I wish it would last. (5)
“Hmmm. So…”
With a somewhat sour expression, Hyun Jong asked the person sitting in front of him.
“You want to step down as Sect Leader?”
“Yes, Retired Sect Leader.”
Un Am nodded, his face calm, without a trace of regret.
“My resolve is unwavering. Please, do not refuse me.”
“‘Refuse,’ what nonsense is that? If anything, I might try to dissuade you. You are Hwasan’s Sect Leader. Who could possibly dare to ‘refuse’ what you have decided?”
“In that case, please help me set down this heavy burden, Retired Sect Leader.”
“Hmm.”
Hyun Jong let out a faint groan.
Sect Leader of Hwasan. No one knew better than Hyun Jong how heavy and arduous that position was – or how much it was crushing the disciple sitting before him.
Hyun Jong himself had never thought so, but it seemed Un Am had long believed he was unfit for the position. That would only make its weight feel all the heavier.
Even so, Hyun Jong could not readily nod in agreement.
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
Hyun Yeong, who had been listening at his side, voiced Hyun Jong’s feelings far more fiercely.
“Sect Leader. No, Un Am!”
“Yes, Grand Elder.”
“Drop that stiff title. Just call me Sasuk.”
“Still, how could I…”
Hyun Yeong’s face twisted sharply.
“Hey, you brat. You took on the position of the Sect Leader when it was at its hardest and suffered day and night, and now, finally, a bright future is dawning, and now you’re throwing it away? Do you even hear yourself?”
“I….”
“Do you know what Hwasan is now, huh? It’s a place revered and respected by countless people under the heavens. Do you truly not understand how desperately we longed for a moment like this?”
“How could I not know?”
It was, of course, the Hyun generation that had faced the storms of time head-on, but that did not mean the Un generation had been free from those winds.
The day Hwasan would proudly seize its place among Gupailbang, and even be called the foremost among them. How could they not have longed for days so grand that it felt absurd to call them merely a dream?
“Now that such a day has finally come, you say you’re quitting before you’ve even had the chance to properly enjoy it? Have you ever seen such a frustrating fool?!”
“Calm down, Saje.”
“Do I look like I can calm down right now?”
“Tsk. I said calm down.”
Just as Hyun Yeong was about to spring up from his seat, Hyun Sang firmly pressed down on his shoulder.
“The Sect Leader must have his reasons.”
“Reasons? Reasons?! Does someone with a working brain act like this? How is this any different from studying for decades, passing the imperial examinations, and then saying you don’t want to take office?”
“Well, that may be true, but…”
“Unless his mind has gone so far he has stuck a plum blossom into his head, how could he be that stu-…. mmph! Mmmph!”
“Shut your mouth. Your mouth!”
In the end, Hyun Sang clamped a hand over Hyun Yeong’s mouth. Hyun Jong smiled bitterly.
“Your Sasuk is only acting that way because he feels sorry for you. Try to understand him.”
“There’s nothing to understand or not understand. I can only be grateful.”
“Good.”
Hyun Jong stared straight at Un Am.
“You will have no regrets?”
“I did not decide this on a passing whim. I thought deeply and agonized over it for a long time. I believe this is the right choice.”
Unable to hold himself back, Hyun Jong let out a deep sigh.
If you bite all ten fingers, none of them are free from pain, yet there is always one finger that hurts more. To Hyun Jong, Un Am was that finger.
He was the disciple who had entered Hwasan in his youth and suffered all the way into middle age. When ruin was the only future left for Hwasan, he had still stubbornly insisted on shouldering it.
‘It would be nice if he could think a little more of his own ambitions.’
Not only for Un Am’s sake, but for Hyun Jong’s as well, he had hoped for that. Then he might have felt a little less guilty towards the disciple whose hair had turned so white before he knew it.
“…Un Am. The seat you’re trying to put down now is one countless people under heaven dream of, yet not just anyone can ever enjoy.”
“Yes. I know, Retired Sect Leader.”
“Do you truly not have even a speck of greed left?”
Un Am shook his head.
“How could I not? Of course I do.”
“Then why…”
“I’m not stepping down because I feel no greed or desire. I’m stepping down because this is the right path.”
“Un Am…”
“Please allow it, Retired Sect Leader. Baek Cheon will be a good Sect Leader.”
