Episode 11
“You’re weird.”
A voice filled with discontent was suddenly heard.
Cheon-ho straightened his bent back and looked at Sa-young with a slightly bewildered face. After the previous incident, Sa-young, who had been looking displeased the whole time, frowned and turned away as soon as their eyes met this time as well.
“I said, you’re weird.”
“…Yes, well.”
Cheon-ho answered half-heartedly and bent over again. The water that reached halfway up his calves was astonishingly clear, making it easy to see the fish swimming inside.
Even though it was so clear and not particularly fast, why do I keep missing them? I can’t count how many times I’ve been fooled by the slippery sensation of the fish slipping away from my hand. Mu-bok, rolled up to the knees and elbows, was already half-soaked.
“I know people like you very well. There were many where I used to live. People who look perfectly fine like you…”
“Noona (older sister).”
As Sa-young’s words became increasingly harsh, Sa-hyeon, who had been grilling fish by the campfire, caught on and stopped him. Sa-young clicked his tongue, adjusted his crooked sitting posture, and sat properly.
“Don’t get too friendly with him either. I’m not fooled.”
“But Master…”
“Master is strong, so he can afford to say things like that.”
He can handle whatever a small kid does. But you and I can’t, right?
Speaking naturally even with the concerned party present, Sa-young took a small salt pouch from his pocket. Taking a pinch, he sprinkled it on the fish meant for himself and Sa-hyeon, then skillfully deboned and ate it.
Of course, there was no place for Cheon-ho, who had yet to catch a single fish.
Paying close attention to Sa-young’s words from the moment their Master was mentioned again, Cheon-ho rubbed his cheek where water had splashed with the back of his hand.
Although he had been insulted to his face, he didn’t feel particularly angry or wronged, nor did he have a strong desire to change their perceptions. He had already noticed that their Master was persistently calling the siblings over to convince them to accept him, but Cheon-ho himself had no particular will for it.
Whether Sa-young knew that or not, he would act relatively friendly in front of the Master, but when the Master left, he would quickly turn cold and distant.
Nevertheless, as long as their Master was making efforts, Cheon-ho couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
“I’m truly sorry for eating the honey without permission, Sa-jeo. Next time I find a beehive, I will definitely…”
“No, that’s not it!”
Sa-young angrily untied his hair and ruffled it as if frustrated.
Does the Master know about this? It must be all under his control. If so, it’s something I have to solve. Cheon-ho thought quietly as he looked at the siblings.
“Anyway, there’s definitely something wrong with you. And that’s something you can’t fix for the rest of your life.”
“…I disagree, Sa-jeo. That doesn’t seem to be the case.”
If it were the usual, he would have let it pass no matter what Sa-young said, but this was something he couldn’t overlook.
– Fundamentally, you don’t have a ‘problem.’ You just haven’t learned enough yet.
“I just haven’t matured in my thinking yet. I will learn and work hard, so please give me a little chance…”
Then, a strong wind brushed beneath his loosely hanging hand. At the same time, a sound of something splitting the water was heard. When he looked down a bit late, a small fish, as big as his palm, was struggling desperately, pierced by a small bi-do (dagger).
Sa-young, who had thrown the bi-do with an unmatched skill for an eleven-year-old, got up and dusted off his pants, saying,
“I told you. People like you never change. It’s not something that can be resolved by learning. It’s just an instinct and habit.”
“…”
“In front of Master, I have no choice but to treat you like a younger brother, but don’t expect anything more than that. Don’t approach my younger brother, and just manage on your own. You can do that much, right?”
He could do it. It wasn’t even that difficult. In fact, he had been feeling an awkwardness about hanging out with peers lately that he hadn’t felt before.
Cheon-ho silently picked up the bi-do stuck in the water. The fish, which was still skewered on the sharp end, struggled and flailed, unable to escape the blade.
“Eat that and come in. I don’t plan on hanging out with you, so come up with an excuse.”
