Ch.135Miho 6

I rushed towards the back of the tavern, breathing heavily.

From a distance, a subtle fragrance of fresh grass wafted through the air.

My sensitive nose twitched in response.

Following the lingering scent around the corner, I finally found the sister I’d been looking for.

A pure white jeogori and blue skirt.

With her hair neatly tied up, she looked like a beautiful noble lady who had stepped out of a historical drama.

Perhaps it was because I was staring at her in a daze.

Before I knew it, I’d forgotten even to call her name.

“Siho, you’re here…?”

Her golden eyes sparkled when she saw me.

Soon, the noble lady approached me modestly, holding her long skirt with both hands.

As she drew closer, my heart swelled.

As if I had returned to the days when we used to spend time together.

“How did it go? Did you catch him?”

“Yes, where have you been, unni?”

“I was inside washing dishes.”

“I was wondering why I couldn’t find you.”

Unni smiled brightly at my shy voice.

Then, as if teasing me, she said with a grin:

“I was originally going to make braised short ribs… but I burned them all, you know? So I got banished to dish duty.”

She fanned her nose as if she could smell the burnt food.

That made me chuckle too.

“I guess I have no talent for cooking-.”

Unni clasped her hands behind her neck like a child.

Yes, she really didn’t have talent for it.

Even when we had a party with Hyunsu hyung, her cooking was terrible.

So bad that even hyung, who usually just ate rice with kimchi, shuddered at it…

“I guess your husband will have to do the cooking.”

“Husband-?”

She was walking playfully but suddenly stopped.

Then she turned to me with a gentle smile.

“I’m not planning to get married.”

“Oh… are you against marriage?”

“Not exactly…”

Unni lightly clasped her hands behind her back.

Then she walked leisurely, matching her pace with mine.

I walked close beside her through the folk village, eager to hear her answer.

She finally gave me her response after we had walked for quite some time, reaching a crowded stone bridge.

“It’s just… I’m afraid of getting close to someone now.”

I looked up at her intently.

Her eyes were gazing into empty space, as if reminiscing about the past.

Suddenly, I was curious about that past.

No, in fact, I might already know about it.

But I couldn’t bring myself to ask about it.

I was just content knowing that I existed in her sad memories.

“…”

We each carry our own pain.

And all that pain is connected between us.

But… we couldn’t share it.

Knowing this, I could only stare at the bustling black crowd in the distance.

“Looks like they’re filming something.”

“Seems like it…”

We poked our heads through the black crowd.

Being a bit shorter, I struggled to squeeze through the gaps.

“Wow… it must be a drama…!”

Unni whispered with a slightly excited voice.

By the time I heard her words, I was finally able to see the scene by standing on my tiptoes.

I could see a young lady dressed in a beautiful hanbok like unni.

She was secretly meeting a man in sword dance attire under the eaves.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No, I just arrived myself…”

“Why did you call for me so late at night?”

The noble lady, true to her actress role, gave the man a serious look.

In response, the male actor also adopted a somewhat tense expression.

“Let’s stop seeing each other.”

Her calm yet cold statement.

The moment he heard those words, the man in the sword dance outfit was left speechless.

Before he could ask why,

The noble lady cut him off and firmly established her position.

“We were never meant to be together from the beginning. Our social statuses are different, and the worlds we’ve lived in are too different. Even if we meet in this moment of excitement, how long could it possibly last?”

I swallowed hard at the noble lady’s harsh words.

A relationship that shouldn’t be.

It felt as if that relationship applied to Jisoo unni and me as well.

I wonder what I would say to the noble lady if I were that man.

And I wonder what I could say to unni with this body.

The one who was close to unni wasn’t the current me, but Dohyun.

And he was even a man.

Could unni love this too-changed appearance?

Could I even convey these unfinished feelings?

I don’t know…

I just watched to see what desperate words the man would use to cling to the noble lady.

“Are you very anxious…?”

The swordsman gave an answer completely different from what I expected.

He smiled warmly as if trying to reassure her.

At this, the noble lady’s eyes, which had been firmly set in her position, began to waver.

“…”

“Honestly, I am afraid.”

“What are you so afraid of?”

“It hasn’t even been half a year since my husband died in battle.”

A pebble dropped into the calm surface of her waters.

Where the tiny stone fell, gentle waves rippled endlessly.

“Although I didn’t love him… the time we spent together still lingers in my mind.”

“If memories with someone I didn’t love hurt this much… how would I live if you died too… I don’t have the confidence.”

The moment I heard those words, my heart ached.

I continued watching the scene while clutching my painful heart.

“How can you worry about something that hasn’t even begun? It’s unlike you to be so dull.”

The swordsman approached the noble lady gently.

Then he carefully wiped her eyes.

“Can you promise to return alive…?”

