When the Black Moon Rises - Side Story 31
Side Story 31
He laughed heartily and shook his head.
"No. That's not a punishment, nor is it something a Young Lord or Clan Head has to do. You can do it if you want, but I won't make you if you don't want to."
"Huh? ......We don't have to do it?"
"We don't?"
"No. You can find what you want to do and do that."
"What we want to do?"
"Yes."
Sehwa and Baek Giha had been limiting the children's education, saying it wasn't necessary yet.
But completely ignoring and preventing the rules that had been practiced in the Baek Clan for generations was, in fact, a bit difficult.
So they had allowed it to some extent, but once they did, the Chancellor, the elders, and the people of the Baek Clan tried to teach them so much.
Despite their young age, the children were becoming more mature and not acting rashly, which made Baek Giha and Sehwa feel sorry for them.
So Baek Giha spoke to the children with sincerity.
It was something he had wanted to tell them for a long time.
"You can think about what you want to do first. You don't need to become adults too soon."
He raised his large hand and gently stroked the children's heads.
The children, their tears gradually subsiding, looked puzzled.
"Actually, I'm worried you'll grow up too fast. I want to see you like this for a long time. So don't think about too many things too quickly. That's why your mother and I are here."
"But."
"Yes."
"Then why did you do that, Father?"
"Just. Did you just do it?"
"Haha. Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I love her."
Baek Giha answered, kissing the children's round cheeks.
"I want to wash your feet too. I want to comb your hair. I want to dress you myself. I want to carry you so you don't have to walk, and I always want to hold you when I sleep."
"That's what attendants do."
"Still, I want to do it. Because I love you so much."
The children just blinked, watching their father's smiling eyes.
"So I'm looking forward to it too. What you'll want to do later. And for whom you'll want to do it."
The children didn't seem to understand Baek Giha's words at all.
Their white, round faces, like sticky rice cakes, were still full of puzzlement.
'But they'll understand soon enough. They're bright kids.'
Baek Giha, thinking this and nodding with satisfaction, didn't know yet.
That even though they seemed mature in their parents' eyes now, they would soon go through the "why" phase and then turn seven, pulling a hundred breathtaking pranks a day.
Before Baek Giha could say that they would naturally understand when they grew up, Sanyul asked.
"B-but."
"Yes."
"Then who washed your feet, Father?"
"Me?"
"E-even if it's not a punishment, I'll wash your feet, Father!"
"Huh? Didn't you say you didn't want to?"
"S-still. Sanjin and I already promised to do it."
"Haha. You'll do it for me? But I've already washed my feet, so how about I entrust my hair to you?"
Even though his hair was already perfectly arranged, Baek Giha took off his topknot cap and let his hair down without a moment's hesitation.
Sanyul immediately grabbed a comb and ran to stand behind Baek Giha.
Sanjin decided to look forward to tomorrow, though he was disappointed.
The comb's teeth carefully delved into Baek Giha's hair as he comfortably turned his body.
The child slowly and earnestly combed his father's hair.
After carefully combing through the hair several times, the child tried to gather it from the side of the forehead and tie it into one.
His grip was weak, so the result was quite untidy.
The maids, watching anxiously, were about to approach, but Baek Giha signaled them to stop.
The child's face was on the verge of tears because it wasn't going as he wanted, but he somehow managed to tie the hair and put on the topknot cap.
"You did a good job."
At that one word of praise, the child's face lit up. A sense of pride seemed to fill him.
"I did a good job?"
"Yes. I like it much, much more than when I did it myself. Thank you."
"Th-then......."
The child asked, grabbing Baek Giha's sleeve with a proud face.
"Then shall I comb your hair every day, Father?"
"Every day? Can you do it every day?"
"Of course! I can definitely do it every day!"
The child clung fiercely to Baek Giha's sturdy leg with a "Wak!"
"Because I love Father every day, just like Mother does. So I'll comb your hair every day."
A laugh escaped Baek Giha's lips as well.
He stroked the child's jet-black hair and then finally lifted him up.
The child laughed in a high-pitched voice as he was kissed on his chubby cheek.
This cute thing. This pretty thing.
Thanks to the child, his morning became a little happier than usual.
When Baek Giha entered the meeting room where the clan heads were gathered, the heads of the Six Clans were startled by his appearance.
"You must have come in a hurry. We already heard you returned from the Human Realm, so you could have come a little later."
His clothes were neat, but Baek Giha's hair was a mess, as if someone with a disabled arm had tied it for him.
"No. I prepared with plenty of time. Since everyone is gathered, let's begin."
"No, there's no need to rush, so I'll give you time to tidy your attire-."
"There's no need to tidy my attire. I'm very pleased with it right now."
"You're pleased with it?"
"Of course. I looked closely in the mirror too."
"......You looked closely?"
"Yes. So let's begin right away."
While the other clan heads briefly doubted Baek Giha's eyesight, Sanyul and Sanjin were running somewhere.
"Hey. You did Father's hair, so I'll do it this time."
"Okay!"
The children's steps, speaking and answering, busily headed towards a certain building.
It was the building where Baek Manyong resided.
Baek Manyong was sighing sorrowfully again today, surrounded by a mountain of work.
