The house where I lived as a child resembled my memory, but it was different. It was because it had been neglected for a long time without people.

‘It feels strange.’

A rare memory of my past came to me like a picture.

And when we entered the innermost room.

“You must have died here.”

Danmokbi hugged my shoulders. As if holding me up as I was about to collapse.

“Yeona.”

There lay two bodies, as if sleeping side by side. The shabby clothes were tangled, and the bodies were dried up.

Danmokbi was worried about me, but it seemed like a distant landscape to me. I spoke in a calm voice.

“I’ll tell my grandfather. If I don’t come back for too long, he’ll worry.”

But we can’t leave the bodies like that.

‘I have to bury them.’

(This is a time separator.)

The original plan was to tell my grandfather that I accidentally found the house where I lived as a child, found the bodies that were believed to be my parents, and that I would bury them.

‘I never thought about going with my grandfather.’

But as soon as I spoke, my grandfather jumped out of bed.

“My granddaughter’s parents? Of course, I have to get up! Isn’t it natural?”

I didn’t expect him to show such enthusiasm.

Since grandfather was so busy, Namgung Lyo, who had come back from outside, decided to follow us.

‘Ah, really, both of them. Just stay at the inn.’

Neither of them would be interested in my parents, so they were worried about me.

But there is a reason why I couldn’t nod my head easily despite their kindness towards me.

‘Then I have to introduce Danmokbi to them!’

I haven’t had time to catch up with Danmokbi yet.

Anyway, my grandfather is a very stubborn person, so I couldn’t stop him. Eventually, I took my grandfather and Namgung Lyo out of the inn, and outside the inn, my grandfather and Danmokbi came face to face.

My grandfather pointed to Danmokbi with an overtly displeased expression.

“Who is this?”

Even if he was the eldest of Jegalse, it was too rude. But Danmokbi calmly bowed and introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you. I am Danmokbi, the Little Master of Danmok Clan.”
Grandfather suddenly jeered and retorted.

“Who asked for your name?”

“Grandfather!”

Why did he respond so peevishly? As I glanced at Grandfather with a sharp eye, he stroked his beard and snorted.

“Why is Danmok Sogyup here?”

Seeing the title “Danmok Sogyup” stuck to his mouth, it was clear he recognized that it was Danmokbi even before the introduction. I sighed and answered.

“We ran into each other by chance.”

“By chance?”

Grandfather’s white eyebrows went up at my answer. Crossing his arms as if it were nonsense, he spoke.

“You run into Danmok Sogaju on the way to Danmok Seja? Isn’t it too exquisite to be a coincidence?”

“Eh? It was the way to our Danmok Seja?”

That was news to me. Startled, I questioned, and Grandfather cleared his throat with a deep cough.

Danmokbi looked surprised too but quickly bowed his head with a composed expression.

“You are Yeona’s grandfather. I look forward to working with you.”

“What’s the relationship between you and our Yeona that you look forward to it, spouting those words?”

“Since it’s the way to Danmok Seja, it seems we’ll be together throughout the journey.”

Though it was true, Grandfather continued to be stubborn and refused to respond.

“Having the same destination doesn’t mean we need to be together! Just go away!”

In the end, I had to put my hands on my hips and scold Grandfather.

“Grandfather, if you keep doing this, I’ll get angry! Stop being mean.”

“Mean! This child keeps picking a fight with me!”

I poked Grandfather’s side with my finger, muttering, ‘This is why they say raising a granddaughter is useless.’ Then, I gently soothed my sulking Grandfather.

“We just met after a long time, and both the master and I became emotional. Please don’t say too much.”

“Do you see this child’s brief annoyance as just because we met after a long time?”

Grandfather clucked his tongue and tightly held my hand.

“Yeona, there’s nothing wrong with listening to the words of someone who has lived long. Men should be steady and calm, like this old man. A fellow who looks like a playful butterfly cannot be trusted.”

My eyes narrowed as I listened to Grandfather’s words.

‘Anyone would see that Danmokbi looks steadier and calmer than Grandfather.’

It was no joke; Danmokbi was taller and had much broader shoulders. I waved my hand in front of Grandfather’s eyes and said,

“Grandfather? Are you seeing the same person as I am? Look at that calm and quiet face and say that.”

It meant not to speak with bias, but when Grandfather looked back at Danmokbi, he muttered in a small voice.

“Even the eyes are all slanted.”

“…….”

No, where are those round eyes slanted! Grandfather’s are more slanted! Frustrated and dumbfounded, I turned to the side, and Baekho, who had come to my feet at some point, fiddled with his whiskers and said.

Baekho, you too!