Chapter 06
. Presence That Comes from Experience (1)
Having finally managed to shake off the two who clung to him like leeches, Seok Jin-ho walked straight toward the place where the gift ceremony was taking place.
He went to stand at the very end of the long line.
His relationship with his grandfather was so thin that it would not have been strange if it had been severed at any time, but still, he was family.
Even if his grandfather didn’t recognize him, as a grandson he at least had to show his face—so that later he could say he had. That was why Jin-ho stood in line together with Tak-yoon.
“Why are you standing there?”
“……Uncle.”
“Why are you standing in that line?”
Seok Myung-woo, who had been greeting guests, looked at Jin-ho with a bewildered expression.
Even if he was an illegitimate child, he was still of Seok family blood. For him to be standing in line with the guests was absurd.
“I’m waiting my turn.”
“Are we strangers? Why are you standing in the guest line?”
Jin-ho gave a bitter smile.
Strictly speaking, he and his grandfather were less than strangers.
Being the Grand Elder’s grandson hadn’t earned him any benefits at all. In fact, Myung-woo had often pretended not to see him whenever they crossed paths in the manor.
Even when their eyes met and Jin-ho greeted him.
‘Now you think I’m worth talking to?’
Jin-ho smirked.
Myung-woo’s shallow scheming was plain to see.
If Song Il-kang or Go Cheok hadn’t shown interest in him, Myung-woo surely wouldn’t have approached him at all.
“Can I see him right away?”
“Of course. You know I’m from the collateral branch too, right?”
“Yes.”
While Myung-woo acted as though they were close, Jin-ho outwardly responded with courtesy and followed him.
At this point, using Myung-woo wasn’t a bad idea.
If it saved time, it was to his benefit.
‘Not like I want to hang around here for long anyway.’
The banquet hall was splendidly decorated—but by Seok family standards. To Jin-ho, it was nothing.
He had seen and enjoyed banquets far grander and more dazzling countless times.
Thus, he entered the hall where the Grand Elder sat, following Myung-woo with an indifferent face.
“So, you’re Jin-ho.”
“It has been a while, Grand Elder.”
Holding the robe Sohwa-jung had made for him, Jin-ho bowed politely to the Grand Elder, who was seated.
It wasn’t the kind of bow one gave a grandfather, but rather the kind one would give a superior. The Grand Elder made a curious expression.
“For a greeting to your grandfather, it feels rather cold.”
“Is that so.”
Despite being seventy, the Grand Elder’s gaze and voice brimmed with strength.
His muscles and flesh had thinned, but his frame remained solid for a man past seventy.
Even his white hair gleamed with luster.
“If others saw us, they might not even know we were grandfather and grandson. At least you resemble me enough in the face that people would guess.”
Even at the old man’s jest, Jin-ho’s expression did not change.
He kept a calm, composed demeanor—despite sitting across from the man once hailed across the central plains as the Merchant King.
That intrigued the Grand Elder.
‘Even Jin-ryong, the family head and my eldest grandson, shows unease before me.’
As the family head, Jin-ryong should have mastered hiding his emotions—an absolute necessity for any true merchant.
But none of his grandchildren had managed it. That had long worried him.
Yet now, as he looked at Jin-ho, he wondered if he had given up too soon.
“Happy birthday. This is a gift we prepared.”
“We?”
“My nanny, Tak-yoon, and I prepared it together.”
“Oh?”
The Grand Elder looked surprised.
Most would claim the gift as their own, but Jin-ho spoke differently.
And he wasn’t trying to ingratiate himself.
His children and grandchildren all sought only to gain something from him. Jin-ho did not.
Ssssh.
That made him suddenly curious.
What kind of gift had Jin-ho brought?
The robe wrapped in silk was revealed.
“It’s nothing grand.”
“Nothing is greater than sincerity. You can’t see it, but perhaps that makes it even more precious.”
Recognizing immediately that it had been hand-stitched with care, tailored exactly to his own frame, the Grand Elder nodded.
“I like it.”
Unlike the other gifts, which he merely stacked unopened, this one he immediately tried on.
It was a pure white robe, gleaming cleanly, and it fit perfectly.
“It suits you well, Father!”
“Didn’t I tell you not to call me that in public?”
“M-my apologies!”
At the Grand Elder’s quiet yet commanding rebuke, Myung-woo quickly lowered his head.
He couldn’t even meet the man’s eyes, stammering nervously.
The Grand Elder clicked his tongue.
Despite being well past forty, Myung-woo still failed to carry himself with dignity.
‘Meanwhile, this boy isn’t even eighteen, yet he looks me in the eye.’
Side by side, the contrast between Myung-woo and Jin-ho was glaring.
“I hear the elders of the Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect have taken an interest in you.”
