Chapter 12

* * *
Three children and two adults sat before a wide table engraved with lotus flowers, filling a room where conversation should have flourished with awkward silence instead.
Father had sealed his lips after greeting the others shortly, and Aunt Euiran was having a hard time hiding her discomfort. The twins by her side had quickly worn through their patience and were starting to twitch, restless with boredom. I could tell they were dying to talk to me, but I kept my mouth shut like my father. After what felt like an age, just as the twins’ chairs began to move, my grandfather’s aide Jang Seokryang slid the door open without a sound.
Father and Aunt Euiran regarded him dubiously. Jang Seokryang bowed respectfully and asked, “Master Euigang, may I have a moment of your time?”
My aunt turned her head in frustration, annoyed that his business was not with her. My father replied sternly, “Father should be arriving soon.”
“It won’t take long,” the aide insisted.
“Very well.” As he stood up to go, he glanced at Aunt Euiran before turning to me. “Yeon, stay here, and if something happens, be sure to tell me when I return.”
Aunt Euiran scowled and twitched her lips but remained silent. I smiled reassuringly back at my father. “Yes, Father. Don’t worry, I’ll be right here.”
After Father left the room with Jang Seokryang, the twins leaned over to make sure he was really gone before exchanging glances.
Wuak spoke first. “Hey, I heard you’re a worthless piece of trash.”
Pyo followed after. “I heard your qi center was destroyed and now you can’t even fight. Is that true?”
I almost laughed out loud. This wasn’t how it had gone down before. Our first encounter had changed. The date, the time, the place—everything was different. So how is it that they’re saying the same thing?
Aunt Euiran sipped her tea, clearly having no intention of stopping her children. I calmly looked toward the sneering twins. “Who told you that?”
“Mom did, of course— Ow.” Pyo clamped his mouth shut and glared at his brother.
Wuak spoke without looking at Pyo. “What’s it to you? It’s true that you’re trash, isn’t it?”
“I wanted to know so I can tell Father.”
The twins were startled. As spoiled as they’d been their whole lives, they knew that neither their status as Baengri scions nor the fact that they were his older sister’s sons would change my father’s views on their behavior or convince him to let them off easy. My strict father, who disciplined them regardless of their background, was one of the only people they feared.
Aunt Euiran slammed her teacup onto the table and glared at me. “Tattling? How vulgar. You do flaunt your lowly origins.”
Feigning incomprehension at her anger, I said, “But Father told me to tell him everything.”
“You think you’ll get off scot-free if you do? Just how long do you think Euigang will be staying?” she asked threateningly.
The old me would have been petrified, but I just replied as carelessly as if she were nothing more than a barking dog. “I’m not sure. I’ll ask Father about that, too. I’ll let you know how long he intends on staying.”
My aunt’s face contorted once more. “You might be able to ride on your father’s coattails now—”
“Euiran, what’s going on? I can hear your shouting from outside.” Uncle Euimook’s family had arrived.
“Euimook! Why are you so late? Come in, come in.” Aunt Euiran welcomed him as though she’d gained a thousand reinforcements.
My uncle returned her greeting before he turned to scold me. “And, Yeon, who taught you to talk back to your aunt that way?”
“Father, don’t be so harsh. Yeon’s still young, after all,” Myung laughed, pretending to rein his father in. What a couple of clowns.
Myung addressed me, smiling warmly. “I haven’t seen you since that day in the main hall, Yeon. How have you been?”
“I’ve been well.”
He proceeded to greet Aunt Euiran and the twins as well before approaching me again, leading a little girl by the hand. “Yeon, this is my sister, Baengri Ri. It seems you’ve never met, even though you live under the same roof.” Myung turned to his sister. “Riri, this is your cousin, Baengri Yeon. She’s a year older than you. You’ve heard of her, right? Say hello.”
Though my younger cousin’s name was Ri, she was often called by her nickname, Riri. She was dressed in a yellow-green jacket and a peach-pink skirt embroidered with white magnolias, with her hair tied up in two cute buns above her plump cheeks. From her appearance, it was clear just how cherished she was.
I smiled at her. “Hello, I’m Yeon.”
Little Riri turned her face primly away, and Myung laughed adoringly at his sister. “Riri’s shy before strangers.”
The atmosphere in the room was beginning to lose the edge it had taken on. My aunt was chitchatting with Uncle Euimook, and the twins busied themselves talking to Myung and pointedly ignoring me, their failed attempt at insulting me clearly having left a mark on their pride. There didn’t seem to be a thought going on in Riri’s head. With no one to talk to, I whiled away the time counting the petals of the lotus pattern on the table.
