Chapter 27: I Play the Geomungo When I’m Sad

Expensive fine wine kept coming in endlessly, and on one side, musicians and dancers danced to the music.

Such revelry continued for quite some time.

“Heuu… Young master…”

The young lady named Sohyang was already heavily drunk and kept snuggling into my arms.

She became like that only by drinking the sweet wine I gave her, which was actually because I deliberately handed her a sweet but strong wine.

“Bring me three more bottles of dragon poison wine.”

“But the host can’t order drinks at will…”

“Young lady, I want to drink more.”

“Order it-! Give everything the Young master asks for-!”

“You heard her? Three bottles of dragon poison wine. Also, bring a few more of the most expensive dishes.”

Thus, I could enjoy the drinks lavishly with Sohyang’s money. She would be surprised by the amount when she sobers up, but well… that’s not my concern.

Glancing to the side, I saw our youngest also having fun with Sohyang’s younger sister.

“Uh… Heeya sojeo…? Y-You seem too drunk…”

“Young master…”

“Ugh…!”

Hmm…

They seem to be having a very sticky time. The younger sister doesn’t seem that way, but she must have a bold personality.

Our youngest looked troubled with a tearful expression, but well… that wasn’t my concern either.

“Young master… Hehe…”

Sohyang, seemingly drunk, approached and clung to me, but this level of skinship didn’t bother me at all.

Rather, it felt special to drink while holding onto something.

Still, she seemed quite drunk, and I didn’t want her to throw up in my arms, so I stopped her from drinking more.

“Young lady, that’s enough.”

“Aah-, why…”

“Young lady, you’re drunk now.”

“I’m drunk? No~? I’m not drunk at all?”

I could tell she was drunk just by the way she slurred her words, you fool.

I clicked my tongue inwardly and brought the glass to my mouth. Seeing that, Sohyang pondered and said.

“Young master… you drink very well.”

“Well… it’s part of my job.”

“Ah… I see.”

In fact, my job wasn’t a host bar worker but a mountain bandit, but I couldn’t say that, so I glossed over it.

Then Sohyang started to ask more deeply.

“How did you start this job?”

“Hmm…”

What should I say… It’s bothersome.

But a true gentleman turns a crisis into an opportunity.

“It might be a bit hard to hear, but is it okay?”

“… As long as it’s not a difficult story to tell, I want to hear it.”

I poured another glass of wine and put on a wistful expression.

“I was born as the son of a poor tenant farmer. Our family could barely eat one meal a day.”

“Ah…”

“My father worked diligently on the farm, but most of the share went to the landlord. My father always lamented not having his own land.”

In fact, my father was a mountain bandit.

I wonder if he ever farmed? Or if he’s even alive…

The image of my father, who told me to live as a mountain bandit before I left home as a child, came to mind.

So even though the story was all a lie, I could immerse myself in the emotions.

“Then a loan shark appeared. He offered to lend money at a low interest rate, telling us to buy land with it. Ah… my father shouldn’t have signed the contract back then…”

“What happened in the end…?”

Sohyang’s expression had already turned serious. And I continued with an even more serious expression.

Drip.

A wistful tear finally fell from my eye.

“Sniff… In the end, our family was buried in debt… My father fell into despair and became bedridden…! My mother…! Sniff… Mother-!!”

In fact, my mother died of postpartum fever while giving birth to me. Growing up without a mother wasn’t a good thing, but it was common in this era, so I had to accept it.

And most importantly, the focus was on Sohyang in front of me.

“Ah…”

She seemed to believe my story completely, as if she was about to cry.

To deliver the final climax, I gave her a bittersweet and wistful smile, as if I was okay now.

“So I left home at the age of 12 and had no choice but to work at the brothel… It’s been 10 years now, so I’m used to it.”

“Sniff… You went through such hardship since you were 12…”

“I’m okay now. The owner and manager here are tough, but I enjoy the work and get to meet good people like you, young lady. However…”

“However…?”

“Ah, there’s still debt… Sniff… I keep sending the money I earn here, but still… My father and mother… Oh…!!”

“There’s still debt left…? Those wicked loan sharks…! How much is the debt?”

“Oh… The debt is still 5 Gwans of gold, so my father…! My mother…!”

“F-Five Gwans of gold…?”

As soon as she heard that, Sohyang checked her pocket, seemingly to see how much money she had brought.

Soon, her expression crumpled, and she took out a bundle of paper money worth 3 Gwans of gold.

With a tearful and apologetic expression, she handed it to me and said.

“I-I foolishly didn’t bring much money… This is all I have left. But… if this can help pay off the debt…”

“Sniff… It would have been better if it was a bit more, but… thank you, young lady.”

“I just want Young master to be happy… Sniff…”

Sohyang said that and hugged me tighter. I pretended to hug her back and put the paper money she handed me into my pocket.

‘Damn, what is this? This is awesome.’

