After staying at Dokgoseok’s house in Hyeonryeong for three days, we sadly decided to leave the village before it got any later.
“Can’t we stay a bit longer?”
“We want to, but the school term is starting soon. Instead, I promise to stay longer next time when winter break begins.”
I had to soothe my older sister, Kyungah, who looked quite disappointed.
But there was another person who was also very sad about our departure: Dokgocheol, the son of Dokgoseok.
“Aunt, can’t you stay?”
Dokgocheol clung to her pants with tearful eyes.
In such a short time, it seemed he had already formed a bond with her.
Dokgorin crouched down and gently stroked her nephew’s head as she said, “I have to attend school for four years, so I can’t stay here long. But I promise to play with you to your heart’s content when I come back in three months.”
“Boo-hoo!”
As Dokgocheol whimpered, Dokgoseok’s wife hugged the boy and said, “Now, now. A boy shouldn’t cry over little things like this.”
“Sniff.”
Fortunately, Dokgocheol was good at listening to his mom, so there were no awkward moments as we set off.
Watching her comfort the child, I bowed my head slightly to Dokgoseok’s wife and said, “Then I’ll come again next time.”
With a kind smile, Dokgoseok’s wife waved her hand.
“Yes. Take care, you both.”
As the three of us were sent off to the edge of the village, we finally left behind the fond memories of Hyeonryeong.
*
On our way from Hyeonryeong to Jang-an, we decided to stop by Sang-am for a bit.
Since it only took about half a day to walk from Hyeonryeong to Sang-am, we managed to arrive before sunset.
“This place is still peaceful.”
“Well, it’s basically a country town. Unless something special happens, peace is what you get.”
As we chatted, we entered the market alley, where merchants recognized our faces and rushed over.
“Hey! Isn’t that Dokgorin?”
“Are you back in town?!”
“Welcome back!”
A crowd immediately gathered around us.
Just as we were panicking, a familiar voice boomed from behind.
“Hey! What are you all doing?! You’re making her uncomfortable!”
Emerging from the throng of villagers was Elder Eom Baekhyun, the only physician in the village.
“Elder!”
Without realizing it, I broke into a smile, and Elder Eom coughed lightly to disperse the market vendors around us.
“It’s been a while. Chilbok.”
“Yes, Elder. How have you been?”
“Oh, you know, same as always. But you look like you’ve grown a lot since I last saw you.”
As he looked me up and down, I realized he was right; I had grown quite a bit since spending two years in Myoseondong.
“A lot has happened in six months.”
Chuckling, I asked the elder how things were with the Dokgo family after we left.
“As you said, we buried all the remaining corpses properly and held a funeral. Most of the servants working for the Dokgo family were villagers here anyway.”
“That’s a relief.”
“And the former head of the family and his family have been laid to rest in a sunny spot outside the village. You can check it out tomorrow, Miss.”
“Thank you.”
As Dokgorin nodded respectfully, Elder Eom waved his hand with a wry smile.
“No, most of the villagers have been indebted to the Dokgo family for decades. It would be ungrateful not to do this much.”
As Elder Eom told Dokgorin to visit the graves tomorrow, he suggested we go to his clinic since it was getting late.
“Then I’ll impose on you for just one night.”
“You’ve really matured since we first met. I never thought you’d say that.”
“When was that?”
I mumbled evasively as I pushed the elder gently from behind, and he finally relented and headed toward the clinic.
“Look at you, acting all shy.”
*
The next day.
After having breakfast, we headed straight to the graveyard surrounding the village that Elder Eom had mentioned.
“…”
Throughout the journey, Dokgorin said nothing.
Her feelings must have been quite complicated.
The last image she had of her family was them being mercilessly slaughtered by the soldiers led by Yangbang.
Upon reaching the graves, we simply offered a few words to the graves of the unjustly fallen servants.
“May you go to a good place.”
“… I’m sorry for coming too late.”
After our pilgrimage of graves, we finally headed to where Dokgorin’s family was buried.
“Is this the spot?”