Eventually, the door opened to admit Father and Grandfather. What’s going on? For some reason, Father’s face seemed much gloomier than it had before he’d left. I cast my curiosity aside and jumped up to bow to my grandfather with the rest of my relatives.
Grandfather waved his hand to dismiss our greetings. “Sit.”
* * *
The food was endless and lavish, incomparable to the simple meals my father usually took. Despite the impressive feast before us, everyone else picked at their food, keeping a wary eye on Grandfather. I was the only one busy digging into this sea of unfamiliar dishes, while my father kept busy delivering bits of food from the dishes out of my reach onto my plate.
Grandfather placed his chopsticks down and directed his words at Uncle Euimook. “How are Myung’s studies coming along?”
“Oh... Ever since the scholar from the village school retired, we’ve been hiring a tutor to teach him at home.” Uncle Euimook replied promptly despite being caught off guard by the unexpected question.
Grandfather continued to ask about the twins and Riri as well, but these were all Baengri family matters. Uncle Euimook, Aunt Euiran, and Cousin Myung all looked perplexed as to why Grandfather was asking these questions about things he must surely already know.
Grandfather even grilled Father about me, then repeated in surprise, “You said you’re teaching Yeon yourself?”
“Yes,” my father answered.
“Hmm.”
Uncle Euimook interjected. “Wouldn’t it be better to find a tutor? After all, you’ll be leaving again.”
My chopsticks stilled in my hand. Father looked at me before replying. “I have no intention of leaving for the time being.”
“When are you planning to go? The martial world may be at peace for the moment, but you shouldn’t vacate your position for too long.”
Father’s face clouded over.
“Enough,” Grandfather said. “I’m sure Euigang knows what he’s doing.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “An acclaimed scholar by the name of Ki has recently followed Imperial Physician Seok down from the capital.”
As soon as I heard those words, I realized Grandfather’s plan and was shocked to be included as well.
“Scholar Ki will be opening a school here. I think it would be best for the children to be sent there to learn from him. What do you think?” Grandfather went on to explain that Myung could take morning classes with the older students, while the twins, Riri, and I could attend the afternoon classes. While it had been posed as a suggestion, coming from my grandfather, a suggestion might as well have been the law.
In the beginning, no one knew that Scholar Ki was a scholar famed across the land. He had only left the capital to escape being entangled in the hustle and bustle of politics, determined to enjoy his old age as peacefully as possible. And upon his arrival, Scholar Ki opened a school with the intention of passing his time instructing well-behaved students of moderate talents who could at least understand his teachings, though perhaps not enough to take a run at the civil service examination. But the accumulated wealth of his connections and scholarly knowledge made him a magnet for those studying seriously for civil service, who came in droves to seek his advice. Being in Scholar Ki’s vicinity would thus naturally allow one to rub shoulders with the government officials of the future.
People soon realized the true value of this village school. A line of students wishing to learn from him formed in an instant, but Scholar Ki had no intention of accepting a whole flock of students. Potential students caused a huge commotion jostling for a place in his classes. In my past life, I hadn’t been able to attend this school, as Grandfather had been uninterested in me, and Father had been too preoccupied with searching for a cure for my condition.
As Grandfather went on, the twins’ faces paled with horror.
“Two shijin of lessons?” one asked, aghast at the thought of four whole hours of study a day.
“Grandfather, we barely have enough time to train as is,” the other said.
Grandfather raised his brows at their objection, but his voice betrayed his lenience toward his young grandsons. “It’ll only be for two shijin to begin with. Scholar Ki is well aware of the workings of a martial clan. Your study periods will be reduced in accordance with your progress.”
The first priority of a martial clan would always be martial prowess. But for a clan as renowned as the Baengri family, in addition to martial prowess, some proficiency in the Six Arts—rites, music, archery, riding, calligraphy, and mathematics—was required as well.
It wasn’t expected for any one of us to distinguish ourselves in any of the Six Arts, but it was vital to master all the basics. After all, no one wants their clan to be thought of as a bunch of dimwitted muscle-brains only good for swinging a sword around. The other great clans were all in the same boat as well. Even the Beggars’ Association, contrary to their public image, had members learned in many refined arts among the ranks of their upper echelons.
Grandfather continued. “Two shijin of study still leaves you with ten shijin to practice. That’s more than enough. It’s not as though you two spend all day training.”
“What do you mean, Grandfather? Of course we do!”
“He’s right, there’s never a moment we set down our blades!” The twins wouldn’t let up.
Grandfather’s face began to harden. I’d spent all my past time holed up in my room, but even I’d seen the twins toss their swords aside to run wild with their friends time and time again.
But to claim now that they never once set down their blades?

Chapter end