Chapter 14. The Genius

Gyo glanced at Go Sosoon once, then shifted her gaze toward So Yuk-rang, who was standing behind the crowd.

Yuk-rang was already looking at her too.
Their eyes met—and Gyo gave him a small smile.

For a moment, Yuk-rang felt as if the world froze.
He couldn’t move.

He quickly averted his eyes and walked toward her.

“Sister, why were you looking for us?” Sosoon asked.

“Oh, nothing.”
Gyo answered calmly.

“I just wanted to have lunch together.”

Yuk-rang eyed her suspiciously.
Then Gyo grabbed Sosoon by the collar and said seriously,

“It’s your first day of class. I can’t feel at ease unless I see for myself.”

***

Lunch at the Noodle Shop

The three went to a nearby noodle shop, and each ordered a bowl of Yangchun noodles.

It was the same shop where Poongnim had once brought Yuk-rang.

Yuk-rang didn’t seem to enjoy his food much.

“This is supposed to be the taste of your hometown, right? Is it that bad?”

“It’s worse than the food you make.”

Even after saying it, Yuk-rang was startled at himself.

Gyo blinked in surprise, rested her chin on her palm, and stared at him.
Then she smiled.

“Then I’ll cook for you tonight.”

Sosoon, who usually ate a lot, finished one bowl and prepared to order another, but strangely his chopsticks stopped.

“Why am I so full? I barely ate.”

***

The Collapsed Dormitory

After lunch, Yuk-rang and Sosoon returned to the academy—and heard the news that their assigned dormitory had collapsed.

“When did it collapse?” Yuk-rang asked.

A student replied,

“Right after you two left. Everyone saw you heading that way and thought you’d be buried alive.”

They had intended to go straight to the dormitory.

Yuk-rang’s expression hardened slightly.

Sosoon ran to look.
A wall had caved in, and the floor was smashed by fallen beams.
If that had hit someone’s head…

“Good thing Sister came to eat with us! We would’ve been buried alive!”

This was the second time.
During their visit to the clinic too—each time, thanks to Gyo, they narrowly escaped disaster.

Yuk-rang stared in the direction she had left, lost in thought.

Cheonhyang Academy’s dormitories were always full.
This year, the competition had been even fiercer—they admitted 101 students.

There weren’t enough rooms, so the two had no choice but to commute for now.

Even though dormitory fees were included in the tuition, there would be no refund.

But since this collapse wasn’t the students’ fault, the academy decided to pay travel expenses for Yuk-rang and Sosoon.

Sosoon didn’t like going back to the Go household, but the academy wasn’t great either.
It didn’t matter—both places were annoying.

“Brother-in-law, isn’t this good for you?” “So soon,” whispered on the way back.

“Why would it be?” Yuk-rang frowned.

“You get to go home and sleep with my sister!”

Sosoon said it boldly.
He was thirteen, and in his mind, married couples slept together—though he didn’t really know what they did.

So he wasn’t embarrassed at all.

Yuk-rang choked on his breath.

“Don’t say things like that.”

“Why not?”
He genuinely didn’t know what he’d said wrong.

Sleeping together because they were tired—what was the issue?

***

An Unexpected Summons

Afternoon class was arithmetic.
The imperial exams didn’t include arithmetic—only essays—so the court didn’t value it.

But the academy headmaster insisted on teaching it, wanting to cultivate talent unconstrained by old traditions.

As soon as Yuk-rang sat down, Master Jang called him.

“The headmaster is looking for you.”

Yuk-rang headed toward the Central Hall.

At the entrance, he ran into Go Daesoon coming out.

Daesoon was still wearing a proud expression, but it twisted angrily when he saw Yuk-rang.

“What are you doing here?”

Yuk-rang didn’t bother answering.
He simply moved past him with his cane.

Daesoon scowled.

Was he also summoned by the headmaster?

On Daesoon’s first day, Master Jin had told him the headmaster thought highly of him.

Later, he secretly learned that the headmaster would personally choose a disciple among this year’s new students—so he was told to try hard.

Of course he had to try.
He had talent—if he received personal guidance from a great scholar, he would surely pass the imperial exams.

He stayed up all night writing essays and showed them to Master Jin in the morning.
Master Jin showed them to the headmaster at lunch.

The headmaster had called Daesoon in and asked him several questions about his writing, and Daesoon had answered everything flawlessly.

He could tell the headmaster was satisfied.

He was certain he would be chosen as the disciple.

