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sohanNabi: Summaries with Excerpts, Vol. 15
Nabi: Summaries with Excerpts, Vol. 15
Chapter 29: That's How Hong Hayŏng Died
홍하영(洪河榮)은 그렇게 죽었다.
Chapter 30: [A Sound] From Across the Threshold
문(門) 너머에서 들리는
Abandoned to die on the Hamatŭ plains, Ryu Sang slowly regains consciousness. Seeing So'ryu looking down at him, he wonders if she is a ghost or a celestial maiden (shinnyŏ) [shinnyeo]. He also sees a passing airship, and yells at them to save him as So'ryu looks on.
One of the people on the airship [Ch'oe Sŏl 최 설{崔雪}, the woman introduced at the end of volume 7] spots the boy, and asks another woman on the bridge if they should pick him up. The woman answers that they should, although theirs is not the kind of airship a child should board.
Ch'oe Sŏl: Since So'ryu is a valued customer. She's sure to become our most valued customer from now on. Don't you think she's really a mysterious girl, Aunt Howŏl?
(소류는 귀한 고객이니까요.)
(앞으로 정말 귀한 최상의 고객이 될 거예요.)
(정말 신묘한 소녀이지 않아요, 이모님?)
Sŏng Howŏl: Let's keep public and private separate when working, Ch'oe Sŏl.
(일 할 때는 공사를 구분하자, 최설.)
Ch'oe Sŏl: I shall do so, Captain Sŏng.
(네, 주의하겠습니다. 성호월 선장님.)
In the present time, So'ryu's words to Ryu Sang -- that through her words, his entire life may change -- echo through his mind as he and Myoun run through the streets of the Su capital while being pursued by the Son guards.
[Note: Here the story diverges or jumps into a different timeline where Hong Hayŏng was never kidnapped by Son Sŏkmyŏng. Instead, Hayŏng grew up as the male heir to the Hong household in the empire of Su rather than as one of the orphans in Sŏng Howŏl's school in the country of Mun.
While Hayŏng's identity is of a young man, Hayŏng also seems to be acutely aware of being female as well as having ambiguous feelings in terms of "Hayŏng"'s status/role/gender within the Hong household and broader society, as the the rest of this volume suggests.
In my interpretation the ambiguity is centered in the social status/familial role that "Hayŏng" is expected to serve and Hayŏng cannot fulfill, and not around the gender identity in of itself -- i.e. for Hayŏng the dilemma is primarily mired in "can/should," not "is."
This leads me to think that using either exclusively masculine pronouns or female pronouns for Hayŏng is not apt, but using they/them/their only seems to sidestep the issues at stake for this character (there is no neutral middle ground available to Hayŏng insofar as familial/social expectations and obligations go).
So even though this is rather clunky, and depending on one's interpretation a particular reading may be a better fit than the other, when necessary for the English I'm going to use he/she with the caution that it's just a rough shorthand for the sake of comprehensiveness and readability. When the POV/narration is assuming a male or female identity, as when Jin Yisana is talking with Hayŏng (male) or when Ryu Sang is addressing Hayŏng (female), I'll use the gender assumed by the POV/narration, and hopefully this will not be too confusing.]
The next scene is at night, in the groves around the Son compound, where Hayŏng, dressed in girls' clothes and with unbound hair, is fighting the Son guards -- she coolly cuts off the hand of the Son guard (the same one seen in an earlier volume losing his hand) as she evades their pursuit.
Ryu Sang, standing next to the captain of the Son guards, remarks that the girl seems to be flying around like a bird, while the captain laments that they can't seem to catch a single girl.
Not waiting around to hear the rest of the captain's complaint, Ryu Sang takes off after the intruder and trades blows with her. To his surprise, she easily slips out from under him and cuts down two guards before running away. Ryu Sang looks after her with a surprised (thoughtful?) look on his face. Watching her disappearing back, Ryu Sang says to himself that rather than a skylark (종달새 - i.e. a common songbird) as he assumed at first , the girl is actually a raptor (맹금류).