With that, Sa-young turned and walked away with Sa-hyeon. Sa-hyeon seemed reluctant to leave the youngest disciple alone and kept looking back.
Cheon-ho watched them blankly for a moment before stepping out of the water with a splashing sound. The campfire was still burning, enough to warm his chilled body.
Once the siblings left, the sound of water falling from a small waterfall and the whispering of the trees in the wind could be heard without any noise. Cheon-ho gazed at the waterfall pond he had just been in, feeling more at ease. The jade-colored pool was creating gentle ripples due to the influence of the waterfall.
“Excuses… like why I’m coming back late.”
It was obvious that the reason Sa-young brought him out from the early afternoon, claiming to want to play in the shallow waterfall pond, was to convey that message. Although Sa-young seemed really displeased with him, no matter how much he thought about it, it seemed he needed to improve their relationship.
There was no advantage to being hated by the Master’s cherished disciple, and even trying to gain sympathy, he couldn’t be sure the Master would side with him. He hadn’t been here long enough, and he was weak enough to not catch a single fish.
But if he approached too aggressively, it was obvious it would only heighten their guard.
“For now, I can only keep my head down.”
Following his Master’s teachings and reviewing each relationship, Cheon-ho reached his conclusion.
Once he was a bit warmer, he took the bi-do left by Sa-jeo (older sister) and scaled the fish, gutting it, and skewering it on a sharpened stick to grill over the fire. He was imitating what Sa-hyeon had been doing by eye but not following any specific measurements.
He could understand why Sa-young was so wary. Although he hadn’t heard directly, he could infer from Sa-young and Sa-hyeon’s behavior and habits that they had likely grown up in a rough place, where coarse language wasn’t uncommon and they had only each other to rely on.
Thus, they probably grew up only seeing biased perspectives.
“So, you’re wrong.”
The Master was right. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with him. He just hadn’t learned enough yet.
The well-cooked fish didn’t taste like anything since it wasn’t seasoned. Its small size made picking out the bones difficult. Yet, perhaps because it was fresh, the texture was quite pleasing.
When will I get to learn how to use weapons like Sa-jeo? My body seems almost fully recovered now.
The way back to Musa Brook was a bit far, but he had memorized it. He thought claiming he was delayed watching a squirrel he’d met along the way would be a good excuse. Covering the fire with dirt to extinguish the flames, Cheon-ho stood up, and suddenly, the sound of clattering hoofs was heard from above the waterfall.
When Cheon-ho looked up, he saw the figure of a large deer with four horns.
◇
On the way back, it rained in torrents. Cho-yun hurried down the mountain with a full bag slung over his shoulder. Before he knew it, he had gotten so engrossed in his work that time had passed quickly.
The kids said they would spend the whole afternoon playing in the shallow waterfall pond, and he had left them with snacks to eat when they got hungry. But no heart in the world could rest easy leaving three young children at home alone. Besides, they had said they were going near water.
“Who knew Cheonggwi Mountain would be a real treasure trove, just like heaven’s chest.”
His initial goal was to visit the herb garden remembered by ‘Cho-yun’ to raise the three kids healthily. However, when he arrived at Cheonggwi Mountain, at the boundary of the Bulgwi Mountain Range’s inviolable area, there weren’t many herbs left. Instead, there were countless miraculous herbs growing like weeds that would be hard for an average person to ever see in their lifetime.
“What is all this? Jahashinch’ao, Geumryeonggwa, Yeoraeseongwa, Guyeopsinch’ao, Baekchosilryeong and… more? If I don’t even know the names, they must be unheard of in the world.”
Millennium Polygonum multiflorum or Millennium Ginseng was so abundant that it could be casually made into preserves and eaten. Excited without realizing it, Cho-yun filled his bag with the most potent, nontoxic, and unharmful herbs. As he did, the short day quickly turned into dusk, and the capricious weather of the Yosan (妖山) began to rage.
Even so, Cho-yun’s morale was sky high as he ran through the rain. Just thinking about giving good things to the kids made a grin spread across his face.