🎶 Ahn Ye-eun - Moon Shadow

A flower that blooms quietly does not know its own scent. That child was just like that.

I still cannot forget the day I first saw her. In all my life, she was the first person I had ever seen who possessed such a clear light. I could not say a word. I simply watched. Without even knowing that such a feeling would eventually be named love.

"Seeing you visit so often..."

"It seems you are quite fond of sweets, My Lord."

A cloth bundle handed over with a shy smile. The question that came the moment our fingertips brushed. In the end, I could not answer easily.

I had no interest in sweets. Honey and syrup did not suit my palate, nor did I enjoy traditional confections.

I did not go to buy sweets; I went to see that child's smile. Simply standing a distance away.

Her face as she smiled while greeting customers. Her face as she laughed while joking with her father. Her face as she smiled while pressing an extra rice cake into a child's hand.

I did not approach. But just like that, if I could only keep that smile in my eyes for a long time, that was enough.

However, that was ultimately my arrogance.

The whispering heard in the marketplace was a story I could not simply let pass.

"Did you hear?"

"They say the owner of the confectionery was swindled and fell into great debt."

"...I heard he was dragged to the magistrate's office at dawn today."

"They say the daughter left behind is being handed over to a gisaeng house."

"Tsk, tsk. How could a father feel, sending his own child to be a gisaeng?"

"She was such a tender and kind child..."

Gisaeng.

The moment that single word pierced my ears.

Thud—

The fan I was holding fell powerlessly to the ground.

"...What did you just say?"

"The confectionery at the entrance of the marketplace, sir. The father fell into debt and is handing his daughter over to a gisaeng house—"

I had not misheard.

I still have words I haven't told her. I haven't even been able to call her by name properly. I haven't been able to look her in the eye properly.

I turned around immediately. The gisaeng house where colorful red lanterns hung. The moment I crossed that threshold, she was truly there. On the face that always smiled like sunlight on water, a deep shadow had fallen.

Kneeling on both knees. Eyes staring into the void like someone who had resigned themselves to everything. On the face where a smile always came first, only the faint traces of dried tears remained.

Watching that sight, I felt as if somewhere in my chest was being crushed for the first time.

It was a truly strange thing.

To that child, I must have been nothing more than a customer who bought sweets.

Even though I had never dared to approach first and confess my heart, and had never once met her eyes to convey my affection, I could not let that child be sold as a gisaeng.

"...I will take that child."

The words left my mouth quickly. Without even a moment to hesitate. However, the madam spoke with a sneer.

"How is the news so fast?"

"We will have her dressed and ready to serve your liquor table soon, so if you give us just a little time—"

I cut her off sharply.

"You said there is a debt the father owes. How much will suffice?"

The madam looked at me for a moment, then sneered.

"Is My Lord truly going to trouble his heart so much over just this one young girl?"

Just this one young girl. She was right. However.

"She is the person I will marry."

The moment I spoke those words, I could not bring myself to look at the child's face. I was afraid. I feared that my words might have become another wound.

The wedding was quiet. There was no music. There were no blessings. The child never lifted her head. She must have been terrified. Though she came to a noble house instead of a gisaeng house, she likely felt that being sold off was no different in the end.

The first night.

The room was silent. Only the candle flame flickered quietly. In a corner of the room, a small back dressed in red wedding robes was trembling faintly. Her appearance, adorned with red bridal spots and an ornate jokduri, was truly beautiful.

However, more than any moment I had ever seen her, she looked her most sorrowful. Her fingertips were turned white as she gripped her dress ribbons tightly.

"Do not be troubled."

"...I have no intention of forcing myself upon you."

A moment of silence passed.

"Once this night passes,"

"Live your own life."

"That is the reason I brought you here."

Only then did those clear eyes meet mine for the first time. It was the first time I conveyed my true heart. And perhaps,

"If you wish, I will even sever our marital ties."

"I will also provide a way for you to live a new life."

It was the final affection a man could harbor.

"So, do not be afraid."

A person's heart is not something to be gained by force. The people of the world will simply say I am a man who bought a young wife with money.

However, what I sought to gain was the smile of the woman who held my heart for the first and last time. If that smile blooms again one day. When that day comes. Only then will I consider this marriage to be truly right.