Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
⟨Chapter 59⟩
⟨One pot of blue sky⟩
People of Goryeo call the blue color of pottery bisaek (dark jade).
『Xuān Hé’s Envoy Trip to Goryeo』
Bisaek of Goryeo has no match.
『Tapestry inside the sleeve』
The shadows of thick trees created a pattern on the road.
It wasn’t hot yet. Thanks to the wind brushing against his arms, he even felt a cool touch. But when the city wakes up, it will turn hot right away.
A man came out of a hospital at the early morning. He was wearing a hospital gown, and pulling an IV stand. Without even waiting for a signal, he passed the crosswalk. The car, fast approaching from the other side, ran at him, but it just passed through the man’s body.
The man entered the road lined up with plane trees[1], and threw away the IV. With the gait that seemed infinitely lighthearted, he disappeared between the green shrubbery.
Souls exist. Even if people’s eyes don’t see them, they certainly exist. It was a secret the world gave a glimpse of only to him.
Yu Dan looked at the place where the man disappeared, and then started to walk again.
“… The nobility of Goryeo didn’t just control power and own a large size of land, but taking advantage of land inheritance and land tax exception law[1] given by the state, they enmassed enormous wealth…”
He rested his chin on his hand and half listened to the class.
The national history was boring. The class was full of sleeping kids, and even teacher-nim seemed drowsy.
Yu Dan looked out through the window.
One of the clouds was shaped strangely. Looking closely, it resembled a fox head.
Come to think of it, he decided to go check on them to see if the entire last commotion was settled, but he kept being unable to go. It was because his time was consumed doing homework. If it was like in the past, he would let a few things slip.
He somehow even overcame the cold-like sickness he suffered from every summer, and though it wasn’t his true intention, he cleaned up the entire house, so he decided to try to live diligently for a while.
Yu Dan leaned his ears to the class again.
But because it was too boring, his mind immediately began to grow hazy. What could he know when he suddenly came to listen to classes?
He looked out the window, that cloud from a moment ago was still there.
Fox. White fox.
He abruptly remembered what Baek Ran told him. In the old times, people didn’t know what Cheon-ho was. They thought he was a white fox because he was so dazzling…
Suddenly, he recalled something.
When he was scared of the vision of the monster shown by the werewolf at the Spider Ghost’s market, Baek Ran told him that he was there that day. He recalled the scene in his head when he heard it. The pure white fox that came down stepping on the darkness and blocked the way of the monster. A huge fox with nine tails.
Baek Ran later told him it was a lie. But now that he thought about it, it was strange. Isn’t Cheonho golden? If he conjured something by himself after hearing Baek Ran’s words, shouldn’t he naturally imagine a golden fox? The white fox, wasn’t it exactly the same eyewitness account of the people of old when they saw Cheon-ho for the first time?
Was it perhaps not a memory he made up, but a scene he saw for real? As he didn’t have any preliminary knowledge, didn’t he mistake Cheon-ho for being pure white when he saw him for the first time?
He was surprised when his thoughts got this far.
Could it be? He didn’t know what it was, but it seemed he was doing some sharp thinking.
It swiftly escaped him. He didn’t know a tail of what he caught anyway. But he was really curious what Baek Ran would say when he heard that story.
The moment the school ended, Yu Dan ran to the Banwoldang.
The fox yokai wasn’t stretched out in the study, or on the maru, but in the medicine room. The ears that were always perked up, were drooping without energy, and he was hitting the floor, as if it had wronged him.
“My head hurts…”
The wild ginseng twin yokai were helplessly fanning him at the side. Those children also didn’t look to be in a good shape.
“What? What happened to you? No way, were you struck by the divine punishment again?”
“No.”
Chaeseol shook her head.
“Surprisingly, Cheonho-nim was affected by heat.”
“What? Heat?”
Hearing that, he had a thought. The last time he saw him, Baek Ran said he stood under the sunlight for too long, and disappeared with a pale face, as if running.
“Is it perhaps because you went out that day?”
“Right. Since returning after going out, he kept saying that his head hurts, and he finally ended up like this. He says he hates doing anything. Looking as we’re helpless, he must have been affected by heat.”
“It can’t be. In my memory it wasn’t even thirty minutes. You mean he got affected by heat just because of that?”
“The old sunlight wasn’t like this.”
Baek Ran replied sullenly.
“He says he hates anything different from the old days. Every time he is like this, he is no different from elder-nim, right?”
“Please just think about it on Your own. Whose fault is all of this? It’s because of humans. Because they destroyed the ozone layer too much, the harmful rays got too strong. Even the last time I came out in the midday, it wasn’t this bad.”
“When was it?”
“When was it…”
“It was September 15, 1945, correct?”
At Chaeu’s answer, Yu Dan was startled.
“That was the first time you came out in broad daylight on summer after we gained independence? That’s not being affected by heat, that’s a severe lack of exercise! Isn’t it too much like a shut-in man?”
“I’m not a shut-in man.”
“Then do you do some kind of exercise?”
“No.”
