Sensing a presence, Tang Sohwa, who had been seated at the desk, turned her gaze. As soon as their eyes met, Namgung Hyun smiled."Forgive me. I was on my way to the Medical Division and lost my way, ending up here."At the obvious lie, Tang Sohwa let out a small laugh."There’s no need to apologize. This isn’t a place where entry is forbidden."A gentle voice answered him. Thinking it a pleasing voice, Namgung Hyun shifted his gaze behind her. Enormous sheets of paper were hanging from the ceiling."Are those what she said she wrote over the past few days?"It seemed she had been copying manuals. They were the hands of calligraphers he knew. From this distance, he couldn’t see all the contents, but he did not see her hand.Concealing his disappointment, Namgung Hyun asked,"It looks good even from afar. Is this your personal study, Miss Tang?""No. There’s no way a personal study would be this nice. It’s a place the siblings use together."Tang Sohwa smiled faintly."But my younger siblings aren’t interested in calligraphy, and the Little Clan Head has been away in the mountains for about two years focusing on training, so I’ve been using it as if it were my personal study.""I’m jealous."The words slipped out before he knew it."I imagine the Namgung study must be good—what is there to envy?"Instead of answering, Namgung Hyun merely curved his lips in a mild smile.As the silence continued, Tang Sohwa wore an awkward look, as if she had misspoken."Ah…."And then, as if forcing herself to find a topic, she drew out her words at length."If it’s all right with you, Young Hero, shall I show you the study?""It would be an honor for me."As if pleased by his answer, Tang Sohwa’s lips curved. Rising from her seat, she leaned out toward the window and indicated to the side.Soaked in the pouring sunlight, her already snow-white face turned even whiter. A voice as clear as that washed his ear."If you go to the left, there’s a door. You can come in that way."Without meaning to, Namgung Hyun watched her for a moment.Was it just his mood.She was a woman he had surely met for the first time at the gathering, yet he felt a déjà vu as if he had seen her somewhere before.Perhaps thinking it strange that he stood still, Tang Sohwa called to him."Young Hero, what is it?""It’s nothing. You said I should go this way, yes?"With a slight curve of his lips, Namgung Hyun stepped into the study.Unlike the outside, the interior did not have good visibility.The papers hanging from the ceiling swayed like curtains in the wind, blocking his view.Only when he swept aside the long sheets did Tang Sohwa finally appear.Perhaps she had been watching him all along; when their eyes met, she smiled."This place is called the Calligraphy Garden. I’m more interested in writing than painting, so there are almost no paintings, but my aunt, who passed this place down to me, gave it that name, so that’s what we call it."Explaining what he hadn’t asked, Tang Sohwa walked toward the wall.Perhaps because the window had been left open, the fragrance of flowers from the garden and the study’s unique scent of ink filled the air. It was the scent Namgung Hyun liked most.Without meaning to, he said,"It’s a good place."Standing before the bookshelf, Tang Sohwa smiled as she spoke."You keep saying it’s a good place. It seems you like it here."For some reason, the question of whether he liked this place sank deep into his chest.The aversion he had felt toward the Blood Demon’s proposal had long since vanished. It seemed, after all, that he was growing fond of this place.Letting his gaze move slowly from the woman he was taking in, Namgung Hyun turned his eyes.It wasn’t bad, yet something felt uncomfortable.Finding the dampness on his hand unfamiliar, he unclenched the fist he had been making. Leaving his palm open so the wind could pass through it, he changed the topic."For a place used just for practice, there’s quite a variety of paper.""If you knew what I’ve collected, you’d be surprised."Namgung Hyun followed with his eyes where she pointed. There were various kinds of paper, from cheap sheets to fine seonji. None was particularly astonishing.Perhaps reading his expression, Tang Sohwa smiled and approached the bookshelf."What truly matters is kept where it can’t be seen."Opening a small door attached to the bookshelf, Tang Sohwa took out a single sheet of paper from within."Do you know what this is?"Without meaning to, Namgung Hyun furrowed his brow."