The Shaman's Fragrance
In 1932, when the shaman Cheong-ah entered the Gisaeng guild in Gyeongseong (Seoul), she was only fourteen years old. At this age, transitioning from a girl to a woman, she began to develop a charm that captivated people's hearts more with every passing day. She was already naturally gifted at singing, dancing, and conversation, but once she entered the guild and began receiving special treatment from the Gwonbeon (guild) owner, she started to cultivate her supernatural charisma and magical power.
Cheong-ah was a strange woman; she felt like someone you had known forever, yet also like a total stranger you were meeting for the first time. Many Japanese officials and high-ranking pro-Japanese Korean officials who frequented the guild clamored to see her, and many desired to take her to bed. However, the guild owner treated her as a "treasure to be seen but never touched," using her to draw more and more men into the guild as loyal clients.
The guild owner knew that Cheong-ah, with her face of total resignation and an angelic smile, was snatching the souls out of men. To him, she was an artist who could generate immense wealth, much like a modern-day idol. Cheong-ah was escaping her tragic past to become the superstar of the guild.
Most notably, Cheong-ah’s body always gave off a fragrant scent of peaches. Everyone wondered where this mysterious, intoxicating perfume came from, but Cheong-ah simply replied that it was her natural scent. This peach fragrance that dizzied men, combined with her soft voice, her delicate breaths that felt like they pierced the heart, and her powerful yet fragile gaze that seemed to pierce through the psyche into the very soul, completely bewitched men of all nationalities who visited the guild.
There were Japanese generals who wept uncontrollably as Cheong-ah played the Gayageum and sang softly. When she began her Han-puri dance (a dance to release deep sorrow), the men at the drinking party would spend every cent they had as if under a magic spell. Every man wanted to catch even a distant glimpse of her, and those who managed to exchange a single word with her would boast about it for days.
The mysterious rumors about Cheong-ah were endless. High-ranking officials, eager to be hypnotized by her, constantly flooded the guild. It was as if she were applying her ability to control the temperature of objects directly to men's hearts; whenever they stood before her, they felt as though their hearts were burning. Possessing these strange powers, Cheong-ah was gradually becoming a legendary figure of Gyeongseong.
By the time she turned seventeen, Cheong-ah’s beauty and mystery reached their peak. One could catch the scent of her peaches from ten meters away, and her movements and gait led onlookers into a completely different world. Looking at her, the war, the cruel reality, and painful memories all seemed to vanish. Especially when held in her arms while she sang a low melody, men felt as if they were floating on another planet or becoming something other than human.
All the high-ranking Japanese officials and hardcore pro-Japanese Koreans sought only Cheong-ah. She was an essential guest at important meetings and political gatherings, becoming a "golden bridge" that connected the figures of the political and economic worlds. Lady Misan, who always looked after Cheong-ah and protected her, was immensely proud of her. No matter where she went, Cheong-ah always took Lady Misan with her, a procession reminiscent of the grand outings of Joseon’s high nobility. It became a customary practice for many high-ranking Japanese officials to invite both Cheong-ah and Lady Misan to every gathering.
The Japanese officials coveted Cheong-ah, who spoke Japanese as fluently as an aristocratic lady and sang old Korean songs with a soft grace. However, Kentaro, the practical economic sponsor of the guild, and Madame Aiko, the manager, dedicated themselves to her absolute protection. They ensured she never became a sexual plaything for high officials, maintaining the tradition of the classical Gisaeng by refusing to allow her to sleep with anyone, regardless of the price offered. Cheong-ah had become the top star Gisaeng of Gyeongseong.
As Cheong-ah rose to stardom, the jealousy of her fellow Gisaeng was beyond words. They all mimicked her makeup, her walk, and her voice. But the one thing they could not replicate was the mysterious, fresh peach scent that emanated from her body. They all flattered her, asking where and from whom she bought the perfume, but she always replied, “It is my natural scent.” No one had ever seen her use perfume, and it was a mystery where she could be hiding it or when she applied it.
Tsubaki, a Japanese Gisaeng who was perpetually jealous of Cheong-ah, constantly oscillated between flattery and threats to find out what the fragrance was. Met with the same answer—"It is my natural scent"—Tsubaki finally snapped one day. "You Joseon wench, you Yoshi (fox), just you wait," she hissed. While Cheong-ah was away for a long gathering with high officials, Tsubaki broke into her quarters, ransacking the room and throwing all of Cheong-ah's belongings onto the floor in a mess.
