The Third Disaster Awakens
I received that call from **Yonghwa Mu-dang** on the day I was supposed to be home with Seonwu.
“Why are you calling at this hour…”
People went to shamans to learn about future misfortunes, but during the time I lived with her, all I heard was negativity. I had no desire to know the future and even less interest in hearing frightening stories.
If only I could have avoided her calls a hundred, a thousand times. But still, when I picked up the phone and pressed the talk button, it wasn’t my choice. I had none.
“Yes, Halmeoni.”
“These days I keep dreaming of you. Are you still carrying out your duties well?”
“Yes. I’m doing exactly as you said.”
No. We had entered into a contract marriage to escape the mountains, yet because of such absurd reasons I hadn’t been able to share a bed with a man.
Seonwu agreed with me on that point.
“If you don’t follow what I say, something truly terrible will happen to Jeong Seonwoo. Remember that.”
Yonghwa Mu-dang’s prophecy had been wrong. Two years and eleven months had passed without sharing a bed with Seonwu, yet no disaster had befallen him.
I refused to believe her omens, but I answered politely anyway.
“Yes, Halmeoni. I will remember.”
“That’s good. I understand.”
It was the moment she was about to hang up. I called out to her hurriedly.
“Halmeoni.”
The reason I had lived under Yonghwa Mu-dang’s shadow all these years was for my sick mother.
“Is Mother well? Is her body better?”
“It flares up with madness sometimes. But when I perform the rituals and care for her, she has been peaceful lately.”
My mother had always suffered when she was possessed. They said that once the spirit entered her body, the pain would stop, yet she never improved.
My mother had lived as Yonghwa Mu-dang’s chosen daughter long before I was born. She had been brainwashed by her, and even after leaving the world, she never thought of receiving proper treatment.
I had come to Seoul once a month to leave my mother, who was convulsing and exposing her whites, in that hermitage.
If I continued to leave her there, I would never escape Yonghwa Mu-dang’s influence, and I also wanted to raise my own powers so I could take her out myself.
“Halmeoni, please take care of Mother. And please look after yourself too.”
As long as Mother remained with Yonghwa Mu-dang, I could not refuse her words.
That was why I pretended to be obedient while deceiving everyone’s eyes.
***
Seonwu was discharged after only two days. A mere wrist sprain shouldn’t have required hospitalization, but Okhyeon had insisted, and the full check-up had delayed his release.
Okhyeon had forced Seonwu’s caretakers to prepare medicinal meals under the pretext of nourishing him while he was in the hospital.
I, too, had been unable to go to school under the excuse of replenishing his energy.
It meant sharing a bed with Seonwu, who had lost his vitality due to the accident.
Even though sharing a bed with a man who had just been in a traffic accident didn’t seem beneficial, Okhyeon had ordered me to freshen up from morning.
I had obediently followed her instructions again.
Before sunrise, I bathed once in the courtyard so the frost would melt away, then bathed a second time. Only then could I descend to the first floor.
Even though Seonwu was coming home after just two days, the Unamjae estate was bustling as it prepared to welcome him.
Among the servants moving with perfect efficiency, Seonghwan-daek, who handled the household, called me.
“Madam, shall I show you the japchae?”
“Yes. Just a moment.”
We were husband and wife in name only, and I was nothing more than a three-year contract wife, yet everyone treated me with respect.
Publicly, Seonwu was portrayed as a devoted husband. In private, he never spoke a word in the bedroom, but when we were in the dining room or living room, he pretended to care for me.
People who saw that treated me with extra caution.
“How is it?”
“I like it. You should finish by sprinkling sesame seeds on top.”
“The vegetables that arrived this afternoon are so fresh that the mixture looks delicious.”
“Yes. It does.”
I ran my tongue over the remaining japchae and swallowed.
I had answered that it was delicious, but in truth, I couldn’t taste anything. With the news that Seonwu was returning, my heart felt light. The room seemed empty, as if it had always been.
But I knew that whether he returned safely or not. The fact that my husband was home after two days of absence made the room feel fuller than ever.
A moment later, someone in the garden reported that a car had arrived at the gate.
“Madam, he has arrived.”
Okhyeon’s face brightened even in the reception room.
“Why are you still standing there? Go bring him right away.”
“Oh, yes. I’ll go immediately.”
I slipped out to the living room, intending to greet Seonwu when he returned.
Soon the front door opened. I stepped forward with a bright smile.
“We’re back—”
But the one who entered was not Seonwu.
Yonghwa Mu-dang, dressed in her dark hanbok, stepped inside. She paused at the entrance and looked at me steadily.
“Ah… Halmeoni.”
Startled, I bowed my head.
“Have you come?”
“Yes.”
Okhyeon, standing beside me, greeted her with delight and took Yonghwa Mu-dang’s hand.
“Respected monk-nunim. We don’t know how to thank you enough for coming all this way for Seonwoo’s sake. Especially on the day of the third disaster, when Seonwoo had such a terrible accident. My heart was in pieces.”
