I Became My Ex-Boyfriend’s Concubine - Chapter 60

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 60

Gang Sang-sik held up the magnifying glass and checked the incense burning in the incense burner. His narrow eyes flickered with something like amusement.
“The first competition will be embroidery.”
Inside the Sang-ui-won, with a long cutting table between them, Dan-bi sat across from a young girl.
It was a small girl who had been lingering nearby — barely tall enough to reach Dan-bi’s shoulder.
‘To think even a child so young is already working.’
Dan-bi pressed down on the ache in her chest and offered the girl, whose eyes still gleamed with interest, a faint smile.
“What’s your name?”
“Myeong-i.”
“Myeong-i.”
Dan-bi repeated the name once, then extended her hand toward the girl. When Myeong-i stared back at her in confusion, Dan-bi reached out and grasped her hand first.
In her palm, she felt the calluses hardened along the joints of Myeong-i’s fingers and the scars left by needle pricks.
Dan-bi bit her lower lip for a moment, then broke into a soft smile.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
“I, I beg your pardon, my lady.”
Myeong-i’s face flushed crimson in an instant. Gang Sang-sik, watching her reaction, suppressed an inward laugh of delight.
Myeong-i was the youngest seamstress in the Sang-ui-won, yet her skill was that of a prodigy.
Though young in years, her needlework was unmatched by anyone in this place — the outcome of the competition was already decided.
Gang Sang-sik glanced across at Dan-bi, then extended his palm between the two of them.
Over the tautly stretched Paulownia wood embroidery frame gleamed the finest white silk.
“Then, begin!”
His hand shot upward before the words had even finished falling.
Myeong-i, as if she had been waiting, deftly threaded the silk thread through the needle’s eye. Then, following the standard pattern, she began to pierce the needle through in steady, methodical strokes.
Stitch by stitch, the sound of the needle gliding across the silk rang out in a regular rhythm — truly worthy of Myeong-i, called the finest hand in the Sang-ui-won.
As Gang Sang-sik contentedly watched Myeong-i’s handiwork, he suddenly turned his gaze toward Dan-bi.
‘What in the world…!’
The moment he turned his head, his jaw fell slack in shock.
Just moments ago when he had grasped her hand, it had been spotless.
Yet that delicate hand now worked the needle with such practiced skill, embroidering the silk with an ease that seemed unbelievable.
Dan-bi paid no mind to Gang Sang-sik’s expression of astonishment and continued her needlework without a sound.
For her, it was entirely natural.
It was skill honed through ten thousand sleepless nights of labor.
Without reaching a level where she could embroider with her eyes closed, absent any sewing machine, it would have been impossible to rise to the pinnacle of her industry at such a young age.
The needle in her hand moved like flowing water, as if it had become part of her body itself. The silver needle point shattered in the sunlight, shimmering as it danced across the silk.
Before long, less than half the incense in the burner had burned away.
Clack!
Dan-bi set down the embroidery frame.
“I’m finished.”
The incense had burned less than a third of the way. Myeong-i’s needle stopped dead in mid-air.
On the frame sat a butterfly that seemed ready at any moment to flutter its wings and take flight.
It was far more than merely beautiful.
The technique of controlling the thickness of the thread to create dimensionality was a mastery none in this place had ever witnessed before.
The butterfly’s wings, catching the light filtering through the window, gleamed with an otherworldly radiance, as if they might quiver at any second.
“This, surely this…!”
Gasps of disbelief erupted from those around her. Gang Sang-sik, who had lost all composure, stared at Dan-bi as she asked him a question.
“Is it done now?”
“…There remains one more task, my lady.”
Gang Sang-sik forced his quivering lips still and swallowed hard.
He had the tools he’d prepared in advance brought out. Soon the bamboo ruler and iron scissors lay on the table.
Gang Sang-sik looked over the tools and opened his mouth.
“Next is garment construction.”
A man named Gwon stood awkwardly beside the table. This task was to tailor clothing that fit him perfectly.
All eyes fixed on Dan-bi.
She paid them no mind and approached Gwon slowly. Then she examined his body carefully from head to toe.
Gang Sang-sik’s eyebrows twitched.
