When the Black Moon Rises - Side Story 22
Side Story 22
"··!!"
The woman, who had unexpectedly witnessed a giant beast before her eyes, fell backward, unable to even scream. Sehwa gently waved her hand, catching the woman's body before she hit the ground.
"Uh, uh, th-this......."
Sehwa helped the woman up and then lightly leaped onto the White Tiger's back. Everyone who had turned their heads at the woman's scream and frozen, now stared at Sehwa and the Divine Beast, trembling.
"Thanks to you, we rested well before leaving. Thank you."
At that moment, the White Tiger opened its massive mouth.
"-!"
As an intense lion's roar erupted silently, the startled people squeezed their eyes shut and tumbled to the ground.
When they cautiously opened their eyes again, everything they had seen moments before was gone, as if it had been a dream.
Neither the breathtakingly beautiful young lady nor the overwhelmingly large Divine Beast that made one's spirit shrink just by looking at it. The shower had also stopped at some point, and the water membrane covering the sky was slowly disappearing.
And in the place where the water membrane had vanished, two large, vividly colored rainbows were drawing a semicircle, paving a path across the sky.
What is this? Am I dreaming with my eyes open?
Among those thinking this, someone's mouth opened first.
"......A r-rainbow has appeared."
Someone chimed in.
"Y-yes, it has."
At that moment, the voice she had heard a little while ago came to the woman's mind.
“Your child will go to a good place.”
“!”
Remembering those words and looking at the rainbow again, her eyes seemed to sting uncontrollably.
"Th-thank you."
The woman burst into tears and bowed repeatedly towards the rainbow.
"Thank you. Thank you."
Leaving the woman, the surroundings gradually became noisy.
How could they not know who they had just seen?
"C-celestials. Celestials came and went!"
"Celestials came! To our village!"
"They left us a rainbow!!"
"It's not just any rainbow! It's a double rainbow!!!"
"It's a joyous occasion! A joyous occasion!"
While some shouted like that, others, like the woman, offered prayers for those who had passed on, looking at the rainbow.
Even the merchants who had come to the village and unexpectedly witnessed the mystical sight joined in, and soon, a great cheer echoed throughout the village.
Afterward, the village's name was very honestly changed to 'The Village Visited by Celestials'.
And thanks to the rabbit rock that bestowed daughters and the double rainbow that appeared whenever it rained, the village became bustling with people wishing to pray for the repose of someone's soul. This was not a distant future event.
Baek Giha and Sehwa's, or more accurately, Baek Giha's sole objective, the rabbit rock, was in the opposite direction from the village gate they had entered.
It wasn't far, but if they hadn't heard the exact location, they might not have found it.
But hadn't they said it was a small, cute rabbit-shaped rock?
'Or was it? Did I just imagine it that way?'
She had only been thinking of a small, charming stone, but when they arrived, it looked like a giant beast-shaped rock with only its neck hanging on the cliff.
Even looking at the two-pronged ear shape, Sehwa could only think, 'Can I even consider this a rabbit?'
But Baek Giha had no hesitation. What did it matter if it was a small, cute rabbit, or something rabbit-like that could take down an ox?
As soon as he arrived, he set up a barrier, transformed into human form, and then, going beyond merely touching it, he practically clung to the rock, embracing it.
"What does it matter if it's a rabbit or not? They say it's so miraculous for conceiving a daughter."
The gaze of the one saying this was burning fiercely with an almost fanatical will, as if he would have believed it even if they had said it wasn't a rabbit but a rabbit's grandfather.
The bizarrely shaped rock and his stiff expression as he embraced it.
The useless things piled up behind him and in both his hands were so absurd. It was impossible not to laugh.
Baek Giha, who had seemed flustered watching her laugh out loud, soon looked at his own state and laughed along.
"No, really, how are you going to use all this?"
"It's alright. I can use it."
“The child will grow out of them before you can use them all.”
He kissed her reddened cheek and whispered.
"Well then, like those village women said, we can just have another one."
His ears were also red as he answered awkwardly, and she, who had turned to look while cupping her cheek, burst into laughter again.
