The Grey Streak and the Chill of the Blade
'What... is this?'
Seo-ah stared at the twins cradled in her arms. Only moments ago, they had been laughing and chatting with her, but now, they were nothing more than cold, lifeless corpses. How did it come to this? Overwhelmed by the surreal, nightmarish scene, Seo-ah could only pull the cold bodies of the twins tighter against her chest.
Slowly, she lifted her head to look at the culprit. A man with grey hair, looking utterly deranged, was weeping tears of blood as he brought his sword down upon her. She knew she should dodge, but her body wouldn't move. Perhaps it was to protect the twins' remains, or perhaps her mind had simply snapped at the absurdity of the scene. The cold blade fell upon her head, and Seo-ah jolted awake.
“Aaaah!”
Seo-ah screamed as she bolted upright, startling So-so, who had been sleeping soundly beside her. So-so jumped up, forgetting even the honorifics she had been diligently using since yesterday.
“Uh?! Why! Why! What’s wrong?!”
Seo-ah didn't answer. She hurriedly scanned her surroundings. 'It was just a dream...' If it hadn't been a dream, she wouldn't be waking up in her bed, nor would she be able to think clearly with her head split in two. Only then did she realize her body was drenched in cold sweat. She wiped the sweat from her face, thinking, 'What a vivid nightmare...' Seo-ah rarely dreamt, which was likely why this one felt so terrifyingly real.
She rubbed her face dry and offered a faint smile to So-so, who was watching her with a worried expression.
“Did you give up on using honorifics?”
“Uh... that... are you... okay?”
Just as Seo-ah was about to tell So-so that there was no need for honorifics, the door burst open.
“Sister, are you okay?!”
“Noona, what happened!”
The twins rushed into the room, looking frantic. While the relief of seeing them alive washed away her anxiety, a dark, lingering feeling haunted her—the image of their pale, cold, lifeless bodies kept overlapping with their current faces. She should have felt better, so why wouldn't the unease fade?
Seo-ah asked the twins, “Do you happen to have a dagger or... any kind of blade you can hide in your clothes?”
Baek-ran asked with concern, “Sister, are you okay? Did something happen?”
Baek-ak nodded immediately. “Would the size you used to carry in your clothes work?”
I nodded at Baek-ak. He left the room immediately to fulfill my request. Seo-ah reassured Baek-ran, who was looking at her with a worried expression.
“Don’t worry. I just had a bad dream.”
“Really? It’s not like someone snuck in to hurt you at night, right?”
“Who would sneak in here just to mess with a mere maid? Really... it’s nothing. Don’t worry.”
Baek-ran looked at me with a skeptical expression for a moment before stepping closer and hugging me. Under normal circumstances, I would have pushed her away at a reasonable point, but perhaps it was because the cold sensation from the dream was still so vivid. Seo-ah let Baek-ran stay that way until Baek-ak returned.
It wasn't long before Baek-ak returned with a dagger and asked, “Noona. But why the dagger? Is it for that... Dan-ryang you mentioned?”
As usual, Baek-ran interrupted to correct him. “Dan-ryang.”
“Anyway! Are you going to go scold her?”
In the past, whenever I had friction with other gangs while with the kids, I always hid a blade in my clothes. Just in case. Since becoming a maid, I hadn't been able to do that because there was no easy way to get a blade. Perhaps that was why. Baek-ak seemed to think I was going to ambush someone like in the old days. Of course, that wasn't why I asked for the dagger.
“Just... I felt like I needed to.”
“Hmm... really?”
Baek-ak looked like he didn't quite understand. I didn't either, so how could he? It was a truly ridiculous reason. Just like when I impulsively pointed out No-ya’s sword technique last time, I didn't know why I kept having these feelings. Even though I knew I should exercise restraint, it felt as if a sense of 'you must do this' was constantly dominating my body.
Seo-ah pushed these strange sensations aside and tucked the dagger Baek-ak handed her into her clothes. As Baek-ak leaned in close to hand it over, he said to me,
“Noona. Stay still for a second.”
Baek-ak reached for my hair and suddenly pulled one strand out. Seo-ah raised her voice at his sudden action.
“Baek-ak! What are you doing!”
“No, Noona. Look at this.”
Baek-ak held out the hair he had pulled. When I looked to see what it was, his hand held a strand of grey hair.
“Uh... is this my hair?”