So why was Yuk-rang here?

Probably because of the dormitory accident.
He heard their room collapsed at noon.

Only someone with terrible luck would have such misfortune.

Daesoon snorted and walked away.

***

The Headmaster’s Question

Inside the Central Hall, the headmaster pointed at an eight-section essay on the table.

“Did you write this?”

“Yes.”

The headmaster’s sharp gaze focused on him.

Yuk-rang looked young—seventeen at most—with a fresh yet unusually calm, cold air.

He even limped.
And yet somehow, he appeared more dignified than the healthy students.

“Why did you leave two subjects blank?”

Outsiders only knew Yuk-rang had low scores.
They didn’t know he had submitted blank papers for two of the three subjects.

Normally, he would never have passed—but the one answer sheet he did submit was extraordinary.

Go Daesoon’s writing was decent for a student, but Yuk-rang’s was on a completely different level.

Yuk-rang didn’t answer the question.

So stubborn…
The headmaster sighed inwardly and waved his hand.

“Enough. You may go.”

Yuk-rang bowed politely and left.

As he exited, a white-robed old man stepped out from behind the curtain.

“Master.”

The headmaster immediately stood and respectfully saluted.

The old man shook his head while holding Yuk-rang’s essay.

“This student… carries deep grudges.”

***

Trouble on the Street

After parting with Yuk-rang, Gyo headed toward the marketplace.

The eastern market was similar to the western one but more refined—and more expensive.

She wanted to go to the regular market, but it was closed, so she had no choice but to shop here.

Gyo bought five jin of flour, two jin of pork belly, and two jin of salt—spending over a hundred coins.

Passing the cloth shop, she remembered Yuk-rang’s torn outer robe and underclothes—she’d seen them when washing his laundry a few days ago.

She went inside and bought a new outfit, asking for leftover scraps of fabric as well.
She planned to mend his old clothes herself.

She had never repaired clothes before —
but she had stitched up human hearts.
Fabric wasn’t much different.

Gyo placed all her purchases into her basket and left the shop.

She planned to return home—until she saw soldiers lining the entire street.

People were whispering nervously.

“What happened?”

“A leprosy patient escaped from Leper Mountain. The officials are searching!”

“Oh heavens! If he touches anyone, it’ll spread!”

“We should stay home for a while.”

In ancient times, leprosy was incurable.
Anyone infected was sent to Leper Mountain to await death.

Gyo suddenly remembered—Yuk-rang’s older brother had died of leprosy.

After soldiers finished searching this street, they moved on.

Gyo returned home and began preparing Yangchun noodles.

She was mixing the flour when—

Thud!

A heavy sound hit her front door.

She wiped her hands and stepped outside.

An old woman had collapsed on the ground.

Her hair was tangled across her face, hiding her features, and she wore shabby, coarse clothes.

Gyo assumed she was a villager—but why had she collapsed at Gyo’s door?

The loud noise earlier must’ve been the woman’s head hitting the door.
Her forehead was cut open and bleeding.

Gyo had survived dangerous missions in her past life, but she had never been close to actual death herself.

This old woman, however, was truly unconscious.

To help her home, Gyo needed to know who she was.

She knelt and gently turned the woman over.

Something was wrong.

There were faint reddish patches and skin damage on her face—symmetrically placed.
The edges were blurred.
The backs of her hands had the same symptoms.

Gyo’s brows tightened.

It was exactly…

“Sister! We’re back!”

Sosoon came running with a worn book bundle.

Seeing him, Gyo’s eyes sharpened instantly.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Sosoon froze.
He had never heard her speak so sharply.

“Sister…”

He took two more steps.

Gyo’s voice turned icier.

“I said don’t come closer! Stay there!”

Sosoon stopped dead about ten steps away.

He looked past Gyo and finally noticed the old woman.

He sensed the danger immediately.

“Sister… Who is she?”

Gyo kept staring at the old woman.

“I don’t know. Go home first.”

She had planned to invite Sosoon to eat.
But now safety came first.
She could not risk him.

Sosoon reluctantly turned away.

“Brother-in-law, I’ll go ahead then.”

Only then did Gyo realize—Yuk-rang had come too.

Not only him—Poongnim was with him as well.

Poongnim had helped his roommate review lessons and received a basket of citrus fruits in thanks.

He split from them with Yuk-rang and accompanied him back to the village, worried because Sosoon kept pestering him earlier.

So he followed to keep an eye on them.