Hey, Jeong Geuk-Ryang. It Seems I've Fallen in Love
"Hey there, Jeong Geuk-ryang. It seems I've fallen in love."
"The troublemaker of the Jegal Clan is at it again. You really never tire of this, do you?"
"This time it's real. The moment I first saw her, I couldn't help but fall in love."
"Hah... Who is she this time? Another courtesan, I suppose."
"She is a courtesan, yes, but she's not someone who should be dismissed so lightly."
"Calling a courtesan a courtesan isn't dismissal. Honestly... Come on, tell me. I need to know if I'm supposed to help you connect with her again."
"I told you it's not like that! Jeong Geuk-ryang! Do you even understand what love is?"
"I may not know love, but I certainly know your version of it. Let's see... that makes ten times now. The woman you loved most was Aeng-aeng from Yuhwaru. You clung to her for a whole six months."
"You—!"
"All right, all right. Tell me. Who is she and where is she from?"
"Ahem. This time I think even you might recognize the name. It's Hong Mae of the Maehyang Pavilion."
"Who...?"
"You don't know? The Maehyang Pavilion is in Yicheng."
"That's not what I'm asking! Do you even know what kind of woman she is?"
"A beauty. The greatest beauty I'll ever see in my lifetime."
"No...! Haah... Damn it all... They say the area under the lamp is the darkest. That's... well... Right. She's off-limits. She's ten years older than you, you know. Already a flower past its prime."
Jegal Hyun was watching his youngest daughter fumble with her words, unable to speak properly before him. So-yeon, who resembled that woman more with each passing day. He realized the fact anew. And that realization carried the same weight as the impression Yun Myeong-hwa received.
"I find it hard to believe that nothing happened."
"Ugh..."
"Still, you look perfectly fine, so I suppose you were lucky."
Before So-yeon lay a maid who had fainted with both legs twisted in the wrong direction. She was one of the servants who had pushed their errands onto So-yeon only yesterday. The crime was toying with a direct descendant of the Jegal Clan.
So-yeon trembled in terror. The thought that these maids had been crippled because of her own mistake made bile rise in her throat.
"It seems they got scared and simply let you go. However, that is no reason to overlook your own fault."
Yun Myeong-hwa spoke coldly.
"Look. Because of your carelessness, a precious member of the family has been ruined. And it was all because of you, no one else."
"I'm... sorry..."
"I'm tired of overlooking your constant burdens. You create problems no matter what you do. My patience for embracing you with love and telling you to behave yourself has reached its limit."
Yun Myeong-hwa seemed displeased that So-yeon had returned safely. Considering she was the one who had deliberately sent the girl out without any escorts, it was only natural.
"We will decide on your marriage arrangement—"
"Please wait a moment, Mother."
"What is it, Young Master?"
The icy tone Yun Myeong-hwa had used while reprimanding So-yeon melted into something sweet and coaxing. Though she never showed her husband more respect than was strictly proper, she was utterly weak when it came to her eldest son.
"The youngest was originally supposed to receive her education from Do-yeong."
"...That's true."
"But Do-yeong is busy with both public and private affairs. Everyone knows there have been shortcomings in the youngest's education. Isn't that right?"
"...Well, I was busy too."
"It wasn't that Do-yeong wanted to neglect the youngest. You know that, don't you, Young Master?"
"Yes. I'm not trying to blame Do-yeong. I'm simply concerned that once the youngest marries out, people will say she doesn't live up to the Jegal name."
"Then do you have a solution in mind, Young Master?"
"I will educate her myself. After all, I too will one day need to educate the woman who will become my wife."
"A woman's education should be handled by a woman. I wouldn't want to burden you with such concerns."
"As the eldest, I wish to resolve my sibling's shortcomings. I don't want to tarnish Do-yeong's hard work, nor render the youngest's efforts meaningless."
No matter how many times she refused, he kept asking. Yun Myeong-hwa, weak to her eldest son, found it difficult to refuse any longer. Even if it wasn't proper, he was the son she cherished above all.
"My lord?"
"Let it be as the young master wishes."
Jegal Hyun knew that his firstborn resembled him most. Unlike the second son who had run away from home or the third with his strong rebellious streak. Yes... even though two women who carried his blood lay sprawled on the floor before them, Jegal Myeong was a man who wouldn't bat an eye.
Yicheng County, Jeong Manor.
"So-yeon, So-yeon..."
Upon hearing the visitor's name, Jeong Geuk-ryang's expression grew strange. He was one of the few people in the world who knew So-yeon's mother.
'She didn't get angry.'
'...She's a good woman. So end it here. She'll understand.'
'I can't do that.'
'You can't? Have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten what family the woman who will become your wife belongs to? Forget about that courtesan. The longer you drag this out, the more danger you'll be in.'
'No matter how powerful the Yun clan is, they remain in the dark about matters of the murim. Her existence will never come to light.'
'You're completely insane. You've been lucky so far! What if she ends up pregnant!'
It was a common enough story. An existence that should never have been born, the result of a noble family's worthless young master playing with fire. Therefore, he felt neither particular sympathy nor regret. He simply found the existence called So-yeon unpleasant as someone living under the same sky as the Jegal Clan.
Yet today, that name had reached his ears twice.
