A Dragon Lives In That Scholar's Deep Spring - Chapter 12

– CHAPTER 12 –

“Even what I’m wearing right now feels suffocating, and you’re telling me to wear more?”

“But it’s so cold out here…”

“Why do you keep trying to fit me into the standards of this place?”

When asked abruptly, the man in front of her couldn’t continue his words as if his throat had been pierced.

“…Because I want you to look presentable?”

“No, it’s not. This isn’t my usual appearance.”

Farang seemed to be on the verge of pouring out more complaints, but Do-gyeom nodded without further interrogation.

“Okay, okay.”

Even though he said he understood, Farang eventually had to turn away first because of the man who couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“I heard you have somewhere to go. How long are we going to laze around here?”

“Can we go right away?”

“If we don’t go, will I just be tormented by a kid the size of a toenail?”

If it wasn’t tormenting, it could lead to something worse, even wasting time and losing Do-gyeom. Staring at Farang, who was bluntly questioning him, he suddenly burst into laughter.

“…What?”

“No, nothing. Just… “

Do-gyeom tried to hold it in, but the more he tried, the harder it became, and his laughter gradually spread throughout his body. To Farang, it seemed as if a small ripple turned into a large wave reaching the shore.

That moment, Farang would later recall the saying, ‘Don’t spit on a smiling face,’ vividly, thinking of Do-gyeom’s smile.

“Why are you laughing?”

“No, it’s just that… “

If he had seen her true form, he probably wouldn’t be laughing like this now. As Farang was becoming flustered, Do-gyeom gave another reason.

“More than anything, you tried to kill me as soon as you saw me, but Sun-yi, although you’re annoyed with her, you didn’t seem to have any intention of actually killing her.”

“Well, of course, since I thought you were an intruder invading my sea.”

As expected, Farang answered without much hesitation or deceit.

“As for that child… well.”

However, surprisingly, Farang couldn’t help but hesitate when thinking about Sun-yi. Pointing to somewhere around the muddy ground, Farang suddenly asked.

“Can you hear what ants say?”

“What?”

Do-gyeom, who was tall, had to bend down slightly to see where Farang was pointing more closely.

“No. My hearing isn’t that good.”

“I can hear them. But if I ignore them, they stop, and since I’m not conscious, I don’t even feel the need to kill.”

“…”

Do-gyeom’s laughter ceased around that time.

* * *

“Hurry up!”

Sun-yi’s small feet, exposed under her skirt, kept pounding the ground repeatedly as she tried to move forward, only to stop and repeat the process. The already crowded marketplace was even more chaotic today with someone tagging along, making it unusually busy.

She wanted to shout back, but as soon as she met Farang’s cold gaze, Sun-yi couldn’t help but restrain herself.

“…Are you coming?”

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

The lady didn’t seem to feel cold, with no hurry or worry, as if she were leisurely taking a stroll around, like someone enjoying a flower festival in spring.

In Sun-yi’s eyes, the guest looked like a majestic crane that had wandered into a chicken coop. Even though she couldn’t help feeling a jolt of fear whenever their eyes met, finding herself staring blankly without realizing it, she truly was beautiful.

She was so breathtakingly beautiful that even the timid ones who were usually too shy to approach anyone were captivated by her gaze. Sun-yi couldn’t tear her eyes away from the lady for a moment, worried that someone might approach her or try to stick around.

The lady was originally going to Haeju with her master, but the horse who usually listened obediently started acting so crazy today that it fell over and fainted. Thanks to this, the trip to Haeju was canceled and her master decided to replace it with sending a letter to Haeju.

“We need to hurry. By this time, the vegetables in the market will have withered. If we want to find fresh ones, we need to go to market.”

However, perhaps feeling sorry for the cancellation of the outing, Sun-yi’s master, who was usually kind and considerate, asked if it would be alright to show the guest around the market. So, Sun-yi found herself burdened with another task.

Since the master preferred an empty house, Sun-yi wondered if it was appropriate for her to be enjoying the sights while her master was unwell.

“Market?”

The problem was that the lady didn’t seem to know anything at all, absolutely nothing.

Really, nothing at all.

“It’s called a morning and evening market because it only opens in the morning and evening, and the side dishes are much cheaper and fresher than here. It’s not far, but I was told to come quickly, so I think I’ll have to buy something here today.”

“…It’s too noisy.”

The lady grumbled softly but followed Sun-yi calmly. When she ordered something, her slender hands showed incredible strength, and although she was intimidating when giving orders, she always listened well.

