Chapter 18: Wi Seol-Ah’s Memory of that Day
Wi Seol-Ah, like on certain days, had a peculiar dream.
On a moonlit night, she dreamt of wielding a sword.
She considered this dream a nightmare.
Every time she swung the sword, countless people met their demise. Watching it all, she appeared indifferent.
Seeing those who were infuriated for some unknown reason terrified her, yet the Wi Seol-Ah within the dream seemed unconcerned.
It was a beautiful sword.
It reminded her of the one her Grandpa had shown her in the past.
Grandpa despised it when she wielded a sword. She had mimicked his movements to earn praise, but instead, she had been scolded harshly.
And that day, Grandpa had cried.
It was the first time she had ever seen him cry.
Witnessing that, she vowed never to play with swords again.
Finally, that promise had quelled Grandpa’s tears.
Though he ceased crying, there always seemed to be sorrow lingering within him.
Others would describe him as kind? Gentle? They always used complicated words that she didn’t understand, yet she knew the truth.
That he was always crying.
Grandpa would continuously apologize. Why was he apologizing? Seol-Ah was happy, after all.
Was it similar to how her older sisters would say, “You don’t need to worry because you’re still young”? She didn’t want to be young, though…
In her dreams, she was taller. Her hair was much longer.
Unlike her black hair, this hair was white.
Her face was also beautiful.
Siblings would say she was pretty, but the version of herself in the dream was overwhelmingly beautiful.
Could she become like that too?
It suddenly reminded her of the Young Master.
“The Young Master never says I’m pretty…”
After tying her hair up, everyone said she looked pretty, so she rushed to the Young Master to boast.
But the Young Master quickly avoided her gaze.
Does he not find me pretty…?
The Young Master was a kind person.
He was her first friend after spending so much time living only with Grandpa.
At first, he was her friend, but Grandpa advised her to call him Young Master from now on.
He said she shouldn’t call him a friend or she’d get into trouble…
Thus, she settled on calling him Young Master.
He had looked frightening at first, but after mustering her courage to speak to him, he turned out to be a nice person.
He said the potato she gave him was delicious and even offered her a yakgwa. She was so startled after tasting the yakgwa.
The yakgwa was much tastier than a potato. After that, she lost her taste for potatoes.
The Young Master gave her yakgwa every day.
He could enjoy some too, but he claimed he didn’t like sweets.
But when she asked her sisters, they told her he loved sweets.
Before she arrived, he used to eat them every day. Was he lying now just to give them to her?
It seemed like he liked dumplings, though…
Just yesterday, he brought back yakgwa and dumplings. For the first time in a while, she saw him smile.
But for some unknown reason, her heart felt heavy every time she saw him smile.
When she told Grandpa about it, he looked at the Young Master with fierce eyes. It was the first time she had seen Grandpa make such a face.
Yesterday, the Young Master laughed at her, saying her face was getting rounder and rounder from eating too many snacks.
…So mean! I’m not eating yakgwa anymore.
‘…’
N-Not completely, though. Just two—two pieces!
Sometimes the Young Master would make the same expression as Grandpa when he looked at her.
The look he gave when they first met in the street.
And that same expression when a big dog appeared while riding back.
The way he looked at her resembled how Grandpa looked at her.
Why did it make her feel this way? She was happy, after all.
Did the Young Master and Grandpa think she was unhappy?
She didn’t understand.
She continued dreaming, but today’s nightmare felt oddly different. Normally, she would wake up by this point, yet it led her to a place she had never seen before.
The nightmare continued, and she found herself entering a house.
Inside, there were many angry people, similar to those from before.
Once again, she fought.
Her body was soaked in blood. She felt like she had sustained serious injuries. Did it not hurt?
She seemed to be really strong. Even as numerous people charged at her, she pushed through the crowd.
It felt like a story Grandpa would tell. In his stories, Grandpa had always been the strongest.
He would say how he defeated hundreds of evil people that charged at him… She thought it was a lie, but was it true?
Having walked forward for some time, she encountered a man.
He appeared kind-hearted yet somehow intimidating.
‘Why did you do that?’
The dream-version of herself spoke with a voice as pretty as her face. Could she really be like that when she grew up…?
The kind-looking man said,
‘Seol-Ah… you came to save me, didn’t you?’
‘Shut your mouth and don’t call me by my name with that filthy mouth of yours! Tell me, when did it start?’
‘What do you mean…?’
‘Don’t try to play coy; I know everything. I am holding back my urge to cut you in half right now. Now answer me straight.’
S-So scary…!
With such beauty, he spoke so menacingly… She promised herself that she wouldn’t speak like that when she grew up.
Was it due to her words? The kind-hearted yet scary man’s expression changed dramatically.
He transformed into someone truly fearsome…!
‘Ah, so I’ve been found out? What a shame, I just needed a little more time.’
‘You…!’
‘But it’s alright. This is sufficient.’
Crack Crack—
Something terrifying emitted from the man’s mouth. His body began to transform horrifyingly right before her eyes.
‘Too late, Seol-Ah. You should’ve caught on sooner.’
He loomed larger and larger. She charged at him, ready to fight.
She used that same beautiful sword as before, but it didn’t faze him.
‘What…!’
She gasped in shock. Suddenly, something protruded from the man’s body…!
Hiiiik!
It stabbed her body…!! Something sharp pierced through her!
Unlike before, she couldn’t dodge the man’s attack.
Without hesitation, he flung her away. Thud! She crashed into the wall and stuck there.
