SH | Chapter 1.1

The clear air of Dano was sliced through by broad, blazing sunlight. The streets were crowded with people out enjoying the holiday.

A huge tree standing firmly in the center of the village was packed with village girls who had come to ride the swings. Between the girls in their lovely, brightly colored clothes, cheers kept bursting up from far away.

Men were pouring all the strength they had into the wrestling matches, hoping to win the cow awarded to the champion. The cheers of the spectators, the roar of the winner, and the groans of the losers mixed together so loudly that even from far away, it hurt the ears.

Every street was a mess of stalls set up by merchants and passing pedestrians. Even the shouts of the merchants hawking their goods joined in, making the air feel noisy and afloat.

Yoongong, who had been passing through the village’s excited bustle as if it had nothing to do with him, stopped waving his fan. The shade cast by his hat, embroidered with delicate patterns, trembled in small ripples. Beneath the crisp shadow, Yoongong’s eyes grew hazy, as if he were dreaming.

“Young master?”

Sandoli, the servant following behind him, looked puzzled.

“…”

“What on earth is this gentleman staring at so blankly?”

Sandoli turned his gaze in the same direction as Yoongong, who stood there like a stone statue staring at one spot. There was nothing special there.

Only a swing hanging from a thick tree far away, flower-like women riding it, merchants selling trinkets at the stalls, and a few pretty girls who looked like daughters of respectable families looking over the trinkets.

“Oh-ho!”

Sandoli’s eyes narrowed.

First, a soft yellow skirt-covering veil came into view, the color of young chick fluff. It belonged to a daughter of a good family, with the yellow veil draped over her shoulders. Sandoli’s eyes widened little by little.

Beneath the yellow veil, he could just make out a very pale camel-colored jeogori. A few trinkets, not many, dangled against the lush azalea-colored hem of her skirt. Her white, lovely face wore a faint smile as she looked at the trinkets on the stall.

“Wow! A fairy must have descended to this little town.”

The young lady in the yellow veil was so lovely and refined that anyone would have admired her. Sandoli thought it was understandable that Yoongong had been staring blankly.

She was a daughter of a respectable family, someone a lowly servant like him would never even dare to dream of. Maybe that was why he could admire her so purely, with clean eyes.

“Maybe that’s why her family seems so worried about her. Usually she’d just have a maid with her, but there’s that big man next to her, probably a farmhand, right? If she’s bringing even a farmhand along, then any fool who tries to flirt with her won’t even keep his bones intact!”

“…What nonsense are you spouting?”

Sandoli kept craning his neck and chattering away. Hearing that, Yoongong’s trembling gaze gradually settled.

“Isn’t that yellow-veiled young lady standing in front of the trinket stall the one you fell for at first sight?”

“What on earth are you talking about from the start…”

“Honestly, do you know how worried my lord and madam have been? You studied hard, then cleanly came first in the state exam, and on top of that you’re so handsome! Unlike the other young masters, you don’t go sneaking into pleasure houses, and you still haven’t said a word about taking a wife, so Madam supposedly cried in secret. She said it felt like she’d given birth to a stone instead of a person.”

“…You’re spouting all kinds of nonsense.”

“But there really is a woman who caught the young master’s eye! Madam will be so relieved to know she gave birth to a person and not a block of stone, even if the family’s a bit stiff!”

“…Your master is not just a person, he’s an exceptional one.”

“Yes, yes, of course! How could I forget?”

“Hah! You brat…”

“Aren’t I happy for you? Besides, rumors have been flying around that the Crown Prince’s selection order will be issued soon. Young master, you don’t even have a promised fiancée, and before the nation-wide ban on marriage is announced, all the men with daughters will rush to marry them off. Then your own marriage will only drift farther away, and how anxious will Madam and the inner mistress be? You’re their only child now!”

“…You insolent little thing, listening to you is enough to make my ears ring! How dare you say such things with that mouth!”

At Yoongong’s cold roar, Sandoli flinched and made an “oops” face.

“S-sorry. I spoke out of turn.”

Yoongong’s expression had turned sharp as a blade while looking at him, but it quickly returned to normal. Sandoli let out a careful breath and swallowed, rolling his eyes nervously.

As if granting permission, Yoongong lightly waved his fan. Sandoli wetted his lips and glanced around.

Yoongong’s eyes, lit by a streak of sunlight as he watched Sandoli think desperately for something to say, were briefly crossed by light. That flash immediately threw down a shadow.

“Then, before the marriage ban is issued, wouldn’t it be best to hurry and arrange your wedding? If you’ve already fallen in love at first sight, and that person is right there, shouldn’t you move quickly before someone else snatches her away? Write the saju danja, send the napchae, choose the wedding date, and before this summer is over, just hurry and…”

“…Enough. Your chatter is deafening.”