The story then shifts to a daytime street where Jin Yisana, riding along in a carriage, sees a familiar face walking down the street.
pp. 29-32
Yisana: Hong Hayŏng?
(홍하영?)
Here. Over here, inside the carriage.
(여기.)
(여기다, 마차 안.)
I wasn't sure that it was you, Hayŏng. How long has it been?
(혹시나 했는데 너 맞구나, 하영이.)
(이게 얼마 만이냐?)
I haven't seen you since-- it's been two, three years since I heard that you had to go to the country because of illness. . . you've become even prettier.
(중병으로 시골로 요아 갔다는 말을 들은 게 2, 3년 전인데. 못 본 새 . . .)
(. . . 더 예쁘장해졌구나.)
Hayŏng: . . .
. . . .
Yisana: It's me, Yisana. Jin Yisana.
(나다, 이사나. 진 이사나.)
Hayŏng: Elder brother1, you've gotten even more waggish since I last saw you
(이사나 사형은 못 본 새 더 낭창낭창 해지셨습니다.)
1 Hayŏng calls Yisana sahyŏng [sahyeong] {師兄}, which is sort of like sŏnbae/senpai (specifically, taught under the same school/master). Generally we can call it a term of respect and more formal than hyŏng.
It could also be 舍兄 (same reading in Korean) which seems to be used interchangeably with 師兄 sometimes, but as far as I understand 舍兄 should really only be used for brothers who grew up in the same house and/or are kin.
Yisana: I'm sorry to tease you when we haven't seen each other in such a long time.
(미안하다. 오랜만에 봤는데 놀려서.)
Hayŏng: Let's just whatever.
(퉁칩시다.)
Yisana: In any case, you look like you've completely recovered. When did you arrive at the capital? When I heard you had suddenly taken seriously ill, I was shocked. How could a healthy lad like you suddenly. . .
(그나저나, 이제는 병기가 싹 가신 얼굴이구나. 도성엔 언제 온 것이냐?)
(나는 네가 갑자기 중병이 들었다 듣고 깜짝 놀랐었다. 그토록 건강하던 아이가 어쩌다. . .)
Hayŏng: Elder brother.
(사형.)
Yisana: Hm?
(응?)
Hayŏng: I'd like you to pretend you didn't me here today.
(오늘 여기서 저를 못 본 걸로 해주셨으면 합니다.)
Yisana: For free?
(맨입으로?)
Hayŏng: It seems like you've changed a bit?
(좀 변하셨읍니다?)
Yisana: When one is sick for a long time, one's childishness also increases.
(병이 길면 어리광도 느는 법이지.)
Hayŏng (starting to walk away): As you wish.
그럼 그러시든지.
Yisana: Hayŏng. Why don't you come over? I'll share the medicine I've been not drinking with you.
(하영아.)
(일간 놀러 오너라. 먹기 싫어 재어둔 내 보약도 나눠주마.)
Hayŏng (pausing and turning back slightly): I heard that. . . you are to marry Minister Son's daughter.
(듣기로 . . . )
(손 재상의 따님과 정혼하신다던데.)
Yisana: That what they say.
(그렇다지.)
Hayŏng: I shall stop by later.
(일간 찾아뵙겠습니다.)
As Hayŏng walks away, Yisana's servant Hong remarks that Hayŏng is an odd person (묘한 분이네요.). Yisana remarks that as he remembers, Hayŏng was rather strong, at least more than his younger brother [the word for brother used is awu 아우, this isn't the name]2, and that he thinks their father, General Hong, may have acted too hastily naming the second son his heir. If Hayŏng hadn't suddenly been taken sick, General Hong never would have given the heir's place to his younger brother.
2 The more commonly used word now for younger brother is tongsaeng [dongsaeng], but you'll see the somewhat old-fashioned awu used in constructions with hyŏng, like in folktales or historical tales which will tend to have older brothers with bad characteristics and younger brothers with good characteristics.
