The Red Pouch Beneath the Pond
Yeo-won let out a small, surprised “Ah,” and nodded. Dan glanced at her before adding in his usual tone,
[He will return shortly, so please do not worry. The treatment is finished. For the time being, please refrain from moving.]
Having apparently finished applying the medicine, Dan rose from his seat and began tidying the medicine box. Yeo-won watched in a daze as the small, nimble hands worked efficiently, until a sudden realization made her open and close her mouth wordlessly.
She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out right away.
By then Dan had finished organizing the box. He suddenly looked at her and tilted his head.
[Were you not curious about when Lord Shin-wol would return?]
“That’s not what I meant at all!”
This time, thankfully, she managed to deny it promptly. Dan stared at her with the characteristic cool expression of a Siberian chipmunk. His jet-black eyes, like polished obsidian, blinked twice before he bowed his head.
[My apologies. In the future, I shall pretend not to notice.]
That wasn’t it either. Or rather, it might have been, but there wasn’t a single trace of tact to be found.
Is this a trait of spiritual beings?
Yeo-won swallowed the frustration bubbling inside her and forced it down. She decided that making any further excuses would only make her look ridiculous, so she changed the subject.
“How is Cheong-sil?”
[He is in the middle of recovering.]
“I’m worried, so I’d like to see him myself for a moment…”
[That is not permitted.]
He cut her off cleanly, as if he had anticipated what she would say next.
It seemed that ignoring what people said was also a species characteristic.
He looked at her with half-lidded eyes and continued.
[Once he recovers, he will naturally come this way. Lady Yeo-won must not leave this room.]
“……”
Yeo-won stared back at the Siberian chipmunk who was barely the length of her forearm, as if they were in a staring contest. Her eyes narrowed, revealing a hint of suspicion.
Was he really planning to keep her completely confined until Shin-wol returned? Before, she had at least had Cheong-sil to keep her company, but being trapped in this room with absolutely nothing to do for days on end would surely drive her insane.
Should I try coaxing him the way I did with Cheong-sil?
The thought flashed through her mind for a split second, but she quickly abandoned it. Those resolute eyes looked far too rigid to be swayed by jokes or teasing the way Cheong-sil’s had been.
“Fine, but stop calling me ‘Lady Yeo-won.’ That kind of extreme honorific feels really awkward to hear.”
[Then I shall address you as Mistress.]
Yeo-won narrowed her eyes and glared at him. She wondered if he was joking, but the words that followed made her press a hand to her forehead and sigh.
[Mistress, which would you like first—your meal or your washbasin?]
“……I don’t need either.”
In some ways, he was even more exhausting than Cheong-sil.
*
Four full days passed after that. Yeo-won, who had expected to spend those days writhing in nothing but boredom, found herself surprisingly busy.
After spending the first day in a daze, Cheong-sil came to visit the next. The moment Yeo-won jumped up in delight and spread her arms wide, Cheong-sil beamed and came running.
Just as their emotional reunion was about to unfold, a black ball of fur suddenly wedged itself between them.
[That is not permitted.]
Cheong-sil glared at Dan with a sulky face. When it became clear that Dan had no intention of moving, Cheong-sil seemed to grow stubborn. He began howling and whining pitifully.
[Dan is a stubborn mule! A mouse-dropping beetle! A stink bug, he is!]
As he watched Cheong-sil roll around on the floor, a look of unmistakable contempt flashed across Dan’s eyes.
Dan clicked his tongue openly and added,
[Lord Shin-wol gave strict orders not to let you move since you are injured.]
[Then can’t we just stop the human from moving, yes?]
Dan scanned Cheong-sil with a dubious look, then reluctantly stepped aside with a clearly displeased expression.
The moment the obstacle disappeared, Cheong-sil flew straight into her arms. The impact made Yeo-won’s body sway.
Dan looked horrified and yanked Cheong-sil’s tail, but the difference in size made it completely ineffective.
Yeo-won was simply happy that Cheong-sil had regained his energy, no matter what form it took.
But when the unreasonable demands continued—throw the ball, pull the string—Dan eventually issued a ban on Cheong-sil approaching her.
[Why?!]
Cheong-sil looked utterly devastated, as if he had lost his entire country. Yeo-won wore a tired smile and busied herself trying to mediate between the two.
[Leave at once. Do not come anywhere near here until Lord Shin-wol returns.]
Despite Yeo-won’s attempts at mediation, Dan firmly drove Cheong-sil out.
That night, when Yeo-won lay down to sleep, Cheong-sil secretly came to visit. Impressed by how precisely he had calculated the moment Dan was gone, she spent the entire early morning brushing his fur.
Satisfied with the brushing, Cheong-sil left her a branch bearing ripening fruit as a gift before departing.
