・・・・・
About two weeks after giving birth, the eggs that had been carefully placed in the warm corner of the room began to crack one by one.
While she was briefly away to visit the book rental shop, the creatures inside completely hatched from their eggs. Seeing three baby snakes, resembling earthworms, squirming around the room, Nokhee was taken aback and called for Kijoon in a panic.
"Ki-Kijoon! Kijoon!"
Upon hearing her urgent voice, Kijoon rushed over without hesitation and, nonchalantly, picked up the three snakes and tossed them into the basket placed on the heated floor. As if it was reluctant to go in, the jet-black snake screamed 'Kyak!' and bit Kijoon’s thumb, but he didn't seem bothered at all.
Nokhee stood far back, her expression filled with astonishment as she watched the scene unfold.
・・・・・
Strangely enough, the three baby snakes were each a different colour. There was a jet-black snake that resembled Kijoon's true form; a golden snake that resembled Kijoon's eyes; and lastly, a pure white snake that resembled snowflakes.
In order, they were named Hyeon, Geum, and Seol. Hyeon and Geum were males, and only Seol was a female.
Unlike Hyeon and Geum, who wriggled energetically around the room as soon as they opened their eyes, Seol, who hatched last, was unusually sleepy and sluggish, perhaps due to her weak body.
"...I wonder who this one takes after."
Nokhee gently stroked Seol, who was curled up asleep, as if she were touching a feather.
At least Seol was docile, so she could touch her while she was asleep. She couldn't even approach Hyeon or Geum, who would bite even their own father without recognising him.
Although they were her own children, Nokhee found it difficult to become attached to the baby snakes. Perhaps it was because she had always feared and loathed snakes, and she couldn't shake off the strange feeling of a human, like herself, giving birth to snake offspring.
Kijoon didn't seem to mind Nokhee's feelings and diligently cared for the baby snakes as he promised.
Since she couldn’t exactly breastfeed them, he would catch mice or rabbits from somewhere and tear them into small pieces to feed the baby snakes, give them warm baths when they defecated, and take them out to the front yard every day to sunbathe.
Nokhee, who always watched from a distance, felt her heart heavy with the fact that she was a mother who couldn't even properly embrace the children she had given birth to.
Then one day something happened. After recovering from childbirth, Nokhee resumed teaching reading and writing to the village children. That day, as usual, she stopped by the thatched cottage that was being used as a school and returned home.
Although she was an inadequate mother who couldn’t touch or embrace her baby snakes, Nokhee always made sure to check the basket in the warm corner of the room where they were as soon as she got home.
However, when she lifted the cloth covering the basket, there was only one white snake left coiled up and asleep, and the other two were nowhere to be seen.
"Hyeon, Geum."
Thinking that they must have crawled into some corner of the room to hide, Nokhee took her time carefully lifting containers and searching for the snakes. However, neither the black nor the golden snakes could be found anywhere in the room.
"Hyeon! Geum!"
Even after turning the room upside down, the babies were nowhere to be found. Nokhee rushed outside, searching through the kitchen and under the cabinets, but no matter how much she looked, the two baby snakes didn’t appear. They had definitely been curled up together sleeping in the basket that morning.
In a frantic panic, Nokhee, who had been searching for the children, eventually ran into the book rental shop, without even catching her breath.
"Kijoon! Kijoon!"
"My lady."
Seeing Nokhee pale, Kijoon was startled and jumped up from his seat.
"What's the matter?"
"They're gone! Ugh, our babies, Hyeon and Geum are missing!"
“...”
"Please find them quickly, okay? Quickly, quickly!"
Even though she was an incapable mother who had never properly cared for them, the moment she lost her children, her heart felt like it was sinking.
Nokhee should have stopped teaching the children until the babies grew a little older. What was she thinking? Everything seemed to be her fault.
"Kijoon, what should we do if something happens to our babies?"
Terrified that something might have happened to the children, Nokhee clung to Kijoon, sobbing uncontrollably. Watching her quietly, the children’s father extended his hand and gently pulled her into his embrace.
"This was bound to happen eventually."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"They are not human children, but the offspring of a yokai. Moreover, they are currently in a state similar to wild beasts without any reason."
"Huh..."
"Instinctively, they have left to find their own territory. If they stay together, they will fight over territory and end up devouring each other as I did with my siblings."
Hearing this, Nokhee felt as if someone had struck her on the back of the head, leaving her dazed. While she found the baby snakes unsettling and couldn't bring herself to touch them, they had grown significantly. They had grown enough to leave the nest and the parents who protected them.
She should have cherished them more. She should have loved them more.
Her heart ached with guilt. Nokhee trembled with remorse and asked.
"Then... Then we just let them go like this? Without even saying goodbye?"
