Ballad of the Mountain Fox

제 5 장: Incantation

Sujin dutifully followed her lady as Jimin stormed through the town streets in a rage.  Originally, the pair had gone to the Park household, only to be told that Young Min was far too busy to see them, despite Jimin’s earnest pleas.  They had then traveled to the gisaeng house, to wrest an honest confession out of the woman claiming to have spent the night with Young Min, but the story had remained unchanged.

Left with no other options, the two women had begun to make their way back home.  Only, halfway there, Jimin had finally spotted the man supposedly “too busy” to meet with her as he snuck through the marketplace like the guilty liar he was.  No doubt he was already going back for another round at the gibang!

Well, if Sujin had been in her lady’s position—not that she would ever dare dream of such a thing—she would have simply labeled Young Min as an incorrigible cur, lucky to be rid of, and left it at that.  But Jimin was not content to move on to other things so easily, and perhaps, Sujin wondered, such was the way with nobles—to never be content to settle when something better could be done about the situation.  In a way, Sujin reasoned, it was a gallant gesture: her mistress would make certain that the rascal Park Young Min would never tarnish another noblewoman’s reputation again.

Although, what exactly Jimin had in mind, Sujin didn’t know, and wasn’t even sure if her ladyship even knew at this point.  But her mistress was a smart girl—she would soon think of something, even if it took them hours of storming through the market streets to do so.

“Do you know,” Jimin continued to rant, as Sujin left her thoughts and resumed listening to her lady’s tirade, “I was actually thinking of pardoning him, just this once.”

“That would have been most generous of you, my lady,” Sujin said, formulating her response appropriately.

“I thought so too!” Jimin exclaimed.  “After all, he’s never given me any trouble before.  Hasn’t he always been kind and generous to me?”  Not waiting for her maid to reply, she continued.  “And so I reasoned that every man must fall off his horse at least once in his lifetime, and once he comes to his senses, he’ll understand what he did wrong and never make that mistake again.  But to go right back the next day—not even wait until the evening!—and commit the exact same mistake…Oh!”

“Milady, you mustn’t tire yourself so much,” Sujin consoled as Jimin put a dainty hand to her forehead.  “Perhaps we should sit down in the shade and rest, and get something to eat.”  Her own feet were starting to ache, and she was beginning to get a bit grumpy—not at her mistress, though, of course!—but simply because she hadn’t eaten since breakfast and whenever her stomach complained, she would complain right back at it.

They had by now left the market and come to the outskirts of the town, walking along a winding path that led up into the mountains, and Sujin quickly guided her mistress to a boulder beneath the shade of a large tree.  With a tired sigh, they both sat down.

Sujin was relieved at the break, but before she could get too comfortable on her section of boulder, a figure came into view at the far end of the path, causing her heart to lurch into her throat.  Belatedly, she realized that she and her mistress had settled down a bit too far from the town than would be deemed safe, and that they were now prime targets for any robbers.

“Milday, perhaps we should go back…” Sujin ventured, but Jimin shook her head.

“No.  I’m tired.  I want to rest.”

Sujin looked back up at the person coming towards them, whose disheveled appearance foretold that no good would come from their meeting.

“Really, milady, I think we should…” Sujin urged again, tugging on her mistress’s skirts.  But now it was too late.  The approaching stranger—an old, bent-over woman—was now nearly upon them and within speaking distance.