The Eldest Brother from Hanyang
Mom, seriously. That's an affair and filial impiety.
There seemed to be one more modern transmigrator besides me and the Crown Prince. And right next to him, no less. I'd been too naive about this world from the start. If there was more than just one modern soul, I should've considered the possibility of even more. What if there were more than three? No, what if there were modern transmigrators in Japan or Ming China too? The rarer modern people became, the shakier my position got. Especially since I was just a literature major with no real skills to speak of.
Having thought that far, I pondered my next move. Reach out to Yi Sun-ji? Join the military to contact Munjong directly? Or just forget it all and live ordinarily, banking on the story's progression?
Of course, I didn't waste time just agonizing. I went to the seodang, trained without slacking, played with Eori, and occasionally endured class discrimination.
Then, around the time my nails started growing back, news arrived from Hanyang.
"Tch. Figures."
Secrets never last forever, after all.
The other seodang kids had figured out that tidying books got you extra candy. Because of that, days when I only got one piece increased. Today was no different.
Give it to Eori? Or Mom? I gave Mom last time, so Eori?
"Hey there!"
I was leaving the seodang, staring at the candy in my hand, when a man called out in a voice laced with amusement.
"Hey! Si-jin!"
"Yes? Huh?"
I looked up to see who'd called me. A man in snow-white robes and a black gat.
I recognized him immediately.
"Big brother?"
It was Kim Hui-jin, the eldest son of the Kim Jin-sa household—my half-brother.
He should be serving as an official in Hanyang, yet here he was before my eyes.
"Yeah, it's me. How've you been?"
Unlike that brat Hui-un, who hated me because he took after his mom, the eldest young master beamed warmly, genuinely glad to see me.
I didn't particularly like him since he was Kim Jin-sa's son, but still.
"How have you been, big brother?"
I approached and bowed at the waist in greeting.
But the moment I straightened up, he grabbed my head with both hands.
"How could a child's face be like this...!"
He scowled at my face but didn't bully me like a little brother might. His gaze fixed solely on the scar on my forehead.
"You okay? Does it hurt?"
"Nah, not at all. It's all healed."
"Really? What about your hand? I heard your nail fell out."
"This is fine too. Oh, want this?"
I was showing him my fingers where the nails were regrowing when he spotted the candy. Luckily, he shook his head without softening his stern expression.
"Mm. No. As long as you're okay."
Then let go of my face already?
Only after scrutinizing my face like he was inspecting every inch did the eldest young master release me.
Feeling oddly uneasy, I glanced around and locked eyes with Eori.
"!"
Normally, she'd be waiting for me, not the eldest young master. But she was peeking out from behind a nearby wall, only her head visible.
Eori, this is...
"...!"
I held out the candy like want some? and she nodded furiously. Her braids whipped around from the speed.
"Hm? Know her?"
I thought I'd been discreet, but apparently not to the eldest young master. He followed my gaze, spotted Eori, and asked.
"Uh, yeah. She's from the same village."
"Hmm. I see. She's been there a bit. Waiting for you?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Tell her to come along."
Of course. She'd follow if I went alone. Wait—no way. He doesn't mean to tag along too, does he?
...And yep, that was exactly it.
The eldest young master obliviously followed me toward Hwacheok Village. With the uninvited guest, Eori couldn't walk beside me and trailed a few steps back, quietly munching the candy I'd given her.
"No rickshaws around here—must be inconvenient. Oh, sorry. A rickshaw is like a wheeled palanquin. You ride in it, and the puller takes you to your destination. Cool, right? Amazing, huh?"
"Yeah, pretty amazing."
"And in Hanyang, new things pop up every time you blink. Ever seen a brush without bristles? A well where water gushes when you press a stick? Glasses that let you see a thousand ri without moving?"
"Nothing that flies through the sky?"
"Haha! As if anything flies. Even in Hanyang."
I nodded along vaguely to the eldest young master's chatter, biding my time. As an official in Hanyang, he'd know more about the Crown Prince and his circle than some countryside kid like me.
"Um, big brother."
"Yeah? Speak."
"Since you live in Hanyang, do you see the Crown Prince often?"
"Hmm. A couple times, yeah. Why?"
"Ah! Ah! Look!"
Suddenly, Eori pointed at a tree and yelled.
Both I and the eldest young master stopped talking and followed her finger.
"Th-there! A roe deer, milord!"
"...Yeah. So there is."
A roe deer was definitely staring at us from over there. But I had no idea why Eori, who'd been so quiet, was suddenly acting up.
"M-m-milord!"
Eori called me awkwardly, unlike her usual self. She glanced at the eldest young master, grabbed my wrist, and pleaded.
"I-I need to poop urgently. C-can we hurry?"
"No, that's..."
"Hoho. Got it. Let's go."
I was about to tell her to go ahead alone, but the eldest young master cut in. He looked at Eori with a knowing, pleased smile—like he knew something I didn't?!
Father like son, huh? No way. Him too?
No matter that he was the most likable one in the Kim Jin-sa household, I couldn't let him mess with my innocent Eori.
"...!"