…Isn’t it hwaji?""Correct.""How did you acquire it?"Hwaji was an extremely precious paper. It had been used by the former imperial family, and vanished when the current imperial house fell into ruin. Before the fall, a few sheets had leaked out, but most already had writing on them.But this hwaji was a clean blank sheet.It was something whose value was beyond reckoning. Yet rather than boast, Tang Sohwa spoke calmly."I’m glad you recognized it.""I think those who cannot recognize hwaji have no right to say they understand calligraphy and painting."An unguarded truth sprang out.Awkward with the raw emotion that had shown for an instant, Namgung Hyun cleared his throat. But Tang Sohwa responded calmly, as ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ if familiar with such a sight."Seeing you distinguish it at a glance, you must have seen hwaji before.""I saw it once in the Clan Head’s study. A palm-sized piece of hwaji—he couldn’t bring himself to use it and kept it carefully."At those words, Sohwa smiled as if in sympathy."It’s been almost three years since I got this hwaji, and I still haven’t used it. Isn’t it strange? Paper fulfills its use by being written on, yet it’s so precious that it’s hard to use."Saying so, Miss Tang gave a small laugh."In more than one way it’s curious. It was an imperial item, and after the imperial house disappeared, its value became beyond price. Paper that only after losing its master is recognized for its worth—its fate amuses me.""Perhaps it didn’t lose its master; perhaps it has only now found its true master."When Namgung Hyun said that, Tang Sohwa’s gaze lifted slowly.Smiling, Namgung Hyun added,"If it’s a thing made to be used, wouldn’t it be happy to meet someone who will use it well?"Tang Sohwa’s expression turned subtle. She was clearly smiling, yet oddly it felt cold.Or was that just a false alarm. In a tender voice, she asked,"If you were the master of the hwaji, Young Hero, how would you use it?"Namgung Hyun was still young. He was not skilled at discerning the blade hidden inside a question. All the more so when the other party was someone who, without his knowing, had observed him for over twenty years.Facing an object of his dreams in a space exactly to his taste, Namgung Hyun answered without suspicion."In fact, when I saw the hwaji in the Clan Head’s study, I already thought about it. I wanted to write a short line like a verse, and I also wanted to write something combative like a declaration of departure to office, but in the end I couldn’t decide. How would you use it, Miss?"Tang Sohwa wore a smile that couldn’t be read."I feel shy saying it, in case you laugh at me.""I spoke honestly, so if you say that, I’ll be hurt."Fortunately, Tang Sohwa didn’t decline further and answered."If possible, I would like to write fate.""Fate?"Without meaning to, Namgung Hyun let out a laugh.He thought it a jest, but Tang Sohwa seemed sincere. In a calm voice, she continued."It’s true. They say the will of Heaven is contained in celestial patterns. I’m not someone who has any reason to study the learning of kings, but I am very interested in the heavens, so I have been studying astronomy bit by bit."Looking at Namgung Hyun, Tang Sohwa asked,"By any chance, are you also interested in astronomy, Young Hero?"For a moment, Namgung Hyun couldn’t answer. He hadn’t expected astronomy to come up here.Smiling, Tang Sohwa added,"Doesn’t the world liken the Namgung Clan to the heavens? If you like books, I thought you might also be very interested in the affairs of the sky, so I asked."Flustered, Namgung Hyun cautiously opened his mouth."I was a little surprised. I, too, am very interested in astronomy and have been studying it, but in the Namgung Clan no one has ever asked me about the heavens.""Truly?"Widening her large eyes even more, Tang Sohwa asked,"By any chance, are you also interested in divination?""Yes. If you want to learn the heavens, you must know the calendar methods, so I studied them, if only shallowly."Tang Sohwa covered her mouth with her hand."What an odd coincidence. When I practice script and have no suitable phrase to write, I sometimes calculate for an auspicious day."She took one of the papers