“…S-sir, you know better than anyone how proper I usually am! I’m only like this because I’m so shocked and so happy, yes?”

“Proper? Confucius would crawl out of his grave if he heard you.”

Yoongong scolded him with an irritated look, then slowly waved his fan again. His gaze was fixed on the yellow veil.

“…”

After winning first place in the state examination, Yoongong received a secret command from the king. He had been ordered to verify a memorial about the embezzlement of land in the provinces.

Disguising himself as a dissolute yangban who traveled from province to province, Yoongong investigated in secret. The contents of the memorial were true even in his eyes, and the evidence was obvious. He reported the facts to the king and sent along the evidence he had gathered.

He set out in the dead of winter. And enough time passed for Dano to come around.

After finishing the mission the king had given him, Yoongong headed for Hanyang with a light heart. On the way up, he passed through this small village.

While carrying out his orders, Yoongong had kept his body and mind tense. So when he was greeted by Dano like an incidental amusement, he had felt almost nothing, as if it were someone else’s business.

That was, until he saw one person shining vividly among the people blurred like mist. Yoongong, who had been gazing downward in thought, raised his eyes as if deciding something.

He looked at Sandoli, who had been chirping like a sparrow and chattering endlessly about the girl’s beauty. Yoongong lightly tapped Sandoli on the head with the folding fan he was holding.

“Shut your mouth and go find out whose daughter she is.”

“…Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?”

Rubbing the crown of his head where he’d been hit, Sandoli stared at Yoongong with round eyes.

“What do you mean nonsense? You’ve been jabbering on and on yourself, haven’t you? Saying things like hurry up and send the marriage papers before the marriage ban, choose a date, and so on.”

Sandoli gave a deep sigh. His face was full of pity for his own master, too.

Then he brazenly rested both hands on his master’s shoulder. He looked as if he had already forgotten what happened earlier.

He had been with him since birth. So there had been times when Yoongong treated him better than the other household servants. Had that made him start thinking lightly of his lord?

Yoongong furrowed his brows, thinking about whether to smack Sandoli or not. As if he couldn’t even imagine his master’s dilemma, Sandoli wore a serious expression.

“Young master!”

“Why, you shameless little brat who ignores even the rules between upper and lower ranks.”

“If you know the rules of rank so well, then how can you be trying to harass a daughter of a respectable family? In a little town like this, a small scandal would spread in no time. The moment you say even a single word to that young lady, people will either think you’ve promised marriage or, at worst, call you a legendary womanizer who preyed on her! Do you mean to turn an innocent daughter of a respectable family into the subject of scandal and leave her so humiliated she hangs herself?”

Sandoli spat all that out in one breath. Yoongong’s face turned to “ah, damn” at Sandoli’s words.

“I may have talked without thinking and rambled like a madman, but honestly, isn’t it obvious you wouldn’t marry that young lady you only glanced at? Besides, I hear Madam is already asking around for a match before it’s too late. What kind of family is yours, to marry into some poor little country family? So treat all the nonsense I just said as nonsense! I only lost my head for a moment because of the scent of Dano iris grass.”

“Anyone would think you’re the one in love with that young lady. You’re working awfully hard to keep her from even smelling dirty water.”

A little embarrassed, Yoongong muttered while fanning himself lightly. Sandoli wasn’t wrong, so he couldn’t even argue back.

“What kind of ghost nonsense is that?”

“If that weren’t it, would you be glaring at your own servant like this?”

“Oh dear, this gentleman really does hold a grudge, doesn’t he?”

Sandoli slapped his chest while looking up at the sky.

“Young miss, do you see that person over there?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Oh, over there! The scholar in the light blue robe! In a tiny village like this, a man that handsome should not even exist!”

Ipbun, the servant of Geum Soyi, the treasured daughter of Geum Jinsa of Asigol, grabbed the sleeve of her young mistress and chattered excitedly. It was only possible because her mistress was kind to servants.

Soyi had little interest in the person Ipbun was excited about. Still, to humor her, she turned her head in the direction Ipbun pointed. It was never a bad thing to appear kind.

Just as Ipbun said, the scholar in the pale blue robe looked quite impressive even from afar. His tall frame, white jade-like skin, and painting-like features made him stand out from the people wandering around nearby.

“…Yes, he really is a strikingly handsome scholar…”

“Right? Honestly, this is the first time in my life I’ve seen someone that handsome!”

Before Soyi could even finish answering, Ipbun clasped both cheeks and sighed in bliss. Normally Soyi would have answered her lightly and moved on. But her gaze would not leave Yoongong in the distance. Soyi’s eyes gleamed sharply.

She knew that face.

Soyi’s memory raced back quickly. It had been early summer, three years ago.

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