UTPT Ch 5

Yihyun scooped cold water into a basin and washed his hair. He wanted to take a bath, but that was out of the question in his current condition. If he boiled water, transferred it to a basin, bathed, and then cleaned up afterward, he would almost certainly be bedridden for a week.

What was the point of having a boiler? It wasn’t even connected to the plumbing, so washing up in the winter was a real ordeal.

On top of that, the people living in that mansion couldn’t stand to see Yihyun rest for even a single day. Even if he was sick, there was no way they would go easy on him.

After squeezing the water out of his hair with a towel so thin it was nearly transparent, Yihyun entered his room and took out a jar of tiger balm from the drawer. He had been using it sparingly to make it last, but the bottom was starting to show.

“I’ve almost used up all the balm…”

Without it, he wouldn’t have anything to apply to his bruises. He decided to forgo using it on his body to save what little was left and only applied it to his face. If Han Suhyun saw him walking around with a bruised face, he might hit him again.

“Ow, it stings…”

As he spread the balm over his face, the smell made his eyes water. Yihyun applied only a very thin layer before pulling out a heavy, thick cotton blanket. It was an old blanket, one he had used since the days when his nanny took care of him, but in the winter, he was truly grateful to have it.

— Things will ease up next year.

“Huh?”

— Your fortune, I mean.

“My fortune…”

— Do you not believe me?

Believe him or not—Yihyun couldn’t answer right away. The spirit had never said anything like that to him before. Given that he had once boasted about making Yihyun’s father the prime minister, the divine spirit must have had considerable power. The problem was that ever since coming to Yihyun, there hadn’t been a chance to demonstrate that ability.

“I’ll believe you.”

That didn’t mean Yihyun had any reason not to believe those words. If things turned out well for him, that would be good, and if he tried to argue about what the spirit said, he would only end up staying up all night listening to his endless chatter.

The one Yihyun called a “spirit” was a manshin. The spirit himself had never properly explained, but from what Yihyun had picked up, a manshin had a constitution that attracted ghosts, and over a thousand years, all sorts of spirits had gathered around him.

The manshin was not particularly cruel to Yihyun. Most of the souls that made up his being were ghosts lingering in the living world with regrets, meaning there were likely more vengeful spirits than benevolent ones, yet none had ever harmed Yihyun. And now, apparently, the manshin had sent all those evil spirits to the afterlife.

In truth, Yihyun had never seen any ghosts other than the divine spirit himself.

The divine spirit had appeared suddenly after Yihyun’s illiterate nanny died when he was ten. He never did much, simply lounging idly on a thick peach tree branch. Even so, he was the only one who ever spoke a kind word to Yihyun.

— Right, you’re already in pain, so go to sleep quickly. You’ll only feel worse tomorrow.

He was already hurting now, so tomorrow would surely be worse… Trying to forget the pain, Yihyun closed his eyes and briefly thought about the man who had visited today. It was only because of the divine spirit that he was thinking about him at all. Well, it wasn’t often that a young man came to this house, and that man hadn’t seemed ordinary, so it would be stranger not to think about him.

The lips that had said, “Thank you,” seemed really pretty. And his hands were huge. But when his eyes had swept over Yihyun’s appearance, Yihyun had instinctively stepped back. No matter how uneducated he was, no matter how little he knew, he at least understood that his appearance was unpleasant for others to look at.

“There’s no reason we’d meet again anyway.”

Just thinking about him wasn’t causing trouble for anyone, so it should be fine. It wouldn’t bring misfortune either… though that, he wasn’t sure of. According to his older brother and father, Han Yihyun was no different from a wretched, lingering spirit or a vengeful ghost. Maybe a gathering of spirits was actually the better option.

— I told you, you’re not something like that.

As if reading his thoughts, the divine spirit floating idly in the air let out a blunt remark. Yihyun briefly glanced up at the spirit’s face, which showed a faint trace of concern, then closed his eyes. Finally, he thought he might be able to sleep.

***

The well-worn blanket finally tore at the corner. Without so much as a sigh, Yihyun threaded a large needle and began stitching by hand. No one had ever specifically taught him, but he had a keen eye and could easily mimic something after seeing it once or twice. He had learned to sew by watching his nanny’s hands.

— It’s just an outer blanket; you could leave it as is.

“If I do, it’ll just keep tearing.”

