SH | Chapter 1.7

“And besides, I hear the marriage ban will soon be imposed throughout the land for the Crown Prince’s selection of a Crown Princess, so it’s fortunate we’re holding the wedding before then.”

“Exactly. Honestly, the young miss Soyi is the sort of bride any family would be proud to have, but she’s still just a jinja’s daughter!”

“That’s exactly what I mean! She would never have dreamed of becoming Crown Princess, and if not for the marriage ban, she’d have just kept getting older and older without marrying.”

“True! And with so many families rushing to marry off their children before the ban, the good matches that might have come to young miss Soyi would all be gone.”

“Indeed. But to end up marrying into such a good family unexpectedly, well, isn’t that heaven’s help?”

“Becoming the daughter-in-law of the Left State Councillor’s house would be a blessing enough for the Jinsa, and on top of that, a son-in-law who placed first in the state exam!”

“Did you hear that? I heard from Duchen that this new groom passed through here during Dano not long ago, saw young miss Soyi, and fell in love at first sight, then asked for the marriage!”

“Heavens! Not only is her face lovely, but her heart must be lovely too. Fortune really came rolling in all at once!”

The villagers’ gossip moved from the marriage ban to the rumor that the groom had actively pushed for the wedding. Since it was better for the rumor to spread far and wide, the servants played along loudly.

Above all, they shouted even more noisily so no one would notice that Donggu was not young miss Soyi.

It helped greatly that Geum Jinsa was not a vicious yangban. He didn’t normally abuse servants, nor was he rude to commoners. Because of that, the villagers and Geum Jinsa’s servants got along well, and no one suspected a thing. So the fraud proceeded naturally thanks to the servants’ passionate acting.

Whatever people around them might say, Donggu only wished this time would pass quickly. Amid the murmuring noise, the white-haired officiant finally began reading the hullyeok.

Given the situation, they couldn’t even hire professional bridal attendants. Fortunately, Seolseol and Lady Uhn-yeon had plenty of experience, so they knew enough to fill those roles too.

With the two women’s help, Donggu bowed to the groom. The attendant role was something even someone without experience could manage with a little common sense.

So the young female servants Makgeum and Sunhui, who had recently married and put their hair up in chignon style, took on the attendant roles. They busied themselves throughout the wedding, bringing water for washing hands and the like.

As time passed, his ears grew dull and the sounds stopped coming through properly. With his head and vision both going white, Donggu simply moved according to the attendants’ gestures.

How long had passed? His hazy vision gradually sharpened. The whiteness in his head slowly returned to normal. Donggu slightly lifted the head he had been bowing until it felt almost cut off.

Damn it!

It was the bridal chamber.

Maybe because he had done something so absurd as to stand in as a bride with this body of his, he felt helpless, dazed, suffocated, and angry all at once. He had obediently followed orders as a servant. He had cravenly submitted to the weight of his status. He felt miserable for himself. Maybe because of that tangled state of mind, his spirit had floated off into empty space while his body had been dragged around by other people’s hands.

He had moved exactly as he was told, in that dazed state. Then he noticed the heavy force that had been gripping his arms and making him do one thing after another had disappeared at some point. With a feeling he couldn’t tell was relief or anxiety, Donggu let out a sigh. And then he quickly realized where he was. Naturally, an obscenity rose to his mouth.

Outside, it was pitch-dark, and candlelight faintly lit the room. This place was called Asigol because the landscape resembled a phoenix. Yet the young miss, who should have been the one closest to a phoenix, had gone off to some unknown place. In the nest left behind, he, a mere farmhand no better than a shabby rooster, sat there as a phoenix made from a scrap of grass, wearing rouge and red dots on his cheeks.

What a ridiculous situation.

Donggu, who had been bowing his head and sighing, slowly lifted it.

Across from him, the groom was sitting and drinking from the wine set on the small table. He was still wearing his formal samo gwandae.

…Wh-what should he do?

Donggu had no idea what to do and just rolled his eyes back and forth.

Drip, drip.

Donggu, who had been crouching as small as possible, flinched hard. It was the sound of wine being poured into a cup. Donggu glanced silently at the groom, who was drinking without a word. At some point he had taken off his official hat, and his topknot was visible.

Wow. Unbelievable.

The groom, Yoongong, was such a handsome man that even the faint candlelight made his eyes seem to sparkle. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and his body looked lean and solid even beneath the ample dallyeong.

How terribly unfair the world was.

The son of Park Sihak, the Left State Councillor who could make birds fall from the sky, was an absurdly splendid man. If he was the child of such a powerful family, couldn’t he at least be useless? Instead he’d even won first place in the state exam.

Then at least he should have been ugly or ordinary. He was a heavenly beauty among men. If only he had been shorter, that would have been more balanced, but he was a head taller than most men. Then at least he should have looked frail, but he seemed so strong he could almost be mistaken for a military officer.

Just looking at him, he was so outstanding that Donggu didn’t even have the energy to feel self-loathing.

Come to think of it, if he had known beforehand that the man was that impressive, maybe young miss Soyi wouldn’t have run away from home.

Thinking of the vanished young miss Soyi naturally brought to mind Ipbun, who had always stood beside her.

To think Ipbun disappeared along with her. What kind of guts did those two fragile women have to run away from home… huh?

Donggu’s eyes went round, then returned to their original size.

Yoongong’s face, faintly lit by the candlelight, did not seem unfamiliar.

Why did that face feel familiar? Had he seen it before?

Donggu rolled his eyes and fell into thought.

“The night is growing deep. How long do you intend to keep your head bowed like that?”

At the rich, resonant voice breaking the silence, Donggu was startled and bowed his head even lower. He dropped his face almost into his own arm and bit his lip over and over.

It was fair to say he had pushed his thoughts aside because he wanted to avoid this reality. But no matter how much he avoided it, his body was still here in this damn bridal chamber.

“Do you see it? Because of all the people peeping into the bridal chamber, the window paper won’t stay intact.”

Yoongong pointed at the door. Donggu, who had been bowing his head, lifted it slightly. He rolled his eyes toward the place Yoongong was pointing.

Damn it! Those rotten bastards, if the sun has set, you should go home and sleep!

Seeing the wooden paper door riddled with holes, anger rose up automatically. Now that he understood the situation, laughter and whispering reached his ears that had been numb with tension.

It seemed he had been so stiff with fear that he hadn’t heard those noisy sounds until now.

“I’ll take off my wife’s jokduri first. Then I’ll put out the candle. That way the people outside will leave.”

Yoongong pushed the wine tray to the side. When the only thing blocking him was gone, cold sweat ran down Donggu’s back. Donggu scooted backward with his hips, as if trying to flee.

“…?”

Yoongong, who had been moving forward as Donggu retreated, paused. After a moment, he reached a hand toward Donggu’s head. Before his hand could touch the jokduri, Donggu scooted back again.

“…”

Yoongong, who had held out his hand, slowly lowered it. The whole series of movements was so leisurely that Donggu swallowed dryly. He felt exactly like a frog in front of a snake.

“Madam, are you embarrassed? Is that why you’re avoiding me like this?”

Yoongong’s face slid closer. At that handsome face filling his entire field of vision, Donggu hurriedly turned his head away.

“To be honest, I’m awkward and embarrassed too. But now we’re husband and wife, aren’t we? So I’d like you to share that embarrassment with me.”

Yoongong’s mouth was smiling, but his eyes were firm. A big hand reached out, and before Donggu knew it, the jokduri with its little gold ornaments had been stripped away.

✿ • ✿ • ✿