“Father. Mother. Even the members of the Elders’ Council. Everyone has gathered.”
Finally, I’ve completed the novel featuring the Zhuge family. The day after I announced the news, not a single member of the Elders’ Council was missing as they all flocked to the Head Family’s Hall.
“Is it really true?”
“They must have called us for some other reason. You wrote a new novel? Is that even possible?”
“Right? Not even twenty days have passed.”
Even though everyone gathered, it’s understandable that they looked skeptical. It had only been a few days since I completed the rough draft and revised it with Miss Zhuge. In total, it hadn’t even been twenty days since the Elders’ Council had posed their challenge.
“No way they’re changing the conditions now… Huh?!”
As if clearing their doubts, I pulled away the cloth that concealed the book in front of me.
“I definitely brought a novel starring the Zhuge family.”
“……!”
The cover, elegantly adorned in a striking green, was definitely different from the covers of The Rise of the Tang Family or Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes.
“Did you actually write a new novel? In less than twenty days?!”
“The power of kimchi dumplings, perhaps!”
“Did Joseon kimchi have such power?!”
I mean, kimchi is indeed magical. After pondering what to say, the taste of the Zhuge family’s special kimchi dumplings came to mind, and I found myself convinced.
They were delicious.
“No way you just dashed it off.”
“I’ve written it under Ho Pil’s name.”
Due to limited time, I borrowed characters but didn’t write about the scarlet research. Thanks to that, I managed to save some time.
“Then quickly…!”
“Before that, I have something to say. Father. Mother.”
Turning my back to the Elders’ Council, who looked like they were going to snatch the book away at any moment, I glanced at my father-in-law and mother-in-law, who were watching the situation.
“What is it?”
“Our new work is a novel written by the two of us.”
I pointed to Miss Zhuge, who was nervously clutching my sleeve behind my back.
“You wrote it together?”
“The sound depends on the fingertips of the performer, but it only becomes music when there’s someone to listen joyfully. So, this is a piece written by both me and Miss Zhuge.”
My creation. I wrote it while exchanging ideas with Miss Zhuge. After gazing at her with a loving expression, I handed the book to my father-in-law.
“I understand what you’re saying. But why are you handing it to me first?”
“This is the illustrated version I wrote, with illustrations by Miss Zhuge. It’s one of a kind in the world.”
“I… I worked really hard on it!”
“What?!”
“What did you just say?!”
Once I revealed the identity of the book I had handed over, a voice of astonishment came from behind, but I didn’t care much.
“I know I might still seem unpolished, but I want to continue writing novels like this with Miss Zhuge in the future.”
The permission for marriage should be given by my father-in-law. After all, the Elders’ Council would just agree. Father-in-law, we will live warmly together in the future. Shouldn’t I score some extra points here?
“What are you doing? The son-in-law wants to gift something to his father-in-law and mother-in-law! Hurry up and accept it!”
As my mother-in-law urged my father-in-law from the side, he awkwardly raised his hand.
“Hmmm…”
“If you hesitate any longer, the elders will snatch it away. Quick, take it!”
“We— we never thought of such a thing!”
“Ahem! Y-yes!”
My father-in-law took my new work while trying to contain his laughter at the shocked voices of the Elders’ Council.
“I’ll read it thoroughly.”
“Thank you.”
I replied with a smile and turned my body around.
“……”
The expressions of the Elders’ Council clearly showed, ‘Where is our copy?’ It was a small act of revenge. There’s nothing for you, elders!
I chuckled inwardly as I spoke.
“I thought it was first to show you the results, so I only made one illustrated version. In the future, Miss Zhuge is planning to showcase the illustrations separately, so please wait a little longer.”
Of course, I won’t just exhibit it. If you want to get it, I’ll ask for a price.
“Well, then, it doesn’t matter.”
“Right! What’s wrong with a son-in-law gifting a book to his in-laws?”
“The illustrations aren’t what’s important, right?”
“Come on! What is the title of the novel?”
“Zhuge Solok. It’s Zhuge Solok.”
With the introduction of the title, the book slipped from my hand.
