Call Me Master
"I'm back."
The moment Jin Cheong-un opened the door and stepped inside, Jeong So-so flinched and turned her head away.
"Y-you're back early."
She couldn't meet his eyes, and when he stole a glance at her, the corners of hers looked faintly red. But she quickly pulled on a resolute expression and said, "I've cleared most of it away. It's just the big debris left to deal with..."
"Right, let's finish it together. Then we can finally get some rest."
Wearing an expression that reeked of pure annoyance, Jin Cheong-un began lazily hauling away the wreckage.
Jeong So-so, quietly sweeping the floor, spoke up after a while. "What... do we do now?"
"About what?"
"The Black Tiger Sect is close with the local officials. Now that this has been reported to the authorities, they'll hear of it soon enough — and they won't let it slide..."
Jin Cheong-un answered with complete indifference. "Won't matter whether they know or not."
"I'm sorry?"
"From what I hear, they've set their sights on the Jeong Family Manor itself. However today's mess got explained away, it was never going to end well."
Jin Cheong-un flung a large chunk of wood over his shoulder as he went on. "Whether we buried today's visitors where no one would ever find them, or sent them off with kind words and no fight — either way, they'd keep at it until they had the manor in hand, even if you paid off every last coin of that debt."
"..."
Jeong So-so chewed at her lip. So no matter what they did, there was no getting out of this.
Then...
She stared at Jin Cheong-un's back as he crouched over the debris. And then, in as level a voice as she could manage, she said, "Then you should leave Yinghua Village. Right now, Uncle."
Jin Cheong-un stopped what he was doing and turned his head.
Jeong So-so pressed on calmly. "It's the Jeong Family Manor they're after. If you leave this place, they'll have no reason to come chasing after you over this."
The air fell silent. At some point the sunset had burned out, and the sky was darkening.
Jin Cheong-un looked at her without a word for a moment, then tossed out a single line. "So this is how you go about driving out the man of the house."
"...I'm sorry?"
"Nice try. Not a chance, though."
"N-no! That's — that's not what I meant!"
"Doesn't matter. I'm not leaving. No — I can't leave. Do you have any idea how much money I've poured into this manor?! Do you know what that money even is?!"
Jeong So-so, who had been staring at him dumbfounded, heaved a deep sigh. "There have been a lot of ugly rumors going around about the Black Tiger Sect lately. However important money is, it isn't more important than your life."
"Ugly rumors?"
Jeong So-so nodded, her expression turning strange. "They say Black Tiger thugs killed a man so thoroughly no one ever found the body. That they kidnapped people's families to hold over their heads..."
"Hm."
"If this were the past, I'd have said let's talk it out. The Black Tiger Sect always handled things smoothly — uncharacteristically reasonable, for a Black Path sect. But even back then, anyone who crossed them personally was the exception... and look at them now."
Then Jin Cheong-un asked abruptly, "And what about you two?"
"I'm sorry?"
"If anyone's running, shouldn't you and your brother be the first out the door?"
"I-I have to protect this house. Unlike you, Uncle, I've got nowhere else to go."
Somewhere to go, huh. Not that he had one of those either.
"Why are you so chained to this manor?"
"Because it's the house I've lived in my whole life."
"So what?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Back in my day, people your age ran away from home at the drop of a hat, fell in with bad crowds out in the world, raised hell, got hauled off by the authorities now and then — that's how a person grows up. Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
What kind of growing up is that supposed to be?
To the flustered girl, Jin Cheong-un said breezily, "Right, well. I'm sure you've got your reasons you can't share. Understood."
"Then leave at first light tomorrow. Don't give another thought to what comes after."
Jin Cheong-un tilted his head. "I never said I was leaving?"
"...You're not leaving?"
"Like I said — quit worrying about the future and get back to cleaning. Whew, how is there this much of it?"
At a reaction too carefree by half, Jeong So-so's voice shot up. "Uncle! I am not joking right now! You have no reason to help us, and if you stay here for nothing, disaster will land squarely on your head!"
Then it came.
"Master."
"...?"
"You should be calling me Master, not Uncle."
An earnestness she had never once seen from him flowed off Jin Cheong-un. For a moment, Jeong So-so lost her words entirely.
"I-I never... said I agreed to that."
"I've decided, so it's decided."
