PABO Ch 7

The one who had startled him, on the contrary, behaved as if Haryeon Sol’s flustered reaction were the strange part. He let out a long breath, wiped Haryeon Sol’s disheveled face, and kneaded his stiff, hardened shoulders.

“Did I scare you that badly? I was just trying to help.”

“No, I….”

“There are stone steps ahead. Be careful not to tumble down. I’ll hold on a bit longer. That’s okay, right?”

“No… I-I thought you were my attendant.”

The other man’s gentle voice and softly murmured kindness threw Haryeon Sol into deep confusion. From Haryeon Sol’s perspective, it felt as though this stranger had first taken his hand and pretended to be Chorong, yet the man’s calm demeanor insisted that such an intuition was nothing more than his misunderstanding and imagination. In the end, Haryeon Sol even began to doubt himself, wondering if he had been the one to grab the man’s arm first and follow along on his own.

“It’s fine. Come this way.”

Because his vision was darkened, he could not even make out the other’s expression, and Haryeon Sol staggered as he was supported. Even Haryeon Sol, whose height fell just short of 180 centimeters, became small and immature in stature once he was drawn into the man’s arms. The man, tall with long arms, held Haryeon Sol as if pulling him into an embrace. Then he began to whisper, “Left foot, right foot…” as they started down the steps, one, then two.

Haryeon Sol followed him obediently. He knew he should not trust a stranger. It was simply that he did not think it necessary to shove him away and flee at once. Since he could not see, there was no way to return to where he had been, and it would not do to remain standing in the middle of Munjeong Palace like a sack of barley set down and forgotten, waiting vaguely for Chorong.

As he obediently moved his feet according to the instructions, his foot indeed met the stone steps. Though the stairs were not particularly high, his heart throbbed sharply each time he stepped down one rung at a time. He grew anxious whenever his toes failed to find purchase. At times, he even had the illusion that his body was plunging straight down from a cliff.

Before long, Haryeon Sol tightly gripped the stranger’s arm.

“It’s okay. Just two more steps.”

“Yes. Two steps.”

“All right. Right foot.”

As told, Haryeon Sol lowered his right foot.

“Left foot.”

When he tentatively extended his left foot, the tip touched solid ground. Relieved, he set both feet down fully. The flat earthen ground felt indescribably welcome. Letting out a long breath, Haryeon Sol bowed.

“Thank you.”

Then something strange happened. Even though they had passed the dangerous steps, the man did not let go. Instead, he stayed close, almost embracing Haryeon Sol as they walked. Too bewildered, Haryeon Sol could not bring himself to ask even a simple question. As his tension eased, a sense of emptiness crept in instead, and a small laugh escaped him. As Haryeon Sol let out a quiet chuckle for no particular reason, the stranger laughed as well. The sound was light and ticklish, like the cry of a fox on a sudden summer shower.

Only then did Haryeon Sol notice something odd about the man’s gait. With every step, his body tilted subtly, as though one leg troubled him.

‘Is his leg injured…? And yet he’s helping me?’

Though he limped slightly, the man moved a hundred, a thousand times more easily than Haryeon Sol did. Haryeon Sol quickly grew comfortable with him. Chorong was too small and delicate for him to lean on fully, but a tall man with big hands holding him steady was undeniably reassuring.

Naturally gentle by disposition, Haryeon Sol’s mood lifted easily. Rather than feeling anger or lodging a complaint over the stranger’s sudden kindness, he smiled, thinking that in his life, which had known no benefactors, such an experience might never come again.

Staring directly at the compliant blind man’s face, the tall man asked, “You’re headed to the medical center, right?”

“Ah… yes. For a flowering sickness checkup.”

“Thought so. It’s just a bit farther.”

As he spoke, he clasped Haryeon Sol’s hand. Drawn along by the gentle pull, Haryeon Sol gripped his hand firmly in return. Throughout their walk, a smile never left the man’s face. His gaze did not stray from Haryeon Sol’s.

Unable to read the man’s intentions, unable even to confirm his expression, Haryeon Sol asked,

“Excuse me, but may I ask your name? I’m Haryeon Sol.”

“Is that so? Your name is Sol?”

“Yes. It means pine tree.”

“It suits you.”

The conversation ended there. Startled by the man’s refusal to give his own name, Haryeon Sol rolled his eyes meaninglessly. But before he could insist on exchanging names, they had already arrived at the medical center. A large hand once more grasped Haryeon Sol’s shoulder and halted him, then gently guided him diagonally.

“We’re here. The daecheong maru^[1] is a bit high. There are steps right in front, so be careful. Just three steps up.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Take off your shoes.”

“Yes.”

Following the man’s instructions, Haryeon Sol removed his shoes and stepped inside. He sensed their safe arrival first with his nose. The hospital’s distinctive dawn-like scent mixed with the smell of medicinal herbs drifted in.

“Thank you very much.”

Guessing the man’s direction, Haryeon Sol bowed deeply, then followed the doctor’s voice into the examination room.

