Chapter 7

Does that mean she grew old in this neighborhood as an unmarried single woman? No, why? When I tilted my head in confusion, the grandmother let out a deep sigh and said, "How could I carelessly form a bond? I am someone who lived in the 99-room mansion of a High Minister. Who knew I would be buried in a countryside village like this for 40 years." Where are there High Ministers in this day and age? Of course, it must be a metaphor. It likely means she was born and raised in a wealthy family

"Ah, is that so?" When I played along appropriately, the grandmother smiled brightly and said, "In the past, people would exclaim that I was elegant and beautiful whenever they saw me. There were even people who shed tears upon seeing my face shining like a pearl." "You are still elegant now." That was true. Including Mrs. Han Su-ja, all the village grandmothers had broccoli-style permed hair. But this grandmother wore her hair in a bun and was dressed in a white traditional jacket and a skirt embroidered with light indigo bamboo.‘Come to think of it, only this grandmother is wearing traditional clothes?’ I felt a sudden chill, but I decided to ignore it

I came out of the village hall with her, so surely she isn't "one of those," right? No. It can't be. I suppressed the ominous feeling and opened my mouth. "I like it here. Seoul is too complicated." I rambled on, saying I lived with headaches and my tinnitus got so bad I eventually had to throw my resignation letter at the company. I told her the hospital called it a stress disorder, but it didn't improve even with medication. But after coming here, the illness disappeared as if washed away, and I chuckled, saying I even made a lot of money

I didn't mention the meteorite, though. "I feel like I've found a new life. Every day I think, 'let it be just like today'." After pouring out my inner thoughts, I felt relieved, and my heart became strangely light. It felt as if I had emptied out even the smallest dregs remaining in my mind. "You must have suffered a lot." The grandmother patted my arm. "The reason your body was sick until now was because your spirit was clear, so it was painful. Miscellaneous things must have tried to cling to you." "M-Miscellaneous things?" "That's right

Not long ago, your Spirit Eye opened, and you became able to protect yourself." I understood half of the grandmother's words, but half of them I didn't want to understand. "When you say Spirit Eye opened... are you saying I have the potential to be a shaman or something like that? I haven't thought about that path at all." In the past few days, I had experienced many things that couldn't be explained logically. However, I didn't want to go any deeper into it. My wish was to fix the abandoned house beautifully and live like a retired scholar

The blueprints sent by my friend Go Minseok were nearing completion, so before winter came, it would transform into a magnificent traditional house. I liked things exactly as they were right now. As if she already knew my heart, the grandmother said with a smile, "It will be as you wish. You are of a different class." "Class?" "There are classes even among mediums. You are receiving the energy of the entire universe with your whole body." Is that why the meteorite fell right next to the tent where I was sleeping? Even though I should have just let it slide, I couldn't

I couldn't suppress my curiosity. "But Grandmother, how do you know that?" "Living for a long time made me that way." The grandmother continued speaking. "Don't even mention things like shamans. Aren't shamans those who tell fortunes through low-level spirits? They even do vulgar things using ghosts." The grandmother shook her head in disgust. "I nagged so much that one should absolutely never mix words with such things, but the Foreman-before-previous didn't listen to me. He brought a shaman and performed an exorcism." The grandmother had just said earlier that the "Foreman-before-previous" was the limping old man in the New Village hat I saw

But she advised him? I shortened my stride to put ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠some distance between the grandmother and myself. If something scary happens, I intend to recite the Lord's Prayer and run. But I don't know if that will be effective. The grandmother stopped abruptly and turned back to me. "Well, the Foreman-before-previous probably couldn't hear my words fully. He was a person with low spiritual power. But he wasn't completely without spiritual power like the current Foreman." The current Foreman has no spiritual power? "B-By the way, Grandmother, you seem to know everything." Honestly, I regretted asking

Unless she is a senile elder, this person is a ghost. "Didn't I say it earlier? Living a long time made me this way. I gained a Spirit Eye too." "Uh. How long have you lived?" "It's been a very long time. Ah. By the way, do streetcars still run in Gyeongseong these days?" "Uh-heuk!" I made a crying face. I knew it. How would a senile elder know Gyeongseong? Hanyang was the name of the capital during the Joseon Dynasty, and Hanseong was the capital of the Korean Empire. And isn't Gyeongseong the name of the capital during the Japanese colonial period? The grandmother continued with a wistful expression

"Before coming to this village, I lived in Busan, and before that, it was Gyeongseong." "Yes. I see. Shall I buy you a bus ticket at the terminal tomorrow? Gyeongseong has become Seoul; would you like to go visit?" There are no buses to Gyeongseong, but surely it just means going to Seoul. The words about sending her to Seoul just slipped out. It's the first time I've heard of sending a ghost on a bus, but it didn't seem impossible. Sure enough, the grandmother looked very happy and said with a bright face, "Will you do that? You mean you will send me to Gyeongseong." "Yes, I will." "Thank you