"Th-that's absurd—"
"You wouldn't know this, but the Cheongun Martial Arts Academy has always been like this. Since the old days."
Jin Cheong-un said it with a faint chuckle. "Teaching is new to me too, but even I know a master doesn't abandon his disciple. Leave the rest to the adults and set your worries down."
Why?
Something suddenly surged up her throat. Unable to swallow it back down, Jeong So-so went on, her voice thick. "But you were injured... You barely managed to retire..."
Jin Cheong-un heaved a deep sigh. "I'm anxious too. Anxious, I tell you. Is this what I retired for? I regret it — it's agony. What kind of retirement is this, when I can't even rest properly... Ah, heavens above."
Mid-grumble, Jin Cheong-un looked at her and smiled. "But I've decided to be a teacher, so what can I do? My disciple's in trouble. Of course I help."
Jeong So-so stared at him, blank. In that moment, the Jin Cheong-un reflected in her eyes was wearing a gentle smile she had never seen from him before.
"...Um."
The tip of her nose stung all of a sudden, and she bit down hard on her lip. With no idea what on earth she was supposed to say, Jeong So-so simply bowed at the waist.
"I'm sorry."
"...?"
"Actually, I meant to say this first, but I just went and yelled instead... It's just that..."
The words stumbled out, halting and jumbled.
"I didn't want to be a burden to you. But then you got dragged into our family's mess, and on top of that you said you'd rebuild the academy, and cure my brother too — and instead of repaying someone like that, all I do is keep taking... So what I'm trying to say is... I'm truly sorry. I will repay this debt one day. I swear it."
Jeong So-so bowed her head again.
Jin Cheong-un quietly regarded the crown of her neatly bowed head — then smiled. "Such a little thing, already playing at being a grown-up. That's not talk for a kid."
Jeong So-so raised her head, dumbfounded. "K-kid? I'm eighteen."
"Which makes you a kid."
Her tongue tied in a knot, Jeong So-so could only open and close her mouth.
Jin Cheong-un stretched out a long yawn and thumped his lower back. "When an adult offers to help, you say thank you and leave it at that. If you've got it, get back to sweeping. We'll be here till dawn at this rate."
Jeong So-so's eyes wavered, wide and deep.
Master...
No one had ever stepped forward for a reason like that. No — she had never even dared to hope for it. There was no such thing as something for nothing in this world. No help came without a price. Behind every kindness lay a calculation.
And even if such help did exist, it could only come from blood. But she had been thrown away by the one person who was that blood — her own father.
From the moment she had resolved to live in this world alone, she had recited those words to herself like scripture.
And yet.
"...Thank you."
Jeong So-so bowed her head low. "Thank you for helping me, Master."
So there were adults like this after all. Someone who would help a girl bound to him by nothing — a threadbare connection, two days of acquaintance, and even that a wretched start. Her master, of all people.
"Mm."
To that, Jin Cheong-un offered nothing but his usual indifference.
The heart of Yichang County.
Atop an ornate, towering pavilion, Yeop Ji-chang — Lord of the Black Tiger Sect — took a sip of wine and spoke. "I suppose I owe you a hearing. Go on, then. Let's have it."
The thug before him lay flat against the floor, cold sweat trickling in streams. "W-well, you see..."
When the man finished his stammering report, Yeop Ji-chang let out a hollow laugh. "The keeper of a martial academy?"
"Yes! A man who looked to be around thirty. It seems the little wench of the Jeong Family Manor lured some martial artist in from who knows where."
"So some strange character has crawled into town."
Setting up a martial academy in the countryside at that age — it took no great insight to guess what sort of man he was.
"Which means four of my men lost to some two-bit drifter."
The man flinched and blurted, "Th-there's a reason for it!"
"A reason?"
"Did you not command us never to cause a disturbance? S-Squad Leader Song did his utmost to avoid a fight — that is how he was beaten!"
Of course, Song Un-chan had thought nothing of the sort; he had simply lost his temper, picked a fight, and lost it. But the man, convinced he had to say something — anything — had thrown it out and prayed.
"So he fell in the line of my orders."
"Y-yes!"
Yeop Ji-chang turned to his side. "Chief Manager. It seems my order was the problem, then. How fared the other districts?"
