Episode 2.
The Return of the Prodigal Son (1)
“I’m going to be thrilled.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was trapped in Josadang (祖師堂), complained.
“You still have no mercy.”
After the memorial service, my father came to the office and decided on the punishment with just one word.
‘Go to Josadang for three days and apologize to your ancestors.’
With those words, my father went straight to work. He didn’t even make eye contact with Yeon Ho-jeong.
In fact, I was more glad to see it that way. As time goes by, memories tend to shrink or expand, but my father was just as I remembered.
So it felt real and I was convinced that I had returned to the past.
…I didn’t like the idea of being locked up for three days.
A question appeared again on Yeon Ho-jeong’s face as he leaned his head against the wall.
‘How is this possible?’
That was the part I thought about the most during the half day I was confined in Josadang.
I didn’t know if there was an afterlife, but I was certain that at least I wouldn’t go back to the past. If everyone died and returned to the past, the world would have been turned into chaos.
In other words, his regression was anything but ordinary.
‘I need to know why. A phenomenon whose cause is unknown will inevitably cause problems in the future.’
The same goes for martial arts. There is always a reason for achievement beyond effort, and if you pass by it without knowing it, your life will be in danger.
This was the reason why I could not be happy even though I had returned to the past.
After being lost in thought for a while, he sighed.
“Damn, this isn’t a problem that can be answered by thinking about it.”
You need to have basic knowledge to at least make an inference.
Yeon Ho-jeong thought about it a little more and eventually gave up.
“Anyway, there’s nothing suspicious, so I’ll just have to be satisfied with that for now.”
Since he returned to the past, of course his body is also the body of the past.
However, his tempered soul was still that of the Black Emperor, the Great Master of the Black Path, the Lord of the Black Emperor.
A sixth sense that went beyond human limits was telling me. It’s okay. If you think about it, you won’t get the answer, so forget about it for now.
After letting go of my worries, I felt much better.
‘You can live a life that has once passed… You can shake off the regrets and disappointments of the past.’
My heart was pounding.
He made many mistakes as a child. In fact, rather than a mistake, they were words and actions that were closer to the struggles of a timid person who could not adapt to the environment.
So I had a lot of regrets.
If only I had been a little calmer, a little more cautious, a little more courageous.
If that were the case, his past would have been very different.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was complaining out of bitterness, suddenly opened his eyes.
“If you think about it for a moment, this isn’t normal, right?”
It was not simply because of questions about regression.
Yeon Ho-jeong got up without realizing it.
“How old am I now?”
It must be at least older than twenty-six years ago. Because the family is fine and peaceful.
So, does that mean I’m before I turn 20?
‘Based on the appearance of the horizon, about fifteen to six. So you’re saying I’m nine out of eighteen?’
No matter how great my martial arts skills were, it was too long ago. It was not easy to remember when it was just by looking at the faces of my father and younger brother.
This is because the time spent forgetting the past and only looking ahead was too long.
‘then…?’
Looking at the weather, it is fall now.
In that case, it meant that there was only half a year left until the extinction of the family, at most a year and a half at the most.
‘Damn it!’
I became anxious. It was not the time to sleep and sit comfortably.
Yeon Ho-jeong hurriedly opened the door to Josadang.
Shake!
“uh?!”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked at the boy standing outside the door in surprise.
Pure white skin. Although he was quite tall, his clear eyes and cute appearance made him look very young.
“Jipyeong?”
“older brother? Where are you going?”
“uh? Uh… well….”
When I thought about it, even if I tried to go, there was nowhere to go. I just realized that time was running out and reacted without realizing it.
Yeon Ji-pyeong continued to close his eyes.
“You can’t leave Josadang, right? “Didn’t your father punish you for three days?”
“…Right.”
“Ugh! No. They say there’s an emergency response team patrolling around here. “If I get caught, I’ll tell my father right away.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong pretended to slit his own throat with the blade of his hand. It was a pretty brutal imitation, but the expression on his face was so innocent that it made me laugh.
