CHAPTER 52

After just having a sip of tea, he tried to get up, but the conversation extended longer than expected. Siyeon’s mother suggested for lunch, out of courtesy, he said yes.

“Just go upstairs and take a look at Siyeon’s room. It will be ready soon.”

“Okay. I will.”

Both Ijun and his parents seemed uncomfortable, and Siyeon imagined it was awkward for them as well. Ijun’s family had been treating the Ichondong parents as if they were Siyeon’s own parents. Now, with Siyeon’s parents suddenly changing, it was inevitable for the situation to be awkward.

Siyeon tried to help her mother, but she eventually came upstairs because of her mother’s insistence not to leave Ijun alone. Yoonsoo was the helper who assisted her mother with meal preparation.

When she came upstairs, Ijun was leisurely exploring the room, taking his time.

There was hardly anything to see in the room—just a bed, a bookshelf filling one side of the wall, and a small vanity. The desk and chair she used for work were in the living room on the second floor.

Ijun stood in front of her bookshelf and slowly scanned the books with his eyes. He still seemed in a bad mood, and Siyeon didn’t know how to improve it.

“The room is a bit small, isn’t it?”

“…Do you like Drumstick?”

“Huh…?”

At his sudden question, she looked at him with a bewildered expression.

“Do you like Drumstick?”

Ijun gestured with his eyes towards Siyeon’s bookshelf. Every book, from her early works to the recently published ones, was neatly arranged.

“…Do you know this author?”

“The one who wrote ‘Dragon’s Wings.’ It’s a series that’s also been made into a game.”

As they talked about books, his expression seemed to soften a little.

“…I like it.”

Siyeon gave herself goosebumps by saying that she liked herself, but it was absurd to say that she disliked the author she collected all the works of.

“That’s surprising.”

“What’s surprising?”

“You used to only read essay collections and poetry books. Surprisingly, you liked fantasy novels too.”

He seemed to like finding common ground with Siyeon.

“Have you read any books by this author?”

Asking this, Siyeon swallowed nervously. She didn’t want to hear criticism from him.

“I even have a personally signed copy from the author.”

“Don’t lie.”

“….”

Siyeon pretended to be astonished, clasping her hands as if to say it was unbelievable. Ijun raised one eyebrow slightly at her gesture.

“Oh, no. What I meant was… I heard that the author has never personally signed books for fans. So… you mean… the printed signature in the book, right?”

Ijun’s words were undoubtedly a lie. She had never signed a book for anyone other than the publisher and her father.

“It’s a first edition book with the author’s actual signature in black gelpen. It’s probably the only book that has it.”

“….”

Siyeon just looked at him with a blank face. Looking at his confident face, she thought that he probably fell for a scam.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Well… it’s just… fascinating.”

“What’s fascinating?”

“I mean, it’s just… interesting that you like the author enough to have a signed book.”

As Siyeon debated whether to reveal her identity as Drumstick, Ijun’s voice fell calmly over her contemplative thoughts.

“I didn’t say I liked the author.”

“But why do you have the books if you don’t like the author?”

“Someone gave them to me.”

“Why don’t you like the author?”

Her voice came out unevenly.

“There is a deep distrust in humanity underlying this author’s overall works. The protagonist suspects and fears being abandoned by close people, not fearing betrayal or death. It’s not about being brave or courageous; it’s just accepting the inevitable. In reality, they are weak and powerless. I don’t really like such characters with such mindset.”

“….”

She couldn’t understand why he analyzed it so thoroughly when he wasn’t even a fan.

 No, maybe it was because he analyzed it that he started to dislike the author.

While listening to Ijun’s words, Siyeon decided never to reveal that she was Drumstick.

“Siyeon.”

At that moment, her mother called her in a soft voice from the stairs leading to the second floor.

“Yes!”

Siyeon went out as if she had been waiting.

“But it’s interesting. Irritatingly so.”

And so, she didn’t hear Ijun’s muttered words that were left behind.

***

After finishing the meal, Siyeon asked her parents to pack and move only her books and clothes. She planned to pack the remaining valuable items into boxes and load them into the car while they were at it.

While Siyeon was organizing and packing with her mother, Ijun was talking with her father. Even as she packed, she occasionally glanced at the two with an anxious expression.

Her father still seemed a little uncomfortable speaking. She had been worried because he hadn’t spoken to Ijun beforehand, but Ijun patiently waited until her father finished speaking and calmly answered his questions. He was unexpectedly considerate, and she was grateful for that.

“Siyeon. Can I talk to you… in private…?”

When she finished packing everything and was ready to leave, her father called her. Siyeon looked at Ijun.

“Don’t worry about me, take your time talking.”

“Thank you.”

