Chapter 12
At the broad table engraved with lotus patterns sat three children and two adults. In a place that called for lively conversation, silence hung heavy instead. After a brief greeting, Father clamped his mouth shut, leaving Aunt visibly uncomfortable. The twins beside her held out for a moment before fidgeting with their hips and shoulders.
I could plainly see they wanted to talk to me, but I followed Father's lead and kept quiet. How long had we sat like that? Just as the twins' chairs began to creak and shuffle, the door quietly opened, and Jang Seok-ryang appeared.
Father and Aunt both looked puzzled. Jang Seok-ryang bowed politely and spoke.
"Young Master Fourth, might I borrow a moment of your time?"
Aunt's expression soured at the realization it wasn't about her. She turned her head away irritably.
"Grandfather will be here soon."
"It'll only take a moment."
"Very well."
As Father rose, he fixed Aunt with a steady gaze.
"Yeon-ah, stay put and behave. If anything happens, tell your father right away."
Aunt's eyes widened, her lips twitching, but she held her tongue. I flashed a bright, reassuring smile.
"Yes, Father. Don't worry—go ahead."
Father left the room with Jang Seok-ryang. The twins craned their necks, confirming his departure, then exchanged glances. So U-ak spoke first, with Baek Ri-pyo chiming in right after.
"Hey, aren't you a cripple?"
"Your dantian got wrecked, right? Can't cultivate any martial arts? For real?"
I nearly burst out laughing. After my regression, my first meeting with So U-ak and Baek Ri-pyo had changed entirely—the timing, the place, everything.
'And yet their opening line stays the same?'
Aunt made no move to hush the twins, just sipped her tea. I gazed calmly at the giggling pair and asked,
"Who told you that?"
"Well, Mom did... Ow!"
Baek Ri-pyo suddenly bit his tongue and glared at So U-ak, who ignored him and pressed on.
"What does it matter if you know? It's true—you're trash."
"I'll tell Father."
The twins jumped in alarm. Spoiled rotten with no sense of limits, they were. But who was my father? Not someone swayed by their status as Baek clan heirs or their relation as Aunt's sons. They feared his unyielding strictness, immune to their backing.
Thud! Aunt slammed her teacup down like a hammer and shot me a venomous glare, as if she could devour me whole.
"Snitching without cause? You reek of street-bred vulgarity."
I tilted my head innocently, as if baffled by her anger.
"But Father told me to tell him everything."
"You think you'll get away with that? You think Uncle Gang will stay home forever?"
The old me might have quailed at those words. But I just shrugged it off like a dog's distant bark.
"Who knows? I'll ask Father how long he'll be staying."
Aunt's face twisted in fury.
"Riding on your father's coattails, strutting like—"
"Yi-ran-ah, what's got you raising your voice so the whole house can hear?"
The door swung open right on cue, and Uncle strode in with his family.
"Brother! Why so late? Come in, quick!"
Aunt welcomed him like a lifeline from a thousand troops.
After greetings, Uncle scolded me.
"And Yeon-i, who taught you to talk back to your aunt like that?"
"Haha, Father, don't be too hard on Yeon-i. She's still young."
Baek Ri-myeong intervened with a gentle smile. Truly a tag-team ambush.
Baek Ri-myeong turned to me warmly.
"First time since that day, huh, Yeon-ah? You doing okay?"
"Yes."
He greeted Aunt and the twins in turn, then took the little girl's hand and approached.
"Yeon-ah, this is my little sister, Baek Ri-ri. We've lived in the same house, yet never properly met. Ri-ri, that's your cousin Baek Ri-yeon, same age as you. You've heard about her, right? Say hi."
Ri-ri was a nickname for Baek Ri-ri—'Ri' for short. Dressed primly in a greenish-yellow jeogori over a vivid red skirt embroidered with white magnolias, her glutinous rice cake-pale cheeks and adorable dumpling bun hairstyle screamed pampered upbringing. She glanced at me and primly turned away.
Baek Ri-myeong chuckled fondly.
"Haha, Ri-ri's always been shy around strangers."
Uncle's arrival defused the tension. Aunt chattered nonstop with him to make up for lost time, the twins yammered at Baek Ri-myeong, their failed first strike bruising their pride—they ignored me like air thereafter. Baek Ri-ri seemed oblivious. I passed the time counting lotus petals on the table alone.
The door opened, and Father entered with Grandfather.
'What’s the matter?'
Whatever they'd discussed outside, Father's complexion was much worse than when he'd left.
Putting my questions aside, I sprang up and greeted Grandfather with the relatives.
Grandfather came right in, waving his hand.
"Everyone, sit."
The food kept coming, an endless parade utterly unlike Father's usual frugal meals. Despite the dizzying array, everyone glanced warily at Grandfather, barely touching their chopsticks. Only I relentlessly went after the novel dishes.
Father busied himself shifting plates beyond my reach to my spot.
Grandfather set down his chopsticks and eyed Uncle.
"How's Myeong-i's studies coming along?"
"Pardon? Since the Jeonghyeon Academy teacher retired, we've been hiring private tutors at home."
Caught off-guard by the sudden question, Uncle answered promptly.
Grandfather quizzed on Baek Ri-ri and the twins next—internal Baek clan matters he, as patriarch, surely knew. Uncle, Aunt, and Baek Ri-myeong all wore baffled expressions. He even grilled Father.
And surprisingly, followed up.
"You're teaching Yeon-i yourself?"
"Yes."
"Hmm."
After a pause, Grandfather spoke.
"That renowned scholar from the capital, Teacher Gi, came down with Physician Seok."
I instantly grasped what was coming—and why Grandfather had summoned me here too.
"Teacher Gi plans to open an academy here. I think sending the children there from now on would be best. What say you all?"
Baek Ri-myeong, being older, could attend mornings; I, Baek Ri-ri, and the year-older twins afternoons. It was framed as a suggestion, but Grandfather's word was law.
At first, no one grasped it. Teacher Gi was a true luminary. He'd left the capital for a quiet retirement, away from political tangles. Here, he opened an academy to tutor decent, bright kids—not for imperial exams, but to pass the time.
But his connections and knowledge drew exam hopefuls like clouds for advice, forging ties with future officials. Word spread fast. Demand exploded.
Yet Teacher Gi took few students, sparking a frenzy to enroll.
'Back then, Grandfather ignored me, and Father was too busy seeking my cure to care about the academy.'
I'd missed out before. I lit up; Father looked worried.
The twins' faces darkened as Grandfather continued.
"Classes are two sichin (four hours)?"
"Sword practice leaves no time to spare, Grandfather."
He raised a brow at their protest, but his tone stayed mild for young grandsons.
"Just at first—Teacher Gi understands warrior families. He'll adjust study time to your progress."
Warriors prioritized martial arts. But a famed house like Baek clan needed the Six Arts too: rites, music, archery, horsemanship, calligraphy, mathematics. Not mastery, just basics.
'Can't have the clan look like brainless sword-swingers.'
Other great sects were similar—even Beggar Clan had cultured higher-ups.
"Even with two sichin at the academy, ten remain. Plenty. You don't train swords all day anyway."
"What? Of course we do, Grandfather!"
"Right! Never let go of our swords, not for a second!"
"..."
But Grandfather's face hardened. Even the shut-in old me had seen the twins drop their swords multiple times to goof off with friends.
And they'd never let go?