It was terrifying. It was grotesque, and she didn’t want to witness any more of it.
Wake up already…! I don’t want to see this… Please…!!
Why was she having such a dream? This nightmare was exceptionally horrifying.
The version of her trapped in the nightmare, pierced by a sharp object, was gradually succumbing to death.
She wanted to call out for Grandpa. Maybe he could save her. Grandpa was strong.
At that moment, the dream-version of herself whispered something.
What was she saying?
‘…not doing it.’
It was so quiet, she could barely hear it.
From afar, the scary man approached.
What do I do now? How do I escape…?
The man stood before her, poised to speak.
‘How foolish, aren’t you? Both you, Seol-Ah, and that guy. Especially that guy, he’s the biggest fool, thinking he can help someone.’
Tears streamed from her eyes as the man spoke.
Who was that guy? Who was he referring to? It frustrates me that I can’t figure anything out in my own dream.
The man started to approach her again, wielding something sharp that he had stabbed her with earlier.
‘If you see him, tell him he’s lived a garbage life.’
‘I’m sorry… I’m sorry.’
She began to apologize, though it didn’t feel directed at him.
Who was she apologizing to…?
Then the man swung the sharp object at her.
She tightly shut her eyes, not wanting to witness it.
Hiiiik!
Fortunately, she woke from the nightmare.
Her back was drenched in sweat.
When she turned to her side, Grandpa was missing. It seemed he had already gone out to work.
The nightmare had been so frightening. It felt too real; she didn’t want to be alone.
Perhaps that was why…
She oddly wanted to see the Young Master.
The next day had come after her visit to the Hao Clan.
Having consumed too many dumplings, she resolved to train her lower body.
“I am Gu Jeolyeob. I would like to challenge the direct descendant of the Gu Clan to a duel.”
But who on earth is this guy…?
As soon as she opened the door, a strange figure abruptly spoke to her.
He appeared to be around her age, sharp chin and all, with the distinctively rude glance typical of the Gu Clan.
What was incredibly annoying was that he was extraordinarily handsome. The surname Gu and his features were telling enough that he belonged to the Gu Clan.
Yet he was not a direct descendant of the Gu Clan’s Lord.
For a moment, she thought maybe he was a hidden child of her father, but there was no one like that she knew of.
“Who are you?”
So who was he? His face looked familiar, yet she couldn’t recall where she had seen it.
When she expressed her confusion, Gu Jeolyeob, or whatever his name was, frowned slightly.
Had she made a mistake? But she really didn’t remember…
Suddenly, the Second Elder appeared to clarify things.
“Oh Jeolyeob, what brings you here?”
And what’s with you being here, old man…?
She felt concerned since the Second Elder was showing up more often lately, but voicing it out seemed pointless; he would never answer her.
Gu Jeolyeob paid respect to the Second Elder.
“Greetings, Lord Second Elder.”
“Yes, it’s been a while. About a year, right?”
“Have you been well?”
“This old man has always been well, hahaha! How about you?”
“…Could you not stop coming to my residence to chat all of a sudden?”
So who was that?
When she continued to stay perplexed, the Second Elder looked at her with pity.
“Yangcheon, can you seriously not recognize who that is?”
“That’s why I’ve been asking for the third time.”
“What are we going to do about you; your memory must be worse than a goldfish’s.”
Why on earth was this old man suddenly throwing insults her way early in the morning…?
“Jeolyeob is the grandson of the First Elder.”
At the Second Elder’s words, she stared at Jeolyeob. The First Elder was…
‘That annoying old man.’
The Blazing Rain Sword, Gu Changjun. He was her father’s uncle, her grandfather’s brother.
He wasn’t someone she particularly cherished.
While she often found the Second Elder a hassle, gratitude always lingered in her heart for him, as he never abandoned her.
Yet the First Elder was different.
There was much she could say about him, but she didn’t want to think of him much.
“Anyway, he’s the grandson of the First Elder?”
“Didn’t you see him a few times?”
Even after being told that, she couldn’t recall. He seemed to remember her, yet she couldn’t remember him at all.
That fact seemed to irk Gu Jeolyeob, making his lips tremble slightly.
Noticing that, she immediately apologized.
“Eh, I’m so-”
“Makes sense. You’d want to forget after getting humiliated by me.”
What did you just say, you bastard?
“But honestly, it’s disappointing that you haven’t changed a bit over the past year.”
“Lord Second Elder.”
“…What’s up?”
“This kid is definitely the grandson of the First Elder; he’s just like him!”
“…”
The Second Elder didn’t respond but looked thoroughly in agreement.
The brat was undoubtedly similar to the First Elder in her memories. Ignoring her words, he continued to speak.
“Haaa… it’s not right to bully the weak, but that’s unavoidable… I challenge you to another duel-”
“Young Master…!!”
The one who interrupted Gu Jeolyeob was Wi Seol-Ah.
“Fool.”
For some reason, Wi Seol-Ah was half-soaked, her wet clothes somewhat revealing her skin.
She hadn’t even bothered to wear shoes and was barefooted, looking as if she were in a hurry.
Acting quickly, she wrapped Wi Seol-Ah in a blanket.
“What are you doing? What if others see you?”
“Young Master! I… I had a nightmare…”
“Young Master.”
Gu Jeolyeob intruded on Wi Seol-Ah’s words. When she glanced at Gu Jeolyeob, his gaze was entirely fixated on Wi Seol-Ah.
His trembling eyes and flushed cheeks caught her attention.
“W-Who is this lady?”
…What an irritating brat.
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