His current parents were generous people who treated Biyeong well, but the presence of his mother who gave birth to and raised him was something else.

On the night he ran away, why did his mother leave Min Yeonggam’s house without proper explanation?

How urgent must the matter have been for her to flee to the nearby mountains without giving a clear explanation?

The more he thought about it, the more puzzling it became.

“Sigh…”

Biyeong let out a deep sigh.

His hand, aimed at the target, began to tremble finely.

In just one day, he had lost his family. It was a well-known fact that Min Yeonggam was at the center of it, something even a child could understand.

Just like no one would care if someone threw away their belongings, a slave being murdered by their owner was not a surprising event.

Because it was a common occurrence, no one paid attention to the death of Biyeong’s mother.

Why did Min Yeonggam kill Biyeong’s mother?

The more he thought about Min Yeonggam’s face, the more Biyeong’s insides burned.
Biyeong’s target was overlaid with the face of Min Yeonggam.

―Thwang!

The arrow released from Biyeong’s hand hit the target in an unexpected place.

Simultaneously, Biyeong collapsed weakly from his position.

“Ugh…”

Rough breaths accompanied the feeling of suffocation.

After struggling to catch his breath for a while, Biyeong finally spoke.

“…I will take revenge.”

He would take revenge on Min Yeonggam, who had separated him from his family.

He would drive an arrow into the body of the man who killed his mother, Yeonggam.

That was the reason Biyeong learned martial arts and the strength to endure nightmares from the past.

Biyeong, who barely caught his breath, rose from his seat.

Armed with a bow and sword, he walked out of the gate, heading towards Min Yeonggam’s mansion.

Biyeong’s eyes, filled with mixed emotions, gleamed.

If he relied on his well-honed martial arts skills, he thought he could easily send Min Yeonggam away.

As Biyeong’s determined steps brought him closer to Min Yeonggam’s mansion, at a moment near the walls of Min Yeonggam’s estate, small steps followed behind him.

“Biyeong, big brother!”

It was Yeonwoo.

After coming to learn martial arts from Biyeong, she had followed him after seeing him leave.

When Biyeong turned around, he was met with Yeonwoo, who looked startled.

“Ah!”

Yeonwoo sensed the storm in Biyeong’s calm eyes.

Although it was the most enjoyable age to eat and play with delicious things, Yeonwoo could feel an unusual change in Biyeong’s heart.

Yeonwoo approached cautiously and, upon reaching Biyeong, hugged him tightly.

“…!”

Biyeong’s body stiffened with Yeonwoo’s sudden contact.

Soon, he felt Yeonwoo’s warm body temperature.

“…Let go of me.”

“I don’t want to!”

As Biyeong tried to push Yeonwoo away, she clung to him like a barnacle.

“If you let go, you won’t come back forever!”

Yeonwoo had no idea where Biyeong was going.

But instinctively, she felt that something was different from Biyeong’s usual self.

Leaving him just as he seemed so fragile might make him disappear like a mirage.

“Don’t go!”

Yeonwoo looked up at Biyeong with a trembling gaze.

“Don’t leave, play with me. You promised to teach me martial arts.”

“Let go of this.”

“I don’t want to! Waaah!”

Eventually, Yeonwoo burst into tears.

Why was this small creature’s voice so melodious? Biyeong was clueless about dealing with a crying little girl while being adept at handling bows and swords.
Unable to resist, Biyeong eventually had to raise his hands and feet.

“I won’t go! So stop crying!”

“Waaaah!”

Yeonwoo was relentless, regardless of what Biyeong said.

At that moment, beyond the wall, a slave of Min Yeonggam’s household stuck his head out and raised his voice.

“You! Do you know whose house this is? Why are you making a fuss here?”

The two children looked startled and stared at the slave on the wall.

The slave seemed dissatisfied with just shouting and began sprinkling salt on them.

“Aren’t you leaving?!”

Under the salt shower, Yeonwoo and Biyeong had no choice but to flee from the spot.

Holding each other’s small hands tightly, the two ran as far away as possible from Min Yeonggam’s house.

Watching Yeonwoo and Biyeong fleeing in the distance, Gano muttered to himself.

“Tsk, these dried-up ones in the family tree, are they already in puppy love?”

“Heh, heh…”

“Hooh…”

Having escaped from Gano’s salt ritual, they unknowingly arrived under a zelkova tree in a small field.

Under the zelkova tree adorned with countless flowers, Yeonwoo and Biyeong breathed heavily.

Once their breathing calmed down a bit, Yeonwoo’s joined hands entered Biyeong’s vision.

“C-Cough!”

Biyeong cleared his throat, letting go of Yeonwoo’s hand.

Yeonwoo, having run around the neighborhood, didn’t know that she was holding hands with Biyeong or that she had been crying.

But then, Yeonwoo noticed the salt falling on Biyeong’s head like white snow.

Seeing Biyeong’s head covered with salt in the middle of summer, laughter burst out involuntarily.

“Pfft, pfft!”

“…?”

Puzzled by Yeonwoo’s laughter, Biyeong belatedly realized that she was laughing at the salt on his head.

“You, you’re the same!”

“Hehehe!”

“If you cry and then laugh, what will happen!”

“Hahaha!”

Yeonwoo’s laughter, which didn’t stop, had already opened up like a flower.

Catching on to Yeonwoo’s constant laughter, Biyeong’s mouth also curved into a slight smile.

“Pff… Haha…”

Eventually, Biyeong couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Hahaha!”

“Hahaha!”

The two children laughed heartily for a long time, looking at the salt covering each other’s heads.

After a while of laughter, even Biyeong’s heavy heart had melted away like snow.

“Hehe…”

“Hehehe…”

Yeonwoo and Biyeong wiped away the tears that had gathered in their eyes.

Then Yeonwoo spoke.

“Big brother, you’re handsome.”

“Haha… What?”

Surprised by the unexpected compliment, Biyeong replied.

“You look handsome when you laugh like that.”

Yeonwoo, with crescent-shaped eyes, smiled brightly.

Biyeong’s heart fluttered at her warm smile.

“My father says people don’t laugh because they are happy; they are happy because they laugh.”

“What are you talking about?”

Actually, Yeonwoo didn’t know either, and she continued.

“In fact, I don’t really know, but it sounds like a good saying.”

Somewhere, Yeonwoo had picked up the saying.

“Earlier, your face was so scary, big brother.”
“…I’m sorry.”

Biyeong, who had regained his composure, fell into thought for a moment.

He had thought that the deep wounds in his heart could only be healed through revenge.

But what after revenge?

If he killed Min Yeonggam, he might succeed in revenge, but he would still face the death penalty for the crime of murder. His parents would live as the family of a murderer, experiencing the sadness of losing a family member, just like Biyeong.

The experience of losing a family was enough for him alone.

If Yeonwoo hadn’t stopped him, he would have lost his composure and gone to Min Yeonggam, causing irreparable damage to his parents. Yeonwoo looked at Biyeong with round eyes.

“I hope big brother smiles every day.”

And these clear pupils might never meet again.

“Don’t go anywhere else in the future, promise to play with me every day.”

Yeonwoo extended a small pinky.

“Promise!”

“…Promise.”

When Biyeong hooked his pinky, Yeonwoo smiled bashfully.

That smile, like sunshine, entered Biyeong’s heart, melting the frozen heart.

With one laugh from Yeonwoo, the heavy heart flew away.

Biyeong wanted to protect Yeonwoo’s sparkling laughter. He wanted to keep that laughter by his side forever.

He didn’t want to lose precious things again.

For the first time, Biyeong pledged to grow stronger not for revenge but to protect precious things.