Have You Apologized to Geuk-rim?
"So...... did you apologize to that kid Seo Geuk-rim?"
"H-he did something wrong!"
"What wrong?"
Danmok Jun cried out in a trembling voice.
"I gave him clothes, fed him, treated him really well, but he did better than me......"
I'm gonna lose it.
"And if you treat him well? Does he have to do worse than you?"
"That's not it—he's from a more distant branch than me......"
"So if he's from a more distant branch, he has to be worse than you? And if he does better, you poison him to death?"
"B-but...... Grandfather......"
Danmok Jun hunched his shoulders and trailed off, glancing around nervously.
Finally, Baek Ui-myeong exploded.
"That crazy old bastard abandoned the kid!"
"Huh?"
Danmok Jun's eyes went wide. He'd never heard anyone call his sky-like grandfather a "crazy old bastard," not even in his wildest imagination.
Baek Ui-myeong, oblivious to Danmok Jun's shock for entirely different reasons, pressed on.
"You're wrong. Got it? You...... you can't go around killing kids who do better than you, or kids born to worse fates! You're nothing special!"
Ugh, I'm gonna go mad. Am I destined to raise bratty kids?
"Y-yes......"
"If someone does better than you, just think, Wow, they're good, and move on."
At that moment, for some reason, Danmok Jun recalled the last voice he'd heard back at the clan estate.
— You're not getting kicked out because you're worse than Seo Geuk-rim, or because you got caught this time.
A girl only a little shorter than him had looked him in the eye and said it. Her cold voice made him shrink involuntarily.
The girl had stared at him with a complicated expression for a long time, taken a deep breath, and left him with words that were clear yet cryptic.
— Someday, you have to break the knife inside you. It can't stab others—or yourself.
'It won't mean anything to you now, or help you.' Why was that coming to mind right now?
"Yes, sir!"
Baek Ui-myeong looked at Danmok Jun's spirited reply and slumped his shoulders instead. The boy had shouted it so proudly, but hadn't he ended up here precisely because he couldn't do the same?
A pointless wave of shame flushed his neck red.
Damn it!
"Later, when you see Ser...... whatever-his-name-is, apologize properly......"
"Yes, sir!"
"And so he passed and stayed at the clan?"
"Yes......"
"Phew, at least that's a relief."
"A relief......?"
Danmok Jun wore a puzzled expression.
Baek Ui-myeong shot him a glare.
"If he'd failed because of what you did? If you'd ruined his life, how would you ever make it up to him?!"
"Ah......"
"At least he passed—that's lucky."
"Yes...... But will Geuk-rim forgive me......?"
"That's up to him; you can't force it."
At Baek Ui-myeong's rather curt words, Danmok Jun hung his head like a deflated puppy, but he didn't bring up going back home.
Baek Ui-myeong had a gut feeling right then. He wouldn't be able to abandon this dumb little kid.
Haaah, what do I even tell the elders? Where do I get the money to raise another brat...... Is this really okay?
His future looked utterly bleak. The money pouch Danmok Jun's mother had left behind felt like a heavy weight.
The murky black carp's body had gradually turned white, and now even its red patterns shone beautifully and vividly.
I haven't been feeding it, so nothing bad should happen, right? I fed Heukwol myself back then.
Even if he tried to stay away out of needless worry, the carp sensed Ryeon's presence and wagged its tail so enthusiastically that he couldn't pretend not to notice.
So he'd draw near and watch, and the revitalized carp would dart energetically around the pond, splashing water droplets at Ryeon in delight.
As Ryeon fanned the clear pond water once and rose to his feet, Danmok Hyeon-u came dashing over from afar, robes fluttering.
"Ryeon! Has Ryeon arrived?"
"Uncle."
"Aigoo, this uncle is late. Sorry about that."
"No! I just got here too."
"Were you watching the carp?"
Ryeon nodded. Danmok Hyeon-u peered into the pond with wonder in his eyes, but the carp, sensing its longtime former owner, swam lazily without much enthusiasm.
