Announcing His Return to the Family
Hwangbo Jeonghu returned to Mujingak and ordered the maidservant to prepare breakfast. After washing up, he sat down to eat. Just as he was nearly finished, he set his chopsticks on the table and lifted a teacup to his lips.
A quick glance to the side revealed a girl standing respectfully with her hands clasped. It was Jin Somi, the exclusive maidservant assigned to Mujingak. She was the child who had cared for him devotedly while he lay bedridden. Perhaps she seemed even more precious because his own family had treated him with such neglect.
In truth, she had been the only one who never mistreated him, even when he was little more than a helpless invalid. He set the teacup down and spoke.
“What is your name?”
“Y-yes! My name is Jin Somi!”
Jin Somi, who had been standing there with a tense expression, jumped at the sound of his voice and answered hurriedly. The girl who normally showed such a bright and cheerful nature was now completely hunched in on herself. Although he had hidden his aura, she was still reeling from the overwhelming presence he had unleashed on his first day back. It was like facing a great tiger that seized one’s very soul.
Even setting that aside, how could anyone stand before him without feeling nervous? After all, she was the only outsider besides the direct descendants of the Family Head who knew the truth—that Hwangbo Jeonghu was actually the previous patriarch.
“I see… So you’re the one who looked after me all this time?”
“N-no, not at all! I was simply doing my duty. To say you were looked after… that’s far too generous of you.”
Although Hwangbo Mujin had lost several key aspects of his humanity just before his rejuvenation, his emotions had not completely vanished. He told her that she need not stand by his side at all times and that she should only come when called. Then he opened a drawer, took out a silk pouch, and handed it to her.
Inside were ten gold coins. In silver, that amounted to a hundred nyang—a considerable sum. To him it was pocket change, but for Jin Somi, whose monthly wage was only ten silver nyang, it was a fortune she had never held in her hands before.
She insisted that she had only done what was expected and refused to accept it, but he forced the pouch into her grasp. Even though he wanted to give her more, he had to pretend he had no memory of his time in bed, so this was appropriate. Instead, he decided he would quietly look after her in many other ways from now on.
“That’s enough. You may leave.”
“Y-yes!… Th-thank you, Young… Young Master.”
Somi bowed deeply and left the room, clutching the silk pouch tightly in her small hands. Though her eyes glistened with tears, a clear, bright smile hung on her lips. She was happy to have received recognition, and the thought of sending this large sum to her family—who barely managed one meal a day while she now ate three in this great clan—made her smile uncontrollably.
She carefully closed the door, hugged the silk pouch to her chest, and let out a soft sound.
“Hehe…”
The girl couldn’t hide the way her lips kept curling upward or the laughter that kept slipping out. With light steps as if walking on clouds, she headed toward the maidservants’ quarters.
Jeonghu rinsed his mouth with the prepared salt water, donned the Hwangbo clan’s signature yellow martial uniform, and left the room.
Chirp, chirp—
It was a warm, sunlit morning. He walked around the manor, showing his face everywhere. Among the direct descendants of the Hwangbo clan, who were all born with robust frames, his physique and appearance stood out even more. Having undergone body reconstruction, the only resemblance he bore to his grandson was in his eyes, nose, and mouth. It was necessary to let the clan members know: I am Hwangbo Jeonghu.
Had it been yesterday, people might have wondered who he was, but the rumor that the young master had returned had already spread throughout the day. Not a single questioning gaze remained.
To those who greeted him, he offered simple words of encouragement, allowing everyone to become familiar with his face. Some felt awkward seeing him transformed from a boy into a young man, yet even they clearly welcomed him. This was because, right up until he had supposedly entered closed-door training, Hwangbo Jeonghu had been deeply loved by the clan members.
Unlike his granddaughter Hwangbo Ji… no, she had changed her name to Hwangbo Ran, that girl’s personality had been pure and bright without a trace of darkness.
In a bloodline-centered clan where rank took precedence over age and direct descendants received special treatment, he had spoken casually to non-family members yet never with disrespect. As a result, the grandson had been adored by many.
‘And that… is now me.’
A chuckle escaped him. To think he would be looking at his own blood relatives from one generation removed. Thinking he was better than his own son, he made his way toward the main building.
It was already afternoon. More precisely, he was heading to the banquet hall located in the main building. While touring the clan grounds, a servant had come running with a message: The Family Head wished to hold lunch in the banquet hall to celebrate the return of Young Master Hwangbo Jeonghu and asked him to come there.
The banquet hall was bustling with noise.
“Chief Kang! It’s been a while!”
“I heard you had a son. Congratulations!”
Many people had gathered. It seemed everyone of any notable rank had been invited, not just family. Was it really necessary to go this far? At this rate, by the end of today there would be no one left in the clan who didn’t know him.
He crossed the crowded banquet hall. At the largest table prepared in the inner area sat the direct family members. The moment they saw Jeonghu, they all rose from their seats. Among them, Family Head Hwangbo Jun approached him and spoke in a low voice.
“I took this opportunity to invite the elders as well and made it a grand affair. It would have been rather awkward for Father to visit the elders’ hall just to greet them, wouldn’t it? Haha.”
A smirk tugged at Jeonghu’s lips. The pretense that this was all for him was ridiculous. Despite the order to announce his emergence from closed-door training, this was clearly excessive.
