Before I End Up as Rabbit Stew - Chapter 12

Yimae’s heart sank for a moment. But perhaps he felt the same way as Heukryong, because he suddenly wiped away his gentle, radiant smile.

“I should go.”

He stood up abruptly.

“Already?”

“Already? The moon is at its peak.”

Contrary to Heukryong’s words, the moon was just barely peeking out. Usually, it was the time to clear the dinner table and settle in the middle of the yard.

Normally, he would watch the rabbit chattering about how much progress had been made in making the field, or he would watch the rabbit wriggling and falling asleep in the bamboo leaf basket for a long time before returning. Today’s dismissal was far too early.

“Did you finish making the ridges? Aren’t you going to check if I made them well?”

“You made them well.”

Heukryong didn’t even glance at the ridges for a few seconds. He left the pigeon house as if his heels were on fire. Yimae blankly stared at him as he walked away, then sat back down under the tree.

Well, it’s better than tickling each other for no reason. Even as she thought that, a vague sense of disappointment that she couldn’t quite put her finger on settled at the bottom of her heart.

Yimae’s gaze went to the dining table. A piece of buckwheat pancake that she had left for Heukryong, even as she devoured the rest like a glutton, sat forlornly.

“If you’re not going to eat it, I will. It’s even better if I eat it all.”

She opened her mouth and chewed on the buckwheat pancake. But it felt less delicious than the one she had eaten earlier. Yimae mindlessly munched and finished the remaining piece.

The next day, she woke up before dawn. It was because Heukryong had returned early, so she had gone to sleep earlier than usual. Besides, her enlarged body couldn’t even go up to the upper floor of the pigeon house. The pavilion might collapse under the weight of a human. So, it was only natural that she couldn’t fit into the bamboo leaf basket that she used to use as a bed.

After wriggling this way and that, Yimae ended up stuffing her upper body into the lower floor and stretching her legs out into the yard as she tried to sleep. The position was so uncomfortable that she couldn’t help but wake up soon.

“Ouch!”

Without thinking, Yimae abruptly raised her upper body and bumped her head on the ceiling. She clutched the top of her head and went out into the yard. Bumping her head on the ceiling. It was something she had never experienced before.

Yimae roughly rubbed her eyes at the spring and looked up at the sky. The horizon was faintly blurring, but it seemed like it would still be a while before the sun rose.

She rested her face between her crouched knees. She blankly stared at the gold foil of the dragon pattern on her sleeve, which shone even in the absence of light, then struck the wooden floor.

“These clothes won’t do.”

Heukryong’s dragon robe was not suitable for drawing water and tending to the field. If even a speck of mud got on such high-quality fabric, it felt like her conscience would be shaken to its core. Besides, if the court lady who brought the meal saw her not only transformed into a human but also wearing a dragon robe… It was just right for causing embarrassing misunderstandings.

“Would this work?”

Yimae jumped up and approached the weeping willow tree. And she began to snap off all the branches, one by one. The tree quickly became a bare, unsightly thing.

“I’m doing all sorts of things.”

Her plan was to weave the branches together to make something like clothes. As Yimae roughly arranged the branches according to the design in her head, she suddenly felt ridiculous.

Just a night ago, she was a rabbit, and now she was worrying about clothes. It was as if she had been born a human from the start, even having the common thought that good clothes shouldn’t be dirtied. Why was she making clothes when she didn’t know when she would turn back into a rabbit?

“I can’t help it.”

Yimae snapped at herself. But if she couldn’t go around without clothes like she did when she was a rabbit, she didn’t have the courage to do that either. Her human body was long and cumbersome, and she felt various complex emotions that she hadn’t felt when she was a rabbit, which were annoyingly bothersome. One of them was definitely shame.

As her thoughts reached that point, the memory of Heukryong’s smile from the previous evening flashed through her mind. Yimae felt her face turning as red as an autumn apple. That’s right, this was also a kind of shame. It was just that she felt ashamed because it seemed like he was laughing at her for becoming a woman.

Even though she had tossed and turned a lot in the narrow space, the braid that Heukryong had braided was neat and perfect. She rubbed her flawless forehead a few times and shook her head.

Yimae tried not to think too deeply anymore. She moved her hands diligently to clear her mind. By the time the sun rose brightly, she was able to complete a fairly decent outfit. Yimae, wiping away her beads of sweat, excitedly took off the dragon robe and changed into the clothes.

