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One of the benefits of having lots of money and influence was the ability to make people do what he wanted — and since Jaegal Lin had a lot of time, money, and resources at hand, it was natural that he would try his hand at… certain endeavors.
For instance, writing.
Jaegal Lin didn’t get struck by lightning and suddenly decide to become a writer, no…. He simply woke up one day and realized that the amount of fairy tales and baby books he had for baby Cheonhee were inadequate.
There were all kinds of books in the Murim, tales of heroic deeds, tales of the greatness of the clans and martial artists, and even folk tales like The Tale of Sim Cheong…. All of them, however, were inadequate for his baby, Jaegal Lin decided.
His baby was too innocent, too kind!! What if some bad person tried to snatch him away? Oh right, Jaegal Lin gritted his teeth as he recalled the Killer Star, the damned brat who had wormed its way into Cheonhee’s heart and refused to leave! There was already that thing who snatched away his pure baby!
Thinking about the Killer Star made Jaegal Lin’s blood pressure rise, but since it was still early in the morning, Jaegal Lin did not want to get angry now. It was still too early.
Taking a deep breath, Jaegal Lin reviewed his plan — the amount of children’s books and fairy tales that were appropriate for his baby Cheonhee were… almost nonexistent. And since he was rich, surely he could write one and order Yooho to make it?
Considering Yooho’s efficiency, he would probably be able to make the book by this evening. This meant that if he started writing now, he would have a fairy tale up and ready for his beloved baby tonight!
With a solid plan in mind, Jaegal Lin crept out of bed, smiling at the sleeping baby Cheonhee who was curled up on his bed, and moved to the table in his bedroom. From this particular angle, he would be able to see baby Cheonhee while also write the “fairy tale” he had in mind. In any case, it was still early in the morning, and baby Cheonhee would probably wake up a little later.
Jaegal Lin began writing with all his might, going so far as to jot down what the illustrations would look like, where it would be placed, and so on….
When he was done, Jaegal Lin called Yooho, giving him specific instructions and telling him to finish making it by tonight.
“I want you to make it like this, and make sure this part here is like this, and over here, just like this,” Jaegal Lin smiled lightly. “Do you understand?”
“…I do, Master, but…” Yooho’s pause made Jaegal Lin turn to him questioningly.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well,” Yooho cleared his throat as if he wanted to say something before he changed his mind and shook his head.
“Nothing, Sir. Your writing is amazing, as expected from you. I truly hope the Young Master will enjoy this book,” Yooho said, bowing.
“Of course he will!” Jaegal Lin smiled, already imagining reading the book for baby Cheonhee and making his baby understand the dangers of the world. His baby was so understanding, after he read this “fairy tale”, his baby would definitely understand what he meant!
He was guiding his baby to the right path!
Jaegal Lin took a look at the time. It was time to wake baby Cheonhee up! Jaegal Lin grinned and went to give his baby a good morning kiss.
It was time to start their day!
The day passed by uneventfully, and Jaegal Lin enjoyed his time working (with baby Cheonhee by his side, of course!), eating (and feeding his baby as well), and overseeing the clinic (with baby Cheonhee!). Baby Cheonhee seemed happy as well, cooing and giggling when Jaegal Lin pat his hair, and hugging him during nap time.
Honestly, it was an average day for the two of them. Jaegal Lin, though, could not suppress his smile when Yooho handed him a brown package in the evening. Unwrapping the package, Jaegal Lin saw a glimpse of the cover and his smiled widened.
Jaegal Lin turned away from baby Cheonhee, who was busy playing with a brush, and skimmed through the book.
It was fantastic.
As expected of Yooho.
The illustrations were on point. The words were exactly as he had written them.
Perhaps in another life, he could become a writer, Jaegal Lin mused.
“I’m glad you like it, Sir,” Yooho said, bowing and leaving.
Jaegal nodded at his right hand man and placed the book in the corner of his study.
Tonight, he would read it for his baby.
That night, after Jaegal Lin changed baby Cheonhee’s clothes into his pajamas and they were sitting warmly under the blanket, Jaegal Lin took out the book, smiling at Cheonhee.
