episode_0113

“Fairies, extend your hands through the tent.”

At the command of King Sangje, the women standing behind the tent all reached out their hands.

“Among the hands extended by the sinners, find the hand of the fairy Heeseon.”

Bansijin, who had been waiting, didn’t know how time had passed.

It was a rare moment alone to contemplate.

The children who helped me secretly sent me back to the room.

Examining the rules of this trial, I understood the intention.

There were elaborate and complex formulas, but ultimately the rule was telling me one thing.

This trial is meant for me to solve thoroughly on my own.

Of course, if I had just asked them to watch over me without helping, they would have quietly stayed put.

But having them by my side… even in the midst of the trial, feeling that I wasn’t alone mentally comforted me.

In a way, could that also be a form of help? I didn’t want to create unnecessary trouble, so I put a sleeve on Sari and carried Samseongi on my back before sending them back.

Phew… Time is passing quickly, so I should start soon.

Taking a deep breath, I approached the tent and carefully examined each extended hand.

However…

“Is this even logical, no matter how you look at it?”

The hands were so similar that it was confusing.

I thought finding Heeseon’s hand wouldn’t be difficult, but maybe they won’t let me pass so easily?

Even though most of the fairies are Heeseon’s older sisters, isn’t it a bit too much for their hands to look so similar just because they’re sisters?

Yes, I can understand similarities, but when we talk about heavenly fairies, aren’t they princesses? Why do all their hands have the same rough texture!

Unlike other fairies who receive royal treatment as precious princesses, our Heeseon, who became a hunter’s wife, must be doing something unpleasant. What could be so important that her hands get hurt…

Hmm…

“Oh! Right! Heeseon mentioned that her sisters are being punished!”

Suddenly, I remembered Heeseon worrying about her sisters being punished.

One of the tasks fairies perform is sprinkling dust while closing their eyes, which is a tough and arduous task that they usually alternate frequently. But this time, her sisters might be enduring the task without rotation due to their punishment.

One snowy day, Heeseon looked up at the sky with a longing face, mentioning how her sisters might be suffering without breaks due to their punishment.

Even though time had passed, that memory remained vivid in my mind.

Heeseon’s eyes filled with tears were heart-wrenching, yet at the same time, I couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked.

Now I know that Heeseon is remarkably strong and determined, but seeing her like this reminded me that she is also a very tender-hearted person.

How could she forgive her cruel sisters and genuinely feel sorry for them… I would have given up and said it’s their own fault.

“Hmm… Yes. Let’s overlook the similar hands for now… No, why does it keep bothering me..!”

In fact, aside from the similar hand shapes, there was another issue that troubled me.

It was the hand next to me, constantly catching my eye and tempting me.

No, precisely, it wasn’t that the hand was tempting me.

It was more like an impulse telling me that choosing that hand was right.

A very beautiful hand to the point where the impulse felt like temptation.

That’s why I know for sure that hand is not Heeseon’s hand.

Despite knowing clearly that it was wrong, my intuition that impulsively urges me to confidently choose the wrong answer and those hands were annoying to the point of irritation.

Of course, it wasn’t a completely absurd wrong answer. In the early days when Heeseon started living with us, her hands were much cleaner and more beautiful than mine, to the point where she could be easily mistaken for the Heeseon of that time if compared to her hands…

The cold of the winter mountain was so cold and sharp that it could steal away that beauty.

Due to the coldness of the valley water and the chill of the wind, Heeseon’s hands could only become rough.

Heeseon, who obediently listened to me and respected my words, refused only one thing, which was tasks like fetching water and doing laundry, asking not to take away what she had to do, so I had no choice.

No matter how much I scolded and told her not to do it, she stubbornly refused to yield on that point.

If it was something she had to do, something she wanted to do, even if I tried to do it for her, she would adamantly refuse to let me touch it with fresh eyes, not wanting a drop of water on Heeseon’s hands, no matter how much my heart ached.

What made me angrier was that there was no need for her to go through all that trouble.