Ex. King Sejong and his no-good older brothers.
On the flip side, there's also a saying, "there's no little brother like a big brother" 형만 한 아우 없다 (hyŏngman han awu ŏpta), which means that no matter what, an older brother will have better outcomes that comes from greater experience than his younger brother.
As Hayŏng returns to the Hong house, he/she sneaks in by climbing over a wall, and on his/her way in overhears his/her younger brother being praised [perhaps over praised] by a servant, to which his/her brother replies pridefully.
Entering his/her rooms, Hayŏng is met by her mother, who reminds her that she's not to be wandering around the city. She tells Hayŏng that she and her father have finished discussing her situation, and that they have decided to marry her to a distant relative (who lives somewhere far away).
She promises Hayŏng that she'll make sure that the match is nothing to be ashamed of (it will be a match of the highest quality), so that even if Hayŏng can no longer live as her son, she will make sure that Hayŏng will lead a life that would be enviable by any woman's standard.
That night, Hayŏng, dressed in girl's clothes again, is just outside the walls of the Son house, looking for a way in, when he/she sees a fire arrow fly over the walls and an alarm go up from inside the compound. More fire arrows follow and the guards are mobilized. Hayŏng uses the opportunity to sneak in, but is met by Ryu Sang. They look at each other, each with their blade party drawn.
Ryu Sang asks Hayŏng why she's constantly trying to sneak into the Son house, and remarks that she's shorter than he'd originally thought. Ryu Sang introduced himself and asks for her name, but Hayŏng stays silent throughout. Withdrawing his blade, Ryu Sang tells her to be careful on her way out, and goes to join the other guards.
Outside, Hayŏng observes the fight (and Ryu Sang fighting), and So'ryu being retrieved from the intruders (the men of the cousin trying to steal So'ryu for himself and eliminated in a rage by Son Sŏkmyŏng).
The attempt to sneak in unsuccessful, Hayŏng returns to where he/she had hidden his/her men's clothes, and becomes "Hayŏng" again.
pp. 56-59
How long will I be able to live under my own name?
Has this name ever really indicated me?
That's the name of the son of the General of the Northern Frontier, Hong Jinwŏn.
Hong Hayŏng.
The impressive name of a precious first son.
Hong Hayŏng.
My crushingly heavy name, a name given to a girl made to act like a boy because they had no choice.
Hong Hayŏng.
And now, a name that will disappear from this world.
I'll go somewhere far away wearing a noble woman's name,
marry a strange man, and then live the life of a woman from then on.
That's how Hong Hayŏng will die.
Because he started to menstruate
because he didn't go through puberty
because his Adam's apple didn't appear
Hong Hayŏng died.
Mother finally bore a son. Her life is a full success.
Father finally gained a son. His life is a full success.
I regained myself.
Or did I lose myself?
Maybe I was born dead and just returned to being dead.
나는
언제까지 내 이름으로 살 수 있을까?
이 이름이
온전히 나를 가리킨 적이 있기나 했을까?
그것은 북방무관 홍진원의 아들의 이름.
홍하영.
고대하고 고대하던 귀한 장자의 이름.
홍하영.
어쩔 수 없이 계집아이에게 주고서 사내 아이 노릇을 시켰던
무겁디 무거운 나의 이름.
홍하영.
그리고 이제는
세상에서 사라질 이름.
나는 먼 곳으로 가 고운 여자의 이름을 달고서
낯선 남자에게 시집 가 이후론 여인의 삶을 살아가겠지.
그렇게 홍햐영은 죽는다.
달거리를 시작해서
변성기가 오지 않아서
목젖이 나오지 않아서
홍햐영은 죽었다.
어머니는 결국 아들을 낳았다. 가히 성공한 인생이다.
아버지는 결국 아들을 얻었다. 가히 성공한 인생이다.
나는 나를 찾았다.
아니 잃은 것인가?
어쩌면 나는 죽은 채로 태어났다 다시 죽은 건지도 모른다.