“Hee, look what we have here,” Jaegal Lin said.
“Mash,ter?” Cheonhee asked, looking at him with doe-eyes and gently grasping his hand.
“Wat’s dat?” Cheonhee asked, tilting his head slightly.
Jaegal Lin showed the book to Cheonhee.
“It’s a fairy tale, baby! I’m going to read you a bedtime story tonight,” Jaegal Lin said.
Cheonhee’s eyes widened and he clapped his hands.
“Stowy! Yay!!!” Cheonhee grinned, making Jaegal Lin pat his disciple’s head.
“Hee! Wanna, sit, here!” Cheonhee declared, patting Jaegal’s lap domineeringly.
“Of course, baby,” Jaegal smiled. “You can sit wherever you like. Come on,” he said, lifting up Cheonhee and placing him on his lap.
Cheonhee cooed, hugging a strand of Jaegal Lin’s hair and leaning on Jaegal’s chest trustingly.
Once they were settled, Jaegal Lin proudly opened the book and began to read for his baby.
“Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there lived a sweet and kind princess named Seonhee,” Jaegal began, pointing to the illustration of a princess. The princess had brown hair, and if someone looked closely, they would realize how much it resembled Cheonhee’s adult form…
“The princess was kind and gentle. She would share her favorite toys with others, and if anyone asked for her help, she would help them immediately,” Jaegal Lin said.
“Princess, pwetty!” Cheonhee giggled, patting the book.
“That’s right,” Jaegal nodded, “Princess Seonhee is pretty….”
“Now, let’s continue,” Jaegal turned to the next page.
“One day, Princess Seonhee met a man. The man was tall, ugly, and had red eyes that shone like blood,” Jaegal gritted his teeth at the man in the picture, whose face was oh so similar to Yeo Halyun’s….
“The ugly man said, ‘Princess! I am sick! Please help me!’. When the kind princess heard his words, she agreed to help him,” Jaegal continued reading.
“’What can I do for you?’ the Princess asked. ‘I am terribly sick,’ the ugly man said, ‘But I have heard that drinking a princess’ blood can heal me! Will you help me?’”
In Jaegal Lin’s arms, baby Cheonhee frowned, glancing at Jaegal Lin questioningly. What kind of fairy tale was this? Baby Cheonhee wondered.
Jaegal turned the page, and he pointed at the rough illustration of the ‘ugly man’ smiling wickedly, cackling and grinning like a maniac.
“What the poor princess didn’t know was that the ugly man was a terrible, terrible killer. He was the Killer of Princesses, and he LOVED to kill. The scent of blood made him go feral, and he wanted to drink the princess’ blood because he longed to kill her,” Jaegal Lin read, stressing the words ‘Love’ and ‘Kill’ with the hopes that baby Cheonhee would understand.
Cheonhee, though, let out a small whimper and frowned. This… didn’t sound like a nice fairy tale. Why was Master reading this???
“The kind princess, though, did not suspect a thing. ‘Since you need to drink my blood, I shall help you!’ Princess Seonhee said. The princess made a cut on her hand and let her blood flow out freely,” Jaegal Lin continued.
Jaegal Lin turned the page, which showed a picture of Princess Seonhee standing upright as blood continuously flowed from her arm, splashing into the ground and making a puddle of red pool under her feet. Sitting on the ground near the blood was the ‘ugly man’, grinning wickedly and holding a sharp knife.
Jaegal Lin nodded appreciatively at the image — it was rather bloody, but Cheonhee shouldn’t be too scared. After all, fairy tales were meant to teach children moral lessons. Plus, Yooho found such a great illustrator — Jaegal reminded himself to praise Yooho later.
Cheonhee, though, looked at the image with pain in his heart. What fairy tale was this??? Why was there so much red…? The poor princess!
“Pwincess, blood,” Cheonhee said sadly, turning to look at Jaegal.
“That’s right, baby, the princess is bleeding,” Jaegal nodded. “Look, do you see that hole in her arm? She’s hurt. And look at this,” Jaegal Lin pointed at the ugly man’s hand.
“What is he holding?” Jaegal Lin asked patiently.