Hyun Jong tightly shut his eyes and let out a low wisper.
“The Tao…?”
The Tao, literally, is a path. The road each person wishes to walk is different, but everyone who speaks of the Tao knows this much: the more you clutch in your hands, the harder it is to walk.
That is why one sets things down.
Only one who can lay down what is precious and desperately desired can be called a man of the Tao. Only when one can relinquish not what is disposable, but what one does not wish to let go of, can one truly be a man of the Tao.
In that sense…
“I am ashamed.”
Hyun Jong slowly opened his eyes as he spoke.
“You are a true man of the Tao. As your teacher, I cannot even measure up to… Waaaah! Oh, damn! You scared me! What the…!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Huh, when did you get here! Again! Why do you always come in without a sound, you rascal!”
Hyun Jong clutched at his pounding heart, almost having a fit. At this rate, when the day came for him to die, he would regret all the years shaved off his life because of this brat.
Chung Myung, who had suddenly shoved his face right up in front of Hyun Jong, cast a crooked glance towards Un Am.
“You’re handing over the Sect Leader’s seat?”
“Th-That’s right.”
“Why?”
“Huh? Well, that’s…”
Un Am tried to answer with an awkward smile, but Chung Myung’s blunt question came faster.
“Then Dongryong is going to be Sect Leader?”
“…”
“Dongryong?”
“You should call him Baek Cheon.”
It would be even better if he added Sasuk after it. Not that he expected that much.
Slowly, Chung Myung began to show signs of an oncoming fit.
“No, Sect Leader. Nooooo! Sect Leader!”
“…Now what is it…”
“Does this make any sense? Huh? I’m telling you Dongryong is going to be Sect Leader. Hwasan’s Sect Leader, Jin Dongryong!”
“…Baek Cheon.”
Pointlessly adding a correction that meant practically nothing, Un Am let out a deep sigh.
“Is there any reason that can’t be? Just what do you think of Baek Cheon?”
In that moment, countless thoughts and expressions flickered across Chung Myung’s face.
“Well…”
“That’s enough.”
Stop. You don’t need to say any more. I think I get it.
Un Am hurriedly changed the subject.
“After this great war, I heard there’s a movement among the Sect Leaders of each sect to step back from the front lines.”
“Yes.”
“Shouldn’t we keep pace with that as well? Young Sect Leaders will be taking the lead at the forefront, and if we match them, things will go more smoothly going forwa…”
“No, what kind of nonsense is that supposed to be? Since when have we ever followed what others do?”
“…Chung Myung-ah. That’s…”
“Oh, don’t tell me you’re taking a jab at the Retired Sect Leader now – the one who firmly stepped down from the Sect Leader’s seat even when everyone was asking why he was doing it?”
“Th-That could never be! That was the Retired Sect Leader’s profound intention…”
“Exactly. So why are you deciding this based on what other sects are doing? Our situation is the most important thing.”
This time, Un Am brought up a different line of reasoning.
“Chung Myung. As you know, I lack both martial prowess and wisdom. Hwasan will have to endure even fiercer challenges from here on, so it’s better for someone capable of meeting them to take the seat.”
“Huh? Martial prowess and your wisdom? Wait, don’t tell me you’re badmouthing the Retired Sect Leader who held the Sect Leader’s position for decades despite having martial arts barely above third-rate, saying he’s shameless?”
“H–How did it end up like that, you little punk!”
Truly flustered, Un Am finally cursed and snapped his head towards Hyun Jong. Hyun Jong was biting his lips hard, wearing a face that practically said, ‘This time I’m actually a little hurt, you know.’
“R-Retired Sect Leader! That’s not what I meant…”
“…Right. I was a bit shameless.”
“I’m telling you that’s not it!”
Un Am shouted sharply at Chung Myung.
“Get out! Get out, you little brat! Why did you suddenly barge in here just to cause a ruckus! Go on, get out!”
“I can’t! How can I leave when things are like this? When Dongryong is about to become Sect Leader.”
“It was going to happen someday anyway.”
“Just because everyone dies someday doesn’t mean it’s fine to die today.”
Un Am was momentarily at a loss for words. In that gap, Chung Myung spoke firmly.
“Right now is not the time.”
“Chung Myung-ah.”
