The Sad Days at Changwon

The journey to Changwon took two days, even with fast horses and favorable weather. The first day stretched long under an endless blue sky, the air thick with summer heat and the tension of what lay ahead. They rode hard, stopping for short breaks and nighttime. By the time they reached the outskirts of the borderlands, every muscle in their bodies ached, and even Seo Yul's usual calm was worn thin with fatigue.

Changwon welcomed them with a bright moon and the scent of sea wind. It was quieter than the Capital, more open - the kind of place where the people freely communicated.

They waited until the next day to approach the Hong family estate, letting their arrival settle quietly into local ears. Yi Na changed into a more formal robe, her eyes unreadable, while Seo Yul adjusted the sword at his hip. Cho Yeon, though calm as always, kept one hand near the pouch that held the compass relic.

When they reached the Hong household gates, a stooped housekeeper came to meet them. His eyes swept over the trio - Yi Na's pale robes embroidered with simple flower designs on the edges, Seo Yul's quiet dignity, Cho Yeon's strange, otherworldly grace - and after a moment, he gave a polite bow.

"You've come from the Capital?" he asked, noting the formality in their behavior.

"We have," Seo Yul replied. "We request an audience with Lady Hong Se Ra. It is a matter of some importance."

The housekeeper studied them for another breath, then nodded. "Please wait in the front hall."

They had barely stepped into the shaded stone courtyard when a voice rang out from deeper in the house.

"Who is it?"

The voice was familiar. Firm, but no longer youthful - tempered by years and, perhaps, the burden of choices made. Yi Na went very still.

Then the figure appeared at the doorway, her hair pinned in a precise married woman's bun, her robes understated but rich. Na Joo Ah.

Her eyes fell on Yi Na.

For a moment, everything held its breath.

Joo Ah's mouth parted slightly, as if she had forgotten how to speak. Her gaze traveled over Yi Na's face, down to the slight wear in her travel robes, and back again. Shock warred with something older - guilt, maybe. Or grief.

"You..." Joo Ah murmured. "You're alive."

"I am," Yi Na said softly.

For a long moment, Joo Ah said nothing. Then, her voice thick, she stepped aside.

"Come in. All of you."

---

They sat in the receiving room, the curtains drawn against the summer light. Tea was poured, though none of them reached for it.

Joo Ah sat opposite Yi Na, her hands folded in her lap. She hadn't stopped looking at her, though her expression was hard to decipher. Her mouth twitched once - perhaps a smile, or the beginning of one - and then flattened again.

"I... I didn't know," she said at last, the words halting. "We heard so many rumors after you ran away. That you had died. That you had left Wolho Fortress with some merchant. I didn't know what to believe."

"You didn't look for me.... Also some of those rumors were started by your parents." Yi Na said quietly. Not accusing - just honest.

Joo Ah flinched, just slightly. Then, in a voice barely audible, she whispered, "Thank you. For staying alive."

That was all she said. It was all she could manage.

Cho Yeon glanced between them, then gently steered the conversation toward their purpose. "Madam Na, we wouldn't have come if it wasn't urgent. I'm sure news has reached here about the ghost plague in the capital of Wolho - a pattern of spiritual disturbance affecting women with child. We traced the ritual needed to cleanse it. It requires a very particular kind of person."

Seo Yul added, "A woman born in the year of the Dragon. Born in the afternoon sun. With noble blood. With a male child, and surrounded by living male protectors - husband, father, father-in-law."

Joo Ah paled, her lips tightening.

"And you believe..." she said slowly.

"Yes," Yi Na answered. "We believe your daughter, Hong Se Ra, is the only one who fits the conditions."

Joo Ah stood, slowly, her back straight though her breath trembled.

"She's resting now. I'll take you to her when she wakes up."

They waited in silence, each to their own thoughts and no one was interested in the snacks and tea before them.

After some time, the maids came to inform them that Se Ra was awake. Na Joo Ah led them through the quiet passages of the Hong estate, the hush of old wooden floors and drifting incense filling the silence between them. The gate she stopped before was lacquered in dark red, unadorned but for a single golden tiger etched into the top beam. Entering the courtyard, they walked ahead until they came to a door with a carved flower design.

Inside, the room was warm with filtered light. Curtains stirred in the breeze. A figure sat by the window, spine straight despite her growing belly, hands resting lightly on the rounded curve of her stomach. Hong Se Ra.

She looked up as they entered. Her face was calm, her gaze clear. Her features bore the elegant markings of the Hong clan: high cheekbones, sharp brows, and an air of quiet intelligence. But what struck Yi Na most was the steadiness in her eyes, the kind that could not be taught.

Joo Ah crossed the room and sat beside her daughter. "These people are from the Capital," she said gently. "They have something to ask of you."

Se Ra turned her head toward them, her expression composed. She offered a respectful bow from her seat. "Welcome."

Seo Yul stepped forward first, bowing in return. "Lady Hong, forgive the intrusion. My name is Seo Yul. These are Lady Cho Yeon of Jinyowon and Doctor Song Yi Na. We come on behalf of His Majesty."

Yi Na saw something flashed in her eyes but she looked down before she could identify it. "I understand," Se Ra said. "My mother would not have brought you here otherwise."

Cho Yeon took the dial out of the box, its needle twitching softly as if drawn to Se Ra already. She held it in her palm, allowing the young woman to study it.

"This is a relic used in the summoning and banishment of lingering spirits. There is an affliction in the Capital - child ghosts are clinging to women with child. They poison their system and make them sick, eventually causing an abortion and great despair. We believe you are the only one who meets the conditions for a ritual that can draw them out."