The place where the rock was located was higher than the village, so the sight of people cheering and rejoicing loudly was visible at a glance. She watched the scene for a long time with a smile on her lips.
Then, when she looked to the side, Baek Giha was still embracing the rock with his eyes closed.
“How long are you going to stay like that?”
“Are you tired? Can you wait a little longer? I heard earlier that the longer you pray, the greater the effect.”
“How long are you going to pray?”
"It won't take long. I'll just do it a little longer. Just a little bit."
He soon approached, saying his thoughts had been short-sighted, and made a comfortable seat with the luggage he had.
"It'll just be a moment, so please wait a little. Just a moment will do."
Contrary to his words, he looked like someone who needed a very generous amount of time.
But instead of pointing that out, Sehwa sat down comfortably, leaning against the seat he had made.
Around her, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind flowed gently.
The cloudless blue sky seemed to pour down on them, hidden in the shade of the trees.
Suddenly, a yawn escaped.
Just like yesterday, when she was lying on the narrow bedding, her mind was excessively at ease.
She rubbed her eyes to wake her heavy eyelids.
"Are you sleepy?"
"I don't know why I keep getting so sleepy. ...I need to quickly visit the places I need to go and return."
"Huh?"
"The letter I sent to the Mystic Realm. The sisters will surely come within a few days, so shouldn't I be there in advance?"
“Still, it won’t be today. It’s alright to stay a little longer, so if you’re sleepy, sleep a little.”
“No. I don’t know how long I’ll sleep, so if I’m going, I should go early…….”
Sehwa nodded her head slowly.
And it seemed she yawned a few times, but she had no memory after that.
When she came to her senses, she was leaning forward against something, her body swaying.
She was being carried on a warm, large back, and Baek Giha was walking slowly along a path, carrying her as she slept.
“……Where is this?”
“You’re awake? It’s the road to the capital.”
"Have we already left the village? Did you touch the rabbit rock as much as you wanted?"
"Yes. I rubbed it until it was worn smooth."
Baek Giha's ears were red again as he said that, and Sehwa, still on his back, rumbled in her throat.
'But if I'm on his back, what about all that luggage?'
There was quite a bit of luggage to bring.
Wondering what he had done with all that luggage while carrying her, she looked and saw there was no need to worry; bundles were dangling from his hands.
What he couldn't carry, he had turned to the front and tied around his chest, making him look quite a mess at a glance.
"I'll get down."
“It’s alright, you can stay.”
“If you were going to say that, you shouldn’t have bought so much.”
He laughed along, as if he too had no excuse, and carefully lowered her to the ground.
“Look at this. I want to hold your hand, but I don’t have a free hand.”
“No. You can hold it like this.”
He gathered all the luggage into one hand.
Several large bundles hung from his arm like fruits dangling from a single branch.
At that sight, which was impossible not to laugh at, laughter constantly flowed between them as she held his hand and walked.
In the distance, the sun was already setting.
Smoke, as if from cooking dinner, was rising from the thatched houses visible here and there among the golden crops spread out to their left.
"Why were you passing through here instead of flying?"
"The wind felt nice, so I was going a little slowly."
Then, from somewhere, high-pitched laughter was heard.
When they turned around, several small children were giggling, holding branches and running along the narrow path between the fields.
In the distance, those who appeared to be their parents were shouting something at the children.
The parents, who had been calling out to the children busy playing and not listening, said something to each other and then, leaning closely against each other's shoulders, watched the children for a moment.
A flower branch, seemingly picked by her husband or children, was tucked into the worn apron of one of the mothers.
Baek Giha stopped walking and stared at the scene for a moment.
Sehwa squeezed his hand tightly.
"We'll become a family like that too."
She said to him, who had turned around at the pressure on his hand.
"A family like that, who can be happy again no matter what hardships come."
There was no answer, but Baek Giha's hand, holding hers, also tightened.
After gazing at the distant family once more, they slowly walked along the path again. The path, bathed in the sunset glow, looked incredibly warm, harmonizing with the autumn leaves.