Even after Haryeon Sol disappeared inside, the tall man did not leave the medical center. He perched on the wooden veranda overlooking a camellia tree, tapping his left leg as he passed the time. From beyond the paper-panelled doors came the faint sound of the doctor’s voice.

“You’re malnourished. Dehydrated, anemic as well…. I’ll prescribe some medicine, but don’t expect improvement in the flowering sickness. Your eyesight is too poor even for glasses, so there’s nothing we can do ophthalmologically.”

Eavesdropping on another’s consultation, the man tilted his head. Through the narrow gap, he could see Haryeon Sol seated on a low stool, ears turned toward the elderly doctor, nodding again and again.

“Strange…”

The man murmured to himself.

He recalled something he had heard at the previous tea gathering. They said the forty-first Muhwa was a colorless man. That his impression was vague, his features unremarkable. That he had a forgettable face and an unexceptional body. Yet to the man’s eyes, Haryeon Sol, hunched and subdued on the stool, possessed a radiant face. His expression was gentle and fair, his features neatly arranged as if cut to measure. His large eyes were a beautiful brown that seemed a shame to waste on darkness, and his lower face in particular was slim and pleasing.

Had the Emperor seen him, he would surely have taken him to heart at first glance. To cup that pretty chin in one hand, to kiss those compliant lips that let out such a pleasant voice—it would not have seemed strange at all. On the contrary, Haryeon Sol was a gift. A true gift for the Emperor, dropped among forty pitiful Muhwa who were neither particularly special nor in any way enjoyable.

“Hm….”

The man opened his large hand, then clenched it into a fist again and again. The sensation of Haryeon Sol’s waist tensing when he had deliberately grabbed him at the stone steps still lingered in his palm. Even the scent from his hair had been pleasing, and his skin soft.

Narrowing his eyes, the man glanced at the folding door. Just then, Haryeon Sol emerged, holding a small paper bag. Springing to his feet, the man approached him.

‘Where is his residence again? I should check. How close is it to His Majesty’s sleeping quarters…’

When the man reached out and grasped his shoulder again, Haryeon Sol merely startled, without anger. Perhaps he had grown accustomed already; he tilted his head upward, as though recognizing the owner of the hand.

“Did I scare you? It’s me.”

The man said. Haryeon Sol parted his lips, two white front teeth peeking out, “Oh, you haven’t left yet?”

“No. I’ll walk you back, hyung.”

After letting the words flow so smoothly, the man hesitated. Moistening his dry lips with the tip of his tongue, he quietly looked down at Haryeon Sol’s eyes and whispered, “Sorry. I called you hyung without even knowing your age.”

Instead of replying, Haryeon Sol laughed softly.

Sensing the more relaxed atmosphere, the man clasped Haryeon Sol’s hand tightly. Unlike his pretty face, Haryeon Sol’s palm was rough with scrapes and scabs, recent marks from adjusting to life as a blind Muhwa. The calluses nestled between his fingers, however, spoke of a life that had never been easy. Tracing Haryeon Sol’s palm lines as though reading a book, the man walked slowly.

After retracing their steps and moving for quite some time, the man stopped first. With a bewildered expression, Haryeon Sol also came to a halt, planting both feet. At the very edge of Munjeong Palace, in front of a small detached building nicknamed the “loophole,” the man turned to look back. Only then did he relax. Far from seeing the Emperor’s sleeping quarters, there was not even a single stray cat passing by in the vicinity.

“All right. We’re here.”

The man smiled, visibly lighter in mood. He even guided Haryeon Sol’s hand to the doorknob. Reassured, Haryeon Sol smiled along with him. His gently curved eyes grew soft like moonlight, and his rounded cheeks seemed to glow.

“Thank you. Um, could you tell me your name?”

With a smile that contrasted sharply with his shabby quarters, Haryeon Sol asked. The man placed both hands at his waist and straightened his back, stretching his stiff spine as he spoke.

“My name’s Hyeok. I’m twenty-six.”

“Ah. I’m twenty-nine….”

As Haryeon Sol nodded in reply…

“Then you are older than me!”

The man’s voice rose, bright and loud.

“So I can call you hyung, right? You should speak casually to me too!”

At the lively stream of words, Haryeon Sol felt a bit awkward.

“Ah. All right, Hyeok-ah….”

He wiped his cheek for no reason as he answered.

The man’s eyes, as he took in that endearing attitude, were gentle at first, then grew intent, before gradually narrowing. Letting the broad smile on his face slowly fade, he deliberately put on a bright, affected tone.

“Then… hyung. Let’s meet again next time. Be careful when you walk.”

“All right. Thank you so much for seeing me back.”

Turning on his heel, the man deliberately made his footsteps loud. As he let the sound of himself moving away carry into the distance, a small sigh drifted from over his shoulder. With a short scoff of a laugh, the man walked toward the Emperor’s sleeping quarters.

TL’s Note:
This is daecheong maru