A sweet floral scent, heavy with moisture, filled the rear garden. The flowers, which had not broken even in the downpour, were in full bloom as if to announce they were alive, their colors brilliant beyond compare. Hong Hee sat on a garden chair, enjoying a rare moment of leisure as she admired the flowers.
Perhaps the reason her heart was suddenly drawn to the flowers she saw every day was a longing for her own radiant youth. Her heart swelling with emotion, Hong Hee took the Mak Jade from her bosom. It was the only token of his mother that her only son had taken when they were forced to part.
Lee Yun-jae had not discarded it, but had treasured it until he became a man. The marks where it had been broken and mended with gold countless times seemed to hold a desperate longing, and her own heart grew tender.
Right now, Lee Yun-jae was in the Imperial Capital, interacting with various scholars and preparing for the metropolitan exam next year. Her son had been able to pass the provincial exam thanks to the help of the prefectural city, who had found him a good teacher.