Four Ounces Deflects a Thousand Pounds (3)
Four Ounces Deflects a Thousand Pounds (3)
A faint fragrance drifted through the darkness. As though she had wandered into a forest in full bloom, the floral scent, mingled with the smell of grass, soaked into her body.
Hong Ye sat upright on the training ground. Across the wooden floor, Grandmaster sat in the lotus position with his back turned. She asked,
"Why did you take me in?"
She was an orphan. She did not know how her parents had died, nor even her own lineage. The only thing that marked her identity was her skin color. Because of her dark skin, her roots were vaguely defined within the ambiguous bounds of the Southern Barbarians.
"Why? Why did you raise me?"
It was a question she had never voiced aloud. Knowing that people steeped in worldly desire would gossip about her mercilessly, she wondered why he had taken her as his adopted daughter, why he had made her his direct disciple. She was curious about that.
"Why did you take me as your disciple?"
It was a question she had never asked directly, because she was afraid of the answer she might receive. Grandmaster did not reply. Like an immortal from an ink painting, he sat with an upright, lofty posture, doing nothing but meditating. She could not understand.
She could not understand what he had seen in her to take her as a disciple, or why he had raised her as a daughter. She could not understand why she had to walk on eggshells while living inside the Taiji Sect. She could not understand.
******
"Huff...! Huff...!"
Drenched in sweat, Hong Ye woke from her dream. Turning her head, the first thing her eyes fell upon was the sachet Docheol had given her. Like a temple wind chime, it had swayed elegantly and captured her gaze, and then, as if nothing had happened, it quietly dissolved its presence into the room.
The colorful embroidery of the sachet, set against the old-fashioned room, felt unfamiliar to Hong Ye. She cautiously tapped it with her hand. Each time she touched it, a faint fragrance spread and her head cleared.
They said it was good for meditation, and it did seem to be effective.
"Ugh...."
But she regarded the sachet as an unpleasant object and kept her distance. Keeping it close felt like opening her heart to Docheol. It was Docheol who needed to open his heart, not Hong Ye. She had to use Docheol thoroughly, extracting only his status and rights.
So she hurriedly changed clothes.
Because she had much to do today.
*******
"I see you are using the sachet."
At Docheol's words, Hong Ye caught her breath. Faint as it was, the fragrance from the sachet lingered in the room as well. It seemed the scent had clung to her body while she had slept the day away. Hong Ye averted her gaze and said,
"Since it was a gift, I couldn't throw it away, so I simply left it there."
"I hope you won't discard it. It's a gift given in gratitude, after all."
Hong Ye tilted her head at his words.
"What gratitude?"
Docheol looked straight at her and said,
"How could I not show gratitude to a teacher who instructs me with such devotion?"
Hong Ye doubted she had been that devoted. She had always treated him in a businesslike manner, and had even occasionally shown him open irritation, yet Docheol was saying she was a good teacher.
Hong Ye glanced at Docheol's profile for a moment. Although he occasionally cast sly glances, when he practiced the stances, he assumed an upright posture and never let his eyes wander. She said,
"I am still inexperienced. Excessive praise is harmful to hear, so I would be grateful if you would refrain."
Docheol shook his head and replied,
"Why do you consider it excessive praise? I, too, was once called a bumpkin and humiliated by martial artists. But here I am now, memorizing the stances of Taijiquan and learning them one by one, am I not? Whose credit is that? Mine? No. I believe the credit goes largely to the teacher who taught me. Your sincerity and uprightness have led me here."
"It's only because you are inherently clever that you learn quickly."
Hong Ye deflected the praise. It was her instinctive defense mechanism. Whenever someone praised her, someone else would later pick absurd faults to crush her spirit. Because this had repeated itself, she had developed a reflexive aversion to compliments themselves.
Docheol shook his head. He looked straight at Hong Ye, and Hong Ye found it hard to meet his gaze. Docheol once more said, with a serious face,
"Young lady, you are a remarkable person. I truly think so."
