It’s One Thing or Another (2)
The air was still a little chilly, brushing over Geum Yang-baek’s forearms as he stared blankly up at the clear sky.
How indifferent the heavens are.
Even Geum Yang-baek, a man who had lived by the conviction that most of life was ultimately decided by one’s own effort, had found himself turning to the sky a few times in his life.
And every time, the heavens had coldly turned a deaf ear to his wishes.
It wasn’t even that grand a wish...
He hadn’t asked for the typhoon to never stop, only for it to blow for one more day. Was that really such an excessive hope?
The net of heaven is wide and loose, and yet nothing escapes it. That was what people said, but right now Geum Yang-baek could only resent that wide, slack net.
“Sect Leader.”
At the voice behind him, Geum Yang-baek slowly closed his eyes.
No matter what swelled in his chest, he was the leader of Hainan. He had to show the face of Hainan’s Sect Leader until the very end. That was both the price of everything he had done and the courtesy owed to those who had sworn to protect Hainan with their lives.
“What of the guests from the Heavenly Friends Alliance?”
“Gwak Hwan-so prepared the ships yesterday and told them where they were docked.”
“Gwak Hwan-so?”
“Yes.”
A sigh slipped from Geum Yang-baek’s mouth as he pictured Gwak Hwan-so.
Like a sailor growing through storms, so too did martial artists grow through crisis. Gwak Hwan-so, who had talent with the sword but was far too quick-tempered for his own good, had become someone capable of such thoughtfulness.
That makes it all the more painful.
If they could survive this crisis and preserve Hainan’s line, Gwak Hwan-so would become a far better sect leader than he himself could ever be...
It was only regrettable that he would not live to see that flower bloom.
“And so, did they leave?”
“I couldn’t confirm it, but since they haven’t come to see us again, it seems they departed quietly.”
“Hm.”
“It would have been awkward to look each other in the face when parting.”
“...What’s there to be awkward about? I should only be grateful.”
Geum Yang-baek let out a short breath.
“Im Gyeom.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“If not for the Evil Tyrant Alliance, they will be the last people to see Hainan.”
“...”
“What do you think? As Hainan’s Sect Leader, was I acceptable?”
Geum Yang-baek wasn’t looking at him, but Im Gyeom bowed his head with all the respect he could muster.
“Sect Leader, you were magnificent. The envoys of the Heavenly Friends Alliance will have seen that clearly before leaving.”
“I see...”
Geum Yang-baek smiled faintly.
“Then it is at least fortunate that those who saw Hainan’s end were them.”
“Because while the Nine Great Sects would only be eager to hide their own shame, those people would instead work to reveal the shame of the Nine Great Sects?”
“No.”
Geum Yang-baek looked up at the sky again, his expression serene.
“They will likely continue to walk the path of righteousness. They were willing to come all this way just to help us.”
“...It seems likely.”
“If such people speak well of Hainan, then wouldn’t the world remember Hainan kindly as well?”
When Im Gyeom only stood in silence, unable to answer, Geum Yang-baek clicked his tongue as if he had said something needless.
“Make the preparations. We need to carry out the expulsion ceremony as soon as possible.”
“There’s no need for you, Sect Leader, to go in person...”
“Anything is better when it’s certain. There’s no reason to force those who are leaving with heavy hearts to think they’re the ones at fault. And if they descend properly, after following due procedure, then their chances of slipping past the Evil Tyrant Alliance’s claws will go up a little, won’t they?”
“Understood, Sect Leader.”
Geum Yang-baek turned and headed for his quarters.
It’s been a long time since I last wore formal attire.
And from now on, this formal robe would not leave his body until the moment he died.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A heavy tension settled over the faces of Hainan’s disciples.
The moment they confirmed that the typhoon had stopped, they understood that the Evil Tyrant Alliance could descend upon Hainan Island at any moment.
“...So war is really going to happen now?”
“Of course. Didn’t you hear before? That Evil Tyrant Alliance was building ships.”
“Th-Then once they’re finished, they’ll come here, right? How long will that take?”
“...If they know what a ship is just by looking at it, and they’re complete fools, then at most a day. No, maybe they’ve already finished.”
“To soak a ship with saltwater, you’d need at least five more days! Isn’t that common sense, Senior Brother?”
“...That’s only if they plan to keep using the ship. If they’re only using it to go back and forth to Hainan, then it doesn’t matter if water leaks in. They only need it to last a few days.”
At those words, everyone sucked in a sharp breath as if a knife had been driven into their lungs.
“Once Hainan is dealt with, they won’t need the ships anymore anyway. Those Evil Tyrant bastards aren’t idiots; they’d think of that much.”
“Then... does that mean they could attack as soon as tonight?”
“...If they’re in a hurry, yes.”
As more and more of them grasped the reality of the situation, the tension swelled beyond control.
“Um...”
“Hm?”
“...Could I ask something like...”
One disciple, glancing nervously around, leaned toward the person beside him and asked in a low voice, “Has the number of people attending the expulsion ceremony been decided?”
The person he asked turned and glared at him as though he wanted to kill him on the spot.
“Why? Planning to ask the Sect Leader to expel you right now?”
“N-No, Senior Brother. Why would I do that? I’m Hainan to the bone.”
“Then?”
“...Well... I’m not talking about myself, but I think some of the other senior brothers might want that.”
The one who heard that let out a long sigh.
He wasn’t wrong.
He, too, was suffering under the exact same temptation.
If they were expelled, at least they could preserve their lives. Then they might be able to do something after that.
If everyone died and vanished, Hainan as a sect would disappear from the world. Wouldn’t it be better to accept a false expulsion, if only for appearances, and try to foster Hainan’s rebirth?