One of the suspicions that had quietly circulated was that Hwangbo Jeonghu’s closed-door training had gone on far too long. Ten years. It didn’t make sense for a young boy—not even a martial arts fanatic—to remain in seclusion for such a long time without once coming out. People had believed it only because Jeonghu had been the one most obsessed with martial arts. Ten years of closed-door training seemed worthwhile if it meant raising one’s realm.
That was why the doubt had followed Hwangbo Jun: Could something have happened to the young master who never shows his face? His son must have known about those rumors. It was obvious he was using this chance to show off that the heir who would support the Family Head was alive and well, thereby solidifying his own position.
Jeonghu was certain that even if the elders tried to push him forward as the young family head, this fool would make every excuse to delay it—unless he himself gave the order.
‘A pathetic bastard who thinks he’s clever while his every scheme is transparent.’
The thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, yet the words that left his mouth were praise.
“Yes, well done.”
“Haha! I do tend to go all out when I decide to do something, don’t I?”
Tsk. Leaving behind his foolish son who took the compliment at face value, Jeonghu moved toward the table.
“Jeonghu, you’re here?”
“O… Oppa, you’re here.”
Eon Garyeong greeted him with a faint smile that seemed oddly out of place, as if he truly were her son. And then there was his youngest granddaughter, Hwangbo Ran, who now called the terrifying grandfather “Oppa” only in private. His eldest granddaughter, Hwangbo Yerin, bowed with an expressionless face, while his second daughter-in-law, Yeo Suhyang, stared at him with eyes full of surprise.
“Jeonghu… is that really you? You’ve changed so much from when you were little. I can hardly recognize you.”
“Haha! Aunt, it’s been a long time. They say ten years can change even mountains and rivers, right? This body that used to be so small has grown this much. Hahaha.”
Yeo Suhyang, who had been holding her baby, reached out and gently patted Jeonghu’s shoulder. She tapped him with genuine affection, as though he had gone through great hardship. From his childhood, she had always doted on him more than anyone.
It was then that Family Head Hwangbo Jun looked around the banquet hall where all eyes were focused on them and shouted, infusing his voice with inner energy.
“My son, Hwangbo Jeonghu, has returned after completing his long period of closed-door training! That little child has grown into such a reliable young man. Hahaha!”
Whistle— Whistle—!
“Young Master, you’ve worked so hard!!”
“Our Young Master is incredible!!”
The loud whistles and cheers of the young warriors mixed with the polite applause of the middle-aged martial artists. Everyone looked at Hwangbo Jeonghu, who had returned after ten long years of seclusion, with proud and admiring eyes.
“Now, everyone, please enjoy the meal! We’ve prepared plenty of Baekhwaju, so there’s no need to hold back. Hahaha!”
With Hwangbo Jun’s words, the feast officially began. Baekhwaju—ranked first among the three great wines of the world. The thought of being able to drink as much as they wanted of that precious liquor made from a hundred different flowers brought bright smiles to the faces of the guests.
Conversation and laughter blended together, creating a lively atmosphere. There was only one quiet spot.
The large table where the direct family sat—the one Jeonghu had taken a seat at. Aside from the occasional sound of chopsticks, silence hung over it. A strange, heavy quiet where everyone seemed to be watching Jeonghu’s mood, as if they had never once called him son or brother.
Once the meal was over…
Jeonghu stood up.
Now it was his turn to move. This was also the reason every single guest had been invited without exception: to leave a strong impression on the successor who would follow the Family Head.
The first place he headed was where the elders were seated. The reason Jeonghu had deliberately avoided visiting the elders’ and senior elders’ halls while touring the clan earlier was partly because of what his son had said: “It would be rather awkward for Father to visit the elders’ hall just to greet them, wouldn’t it?”
From the grandson’s position, if he had truly returned after long closed-door training, it would be proper etiquette to visit the family’s elders formally and perform a deep bow of respect. That was the natural course of action.
If Hwangbo Jeonghu’s true identity had not been the previous Family Head, Hwangbo Mujin.
‘Bow deeply to those who were watching me with wary eyes? Don’t make me laugh.’
Since this was not a formal visit but a chance meeting here, a simple nod of greeting was more than enough. Beyond that… Jeonghu had his own purpose as well.
Among the five senior elders and ten elders, two of the senior elders and three of the elders were middle-aged women in their prime. Did he know when women became the most starved? It was women between their early forties and mid-fifties.
Once a marriage reached its tenth year, husbands often began to see their wives as family rather than women, losing interest. Or they would avoid the bedroom because they could no longer keep up with their wives’ increasingly vigorous sexual desires as they aged. Since all the senior and regular elders here were married women, if his guess was correct…
‘Hahaha.’
Jeonghu’s steps grew lighter. He arrived at the large table where five middle-aged individuals sat. He bowed his head. Not too deeply, not too shallowly. It was a perfect blend of appropriate respect and the casual lightness of a private gathering.
The senior elders, who had already guessed he would come to them the moment he began walking in their direction, nodded in acknowledgment. Short words of comfort and well-wishes followed: You’ve worked hard. Welcome back.
One person showed a particularly warm reaction.
“Aigoo~ Our Jeonghu really went through so much.”
Unlike the other senior elders who wore slightly proud expressions, she beamed with a bright smile and beckoned him closer with a wave of her hand. She was a woman who had fully entered middle age at fifty-three. She was the Third Elder, Baek Yeohwa.