TAMC 05

Chapter 05

After the 500-million-won transaction between Yonghwa the shaman and Okhyun, the two of them had started treating Jaye like an object.

Sunwoo looked at his mother with an even more twisted expression.

“You two were the ones who brought Jaye into this house as my wife. That’s why we’re living as husband and wife.”

“……”

“Is there really a pathetic man in this world who would just stand by and watch someone disgrace his own wife? Am I supposed to sit there like an idiot and do nothing?”

Okhyun was visibly flustered by Sunwoo’s attitude toward Jaye, as if he truly regarded her as his wife.

“Sunwoo, what’s gotten into you lately? Jaye isn’t even your real wife.”

As the voices between the two of them grew louder, Yonghwa the shaman, who had been quietly watching, stepped in to settle things.

“You two should stop. I made a mistake.”

“Don’t ever lay a hand on Jaye again. If something like this happens one more time, I won’t let it slide.”

Sunwoo was not a man who compromised when faced with injustice.

Yonghwa the shaman knew that better than anyone. She had already once clashed with Sunwoo when she sent Jaye into this house.

“I’m glad to hear that’s what you want, and that you two are living well together as husband and wife.”

When Yonghwa the shaman backed down, Okhyun hurried over and grabbed her hand.

“Bosa-nim.”

Okhyun was the one who had invited Yonghwa the shaman to the house, saying she had something to discuss with her.

The previous night, after Sunwoo’s accident, Okhyun had been trembling with anxiety. She called Yonghwa the shaman and paid hundreds of thousands of won per minute for a fortune-telling consultation about Sunwoo.

After listening to Okhyun’s complaints for several hours, Yonghwa the shaman had come to Seoul, saying she needed to see Sunwoo’s face and the Samjae talisman herself.

“Sunwoo just can’t stay still when it comes to Jaye.”

Okhyun had already ordered another talisman to replenish Sunwoo’s energy, so she did everything she could to appease Yonghwa the shaman.

“He’s only acting this way because we’re deceiving the gods and deceiving people just as Bosa-nim instructed. So please don’t be angry with him. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

“Good. If that’s the case, then there’s nothing more to worry about.”

“But more importantly, our Sunwoo will make it through this year safely without anything happening to him, right?”

“I did bring several talismans that pray for Sunwoo’s safety. But I think I need to see the living space the two of you share before deciding whether or not to use them.”

At the mention of talismans, Okhyun’s face immediately brightened.

“Oh my, thank you, Bosa-nim. Thank you so much. I’ll take you to the bedroom.”

Unable to bear watching his mother being manipulated by the shaman, Sunwoo turned his head away.

Meanwhile, Okhyun took Yonghwa the shaman by the hand and led her out of the master bedroom.

“You can go up these stairs. Sunwoo and Jaye use the second floor.”

Watching the two women leave the living room and climb the stairs to the second floor, Jaye breathed a sigh of relief.

At least she hadn’t had to show her back.

If Yonghwa the shaman discovered that she had disobeyed her orders, something might happen to her mother in the hermitage.

Jaye watched Yonghwa the shaman and Okhyun climb the stairs, then followed them up to the second floor.

“Bosa-nim, this is the room the children use.”

As soon as Yonghwa the shaman entered their bedroom, she stared sharply at the empty walls and muttered words that sounded almost like an incantation.

After looking around the room for quite some time, Yonghwa the shaman finally stopped in front of the vanity.

“A mirror or anything similar shouldn’t be facing a window. Isn’t it bouncing away all the good energy?”

Okhyun rushed toward the vanity in surprise.

“Then we’ll move it. No, I’ll have the mirror removed immediately.”

“Forget it. There’s no point in doing that now.”

Yonghwa the shaman took a yellow talisman out of the silk pouch in her hand.

“The energy has already left. There’s nothing we can do about that. What matters is protecting things properly from now on. I’ll put this talisman here, so never remove it until Sunwoo’s samjae is over.”

