A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 48

48. A Storm in a Teacup

The children followed Sohn Bin down to the middle courtyard.

Looking at the little ones gathered and gazing up at him, he was struck by how small they really were.

‘Hmm.’

He had brought them all down, but he didn’t have a clue what to do with them.

Sohn Bin, looking at the children’s curious eyes, asked Jau.

“Jau, what do you do when you fight?”

“Me?”

Sohn Bin nodded.

“Jau just throws punches!”

Hodu answered instead. Soso added another word.

“With her eyes closed.”

Jau pouted and said defensively.

“I lose strength when I open my eyes.”

“Really? Want to try it?”

Jau hesitated for a moment, but as Sohn Bin kept waiting, she clenched her fists as if she couldn’t help it.

“Eek!”

It was almost like a struggle. She just flailed her fists around with her eyes tightly closed and her head turned away.

It was hard to imagine being hurt by those tiny fists.

But for the little ones in front of her, who were smaller than Jau, it would be quite threatening.

“Hmm.”

Sohn Bin said, watching Jau.

“I think you should open your eyes first?”

“If I open my eyes… I’m scared?”

“You still have to open them. And more than anything, breathing is important.”

“Breathing?”

Jau tilted her head at the difficult word.

“Taking breaths.”

Sohn Bin suddenly remembered what Saja Hyuk had said about breathing.

“If your breathing is shallow, your movements will easily become disorganized, and if your movements are disorganized, you cannot follow the flow.”

Jau frowned and looked up at Sohn Bin. Her eyes seemed suspicious.

“Instead of that, can’t you just teach me martial arts? They learn martial arts because their homes are martial arts schools. The best martial arts in the world.”

Sohn Bin’s eyebrows twitched. The best in the world, who decided that? Nonsense.

“That kind of thing….”

“Teacher isn’t someone who teaches martial arts,” Soso said, trying to defend Sohn Bin.

“So Teacher doesn’t need to know martial arts.”

“Tch.”

Jau pouted with a disappointed expression.

She seemed to have expected to learn some great martial art when she saw Sohn Bin, her teacher, stepping forward.

“That’s right. Teacher teaches writing.”

The other children chattered, resigned in their own way, but Sohn Bin said something.

“I know it.”

“Yes?”

“I know it too. Martial arts.”

The children all looked up at Sohn Bin. But it wasn’t admiration, but suspicious eyes.

“Ehh.”

The moment someone let out that voice, a vein popped out slightly on Sohn Bin’s forehead.

“Soso.”

“Yes?”

“Go to my room and bring me the ‘sword’ next to the bed? It’s like a long stick wrapped in cloth.”

Sohn Bin said, putting special emphasis on the word sword.

At those words, the children’s eyes began to sparkle all at once, and Soso immediately answered.

“Yes!”

Doddododo.

Soso ran straight to Sohn Bin’s room.

The children, half in doubt and half in anticipation, stared at the door where Soso had disappeared.

“Kyaa!”

Soso’s surprised voice was heard softly from inside the room.

Sohn Bin and the children’s eyes focused on the open door, and after a while, Soso appeared with a sword wrapped in cloth.

Tap, tap.

Soso’s steps faltered as if the sword, which was bigger than her height, was too much for her. Still, she worked hard to move her feet and returned to Sohn Bin.

But Soso’s expression seemed somehow gloomy.

“This is weird.”

Soso pouted and handed the sword to Sohn Bin with a face as if she was about to cry.

“I touched it, and suddenly it stabbed me.”

Sohn Bin was startled. Had she been cut even though it was in its sheath and wrapped in cloth?

“Are you hurt?”

Soso shook her head.

“No. But it stung. And it was very cold.”

Sohn Bin looked at Soso’s hand. There were no visible wounds.

Sohn Bin examined the White Dew Sword, just in case. White Dew was still wrapped in cloth. Other than feeling a little cold, there was nothing wrong.

“Sorry, thank you.”

Sohn Bin stroked Soso’s hair. Only then did Soso’s expression relax.

The other children’s eyes were focused on what Sohn Bin was holding. Sohn Bin slowly unwrapped the cloth.

Sarak.

The appearance of the White Dew Sword was revealed as the cloth was removed.

