The Child
The one who came looking for Dang Gangjin was none other than his younger sister, Dang Sohye.
"Of course. For you to seek me out at this hour is quite something."
Before permission was even granted, she had already stepped into the room as if it were only natural.
"Wait just a moment. Father gave me some fine tea—I'll brew it for you right away."
As he rose to fetch the tea, Dang Sohye shook her head.
"No need. It's late, so I'll just say what I came to say and go."
"...Is that so? A pity. But what truly brings you here?"
Even as a child she had never been one to cling or make even the smallest request lightly. That such a sister would deliberately slip over under cover of night was enough to pique Dang Gangjin's interest.
"...I came because I have something to tell you about Young Lady Cheongwol."
Yet the words that left her mouth were so unexpected that his head tilted of its own accord.
"Cheongwol? You mean Seo-a's friend?"
"Yes."
All through dinner that Seomun fellow had been watching Cheongwol with an unsettling look in his eyes. In the end, it seemed he had managed to ruffle his sister's feathers.
"Sohye. If this is about Young Master Seomun, there's no need to rush. Once Father returns, we can formally settle matters with the Seomun Clan..."
He spoke carefully, trying to soothe her, but Dang Sohye's expression did not change in the slightest as she cut him off at once.
"I'll handle my own affairs. And that isn't why I came."
The blend of confidence and shamelessness in her manner drew an involuntary smile to Dang Gangjin's lips.
"Forgive my presumption. I'll listen quietly now."
Dang Sohye parted her lips once or twice before finally speaking.
"...I don't know how it happened, but this afternoon I saw Granny Chilseong with Young Lady Cheongwol. She was clutching the young lady's legs and calling out Aunt's name."
Granny Chilseong—that was the name of the nanny who had attended Aunt Dang Garyeong until the day she left for the Namgung Clan.
"The old woman isn't in her right mind. She grabs any woman she sees and calls her by Aunt's name, doesn't she?"
Dang Gangjin looked at her as if to ask what the problem could be, and Dang Sohye continued.
"Then you must also know that her mind sometimes clears."
"Of course I do."
"The moment she opened her eyes she grabbed me and begged. She said she had clearly seen Aunt standing by the pond and asked me to find her."
Gazing at the flickering flame, the two of them fell silent for a moment, as if catching their breath.
"At first I thought her mind was wandering again, but she was perfectly lucid then. When I wouldn't listen she raised a fuss about going to see Father at once. You have no idea how hard it was to calm her down."
"The old woman did that?"
"Yes. At the time I couldn't understand why she was acting that way, but after I heard about the jade Young Lady Cheongwol brought during dinner, one thought has refused to leave my head."
Dang Sohye's eyes turned back to her brother.
"That jade—you said it looked connected to the Dang Clan. So much so that no one but Father would easily recognize it."
At that, Dang Gangjin's face grew so dark that even the lamplight could not fully illuminate it.
"Sohye."
He had already guessed what she meant to say, yet he would not permit her to speak it aloud.
"If you go any further it could become an insult not only to the Namgung Clan, but to Father and Aunt as well. It would be best if you returned now."
"..."
At the cold words so unlike his usual gentle manner, Dang Sohye lowered her head. Yet in the end her mouth emptied every thought she had been holding in her heart.
"The child who vanished with Aunt on the day she died. I heard they never found the body."
Cutting through the somewhat chilly air, Seomun Hwi's sword plunged from above to below.
A martial artist was supposed to begin training at the first light of dawn, yet the sky had not even begun to pale.
Anyone who did not know better might have said that the most outstanding of the younger generation was simply different—but the truth was otherwise.
What my brother said was more than enough.
The words Cheongwol had spoken to Dang Gangjin the night before rose unbidden, and the once-straight path of his blade wavered.
He had thought that while he swung the sword he could forget, yet even that no longer worked.
"Hah..."
How could a man speak to another man in such a coquettish way? And though his mind remained a man's, his body was now a woman's. He ought to have been careful with every gesture; to act so freely was to invite needless misunderstanding.
"..."
Yet the one he truly could not understand was not Cheongwol, but himself.
Even if Cheongwol calls some other man that way, what business is it of yours?
