The Child
The one who came looking for Dang Gangjin was none other than his younger sister, Dang Sohye.
"Of course. It’s unusual for you to come find me at this hour."
Before he had even finished giving permission, she was already stepping into the room as if she owned it.
"Wait a moment. Father gave us some fine tea, so I’ll brew you a pot right away."
Just as he rose to fetch it, Dang Sohye shook her head.
"No need. It’s late, so I’ll only stay long enough to say what I came to say."
"...Is that so? What a shame. Then what brings you here, really?"
She had been the sort of child who never fussed or made demands, not even for the smallest favor, ever since she was little.
So for such a younger sister to come calling under cover of night, Dang Gangjin could not help but be intrigued.
"...I came because I have something to tell you about Im Cheongwol."
But when those unexpected words came out, his head tilted before he could stop it.
"Cheongwol? You mean Seo-ah’s friend?"
"Yes."
All through dinner, that Seomun fellow had kept looking at Cheongwol with a rather unusual expression.
Apparently, in the end, he had managed to prick his sister’s temper.
"Sohye. If this is about Seomun Sogaju, there’s no need to rush. Once Father returns, we can speak formally with the Seomun Clan..."
He began gently, intending to soothe her, but Dang Sohye cut him off without so much as a change in expression.
"I’ll handle my own affairs. And that’s not why I came."
At her tone—equal parts confidence and brazen self-possession—Dang Gangjin found himself smiling despite himself.
"Forgive me for jumping to conclusions. Go on, then."
Dang Sohye pressed her lips together for a moment, then spoke at last.
"...I don’t know what happened exactly, but this afternoon I saw Granny Chilseong with Cheongwol. She was holding onto Cheongwol’s leg and calling out my aunt’s name."
Granny Chilseong—wasn’t that the nurse who had remained at Aunt Dang Gyeong’s side before she left for the Namgung Clan Estate?
"The old woman isn’t in her right mind. She grabs at any woman she sees and calls her by your aunt’s name."
As if he could not imagine what the problem was, Dang Gangjin looked at her that way. Dang Sohye continued.
"Then you also know that sometimes her mind clears."
"Of course."
"When she opened her eyes, she grabbed me and begged me. She said she had clearly seen Aunt standing in front of the pond and asked me to find her."
Watching the wavering flames, the two of them fell silent for a moment, as though both needed to catch their breath.
"At first I thought she was losing her wits again, but she was perfectly lucid then. When I didn’t listen, she immediately started making a scene about wanting to see Father. You can’t imagine how much trouble I had calming her down."
"The old woman said that?"
"Yes. I wondered what in the world was going on at the time, but after I heard at dinner about the jade pendant Cheongwol brought, one thought hasn’t left my head."
Dang Sohye’s eyes lifted to Dang Gangjin once more.
"That jade pendant seems connected to the Tang Clan, doesn’t it? Enough that no one would recognize it easily unless it were Father."
At that, Dang Gangjin’s face darkened so much that even the lamplight seemed unable to reach it.
"Sohye."
He had already guessed, more or less, what she was about to say, but he would not allow her to put it into words.
"If you say any more, it will be an insult not only to the Namgung Clan, but to Father and Aunt as well. It would be best if you returned now."
"..."
Unlike his usual gentle manner, his words were cold. Dang Sohye lowered her head.
And yet, in the end, she still voiced everything she had been holding in her heart.
"The child who vanished with Aunt on the day she died. I heard the body was never found."
---
Cutting through the rather chilly air, Seomun Hwi’s sword came crashing down from above.
Ordinarily, a martial artist would begin training at dawn, but this was still an hour before even the sky had begun to brighten.
Anyone who did not know better would have said that, as expected, the finest among the younger generation was different. In truth, however, the matter was quite otherwise.
What Elder Brother said was more than enough for me.
As he recalled what Cheongwol had said to Dang Gangjin the previous night, his once-straight sword path faltered.
He had thought he could forget it while he swung the blade, but even that was useless now.
"Haa..."
How could a man speak so sweetly to another man?
More than that, though his mind might still be male, his body was now that of a woman.
It should have been time enough to mind her behavior carefully, yet acting so loosely was only inviting unnecessary misunderstanding.
"..."
But the one he truly could not understand was not Cheongwol.
Even if Cheongwol is calling another man that way, what does it have to do with you?
When he thought about it carefully, the two of them were not all that special a pair beyond being each other’s first close friend.
