Glad I Became the Head
It was himself, not anyone else.
“Young Master Son, do you have any liquor?”
It was the first time Dan Yeop had ever opened his heart to someone.
“I do. My grandfather received a whole warehouse full as a gift. Would you like to come to my room for a drink?”
“Yes.”
Dan Yeop and Son Ji-heon walked side by side toward the inner residence.
Dan Yeop dreamed he was buried under a tree, groaning in pain.
“Mmm……”
With a stifled groan, Dan Yeop slowly opened his eyes and woke from his sleep.
The morning sunlight streaming through the window dazzled him.
Without thinking, he pushed away something resting on his chest and blinked.
Yet for some reason, his face felt oddly numb compared to usual.
When he touched it with his hand, he felt the swelling.
‘Why?’
At that moment, memories of the previous night flashed through his mind.
—……Hey, hey, let’s drink and then sleep. This is called Baekwol Myeongju. My grandfather treasures it like crazy. It’s a gift, and it’s over twenty years old. You can’t even buy it with money.
—Really? Then we should drink it. No point saving it until it turns to shit.
—Puhaha! That’s right, that’s right. Friend, I really like you. We met way, way too late……
Only then did he remember drinking with Son Ji-heon until dawn.
He slowly sat up and saw Son Ji-heon sprawled out asleep right beside him.
Now he realized the thing that had been on his chest was the other man’s leg.
After sitting there blankly for a moment, he quickly got to his feet.
He had just remembered he needed to be at Jipdanhyang by the beginning of the Sasi hour (9 a.m.).
‘Huk! This is bad.’
If he had overslept, there would be no greater disgrace.
Dan Yeop hurriedly straightened his clothes and was about to dash out when a maid’s voice came from outside.
“Young Master, are you awake? You should have breakfast.”
At the sound, Son Ji-heon groggily sat up.
Dan Yeop quickly opened the door and asked the maid.
“Miss, what time is it now?”
When Dan Yeop emerged from Son Ji-heon’s room, the maid looked startled but quickly answered.
“It’s a little past the Jeong hour of Jinshi (8 a.m.). Ah, Young Master Dan, please join us for the meal as well.”
“Haa! Yes.”
Relieved that he was not late, Dan Yeop let out a long sigh.
If he had been late to his first Haomun event, he would have regretted it for a long time.
Just then, Son Ji-heon’s voice came from behind.
“Friend, you’re up early.”
“Huh? Uh…… I’ll wash up first and go eat.”
“Sure, just wash up roughly so you’re not late.”
“Uh……”
Dan Yeop hurried to the well behind the annex and washed his face.
As time passed, the wild drinking session from the night before came back to him in vivid detail.
It was something the usual him would never have done.
‘Hmm! Was it because I felt good from my martial arts progress?’
Or perhaps he had felt a sense of shared hardship with Son Ji-heon.
‘What exactly did we talk about?’
He felt like they had shared an enormous amount of conversation, yet nothing came clearly to mind.
Dan Yeop quickly wiped the water from his face and ran toward the inner hall.
Inner Hall.
The atmosphere at breakfast had changed because of Son Ji-heon.
Until yesterday, Son Ji-heon had been shooting sharp remarks at Dan Yeop and his younger sister like a twisted child.
Because of that, he had been thoroughly scolded by his mother and grandfather, yet he still had not stopped his spiteful behavior.
But now Son Ji-heon was treating Dan Yeop with kindness, as if that had never happened.
More precisely, his attitude was a mixture of kindness, attentiveness, and respect.
The first to notice the change between them was Son Yu-baek.
When his grandson spoke to Dan Yeop in casual speech, Son Yu-baek remarked casually.
“Ji-heon, Young Master Dan is the same age as you. You should not be rude to him.”
He was indirectly asking what kind of relationship allowed them to be so familiar.
Son Ji-heon answered in a confident tone.
“Grandfather, Dan Yeop and I drank together until dawn and opened our hearts to each other. We have become sworn brothers. Isn’t that right, friend?”