If he thought it through carefully, the two of them were nothing more special than each other's first friend. Just as he was about to let out another long sigh of frustration—
From behind him came the voice he had wanted to hear.
"I didn't expect anyone to be up earlier than me."
He turned quickly. Cheongwol was approaching with a soft smile.
"I suppose once you're Young Master of the Seomun Clan you have to be more diligent than everyone else. Even when I trained under Master at the Kongdong Sect I never got up this early."
It was not diligence; he had simply been unable to sleep at all. Still, in front of Cheongwol he did not want to show any unsightly side of himself. He put strength into his eyes and arranged his face as though this much were nothing.
"Young Master Dang must have woken around the same time as I did."
Perhaps sleeplessness had left him not quite in his right mind. Why he had suddenly brought up another man, even he could not understand after saying it.
"...Really? Everyone's so diligent. I should train harder too."
Fortunately—or not—Cheongwol showed no particular reaction.
"Anyway, you've worked up quite a sweat, so your body's probably warmed up enough. How about it? Shall we spar for old times' sake?"
Grinning, Cheongwol moved to take a stance, but Seomun Hwi shook his head.
"Later. I was just about to stop because I can't concentrate."
Cheongwol's lips curled as he needled him.
"Excuses. You're just afraid you'll lose like last time, aren't you? I'll go easy this time. Come on, just once, okay?"
"No. It's hot—don't cling to me."
He peeled away Cheongwol, who had sidled up beside him, and tried to turn his steps. If Cheongwol kept sticking close, his mood would only grow more tangled.
—Tug.
Something caught his sleeve. When he looked back, Cheongwol stood there with a startled face.
"No, I just..."
He hastily let go and rolled his eyes, but the action had been impulsive; no plausible words would come. He wracked his brain, yet what left his mouth was a pitifully thin excuse.
"...It's been so long since we saw each other. Even if it's not a spar, can't we just stay together a little while? Please...?"
"..."
Did Cheongwol know what expression he was wearing right now? There was no need to ask. Without a doubt, he himself wore the same one.
They sat side by side at the edge of the training ground, cooling their sweat and exchanging idle talk—how he had sparred with a few of the young masters of the Six Great Clans, how he had strolled the marketplace with his younger sister Seomun Seol, how he had debated martial arts with disciples of the Nine Sects and One Gang at the Wulin Alliance.
Most of it was content Cheongwol had already read in letters, yet he listened with the interest of someone hearing it for the first time.
"If I'd known we'd meet here I would have brought Seol. She really wanted to meet you at least once."
Seeing the regret on Seomun Hwi's face, Cheongwol shrugged.
"Then you can just introduce us at the Seomun Clan."
"...You really mean to come?"
"What's so hard about it? Ah—you know I don't mean joining the clan, right?"
This made the second refusal counting this one, yet he did not mind greatly. If the answer was yes at the end, everything before would be as good as never having happened.
"I know. I just hope you'll come without feeling pressured."
"I will."
When Cheongwol chuckled, Seomun Hwi smiled faintly as well. A moment later he grew a little more serious and looked at Cheongwol.
"There's one thing I'd like to ask."
"Hm?"
"If you find it rude, you needn't answer."
Uncharacteristically hesitant, Seomun Hwi finally spoke.
"Do you... by any chance hold feelings for Seo-a?"
"...What?"
Had the two of them secretly kissed or something? Ak Seo-a had asked whether he held feelings for Seomun Hwi, and now Seomun Hwi was asking the exact opposite.
"Seo-a is beautiful, but I don't feel that way about her. Besides, she already has her heart set on another man."
When Cheongwol frowned as if the question were absurd, the somewhat shadowed look on Seomun Hwi's face brightened at last.
"I'm glad to hear it isn't so."
"...Why is that something to be glad about?"
Watching Cheongwol tilt his head, Seomun Hwi realized he had misspoken.
"..."
His eyes wavered sharply, but it was already too late to take the words back. Just as his breath seemed to catch and speech failed him—
Cheongwol's eyes widened, and with a grin he tossed out a completely unexpected line.
"You... you've been harboring feelings for Seo-a, haven't you?"