Moon Elder (3)
There was an academy known as a specialist in reformation.
They said that once you entered, you'd emerge a new person a few years later.
Among those who had become new people there, a few were people I knew.
Whenever they spoke of the academy, they'd shudder, but seeing them, the effects were remarkably good.
According to my memories, that academy was still in operation now.
Before the director, Wi Seung-jeo, died from a chronic illness, it seemed I needed to get that worthless brat in there as soon as possible.
The Jegal Supreme Patriarch said to Yu Chonggwan,
"It seems the situation has wrapped up, so shall we go and exchange poems?"
"Yes, brother."
"And Seo-ho, the junior division head. Please tell that young lady that I'll see her later."
As expected, he was a man who didn't make empty promises.
.
.
.
My junior division head announcement ceremony had concluded.
The ceremony was over, but the banquet was far from finished.
Given how far everyone had come, the festivities continued on.
That evening, Father met with Jin Jin-hak, the director of Jeongin Academy, and they talked.
And the next morning at breakfast.
Father declared to the family,
"Jeong-ho's wedding will be held five days from now."
"......Pardon?"
I asked in surprise.
"In five days?"
"You've both reached marriageable age, so there's no good reason to delay it."
True enough, Brother Jeong-ho was twenty now.
It wasn't too early for a wedding.
"Besides, with all the guests here for Seo-ho's junior division head ceremony, it'd be a hassle for them to come back just to celebrate the wedding."
The Central Plains were vast.
Those from nearby were fine, but for those from afar, returning would be difficult.
Beyond travel time, security meant they needed escorts from martial artists.
If a household lacked its own warriors, they'd have to hire an escort agency.
And that cost a fortune.
In short, since the wedding was happening anyway, best to do it now while the guests were already at the Eunhae Merchant Group.
I was just a bit startled because it was much faster than I'd expected.
"But five days from now—can we really prepare a wedding in just five days?"
At Brother Jin-ho's question, Grandfather replied,
"It's not impossible. We haven't cleared away the supplies prepared for Seo-ho's ceremony yet."
"A little tweaking, and it'll do for the wedding."
From Grandfather and Mother's responses, I could tell the three of them had already discussed it.
"So, Jeong-ho, what do you think?"
At the question, Brother Jeong-ho replied with a flushed face,
"The sooner, the better."
We all burst out laughing at his answer.
"Then we'll proceed that way."
"Yes."
From that day, preparations for Brother Jeong-ho's wedding began.
After breakfast, I hurried off.
I had to attend a Eunwol Pavilion meeting.
Before, as the employer of Gongmil, I'd only joined meetings related to the wooden puppets.
And those were irregular, so attendance times varied.
But the regular Eunwol Pavilion meetings were every morning.
Now that I was officially a junior division head, I attended every morning too.
A moment later, arriving at Eunwol Pavilion, I looked up at the building.
It felt strangely emotional.
Unlike in my past life, what I felt gazing at this building now was different from back then.
Then, there had been joy at being recognized and excitement for a new start. Now, it was resolve.
Resolve to prevent the Eunhae Merchant Group's final downfall that I'd witnessed, and to elevate it to the world's greatest merchant group.
I closed my eyes, reaffirming that resolve, then opened them.
And stepped into Eunwol Pavilion.
"Welcome."
Jeok Byeong-cheol, division head of Sepung Pavilion, who had arrived early and was waiting, greeted me.
"Ah, Division Head Jeok. You're already here."
"Congratulations on becoming junior division head."
"Thank you."
"That ambition you declared to me—has it not changed?"
"Pardon?"
"You told me you'd make the Eunhae Merchant Group the greatest in the world."
Ah, you're talking about what I said back then.
Division Head Jeok asked again,
"Has that ambition not changed?"
"You still remember."
"The older I get, the better my memory becomes."
"It's both my ambition and my resolve. How could it change easily?"
"I see."
"And you, Division Head—surely you haven't forgotten your promise from back then?"
Back then, Division Head Jeok had promised to answer any one question I asked.
At my question, Division Head Jeok smiled faintly.
"You have a good memory too, Junior Division Head."
"I've always had a sharp memory."
"Of course I remember. And I'm looking forward to it—what question you'll ask to entertain me."
"Hahaha."
"By the way, you played the role of the Moon Elder quite well."
"Ah......"
As expected of Division Head Jeok.
"You did splendidly."
Er...... praise. This I hadn't expected.
Just then, Deputy Chief of Staff Go Il-pyeong entered Eunwol Pavilion.
"Hahaha! What has you all chatting so merrily this morning?"
Full of energy from the start of the day.
"Ah! Deputy Chief, you've arrived?"
"Deputy Chief's here. We were just chatting."
Others followed one by one, taking their seats.
The table in Eunwol Pavilion was a white round table.
Father at the center, Brother Jeong-ho to his right, then me.
To Father's left sat the inner chief of staff, deputy chief, Yeon division head, and Jeok division head.
"First, Jeong-ho's wedding date has been set."
"Ah! Finally getting married!"
"What a proposal that brings tears to the eyes."
In truth, everyone here had witnessed Brother Jeong-ho's proposal.
It was only natural.
It involved Jeong-ho, the junior division head and future leader of the merchant group.
"I'm embarrassed."
Brother Jeong-ho's face reddened, and Division Head Yeon chuckled.
"I thought our Jeong-ho Junior Division Head lacked that kind of boldness, but I've reevaluated you."
"Hahaha."