“Ji-heon speaks the truth. Please feel free to speak casually with me as well, Lord Son.”
Son Yu-baek’s face brightened instantly.
“I see. Gaining a true friend is truly something to celebrate. I must treat the two of you to a grand feast this evening. Will both of you be free tonight?”
Son Yu-baek could not hide his joy that his grandson had befriended a once-in-a-generation talent.
“Grandfather, I’m free no matter what.”
“I’m free as well.”
“Good, that’s excellent. Then I’ll see you both this evening. You can look forward to it. I’ll bring out the finest liquor in the world that I’ve been saving.”
For a moment, Son Ji-heon’s face stiffened slightly.
Dan Yeop felt a bit worried but pretended not to notice.
Finishing his meal earlier than usual, Dan Yeop stood up without even drinking tea.
“Lord Son, I must take my leave first. I have someone to meet regarding employment. Thank you for your generous hospitality, and to your esteemed mother as well. Then I’ll be going.”
After giving a polite bow, Dan Yeop quickly left the inner hall.
On his way to Jipdanhyang, the headquarters of the Jeommun branch, Dan Yeop thought, ‘It was a good idea to rent a room at Son-taek.’
Because Jipdanhyang was not far from Son-taek.
As he entered the perfume alley, his heart began to beat faster.
He would show Baek Yu-hwa his changed self.
He did not know how long he had been waiting for this moment.
A wooden sign saying “Closed” hung in front of Jipdanhyang.
Dan Yeop slowly opened the door and stepped inside.
The middle-aged man standing at the counter spoke naturally.
“Ah, I’m sorry. We’re closed today and not doing business.”
“I was told to come pick up the perfume I ordered by the beginning of the Sasi hour.”
“Ah! You came to collect your goods. Please go straight through to the Anshikheon.”
Dan Yeop walked to the end of the shop and opened the back door, just as Yang Hoe-mun had done before.
Two pavilions stood on either side of the wide garden.
Now that he looked, the Anshikheon on the right was much larger than the Shimhyanggak on the left.
He headed toward the Anshikheon.
Just as Dan Yeop arrived at the Anshikheon, someone opened the door and came out.
It was Lee So-gun, a first-generation trainee known as one of the Three Great Beauties of Byeongmachong, and Lee Hwa, who always followed her around.
Seeing Dan Yeop, Lee So-gun smiled and greeted him.
“Oh? Dan Yeop? I heard you graduated with the fourth-generation trainees. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
Then Lee Hwa, who had come out with Lee So-gun, spoke with a displeased expression.
“Thanks? Hey, did you just speak casually to So-gun? And you only just graduated with the fourth generation?”
Even among the women, there were people like Jin Mu and No Shim.
Lee Hwa was one of them.
During their time at Byeongmachong, she had clung to Lee So-gun and acted superior, yet she had always disliked Dan Yeop in particular.
In the past, he would have lowered his head and passed by, but Dan Yeop did not do so now.
It was because last night’s achievement had given him a bit of confidence.
“By the way, who are you? Your face looks familiar.”
He had asked sincerely because he truly could not remember her name.
But those words struck at Lee Hwa’s inferiority complex.
She, who usually lacked confidence in her appearance, thought Dan Yeop was mocking her.
“What? You brainless bastard! How dare you run your mouth like that! Do you want to die?”
As the enraged Lee Hwa was about to strike, a sturdy young man in his mid-twenties came out and glared.
“Hey, you little shits! How dare you bark when you’ve barely got hair on your heads? Do you want to die, you fucking bastards? Do you think this is Byeongmachong? Don’t even breathe too loud. I might just rip your mouths open. Got it?”
Intimidated by the young man’s vulgar outburst, Lee Hwa bowed her head and answered.
“Y-yes……”
The young man turned his eyes to Dan Yeop.
“And you?”
“I was just standing here quietly.”
“Haa! This little bastard talks back? Come find me after the event ends. If you run, you’re dead.”
After glaring at Dan Yeop, the young man went back inside.
