Chapter 39
After the Promise with the Master.
The Master truly kept his promise. He did everything he could to cure my mother’s illness.
First, he sent Doctor Jung to examine my mother. I had a small hope. Doctor Jung was known to be one of the most skilled physicians even within the So family estate.
But Doctor Jung only shook his head.
“…I’m sorry.”
He couldn’t find the cause of her illness.
And it wasn’t just Doctor Jung.
Afterward, the Master introduced me to several other doctors. Some were even famous enough that I had heard of them before.
But…
“Huh… how could such an illness exist…”
“I’ve never seen symptoms like this in my life.”
“No matter what method I use, there’s no improvement. We can only give up…”
None of them could cure my mother. No new treatments or rare medicines made any difference.
If anything, her condition only worsened.
Why?
Eventually, I even felt resentment toward the heavens.
If the young lady’s illness improved, shouldn’t my mother recover as well? Why does my mother have to continue suffering? What have I endured all this time for…?
The unfairness of it all once made me cry silently.
I had been sobbing while my mother was asleep, and it seemed my quiet cries had woken her. She looked at me crying and whispered softly.
“Dana, it’s okay.”
“…”
“I really am okay.”
Then she took my hand and smiled faintly.
“Everything will turn out fine, so don’t be too sad, my dear.”
What could I do in front of such a mother?
I could only hold her hand, suppressing the emotions welling up inside me.
After that, my mother slept more often.
It was as if she felt reassured after saying those words, as if she wanted to rest deeply. She spent more time asleep than awake.
Naturally, the time I could talk with her also decreased significantly. I often saw her asleep when I went to work and when I returned home.
But instead of feeling discouraged, I chose to act as usual.
“Mother! Did you have a good day today? Nothing happened, right? Nothing serious, just something a little funny happened, and it was…”
I would chat alone by her side.
Of course, she remained asleep and didn’t respond, but I spoke anyway, telling her everything that happened that day.
I wanted to share the world’s stories with my sleeping mother. I hoped that by treating her as usual, when she woke up, she would naturally respond, “Oh, really?”
“…And that’s what happened.”
After finishing my story today, I took a moment to catch my breath.
A heavy silence settled. My mother was still asleep, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.
“Mother.”
I watched her quietly and then suddenly lifted my body to place my ear on her chest. Thump… thump… The faint beating of her heart relaxed the tension in my body.
I sat back in my chair and leaned beside her, muttering to myself.
“I miss you…”
“Yaaaawn.”
I yawned as I entered the main gate of the So family estate.
Perhaps because I had fallen asleep leaning over yesterday, my body felt stiff and uncomfortable.
On days like this, something always seemed to happen…
I rubbed my stiff shoulders and walked forward. A familiar figure appeared across from me.
“Aso!”
“You’re here? I wanted to talk to you anyway…”
Seeing Aso rush over, I tilted my head in confusion. Regardless, Aso grabbed me and started rattling off something I couldn’t fully follow.
“You’re obviously going to the Namgung estate, right? I begged Madam Ma to let me go too, but her reaction was lukewarm, so I was worried about you…”
“Wait, what?”
I opened my mouth in shock.
“The Namgung estate?”
Aso tilted his head, looking puzzled.
“What? You… don’t know?”
What I heard next shocked me.
Apparently, the Master would take the young lady to the Namgung estate soon.
Officially, it was because her health had recovered and they wanted her to enjoy sightseeing, but Aso said he thought it was to find further treatments along with Namgung Jung.
“They said they’ll only take a few attendants since they’ll be traveling around. Do you know how competitive that is? Everyone wants to go… so it’s chaos.”
“….”
“Ahem. Anyway, I assumed you’d obviously go since you’re the only one attending to the young lady… Didn’t you hear?”
I hadn’t.
Not only had I not heard—I hadn’t even imagined it. Going to the Namgung estate? Weren’t we supposed to live here forever?
“Well… maybe we’ll return soon.”
Only then did I understand what Namgung Jung had meant.
They planned to return quickly to the estate, but initially assumed the young lady would travel to the Namgung estate, and naturally, I would follow her.
Of course… but still, I hadn’t known. Did the young lady know?
“You knew.”
“Whaaaat?!”
I looked at her in disbelief, and she responded as if I were the one misunderstanding.
“Why would I need to tell you? You’re the only one attending me anyway, so of course, you’re coming.”
“Oh…”
“Well, might as well tell you now. We’re leaving for the Namgung estate in a month. It’s a long journey, so pack your things in advance. We’ll provide what’s needed, so no need for anything extravagant.”
“….”
“Understood?”
I wanted to say “Of course,” but the words wouldn’t come. After hesitating, I could only manage:
“Will… we stay there long?”
The young lady looked at me strangely before answering.
“Probably.”
Probably. A vague answer. Could be long, could not.
But the journey was all the way to Anhui Province. Covering over 3,000 ri (approx. 1,200 km) would certainly take time. And she mentioned staying there.
It could take at least a year or two…
One or two years?
Then, what about my mother?
Could she survive while I went to the Namgung estate? What if I returned and she had passed away…?
“No, I have to stay by her side no matter what.”
Then what should I do? Should I bring my mother along? Would the Master allow her to make such a long journey? Even if he did, could she endure it?
I spent several days agonizing over this decision. Eventually, I had no choice but to stand before the young lady and make my decision known.
“Young lady… about going to the Namgung estate…”
“Yes?”
“I don’t think I can go.”
The young lady’s eyes widened.
“What…?”
I explained hesitantly, stumbling over my words.
I simply explained at length that “my mother’s condition is too poor to leave,” and since the young lady already knew my situation, she couldn’t respond immediately.
After a long silence, she finally spoke.
“I… I’ll speak to my father. If I ask him, your mother can go with us too.”
“….”
“The journey won’t be too hard anyway. I can’t push myself too much either, so Doctor Jung will accompany us, and it’ll be easier to take care of everyone. If you get tired, we can rest….”
“….”
“Do you understand? I’ll tell him now, so…”
“Young lady.”
I bit my lips and spoke.
“My mother is very ill.”
“….”
“She hasn’t opened her eyes in quite a while. I don’t know if she’ll be okay. Bringing her along might only be a burden for you. In that case, it’s better…”
I paused and couldn’t look at the young lady’s increasingly pale face, bowing my head instead.
“I’m sorry.”
“….”
The young lady remained silent for a long moment.
She just stared at me and then let out a long sigh, saying only:
“Let’s talk about it again next time.”
After that, she didn’t bring up the subject again.
But I knew.
No matter how many times we discussed it, the outcome would be the same. I would always have to tell her the same thing.
Why did it come to this?
I felt a bit downhearted. She had just begun to open up to me, we were starting to feel closer, and now we were parting ways…
I quickly shook my head. No, anything could happen. Miracles could occur, and if things improved, I might still meet her at the Namgung estate later.
Even if I didn’t go, if I waited here, she would eventually return…
Yes, that’s enough.
I tried to soothe my bitter feelings.
The So estate was lively again after a long time. Preparations for the journey to the Namgung estate were progressing quickly, and those accompanying the journey were busy but strangely excited.
I only watched them from afar. I didn’t have time to care.
Soon after, my mother opened her eyes.
