Chapter 5: Cooking Fish Stew

After making a full circuit through the forest,

So Yeonhee headed back toward the stream with a radiant smile.

She couldn’t help it.

The basket on her back was heavy with all kinds of wild vegetables and berries she had gathered, and she’d also earned 8 Good Deed Points.

I was worried after spending almost all my points on the radish and doenjang. What a relief.

At this rate, she’d be able to earn even more points just by catching fish.

Filled with anticipation, she carefully lifted the basket out of the stone trap.

“Wow…!”

“The fish… we actually caught them?”

“We did!”

“And there’s a lot of them!”

The unexpected abundance left her siblings staring in amazement.

Naturally, So Yeonhee’s eyes curved into crescents as well.

After all, she’d just earned another 3 points.

“Let’s see… One, two, three, four…”

“Wow, the doenjang really works!”

Minnows, dark sleepers, Korean aucha perch…

There was even a mountain catfish about half the size of her palm.

None of them were particularly large, but there were plenty.

More than enough to cook a whole pot of fish stew.

“Just adding the radish and doenjang to these will make an amazing soup.”

As soon as she said that, the twins gulped audibly.

Their already empty stomachs growled loudly.

“Let’s hurry home.”

“A proper fish stew takes a little while to cook.”

Cheerfully, So Yeonhee transferred the fish into the basket on her back.

But as she looked at the basket, packed so tightly that she had to press everything down to keep it from overflowing…

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

D-Did I bring back too much?

For someone supposedly unfamiliar with mountain life…

This harvest was a little too impressive.

If her siblings found her suspicious, she couldn’t exactly blame them.

No…

Come to think of it…

Have they really never been suspicious?

Cold sweat trickled down her back.

Just as she nervously swallowed…

Her siblings struck right at the heart of the matter.

“By the way, Unni…”

“Where did you learn all this?”

“Yeah.”

“I always thought you were only good at studying.”

“You were buried in books every day.”

“H-Haha…”

“They say wisdom can be found in books.”

“I’ve read all kinds of books over the years, so I ended up learning things like this.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“So the two of you shouldn’t neglect your studies just because they’re boring.”

“Got it?”

She hastily pieced together an excuse before turning it into a lecture.

Immediately, Yeonwoo puffed out his cheeks.

“Ugh.”

“You sound exactly like our teacher.”

“I guess everyone who likes books says the same thing.”

“I’m only saying it because I want what’s best for you.”

She deliberately put on a stern voice.

The twins immediately pouted.

Fortunately…

The questioning stopped there.

Her “lecture strategy” had worked.

…Whew.

Suppressing the sigh that almost escaped, So Yeonhee hurried everyone back toward the house.

But…

How long can I keep smoothing things over like this?

Her heart pounded uneasily.

People really couldn’t live peacefully while hiding secrets.

---

“Hey, Yeonwoo.”

“Take a look under Unni’s skirt.”

“See if she has a fox tail or something.”

“What?!”

“It’s broad daylight!”

“So what?”

“It’s not like fox spirits only come out at night.”

“…Still…”

“If it means we get harvests like this…”

“I don’t think I’d mind if Big Sister really were a fox spirit.”

So Yeonhee’s fears had been correct.

The children genuinely suspected that something had possessed their sister.

However…

They hadn’t yet decided whether it was an evil spirit.

Simply because the new So Yeonhee was proving to be astonishingly capable.

The moment they arrived home…

She immediately began cooking the fish stew with practiced hands.

She cleaned the fish thoroughly.

Then she simmered them with ginger in boiling water for about half a shichen.

Afterward, she patiently skimmed away the foam until the broth turned milky white and the fishy smell disappeared.

At first, the twins wondered if she actually knew what she was doing.

But…

As soon as the radish and doenjang went into the broth…

A rich, savory aroma began filling the room.

Their doubts vanished instantly.

“When will it be done?”

“It’ll taste much better after it boils a little longer.”

“Can’t we just have one little taste first?”

By now, Yeonwoo looked ready to dive headfirst into the pot.

Well…

I need to taste the seasoning anyway.

I might as well give them each a little broth.

The children’s pleading eyes looked so pitiful.

In the end, So Yeonhee ladled a little broth into two small bowls.

“It’s hot.”

“Be careful.”

“Just taste it and tell me if the seasoning’s right.”

The twins swallowed hard.

Then, without waiting for one another, they picked up the bowls and sipped.

“Wow!”

“No way!”

“How can broth taste like this?”

“So fish stew is supposed to taste this good?”

The broth was rich.

Savory.

Slightly spicy.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of fishiness.

It was easily one of the most delicious fish dishes they had ever tasted.

“Tell us honestly.”

“You’re not really our sister… are you?”

“…Huh?”