Just as he was about to let out another long sigh in frustration, a voice he had been wanting to hear drifted in from behind him.
"I didn’t think there’d already be someone up before me."
He turned quickly, and there was Cheongwol, smiling faintly as she walked toward him.
"I suppose when you’re the young clan leader of the Seomun Clan, you have to be busier than everyone else. Even when I trained under my master at the Kongtong Sect, I never got up this early."
It was not diligence, exactly—he had simply been unable to sleep at all—but Seomun Hwi did not want to show such an unseemly side of himself before Cheongwol.
Forcing his gaze steady, he answered with a face calm enough to seem unbothered.
"Dang Clan Sogaju would likely have been awake at about the same time as me."
Was he out of his mind from lack of sleep?
Why had he suddenly brought up another man? Even he could not understand what he had just said.
"Really? Everyone’s so diligent. I’ll have to work harder too."
Fortunately—or perhaps not—Cheongwol did not react much at all.
"Still, you’ve sweated quite a bit, so it looks like you’ve loosened up enough. What do you think? Shall we spar for a bit, since it’s been a while?"
With a grin, Cheongwol took up a stance, but Seomun Hwi shook his head.
"Another time. I can’t focus, and I was just about finished."
Cheongwol lifted the corner of her mouth and snorted.
"Excuses. You’re just afraid of losing like last time, aren’t you? I’ll go easy on you this time. So come on—just once, okay?"
"No. It’s hot, so don’t cling to me."
Peeling off Cheongwol, who kept inching closer as if by accident, Seomun Hwi turned to leave.
If she kept clinging to him like this, his feelings would only grow more complicated for no good reason.
-Tch.
Something caught at his collar, and when he turned back, Cheongwol stood there with a startled look on her face.
"No, it’s just that..."
She quickly let go and rolled her eyes, but since it had been an impulsive action, there was no way she could come up with anything plausible to say.
She strained for an explanation, but what came out was a pitiful excuse at best.
"...It’s been a while since we saw each other. It doesn’t have to be a duel—stay with me a little. Can’t you...?"
"..."
Did Cheongwol know what expression she was wearing right now?
There was no need to ask.
He was surely making the same face.
---
Sitting side by side at the edge of the training yard, they cooled off and traded inconsequential stories.
There had been sparring matches with a few young clan leaders from the Six Great Clans,
strolling through the market with his younger sister, Seomun Seol,
and even a debate over martial arts with disciples of the Nine Great Sects at the Murim Alliance Headquarters.
Most of it was already familiar from the letters he had read, but Cheongwol listened with interest as though hearing it all for the first time.
"If I’d known we’d run into each other here, I would’ve brought Seol with me. She’s wanted to meet you for a while now."
Seeing Seomun Hwi’s disappointed expression, Cheongwol shrugged.
"Then I guess I can meet her at the Seomun Clan estate."
"...You really intend to come?"
"What’s so hard about that? Ah—though you do know I don’t mean I’m joining the clan, right?"
Counting this time as well, it was already the second refusal, but he did not seem especially troubled by it.
If she agreed in the end, then the earlier refusals would be no different from things that had never happened.
"I understand. I’d be glad if you came without feeling pressured."
"I will."
Cheongwol chuckled, and Seomun Hwi gave a faint smile in return.
After a while, Seomun Hwi’s expression turned a little more serious as he looked at Cheongwol.
"There’s something I wanted to ask you."
"Mm?"
"If you find it rude, you don’t have to answer."
As if he were choosing his words unusually carefully, Seomun Hwi finally spoke.
"Do you happen to have feelings for Seo-ah?"
"...What?"
Had they secretly kissed while no one was looking?
Ak Seo-ah had asked whether Cheongwol had any interest in Seomun Hwi, and now Seomun Hwi was asking the very opposite.
"Seo-ah is certainly beautiful, but I don’t have those kinds of feelings for her. Besides, I think Seo-ah already has another man in her heart."
Cheongwol frowned in disbelief, and only then did Seomun Hwi’s previously dark face brighten all at once.
"Then I’m relieved."
"...Why would that be a relief?"
Looking at Cheongwol’s tilted head, Seomun Hwi realized he had misspoken.
"..."
His gaze shook violently, but it was already too late to take the words back.
His breath caught, and the sentence broke off there.
Then Cheongwol’s eyes widened, and with a grin she said the one thing he had not expected in the least.
"You were in love with Seo-ah, weren’t you?"
---