Hong Ye stubbornly shook her head. She avoided Docheol's eyes and said,
"...It only looks that way to the eyes of a second-rate. Once you rise to a higher realm, what you see will change. There are things visible only when your realm is high enough."
"Do you believe that only when one's realm is high can one judge a person rightly? Do you truly believe that, young lady?"
"That is...."
Hong Ye could not answer easily. The moment she opened her mouth to reply, the image of the elders who had nitpicked her every move flashed before her eyes. How ugly was the sight of those peak masters tearing people down.
Hong Ye stared at the wall with a confused face. She briefly covered her mouth with her hand and lowered her eyes, lost in thought. Docheol did not try to see her crumbling expression, and Hong Ye rubbed her face, habitually fixing her expression.
And then she hardened her expression once more and said,
"...Still, I am not a remarkable person."
Hong Ye insisted stubbornly to the end. Docheol turned to her. He adjusted his stance again and said,
"Even so, I will think you are wonderful, young lady."
At the sight of him affirming her, Hong Ye stiffened for a moment. She found herself staring blankly at Docheol's back. As if struck on the head, she was dazed, and when her senses belatedly returned, his last words reverberated around her like an echo.
Hong Ye shook her head.
It was just a polite remark, and it was clear they would return to being strangers once this training ended.
If she was easily deceived by sweet words, she had no right to call herself the direct disciple of the Taiji Sect.
She was merely using Docheol.
That was why she hated Docheol.
******
When Hong Ye returned to her room, the lingering fragrance rose up from the floor like a heat haze and soaked into her body.
Docheol's words kept circling in her head.
[Even so, I will think you are wonderful, young lady.]
Had anyone ever spoken to her in such a way?
Even searching her memory, she could not recall.
People who insulted her, and those who envied her.
And the Grandmaster who taught her martial arts, and the disapproving gazes.
There had always been an abundance of people who denied her.
Hong Ye drew a breath.
The unfamiliar scent filled her lungs, and Hong Ye fell asleep clutching the blanket tightly. She could not sleep without curling up.
*******
Several days passed.
The sachet Docheol had bought for her had served its purpose and no longer gave off any scent. Looking at the limp, deflated pouch, Hong Ye felt a complicated stir of emotions. It was originally a meaningless pouch, but simply being in her room seemed to give it a new, unexpected significance.
All objects took on meaning in such a way, but to Hong Ye, who had never decorated her room, even that was unfamiliar—the sensation that a useless, cumbersome ornament could evoke such strange feelings. And the strange feeling of being reminded of the person who gave it every time she saw it.
Because of this awkward, tickling sensation, Hong Ye had to look in the mirror and compose her expression once again.
With the words she had learned, there was simply no way to express this feeling.
"It seems the fragrance has all faded."
During training, Docheol brought up that topic. It was a natural remark, since the faint scent no longer emanated from her. Hong Ye averted her gaze, afraid she might betray any regret, and said,
"Yes, that's right."
"I bought a small sachet on purpose, worrying you might not like it, and it seems the effect was short-lived. Did you like the fragrance?"
Hong Ye avoided answering. She chose to remain silent, fixing her gaze on the wall.
However, silence was also an excellent answer for Docheol. Once he had seen through her dishonest nature, he could find clues in each of her curt reactions and construct an answer for himself.
Docheol looked straight at her, smiled, and said,
"Let's go buy one together."
Hong Ye could not believe her ears. She hesitated for a moment, then managed to steady her breath and said,
"Wh-what did you say?"
Docheol grinned brazenly and said to her once more,
"Let's go buy one together. This time, we'll get a larger sachet. It's something for your room, so shouldn't you go and choose it yourself? When giving a gift, giving it blindly without knowing the person's taste only works once."
Hong Ye's head spun.
It was clearly a good opportunity. Just flaunting her closeness with him would surely silence the cowardly people of the Taiji Sect.
It was a chance to make ample use of Docheol.
Hong Ye found it laughable that Docheol was resorting to such a shallow trick to try something with her.
She was certain she was using Docheol in return.