Unforgettable memories sometimes come back to haunt us.
The memory of how cold it was on the day of the college entrance exam, passing the exam and getting into the university I wanted, and realizing the next morning after entering boot camp that all those guys who said I’d get a girlfriend if I entered a good college were all liars.
‘Where is this place?’
A landscape overflowing with pink flowers. As I opened my eyes, it resembled a certain day.
In the distance, I see the back of a woman. Who could it be? As words spilled from my mouth, the woman turned around.
‘Ah…’
An unforgettable woman stood there.
Even knowing it was going towards catastrophe, I felt as if I could lose myself just staring at her if I didn’t concentrate.
‘Murong Sang-a.’
The woman, who is linked to me by marriage, looked at me in surprise.
‘Is this a dream?’
Such a beautiful scene feels like a dream. It was because the woman’s beauty was simply too surreal. The most realistic thing in this world should have been her beauty, yet it felt like the most dreamlike appearance.
An unforgettable memory.
The memory of the wedding ceremony might be a reconstruction showing itself.
I am myself, yet I do not act as I will. It feels like watching a first-person movie alone. I spoke something to the woman in my dream.
The world is breaking.
The dream is shattering.
“Master Kang…!”
The woman’s scream echoes painfully.
“Uh? This?!”
Is this a preparation to wake up? As if my consciousness was being sucked somewhere, my body became mine again. The woman, who had seemed far away, now felt extremely close.
Her face looked as if she might collapse at any moment.
The tears at my fingertips were incredibly hot and cold.
Just like that day. Just like the day when my true feelings spilled out without my knowledge. I felt like I would crumble if she didn’t support me.
“Hang in there.”
“……!”
The foretold catastrophe arrives.
The parting I experienced returns once more.
The only words I could offer to the woman in my dream were those.
—————
“What kind of dream was that?”
I was startled awake with those words.
Although dreams are usually nonsensical, suddenly having Murong Sang-a appear in my bed was quite the shock.
The sun hadn’t risen yet. I needed to sleep a bit more. Forcing myself to sleep again, the tearful face kept flickering in my mind.
“Murong Sang-a…”
If someone were to ask me to name the moments of my life that posed the greatest crisis, I would definitely mention my wedding night.
It wasn’t just about the threat to my life.
It was a situation where all the plans I had prepared for survival fell perfectly into place. The kiss with Murong Sang-a was powerful enough to wipe all my plans from my mind.
“Even thinking back on it, her beauty is simply absurd.”
If I hadn’t desperately acted and concentrated to stay awake, I would have lost myself completely.
“I tried so hard to forget…”
Although I had already tasted many others’ lips by now, it was hard to forget the woman who put down the first flag.
The woman with whom I shared my first kiss. That very woman was crying in my dream.
Bitter feelings spilled out of my mouth. My thoughts and words about her didn’t come out easily.
Getting involved with the Murong family would bring no good. The issue of treason would attach itself to me as a label.
If the fact of my survival were to leak out, Murong Bi would immediately be after my neck, and the standing that Murong Sang-a had built up would vanish in an instant.
While I would naturally meet her if I became famous, she was also a woman I could only meet if I became famous.
“I must become famous.”
So that both Joseon and the Murong family wouldn’t dare to touch me.
I closed my eyes again.
———-
“Club Leader! Did you sleep well through the night?”
As I came down to the first floor of the inn, the innkeeper greeted me with a cheerful face.
“I didn’t even realize when I fell asleep while working.”
I couldn’t properly open my sleep-drenched eyes and just sat in an empty seat.
Why is my body so heavy? I definitely got some sleep. It feels like I returned from some long journey. I must have accumulated a lot of fatigue.
“You look exhausted. I told you to go home and sleep.”
“I guess I’ve been fooling around too much lately.”
Sure, it was good to have fun until the day I parted with Im Ha-yeon. I never expected it to be like this.
It’s like coming back from a week-long trip while everyone else is at work and realizing the overwhelming reality waiting for me.
“Now that your sister-in-law has left, it must be quite a burden.”
“Well, my father-in-law said he had some places to take me to, so there’s nothing I can do. All I can do is work hard.”
I felt like the president of a business with less than five employees who had just lost their key talent. With Im Ha-yeon, who handled all the small tasks, gone, I never thought the vacancy would feel this big.
Although Miss Zhuge was still helping me, she struggled with tasks related to client dealings and face-to-face interactions, so naturally, my workload increased.
The owner of the previous company I worked for didn’t care whether employees were fired or left; he just changed cars every year and played golf with friends.
Me? I feel like I’m a wage slave instead of a president without guaranteed quitting hours.
“Cheer up. What will you have for breakfast?”
The innkeeper, sounding sympathetic, clicked his tongue and spoke to me.
“I’m not really thinking about breakfast.”
“That won’t do. You look so drained, I’ll just prepare something simple for you.”
“Really, that’s not necessary.”
“Ah! Joseon people run on meals! Meals!”
As the innkeeper’s commanding voice echoed through the inn, other Joseon people on the first floor looked at me with concern.