Making his/her way outside the abandoned building where he/she had stored his/her clothes, Hayŏng sees Ryu Sang waiting for him/her.
pp. 59-63
Ryu Sang: You've got a weird hobby.
(이상한 취미가 있네.)
I'm asking just in case, but are you crossdressing as a man now, or were you crossdressing as a woman before? Or are you confused about your gender in general?
(혹시나해서 묻는 건데,)
(지금 남장한 거야? 아까 여장한 거야?)
(아님, 성 정체성에 혼란을 겪고 있는 거야?)
Hayŏng: Shut up. Before I cut you down.
닥쳐. 베어버리기 전에.)
Ryu Sang: Hearing your voice is a relief.
(목소리를 들으니 안심이네.)
Walking past Ryu Sang and down the snow-covered steps, Hayŏng wonders why this guy keeps bothering him/her, and wonders if he/she should cut him down.
Ryu Sang: Have you ever heard of "Yi Jŏng"?3
('이정' 이라고 알아?)
Hayŏng: I thought you were called "Ryu Sang."
(너는 '류상' 이라며.)
Ryu Sang: Yup, I'm Ryu Sang. You remembered?
(응, 나는 류상.)
(기억하네?)
Hayŏng thinks, Because it hasn't been even an hour!
들은 지 반경도 안 지났거든!
Ryu Sang: "Chang Ch'ulchin," who would become that "Yi Jŏng"'s wife, is said to have left with him after having seen him just once when he came to visit her husband.
(그 '이정' 의 부인이 된 '장출진' 은)
(자기 주군을 찾아온 이정을 딱 한 번 보고선 그를 따라나섰다고 해.)
Having reached the bottom of the steps, Hayŏng turns to look at Ryu Sang.
Ryu Sang: Do you want you follow me, too?
(너도)
(나 따라올래?)
3 Li Jing (李靖, 571-649) was an accomplished and celebrated early Tang dynasty general (the author of a 'military methods' text among other things). Chang Ch'ulchin [Jang Chuljin] was one of the concubines of Yang Su (d. 606), a powerful general in the last years of the Sui dynasty (the dynasty that preceded the Tang). When the young Li Jing met with Yang Su, the story goes that Chang Ch'ulchin perceived Li Jing's heroic bearing right away and absconded with him.
As a side note, this general shares his name with the mythical Li Jing (Shang dynasty), one of whose sons is the popular mythical and literary figure Nezha.
pp. 64-71
Back at the Son household, So'ryu is being put to bed by Han'a (she is around the same age as So'ryu).
Han'a: You were shocked, weren't you? The one who tried to kidnap you was your elder cousin. Right now the Master is. . .
(많이 놀라셨죠?)
(아씨를 납치하려 했던 건 아씨의 당숙 어른이셨대요. 지금 대감 마님께서 그 분을 . . . .)
So'ryu: Han'a, your face. . .
(한아, 너 얼굴이 . . . . )
Han'a (raising a hand to the bruise on her left cheek ): Oh. . . . It's all right. Go on and go to sleep.
( . . . 아. . . .)
(괜찬아요.)
(어서 주무세요.)
You must have not seen today's events ahead of time.
(오늘 일은 미리 보지 못햐셨나 봐요.)
So'ryu: No.
(응.)
Han'a: At least Sang found you right away. Even though normally he's always complaining he's useful when it counts, isn't he?
(그래도 상이가 아씨를 빨리 찾아서 다행이었죠. 상이는 평소엔 늘 툴툴대도 필요할 땐 동움이 돼요. 그쵸?)
So'ryu: Speaking of, I didn't see Harim anywhere. . .
(그러고 보니, 하림이는 안 보이던데. . . .)
Looking at the blank look on Han'a's face, So'ryu realizes her mistake.
. . . 아 . . . .
Han'a: Who's Harim?
(하림이가 누구예요?)
So'ryu: No one, nevermind.
(아냐. 아무것도.)
