Filial Piety Forges a Gentleman
The stitches that had sewn up my wound—or rather, the horsehair—weren't removed until four days later. The muscle aches that had made my whole body throb had eased by then, and even the spots where my fingernails had been torn out were starting to lose their sharp sensation. Now that I was back in good health, I had no choice but to return to the seodang.
Aaah, I didn't want to go to seodang. I wanted to skip it like Eori did. I hadn't even arrived yet, and all I could think was how much I hated the idea.
But contrary to my feelings, I was already there at the seodang. The other kids had arrived before me and were playing before class started—some reading books in the classroom, others chatting on the porch, still more playing stone tag in the yard.
"!"
"!"
"!"
But one by one, they spotted me and stopped what they were doing. By the time I stepped into the yard, everyone was staring.
"Hey."
One boy who looked a year or two older than me approached and spoke to me. He'd never said a word to me the whole time we'd attended seodang together.
"That true about you?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
I almost answered in the casual banmal like I did with the kids back in Hwacheok Village. Instead, I nodded to confirm it was real.
"Yes. It's really my face. They didn't touch a thing."
"What're you talking about? You get a hole in your head and lose your mind or something?"
Kids really are pure. No filter on their words.
"I mean, did you really take down those beggars?"
Aaah, that? It wasn't the first time I'd heard the question. While I was recovering—no, goofing off—at home, kids from Hwacheok Village had swarmed me with it. Even adults had come asking. I'd given them all the same answer.
"Yes."
I wasn't one to brag, but I couldn't lie either. I nodded again with a confident expression everyone could see.
"I took down every last one of those bastards."
"Whoa!"
"For real?"
"You did it?"
Just one word, and the yard in front of the seodang erupted in chaos. Even the kids who'd been silently watching crowded over, full of curiosity.
"How'd you do it? Show us!"
"Did it hurt a lot when the knife hit your forehead? Lots of blood? How many stitches? Let us see your forehead."
"Your nails got pulled out too, right?"
I was enjoying a level of popularity here that I'd never gotten even in the modern world. Sure, they were all boys, and it was just fleeting curiosity.
"Ahem!"
I was about to answer their questions one by one—I'd gotten used to this by now—when a throat-clearing interrupted. The teacher had appeared on the porch without me noticing. The kids fell silent at the sight of his stern, angry-looking face, gauging his mood.
"Si-jin. Come here."
"Yes, sir."
No way he's gonna hit an injured student, right? With that thought, I followed him into the classroom. He spoke in a furious tone as he shut the door.
"Filial piety,"
locked the latch,
"makes,"
barred the door with an iron rod,
"a gentleman."
"Teacher?"
Have you seen that movie?No way, is the teacher a modern guy too?
"Si-jin. Do you know what I just said means?"
The teacher, having secured the door so no one could enter, turned to me. He approached with that same rigid, furious expression.
"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot? Or will you confess what you did wrong?"
"Uh, uh, that is…"
It wasn't just his sudden anger—it was him reciting lines from a movie I'd seen recently in the modern world. My mind went blank. Is the teacher from the modern era?No, there are only three modern people in Joseon: me, Munjong (well, Jin), and now the teacher? Nah, that can't be. If he were really from the modern world like me, he wouldn't be living out here in the sticks as a village teacher.
"Ahem! Do you truly not know your own sins?!"
"!"
My racing thoughts screeched to a halt at his scolding tone. Assuming he was just a regular Joseon-era guy, I dropped to my knees.
"I'm sorry, teacher."
"Sorry? Sorry, you say. What exactly are you sorry for?"
"Everything's sorry—no, I mean…! Filial! I committed an act of unfilial piety!"
It was my answer, recalling his words from moments ago: Filial piety makes a gentleman. Luckily, it seemed right, because the next question came.
"That day, do you think the actions you took to protect your mother were right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Roll up your trouser leg."
"Ah, I still have more to say!"
"…What is it?"
I panicked at the abrupt order to bare my calf. Taking a sneaky deep breath, I recited the words that came to mind.