“Wow!”

The children all exclaimed as the sword appeared.

In fact, the sheath alone was nothing special, but they seemed excited that a real sword had appeared.

‘Hmm.’

Sohn Bin hesitated for a moment when he saw the White Dew Sword.

He wondered if he should show this to the children, and whether he should use the White Dew Sword for something like this.

But the thought didn’t last long.

“Step back a little.”

The children were already huddled close to Sohn Bin.

Some of the children were reaching out to touch the sword Sohn Bin was holding, but Soso was stopping them, saying it hurt.

Besides, a cold sensation was felt even from the handle of White Dew. Just like when he first held White Dew.

“Okay, let’s all go up there.”

At this rate, they wouldn’t keep their distance even if he told them to step back.

Sohn Bin had no choice but to have all the children go up onto the bamboo mat on the platform.

The children huddled together at the edge, looking at Sohn Bin with shining eyes.

Even Jang-ah, who was always dozing off, and Aeng-aeng, who was always quiet, sat in the front and sparkled their eyes.

Seureung.

“Waaah!”

The children’s admiration, close to cheers, poured out as the sword revealed its appearance.

Sohn Bin smiled softly. The lines drawn by the beautiful blade of the White Dew Sword were enough to captivate even the ignorant children.

“Hoo-ooh.”

Sohn Bin slowly calmed his breathing.

He felt the children’s expectant gaze as they looked at him, but as he recalled the Hyuncheon Daegang Method [a breathing and meditation technique] and calmed his mind, that feeling slowly faded away.

Woong.

Along with a subtle vibration, he felt the warm warmth of the White Dew Sword in his hand. And before he knew it, only Sohn Bin and his sword existed in the world.

Hoo-oong.

He felt the wind, no, the flow.

A large flow that embraced him and flowed, caressing Sohn Bin like a gentle breeze, revealed its majestic appearance.

Sohn Bin smiled quietly. And he began to move the sword along the flow.

Saa-aak.

The White Dew Sword began to draw a smooth trajectory as if water was flowing.

∴

Tak.

“Hoo.”

Sohn Bin slowly calmed his breath. And he sheathed the White Dew Sword.

Seureung.

White Dew hid its appearance, and Sohn Bin quietly savored the afterglow with a slight bow.

Then suddenly, he remembered that the children were watching.

“Huwaa.”

It was almost at the same time that the children took a long breath and Sohn Bin looked back at the children.

The children, who had been staring at Sohn Bin, forgetting to breathe, couldn’t even speak properly with their mouths wide open and their eyes wide.

But it was only for a moment.

“Wow!”

“Teacher, you’re the best!”

“Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!”

The children were in an uproar.

They shouted, jumping up and down, repeating the best exclamations they knew, while some children just opened their mouths without being able to find the words to say.

But everyone’s eyes were shining as they looked at Sohn Bin.

“Ahem.”

Sohn Bin became embarrassed by the children’s endless enthusiastic support.

“Got it? So, follow what I say.”

“Then can I do something like that too?”

Jau asked with sparkling eyes.

“Not now. It’s dangerous too. But if you work hard, won’t you be able to someday?”

Jau nodded vigorously.

“Okay, everyone, come down again and stand up?”

As soon as Sohn Bin finished speaking, the children came down in a rush.

Sohn Bin wrapped White Dew in cloth again and naturally hid it behind his back. It was because the children’s eyes did not leave White Dew.

“Don’t close your eyes, take a deep breath. And rather than just flailing your fists….”

Sohn Bin suddenly recalled the fist that Saja Hyuk had first shown him, breaking the rock. But he soon shook his head.

‘That’s probably not it, is it?’

It didn’t seem right to teach the children how to punch. Before that, it would be impossible for the children anyway.

“Let’s just push out with both hands.”

He couldn’t teach fighting from a teacher’s point of view, but pushing out with both hands would be okay.

“Like this?”

Jau immediately followed Sohn Bin’s words and tried to push out with both hands.

But it looked clumsy to Sohn Bin. It didn’t seem like she was putting much strength into it.

Sohn Bin frowned.

‘Not like that? It’s not natural, and the movements are strange… Ah!’

Sohn Bin suddenly remembered the movement Saja Hyuk made when he broke the rock with his fist.

