Ch.208203 – Learning from the Past to Create the Future

Once a CEO of a Silicon Valley-based biomedical startup, Baek Hochan leveraged his microscale rheology degree from USC Viterbi School of Engineering to develop AI-enhanced microscopy for cellular disease diagnosis. His face even appeared in local news as a promising young executive.

He lacked neither technical knowledge nor business acumen, having completed an MBA program. His only misfortune was being born at slightly the wrong time.

The chain of regional bank failures that began last year hit Silicon Valley Bank first. Unfortunately, Hochan lost not only his promised investment but also all his deposits. Unable to pay his 35 employees, his promising company went bankrupt, leaving him buried in massive debt.

Yet his lifetime of knowledge was like his own child, so he flatly refused offers to sell his core technology with the company. The price for maintaining his pride until the very end was enormous.

Unable to return to America (and lacking funds to do so), Hochan ended up living in a cheap studio apartment on the outskirts of Seoul.

But as everyone receives a final lifeline, during one sleepless night, he vaguely recalled the words of his grandfather whom he so despised:

“I bought some of that stuff back in the day! Got hit with that damn ransomware! They wanted something I’d never heard of—Bitcoin or whatever it was—and I somehow managed to get it, but they deleted all my computer files anyway because time ran out! Those good-for-nothing scoundrels…!”

He acted quickly.

He traveled all the way to Biando Island to visit his grandfather, and sure enough, after 40 years, Teacher Baek Bonggon had become a man worth 300 billion won.

* * *

“Get that butt down! Lower it now!”

“Ughhhh! I… I can’t! My legs hurt too much!”

“You kids still haven’t learned your lesson? If you don’t get the position right, I’ll add another hour of horse stance!”

“Hiiiiing…!”

Since early morning, Arin and Minwoo had been doing squats under Teacher Baek Bonggon’s supervision.

Baek Hochan had been trying to convince me since yesterday that while his grandfather was strict, he never resorted to physical punishment. Yesterday was apparently the first time he’d ever used a switch.

He pointed to a white garbage bag containing glass shards across from us.

“The kids were hiding in the closet yesterday and accidentally broke one of my grandfather’s precious porcelain pieces. Yes, he shouldn’t have hit them, but… honestly, he’s not someone who can be persuaded with words. You’ve seen how stubborn he is since yesterday.”

Hochan sighed deeply.

By now, the children had finished their squats and were sprawled on the dirt ground, gulping down ice water.

“It’s down to 250 billion now, but that’s fine. Even after taxes, that’s still 120 billion.”

He felt as parched as the children.

There was no trace of his past self confidently presenting to venture capital executives. Now he was just an ordinary farmer.

“It’s hot without air conditioning, right? Want one of these?”

He brought ice water from his room and handed me an ice cream cone.

“Where did you get this? It wasn’t in the kitchen fridge.”

“I have another fridge in my room. Don’t tell my grandfather.”

Children who had lived in cities their whole lives couldn’t survive on just vegetables forever.

Spam, chicken nuggets, ice cream, frozen pizza, and more.

Every two weeks, he would visit the mainland to restock food supplies.

“Why did you adopt Arin specifically?”

He had been observing our Merlin Orphanage for quite some time.

If they needed to pass the mysterious grandfather’s “test,” wouldn’t he have chosen talented children?

“Just because we share the same surname?”

“…? I can see why your company failed…”

“Hey! And I haven’t officially adopted Minwoo and Arin yet. I just planned to live with them until they become adults and then give them about 10 billion won each once I get the money.”

“You’re truly evil.”

“Minwoo suggested it to me first, don’t misunderstand. Arin agreed too.”

He got defensive, claiming there was a rational decision-making process behind choosing a child with the same surname.

Whatever.

Is this the result?

A world where everyone is wounded.

Teacher Baek Bonggon found the children frustrating, Hochan was parched, and Minwoo and Arin wanted to leave this island as soon as possible.

“Heuugh… NoName, can I have some water?”

“Here.”

“Thanks!”

Gulp, gulp—

Arin’s stomach, which should have been empty from not eating, bulged like a tadpole.

I worried she might get an upset stomach.

“Baek Arin. So you’ve been on this island without contacting anyone just to make money?”

“Huh? Did uncle tell you?”

“Why did you do it?”

“Because living with NoName will cost a lot! We need to buy a house, school uniforms, medicine…”

“You’re going through all this hardship just for that? We can live well without money, Arin.”

“No, we can’t.”

Arin glared at me after emptying an entire water bottle.

“Without money, you’re miserable. Without parents, you’re miserable. Having something is always better than having nothing.”

“You…”

“At least then I can choose what to throw away.”

Suddenly, Arin’s irises turned red.

This was clearly a sign of mana exhaustion.

With those words, Arin collapsed onto the wooden platform.

Though she hadn’t shown it, she had already been pushed to her limit.