“Then I would like some simple soup and rice, please.”
Our club leader is working without having eaten. I’m worried he might pass out. If the club leader collapses, the Joseon expatriate association will be finished too. Better to eat than to risk having people showing up with unnecessary rumors.
I nodded my head, unable to raise it due to exhaustion.
“Ah?! Soup and rice? I should give something better to a club leader who looks so drained! Just a moment!”
The innkeeper hurriedly went to the kitchen and started clattering around.
I thought just eating rice would suffice, but with the sound of hard things breaking and being chopped, it seemed like he would be preparing something extravagant.
“Here it is!”
The innkeeper presented a tray full of food to me.
Huh?
What’s this?
“What is this…?”
I recognized the dish at once.
On the tray that the innkeeper set down, there was a food I was too familiar with.
“What else? Food that inspires the spirit of a tiger! It’s cereal!!!”
The identity of the food was cereal.
“T-the spirit of a tiger?”
Putting aside the food, how did he know that catchphrase? As I looked at him with a surprised face, the innkeeper folded his arms, looking at me as though I should know that.
“Do young people these days not know the old stories? The tale of the tiger who only ate mugwort and garlic.”
“Are you talking about the Dangun myth?”
“The tiger, tired of the spicy taste of mugwort and garlic, went looking for this cereal as soon as it came out. Just like a whale gives birth and eats seaweed, the tiger also ate this cereal and regained its spirit.”
“Uh, I see…”
Wow. The traditional food the tiger in the Dangun myth ate was cereal. I had forgotten about that while overwhelmed with life.
“Do you not believe it? Why do you think cereal is called cereal? It comes from the phrase ‘suhwaul’ (literally ‘tiger’s spirit’)! It became cereal from ‘suhwa’ and ‘real’!”
What in the world is that naming method? Thanks to that, I was fully awake now.
“I’ll eat well.”
Although I was surprised by the sudden appearance of cereal, I actually didn’t dislike it. I used to eat cereal simply when heading to work.
I brought my spoon to the bowl left by the cereal. I didn’t know if it really had the spirit of a tiger, but it looked far more carefully prepared than I expected.
Not only cereal but there were also nuts and even some fruits like banana, looking like a properly prepared cereal you’d see in ads.
‘This is tastier than I thought?’
I didn’t know about the tiger spirit, but it was definitely fitting for a breakfast for someone drained of energy.
———
“I’m back.”
After visiting the direct store, franchise stores, and the Tea Bookstore, I returned to the mansion just as the sun was setting.
“Master Kang, a guest is here.”
“A guest?”
Who could possibly be visiting? I had no one who would come to visit regarding work since I had already dropped by everywhere today.
As I approached with hurried steps, I was guided to the guest room.
“Ah! Master Kang! You’ve finally arrived!”
“The Seocheon Post Office Branch Manager? What is such a busy person doing here?”
I never expected such an unexpected guest. The identity of the guest was the branch manager of the Seocheon Post Office in Wuhan.
“I have an apology to make.”
The branch manager spoke awkwardly, avoiding my gaze.
“An apology? You came all the way here in person? Did you lose some cargo?”
Please don’t tell me there was another theft of cargo.
“No, thanks to Master Kang, there have been no problems with the cargo transport lately.”
The branch manager rejected the notion vehemently and replied.
“Then what brings you here?”
“It seems there was an issue between the cargo delivery between you and Ho Pil, the author.”
“If it’s a delivery issue between Ho Pil and me?”
The branch manager is one of the few people who knows that I am Ho Pil. The fact that he deliberately separated our names implies there’s a reason behind it.
“As you know, the reputation of Author Ho Pil has been spreading, and there have been many letters sent to Yichang for him lately.”
“Yes, I know.”
“I’ve heard he’s been busy and instructed that those letters should all be kept stored at Yichang.”
“Yes, that’s right. But how is that related to your reason for visiting today?”
While reading fan letters when at Yichang had been a rewarding experience, I had so much to do in Wuhan that I stopped doing that.
But what does that have to do with his visit?
“That seems to have caused a misunderstanding in communication between you two.”
The branch manager continued speaking with a troubled expression.
“A misunderstanding in communication?”
This was getting even more confusing.
“I heard that the Seocheon Post Office’s Usan branch had sent a letter.”
“Usan branch…?”
Have I ever sent a letter from Usan, neither when in Yichang nor Wuhan?
Usan was the place where I met Im Ha-yeon.
Wait, as I got lost in the series of memories I had long forgotten while living busily, something flashed in my mind, as the branch manager continued.
“It especially didn’t have your name, Master Kang, rather it was written as ‘Jiyu’ (paper friend). They likely assumed it was a letter meant for Author Ho Pil since it referred to a connection between books.”
“Jiyu? Ah?!”
A strong shock hit me like a hammer on my head.
I had written the name Jiyu for exactly one person.
“I’m sorry for the late delivery. Here’s a letter from the Volcano Sect.”
The original protagonist.
After more than half a year, a letter from the original protagonist had finally reached me.
