Chapter 88

"Did... did you apologize to that Seo Geolim?"

"That, that was his fault!"

"What fault?"

Danmokjun shouted in a trembling voice.

"I gave him clothes, food, and treated him really well, better than me..."

'He's going to snap.'

"Because you treated him well? Does that mean he has to be worse than you?"

"That's not it, he's... he's a distant relative compared to me..."

"If he's a distant relative, does that mean he has to be worse than you? If he's better, are you going to poison him and kill him?"

"H... but... Grandfather..."

Danmokjun shrank his shoulders and looked around, trailing off. Finally, Baeg Inmyeong exploded.

"That crazy old man abandoned the kid!"

"What?"

Danmokjun's eyes widened. He had never heard or even imagined anyone calling his grandfather, who was like the sky to him, a 'crazy old man.'

Baeg Inmyeong, not noticing Danmokjun's shock, continued.

"You were wrong. Got it? You... you can't go around killing everyone who's better than you or who has a worse birth than you! You're nothing!"

'Oh, he's going to snap. Am I supposed to be teaching a kid?'

"Yes, yes..."

"If someone is better than you, just accept that they are better. Oh, he's good, and just move on."

At the same time, Danmokjun recalled the last voice he heard in the clan.

— You're not worse than Seo Geolim, and that's why you got caught this time, and that's why you were kicked out.

A young girl, slightly shorter than him, looked at him and said. Her cold voice made him involuntarily shrink.

The girl stared at him with a complicated expression for a while, took a deep breath, and left a cryptic message.

— Someday, you need to break the knife inside you. You shouldn't stab others, and you shouldn't stab yourself.

'Even though it won't mean anything or help you now,' she had added. Why did he think of this now?

"Yes!"

Baeg Inmyeong, seeing Danmokjun's spirited response, instead slumped his shoulders.

He had shouted confidently, but he too had failed to do so, hadn't he? His neck turned red with a sense of shame.

'Oh, damn!'

"Later, when you see... Seo Geolim, apologize and say you were wrong..."

"Yes!"

"Then he was accepted and stayed in the clan?"

"Yes..."

"Phew, at least that's a relief."

"Relief...?"

Danmokjun looked confused. Baeg Inmyeong glared at him.

"If what you did made him fail, how would you make up for ruining his life?"

"Oh..."

"At least he was accepted, so it's a relief."

"Yes... but will Geolim forgive me?"

"That's up to him, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Danmokjun, deflated by Baeg Inmyeong's somewhat cold words, lowered his head but did not mention going home.

At that moment, Baeg Inmyeong had a hunch. He couldn't abandon this stupid kid.

'Phew, how do I explain this to the elders? Where will I get the money to raise a kid...? Is this really okay?'

The future looked bleak. The money pouch left by Danmokjun's mother felt like a heavy weight.

* * *

The black carp, which had been turning white, now had beautiful and vivid red patterns.

'Even though I don't feed it, nothing serious should happen, right? I did feed Heumwol myself.'

When he tried not to go near, the carp, sensing Ryeon's presence, wagged its tail so enthusiastically that he couldn't ignore it.

When he went closer and watched, the revitalized carp swam around the pond energetically, splashing water at Ryeon in greeting.

As Ryeon fanned the clear pond water and stood up, Danmok Hyunwoo was running towards them, his clothes flapping in the wind.

"Ryeon! Ryeon, are you here?"

"Uncle."

"Oh, I'm late. I'm sorry."

"No! I just got here too."

"Looking at the carp?"

Ryeon nodded. Danmok Hyunwoo looked at the pond with a curious expression, but the carp, which had been his long-time owner, swam indifferently.

"Since you care for this little one so much, why don't you give it a name?"

"A... a name?"

He wanted to refuse, thinking of Heumwol, but the carp wagged its tail vigorously again.

"Look! This little one likes it too."

Of course, it was just a coincidence, and if it really understood and liked it, that would be a problem. However, seeing the joy and happiness in Danmok Hyunwoo's eyes, those thoughts washed away.

If giving the carp a name would make his uncle happy...

"But I'm not good at naming things. I called the rooster 'Kkamang' and then changed it to 'Heumwol,' and the white cat I called 'Hayang' and then..."

"Oh..."

The cat eventually became 'Baegryeon.'

"This one... has red patterns, so 'Balrang'...?"

"Then, Hongrin (Red Scale)! How about Hongrin? It has red patterns, so it's the same as the name you came up with, Ryeon!"

Danmok Hyunwoo said eagerly. Ryeon, moved by his earnestness, nodded quickly.

"Hongrin! I like Hongrin. I hope the carp likes it too."

The carp, which had been swimming lazily, suddenly swam briskly and energetically.

"Ha ha, it seems the little one likes it too!"

Ryeon smiled gently, looking down at Hongrin.

'At least the name doesn't have 'Cheong' (青) or 'Chang' (蒼), so I'm relieved.'

Both characters mean 'blue.'

Although Heumwol, despite not having a red name, became a mysterious being, whether a phoenix or a zhuque, it was better not to encourage the carp with such a name.

'Should I change Baegryeon's name too? To 'Nokryeon' or 'Suryeon' instead of Baegryeon?'

But that thought quickly faded. Hwa Ryeon would surely protest, saying, 'Changing a child's name will confuse and upset them.'

"Good, good! Then today, let's play some music for Hongrin too."

Danmok Hyunwoo, who had changed out of his sweat-soaked clothes, quickly sat opposite Ryeon and picked up the pipa.

Since Ryeon's health had improved and his lung capacity had increased, his flute skills had improved at an astonishing rate.

Although his sound was still delicate and weak, nowadays half of the lessons were spent practicing, and the other half was spent playing music with Danmok Hyunwoo.

"The kids are really enthusiastic these days."

While tuning the pipa, Danmok Hyunwoo mentioned.

"At first, I was a bit surprised..."

Danmok Hyunwoo had only ever taught Danmok Ryeon.

Although he had taught characters, not martial arts, he had never taught other children before. Teaching a child who understood everything after one demonstration and even showed a different level of understanding was a new experience.

At first, Danmok Hyunwoo thought he was doing something terribly wrong and couldn't sleep at night.

He had to explain things multiple times, and he wondered if this was normal or if he was just a terrible teacher.

Danmok Hanso, who had observed Danmok Hyunwoo's teaching, later burst out laughing.

— Oh, you're doing a great job!

— Really...? But why don't the kids understand even after I explain it...

Both knew the unspoken part: 'Ryeon just understands.'

— Ryeon is a bit different. Think about when you were young. Did you understand everything your older brother said right away?

Only then did Danmok Hyunwoo regain his composure. His older brother, who occasionally tried to teach him, was not always gentle.

Danmok Hyunseong couldn't understand why Danmok Hyunwoo didn't understand, and Danmok Hyunwoo couldn't understand why his brother couldn't explain things clearly.

Thus, their lessons always ended in disaster. After a big fight, Danmok Hyunseong would make Danmok Hyunwoo a bitter, tasteless Bingtanghulu.

When he was young, Danmok Hyunwoo thought his brother was tormenting him and would throw it away and cry.

— Thinking about it now, I understand.

Danmok Hyunwoo's words made Danmok Hanso laugh heartily.

"Teaching kids is really fun?"

Danmok Hyunwoo nodded, looking proud.

"Sometimes it feels like they never change, and other times it feels like they grow every day. They're so adorable."

Danmok Hyunwoo said this as he opened the new sheet music he had just acquired.

"They say this is a popular tune in the market. It's very sophisticated, so I decided to try it."