Yi Na added, her voice even, "It must be done willingly. You must know the cost."

Se Ra said nothing for a long time. She looked at the relic. Then outside at the late-summer garden blooming beneath the window.

Finally, she asked, "Will it end the suffering in the Capital?"

"Yes," Seo Yul said without hesitation. "We believe it will."

Se Ra's gaze did not waver. "Then I will go."

The room held its breath. Even Cho Yeon blinked, startled by the immediate response.

Na Joo Ah stared at her daughter, her lips parting. "Se Ra..."

Just then, footsteps pounded into the courtyard. The door slid open with the force of authority. Magistrate Hong swept in, dressed in his official robes despite the summer heat, his face set in a dark frown.

"What is this I'm hearing? My daughter being conscripted into a ghost ritual?"

Se Ra stood - slowly, carefully - her hands still cradling her belly. "Father. I agreed."

"You cannot agree to such a thing," he snapped. "You are six months pregnant!"

Seo Yul stepped forward, bowing. "Magistrate Hong, we would not have involved your family without cause. The ritual is dangerous. It requires someone born under specific stars. Your daughter fits the constellation - year of the Dragon, born in the afternoon, noble birth. She must have four living male protectors and a male child. All criteria are met."

"Then find someone else," the magistrate snapped. "This is a child's life we are discussing!"

"Which is why the choice is hers," Yi Na said calmly.

Magistrate Hong's eyes narrowed at her. "Under our laws, a daughter has no such right. She is married. The decision belongs to her husband's family."

Se Ra's face remained still, though Yi Na saw the flicker of her fingers tightening.

"Then we will speak to them," Cho Yeon said evenly. "We intend to return to the Capital. If they refuse, the ritual cannot proceed. But we must try."

Magistrate Hong opened his mouth to argue again, but Se Ra interrupted him gently.

"Father. If my choice can save lives, and my son's life is protected by those who love me, then let me try. Please."

Her voice was soft - but unmovable. A knife wrapped in silk.

The old magistrate stared at her for a long time. Then he turned sharply and stormed out.

---

They departed Changwon the next morning, escorted by a small retinue of Hong family guards for the first leg of the journey. The cart for Se Ra was well-padded and shaded, drawn by steady horses. Na Joo Ah, despite the awkward air between herself and Yi Na, had insisted on accompanying them back to the Capital.

They could not move quickly - not with a pregnant woman on board - but the pace was steady. The guards set up camp with practiced efficiency. Seo Yul rode ahead and behind at intervals, always watching. Cho Yeon stayed close to Se Ra, explaining what she might expect, showing her the relic, answering her questions in her calm, even way.

Yi Na kept to herself.

She hadn't spoken more than a dozen words to Joo Ah since they'd left. Not out of spite - she didn't have the energy for that anymore - but because she didn't know what to say. The woman beside her was both her sister and not. The sister who had once braided her hair and taught her how to embroider, and the woman who had turned her face away during the darkest years of Yi Na's life.

Joo Ah did not force conversation either. Sometimes, she sat quietly in the cart glancing at her daughter, sometimes she rode a horse like the others ahead. When their eyes met by accident, she offered a brief nod - nothing more.

That night, at their third camp, Yi Na sat apart from the others, staring into the fire. She heard soft footsteps behind her and stiffened.

Then came Se Ra's voice.

"My mother told me about you. When I was young. She said you had fire in your blood."

Yi Na turned slightly. Se Ra had brought her own cushion and knelt beside the flames, careful but sure.

"She said you always protected people. That you were more determined to live the life you wanted than anyone else."

Yi Na let out a breath. "I don't know about that."

"I do," Se Ra said. "You've protected me before you even met me. You gave my life meaning."

Yi Na blinked at that, startled.

"My father always said the Na family carries a rebellious streak, that we’re born with a fire that refuses to bow. He allowed me to learn martial arts and mage craft just so I wouldn’t sneak behind his back like my mother once did. But when they suggested marriage to the Kim family, I agreed before he could refuse it—because I knew it would be my only chance to control my future."

Yi Na listened, heart aching with quiet pride. The Kim's had always been an open minded family with deep roots in Wolho Fortress.

"And now… this choice is mine too," Se Ra added. "No one is forcing me. And I will definitely make them believe in me."

Yi Na looked away, her thoughts drifting to Se Ra’s midwife—a woman Yi Na had once trained at the Wolho Fortress Temple. One of her first sixteen disciples. They had been state slaves, all twenty of them, taken in during Yi Na’s early days as a senior apprentice, she had just been twenty-one herself. She had only just begun specializing in women’s medicine back then. Sixteen had stayed the full five years, learning all she could give. The midwife tending Se Ra now was one of those sixteen.

The thought settled deep in Yi Na’s chest. Maybe… maybe some part of her had always been walking toward this moment.

Now it was Se Ra’s turn.

Yi Na looked at her—really looked. The strength wasn't loud. It wasn't in dramatic gestures or speeches. It was in the way Se Ra didn't flinch. In the way she moved through the world with clarity that few women were allowed to have.

She would survive this. Yi Na felt it like a whisper in her bones.

She just hoped the universe would let her.

Behind them, Joo Ah stood beneath the swaying pines, unseen, watching the two women by the fire.

And for the first time in years, her throat tightened with something like hope.

A/N: How am I doing so far? 🫣As always, comments give me life. Till the next chapter, Live and Love 💕💕💕