Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The World is Screwing Me Over
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"Gyun-ah, this is the house we'll be living in from now on. What do you think? Better than Gangneung, right?"
"Yes!"
The year I turned five. It was spring.
I left the beloved Gangneung behind and moved with my family to our main home in Hanyang.
The Easterners' champion and main eventer, Master Yi Hwang of Retreat Stream, had retired this year, leaving the pentagon short on players. So King Seonjo issued an edict recalling my aged father to duty. At the same time, my younger brother Heo Bong (Lotus Valley) had passed the Saengwon exam and needed to prepare for the higher literary exams. With everything aligning like that, the family decided, "We're going to Hanyang!"
"Let's head inside."
Father led the way, flinging open the grand gate to reveal the expansive estate of a high official's mansion.
Our house in Gangneung had seemed huge, but this one was no slouch either. A tiled mansion filling 99 rooms right in the heart of Hanyang. Truly the Prime Minister's Kin. I was struck anew by the lofty status of our house.
"Father, you've arrived."
"Yes, Seong. You've worked hard preparing everything."
"No hardship at all. I was just worried the journey here might be rough."
"Haha, treating your father like an old man now? The weather was fine, and we came comfortably, so no need to worry."
"Have you been well?"
"Yes, and has Mother been well too?"
"Big brother, hello."
"Oh my, our Choehui has already become such a young lady. You could get married now. Kekeke."
The moment the door opened, a kind-faced man rushed over with greetings.
His courtesy name was Mountain Front (Seong), and given name Heo Seong (筬). My eldest brother in this life.
Not a blood brother—he was my aunt's son, technically a half-brother—but like his mother, whenever he visited our Gangneung home, he'd come bearing toys like tops, shuttlecocks, and kites in both arms and hug me warmly. Just your average good big brother.
Oh, and surprisingly, this guy doesn't die.
According to "Heo Gyun's Gaze," he's one of the very few in the Heo family who lives to a ripe old age.
Given the era, he went through hell during the Imjin War like everyone else, and in his later years, he got swept up in factional strife, was dismissed, and never set foot in Hanyang again, dying in exile. But by our family's standards, that's a top-tier good death.
"Gyun-ah, have you been well? The trip wasn't too hard, was it?"
"Yes! Big brother! We rode in a palanquin, so it was fine."
While I was lost in thought for a good while, it seemed my turn had come after Father, Aunt, Mother, younger brother, and sister. I bowed at the waist in greeting, and big brother hoisted me up high.
"Yes, you've gotten a much brighter expression since I last saw you. When you were little, you always looked so glum, worrying all the mothers. But from what I've heard, you're doing well these days?"
Such times there were.
But now it's fine. I wake up, eat, fly kites with the neighborhood kids to pass the time, go on Gangneung gourmet tours holding hands with Father and little brother when they return home, then sleep in Mother's arms. Living as a carefree boy, I've become convinced this is the way. Whoever invented group projects was a wise soul indeed. I grinned widely and answered big brother.
"Yes, it's great."
"Good, good. Since you're coming, this big brother prepared some special gifts. We'll check them out later."
"Thank you, big brother!"
I wonder what toys he brought this time.
Given our family's scale, with "special" emphasized, it won't be ordinary toys.
A kite? A top? If we're going all out, maybe a pony. I wanted to feel like the youngest son of a chaebol getting a supercar for his fifth birthday.
"Yes, it's the finest yellow sable brush made from marten tail hair, sure to suit you perfectly. I've stocked up plenty of paper, ink, and brushes too, and even found you a personal writing tutor. Go ahead and pursue your ambitions freely."
"?"
Um.
What?
This is bad.
Something's seriously gone wrong.
"Gyun-ah, according to the Elementary Learning, siblings are born of the same qi, and brotherly friendship with respectful juniors means one dares not resent or anger. Can you explain why we must treat each other with affection and respect, without resentment or anger?"
"Well..."
"It's fine. Even if wrong, just say what you know."
Under the tutor's prodding, I had no choice but to speak.
It was too late to play dumb now.
"...Yes.... Insulting one's siblings is insulting oneself. Though flesh and blood are divided, we originate from one qi, and though forms differ, we share one bloodline. Like a tree, the roots are the same with different branches; like water, the source is one with diverging flows. Thus, resenting siblings is resenting oneself, and angering at them is angering at oneself. It's foolish."
"Comparing to wood: same roots, different branches; to water: same source, different streams. Indeed so?"
"...Well, yeah..."
The tutor's honeyed gaze before me and the heated cheers from behind made cold sweat trickle down my nape.
"Our Gyun has a knack for scholarship."
"My lord, blood runs true. The gloom in Gangneung must've been from not studying. Should've started with the brush earlier."
"Around that age, I was clinging to Mother's skirt begging for a top. The kid's impressive."
"You too, brother? I was obsessed with kites as a child."
