Isn’t that good? (5)
Jo Geol found himself at a loss for words.
This was not the familiar face of Yoon Jong.
He usually had a gentle smile that made him seem approachable, but now, with his face hardened, he exuded a chilling aura. It was difficult to speak easily in front of him.
“Yoon Jong-ah.”
Instead of Jo Geol, Baek Cheon called out to Yoon Jong with a sigh, attempting to persuade him.
“That’s not possible.”
However, before he could, Im Sobyeong’s resolute voice cut in. Im Sobyeong glared at Yoon Jong with a cold expression.
“Do you understand the situation properly, Yoon Jong Dojang?”
“Of course.”
“No, I don’t think you do.”
Im Sobyeong rebuked sharply.
“If Cheonumaeng moves now, it will be exactly what Sapaeryeon wants most. Are you saying you want to act according to the enemy’s wishes?”
“…”
“I understand your concerns. But moving now is definitely not a good move. What we need to do now is protect Hwaeum.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Hwaeum is where our full strength and everything we must protect are gathered. The moment we disperse our forces, Paegun will use every means to attack this place. He will exploit even the slightest gap to break in and shatter us.”
“That’s right.”
Tang Gunak nodded in agreement.
“That’s why we can’t withdraw any forces. Even if it’s just one person.”
Im Sobyeong’s expression was uncharacteristically cold. It conveyed a resolute determination not to listen to any reasoning or appeals.
Even without an official title, he was clearly a strategist of Cheonumaeng. Additionally, he was the leader of the enormous sect called Nokrim.
He was not someone a mere second-generation disciple of Hwasan could dare to oppose.
Furthermore, the current Nokrim King seemed ready to use force if necessary. He couldn’t stand by and watch the direction of an entire alliance be distorted by a mere quarrel between the disciples of one sect.
However, despite all this pressure, Yoon Jong remained composed.
“Is that why I shouldn’t go?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not a reason why I shouldn’t go. It’s a reason for what Cheonumaeng should do.”
“Yoon Jong Dojang.”
“How long are we supposed to just guard this place?”
Yoon Jong’s calm voice resonated in the otherwise silent space.
“People are dying, villages are burning, and those who have toiled and shed blood all year are being completely robbed at this very moment. How long should we wait?”
“…”
“Seven days and nights?”
“Dojang.”
“Or a month?”
“Jang Ilso will surely make a move. When that happens…”
“If he doesn’t move, does that mean we’ll protect Hwaeum even if everything else is destroyed?”
Im Sobyeong fell silent.
Jang Ilso will move. He is certain of it.
However, convincing others of this certainty is impossible. There is always the one-in-a-million chance, and more importantly, claiming to fully predict Jang Ilso’s actions would be nothing but arrogance.
Yoon Jong continued speaking.
“You asked for a reason?”
“…”
“Then I’ll give you an answer. Because there are people waiting for help.”
It was a cliche. A sigh escaped Im Sobyeong’s lips.
“Dojang, such an obvious statement…”
“Obvious?”
Yoon Jong’s voice changed abruptly. A sharp, cold energy flowed from it.
Yoon Jong turned his gaze to Chung Myung.
“You answer.”
“Sa-Sahyeong!”
Jo Geol, flustered, tried to intervene, but Yoon Jong didn’t even glance at him, only staring intently at Chung Myung.
“Is what I’m saying obvious?”
Chung Myung kept his mouth firmly shut, refusing to answer.
“Answer.”
Only after Yoon Jong pressed him again did Chung Myung let out a long sigh.
“Nokrim King’s words aren’t wrong.”
“…”
“I understand your frustration. That’s the kind of person you are, Sahyeong. But now isn’t the time to act like that. It’s better to use Beggars Sect or Ghost Gate to gather people in Hwaeum. This place is relatively safe.”
Yoon Jong, who had been listening quietly, nodded.
“Is that your answer?”
“Sahyeong.”
Jo Geol, desperate to mediate, fidgeted anxiously. However, neither of the two paid any attention to him, and even Im Sobyeong, who had initially intervened, remained silent this time.
Im Sobyeong chose silence because he sensed that this issue was not merely a quarrel between senior and junior disciples.
With all eyes on him, Yoon Jong spoke softly.
“I’m curious.”
It was a resolute and chilling question.
“Then why have you criticized Gupailbang so much?”
“Yoon Jong!”
Baek Cheon sprang to his feet. This was a statement that crossed the line. But Chung Myung answered sharply, not allowing Baek Cheon to intervene.
“Compare what is comparable. We’re not just trying to protect ourselves here.”
“Then who else are we protecting?”
“Everyone in Hwaeum. And the civilians in Gangbuk. Everyone…”
“And what about the south?”
“What…?”
Yoon Jong coldly retorted.
“What about the people in Gangnam? They are the ones suffering the most, aren’t they?”
“What nonsense…”
Chung Myung almost lashed out to tell him to stop talking nonsense but swallowed his words.
We are discussing Gangbuk right now, so why suddenly bring up Gangnam?
“Do you remember?”
“…Remember what?”
