That day, the Master was dressed in a modernized hanbok made of ramie fabric, with her white hair neatly tied up, and she wandered leisurely around Hwamun Market with her hands clasped behind her back. After leisurely browsing, as usual, she headed to the large zelkova tree at the edge of Hwamun Market, her designated spot.
Her pleasure was sitting in the shade under the pavilion, smoking a cigarette, and playing janggi (Korean chess) by herself. Sometimes, while playing alone all day, someone would naturally sit down and join her in the game. If she found the opponent somewhat pleasing, she would casually drop a remark.
'Don't go near the water this summer.'
'Go visit your mother's grave.'
'Be careful with cars for the next three months.'
Sometimes, the other party was a local resident.
'How sad it must have been to close your eyes after having a child.'
The descendants are doing well, so why bother?'
You're starving because you couldn't even get a meal from the ancestral rites.'
And sometimes, it was a passing ghost.
Occasionally, the Master would lay out a mat and hold a small market. She would sell wild greens she had picked herself while praying in the mountains, or vegetables she had grown in her garden, offering them in baskets to passersby.
"Excuse me, elder, how much are these jujubes?"
That day, she had set up a stall with jujubes picked directly from the tree behind her house. The Master, who had been smoking a cigarette and playing janggi, glanced at the customer. A young man with a backpack had stopped and was inspecting the jujubes piled on the mat.
'Ten thousand won for a bundle."
She answered absentmindedly, hugging one raised knee.
"Hmm... Ten thousand won? That's a bit..."
The young man tilted his head and added playfully.
"Aren't you charging too much?"
The Master, who had been peering at the janggi board, lifted her head.
"Some of them are bruised, and quite a few are worm-eaten. Can't you give me a small discount?"
When their eyes met, the young man smiled warmly.
"..."
The Master stared at him for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the janggi board.
"Then don't buy them."
Her cynical reply, as if she was not bothered, made the young man laugh silently. The Master, seemingly indifferent to him, began to focus on her janggi game again. Before long, the young man had crouched down to meet her eye level.
"Elder, why are you playing janggi alone?"
Janggi was a long-standing strategic game based on the war between the Chu and Han states, where two people take turns attacking and defending. There were various janggi pieces like cannons, chariots, and soldiers, and by moving them according to specific rules, the objective was to capture the opponent's "gung" (king) to win.
As it was a game that simulates war, it naturally requires an opponent, yet the Master was playing by herself, alternating between being her own ally and enemy.
"I'm the one playing Han, and I'm the one playing Chu. I know what I'm thinking and how I'm moving the pieces, so what's the point of playing alone?"
The young man asked, and the Master took out a thin, long cigarette and placed it in her mouth.
"When I play as Chu, I don't see it, but when I play as Han, I see it."
What wasn't visible when playing as Chu became visible when playing as Han. And so, her thoughts constantly changed.
Sometimes, she even went against her own intentions. The Master continued, lighting her cigarette.
"Just when I think I should let one side win, I feel compassion for the losing side, so I deliberately let them make a comeback... Going back and forth like that, you lose track of time, and it becomes quite enjoyable."
She laughed quietly, leaned back, and blew out a puff of smoke.
"Whether this side wins or that side wins, it's all the same; I still win.
Yet, curiously enough, in the end, my heart leans towards one side.
After all, human nature always tends to favor one side."
Listening to the Master's words, the young man, staring at the janggi board, murmured to himself.
"That's true. So, it's like you're fighting with yourself."
The young man, who had been squatting, remained silent for a moment before suddenly speaking up.
"Elder, how about this?"
The Master, who had been smoking intently and gazing at the distant mountains, turned to look at the young man. When their eyes met, the young man grinned and playfully scrunched up his nose.
"Would you like to play a game of janggi with me? If I win, please lower the price of the jujubes."
