under the same roof
under the same roof
Han Noah stayed at our house.
Very calmly, using wedding preparations as an excuse.
With just one word, he said that he had received formal permission from the Left State Councillor's house.
Hannoah started staying at our house from that day on.
“…Why do you want to stay here?”
I called out to Noah at the end of the hallway. He slowly turned his head away from his gaze around the room.
“Wouldn’t it be better to be close by when preparing for a wedding?”
The face with the corners of the lips slightly raised was as calm as always.
“Besides, I’ll get to know your face too.”
I took a deep breath. Noah continued speaking nonchalantly.
“More than anything, isn’t she the person who will soon become my wife?”
“…you are not a couple until you are married.”
“That’s why we practice in advance.”
Even the word shameless wasn't enough. That tone, that look, and that attitude. None of it was anything like Joseon etiquette.
“It is not common for a prospective son-in-law to stay at his wife’s parents’ house before the wedding.”
“It may not be common. But there’s no rule that says it can’t be done.”
The man said with a smile.
“Joseon etiquette is quite unfamiliar to those who have been away for a long time.”
“The room you’ll be staying in is… the room across from this one. It’s used for guests.”
“It’s next to your room.”
He nodded as if he was somehow satisfied and went into the room.
From that day on, he stayed in this house.
And strangely enough, it gradually took over a place in my daily life.
_____
early morning
I went out into the courtyard. The sunlight was slowly setting down on the still-wet stone path.
I haven't been able to catch a breath all night these days.
The sound coming from the other room disturbed my mind.
Footsteps, the sound of doors opening and closing… no, just the fact that he was there changed the air in the house.
The wind shook the branches.
Sunlight fell softly between them.
I sat quietly on a wooden bench in the garden.
I opened the book, but my mind never lingered on the words.
at that time,
Slow footsteps were heard from behind.
“We live in the same house, but I didn’t know it would be this hard to meet each other.”
I stopped walking at the sound of a familiar voice.
I turned my head.
Noah was coming down the stairs and coming towards me.
“Are you avoiding me?”
He stopped in front of me and asked softly.
“It’s rare for him to come out of his room.”
I replied, turning the pages of the book.
“I wasn’t avoiding it. I was just reading a book.”
“You’ve been talking all day? That’s amazing. Have you missed the scriptures?”
“That could be true. There are a lot of books.”
He laughed lightly.
“The person who used to greet me warmly when we met is now hiding in a book.”
“…It is a misunderstanding.”
“I don’t want to treat you like a stranger.”
At those words, I lowered my gaze, then quickly raised my head again.
Noah leaned against the stone pillar in front of me and quietly looked down at me. His usual relaxed smile hung on his lips, but a hint of regret flickered through it.
“I hope you do too.”
“The yard looks bigger than before. It looks like it’s been well-maintained.”
“Yes. My mother took care of the garden herself.”
"Your mother's hands were truly refined. She knew how to preserve the old world while strangely adding a touch of newness."
I nodded. He turned and looked at me.
“You really haven’t changed.”
“Have you changed, Confucius?”
“A little. However, people’s nature doesn’t change easily.”
Noah stopped walking with those words. He took a step forward, then turned to me and said.
“Let’s have a meal together.”
I looked at him.
“It is not customary for a man and a woman to sit at the same table before a wedding.”
“I see. But we’re not bound by courtesy alone.”
His speech still carried a relaxed air. I hesitated for a moment and then lowered my head.
“…Then let’s do that.”
He smiled. The smile, with only the corners of his lips slightly raised, somehow overlapped with a memory from long ago.
The wind blew.
In that brief moment, a corner of my heart also shook.
—
The meal was served quietly in a small ondol room in the Sarangchae.
Warm soup and simple side dishes were placed on the table for two people, and only a quiet breeze blew through the window.
I picked up the spoon without saying a word.
Noah also began to eat slowly.
The meal continued in silence.
Even while I was quietly pouring soup and picking up side dishes with the tips of my chopsticks, words didn't come out easily.
Noah spoke first.
“It tastes the same. Just like back then.”
I put down my spoon.
"The person in charge of the kitchen is still the same as before. He's someone my mother cherished for a long time while she was alive."
Noah was silent for a moment. Then he lifted his teacup and spoke quietly.
“…I keep bringing up that person.”
