Work Text:
"It's good to see that the sajae have a three generation family now," Cheong Mun commented, taking a sip of the tea Cheong Jin made. "Babies are cute."
Baek Cheon smiled placidly, holding the tea in his cupped hands and enjoying the day as if he were a peaceful old man.
"Our martial brothers have grandchildren, but marriage proposals still come for our master," Cheong Myeong laughed, taking the oil soaked rag with which he polished the edge of his sword. "I can't believe he is still kang ho's most eligible bachelor."
Baek Cheon shook his head, laughing quietly as he took his own sip.
Cheong Jin shared an amused smile. "The master has broken many hearts so far."
"I still remember the first time the master left the sect. Once he came back, the letters started arriving and haven't stopped since then," Cheong Mun joined the conversation, moving the plate of sweets from the center of the table to the ground, next to Cheong Myeong and Baek Cheon.
Baek Cheon took a cookie, nibbling on it after taking a sip of the bitter tea. The sweetness and bitterness mixed together, creating a perfect balance. Cheong Myeong absentmindedly wiped his hand to take a cookie.
"It doesn't matter, it's not like the master will ever get married," Cheong Myeong waved his hand. "It's awkward every time he rejects them."
Baek Cheon swallowed, looking up in surprise. "Of course, I'm already married."
Cheong Jin nodded, putting the paintbrush aside to grab a cookie himself. "That's right, the master never... What?"
The sound of the jaw chewing the crunchy dough stopped. The sword that Cheong Myeong was busily polishing fell with a thunderous metallic sound. And Cheong Mun simply looked forward as if he had not yet processed the meaning of those words.
“Master… I think I didn't hear correctly,” Cheong Mun stammered. "Could you repeat that?"
Baek Cheon tilted his head, smiling mischievously.
"Repeat that I am married?"
Cheong Myeong drowned.
"Master, don't joke like that, if you say it with a straight face I might even believe you."
"But it's no joke, I've been married for years. Did I forget to tell you?"
“Master…” Cheong Jin continued when Cheong Myeong was speechless. "We've lived together for almost fifty years, how could we not know something like that? I think we would have noticed if you were married..."
"It's true, although my husband and I don't live together anymore, certainly I'm still married," he responded. "We got together shortly after I was thirty, to the first and only person I ever fell in love with..."
Baek Cheon's pale face turned pink in the cheeks. The soft smile on his face was unmistakably that of a person who deeply adores his loved one.
"I will never forget."
The faces of the three disciples varied in degrees of shock.
Cheong Myeong had a slack jaw, openly pointing at the timid Baek Cheon in horror. Cheong Mun looked ahead as if he had seen a ghost. Cheong Jin stopped in place, looking into the distance trying to remember all his past interactions in search of any memory that would confirm the ridiculous statement. There really weren't many people Baek Cheon interacted with on a personal level, other than his beloved personal disciples, so they were very concerned about the recipient of his affection.
After he seemed to make up his mind, Cheong Jin asked slowly. "Master, who is your husband...?"
Baek Cheon thought about it for a moment. "That's a hard question to answer. Even if I told you his name, you wouldn't know him. I'll say he's the strongest swordsman I know."
"More than me?" Cheong Myeong interjected, frowning.
"More than you."
Cheong Myeong tried to believe him, since the master was strong enough to be on his level, but he still found it hard to imagine someone stronger than him. Especially since everyone in the kangho should know someone like that. 'Master, you're not being biased, are you?' But the master wasn't that kind of person when it came to martial arts.
"Oh... And what... What kind of person is the master's husband?"
Baek Cheon's eyes lit up.
"Mm, he is impatient, aggressive and short-tempered. He is obsessed with training and pursues worldly pleasures as if he were not a Taoist", he laughed. "He counts each coin and drink alcohol every hour of the day.”
Cheong Jin and Cheong Myeong shared gloomy glances.
The first thing they imagined was a muscular man with a rough face, enjoying a banquet with several bottles of alcohol stacked around him and his cheeks flushed with drunkenness. Then, the man let out a greedy laugh, pulling his helpless master in by the waist...
They couldn't let that happen in a thousand years on their rotting corpses!
“However, he cares deeply for the people he treasures”, Baek Cheon continued, but it was too late for two of his disciples, who had flown to some distant place along with their imaginations. Like an expert, he ignored the killing intent that flowed from his pupils' bodies, too accustomed to silly fights. "He protects and cares for his own; when he gets attached to someone, he follows them everywhere and teases them like a child. It's kind of cute."
Cheong Mun deeply feared the answer to the next question. "Master, where is he?"
Calmly, Baek Cheon responded: "Don't know."
Cheong Mun was speechless.
"...When did you see him last??"
"Hmmm, fifty years old, perhaps?"
The faces of the three loyal disciples darkened. No matter how they look at it, the master's husband cannot be a good person. After some thought, the mental image with the evil man was modified to show a young, naive and gullible Baek Cheon, who allowed himself to be embraced by the hooligan who constantly harassed him.
Damn it, get your dirty claws off our master!
Baek Cheon could have added as many positive qualities as he wanted for his special person and it still wouldn't have been enough for his disciples. This was their master, who had kindly fought to get them away from their abusive former master and arduously taught them everything they knew, no one else. From their childhood until their old age, he was always watching over them, even now showing blatant favoritism as a Sect Leader towards his dearest disciples. He was big and wide like the heavens, embracing every part of them.
How could he deserve anything less than the best?
No! It couldn't be just anyone, they wouldn't accept a bastard who didn't appreciate his master!
In an instant, three people shared a wordless thought and began to plot.
Baek Cheon watched a plum blossom petal descend through the air until it landed on his teacup, floating without breaking the surface tension. He seemed to be remembering something far away.
"Even now I think of him," he said after a while, smiling wistfully. "Although I know we won't be able to see each other... I miss him. It's not the same being alone..."
Cheong Myeong looked in horror at the master's bright eyes, holding back tears .
Baek Cheon continued. "But when I do something he would do, it's like he's still here."
After saying that, he showed them a confident smile, frowning and looking ahead. The tears were cleverly hidden.
It was a facial expression they had seen countless times before, to the point that just seeing it brought a feeling of security, it was the smile he wore when he was about to launch into a challenging task and come out on top (at the cost of scamming some people).
It was also the smile of his master's husband.
"Master..."
Baek Cheon's attention was drawn full force towards Cheong Myeong.
He continued, despite Cheong Jin and Cheong Mun, who tried to overtake him by their arms as if begging him to hold back.
"Be honest, is your husband dead?"
Silence descended at that question. Cheong Mun looked as if he wanted to escape out of the room. Cheong Jin dropped his jaw.
Cheong Myeong clenched his fists in his lap.He was the one who least wanted to hurt his master with thoughtless words, but sometimes it was necessary to speak clearly; that was another teaching of their master.
"No!" Baek Cheon raised his hands, shaking his head several times. "The one who died was me. Well..."
"What does the master mean he died!?"
"It's okay, I'm alive now, right? Although he doesn't know it... I hope that one day I can apologize if I meet him in the future. Otherwise, could you tell him for me, Cheong Myeong-ah?"
Cheong Myeong snorted. "I thought the master's husband was a bastard, but it was the master who was being the bastard..."
"This brat..."
"First of all, how can I tell that to him if I don't know his name?"
Baek Cheon sighed.
"Cheong Myeong-ah..."
"Ugh, I know, don't scold me anymore."
Baek Cheon smiled. The message had arrived, although he didn't know it yet.