Now, just waiting to see how the Elders’ Council would react.
“What brings you here? You’ve returned quickly today.”
Elder Oh, with a stern expression, returned home and spoke to the servant who warmly greeted him.
“If this isn’t about the Demonic Cult invading, no one is to disturb me until I come out.”
“Yes? I understand.”
After receiving the servant’s confirmation a few more times, Elder Oh returned to his room and set the green book down on the desk.
“Ho Pil’s new work.”
He actually wrote it. In just twenty days.
“At this age, it’s not a treasured scripture, but I’m this nervous over a mere novel…”
Elder Oh had opposed the Elders’ Council’s tests, but he couldn’t help but feel his heart race upon receiving Ho Pil’s outcome.
The book’s title caught Elder Oh’s eye.
“Zhuge Solok. It’s not part of the Wind and Cloud series?”
The title was a bit disappointing. With Ho Pil’s The Rise of the Tang Family and Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes, it was only natural to expect the third novel to have ‘Wind and Cloud’ in it. Of course, he understood why.
“It’s not a piece Ho Pil volunteered to write, but rather one done under duress. Tsk. Still, I should be careful when asking about it later.”
He wouldn’t completely consider it his own work given his anger with the Elders’ Council.
“What could it possibly be about…!”
Could Kang Yoon-ho really be Ho Pil? If he truly is, would he possess literary talent that surpasses controversies?
With a fluttering heart, Elder Oh opened the first page of Zhuge Solok.
—–
“The life of the eldest son living in a nest full of many mouths is generally quite similar.”
“Under our unchanging family circumstances and the hungry cries of younger siblings. And then there’s the early maturation of the eldest son. When the news of the conscription arrived due to the Japanese Invasion of the South, what I could do for my family was only to take on military service in place of my father, who still had many mouths to feed.”
“Huh?”
As Elder Oh read the first sentence with trembling anticipation, he felt a slight sense of dissonance.
“The Japanese were incredibly brutal. What could someone like me, barely surpassing the age for conscription at just 16, do? The only way to confront these furious waves was to grip the shield I held even tighter.”
“The Zhuge family warrior hiding behind a shield?”
It wasn’t until the second sentence that Elder Oh finally realized the source of the dissonance. Why on earth would a son of a martial arts family hide behind a shield against the Japanese marauders? What on earth was going on?
“If this continues, I might not be able to celebrate my next birthday. Just as I was worrying, an opportunity presented itself. The chance to assist the military doctor who had been hit by an arrow.”
Elder Oh almost stood up at the moment he read the military official’s dialogue.
“The protagonist of the Zhuge family isn’t really one?! What on earth?!”
Thinking it was just a tale about a branch family, only to find it’s about Kang? What on earth was happening?
If he hadn’t recalled that Kang Yoon-ho had publicly declared himself the protagonist of the Zhuge family, Elder Oh might have rushed out immediately to question him.
Calming himself, Elder Oh decided to keep reading, continuing with a composed mind.
“As I returned to my hometown, I found my house gone. In this remote village, where a more vicious plague than the Japanese marauders had struck, where was there for people to seek help? Where was it that they had to bear the brunt of the epidemic?”
“Tsk tsk tsk. A common occurrence.”
“To the eldest son of a doctor returning from war and staring blankly at his home, what the villagers offered was only the little money from his father and contributions gathered from apologies.”
“Ahem…”
Unfortunate events that could happen to anyone. That’s why the sadness approached with such calmness and heaviness, drawing Elder Oh’s gaze.
“To the north. He headed to Wuhan in Hubei Province. Perhaps it was because he was fed up with the Japanese marauders. Maybe it was to fulfill his dream of becoming a famous physician. Or perhaps because he’d only seen the faces of his family in the dreams he could no longer see in reality. In any case, he no longer wanted his hometown.”
Wuhan was where the Zhuge family resided. If he’s not the protagonist of the Zhuge family, then what on earth is happening?
Following the flow of the book, Elder Oh, like the protagonist floating along the waters of the Yangtze River, turned to the next page.