I shook my head.
"it's okay."
“Still, I feel bad. I only came in and out of this house when he was alive.
I want to talk, but all I can talk about is those days—I'm sorry.
Although it's late, I offer my deepest condolences. I hope you can forgive my rudeness in not visiting you.
The words flowed softly, but there was a sincerity within them that could not be hidden.
I looked at him quietly and lowered my head.
“That feeling alone is enough.”
Noah neither smiled nor added anything.
He held the teacup like that for a moment and then calmly put it back down.
After that, there was silence for a while. For a while, his eyes remained fixed on the rice bowl.
He smiled quietly and opened his mouth again.
“But if it’s this quiet up there, it’s even quieter than when you’re reading a book.”
I put down my chopsticks.
“Confucius keeps saying sorry, so I’m losing my appetite.”
“Really? Then don’t move around in silence after eating.”
“…What do you plan to do after eating?”
He lifted his teacup and moistened his lips, then looked at me with an incomprehensible gaze.
“I want to go out for a bit.”
“Where on earth?”
“Don’t worry. It’s not far. I think you’ll like it.”
“You should tell me so I can prepare…”
“Aren’t you ready now? Just put on the robe and that’s it.”
I looked at his calm face and asked cautiously.
“…Are you planning to go to the pond?”
“It might be okay to go to the pond, or it might not be okay.”
He put down his teacup and smiled lightly.
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
“I want to avoid crowded places.”
“I’ll like it.”
“If I keep asking questions, I’ll lose track of the time I had.”
“…Your Majesty, could it be that right now—”
He smiled.
That smile was clearly the face of someone who had made up his mind.
He had already stood up, shaking off the hem of his robe.
In the end, I too, silently packed my coat and followed him.
_____
As I turned the alley, the outside was even more bustling than I'd expected. The marketplace beyond the bell tower was already bustling with people, and girls selling paper knots and bracelets were chattering away.
“It’s more crowded than I expected.”
Noah said and adjusted his hat.
Long hair was secretly hidden inside the robe.
“If I look like this, no one will recognize me.”
“…Are you sure you were going to a really quiet place?”
“Isn’t it relatively quiet? It’s a place where no one knows anyone.”
I looked around without answering.At the end of the market, a folk puppet show was in full swing, and an old man selling lanterns was holding a small child's hand and haggling over the price.
Suddenly Noah came close to me.
“I was worried I might get lost in a crowded place.”
“I got lost. I knew this alley better when I was young.”
"Then you lead the way. I'll follow."
There was a hint of playfulness in his tone. I glanced at Noah.
“It’s like we’re a servant and a master.”
Noah laughed.
I walked around the marketplace and headed towards the shops.
Incense sticks, fans, folding screens, knot crafts,
There was a row of small shops selling handicrafts.
I glanced at the knotted rope for a moment, then looked back at Noah.
“…What were you trying to do in a place like this?”
“I went for a walk, enjoyed the snow, and-”
He spoke quietly.
“I want to see your face too.”
I let that slip away. Without replying, I turned my head and picked up the hanji fan.
Noah quietly reached out from the side and lifted another fan.
It was a fan with a pale blue-green background resembling leaves and a thin gold thread surrounding it, depicting an ink orchid.
“How about this? I think this color would suit you well.”
I answered without looking at him.
“Would you like to buy mine?”
“Why not? It’s not against etiquette for a fiancée about to get married to buy a debt or two.”
The way he spoke was so natural.
I slowly turned my head and looked at him.
“Is anything possible for that reason?”
Noah smiled for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and spoke sarcastically.
“I never knew being engaged could be this convenient. Or would it be less offensive if I said it was because you were pretty?”
“... That’s even stranger.”
"Then let's do this. As a memento of being by your side today. I think it'll be a memorable moment for me."
This guy has always been like this.
The ability to touch people with words that are so serious that you can't tell if they're joking or serious.
Noah gave the shopkeeper the money for the debt.
After receiving the package, he slowly handed it to me.
"You didn't choose it yourself, but mementos aren't always the ones that resonate with your heart. Sometimes, something you happen to hold in your hand one day can be remembered for a long time."
Instead of accepting it, I just stared at it.
“If it’s not a day worth celebrating, it’ll just be a burden.”
