Chapter 22: To the Confucian Forest (3)
“Father!”
Mun Eunji shouted with an angry face. Even though her sudden entrance was improper, Mun Yuhwan received her with a calm expression, as if he had expected it all along.
“What’s the matter?”
“Please say something to that person!”
“That person?”
“The new one who just arrived!”
Mun Yuhwan smiled faintly.
It seemed she was referring to the eccentric who had played Go with him not long ago.
“Now that you mention it, I didn’t even ask his name. So, has he done something wrong?”
Mun Eunji spoke with a face flushed red.
“He hasn’t left his room all day!”
“And how is that a wrongdoing?”
“All he does is sleep! Aside from eating the meals delivered to his room, he’s been sleeping all day! He’s been doing that for seven days and nights straight.”
Mun Yuhwan tilted his head.
“Seven days and nights?”
“Yes! He hasn’t even washed once in all that time! He’s been sleeping nonstop for a week! The bedding is on the verge of growing mold!”
Mun Yuhwan burst out laughing and said,
“Then change the blankets often.”
“Father!”
“Is there another issue?”
Mun Eunji responded with a thoroughly disgruntled look.
“Why are you leaving him alone like that?”
“And what if I didn’t?”
“You always said laziness is a sin. You’ve always emphasized the importance of diligence. So why aren’t you reproaching him for being lazy? Even if he’s a guest, he’s disrupting the atmosphere. The other scholars have started to grumble. I’m worried it might taint the spirit of the study hall!”
Mun Yuhwan shook his head slowly.
“If someone’s focus on scholarly pursuit is disturbed just by seeing one lazy person, then it’s the fault of their own lacking discipline, not the laziness of the other.”
“But Father.”
“Let him be.”
“……”
Mun Yuhwan gave a gentle smile.
“Eunji.”
When Mun Yuhwan spoke in a subdued tone, Mun Eunji seemed to realize she had gotten too worked up. She lowered her head deeply and answered.
“Yes, Father.”
“Do you know why Go is also called ‘hand conversation’?”
“This daughter does not know.”
“It is exactly what it sounds like. Because it’s a way to communicate using one’s hands, it’s called ‘hand conversation’.”
“……”
Mun Yuhwan spoke to her in a composed tone.
There was certainty in his voice.
“I like Go. It’s because you can learn about the other person through it. Words can be measured, expressions can be hidden, but one’s playing style cannot be concealed. A person’s style on the board reflects the world they’ve lived in.”
“Yes.”
“A person with an impatient temperament can never play a leisurely game of Go, just as someone laid-back cannot enjoy battle. A person’s playing style, like this, reveals their life and personality in full.”
“But that’s…”
“His style was incredibly rough and impulsive. I’ve never seen anyone with such an extreme playing style. From that, it’s clear he’s neither lazy nor relaxed. He must have lived a life far rougher and more painful than we can imagine.”
“……”
Mun Eunji bit down hard on her lip. Her father’s words were nothing short of the truth—there was no room to argue.
“When the sun is bright, shadows grow deep. If he’s indulging in laziness now, it simply means the life he led before was that much more exhausting. No one drives away a bird that finds shelter under the eaves from the rain, nor does anyone blame it for not flying through the storm. So, could you not let him rest a little longer?”
Mun Yuhwan’s words were both impeccable reasoning and a reflection of his character.
However, there was one thing Mun Yuhwan didn’t know.
That a person’s playing style revealed their personality was, in most cases, true.
But Mun Yuhwan had never once imagined that someone could have learned to play Go in circumstances as extreme as what Wi Yeonho had endured.
Because of that, Wi Yeonho had developed a playing style completely opposite to his true nature. How could Mun Yuhwan possibly know that?
He was deeply mistaken.
“I understand.”
Though Mun Eunji still wore a face full of dissatisfaction, she could no longer argue with her father and simply gave a reluctant nod.
‘You’re being deceived!’
Her father's words seemed right when spoken, but Mun Eunji's intuition insisted otherwise. A woman’s instinct whispered clearly to her.
That bizarre man who had recently come into this house was undeniably a bringer of disaster.
And Mun Eunji’s intuition was spot-on.
If Mun Yuhwan had truly grasped Wi Yeonho’s personality, he never would have responded this way.
Everything stemmed from a misunderstanding caused by Wi Yeonho’s distorted playing style.
The unfortunate part was that Mun Yuhwan had never once imagined that a person could truly be that lazy. Had the laziness been moderate, he might have become suspicious. But witnessing such extreme laziness, he simply concluded it was a reaction to a life of hardship.
To be frank, let’s just call it what it is—how could anyone possibly sleep for seven days straight?
Wi Yeonho was, in fact, a slacker who could make that level of laziness possible, and the tragedy lay in the fact that Mun Yuhwan was far too rational a man.
“So don’t be too hard on him.”
“…Yes, Father. I’ll take my leave.”
As Mun Eunji carefully stepped out of the room, Mun Yuhwan gave a faint smile and picked up a book.
“Is it the wind, perhaps…”
He muttered something unintelligible under his breath, then quietly began reading.
Mun Eunji came out with an expression full of dissatisfaction. Gritting her teeth, she marched straight toward Wi Yeonho’s room.
