Adagio

The season had changed to summer. For the past two months, Ha-young’s married life had been surprisingly peaceful. Although she had been determined to make her marriage work, she hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.

In the Ju family, it was a tradition to have breakfast and dinner together with everyone. The evenings were sometimes difficult to coordinate, as one or two of Ha-young’s older brothers would occasionally have to go out. However, they always gathered together in the morning. Additionally, there was always a guest staying in the annex that was used to accommodate visitors. So, the dinners were usually accompanied by a guest.

The guests that came were usually a relative or a political commentator. Ha-young never left her seat after the meal and listened to the argument between her father and the guests on various topics. 

However, unlike her bustling home, the Yeon family was quiet.

Her father-in-law was a very active and vigorous man. If he left early in the morning, he wouldn’t come home until late at night. He met all of his acquaintances outside and rarely brought them home.

Her mother-in-law never particularly summoned Ha-young first. Ha-young only saw her when she went to offer her greetings in the morning and evening.

It was not yet clear whether her mother-in-law disliked her or was just indifferent, so Ha-young always acted very carefully around her. She needed to know her mother-in-law’s true feelings towards her to deal with her properly.

But she was getting along with her sister-in-law in her own way. Her mother-in-law had told Ha-young not to visit her unless she called her first. So, Ha-young would often go to meet her sister-in-law on purpose.

Ha-young packed some tea leaves on a quiet afternoon and went to the lower inner house. Her sister-in-law seemed perplexed at first. However, she was happy when Ha-young visited her now as Ha-young continued to behave politely to her. The biggest reason for her goodwill towards Ha-young was probably because Ha-young didn’t do anything to catch her mother-in-law’s attention. It seemed that her sister-in-law felt reassured that her place in the house was not threatened.

Even though there was no physical discomfort, her mind was not at peace at all. 

The quick, rapid strokes of the brush came to a halt. Ha-young sighed and put down her brush.

On the paper was a picture of a woman standing beside a quiet moonlit lake. The woman who was gazing at the moon looked at its reflection in the lake with an impassioned gaze. The woman’s eyes in the painting seemed both fervid and sad.

Ha-young was about to draw a norigae1hanging from the woman’s waist, but she stopped. The moment she was about to draw it, she remembered what she had been trying to forget.

‘It’s never been like this before.’

Usually whenever she painted, she used to be so absorbed in it that she couldn’t hear anyone talking to her, even though they were right next to her. But lately, her mind was so occupied that she couldn’t concentrate on her favourite pastime.

What bothered her was the jang-do her husband wanted to buy. As time passed, she kept agonising more and more about the jang-do.

Who was my husband intending to give the jang-do to? Where is that jang-do now that he took it back? Perhaps because her husband was coming home late today, she could not put her mind at ease. The rumours that she had heard before her marriage, especially those about the much eccentric behaviour he had committed in refusing to marry her, kept lingering in her mind.

‘Did he perhaps have a lover?’

Ha-young felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, and couldn’t confide these worries with anyone.

‘What if … he hasn’t broken off that relationship yet?’

Ha-young let out a whimper as she gazed at the woman in the painting. She imagined a man standing next to the woman. The fictitious man’s back was something her eyes knew very well.

Her stomach clenched uncomfortably, and the inside of her throat burned. Her eyes teared up, blurring her vision.

“Young Mistress.”

Ha-young quickly blinked and answered.

“Come in.”

The slaves of the Yeon family called the mistress of the house as Elder Mistress, the wife of the first son as Second Mistress, and Ha-young as the YoungMistress2.

The door opened, and a middle-aged woman came in. The middle-aged woman, who asked her to call herself ‘Jang Heung-deuk’, looked after the house and took care of Ha-young.

Jang Heung-deuk brought a plate of rice cakes. She put it down where Ha-young could see it and said, “Madam, since you said you were not having dinner, I brought these for you. They have been marinated in honey, so they’re good to eat even if you don’t have an appetite. Please don’t go to sleep on an empty stomach. Make sure to eat one or two.”

“Thank you for your consideration. I will eat them well.”

Jang Heung-deuk exclaimed when she saw the sprawled painting.

“No matter how many times I look at it, your skill is truly fascinating. Whenever you draw a picture of a person, it seems as if the person will come to life, and if it’s a landscape, it feels as if I am there”

“You’re flattering me.”

“Aigoo, madam. I never said anything I didn’t mean.”

Ha-young smiled and looked down at the picture. There was a flash of sadness in her eyes.

She looked up at the sound of something hitting the floor. From how she was about to leave the room, Jang Heung-deuk probably didn’t notice that she had dropped something.

“Isn’t that yours?”

Jang Heung-deuk looked around and found something on the floor, then picked it up quickly.

“Is it a jang-do?”

“Yes, madam.”

“It doesn’t seem like an ordinary one. Can you show it to me for a second?”

The scabbard of a jang-do was usually made of wood. However, the scabbard of the jang-do Ha-young just saw was white.

Jang Heung-deuk held out the jang-do in front of Ha-young and spoke shyly,  “It was your husband who gave it to me. When he got to know I wanted it, he tossed it towards me out of nowhere one day.”