After the calluses formed, I no longer needed to carry heavy buckets of water on my head, break the ice in the valley with those fern-like hands, or do laundry while blowing on my hands, so I was briefly relieved.

Thankfully, I could stop filling the buckets, but the problem was the laundry.

Stubbornly insisting that the darn laundry had to be done by the rushing waters of the stream, Heeseon’s insistence left me with only one thing I could do: hold Heeseon’s frozen hands, pull her into my arms, and melt them to keep her warm.

Whether she knew or not, as soon as I put her in my arms, Heeseon’s hands, which had become so cold that her body trembled, just stayed in my arms, seemingly pleased, cutely laughing without a care in the world… How cruel it was.

So, those hands are not reasonable.

No matter how pretty and white they are, to me, our Heeseon’s hands are much more beautiful.

Because they were filled with Heeseon’s love, wanting to help me.

-What nonsense! Choose those hands! That’s the right path! That’s your wife, isn’t it? Sure! Absolutely sure! Haven’t all my warnings been right so far? They are this time too, right?

Yet, the intuition ringing in my head continues to urge me to choose those hands.

Even if I try to examine other hands closely, my intuition interferes with my concentration, making me feel uncomfortable when I try to look elsewhere, as if something keeps twisting inside me, drawing my gaze back to those hands, making me want to choose them…!

Unable to resist the impulse, I raise my hand and address the Emperor.

“Why? Have you already found the fairy Heeseon?”

“…No. I just have one thing to ask.”

“Alright, I will listen.”

“If a hand clearly seems wrong, can I just remove it from sight altogether?”

“……”

Why is it like this?

I was only told to find the fairy Heeseon, not how to find her.

They simply emphasized finding her alone.

And typically, in a ‘choose one among the following’ type of question, you’re supposed to use the process of elimination, right?

“Hmm….”

As the Emperor falls into deep thought and the gods watching over my ordeal murmur amongst themselves, I sense their excitement.

“Hmm, strangely enough, there seems to be no problem at all. Well.. how interesting… You always seem to have a slightly different approach to solving problems than others, don’t you? You were told to find Heeseon’s hand, but instead of finding Heeseon’s hand, you want to eliminate another first… Haha, very well, let it be so.”

Furrowing his brow in concern, the Emperor seemed hesitant to say that it was not possible, but thankfully he chuckled as if disappointed and granted permission.

“Oh… I’m really relieved.”

No matter how strong the impulse was, I couldn’t help but keep trying to choose that hand, so I was too anxious that I might accidentally choose Heesun’s hand.

Well, since you asked me to choose, I will choose.

“That pure white hand is definitely hers. That hand… It’s clear that it’s not my wife’s.”

Swoosh…!

The disappearing white hand behind the curtain.

“Phew..!”

As soon as the hand disappeared, a sigh of relief escaped.

It seemed like I had been under immense pressure without even realizing it.

In an instant, I felt a sense of relief, returning to my original self.

What was that impulse all about?

I was able to avoid choosing that hand unconsciously because I was certain it wasn’t Heesun’s hand, otherwise, I would have surely chosen that hand without thinking.

Why…

So, could it be that being wrong in this case was fate?

If that were true…?

Surely there must be an original story behind this, part of a trial, and probably someone who originally created this story…

Well, then how foolish was that person?

Did they really not recognize their own wife’s hand, leading to this strange turn of events becoming fate?

No way, that can’t be right… It must be difficult for a person to be that trashy.

Hmm… Maybe it was just because my wife’s hand was still as beautiful as ever that I got confused?

Wait, no, that can’t be it, this is probably based on the original tale of the Woodcutter and the Fairy, right?

Since the woodcutter was poor, he was a woodcutter, so realistically, could a man without money or prospects let his wife suffer until they had two children like me?

Wow, really…? Did the husband chase all the way to heaven, not knowing what his wife’s hand was, fail, and that became fate?

…It felt like some part of my faith in humanity hit rock bottom.

Phew… I almost got into big trouble because of that damn fool.

Maybe someone who awakened this story before me unfairly failed because of that fool…

Troll.