“When we were defeated by Maninbang at the Yangtze River and signed the treaty that handed over the entire Gangnam, we couldn’t sleep for three days and nights.”
As the story of the Yangtze River Disaster came up, everyone’s faces hardened.
Chung Myung also fell silent.
“What tormented us wasn’t the defeat itself. It was knowing the immense suffering that the people in the south would endure without us there. The self-reproach for not being able to protect them was infinitely more terrible than the feeling of losing to Sapapaeryeon.”
Several people slowly nodded. This was something everyone present could relate to.
“Chung Myung, you know this better than anyone. You were the one who struggled the most back then.”
Chung Myung didn’t respond. His gaze simply sank into a deep darkness.
“But now…”
Yoon Jong glanced around at everyone before fixing his eyes back on Chung Myung.
“And now?”
“…”
“Do you still feel that pain?”
A suffocating silence filled the hall.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? The suffering of those people hasn’t decreased at all. No, with the war looming, it might have doubled compared to back then. Yet now, no one seems to care about the suffering of the people in Gangnam.”
“Yoon Jong-ah, that’s…”
“Because it’s unavoidable.”
Yoon Jong even interrupted Hyun Jong’s words.
“Yes, because it’s unavoidable. Because we lack the strength. Because we can’t do anything about it now. So, we had to endure it. But…”
Yoon Jong’s eyes narrowed.
“Is that really true?”
A bitter smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
It was clearly a self-deprecating smile, but to those watching, it seemed like he was mocking them. His words pierced everyone’s hearts.
“We retreated because it was unavoidable. So, we resolved to firmly protect Gangbuk. But now, we’re saying we have to ignore the suffering of the people in Gangbuk as well. Why? Because it’s unavoidable.”
Jo Geol instinctively glanced at Chung Myung. He couldn’t read any thoughts from Chung Myung’s expressionless face.
“So we gave up the south, and now we’re giving up the north. And if our strength is insufficient again, we’ll give up Hwaeum as well, won’t we? What then? If we still lack strength, are we just going to protect Hwasan?”
“Yoon Jong!”
“It’s strange, isn’t it?”
Yoon Jong glared directly at Hyun Jong.
Jo Geol, watching this, felt his breath stop.
It’s Yoon Jong, after all.
Yoon Jong, who alongside Yu Iseol, was the most loyal to Hyun Jong in Hwasan, was now staring sharply at him.
“Everything you’re saying is correct. There’s not a single wrong word. But… isn’t it laughable that these right words resemble so closely what we’ve always vehemently denounced as wrong?”
“Sahyeong. Now…”
“I thought I felt that way because I was still inexperienced. I believed that everyone here, being more capable than I am, would have different perspectives. But now, all of you have come to the conclusion that we should just curl up here like a turtle and wait, no matter who dies out there?”
“Sahyeong!”
Chung Myung frowned, unable to listen any longer, and raised his voice.
“Don’t speak recklessly. There isn’t a single person here who doesn’t care about the civilians. The reason we’re doing this is because if we lose…”
Chung Myung trailed off. Then, he closed his mouth.
The words he was about to say were eerily similar to what he had heard in the past.
He had mocked and criticized Beop Jong for preaching the same ideas in front of him. Now, all those words were coming back to him.
Self-contradiction.
What was strangling them now was his own logic, his own righteousness, and his own actions.
Everything that had led Cheonumaeng to this point was now pointed as a sharp sword at his throat.
“I’m not asking you to think the same way. Everyone has their own thoughts. But don’t force that choice on me.”
“For what purpose?”
Baek Cheon, who had been silently listening, glared at Yoon Jong and asked.
“It’s just you. What can you possibly achieve by going alone? What do you think you can accomplish with your righteousness and your sense of justice? Are you planning to save a few people and comfort yourself with that?”
“Baek Cheon, your words are too harsh!”
Hyun Jong urgently tried to intervene, but Yoon Jong spoke as if he had been waiting for that question.
“As you said, Sasuk, I might not be able to save anyone on my own. I might even be mocked for doing something foolish.”
Yoon Jong briefly closed his eyes and then opened them again.
“But at the very least, I can prove one thing.”
“Prove?”
“That it wasn’t a lie.”
Yoon Jong’s gaze turned back to Chung Myung.
“That everything we’ve done so far wasn’t just the amusement of those with power. That the hand we extended wasn’t merely an act of pity offered after securing everything for ourselves.”
He paused for a moment and gripped the sword at his waist.
“Moreover, that everything we’ve done wasn’t for the sake of future gains. Even if there’s nothing to gain and only losses ahead, the reason I hold this sword is because I’m resolved to walk that path.”
Chung Myung remained silent, merely staring at the plum blossom sword in Yoon Jong’s grasp.
His gaze traveled from the plum blossom sword to the uniform Yoon Jong wore, then to the small plum blossom embroidered on his left chest, and finally settled on Yoon Jong’s face.
Yoon Jong faced Chung Myung and spoke clearly.
“That’s what I’ve learned at Hwasan so far.”
Chung Myung lowered his gaze as if his vision was pointed at something distant and unfathomable.
His eyelashes trembled slightly.
________
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