Face-to-Face

I looked at her as she looked at me.

“Young master…?”

Chunhyang stuttered as if she had seen a ghost.

Her hair was a tangled mess, and a few strands clung to her cheek.

In the moonlight-lit prison, only our breaths could be heard.

Was it the moonlight? Chunhyang’s skin was so white it was almost pale. Seeing her face, devoid of any color, I had an ominous feeling that she would soon breathe her last.

“H… How…”

Chunhyang struggled to utter even a single word. I knelt down to meet her gaze.

I untied the bundle Hyangdan had given me.

Inside were dried foods for a quick meal and water drawn from the well.

“Drink first.”

I held the cup close to the bars and called out to Chunhyang.

“…”

Chunhyang, who had been catching her breath, approached me with difficulty.

The blade around her neck looked heavy and constricting. Beads of sweat were already forming on Chunhyang’s forehead from the weight of the blade.

A fragrant scent wafted from Chunhyang as she drew closer.

Her lips squeezed through the bars. I saw her chapped, parched white lips.

It was obvious, but Chunhyang was in a weakened state.

As I tilted the cup, the cold water began to moisten her dry lips. Like spring rain soaking into a drought-stricken field, a hint of life returned to her pale lips.

-Glug, glug.

I watered her as if she were a flower.

Chunhyang’s slender neck moved. The water passing her lips and entering her throat seemed to give her strength.

The water that didn’t make it into her mouth trickled down her elegant jawline and onto her collarbone.

The sight of the water seeping into her worn and tattered clothes evoked more pity than allure.

Aside from calling Chunhyang’s name at the beginning, I didn’t say anything else. And I didn’t want to rashly bring up any topic of conversation.

What could I say, having no memories of my own?

“Can you speak?”

“…”

After drinking the water, Chunhyang wiped her lips with her white hand.

Although it was just a cup of water, her condition was incomparably better than before.

Chunhyang’s cold and composed face exuded an aura that was difficult to approach.

Perhaps bothered by the blade around her neck, she glanced at me askance, avoiding direct eye contact.

“How…”

She cleared her throat.

“How did you come? Did you not receive my letters?”

And she was clearly pushing me away.

“How could I not come to you?”

I spoke in a soothing tone, trying to stir her heart.

“Young master.”

Chunhyang’s eyes shone brightly even in the dim prison.

“The plow is made to till the soil, and the thread and needle are made to weave fabric. Likewise, I believe that a great man is born into this world to fulfill a grand purpose.”

Chunhyang expressed her intentions slowly but firmly.

“You must not abandon your great ambitions for the sake of a mere woman.”

Chunhyang bowed her head respectfully.

Just like in her letters, she meant for me to forget her.

“Chunhyang, it seems you haven’t heard the news yet. I failed the civil service exam this time. And you seem to misunderstand that I have a new woman, but I swear to the heavens and earth that there is no such thing.”

First, I had to clear up Chunhyang’s misunderstanding. If I didn’t dispel the notion that the one who had sworn love to her was now with someone else, Chunhyang’s weakened state would only worsen.

“Is that so?”

Was it my imagination? Chunhyang’s expression seemed to soften a little.

Seeing a faint smile on her lips, I dared to hope.

Now, as I was about to explain my plan to rescue Chunhyang—

“It is more than enough for me that Young master has not forgotten someone as lowly as I. However, what I have to say to Young master remains the same.”

As is always the case, plans never go as desired.

“Chunhyang, has your heart changed, perhaps?”

Asking with a hint of hope, Chunhyang shook her head vehemently.

“No! I will always hold Young master in my heart. This feeling will not change even if I die and return to the earth.”

“Then why…?”

As I grabbed the bars and brought my face closer, Chunhyang turned her head away with a pained expression.

“I have simply… realized something.”

“Realized? Did Magistrate Byeon say something to you?”

At the mention of Magistrate Byeon, Chunhyang’s face contorted.

“I am not one to be swayed by that less-than-human creature.”

“Then tell me. Why are you doing this?”

“I have simply come to realize the difference between Young master and me.”

“Suddenly? Now, of all times?”

Didn’t we know this when we met?

Chunhyang turned her head further away, hiding her expression.

“No matter how hard I try, I am still a lowly woman. Young master is a nobleman. Although Young master said he would take me as his wife, there is no precedent for a nobleman’s wife being of humble birth anywhere in the eight provinces of Joseon.”

Come to think of it, I even said I would take her as my wife. That was something I didn’t know.

“Don’t you trust me? Do you think I will change my mind?”

“It is because I trust you that I am saying this.”

Chunhyang’s words were followed by silence.

Only the sound of insects chirping and branches swaying filled the prison.

Chunhyang seemed to hate showing her face, struggling to turn her small back to me.

As I gazed at her frail figure, which seemed like it would collapse at the slightest touch… a thought suddenly struck me.

“Could it be…”

Perhaps.

“Did you meet my parents?”

Seeing Chunhyang’s shoulders flinch at my words, I sensed that things were getting complicated.