Vol 1 Chapter 2 – Heedowon Part 5

Even if Woo was thin to the point of being skin and bones, he still had some weight to him. Now that that weight had slipped out of his arms, it was natural to feel a bit of emptiness. At least, that was how Kang Oh rationalized it to himself as he followed leisurely behind Woo, who limped along ahead.

Before long, they reached the quarters where Woo had been staying.

Yeonjin stood outside the slightly open door, pale and frantic, stamping her feet in place. When she saw Kang Oh walking behind Woo, her face went blank, as if she might faint on the spot.

“You left your post, and he was out wandering. Do you have an explanation?”

Kang Oh broke the heavy silence with his voice. Yeonjin, who had been trembling like a leaf, sank straight to the ground and knelt.

The rules in Heukcheon were strict. Most of those under its banner were martial artists from demonic sects or wandering rogue paths. When Yae Jinrang founded Heukcheon and became its lord, he believed firm discipline was necessary to rein in such unruly types. So rules were made, and anyone who broke them was punished without leniency. That standard also applied to the ordinary staff working within Heukcheon.

For the servants, it meant that as long as they made no mistakes, the martial masters they served would never lay a hand on them. But when the fault was clear, as it was now, they risked having their pay cut or being dismissed altogether. What frightened them most was that once someone was cast out, there was no coming back.

“Forgive me. This servant only stepped away for a moment to fetch some tea…”

That was a lie. She had been on her way to report to the First Overseer that Woo had yet to wake. Seo Mun Geumryeong had instructed her to stay close and show concern, saying it might help improve Woo’s condition.

“From today onward, you have no place in Heedowon. Go to the head servant. She’ll assign you a new post.”

Kang Oh spoke bluntly and moved as if to pass her by. Yeonjin’s face went pale. Her eyes trembled.

It hadn’t been long since she had been entrusted with watching over Woo on Seo Mun Geumryeong’s personal order. To be removed from Heedowon now would be proof that she had failed to carry out that assignment. She could only imagine what the First Overseer might do to silence her once he found out. She didn’t dare guess, but she knew he was capable of anything.

So even if the Third Disciple’s punishment was relatively mild, to Yeonjin it felt like a death sentence.

At that moment, Woo, who had been silently watching, finally spoke.

“Th-this one left on his own.”

Both Kang Oh and Yeonjin paused at the same time.

“So what you’re saying is, if she had warned another servant before leaving, you wouldn’t have ended up wandering outside alone.”

He wasn’t wrong. Still, Woo bowed his head and continued speaking.

“T-then this one, for leaving without permission and troubling the Third Disciple, should also be p-punished.”

One of Kang Oh’s eyebrows lifted slightly, as if to say, So that’s how you want to play it? But Woo kept his head low and couldn’t see his expression.

“A few days of confinement, then.”

“Th-thank you.”

Yeonjin lowered her head until her forehead nearly touched the floor. Cold sweat trickled down her back. She felt as if she had just come back from the edge of death.

Kang Oh, as if no longer interested in her, turned toward Woo and tossed out a question.

“Are we done here?”

“Y-yes…?” Woo stammered, startled by how sudden the question was.

“I asked if you’re done asking for punishment.”

Over Kang Oh’s shoulder, Yeonjin could be seen frantically shaking her head. With a bitter look, Woo gave a small nod.

“Fine. Then since I brought you back myself, get some rest. You’ve been sick the whole time, so eat the porridge that servant brought. Don’t leave a single drop.”

A bit of color returned to Woo’s face. He understood now that Kang Oh meant to leave him alone.

“Th-then… please take care.”

Noticing that shift in his expression, Kang Oh abruptly turned away and strode off down the hall.

Only after Kang Oh had turned his back did Woo slowly straighten up. He stood still, eyes fixed on the man’s retreating figure, until it disappeared entirely.

