Marriage

by Han Yong-un

Sun-young tried hard to understand Dae-cheol's feelings. After hearing that Dae-cheol was still unmarried and that he felt unworthy of love, her heart felt much lighter. It was as if she had fulfilled a wish of her own.

"Teacher," Sun-young cautiously opened her mouth.

"I live as a courtesan, but I hope you understand that my body is not dirty. As a woman, it is not dignified to say such things, and I do not know what you might think, but I want to convey the feelings I have cherished for a lifetime. There may not be another chance to see you again. I may be truly ugly, but my body has not been sullied in the least. I hope you can understand that..."

Sun-young hesitated as she tried to continue speaking.

"Ah, that may be true? I understand well. But it is really a difficult thing. Women are confined at home, and when they go out, they need someone to accompany them, so no matter how careful they are, many things happen. It is not easy to maintain a clean body while serving guests with a drink in hand. I am truly grateful for that."

Dae-cheol was impressed by Sun-young's words, but he did not say what she wanted to hear.

"Maintaining a clean body as a woman may not be a great thing, but I have been waiting for a chance to repay your kindness while keeping my ugly body clean."

Sun-young hesitated before finally uttering these words, her face turning red and her heart racing.

Sun-young was truly a naive person. The fact that she, who had been thinking about Dae-cheol for a long time with a moral notion of repaying her kindness, ended up saying something that was difficult for a woman to say first was not recklessness or rudeness, but rather the beauty of her honest character. At that moment, the door opened and Jeong-soon entered.

"Jeong-soon, you have come as well. Please come in."

Upon hearing that voice, Sun-young's face flushed and she didn't know what to do.

"Sun-young, you are here."

Before Jeong-sik's greeting had even finished, Jeong-soon looked at Sun-young with a puzzled expression. Sun-young stood up to greet her,

"Come here."

she said, but she couldn't show an active attitude towards Jeong-soon. They had come to meet Dae-cheol, but they didn't talk much to him and turned their gaze towards Sun-young.

"It's quite unexpected to see you here, Sun-young."

Jeong-sik said. Before she could respond to that, Jeong-soon asked.

"But really, what brings you here?"

Jeong-soon asked insistently. Sun-young felt anxious as she accepted Jeong-soon's laughter as a silent remark. She couldn't change the atmosphere at that moment to her advantage.

"I will go ahead."

Sun-young stood up. "No, please stay longer."

Jeong-sik's laughter was unpleasant, and Jeong-soon's attitude of saying, "It seems like we are interrupting you. Then we will leave, so please stay longer," was the same. When Dae-cheol said, "Please stay longer," Sun-young felt so disappointed that she thought she would never look at him again.

Sun-young felt a refreshing sensation as if she had escaped from a dark cave, along with a sadness as if she had lost a cherished treasure. She wanted to run with a single step, but her legs felt heavy. She lowered her face and avoided the light of the streetlamp, returning to an alley where not many people passed.

Upon returning home, Sun-young couldn't sleep. It was painful to have met someone other than Dae-cheol, and especially unpleasant to have encountered Jeong-soon. She regretted going that evening, but upon reflection, she realized there was no particular reason to avoid Jeong-soon. After meeting Dae-cheol, she felt it was meaningless to worry that Jeong-soon would find her situation uninteresting. However, it didn't feel good for someone else to know her actions. Moreover, it was disappointing that Dae-cheol's attitude was cold, contrary to her expectations. Sun-young had trusted Dae-cheol and thought her fate would begin with him, but in the end, she faced a disappointing outcome. However, it couldn't be concluded that everything had failed due to a single action. She also comforted herself by thinking that Dae-cheol's words would come later.

After Sun-young left Dae-cheol, their conversation turned to her.

"Teacher, have you known Sun-young for a while?" Jeong-soon asked.

"Known her for a while? I just greeted her for the first time yesterday through your introduction, Jeong-soon."

"But how did Sun-young come to find you?"

"Is it not possible for people who greeted each other yesterday to visit?"

"Just because we greeted each other yesterday doesn't mean we can't visit, but isn't it strange for her to come to you in the middle of the night?"

"That's a strange thing. The person I met for the first time yesterday came to find me in the middle of the night, so it must be that Seon-young fell for me after seeing me swim. However, it's too much of a leap for romance."