As he sat quietly lost in thought, So Yeorip suddenly let out a snort of laughter.
So you really do want to live, don’t you?
To see them rationalize expulsion with a logic not even a dog would bite on.
Just as he was sighing, So Yeorip abruptly widened his eyes. He had spotted Gwak Hwan-so stepping out of the hall.
“Great Senior Brother! Where are you going?”
Gwak Hwan-so, halfway through the doorway, turned back toward So Yeorip.
“Are you going to prepare the expulsion ceremony?”
“No, not yet.”
“Then...”
Lee Ja-yang, standing beside Gwak Hwan-so, twisted his face in irritation and shouted, “He’s going to clean the hall where those Heavenly Friends Alliance bastards stayed!”
“...Huh? Why...? We’re never going to use it again.”
So Yeorip asked, incredulous.
That hall was the guest quarters. What was the point of cleaning it now? No more guests would ever come to Hainan again.
Yet even under those questioning looks, Gwak Hwan-so only gave a short laugh.
“Don’t mind it. I’ll only be gone a moment...”
“He says it’s the last time, so it can’t be left as it is! If it’s the last time, it has to be clean—no matter which part of Hainan it is, it can’t end in a mess like that!”
Everyone inside the hall stared blankly at Gwak Hwan-so.
But some among them, those preparing for expulsion, couldn’t bear to meet his eyes and only lowered their heads.
Lee Ja-yang grumbled irritably.
“Look at him, acting all superior. What does it matter if the damn hall’s a little dirty?”
“...That’s why I said I’d go alone.”
“Forget it! Do you think I’m going to leave you to clean up by yourself and make you look like some degenerate who lounges around while the rest of us work?”
“...If you’re coming, come. If you’re not, then don’t. You’re going anyway, so why do you have so many complaints?”
“Because it’s frustrating, damn it, frustrating! You weren’t this stuck-up before.”
“They say people’s true nature comes out at the end, so maybe this is how I’ve always been.”
“That makes no sense...”
“Enough. Let’s go. If you hate it that much, stay here.”
As Gwak Hwan-so strode off ahead with a lazy swing of his arms, Lee Ja-yang clicked his tongue in annoyance and followed after him. Then nearly half the disciples inside the hall jumped to their feet and rushed out after them.
“Senior Brother!”
“We’ll do it.”
“You should stay here, Senior Brother! Of course we should be the ones to do something like this! No, just tell us what you need and...”
Gwak Hwan-so let out a sigh.
“I’m just trying to do something because my chest feels tight, so leave me be.”
“Our chests feel tight too. Then let’s go together.”
Gwak Hwan-so looked quietly at the line of disciples, then gave a nod.
“Fine. Let’s go. If everyone goes together, we should be able to finish before the expulsion ceremony.”
“Yes.”
Without saying anything further, Gwak Hwan-so resumed walking.
Even he thought it was absurd. Cleaning at a time like this.
If he hadn’t truly felt that this was the end, he wouldn’t have thought of doing something like this. But once he accepted that it really was the last time, he simply couldn’t leave it alone.
This was the place he had entered as soon as he could walk, the place that had lived his life alongside him.
It was a hall that might soon burn to ash and vanish without a trace, but at the very least, he wanted to make its final moments neat and clean. That was about the only thing he could do now.
So he was grateful—to the people who shared in his stubborn, overbearing thought.
In the end, what a sect leaves behind at the end of the day is only its disciples.
No one in the world would help them.
Even the residents of Hainan Island had already begun to distance themselves from Hainan Sect once they understood the situation well enough. And yet these people were stepping forward, ready to spend their final moments cleaning a worthless hall.
That was why they were a sect, and why they were senior brothers and juniors.
When I die, I’ll be with them.
A small smile bloomed at the corner of Gwak Hwan-so’s mouth as he arrived in front of the guest hall.
The guest hall, now abandoned by its visitors, was as still as a tomb. The silence was so profound it felt as though even the sound of an ant’s footsteps would echo through it. More lonely than that, it looked downright eerie. Taking in the sight, Gwak Hwan-so fell silent for a moment.
“...Senior Brother?”
“It’s nothing.”
Only after the disciple beside him called out to him a second time did Gwak Hwan-so force a bright expression onto his face and shout, “Let’s finish this quickly. If we have to clean up every wine bottle and every stain of vomit, we’ll run out of time.”
“That vomit was Senior Brother Lee Ja-yang’s.”
“Wh-Who said that?”
“I saw it with my own two eyes.”
“Y-You little bastard, don’t slander me...”
Lee Ja-yang’s face went scarlet, and Gwak Hwan-so chuckled under his breath.
“Then clean up your own vomit.”
“I told you, it wasn’t me, Senior Brother!”
“All right! Everyone hurry up!”
“Yes!”
Several disciples ran toward the entrance. Just as they reached out to grab the latch, the door suddenly flew open.
Bang!
“Kyaagh!”
The disciple who had slammed face-first into the door staggered backward and fell flat on his back.
“What the hell?”
“Huh?”
The startled Hainan disciples widened their eyes and stared at the open door.
Cheong Myeong, whose hair looked like a bird’s nest as if he had just rolled out of bed, stumbled out with puffy eyes while scratching his stomach with one hand.
“What’s all the racket? Why are you lot gathered here first thing in the morning?”
For a moment, Gwak Hwan-so was left speechless as he stared blankly at Cheong Myeong.
Why was that bastard still here?
“Uh...”
“Hey, you.”
At Cheong Myeong’s voice calling him, Gwak Hwan-so flinched and replied without thinking, “Yes?”
“Where’s the dining hall? Why isn’t anyone giving me breakfast?”
That was the moment Gwak Hwan-so’s sense of reason flew clean out to the heavens.