Marriage

by Han Yong-un

Sun-young couldn't sleep all night. She had to visit Dae-cheol the next day, but she couldn't get away during the day. Even if she went, it was uncertain if she could meet him since there was no appointment, and although it would be proper to go at night, it seemed like it would be too late after entertaining guests. At that moment, it was also questionable whether she could leave safely. She pondered what excuse to make. Ultimately, she decided that it would be better to speak the truth rather than awkwardly make up a lie.

The next evening, Sun-young went to Suk-ja and explained her situation. She wanted to visit the benefactor who saved a child from drowning in Wonsan on her way to Seoul. Suk-ja gladly permitted her.

Sun-young went to Dae-cheol's inn, but she didn't have the courage to enter right away. Hesitating at the threshold, a child who seemed to be a messenger from the inn appeared and asked.

"Are you trying to decide on an inn?"

Sun-young replied in surprise.

"No, I came to see a guest here."

"Who is your name?"

"Me? I am Jang Sun-young."

Sun-young answered thinking the child was asking for her name, but the child was asking for the guest's name.

"Ah, the guest is Mr. Kim Dae-cheol."

Sun-young felt a bit embarrassed and lowered her head.

"Yes, Mr. Kim Dae-cheol? He is in Room 7. Please come in."

Following the child's guidance, Sun-young slowly moved her steps.

"Is there no other guest in that room right now?"

"Yes, a guest came earlier and left, and now there is no one there."

Room 7 was at the very end and was relatively quiet. Sun-young hesitated for a moment in front of the door, then lightly coughed to check the situation inside. However, there was no response.

"Is the teacher there?"

The voice sounded thin and trembling.

"Who are you?"

Inside, Dae-cheol opened the door in surprise.

"Ah! What brings you here? Please come in. I thought you were a woman selling medicine. There are so many women selling medicine that it became bothersome, and I didn't even respond well when I heard a woman's voice outside. Please forgive me."

Dae-cheol guided Sun-young into the room and offered her a cushion to sit on.

"I was quite rude yesterday."

Sun-young greeted as she sat down.

"Not at all, I was really rude yesterday. If I had known your place, I would have come to see you first, but I am so grateful that you came to visit like this. I was planning to ask Seogun for your address and situation through Jeong-soon and visit you tomorrow, but since you came, I feel rather sorry."

Dae-cheol's attitude was quite friendly.

"But have you not met Teacher Seo or Jeong-soon at all since then?"

Sun-young asked again, wondering if Dae-cheol had heard news about her in the meantime.

"I haven't met them. If I had, I would have asked about your situation, Sun-young."

Dae-cheol repeated the reason he couldn't visit.

"But how would the teacher think of me coming to visit at this hour?"

"Not at all, it doesn't matter when you come. Visiting is done whenever there is an opportunity and time. You came well."

"I found what I heard yesterday interesting, so I came to hear the rest."

"What did we talk about yesterday? I don't remember any interesting stories."

Dae-cheol spoke while thinking about something.

"Ah, didn't you mention the story about rescuing someone who fell into the water yesterday? That's the story I'm talking about."

"Yes, what could be so interesting about that? I don't know what you're talking about."

Dae-cheol said with a smile.

"I somehow find that story quite interesting. I couldn't sleep thinking about it even after going home."

"Oh! Is it that interesting? If I had known, I would have finished telling you that story yesterday. What did we talk about yesterday?"

Dae-cheol blinked and thought.

"You mentioned two things and then stopped while saying it was something that happened in Wonsan."

"Oh, that's right."

Sun-young thought for a moment and called a child running errands to send them to buy thread.

"If you're going to give it to me, please stop. I just had a meal and can't eat anything."

Sun-young declined, but Dae-cheol ignored her words and continued speaking.

"It happened in Wonsan. At that time, I was coming back from Gangwon-do by boat."

"Yes, and then?"

Sun-young interrupted Dae-cheol and adjusted her seating.

"That day, there was a bit of rough seas. So, it was a bit difficult to board the small boat, and when getting off the boat onto the small boat, it was swaying, making it hard to get off properly. A fourteen-year-old girl was getting off and misstepped, falling into the sea. We had to go in and rescue her. What could be so interesting about that?"

Dae-cheol smiled calmly.

"So, if it weren't for you, that girl would have died?"

Sun-young spoke with a natural demeanor, though she was tense.

"Of course, if I hadn't rescued her, she would have died."

"What kind of child was she?"