Most master craftsmen would have picked up the bamboo ruler and begun taking measurements immediately.
But Dan-bi simply walked around Gwon once, eyes narrowing, then took hold of the cutting scissors and began cutting the silk with sure, unhesitating strokes.
Bewildered glances flickered among the onlookers—surely someone ought to stop this madness—yet Gang Sang-sik swallowed his laughter at the sight of their faces.
To make clothes without even taking proper measurements was absurd. If anyone thought garments simply materialized through a rough eyeballing, they were sorely mistaken.
Yet contrary to Gang Sang-sik’s expectations, the work proceeded without a single hitch.
Dan-bi moved through the Basting Stitch in perfect rhythm with Myeong-i. As Myeong-i pulled the fabric taut at Dan-bi’s direction, Dan-bi’s needle glided smoothly through the gap between their hands.
Scraps of cloth tumbled to the floor, accumulating softly around Dan-bi’s feet.
Before even half a shichen had passed, the garment was complete.
“Self-taught, yet……!”
“It’s flawless!”
The moment they dressed Gwon in the finished piece, the Sang-ui-won erupted in cheers.
Gwon flailed his arms in bewilderment. No matter how he twisted his body, the garment clung to him like his own skin.
It was custom tailoring perfected down to every contour of his hunched shoulders.
Dan-bi nodded with satisfaction. Though she had made it herself, the result was quite pleasing indeed.
“How is it? This should suffice, shouldn’t it?”
…….
Gang Sang-sik let out a pained groan, his brow furrowing deeply. After standing there like a mute for some time, he finally forced his lips open.
“One last task remains, my lady.”
“What is it?”
The moment Dan-bi’s question fell, Gang Sang-sik exchanged a glance with the overseer standing beside him. A rich scent of ink soon began drifting through the room.
Dan-bi tilted her head in confusion, and Gang Sang-sik offered her a subtle smile.
“The foundation of all garment-making begins with drawing the design.”
“True enough.”
Gang Sang-sik took his place across from Dan-bi, who had readily agreed. Before each of them lay paper, brushes, and ink.
His expression turned grim as he gripped the brush properly.
This time, he could not afford to retreat. His face had been thoroughly lost in the previous contest.
But when it came to Design and Pattern Drawing, the matter was entirely different.
Of all things, his mastery of architectural design alone was unrivaled—it was precisely this that had elevated him to the position of chief artisan.
“Then, let us begin!”
The moment the incense in the burner caught flame, Gang Sang-sik’s hand moved with fluid grace.
Each feather stretching across the elegant ink strokes seemed to showcase the noble bearing of a phoenix.
“Remarkable—a phoenix!”
“Truly, you are the master craftsman!”
Soft murmurs of admiration rippled through the assembled artisans. Gang Sang-sik lifted his shoulders proudly and stole a glance toward Dan-bi.
Meanwhile, Dan-bi held the brush with a furrow creasing her brow.
‘Ah, this brush…… the grip is utterly awkward.’
To her, accustomed only to a stylus in the modern age, the soft brush handle felt entirely unfamiliar.
Yet she could not afford to retreat.
Dan-bi studied the paper intently for a moment, then grasped the brush more firmly. Without hesitation, she began drawing bold, continuous lines across the sheet.
Scratch, scratch-scratch.
The whisper of ink seeping into paper tickled her ears. Memories from the past flowed swiftly through her fingertips.
Snap—!
Just as the incense in the burner burned away completely, both of them set down their brushes simultaneously.
“You have both finished at once!”
“Such incredible speed!”
People murmured in disbelief.
Gang Sang-sik straightened his shoulders confidently and examined the golden phoenix he had rendered.
It seemed ready to leap from the paper at any moment, overflowing with vibrant life. The final dot of ink marking the dragon’s pupil radiated an austere, penetrating gaze.
The phoenix, essential motif of the Rain Prayer Ritual vestment, was the most fitting choice for the garment design in this very contest.
No matter how skilled one’s hands, surely none could surpass this noble phoenix.
Gang Sang-sik turned his gaze away, confident in his victory.
Yet the moment he glimpsed Dan-bi’s paper, his eyes bulged wide as saucers.
‘That, that is……!’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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