“It’s rarer to find someone who doesn’t like Lord Cheonrok.”
“Right? Honestly, the only reason I even started working at this fortress was because I heard Cheonrok-nim liked Hwanggwaju. I thought if I worked here long enough, I might get a chance to meet him someday.”
Jae-ha’s expression turned slightly downcast.
“I really didn’t think he wouldn’t show up this time.”
…Feels like my acting’s getting better and better. Maybe I should be on stage. While that pointless thought drifted by, Nam-yeon replied.
“Bad luck, I suppose. Even if Cheonrok-nim had come, you wouldn’t have gotten to see him. The Castle Lord issued strict orders this time—not a single bottle of Hwanggwaju is to be sold.”
“Huh? Why?”
Jae-ha widened his eyes, feigning surprise.
“Well, even I don’t know the Castle Lord’s exact reasoning.”
Nam-yeon clearly wasn’t planning to explain further. Not that it mattered much. Jae-ha casually shifted the conversation.
“I heard you were close with Cheonrok-nim. What kind of person is he?”
Jae-ha leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. The closer he drew to Nam-yeon, the sharper Hae-hyun’s sideways glare became—though Jae-ha remained oblivious.
“Hmm… The last time I saw him was decades ago. We drank together the night before he left.”
Nam-yeon’s voice softened as he sank into memory, his eyes gleaming with fond nostalgia.
“Whenever I drank with him, somehow I always ended up handing over even my share of Hwanggwaju. He enjoyed it so much, and seeing how happy he was made me glad to do it. That night we drank ourselves senseless—so much that the Castle Lord himself came to check on us.”
“That much?”
The words slipped out of Jae-ha before he could stop them. He had assumed Lord Yeomjeong and the Cheonrok weren’t on good terms… but maybe not.
“Yes. The Castle Lord, who despises outsiders, welcomed only Cheonrok-nim. Whenever he visited, he was served Hwanggwaju without fail. But after that, the Cheonrok never came back. I’ve been waiting ever since.”
Nam-yeon’s story only reinforced the theory that the last person to see the Cheonrok was Lord Yeomjeong himself. There was definitely something between them. But as an intruder in the fortress, Jae-ha couldn’t exactly go ask him. Maddening.
“Why wouldn’t he come this time? If they were close, even with the ban, you’d think the Fortress Lord would’ve slipped him a bottle in secret…”
“That’s exactly what I find strange.”
Nam-yeon stroked his chin, his gaze growing distant.
“The ban only came down recently, so it shouldn’t have spread through the Celestial Realm yet. And the Cheonrok loves a lively crowd. No matter how busy he was, he always came for the Baeksa fruit harvest festival. But this year—nothing. No word at all.”
“So you don’t know where he is now?”
Jae-ha kept pressing, but Nam-yeon only looked mildly flustered, answering without resistance. It was almost as if he hadn’t realized this conversation had turned into an interrogation.
“That… I wouldn’t know. How could I know the whereabouts of someone I haven’t seen in decades? Rumor has it he’s staying in some palace, being treated like royalty…”
If that were true, it was a problem. There was no shortage of palaces in the Celestial Realm.
“Either way, it’s a shame. Maybe he’ll show up again in a hundred years?”
Swallowing his tangled emotions, Jae-ha muttered with feigned dejection. Nam-yeon patted his shoulder.
“Don’t lose heart. You’ll meet him someday. But it’d be a waste to send you off like this… How about a drink?”
As expected from a true drinker’s offer. Jae-ha nodded. He’d gotten all the information he could—might as well share a few cups before leaving.
“I’d be glad to. I heard Hyo-min said you had some fine liquor, so I’ve been looking forward to it.”
“Hah. Thanks to that brat, now I’ll have to open something rare.”
Laughing heartily, Nam-yeon walked to the large cabinet against the wall, turning his back as he opened it to rummage through. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he lifted his head.
