Yeong Chunhwa

Chapter 8

***

Only after entering the carriage did Yun-seo feel relieved. He peered through the small window to observe the station guards. They were simply going about their duties without any signs of commotion or suspicion, and weren’t searching or monitoring passersby.

He had been startled when Hwi suddenly arrived at the post station. For a brief moment, he even felt betrayed, wondering if Hwi had somehow found out about him and was planning to turn him in. However, he bit his tongue and acted normal as he followed Hwi, and fortunately, Hwi’s business was merely to borrow a carriage and driver.

Once the carriage departed and they were far from the station, he could finally relax his tense posture. Yun-seo let out a secret sigh and spoke.

“I thought post stations were only for government officials to use. Is that not the case?”

“Merchant groups delivering precious goods to the imperial palace can use them with issued permits.”

“Ah… If you’re delivering to the imperial palace, you must be part of a large operation.”

Then perhaps he would be knowledgeable about palace news.

It was morning now, so they must have discovered his absence, but had the news not reached here yet? They say no news is good news, but what he had left behind wasn’t merely silence but rather someone who might chase after him and grab him by the neck at any moment, so he couldn’t completely ease his anxiety.

Biting his lips and lost in thought, Yun-seo felt a direct gaze and turned to look at Hwi. He was tilting his head slightly, staring at Yun-seo intently.

“What are you thinking about, looking at me like that?”

“I’m contemplating what use I might have for someone who can’t even handle a horse.”

“…I told you I would serve as your driver.”

“You, who started retching the moment you dismounted?”

At his mocking tone, Yun-seo was intimidated into silence. It had been his first time riding a horse, and Hwi’s mount was exceptionally fast, making it difficult to adapt. Having always considered himself quite competent at physical tasks, he was equally disappointed in himself.

Still, it was fortunate he had ridden with Hwi; if he had followed his original plan to obtain a horse on his own, he would have struggled considerably.

“I learn quickly, so if you give me a little time, I’ll master it soon.”

“It seems I’ve brought an apprentice, not a servant.”

It was true that he felt apologetic for volunteering to be a servant only to become a burden, but he couldn’t understand why the man had to speak in such an irritating manner. Yun-seo lowered his eyes to avoid glaring at him.

“I should have left you behind from the start, but a gentleman doesn’t break his word, so what choice do I have?”

“…You don’t really seem like a gentleman to me.”

If the man were truly a gentleman, he wouldn’t be complaining and making such a show of it. Besides, wasn’t he the one who first suggested taking Yun-seo as a servant? Yun-seo blurted out his honest thoughts without thinking, and when silence filled the carriage, he cautiously looked up.

Hwi was staring intently at Yun-seo with an unreadable expression. He didn’t appear angry, but that somehow made it more difficult.

Am I being too insolent? The only person he had spent time with was Yeondeok, and their relationship wasn’t master and servant but more like close friends, so he wasn’t sure how much more respectful he needed to be. If he had to treat Hwi like his father, perhaps he would know how to behave…

Hwi’s hand suddenly reached toward Yun-seo’s face, making him blink in surprise. While absently thinking that the man had quite beautiful hands, a clear sound accompanied by a sharp pain struck his forehead.

“Ow!”

The finger that had lightly struck his forehead left a stinging pain as it withdrew. With tears welling up, Yun-seo clutched his forehead and asked in a resentful voice:

“Why did you hit me?”

“You’re all talk.”

It wasn’t the first time he had been hit in his life, but that didn’t make it any easier to get used to. Must a servant simply endure being struck by their master? What a miserable life… Ah, but wasn’t that already the reality he knew well? Yun-seo rubbed his reddened forehead, hiding his darkening expression.

“Your former master must have been quite lenient with you.”

“…My lady and I were like friends. She was very accommodating toward me.”

“Then why did you leave this friend-like master?”

“Because she passed away.”

Hwi closed his mouth, seemingly surprised, and Yun-seo fixed his gaze on a corner of the carriage as if reminiscing. This reminded him of the letter he had packed with Yeondeok’s belongings.

He had asked to be considered dead. Those words weren’t meant for Yeondeok but for his family members who would find Yeondeok and read that letter. So Yun-seo is dead, so stop looking for him.

