Chapter 29 : Grand Historian (2)

Chapter 29: Grand Historian (2)

Mun Yuhwan looked at the old man with eyes seeking permission.

The old man slowly nodded.

“Bring him in.”

“Yes, sir.”

The door opened, and Mun Eunji and Wi Yeonho stepped inside. Mun Eunji was cautious in every single movement. But Wi Yeonho trudged in with a thoroughly swollen face. Just the way he walked made it obvious how annoyed he was with the situation.

Mun Yuhwan offered a gentle smile.

“I worried I might’ve disturbed you too early in the morning. Did you sleep well?”

Wi Yeonho answered bluntly.

“Yes, I slept very well. I could’ve slept a bit more if someone hadn’t poured cold water on my face while I was sleeping. What a shame.”

Mun Yuhwan silently glanced at Mun Eunji.

Mun Eunji turned her head away to avoid his gaze.

“Ha ha, so that happened. Still, I’m glad you were able to rest well.”

“Yes, I slept soundly. I just wanted to sleep a little longer since I was still tired, but it’s a shame I couldn’t because someone decided to scratch my face with their fingernails.”

Mun Yuhwan’s absent-minded gaze once again turned to Mun Eunji.

But Mun Eunji’s gaze remained fixed in the distance, showing no sign of returning.

“Ahem, I see.”

Mun Yuhwan ended up apologizing without realizing it.

“My apologies. Seems I caused quite a stir early this morning.”

“I’m in no position to complain since I’m being fed here. Still, I’d appreciate it if you could avoid such early hours from next time.”

Mun Yuhwan looked out the window.

The sun, now high in the sky, was hiding sheepishly behind the clouds.

“...My apologies.”

Mun Yuhwan cleared his throat a couple of times, then turned his head to the old man.

“This person is... hmm...”

The old man spoke up himself.

“Just consider me an old man passing by.”

Wi Yeonho nodded.

“That sounds like someone with a very complicated backstory.”

“Haha, is that so?”

“You seem to be the one who actually has business with me, old man.”

The old man nodded.

“Right on.”

“What’s the matter?”

The old man let out a hearty laugh.

“What else could it be, young man? What business would I have with the Go Saint? I’m just here to play a game of Go.”

Wi Yeonho glanced briefly at Mun Yuhwan.

Mun Yuhwan responded with a smile and a nod.

Wi Yeonho returned that smile, then looked at the old man and grinned widely.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse.”

“Hm?”

The old man looked at Wi Yeonho with a baffled expression.

“You’re refusing?”

“Yes.”

Wi Yeonho answered without hesitation.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You already play matches with those who come to the institute.”

“You’re well-informed.”

“And yet you refuse me?”

Wi Yeonho shook his head.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t play Go with you.”

“Then?”

Wi Yeonho answered with a firm expression.

“It’s not that I won’t play Go with you, old man. I’m just saying you need to wait your turn. Others came before you, so please wait in line.”

The old man stared at Wi Yeonho with a slightly stiffened expression, then burst into a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha! If that’s the issue, there’s no need to worry. I’ll explain everything clearly.”

But Wi Yeonho remained firm.

“No means no.”

The old man widened his eyes slightly.

“Look here, didn’t I say I’d explain properly?”

Wi Yeonho waved his hand dismissively, clearly irritated.

“Then go and get everyone’s permission.”

“Do I really need to go that far?”

“There are people who have waited three or even four days just for a single game of Go. They may not look like the most patient folks, but the fact remains that they waited. And when someone waits for their turn, you honor that. If I suddenly play a match with you, how deflated do you think those people would feel?”

“I told you, I can take care of that.”

Wi Yeonho looked the old man straight in the eye.

“That’s not called ‘taking care of it.’ That’s called coercion.”

“...Coercion?”

“You look like someone of considerable standing. If you speak, others may have no choice but to step aside. But that doesn’t mean they’ll accept it willingly.”

The old man felt at a loss for words. Certainly, if he revealed his identity and asked for their understanding, no one would openly object. But it was unlikely that many would accept it with a smile.

“Five games a day. Playing with those who came first is a promise I made with them, and a principle I follow. I don’t want to break that promise with them, nor do I want to break my principles for your sake.”

At Wi Yeonho’s resolute words, the old man looked at him with a newly found sense of appreciation.

He’s got more spine than expected.

The old man exchanged a glance with Mun Yuhwan.

But Mun Yuhwan only offered an awkward smile, as if saying there was nothing he could do. Of course, for someone as upright as Mun Yuhwan, asking another to break their own rules would be unthinkable.

‘What a troublesome situation.’

If it had been a matter of waiting for a game or two, he would have done so.

But now, Wi Yeonho was telling him to wait his turn. The old man knew that over a dozen people were waiting to play a game with him.

That meant wasting at least three days here—an impossible task considering how rapidly the situation was changing.

“Can’t you make an exception?”

"Why don’t you just wait your turn?"

“Hmm.”

The old man shook his head.

They were speaking two different languages.

He glanced at Mun Yuhwan, hoping for some support, but the man simply kept lowering his head in apology.

‘What am I supposed to do?’

All the principles and reason were on their side. As much as the situation made it difficult to wait, these Confucian scholars could not in good conscience ask someone else to abandon their principles.

