Chapter 310

The negotiation with Dugu Elil went down the drain.

Partly because this contract enthusiast kept going on about contracts…

[If you wish, I can recite a verse for free. Would you like to hear it?]

‘Yeah, go ahead. I need something to reference.’

[Oh, Isaac Eueu Awiiz Inu Ngau Oyo-.]

What the heck is that?

Sounds like Jeong Won straining during a poop.

[Ah-, Ecal Anije Ayatjis Albak-.]

‘That doesn’t seem to be your language. I can’t understand it.’

[Oh, thou art not rowing, Oshio. My heart is a lake-. Ah, my beloved has sailed away.]

Jin Hyuk’s face twisted like someone overworked.

[Isn’t it truly moving?]

‘Why are you even doing this…’

Anyone can see it’s plagiarism and patchwork, dude!

[I thought you wouldn’t notice, but you’re sharp as ever.]

‘Hey-!’

[Remember, plagiarism is the mother of creation.]

What kind of nonsense is this?

‘Hey… Hey-.’

Actually, there was no room for negotiation.

‘Hey. Did he really leave?’

The connection weakened and then cut off.

*

There are many books at home.

Dad’s martial arts novels, law books, and other professional books.

World children’s literature collections and picture books for the kids.

Mom’s essays, poetry collections, and so on.

Hoping to find some help, I rummaged through the study.

Efficiency enthusiast Jin Hyuk fixed the genre to poetry.

‘Poetry has fewer words.’

It was a simple logic.

However, the fact that Jin Hyuk had never tried this before was a hurdle.

‘I don’t know how to approach it. Should I write it like summarizing a thesis or report?’

Yoo Jin, who had shortened Dad’s pants to fit Ajjigom, also helped her brother.

“Oppa, how about this? Hans Carossa.”

“Not really resonating. Too emotional.”

“Then this one? El, Elu-, Eluard?”

“Too well-written. Makes me want to copy. Plagiarism is bad.”

He even considered translating foreign poems in a unique way.

Like the shameless Dugu Elil.

‘No. That’s bad.’

As time passed, the frustration only deepened.

*

He was someone who sought adventure.

Jin Hyuk, who had lived for 300 years.

Called a hero, he scolded thugs in dirty alleys.

He spent nights relying on a single cloak in the cold.

He even faced ferocious monsters that made dealing with machines seem easier.

Yet, the hero and his friends were happy.

‘I think I first felt happiness when I lived with that guy.’

Perhaps Jin Hyuk was an escapist thirsty for deviation.

A vague human desire in a highly systematized world, to keep one’s place as a cog and perform duties faithfully.

Dreaming of breaking free or turning everything upside down, yet bound by invisible shackles of ethics and divine sincerity.

It’s not just Jin Hyuk’s fantasy.

Wouldn’t those tired of living in the 21st century dream of it at least once?

Adventure.

Now, every day is an adventure.

Even trivial games with siblings and friends feel new and thrilling.

Heading to unfamiliar places by car or plane for competitions is also an adventure.

The small incidents and accidents at home or school can be seen as adventures visiting.

“Aooo-! I’m dying!”

But this poetry felt like an invincible enemy.

Without a way to counter it, it’s like an impregnable peak.

But I can’t back down now.

It’s time for adventure.

That dim-witted hero grew a lot by meeting various people during his adventures.

“Jang Gun, let’s go.”

Hehehe-.

With the best party member as a companion, he set out on a journey to find the best teacher.

“Grandpa.”

“Ohohoho-. What brings you here today, Jin Hyuk?”

Hehehe-.

“Ah, Jang Gun is here too.”

He got straight to the point.

“Can you write some poetry?”

“Is there anything this old man can’t do? But why poetry?”

Jin Hyuk explained the whole story.

Cheon Gil-ryong, with a serious expression, stroked his beard with the back of his hand.

“Huuuum-. Whether it’s verse or prose, you improve by writing a lot. It’s not something you can just ask for and get. Have you never written before, Jin Hyuk?”

“Well…”

“Didn’t you write diaries or participate in writing contests?”

“Diaries are just about the weather and what I did that day, like this and that. During writing contests, I just thought and time passed.”

Tsk tsk-.

Cheon Gil-ryong clicked his tongue.

“But you’re a smart kid, so the basic structure should come out. However-.”

However?

Jin Hyuk perked up his ears.

“Melting your heart into it is a different matter. Look over there-. That, that- what is it-.”

Cheon Gil-ryong pointed far northeast with his pipe.

“Gubongsan Mountain?”

“No, you fool. Those people living in Seoul, what do they call them-. Ah, I can’t remember-. Those writers, you know.”

“Authors?”

“No, not that. In newspapers-.”

“Ah, reporters?”

“Right. Reporters. I don’t call them often, so it didn’t come to mind quickly.”

“Why reporters?”