The noble lady looked up at him with reddened eyes.

The man then promised with a gentle smile:

“I promise you. When I return, we will hold our wedding ceremony.”

“How can I believe those words when no one knows how the war will end…?”

The noble lady, afraid of forming another bond.

The swordsman, loving her despite an uncertain future.

“Don’t believe these words, just believe in me.”

The noble lady buried her face in the swordsman’s chest and simply sobbed.

Watching this, I gently grabbed the sleeve of unni’s jeogori.

Unni, dressed similarly to the noble lady.

Me, who had wanted to wear sword dance attire.

My heart fluttered at our overlapping images.

That fluttering was finally calmed by a voice.

“Cut! That’s good!”

The drama director shouted loudly.

The two lovers, who had been wearing sorrowful expressions, immediately relaxed and smiled awkwardly.

“That came out well, let’s keep this scene.”

The sound of the production staff’s satisfaction.

The actress covering her mouth shyly with her wide sleeve, moved by the performance.

After that scene, the production crew quickly began to clear the bridge.

Everything proceeded efficiently, as if they felt bad for occupying the bridge and inconveniencing tourists.

Thanks to that, we were able to continue our walk.

We strolled across the now empty bridge.

Unlike how crowded it had been just moments ago, it was now quiet as if nothing had happened.

Perhaps because the atmosphere felt awkward,

I carefully said to unni:

“They acted well.”

“The actors?”

Unni asked, walking with a bitter expression.

Our footsteps finally synchronized.

“Yes, it seemed… really immersive.”

“I agree…”

Unni raised the corners of her mouth as if in agreement.

But her eyes still looked melancholic.

“Um, Siho…”

Unni’s flower shoes stopped in the middle of the stone bridge.

The strands of hair sticking out at her side danced in the cool night breeze.

“Was it hard for you after Dohyun died?”

“…”

I pondered my answer for a moment.

Then suddenly remembered myself dying after peeking into unni’s memories.

“It was hard.”

“I’m sorry… I couldn’t protect Dohyun…”

Why are you apologizing, unni?

If only… I had been as strong as unni back then.

No, if we had never met in the first place…

You wouldn’t have had to die so miserably.

My nose stung.

These words rose to my throat and lingered in my mouth.

But I couldn’t say them.

I just looked up at unni with a trembling head.

“I’m okay. And…”

Unni’s golden eyes.

They shone brightly even in the night-fallen folk village.

Her face, bathed in moonlight, held apology, sadness,

and longing.

I finally cleared my tight throat.

And said:

“I’m sure oppa would understand.”

I smiled broadly with my fox-like eyes.

But my eyes were already red.

Because there was so much I hadn’t been able to say.

“Siho…”

Unni’s lips trembled faintly.

Soon she covered her mouth with the back of her hand and spoke with a quivering voice:

“Thank you so much for saying that…”

Even someone as bright as unni…

seemed to find it hard to hold back at this moment.

I hugged her tightly for comfort.

My wide white sleeves wrapped around her body.

Nestled in my embrace, she softly said:

“I wasn’t struggling at all. Because whenever things got tough, someone gave me advice.”

“Who was that…?”

“…”

I carefully put my lips to her ear.

And covering it with both hands in case someone might hear, I whispered:

“Someone who was really kind. Warm. And amazing, just like unni.”

I playfully twirled around her and took the lead.

Thanks to my smooth movement, my tail, which had been hidden by my white clothes, floated up.

“I wanted to be that kind of person for Dohyun too…”

Unni murmured behind me.

Though her voice reached my ears, I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.

I didn’t want to show her my current expression.

Instead, I stopped walking.

And…

“Don’t worry.”

I mumbled secretly.

“You already were that kind of person to me.”

Perhaps because we were a bit far apart,

Unni urgently asked:

“What did you say…?”

Only then did I turn my head slightly.

And with half-closed eyes, I smiled faintly.

“I didn’t say anything special.”

I nonchalantly pointed to the Japanese-style street.

Unni’s eyebrows furrowed as if she couldn’t understand.

“Unni, aren’t you hungry?”

I carefully stopped walking and stood close to her.

I linked arms with her subtly, trying to change the subject.

“I was really struggling earlier because of the braised ribs smell.”

“Really…?”

“Yes! Let’s eat some takoyaki. The madam gave me money because I helped increase their sales.”

I took out a white envelope from inside my clothes.

And waved it proudly toward unni.

“Today’s my treat!”

I covered my face with the paper envelope.

Then peeked out as if playing peekaboo and smiled brightly.

Only then did unni regain her smile.

Soon, with upturned lips, she followed me slowly through the Japanese village street.

“Alright.”

I gestured toward her as she walked slowly.

“Hurry up! The festival is just beginning.”

I grabbed her arm.

And led her toward the brilliant lanterns.