Phases of the moon

Part 5

She kneels on the floor, staring at the traditional mulberry paper which is particularly well-suited for absorbing ink. Over the years, she has also noticed that it is also great in reflecting colors that's why she has always chosen to use it.

She breathes in.

She breathes out.

Once.

Twice.

The glint in her eyes has changed.

Her eyes are now entirely focused on the paper.

Calligraphy is something that she enjoys doing. It clears her head from unnecessary and inconsequential things. When she practices calligraphy, her mind is at peace. When her mind is serene, it'll help her to concentrate better.

To Byulyi, the exquisite art form of calligraphy helps her express her emotion. As she focuses, the worldly desires just dissipate into thin air. To be able to create simple yet beautiful strokes, one needs a clear and empty mind.

In that space and time, it is just her and her brush.

She finally takes the brush with a sharp-pointed tip made of the finest animal hair and carefully dips it into the ink. She smiles in satisfaction as it didn't dry out fast— this way, the ink would be finer.

Grinding the ink stick on the inkstone used to be a tedious task to Byulyi. It's one of the things she used to dislike about calligraphy. She would sometimes think of skipping classes and just train but her sibling would tattle her to her teachers. She remembers sulking for betraying her and how she is now forced to attend her calligraphy classes. She would start grinding but doing so only hurts her arms. Byulyi used to be an impatient child. By the time she would space out to rest for a while, her teacher then would scold and hit her with his stick.

'Your highness, by merely grinding the stick on the inkstone shows a lot of how you are as a person.'

Back then, Byulyi did not understand the depth of his words.

'You should be mindful of how you grind your stick. You cannot use brute force just so that you can finish grinding it early— no, that is not how it works,' he would say then shows Byulyi how it is done, 'Grind it lightly to make a finer ink,' there was gracefulness on his movements. The way he moved seems calculated and forbearing.

'I still don't understand,'

'The way you did it shows that you have no self-discipline.'

Byulyi looks up at him, her lips parted incredulously as he was right with what he just said. Those were the same words she had heard from her martial arts teacher.

'By merely grinding the ink stick, it shows how you severely discipline yourself and how you abstain from all forms of indulgence.'

'Calligraphy is a state of mind,' he used to tell her.

True enough, after taking her calligraphy classes seriously, Byulyi has seen a tremendous improvement not only on her works but also on her attitude in life. Through it, she has learned discipline and perseverance.

'The way characters are written is a portrait of the person who writes them,' and Byulyi agrees to it for it reflects one's emotions, character, accomplishments in self-cultivation, and approach to life.

The moment she finishes the last stroke, an uninvited guest came crashing into the privacy of her study, breaking the tranquility of the atmosphere.

She should have known that it's too good to be true for her to have a peaceful morning all by herself in her study.

"How many times do I have to tell you to have the decency to knock or... I don't know, announce your presence maybe?" she sighs in exasperation when Hyejin ignored her question and only looked around.