You will receive great blessings." The grandmother gestured with her chin toward the middle of the hill. "We're almost there. That house over there is where the old man you saw used to live. It seems he's acting as the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Village Foreman even in death." The grandmother quickened her pace, but I shook my head. "I don't really want to go there right now. It's too late." Anyway, the Foreman-before-previous lived in that house halfway up the hill, and he is the old man in the New Village hat. Knowing that is enough

He wasn't a Mountain God or a spiritual creature, but a ghost. Of course, neither of them seemed likely to harm me. Still... "I'll come back tomorrow when it's bright. I'm tired." "Is that so? Then shall I go down too? I'll guide you." The grandmother turned around, came in front of me, and started going down the hill. How considerate of her. I walked behind the grandmother, trembling. But then... The grandmother, who had been leading the way, stopped abruptly. "This is where I live. Isn't it shabby? It's absurd." "G-Grandmother, this is where the Go-Stop grandmother lives." I had just walked the "Go-Stop Queen" grandmother, who had swept up all the village elders' spare change, to this very place a little while ago

But this grandmother says she lives here too. "The Foreman-before-previous gave me to this house. How could he have such poor judgment?" "Gave? He gave you to this house?" "That's right. That absent-minded woman treats me so poorly, I live covered in filth every day." The grandmother looked at me with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠teary eyes as if asking for help. "Hurry and follow me. That's how you'll send me to Gyeongseong." The grandmother abruptly entered the yard. Since I had just escorted the Go-Stop grandmother, I knew the structure of the house

If you open the sliding glass door on the left side of the yard and enter, that's the Go-Stop grandmother's living quarters. But the grandmother with the bun passed the water tap and climbed onto the crock platform. "You must take me to Gyeongseong, understand?" With those words, the grandmother disappeared into a white jar placed between the earthenware crocks. ‘Ah, what is that? What am I supposed to do if she disappears like smoke?’ I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them, then looked around quickly

"It's not a dream!" I stood there for a long time before moving toward the crock platform. Although it was grimy, the shape of the jar was very unique. Should I say it was elegant and stylish? "White porcelain? Joseon white porcelain?" I didn't know much about antique art, but this was definitely not something to be left neglected like this. Suddenly, the grandmother's words came to mind. "How do I know all that? Living a long time made me gain a Spirit Eye." Wait, so does that mean a soul that has mastered the world has formed inside this object? Ah, I don't know! I was shaking my head vigorously when..

"No, young man, what are you doing holding the chamber pot jar?" The Go-Stop grandmother must have woken up; she opened the sliding door and came out. "You hadn't gone home yet? Why, do you need to pee? The toilet is over there; don't pee in the chamber pot." "Ch-Chamber pot?" "Yeah, that's a chamber pot jar. If you like it, take it." "Oh no, I can't. This might be late Joseon white porcelain. If it's incredibly expensive, what will you do?" "Aigo, hahaha! It’s not me who has dementia, but you, young man!" The Go-Stop grandmother held her belly and laughed

"The Foreman-before-previous gave that to my husband to use as a urinal when he collapsed from a stroke." "Yes?" The words the grandmother said fit perfectly. "The Foreman-before-previous gave me to this house. How could he have such poor judgment?" "My husband died, and I couldn't bring myself to throw it away, so I just left it there. You take it and use it. Where you live doesn't have a toilet yet, right?" "Oh no, seriously, if this is an antique, it will be incredibly expensive." "So take it

I don't need it." The Go-Stop grandmother pulled a towel hanging on the clothesline and wiped the moisture off the white porcelain. "Here, hurry and take it. I need to go to the bathroom and sleep some more." "What should I do?" I went to the valley and washed the white porcelain cleanly. Since I was there, I washed my face and brushed my teeth too. I had installed garden lights with solar modules along the path to the valley and near the water. Although I had electricity connected from the power company, keeping lights on all night around the valley was wasteful

Once the electricity gathered by the solar collection panels ran out, the lights would turn off. It seemed unlikely to harm nocturnal animals. "Looking at it like this, it looks even more precious, doesn't it?" The wet white porcelain shone even more brightly under the soft lighting. ‘It really seems to be white porcelain crafted by a master artisan.’ The soul contained in this white porcelain (I don't know if it's a soul, but) said she wanted to go to Gyeongseong. If I wrap just the white porcelain and send it to my house in Seoul by courier, will that fulfill the grandmother's wish? ‘No.’ The grandmother missed the days when she lived in a 99-room High Minister's mansion and received precious treatment

Then does that mean I should donate it to an art museum? I searched on my phone... What? 980 million won? [Bonhams New York Auction Schedule]