Han'a: Miss So'ryu, you keep asking for that person from time to time. . .
(아씨, 예전부터 가끔 그 이름을 찾으시는데. . .)
So'ryu: It's nothing. It's no one. You can go now.
(아무것도 아니라니까.)
(아무도 아니야.)
(그만 나가봐.)
As Han'a leaves, So'ryu recalls the little boy frozen to death by the roadside she saw when she was little and repeats to herself that he was nobody. Over her prone form, the apparition of another (same/similar age) So'ryu, unseen and unheard by the So'ryu in the present, says:
That's right. In the end, Harim isn't anything.
((맞아. 결국 하림이는 아무것도 아니야.))
What you need is Ryu Sang.
((너한테 필요한 건))
((류상이야.))
That's it. All you need is him.
((그래.))
((그 녀석만 있으면 돼.))
If we've got Ryu Sang, everything's fine.
((우리는 류상만 있으면 돼.))
The present-day So'ryu's last thought before she falls asleep is:
I'll probably go crazy soon.
난 아마 곧 미쳐버리겠지.
Returning to his/her rooms at the Hong house, Hayŏng slams the door shut and starts to pace. Hayŏng flings the bedding prepared already (comforter, pillows, etc.) and covers his/her red face and clutches his/her head.
pp. 74
I should have ripped his tongue out! How easy did he think I was that he--! How dare he try to proposition me! This is utterly. . .
그 주둥아리를 확 찢어놓고 오는 건데!
이게 사람을 얼마나 쉽게 봤으면!
감히 어따 대고 수작이야, 수작!
이건 완전 개나 소나 사람을. . . .
Still clutching his/her head, Hayŏng remembers the first time he/she saw So'ryu. Hayŏng was in disguise at the time and wearing women's clothes, and thought that So'ryu, standing in the middle of a bridge and looking back, seemed to have been looking directly at him/her.
At first, Hayŏng had been concerned that he/she had been recognized, but realized that that could not be possible. Soon after, Hayŏng had started hearing strange rumors about So'ryu, and ever since then, had been seized with the thought that he/she had to meet her.
The next day, Hayŏng goes to see Yisana, but is turned away at the door because Yisana is sick. Hayŏng wonders if meeting So'ryu through Yisana might be possible, and then wonders if he/she (or Yisana) will even be around until then.
Walking back toward home, Hayŏng admits to his/herself that he/she has known for a long time that "Hayŏng" could not have continued to live on like this indefinitely. He/she had been afraid to change anything. Hayŏng thinks that he/she had not had the courage to give up the wealth and privileges of his/her position by running away. Hayŏng thinks to him/herself that he/she has become a much smaller person (smaller-hearted) than he/she had dreamed of becoming when he/she was little.
As Hayŏng nears the outer walls of the Hong house, he/she comes upon Ryu Sang waiting by the walls.
pp. 82-89
Ryu Sang: If you go around like that, do people see you as a guy? Is there something wrong with everyone's eyes?
(그러고 다니면)
(사람들이 널 사내로 봐 주냐?)
(단체로 눈들이 삐었나.)
Hayŏng thinks, Oh no!
헉!
How. . . how did you. . .
(. . . 여 . . .)
(. . . 여긴 어떻게 . . .)
Ryu Sang: I followed you that night. Putting aside the matter of your disguise, you're too careless! You've been followed twice!
(그날, 네 뒤를 밟았지.)
(넌 정체를 위장해야 하는 것치곤 너무 부주의해! 두 번이나 뒤를 밟혔어!)
Hayŏng thinks, Ugh!
윽!
Ryu Sang: Anyway looking at this house now, it's disgustingly big. At this size it must be neck to neck with So'ryu's for influence and wealth.
(그나저나 밝을 때 보니, 집 한번 더럽게 크네.)
(이 정도면 소류네랑 세력이 삐까삐까하겠는걸.)
So, are you the daughter of this house? A servant? Seeing that you're sneaking around the back way, are you the child of a concubine?
