Chapter 1: The Nameless Servant of Spring

In the beginning, there was Mago. Mago, who opened her eyes alone in the midst of chaos, caused the sun and moon to rise, awakening light and darkness.

With her fingertips, she split apart space to distinguish the sky from the earth, then used the hem of her robes to shape the mountain ranges and plains. The places untouched by the hem of Mago’s skirt soon became seas.

Yet Mago felt disappointed that there was no life breathing upon the world she had created. Thus, the next day, Mago sculpted a woman in her own image, and afterward created a man to be her mate.

Then, she scattered the life force remaining throughout the land, causing animals and plants to grow.

However, just as the world became complete, Mago, having exhausted much of her strength in creation, gradually grew weary.

As the shadow of sleep began to descend upon her once more, Mago divided her remaining creative power into four pieces for the humans she would leave behind and buried them beneath the earth of the heavens.

After covering all the writhing life force with mist-laden soil, Mago closed her eyes once more.

Thus, the heavens governing the four seasons of the Human Realm came into being. The four pieces of power divided into spring, summer, autumn, and winter, each solidifying their respective domains.

****

Spring claimed the land of the east, where a gentle energy lingered. It was a land filled with soft and tender colors, the beginning of all things where life first sprouted.

Among them, Spring planted his divine power in the most fertile and purest place and named it the ‘Garden of Spring.’

Because the God of Spring had been born from a flower, the servants who worshiped him were also born from flowers in the garden. They were servants of spring, created from the divine power of Spring and meant solely for him.

Whenever a small servant opened his eyes inside a blooming flower bud, Spring would rejoice, take him into his arms, and personally give him a name. Naming was both a blessing bestowed by Spring and a confirmation of one’s existence.

Thus, there was not a single nameless servant among them, nor was there anyone who was not loved by the God of Spring.

It was an unbreakable rule, yet one small being came into existence as an exception.

Myeong was born somewhere in a corner of the Garden of Spring. Found beneath a withered chrysanthemum, Myeong was so weak in both existence and power that no one, not even his master, noticed him.

It was only several days later that a garden immortal discovered him and took him in.

“Myeong, where are you?”

“Yes! I’m here.”

At the voice calling for him, Myeong’s sleepy eyes snapped wide open, and he answered with all his strength. Even though he was only ever called when there was work to be done, he was always happy whenever someone called for him.

“Did you finish cleaning the shrine in the northeast? Why are you still playing around?”

“I’ll do it. I’m sorry…”

He had nothing. Because he had no name, he was called Myeong, meaning ‘Nameless,’ and because he was not a servant, he had not been given any particular role.

However, the kind flower children and immortals were constantly pushing their own share of work onto Myeong, so he had more than enough to do. He lived in a dark corner of the storage room.

Even there, he was so exhausted that there were few days when he could sleep comfortably.

A hundred years passed after he had been picked up from the dirt floor. The infant Myeong had grown steadily despite being neglected, becoming a small, frail, masterless male servant.

During that time, flowers bloomed and withered throughout the Garden of Spring, and flower children were born, yet Myeong neither envied nor resented them.

He was a little envious when he watched them receive their names, but he was gentle by nature, so the feeling soon passed.

One day, Spring would surely notice him. Perhaps he would say, ‘I never knew I had such a little servant!’ and pull Myeong tightly into his arms. Myeong would often swallow down his fluttering excitement as he imagined meeting the God of Spring again.

No one acknowledged him, but Myeong had, after all, been born in the Garden of Spring, and he had served his god while working in the eastern land, where the energy of spring was abundant.

‘So I really am a servant of spring.’

Whenever Myeong breathed in the cold night air, he whispered those words to himself. Though his days were filled with doubt, there was one belief that never faded.

****

“Myeong’s here.”

“Why are you so late? Do you want to quit this job?”

All the most menial and filthy tasks belonged to Myeong. Hee-ah knew perfectly well that Myeong was busy running around from early morning until late at night, yet she deliberately glared at him and snapped.

She wanted to dump the work on Myeong as quickly as possible and practice the dance she would perform on the festival stage, so she was annoyed that the idiot had arrived late and was wasting her precious time.

Hee-ah had been born around the same time as Myeong, but unlike him, she had been embraced by the God of Spring and given a name. How envious she was of that.

Even Myeong, who was so unselfish and gentle, would occasionally secretly imagine what it would be like if he and Hee-ah had been switched.

“No! Let me do it…”

“There are plenty of people willing to do it even if you don’t! You’ve gotten awfully spoiled!”

No one but Myeong would ever want this kind of work, but Hee-ah knew that he would tremble in fear even if she acted this brazenly, so she indulged in tormenting him as much as she pleased. Myeong was the sort of person it was acceptable to treat that way, after all.

On the other hand, Myeong, worried that he might be kicked out of the northeastern garden at any moment, politely clasped his hands in front of himself and pleaded with Hee-ah again.

They had been born around the same time, but perhaps because the power they had inherited was different, standing before Hee-ah, who was twice his size, made Myeong feel even more insignificant.

“I’m sorry. I’ll work harder from now on! I’ll work harder at carrying water and cleaning up the poop, too…”

“Hmph.”

“The breeze is nice. Why don’t you go outside and take a break? Don’t think about work and just go have fun.”

Despite never having taken a break himself, Myeong told Hee-ah that the weather was nice and suggested that she go play with the other flower children.

“I’m letting you off this time. Got it?”

“Mm-hmm! Thank you!”

“Make sure you do the work properly.”

After bullying Myeong to her satisfaction, Hee-ah dusted off her wrinkled silk clothes and turned away without a hint of regret. Myeong watched her until she left the garden, then immediately ran off again to fetch ingredients for the divine beasts.

After setting down the chunks of meat and medicinal herbs he had struggled to carry on his shoulder, Myeong checked his clothes. It would be better to feed the gentle Vermilion Bird first.

Originally, several immortals and flower children were supposed to be responsible for feeding and caring for the divine beasts, but the immortals passed the work down to the flower children, who in turn passed it down to Myeong.

The day of the great full moon was drawing near. With each passing year, the energy of spring had been declining. It had been a long time since the spring rain that once soaked the earth had fallen, and the eastern wind had long since stopped blowing.

Fewer buds were forming in the garden, and accordingly, the number of flower children being born had dwindled to a mere handful. Every servant of spring was heartbroken by the fact.

Still, there was hope. In a week, a great full moon large enough to cover the entire garden would rise. The Heavenly Realm’s full moon, which rose once every five hundred years, was exceptionally special.

Some said the moon was a good omen for the God of Spring because it was filled with the abundant power of primordial times, while others said it was actually a bad omen for Spring because, unlike the sun, it overflowed with yin energy.

This was the first time the God of Spring had ever fallen ill, so no one could know which was true. Thus, feeding on everyone’s worries and expectations, the moon gradually grew fuller.

The immortals and flower children each worked hard to prepare good gifts for Spring, who would surely be lacking in strength.

The fully grown immortals, whose powers were strong, set off on adventures to the seas of summer, the forests of autumn, or even the Human Realm in search of rare jewels.

The still-weak flower children, on the other hand, decided to gather together and perform a dance. If they danced to music while scattering flower petals, the God of Spring would surely be pleased.

Hee-ah was also practicing her dance diligently. Unable to join them, Myeong could only watch the flower children with envious eyes. Sometimes, he would secretly peek at their dance over their shoulders and wiggle his hips when he was alone.

He held that quiet hope and anticipation deep in his heart, wondering if perhaps one day he would have the chance to dance before Spring himself.

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