“Still, the dream was restless these days. I was about to come for a short visit.”
“A dream?”
“The one in which my drawing of the three-headed dragon clan burned and disappeared.”
At the end of the story, Yonghwa Mu-dang’s sharp gaze landed on me.
The dream of the three-headed dragon clan burning away matched exactly the current situation: the laser treatment that had previously made the tattoo far less visible.
I forced my face into a calm expression, but the sensation of my back prickling made me uncomfortable where I stood.
“Respected monk-nunim, please come inside. Jaye, go tell Seonghwan-daek to bring some tea.”
“Yes, Mother.”
At that moment Okhyeon gave me an errand, so I fled to the kitchen.
Behind me, Yonghwa Mu-dang’s gaze followed my retreating back with unrelenting intensity.
***
Okhyeon had moved the sitting to the bedroom and offered Yonghwa Mu-dang the cushion she had been sitting on. Even when politicians visited and she sat on the high seat to receive reports, Okhyeon’s trust in Yonghwa Mu-dang was absolute; she offered her the high seat without hesitation.
“Seonwoo-ssi must be worrying a great deal.”
“Yes. Thanks to the respected monk-nunim’s advice, we managed to survive two years and eleven months safely. Who could have imagined such a huge accident would happen?”
It had not been long since the two women had taken their seats when I entered the bedroom.
“I’ve brought the tea.”
“Good. Thank you. Place it in front of the respected monk-nunim.”
I set the tray of sweets on the floor and picked up a teacup, placing one in front of each woman. Once the tea was served, I stood up at once.
“Both of you, please enjoy your tea. I’ll check on the kitchen situation before Director Seonwoo arrives.”
Using household chores as an excuse to leave, Yonghwa Mu-dang caught my wrist.
“Jaye, stay. We should confirm whether the three-disaster amulet is still effective.”
At the mention of the three-disaster amulet, I froze in place.
“The three-disaster amulet?”
“Yes. The one of the three-headed dragon clan you have on your back. Show it to me.”
Yonghwa Mu-dang beckoned me forward and urged me to turn around.
With two laser treatments remaining, the tattoo had become noticeably fainter. Anyone who saw such a tattoo would immediately suspect it was fake, and it was as obvious as daylight.
“Do I really have to show it now?”
“Yes. Show it here, right now.”
“I-it’s a bit early…”
When I refused to bare my skin, Okhyeon, sitting beside me, intervened.
“Jaye, why are you acting this way? Take off your clothes and show the respected monk-nunim your three-disaster amulet right away.”
“Can’t you show it to me later?”
When I refused to expose my skin no matter what, Yonghwa Mu-dang stood up, grabbed my wrist, and began.
“If you won’t show it, I’ll examine it myself.”
Her face twisted with anger, clear to anyone who saw it.
“Halmeoni, later….”
“You’ve eaten the world and now you’re being stubborn.”
Despite my refusal, Yonghwa Mu-dang ruthlessly began stripping the apron I was wearing.
The knot came undone and the apron fell to the floor with a soft thud.
“Halmeoni… it’s too embarrassing here. I’ll show you later, so please don’t…”
I clutched the hem of my t-shirt with both hands, determined to keep at least that.
“Oh my. Why is she being so stubborn!”
“Halmeoni, please….”
I tried to hold on to the t-shirt, but Yonghwa Mu-dang did not stop.
“You’ve become even more stubborn despite all the wind that’s blown your way. Where do you think you are, speaking back like that!”
The moment she tugged the hem of my t-shirt from my hands and lifted the collar—
“What is this?”
The bedroom door opened and Seonwu entered the room.
“Remove your hands from her at once.”
Seonwu came straight up to Yonghwa Mu-dang and pulled Jaye’s shirt from her grasp.
“Are you all right?”
He straightened Jaye’s disheveled clothes with his own hands, picked up the fallen apron, and placed it in her hands.
“You haven’t been hurt, have you?”
At the word “hurt,” Okhyeon frowned and joined in.
“Is the respected monk-nunim the kind of person who hurts others?”
“Then what is this if not hurt? You’re trying to strip someone who was doing nothing wrong.”
“Who said I was trying to strip someone who was doing nothing?”
“If it wasn’t done without permission, explain what you were doing just now.”
Seonwu looked at Okhyeon and Yonghwa Mu-dang with cold eyes.
Okhyeon, who knew her son’s stubbornness well, changed her tone and began to scold him.
“Seonwoo, the respected monk-nunim only wanted to check whether the amulet I had you draw for your safety is still working.”
“Checking? Do you call forcibly lifting someone’s clothes ‘checking’?”
“It’s not just any amulet. It’s an amulet meant to protect your life, worth five hundred million won.”
When Okhyeon sided with Yonghwa Mu-dang, Seonwu’s expression grew even darker.