“Anyway, why are you here?”
“Hehe, there is a shortcut from my residence to the forest behind Josadang. “I dug a hole.”
“A dog hole?”
“yes.”
“What are you doing…?”
Yeon Ji-pyeong took out a thick bundle from her arms and held it out proudly.
“Yay!”
“…?”
“….”
“What?”
Yeon Ji-pyeong scratched his head as if embarrassed.
“It’s rice balls.”
“rice balls?”
“No matter how much you earn, starving yourself is a bit harsh. “I don’t think that’s true because you’ve been drinking only water for three days.”
“Then what if my father scolds me?”
“Oh, you’re going to scold me for something like this.”
He is someone who can do that.
In any case, it was impossible to throw it away when I brought rice balls with me.
“Come in.”
“yes!”
Yeon Ji-pyeong came into Josadang with great joy and quickly unpacked her bundle. Then, three rice balls giving off light steam came out.
Yeon Ho-jeong picked up a rice ball. It was almost as big as his own face.
“Are you hungry? eat a lot. “I’ll bring it again tomorrow.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was looking down at the rice balls, turned his gaze to Yeon Ji-pyeong.
What was so good about Yeon Ji-pyeong was that she always had a smiling face. However, Yeon Ho-jeong could feel the strange nervousness hidden in her younger brother’s smiling face.
And he knew better than anyone else what that nervousness was.
“Pyeong-ah.”
“yes?”
Yeon Ho-jeong paused for a moment.
What should I say first? I was worried.
When I faced it like this, the mistakes of the past came back to me even more vividly. There is no life without regrets, but what he regretted most was what had to do with his younger brother.
And it wasn’t something to waste time on.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was struggling, spoke honestly.
“I’m sorry for all this time.”
It was an unexpected apology. Yeon Ho-jeong was embarrassed.
“yes? What?”
“I am an ugly person. A small boy who was jealous of his younger brother due to his pride, which was not even worth a soup. “Even though I should have supported my younger brother’s growth, I couldn’t do that.”
Yeon Ho-jeong lowered his head.
“I was sorry. “That won’t happen in the future.”
“Brother tongue! “Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“I’m not apologizing to be forgiven. I just want to admit my mistake and tell myself I won’t do it again. “But that’s it.”
Before the past Yeonga disappeared.
Yeon Ho-jeong hated Yeon Ji-pyeong extremely much.
It wasn’t for any other reason. This is because Yeon Ji-pyeong’s talent was unprecedented in the family’s history.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s talent was not lacking, but it was nothing compared to his younger brother. It took Yeon Ho-jeong five years of hard work to build the tower, and Yeon Ji-pyeong was able to build it with ease in less than three years.
Still, the relationship between the two was not bad when Chigi was young. In fact, their friendship was deeper than that of any other brother.
However, Yeon Ho-jeong was fifteen.
When it was said that the family did not know which of the brothers should be given the position of head of the small family.
At that moment, Yeon Ho-jeong closed the door to his heart. He was jealous of his younger brother, hated him, and even treated him like he didn’t exist.
‘You idiot.’
What is the position of the head of that damn small family?
I realized this only after my family collapsed and my blood relatives died. There is nothing more pathetic among family members than attaching meaning to each other’s positions.
And then I realized it again.
Even though he was unconsciously unable to reflect on himself, he still loved his father and younger brother.
It was a truth that I found out too late. However, no matter how fast you regret, it is too late, and he missed the moment to apologize to his family.
It was a sincerity that I kept in my heart for the rest of my life.
“I won’t go into detail. I’m just sorry and I’m sorry again. Even if you continue to hate me until the day you die, I will not feel sorry or blame you for it.”
“older brother.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes became red.
The reason he mustered up the courage to bring rice balls was because he felt that his older brother’s eyes had changed when he looked at him during the memorial service. I came here with a pounding heart, wondering if my brother might have forgiven me.