(그래서,)
(넌 이 집 딸이야?)
(고용인이야?)
(뒷문으로 몰래몰래 다니는 것 보면, 첩의 자식인가?)
Hayŏng: Shut up. If you value your life.
(닥쳐. 명줄 재촉하기 싫으면.)
Ryu Sang: I haven't heard that General Hong has a daughter. But you've heard that the roads in the sky have been blocked, righ?
(훙장군에게 딸이 있단 말은 못 들었지만.)
(하늘길이 막혔다는 소린 들었지?)
Hayŏng thinks, Why are you changing the topic all of a sudden?!
갑작스레 화제전환?!
Ryu Sang: Since our great emperor has cut off ties with Mun. In any case he's a completely useless human being. He's probably the least useful person in this entire country. So because of that, there's been a change in plans.
(잘나신 우리 황제 폐하가 문이랑 단교를 해 버려서.)
(하여간 아무 짝에도 쓸모없는 인간.)
(이 나라에서 제일 필요가 없는 인간일 거야.)
(그래서, 계획에 차질이 생겼어.)
Hayŏng thinks, What's that got to do with anything?!
뭐가 그래서야!!
Ryu Sang: I'm going to keep watch on the situation and then decide on a date to leave. I came by to tell you that.
(조금 더 상황을 보고 여길 뜰 날을 정하려고 해.)
(그 얘기하러 들렸어.)
Hayŏng: So when did I ever--
(그러니까, 내가 언재 너랑 . . . .)
Ryu Sang (walking away): That saying that there's no tree that won't fall over if you keep chopping at it, I don't believe in it.
(나는, 열번 찍어 안 넘어오는 나무 없다는 말,)
(안 믿어.)
So I'm gonig to chop at it one or two more times, and if it doesn't fall over, I'm going to leave by myself.
(그래서 한두 번 더 찍어보고 안 넘어오면)
(나 혼자 떠날 거야.)
Think about it.
(생각해봐.)
After a moment's hesitation, Hayŏng catches up to Ryu Sang.
Hayŏng: I have a request. Let me meet Son So'ryu.
(부탁이 있어.)
(손소류를 만나게 해줘.)
Ryu Sang: I can't do that.
(그건 안 돼.)
Dissappointed, Hayŏng disappears behind the walls of the Hong house, and Ryu Sang wonders aloud:
Son So'ryu?
(손소류?)
Having returned to the Son house, Ryu Sang sees a little girl (Aru) and several youths (Sŏkch'ŏl, Ch'ŏk'yŏng, and Dan'a) with Song Howŏl and Ch'oe Sŏl on their way out. Ryu Sang asks Han'a, standing outside his rooms, who the kids are.
pp. 95-96
Han'a: They accompanied Lady Howŏl here. I overheard that they're all orphans.
(호월 마님이랑 같이 온 사람들. 얼핏 들었는데 다들 고아래.)
Ryu Sang: Why, is she going to sell kids now instead of weapons?
(왜, 이젠 무기 대신 애들을 팔겠데?)
Han'a: That's not it, it's supposed to be charity.
(그게 아니라 좋은 일 하기는 거래.)
Ryu Sang: After all this time?
(이제 와서?)
Han'a: Anyone can change.
(사람은 누구나 변해.)
Ryu Sang: Since she's earned all she can, is she worried about the afterlife?
(벌 만큼 벌고 보니 내세가 걱정됐나?)
Han'a: I didn't know you believed in the afterlife.
(류상이 내새를 믿을진 몰랐어.)
Ryu Sang: I don't.
(안 믿어.)
Han'a: Miss So'ryu was looking for you. . .
(소류 아씨가 찾았는데. . . .)
Ryu Sang: Tell her I'm sleeping.
(잔다 그래.)
Han'a: Rest up, then.
(그럼, 쉬어.)
