By Zephyria 
Before they knew it, the bowls were empty.
“I enjoyed the meal.”
“Good. I enjoyed it too.”
Having finished eating, Jae-gyeom rose from the table. Yoon Tae-hee, who had done nothing but watch the whole time they were eating, helped with the cleanup. Jae-gyeom picked up a dishcloth. As he was wiping the table, Yu Nam-saeng suddenly spoke up.
“My Lord, your nose….”
“Huh?”
Something dripped onto the table. Jae-gyeom wiped under his nose with his hand. Just as Yu Nam-saeng said, blood was flowing from his nose.
Just as Jae-gyeom, flustered, instinctively tried to tilt his head back—
“Jae-gyeom.”
Yoon Tae-hee reacted a step faster.
“Don’t tilt your head back.”
Approaching in the blink of an eye, Yoon Tae-hee wrapped one hand around the back of Jae-gyeom’s neck and used the other to pull out a few tissues and cover Jae-gyeom’s nose.
“Stay just like that.”
Following Yoon Tae-hee’s swift response, Jae-gyeom, who had stopped all movement and was awkwardly keeping his head tilted down, muttered irritably.
“Damn, this cursed nosebleed keeps acting up at the worst times.”
Ever since waking up from his six-month slumber, Jae-gyeom had suffered frequent nosebleeds. Some days he bled several times; on the worst days, it happened more than six times. Mesan had provided an explanation for this mysterious symptom.
‘Lord Kkaeng-al, your Lord will feel unwell for a while after he wakes up. He won’t be healed instantly; recovery takes time. Since he opened his eyes after his soul had been damaged, his vitality must be greatly depleted. He might find it difficult to move for a while, or there may be changes he’s never experienced before. However, as time passes, his body will stabilize and return to normal, so please tell him not to be too alarmed. Understood?’
It was exactly as Mesan had told Yu Nam-saeng.
Perhaps due to the aftermath of lying dormant for so long, his body hadn’t felt the same for a while after waking. For the first month, he felt short of breath even with slight movement, and his legs would tremble just from climbing a few stairs.
Given that he had remained motionless for such a long time, it was a natural result. For an ordinary person, the muscles would have wasted away and the joints would have stiffened to the point where simply standing up on two feet would have been a struggle.
As a result, two months later, walking and running were no longer a problem, and compared to the first month, the frequency and amount of blood from the nosebleeds had decreased noticeably. Considering there were days when he woke up to find his pillow soaked in blood, he had improved significantly.
Nevertheless, the household remained hyper-vigilant about Jae-gyeom’s condition.
“Are you okay?”
Yoon Tae-hee asked with a stiff expression.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
Jae-gyeom lightly pulled away the tissue from his nose. Seeing that the amount of blood flowing had decreased, it seemed the bleeding had mostly stopped. Taking the opportunity, he rolled up a piece of tissue and plugged one nostril to prevent any more blood from leaking. He then wiped away the bloodstains with a wet wipe.
“I said I’m fine. Hurry up and go to work. Aren’t you late?”
Despite his repeated assurances, Yoon Tae-hee couldn’t take his eyes off Jae-gyeom. Every time he had a nosebleed, Yoon Tae-hee made that face. Lips pressed tight. Eyes that seemed to sink into a deep abyss. Jae-gyeom sighed inwardly. If he was going to have a nosebleed, it would have been better to do it while he was alone.
Jae-gyeom pushed Yoon Tae-hee, telling him to get going.
Yu Nam-saeng also came to the entrance to see Yoon Tae-hee off.
“Young Master, have a safe trip, and I shall see you this evening.”
“Be careful of the cars. Have a good day. See you later.”
“I will.”
Yoon Tae-hee opened the front door slowly, looking back several times even as he stepped out, before finally leaving the house.
After seeing Yoon Tae-hee off, Jae-gyeom headed to the bathroom.
He removed the tissue plugging his nose and washed his face with running water. When he blew his nose, he found that the bleeding had fortunately stopped completely.
After that, he went back to the table to finish cleaning up. As he stood at the sink to do the dishes, Yu Nam-saeng lingered around his feet.
“What? Want a lift?”
“Yes.”
Jae-gyeom scooped up Yu Nam-saeng and perched him on his shoulder. For some unknown reason, Yu Nam-saeng loved clinging to his shoulder to watch the dishwashing. Even though “watching” consisted of nothing more than seeing bubbles being washed away by gushing water, he said it was inexplicably fun just to look at. Jae-gyeom guessed it was because the creature had lived by the water.
“There are still some bubbles on the back of that plate.”
“I know, you brat.”
“Hehe.”
After finishing the dishes, he went back to Mesan.
Earlier, when he had touched the soil in the pot, the surface seemed quite dry. It seemed it was time to water it. With Yu Nam-saeng still perched on his shoulder, Jae-gyeom took the pot and went out into the yard.
“Are you going out to give dew?”
“Yeah.”
Before returning to a seed, Mesan, who had visited his hometown with Yu Nam-saeng, had met and spoken with the Mountain God. On the way down the mountain, Mesan had whispered to Yu Nam-saeng—keeping it a secret from the other family members—that he would wake Jae-gyeom within a few days.