Baby Cheonhee peered at the image, pursing his lips.
“…spoon?” Cheonhee asked, looking up at Jaegal for confirmation.
“…”
“No, baby, look again,” Jaegal Lin said, pointing at the knife.
“Ish dat, knife?” Cheonhee asked, pouting his bottom lip.
Jaegal Lin beamed. “That’s right, baby! It’s a knife! Can you see? The bad man wants to hurt the princess!”
“Oh no…” Cheonhee wailed. “Pwincess! Be, ca-ful!!!” Cheonhee yelled, prompting Jaegal Lin to laugh lowly.
“Baby, the princess can’t hear you… Come on, let’s continue reading…”
Jaegal Lin turned the page.
“As the princess was bleeding, the ugly man took out a knife and plunged it into her stomach. Stab! Stab stab!”
Cheonhee flinched at the words, shrinking backwards into his Master's embrace. This bedtime story was really… scary!
“The princess staggered backwards,” Jaegal Lin continued reading. “Slap! Slap slap! The ugly man continued. The poor princess was knocked out immediately.”
Jaegal Lin felt rather proud of this particular page — after all, it had rhyming words (stab and slap!) and excellent plot progression! He had heard that writing words that sound similar were good for a baby's language development…. Wasn't he a genius? His baby was learning language and moral lessons in one go!
Cheonhee, on the other hand, had tears pooling in his eyes. This wasn’t a bedtime story… it was a nightmare!
“Mash-ter,” Cheonhee asked timidly, “Wat is. Knocked up?”
“Knocked up?” Jaegal Lin was horrified. “Who taught you that word?? No one is getting knocked up, Hee!”
“But, but! Here, says, pwincess, knocked-up!” Cheonhee protested, pointing at the bleeding ‘Princess Seonhee’.
“Ohhh,” Jaegal Lin shook his head. What was he thinking?
“It’s ‘knocked out’, baby,” Jaegal Lin explained. “It means she lost consciousness… It means— well, it basically means she’s really hurt and she can’t move or open her eyes, okay?”
Baby Cheonhee nodded slowly.
“O-kay…”
Jaegal smiled and turned the page yet again.
“The ugly man stole the princess’ crown, her jewelries, and all the money in her pockets. Then, with a cruel laugh, he ran away, leaving the poor princess in pain…”
Baby Cheonhee’s eyes were watering already, and he looked like he was on the verge of tears. Jaegal Lin, though, continued.
“Then, suddenly, a kind person appeared. This person’s name was Jaegal Jin, the most powerful man in the world!”
Next to the words, there was an image of a handsome white-haired man, who looked suspiciously similar to Jaegal Lin himself…
Cheonhee’s eyes lit up at the image.
“He, looks nice!” Cheonhee said, smiling sweetly.
Jaegal Lin beamed. “Of course, Hee! And he’s definitely a kind person! Let’s see what happens next, okay?”
“The kind man saw the bleeding princess and quickly bandaged her wounds. Seeing that she was unconscious, he brought her to his home and began to nurse her back to health…”
The next picture showed a diligent ‘Jaegal Jin’ concocting medicine as the princess lay on the bed, eyes closed and arms bandaged neatly.
Baby Cheonhee was no longer on the verge of tears. Instead, he was smiling and chewing on Jaegal Lin’s hair leisurely. Finally, baby Cheonhee thought, this sounded like a real fairy tale.
“When the princess woke up, she was very grateful and thanked the man repeatedly. Jaegal Jin said, ‘Princess, there are too may evil people in the world. You must never trust them!’ The princess was sad and began to cry.”
“’Then who can I trust?’ The princess sobbed. ‘Fear not! For you can always trust me!’ Jaegal Jin declared. ‘But what about other people?’ The princess cried. ‘NO! You must never trust them!’” Jaegal Lin read while nodding along. He was so right — hopefully Cheonhee would understand this after reading this…
“After that, the princess listened to Jaegal Jin’s words’ and never trusted random people ever again. The one person she trusted was Jaegal Jin, and Jaegal Jin alone… Because the princess was wise and picked the right person to trust, she grew happy and safe. The End…”
Jaegal Lin smiled. This fairy tale was perfect!
