Episode 24
As Joon-wan was trying to figure out how to get rid of his brother, a thunderous crash echoed from the guest room.
Rumble! Crash!
A shiver ran down his spine.
It wasn’t the sound of thunder like before. It sounded more like something heavy and stacked toppling over.
“Huh?”
Joon-hyeok turned his head towards the sound. He reacted faster than Joon-wan, who was frozen in place.
“Something must have fallen over there.”
“I’ll take care of it, just-“
“Did a drawer fall or something?”
Joon-hyeok was too nosy and quick to ignore the sound. He stood up abruptly and reached for the doorknob of the guest room.
“No, no, I’ll handle it! Brother!”
Joon-wan shouted, rushing towards him, but it was too late. Joon-hyeok had already flung open the door to the room where he had stashed Hanin.
“…”
Joon-wan froze, his eyes squeezed shut, unable to speak.
‘How do I explain this? An acquaintance? A woman in pajamas at this hour? Should I just say she’s my girlfriend…?’
…He was still trying to come up with an explanation when Joon-hyeok’s voice reached his ears.
“Did you leave the window open? Oh no, these are all wet.”
He opened his eyes.
The guest room, which he used as a storage space, was littered with books that had fallen from a tall stack. The window was open, letting in the rain.
“How do you treat your books like this?”
Joon-hyeok stepped into the room, closed the window, and began restacking the books.
Joon-wan stood there, dumbfounded, unable to process the situation.
“Don’t you have a towel, Joon-wan?”
He looked around, but Hanin was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where did she go?’
And then he felt something fluttering above his head, casting a tiny shadow.
‘Huh?’
He looked up.
Had it entered through the open window? But it was a strange time and weather for a butterfly. A white butterfly was fluttering above his head.
‘Could it be…?’
“Where did this butterfly come from?”
But Joon-hyeok was quicker than him again.
Clap.
Joon-wan didn’t even realize what had happened.
Flutter.
Joon-hyeok clapped his hands together, and the white butterfly, now flattened, fell to the floor.
“…!”
He stared at the fallen butterfly, unable to scream.
“Brother!”
Anger and horror surged through him.
“Get out!”
“Joon-wan? What’s wrong?”
“I have things to do! I’ll visit you later! We’ll talk then! Just get out!”
He couldn’t remember how he managed to kick his brother out.
Joon-hyeok, understandably confused, asked as he was pushed out the door,
“When will you visit? I’m emigrating in a few months.”
“I’ll call you!”
Slam!
He slammed the door shut and rushed back to the guest room, kneeling down before the butterfly.
“Hanin…?”
His heart sank, seeing the butterfly lying there, flattened and fragile.
“Hanin? Hanin?”
It looked dead.
“Wake up. Hanin, you’re not dead, are you?”
He couldn’t believe it, but a sense of dread washed over him, fueled by her words from earlier.
“What if I transform back into a worm, and you crush or step on me?”
‘What would happen if I did? What would happen to you?’
He hadn’t heard the rest of her sentence.
Could a powerful, divine creature truly be so vulnerable, so easily extinguished by a human’s careless action, simply because of its form?
“Stop playing around, Hanin. Please?”
His hands, resting on the floor, trembled.
‘She can’t be… dead, can she?’
He couldn’t comprehend the chaotic thoughts swirling in his mind. He gently touched the butterfly’s wing with his trembling fingertip.
“…”
The butterfly, its wings seemingly broken, remained motionless. He leaned closer and raised his voice, wondering if she could hear him.
“Hanin, Hanin? Wake up. You don’t have to hide anymore.”
He whispered, afraid his breath might blow her away.
Bang!
The built-in wardrobe behind him suddenly swung open.
“Ah, is he gone?”
“…”
“It’s okay for me to come out now, right?”
He turned around to see Hanin sitting inside the wardrobe, staring at him blankly.
“He looked a bit like you through the crack in the door. Was that man your brother?”
She asked, tumbling out of the wardrobe.
***
“You should have come out sooner!”
Joon-wan scolded her as he made another batch of pancakes.
“You told me to hide and stay quiet. I did a good job hiding, didn’t I?”
Hanin sat at the table, looking at him with an incredulous expression.
“Why are you yelling at me? Do you know how hard I tried to stay hidden?”
She had been pushed into the guest room, but not knowing where to hide, she had opened the window, knocked over the books, and made a loud noise.
Thud.
He placed a plate of pancakes in front of her, sat down across from her, and clutched his head in his hands.
“Ugh…”
He had aged ten years in the past hour.
“So, who was that man who visited?”
“My brother.”
“I see. Does he visit often? Should I be prepared every day?”
He sighed.
“No. He had some business here today. Anyway… it’s nothing.”
It was a long story, not worth explaining. But Hanin’s curiosity lingered.
“He came to say goodbye before he moves far away.”
“Oh.”
“And to deliver a message from Mother.”
“What message?”
That was an even longer story. He didn’t want to talk about it, but seeing her expression, he sighed.
“The usual nagging about taking over the business and getting married.”
Hanin tilted her head.
“Business? You’re already working, aren’t you?”
“My mother runs a small business. She inherited it from my late father.”
“Hmm? Why don’t you inherit the family business if you have one?”
“Because this is what I want to do.”
“Hmm…”
She tilted her head again.
“How old are you this year?”
“Thirty-five.”
“And why aren’t you married?”
She looked genuinely confused.
“Shouldn’t you have two or three children by your age?”
That was probably the norm a thousand years ago.
“Perhaps even grandchildren?”
He shook his head.
“That’s not how the world works anymore. Marriage isn’t mandatory these days. And neither are children.”
“Are you sure you’re not just making excuses?”
He frowned at her words.
‘I don’t want to get married. Why is everyone pressuring me?’
“…”
He was about to retort, but then he remembered that she was older than his great-great-grandfather, by several generations.
“I don’t have any physical issues, and I’m not emotionally scarred. I just find it inefficient to invest my time and energy in a relationship. There are more interesting things to do.”
“Aha! That’s because you haven’t met the right person.”
She sounded like a condescending elder.
“How about I set you up with someone?”
“…”
He narrowed his eyes. This was getting out of hand.
“As a wish, once I regain my powers and ascend to the heavens.”
“No, thank you.”
“Come on, that’s not even a proper wish. I’ll find someone perfect for you. I’m an expert in this field.”
“Just focus on recovering and ascending. And stop the rain on your way up.”
He had just heard on the morning news that if the rain continued, not only would this year’s harvest be ruined, but next year’s would be in jeopardy as well.
“Um, about that… I have something to tell you.”
Hanin’s expression darkened at his casual dismissal.
“About the rain. I’m actually trying my best to stop it before I ascend.”
“Yes.”
“It wouldn’t be right for the creatures of this land to suffer because of my mistake.”
Her sudden seriousness made him flinch. Had something gone wrong?
“But perhaps my powers haven’t fully returned yet, or maybe there’s a problem up there… I can’t communicate with the heavens.”
She hesitated.
“Actually… I haven’t been able to sense the heavens for a while. That’s why I wanted to ascend and investigate… “
“…”
“So, it’s my responsibility to resolve this, but you study these ancient texts, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Could you perhaps look into whether there have been similar situations in the past?”
She looked at him anxiously.
“I’ll reward you handsomely! I’m not a creature who lies!”
He didn’t need a reward. He just wanted the rain to stop and for her to ascend to the heavens, as soon as possible.
“I’ll look into it.”
And that was how Joon-wan found himself researching legends about Imugi, serpents who had failed to become dragons, while living with a Jiryong.