As Expected of the Haetae Boy!
As expected, it was Haetae Boy! To cut to the chase, Sim Seo-bang really was the culprit. He'd racked up gambling debts and stolen family heirlooms to pay them off, only to get caught by his father. In a panic, he killed the old man... or so he claimed. But after getting beaten just short of death, the truth came out. If it had truly been an impulsive murder, he wouldn't have gotten drunk with the neighbor to fake an alibi, or dragged Eori's father into it at dawn to frame him as the killer.
Murder. Patricide. False accusation. And attempted deception of the Hyeon-gam. Aside from that last one, any of those crimes carried a death sentence. In the end, Sim Seo-bang was condemned to execution and carted off to Hanyang. Word was he'd face lingchi there. But the real point was how my daily life changed after that day.
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
The kids from Hwacheok Village swarmed into our courtyard. Their eyes were glued to the pebble in my hand. I ignored the stares boring into me and slammed it down onto the one on the ground.
Paang!
“Woooah!”
“Nooo! My pebbleee!”
“Aaaah!”
The target pebble flipped, splitting the kids between cheers and wails. They shouted gratitude or curses, along with the nickname they'd stuck on me since that day.
“As expected of Haetae Boy!”
“Haetae Boy! Go easy on me just this once! Haetae Boy!”
“I told you not to call me that! Please!”
Haetae. The legendary beast symbolizing justice, growing huge horns to gore evildoers. They'd named me that because my headbutt on the charging Sim Seo-bang looked just like it. Needless to say, it wasn't a nickname I liked.
“Wooah! Haetae Boy! Haetae Boy!”
“Haetae Boy! Haetae Boy!”
Of course, telling kids not to do something just made them want to do it more. The winners yelled it gleefully; the losers, to tease.
“Hey! Hey! Wanna keep flipping pebbles? Nothing else? Aren't you bored yet?”
I scooped up the pebble I'd just slammed down, desperately trying to change the subject. But the kids clutched their own pebbles and shook their heads.
“I've still got tons left, Haetae Boy!”
“I could do this till I die! Not bored at all!”
“Haetae Boy! Could you make me more pebbles later?”
I never imagined they'd love pebble-flipping this much when I first suggested it. Now they came to our house every single day to play.
“No way! Dongja-nim promised to teach us paper folding!”
“Yeah! Haetae Boy! How do you fold this one?”
“Teach us the crane again. Pleeease, Haetae Boy!”
“I said stop calling me that!”
If pebble-flipping stole the boys' attention, the girls were obsessed with paper folding. The moment I folded things from memory, their eyes lit up and they begged to learn.
Is this why I reincarnated into this historical drama Joseon...?
“Hang on. Lemme do some paper folding first. You guys play among yourselves.”
Feeling a pang of self-loathing, I still headed to the porch with the girls as promised, to teach them. Scraps of worn, repeatedly folded paper littered the floor.
“Heehee! Young master! How's this?”
Among the paper-crazy girls was, naturally, Eori. She'd folded a tulip and tucked it behind one ear.
“Pretty?”
“Hold on.”
Her eyes sparkled innocently as I reached out and plucked the paper flower from her ear.
“Yeah. Pretty.”
“……!”
“Kyaaaa!”
Eori's tanned face flushed beet red just as the girls squealed in admiration. That's when Mom poked her head out from the room.
“Kids.”
“!”
“!”
“!”
It was like Lucifer descending on Satan's school. The noisy chatter died instantly as they froze, staring at her wide-eyed.
Mom smiled through gritted teeth. “Why don't you play somewhere else?”
“Y-yes, ma'am. Sorry.”
“We'll be going now, young master.”
“Goodbye!”
The kids scrambled to leave. Boys counted their pebble winnings; girls carefully gathered their folded crafts.
“Shh! Quiet! Master Kim Jin-sa is coming!”
Right on cue, I heard Kim Jin-sa's brat approaching from afar. If he found out we'd torn up books for pebbles and folding, we were done for. I shooed the kids away fast.
“Hurry! Go! Don't let him see the paper! If Kim Jin-sa finds out, no more from me—ever!”
“Yes, young master!”
“Goodbye! Heehee!”
They fled like the tide receding. Moments later, Kim Jin-sa arrived with Dol-soe.
“Master Jin-sa. Hope you've been well. Ma'am too?”
“Mm.”
“…….”
But this time, Hong ssi Bu-in—Kim Jin-sa's wife and my great-aunt—was with him. She didn't even nod at my polite bow, just stared silently.
“Oh! You're here?”