“As long as you don’t cross the line, I’ll listen to you. Is that okay? If I don’t want to, I don’t have to.”

“Sure! I want to serve you well while you’re here.”

The master hesitated to leave the frightened Sun-yi with the guest. But it was the first time he had entrusted Sun-yi with something.

After being taken in by her master, Sun-yi wanted to be helpful in any way possible. She didn’t want to give up like this, so Sun-yi insisted on helping.

“How do you manage to move around when you’re so scatterbrained?”

On the other hand, Sun-yi also wanted to watch with her own eyes the lady who had completely fascinated her master with her exquisite beauty. For Sun-yi, who had lived her whole life thinking only about getting married to her master, the appearance of a woman named Farang was like a thunderbolt in the dry sky.

As her master, who had always viewed any woman he saw on the street as casually as a pebble rolling by, had fallen head over heels for this woman, Sun-yi had to keep a close watch on everything and point out flaws to her master.

Then, wouldn’t the bean pod that was captivated by her appearance come off a little?

“People gather like clouds, they say it’s called the ‘Wheelbarrow Alley.’ Don’t just stand there looking around, stick close to me.”

In some ways, the lady was like a white cat that hadn’t been tamed. If you tried to grab her, she’d show her claws, but if you left her alone, she’d come over and rub against you.

“You’re predictable enough for me to find you with my eyes closed, so don’t worry.”

It was annoying, but Sun-yi couldn’t bring herself to be too angry when she heard such nonsense. Above all, Sun-yi liked cats. Perhaps one of the reasons she didn’t give up despite her fear was because she wanted to keep seeing the lady’s charm.

Although she hadn’t asked, the lady found it fascinating to explain the scene of buying things with money. When she nodded with a smile, she truly resembled a cat.

“Let’s see because they said we’ll make dried pollack soup for dinner…”

Sun-yi, holding a small key and looking around the shops energetically, turned around to find Farang.

“Lady, can you see over there? The fish pancake over there is a place where you can go on days when the place is empty. I think we can just stop by and go home… lady?”

The lady who had been by her side all this time was gone. Panic set in. What to do? Worried that clueless Farang might have gotten lost, Sun-yi hastily retraced her steps.

“What? Did those rascals take our lady away or something?”

Every time Sun-yi got scared looking at Farang, her eyes turned red with tears in just a few steps. Since the lady probably didn’t even know the way home, and since that lady was her master’s guest, Sun-yi’s mouth went dry.

How long had she walked with an anxious heart? Sun-yi finally found Farang standing in front of a general store not too far away.

“Lady!”

“Oh my!”

With a mixture of relief and disappointment, Sun-yi cried out, startling the shop owner.

“…So, how much would it cost to buy this?”

Of course, Farang, who must have heard Sun-yi’s shout, ignored her and just fiddled with the hairpin. Even though Sun-yi stood boldly beside her, it was futile.

“How much?”

“Excuse me? Oh, that’s… It’s four nyang.”

Sun-yi was too busy trying to hold back her tears and anger to notice the moment when she realized.

Normally, she would have noticed that the shop owner, who would usually recommend hairpins to those looking at hairpins and swiftly recommend hair ornaments to those looking at hair ornaments, was somehow flustered without knowing why. 

She simply attributed it to the lady’s stunning beauty.

“Lady, did I ask you to follow me or not?”

“I told you. I can find you even if I close my eyes.”

“Does that make sense?”

“…You’re just like that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!”

“You stubbornly refuse to believe that if I can’t do it, nobody can. Aren’t all humans like that?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Well, forget it. I like this.”

Farang tilted her chin, holding the elaborately decorated hairpin. Sensing something amiss, Sun-yi could only burst into anger.

“Surely you’re not asking me to buy this now?”

“Because you have four nyang.”

“…What, what did you say?”

Sun-yi felt as if someone had hit her on the back of the head. She had heard that you feel this way when something is so absurd you can’t believe it, but she never expected to experience it at her age.

“If you give me the coins you have, I can get what I want.”

“That’s an unreasonable thing to say!”

“What do you mean it’s unreasonable? Why?”

The transparent doubt on the white face seemed to indicate not knowing what the problem was, let alone what ‘decorum’ was.

With no clear way to explain the current situation, Sun-yi struggled to contain her rising anger.

“Do you even know that four nyang is half a sack of rice?”

“Why should I know that? Do I have to know such things?”

“A, an ignorant person like you…!”

Just as Sun-yi was about to explode, the words of caution from her master, perhaps fearing something like this might happen, came to her mind.