I slowed to walk beside the trailing Eori. When I vanished from easy view, the eldest young master glanced back over his shoulder.
"Si-jin. You had a question? Si-jin?"
"Nothing. Big brother."
"Kid, you're no fun."
Chuckling, he faced forward and kept walking. Until we reached home, I didn't leave Eori's side or drop my guard around him.
"Ahem. Si-jin. How do I look?"
The eldest young master stopped, spreading his arms wide.
I eyed him slowly from head to toe. Spotless gat, pristine white hanbok, ornamental sword at his chest, brand-new leather shoes.
"Perfectly the big young master."
"Haha! No need for flattery!"
"I'm serious."
Perfectly like a rich prick.
"Mm. Right."
Nodding solemnly as if resolved by my honest words, he resumed walking toward our house. I followed, unease gnawing at me.
Meanwhile, Eori whispered, still glancing awkwardly at him.
"Milord. Why's he here?"
"Dunno. He drops by sometimes."
"Hold up a sec."
The eldest young master strode confidently but halted at our gate. He even blocked me, who lived here. What the hell?
Unfamiliar items sat on our porch—things that hadn't been there before I left for seodang that morning.
"Ahem! Ahem!"
His pointless throat-clearing was just like his siblings'. After several coughs, he finally bellowed toward the house.
"C-come out here!!!"
Whoa, startled me. Does he think Mom's deaf? Her eyes might be off from seeing Kim Jin-sa's concubine antics, though.
"Wh-who is it, Momma!"
Mom flung open the door to check, jumping in surprise. Blinking in disbelief, she broke into a huge grin and rushed out barefoot.
"Young master! Is that you!"
"Heh, haha! Yes! It's me! How've you been!"
"Fine, young master! And you've been well?"
Her reaction was warmer than even with Kim Jin-sa. Barefoot and beaming, she greeted him without hiding her joy.
"Mom. I'm home too."
Forgetting her own son.
"Oh, you're back? Son. Greet him properly. It's the big young master."
"We came together."
"Oh? Really? Young master, you should've said you were coming."
She brushed off my words and chatted with him again. Always her top priority, I couldn't help feeling miffed.
"...!"
Eori, still sucking on the candy, watched intently. Then she whispered so only I could hear.
"Milord. Does he like Lady?"
"Haaa...!"
I sighed instead of answering, eyeing Mom and the eldest young master. They'd forgotten we were there, lost in their own world.
"How was it? Did you get what I sent?"
"That was from you, young master? You didn't have to... just visiting is fine!"
"How could I visit flowers without bringing any?"
"Oh, young master."
No, Mom, seriously. That's an affair and filial impiety.
I hadn't entirely dismissed the chance he was my real dad after seeing that. But he was too young. Mom was 15 when I was born; he was 12. Accounting for pregnancy, 14 and 11. Mom might've been in the throes of puberty, but he was probably hairless back then.
It made more sense that Kim Jin-sa had touched Mom. Unless he'd taken her as a concubine to separate her from the already-fathered heir.
"Anyway, you okay? When I heard bandits hit here, the world went dark. I dropped everything and rushed, but still too late."
"No, you're here now. And that night... we survived thanks to Si-jin. If not for him...!"
"Hahaha. I was shocked hearing that. To scar our Si-jin's forehead like that. I oughta...!"
No way, right? Seriously?
My real dad? Then Mom'd be the first in the story to score father-son rice?
Nah, no way. Probably not. Nope. No.
Shoving aside the unwelcome possibility, I stepped into the yard and inspected the items on the porch.
"Huh?"
A small sack of salt and glass bottles bundled like cushions with straw ropes. Amazed by glass bottles in Joseon—and their familiar modern shape—I picked one up.
"Whoa! Si-jin! Know what that is?"
The eldest young master, mid-chat with Mom, approached. He took the bottle and explained.
"This is ramunae, a drink. Ram from blue ram, un from rain un, nae from stream nae. Named for its refreshingly cool taste like rain falling and streams flowing."
Ramunae my ass. He's shoehorning "ramune" into it.
Ramune was a Japanese soda with a glass marble instead of a metal cap. But here, it seemed like a Joseon drink.
"Si-jin. Know how to open it? Haha, watch."
He grabbed a wooden piece dangling like an accessory on the straw. Placed the narrow end on the marble, then smacked the wide end with his palm.
Pop! Fizzzz!
"Oh my! What's that, young master?"
"Whoaaa...!"
The wood pushed the marble in, unleashing carbonation. Mom and Eori's eyes went wide at the novel sight.
"Hahaha! See? Amazing, right, Si-jin! Isn't it wild?"
Relishing our reactions, he turned to me. I clapped hurriedly, faking awe.
"Wow, whoa, amazing! Whoaaa! What's that?"
"Told ya, ramunae! Not for looking—drink it! Mak-chun! You first!"
"I'll get cups."
Mom headed to the kitchen for cups, eyes glued to the ramunae. But not Eori.
"...!"
It wasn't her first time seeing bubbles rising in a glass bottle. She stared at me anxiously, face scrunched in worry.