To think he had gotten swept up in a momentary emotion and gotten so angry at our precious Young Lords.
'How can I claim to be their number one follower like this?'
When the Clan Head was absent, all incidents and accidents were his responsibility as the acting Clan Head.
It was shameful enough that the young Young Lords wanted to leave the residence, but why on earth did he raise his voice, no matter how upset he was?
"They must have been very surprised."
They must have cried because they were sad, yet he didn't even think to comfort them.
'I should go and apologize. But the Chancellor of the Baek Clan is afraid of being told he's disliked and can't even speak. What a fine job I'm doing.'
It was when Baek Manyong was letting out what must have been his umpteenth sigh.
Tap, tap.
Tap, tat-tat. Tap.
At the sudden sound, Baek Manyong, who was writing something on a paper, frowned and lifted his gaze.
What is it?
Tap, tap.
Tat-tat-tat.
He had clearly ordered no one to approach. When the tapping sound came again, Baek Manyong, unable to bear it, shot up from his seat.
He flung the door open to see if it was a deliberate disturbance. And he was startled.
"......Young Masters?"
"Manyong hyung!"
"Hyung!"
In front of the room, the children were squatting, hugging something tightly in their arms.
"What are you doing here? You should have just come in."
"But, hyung is very, very busy."
"That's right. We waited because you were busy! We kept waiting to see when hyung would come out! Is Manyong hyung's work over?"
"Yes, th-that's right. It's over. Please come in. Goodness. How long have you been squatting here?"
"Can we come in?"
As the children shot up from their seats, the things they were holding fell with a thud.
"Oops."
Sanyul and Sanjin quickly picked them up, stopping Baek Manyong from reaching out.
"No. Hyung, don't do it. We have to do this."
"Yes? What do you mean."
"That's right. Manyong hyung, just stay still."
Then they grabbed Baek Manyong's hand and went into his room.
At first, the children headed for a chair, but they soon realized their hands wouldn't reach if Baek Manyong sat on a chair, so they made him sit on the floor.
"Hyung, stay like this. Okay?"
"Yes. But what on earth. Wait, aren't these items used by the Clan Head?"
"It's okay. Father said we could take them."
"I-is that so?"
At the completely incomprehensible behavior, Baek Manyong examined what the children had brought.
A damp cloth dripping with water, the Mystic Ruler's ornate comb, and even the Clan Head's topknot pin.
He had been diligently avoiding them since he had angered the Young Masters, thinking he didn't have the face to see them, so he had thought they would be very angry, but.
'What is going on?'
While he was pondering what they were about to do, Sanjin took Sehwa's comb and grabbed Baek Manyong's hair.
Sanyul covered his face with the damp cloth.
"Mph, mmph?"
No, what on earth.
Baek Manyong hurriedly grabbed the damp cloth in his hand.
"Young Masters, why are you doing this............. Isn't this something attendants do?"
"He said you do it if you love someone."
The children hadn't understood Baek Giha's words at all, but they had understood one thing.
If you love someone, you wash them and comb their hair.
"Yes?"
"Father washed Mother's feet. He said you do it if you love someone."
"......."
Baek Manyong knew that the Clan Head personally helped the Mystic Ruler with her grooming.
Although some saw it unfavorably, saying he was doing lowly work, Baek Manyong had been so pleased, saying their marital relations were good.
But, but.............
Baek Manyong just stared blankly at Sanyul in front of him.
Sanyul was smiling, holding a cloth that was dripping because he hadn't wrung it out properly.
"So. We'll do it for Manyong hyung too."
"That's right."
Small, fern-like hands diligently combed his hair and wiped his face. Sanyul said.
"Hyung. I'm sorry."
"From now on, I won't go far without telling you. I promised Sanjin too."
"Yes. That's right. And I won't say I won't be a Young Lord. I'll study hard too."
"That's right. We'll be good Young Lords."
The children chattered on diligently. About how hard they would study. And even how they would handle the duties of a Young Lord.
"So, so, you know."
"I'm really sorry for saying I hate you, hyung. We really like you, hyung. We really, really like you."
As mentioned before. Baek Manyong was a talent with abilities that ranked among the best of all chancellors in history.
He was full of loyalty to the Baek Clan and the Clan Head, and he thought he would dedicate his life to the Baek Clan until the day he stepped down from this position himself.
That was why he had diligently taught the still-young children about the duties of a Clan Head and the things a Young Lord must do. But................
"...It's okay if you don't."
"Huh?"
"It's okay if you don't want to do it."
Baek Manyong hugged the children tightly.
What did it matter if they were Young Lords or Baek Clan members?
He just loved the ones in his arms.
Tears streamed down Baek Manyong's eyes.
Sanyul and Sanjin, not knowing what to do, handed him the damp cloth, but he didn't stop crying; instead, he burst into tears so much that the small, soft Young Masters' cheeks got wet.
"I love you Young Masters even if you're not from the Baek Clan, even if you're not Young Lords."
Because the small children in his arms were so, so precious.
Since he was appointed as the Baek Clan's Chancellor in his youth, his time had existed solely for the Baek Clan, but.
"Us too."
"We like hyung so much too. We love you."
That day, for the first time, he decided to live for something other than the Baek Clan.
Comments
Post a Comment