“Even if your lady died, you could have entrusted your life to that household.”

“There’s nothing left there that I care about.”

Though he responded firmly, the faces of his father, mother, and older brother flashed before his eyes. Yun-seo closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and changed the subject.

“By the way, what valuable item are you going to Yeju to find?”

“A precious item indeed.”

“What kind of item is so precious?”

“Well. Whether it’s truly precious or not is something we’ll have to see.”

Could it be some kind of antique? Since he hadn’t asked out of genuine curiosity, Yun-seo simply nodded vaguely.

Thanks to the well-maintained road, the carriage ride was comfortable, and as most of his tension had dissipated, drowsiness began to creep in. Yun-seo kept blinking his heavy eyes, repeatedly dozing off and then jolting awake for fear of being reprimanded by the self-proclaimed gentleman.

“Get some rest. We have a long journey ahead, and it’s better to conserve your strength.”

Perhaps finding his struggle pitiful, Hwi offered these welcome words.

Though he complained a bit, perhaps he wouldn’t be such a difficult master to serve, Yun-seo thought as he nodded and closed his eyes. Sleep grabbed him fiercely and pulled him down.

***

With the feeling of something slipping down, his head repeatedly bumped against the wall. Yun-seo fumbled around, grasping the fallen cloth, and opened his drowsy eyes.

As soon as he awoke, his eyes met those of the man sitting across from him. Yun-seo startled and straightened his posture, but then, recognizing the familiar carriage interior, he sighed.

The man looked as if he had stepped out of an ink painting, quite unlike ordinary people. Yet seeing him made Yun-seo realize that all of this was reality, not a dream.

Anyway, he surely hadn’t been watching me like that the whole time, right? Yun-seo glanced at Hwi while fixing his disheveled clothes, then noticed the rather heavy cloth in his hand and tilted his head in confusion.

Why is this in my hand? Yun-seo unfolded the several times folded cloth and rubbed the right side of his head where he could still feel the touch of the fabric. What he held was a black-blue robe. Unable to understand, Yun-seo looked back and forth between the robe and Hwi.

“Is this… yours, sir?”

“We’ve arrived.”

Hwi took the robe from Yun-seo’s hand, swiftly put it on, and opened the door of the now-stopped carriage. Bewildered, Yun-seo stared at Hwi’s back before hurriedly following him out of the carriage.

“Wow…”

It was already dusk outside. The sky was dyed with a beautiful azalea-like color, with feathery clouds floating leisurely above. Below stretched a straight road forming a city. While Hwi was sending away the driver and horse, Yun-seo looked around with curious but cautious eyes.

They had arrived inside city walls, and many people were still coming and going through the city gates. This was his first time leaving Yeju for such a large city, which made his heart swell with excitement. At the same time, remembering his circumstances, he couldn’t hold his head high and instead quietly moved closer to Hwi.

“Where are we?”

“Seonju City.”

“Ah…”

He had heard that Seonju City was a place travelers from the east had to pass through on their way to Yeju, resulting in a large flow of people. While Yeju, not far from Geumju where the Hell Painting was located, held night markets once every full moon, this place was said to be constantly bustling with activity – an observation he could immediately confirm.

Yun-seo also realized something else: he had passed through the city gate without incident, and there was no sign of thorough inspections or searches within the city. This meant his father had concealed his escape.

He had expected as much from his father. If the imperial court captured the escaped Yeong Chunhwa, they would face charges of high treason, but if they found her separately beforehand, nothing would have happened.

That’s why he had originally planned to flee a month before entering the palace to get further away, but unfortunately, thieves in the area at that time had caused heightened security, thwarting his plan and delaying his escape until just half a month before the date.

But that Yongrim he encountered at the end… Had he fooled him too? Well, if not, this place wouldn’t be so peaceful. Yongrim must have mistaken him for a mere thief, which was fortunate.

He had half a month left. A day had already passed, so it was less than half a month now. Getting to Yehang within that time was impossible. Though the future looked bleak when he thought about it, he decided not to dwell on such pessimistic thoughts and deliberately pushed them from his mind.