"I don't know. They said she was from somewhere in Gangwon-do, and there was an old-looking woman and another girl a bit bigger than her, so it seemed like the three of them were going together."

"At least a rough idea?"

"A rough idea? What do you mean by that?"

He looked at Sun-young's face,

"To put it simply, does she look similar to Sun-young? Anyway, that girl seemed to have a gentle appearance even though she grew up in the countryside."

Dae-cheol seemed to be trying to recall that memory.

"Do I look like that?"

Sun-young's eyes turned red and her complexion changed, and tears began to flow down her cheeks. Dae-cheol was surprised by the unexpected sight, but for some reason, he couldn't ask anything and just stared for a while. Sun-young pressed her forehead to the ground and covered her cheeks with both hands, feeling it. Dae-cheol became worried that Sun-young might have lost her mind.

"What's wrong?"

Dae-cheol asked. Sun-young did not answer and only made a louder sound of feeling.

"Ah, what's going on?"

Dae-cheol lightly tapped Sun-young's shoulder.

"I am Jang Sun-young, whom the teacher saved in Wonsan."

Finally, Sun-young lifted her head, still not wiping her tears, and spoke in a voice mixed with sobs. Dae-cheol just looked at Sun-young's face, not knowing what to say.

"I am the girl the teacher rescued from the sea in Wonsan, and you said my face looks similar to yours. I am that girl."

Sun-young cried out at the end of her sentence, wiped her eyes with a towel, and looked at Dae-cheol while calming down.

"Oh! Is that so? I really didn't recognize you."

Dae-cheol looked at her with an awkward yet curious expression.

"I suppose so. I had my eyes on you back then, so I can at least guess, but you not only didn't pay attention, but my appearance at that time must have been quite poor, so even if you had looked closely, you wouldn't have known. Since then, there hasn't been a single day or hour that I have forgotten you. At that time, I was too immature to ask for your address or name, but in my heart, I have never forgotten you, even for a moment. So I have always thought in my heart that I would like to meet you once, and I have prayed to Buddha for that. Whether Buddha has taken care of me or not, today I am able to see you like this, so now I have no regrets even if I were to die."

Sun-young shed tears again.

"Oh, really? That's quite strange. Since then, I have thought about you a lot, Sun-young. After all, such things are unforgettable, but there is one thing about you that I cannot forget even more. It is not because you were of a suitable age or because of your transcendent appearance that captured my heart at that time, but after I pulled you out of the water and laid you on the deck, after you regained consciousness and looked at me, I heard you say, 'Oh dear, how can I repay this kindness?'"

Seon-young, I don't know if you remember it, but I certainly can't forget those words. At that time, the way you looked at me was so strange that it left quite an impression on me. I don't know if you were consciously aware of it or if it was unconscious, but in any case, I have never received such a serious impression in my life. And the words 'Oh, how can I repay this kindness?' may seem ordinary, but for a child who has just come back from the brink of death, saying such a thing is no small matter. So I always think of you, and when friends gather, we often talk about that. I once mentioned this to Seo Jeong-sik, whom I met yesterday, and he knows about it too. Since then, I have thought about wanting to meet you again, but more than that, I have always wished to hear news of you. But meeting like this is truly a million-to-one surprise.

Dae-cheol tried to continue speaking, but the child running errands brought back the thread.

"Here, please have this. Take your time and speak while you eat. Is there nothing to upset you now?"

Dae-cheol took out a small knife from his pocket to peel the fruit.

"Give it here. I'll peel it for you."

Seon-young took the knife from Dae-cheol's hand as if snatching it. Dae-cheol hesitated a bit but then handed it over. Seon-young carefully peeled it, trying to keep her hands from touching the fruit as much as possible, placing the sliced pieces in front of Dae-cheol while holding the core and turning it in her hand as she spoke.

"Teacher, please eat. I have now resolved my worries. Even if I die, I have no worries. Since I have met you, I have no worries at all. My only wish was to meet you. But now that I have met you like this, it doesn't matter if the sky falls or the earth collapses."

Sun-young brought the food to her mouth,

"Teacher, please eat this."

and while trying to hold up the sliced food with her hand, she seemed startled and wiped her fingers on her skirt as she spoke.

"I was going to serve it to you, but my hands are dirty, so I can't give it to you. Please eat quickly."

Sun-young laughed unconsciously.

"No, please eat this. Why are you holding the food? They say if you eat too much, you will become deaf."