"Since you cherish this one so much, why not give it a name?"
"A... a name?"
He thought of Heukwol and wanted to decline, but the carp flicked its tail vigorously again.
"Look at that! It likes the idea too."
Of course it's just coincidence—if it actually understands and likes it, that's the real problem.
But when he met Danmok Hyeon-u's eyes brimming with joy and delight, such thoughts washed away like dirt in water.
If naming the carp once would make his uncle happy...
"But I'm bad at names. Ogol-gae was Blackie, then it became Heukwol, and the white cat I raised was Milky, then..."
"Ah......"
That cat had ended up Baekryeon in the end.
"This one...... has red patterns, so Red......?"
"Th-then Hongrin! Hongrin—red scales! It has red patterns, so it's just like the name you came up with!"
Danmok Hyeon-u said urgently, almost pleading. Ryeon nodded quickly.
"Hongrin! I like Hongrin. Hope the carp likes it too."
Up until Ryeon said "I like it," the carp had been drifting lazily, but then it suddenly swam briskly and nimbly.
"Haha, looks like it likes it too!"
Ryeon gazed quietly at Hongrin and broke into a beaming smile.
At least the name doesn't have cheong or chang characters. Both mean blue.
Heukwol had no "red" in its name yet somehow became some divine phoenix or vermilion bird, but still—better not to tempt fate by giving the carp a name like that.
Should I suggest renaming Baekryeon? To Nokryeon or Suryeon?
But that thought crumbled fast. Hwaryun would surely protest, "Changing its name like that would just confuse it and hurt its feelings."
"Great, great! Then today, let's play some music for Hongrin too."
Danmok Hyeon-u, having changed out of his sweat-soaked robes, sat across from Ryeon and took up the pipa.
Ever since Ryeon's health improved and his lung capacity grew, his flute skills had progressed at an astonishing pace. The tone was still soft and delicate, but lately half the lessons were formal, and the other half were duets with Danmok Hyeon-u for fun.
"The kids are really motivated these days."
Danmok Hyeon-u plucked the pipa's strings to tune it as he spoke.
"At first, I was a bit flustered......"
Until now, the only child Danmok Hyeon-u had taught was Danmok Ryeon—not martial arts, but letters. After teaching a child who grasped everything perfectly on the first try and even reached new insights, suddenly teaching other kids was a shock.
At first, Danmok Hyeon-u thought he must be doing something terribly wrong and spent nights pacing anxiously. The kids wouldn't understand after one explanation, not even two, and only on the third— was this normal, or was he just a terrible teacher?
Danmok Han-so had eased his worries. After observing a lesson, he'd burst into laughter.
— Aigoo, you're doing great!
— Really......? But why don't they get it even after I explain......
Both knew what was left unsaid: 'Ryeon just gets it.'
— Young miss Ryeon is a special case. Think back to when you were little, young master. Did you get the eldest young master's words right away?
Only then did Danmok Hyeon-u regain his composure. His brother had sometimes eagerly tried to teach him, but the process wasn't gentle. Danmok Hyeon-seong couldn't understand why Danmok Hyeon-u didn't get it, and Danmok Hyeon-u couldn't understand why his brother didn't speak plainly. Their lessons always ended in disaster.
After a big fight, Danmok Hyeon-seong would make Danmok Hyeon-u bitter, astringent Bingdangho-ro with no real flavor. As a kid, Danmok Hyeon-u had once thought it was more torment and thrown it away, bursting into tears.
— That makes sense now.
Danmok Han-so had finally chuckled heartily at Danmok Hyeon-u's words.
"Is teaching the kids fun?"
Danmok Hyeon-u nodded proudly.
"They seem unchanging one moment, growing by leaps and bounds the next. So admirable."
As he spoke, Danmok Hyeon-u unfolded a new score he'd acquired.
"They say it's trending in the markets lately. Such a refined melody—lots of people want it, so I got one to try."