Chapter 51

"What if I do it badly?"

"Just try it. If it's not fun, you can do something else."

"Not about fun. What if I don't have any talent?"

"Are you afraid you won't want to do it if you don't have talent?"

Hwaryun looked flustered, opening his eyes wide and then thumping his chest.

"Ah, frustrating. That's not what I meant. I'm asking if you're okay."

Ryeon, who initially didn't understand Hwaryun's words, finally caught on.

"Whether I'm okay or not doesn't matter. If you don't have talent for martial arts, I can protect you."

"What……"

Though it was unlikely, Ryeon briefly imagined Hwaryun with no martial arts skills at all. It wasn't such a bad picture.

"If you can't do martial arts, you'll be good at something else, right? You can find that and do it."

"What if I'm not good at anything?"

Is this what adolescence feels like? Ryeon stroked his cheek.

"You can't be good at nothing. You're already good at something."

"What is it?"

Ryeon looked around and, after confirming that only Jung-yeong was standing far away, said:

"Growing tall."

"What?"

Hwaryun looked at Ryeon with a bewildered expression. But Ryeon answered with a serious look.

"When you first came here, you were this much shorter than me, but now our eye levels are almost the same. I was really surprised."

"I wasn't that short. And who's short anyway?"

Though Hwaryun grumbled, he didn't seem upset.

"Are you really going to learn martial arts from Bya?"

"……Don't you usually have to pay to learn martial arts? No one teaches for free."

"That's true. But you're not just anyone."

"Then what am I?"

"Because you're my brother!"

Ryeon said this with a grin.

Hwaryun, squinting in the sunlight, blinked a few times and then mumbled, "I'll only learn the basics…."

"Really? Just the basics?"

"Got it, got it!"

* * *

"You've also broken your seclusion and come out."

"You came too?"

The two siblings quietly conversed. Seokbanan, sitting beside Dangmook Hyonyo, twitched slightly, looking a bit uneasy, but didn't add to his wife's words.

Dangmook Hyonyo raised an eyebrow.

"You've been here for a few days."

"I've been out of seclusion for a few months."

While waiting for Dangmook Cheongi, Dangmook Hyonyo, who had briefly bickered with her brother, flicked her hair. At that moment, Dangmook Hyowoo said:

"Don't say anything."

"……You're funny. What did I do to make you tell me not to speak?"

"Whenever you flick your hair, you always say something strange."

"When did I ever…"

"Before you asked to be the acting head of the family in Henan Province. And then…"

Dangmook Hyowoo closed his mouth, not wanting to say, "When you suddenly said you were going to get married," in front of Seokbanan.

"Why is that strange?"

"Then what are you going to say now?"

"……"

Dangmook Hyonyo, looking slightly embarrassed, glared at her younger brother, cleared her throat a few times, and then said:

"I think it's time to choose the next young master of the family. Has Father said anything?"

"……"

Dangmook Hyowoo stared at his sister with wide eyes. 'You said you wouldn't say anything strange.' Dangmook Hyonyo averted her gaze. 'It's not that strange.'

"Has he said anything?"

Choosing the next young master means selecting the future heir and master of the family, a difficult topic while the Grand Patriarch is still alive.

"Who do you want to be the next young master? You?"

"No, why would we be the next young master?"

Neither Dangmook Hyonyo nor Dangmook Hyowoo had ever considered becoming the next young master.

Their deceased elder brother's shadow still loomed over them.

"Then who? Ryeon?"

"Do you only have Ryeon as a nephew?"

"Biya is also there. Seongya is too."

Dangmook Hyonyo's forehead creased, a sign of her frustration that Dangmook Hyowoo wasn't giving her the answer she wanted.

"Ryeon has been bedridden for a long time and has only recently recovered. How can you entrust such a big responsibility as the next young master to such a frail child?"

"Seongya has been living outside Zhejiang Province, following you. He doesn't know anything about here, so what can he do?"

"Father has asked him to stay in Hangzhou. He can learn as he goes."

"Ryeon has also just recovered, so he can learn quickly too."

"Are you on the side of the inner hall master?"

"Is the inner hall master a stranger? She's your sister-in-law and part of our family. Why would you take sides?"

"You know I'm not talking about that."

Dangmook Hyowoo scratched his cheek. In some ways, he understood his sister's words and concerns.

The position of the next young master had been vacant since Dangmook Hyoseong's death.

Choosing the next head of the family is like announcing the future of the family. Until now, no one had dared to fill that position.

"What are you talking about so loudly?"

At that moment, the door opened, and Dangmook Cheongi and Weijiqing entered together.

Dangmook Hyonyo smiled, while Weijiqing greeted them with a bright smile. Dangmook Hyonyo averted her gaze, as if caught.

"Ah, Father."

"Anyone looking at you two would think you're the heads of the family. Talking about the next young master! Even the sparrows outside heard you."

Dangmook Hyonyo's face turned red. She reflexively checked Weijiqing's expression, but he was still smiling at her warmly.

"What nonsense are you talking about, putting a child who's not even ten in such a position?"

"I know the children are young, Father. But since my brother left and until now…"

Dangmook Hyonyo bit her lip and avoided Weijiqing's gaze.

"The position is still vacant."

"……So, what's the point of putting a child who's not even ten in that position?"

"Still, I've stepped down from the acting head position."

Dangmook Cheongi looked at his daughter sternly.

Dangmook Hyonyo, biting her lip, didn't avert her gaze. Dangmook Cheongi waved his hand.

"It's premature. Wait until the children are fully grown, and then choose the next head and pass on the position."

"But Father, it's already too late…"

"Are you telling me to hurry up and die?"

Dangmook Hyonyo's face turned pale. Before she could stammer a denial, Dangmook Cheongi declared:

"I will assess the children's qualities twice a year. The decision on the successor will be made after that."

The decision would be made after the children had grown up.

Dangmook Hyonyo took a deep breath but eventually accepted it.

For her, not getting a clear answer that the successor would be Dangmook Hyoseong's eldest was still a significant gain.

* * *

Squeak!

Ryeon's skill in playing the xianglinzi (a type of flute) improved slowly.

The main issue was his lack of lung capacity, which made the sound somewhat rough.

However, recently, he had started to produce something resembling music.

"Are you not upset?"

After playing hard and getting tired, Ryeon put the flute aside, petted Baekryeon, and then looked up.

Dangmook Hyowoo, who had somehow managed to play the pipa in tune with Ryeon's off-key music, adjusted the strings and asked:

"About what?"

"That your grandfather didn't immediately make you the next young master."

Ryeon shook his head.

This had caused quite a stir. Nurse Jang, for instance, had secretly complained to Jung-yeong, tears welling in her eyes.

– How could the outer hall master try to drive out Young Master Ryeon as soon as he returned…

But Ryeon himself didn't mind.

"I'm fine."

"Fine? Even if Seongya becomes the next head?"

Dangmook Hyowoo asked with a mix of concern and teasing. Ryeon gently stroked the white cat's head.

"Grandfather said he'll decide after we all grow up. We'll see then, won't we?"

Ryeon actually thought it was better that the matter was officially postponed because Dangmook Hyonyo had brought up the topic of the successor.

In his previous life, he had been overly frail, and Dangmook Bi was still young, so Dangmook Seong was temporarily chosen as the next young master.

Dangmook Seong, with a strong competitive spirit and pride, had worked hard to meet the expectations of the Grand Patriarch as the next young master.

He was the type who could achieve more when given expectations and a mission, but there were limits.

He couldn't escape the shadow of the Grand Patriarch and his mother, Dangmook Hyonyo, or the previous next young master, Dangmook Hyoseong.