Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Hwa So-mi closed her eyes tightly.

Feeling her body falling into the pond, she thought that cold water would soon drench her entire body. However, no matter how much time passed, not a single drop of water touched her.

When she stealthily opened her eyes, Dan Woo-hyun, who had caught her at some point, was standing still.

“Da… ddy.”

“You almost fell. You should have been careful.”

He helped Hwa So-mi up carefully, as if handling a precious gem. Perhaps only then feeling relieved, Hwa So-mi snuggled deeply into Dan Woo-hyun's arms.

Hwa So-mi, who buried her face, glanced back.

She could see the large boy standing with a blank expression.

“You rascal! What do you think you are doing! In whose presence do you dare to raise your voice!”

“A… Father!”

On the other hand, Hong Won-chang shouted loudly with a flushed face. It was the sight of a father scolding his son. If Hwa So-mi had suffered any harm, it was by no means a matter that could be easily overlooked.

Hong Won-chang's face was covered in cold sweat.

He was worried that Hwa So-mi might have been hurt or was crying. Considering Dan Woo-hyun's personality, his son could have suffered a great disaster.

“Th… that is…”

Conversely, the boy, Hong Jin-rang, could not hide his embarrassment. Since he was born, he had never once been scolded, let alone beaten, by his father.

But who on earth were these people that his father was getting so angry?

Tears welled up in Hong Jin-rang's eyes.

Although he was a boy with a bear-like build, he was still only seven years old.

It was an age where one would get scared by a father's scolding and become faint-hearted.

“I'm okay! So-mi is okay!”

At that moment, Hwa So-mi muttered.

She slipped out of Dan Woo-hyun's arms and spoke loudly while looking straight at Hong Won-chang.

Although she was startled for a moment, she was not hurt, nor did she fall into the water.

“Are you really okay?”

“I'm okay. I was just startled for a second. But is this child the friend Uncle Hong talked about?”

“Haha, yes, that's right. What are you doing! Hurry up and greet her.”

Hong Jin-rang was even more flustered.

Putting aside the tears that were about to spill, there was too much difference in Hong Won-chang's behavior when treating that child versus when treating him.

He was the son, and that child was someone he had seen for the first time in his life, so why make such a distinction?

He was angry.

Resentment welled up in his young heart.

“You rascal! Where are you going!”

“I hate you, Father!”

“Th-this boy!”

Hong Jin-rang turned around and ran away. The sight of him running away miserably with his bear-like build was truly unfitting.

Hong Won-chang watched that for a long while before sighing.

“I am sorry, my son is still lacking…”

“He is a child with an excellent physical frame.”

“Pardon?”

Unlike Hong Won-chang who bowed his head and apologized, Dan Woo-hyun felt quite interested. Despite his young age, he possessed considerable physical strength.

He seemed to have learned basic martial arts, but he was born with an excellent skeletal structure for learning martial arts in the first place.

“If he learns martial arts properly, he will achieve great success.”

“Is… is that true?”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded.

“Raise him well. It will only be a gain, not a loss.”

“Ah, I understand. If Hero says so, then it must be so.”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded.

Holding the hand of Hwa So-mi who was standing still, he turned around. He did not leave through the main gate. Since the eyes of many people would be focused on it, he walked outside through a side gate that no one knew about.

He could feel the presence of Hong Won-chang who kept bowing his head behind them, but except for a simple wave of his hand, he did not say anything.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I'm okay. I wasn't hurt at all.”

“Haha, that's a relief. But that kid really looked like a bear. It was understandable to be scared.”

“Hehe, it was really scary.”

It was dizzying even to think about it now. She did not scream because it was daytime, but if it had been night, she might have shouted loudly, thinking a bear had appeared.

“Is that child Uncle Hong's son?”

“It seems so. Can you become friends?”

“Mmm-.”

Hwa So-mi thought deeply.

Actually, there was nothing to think about. In the past, she would have definitely shaken her head. But recalling the way he ran away on the verge of tears earlier, she giggled to herself without realizing it.

She flashed a bright smile and nodded readily.

“He seems like a good child! So-mi will surely be able to become good friends with him.”

“Haha, in that case, how about attending school?”

“Sch… ool?”

“You can meet more people and make good friends. You can also study, so it's killing two birds with one stone.”

“School…”

Hwa So-mi also knew what school was.

But she had only heard about it and had never attended. There was no school in the small slash-and-burn farmers' village, and she had heard that the school in Yueyang was a place where only the children of government officials or wealthy families attended.

For a child like Hwa So-mi, it was a dream-like place.

“Can So-mi go to school too?”

“Of course. If you want to, that is.”

“I want to! So-mi really wants to go to school!”

“Alright, let's do that.”

* * *

It was about a double-hour later when they returned to the manor. As they opened the main gate and walked inside, Jang Sam-tae was tidying up the yard, and Namgung So-hye was resting, slumped under the shade.

Hwa So-mi opened her eyes wide in surprise.

She rushed toward Namgung So-hye.

“Sister!”

“Ah… yes, you've returned.”