She was sincere in teasing Brother Jeong-ho.
Then the deputy chief said,
"But I never expected Lady Jin's martial arts to be so outstanding. Already at the entry of first-rate."
"From a poor martial school with no special support, no less."
The mood among those present acknowledged Lady Jin's martial prowess.
Everyone knew.
The disciples of prestigious clans or the Nine Great Sects excelled due to abundant support.
To reiterate, becoming a first-rate warrior required talent.
An ordinary person, no matter how hard they tried, would peak at second-rate for life.
But with exceptional talent, the time to build inner energy shortened dramatically.
Then elixirs and supreme manuals further slashed that time.
But sheer inner energy didn't make one a powerhouse.
Insight was key.
A second-rate with insight shattering a first-rate without it wasn't unusual.
In other words, balance between inner energy and insight made a true strong warrior.
In any case, Lady Jin's talent shone in both.
That's why the Jegal Supreme Patriarch readily offered to be her patron.
In my past life, Lady Jin—no, my sister-in-law—never set aside her sword after marriage.
By the time I died, she'd already reached the peak realm.
That's what made it so regrettable.
If she'd taken elixirs at a younger age.
If she'd had an environment to train her swordsmanship freely.
Then before my death, sister-in-law would have broken through peak to super first-rate.
Perhaps even glimpsed the Transcendent Realm.
She wouldn't have fallen so helplessly to the Murim Alliance.
In any case, Brother Jeong-ho wouldn't have to take beatings from anyone anymore.
"I'm not judging Lady Jin, but just her hiding her skills until now shows her character is impeccable."
The deputy chief was very pleased with his future daughter-in-law.
In my past life too, he'd backed her.
"Then let's discuss Jeong-ho's wedding. First, Division Head Yeon......"
We discussed the preparations, but there wasn't as much to do as expected.
"Next, there's work for Seo-ho, who from today officially attends Eunwol Pavilion meetings."
All eyes turned to me.
"Initially, I thought of assigning him the Eunhae Fabric Shop."
Everyone nodded.
Eunhae Fabric Shop......
In my past life, that was my first assignment.
"Seo-ho visited the fabric shop when making clothes for the wooden puppets. The shopkeeper said he was...... quite skilled?"
At Father's question, Division Head Yeon nodded.
"Yes, like he'd rolled around in fabrics for five years."
Ah......
Unknowingly, my past experience managing the shop had shown through.
And the seasoned shopkeeper wouldn't miss it.
"So assigning the fabric shop lacks meaning, and he's already handling wooden puppet production......"
"He's also involved in their production and sales."
Then Division Head Jeok of Sepung Pavilion spoke.
"The Junior Division Head Seo-ho I've seen is like the wind."
"Pardon?"
Me, like the wind?
Why say something like that out of nowhere?
"When something arises, he rushes in like a gust, refreshing resolving it. And like a spring breeze, he brings unexpected gains. He feels just like the wind."
Everyone nodded at Division Head Jeok's words.
"Thus, I, Jeok Byeong-cheol of Sepung Pavilion, have a request for the division head."
"What is it?"
"Please give Junior Division Head Seo-ho an independent division."
Father pondered quietly, then looked at me.
"Yes, that might suit Seo-ho better. What do you all think?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Seeing Division Head Jeok say that, he must really like Junior Division Head Seo-ho. Hohoho."
At Division Head Yeon's words, Chief of Staff Yu said,
"Because he's that capable."
"True enough."
This is praise, right? Being praised so openly—ugh, it's killing me.
"Then we're all agreed. What do you think? Can you handle running an independent division?"
I replied,
"Yes, I can."
It wasn't difficult for me. Even before returning at fifteen, I'd managed an independent division.
"For what you need...... submit the paperwork yourself. I'll approve accordingly."
"Understood."
.
.
.
It was a hectic day.
By evening, I finally had time, so to keep my promise, I headed to the annex where Gong Do-gong's family stayed.
Gongmil and Gongrae had insisted I come, and I'd said I would.
"Young master! Ah! They said I should call you Junior Division Head now!"
I chuckled at Gongrae's words.
"Call me whatever you like."
"Still, good kids follow the rules."
I patted Gongrae's head.
"Where's Gongmil?"
"In the workshop."
I took Gongrae to Gongmil's workshop. As always, Gongmil was focused at his workbench.
Knock knock.
At the sound of my knock, Gongmil looked up and beamed.
"Junior Division Head!"
"Working today too."
"Yes, a new mechanism came to mind."
Gongmil answered with a bright smile, stood, and handed me a box from beside him.
"It's modest, but a gift."
"Thank you."
I could feel the sincerity in the box.
"May I open it?"
"Yes."
I opened the box.
'Huh?'
Inside was a mechanism I'd never seen.
"This is......?"
A small puppet playing the qin.
"Turn the base ten times and place it on the table."
As Gongmil instructed, I turned the base ten times and set it down.
Then something amazing happened.
Plink, plink, plink.
The puppet slowly rotated, producing the sound of qin strings.
"Ah......"
I was stunned.
Playing the qin by itself!
"Seeing you surprised makes me happy. I named it the Self-Playing Qin."
Qin that plays itself.
"How did you think of making something like this?"
"I heard Rae singing and it just came to me. There are dancing puppets, so why not a self-playing one?"
To create something like the Self-Playing Qin!
Gongmil was a true genius.
The value of this Self-Playing Qin was immense.
Then Gongrae tugged my sleeve.
"I have a gift too......"