With nowhere else to hide it, she placed it beside her pillow and fell asleep, only to be caught by Dan the next day and thoroughly scolded.
Then came the fourth day. Dan entered the room right as Yeo-won opened her eyes.
While Dan took out the medicine box from the shelf, folding the bedding had somehow become part of her daily routine.
[Are you experiencing any discomfort?]
“Thanks to your care, I feel fine. Except that my body feels a little stiff.”
When Yeo-won answered with a bright smile, Dan began applying the medicine without a word.
A pungent herbal scent rose from her ankle. Though the smell was unpleasant, the medicine seemed effective; the bruise that had settled there had now faded to little more than a faint stain.
It was now faint enough that it might not even be noticeable at a glance. Yeo-won hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Um… it’s too stifling just sitting here. I’d like to walk outside for a bit.”
[…….]
“Staying still like this is actually worse for my health. If my body gets too stiff, my stamina will drop, and…”
Yeo-won carefully considered her next words. Although she was used to a reclusive lifestyle at home, being completely forbidden from leaving the room felt excessively harsh. She racked her brain, wondering what she could possibly say to make the iron-willed Dan understand.
[Very well.]
The unexpectedly agreeable answer caught her off guard. As Yeo-won blinked in surprise, Dan continued while putting away the medicine box, his voice almost sorrowful.
[Your ankle appears to have healed sufficiently. A walk in the garden should be acceptable.]
“Really? You even banned Cheong-sil.”
Dan’s previously expressionless face twisted into a frown, as if displeased.
[That was because Lord Cheong-sil kept making unreasonable demands. I will prepare your washbasin and breakfast. Please take a walk in the garden in the meantime. Do not overexert yourself.]
After summarizing the important points, he left the room. Yeo-won remained momentarily bewildered but soon smiled. Though it was limited freedom, just being allowed outside lifted her spirits considerably.
She sprang up from her seat, only to sway unsteadily for a moment. After sitting still for four whole days, she seemed to have grown a little dizzy.
Good thing Dan isn’t here.
If he had seen that, he would have said something like [It seems you cannot go after all] in that characteristically indifferent tone. Yeo-won giggled at the deep voice playing in her head and opened the sliding door that led to the garden.
The moment she opened it, the thick scent of apricot blossoms and the cool night breeze welcomed her.
Standing on the wooden veranda, Yeo-won closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out. She hadn’t realized how refreshing the crisp scent of grass could be.
Wanting to walk a little, she bent down to step off the veranda, only to make a troubled face.
I don’t have any shoes.
There was no chance of finding outdoor slippers, and Shin-wol had long since taken her own shoes away.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Yeo-won decided to go barefoot and stepped down from the veranda.
The neatly trimmed grass was slightly damp but softer than she expected, making it comfortable enough to walk on.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve seen it like this since that day.
Yeo-won looked around cautiously as she began to walk.
It was still a magnificent garden, even upon second glance.
The meticulously maintained landscaping and the large pond gave it an air of refined grandeur.
As she approached the pond, she saw several unfamiliar fish swimming about. They had strange shapes, neither koi nor goldfish. While watching the fish, Yeo-won suddenly fell into thought.
I wonder if that child would have liked these fish too.
The thought that rose unbidden made her feel a little melancholy. She lifted her head and looked over the garden once more. The well-tended landscape filled her vision.
Everywhere she looked, his perfect garden somehow carried a trace of human warmth.
The soft grass, the placement of the trees, even the shape of the pond—everything had been arranged with aesthetics in mind. Yeo-won gave a bitter smile.
The Shin-wol she knew didn’t seem like the type to care about such things. If that was the case, then perhaps all of this had been prepared for that child.
Just like those houses I saw before.
She remembered the houses where every structure and piece of furniture had been exactly the same.
Did those two love each other?
Yeo-won crouched in front of the pond and gently poked the surface of the water. As the ripples spread softly, the fish that had been below rose up out of curiosity.
Up close, each individual scale sparkled like crystal. When she poked one of the jewel-like scales with her index finger, the fish startled and darted back into the aquatic plants.
The adorable reaction made Yeo-won chuckle, but her face quickly turned somber again.
Whether it had been love or not, there was no place for her between the two of them. The thought made her chest ache.
Stop it. The more I think about it, the more curious I’ll become.
Yeo-won squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them, trying to gather her scattered emotions, when she noticed the fish that had fled earlier struggling among the water plants.
Wondering if its tail had gotten caught, she reached into the water and pushed the plants aside. Something brushed against her fingertips.
“……What is this?”
Looking closely, she saw a small red pouch had sunk to the bottom of the pond. The fish’s tail had gotten tangled in the pouch’s string, leaving it unable to swim away.
When she carefully untied the string, the fish swam off to the other side, leaving only the red pouch behind, floating alone in the water.