Siyeon entered the room and sat in front of her father. He held her hand and looked at her with affectionate eyes before slowly speaking.

“Siyeon… You need to listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

Siyeon nodded her head. Until then, she had been smiling.

“The truth is… I’ve known Professor Kim Hyun-sik, who raised you, for a long time. One day, I read in the newspaper that he was the grandson of Baekya Kim Dong-han… since then, I knew his name and face……”

As tears welled up in her father’s eyes, Siyeon’s smile gradually faded.

“Siyeon… Baekya… was not Kim Dong-han. It was a poem written by your great-grandfather.”

At that moment, time and space around her seemed to freeze.

“Kim Dong-han… was the teacher of your great-grandfather who used to attend night school. Your great-grandfather… truly respected him as a mentor. They were truly… like no other, like master and disciple. Your great-grandfather’s writing didn’t gain much attention until later when it was published under Kim Dong-han’s name.”

Her father stumbled and sometimes expressed frustration while speaking. Siyeon realized that the reason her father’s health had deteriorated was not solely because of her, but also because he had cherished and raised the daughter of his enemy while she grew up in the enemy’s house.

In conclusion, the poem ‘Baekya’ was taken from Siyeon’s great-grandfather by Kim Dong-han, who was his teacher at the time. Kim Dong-han couldn’t acknowledge that a poor apprentice working in a factory had better writing skills than him.

Her great-grandfather’s writing was published under the name of Kim Dong-han, an elite scholar of that time, and Kim Dong-han’s reputation continued to rise.

Realizing that his writing was well-received, her great- grandfather wanted to reveal that he was the author, but Kim Dong-han opposed it.

‘You have limited education and come from humble beginnings, but you have exceptional writing skills. But think about it. No one in the world wants to make a laborer working in a factory a hero. People believe that heroes should be far superior and noble than themselves. More important than ‘what is written’ is ‘who wrote it.’ Just wait a little longer. Wait for the right opportunity, and you can reveal to the world that you are the owner of those writings.’

He had waited, believing in his teacher’s words, but the news he expected never came. While Kim Dong-han became a representative literary figure of the time, his great- grandfather suffered in silence.

One day, he went to see Kim Dong-han with the poem “Baekya” and presented him with a wooden comb he had made over several days.

Kim Dong-han was deeply moved after reading the poem, saying it would be a great strength for the people desiring independence from the Joseon Empire, and patted her great-grandfather’s shoulder.

However, there was no further news. The day his great-grandfather found out that the poem “Baekya” had been published in the newspaper and that Kim Dong-han had changed his pen name to Baekya, her great-grandfather took his own life.

“But… Baekya was not actually a resistance poem. Kim Dong-han… just assumed it by himself. Your great-grandfather… for some reason… didn’t want to correct that fact… so he kept it to himself… without letting Kim Dong-han know… that the poem… was actually a proposal to your great-grandmother.”

“…….”

Siyeon listened to her father’s words without making a sound. Her vision turned white and then quickly turned black. Only her heart thumped loudly in the pitch-black darkness.

“The original work… read, ‘I wait for you… in the white night.’ When Kim Dong-han saw it, he changed it to ‘’I wait for you… during the white night’ He thought your great-grandfather had made a mistake with one character……”

(Baekya = White Night)

There was a significant difference in terms of location and time between the words “in white night” and “during white night.”

“The white night illuminates the night dark as the obsidian…”

Siyeon murmured absentmindedly with a vacant expression. She had definitely learned it that way. In the dark era of Japanese colonial rule, the white night was a symbol of hope, longing for independence…

“Siyeon, when you go back… take a close look at the flower engraved on that hair comb.”

“I’ve seen it. The white buckwheat flowers in the field… the farm.”

“Yes. You’ve already seen it. It was there… where he proposed.”

Having seen it several times, she already knew. The picture engraved on the hair comb depicted buckwheat flowers blooming abundantly in the dark field.

“H-how could this happen…”

“Father once took me to visit that house, holding my hand. I… thought that perhaps Professor Kim also knew about this fact….. I’m not sure.”

“…Who else knows about this…?”

“Only the Kim family and… our family… knew about it… I had forgotten about it… and then you…”

It was unclear whether the Ichon-dong father knew about this enormous secret, but one thing was certain. It was impossible for the astute grandmother not to know about this fact.

“Then, Eunhye must have known too.”

“….”

Her father didn’t answer, but Siyeon already knew the answer. Eunhye intended to marry into the Jeong family despite knowing that she didn’t have the qualifications as Baekya’s descendant.

“Someday, everything will fall into place. Remember that it was heaven’s will for you to live as a granddaughter of the Kim family.”

“…I understand.”

Siyeon spoke in a low subdued voice. She and Eunhye still hadn’t found their rightful places.