Ryu Sang goes into his rooms, and letting out a long-suffering sigh upon seeing an apparition of Soryu asleep over the side of his bed, he remarks, "I'm sick of this." (지긋지긋하다.)
As she makes her way across the Son compound, Han'a notices that snow is starting to fall, but the scene that she sees is that of a much younger version of herself with a boy around her age (Harim). They're crouched together in the snow and in the middle of building snowmen.
pp. 100-103
Han'a: I really like it when it snows. It didn't snow very much in my country.
(나는)
(눈이 오면 참 좋더라.)
(우리나라는 눈이 잘 안 왔거든.)
Harim (smiling): I don't really like the snow.
(나는 별로.)
Han'a (putting her hands on either side of Harim's face): Your cheeks are red.
(볼이 빨개졌어.)
Harim: You too. And Han'a, your hands are really cold.
(너도 빨개.)
(그리고 한아 네 손 되게 차.)
Han'a: They say people with cold hands have warm hearts.
(원래 손이 찬 사람이 마음이 따듯하대.)
Harim: Heh, really?
(헤, 누가 그래?)
Han'a (in the present day): Huh?
(어?)
On a nighttime mission with a few other Son guards in an undisclosed location, Ryu Sang is killing time eating some candy and wondering out loud how many people he has killed in his 17 years of life so far. He guesses that it must be around 15 or so.
Ryu Sang wonders if the king of hell (염라대왕) will cut him some slack if he knew that Ryu Sang didn't chose to live his life this way. Ryu Sang asks one of the other guards why he chose to be a sword for hire. The guard answers that it's because all he learned growing up was thievery and swordfighting.
Ryu Sang: Then why didn't you become a soldier? That's got more merit, and doesn't it give you more choice?
(그럼, 병사가 되지 그랬어? 그쪽이 더 명분도 있고, 그 정도 선택권은 있지 않으셨나?)
Son guard: But the government doesn't pay you properly.
(나라에서 녹봉을 제대로 안 주잖냐.)
Ryu Sang: Making a living is important, that's true. Anyone who doesn't take that seriously needs a lesson.
(하긴, 먹고 사는 건 중요하지.)
(그걸 우습게 보는 것들은 벌 받아야 해.)
Son guard (to another guard): What's up with this kid today?
(저거 오늘 따라 왜 저러냐?)
Ryu Sang remarks that Son Sŏkmyŏng is also going to be punished, but at human hands, not in the afterlife. The other guard shrugs off Ryu Sang's remarks, saying that nothing will ever change.
Ryu Sang: So you're not a romantic, even a little bit.
(역시 그 정도 낭만도 없구나.)
Son guard: Nope.
(개뿔도 없어.)
Ryu Sang: So, who does our Master want us to kill today?
(그래서,)
(우리 주인님이 오늘은 누굴 죽이래?)
In his/her rooms for the evening, Hayŏng reaches for his/her sword at someone entering from the outside -- he/she sees that the intruder is actually a badly wounded Ryu Sang, who has found his way to his/her door after fighting and/or killing the other Son guards.
116-118
Ryu Sang: Yo. . . . You wouldn't show hide or hair. . . so I came to see you . . . .
(. . .여어 . . . .)
(하도 코빼기도 안 보여줘서. . . .)
(. . . 내가 왔지. . . .)
(coughing up blood)
Ugh. This pisses me off. . . Am I. . . going to die here? In front of the girl I've fallen for?
(. . . 으아. . . .)
(. . . 짜증나. . . .)
(. . . 나 오늘. . . . . .여기서 죽는 건가?)
(반한 여자 앞에서?)
As he collapses, Ryu Sang thinks:
I finally thought. . . I'd found another way. . .
Mouthing off like that. . . bringing up the king of hell for no good reason. . .
. . . 이제 겨우. . .
다른 살 길을 찾았다고. . .
. . . 생각했는데. . .
. . .입이 방정이라고. . .
괜히 염라대왕 얘기는 꺼내가지고. . .
Hayŏng looks at the unconscious Ryu Sang for a moment, and then after checking for a pulse, starts treating his wounds.