“Yes.”
“Do you intend to join one of them? You turn eighteen this year, as I recall.”
“I have no interest in either.”
“No interest?”
The Grand Elder tilted his head.
He hadn’t expected that answer.
Mount Hua and Zhongnan—those were prestigious sects.
And Jin-ho was, after all, illegitimate.
“Yes. I would turn down even Shaolin or Wudang.”
“Ha ha ha ha!”
The Grand Elder burst out laughing.
Beside him, Myung-woo stared at Jin-ho as if he were insane.
But the Grand Elder found it amusing.
“That’s simply how I feel.”
“Ah, forgive me. I wasn’t mocking you. Just taken aback. So, your ambition lies not in commerce but in the martial world?”
“For now.”
“For now?”
The Grand Elder’s eyes sharpened.
His words suggested martial arts were just a beginning.
“I’m still considering. Life doesn’t go as planned, but one should still have a plan.”
“Is there anything your grandfather can do to help?”
Myung-woo’s pupils quivered.
Many relatives had done everything possible just to hear those words—and failed.
Yet the boy who had always been invisible had heard them.
‘Until yesterday, Father didn’t even know Jin-ho existed.’
Though now they looked every bit grandfather and grandson, Myung-woo knew the truth better than anyone.
Jin-ho had always been scorned by kin and ignored by servants alike.
But now everything seemed utterly different.
“No, there isn’t.”
“Truly?”
“Yes.”
“You’re already rather old to be starting martial arts. Most would say it’s too late. And still, you need nothing?”
The Grand Elder peered into Jin-ho’s eyes, testing him.
Was this sincerity, or a trick to gain more later?
But what he saw was annoyance.
Unbelievably, Jin-ho truly wanted nothing.
“Yes.”
“Ho ho ho ho!”
The boy seemed eager only to end the conversation quickly. The Grand Elder chuckled.
And in that moment, he realized.
At last, among all his descendants, here was one truly promising.
And more—
‘So, he doesn’t want to be tied down here.’
Seventy years of life had sharpened his insight.
His body might age, but his mind had not dulled.
He could see Jin-ho’s inner heart clearly.
‘But with Seok blood in your veins, you can never truly escape.’
Among all his disappointing heirs, Jin-ho alone pleased him.
Even if illegitimate, it didn’t matter.
Whether he had business talent or not was irrelevant. Others could fill that gap.
Or perhaps he might even surpass them.
What mattered was that Jin-ho could be the pillar of the Seok family.
For the Grand Elder, that was enough.
“Grand Elder…”
“Oh, is it already so late? Jin-ho.”
Since the conversation had dragged longer than expected, Myung-woo cautiously interrupted.
There were many more people waiting to see the Grand Elder.
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s meet again after the banquet, just the two of us.”
“……Understood.”
“Am I so unpleasant that you show such reluctance to your own grandfather?”
The Grand Elder chuckled.
There were countless people in the hall who would come running if he summoned them.
But Jin-ho was different.
“You’ve misunderstood.”
“Ha! You can’t fool these eyes.”
“As if I would dare.”
“You’ve got the sly tongue of a merchant already.”
“I’ve no interest in trade.”
Jin-ho cut him off firmly.
Perhaps he had talent for it, perhaps he would one day, but not now.
First, he needed to regain his martial power.
Wealth was mighty, but when it came to protecting himself and those around him in the final moment, only martial strength mattered.
“Quite decisive. And I am the Grand Elder, you know.”
“Still, not for me—not now.”
“Very well. We’ll discuss it again. We still have time.”
The Grand Elder’s face was filled with regret, while Myung-woo fidgeted uneasily.
He wanted to spend more time with Jin-ho, leisurely sharing tea and words. But too many awaited him.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“I’ll send for you soon.”
“Yes, sir.”
Unlike the regretful elder, Jin-ho turned swiftly to leave.
The Grand Elder found that oddly disappointing.
Clearly, Jin-ho should have been the one clinging—but it was the opposite.
“Hmm.”
He sighed instead.
And his curiosity about Jin-ho grew stronger.
“I’ll bring in the next guest.”
“Do so.”
Myung-woo left, but the Grand Elder hardly heard him.
His thoughts were filled only with Jin-ho.
Meanwhile, after presenting the gift and stepping outside, Jin-ho frowned.
No sooner had he emerged than a young man, his face smeared with jealousy, blocked his path.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Ha!”
The youth looked at him as if incredulous—such a reaction he hadn’t anticipated.
But Jin-ho was equally irritated.
“Why are you blocking the way? Move.”
“I thought we could talk nicely…”
“Look at your face. Is that the face of someone wanting to talk nicely? You’re clearly here to pick a fight.”