She slowly stood up. She had already felt their presence, but her body would not listen to her. On top of doing all kinds of chores from morning to evening, she went over to Yueyang late at night to gather information.

And since she even trained right before sleeping, her body seemed to have broken down from the exhausting life. Stroking Hwa So-mi's hair with a hazy gaze, she then nodded toward Dan Woo-hyun.

“You have returned.”

“You are living in comfort.”

“Sigh, yes. I'm lying down in such comfort.”

Like a person who had given up on everything, Namgung So-hye was blank. It was distinctly different from the beginning when she nitpicked every single word of Dan Woo-hyun.

It was as if she had given up on life.

“But, why is a manor with so few people so spacious? I'm really curious what the person who built it was thinking.”

“He wasn't thinking anything.”

“Huh? Did you build it?”

“…No, it is nothing.”

At that, Namgung So-hye wore a blank expression again. She had let it slip by without even having the mind to catch Dan Woo-hyun's slip of the tongue.

Dan Woo-hyun sat down on the veranda.

As he sat, Hwa So-mi scurried over and sat on his lap. Seeing how cute that behavior was, Namgung So-hye's eyes shone brightly as she patted her own lap.

‘Come sit here.’

It was as if she were saying such words.

Hwa So-mi looked at Dan Woo-hyun's reaction for a moment, then jumped up and scurried over. Soon, with a grin, she snuggled into Namgung So-hye's embrace.

Namgung So-hye hugged her tightly with a bright smile.

“Oh, you cute thing! I truly live because of you.”

“Hehehe.”

“…….”

Dan Woo-hyun watched the situation quietly.

Come to think of it, during the past two days, Hwa So-mi looked for Namgung So-hye more often than Dan Woo-hyun. The time the two spent together was also considerable.

‘Is it the difference between a man and a woman?’

He stared blankly at the two.

When Namgung So-hye tickled Hwa So-mi, she giggled and tickled Namgung So-hye back. It was slightly different from Hwa So-mi's appearance when she was with Dan Woo-hyun.

It looked as if a close mother and daughter were playing.

Dan Woo-hyun scratched his head vigorously.

“A child naturally misses their mother's embrace, you see.”

“…….”

Jang Sam-tae, who had approached at some point, muttered. The moment he heard those words, Dan Woo-hyun's gaze pierced Jang Sam-tae. Although it was nothing more than a glance, the breathless tension made Jang Sam-tae shudder and turn his back.

‘Damn it, I can't say anything. Did I say anything wrong? Huh?’

Jang Sam-tae grumbled as he swept the yard.

“Sam-tae.”

“Yes?”

Jang Sam-tae twitched his face and approached Dan Woo-hyun again. It wasn't as if he was training a stray dog, so why call him now after scaring him earlier?

“What kind of place is a school?”

“……It is a place where they teach how to write/read.”

Jang Sam-tae thought to himself.

‘Does he think I'm a fool?’

Not understanding why he was asking him something that even young children would know, the moment Jang Sam-tae's eyes met Dan Woo-hyun's, he unconsciously turned his head and looked at the ground.

He hid his thoughts with a goofy grin on his face.

“Letters? Have you also attended school?”

“No, I haven't.”

“Then how do you know letters?”

“Well, that is…”

In his childhood, Jang Sam-tae also wished to attend school. But it was too expensive and he lacked the means, so he gave up.

But as time passed and his mind matured, he naturally learned to read the letters around him.

When he walked down the street, people talked about them, so it easily entered his mind.

It was the same for Dan Woo-hyun.

At that moment, unable to watch any longer, Namgung So-hye spoke.

“A school is not a place that simply teaches letters.”

“Ho, have you attended school?”

“Who do you take me for… Of course.”

Namgung So-hye cleared her throat with a “Kehem!”

This was why men were hopeless. What was the use of only resolving a child's basic needs? The problem was that they did not know exactly what was necessary and did not try to think deeply.

“First, they teach the Thousand Character Classic.”

“And after that?”

“They teach the… teachings of Confucius and Mencius.”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded.

Confucius and Mencius, he also had a memory of hearing about them.

Surely, it must refer to those two fellows who babbled words unsuited to a chaotic era.

He remembered hearing a bald monk of Shaolin muttering about them a very long time ago.

At that moment, Hwa So-mi looked up at Namgung So-hye with sparkling eyes. Having a fantasy about school, she seemed very curious about what was learned.

“And then? What else, what else!”

“And then they teach the Four Books and Five Classics in earnest…”

“You mean those difficult books?”

“Yes.”

“And then! What else is there?”

Namgung So-hye broke out in a cold sweat.

The things taught in school would come to mind if she thought about it a little. But it was quite burdensome when the child clung to her like this, casting such expectant looks.

“In the end, it is just letters.”

“It seems there are only letters.”

“Do we really only learn letters?”

The three of them looked at Namgung So-hye with disappointed expressions.

But what was she supposed to do?

Strictly speaking, there was truly nothing but letters to learn…

Making a crying face, she nodded.