"As their spiritual powers grow, they will naturally remember and find their way back."
Such was the nature of a yokai's existence. And so, Nokhee was forced to part with her first and second children, utterly unprepared and with a profound sense of emptiness.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the youngest child, Seol, did not leave Nokhee and Kijoon's side even as time passed.
Perhaps out of concern for Nokhee, who would compulsively rush home even while teaching the children in the thatched cottage, Kijoon decided it was time to move when Seol completed her first shedding.
Nokhee readily agreed. Now, her priority was not performing good deeds but taking care of herself and her only remaining child.
They sold the book rental shop, and, just as Nokhee had done previously in Hwangju Castle, they distributed the money and remaining books to those in need. Then, all the villagers tearfully gathered to bid them farewell.
After wandering for some time, they settled down again near the capital, opening a new book rental shop. Around that time, Seol, during her third shedding, suddenly transformed into a human baby appearing to be about a hundred days old.
Nokhee was overjoyed, yet at the same time, she became overwhelmed with uncontrollable sorrow, filled with longing for Hyeon and Geum.
"Mama, Papa!"
Seol, who had only just begun to speak while shifting between her snake and human baby forms, grew rapidly. Within three years, she was as big as an average seven-year-old child.
Despite her adorable appearance, which was so lovely it was almost painful to look at, her growth rate was alarmingly fast. Now, Nokhee had to come to terms with the fact that the children she bore could never live as ordinary humans.
With Seol growing bigger every day, the family of three had no choice but to live a nomadic life. They travelled across the country, teaching the poor to read, opening book rental shops to offer books at low prices, and distributing the profits to those in need. Soon, rumours of the 'Bookshop Benefactors' began to spread wherever they went.
・・・・・
Five years had passed since Nokhee gave birth to Kijoon's children.
"Mother, Father, I want to leave and find my own territory now."
The child kneeled before her parents and boldly declared her intentions.
"I will train hard and become a dragon, ascending to the heavens faster than anyone else — faster than my brothers!"
The beautiful child with snow-white hair looked exactly like the twelve-year-old Nokhee when she first entered Hwangju Castle and met Kijoon.
Nokhee had wondered who Seol had taken after, but now all her doubts were gone. Seeing her daughter grow up to resemble her so closely, she was certain the same was true for Hyeon and Geum, even though she hadn’t seen them.
After a life of constant wandering, Nokhee thought they had finally found stability. But when she heard Seol's sudden declaration to leave after just five years, it was like a thunderclap, and her heart seemed to shatter.
"My dear, do you really have to leave? Can’t you stay by your mother’s side?"
"But that way, I’ll be able to see Mother again sooner! I’m sure my brothers feel the same way."
Unlike her hesitant mother, Seol responded confidently. Because human time was different from that of yokai, Nokhee couldn’t fully understand everything her child said.
Recently, large and valuable animals like tigers and wild boars would occasionally appear in the front yard of their house, as if rising from the ground. When Seol casually mentioned her older brothers, Nokhee realised she was the only one who hadn’t seen them yet.
Kijoon’s words were correct: as their powers grew, they naturally remembered and returned.
Nokhee sensed that the time had come for her last child to leave, just like her first two sons. The only consolation was that, unlike Hyeon and Geum, whom she couldn’t even say goodbye to, Seol still had the chance for a proper farewell and a heartfelt embrace.
After sending off Seol, who bravely left home, Nokhee and Kijoon returned to Hwangju together. This was because Nokhee’s mother, who had been unconscious for six years since the incident at Hwangju Castle, was now on her deathbed.
After parting with both her children and her mother, Nokhee began to fall into deep sorrow.
No matter how much Kijoon cared for her, providing the finest delicacies from the mountains and seas and elixirs from all over the world, she could not easily regain her strength.
Both Nokhee and Kijoon knew she was never destined to live long. Consuming the reverse scales steeped in vicious curses, evil, and poison, her life force had been slowly eroded, and now it had reached its end.
Nokhee thought that if Kijoon knew she was dying, he would go mad, like an insane snake. However, when she eventually fell into a deep sleep that lasted for days, Kijoon remained calm, as if he had expected this.
The day Nokhee woke up from a deep sleep lasting more than five days, she spoke of a scene she had seen in her dream.
"Kijoon. Do you remember that field? The field of Nokhwa flowers you once showed me…?"
"Yes."
"I want to go there."
Without a word, Kijoon picked her up and leapt into the air. In the blink of an eye, they were standing in the vast, open field.
The day was clear and beautiful.
Swish―.
The Nokhwa flowers, in full bloom and glistening with dewdrops, swayed gently in the breeze. Nokhee, savouring the fragrant scent of the flowers, relaxed her body and leaned her face against Kijoon's chest.
