After Han Yuri and Jimin had completed the uncomfortable task of introducing the shaman and explaining why Jimin had been to visit her, the four of us finally set off for the Oh Estate. Young Min had not been happy to meet the woman who had cursed him, or to have been reminded of Jimin's ill-intentions towards him, but he had taken the news better than most humans would have. He merely remained in a stony silence for the entire trip, always glaring at something in the distance while his horse plodded along beside us. It wasn't until we had reached the Oh household and he had dismounted that he finally seemed to rouse himself from his dark musings and focus more on the task at hand.

The smell of death is unusual. Unlike other scents, this one is not always the same. Cinnamon, for instance, always smells like cinnamon, and fire, like fire. But death changes. Dying from old age, for instance, has a different odor from that of famine, or war.

It was this last scent that permeated the air as we slipped off our shoes and padded down the dark wooden hallway of the Oh household. This scent was not as strong as war, but something similar—sweat and blood mingled with fear and desperation. It was raw and acerbic, tinged with the promise of decay.

The door to the guest room slid open, revealing the prone form of the servant, pale and shivering on a bedroll. Fever had broken out in a light sweat across his forehead, and the blanket had been pushed aside to reveal the crimson stain seeping through the bandage around his waist. From the looks of it, he had been stabbed in the liver. He would not have survived the next hour.

"Heavens above," the shaman muttered, swiftly moving forward and crouching beside the man to perform the ritual.

The ceremony was simple and short. A few muttered words of nonsense, a few rhyming words of Korean, and then Han Yuri pressed the two halves of Jimin's stone above the injured servant's wound, where they dissolved through the fabric of the bandage and the man responded with a sudden intake of breath. His eyes were still closed, but it already looked as though he was breathing easier.

"He should recover in the next few days," Han Yuri said, standing up. "Still, it would be best to not move him until he completely regains his health."

"Thank goodness," Young Min breathed. Jimin remained silent, gaze directed at the floor.

I heaved a sigh. "Well, I'd best be off, then," I announced to no one in particular. The room was far too gloomy for my tastes, and I had dinner to catch.

I had made it outside and down the front path when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Moon Sun! Wait!"

I shifted the gayageum under my arm and turned around to face the nobleman.

"You're not limping as much anymore," I commented. "That's good." His aura had also lost a bit of that sickly green that had clung to it for so long.

"I—yes," Young Min replied. "I wanted to ask—have you seen Nara? I lost track of her in the crowds at the marketplace after your performance."

My instinct was to snarl and tell him it was none of my concern—after all, hadn't I fulfilled the promise I had made? I didn't have to worry about breaking curses or talking to anyone anymore. But for some reason, my ire didn't arise to the inquiry.

"I'll keep an eye out," was all I said. "Have a good life, Park Young Min."

"Wait!" he interjected before I could turn away. "Thank you—for all you've done. For helping me, and helping Won Soo. I didn't trust you at first—I thought I could live my life just from lessons and schooling alone, and I realize now that there are just some things that can't be explained by reason or logic. Thank you for not leaving me to my fate as a cripple."

"I didn't do it for you," I countered, narrowing my eyes.

"Ah—well, of course, you were a bit tied up in the curse as well, weren't you?" Young Min said with a weak smile. "Sorry about that."

That was only part of the reason, but I decided to let him believe it. "Stay out of trouble, and away from that jealous sprite of a girl inside," I said, nodding in the direction of the house. "At least she's learned her lesson."

Young Min gave another small smile in reply, and I turned to leave.

~*~

There were a few people on main road as I headed in the direction that would take me back to my mountain. Still, I didn't miss the figure lurking at the corner of a wall of one of the nearby houses.

"What a coincidence," I said, sneaking up behind the figure. "Someone was just asking about you."

"Gah!"

The crouched form of Kim Nara jumped at least a foot in the air and whirled around.

"Don't do that!" she hissed at me. "Omo..." she put a hand to her chest. "My heart is pounding!"

I ignored her complaint and tilted my head curiously. "Why are you hiding?" I asked. "Are there, perhaps, people still looking for you?"

Nara cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders. "No...uh, Young Min's father took care of that, actually. Apparently he serves the king in Hanyang."

"How fortunate for you," I said flatly. "So there is nothing stopping you from getting across the mountain pass now, is there?"

"Uh, no..."

"Good," I said. "Then I have kept our agreement. Your nobleman is free, and you are able to cross the mountain without any further delay, just as you wanted. Right now, I'm in a good mood, and I'll even let you walk back with me, for a while." I turned to leave, but cast a glance back over my shoulder. "Well, aren't you coming?"

Nara was still looking in the other direction, back at the high walls framing the entrance to the Oh Estate.

"I just was wondering if he would be okay now," she said quietly.

"Yes, yes, he'll be fine," I said dismissively. "He seemed much better when I talked to him."

"Still, I think I'd like to wait until he comes outside to head home, before I leave," she replied. "Just to see him one last time."

