Eight Corners Society (8)
Eight Corners Society (8)
Eun Ho-seol of the North Sea Ice Palace.
Her real name was not Eun Ho-seol. But since her true name could not be pronounced in the language of the Central Plains, she fashioned a new one by blending the things she loved. Ho (狐) from "fox," because she adored foxes, and seol (雪) from "snow," because she loved snow. Ho-seol—a name woven from her favorite things. It was easy on the tongue and pleasing to the eye, so she was quite fond of her alias.
"Our family must return to the Central Plains."
Eun Ho-seol had a mission. A duty to return to the Central Plains, even if it meant surrendering her own body.
"This is what our ancestors wished for, and it is our long-cherished desire as well."
In the distant past, the founder of the North Sea Ice Palace was a man who had been exiled from the Central Plains. To be cast out as far as the North Sea meant they hoped he would die there.
The Central Plains man, abandoned on a land of ice, married a woman of the colored-eyed people and fathered a child. That child, in turn, met and married another of the colored-eyed people, and through this process the families merged and grew into a great clan. As generations passed, a village took shape in the North Sea, built around the descendants of that first Central Plains exile.
The man's lifeline proved long, and he led the village until he grew old and died, but the imperial court never once summoned him back.
The martial artist forsaken in the North Sea closed his eyes, leaving behind only his dying wish—that he missed his homeland.
And so a single faction was born. They studied the martial arts left by their founder, adapted and transformed them to suit the character of the North Sea, systematized their own techniques, and called themselves the North Sea Ice Palace. Situated to the north of the Central Plains—hence north (北)—and with a lake as boundless as the sea beside them—hence sea (海).
The North Sea Ice Palace became a sect of colored-eyed people who held a distant longing for the Central Plains with an almost religious fervor.
Eun Ho-seol was the key that would fulfill the North Sea Ice Palace's long-cherished wish. The link that could connect them to the Central Plains and allow the North Sea Ice Palace to enter the mainstream.
But Eun Ho-seol's life was so wretched that she could not endure it on a sense of mission alone.
*****
Dongga Lake was not as grand as the lake in Eun Ho-seol's homeland. Yet if she narrowed her eyes and gazed out, the horizon blurred so much that she could not see its end, and the wind sweeping across the water was chill enough to recall the cold air of her hometown.
Whenever her body grew heavy with skepticism toward life and anxiety about the future, she came here to regain her balance and fought to steady herself. She could not afford to crumble here. She was the hope of the North Sea Ice Palace, so she had to try even harder.
When she made that resolution and drew a deep breath, the faint, fishy scent of the placid lake would seep in, and her heart would grow languid alongside a subtle sense of release.
"Hello."
And it was then that a woman's voice rang in Eun Ho-seol's ears. A refreshingly cool and bright voice. She was smiling radiantly, meeting the seated Eun Ho-seol's eyes straight on. Eun Ho-seol was not accustomed to this kind of situation.
"W-Who?"
"I suppose you came to enjoy the lake."
The woman did not answer Eun Ho-seol's question and simply spoke again. Whether in the North Sea or after entering the Central Plains, Eun Ho-seol had rarely had the chance to talk at length with other people. The woman who had suddenly approached, radiating bright energy, threw her off balance. And so she could not choose the option of ignoring her.
"Y-yeah."
"Ah, I see! Me too!"
Eun Ho-seol nodded. Then, like a predator that had just snatched up its prey, the woman bounced in place and laughed. She appeared to have been sitting in a chair, which swayed with her movements. Only then did Eun Ho-seol notice that she was seated in a chair with large wheels attached. Her upper body moved animatedly, but her legs, held in a demure posture, barely stirred.
Without thinking, Eun Ho-seol let her gaze drift toward the woman's legs. When Eun Ho-seol looked at her legs, the woman stroked her own knees and spoke.
"Due to circumstances, I can't walk."
"...Sorry."
Eun Ho-seol apologized quickly, as if her staring had been rude. The woman did not seem to mind Eun Ho-seol's behavior.
"It's fine. It's all in the past now. More importantly, do you live in Hubei Province?"
"...Yeah."
The woman nodded. Then she smiled even more brightly and spoke in a cheerful tone.
"I'm also staying in Hubei Province right now, due to circumstances! What a huge coincidence. Do you come to the lake often?"
The woman kept throwing out questions and acted with easy familiarity. A continuous stream of chatter in a bright, lilting tone. Eun Ho-seol felt dazed by this friendliness, the kind she had not encountered even once since leaving the North Sea Ice Palace.
"Actually, this was my first time coming to this lake, and I found it absolutely fascinating. The lake here is so wide, it's just like the sea...."
The woman's face brimmed with motivation, her eyes sparkling. Even though she could not use her legs, she seemed like a person ready to dash vigorously toward some goal. What had made her so bright? Eun Ho-seol found herself responding to the woman's words without realizing it.