Hochan brought ice in a plastic bag from the kitchen and placed it on Arin’s head.

His movements suggested this had happened several times before.

We can’t push these children any further. Child abuse isn’t just about hitting.

“Is there anything Teacher Baek particularly dislikes?”

“There are countless things he dislikes.”

“Just one word. The one he hates most?”

“Probably ‘academy.’ His old school failed because of academies. And the people who installed the mana power plant station on Durido Island and drove out the residents were all academy people, according to him.”

“I understand.”

“Hey! What are you planning?”

I glared at the teacher who was leisurely fanning himself while taking a stroll.

Then I got down from the platform and blocked his path.

“What are you doing?”

“Let me take that test too.”

“Test? What qualifies you?”

“Me?”

My eyes caught the large sign hanging in front of the yard.

[堂書名正]

“Jeongmyeong Seodang”

The name was grand, but was the substance equally so?

“If your students qualify for the test, there’s no reason I can’t take it as an academy graduate, right?”

“A-Academy?”

“Yes, a real academy, not some pseudo-educational institution like a seodang. Are you perhaps not confident?”

The provocation was quite successful.

It didn’t take long for the old man’s face to turn red and blue with anger.

* * *

Above geniuses are greater geniuses.

“Baghakideokji.”

“Learning extensively and adhering to your purpose with dedication, asking questions earnestly and thinking about what is near, benevolence lies within.”

Baek Hochan, who had seen countless geniuses in Silicon Valley, could clearly observe this talent from the beginning.

“Ongojishin…?”

“By reviewing the old and learning the new, one can be a teacher.”

Teacher Baek Bonggon’s eyes were about to pop out as he listened.

600 sentences from the Analects of Confucius.

10 per minute.

“Is she crazy… did she just memorize all that in one hour?”

Baek Hochan couldn’t hide his astonishment.

About 20 years ago, memories of the hellish Analects memorization his grandfather forced on him during school breaks came flooding back. Even after years, he never managed to memorize them all…

Even the brilliant Baek Minwoo looked at NoName as if she were a monster.

When given the first phrase, the rest would mechanically follow.

Seeing NoName perfectly interpret the meanings as well, Teacher Baek Bonggon closed the book.

“Next!”

Stage two, which the children hadn’t even seen after eight months.

The true nature of the test that grandfather had only hinted at was finally revealed.

“Sincerity is the way of Heaven. To achieve without effort, to understand without thinking, to be in harmony with the Way without commotion—this is what makes a sage.”

Thud—

The kelp wood cane fell to the ground, raising dust.

“Excess is no different from deficiency; moderation is not merely keeping to the middle path.”

The voice full of anger disappeared.

Was he controlling his emotions?

No, he was now channeling his emotions into one place.

The wrinkles on his face became like fertile soil, eventually sprouting a seedling.

There was a slight vibration in his arm, but his upper body remained motionless.

Finally, an aura with the color of green vegetation bloomed in the teacher’s palm.

“External manifestation of aura…!”

“What’s that?”

Baek Hochan couldn’t believe it.

Those who master aura to the extreme can manifest it outside their bodies.

This is like cutting open a living human’s abdomen and directly removing their heart.

Even with decades of effort, it’s an achievement that can never be guaranteed, but Teacher Baek Bonggon took it even further.

The glowing sprout grew quickly, extending branches and leaves, until they turned to autumn colors.

One of those autumn leaves separated and floated above his hand.

Create a perfectly independent aura space with no connections.

“Copy this exactly.”

That was Teacher Baek Bonggon’s command.

Baek Hochan despaired.

From the beginning, the old man had no intention of sharing his wealth with them.

Well, it made sense. After treating them like strangers, or worse, for decades, it would be strange to hand over his fortune just because they’d pleased him for a few months.

The teacher snorted, and the aura disappeared cleanly.

Then he bent down to pick up the cane that had fallen to the ground.

The gentle breeze passing through the wooden pavilion slid along his white beard.

With a grunt, he returned to his place.

“Huh…!”

NoName, sitting cross-legged, had an apple tree in each hand.

“Such simple techniques I mastered playing Jenga as a child.”

Her trees had many more leaves than the one Teacher Baek had shown, and numerous golden apples had grown on them.

When NoName wiggled her pinky finger, dozens of golden apples fell.

No, rather than falling, they rose upward against gravity.

Looking at the particles of light growing more distant, NoName smiled and murmured:

“The golden apple tree guarded by the Hesperides nymphs. I wonder if you know Greek and Roman mythology, Teacher. Or perhaps you know Isaac Newton?”

Teacher Baek Bonggon stared blankly at the sky for a long time.

Having completely withdrawn her aura, NoName said:

“The Master said, ‘By reviewing the old and learning the new, one can be a teacher.’ Now you try to copy me.”

She questioned his qualifications as a teacher.