episode_0047

In the Village (Part 1)

“Wow! Sir, this is my first time going for a walk by the lake just to bathe!”

“Splish! Splash! Splish!”

Heesun and Sari were very excited, jumping around and making a fuss.

With Heesun holding my left hand, jumping around, and Sari tied to a modern leash wrapped around her neck, cutely barking and spinning around, I felt a bit overwhelmed, but the warm sunshine, my wife smiling brightly in pretty clothes (though she had put on her jacket inside out), and a cute puppy barking happily made the scene so heartwarming that I couldn’t help but smile.

“Do you like it that much? Haha, let’s stop by Mr. Gilyong’s place first. We need to say hello, and we’ll be staying there tonight.”

“I’m so excited today! Seeing Uncle Sisook again makes me so happy, meeting Aunt for the first time, and seeing the young master that Sir always boasts about! Hehe, we’ll also visit the village market!”

“You seem very excited, Heesun. But don’t wander off alone just because you’re excited, especially in the village where you can’t even hold hands. You have to be more careful!”

“Yes! Hehe.”

It would be nice if we could at least hold hands…

But drawing attention unnecessarily and hearing unwanted comments from nosy elders pretending to be adults made it unavoidable.

I squeezed Heesun’s hand, feeling anxious.

My hand, once trembling from doing laundry in the icy cold stream water and the chilly winter wind, had calmed down a bit.

“Even if I apply hand cream every day, it still feels rough…”

It pained me to feel the roughness.

Our dear Princess of the Sky, marrying a countryside lad and suffering like this…

As I gently brushed Heesun’s back of the hand with my thumb, she looked at me and smiled happily.

Her innocent smile purified my heart, bringing a sense of happiness, yet I worried about our naive Heesun who knew so little about the world.

“Wear your jacket properly and don’t stick your face out recklessly. It causes a commotion in the neighborhood. Don’t walk too far from me; stay close behind me! That way… Oops!?”

“Mmm… Smooch… Mwah… Hehe, kissed you~ If I don’t do this, it never ends! I understand now! Let’s go quickly, they must be waiting, Uncle Sisook…”

“Splash! Splash!”

Sari, sensing my worries, urged me forward impatiently.

“Sigh… Alright! I’m the only one worried right now…”

Well, as long as they are happy like that, I guess it’s fine?

—

“Ivory! Young Lady! Come in quickly, it’s cold outside!”

“Oh, Sang-ah is here? Welcome, welcome, Young Lady.”

“Brother, Sister-in-law, have you arrived?”

Upon arriving at Uncle Gilyong’s house, Uncle Gilyong, Aunt, and their clever son Hyun-soo warmly welcomed us at the door.

Since we were still outside, Heesun, wearing her jacket, nodded slightly in response, and I greeted them on behalf of both of us.

“Ah, thank you for such a warm welcome, Uncle.”

Proper greetings should be exchanged in the room with a bow, but for now, this was enough.

“Right, it must be cold. Let’s go inside quickly. We should properly greet the Young Lady too, shouldn’t we? Haha. But what’s with that dog? It looks so cute.”

“Oh, it’s a dog raised by the monk.”

“The monk? I haven’t seen the monk carrying a dog around.”

“Haha, I found out when I went to the temple a while ago. Recently, it seems the monk was so poor that he sold everything he had in the secular world, even selling the door handle of the temple to survive. Thinking about how to raise him in that situation, I said I would take care of him and brought him here.”

“Oh.. Well done.. Yes.. The monk, indeed, doesn’t wander around aimlessly…”

Upon hearing the monk’s situation, Gil Yong-aje nodded his head with a sorrowful expression.

The most sympathetic person present was an elderly lady who had been listening nearby.

While Gil Yong-aje was a scholar by profession and felt a certain level of pity for the monk, the lady, being a Buddhist, seemed to feel even more profound sympathy.

“What! The monk is in such dire straits? Oh my, what is this! No, dear! This is not right; shouldn’t we be offering help? At least some food immediately….”

The lady was on the verge of rushing to prepare food and carry it up to the temple without delay.

Not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble, Gil Yong-aje gently restrained the worried lady.

“Haha, please don’t worry too much, ma’am. I have taken care of everything. While I’m here today, I will also look into getting a new door handle for the temple and buy some rice to bring up.”

With those words meant to reassure the lady who was simply concerned about the monk, she suddenly burst into tears, dabbing her eyes with her sleeve.

“Oh, what a noble thing! Truly noble… Our Hyun-soo should grow up to be like you… Thanks to you, we can breathe easier like this… It’s so sorry and grateful… Sang-ah… May all Buddhas know… That’s how it will be… You are much better than those wicked outsiders! Sob…”

“Ahem ahem… Oh, madam! Why did my story suddenly come out! People really cry at the drop of a hat outside! Are we going to leave the kids out like this? Let’s go inside quickly! Come on! Madam, please come in too!”

Feeling awkward due to the sudden outburst of emotion from the tearful lady, Gil Yong-aje gently led her inside, smiling at Hee-sun as he guided them to a room.

Seeing laughter bubbling out from under his stern demeanor, Hee-sun seemed to find Gil Yong-aje’s playfulness quite amusing.

Gil Yong-aje led us inside and opened the door to the Sarangchae.

