YANG GI-SEOK.
YANG GI-SEOK.
JAKYEONG.
YANG GI-SEOK.
IN MY WORTHLESS LIFE,
A MAN WHO SUDDENLY TUMBLED INTO IT.
WHETHER IT'S ME, WHO LOST A MOTHER TO THE YOKAI,
OR YOU, WHOSE LIFE IS BEING EATEN AWAY BY THE YOKAI...
AT FIRST, I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST PITY,
THINKING WE SHARED A SIMILAR KIND OF PAIN...
BUT NOW, TRYING TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE
HAS BECOME UTTERLY MEANINGLESS...
WHY ARE YOU SO LATE?
LANDOWNER,
HAS ANYTHING BEEN TROUBLING YOU DURING THE NIGHT LATELY?
HM?
I’M ASKING IF YOU’VE BEEN SLEEPING WELL.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SLEEP WELL?
NOT HAVING OMINOUS DREAMS,
OR TOSSING AND TURNING AND WAKING UP AT DAWN, I SUPPOSE.
WHEN YOU’RE BY MY SIDE, I HAVE SWEET DREAMS.
BUT...
WHEN YOU'RE NOT...
WHENEVER HE DOES THIS, IT ONLY WEAKENS MY HEART.
IT SEEMS YOU'VE CALMED DOWN QUITE ENOUGH THEN.
LATELY, YOU HAVEN'T DISPLAYED ANY STRANGE BEHAVIOR,
NOR DO THE YOKAI SEEM TO BE RUNNING RAMPANT.
SO...
I HAVE TO KEEP MY DISTANCE FOR THE TIME I HAVE LEFT.
BECAUSE I CAN'T LET THINGS...
STRAY ANY FURTHER.
YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S STILL NO REPLY?
YES, NOTHING HAS ARRIVED FOR YOU, EXORCIST...
No..
HOW STRANGE.
IT'S BEEN TWO MONTHS SINCE I SENT IT, AND STILL NOTHING?
Are they sending the reply via Noehyeok right now...?
BEFORE, THE YOKAI'S ENERGY
EVEN REACHED THE SERVANTS,
BUT AFTER PUTTING THE YOKAI INSIDE THE LANDOWNER TO SLEEP "THAT DAY,"
THEY REGAINED A CLEAR ENERGY,
SO THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY ROOM FOR FOUL PLAY.
YOU ARE AWAKE, AREN'T YOU?
COULD THERE BE AN
UNUSUAL PRESENCE LINGERING HERE THAT I'M UNAWARE OF?
AN UNUSUAL PRESENCE?
HARDLY SOMETHING NEW.
THIS ENTIRE PLACE IS A BIZARRE DEN ANYWAY.
Quit showing off..
BUT WASN'T IT SUFFICIENTLY CLEANSED THROUGH PURIFICATION?
HM?
OR ARE YOU MERELY DELUSIONAL IN THINKING IT WAS PURIFIED?
PARDON?
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY...
HEY, SAYING ONLY WHAT YOU WANTED TO SAY AND LEAVING...!
ELDER!
OOPS...
HERE YOU ARE!
I'VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU!
HOW ABOUT HAVING LUNCH
WITH THE MASTER AT THE PAVILION TODAY-
TELL HIM THAT I HAVE BUSINESS TODAY AND MUST DECLINE.
UGH,
TODAY AS WELL...?!
WHAT DID HE MEAN BY THAT EARLIER?
"DELUDING YOURSELF INTO THINKING PURIFICATION IS DONE."
HMM...
IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?
COULD THE YOKAI BE AWARE
OF ME AND HIDING THEIR PRESENCE... ?
THE MASTER ORDERED US TO BRING HIM...
AGAIN, HOW COULD WE...
WE...
OH DEAR, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE DETERMINED TODAY.
I'D BETTER STAY AWAY FOR NOW.
THIS PLACE IS...
COMPLETELY EMPTY TODAY AS WELL.
THIS PLACE IS A SHABBY,
ABANDONED LIBRARY TUCKED AWAY IN SECLUSION.
I STUMBLED UPON IT BY CHANCE WHILE AVOIDING THE LANDOWNER FOR THE PAST THREE DAYS....
THANKS TO THAT, I FOUND A PLACE WHERE MY HEART CAN REST EASY. 1:
My pathetic scurrying was pretty ridiculous, but...
THOUGH IT COULD USE SOME CLEANING.
My nose is ticklish from the smell of Dust.
DON'T WEALTHY FAMILIES USUALLY KEEP THEIR LIBRARY
WELL-MAINTAINED TO SHOW OFF THEIR INTELLECT?
Aside from the dust, it's not a bad Place.
IF ONLY THERE WERE SOMETHING RECORDED ABOUT THE YOKAI....
GASP!
L-LAND...
LANDOWNER...?!
I DIDN'T SENSE ANY PRESENCE WHATSOEVER....
Wh-
WHAT BRINGS YOU ALL THE WAY OUT HERE...?
THEY TOLD ME YOU WERE BUSY.
YET YOU DON'T LOOK BUSY AT ALL...
AND SO,
DID YOU COME ALL THE WAY HERE JUST TO SAY THAT?
NO.
I CAME BECAUSE OF YOU...
SO HEARTLESS THAT YOU WON'T EVEN SHARE A SINGLE MEAL WITH ME.
TH-THAT IS...
JAKYEONG.
STAY AND KEEP ME COMPANY.
A Tree Beyond the Years Chapter 16 follows Jakyeong as she realizes her pity for Yang Gi-seok has deepened into something more and resolves to keep her distance. When Gi-seok says he has sweet dreams only when she is by his side, her heart weakens, yet she avoids him for three days, worries over no reply to her letter sent two months ago, and doubts whether the purification truly worked before he finds her hiding in the abandoned library.