Yeonjin, still weak and unable to stand, looked up at Woo’s profile and caught a glimpse of something fleeting in his face. The submissiveness was gone. What lingered in his eyes now was something deeper, harder to name, yet filled with emotion as he watched the Third Disciple walk away.

It reminded her of a boat adrift on a silent lake. There were no ripples, no wind. It didn’t move forward, nor did it turn back. It simply stayed there, suspended in stillness.

Woo turned his head and, with slow, measured steps, returned to the quarters assigned to him. Yeonjin sat frozen for a moment, turning over what she had just seen. Then, all at once, she scrambled to her feet and hurried after him.

What brought her hazy, half-fogged mind back into focus was the question Woo asked once they were inside.

“Sh-should I eat this?”

He was pointing at the porridge in a white porcelain bowl. He asked because he remembered the excuse Yeonjin had used earlier in front of Kang Oh.

It was the kind of moment where a simple nod would have come naturally, yet Yeonjin hesitated. A troubling thought came to her. What if the porridge harmed him?

The truth was, she didn’t know. Whether it held poison or medicine, she had no idea. All she knew was that Seo Mun Geumryeong, who had ordered her to watch over Woo, had also instructed her to deliver it.

It was a dull sort of guilt. A clumsy kind of pity.

Once the thought that Woo had stepped in to help her began to fade, Yeonjin found herself regretting her hesitation. Why did I hesitate? she thought. If she handled this poorly and fell out of the First Overseer’s favor, her life would become miserable.

Torn between practical fear and reluctant gratitude, Yeonjin wavered. But Woo, as if he had already heard her answer, picked up the spoon. Yeonjin couldn’t bring herself to stop him. She watched, filled with unease, as he raised the spoonful of porridge to his mouth. Her fists clenched tight in her lap. The tension made her mouth feel dry and hot, like the roof of it was burning.

The moment Woo opened his mouth, that instant felt like a hundred years to Yeonjin.

“Wait!”

Woo gave her a blank, quiet stare.

Trying her best to stay composed, Yeonjin spoke.

“It’s gotten too cold. I’ll bring you a fresh one.”

It was a ridiculous excuse. But if she didn’t stop him now, she felt certain she would regret it.

She stepped in quickly and reached out, almost snatching at the bowl in Woo’s hands. But he pulled it back.

“I-it’s all right.”

Woo shook his head gently but firmly. Maybe it was just her imagination, but for some reason, Yeonjin had the feeling he already knew that there might be something inside that porridge.

Now that he had refused, there was nothing more she could do. All she could do was watch as he brought the spoon to his mouth. It was a relief, in a way, to have the one she was tasked with watching act so compliantly.

Back when Seo Mun Geumryeong had handed her the bowl of porridge, a thought had crossed her mind. What if Woo refuses to eat this? Judging from the poor state of his body, the First Overseer’s decision to summon him that day had clearly not come from a place of kindness.

Even she, who had only shown him the way, couldn’t help but grow suspicious. Why, then, did Woo simply accept it without question?

Was it all just a way to make her lower her guard? But if that was the case, what could he possibly be planning, using a mere servant like her as cover?

The thought had gnawed at her for too long. Before she knew it, the question was already out.

“Why… why did you help me?”

Only after speaking did she realize it had been pure impulse. She bit her lip. This wretched curiosity of hers always turned out to be a double-edged blade. Sometimes it tightened around her throat, and sometimes it handed her an opportunity. This time, she had no idea which it would be.

“You… you’re one of Seo Mun Geumryeong’s people, aren’t you?”

Woo asked after swallowing a spoonful of porridge. His brows furrowed slightly, as if he didn’t care much for the taste.

“Yes. I am.”

There was no point in hiding something he likely already guessed.

“Even if you leave, someone else will take your place.”

Though the porridge clearly tasted unpleasant, Woo still swallowed another spoonful.

“And when they do, they’ll probably assume I tried something the moment the servant changed.”