I raised an eyebrow. "You won't go talk to him?"

She laughed softly and shook her head. "No, a sangmin like me and a yangban like him do not belong in the same sphere."

I snorted. "Oh, for crying out loud. You're both completely besotted with one another. When have two people in love ever let social constructs get in the way before? As long as the general public doesn't find out you're a commoner, it really shouldn't matter. He has enough money for the both of you."

"But his father—"

"Seems to be a good man, and would love to see his son happy, as any good father would," I finished for her. "It would be simple for a family with a status like theirs to invent a noble backstory for you. You think it hasn't been done before? Nobles are experts in twisting a situation around to get their way." Nara mulled over my words in silence, gaze still fixed on the door that led to the Oh's property.

"Oh, what do I even care," I said, throwing up my hand that wasn't holding on to the gayageum. "I never liked involving myself in human matters, anyway."

Nara finally spoke. "But you do care," she said softly.

I froze. "Excuse me?"

Finally, Nara turned to face me, and I thought I caught a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes. "You care," she said, this time sounding more certain of her statement. "Why?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do. You say you don't like humans, you don't like helping, you don't care. But it was you who approached me in the mountains when we first met."

"The thieves were tasty, and I couldn't let the opportunity of fresh food go to waste," I said, but Nara ignored my excuse.

"You could have easily gotten me to free you from that spirit trap with your gumiho charm," she continued.

"You already knew what I was at that point," I corrected her. "My charms would not have worked."

"Ah! But that's not it!" Nara growled in frustration. "There's something else, something I can't put my finger on, that just makes you seem..."

"You just aren't going to let the matter drop, are you?" I asked dryly.

"No!"

I sighed, casting one last glance towards the Oh Estate, where Park Young Min refused to make his appearance.

"Have you ever stopped to wonder why I live on that mountain, Kim Nara?" I asked her. "How exactly I came to be there? I didn't just magically appear out of thin air one day."

Nara's eyes widened. "How did you come to be there?" she asked.

I pursed my lips and looked away as dim memories resurfaced. "You remind me of someone, Kim Nara. She was strong-willed and had big dreams."

Nara took a small step closer. "What happened to her?"

I clenched my jaw. "She was killed."

"What? How?" Nara gasped.

"She was sent across the mountain from Miryang to marry into an honorable family. But her fiancé only wanted her for her money, and after he had received her bride price, he had her killed before the wedding ceremony could take place."

"That's...terrible," Nara said. "But what does that have to do with you coming to live on the mountain?"

At this, I turned back to face her with a sigh. Obviously, this girl needed me to simplify my explanation. "I was that person, Kim Nara," I said tersely.

Nara's jaw dropped open and she stared at me. "What? But—how?" She took a step back and looked me up and down. "You're not a ghost!"

"Come to your senses and close your mouth—you look like a fish."

Nara blinked furiously and her mouth shut with an audible clack. Once she had stopped acting so ridiculous, I continued my story.

"That man had hired a band of thugs to attack his fiancée's entourage as they crossed over the mountain. She escaped into the forest for a short while, but was eventually found and struck down. There was the body of a fox, caught in a hunter's trap, not far from where the girl was slain, and under the light of the full moon, their blood mingled and a union between their two spirits was formed.

Nara gulped. "You."

I gave a humorless smile. "They never found the girl's body. I made sure theirs were never found either."

At this statement, Nara sucked in a shuddering breath. "And so you've lived there ever since, looking after the people who traverse the mountain pass."

I tilted my head thoughtfully. "Oh, I wouldn't phrase it quite so nicely. Let's just say I have an appetite for a bit of mischief. I do have an image to uphold, after all." I crinkled my nose. "I can't have my meals thinking I'm such a softie. It's not a very terrifying way for them to meet their end."

Nara had become quite pale, but to her credit, didn't run off screaming like so many others might have done. I shifted my gayageum to my other arm and reached up to pull out one of the hairpins from my elaborate updo.

"Here," I said, placing the expensive item in her hand. "Take this. It's quite old, and will sell for quite a lot of money. But he is a good person, and won't care about any of that, anyway. If anything, it will at least help sway the rest of his family to your cause."

Nara's brows furrowed together as she looked down at the hairpiece. "But how can you be so sure? I don't understand."

I took her chin and tilted her head to face me. "Don't live like a ghost, Kim Nara," I told her firmly. "Humans may be unbelievably foolish and clumsy, but they are meant to live passionately and strive for their dreams. If you truly wish to cross the mountains and start a new life for yourself, then do so. But do not leave any regrets behind here. Your life is too short for that. Can you truly say that you would not miss him?"

Moisture gathered in Nara's eyes, and she took a step back and looked away. "I..."

A creak of wood interrupted her, and we simultaneously looked up to see that the tall gate to the Oh household had opened. None other than Park Young Min stepped out, and without seeing us, turned to head back to his own home.

"At least speak with him," I said, shoving Nara in the direction of the young nobleman. She stumbled forward a few steps before catching her balance.