Lying bandaged up in Hayŏng's rooms, Ryu Sang, just before he wake, dreams of being in a quiet bamboo grove full of only the sound of the wind. Nearby is So'ryu's lifeless head. Hearing Hayŏng's mother announce her entrance, Ryu Sang hides behind a screen in the interior section of Hayŏng's rooms. When Hayŏng's mother leaves and he comes back out, he sees a bridal gown laid out on Hayŏng's's bedspread.
Later, Hayŏng returns with some food for Ryu Sang. Ryu Sang's casual manner when asking for extra food or asking after the whereabouts of his sword makes Hayŏng think of an old man calling for things/asking his wife to run errands for him.
Several days has passed-- still injured, Ryu Sang thinks that the house is very quiet -- almost too quiet, like a temple, and not like a place where people live. Looking through the opened windows at Hayŏng quietly reading on an outside porch, Ryu Sang thinks to himself that he may never have had such a quiet, peaceful moment in all his life.
The next scene is a flashback from Ryu Sang's childhood right after he's been picked up by the airship. A young So'ryu's apparition is sitting next to him. She tells him that the people on the ship will soon give him food laced with poison. Even though the food is poisoned, he won't die right away, because they'll also give him an antidote every day, So'ryu tells Ryu Sang.
Ryu Sang: Um. . . this might make you mad but. . . why is your body transparent? Do people like you really exist? Did you come from across the ocean like me?
(. . .저기. . .)
(이런 거 물어보면 화낼지도 모르겠는데. . .)
(넌 왜 몸이 투명해?)
(세상에 너 같은 사람도 있어?)
(너도 나처럼 바다 건너에서 온 씨야?)
So'ryu: I've come from a different space-time.
((나는 다른 시공간에서 왔어.))
Ryu Sang: Huh?
(뭐?)
Ch'oe Sŏl arrives at that moment with some food, and So'ryu tells Ryu Sang that since other people can't see her, he should pretend to do the same as well. She tells Ryu Sang that even though the food is poisoned, with the passing of time -- perhaps about ten years -- he should develop an immunity and become free. He'll then be able to live a long life.
Left alone in the airship cabin with the food, Ryu Sang starts to shedding tears as he eats the meal. Ryu Sang tells Soryu that he's never done anything, but it seems that everyone (including his mother, who has abandoned him in the plains with his father's sword), wants him dead.
To this, Soryu says that originally, Ryu Sang is rescued by a passing merchant, and although he goes through many hardships, he eventually meets a good teacher and in a beautiful school, lives with many family members.
There, Soryu tells Ryu Sang, he will go on to gain great peace (안식) and happiness. And even though that too will disappear a few years (ten years), those years will definitely have remained a bright and warm part of his life.
Interspersed with the conversation between the young Ryu Sang and the young So'ryu is Han'a, sitting in a darkened room (her own?) in the Son house, staring into the distance, and Hayŏng, looking down at a Ryu Sang who has blood coming out of his eyes and ears.
pp. 154-158
Han'a (to herself): Ah. . . I've got it.
(. . . 아 . . . .)
(알겠다.)
So'ryu (on the airship, to Ryu Sang): This world has been rearranged. It's been changed, once. Or many times, maybe. Being from this world I don't know for sure.
((이 세계는 재구성되었어.))
((한 번, 이 세계는 바뀌었어.))
((아니, 어쩌면 수 번.))
((이 셰게의 나는 정확히 모르지만.))
Han'a: Son So'ryu
(손소류가)
Soryu: At some point I defied both the heavens and the world. For no reason other than my own self, I became a monster that deceives the world.
((나는))
((어느 시점엔가 하늘도 세계도 거역했어.))
((다른 무었도 아닌,))
((나를 위해서 세상을 기만하는 괴물이 된 거야.))
Han'a: Son So'ryu
(손소류가)
took Harim away from me.
(나에게서 하림이를 뺐어갔어.)