"Well, little girl, That was already last month! Prices have already changed!" The merchant told both Yuna and Rin with his brows raised, mocking the two. He suspected that the two young women in front of him did not seem like they can afford the items he sells. "These are not normal ginseng roots that you can find in the mountains! These ginseng roots are used to treat a cough with blood."
Cough with blood? Perhaps?
"We will buy four packs of ginseng roots," Rin formally said as she showed to the merchant her hard-earned silver coins to the merchant. She looked proud when the merchant leaned over and inspected the four pieces of silver Rin had. "Please."
The merchant took his time to observe each piece of silver coins, and without a doubt, they were real. So he had to give the young women four packs of ginseng root in exchange for the silver.
"Wait for a while, and I will get the packs of ginseng root for you," The merchant said as he had to come inside his warehouse and look for the ginseng roots.
"Rin, what are ginseng roots for?" Yuna asked out of curiosity. "Are they medicines for flu? Cough?"
"My mom has a severe cough, and she has to eat the ginseng roots for her cough,"
"Severe cough? How long has it been for your mom?"
"I think it hast started ever four months ago,"
'Four months ago? That is already quite a long time,' Yuna thought to herself with a sigh.
There was something wrong with it, and she wanted to ask more.
"Does she also cough blood?"
"Oh? Yes! Older sister, how do you know?" Rin's ears perked up when she noticed how Yuna seemed to have an idea about her mom's sickness. "Are you a doctor?"
"No, I am not a doctor, dearest Rin. "But I think your mother has Tuberculosis."
"Tuberculosis, what's that? Rin looked puzzled, but when Yuna was about to tell more, the merchant was already back, and they had to receive the goods they bought.
Yuna observed how the merchant gave the four packs of ginseng roots to her. It was in a small rectangular vessel packed using a thin jute rope linen. She wondered if those tiny packs of ginseng roots really did cost four silvers. She held the merchant's wrist to stop him from going anywhere and asked, "Are you sure that these ginseng roots cost four silvers?"
"Y-yes, of course, young lady!" The merchant let out a squeak when he got scared with how Yuna was glaring at her. Any citizen in that place would be scared of her. She looked like an alien or a powerful sorcerer that had the power to strike any man down.
Or if she were a normal noble young lady, she would come from Song Dynasty in their neighboring country.
Messing with someone from the Song Dynasty would be like burying yourself in a grave, alive.
The merchant looked intimidated, but he composed himself by clearing out his throat, "I am giving the two of you a good price! If you ask other merchants out there, you won't be able to buy at the same price!"
As the merchant tried to wriggle from Yuna's grasp, Yuna was thinking about what the merchant said. It made sense. If Rin tended to go here as always, it has a possibility that this place was where she usually buys her mother's herb medicine, then this merchant was probably speaking the truth.
Yuna decided to let the merchant's wrist go as she held Rin's free hand and said, "Okay, thank you for the clarification."
Before they could even exit the place, Yuna gave the merchant a look. She even saw how the merchant held his wrist, and it was already red. She forgot that she had a firmer grip than ordinary people, but she did not expect her to use it as she does in real life.
After all, this was just a dream, right?
But deep inside Yuna's subconscious mind, she had a hunch that it was not a dream.
It was something in reality. She just had to discover one thing, one fact that would lead her to that final realization and conclusion.
Yuna and Rin continued to walk hand in hand as they tried to look for several restaurants that would offer them a free meal. Rice with the soup was the cheapest filling food they could ever find, but they had no money.
Then, something came out of Yuna's mind.
She immediately rummaged through her bag, let out her wallet, and had several thousand won bills and even coins. Thinking that it might help buy food, she let them out and showed them to Rin.
"I have coins here; we can use these, Rin," Yuna proudly said to the young girl. But then, she realized that the place and timeline did not seem like they use the same currency as hers.
And Rin confirmed that.
"Sister, what do you mean by we can use those paper and silver coins without a hole in the middle?" Rin asked with a confused look on her face. "We use blocks of silvers and golds, silver, copper and iron coins to buy or trade things and even a silver vase, sister. Anything that has value." Rin showed their last piece of silver coin to her and added, "The coin has to have a hole in it, sister."
"Oh, I see," Yuna replied. "In our place, we use this."
"Sister, where exactly did you come from?" Rin asked, her round eyes focused on her as both of them faced each other. "You seem foreign but not foreign at the same time. You seem familiar but unfamiliar at the same time. You speak our language but have a slight difference into it."
There was a slight pause. The marketplace was filled with noise, and people were busy, but Yuna could only think about how and why she was in this place at the very beginning.
Rin was right. She was foreign and unfamiliar, but she was not foreign and familiar at the same time. Her existence here was a contradiction.
"What are you, sister?" Rin continued to ask. "I don't think you are from this world."