As she listened to him speak, Yeonjin began to sense something odd. Though he was eating porridge from a porcelain bowl with a metal spoon, not once had she heard the usual sound of clinking. For a mere servant, he handled his utensils with an unnatural amount of grace, almost as if proper table manners had been drilled into him.

Yeonjin was curious by nature, but she was also sharply observant. She listened to his words, but her eyes were fixed on his hands.

Even though his hands were roughened by labor, there was a strange elegance in the way he moved.

Yeonjin’s gaze slowly swept over him. From his hands to the clean lines of his shoulders, everything was orderly. Aside from the curve of his back, his posture below that point was surprisingly upright. Her eyes naturally drifted to his face.

“I-I have no reason to refuse. If keeping you close helps the Lord of Heukcheon feel at ease, then I have no reason to object.”

It sounded like resignation, but there was calculation woven into his words. What he had in mind was not the First Overseer, but the true master of Heukcheon, Yae Jinrang.

And indeed, in this vast Heukcheon, the only one who could use the First Overseer Seo Mun Geumryeong like an extension of his limbs would be the Lord of Heukcheon.

That thought made Yeonjin flinch. She turned to Woo without even realizing it. He had just lifted his head slightly to eat another spoonful of porridge, and their eyes met.

A breath escaped her lips.

She had always found it frustrating that he stammered so much when he spoke. She had assumed his lowered gaze and silence were simply part of being a servant. She had once seen him receive harsh treatment from the Third Overseer and beg for forgiveness without a word of protest, which had only reinforced her assumptions.

But now, in this moment, Yeonjin thought she finally understood why Woo always kept his head lowered.

It was because of his eyes. What was inside them was nothing like that of an ordinary man. Contrary to her assumptions, it held neither cowardice nor emptiness. It reminded her of a rock shaped by waves, or a pine twisted by the wind on a cliffside, carrying the weight of silent resolve.

After catching the briefest glimpse of the man named Woo, Yeonjin’s gaze wavered, unable to find its footing.

This is bad.

Her reaction was all too transparent. Woo seemed to notice it and lowered his posture on purpose, as if exaggerating the clumsiness in his movements.

For the first time, his spoon clattered lightly against the bowl, and his posture became noticeably awkward. He pushed his head forward and lowered his face so far over the bowl that it looked as though he might bury it completely, as if desperate to scrape up every last drop of porridge.

But it wasn’t a convincing act.

Yeonjin watched the light fade from Woo’s eyes. She saw them grow dull and empty. Without needing to analyse it, she could see his once-upright posture collapse, and the manners he had worn so naturally fall away. It was as if, in a single moment, a boy had aged into an old man. The composure, the formal restraint, the orderly appearance that had once seemed as natural as breathing, now all of it gave way to the image of a servant bowing to necessity.

Was it a trick of the light? Or just an illusion brought on by emotion?

Now, Yeonjin knew the answer.

She gathered the porcelain bowl Woo had emptied and stood. Just as she was about to slide the door open and leave, her lips parted.

“I’ve been placed under confinement, so I won’t be able to come for a while.”

Normally, she wouldn’t have bothered offering any explanation to someone like him. She would have come and gone as she pleased. But today was different. She couldn’t pretend she hadn’t seen what she had seen.

“I’ll send someone more capable in my place. She may be a bit bold, but I’ll make sure she serves you well.”

What had once been politeness in tone alone now came sincerely from the heart.

Yeonjin knew she wouldn’t abandon her orders or step back from watching over Woo. It was far too late for her to back out now. Still, something in her had shifted. She now held a measure of respect for Woo. He was no longer someone to disregard. He had risen in her eyes, becoming a guest of Heedowon worthy of being served.

This was how it should have been from the start.

With that decision made, Yeonjin’s heart felt lighter. She crossed the corridor of Heedowon with graceful steps, walking like the refined servant she was trained to be.

It was spring. A spring in full bloom.