“I saw their newspapers, and they write very well.”

Jin Hyuk nodded.

Few can write better than reporters.

“But you know what? No emotion. No emotion. Do you know why?”

“Isn’t it because they handle facts neutrally?”

“Absolutely not. If the facts are moving, any idiot should be able to write movingly. But reporters lack heart. The point is-, they write like machines, piecing things together uniformly. Chairman Yoo said they teach the same way at some journalism academy nowadays.”

“Hard to understand.”

“You understood everything, so what’s hard?”

The old man smiled meaningfully, his dimples showing.

This sly old man, pretending to be naive doesn’t work anymore.

“Well…, it sounds like you’re saying it’s dry.”

“Affection, affection. Without affection for people, things, and phenomena, just showing off writing skills makes the writing about incidents and accidents lack heart. It’s not that reporters are bad, but the culture of writing that way is the problem.”

“So you’re saying to pour affection into it?”

“Exactly, exactly. Look at a blade of grass, a bug, with affection. The patterns on the leaves, the wrinkles on the body. Put your heart into it. Like Yoo Jin. What good would it do if this old man wrote a poem and showed you? It would only confuse your eyes and mind, right?”

That made sense, so his head naturally bowed.

Lately, while reading poetry collections, he found himself unconsciously imitating them.

But when he tried, only dry and stiff sentences poured out like a storm.

‘Affection, affection.’

In the chilly room, Cheon Gil-ryong stirred the charcoal in the brazier a couple of times and spoke softly.

“Jin Hyuk.”

“Yes, Grandpa.”

Cheon Gil-ryong’s atmosphere changed.

Though he always hid seriousness within wit, he was calmer and more profound now.

“Do you know how a true hero is born?”

The changed atmosphere made it hard to speak lightly, so Jin Hyuk just nodded.

How would I know that-? Yoo Jin would have said that.

“In my youth, I lived for the thrill of beating up Japanese cops. One day, I saw elementary school teachers carrying swords and teaching classes. In front of kids. At eighteen, seeing that, wouldn’t your blood boil?”

Just hearing it makes my blood boil, but how must Cheon Gil-ryong have felt seeing it firsthand? Jin Hyuk quietly closed his eyes and controlled his breathing.

“I and my brother learned martial arts, didn’t we? Smashing heads, breaking legs, taking swords and giving candy to kids. Even after causing such chaos, they couldn’t catch me. Not by strength, not by running.”

Though he had heard the story several times, old tales, especially from the protagonist, have a strange power.

“You were like a masked hero.”

Though sincere, Cheon Gil-ryong’s expression remained calm.

“Then my brother caught me and scolded me.”

Thunderous deeds indeed-. Jin Hyuk anticipated the next part.

“Thunderous deeds indeed, you say.”

Puff puff-.

Cheon Gil-ryong puffed on his already burnt-out pipe.

“It wasn’t for beating up Japanese. Relying only on strength without brains, you’ll get caught someday. Wisdom is needed, he said. So I studied East and West, putting effort into learning. Wisdom grew.”

Cheon Gil-ryong called this the shock of enlightenment.

A ruffian becoming a proper human being.

“From twenty, I taught kids. I wanted to show off. Look, is there anyone wiser than me in the world- in that vein-. Hehehe-.”

Cheon Gil-ryong, like a young man showing off, scanned the room with the eyes of an attention-seeker.

From here, it was a story Jin Hyuk hadn’t heard, so he listened carefully.

“After teaching for ten years, I realized. Ah, it’s not because I’m great that I teach them-. It’s because they’re great that they help me grow.”

What does that mean?

Jin Hyuk’s brow furrowed slightly.

Cheon Gil-ryong tapped his chest.

“Heart. Heart.”

“Heart…”

Humility, perhaps. Jin Hyuk made a small sound.

“How do you think it feels to see kids who brought rice, barley, millet, rice cakes, and liquor every day grow up and leave?”

“Lonely and empty, I guess.”

“Right, I thought I lived with affection. I wrote my first poem with that regretful heart. Do you know what my brother said when he saw it?”

Jin Hyuk looked at Cheon Gil-ryong, urging him to continue. His eyes resembled Yoo Jin’s.

“He laughed and said, my brother now has all the conditions of a true hero.”

“You must have written it well.”

“Well written, my foot. He tore it up-. Said even a dog’s tail could write better.”

“Then…”

“It’s about knowing how to give, hold, and show heart, he said. So-, ahem!”

Perhaps from talking too much in the dry weather, Cheon Gil-ryong cleared his throat.

“Keep going-. He didn’t teach me anything, didn’t show me anything. Do as your heart tells you, he said.”

“Give, hold, and show heart…”

Why didn’t he teach me…

Muttering, Jin Hyuk looked at Cheon Gil-ryong, who asked with a satisfied face.

“Are you a learner or a doer?”