Noah laughed, this time a little longer and without a sound.
"Then I'll take it out and look at it again and again. I'll stand before you holding this, proudly holding a gift I couldn't even give you."
I ended up letting out a small laugh at those words.
“…Your speaking skills are still the same.”
Noah tilted his head slightly without saying anything.
I reached out and took the fan. After a long time.
“...then you will see me twice, and sometimes even three times.”
The words that were a beat late somehow lingered for a long time.
I turned my head away, avoiding eye contact.
And then, just then, a store across the street caught my eye.
Old papers, scrolls, and picture albums were hanging from thin threads.
Noah also noticed and turned his head.
“They sell paintings over there.”
He shifted his gaze as if he was indifferent. The scrolls hanging on the street stall, the neatly stacked picture albums.
One of them.
I suddenly stopped looking.
The lines my fingertips remember between the bookshelves slightly lifted by the wind.
“Do you like this picture?”
Noah's voice came quietly from behind.
I turned my head in surprise.
“No, it just caught my eye.”
Noah came next to me and looked at the picture together.
After a moment of silence, he slowly opened his mouth.
"He pressed down on the brush and then lifted it again. It's a brushwork technique that focuses more on stopping the line than connecting it. People like that tend to worry more about spacing than emotion."
I blinked.
“Do you know how to draw?”
Noah smiled lightly and looked up from his drawing book.
“I didn’t see a picture, I saw a person.”
And then he added again:
“Shouldn’t a man who grew up in the house of the Left State Councillor be familiar with poetry, calligraphy and painting before he can even hold a sword?”
Those words weren't empty. Rather, they were calm.
A person who does as much as his family expects.
That was Hannoah.
“I was thinking of taking one as a souvenir—”
Noah turned his head to look at me, then looked back at the picture I had been staring at for a long time.
“What a shame. Today, you gave me your eyes first.”
I averted my gaze and spoke calmly.
“Seeing and living are two different things.”
Noah chuckled.
“So, even if you like it, you won’t buy it?”
I said, completely looking away from the picture.
“Yes. I won’t buy it.”
There was no room for argument in the tone.
“I like looking at paintings, but I’m picky about what I hang on my wall.”
Noah nodded and looked at the picture again.
“…That’s your typical standard.”
I didn't follow his gaze.
“There’s a bookstore nearby. It’s quiet and there aren’t many people.”
“It’s quiet. It’s nice.”
He didn't ask any more questions. Neither about the picture nor my reaction.
He just turned around and left everything there.
A single peach blossom painting was quietly swaying in the breeze.
______
When I arrived at the bookstore, I chose more books than usual.
The bookstore was quietly located under old tiles at the end of the market.
It was so quiet inside that the commotion outside seemed insignificant.
I went inside without saying a word.
As was my habit, I headed straight to the bookshelf on the right.
“Is this a place you come to often?”
Noah followed quietly.
I didn't respond and just took out a book.
“I heard you read a lot of books. It wasn’t an exaggeration.”
“It’s not a rumor, it’s just a fact.”
I slowly turned the pages of the book and soon moved to another section.
Noah leaned back against the bookshelf and watched.
“I don’t just pick up anything.”
“Because I’m going to read it. It’s only natural that it takes time to choose.”
“All of them?”
I raised my head and looked at him.
“That’s why I choose it.”
Noah chuckled at those words.
“…Then I’ll have one too.”
He picked up a book that was nearby and tilted his head at the title.
“You’re married.”
I said, looking around the bookshelf.
“Then let’s change it. I don’t think it’ll fit.”
“Well, these days, I feel like I need to learn everything, rather than just focus on what’s right and what’s wrong.”
The words seemed to have been said lightly, but there was no follow-up.
In the end, I chose seven books.
He listened to them without saying anything.
Naturally, as if it were a given.
On the way out. Noah opened his mouth.
“I’ve never seen anyone borrow so much.”
“Usually there are more than this.”
“The bride-to-be is busier than she looks.”
I walked away without saying anything.
Noah Without saying a word little From behind I followed you.
“…Please follow me so I don’t end up in the wrong place.”
Noah smiled faintly.
“I like what you said.”
Sunlight streamed through the hem of his clothes as he held the book.
I neither approached nor retreated.
The distance was just right today.
Episode 3: Under the Same Roof - End