"Are you certain the woman who came with Jegal So-yeon earlier is the one?"
"She didn't leave her name in the guest register, but when I asked the servant who was on duty at the time, he confirmed it."
"You said she covered her face with a veil."
"Her voice..."
"What about her voice?"
"They said it was so beautiful that once you heard it, you could never forget it."
"With a trait like that, it would indeed be hard to forget. But if the voice was that distinctive, it couldn't have been Jegal Do-hwa or Do-yeong. Those girls wouldn't be escorting Jegal So-yeon around anyway. So, what name did she give?"
"She called herself Bing Ok-yeon."
"Bing Ok-yeon? Never heard of her. She doesn't seem to be from the Jegal Clan. Well then... Bring her to me."
Soon after, Ok-yeon entered.
"This humble girl is called Bing Ok-yeon, Manor Lord."
"..."
"Manor Lord?"
"Ahem... Well now... Why do you go about wearing a veil?"
"My face is so unbearably plain that I fear it would offend the Manor Lord's eyes."
"In my prime I have laid eyes on countless women. Lift your veil and prove to me that you are not plain."
"I am sorry, but... because of this plainness, I have even developed a heart demon..."
"Hmm..."
Having failed to remove her veil, Jeong Geuk-ryang clicked his tongue. Just from her voice, it was clearly a beautiful tone he had never heard before. The lines of her body faintly visible beneath her clothes showed no shortcomings either. Having sampled courtesans from various regions both willingly and unwillingly, he knew the aura of plainness and the aura of peerless beauty were completely different.
'Pride, arrogance... It's not that sort of air, yet I don't sense the pettiness that plain women usually possess.'
Indifferent. Those indifferent to their own appearance fell into one of two categories: they either had no interest to begin with, or they were so naturally beautiful that they had grown indifferent. There wasn't the slightest hint of the defensive attitude typical of those lacking in appearance. That was why he had tried to remove her veil.
"So, what brings you to visit me again? Did you perhaps leave something behind?"
"I came to deliver a warning to the Manor Lord."
"A warning? A warning, you say?"
Jeong Geuk-ryang stroked his sparse beard, expressing his doubt. A woman whose identity he couldn't even discern was suddenly giving him a warning?
"It's something this girl happened to learn quite by chance not long ago..."
Ok-yeon approached Jeong Geuk-ryang.
"If you would lend me your ear for a moment..."
Jeong Geuk-ryang swallowed hard. No matter how he looked at it, this was not behavior one expected from a plain woman. It was the confidence of someone who knew she would not be refused. Her voice was full of seduction. The body that brushed against his shoulder was impossibly soft. The scent that wafted over made his heart pound inappropriately for his age.
"The Jegal Clan..."
The story wasn't registering properly. The slightly cool breath against his ear made the tips stand up. He barely managed to grasp the meaning behind her words. As expected of the woman who had come with Jegal So-yeon, she was bringing up matters of the Jegal Clan.
"has been in communication with the forces of the Demonic Path—"
"Miss Bing... Hm?"
Forgetting what kind of treatment he would receive from his wife of the Jegal Clan, Jeong Geuk-ryang had been about to make a secret proposal to her. Only then did he realize what Bing Ok-yeon had actually said, and his mouth fell open.
"W-what did you just...?"
"Shh... I'm afraid it might leak outside."
"I... my ears must have gone dull; I didn't hear it clearly. Could you... could you say it once more?"
"Manor Lord... this girl is frightened. I don't know which scoundrel spread such a rumor, but after hearing it, I was so terrified that I couldn't sleep at night."
"Y-yes, I see... I understand! I can't hold back any longer!"
CRASH!
The table between Jegal Hyun and Jeong Geuk-ryang shattered.
"Who is it?"
"A woman named Bing Ok-yeon."
"Is that wench the one spreading such rumors?"
"She said she heard it from somewhere else."
"...Did she present any evidence?"
"No. As I said, she simply relayed what she had heard."
Jegal Hyun closed his eyes. He needed to calm his excitement first and make a judgment.
"Now that I think about it, that woman came with your youngest daughter."
"Do-yeong didn't go out today."
"I mean Jegal So-yeon."
"..."
"I understand you're trying to erase that girl's existence, but don't deny a child who has already been born. Isn't your behavior becoming strange?"
"That wench was an existence that should never have been born."
"You're the one who ignored my advice. If you couldn't cast her out, why didn't you just kill her?"
"How could I carelessly harm the blood of Jegal?"
"I've watched you your entire life, yet I still can't understand the way you treat Jegal So-yeon."
"There's no need for you to understand. So, does it seem that this Bing Ok-yeon heard the story from Jegal So-yeon?"
"If that were the case, would she have come to me and deliberately brought it up? She probably doesn't know the truth. If she knew the truth, there would be no reason for her to come find me, would there?"
"...I suppose that's true. Then who do you think spread such a rumor, and for what reason? And why would it have reached a woman like that, whose origins we can't even trace?"
"I have no idea, which is why I've come to you. I thought you might know."
"...I don't know. Is she still at your manor?"
"Yes. I've given her a good room and had her stay."
"Bring her."
Shortly after, Jeong Geuk-ryang returned to Yicheng.
...Hong Mae. Even in death, you torment me.