It was fortunate. My brother no longer hated or loathed himself.
“Ugh.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong cried loudly, as if shaken.
Yeon Ho-jeong felt both sad and embarrassed by Yeon Ji-pyeong’s tears.
My younger brother was a good guy. This level of reaction was natural.
However, for Yeon Ho-jeong, who lived as the ruler of the dark island, this kind of reaction was extremely rare.
Do the weak receive sympathy? gibberish.
Stepping on the weak, killing them, and using them to increase their power was the survival principle of the Black Island martial arts group. They are not objects of sympathy, but merely prey.
In that unbridgeable gap between time and emotion, Yeon Ho-jeong was once again convinced that he had returned to the past.
After a while, Yeon Ji-pyeong gathered his emotions.
“sorry. “I behaved obscenely in front of my brother.”
“What is this indecency? “I said I was sorry.”
“no. “It’s all my fault, why are you apologizing?”
I know these are not empty words. So I was even more sorry and grateful.
Yeon Ji-pyeong, who had calmed down quite a bit, smiled brightly. Whatever the process, it feels good to have our friendship restored.
Yeon Ho-jeong said without realizing it.
“I heard that if you cry and then laugh, hair grows on your butt.”
“yes?”
“….”
“…?”
Yeon Ho-jeong had no talent for joking.
After all, people shouldn’t do things they haven’t done before. He cleared his throat as if embarrassed, but his expression suddenly hardened.
Just that change in expression made Yeon Ji-pyeong nervous.
“Jipyeong.”
“yes?”
“How old are you now?”
Why does my age change so suddenly?
Although he was dazed, Yeon Ji-pyeong answered obediently.
“Fifteen.”
“So I’m eighteen?”
“yes? “Isn’t that right?”
I felt a very slight sense of relief. There is still a year and a half left, not half a year.
Of course, that didn’t mean there was room.
“How much do you know the law of non-love?…”
At that time, a shout of approval was heard outside Josadang.
“Gongja Lee.”
It was a business-like, stern voice. Yeon Ji-pyeong’s face quickly turned pale.
“I know you’re in there. “I’m going in.”
I’m sorry.
The door to Josadang opened and a sturdy man appeared.
It was a man with a long sword on his left belt and a heavy wooden sword on his back. His eyes were sharp, and the discipline that radiated from his entire body was strict.
It was Kang Yun, the head of the Bieung Daeju.
“Please come out now.”
Kang Yoon didn’t even look at Yeon Ho-jeong.
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
“good.”
“…I’ll see you in three days, brother.”
“I get it.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong stood up.
Kang Yoon said.
“You must get up and carry all the luggage you brought with you.”
“yes?”
Kang Yoon said nothing more. I just stared at Yeon Ji-pyeong with unwavering eyes.
Yeon Ji-pyeong bit her lip.
“These are rice balls that I worked hard to bring. “Don’t you have to have stamina to apologize?”
“I don’t know anything like that. All I know is that the love law’s strict punishment for personal injury also applies to blood relatives. “This is an order given directly by the head of the family, so it must be carried out.”
It was a hard voice that did not tolerate differences of opinion.
Yeon Ho-jeong wrapped all the rice balls and handed them to Yeon Ji-pyeong. Yeon Ji-pyeong lowered his head.
“I’ll buy you something delicious in three days.”
“I get it.”
Kang Yoon’s eyes sparkled.
Everyone in the Yeon family knew that the brothers did not get along well. But today seemed a little different.
“Please go.”
“all right.”
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s steps were slow, as if her feet were not falling.
It was when Kang Yoon was about to close the door of Josadang.
“Kang Daeju.”
“Do you have anything to say?”
“I asked you to bring the rice balls. Please keep that in mind when you report and post.”
Kang Yoon’s eyes shined once again.
“I will take note of it.”
thud.
The door to Josadang was closed.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“I didn’t know that the extremely rigid atmosphere could be this exciting.”