“Yes. I’ll remember.”

Yonghwa the shaman attached the talisman, which had a geometric pattern drawn on it, above the mirror.

Then she shook the shaman’s bell in her other hand, while Okhyun stood beside her with her hands clasped and bowed her head toward Yonghwa the shaman.

After looking around the room once again, Yonghwa the shaman approached the two beds placed side by side.

She carefully examined the beds and the nightstand between them, then reached toward the nightstand drawer.

“Let’s stop there.”

Sunwoo stepped forward, but this time Yonghwa the shaman didn’t back down either.

“This bed, you see. It’s not right for a married couple to use separate beds. If, as you say, you’ve already become one physically, there’s no reason for you to sleep separately.”

“I have terrible sleeping habits, so it’s more comfortable for both of us to sleep separately.”

Sunwoo had no sleeping habits at all, but thanks to that excuse, they had been able to use separate beds for two years and eleven months.

“That’s the problem. Because you aren’t receiving Jaye’s energy properly, something like this accident happened.”

Okhyun was the one who reacted to the word “accident.”

She hurriedly approached the bed.

“Bosa-nim, is that really true? Are you saying Sunwoo’s accident happened because of that?”

“Isn’t this the year his samjae is leaving? Bad things become even more aggressive just before they disappear. He needs to keep the talisman close and embrace it often in order to avoid misfortune.”

“Now that you mention it, what you’re saying makes perfect sense. From today onward, I’ll make the two of them sleep in the same bed. We’ll remove the bed immediately.”

“Mother!”

Sunwoo glared at her, but this time Okhyun refused to give in.

“Sunwoo. I’m doing this because I have my reasons.”

“Why do you keep letting yourself be manipulated by shamans like this every time?”

“There’s nothing to lose by listening, so of course I should listen. I’m the kind of mother who would even give up my life for you. Do you really think I can’t get rid of a bed like this ten times over, a hundred times over, if it’s for your sake?”

While they argued, Yonghwa the shaman continued examining the bedroom.

From among the talismans she had brought from the hermitage, she selected the ones whose energy matched the room and placed them in the east, west, south, and north.

“Bosa-nim, I will never forget this favor. Thank you. Truly, thank you so much.”

Even as she handed Yonghwa the shaman several million won for the talismans, Okhyun expressed her gratitude by bowing so deeply that her forehead nearly touched the floor.

“What matters even more than everything that has happened until now is the period from now until the samjae ends. Make Jaye and Sunwoo become one more often, and Sunwoo must not go anywhere whose entrance faces east.”

“Yes. I’ll remember, Bosa-nim.”

And so Yonghwa the shaman left the house carrying a thick envelope of money.

But even after she was gone, the house remained noisy.

Okhyun immediately tried to get rid of one of the beds, while Sunwoo blocked the bedroom door and refused to move.

“Take out the mattress first. Then break the bed apart with an axe and burn it.”

“Mother, please. Don’t do this.”

Okhyun and Sunwoo stood in a tense standoff in front of the bedroom door.

As their confrontation continued, the servants repeatedly tried to lift the bed, their arms trembling from the effort.

Unable to watch any longer, Jaye stepped forward.

“Department Head, just listen to Mother. If you don’t remove the bed, she’ll stay here all night and refuse to back down.”

Jaye was uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a bed with him too, but she knew Okhyun would never give up, so there was nothing she could do.

Only after Jaye stepped in and tried to calm things down did Sunwoo finally back off.

“Why are all of you just standing there with your eyes wide open?! Hurry up and move the bed!”

Seizing the opportunity, Okhyun urged the servants on.

The servants rushed into the room and lifted Sunwoo’s bed.

“Jaye, go down to the dining room and tell them to reheat the soup. And Seonghwan’s wife, clean up the space where the bed was.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Jaye went down to the kitchen and touched one of the bowls of soup sitting on the dining table.