Of course, it was a small amount compared to the money I had, but suddenly getting 3 Gwans of gold was quite nice.

So I patted the head of the sniffling Sohyang in my arms and drank more wine with my other hand.

However, drinking while listening to a girl cry wasn’t very enjoyable. It was so quiet that when I looked around, I saw the musicians had stopped playing on their own, sensing the mood.

I was about to tell them to play again…

“Hey, it’s okay here, so start playing again…”

…but I stopped when I saw the geomungo the musician was holding.

Was it because I was slightly drunk, or because I talked about my past, even if it was a lie?

“Wait a moment…”

Recalling something, I gently pushed Sohyang away and stood up.

“Young master… where are you going…”

“Wait… I just remembered something from the past.”

I smiled at Sohyang and walked towards the musicians.

“I’ll show you something interesting.”

As a token of appreciation for the money.

Step-.

I approached the musician holding the geomungo and extended my hand.

“Lend me that for a moment. I want to play it.”

“Ah… Yes…”

The musician, flustered, handed me the geomungo.

Tung-.

At a glance, it looked good, and when I plucked it, a beautiful sound came out. It seemed the owner had taken good care of it.

Tadang-.

It had been a while since I touched a geomungo. But as soon as my fingers touched the strings, my well-practiced hands reacted automatically.

I didn’t want to do it, but someone had forced me to keep practicing.

‘Why the hell do I have to do this?’

‘I’ve told you many times that the most important thing when handling a sword is sharpness and softness. There’s nothing better than the geomungo to cultivate that. And if you swear again, I’ll break your uvula…’

I love alcohol and music.

When immersed in them, all memories and emotions are forgotten, leaving only intoxication and excitement.

Tadadang-.

However, the vanished emotions don’t disappear completely but are absorbed into the melody.

And that melody resonates with the listener’s emotions.

Whether it was the lingering intoxication from yesterday or if I was still drunk, I didn’t know.

I had deliberately avoided the geomungo to avoid recalling old memories.

But now, I was recalling all the memories and emotions, pouring them into the melody.

Talaran-.

When I finished the brief performance and lifted my head…

“……”

“……”

Everyone present was staring at me with blank expressions.

“Sniff… Sniff…”

The only sound came from Sohyang, who had listened to my fake story. She was shedding tears nonstop, contrasting my fake story with the performance.

“Sniff… Young master…”

I don’t know love.

But those tears and the look in her eyes were unmistakably…

“I just want Young master to be happy…! Sniff!”

…the gaze of a young girl in love.

…Uh-oh. Is this okay?

**

“Young master…! Sniff… That performance was so beautiful and sad. It’s because of your parents’ debt, right? Give me the names of those wicked loan sharks…! I’ll tell my father to…!”

“Alright, alright, just go…!”

Sohyang sniffled in my arms for a long time until the Moon-gazing Pavilion’s closing time, and I finally managed to send her off.

I put her and her sister in a carriage, telling her to go home, and as I turned around, Moon-seok was standing there.

He looked at me with a surprised expression, which made me feel a bit annoyed, so I asked.

“What’s up, old man? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I heard everything from outside. Did you… always have a talent for the geomungo?”

“I just learned it from an old man.”

“Hmm… It didn’t sound ordinary…”

Moon-seok pondered for a moment before asking again.

“Would you consider working as a musician at our brothel?”

“If you pay me 300 Gwans of gold as a monthly salary, I’ll even play with my teeth.”

I said that casually and walked past him. I was extremely tired from drinking and playing until dawn.

But…

“I can sleep in the guest room from yesterday, right? I’m tired, so don’t wake me up…”

“Wait…”

Thud.

“…?”

Moon-seok stopped me as I was about to pass by.

With a slightly troubled expression, he said.

“Could you… play that performance one more time?”

“Do you think I would?”

“I expected you to say that, but… please, I beg you…! Someone who heard about it wants to hear it directly…”

“If they want to hear it, they should come here themselves. Why are they ordering an old man with bad joints around? I’m going to sleep…”

“The person who wants to hear it is the Leader of the Lower Filth Gate.”

“What…?”

I stopped in my tracks at Moon-seok’s words.

“What? The person who wants to hear my performance is the Leader of the Lower Filth Gate? Then lead the way.”

“Really? You’ll really play the geomungo?”

“Yes. I’ll play it very well. That shameless woman. I’ll play the geomungo on her head.”

“……”

As soon as I said that, Moon-seok’s face turned pale, and he hugged me tightly as if to stop me.

“…Forget what I said. I’ll guide you to the guest room, so please rest…”

“Let go. Let go? My left hand distinguishes between men and women, but my right hand doesn’t. I’ll play the geomungo on her head, damn it! Bring the Leader of the Lower Filth Gate-!!”

“Ah-! I’m sorry for saying unnecessary things. So please calm down-! Don’t do this here-!!”

Thus, the scuffle between Moon-seok and me continued for quite some time in front of the Moon-gazing Pavilion.