Baby Cheonhee, on the other hand, had a blank look on his face.
???
What kind of trashy fairytale was this??? That’s it? It ended just like that?
“Baby, what did you think of this fairytale?” Jaegal Lin asked, nudging his baby and waiting eagerly for his response.
Baby Cheonhee blinked twice and turned to Jaegal Lin.
“Mashter,” Cheonhee said, his voice soft and sticky, “Dis stowy ish stu-pid!”
Jaegal Lin felt like he had been shot. His story was stupid?!
“Wha-what? Baby, w-why would you say that?” Jaegal Lin stuttered out, disbelief on his face.
“Is, stupid,” Cheonhee shrugged.
Jaegal Lin’s mouth hung open.
“Why?”
“Pwincess, stu-pid! Why not, trus any-more?” Cheonhee complained, crossing his arms.
“Well, it makes sense though, right?” Jaegal Lin said. “The princess has been hurt because she trusts people too easily, because she’s kind! She learned a lesson from her mistake and that’s why she doesn’t trust people anymore! It’s simple, baby!”
Seeing that Cheonhee was still pouting, Jaegal Lin took a deep breath and turned baby Cheonhee to face him.
“Hee, what if it happened to you?”
“Hm?” Cheonhee tilted his head.
“What if you help someone, but then they hurt you, they hurt you so much that you almost die… Would you still trust people after that?”
Cheonhee bit his lip, eyes searching Jaegal Lin’s.
When he did not get an answer, Jaegal Lin took a deep breath and changed the question.
“Or let’s say, you are like Princess Seonhee and you meet a poor person on the road. They ask for your help, and you help them. But when you try to help them, they hurt you. The next time you see someone on the road asking for help again, will you help them?” Jaegal Lin asked slowly, looking deeply at Cheonhee’s eyes.
Cheonhee’s eyes lit up.
“Oh! Of, cos Hee will, help!” Cheonhee declared, looking sweetly at Jaegal Lin. “The, person, ish, hurt!”
“But what if they hurt you again?” Jaegal Lin asked, unable to keep the frustration away from his voice.
Baby Cheonhee shrugged. “Ish, okay! Hee, still, wanna help!”
Jaegal Lin groaned. “No, baby, they’ll hurt you!”
“But, but! Dey need help, Mashter!” Cheonhee insisted, looking at Jaegal Lin stubbornly.
“But you’ll get hurt!” Jaegal was almost screaming now, but Cheonhee was upset too, pouting at Jaegal with tear-filled eyes.
“Den, den! What if dat’s Hee?” Cheonhee whimpered.
“What?”
“What if, Mash-ter get hurt, mashter see Hee on the road. Mash-ter, not save Hee?” Cheonhee asked again, a small wounded sound at the back of his throat.
“What are you saying, Hee?” Jaegal Lin shook his head almost desperately. “I’ll always save you, okay? Master will always protect you.”
“What if, Mash-ter, get hurt, when save Hee?” Cheonhee asked back, a stubborn glint in his eye. “Mash-ter still, save, Hee?”
“Of course!” Jaegal Lin vowed. “I’ll walk through the gates of hell if it means I can save you, Hee, you should know that,” Jaegal Lin added solemnly.
“Hee! Same!” Cheonhee declared, tugging on Jaegal Lin’s hand and cradling it in his arms.
“Oh Cheonhee…” Jaegal Lin sighed, hugging his disciple tightly as his heart melted.
It seemed like writing this fairy tale had somehow… backfired on him — not exactly in a bad way, but Cheonhee didn’t seem to get the message he had in mind…
But well, what could he do?
His disciple was too kind…
“Alright, alright, Hee,” Jaegal Lin kissed his disciple’s forehead. “It’s alright if you don’t like this fairy tale, I’ll read you another one next time. Let’s go to bed, okay?”
“O-kay!” Cheonhee grinned.
Jaegal Lin sighed and tucked Cheonhee in bed.
…He was already making plans on another fairy tale.
This time, he would make sure Cheonhee understood the moral lesson--!