"Our baby! Good job!"
That's not it.
We're just learning one idiom a day—don't swarm and praise like this.
I should've thrown a tantrum and refused somehow.
Big brother's writing lessons suggestion wasn't welcome, but separate from my resolve to play and eat freely, I figured illiteracy wasn't ideal, so I accepted naively. A butterfly effect from the complacency of "We Heos have status, and as a modern man, I can't be illiterate."
"...Ugh."
And I'd even prepared countermeasures.
First, don't act like a know-it-all.
Second, don't try too hard.
Third, don't show off.
Vows I'd repeated hundreds of times in my heart before my first lesson, to sustain my play-and-eat life. Well, ruined from day one.
- This is heaven [天], this is earth [地]. Do you understand their meaning?
- Yes, Master. Heaven and earth together make the world.
- Hm?
It slipped out thoughtlessly.
- Thousand Character Classic says heaven is black [玄], earth yellow [黃]. But outside, heaven is blue, earth bright. Why the difference?
- Isn't it because no sun? At sunset, heaven blackens, earth yellows—so the world's essence is black and yellow.
- Eh?
Of course it gets dark at night.
- So you mean the world is innately dark and yellow, but with the sun, it can be blue and bright anytime?
- Seems so?
- Then, without sun, how to light the world?
- Gather firewood and oil while sun's up to prepare for dark, wait for sun again.
Just turn on the light.
- Sun is the world's candle; at sunset, people light lamps awaiting it? Is that it?
- Uh.... Something like that.
- How old are you this year?
- Five.
- Did you learn this before...? No, how many kids have I taught? Not age for such insight even if told.
What?
Why pull out the pipe suddenly?
Tutor lit the pipe from the drawer, gazed at distant mountains, and spoke.
- Sun as world's illuminating candle, sunset men light lamps: sun is lord [君], men subjects [臣]. With four characters from Thousand Character Classic, you've grasped lord-subject principle.
- Pardon?
- No, not now. Class ends here—off home you go.
Disaster from information gap.
Courtesy name Hand Valley (Son-gok), given Dal.
My tutor this life, Hand Valley Yi Dal: Father's disciple, big brother's fellow student, little brother's childhood friend, sister's teacher.
Practically a Heo, crossing our threshold freely.
I didn't know he'd fuss "prodigy!" at a bright kid.
Above all, didn't know he'd rush to report every detail.
Tsk, if I'd known he was a blabbermouth, I'd have played dumber.
Anyway, first day after class, tutor grabbed my hand, barged into our house, and told Father:
- Better than me.
"Sigh."
After class, unable to hide my frustration, I went to the market for fresh air.
- Gyun? Best among my students.
- Of course, I trust your word, Hand Valley. Hahaha! What bloodline!
- Like Madam said, should've taught from Gangneung.
- Youngest initial exam passer at what age?
Beep beep. Danger signals everywhere. This path leads to no escape. Pretend I can't study, flop on floor? Claim wall hit, head dumbed? Or...
"Young master, why the heavy sigh? Want some yeot-gangjeong?"
"...Yeot-gangjeong?"
Snapped from crisis brainstorming by a call, a sturdy youth stood holding yeot-gangjeong. Big brother's special gift #2: Dori (slave).
Realizing the era anew when brother casually bought and tossed me a person as "gift."
As one with modern notions of democracy, freedom, human rights, slaves unnerved me, so I treated him kindly. But once close, he boasted of being Hanyang's priciest slave sold this year, puffing chest—I stopped thinking then.
Slaves here have their own world, it seems.
"Give me one. You eat too."
"Oh, thank you."
Munch munch.
Crouched in a market corner sucking yeot-gangjeong with a slave, life felt pathetic. What'd I do wrong? Just wanted to splurge family money and play. I did nothing.
"Ugh."
"Young master, if that bad, how about flying a kite? You like them."
"No.... It's fine."
Even as a servant, his comforting feels right—only Dori gets me.
Later, slip him fabric for gukbap payback.
Sucking yeot-gangjeong blankly at Dori, a odd thought struck.
"Dori."
"Yes, young master."
"You know some letters, right?"
True to priciest Hanyang slave, Dori's capable.
Originally from a big merchant group; big brother paid premium for me.
Strong from merchant work, good at math, quick-witted.
And knows a few letters. So what's the difference between us?
"Oh, I just memorized a few common Thousand Character ones by shape. We lowly don't know your scholarly stuff."
"Still, you can write. How do you learn? Explain precisely."
"Huh? Well.... Pick frequent characters from Thousand Character, rote shapes. Once memorized, guess meanings from wild histories."
"Wild histories?"
"Yes, idioms or Elementary Learning? Too hard. Usually market tales. Mine was gumiho—beautiful fox eating livers, creepy fun, read endlessly."
"Uh...?"
Something like a path visible.