“Ah, that’s right. That day, the Cheonrok left behind—”
But before he could finish, a golden flame shot toward him.
With a jolt, Nam-yeon collapsed. A heavy thud echoed.
“…What the hell?”
“What?”
Hae-hyun, who had ambushed him, looked perfectly calm.
“You could’ve just had a few drinks and left quietly.”
“And risk trusting him? Better to keep him knocked out until we’re gone.”
…Sorry, Nam-yeon. Jae-ha gave Hae-hyun a disbelieving look, then bent down toward the unconscious man, intending to at least lay him on the sofa.
“What are you doing?”
As Jae-ha hooked his arm under Nam-yeon’s torso, Hae-hyun stepped closer. Jae-ha answered flatly.
“He helped us plenty. It’d feel wrong to leave him like this.”
“…I’ll do it. Hand him over.”
Hae-hyun looked displeased, but quickly hefted Nam-yeon onto his shoulder and carried him to the sofa without care. Meanwhile, Jae-ha’s gaze drifted toward the wide-open liquor cabinet.
Bottles of every shape and color filled the shelves, so many it was hard to count. Fitting for someone with a reputation as a heavy drinker. Jae-ha didn’t recognize a single one.
So even the Celestial Realm has this many kinds of liquor. Wonder if I’ll ever get to try them. As he idly scanned the bottles, something caught his eye in the corner. Huh? Too small to be a bottle… Wait—
Jae-ha’s eyes widened. That pale jade glow looked all too familiar.
“Hae-hyun.”
He gestured urgently. Just after setting Nam-yeon down, Hae-hyun came over. Jae-ha stepped aside so he could see too.
“Doesn’t this look like the one Grandma had?”
“Grandma?”
Hae-hyun recalled the keepsake box Jae-ha had brought from Seo-cheon, which had contained several jade fragments. He hadn’t looked closely, but the size and shape were similar.
“…No way this is actually hers, right?”
Jae-ha muttered, uncertain. It didn’t make sense. His grandmother had long since passed away. How could her belongings be here, in the Celestial Realm—inside a room in Myeongheoseong? Too strange to be a coincidence.
“That day, the Cheonrok left behind—”
The words Nam-yeon hadn’t finished before fainting flashed through Jae-ha’s mind. Not certain, but… could this be what the Cheonrok left? Since Cheonrok seemed to know Grandma, it wasn’t impossible.
Still doubtful, Jae-ha reached out and tapped the jade piece.
A cool sensation spread through his fingertip—then the jade twitched.
“……”
“……”
Hoping he was imagining things, Jae-ha looked to Hae-hyun. Unfortunately, Hae-hyun’s face confirmed he’d seen it too.
And denial didn’t last long. The jade began to writhe in earnest, stretching as though waking from a nap. Only then did Jae-ha realize it was actually a tiny human-shaped figure curled up inside.
The jade doll blinked around the room in confusion, then locked eyes with Jae-ha. Its face was smooth jade, but the intent was unmistakable.
The moment their eyes met, the doll suddenly pointed at him, stomped, then bounded forward. The cabinet’s edge kept it from reaching him, so it flailed its arms like it wanted to be picked up.
“Wh-what the—what’s it doing?”
Even Jae-ha stammered in shock. He’d faced plenty in his life and rarely lost composure, but the Celestial Realm kept blindsiding him. A possessed jade doll singling him out? That was a first.
“Looks like it can’t speak… Do you know it, sunbae?”
Know it? As if. Jae-ha gave Hae-hyun a dumbfounded look and shook his head. After a moment’s hesitation, he carefully held out his hand.
The doll grabbed his finger tightly, like clinging to a lifeline. Hae-hyun’s expression soured as he watched, uncertain whether to intervene.
“…Even creepy little possessed dolls are into the Cheonrok?”
The Cheonrok might have been a universal charm totem, but this was Medusa-level—just one look and even stone dolls fell for him. Had he really been walking around dragging that much charm? …He wanted nothing more than to deny it.