“You’ve never learned how to cook.”

“So how did you make something like this?”

“And how do you know about fish traps and doenjang?”

“Just a little while ago you couldn’t even tell poisonous mushrooms apart.”

“Doesn’t that seem strange?”

“W-Well…”

Yeonsu’s sharp questioning left So Yeonhee flustered.

Unable to come up with a convincing excuse, she could only stammer.

Seeing that, Yeonsu became increasingly convinced of her suspicions.

But…

Even she never expected the confession that followed.

“…Maybe you’re right.”

“What?”

“To be honest…”

“I’m not even sure who I am anymore.”

Perhaps…

Even So Yeonhee herself had never intended to say those words aloud.

---

Wasn’t there a story called The Butterfly Dream?

The dream Zhuang Zhou had dreamed of becoming a butterfly.

So Yeonhee recounted the story of her previous life as though it had been a dream.

A dream so vivid…

That she no longer knew which self was the real one.

They might think I’m crazy.

Of course, the thought had crossed her mind.

But she didn’t want to deceive her siblings.

More accurately…

She didn’t want to betray their trust ever again.

And her honesty was rewarded in a rather unexpected way.

“So…”

“You abandoned us.”

“And after that, we tried to clear Father’s name…”

“Then we were killed by the Fourth Prince?”

“Th-That’s… right.”

“He wasn’t actually a prince in that world, but…”

“…But why is that your fault?”

Why?

Because she’d abandoned her younger siblings, who had only just become adults.

That certainly wasn’t something to be proud of.

Unable to defend herself, So Yeonhee lowered her head and muttered quietly.

“Life isn’t just about money…”

“But I ran away to live by myself.”

“Even though I knew there wasn’t a single adult left to look after you…”

After hearing everything…

Yeonsu suddenly shouted.

“What complete nonsense!”

“…What?”

“How is any of that your fault?”

“We were adults too!”

“Why would we need someone to take care of us?”

“And the one who killed us was the Fourth Prince!”

She looked utterly incredulous.

Yet at the same time…

Her heart ached.

She finally understood why her sister had dreamed such a terrible dream.

She thinks the family’s downfall was all her fault.

Meanwhile…

The Fourth Prince, who had fabricated everything…

Would continue living shamelessly.

Yeonsu’s clenched fist tightened even further.

“Listen carefully.”

“That was only a dream.”

“It’ll never happen.”

“That’s right, Big Sister.”

“We’re all alive now.”

The two younger siblings comforted her.

They told her not to cling to the past anymore.

Not to keep blaming herself for things that hadn’t happened.

Their unwavering reassurance felt unbelievably comforting.

“…Unni.”

“Are you crying?”

Without realizing it…

Tears slipped down her cheeks.

---

So Jin considered himself a fortunate man.

He had lost both his father and his elder brother on the battlefield.

He had been betrayed by the lord he had faithfully served.

And yet…

He had survived.

His grand mansion was gone.

His beautiful silk robes had all been taken.

But he had managed to protect the thing that mattered most.

His family.

The once-celebrated hero of the nation had become a farmer digging dirt in a remote mountain village.

Even so…

He wasn’t bitter.

Nor was he sorrowful.

As long as the people he loved remained beside him…

What reason was there to despair?

At least…

That was what So Jin had believed.

Until his eldest daughter, So Yeonhee, collapsed after eating poisonous mushrooms.

Could someone as intelligent as that child really have mistaken poisonous mushrooms?

Looking at his daughter lying there with her eyes tightly shut, as though she had given up on everything…

So Jin finally understood.

His own helplessness had ended up hurting his family as well.

“Take a break.”

“You’ve been working for hours already.”

“It’s fine.”

“If I leave these bamboo roots alone, they’ll spread everywhere.”

“I need to dig out as many as I can before the ground freezes.”

Thunk.

His hoe struck the hard earth.

He should have been exhausted.

Yet he raised it again and brought it down with all his strength.

His palms throbbed.

He knew he was using more force than necessary.

Still…

He couldn’t stop.

Perhaps that was why—

Crack!

The hoe snapped clean in two.

…I only managed to buy this hoe after selling my silk shoes.

So Jin stared blankly at the broken tool.

Then at the calloused back of his hand.

These were once the hands that had commanded tens of thousands of soldiers.

But what did any of that matter now?

He couldn’t even provide proper meals for his own children.

A heavy darkness settled over his heart.

Then—

“Father!”

Yeonwoo’s voice rang out from the far side of the field.

He was panting for breath.

Yet his voice was unusually bright.

“Big Sister made fish stew!”

“She said to come home quickly!”

So Jin slowly lifted his head.

…Fish stew?

The unexpected words made him look toward the house.

Thin wisps of smoke were rising from the kitchen chimney into the evening sky.