The graves of the Dokgo family were much larger and more elaborate compared to the others, perhaps due to special care.
The headstone bore the names of Dokgojin, Tang Miryeong, their two sons, and the eldest daughter-in-law one after the other.
Dokgorin gently caressed the surface of the headstone with a wistful expression and quietly murmured, “I’m back.”
“…”
As I watched her from behind, I decided to give her some space to reflect alone.
*
About thirty minutes later, Dokgorin came to find me resting under a tree.
“Chilbok, let’s go now.”
“Is it all done?”
“Yep.”
Dokgorin nodded slightly at my question and glanced back at her family’s grave.
“There are still so many things I want to say, but since I’ll be back next year, I’ve decided to hold off until then.”
“Well, if that’s how you feel, then it must be right.”
As I dusted myself off and stood up, I asked Dokgorin while making our way back to the village.
“By the way, does that mean you are the head of the Dokgo family now?”
“Well, if you put it that way, I suppose, but it’s just a meaningless title now.”
“Well, that’s true.”
With only two living members left in the Dokgo family, Dokgocheol being one of them, the term “family” hardly fits anymore.
“Ah, speaking of which, Elder Eom said that everything left in the mansion was liquidated and converted to cash, which was then deposited under the Dokgo family name. He told me to check when I get to Jang-an later.”
“… That was unnecessary. The villagers could have shared it among themselves.”
“That’s not unnecessary; money is incredibly important for living.”
This time, as I resolutely disagreed with her, Dokgorin narrowed her eyes at me.
“Materialistic.”
“Hmm, that’s a compliment coming from you.”
As I said that shamelessly, Dokgorin looked at me incredulously.
“What? Why?”
While we were playfully bickering down the trail, I suddenly recognized a familiar place.
“Oh, here.”
I stopped in my tracks, having spotted the familiar location.
The creek that seemed quite deep.
It was where we first met.
Was Dokgorin thinking the same thing? She paused in front of the bridge crossing the creek.
“If it wasn’t for Chilbok meeting you here, I would have died.”
“Well, I mean, someone else could have saved you instead of me, right?”
Dokgorin had survived perfectly fine in the original world without me.
The flustered maid probably called for someone else, or she might have even jumped into the creek to save her.
But unaware of that fact, Dokgorin firmly declared, “No, meeting Chilbok here was fate.”
“…”
Feeling embarrassed, I avoided her gaze and looked around until I spotted an elderly man whose face was also familiar.
“Oh! It’s you!”
The elderly man was the one who had given us a fortune the day before Dokgorin’s coming-of-age ceremony.
Recognizing us, the old man lifted his white eyebrows and said, “Long time no see, young one. You’ve really come into your own.”
Looking back now, the predictions he made about us had been chillingly accurate.
If we had taken those prophecies seriously, would the outcome of that day’s events have been different?
Such pointless speculation arose in my mind, but I quickly shook my head.
Regretting already past events wouldn’t help me move forward.
When I saw the old man holding a fishing pole, I asked, “So today you’re fishing instead of fortune-telling? Catch anything?”
The old man chuckled and replied, “Indeed. I just caught a very large fish.”
“Can you really catch a big fish in such a small creek?”
Taken aback, I peeked into the net beside him, but it was empty.
“Were you pulling my leg?”
Realizing I’d been had, I asked incredulously, and the old man gently stroked his white beard with a smile.
“I never said I was lying. The only difference is, I’m the type of fisherman who catches people.”
As he said this, the old man got up, holding the empty net, and looked from me to Dokgorin.
“You two have overcome the trials and tribulations without succumbing to fate. Perhaps the chains of destiny will no longer pursue you. You have already defied fate successfully.”
“… Who are you?”
As Dokgorin took a step back with a guarded expression, the old man laughed heartily.
“I’d like to just say I’m a passing fortune-teller… but since I have a promise with that friend, I’ll at least share my name as a farewell gift.”
Then, the old man said, “My name is Kang Sang, commonly known as Kang Taegong among those who know me.”
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