The sound of his heartbeat in her ear was like a soothing lullaby. She closed her eyes and rested for a moment, but Kijoon gently shook her.
"Don’t fall asleep. You wanted to see this, so I brought you here."
"I'm not sleeping."
How could he treat her like a hibernating snake?
Nokhee, grumbling as she shot him a glare, extended one of her hands to Kijoon. Her hand was thin and frail, but Kijoon took it firmly without hesitation.
Nokhee smiled softly and intertwined her fingers with his.
"Let's hold hands tightly like this, and the first one to let go loses. The loser has to grant the winner a wish."
"You’re going to be under me, crying all night again."
“You damn bastard!”
At those words, Nokhee suddenly lifted her body from where she had been leaning and ‘Smack!’
She playfully slapped Kijoon's chest. His dry, expressionless face looked completely unaffected, perhaps because the slap was as soft as a cotton bat, which made it even more frustrating.
After a brief exchange of playful banter, Nokhee, feeling tired, leaned her exhausted body back into Kijoon’s arms.
"...Kijoon."
“...”
There was no response, but the hand holding hers tightened. It was a sign that he was listening. Nokhee continued, feeling relieved.
"Remember when you said you would make me your wife because you kidnapped me? Was that... sincere?"
"Yes."
She thought he would say no, but the simple affirmation that came back surprised her, and Nokhee widened her eyes.
"Then why didn’t you make me your wife right away? If you had asked me to marry you, I would have accepted without hesitation..."
"Didn't the lady say she wanted to become the Crown Princess? And yet, there she was, making infuriating remarks, telling me to marry another woman and have children like rabbits."
"How can you call that infuriating?”
She had said it with a heart full of anguish, but to him, it only sounded like a frustratingly infuriating remark. Nokhee felt wronged.
"Everything I said was to wish you well."
"And then, without warning, she lifted her skirt and fearlessly climbed on top of the man. What could I possibly say in that situation? I was too busy rolling my eyes back and fucking you."
“Huh, since when did you listen to me so well?"
Even though Nokhee muttered in dissatisfaction, she was secretly pleased. She realised that Kijoon had felt the same way back then.
If she had known this sooner, would it have hurt a little less? Nokhee couldn’t shake the regret that those dreamlike days with Kijoon might have begun earlier and lasted longer.
"Kijoon."
"Yes."
“In the next life, I hope you’ll be my master, and I’ll be your servant.”
At her sudden remark, Kijoon whispered, “Why?”
“That way, wouldn’t we be able to marry sooner?”
It was a sad reality, but in this world, only if a man held a higher status and a woman a lower status was there even a slight chance they could be together. Such was the law, and such were the views of society.
No matter how high a woman's status, it was nearly impossible for her to be with the man she loved. Nokhee knew this from experience.
And since Kijoon had endured so much trouble taking care of her demanding needs, it only seemed fair that in the next life, she should be his servant, tending to him instead.
“You will stubbornly insist on putting a flower hairpin in my hair because you like me. Just like how I always kept you close with the excuse of copying books.”
“...”
"I’d pretend to know nothing, acting as if I’m helplessly dragged along by your persistence, and go through with the wedding… Then, I’d call you ‘Husband,’ not Kijoon or servant, and live by your side."
“...”
"What do you think? Isn't it pleasant just to imagine it? Hmm?"
Kijoon didn’t answer for a while, as if her words had left him speechless, then he opened his mouth slowly.
"It will be as you say, my lady. Haven’t you always lived life as you pleased?"
"Yes. That's right."
“...”
"Thanks to you, I’ve been able to live as I pleased..."
Suddenly, drowsiness overtook her. Nokhee buried her face deeper into Kijoon's chest and slowly blinked her heavy eyelids, as if on the verge of falling asleep.
It seemed her time was up.
It had been a difficult and painful life, but also a happy one. Since the moment she opened her eyes, she had a premonition of this, so it wasn’t as sad as she had expected.
Facing the imminent approach of death, Nokhee smiled brightly.
“...Kijoon.”
Nokhee didn’t want to say things like, ‘Take good care of our children,’ or ‘Accumulate virtue and become a dragon to ascend to Heaven.’
If there was one thing she wished for, it was simply this:
"Live a happy life."
She hoped Kijoon would be happy forever.
That was the only thing she had ever wished for.
The woman who had embraced the pitiful snake yokai with her whole body soon closed her eyes peacefully.
"...My lady, your grip has weakened.”
Tuk. Kijoon adjusted the interlocked fingers that had loosened and scolded her.
"We even made a bet to grant a wish, so what fun would it be if you lost so easily? I’ll overlook it this time, so hold on tightly and try your best."
