the tortoise's tale @spxyeon-blog - Tumblr Blog

jaewoosp‌:

(...)

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulls her into a side hug, beams as she says she’s going to cook him something. That’s just what he needed to hear to make him feel even better & forget all about the pain in his arm. “Yes, yes, let’s go! Wow, I just— have I told you you’re the best lately? Because you are.”

“you’re a baby,” she scolds, “tea is good for you. be grateful i’m not giving you kuding like i do for everyone else.” but her words aren’t sharp the way they’d be with any of the staff if they refused her care; she can hear the genuine appreciation in his voice underneath his complaint, and it softens her tone with him. it’s just one more way jaewoo’s found himself in her confidence – she can be gentler and sillier with him, too.

yeon ruffles his hair and laughs when he reciprocates with a hug and a bigger smile, a mirror to hers. “of course i am, i’m your,” she tosses her hair over her shoulder with a coquettish smirk, “multi-talented chatelaine. let’s go!” she releases his shoulders, too short for it to be comfortable for either of them, and starts walking to the kitchen, pinning her hair back in place before she encounters any of the other staff.

“what do you want to eat, jae?” a mental inventory of the pantry tells her she’s got enough extra tonight for either black sesame porridge or brown sugar pancakes, so she adds, “heukimjajuk, or hotteok?”

#*//. the HAETAE.#t:jaewoo01.#(( kuding is an especially bitter tea lmao #(( good for u tho

jaewoosp‌:

(...)

“I’ll be more careful the next time I have to go out there to do something for Lady Jidora, I promise!” & he’ll train harder too, even though Yeon’s just said he doesn’t have to. “And I will make sure to talk to you first thing when I come back. Because I know how bored & lonely you get here without me,” Jae says, the smallest of smiles coming to his lips.

to do something for lady jidora – yeon has never pried, or tried to pry, into what jidora asks of the lackeys; she knows her lady too well, and knows that it’ll only wear away at the red string that ties them together. as it is now she’s still able to turn a blind eye, to turn some of jidora’s less than ethical decisions into a small form of kindness for the spirits, but if she pushed any further she knows she might find something that she wouldn’t be able to reconcile with.

but jidora isn’t the only one she’s connected to, and jaewoo is right in front of her now. yeon laughs and shakes her head, her simple and elegant hairpin coming loose. it doesn’t worry her; she doesn’t need to be the poised and calm chatelaine around him. “i’m too busy to be bored or lonely, but if you’re free... you could always help me around the hotel. i hear haetaes are especially good with unclogging baths,” she teases, trying to pull the small smile from jaewoo into something bigger, but also to distract him from the pain that’s evident on his face from the wound. “no extra training needed for that, too!”

she finishes with the salve, wrapping the wound up in a light gauze with practiced, firm actions. “there you go.” she takes the pot of salve and the rest of the gauze to the shelf, adding, “keep it out of water, and come over so i can change the dressing tomorrow, okay? if you need something for the pain, hmm,” she tiptoes and uses her fingertips to snag a small pouch of the blend of herbs she’d gotten from the healer’s store, “make some tea with this.”

yeon pushes the pot back into its rightful place, then turns to jaewoo, tiptoeing once more to swing an arm around his shoulders, taking care not to jostle his injured arm. “c’mon, one of the back kitchens is empty, i’ll cook you something good!”

#*//. the HAETAE.#t:jaewoo01.

jaewoosp‌:

(...)

“I must start training harder from now on…” He mumbles, mostly to himself, a sigh following his words. “Anyway, I’m sorry I always bother you when things like this happen,” he tells Yeon — she is one of the very few people Jaewoo really trusts & he usually turns to her whenever he needs help with something.

the medicinal salve is pungent, but that’s what make’s it good – good medicine tastes bitter, after all. yeon pulls his arm closer to her and gets to work cleaning the wound with a bit of spirit-blessed river water to stave off any infections before she applies the salve, using slow and gentle swipes.

“this is going to sting,” she warns, putting down the cloth and taking a scoop of the salve with her fingers and starting to apply it directly to the gashes on his arm, firm but gentle with it. it’s not uncommon for jidora to send the lackeys on less than absolutely safe missions, so injuries like jaewoo’s are expected; it’s why yeon has an entire stock of salves, ointments and medicines for cases like these. with jaewoo, however, she takes extra effort to care for his wound, the young haetae having made a small place in her heart with the years he’s been around the hotel and her having started to fill in the hole he’s got in place of family.

“you don’t have to train harder, jae,” she says, catching his whispered admonishment, “just be a little more careful next time. you managed to do what lady jidora asked, didn’t you?” yeon smiles at him, genuine and approving, and taps his foot with hers in a little gesture of fondness. “you’re not being a bother, don’t worry.”

#*//. the HAETAE.#t:jaewoo01.

@spyuna, in the hotel

it’s getting late into the night, cool breeze crystalising into something a little colder, a little harsher. the bathhouse is bustling with activity, patrons aching to escape the less-than-ideal temperatures but yeon finds herself with nothing much to do, well-trained attendants walking with urgency and poise to each customer that needs attention.

one of the bells at the reception rings, and it’s a floor high enough to catch her eye. the guest checked into it is tagon’s recently emancipated mountain spirit, and the staff assigned to her room, currently occupied with another customer, eyes the bell with some wariness, then glances at yeon nervously.

“mistress yeon,” the frog spirit starts, his croak anxious and unhappy, and yeon smiles and nods to him.

“i’ll handle it.”

the hand-cranked elevator goes up into the higher floors of the pagoda, finally reaching the mountain spirit’s floor. yeon places her hands one over the other, the picture of perfect poise, and knocks on the door to the guest’s room.

#*//. the MOUNTAIN.#t:yuna01.

@spyubin, at the main street store

the edges of her deep blue robes flutter behind her as she enters the shop, smiling gently at the young jindo manning the front of the house today. “good afternoon,” she greets, nodding her head at him. his parents are nowhere to be found, and the only other customer in the shop spies the telltale sign of jidora’s chatelaine and exits the doorway with a scornful glance.

taking the small parchment from her sleeve, she hands it over to the boy. “one of each here, and, i think...” she leans against the counter, an amicable, friendly smile twinkling in her eyes, “forty packets of herbs for reducing yang. it’s been hot lately, and i don’t want my staff to be overworked. that’s enough, don’t you think?” her tone is light and conversational, and meant to draw the guileless spirit into talk of the hotel. after all, this isn’t just a trip to the herbs shop – she’d like to return with a new worker in tow as well.

#*//. the DOG.#t:yubin01.

hello hello! boy m i EXCITED hehe im trina & this is my first bby, yeon! currently living in the hotel & working as jidora’s chatelaine, you’ll see her mostly around the east (hotel, wealthy estates, main street) or the forest village in the west. she’s an old lil tortoise spirit & with @spxseon they become the hyeonmu, black warrior/protector of the north :) she’s mostly chill & calm now, being as impartial as she can in the hotel, but she did start out as a troublemaker so... :^)

about & plots, under the cut is misc info & more plots! please tap that like button if u wanna plot c: