HMN C21

Chapter 21

“…Hmm.”

Inside the box lay a necklace. Not an ordinary one, but a curious piece shaped in a perfect circle like a planetary ring, with a small blue gem set in the middle. It didn’t look like anything a normal person would wear casually around their neck. Yet it wasn’t some cheap trinket either—the gemstone gleamed with a subtle depth, and the surrounding frame was wrought with surprising delicacy and weight. Daeyoung, raised in the countryside and used to old junk of every kind, had never seen anything like this before. Resting it on his palm, he felt its heft.

Clink.

“…You opened it?”

“Ah!”

The voice behind him jolted him. Daeyoung whipped his head up instantly. He had thought his grandmother was still in the kitchen, yet she now stood in the courtyard. Startled so much that he nearly dropped the necklace, he tightened his grip and widened his eyes.

“Uh—yes? Yes.”

“……”

Her expression was strange. She stood unmoving, gaze fixed only on the piece in his hand, her face weighted with some seriousness he could not decipher. Flustered, Daeyoung hurried to apologize.

“Ah—I’m sorry. I was looking through the box and found it. It must be valuable, right?”

Even if she had allowed him to look at her things, opening something locked with a clasp was crossing a line. Was I out of my mind? What possessed me? Hurriedly, he tucked the necklace back inside the box. But his grandmother shuffled closer, extending a wrinkled hand. Taking the necklace once more from the box, she laid it gently in his palm.

“…It was kept locked, wasn’t it.”

“Oh—yeah, I just twisted it a few times and it opened. I’m really sorry.”

He apologized again. Yet in that moment, her expression shifted into something more delicate. The way she looked at it—like longing, or regret—unnerved him. Feeling as though he had glimpsed some secret he should not, Daeyoung swallowed hard. He set aside the empty box and began to rise, but before he could, the necklace was pressed back into view.

“You touched it first. Now it’s yours.”

“…What? But—I just received a flower pot from you not long ago.”

He refused politely, but her face only grew firmer.

“You want it, don’t you?”

“……”

The words made him falter, his gaze pulled back to the necklace. He stared. Old, clearly outdated—hardly jewelry, hardly useful, not even particularly beautiful or necessary. And yet, without realizing, his hand opened as if to accept it.

“…Thank you.”

Shff.

The necklace was placed in his palm. He looped part of the chain around his fingers and lifted it. In that instant, the blue gem seemed to emit a luminous flash. His eyes widened. Did that really just happen? Surely it’s only in my head. Confused, he turned a questioning glance at her.

“Grandma, is this a real gemstone? Is it expensive?”

But she only smiled faintly.

“No, nothing like that… It means its rightful owner has been found.”

“…What?”

He hadn’t caught her quiet words, and raised his head to confirm, but she was already making her way back toward the kitchen.

“So… what do I even do with this? I can’t wear it around or anything…”

Turning it over restlessly in his hand, he was interrupted by her return—holding a tray of freshly steamed rice cakes. Daeyoung bowed gratefully, skewered a chewy slice with a fork, and popped it in his mouth.

“Thank you. I’ll keep it safe at home.”

Certainly, it wasn’t the sort of necklace elderly women usually treasured. Especially not one with such a strange circular shape encasing a gemstone. He lifted the pendant in front of his eyes, chewing thoughtfully at the sweet rice cake. Under the yellow glow of moonlight, the blue gem seemed to shimmer emerald-bright, nearly transparent. Spellbound, Daeyoung stared. A breeze, the faint shifting of his wrist—the pendant swung, back and forth, turning to one side.

“…I used it in my younger days. To win over my husband.”

“…Huh?”

Daeyoung froze mid-chew, eyes round. His grandmother almost never spoke about herself. This sudden revelation nearly knocked the breath out of him. But her faint, nostalgic smile made him smile, too.

“Really? You must’ve looked so beautiful with this necklace on.”

Such stories usually came wrapped with sweetness or humor, romantic anecdotes about youth. Most of the village elders’ tales began with, ‘At seventeen, I married a man I had never met…’ This beginning was something different. Eyes bright with interest, Daeyoung listened as her voice dipped lower.

“Not quite that… More like hypnosis, they called it. Back then, the name was different.”

“…H-hypnosis?”

The wooden box lid clattered shut in his hand as he looked up, dumbfounded. Hypnosis? What on earth is she talking about? Clear and specific—far too much to dismiss. He half-suspected she had wandered into her own world again, as she sometimes did. Apprehensive, he searched her face.

“That necklace… it can sway a person’s heart.”

“……”

Daeyoung stared at her short, white hair, fingers fidgeting.

“…Seriously?”

He muttered, unfocused, winding the long chain around his hand. She squinted at him sharply, turning fully toward him.

“Ah, you don’t believe a word, do you? That’s an artifact—something sacred. For generations it’s drawn hearts like a charm, resting only just now.”

“…Really?”

Smack.

“Ow!”

The sting of her hand against his back made him hunch instantly, rubbing at his shoulder with a wince. His eyes watered as he forced himself to gather his wits.

“But isn’t something this precious better kept for your son? He comes by sometimes, doesn’t he?”

“My son? He hasn’t been here in years.”

“…What?”

At once, a chill stirred his concern. He could have sworn she had spoken often of her son and daughter-in-law, had even seen them in passing once. And yet—her absent, wandering tone worried him. She let out a long, shuddering sigh.

“…He refused to let it meddle with a young girl’s fate. Damn fool.”

Her words barely made sense. All Daeyoung could do was blink in confusion. But then her gaze locked keenly on him—from the crown of his head to the curve of his kneeling legs. And in her eyes flashed something rare, a sudden spark, as though a long-dead ember were rekindled in her soul. Her voice cut sharp.

“…And now, you. Yes, you’re the one.”

“What?”

Caught off guard, he blinked. Her eyes narrowed, the wrinkles deepening.

“You said you attend school in Seoul, yes?”

“…Yes. That’s right.”

“Twenty-two?”

“I’ve just turned twenty-three.”

Her expression shifted, as if tallying something unseen. Still, she gave no clear explanation for her strange words—and Daeyoung’s confusion only thickened.

“…So that’s why you’ve come here.”

“…Pardon? What did you just say?”

“Nothing.”

She dismissed her mutter at once, her face returning to the plain neutrality it usually bore. All trace of intensity gone, all light swallowed once more, she was back to a mask of tired boredom.

“Whatever you do with it, the necklace will stir itself. One day, if the one you love refuses to yield their heart—then try it.”

“…Ah, you mean like hypnosis, right? You swing it in front of someone’s eyes?”

The pendant certainly looked like that sort of prop. Daeyoung nodded along.

“I saw it on television once. You dangle it back and forth like this, right?”

He wasn’t convinced—but he had to admit the notion intrigued him. After tidying the old books he had rifled through earlier, he bit into another rice cake and studied the necklace again.

It was no ordinary thing. Not like ordinary jewelry, not like any Korean antique either. It resembled some curious souvenir from abroad—yet ancient, deeply familiar too. Pulling the long chain, he swung the pendant before his eyes. Meanwhile, his grandmother tapped her knees, rising onto the veranda. She slid open the glass door of an old cabinet in the living room and after searching among a row of aged books, pulled something free. Turning, she offered it to him.

Rustle.

A sheaf of yellowing papers. Torn sheets from an old notebook, no more than a handful. The pages, no longer white, were almost amber, their edges wrinkled brown as though once soaked and dried out again.

“…What’s this?”

Something about them demanded caution. Wiping his hands anxiously against his clothes, Daeyoung accepted the bundle.