Returning to her quarters after a long night of entertaining, Cheong-ah found her room in shambles. Lady Misan rushed over at the sight. "My goodness, that wicked girl... how could she break into someone's room and cause such a mess?" Tsubaki, acting like a mad child, lunged at Cheong-ah and began slapping her across the cheeks. Lady Misan’s heart sank as she recalled the humiliation they suffered at Lord Go’s house on the day of Mi-hee’s labor. "You Yoshi-like Joseon girl! Where is the perfume you use? Hand over that scent that bewitches all the men in the world!" Screaming like a madwoman, she tore at Cheong-ah’s clothes and pulled her hair. "Do you think I don't know you're a monster? Hand over whatever poison you rub on your body to enchant men!"
Cheong-ah gave a cold, mocking laugh and replied in perfect Japanese. "A woman with beautiful thoughts has a beautiful scent, while a woman with filthy thoughts smells of filth."
In that instant, a strange, rotting stench began to fill the air. Lady Misan cried out, "What is this smell of rotting meat? Oh my!" Covering her nose, she looked around and realized the foul odor was coming from Tsubaki. "Ugh, what a stench! I can't stay here, I'm going to be sick..." With a single curse from Cheong-ah, Tsubaki's body began to emit a smell like a rotting rat. "A woman with rotting thoughts will have a rotting smell come from her body... change your thoughts."
After speaking softly in Japanese, Cheong-ah slowly began to tidy her belongings. Lady Misan stood dazed, clutching her nose, while Tsubaki began sniffing her own body in a panic. Enduring the nausea, Tsubaki screamed, "You Joseon bitch, you Yoshi! What have you done to me? Break this spell at once!" "I did not cast this spell; you cast it upon yourself," Cheong-ah replied.
Tsubaki lunged again, trying to bite Cheong-ah’s arm like a wild animal. Just then, the guild's Madame, Aiko, saw the commotion and rushed over. She called for strong men to pull Tsubaki away. "What is all this noise... Ugh! And what is this smell of excrement?" Madame Aiko said, barely holding back her gagging as she covered her nose. "Who defecated?" Lady Misan suddenly burst into laughter, letting go of her nose. "It wasn't me, Madame." "Who was it? Tsubaki, did you have an accident?" "Madame, Cheong-ah did this to me with a witch's curse!" "And what are all these things on the floor? Who threw Cheong-ah's things like this?" "That wench Cheong-ah..."
Having guessed the situation, the Madame shouted, "Shut your mouth! Tsubaki, go and wash yourself thoroughly and then come to my room. Cheong-ah, organize your things and prepare to go out for another engagement." Turning to Lady Misan, she said, "Lady Misan, let Cheong-ah rest and then help her dress. The Japanese Police Chief, Ishimaru, has been promoted and is holding a celebration. He insists Cheong-ah be there, so dress her beautifully and send her to me." "Yes, Madame."
Lady Misan looked at Tsubaki, who was unable to suppress her madness fueled by rage and jealousy, and thought of Lord Go’s wife back in Wonsan. In this world, there are things that cannot be achieved through effort, power, or money. Like magic, some things come naturally and easily to some, while others fail no matter how much effort, money, or trickery they employ. Cheong-ah's innate charm and her strange, divine beauty that captivated hearts were things no one could achieve through any amount of work. There are people who simply cannot accept this fact—people who find it so difficult to admit that there are things they cannot have, even with effort, money, power, or violence. Lady Misan said to herself, 'Cheong-ah is protected by the Asura King... no one can touch her.'
While tidying Cheong-ah’s things, Lady Misan looked at her. Suddenly, Cheong-ah’s eyes flashed. "Lady Misan... I think I am a woman who lives her life only through stubbornness and hatred." "Cheong-ah, what are you talking about? Gyeongseong is full of men who feel life is beautiful just by looking at you." "I make other people's lives beautiful, but in my own heart, I feel there is only a curse and hatred for the world. Perhaps this great hatred and resentment are what allow these special powers to emerge from me." "Cheong-ah, don't say that. You are more important to me than anyone. If it weren't for you, I would have frozen to death on Mount Guman in Gangwon Province, or been tiger food, or starved, or been beaten to death by bandits. How could someone like me live in a palace-like guild in Gyeongseong?" "Lady Misan, thank you truly. You are the only person in this world I can rely on as well."
Lady Misan always felt a deep pity for Cheong-ah. If she had been able to grow up as the adopted daughter in Lord Go’s house, Cheong-ah was a girl with the capacity to learn more than anyone. However, the only reason she had been taken into Lord Go's house was her mysterious, god-given ability, and as soon as it seemed she couldn't use it as they wished, she was cast out. Lady Misan, who had no children of her own, always felt Cheong-ah was like a daughter or a younger sister. She found it miraculous and admirable how Cheong-ah was carving out her own life.