stacked on the desk and placed it on the top. Seeing the rough calculations, Namgung Hyun swallowed a laugh. And felt a deep relief.Though he knew it couldn’t be, he had tensed at the thought that Tang Sohwa might know his secret."It’s an overreaction. How could a Tang woman know what even the Blood Demon does not."Looking at what Tang Sohwa had written, Namgung Hyun pointed with his finger at one part."Is this, by any chance, your birth year, month, day, and hour, Miss Tang?""Yes, though it isn’t the exact date. Because my birth mother bore me in hiding, no one knows the day."It was an open rumor in the Murim that Tang Sohwa was the child of a servant, and that her grandfather had killed her birth mother.Without trying to read her face, Namgung Hyun instead softened his lips into a gentle curve. He, too, often found himself in such situations. In his experience, it was more comfortable to quietly let it pass than to have the other person watch his expression.Indifference is more welcome than sympathy. At least for him, it was.Bending to look closely at the formulas, Namgung Hyun leaned forward."In that case, it will be difficult to find. If you don’t know the date precisely, the calculations in divination change greatly."As if in agreement, Tang Sohwa let out a sigh."No wonder I felt there were no auspicious days in my life."Smiling, Namgung Hyun asked,"If I find you a birthday with many auspicious days, how about setting that day as your birthday, Miss?""Is that possible?""It’s something one can attempt."For Namgung Hyun, it was an exceedingly easy matter, but he acted as if he were taking on a difficult task.Naively, it seemed, Tang Sohwa believed him."If it does not trouble you, Young Hero, I’ve no reason to refuse.""It is no trouble at all."Saying so, Namgung Hyun picked up the brush lying on Sohwa’s desk. And he began the calculations."Ah, so you write the formulas that way.""Yes. Even calculating like this, the answer comes out the same."Even at a glance, it wasn’t a particularly entertaining topic. And yet the conversation continued without breaking.The Tang woman, whose tastes were uncannily similar to his own, sympathized with him and at times scratched the very thought he had been having.For the first time, Namgung Hyun felt the joy of conversation.Not words chosen and chosen again to please someone, to gain trust or favor, but words spoken just as they came to mind—and yet a strange conversation unfolded that gained the other’s sympathy.It was curious that one could feel the same emotion through idle talk. For him, it was a first. And so, Namgung Hyun came to his senses very late.At the sound of a bird from outside the window, he flinched and opened his mouth."I think I should head back now.""Must you go now?"Lifting her gaze, Tang Sohwa looked at him as if reluctant.Surprised at himself for thinking he didn’t want to go back, Namgung Hyun realized he must have enjoyed the conversation. In a bitter voice, he said,"In truth, I stopped by briefly on my way to the Divine Physician, so I’m already late. I should come again tomorrow, but I must report to the Elder that I failed to meet him today.""Why the Divine Physician? Is someone unwell?""I’m not the one unwell. Mm, it’s difficult to say.""If you tell me roughly what it is, I can pass the message to the Divine Physician. We have a personal acquaintance, so he will grant my request.""In that case, could you ask whether he might visit our pavilion during the period of the gathering?""Of course. That’s no difficult favor.""Thank you.""But to deliver the Divine Physician’s reply, I’ll have to see you again tomorrow."When Tang Sohwa naturally asked for their next meeting, Namgung Hyun smiled."Yes, then I shall see you again tomorrow."Smiling, Tang Sohwa gave a nod of parting."Go safely."Leaving the pavilion, Namgung Hyun walked along a path grown fairly dark and looked up at the sky. In the indigo sky, a few impatient stars were already shining.Namgung Hyun let out a hollow laugh. It might have been a coincidence, but calculated by the date he had made, Tang Sohwa’s auspicious day was tomorrow. To be precise, the hour when the moon set tomorrow night and the next sun was about to rise.Anticipating an auspicious meeting, Namgung Hyun returned to the pavilion.

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