Lee Hwa spoke with a gloating expression.
“You idiot, you’ve been marked by Senior Im now. You don’t know how terrifying Senior Im is, do you?”
Im Jeong’s nickname was Blood Dog.
He was rumored to be the most cruel among Haomun’s young members.
However, Dan Yeop did not reply and simply walked past Lee So-gun and Lee Hwa.
Anshikheon.
The inside of the Anshikheon was spacious enough to accommodate hundreds of people.
It seemed it was usually used as a perfume warehouse, as a faint scent of perfume lingered in the air.
The front wall was painted with merchants trading perfume.
The only seats were eight empty chairs at the head table.
Over two hundred sect members sat on the wooden floor facing forward.
Dan Yeop quickly scanned the crowd.
He was looking for Baek Yu-hwa.
But it was not easy to find her just by looking at the backs of heads.
Eventually giving up, he sat cross-legged in an empty spot in the back row.
A short while later, Branch Master Baek Cho-gong entered with the deputy branch master and the hall masters.
The seated members all stood up at once to greet them.
There was no loud greeting.
It was out of concern that the Jeommun event might become known to outsiders.
Branch Master Baek Cho-gong and his group walked to the head table and took their seats in the prepared chairs.
With Branch Master Baek Cho-gong and Deputy Branch Master Mok Un-saeng at the center, three hall masters sat on each side.
Once the eight people were seated at the head table, the members also took their seats on the floor.
The meeting began under the moderation of Deputy Branch Master Mok Un-saeng.
As it was the first full gathering since the war for Haomun’s unification had ended, the atmosphere was heavy.
After expressing his grief over the casualties, Deputy Branch Master Mok Un-saeng emphasized that the struggle of Haomun in Guannei Circuit had not been in vain.
“……The One Hundred Year Plan of Haomun in Guannei Circuit is only just beginning. We will not let the sacrifices of our members be in vain. If we give up because of pressure from the martial world factions, all those sacrifices will become meaningless. We will definitely unify all ten provinces of Haomun and break free from discrimination and oppression. Our first challenge showed we were outnumbered. Thanks to that, we learned that Haomun in Guannei Circuit alone cannot accomplish this. We also realized we must become stronger to counter the schemes of the interfering martial world factions. Therefore, we have taken special measures. We will cooperate with like-minded Haomun branches. And we will train in the supreme martial arts of Haomun to become even stronger.”
When Deputy Branch Master Mok Un-saeng looked around the room, one of the members, Incense Master Han Sang-ok, asked.
“Cooperating with like-minded Haomun branches is something we can achieve through effort, but does Haomun truly possess supreme martial arts capable of defeating other factions?”
“It does.”
“Are you saying Haomun really has such martial arts?”
“That is correct.”
“If it exists, please tell us what it is!”
“Branch Master will explain that.”
Deputy Branch Master Mok Un-saeng stepped back after cupping his hands in greeting to Branch Master Baek Cho-gong.
Up to this point, the exchange had been prearranged.
Branch Master Baek Cho-gong stood up and took a step forward toward the members.
“The massacre at Byeongmachong that occurred this summer gave Haomun two realizations. First, that the factions of the martial world do not want Haomun’s unification. Second, that our Haomun is as weak as an earthworm. The martial world factions want Haomun to forever remain beneath them, polishing their shoes. But even a mouse hole gets its day in the sun. And that sunlight has now reached Haomun.”
At this point, Branch Master Baek Cho-gong paused for a moment.
The members looked at him with burning eyes.
Their eyes were asking what that martial art was, what that sunlight was.
Finally, Branch Master Baek Cho-gong opened his mouth.
Like a skilled storyteller, he pointed at the air with his index finger and said.
“There was a Haomun expert in Guannei Circuit. Fate led him to Byeongmachong, where he taught Haomun’s martial arts. For a full fourteen years. There is a saying that all streams return to the sea. After fourteen years of bitter training, he finally overcame the limitations of Haomun’s martial arts. Thus, the martial art he created is Jin—”