Suddenly, Cheong-ah burst into tears and began to sob. Lady Misan had never seen her cry before. "Cheong-ah, what's wrong?" "The mother who abandoned me still appears in my dreams. How can I miss and resent a mother I can barely remember?" "Cheong-ah, that is not a longing and resentment for your mother, but for your own life. You long for the happy life you wanted with a mother, and you resent the fate that denies you that life." Cheong-ah hugged Lady Misan tightly and wept and wept. Lady Misan also wept as she comforted her. Then, she took out a cloth, wiped her own tears and Cheong-ah’s, and asked, "But Cheong-ah... that smell of excrement on Tsubaki, did you really do that?" "I think so." "What do you mean, 'you think so'?" "When I feel a very strong sense of hatred toward someone, it awakens all their own dark thoughts. The moment I turn those thoughts into words, they become reality. It seems my curse—that filthy thoughts would create a foul stench—actually worked." "But if a Geisha smells like that, she's finished... isn't that too harsh a curse?" "If Tsubaki begins to control her envy and jealousy and starts building a beautiful life for herself, the curse will be broken. But as long as she harbors envy and jealousy toward me, that stench will continue. Only Tsubaki herself can break the curse now."
Lady Misan thought that perhaps we all live while casting curses upon ourselves. Tsubaki was a Japanese woman with a cute, pretty smile; though she wasn't a wildly popular Geisha, she was earning a living and building a career, and could have eventually become someone's second wife and started a family. But her envy, jealousy, and obsession with Cheong-ah had become a curse that completely ruined her life.
Lady Misan helped Cheong-ah clean the room and prepare her appearance. The Police Chief Ishimaru, who had first brought her here, had since been promoted to Assistant Inspector and then again to Inspector. He now held an important position equivalent to a modern-day police department head. Having completely lost his heart to Cheong-ah from their first meeting, this Japanese police officer believed his rapid promotions were thanks to Cheong-ah’s blessings, love, and magic. Consequently, he always gave her generous sums of money and insisted she be present at every important event. To many men, Cheong-ah had become their hope and joy in life.
Ishimaru was a capable Japanese youth who had married a Japanese woman at a young age and was rising through the ranks as a policeman in Joseon. However, his marriage was a completely empty shell. In truth, he might have been promoted so quickly because he hated being with his wife so much that he worked himself to death just to stay away. A nagging wife who tried to control everything and children who saw him only as a wallet kept Ishimaru constantly away from home. He lived believing that the Korean Gisaeng Cheong-ah was the only woman who truly understood his heart.
At Ishimaru's promotion banquet, Cheong-ah once again plunged all the guests into a dreamlike hypnosis with a song that seemed to freeze and then melt their hearts. After the banquet ended and everyone else had gone home, Ishimaru called Cheong-ah to a private room. "Cheong-ah, how do you become more beautiful with every passing day?" Cheong-ah looked at Ishimaru with the eyes of an old friend and said, "It is because you see me as beautiful that I have been able to survive. If you had not introduced me to the guild owner the day I came to Seoul from Wonsan, I would have died. To continue surviving, I must work hard so that you will continue to see me as beautiful." Ishimaru pulled Cheong-ah by the arm and sat her on his lap. Cheong-ah hugged his neck, put her lips close to his earlobe, and whispered, "If you told me to die, I would. I am a woman who owes her life to you. My life is in your hands. I am your woman. Do with me as you wish." Ishimaru lost his mind at the sound of her voice, whispering softly against his ear with those sparkling eyes. He began to frantically undress her.
Lady Misan, waiting outside, had received orders from the guild owner to never let Cheong-ah engage in sexual relations with any guest. When Cheong-ah did not come out for a long time, she called out, "Cheong-ah, the banquet is over. You must return to the guild with the other Gisaeng." Cheong-ah's breathless voice drifted out. "Lady Misan, return alone today. I shall stay here tonight." Lady Misan was suddenly struck with worry. "What if she gets pregnant?" Then she thought again. 'As if the great Cheong-ah wouldn't know the day she conceives... she must have it all calculated. Yes, our Cheong-ah knows everything... when a child will be conceived and when not.' Lady Misan coughed loudly twice and returned to the guild.
From that day on, Cheong-ah and Ishimaru became inseparable friends who shared both mind and body. After sleeping with Cheong-ah, Ishimaru felt as if he had become the Emperor himself. It felt as though everything in this world was possible. Cheong-ah’s soft skin, her voice, her breath, and the fragrant scent of peaches mixed with her natural scent became a drug for Ishimaru, one he felt he would die without if he didn't have it every day.
Whenever they had the time, the two found secret locations to share their love. The more they shared, the deeper their friendship became. To these two, who completely understood each other's minds and bodies, their connection was the only true playfulness and joy in this world of mad chaos. In the room where they shared their love, as naked as the day they entered the world, they felt they were in the only heaven that existed. In that room of secret meetings, there was no Japanese imperialism, no colonies, no oppressed, and no oppressors. There was no Japanese language and no Korean language. No words were needed. It was a paradise where only perfect pleasure, joy, love, understanding, and deep gratitude existed.