*****
"Get close to Hwang Ryong-seong's wife?"
When Seon-go asked back with a puzzled expression, I nodded. The person meant to engage Eun Ho-seol at the lake was not me. It was Seon-go. Seon-go swept a hand over herself and laughed awkwardly.
"Docheol. Do you think I can do it? Telling me to get close to someone feels a bit awkward."
"No, from what I can see, you're the only one who can best form a connection with Eun Ho-seol, Seon-go."
This was the conclusion I drew after reviewing Eun Ho-seol's past history and all the minor details. Having Seon-go befriend her first was more effective than approaching her directly, and it would not invite wariness. If I were to contact Eun Ho-seol at the lake myself, Hwang Ryong-seong would naturally be on guard against me. Word had already spread throughout Hubei Province that I am a man of extensive female conquests.
But my wife becoming friends with Eun Ho-seol? No matter how debauched a man is, no one would think I would drag my own wife into it for the sake of an affair. At most, they would assume I was simply using even my wife to get closer to him.
And if Seon-go and Eun Ho-seol grew close, it would not seem strange for me to accompany Seon-go and meet Eun Ho-seol. I would simply be going to meet my wife's friend. Ordinary people cannot imagine that a man would harbor ulterior motives for another woman right in front of his wife. Nor can they imagine that a wife would actively assist with an affair.
And this was not the only purpose for which I was using Seon-go.
******
Like that, the two met at the lake periodically over several days. Seon-go said she had rented a house near the lake to settle in for recuperation, and Eun Ho-seol believed those words. At first, she merely echoed Seon-go's remarks awkwardly, but later she even began actively carrying on conversations built on the stories Seon-go told her.
They had progressed from strangers to mere acquaintances, and from acquaintances to friends of a sort before they knew it.
"I'm learning a martial art I can train while sitting in a chair. Like this. Like this."
When Seon-go demonstrated the martial art she was learning, like this.
"Adjust the posture a bit. Looks good."
Eun Ho-seol would use her clumsy Central Plains speech to correct Seon-go's posture or comment on the movements. Seon-go would laugh vibrantly, move accordingly, sometimes tumble over, and sometimes perfectly execute a posture and show it off.
"How is it? Like this? Like this?"
"Yes, like that."
Depending on the situation, the conversation would continue in an even warmer atmosphere.
"By the way, who did you learn this martial art from? It's unusual."
"I researched it with my husband and am training in it."
Seon-go said with a bright face.
******
"But, Docheol, isn't it a bit dangerous to bring up my husband in front of Madam Eun? Her husband isn't exactly a great man. What if she gets angry at my bragging and stops coming to the lake?"
"Eun Ho-seol can't choose that option. The lake is the only place Hwang Ryong-seong allows her to go."
The lake was her sole release. On top of that, Seon-go was the only person Eun Ho-seol could have private conversations with at this point. This was not something she could give up just because she felt a little irritated.
"So we build up a friendship beforehand and then casually introduce the topic. The important thing is this. We don't bring it up first. We have to make her think she was the one who steered the conversation that way. And then, very occasionally, we mix in a bit of bragging about the husband."
Eun Ho-seol could not take issue with subtle bragging. The premise was that Seon-go knew little about Eun Ho-seol's husband. On the other hand, she could not complain to her husband either. What could Hwang Ryong-seong do about the fact that a woman she met at the lake happened to have a wonderful husband?
Seon-go had not caused any harm, so he could not simply bar her from the lake on a whim.
So, while talking with Seon-go, negative elements had to be gradually piled up in Eun Ho-seol's heart. Without anyone knowing. Little by little.
By presenting Seon-go as a woman with a perfect husband, we would cultivate a sense of inferiority in Eun Ho-seol. She would want to continue the relationship, yet at the same time she would feel envious. She would begin searching for some way in which she was better.
"It wouldn't work on ordinary wives, but Eun Ho-seol is someone thirsting for release. Her self-esteem is low because Hwang Ryong-seong keeps tormenting and insulting her, and her married life after being dragged to the Central Plains seems deeply unsatisfying. Eun Ho-seol isn't in a healthy mental state right now. If you bring up your husband in front of a person like that, even if she doesn't show it on the outside, negative feelings pile up inside."
"What do we do next? After the negative feelings have piled up?"
I rubbed my chin and spoke.
"When the atmosphere feels ripe, I have to casually toss her a way to win."
"What kind of way?"
"How would it feel if she found out that the husband of the friend she thought was perfect is actually the same man who had been making advances on her?"
The words I had casually dropped, and the gifts.
Not too blatant, but clear signals were sent, and at that moment our eyes met.
I had to make her feel there was a crack she could slip into.
So that she would leap without hesitation into that crevice to release her suppressed desires.