"Protecting my mother was the right thing, but charging in without regard for danger was clear unfilial piety. Because I hurt myself and made her cry."
"Hmmm. Yes. That's right. That's your fault. So roll up your trouser leg."
"Why?!"
"Why? Why are the blankets of the Why folk. Hurry up. Not here. Up front."
Wrong answer, and I'm screwed; right answer, and I'm still screwed. Even so, I did as told. I went to the front of the classroom and rolled my trouser cuff up to my calf.
"Si-jin."
The teacher followed me to the front, switch in hand. He sat beside me to strike my calf and asked,
"What do you think you should have done that day?"
"Instead of charging in, I should have called for people."
"Yes."
Crack!
"Ack!"
He confirmed it was right and swung anyway. I gritted my teeth against the stinging pain. The teacher fixed me with a stern gaze.
"Si-jin. I really like you. Despite coming from a lowly background like Areul-ja, you grew up bright and caring for those around you. It was a joy to watch. But you don't know how to take care of your own body."
What're you talking about? I take way better care of myself than most.
"That incident at the magistrate's office too. Stepping up for your wronged neighbor was good, but you interfered with official business. What if the magistrate hadn't been a just man?"
I'd have gotten beaten half to death.
"And this time? I heard those thugs were bigger than you, and one even had a knife. What if that blade had gone for your eye or throat instead of your forehead?"
I'd be dead. Again.
"I'm not saying to stand by in the face of injustice. I just want you to choose methods that don't throw your life away recklessly. Understand?"
"…Yes, teacher."
He wasn't wrong at all. The flogging I'd nearly gotten wasn't some light switch taps. A few lashes would tear skin—the extreme punishment. And charging a guy with a knife? Even spec-ops from anywhere in the world would say run; it was that dangerous.
"So this beating now is to help you engrave my words into your body, even a little. Got it?"
"Yes, teacher."
"How many lashes?"
"Twelve, please."
"Hm? Why twelve?"
Oh, 'cause it's the twelfth today…! I hesitated on explaining my reason. But before I could speak, he pressed the switch to my calf.
"Six."
"Yes, teacher."
"Count them."
The classroom echoed with the crack of the switch and my groans, repeating six times before he finally lowered it.
"Si-jin. Lower your leg."
"Yes, teacher."
"Go open the door and call the kids in. Time to start class."
"Yes."
I limped on my stinging calf to the door. As I reached to remove the iron bar, something I'd forgotten hit me.
"Teacher."
"Hm? What is it?"
"That… how'd you do it?"
"Do what?"
"You know. Filial." (latch) "piety." (bar) "makes a gentleman."
"Hahaha. That's what you're curious about?"
He laughed like my question amused him—no modern soul there. A modern guy would've dodged it vaguely.
"I heard it from my teacher."
"May I ask who he was?"
"A truly remarkable man. Not much older than me, yet with such vast knowledge. Haha. Never dreamed I'd end up doing the same to my own student."
What? You got switched like this too? And barely older?No, not the point.
"Could I ask his name?"
"Of course. His clan is Yangseong, courtesy name Seong-bo. Name is Yi Sun-ji. He's in Hanyang now, training those who aspire to be teachers at Jip-hyeon-jeon."
Yi Sun-ji? Who's that? Rings a bell… Where? Yi Sun-ji. Yi Sun… sin? Ancestor of Admiral Yi Sun-sin? No, he's Deoksu Yi clan. This guy's Yangseong Yi. Ah, damn. Who?
"Ahem! Si-jin. Don't want class?"
"Ah, yes, teacher. Sorry."
The vague memory had made me forget about the door. Snapping to, I finally removed the bar and opened it.
"Teacher says come in for class."
"…."
"…."
"…."
The kids who'd been excitedly peppering me with questions moments ago filed in quietly, stealing glances at the teacher. They'd clearly been spooked by the sounds of my beating.
"Um, tell us after seodang ends."
But kids were kids. Even wary of the teacher, their eyes sparkled with excitement as they looked at me.
Still… another modern person here besides me and Munjong (Jin)? And teaching at Jip-hyeon-jeon? What's really going on in this world?