The food they had spent all day preparing had grown cold on the table.

Outside, Okhyun was making a fuss about having the bed that had been taken into the garden destroyed.

She was doing it because she was afraid someone might bring it back inside.

Sunwoo followed her outside and watched his mother’s actions with an incredulous expression.

For the three years from the beginning of his samjae until its end, Okhyun had been manipulated by Yonghwa the shaman’s fortune-telling.

She had rearranged the furniture throughout the house and put talismans worth millions of won all over the place.

And that wasn’t all.

She had even gone so far as to turn a human being into a talisman and pressure her into a contract marriage.

She had crossed the line.

In broad daylight, with the sun high overhead, the sound of an axe began echoing through the garden of Unamjae.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

With every swing of the axe, Sunwoo’s face became more and more devastated.

When the headboard of the bed finally split in half, Okhyun turned toward the house with a satisfied expression.

“Mother.”

Sunwoo blocked her path.

“If you keep doing this, I won’t be able to live with you anymore.”

“What are you talking about? I’m doing all this for you. If you act like this, then who am I supposed to rely on and live for?”

Jaye ran outside and grabbed Sunwoo by the collar, trying to stop him.

“Please stop, Department Head.”

When Jaye grabbed his collar, Sunwoo suppressed his anger and went back inside.

Jaye followed Sunwoo upstairs.

When she entered the bedroom behind him, there was only one queen-sized bed left standing there.

That evening, after finishing her shower, Jaye entered the bedroom.

Sunwoo, who had been looking out the window, turned around.

“What were you looking at?”

“The broken bed.”

Sunwoo’s bed was lying broken in the garden.

“I’ll sleep in the guest room. Get some rest.”

When Sunwoo opened the bedroom door to leave, Jaye, dressed in her pajamas, hurried over and grabbed the hem of his T-shirt.

“Department Head. If you sleep somewhere else, Mother will make a huge fuss.”

Okhyun believed that Sunwoo’s energy had been disrupted because of the accident.

She had repeatedly emphasized that Jaye needed to properly fulfill her role as a talisman and restore Sunwoo’s energy. If Okhyun discovered that they were sleeping in separate rooms again, there would certainly be another huge confrontation.

“Then I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“No.”

Jaye shook her head and pointed at the end of the bed with her finger.

“You were in a car accident too. There’s no need to make yourself uncomfortable like that…… I’m fine, so let’s sleep together in the bed. You can sleep on this side, and I’ll sleep at the other end.”

“……”

“I’m really okay. If we sleep at opposite ends, we won’t even touch each other anyway……”

“Fine. I’ll have a bigger bed brought in tomorrow, so let’s just put up with the discomfort tonight.”

“Yes.”

When the lights were turned off, the dim streetlights from the garden seeped through the window.

Jaye pulled the blanket up to just beneath her chin.

With her vision blocked by the darkness, she felt as though her nerves were becoming more sensitive.

The only sound in the bedroom was the rustling of the bedding.

Perhaps because her senses had become heightened, Jaye could tell what position Sunwoo was lying in simply from the sound of him moving.

“Um, thank you for helping me today.”

Unable to endure the silence any longer, Jaye spoke to him.

“I helped you?”

“The tattoo on my back. You helped me so that they wouldn’t find out.”

“I was the one who told you to get rid of it in the first place. You can’t get into trouble because of it.”

“Even so. Thank you. Really.”

“No need to thank me. Let’s just sleep.”

Once again, the bedding rustled, and Sunwoo turned onto his other side.

Jaye only turned her head and looked at his back.

Rather than using separate beds, lying in the same bed while pretending to be strangers and drawing a line between them felt even colder.

“Um, you know……”

She didn’t intend to keep him awake, but seeing him lying turned away from her as though deliberately shutting her out made her want to talk to him for some reason.

Jaye reached her hand toward Sunwoo’s body.