Chapter 17

The weather was perfect for glazing: not humid, with a gentle breeze drifting through the air.

On a beautiful day like this, Ja-yeong had no desire to think about anything other than the pieces she treated like her own children. Least of all an unwelcome guest who clung to her like a leech, refusing to take no for an answer.

Ja-yeong picked up a bisque-fired piece, thoroughly dried after being dipped in water, with a pair of glazing tongs.

She had asked her grandfather countless times to let her use the traditional hand-dipping method, just like he did, but he stubbornly insisted on putting the glazing tongs in his granddaughter’s hands.

“Doing it by hand is fine once or twice, but that’s enough…. Keep at it, and you’ll ruin those pretty hands of yours.”

Her grandfather had spent years stroking the timeworn traditional wood-fired kiln and proclaiming the importance of tradition. Yet when it came to protecting his granddaughter’s delicate, pale hands, he abandoned that precious tradition without a second thought.

Ja-yeong took a moment to steady her breathing, then carefully lowered the piece into the glaze.

She had to move smoothly enough to avoid creating bubbles, yet quickly enough to prevent the glaze from becoming too thick. Too much glaze would run down the piece inside the kiln, while too little would fail to produce the color she wanted.

The three most important principles in pottery were proper measure, proper pace, and a steady heart.

Never exceed the right amount. Never lose your rhythm. Never let your mind become unsettled.

A potter’s wheel could ruin a shape if it spun too slowly or too quickly. Clay couldn’t be too fine, nor could it be too coarse. If the base was too thick, the inside wouldn’t dry properly; if it was too thin, the piece would crack easily.

When she had first learned pottery, she’d thought the process was simply a matter of shaping something pretty and firing it without letting it crack. But the more she worked with fire, the more temperamental it became, and the more she handled her pottery, the more it tested her patience.

Glazing was no different.

Ja-yeong had practiced countless times by filling an empty container with plain water and dipping bowls into it. She had hunted down books from both East and West, studying them until their pages were worn and tattered. Even so, whenever the day came to apply real glaze, her shoulders would stiffen, and she’d find herself holding her breath without even realizing it.

“…Phew.”

Only after carefully placing the piece, now dressed in a coat of pale glaze, on the shelf did Ja-yeong finally release the breath she’d been holding.

When would she become like her grandfather, able to tell what the fire was doing just by listening to it, glazing her pottery while humming a tune? She’d spent no small amount of time studying, yet she still had a mountain of things left to learn.

“……”

Perhaps it was sheer coincidence that Ja-yeong, having filled the shelves with freshly glazed pieces, finally glanced toward her unwelcome guest. Or perhaps she’d only just noticed how unnaturally quiet her surroundings had become.

“What in the world…?”

While Ja-yeong had been absorbed in her glazing work, the man had turned the kiln yard into his own personal campsite. A massive canopy stretched from the wide-open trunk of his car all the way to the pavilion, with a table and chairs set up underneath. Calling it a makeshift dining area would hardly do justice to the sheer extravagance of the setup.

“What exactly are you doing?”

Ja-yeong asked.

The man stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the car he’d driven there. He didn’t answer. His gaze remained fixed on her, so intent and unwavering that she couldn’t even tell how long he’d been watching her.

“What do you like to eat?”

Eden, looking at her with that same gaze, asked as casually as if they were discussing the weather.

“Beef? Pork? Chicken? Just in case, I also brought duck legs and cod fillets.”

“…What?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I’d cook your favorite food for you while you make my pottery. Every single day.”

“Ha!”

Ja-yeong was speechless.

For someone from Seoul, barging into the countryside and drinking with the village elders might feel like a pleasant little vacation. But Ja-yeong, who actually lived in the village, was being dragged through the wringer every day by rumors she had never wanted in the first place.

She was twenty-eight and had never had a proper romantic relationship.

The only things she saw around her were the sky, the mountains, the elderly, and the crops.

After endlessly trying to comfort herself, she’d finally begun accepting the life ahead of her: kneaded clay for a boyfriend, pottery for children. And now, thanks to this shameless intruder, she had to endure morning and evening conversations about sons and daughters she didn’t even have!

‘I’m practically turning inside out with frustration, and he’s standing there living the good life, going on about beef, pork, and chicken?’