If things were left as they were, that slacker would no doubt continue leeching off the estate’s rice without doing a single thing. Times were already tough—feeding an extra mouth like that wasn’t something they could afford.
As soon as she reached Wi Yeonho’s room, Mun Eunji flung the door open without a moment’s hesitation and stormed inside.
“Ugh!”
A musty stench hit her nose.
Lying on the bed, wrapped up in blankets like a giant grub, was a grotesque lump. He looked so ridiculous that he genuinely resembled an oversized grub.
Not even reacting to someone bursting in this loudly?
“Get up!”
Mun Eunji shouted, but Wi Yeonho didn’t so much as budge. She marched over and grabbed the blanket.
“Hey!”
But the blanket didn’t move at all.
“Urgh!”
She gritted her teeth and yanked at it with all her might, but it was like the thing was pinned under a giant stone—completely immovable.
Fire lit in Mun Eunji’s eyes.
“I said get up!”
If strength didn’t work, then it was time for volume.
She pierced the air with a sharp yell, trying to rouse Wi Yeonho.
“Why…”
A feeble voice slipped out.
“The sun’s high in the sky! Get up!”
“…Yeah? Then tell me when it sets.”
“Get up now!”
Wi Yeonho didn’t answer.
Mun Eunji ground her teeth.
“If you don’t get up right this instant, I’ll pour cold water over you! And if that doesn’t work, I’ll set the place on fire!”
Wi Yeonho barely reacted to the threat of cold water, but the mention of fire made him twitch. The blanket wrapped around him like a cocoon shifted slightly, and his head poked out.
“Ah, what’s the problem?”
“What’s the problem? Who even are you! What kind of person lies around doing nothing for seven whole days in a place where everyone else is studying?”
“People who want to study can study. I want to sleep, so I’m sleeping. What’s wrong with that?”
“Because of you, people are losing their motivation!”
“I’ve been holed up in my room the whole time. How does that affect anyone…”
Mun Eunji found herself speechless.
How could someone who looked this stupid be so good at talking?
“Enough! Even if that weren’t the issue, I can’t stand the sight of you lazing around in that bed, unwashed for seven days! Who do you think has to clean those blankets? Get out right now and go wash!”
Wi Yeonho looked on the verge of tears.
“But I don’t even have anything to do…”
“Now!”
Wi Yeonho shook his head slowly.
There was no end to this level of unreasonable stubbornness. He never imagined he’d hear such things from someone who wasn’t even family.
“Can’t I just stay here like this?”
“Then stop eating our rice and go out to buy your own meals!”
Wi Yeonho fell into deep thought.
The old Wi Yeonho would’ve slipped back into sleep without a moment’s hesitation, but the current Wi Yeonho didn’t have the nerve for that anymore.
First of all, Wi Yeonho had no money.
Second, the food provided here was actually quite decent.
In truth, after years of eating nothing at all, what wouldn’t taste good to Wi Yeonho?
Since escaping the cave, indulging in laziness and enjoying regular meals were his only sources of joy. And now, one of those great joys was about to be taken from him.
“Uugh…”
Wi Yeonho made his decision quickly.
Laziness was great, but food was non-negotiable.
If he had never tasted it in the first place, perhaps he could have let it go. But now, the joy of meals had become something he couldn’t give up. Five years of living with Baek Muhan had added a new trait to Wi Yeonho: a serious appetite.
“So all I have to do is wash?”
“Yes!”
“And after I wash?”
“……”
“Can I go back to sleep?”
“No, you can’t!”
Wi Yeonho frowned.
“But I really don’t have anything to do!”
“Then earn your meals! You might not realize this, but we’re not exactly doing well either. If you were a scholar, we might be more understanding, but we’re not giving out rice to someone who lazes around all day like you!”
“But your father clearly said…”
“I manage the money!”
“……”
Wi Yeonho grew despondent.
But what could he say when the one in charge was being this firm?
“Then what do I have to do?”
“First, go wash up!”
“No, give me work first and—”
“You stink so badly I can’t stand it. Just wash first! Don’t you understand what I’m saying?”
“Ugh…”
When Mun Eunji’s voice turned sharp, Wi Yeonho stopped arguing and walked out without another word.
Mun Eunji shook her head.
She was also a child of the Confucian Forest.
She had always lived with caution in her speech and actions, believing that yelling at someone or pressing them like this was improper conduct.
Not once had she ever behaved this way toward anyone else.
But Wi Yeonho was different.
His laziness had the power to shatter the very foundation of her long-held principles. To think that someone’s idleness alone could render over ten years of diligent study meaningless.
“How can someone like that even exist?”
To Mun Eunji, Wi Yeonho was a complete mystery.
Frowning, she picked up the blanket that had been wrapped around him.
“Sigh…”
As she pulled it back, the outline of Wi Yeonho’s body was etched into the bedding like a fossil.
“How can a person…”
Mun Eunji shook her head in disbelief. Just as she was peeling away the cover cloth that lined the bedding and mattress, someone stepped into the room.
“Huh?”
Mun Eunji exclaimed in surprise.
“Who are you?”