While the old man and Mun Yuhwan stood there awkwardly, unable to say anything, Mun Eunji, who had been silently observing the situation, spoke up.

“Father.”

Mun Yuhwan turned to her.

“Speak.”

“I believe I can resolve this.”

Mun Yuhwan’s face lit up at her words.

“You can?”

“Yes.”

When Mun Yuhwan looked to the old man, he too gave a nod.

Mun Yuhwan was curious about what solution his intelligent and clever daughter might have come up with. In truth, since Wi Yeonho had arrived at the Great Scholarly Institute, Mun Eunji had spent more time with him than anyone else—so if anyone understood him, it would be her.

And she wasn’t one to speak thoughtlessly.

“Go ahead.”

With her father’s permission, Mun Eunji smiled at Wi Yeonho.

“Why not just play one game?”

“I said no.”

But Wi Yeonho curtly rejected her suggestion.

He was already in a foul mood from what had happened that morning—why would he listen to her now?

“Okay, okay. Just play one.”

“No!”

“If you play this game, I’ll cancel the rest of your matches for the day.”

Wi Yeonho shot a sharp glare at Mun Eunji.

Mun Eunji smiled confidently.

Principles?

Promises?

From what she’d seen of Wi Yeonho so far, he was not someone bound by such things.

Wi Yeonho had refused not because he didn’t want to play Go with the old man, but because that game wouldn’t count among the official matches he had scheduled to play.

Even if he did go ahead with the match and later told the others that he’d already played one game today and would now only play four, it was obvious no one would accept that.

Even if the old man explained the situation for him, there was no way to be sure whether it would work or not.

And really, why take that risk?

In that sense, Mun Eunji’s proposal came across as incredibly sweet to Wi Yeonho.

“...Seriously?”

Mun Eunji turned to Mun Yuhwan to seek his permission.

“That’s all right, isn’t it?”

With a reluctant expression, Mun Yuhwan nodded.

“I can explain that much easily enough.”

Mun Eunji smiled faintly.

“There. That settles it, doesn’t it?”

But Wi Yeonho, as if he had never shown interest at all, responded in a gruff tone.

“Hmph, it’s a tempting offer, but I’m a man of principles and integrity, you see... so something like that...”

Mun Eunji cut him off mid-sentence.

“You can’t use that excuse. If you want to rest even today, don’t try anything funny.”

Wi Yeonho’s face twitched.

He had thought that maybe, just maybe, if he negotiated a little, he could squeeze something more out of this. But Mun Eunji’s tone was far too firm.

“Just one less match tomorrow...”

“No.”

Wi Yeonho’s face trembled.

“Let’s just talk this through first...”

“There’s nothing to talk about. No.”

Wi Yeonho’s head drooped like a sick chicken.

“Cold-blooded woman!”

“Call me worse if you want. No means no. I’m already being generous just by letting you skip today’s matches.”

Wi Yeonho let out a deep sigh.

A person should know when to back off.

Trying to push his luck now might end up costing him more in the long run.

“No choice, then.”

Wi Yeonho turned to the old man.

“Hehe, let’s begin.”

The old man stared silently at Wi Yeonho with a reluctant look, then turned to Mun Yuhwan. But Mun Yuhwan, avoiding the old man’s gaze, quietly turned his head away.

‘This is the talented one?’

The old man’s sharp gaze pierced Mun Yuhwan’s back.

‘A hidden dragon concealing himself?’

The sharper his eyes became, the more Mun Yuhwan’s shoulders twitched.

The old man let out a sigh and turned his eyes back to Wi Yeonho. When he had first heard about him from Mun Yuhwan, he thought he might be someone worth meeting.

And when he saw Wi Yeonho in person, despite his frivolous demeanor, he thought perhaps the man was hiding something.

But now, face-to-face, the impression Wi Yeonho gave was—honestly speaking...

‘The worst.’

The old man sighed deeply.

‘All talk. Just all talk!’

If he had at least been a bit inarticulate, his impression would’ve been slightly better. But no, his behavior was the textbook definition of a swindler. If someone like this had sat for the civil service exam, the old man would’ve ripped up the test paper without even reading it.

A man with the face to ruin a country.

‘Was this a wasted trip?’

He considered whether Wi Yeonho’s foolish behavior was an act, a disguise to hide something deeper.

But the old man hadn’t lived this long in vain.

He had a discerning eye—one that could tell the difference between pretense and true character.

And that eye told him that the man in front of him matched what he appeared to be, completely and without deception.

Yet...

Something kept nagging at him.

Judging by his impression, their conversation, and his every mannerism, there was no need to waste any more time. And yet, something wouldn’t let the old man walk away. That faint discomfort kept him rooted in place.

‘Talking won’t help.’

The old man calmly ordered the board to be brought in and picked up the white stones. Like Mun Yuhwan, the old man believed that one could know a man through a game of Go.

‘Let’s see what you’re really made of.’

Whatever may appear on the surface, what lies inside would reveal itself through the match.

The old man gripped the Go stone tightly.

Determined to expose whatever it was that Wi Yeonho might be hiding, the old man’s eyes burned with resolve.

But his efforts were bound to be in vain.

No matter how deep he dug, there was nothing to find inside Wi Yeonho.

How could you uncover something that never existed?

The greatest misfortune for the old man was that he didn’t know what kind of creature Wi Yeonho truly was.

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