Jeongsik said with a smile.

"That may not be the case, but if we say she fell for me because of swimming, there's no way she would fall for me instead of you, who swims better than I do."

Daecheol also laughed.

"That's just talk; no matter how much she fell for you because of swimming, simple swimming alone can't be the only condition. Various conditions must align."

Jeongsun confidently spoke as if she had caught on cleverly.

"Isn't that sometimes true for you, Teacher Seo? You often deny things that are obvious, and it seems all men in love are like that. The foolish ones are the women. They get deceived whether they know or not, that's how women get fooled."

Jeongsun glanced at Jeongsik again.

"You, because of you, I might become an accomplice too. Speak honestly."

Jeongsik looked at Daecheol. Daecheol hesitated to bring up the topic about Seon-young.

"That's all a joke, but who is Seon-young really?" Daecheol asked Jeongsun.

"Why are you asking as if you don't know?" Jeongsun seemed not to take Daecheol's words seriously.

"How would I know? You must know in detail. Please tell me."

"What do you need to know in detail about Seon-young?"

"Since we're on the topic, I just wanted to hear about her."

"I don't know in detail either. She just came here and is working as a barmaid. I heard she's from Gangwon-do. At first, it seems she was deceived by someone and came to Seoul, then ended up sold to Hong Suk-ja's bar. So now she is selling drinks."

"Is there time to talk about such things? Soon-young came and not long after, you both arrived. And even if we talk roughly, can we really understand the details just by listening to me? Then a person is just a worthless, fallen being."

Jeong-soon made a strange expression with her lips and spoke coldly.

"That's not something you should say. Whether it's drinking or anything else, it's up to the person involved; just because someone is sitting with a cup, you can't automatically think badly of them."

Jeong-sik spoke logically, as if to comfort Dae-cheol.

"That's true. Soon-young has been living in that house for three years and hasn't said anything like this. But the girls who are there, even if they are only around fourteen or fifteen years old, have all sorts of behaviors, while Soon-young is eighteen and although she's not a beauty, she's at least that much, yet she hasn't said a word until now. Looking at that, it seems people are either messy or not."

Jeong-soon looked at Jeong-sik and then back at Dae-cheol.

"Such matters are secrets, so who knows? Can a girl who has been in the house for that long really remain chaste? Such things cannot be known just by rumors."

Dae-cheol wanted Jeong-soon's words to come out more clearly.

"No, no matter how much you say it's a secret, others tend to find out first. And the more you try to hide something, the more likely it is to be exposed. Soon-young absolutely has nothing like that. I guarantee it. That's why in Incheon, they say Soon-young is very well-behaved."

Jeong-soon spoke forcefully to establish her words rather than defend Soon-young.

"Well, I can't really say that Jeong-soon is wrong for saying that, can I? Is it really that easy, Won?"

Dae-cheol said rather suspiciously.

"But still, what is it that you find so surprising about Sun-young's behavior? You must have some other thoughts about her."

Jeong-sik said with a smile.

"No, since we're talking about it, let's talk. It's all just conversation, isn't it? It's nice to have such talk when things are dull."

Dae-cheol tried to twist the meaning of his words.

"Don't say that, just go ahead and date her if you want. I can't speak for everything, but I can guarantee that Sun-young is not promiscuous. And since she's naturally well-behaved, even the guests find her cute and give her money when they go drinking, and the owner's wife sometimes gives her money as well, so the savings she has now must have accumulated to several hundred won over three years. No one knows that but me. She tells me everything, no matter what it is. Anyway, it's not easy to find someone like her, so if you want to date her, go ahead. Don't hesitate."

Jeong-soon said half-jokingly.

"Just because the drinkers gave her some money, how could that amount to several hundred won? It might be a few tens of won at most."

Dae-cheol seemed to speak casually, but he wanted to know the truth.

"No, you can't deceive someone without being deceitful yourself. Not long ago, I met Sun-young on her way back from saving money, and I saw her savings account. At that time, it was already over two hundred won, so it must have accrued some interest in the meantime. It won't be long before it becomes a decent amount. It's hard for a person to reach that level. I try to save and be considerate, but I have a peculiar temperament, so I don't have many close friends. I'm really close with Sun-young."

Jeong-soon praised Sun-young highly after hearing that. They chatted until late and then dispersed.