Chapter 5

Jaheon, when it came down to it, was a kid too.

But with Go Sun at twelve and Jaheon at eighteen, even to the young Jaheon, Go Sun was still just a little kid. In other words, Go Sun was truly young. With modern memories in hand, Jaheon did not want to use a still‑young Go Sun.

However, that Go Sun was to become that very Go Sun!

That changed the story. What was Jaheon’s reason for clinging to Wang Yun again? It was to use Wang Yun’s status to acquire people. In an age of chaos, people meant power. The more talent, the better.

“…A man to guard Choseon is certainly needed.”

Besides, Go Sun was the famous general who led the undefeated unit, the Camp That Breaks Formations. How else would his name be known in the faction of Lü Bu, who exits the stage partway through the Three Kingdoms narrative, and that even without detailed records?

Of course, the greatest reason Jaheon wanted to bring Go Sun to his side was…

“It’s rare.”

The fact that Go Sun had little interest in Choseon.

“It’s rare.”

For the simple fact that Go Sun felt nothing beyond friendship for Choseon, Jaheon wanted to give him two hundred points out of a hundred.

“Men who aren’t interested in Choseon are truly rare.”

For that reason alone, the reasons for Jaheon to cultivate Go Sun were countless.

“…Big brother?”

Flustered by Jaheon’s gaze, Go Sun called to him. But Jaheon did not answer. It was money he had been saving to buy Choseon a new hairpin. After long deliberation, Jaheon finally made up his mind. He took out a silver tael from his breast.

“……?”

One silver tael was the amount an ordinary commoner would have to work an entire year to amass.

“Take it. It’s yours.”

Jaheon held the money out to Go Sun.

“……?”

It had been money saved for Choseon.

Strictly speaking, not saved, but received from a rich matron who fancied Jaheon. In any case, Jaheon decided to endure for the sake of the greater good. In the end, wasn’t this also for Choseon? It was an investment to raise a clever lad who had no interest in Choseon. Such a chance was rare.

For Choseon, Jaheon had to endure, and endure again.

“But that’s too much money. Why in the world are you giving this to me…!”

Startled by the silver suddenly thrust upon him, Go Sun shouted. But Jaheon was firm.

“Use this money to build your martial skill and to buy and read military texts. Then, when the time comes, enter service as a military officer.”

Go Sun, shocked for a different reason now, gaped.

“…Pardon?”

Despite Go Sun’s fluster, Jaheon continued.

“Sun-ah.”

As though he truly had Go Sun’s best interests at heart.

“It would be a waste to let your abilities rot like this.”

To Go Sun, who received the silver tael, it sounded different.

“B‑big… brother….”

This was tantamount to Jaheon acknowledging Go Sun’s talent.

What was the reason Jaheon, with his temperament, could live in the village at all? It was because, with his extraordinary mind, he had solved many of the village’s problems. From the well in the village center to the rice bunds beyond the mountain, there was nowhere Jaheon’s hand had not reached.

Such a Jaheon acknowledged Go Sun’s talent.

Before that, had anyone acknowledged Go Sun’s ability? Until Jaheon appeared, there had been no one who did. People merely sneered, calling him a brat without a father.

Happy at Jaheon’s recognition for only a moment, Go Sun soon returned to reality.

“But….”

Go Sun was not just any child. He was bright and quick on the uptake. So he held the silver back out to Jaheon.

“Big brother. In the end, I won’t be able to be employed in any important capacity….”

In a voice that crawled, Go Sun muttered,

“Who would ever seek to employ someone like me?”

In the Han, family lineage mattered if one wished to win renown. But Go Sun had no lineage. His sole family was a widowed mother. Thus, no matter how much credit Go Sun earned, he would not be able to rise to high office. There was no one to recommend him to a post.

“Just who would value a lowborn wretch like me….”

It was at that moment, as Go Sun clenched his fist with a bitter smile, having recalled reality once more—

“I will value you.”

A low voice struck Go Sun by the ear.

“……?”

Jaheon pressed the silver back into Go Sun’s hand.

“So hone your skills, that’s what I’m saying.”

And then he quietly added a shocking statement.

“Before long, a day will come when the boundaries between base and noble grow blurred.”

The boundaries between base and noble growing blurred—words that denied the laws of the world Go Sun knew.

“……!”

And that was not all.

“On that day, the Son of Heaven of this land will fall into the hands of his ministers, and lords from all regions will rise, usurping the title of emperor for themselves.”

Words for which Jaheon could be summarily beheaded. Go Sun’s face went paper white as he heard them.

“T‑that’s… impossible. Big brother. How can… the boundaries… blur, and His Majesty, His Majesty… how could….”

He could even denounce him for this, and yet Go Sun could not understand why Jaheon would utter those words right before him.

“Sun-ah.”

In that moment, Jaheon reached out a long white hand and grasped the terrified Go Sun’s shoulder. Go Sun was still a child who barely reached Jaheon’s waist. To such a Go Sun, Jaheon spoke gently,

“When that day comes, you can be employed as well.”

Go Sun felt his pounding heart begin to settle.

Perhaps that was why.

Go Sun lifted his head.

Before his eyes stood Jaheon. With an inhumanly beautiful face, Jaheon gazed at him in quietude. Perhaps it was because of that. Go Sun began to listen, spellbound, to Jaheon’s words.

“Think on it.”

Clearly, those impossible words felt as if they would come true. No, he wished for them to be true.

“Is there anything eternal in this world?”

In truth, Go Sun desired such a world. He longed for a world that was not eternal.

“What is pressing you down will be the same.”

Eternity was a laughable word to Go Sun. Like a father who swore eternal love abandoning his mother. Like the Han, which had seemed eternal, now facing ruin.

All things fade.

Then, did the world’s prejudices that pressed down on Go Sun need to be eternal?

“Big brother.”

At last, Go Sun managed to utter,

“…Can that day truly come?”

Go Sun had lived being pointed at as a fatherless brat. He had no relatives to support him either. And yet he had been taught that, despite all that pointing, he must simply endure. That this was proper, the law, and the natural way of the world. That the lowly must not rebel against the noble.

But now Jaheon was saying otherwise.

There was no need to endure.

“Yes.”

He even spoke with certainty.

He was certain that the day would come when Go Sun would be recognized by the world. The desire of a young boy, long suppressed—those feelings he had crammed down, saying, “not for me”—surged forth and wrapped around his entire body.

In the end, Go Sun threw his arms around Jaheon.

“…Big brother.”

And gripping the hem of Jaheon’s robe like a lifeline, he asked,

“When that day comes, where should I go to find you?”

Stroking the head of the tearful Go Sun, Jaheon smiled.

“Luoyang.”

The capital of this land, into which not just anyone could enter—Jaheon’s voice naming Luoyang was infinitely calm.

“When that day comes, find me there.”

As if it could, at last, become reality.

Footnotes:

1. “Camp That Breaks Formations” translates a famed elite unit known as 함진영 (陷陣營), historically associated with Gao Shun under Lü Bu; the phrase literally implies a corps that “pierces/overruns battle lines,” noted for discipline and near‑undefeated field performance in lore.