Ja-yeong slapped the glazing tongs down and ripped off her gloves.

Today, she would finally drive this impossible man out of her life, no matter what it took.

She’d make sure she never had to see his face again. She’d make sure he never dared show his face anywhere near Mount Worak!

Ja-yeong deliberately stomped as she walked toward him. She refused to let herself be intimidated by the imposing figure looming beside his car.

“Hey, Eden Han!”

“Yes, Ja-yeong Hwang.”

Apparently oblivious to the tension in the air, the man answered with a broad, easygoing smile.

Perhaps the straw hat was hiding her expression from him. Ja-yeong pushed it up from her forehead and lifted her head, fixing him with a stern look.

“That day! After you came and went as you pleased, do you have any idea what kind of rumors have been going around the village?”

“No idea.”

“You have no—!”

Eden tilted his head to the side. The woman had abruptly bitten her lip in the middle of her sentence, and her face seemed to be turning a peculiar shade of red.

“What kind of rumors are going around?”

He was genuinely curious now. What rumor had she suddenly remembered that had made her face, which had been as calm as still water, start boiling all over again?

“Y-You just showed up whenever you felt like it!”

“I showed up.”

“And you ate here! Huh?”

“And I ate here.”

“Y-You drank, too!”

Ah. Coming down here, even if it meant pushing himself a little too hard, had definitely been the right decision.

The man suppressed the laughter threatening to escape him.

If the hot air escaping through his nostrils had been visible like steam, the space around him would have been so foggy that he couldn’t have seen an inch ahead. Every incoherent word spilling from the woman in front of him seemed to send another cloud of steam billowing into the air.

“Did it really become a rumor that I ate and drank here?”

“If that were all, I wouldn’t even care!”

“Then what is it?”

“……”

Once again, the woman stopped mid-sentence and bit her lip.

It was fascinating. When she applied glaze to pottery, she wore the expression of a sage who had lived for a thousand years. But the moment something had nothing to do with pottery, she acted like an immature little bean.

Her straw hat slipped down, hiding her face once more. Eden casually lifted the brim, revealing her flushed cheeks and sweat-dampened forehead as he spoke.

“If you’re done telling me about the rumors, could you answer my question now? Beef, pork, or chicken. What should I cook for you? Hmm?”

“I-I’m not done yet!”

Right. A little green bean suited her perfectly. Small, round, and smooth. Give the pod a little tap, and the immature beans inside would pop out, making a whole fuss.

“It’s just that… t-they say you’re my boyfriend…”

A moment ago, she’d been shouting loudly enough to make the entire kiln yard ring. Now she was mumbling so quietly she could barely be heard.

Eden crossed his arms, then bent his head slightly to bring his ear closer to her.

“Who says?”

“The man who came from Seoul… The one who ate and drank with my grandfather.”

“Oh.”

That was the second hurdle. The man barely managed to suppress the laughter threatening to burst out of him.

“Did you spread the rumor yourself?”

“What? Are you insane?!”

If he wanted to get what he needed from this green-bean-like CEO of Cheongso-yo, he should maintain the utmost courtesy. That was the sensible approach.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy. Teasing her was more satisfying than getting his hands on the finest gourmet ingredients.

“You didn’t?”

“This is ridiculous! Hey, you’re the one who keeps coming and going whenever you please! Of course people are going to start rumors!”

The agitated woman raised her voice, practically shrieking at him.

It was a little noisy, but Eden preferred her like this. He could meet her eyes without having to grab her wrist, and she wasn’t clamping her mouth shut, either.

“You might be able to just disappear like you did that day and call it a day, but I have to put up with these rumors every time I go into town!”

“……”

“And now that you’ve come again today, there’ll be another whole uproar. When are you getting married? When are you having children? Do you have any idea how awkward you’ve made things for me?”

“So, did you like it?”

The woman’s mouth snapped shut in an instant.

Eden tilted his head a little farther, meeting her eyes.

“People seem pretty happy whenever rumors like that start about me.”

Ja-yeong stamped her foot, trembling from head to toe.

“Are you seriously out of your mind?!”

At the sight of her, Eden burst into a hearty laugh.

It felt as though all the fatigue he’d accumulated over the past few days, pushing himself to rearrange his schedule so he could come down to Mount Worak, had vanished at once.