiffened on instinct.
Dang Hogyeom.
At some point, his father was standing there.
“Yes, Father.”
“Come in for a moment. I’d like a word.”
Dang Hogyeom went into his room.
Something felt off.
Slowly, Ihyeon walked up the hall of the main house.
By the time he reached the door, his heart was pounding for no clear reason.
Creak—
He entered the inner chamber.
Dang Hogyeom sat quietly in place.
“...Sit.”
His father’s gaze pierced straight through him.
For some reason, Ihyeon felt tense.
He dragged a chair over and sat down.
Dang Hogyeom slowly opened his mouth.
“A few nights ago, I saw you... with someone.”
Thud!
His heart dropped.
Did he see me with Huiseon?
His mouth went dry.
“...Yes.”
Dang Hogyeom continued, “That woman. She was called Im Huiseon, was she not?”
Ihyeon nodded.
“I have heard of her as well. A woman of good repute, so I am told.”
“She’s kind... and a very good woman.”
Even as he said it, he could barely breathe under his father’s presence.
Ihyeon met his father’s eyes.
That sharpness.
That chill.
In truth, he had already known, even without being told. He knew the path a Dang family man had to walk for the sake of his long-cherished vengeance. He also knew that something as ordinary as a gentle woman’s smile had no place resting on that path.
That brief, warm evening a few days ago.
That moment when his heart had nearly burst.
All of it...
had simply been greed.
He had only been swayed for a moment by a certain man’s words and fallen into confusion.
Ihyeon slowly lowered his head.
With resignation in his voice, he said, “Lady Im... is just an acquaintance.”
His voice grew lower.
“I won’t... get any closer.”
It felt as though his heart were being cut apart.
But there was no other way.
It was the only way to protect her, and the line he had to keep as the eldest son of the Dang family.
Ihyeon crushed the remnants of his longing inside.
This is... the end.
Then one line fell from his father’s mouth.
“...What are you talking about?”
“Pardon?”
Dang Hogyeom looked at Ihyeon.
“I was going to say that if she is a good woman, then you should carry that good connection forward.”
“...!”
His throat bobbed as the words stuck.
“B-But I am the Dang family’s—”
“Even so.”
Dang Hogyeom spoke quietly, speaking from the heart.
“As a husband, I seek revenge for my wife... but as a father to my son, I would like to wish for your happiness.”
“Father...”
“Am I wrong?”
“I think what Father desires... is right.”
“Then you too should live while pursuing what you desire.”
Those words pierced straight into Ihyeon’s chest.
“A woman that decent is not so easily found in a lifetime. Try your best, hmm?”
There was no crushing weight of family vengeance in his voice.
Only a father looking at his child.
* * *
Seongdo, Sichuan.
The Dang Clan.
Deep green robes fluttered throughout the great manor.
Dozens of Dang Clan members rushed back and forth, hauling ledgers and supplies.
Several weeks earlier, a grand festival had been held in Seongdo.
The Dang Clan had poured the most money into that event of anyone.
And now, the fallout had finally come crashing down on them.
The accounts and supplies had piled up like a mountain, leaving no room to breathe.
In a hot, stuffy warehouse some distance from the main household, a lanky man was sweating as he moved boxes.
It was Dang Rim.
“Ugh—!”
He hoisted several boxes at once and shoved them onto a high shelf.
The reason this sort of grunt work had been assigned to him was simple.
He had a spectacular track record of screwing up ledger work in the past.
Of course, he hadn’t meant to botch it.
He had come up with a novel charting method, thinking he could organize hundreds of pages of accounts more efficiently.
The problem was...
his imagination and his ability to carry it out were nowhere near each other.
The result, when all was said and done, was a disaster.
The ledger entries became even more tangled, and in the end even his older sister and the elders of the Financial Hall had to step in and sort everything out the old-fashioned way.
The moment it was finished, he got beaten within an inch of his life by his sister.
Since then, the work assigned to Dang Rim had been simple.
Physical labor.
At least he had some strength and height to make him useful there.
He swallowed a sigh as he pushed another box into place.
He wanted to contribute something to the Dang Clan.
But life did not always move according to intention.
By the time he stacked the ninety-second box—
“Hey.”
A cold voice stabbed into the back of his head.
He turned around.
And froze on the spot.
Dang Cheon.
His older sister was standing there.
“W-What? Wha... why...?”
Her eyes were sharper than usual.
They shared the same blood, and yet why was it that only his sister had eyes like blades?
No—wait.
Was it only like that with him?
It was no time to be thinking such things.
Murderous intent leaked out from Dang Cheon’s entire body.
She wasn’t even tall enough to