“I understand what you’re trying to say, but right now it absolutely cannot happen. At this moment, Dongryong is not yet the kind of great figure who suits that seat.”
“Baek Cheon is a far more outstanding man of the Tao than you think.”
“That’s exactly why.”
“Hm?”
This time Un Am really didn’t seem to understand, puzzlement clear on his face. Chung Myung scratched his head and spoke.
“Sasuk still needs time. Time to fully make his own the things he realized in this war.”
“…”
“If he has to shoulder the immense burden of being Sect Leader before he’s finished sorting all of that out, he won’t be able to reach the place he’s meant to reach.”
For the first time since he had begun facing Chung Myung, Un Am’s expression turned serious.
“Are you speaking of enlightenment?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
Un Am let out a faint murmur.
“I thought he had already gained everything.”
“Knowing something and truly obtaining it are different things.”
It was a simple reply, yet to Un Am, those words sounded clear and pure as a bell.
“Whoo… All right. I understand what you mean.”
With somewhat subdued gaze, Un Am looked at Chung Myung.
“You put it like this, but… as always, in truth you’re just worried about your Sasuk… aren’t you? Right…?”
His trailing words, lacking conviction, gradually blurred and crumbled powerlessly.
Chung Myung. When you say something this good, could you at least put on a solemn expression… or if that’s too much, at least a normal one? When you talk with a face that looks like centipedes are crawling under your skin, it makes people doubt your true intentions…
Un Am watched Chung Myung in silence, then opened his mouth as if something had just occurred to him.
“Um… may I ask just one thing?”
“Huh? What is it?”
“If I were not to bend my will and still passed the Sect Leader’s position on to Baek Cheon, then you would, of course, help your Sasuk, wouldn’t you?”
Chung Myung answered at once, as if there were no need to think.
“Of course. Why even ask something like that?”
“Right? Haha. For a moment I…”
At that moment, Hyun Jong, who had been quietly listening, asked again with a hint of unease.
“How would you help him?”
“Come on. That’s obvious.”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“For Sasuk, the Sect Leader’s seat is poison right now, isn’t it?”
“If it’s as you say, then yes.”
“Then what else can we do. We have to get rid of the poison.”
“…”
“As fast as possible, I’ll have to make him come down on his own. Then… should Yoon Jong Sahyeong become Sect Leader? But it’s still a bit early for that guy. Then, hmm…”
Chung Myung, who seemed to be working his brain hard over something, shrugged with a helpless expression.
“We’ll have to settle for the lesser evil. There’s no choice but to have a man of Hwasan who possesses everything – martial prowess and experience, wisdom and ability – take the position of Sect Leader.”
“…And who would that be?”
“Hehe.”
“Who…”
“Hehehe.”
Chung Myung smiled brightly, looking bashful.
“Ah, come on. I really didn’t want to do it, but if things have come to this, there’s nothing I can do.”
“…”
“I truly don’t want to, but for Hwasan’s sake, I have no choice but to sacrifice this body. Haaaaah. I mean, it’s not exactly a pleasant sight for the youngest to rise to the Sect Leader’s seat, but Hwasan never had proper roots as a sect to begin with, so that much is fine…”
“Sect Leader.”
“Yes, Retired Sect Leader.”
“I cannot permit that succession.”
“Yes. I’ll do as you say.”
“Huh?”
Chung Myung tilted his head.
“Wait, why all of a sudden? The more I think about it, it doesn’t sound that bad…”
“Please treat the request I made today as if it were never made. I will remain in the Sect Leader’s seat until the moment I die.”
“When you die, we’ll first pass the Sect Leader’s position on to Un Geom. Understood?”
“Understood, Retired Sect Leader.”
“Huh?”
“Then let us adjourn today’s meeting here.”
“Yes.”
“Huuuuhhh?”
Watching them all spring to their feet and dash out of the room in a rush, Chung Myung tilted his head.
“Sect Leader? Retired Sect Leader? Elders? We should finish what we were talking about! Hey?”
And thus, Un Am continued to hold the position of Hwasan’s Sect Leader for some time longer.
“Excuse me? Sect Leader? Seeeeect Leaaader?”
Chung Myung’s voice, trailing after them, faded away into the echos of Hwasan, with no one bothering to listen.
________
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