“...”
“My lady.”
“...”
"...Nokhee."
Kijoon, who had been quietly murmuring to the unresponsive figure, finally lifted Nokhee from his arms and gently laid her on the flower bed.
The woman, with her eyes gently closed and a peaceful smile on her face, looked truly beautiful as she slept.
Rumble―.
Suddenly, the sky, which had been clear just moments ago, was covered with dark clouds.
It wasn't long before droplets, like rain, began to fall on the quietly resting Nokhwa flowers.
The Imugi, having lost his mate, lived alone for nearly seven hundred years.
Following the path he had taken with his mate during her lifetime, the Imugi operated a book rental shop, widely distributed hand-copied books to those who wished to learn, helped the poor, and occasionally saved lives from natural disasters.
As the powerful being continued to perform good deeds and accumulate virtue over a long period, the chaotic world began to right itself, and a time of peace and prosperity finally arrived for the foolish humans.
Eventually, the Heavenly Emperor forgave the Imugi's sins of laziness and cruelty and commanded him to return to the heavens.
The Imugi, now with new scales free of any reverse scales after shedding his old skin, regained his divine power and immediately headed to the place where he had buried his mate seven hundred years ago.
Due to the passage of time, the field that had once been full of blooming flowers was now barren, with nothing but a solitary grave mound.
On top of the mound, a single, forgotten flower bloomed alone.
Carefully, the Imugi dug up the unknown flower, fearing its roots might be damaged, and gently held it in his mouth.
After that, it was said to have immediately turned into a massive black dragon, soaring on the winds of his breath, and disappearing far beyond the clouds.
News spread through the baby angels that a nameless flower was planted in the abode of the Dragon God, located at the edge of the heavenly realm.
The flower that the Dragon God brought with him when he ascended was small and unremarkable, no more than half the length of his wrist. However, once planted in the heavenly soil, it rapidly grew, absorbing the divine power of the black dragon.
The slender stem thickened to the size of an adult man, and the plant grew so large that it towered over the walls of the Dragon God's residence, looking so grotesque that it was far from aesthetically pleasing.
Despite this, the Dragon God paid no attention to the curiosity his dwelling attracted and cared for the enormous, nameless flower with great devotion.
After nearly a year of meticulous care, the flower became a renowned sight in the heavenly realm, with celestial beings often climbing the mountain ridge near the Dragon God's abode to catch a glimpse of it.
Now, a large, round, green bud had formed on the Dragon God's much-discussed plant, sparking a great stir in the otherwise monotonous heavens.
Everyone wondered what the Dragon God would do with the flower once it bloomed. Would he stop time to prevent it from wilting, or would he pick it and offer it to the Heavenly Emperor, who had forgiven his sins? Or perhaps the flower was a rare elixir that he planned to keep hidden and enjoy for himself.
When all eyes in the heavenly realm were on the flower, the bud on the stem finally unfurled, bursting open in full bloom.
And from within it, something was born. None other than…
・・・・・
Nokhee's eyes flickered open, bright and alert.
When her vision sharpened, she was met with a world like no other. The ceiling soared impossibly high, far beyond anything she had seen at Hwangju Castle, and the decorations were extravagantly opulent, almost beyond imagination.
She continuously glanced around her unfamiliar surroundings.
"Are you awake?"
Someone spoke. It was a voice she recognised well. Nokhee quickly turned her head, searching for its owner. There, standing proudly as if to show off, was the person she had longed for, now fully grown, wearing the red jade-studded belt she had once gifted him.
Was she in the midst of a blissful dream, or had her death finally brought her to the depths of hell? Nokhee’s wide-open eyes trembled endlessly, like a candle flickering in the wind.
"...Kijoon."
"Now you should call me ‘Husband,’ Nokhee."
As he gently gathered Nokhee's long, flowing hair and tied it up, placing the flower hairpin he held into it, the man spoke with a feigned sternness.
"When I ascended to the heavens, I carried you within the Dragon’s Pearl, where you were reborn as a celestial maiden to serve me. Now, I will take you as my wife."
“...”
"Everything has now been fulfilled. Just the way you desired."
At those words, Nokhee's face crumbled helplessly.
This was not a dream, nor was it the underworld. If it were, it wouldn’t feel so unbearably sweet.
"Mother!"
At that moment, children rushed in behind the man, their hair black, gold, and white. Though she had never seen their grown faces, she immediately recognised them as the children born of Kijoon and her.
"Hyeon, Geum, Seol!"
Embracing her loved ones tightly, Nokhee smiled and cried with joy. It was the happiness she had long awaited.
[The Reverse Scales of Osa - Side Stories Complete]
Translator's Corner:
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