The jang-do’s scabbard was carved from white pine wood. It would have cost much more than a regular jang-do for a servant like her, and purchasing it altogether would have been too expensive.

‘You are more fortunate than me.’

Ha-young felt sad about her circumstances where she had to worry if her husband had a lover. 

“It’s quite good.”

“This humble servant is not worthy of this thing. My unworthy self ended up desiring it when I accompanied Elder Mistress to look for her treasured jang-dos.”

“… Does mother-in-law collect jang-dos?”

“Yes. It is even said that our Elder Mistress owns all the rare and priceless jang-dos in the city.”

Ha-young’s eyes sparkled after a moment of thought.

“Is mother-in-law’s birthday at the end of the first lunar month?”

 “Yes, Madam.”

“Then, my husband and brother-in-law must have prepared a jang-do as a birthday present for her.”

Jang Heung-deuk nodded her head eagerly. She thought that Ha-young was seeking information from her because she wanted to win her mother-in-law’s heart.

“Yes, madam. If you give a priceless jang-do to the Elder Mistress, she will be very happy.”

Ha-young recalled her brother’s words. The date that Chang-young saw Mu-eun at the market was around the beginning of the first month. It all made sense to her now. 

‘He was trying to buy a present for his mother’s birthday.’

Her eyes widened, and it felt like all her worries had melted away.

“Thank you. What you’ve told me has been very helpful.”

After Jang Heung-deuk left, Ha-young tightly covered her mouth with both hands. She felt like she was going to burst into laughter. She kept pacing the room alone, unable to calm her excitement.

‘I see. It was actually a gift for my mother-in-law. So that’s what happened.’

Ha-young was proud of her patience. If she had complained to someone, the words might have leaked out and could have gone round and round until they entered her husband’s ears.

‘Is Husband going to be very late today?’

When Ha-young opened the door and went out, Jang Heung-daek, who was still nearby, approached her.

“Madam, would you like me to prepare your bed?”

“You don’t have to. It looks like my husband is going to come soon, so I’ll …”

Ha-yeong couldn’t finish her words and then cleared her throat in embarrassment. Jang Heung-daek said with a smile.

“Alright, then please come back safely.”

The annex where the newlyweds set up their honeymoon was in the main house, but it was separated by a wall and a door. Ha-young pushed open the door, stepped outside, and then craned her neck. She excitedly searched the darkness for an approaching shadow.

She waited for some time, but the surrounding was dead quiet. So she went one step further. Before she knew it, she came close to the pond in the courtyard.

She found a handsome man standing near the pond. The figure of the man resembled that of her husband, so she approached him, calling him out happily.

“Husband, did you come just now?”

However, her smile hardened. The face of the man who turned his head and looked at her was not her husband, but her brother-in-law. Ha Young, embarrassed, quickly lowered her head.

“Brother-in-law, I’m sorry. I mistook you for my husband.”

Mu-il laughed and said, “It’s not something you need to apologise for. Are you here to see my brother? I guess he hasn’t come in yet.”

“Yes. He’s late today. I must have disturbed your rest time. I’ll take my leave.”

“I just came out for a walk since the moon is so beautiful today. Since you’re also already out, let’s enjoy the moon together.”

“… No, I’ll pass. Then, I’ll go in.”

Ha-young bowed her head and turned around.

“Sister-in-law.”

Ha-young let out a silent sigh. She turned around because she couldn’t ignore her elder’s call.

“Yes.”

“I always think about it whenever I see you. You’re really beautiful. You’ve taught me that not all the rumours in the world are mere exaggerations.”

Ha-young’s eyebrows twitched.

“Fate truly works in strange ways. Who knew that our families would become in-laws with each other?”

“… Yes.”

“If I hadn’t already been married when we received the Imperial order, it would have been us who would have become husband and wife. I guess my brother has a stroke of luck. If I had known this would happen, I would have told the servants to set the market on fire earlier.”

Ha-young’s heart, which was excited when she came out to meet her husband, cooled down. She was stunned to see him say such rude and frivolous remarks without hesitation.

“Brother-in-law, I believe there are no ifs in the world.”

“What?”

“Marriages are made in heaven. My marriage with my husband is not a coincidence; it was inevitable. The Imperial order was just the means. Please do not take the bond between a husband and wife lightly.”

Ha-young turned right away without looking at Mu-il’s reaction. She was going to ignore him this time if he called again. She hurried her steps, wanting to get away from him as soon as possible. It wasn’t until she saw the door to her residence that she slowed down her steps.

Norigae is a traditional Korean jewellery accessory made of intricate knots and silken tassels. It was worn by hanging it on the waistband of the hanbok’s skirt.In Korean language there are titles to denote the position of women in high ranking families. In the raws, the title used for the mistress(here the mother-in-law) is 큰마님 which implies to the highest female authority of house. The title used for the sister-in-law was 작은마님 which was generally used for the second wife of a lord or second highest female authority of the house. The title used for Ha-young was 별당마님 which means mistress of the byeoldang(detached quarters, kind of like an annex). Ha-young lives in the byeoldang(which we have translated to annex), that’s why she’s called Mistress of byeoldang. Her Korean title was hard to translate in English, so we decided to translate it to Young Mistress.