— You’re so skilled with your hands, you’d do well even when you’re married off.

“Why would I get married off?”

— It could happen.

“I’m a man… Ah, the phone…”

The old telephone in the corner rang. It was only connected to the main house, and whenever it rang, something bad always followed. Sticking the long needle into the fabric, Yihyun picked up the receiver.

“Yes, hello…”

— Get to the main house immediately.

Then, click—the call ended.

What was it this time? When they called him over at this hour, it was usually because they couldn’t stand the sight of the messy dining table after dinner, or lately, because guests had arrived.

If he was even slightly late, they would surely fly into a rage again. Hastily getting to his feet, Yihyun gathered his cumbersome hair and twisted it into a bun. When he stepped outside, large snowflakes were falling heavily.

“Wow…”

Looking up at the sky in awe, Yihyun’s face was soon covered in falling snow. His skin quickly became damp and cold, but he didn’t feel particularly chilly.

But only for a moment—he soon hurried his steps again. Not that it made much difference; with his right leg refusing to move as he wanted, his pace was no faster than an ordinary person’s walk.

Quietly opening the back door of the main house, he climbed the stairs and stepped into the kitchen. Voices carried from the drawing room. Peeking out slightly to gauge the situation, Yihyun smoothly took out a tea set and placed tea leaves inside. It was obvious he had been called to serve the guest.

After checking the atmosphere once more, Yihyun picked up the tray and entered the drawing room, keeping his footsteps silent. As soon as Han Suhyun met Yihyun’s gaze, his already sharp eyes widened even further, jerking his chin in an impatient gesture.

He was telling him to hurry up, serve the tea, and get lost.

Adjusting his grip on the heavy tray, Yihyun stepped forward and picked up a cup. Balancing the tray with one arm while serving with the other was precarious at best.

“Ah…”

The hot tea spilled over the back of Yihyun’s hand, soaking it completely. More than the pain, the shock made him jolt upright, but before he could react further, a handkerchief was placed on the back of his hand.

“Leave the tray and cool your hand.”

The man took the tray from Yihyun’s arm and casually set it down on the table. For a moment, Yihyun was flustered and didn’t know what to do, but when he saw two pairs of eyes glaring at him, he hastily bowed several times and hurried back to the kitchen as if running away.

“I apologize. The child is a little clumsy.”

“Let’s continue our conversation.”

Pressing down firmly on the damp handkerchief, Yihyun sat down. He was already dreading what would happen once the guest left. There was no way this would pass without consequence.

Blowing on the handkerchief that had quickly cooled, Yihyun lifted his head when he heard the word “wedding.” He was close enough to the drawing room to catch bits of the conversation.

“We’ll take care of the wedding.”

It was a deep male voice. Who was getting married? His sister was already married…

“Will it proceed as a state wedding?”

“We’ll keep it simple with a shortened ceremony. The press release will be sent out.”

Then, was it his brother who was getting married? Pushing aside the question he couldn’t answer alone, Yihyun quietly approached the sink and rinsed out the tea-soaked handkerchief.

He wanted to return it to the guest before he left, but it wouldn’t be completely dry by then. Still, he wrung out as much water as possible and draped it over a chair, hoping to dry it as much as he could.

The back of his hand had turned slightly red, but it didn’t seem serious. It only stung a little when touched. But that wasn’t the real issue—the real problem would come after the guest left. Letting out a small sigh, Yihyun brushed back the strands of hair falling over his face.

A long time passed before he heard the sound of the sofa creaking, signaling that the guest was getting up to leave. Placing his hands on his knees, Yihyun stood up and neatly folded the handkerchief that had been draped over the back of the chair. It was still a bit damp, but not so much that he couldn’t return it.

Moving quietly, Yihyun approached and assessed the situation. The man appeared to be at least a head taller than him, meaning Yihyun would have to lift his head entirely just to meet his gaze.

Taking a few deep breaths, he cautiously raised his head. But he was caught off guard when he met the man’s gaze from a much lower position than expected, causing him to drop his head abruptly.

“Um, your handkerchief…”

He barely managed to force out his trembling voice.

“You don’t have to return it.”

Before Yihyun could even hold back the thought that the man’s fingers were long, Han Suhyun shot him a terrifying glare, as if ready to pierce through the side of his face. Panicking, Yihyun hurriedly shoved the handkerchief into his pocket and fled from the room.