***
Time passed. Seo-ah, who never neglected her duties as a maid, was swinging a laundry bat at the stream in the Gyomaguan as usual. Looking at her reflection in the water, she thought of the morning's events and lifted her hair. Sure enough, the inner strands were discolored, as if they had been bleached, though it wasn't visible from the outside.
'I couldn't have... aged that much already.'
If not that, had I been under a lot of stress lately? Not really. 'Could it be... because of the martial arts?' Come to think of it, I felt like I had heard of this before. Martial arts where physical characteristics change depending on the technique practiced. Techniques that make the body grow excessively large, change skin color, or change hair color. Aren't those common settings in martial arts novels?
I wanted to open the book immediately to see if there was anything written about the Qi I received from No-ya, but unfortunately, it wasn't night, and if the twins caught me, it would be a headache. So I couldn't.
'I wish night would come soon...'
I had so much to do—practicing the mental cultivation method, looking up side effects, and more. Seo-ah finished the laundry while lost in such trivial thoughts and headed back to her quarters. On the way, she encountered other maids who had been drafted to the Gyomaguan. Among them was Deok-sam, who had pressured me last time based solely on Dan-ryang's words.
Seo-ah just glanced at her and was about to head to her quarters when Deok-sam grabbed her.
“W-wait a second. I’m sorry about last time.”
“Hmm... for what?”
“I... I heard everything from Dan-ryang. That everything you said back then was right...”
This was unexpected. Whether she had come to that realization after getting beaten up by me, or because she found out I had connections with the twins, it was surprising that she confessed to lying to a senior who had tried to curry favor with her.
“And?”
“Uh... yes?”
When Seo-ah looked at Deok-sam with a blank expression, she didn't know what to say and began to ramble, fidgeting nervously.
“Calling you an outsider... and the way I gave you a hard time just because I believed Dan-ryang... I apologize for everything.”
“Is that so?”
As Seo-ah tried to head to her quarters, Deok-sam was startled and grabbed her again.
“W-wait! Are you forgiving me?”
Seo-ah just smiled faintly without a word and turned away. Deok-sam grabbed her once more. Her face turned pale as she knelt before Seo-ah and began to beg.
“Please... I’m apologizing like this. Just let it slide once... I didn't know you were that close with those people...”
“Senior Deok-sam.”
“Y-yes?!”
“I’m a bit busy. I’ll be going now.”
“W-wait!”
Deok-sam called out to Seo-ah with an even paler face, but unfortunately, Seo-ah never looked back.
'As expected, having connections with the Jin family is a huge help...'
Of course, unlike the cold attitude she showed, Seo-ah had no intention of retaliating against Deok-sam. She hadn't been disciplined, and she had already punished Dan-ryang enough, so there was no lingering resentment. Of course, it was a different matter to tease her a little since she was bowing down like that. Deok-sam would probably be tossing and turning, unable to sleep properly for the next few days. Imagining Deok-sam like that made Seo-ah feel much lighter on her feet. This is why people should live kindly.
***
Seo-ah returned to her quarters and approached So-so, who was holding a broom in front of the gate.
“So-so. Where are the twins?”
“They are currently practicing martial arts in the inner courtyard.”
“So-so. I told you, you can speak comfortably.”
“I... I am comfortable like this...”
So-so said that while avoiding my gaze. Seo-ah wondered if it would change if she ordered her not to, but she figured So-so would do as she pleased. Hadn't she been like that last time, too? Seo-ah thought as she went inside.
When she opened the gate and reached the inner courtyard, she felt as if she had arrived in a different world. Unlike the scorching summer heat outside, the inside of the gate was as cool as an autumn night.
Seo-ah looked at the causes of this situation.
'My goodness... Ice Arts!'
The twins were practicing martial arts, crossing swords with each other, and every time their blades met, a cool chill emanated from them. Seo-ah realized that the twins had undoubtedly mastered Ice Arts. It was the first time she had seen a martial artist other than No-ya practice. Unlike No-ya’s crude and honest sword, the twins' swordplay was flashy and dynamic, as if reflecting their own personalities. Seo-ah found herself watching the twins' swordplay, completely mesmerized.
How much time had passed? Before she knew it, the two twins put away their swords and noticed that I had arrived late.
'Ah... I wish I could have watched more.'
Seo-ah swallowed her disappointment and said,
“Hmm... I didn't commit any rudeness, did I?”
She said it because she had belatedly remembered that peeking at a martial artist’s training was a taboo.