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Morning unfurled over Sejukwon like a silk ribbon, quiet and pale. Sunlight filtered softly through the paper screens, casting shifting patterns on the floor as the wind rustled the medicinal herbs hung to dry. The scent of ginseng and clean linen lingered in the air, grounding, familiar.
A faint warmth rested against her temple-the sun, gentle now, almost reverent. She blinked slowly, adjusting to the calm.
A voice broke the hush, low and careful. "Young lady... do you feel better now?"
It was Mu-deok.
The girl stood a few paces away, a basin of fresh water in her hands, her gaze steady. There was something in her expression Na-ra couldn't quite name-concern, perhaps...but something quieter threaded through it. An unreadable weight behind the calm.
Na-ra tilted her head, watching her.
There had always been something unusual about Mu-deok. From the first time their paths crossed, Na-ra had felt it-a sense that the girl's eyes saw more than they should. And even now, under the soft light of the morning, that feeling hadn't faded. If anything, it deepened.
"Mhm," Na-ra hummed lightly, brushing her hair back as she smiled." I'm really okay."
The grin she gave was half-cheeky, half-defiant-like a child pretending not to limp after a fall. But Mu-deok didn't return it. She simply set the basin down beside her and knelt to adjust the edges of the blanket.
Her eyes, dark and still, remained on Na-ra. Quietly watchful. Not believing. Not entirely.
Na-ra blinked. The room felt warmer than before.
"Don't look at me like that," she whispered, not unkindly." You'll make me start worrying, too."
Mu-deok didn't answer right away. She wrung out a cloth with practiced ease, then gently dabbed the side of Na-ra's face with the cool water.
The room had just begun to settle into a rare quiet place when her eyes circled around, her brows gently furrowing.
"...Where are Younghee and Dang-gu?"
Seo Yul opened his mouth to answer, but before he could utter a word, the sliding door burst open with a thud that made everyone jump.
Two voices overlapped in breathless disbelief.
" Young lady! "
" Na-ra! "
Dang-gu and Younghee barreled into the room, both panting, eyes wide as if they were seeing a ghost come back to life. And in a way-she was.
