Shadow Puppets and Reluctant Family
The flute lesson fizzled out without much fanfare.
Ryeon couldn't even focus properly during her afternoon session with Danmok Cheon-gi, earning herself a scolding. He didn't lay into her too harshly, though—he knew exactly why she was distracted.
I'm perfectly fine now, so why is Uncle still...
It had been the same in her past life, too. Right up to the end, as far as she could remember, Danmok Hyeon-u had never shaken off his heart demon. She knew people's hearts didn't bend to their will so easily, but it still ached.
"...Miss, I learned something new recently."
Ryeon, sprawled on the bed, lifted her head at the voice beside her. Hwaryun, who had been playing with the cat White Lotus using a tiny feather ornament, tossed the words out casually.
Ryeon caught on right away—he was trying to distract her from her worries.
"Hm? What'd you learn? From who?"
"You know that guy Cho-il at Rejing Pavilion?"
Ryeon let out a small sigh. Cho-il, who handled all the miscellaneous tasks for Pavilion Master Seol Gwan-hui, couldn't be more than twenty. Not exactly 'uncle' age...
"What'd he teach you? Abacus, maybe?"
"...No."
Hwaryun replied half-heartedly to her overly enthusiastic tone.
"Oh? I just thought learning the abacus could be useful. They say Cho-il at Rejing Pavilion is a wizard with it—that's why the Pavilion Master hired him. It's like a god-level skill."
Ryeon mimed flicking beads with her fingers.
"So even just that kind of talent could come in handy in a pinch."
"..."
"Why the silence?"
Hwaryun stared at her for a moment, then let out a deep sigh with an intensely serious expression. He ruffled his own hair roughly before speaking gravely.
"Are you gonna treat every servant who walks in here like your own kid?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Even when they act cheeky, you don't scold them?"
"Who'd tattle on their little brother like, 'He did this, he did that'?"
"He's not your real little brother."
"Hey, that's hurtful..."
"Stop messing around."
"I'm not messing around. Why bring up 'real brother' all of a sudden?"
"What, are we blood-related, me and you? Or do you even know whose kid I am?"
"Does family have to be blood? If we say we're family, we are. Does that make our mom and dad strangers? Mom was an orphan, and she's not blood-related to Dad either."
"Blood-related people can't marry in the first place! That's different!"
"Or... ah!"
Ryeon suddenly shot up from her seat, her starry eyes sparkling like they might spill over with starlight as realization dawned.
"You want to join the Danmok Clan? Really? Great! Let's do it. I'm all for it."
"Wh-what? Where'd you go with that all by yourself!"
"You said we're not real family? Then let's make it real. U-Hwaryun is cute, but Danmok Hwaryun sounds good too. I don't want to just call you family in words..."
"Argh! No! Absolutely not!"
Ryeon bolted up and dashed halfway out the door. It flew open with a bang, and the sweet scent of gold osmanthus from the garden flooded in. Jeong Yeong, guarding the narrow side gate in the courtyard fence, turned with a puzzled look.
"It's nothing! Sis—er, Young Miss, come back inside, please!"
Hwaryun looked like he might faint, so Ryeon tamped down her excitement and stepped back in. He shakily closed the door with trembling hands and rubbed his face with both palms.
"Where were you even running off to...?"
"To Mom."
"What were you gonna say?"
"About adopting you as..."
"Argh!"
"Why scream like that?"
"Don't do it for real."
"Why not?"
Ryeon stared at him, utterly baffled.
"Our family's been on the upswing—you know we've made a ton of money now. Bi's sweet, and Mom wouldn't play favorites. And if we're being brutally honest, even if she did, it'd still be good for you."
She leaned in like a merchant whispering sweet nothings to close a sale. Hwaryun gaped in shock.
"I'm gonna die."
"Everything I say is for your own good. You know that, right?"
"I know, I get it... but..."
"Whether you're U-Hwaryun, Gold-Hwaryun—no, Gold-Hwaryun's a bit much. Sun-Hwaryun, Pearl-Hwaryun, whatever... People will treat Danmok Hwaryun a little better."
"I know that too. I get everything you're saying."