"Go on," I said, making a shooing motion with my hand. "Hurry!"

Reluctantly, the girl turned and headed after the young noble. At first, her steps were slow, but she gradually picked up her pace.

"Park Young Min!" she called. "Wait!"

I watched from the wall as Young Min turned to meet her. Surprise briefly flitted across his face, and then a relieved smile. And thanks to my excellent hearing, I was able to make out every word they said.

"I thought you had left," Young Min told Nara.

The girl bit her lip and fidgeted with the skirt of her hanbok. "Did you...did you want me to leave?" she asked quietly.

Young Min's eyes widened, and he reached out to grab her hand. "No!"

He seemed just as surprised as she was at the outburst, and he quickly dropped her hand and cleared his throat. "Uh, no," he repeated, in a much more platonic tone.  He clasped his hands behind his back, perhaps to ensure that he wouldn't reach for her again.  "I...I'm glad to see you're well."

Nara gave a small smile, but it quickly fell. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, about—about my running away, and being..."

"It doesn't matter," Young Min said gently.

Nara's eyes widened. "But—"

The nobleman closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  "I—I love you, Kim Nara," he confessed. Finally!

Nara sucked in a breath, seemingly frozen, and I had to resist the urge to groan. Now's your chance, you silly girl!

When Nara failed to reply, Young Min furrowed his brow and continued. "Ah—you probably don't feel the same way, and that's okay, but I, uh, just wanted you to know that, um—"

"I do too."

About time! For a moment, I had been worried that the mountains would move before Nara made her confession.

Young Min sucked in a breath. "You do?" he asked, unable to keep the small undercurrent of hope from his tone.

Nara's frail smile returned, and encouraged, the nobleman took a step closer to her.

"But I'm far beneath someone like you, from such a well-respected, powerful family," Nara continued, voice wavering with nervous energy. "I don't deserve to be accepted into your household. I know it could never work out between us.   The gumiho gave me this though—"

She held up the object in her hand, and the gold and jade of my hairpin glinted in the dying sunlight.  "If I sold it, I would have a little money, certainly not enough, but maybe to make your family consider...not to become your, um, w-wife, of course, that would be far too improper, but enough so that maybe I could at least visit every now-and-then, as acquaintances—"

Young Min's hand closed over the proffered item and lowered it, without ever taking his eyes off of the young woman before him.

"In the past few weeks, I've come to care little about what society deems proper," he answered. "If you had asked me before we met, then yes, I would have said that one's life should be lived in order according to the rules of Confucius, and that everything and everyone has a place and a purpose. But I don't care anymore. I've learned to make my own path, and not follow what others would have me believe are my best interests. In the past few weeks, you've challenged me to think differently about my world, Kim Nara. You make me happy, and—I don't want to be apart from you. No matter what it takes, I want us to be together. If that means being disowned by my family, then so be it."

I rolled my eyes. There was no need for him to be so dramatic about it. Disowned? Unlikely. Wasn't he an only child?

Nara stepped away. "Don't say that. I don't want to bring any strife to you or the Minister of Justice—"

"I don't think it will come to that," Young Min interrupted, taking her shoulder and turning her back to face him. "He's reasonable. I'll make him understand."

"And the rest of the town?" Nara challenged softly. "You would forever be known as the noble who married a slave."

At this, Young Min gave a small smile. "With a change of clothes and some fancy accessories, they'd hardly even recognize you."

Nara still looked unsure, but in the next moment, Young Min had closed the space between them and put his arms around her in a gentle embrace.

"Please, don't go," he said. "I'd rather face another dozen mountain bandits and gladly suffer through another curse if it meant that you would stay by my side."

Slowly, Nara reached up to return the hug.

"Okay," she whispered against his shoulder. "I'll stay."    

I let out a breath and turned away with a satisfied smile, following the smell of fresh mountain air that beckoned me home. My work here was done.

========================================================

Yes, we've finally come to the end of the story. Did you think it would never end? And see, you've survived with your liver intact, just as I promised.

By now, I think I've come to accept the fact that I will just always need to explain these terms to you. What's first on the list?

Ah, a sseugae chima? Noblewomen (of the yangban class) in the Joseon Era wore one when they went out in public. It is a type of jacket tied over the head, almost like a veil. Commoners (sangmin) and gisaengs were not required to wear them.

Do you remember me mentioning the pansori singer from the entertainment troupe? Pansori is a traditional type of Korean storytelling, sung by a vocalist and accompanied by the beat of a drum. For much of the Joseon Era, only men were allowed to sing pansori. Such foolishness.  At least in some point in history, the people finally realized what they were missing without female vocalists, and women were allowed to be trained in pansori as well.  Could you imagine if women were still forbidden from singing?  How embarrassing that would be.  Honestly, sometimes it takes quite a while for humans to come to their senses.

I hope you, at least, are a bit more quick-witted than the average person.  Since you've managed not to annoy me too much in our time together, you can be assured that you must have at least some common sense.