“Then you’re a shut-in man!”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I should be shut-in yokai.”
“You said that! So you recognize it?”
“What is there to recognize? Only lowly things wander around. The more stuck in the corner You are, the more noble You are.”
“Is that so? So it’s so noble to be affected by heat? Does no one feel anything when they see it? Everyone just respects you too much. If it was me, I would drag you out and made you exercise starting tomorrow morning.”
“Please listen to what he is saying. Someone is going to drag someone out. Aren’t humans truly wicked?”
Baek Ran asked for agreement, but everyone was silent. Even the serpent yokai, who would unconditionally agree to anything this fox yokai said, pressed her lips shut. The dokkaebi carefully spoke up.
“Cheonho-nim, I think there is some truth to this punk’s words. You don’t come out too much. The fox yokai, who had lived for over thousands of years, the great Cheon-ho, came out in broad daylight for a moment and collapsed from heat right away? Who would believe such words?”
“See. They say it’s somehow strange. What’s more, for Cheon-ho?”
“Please look at that. Others will react exactly the same. Huhu. I fear what someone would do if they knew. Even the little yokai born these days are doing well under the harmful rays. Aren’t the yokai, who couldn’t adapt to the changing world and were eliminated, truly incompetent? — haven’t you said that over and over?”
“It’s the law of nature that the waves of great river that came later, push the waves that came first. If it’s the time to be eliminated, I have to accept it.”
“You’re changing your words without a second of thought.”
When Do-ssi criticized him, Baek Ran covered his face with a fan and avoided his gaze. As if saying ‘I can’t help it’, Heuk-yo shook her head.
“Anyway, that’s the situation, so just go. The supernatural is banned for the time.”
“No.”
“Banned.”
She ignored Baek Ran’s words, and hammered it down. He felt the spirit of general who stabbed her sword into the floor and stood her ground.
“You don’t come out because of supernatural. I wanted to ask for a different thing, but…”
“What thing? I hope You ask quickly before I die, because I’m forcibly confined here and will suffocate. As corpses can’t answer.”
“I was wondering if I can ask right now, but in fact I suddenly had a thought earlier today. Cheon-ho is golden. In fact even in my eyes you look like this.”
“Yes. It’s indeed a golden color.”
“But didn’t you say that when the ancient people saw Cheon-ho for the first time, they mistakenly thought you were white? Thinking about it, I also saw a white fox at the time. That was strange. I already knew that Cheon-ho was golden. As such, when I was making up a hallucination, it should have been a golden fox, so why a white fox?”
“I have no idea what are You talking about. When was ‘that time’? When did You see a hallucination of a white fox?”
‘Ah, I skipped that, eh? I’m talking about the Spider Ghost’s market. You said that to me. You said that you were there too. I’m talking about the scene that appeared in front of my eyes when I heard that. That day when a lot of people died, because the monster with eight eyes appeared, it was surely a white fox that blocked the road in front of me…”
Realizing that everyone was staring at him with shaking eyes, Yu Dan stopped talking. Baek Ran put away the fan he covered his face with. This fox yokai also seemed quite surprised.
“Why are you like this? As expected, I was right, huh? That wasn’t a made up by me hallucination. It was a real memory.”
“No.”
“Lies. Then why are you surprised?”
“Isn’t it surprising when You suddenly bring up and speak about it so easily?”
“What do you mean? What did I do?”
“I mean that incident. Didn’t You suffer such a great shock that You couldn’t even speak, as if something was stuck in Your throat? Now You’re talking about is so well?”
Yu Dan at last became conscious of it and was surprised.
It was true. It was first time he voluntarily spoke up and brought up that story. He even referred to it as ‘That day when a lot of people died, because the monster with eight eyes appeared’. It was a strange feeling.
“Am I perhaps fine now?”
“What should I do You if You ask me like this?”
“Ah, right. I’ll try again. That day…”
He tried to speak more, but his lips didn’t move. Seemed like it was just it. His head throbbed, and his left eye hurt as if burned.
“No. I’m not okay.”
“I’m watching You act like a fool even today.”
Baek Ran covered his face with a fan again.
“Somehow, I thought that You were speaking very smoothly. But now my chest only feels more suffocated, eh? I can’t read books, I’m really going to die like this…”
“If Cheonho-nim passes away, we will also die.”
Chaeseol swayed and laid down on the floor. Chaeu tried to make her stand up, but he just ended up laying down with her. They looked like wilted plants. The dokkaebi and the serpent looked at each other, not knowing what they should do.
“It can’t go on like this. We need a revolutionary solution.”
“What would that be, older brother?”
“Creating a distraction. Chaeseol, Chaeu. Both of you. Didn’t you work without any vacation for a while? Take a day of this weekend and take Cheonho-nim out. Make him adjust to the sunlight, while laying on a mat on the Han River shore and watching humans to your hearts’ content.”
“Why us…?”
“Do we have to…?”
The twins replied helplessly. Do-ssi quickly added.
“I mean you can bring a human lunchbox.”
Yu Dan was startled.