‘Lord Kkaeng-al. I will pour all the healing power I possess into the Lord. Once I do, I must return to being a seed. But please do not worry, for I am not leaving forever. It will take time, but you must raise me well until I grow again.’
What Mesan had done was similar to a fruit falling to the earth after years of ripening.
Like the seasons, life is a cycle.
A seed sprouts and blooms into a flower. When the flower bears fruit, that fruit serves as nourishment for life and leaves behind a seed once more. It turns and turns, returning to the beginning.
Mesan had given Yu Nam-saeng detailed instructions on what to do after he returned to a seed and how to grow and care for it. Yu Nam-saeng listened intently to everything and, as promised, conveyed the details to the family after Mesan departed.
‘Originally, wild ginseng avoids the sun. It grows slowly over a long period in dark shade, absorbing yin energy. If it receives strong sunlight, it will burn. However, the Mountain God told me that because I am a child ginseng, I must endure the sunlight. I must grow while looking straight at the sun. Therefore, please let me receive plenty of sunlight during the day. And water me only when the surface of the soil is dry, but do so in the morning before noon. You must give me the dew that has gathered on living leaves.’
Jae-gyeom carefully examined the trees and grass growing in the garden. He gently parted the leaves, and whenever he saw dew clinging to a blade of grass, he shook it so it would flow into the pot.
“Drink up and grow big.”
It was after he had given the dew to Mesan and returned to the living room. Jeong-ju was standing in the kitchen with a disheveled face, drinking water. When Jae-gyeom greeted him, asking if he had slept well, Jeong-ju rubbed his eyes and asked.
“Did you water Mesan?”
“Yeah. Just now.”
“I was going to do it. Thanks for the hard work.”
“Hard work, my foot. Go back to sleep if you’re tired. You said you went to bed late yesterday.”
Jeong-ju shook his head with a yawn.
“Nah, I’m all slept out.”
“Then wash up and eat. Kkaeng-al and I already ate.”
“You did? Good for you. What did you have?”
“Soy sauce egg rice.”
“Ugh, I’m sick of that.”
Jeong-ju let out another long yawn, looked around the living room, and asked.
“Did Tae-hee go to work?”
“Yeah. He left a while ago.”
“Oh man. I’ve been oversleeping so much lately that I haven’t been able to see him off at all. I wonder if he got there okay.”
Jeong-ju seemed to have completely adapted to the new houseguest. By the time Jae-gyeom woke up, Jeong-ju and Yoon Tae-hee were already accustomed to living under one roof.
“He left on time, so I’m sure he got to work just fine.”
At Jae-gyeom’s indifferent response, Jeong-ju scratched his back for a moment. Then, peering at the pot in Jae-gyeom’s hand, he spoke.
“Aww, my pretty little planty. Did you sweepy well?”
As Jeong-ju wiggled his hips and spoke in a baby voice, Jae-gyeom clicked his tongue with an expressionless face. Ever since Mesan returned to a seed, Jeong-ju frequently acted cute and playful toward the pot. Mesan was the one who returned to a seed, but it seemed Jeong-ju had also returned to infancy.
“Did you have any scawy dreams? Were you scawy while you sweepy at night?”
“…….”
“Did you cry ‘I miss Lord Jeong-ju’?”
“Cut the crap!”
Jeong-ju, who had been asking after the plant in a voice full of aegyo, leaned his face close to the pot and made a motion as if to give it a kiss. At that, Jae-gyeom’s expression turned stern as he slid the pot away.
“Hey! That’s gross. What if you bring bad luck to it?”
“What bad luck? I’m a spirit creature too.”
Just as Jeong-ju glared at Jae-gyeom, bewildered by his overprotectiveness, Jae-gyeom stared blankly into the pot and muttered softly.
“But, there really isn’t anything wrong with Mesan, right? It’s already been over two months, and a sprout still hasn’t appeared. Even if the growth rate is slow, shouldn’t at least a tiny sprout have come up by now?”
“…Hmm.”
Jeong-ju crossed his arms and seemed lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped Jae-gyeom on the back and spoke in a spirited voice.
“A phoenix does not spread its wings easily.”
“Where did the phoenix suddenly come from?”
“Even a regular wild ginseng takes ages to grow, and a child ginseng is an even rarer existence. Did you think a sprout would just pop up in a few days like some barley grass? What kind of spirit creature would that be?”
At Jeong-ju’s banter, Jae-gyeom replied with a grumpy face.
“If it’s a spirit creature, it should be fully grown the moment I blink. Isn’t that more mystical and spirit-like than growing slowly?”
“Good grief. Mesan, Kkaeng-al. Did you hear that? This is why humans are like this.”
Jeong-ju sent a jeer with a sour expression. Then, Yu Nam-saeng, who was clinging to his shoulder, cheekily joined in, making a “Boo~” sound to support Jeong-ju. Seeing the two spirit creatures getting along so well, a faint smile touched Jae-gyeom’s lips.
Jeong-ju certainly had a power.
Thanks to Jeong-ju, Jae-gyeom found himself able to shake off the anxiety and worry that had seeped into his heart like a shadow, as if brushing away dirt.
“It’ll be fine. Mesan is growing well. Don’t worry.”