They didn't laugh constantly as before, nor did they exchange affectionate words, but somehow, that was enough.
They had a premonition that their happiness would be like this path, which seemed to continue endlessly.
Originally, after seeing the rabbit rock, they had planned to visit Eulseonsa Temple to pray for a smooth delivery, but the wooden statue given by the woman seemed sufficient.
Thus, they didn't look around any other places and flew straight towards the palace.
However, as they got closer to their destination, the atmosphere somehow felt different from before. The capital citizens, who had been walking busily along the road, were now gathered near the palace for some reason.
Flying along that road, they landed at the building where they had been staying, and it was even more chaotic there. Unorganized carts filled the courtyard of the building, and on top of them were countless boxes of unknown contents.
'What is all this?'
Before she could even ask the palace attendants about it, Head Eunuch Hong rushed over as if he had been waiting.
"You've arrived. You have a lot of luggage. Please give it to me."
"Is something wrong? The palace seems noisy. What are all those things?"
“...Well, several celestials came looking for you and have been waiting for you both since yesterday.”
"Celestials?"
Then someone suddenly spoke.
“Why on earth did you run away?”
"Mother!"
"Madam?"
Baek Giha, who had turned at the familiar voice, flinched.
He was sure he had heard the Madam's voice, but his eyes met those of Elder Myoungyoon, who was glaring fiercely.
Even behind him, his two older brothers stood with menacing glares.
As the Madam quickly approached, Sehwa was hit on the back, and Baek Giha quickly pulled her into an embrace.
"Ah, no. Hit me. I'll take the blow."
“What are you talking about? Clan Head Baek, you have no time as you need to speak with me.”
Ju Myoungyoon, who had approached at some point, grabbed Baek Giha by the scruff of his neck and gestured with his chin.
“I would appreciate it if you could come with me over there for a moment. I have something to tell you and also something I’d like to hear, so I wanted to request some time.”
"F-Father-in-law."
“Yes, Clan Head Baek. Let’s go together for a moment. There are a few things I’d like to discuss in a quiet place.”
"B-Brothers-in-law."
Even if Sehwa wanted to intervene on his behalf, another formidable opponent stood before her.
Baek Giha, stiff as a board, was eventually dragged away by Elder Myoungyoon, and Sehwa, too, swallowed dryly, looking at her mother who was still staring intently at her.
"Hmm. So..."
“So?”
"Running away was definitely not it, just. To see if the guess was true."
"Are there no physicians in the Mystic Realm that you came all the way here?"
“Just. I like the physicians of the Human Realm.”
"....."
“Perhaps because I stayed in the Human Realm for a long time. This place feels more familiar than the Mystic Realm. And the medicine of the Human Realm seems to suit me better.”
"..."
"Hmm, the food is delicious too."
For those reasons, I came to the Human Realm for a while, Mother.”
"Aha. So you didn't run away, you just wanted to rest, is that it?"
“That’s right. Run away? Did I commit a crime? Not at all, Mother.”
Cheon Sua burst into a hollow laugh at her daughter's answer.
Sehwa, noticing the atmosphere softening just by that, quickly grabbed her sleeve and led her.
"You must have been very tired coming here. I have a detached palace I'm using, so rest there today."
"It's alright. I have something to resolve, and I just came because I have something to give. I have to leave before sunset."
"Yes? You're leaving like this without even staying a day?"
“What are you talking about? I left as soon as I received the letter and arrived yesterday. I already rested comfortably for a night at the palace.”
"Still, at least have some tea."
"No. I really have to go."
She thought her mother was very angry, but it didn't seem like that. Besides, even if she was angry, her mother wasn't one to refuse even a cup of tea like this.
Sehwa's eyes narrowed.
"Is something wrong in the Mystic Realm?"
"Hmm. Not really."
Not really?
"It's just that I have a little something to take care of. I'll come again soon, so let's talk leisurely then."
Her mother answered like that, but listening to her, she noticed another strange thing.
'Come to think of it, even though she took the trouble to bring so much luggage, she didn't bring even one of the sisters?'
Comments
Post a Comment