It’s a term from my hometown dialect referring to such a person, but it couldn’t fit more perfectly here.

Phew… Thankfully, now that I’ve set a new direction, I hope my story will be helpful to whoever awakens this story later.

Of course, I have to successfully overcome this trial to truly establish a new direction.

So let’s quickly find Heesun’s hand.

It’s fortunate to be able to start by removing this risk factor.

Now, looking at other hands doesn’t make me feel uneasy or twisted in the head anymore.

As my focus returned, I began to see the differences in the hands of the women more clearly.

Even if they looked similar, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize Heesun’s hand.

With a calm heart, I started eliminating hands one by one.

“Please remove this hand here. This hand too, oh! Not this one either.”

Beyond a certain point, whether the hands were rough, different in skin color, or had veins protruding differently…

Although there weren’t many fairies reaching out behind the curtain, I spent quite a bit of time meticulously rechecking even the hands I was sure didn’t belong, fearing I might miss something.

By the way, why are all the hands so rough?

Executions…? How harsh were the punishments? Even rougher than Heesun’s hands?

As I eliminated options one by one, only two hands remained.

“Huh..? Can this happen? Why do both look like Heesun’s hand?”

Two remaining hands… Are they both Heesun’s?

Thud!

Feeling something drop inside his chest, he suddenly starts to panic as his heart races madly.

How could the skin color, roughness level… even the long fingernails, the shape of the veins all be the same as our Heesun’s!

Is this how it ends in failure?

Was I also someone just like that damn original story’s man? That’s unbelievable..!

There must be a trap somewhere like the white hand from before..!

Ah.. If only I had taken Heesun’s fingerprints in advance!

How can Heesun’s hand and even the vein positions be the same!

Unexpected obstacles.

It was fortunate that those two were in the last seats. And it was oddly lucky that the two similar-looking ones were sitting next to each other.

Imagine if they had been apart, and I had met the stranger first and confirmed that their hand was Heesun’s.

I would have fallen into ruin.

After overcoming all the previous difficult trials, now faced with the easiest trial of just finding Heesun, what kind of situation is this!

I wipe my eyes once and compare the remaining two hands again.

As expected..! From the skin texture to the skin color, even the vein shapes are the same as Heesun’s… What on earth is Heesun’s hand?

But…

Huh? Wait a minute? The hand positions seem oddly strange…?

Moreover, the vein positions of the two hands placed side by side are completely different? Why did I think these two hands were the same?

Suddenly, a flash of light in my mind and without realizing it, I clap my palms together.

Yes! I didn’t think these two hands looked the same! I thought they were the same as Heesun’s hand!

With confidence, I speak to the woman behind the curtain.

“Don’t play around, Heesun! I’ve endured ten years. Can you joke around like this with the trials bestowed upon me by His Majesty?”

Rustle.

Only then do I hear a clear and lovely laughter from behind the curtain.

I turn around and inform His Majesty which hand is Heesun’s.

“I was foolish. Even though I had already found the answer, I was still pondering…. Of course, I got confused because both are Heesun’s hands. Moreover, everyone was extending their right hand, but I stupidly didn’t notice that one was the left hand. Phew.. I hesitated a bit, but Your Majesty, in the end, I found Heesun. Here is Heesun’s left hand, and here is Heesun’s right hand. How is it? Did I pass, Your Majesty.. no, Your Highness?”

Even after I pointed out Heesun’s hand, His Majesty remains silent for a moment, seemingly grasping something.

“Your Majesty?”

“Umm… Unified Three.”

“What?”

“Ha, Unified Three. It’s another Unified Three. You have passed all three trials burdened upon you.”

Passed.

As His Majesty’s words finish, the curtain is abruptly lifted with a loud sound.

“My Lord!”

Heesun flies towards me like a butterfly and embraces me tightly.

A peach scent brushes against my nose.

Ah.. Heesun’s scent that I missed..

Anxious that Heesun might slip away again, I pull her deeper into my arms, inhaling her scent to the fullest.

It may sound strange, but at that moment, I felt like I had returned home.