“Gather your hands together, and step forward with one foot and extend them together.”

“Foot?”

Jau tilted her head, then stepped forward with one foot and extended her hands. It was still clumsy, but it seemed like she was getting the posture right.

“More strongly. Like hitting the ground with your foot.”

“Yaht!”

Jau shouted without realizing it and stepped forward.

Tak.

A small sound of hitting the ground was heard, and Jau’s arms stretched out powerfully.

Pak.

It was much stronger than before, and it felt quite imposing in its own way.

“Ooh.”

The children who were watching exclaimed.

“Yes. That’s how you do it.”

Jau had a proud expression on her face at the children’s response. Then suddenly, she tilted her head as if she had thought of something.

“But, what kind of martial art is this? Can I win if I fight with this?”

The children’s eyes, full of expectation, turned to Sohn Bin.

He could see that the children would be disappointed if he said something like, ‘This isn’t martial arts.’

“I’m not trying to teach you how to fight.”

Sohn Bin said in a quiet voice. The children also held their breath and looked up at Sohn Bin.

“But if someone tries to force you to do something you don’t like, for example, taking your ribbon or trinket, or trying to hit you arbitrarily,” Sohn Bin said.

“Then don’t hesitate and shout, ‘I don’t like it!’ Like that.”

“I don’t like it?”

The children looked at Sohn Bin with shining eyes. Sohn Bin had come up with the words on the spur of the moment, but he liked them quite a bit.

‘Wait a minute. Pushing with the palm, so it’s called ‘Jang (Palm)’….’

“Yes.”

Sohn Bin nodded and said to the children.

“The name of this martial art is ‘I Don’t Like It Double Palm (不喜歡雙掌)’.”

It was a terrible name for a martial art. It was obvious since he had just made it up.

However, the children’s eyes sparkled even more, as if they liked that kind of name even more.

“Okay, shall we do it again?”

The children stood up, each taking a stance with a serious expression.

“Take a deep breath.”

The children inhaled, making a sound.

“Gather your hands in front of your chest, and extend them with all your might as you step forward.”

“Eeyah!”

The children shouted and stretched out their hands with all their might.

“Teacher! Martial arts are originally done while shouting the name!”

“That’s right! He also says ‘The Best Fist in the World!’”

Sohn Bin frowned slightly. Even though he had seen many sparring matches with Saja Hyuk, he had never seen it done that way.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

“Do it that way. If that’s what you like.”

“Iii, don’t, like, it, double palm!”

The children immediately started shouting and playing. It was called training, but before they knew it, the children were happily playing, throwing double palms at each other.

It had completely degenerated into a game, but thanks to the fun they were having, the movements were connecting more naturally. Now they even knew how to lower their posture.

‘Well, training is impossible anyway.’

Sohn Bin smiled bitterly as he watched the children.

In fact, it could be said that the children had followed along quite diligently just by doing this much.

When you think about it, it can’t even be called proper training.

Tak.

Still, Jau was repeating the movements quite seriously.

Hodu, who was curious and worked hard at everything, was diligently following along next to Jau as if competing, but Aeng-aeng had already lost interest and was hiding behind Sohn Bin, watching the other children play.

In the meantime, the children were throwing double palms at each other and running around the house.

“I Don’t Like It Double Palm!”

“I dodged it!”

“No! You got hit!”

The children’s voices echoed happily under the blue sky of Cheongwon.

*

*

*

The children were going to Sohn Bin’s Seowon [private academy] again today. They hadn’t made any specific plans, but since they were neighborhood children, they naturally gathered together.

Even while walking, Jau was playing with Gyeonja, and Soso and Aeng-aeng were whispering and laughing at each other.

Jang-ah, who was always dozing off, was walking along, munching on something, and Hodu was making a grass flute next to him, making strange noises.

A-oh, the youngest, seemed to like the grass flute and was following Hodu, sparkling his eyes.

“Hey!”

The children’s voices, which had been chattering, stopped at someone’s words. The children’s eyes all turned forward.

“Where are you going?”

A child a little bigger than Jau blocked the way. It was Jung-oh.

Gye-gu, who always followed Jung-oh, was standing next to him, pouting and looking at the children.