Heukryong thought it was necessary to check on Yimae’s condition. If she was still in the form of a woman, it wouldn’t be good to show her to the court ladies. So, he personally carried the meal from the kitchen. This morning’s breakfast was a clear tofu soup with seasoned vegetables made with cucumbers, bamboo shoots, and dried pumpkin.

Heukryong, carrying the steaming meal, froze like a totem pole as he crossed the threshold of the pigeon house. He felt like his heart was plummeting. Yimae was squatting in the field, wearing a short outfit that exposed her calves and had no sleeves. No, could that even be called clothes? It was just a rough mat made by weaving trees together.

“Food!”

Yimae stood up abruptly, without any caution. She carelessly stepped between the ridges as she approached, having discovered the meal. Heukryong frowned.

“Why did you come alone today?”

“Walk slowly.”

“I can’t. My stomach is already stuck to my back.”

Yimae, taking the meal as if snatching it away, smiled brightly.

“If you’re not going to eat together again today, I’ll eat first.”

Yimae plopped down in the yard without waiting for an answer. Looking at her slender calves stretched out on either side of the table, Heukryong covered his face with one hand.

“What’s with that appearance?”

“What appearance?”

“Why the clothes…”

Heukryong, raising his head unconsciously, then discovered another life that was without clothes. The weeping willow tree was standing there, truly naked and disheveled. He felt a momentary dizziness.

“Ah, I was a little short on branches. But didn’t I cover enough?”

Yimae answered, crunching on a cucumber. Leaves kept falling from the roughly made clothes. Seeing a willow leaf falling from near her breasts and landing gently on the table, Heukryong covered his face again. He staggered and barely managed to lean against the wall to regain his balance.

“What happened to the dragon robe?”

“It’s on the floor.”

“Not that, why did you take it off…”

Heukryong couldn’t finish his sentence and licked his lower lip with his tongue. Still, she was outwardly a respectable young lady, and it was embarrassing to talk about taking off or putting on clothes. Yimae, blowing on the tofu soup, said in an indifferent tone.

“How can I do field work wearing that? If even a speck of dirt gets on it, the laundry maids will try to kill me.”

While Yimae ate the breakfast that had been prepared in abundance for two people all by herself, Heukryong was deep in thought. Yimae, putting down her spoon, looked at Heukryong, who was not moving like an ice statue.

“Are you lacking sleep?”

Heukryong, who had been standing with his arms crossed, slightly turned his gaze to the side.

“Did you finish eating?”

“If I ate, I ate.”

“What kind of way is that to talk?”

“It means, since breakfast wasn’t enough, are you thinking of giving me a snack?”

Seeing her lips, as clear and red as a plum blossom, smile slightly, Heukryong lowered his gaze even further. Then he saw Yimae’s bare feet, without even shoes. Only the fur was gone, but her dainty and small feet were covered in dirt.

“Bring the dragon robe.”

“That, over there.”

“No, leave it.”

Seeing her legs swaying like taffy left in the sunlight, Heukryong unfolded his arms. He crossed the ridges ahead of Yimae.

The dragon robe was neatly folded, with the lines perfectly aligned, and placed on the floor. It felt like it had reached a level where you almost felt like you shouldn’t mess it up. Thinking that her fingertips were quite skillful, Heukryong picked up the dragon robe with a sigh.

Returning to Yimae, he used the dragon robe to cover up her shabby weed clothes.

“The lining will get dirty!”

“It has to be washed anyway.”

He gestured to Yimae as if telling her to follow him. Yimae, who had draped the dragon robe over her shoulders like a long coat, tilted her head and followed him. Heukryong hoped that she would fasten his front lapel for him like yesterday, but he couldn’t even bring himself to say that.

“After watering the ridges today, we have to plant the saplings.”

The path leading to the main palace of Yongju was always cleaned well in the morning and evening, so it was very neat and clean. Heukryong walked a few steps ahead of Yimae, looking at the path. Yimae kept chattering behind him, busily turning his eyes.

“Where are you going to get the saplings? Do you even know where they sell them? Have you ever seen what they look like?”

The light footsteps that had been tapping suddenly stopped, ignoring the rhythm. Quickly sensing this, Heukryong turned around. And he caught Yimae as she was helplessly collapsing. Even in that short moment, he was careful not to touch the parts of her body that revealed her feminine curves, so Heukryong also staggered.

The two of them became entangled. The breath of the grasses that had been held in the night and then exhaled became a clear fragrance and rolled along the path.

Heukryong, who was lying underneath, slightly raised his eyes to check if Yimae was okay. He saw her small hands reflexively clutching his collar tightly. He silently laid his head on the ground and lay still.

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