I was wondering if I should say more when Mom came down from the porch, opening the door. She'd been smiling until she spotted Hong ssi Bu-in—then her face drained of color.
“O-oh, you're here?”
“Yes. We are.”
Hong ssi Bu-in eyed Mom sharply as she replied. She really hated our mom. Natural, since Mom was her husband's concubine.
“Heh heh. Si-jin.”
Kim Jin-sa ignored Mom stiffening like a mouse before a cat. Feigning warmth, he clapped a hand on my shoulder.
“I heard you cleared an innocent man's name and caught a parricide, making yours famous? Impressive. Very impressive.”
“Nothing compared to you, Master Jin-sa.”
“Heh heh! Listen to this kid! So commendable, isn't he?”
Why's he acting pleased? I was shading you—you who knocked up someone young enough to be your daughter.
“Hmph.”
Hong ssi Bu-in ignored Kim Jin-sa's prompt and approached me. She grabbed my chin, turning my face this way and that, then released it with a snide remark.
“Now I can almost believe it. That this boy carries the Pingan Kim bloodline.”
“Madam.”
“What's wrong? I'm praising the child.”
Not insulting Mom? You're doubting she lied about me being Kim Jin-sa's kid, you bitch.
“Uh, um. Right. Dol-soe! Come in!”
Kim Jin-sa changed the subject to lighten the mood. He called in Dol-soe, who'd been waiting outside with a shoulder load, and revealed what he'd brought.
“Here, Si-jin! Look! When I heard your story, I was overjoyed! You wanted books as a reward? Heh heh heh! Here they are—the ones you wanted!”
A few books sat atop fabric bolts on the load. I glanced over: classics like Analects or Mencius.
“Oh, right! Si-jin! Where's the book from the Hyeon-gam? I'd love to see it. Fetch it.”
The Hyeon-gam wanted to reward me for exonerating Eori's dad and helping catch the killer. I'd asked for some worn, useless book from the office—and it wasn't here now.
“I, uh, lent it to the Hwacheok Village kids.”
It'd been torn to shreds with the seodang books long ago, reborn as pebbles and folded figures in kids' pockets.
“Hoo! Already read and lent it out? Heh heh heh heh!”
Clueless to the truth, Kim Jin-sa laughed heartily, pleased.
“Si-jin's a real man! Yes! True learning isn't hoarded—it's shared! Heh heh heh!”
“H-ho ho ho……”
Mom, in the know, forced a casual laugh. She eyed the new books and hurriedly shifted topics.
“M-Master Jin-sa? For our Si-jin, wouldn't Hyeong-bang suit him?”
Me? Hyeong-bang? Me?
It wasn't just the nickname that had changed. Mom, who'd hated the idea of me in the military, was now pushing for Hyeong-bang.
“With Si-jin's status now, he can't aim for civil service, so preparing for the miscellaneous technical exam to become Hyeong-bang seems best.”
“Huh?”
Hong ssi Bu-in scowled at Mom's fumbling words, scoffing disdainfully and tearing into her.
“Do you think Master Jin-sa brought books to make your brat top scorer? Tsk tsk! Seeing study as mere exam fodder... How could you think that's good...!”
“I-I'm sorry, ma'am.”
“You know you're sorry? You live off Master Jin-sa's grace, yet never once visit to pay respects? And now asking for Hyeong-bang help? Why not just demand the post outright?”
“Sorry, ma'am……!”
Kim Jin-sa was the guilty one, yet victim Mom was groveling. I couldn't stand it anymore.
“Ma'am.”
“What?”
“Changed your makeup? You look more refined than last time.”
“What? What's that out of nowhere?”
“Your complexion's like polished rice, skin bouncy as glutinous rice cake, hair black obsidian—shiny yet deep. What'd you do to your face? You look younger than my mom.”
“Ha!”
She huffed in disbelief, but couldn't hide her twitching smile. Arms crossed to play it cool, she turned to me.
“Think that'll make me like you and your mom?”
“Not at all. Just saying white is white, black is black.”
“Heh! Well! Heh! Look at this! Heh!”
Now she laughed openly, though still masking her good mood with fake coughs.
“Oh? Master Jin-sa?”
Busy day for visitors. After kids, Kim Jin-sa and crew, now even Hyeong-bang—from the office—showed up.
“Oh! Hyeong-bang! What brings you here?”
“Had a bit of business with this kid.”
After greeting Kim Jin-sa, Hyeong-bang strode through the gate into the yard and handed me a book.
“Si-jin. This is what I studied for Hyeong-bang prep. Brought it for you.”
He was another who'd changed. The way Hyeong-bang looked at me now resembled a platoon leader eyeing a rookie laborer.