“What are you saying?!”
“Aagh, that came out wrong. Human’s lunchbox.”
“I’m done. Why am I suddenly getting dragged into this? What would I be doing at the Han River’s shore, sitting on the mat with the yokai?”
“Probably act like a fool like always. Don’t burden yourself. Do as always.”
“No. I’m done, sir. I’ll truly sincerely refuse. Even just hearing the words ‘Han River on weekend’, makes my head hurt. And I’m busy on the weekend anyway. I have to go to the museum to do my homework.”
“Museum?”
Everyone was surprised once again.
Did he say something wrong again?
It didn’t seem so. The dokkaebi and serpent chatted with excitement.
“Museum? Huhuhu. Why didn’t we think of it?”
“Cheonho-nim, did You hear that? Without it, there was no reason to go to the museum, but now that this punk is going, wouldn’t it be very fun to stealthily sneak out with him and go look around?”
What was that nonsense again?
Yu Dan freaked out, but soon calmed down. There was no way that this dying fox yokai would react to such a simple thing. Thinking like this, he glanced at him and flinched. Baek Ran already got up.
“I don’t feel like going out, but I can go out just once for something like museum…”
A huge tail shook behind him. What? He was even wagging his tail now? Yu Dan was so flustered he broke into a sweat.
“Is no one going to ask for my opinion?”
Heuk-yo opened her eyes wide.
“You mean it’s okay for Cheonho-nim to pass away?”
“Why are you so extreme!? If he wants to go to the museum, he can just go, there is no reason he has to follow me. There’s a lot of people on weekend, so wouldn’t it be better to comfortably go sightseeing on a weekday?”
“Noise of ignorance. That’s a too human place made by humans for humans, the yokai group would be noticed if they came.”
“How about being just a bit mindful of your behavior? I’m not going to play. I have homework to do. Homework that counts for grades. If I want to live, I have to be careful about my grades now.”
Silence fell.
Baek Ran suddenly laid down. Do-ssi asked, startled.
“Cheonho-nim, are You okay?”
“My head hurts…”
Baek Ran turned over.
“I get it now. It wasn’t heat. There was no way it would go on for so long if it was heat. Those are symptoms of academically named hysterical breakdown. Not a long time ago, I suffered a great shock. Because a strange person holding a knife barged into my study in the middle of the night, and threatened to cut me up…”
Yu Dan’s face gradually crumpled.
***
“That hysterical breakdown, will it be completely cured with it?”
“It will probably get better.”
“Probably?”
“It will get better.”
“Will?”
“It’s better.”
He barely obtained a clear answer.
He wouldn’t change his words after saying that, right? Good. He just had to get through today.
Yu Dan persuaded himself.
Anyway, going to the museum was a good idea, and if it would brighten up the fox and the wild ginseng twins’ gloomy faces… no, that’s not it? Something should be visible, right?
He squinted his eyes, and looked at them.
For some reason all three were disguised. Because they were wearing baggy hoodie shirts and masks, their faces weren’t visible.
“Whose idea was it? This strange disguise?”
“I dressed them, you bastard-ah.”
He heard the serpent yokai’s frightening voice behind his back. Yu Dan hiccuped and stopped breathing.
“They’re going on a break to play after a long time, so I diligently researched how to go comfortably sightseeing without the need to transform, and dressed them. What is the problem? Aren’t those baggy rags and masks something you humans wear all the time?!”
“Right, right, but when you put them together, the story is different. Of course, no one will suspect you to be yokai. They will think that you’re trying to reenact a murder case that occurred in this museum.”
“I’m glad.”
Against the triumphant serpent, the dokkaebi appeared to drag her back.
“What I’m glad, sister? I said it was strange. It would be better to take off the masks.”
“I think so too.”
“Us too. It’s hot.”
The three yokai took off the masks.
They looked unnatural just like before. It was midsummer, but according to Heuk-yo, they covered themselves with ‘baggy rags’! But as he didn’t have to disguise himself, he decided to just let it go.
“Okay, then let’s go.”
“Cheonho-nim, stay safe.”
“Kids-ah. You have listened to the human punk’s words today. Got it?”
“Yes.”
The three yokai replied docilely, and followed them out.
As expected, it seemed like they were happy to go out to play?
*~*~*
[1] plane trees — Platanus orientalis
[2] inheritance and land tax exception law — According to Goryeo’s law, the land assigned to the government officials could be inherited by the family, even if that family didn’t pass the government official exam. What’s more, those lands had numerous benefits, like exception from taxes, slaves assigned to take care of it, or the fact that the royal family/state couldn’t take them back, and had virtually no power to interfere. Those laws were one of the main reasons Goryeo fell, and left such a deep impression, that in Joseon, which was raised on Goryeo’s ashes, government officials couldn’t pass the land to their families, and lost the right to management the moment they retired (of course those laws were a bit different depending on the period, but Goryeo’s fail certainly had a big impact).
Translator’s note: Baek Ran is being extremely relatable this chapter… ‘One pot of blue sky’ story is four chapters long.
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