A typical scene of a middle-class family.

As soon as the door opened, a warm feeling enveloped us.

It seemed like they had lit the fireplace, as the floor was warm, and a separate brazier had been lit, waiting for us for quite some time.

Eventually, Gil Yong-aje sat on the main seat, the lady took a seat on a cushion placed diagonally next to a small low table, and Hee-sun removed his outer garment to bow and greet them.

Silence…

“Wow…”

Suddenly, the room brightened at the sight of her beauty.

A straight forehead, thick eyebrows, a sturdy nose, cheeks slightly flushed from the cold breeze, a smile playing on her cherry-like lips. Her neck revealed by the hairpin, wearing a beautifully crafted hanbok in fresh colors.

Even though I thought I was familiar with her daily appearance, I was once again captivated.

Knowing that I liked her hair down, Hee-sun usually wore it loose, but seeing her hair up to signify her married status made her look different.

It seemed okay for her to wear hairpins from now on.

Although it wasn’t just physical beauty, the lady facing that beauty and Hyun-soo, who was waiting for our greetings beside her, were left speechless.

As if anticipating this spectacle, Gil Yong-aje smiled contentedly and clapped his hands together to snap the two out of their reverie.

“Haha, the mother-in-law has arrived and is showing off her elegance. How can I stay calm! Madam, please come to your senses.”

“Oh my goodness! Look at me!”

A lady tidying up her appearance.

She neatens herself and bows to the two of them in greeting.

“I greet the uncle and aunt.”

“I greet the niece’s uncle and aunt.”

We shake hands near the nape of the neck in a gesture of respect.

Heesun gracefully lowers his arms towards his left leg, bends his right leg, and straightens his torso to bow politely.

During our family gathering, they also responded with half the formality.

As we rise from our seats, this time Hyunsoo offers his respects to us.

“I greet the elder brother and sister-in-law.”

This time, we reciprocate with half the formality.

“Haha, now that the greetings are over, shall we share some stories? Come, sit down! Everyone, please take a seat.”

With a hearty laugh, Gil-yong gestures for us to sit, and the lady couldn’t contain her curiosity as she spoke to Heesun.

“Oh, how lovely you are. I didn’t know the mother-in-law would be so elegant! There were rumors about the wife of that rich man being a paragon of virtue, and it turns out those weren’t just rumors! Yes, yes… One must reach a certain level like that rich man to win a woman like you! Oh, our mother-in-law, I am so grateful for marrying our rich man.”

“Hehe, I’m embarrassed, Auntie…”

At the lady’s words, Heesun blushes and bows deeply.

Was it fortunate that there was another person here besides Heesun whose face turned red?

Heesun’s blushing face seemed like it couldn’t compare to Hyunsoo’s face, which looked like it might burst.

“Haha, Hyunsoo, isn’t it about time you got married too? I thought you were still a child, but look at your blushing face.”

“Oh, brother…!”

Embarrassed, Hyunsoo covers his red face with one hand and fidgets with the other, feeling shy.

As we all burst into laughter simultaneously, it seemed like we laughed and chatted together for a while.

“Hey, Sang-ah, I wouldn’t worry if it were someone else, but the new daughter-in-law is too kind and gentle, so this aunt is a bit worried. Stick close and be careful so nothing happens!”

“Yes, Auntie.”

“You too! How long will you keep calling me ‘Auntie’? You’re practically family now, so look after the new daughter-in-law! How pretty it sounds when you say ‘auntie, auntie’?”

“Haha, yes, Auntie!”

“Hoho, that’s right.”

Since Gil-yong had to wake up early for the village market, the aunt sees us off.

Continuing to advise us to take good care of the new daughter-in-law, although it felt a bit excessive, I nodded in understanding, not because I couldn’t understand her heart.

Was Heesun feeling like this earlier?

The aunt, who kept advising me like this, suddenly goes to Heesun, pats her pretty face, holds her hand, adjusts her ceremonial robe, and whispers something only they can hear.

It’s a shame there isn’t another daughter from this family….

Heesun must have been very sociable because as the conversation flowed, she occasionally used cute expressions like “uncle,” “auntie,” and both of them started treating Heesun like their own daughter, addressing her as the new daughter-in-law.

“Well then, take care.”

“Yes, Auntie, hehe…”

“We’ll be on our way. Please rest, Auntie.”

“Elder brother, sister-in-law, take care!”

“Bye! Bye!”

Hey, Sari, you should come along! Why are you seeing us off pretending to be the house dog?

You’ve been quiet since earlier.

“Bye! Bye!”

Trotting along

Oh, you clever thing. Look at you nodding your head. You were excited to come out, but now that the floor is warm, you don’t want to leave, is that it?

Alright… you can rest there.

“Sigh… Hey, Sari! When we’re gone, don’t just eat anything and everything here, okay? I’ll give you plenty when we get home tomorrow, got it? Don’t you dare leave here without me!”

“Bye!”

The little one nods his head.

I wave my hand and leave behind my aunt and Hyun-soo to go sightseeing at the market.

“Doggy! Let’s play!”

“Bark! Bark! Bark!”

Before I knew it, that little rascal was playing tag with Hyun-soo as if they were friends.

Being a smart kid, he probably roughly understood what my mission meant.