"Then why hate it so much!"
"You can't force an ox to drink if it doesn't want to. It's the ox's choice."
"Why wouldn't that ox want a drink? Huh?"
"Guess it's not thirsty."
"I just don't get it..."
"What seems good for you isn't always good for everyone else."
Ryeon flopped face-first onto the table.
"Then why bring up something weird like that out of nowhere?"
"To tell you not to do exactly this!"
"Do what?"
"Picking up every pitiful kid you see on the street and raising them like sons!"
"I won't pick up any."
"You picked me up!"
"You're you..."
Hwaryun suddenly stared at her, face turning red like he was choking.
Ryeon mumbled awkwardly.
"The truth is..."
"..."
"I can spot talented kids. Like, really spot them."
"What...? What'd you say?"
"You're talented. For real. I knew right away you'd make it with the sword like Seong."
"So you took me in because I'm talented? Talented at what?"
"Martial arts. Big time."
Hwaryun jumped up, then tore at his hair.
"Then why leave a 'useful' kid like me as a servant? At least order me to learn martial arts..."
"But you don't want to? Forcing you to do what you hate—what's the point?"
"So you just keep suggesting I try martial arts, and lately you're pushing other stuff?"
"Exactly. Through various explorations, you'll find your true calling..."
"That's not gonna work."
"What won't?"
A weary fatigue, like that of a jaded adult, settled over Hwaryun's boyish face. He sighed.
"Spoiling kids by giving them everything and showering them with attention just ruins them."
"You were already a bit ruined when we met, so you're fine."
"Not me! Others!"
"Who else?"
"You're gonna hire more servants. Them! You can't treat servants like this."
"You know I treat you well? I thought you didn't notice."
"Not anymore. Please, just listen to me."
"I am. And I've said it a thousand times: I won't."
"Ah, right. You said it's because I'm talented? Fine, then don't pick up anyone less talented than me."
"What?"
Ryeon furrowed her brow. Is there another kid out there with Young Cult Master of Machun-gyo potential?
"What, so I'll be stuck with just you as my servant forever?"
"...No... I mean, anyway, then I'll learn the biwa, the seven-stringed zither, and yeah, even the abacus."
"...For real?"
"But martial arts? Just the absolute basics, and you teach me personally."
"Huh? Grandpa or Uncle would teach better than me..."
Hwaryun shook his head fiercely, his reluctance plain as day. Ryeon didn't push.
"Fine, fine. So what did Cho-il teach you?"
"..."
"..."
Hwaryun's shoulders slumped, his energy drained like a deflated balloon.
"Why'd you suddenly wilt like that?"
"Dunno. My mood's not cooperating."
"Hearts are fickle like that."
Hwaryun lit a candle, shoulders still drooping, and positioned it before the screen. He twisted his hands this way and that, casting a bird-shaped shadow that flapped feebly.
"Ah... you learned this? You should've come to me!"
"Huh?"
"Watch—this big sis will show you."
And so began Ryeon's dazzling shadow parade. A dog seemed to bark, turning into a horse; the horse became a goat.
"Know what this is?"
Ryeon pressed her index fingers together, one thumb sticking out.
"Teapot!"
"Ooh..."
Hwaryun, who had been lukewarm until then, watched wide-eyed as she cycled through a bird on a perch, a running rabbit, a gracefully gliding swan, a stag with grand antlers, and a crawling snail.
"Impressed?"
"Whoa. That's seriously cool. First time seeing this."
"Of course. It takes spatial awareness and deduction skills—a high-level technique. Where else you gonna see this?"
Ryeon cackled, reforming the teapot shadow and tilting it.
"Have a cup, Young Master Hwaryun~!"
"Y-yes. Cheers."
"Cup your hands like a saucer."
"Got it."
"Drink up quick, or the teapot turns into a bird and flies away!"
"You from Sichuan or what? Why so impatient?"
"Sichuan's where my old fiancé's clan is. Ahh, it flew! Gone now. No tea for you, Hwaryun."
"Young Master just now. You had a fiancé?"
"You want Young Master? Then adoption..."
"No, no, no! Forget it. I don't wanna be Young Master, so don't."