Plum Month

by Choi Seo-hae · 2026-03-20

It took five days to leave Seoul and arrive at the main house in Yeongnam. The house of Park Saeng, which welcomed its owner after six years, was bustling like a festive house. There was a commotion about pounding rice cakes, filtering alcohol, and slaughtering cattle because guests were coming. The love room was lit, and the whole house was busy moving around.

The spirits, which had been quietly trapped in the shrine like doves, became quiet after receiving the grandson's bow and getting drunk on the stone cup of alcohol poured by the grandson after six years. Park Saeng, who had learned the proper etiquette, acted sincerely on the outside, but his heart and eyes were only on his wife, Mae-wol, whom he was seeing for the first time.

Perhaps due to fate or timing, Park Saeng could not hold an official position, but having spent several years in Hanyang, he had seen almost all decent people, whether men or women. However, he had never seen a beauty like his wife Mae-wol. Yesterday, at dusk, he saw Mae-wol, who looked like a fairy, at the doorway as he entered the room, and his heart could not settle.

This morning, Park Saeng called Mae-wol into his room and tested her first by observing the rules. Her skin, clear and slightly rosy like moonlight, had a cold expression, but her eyes were as clear as dew, her lips round and red, and her not too wide forehead was perfect. Park Saeng was mesmerized.

Moreover, Mae-wol sitting carefully and reciting the rules in a clear voice seemed like she could make any delicious food taste good. The thought that her writing and appearance could be compared to Tak Mun-gun or Choi Aeng-aeng captivated Park Saeng's heart.

How could Park Saeng's heart be at peace? Isn't loving the pleasures of the world and the moon a scholar's affair at this time? Park Saeng, who was not yet thirty-two, was boiling with anguish. "She is a heavenly beauty. I am a nobleman. How can a nobleman think of a servant and worry? How much would the world laugh if they knew? Let’s cast away this worry. But I cannot forget her! I cannot endure without plucking that flower! But as a nobleman, how can I reach out to a servant?"

Park Saeng was tormented by such thoughts. However, he struggled to find a limited moment alone to extinguish the fire of purification. Gabi did not know her master's troubles. How could she know, as there were still no words...?