“I prefer doing.”

“Would you write if someone came to learn?”

“Still, I learn a lot from Grandpa’s words. There’s definitely something.”

Cheon Gil-ryong spins immersive and fun stories. Within them lies wisdom no one else can offer. Jin Hyuk, used to concise expressions, lacked this ability. Cheon Gil-ryong’s stories contained phrases that, when pondered and digested over time, could become life’s guiding lights.

To Jin Hyuk, Grandpa Cheon Gil-ryong was a teacher.

“So I only tell you what’s necessary.”

“Thank you.”

Cheon Gil-ryong, smiling warmly at Jin Hyuk, looked outside through the half-open door.

In his clear eyes, the road, the village, and the blue sky would be visible.

Jin Hyuk knew by intuition.

Though his body was old, Cheon Gil-ryong’s heart was young, and when he looked at the sky, he thought of his brother.

Soon, words from Cheon Gil-ryong’s brother would flow from his mouth.

“My brother said, opening the flesh, opening the mind, opening the heavens-. A true hero.”

“Open the body, open the mind, open the heavens or the heart-.”

“Seeing you, I understand. A true hero isn’t an outstanding person. It’s an ordinary human who possesses all three.”

“I’ll strive to possess all three.”

“Jin Hyuk, you already possess all three. You just need to find the method-. Execution, execution. You’ve already given your heart to school, friends, and your life, so isn’t it just about taking exams you don’t even need to see? To be faithful to the life you’ve given your heart to. Now, you just need to find the visible method.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“When’s the exam?”

“Next Wednesday.”

“Jin Hyuk will soon leave the nest. I’ll see you a few more times before you go.”

“Yes. Of course.”

Watching Jin Hyuk and Jang Gun descend the hill, Cheon Gil-ryong stood on the porch with his hands behind his back. This was his way of seeing someone off with his heart.

“A healthy body, a bright mind, and an affectionate heart… You must possess all to be a true hero… That’s what makes you ordinary. I’ve coined a saying. Hehe.”

Before entering the room, he muttered while looking at the sky.

“Such humans are rare. That’s why the human world is a mess. I think I see as much as you now.”

If that guy had farmed as planned, he would have ascended to play Go with his brother by now-. Leaving the nest means he’ll live on earth for at least 20 more years.

***

Cramming doesn’t suit my personality.

But if necessary, what can you do?

Even on a rainy Sunday when I couldn’t go out, I scribbled poetry.

With my heart, not my head.

「A sad song like winter rain, shall I sing it at this moment··· kaah-」

Eeeek-! Erase erase-.

I nervously played with the eraser.

Scribbling song lyrics without thinking, I opened my heart but emptied my head, causing a disaster.

‘What is this…’

Drrrrrr-.

While watching my siblings ride bikes, I wrote poetry.

「Looking at the towering peaks of Gubongsan Mountain, doing 3 sets of chest exercises

Like the water flow in the canal, for endless arginine, let’s destroy the lower body······」

Yah! Erase erase erase-!

An unheard-of gym rat sensibility popped out.

This time, I opened my heart too much, and the lines felt familiar, like I’d seen them somewhere.

“Huuu-. Again, again.”

Excitement raises brain pressure, reducing vision and judgment.

I calmed my breathing and wrote again.

‘Heart, pour your heart into it…’

Scribble scribble- I played with the pen.

「Sitting or standing······ squats」

Aooo!

Erase erase erase!

Until the deadline, I agonized over notebooks and pens at school.

While other friends were wrestling with mock exams and problem sets.

「Our dog Bokshil Jang Gun is a dumb poop dog······」

Eeeek!

Erase erase erase!

After much deliberation, I went to the 2nd-grade girls’ classroom.

「2-2」

The class where the junior in charge of the school magazine editing is.

As I loitered at the door, passing students and those in the classroom surrounded Jin Hyuk.

Bright-eyed. All with admiring eyes, but the numbers made me shrink.

What, scary. Go away.

A wolf surrounded by a pack of rabbits must feel this bewildered.

But they’re amazing.

They keep a certain distance like they promised.

Standing at attention, the junior appeared, flustered.

“Kyaaa-! Oppa! You could’ve called, why did you come yourself?”

“Well, you see-.”

Scratching the back of his head, Jin Hyuk confessed like a criminal.

“There’s this school magazine submission thing-. I wanted to submit a poem, but- maybe I should’ve chosen an essay, but poetry seems better, but-, I’m the type to stick to what I decided-, but I haven’t written it yet······. So, you see-.”

Maybe it’s okay to delay it by a year. Hehehe-.

Listening to Jin Hyuk’s mumbling, the junior smiled like an angel, mercifully.

“The submission deadline is arbitrary, so don’t worry about it. Submit it after the exams. Definitely. Got it? Hehe-.”

Wow, no mercy.