Though the proposal was bold, it wasn't unpleasant, and the Master slowly smiled. It wasn't a bad suggestion, especially since there hadn't been many people around that day, leaving her feeling a bit bored.
"Do you even know how to play janggi?"
"I played a few times with my grandfather when I was young."
Thus, the Master agreed. The young man sat cross-legged across from her in the pavilion. She gathered all the scattered pieces on the janggi board and poured them into a container. The Master took the Han side, and the young man took the Chu side.
"Choose whether you want me to take off, between the cannon or the chariot."
The Master generously offered. The cannon and chariot were the most powerful pieces in janggi. Removing them would mean forfeiting significant strength, a handicap typically given when there was a considerable skill gap between players. It was similar to giving a few points in advance to a beginner in the game of go.
"Aye... that wouldn't be fun then. It's okay."
The young man raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
Finally, the match began. A cool breeze swirled through the open pavilion, occasionally rustling the zelkova leaves. The wooden janggi pieces clacked against the board as they moved, the sound crisp and clear.
The two played in silence, moving the janggi pieces back and forth.
At some point, the Master, who had been sitting comfortably with one leg up, adjusted her posture. She sat cross-legged like the young man, straightening her hunched back.
"So, what business does an official in ceremonial robes have with an old hag like me?"
The Master casually asked, glancing at the janggi board.
"..."
Yoon Taehee's hand, which was about to make a move, stopped in mid-air.
"I thought it was strange that my body felt heavy since morning, and that the gods weren't responding. So, what brings a stern official who catches spirits all the way here..?"
"Official in ceremonial robes." Yoon Taehee smiled softly. Just as he knew about Master Yeohye, she had also seen through his true identity early on. The Master moved her janggi piece over Yoon Taehee's, producing a dull clack. She scored the first point. Even after losing a piece, Yoon Taehee didn't bat an eye.
"Master, you know a lot of big shots, right?"
Yoon Taehee spoke quietly, not taking his eyes off the janggi board.
"Could you introduce some to me?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Clack, Yun Taehee captured the Master's piece this time, evening the score.
"Hand over some chaff to me."
A shaman who serves the gods is bound by many restrictions. If they go against the will of the gods or engage in improper behavior, the spirits they serve may punish or become angry with them. Since they are servants of the gods, it's only natural that they can't escape the gods' influence.
Therefore, a proper shaman knows to distinguish between what they can and cannot do, taking on work accordingly, and the Master was no exception. As a disciple of the gods, she firmly declined to take on tasks that she shouldn't.
"How about passing those dirty and filthy requests to me?"
On the other hand, exorcists, who didn't serve any gods, were relatively much freer.
"After all, it's just discarded trash. I'll recycle it well."
"What are you doing by gathering trash?"
The Master asked offhandedly as she lit another cigarette.
"I'm planning to make a big score."
"Make a score? Of what?"
Yoon Taehee grinned and replied.
"Money."
Though he spoke of money, Yoon Taehee actually had little interest in it. But in front of the Master, he decided to play the role of a miser who was obsessed with wealth. He wanted to appear as nothing more than a pathetic exorcist who did side jobs in secret from Naryecheong. It would be foolish to reveal the true purpose of Byeoksadan.
"I'm very good at sniffing out money. I've got a knack for business. If you pass those discarded requests to me, I'll try to squeeze some
money out of them."
The Master tapped the ashes from her cigarette with a look that implied him to continue.
"I'll make sure you get a hefty commission, as much as you want."
Yoon Taehee added with a sly grin. The Master faintly smiled.
"With a black serpent coiled in your belly, living isn't really living."
The Master's seemingly irrelevant and odd remark made Yoon Taehee pause and look up.
"Listen. I've learned something in my life..."
She blew out a puff of smoke and gazed at Yoon Taehee.
"People who are truly blinded by money never say out loud that they're greedy for it."
Yoon Taehee looked at the Master with calm, steady eyes.
"Is it really because of money?"