Dae-cheol pushed the sliced food in front of Sun-young, and as if to take what she had, he grabbed it for himself,

"You won't give it to me because your hands are dirty, but I will serve it to you even with my dirty hands."

and picked up a piece to give to Sun-young. Sun-young accepted it, bit into the part where Dae-cheol had touched, and then said,

"Then I will also serve it to you with my dirty hands."

and handed him a piece. Dae-cheol smiled and ate it, then asked,

"By the way, how did you end up here, and what are you doing? Was your home originally here?"

Dae-cheol asked sincerely.

"No, my hometown is in Inje, Gangwon Province."

"Then how did you end up here? By the way, where were you headed at that time, and who were the companions you were with?"

"Yes, I will tell you everything. Even if you didn't ask, I was going to explain my situation..."

Sun-young put down the pear she was eating and adjusted her seat, then spoke in detail about her life from her growth until today. Dae-cheol was listening intently. After finishing her story, Sun-young adjusted her seat again, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Hey! The affairs of people are filled with so many ups and downs. Sun-young, you have experienced such twists and turns in just five years."

Dae-cheol seemed to be reflecting on the philosophy of life while simultaneously reminiscing about his own past.

"But is there a fate like mine?"

Sun-young wiped her tears again.

"There are countless such occurrences in this world. There are many even more tragic than that. Early hardships become blessings. There will be a day when luck turns around again. There is no need to be pessimistic at all. I also have a fate not inferior to yours, but I do not view it with despair. I have resolved to fight against the world and against fate as much as possible. After all, there is a saying: 'After hardship comes happiness.'

Dae-cheol clenched his fist as if he had a firm resolution and laughed heartily again.

"Men can do that, but can women?"

"Is there really a difference between men and women? It's the same."

"But, teacher!"

Sun-young looked at Dae-cheol with a new expression.

"Yes."

Dae-cheol looked at Sun-young.

"If a girl acts as a courtesan, does that mean she is discarded by society?"

"What do you mean by that? Would someone be discarded just for acting as a courtesan?"

"Would society recognize a girl who acts as a courtesan as a person?"

"Not at all, it's just a different profession, so what does it matter? Whether it's a courtesan or anything else, I am who I am."

"Is that so?"

"Of course it is. Even if it's a noblewoman, I have something, and even if it's a courtesan, I have something. If you look at history, there have been many remarkable people among courtesans."

"Isn't a courtesan rather different from a noblewoman?"

"How different can it be? There may be some differences, but if we look at it in a conventional way, there are aspects where courtesans are not as good as noblewomen. However, overall, it is something that exists in people."

Dae-cheol spoke with confidence.

"That may be true. Even if a dog has a tail for three years, it won't become a white dog's tail; jade may be buried in dirt, but jade remains jade. But is it that easy?"

"So, the fact that it is not easy is a different matter. Everything exists in people, so just because it's a courtesan doesn't mean it should be viewed negatively, that's what I'm saying."

"But wouldn't you find it uninteresting if even a teacher were to act like a courtesan? Just by me acting like a courtesan, you would lose interest from the start."

Soon-young closely observed Dae-cheol's expression.

"Not at all. I have tasted enough of the bitter side of life to understand that situation well. I felt sympathy hearing about your situation, but how could I view it negatively? Perhaps you are feeling some inferiority complex and saying such things, but I am not someone who holds such notions."

Dae-cheol seemed to gradually understand Soon-young's words and spoke with a more sincere attitude.

"Teacher, I must repay your kindness, but what can I use to repay you? In the old days, people sometimes repaid kindness with their bodies if they couldn't repay in any other way, but I have become a dirty body that serves as a courtesan, so I cannot repay with my body... Even if my body had not become a courtesan, what could I possibly have to serve someone as esteemed as you? I might have gone to your home to serve as a servant, but you probably wouldn't even make me do that, considering you were once a courtesan yourself, right?"

Sun-young turned slightly and looked at Dae-cheol with an expression as if she were about to smile.

"Now, why are you saying such things? What kind of kindness is there, and isn't there a limit to humility? Why do you keep saying that? I am almost thirty-two, but until now, I haven't had many deep conversations with a woman like Sun-young. I am still unmarried. Although I am not a great person, there are various circumstances, and among them, I have high standards due to my background, so most women do not catch my eye. That's why I haven't married until now, but that doesn't mean I haven't paid attention to women. However, women are indeed precious. What good is it if a person only has a shiny exterior? They must have substance. I don't know if it would be rude to say this face-to-face, but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I have never seen a woman as complete as you, Sun-young. Servant? I don't even have the right to love someone like you, so please don't say such things."

Dae-cheol smiled as if he were satisfied.