The Chief Manager standing at his shoulder bowed his head. "All smooth, save a place or two."
Only then did the prostrate man grasp his blunder. The color drained from his face. "L-Lord Sect Master—!"
Crack!
The man's head snapped backward without warning.
Thud!
Blood pooled beneath where he had fallen. When had he even thrown it? In the dead silence, all that could be heard was the blood-smeared wine cup clattering away across the floor.
The thugs outside the door filed in with practiced ease and dragged the body out by the heels.
"Shall we send word to the magistrate?" the Chief Manager asked, setting down a fresh cup and pouring.
"No need. A waste of good money, springing a fool like that."
Yeop Ji-chang drained his cup in one swallow and clicked his tongue. "The men who were rooted in this town from the start have never sat right with me. Look at the state of their work."
"Still, we've refilled the ranks quickly enough."
Seeing the empty cup, the Chief Manager reached for the bottle again, but Yeop Ji-chang waved him off and filled it to the brim himself.
"Come to think of it, that fool wasn't entirely wrong."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Weighing the law, weighing justification... These days I half mistake myself for one of the White Path. Or do I?"
At the cold smile on Yeop Ji-chang's face, the Chief Manager broke into a fresh sweat. The tone was self-mocking, but knowing the Lord's temperament as he did, he dared not take a single word of it at face value.
"...Was it not your judgment, my Lord, that let our sect take root here so quietly?"
Yeop Ji-chang gave a dry chuckle. "You dress up the tale of a coward hiding in his hole very grandly."
"L-Lord—"
"Heh. The great Yeop Ji-chang, turned toothless tiger. The Janggeum Sect and the Youth League sniffing at our borders... and now some outsider with more nerve than sense lays hands on my men."
The Chief Manager swallowed drily. It was all true. Since seizing control of Yichang's underworld, Yeop Ji-chang had run his business as quietly as a man could.
He took only half the usual protection money, avoided violence wherever possible, and sought justification before moving against anyone. When his underlings stepped out of line, he would bow his head in person to the local officials and notables.
Remember the Lord in his prime... the real marvel is that he has restrained himself this long.
Yeop Ji-chang had once been a master whose very name was spoken with dread. Perhaps that long-endured patience had finally reached its limit.
"Give the word... and I will sweep away every last thing that offends you. Swiftly."
A silence settled. For a long while Yeop Ji-chang said nothing, only rolling the cup across his palm. Then he spoke. "No need. We stand before bigger things."
"..."
"The Martial Alliance has finished mopping up after the war, and from what I hear they're beginning to poke their noses in everywhere. Best not to catch any eyes we don't have to."
On the surface, it sounded like a man making excuses to himself. But the Chief Manager, breathing an inward sigh of relief, said, "We are one step away. Once the business in hand is wrapped up, all of Yichang will be your world, my Lord."
"..."
"I will see this matter through personally."
As if the whole thing were beneath his attention, Yeop Ji-chang gulped down his wine. "Handle it as you see fit. Only — that academy keeper sounds young and hot-blooded, the sort who won't hesitate to start a brawl... See that it stays quiet."
"Keep it quiet... Yes. Understood."
The Chief Manager nodded, a meaningful smile playing at his lips.
Suddenly, Yeop Ji-chang asked, "Where is that boy Gun-pyeong right now?"
"The Young Lord will be devoting himself to his training, I expect."
"That boy? Training? He's knee-deep in a wine jar, more likely."
Yeop Ji-chang clicked his tongue lightly and tossed out the order. "Have him come along."
"You mean... take the Young Lord with us?"
"A wretch he may be, but he's my one and only son. I can't let him play forever. Start him on the easy things, a little at a time."
Since when had the Young Lord ever been the sort to sit and learn obediently when taught?
Yeop Ji-chang evidently considered this a trivial errand and meant to hand his son over regardless — but for the Chief Manager, dragging the Young Lord along on business that demanded quiet was the very last thing on earth he wanted.
"Yes, then... I shall bring him along."
But he had no confidence in his ability to refuse the Lord's command. The Chief Manager bowed his head, already plotting to stash the Young Lord in the back room of some tavern and be done with it.
"Go on, then."
As though the matter were too tiresome to dwell on another moment, Yeop Ji-chang flapped his hand in dismissal and took up his wine cup once more.