episode_0150

***

After receiving the new drink, Soyou climbed the stairs and stood in front of her teacher’s room.

Unlike when I left, the door was slightly open, but I felt another presence so I waited in front of the door for a moment for the conversation to end.

Soyou thought he might be the master’s guest, but when he found out that the person inside was Inho, he was worried that his student might talk nonsense again, so he tried to enter the room.

“I don’t know much about education, but at least I know that I shouldn’t push a discouraged person any further.”

Inho’s voice was heard from inside the room.

Soyou’s hand holding the doorknob stopped at the sound of his student’s extremely serious voice, with all the playfulness gone.

Soyou silenced the sound of his footsteps and peeked at the situation in the room through the crack in the door.

The back of Inho kneeling in front of his teacher came into view first.

“What you say makes sense. Children around Soyou’s age would be like that. But ownership is unmanned.”

For a moment, the teacher’s eyes met his own.

Soyou read his teacher’s will in that brief encounter.

‘Stay still.’

Looking at that gaze, Soyou suppressed the urge to slam the arrogant student’s head into the ground and make him bow to his teacher.

– Gulp

Namgung Soyu swallowed his saliva.

“Before it is a drone, it is a person. Ambassador.”

Inho responded to Yeom Jin’s words.

It was a simple statement without any qualifications, but for some reason, Soyou felt that the words were deeply embedded in her heart.

In-ho quietly expressed his thoughts to his teacher.

There was no haste or hasty judgment.

Soyou felt unfamiliar with Inho’s voice, which was always fussy.

– My heart is pounding

And my heart beat very quietly but clearly.

“Do you see your teacher as a girl?”

I hear my teacher’s voice again.

“In some cases, yes.”

After In-ho’s reply to his teacher, Soyou could not hear anything.

– My heart is pounding

I could hear the sound of my heart. It was strange.

After standing there blankly for a while, I felt something coming from inside.

In-ho was seen greeting his teacher and about to leave the room. So So-yu sat down, climbed onto the railing, and hung on.

Only after making sure that the disciple’s footsteps were moving away from the room did Soyou put strength on his arms and return to his original position.

“……”

When Soyou hesitated and opened the door, Yeomjin smiled and looked at Soyou.

“So, did you bring alcohol?”

“Yes. Here it is.”

“Pour a glass.”

Soyou placed one knee on the ground and poured himself a drink.

Clear liquor flowed in the glass.

“Hmm…. It smells good.”

Her mentor closed his eyes and took a sip of his drink.

Yeomjin, who was enjoying the scent lingering in his mouth, slowly opened one eye.

“Soyou. In-ho said he would go out to see the festival.”

“…Yes.”

“You seem to be very interested in markets and festivals, perhaps because you only live in the village, so please go out with us and tell us about this and that.”

Soyou averted his gaze at the teacher’s words that saved his face.

“…Okay.”

“Okay, go with a light heart. Today is martial arts, training. Don’t think about these things.”

“…Yes.”

Soyou said hello and left the room.

“Have a good time.”

I heard my teacher’s voice with laughter behind me.

Soyou moved his feet. The disciple must have gone back to his room to look for himself.

***

Perhaps because their paths diverged, Inho was not in the room.

When I asked Jeomsoi, who was passing by, about his whereabouts, I was told that he had gone towards the garden, although I was not sure.

Soyou’s steps toward the garden were somewhat slow.

This is because I had no idea what to say when I looked at Inho’s face.

‘Cheeky. How dare you ask Master to go out to play?’

The first thought that came to mind was not so gentle.

But that thought didn’t go three steps.

‘Well, my intentions are good though…”

Considering the effort made to cheer up a discouraged person, I realized that it was not a good idea to get angry.

After walking a couple more steps, thoughts of the festival now filled my head.

‘Anyway, what is there to see at the festival?’

When the thought occurred to her, [What would be fun to do with this guy?], Soyou shook her head.

‘Wake. I’m just trying to ‘guide’ him at Master’s request.’

It was when Soyou reached the garden, making strange body movements.

As soon as In-ho appeared from some distance away, Soyou quickly walked towards him without realizing it.

However, when he saw Cheongyeon’s face standing in front of him, he froze in place like a stone.

“Huh?”

A single, uncontrollable sound rose up my throat.

When Soyou saw the face of Bingryun-gong, who had defeated him, he felt something shake him.

In addition, I felt a thick, talismanic feeling rising from the solar plexus to the nape of my neck and all the way to the top of my head.

‘Why are you there?’

Soyou wanted to fly right away, grab Cheongyeon by the collar, and scream.

I wanted to ask why I was throwing stones into a pond called my mind that had barely settled.

However, my legs did not move willingly.

This was because the words that came out of Cheongyeon’s slow mouth entangled her legs.

“Today, Gyeonggi. Did you see it?”

My son-in-law’s quiet garden. Cheongyeon’s voice clearly hit my ears.

Namgung Soyu felt sick to his stomach.

‘What kind of feeling is this?’

There could have been a word to define this disgusting, irritating, sad, and heartbreaking feeling, but possession didn’t come to mind.

“Bing Lun-gong defeated Yan Lun-gong.”

Hearing Cheongyeon’s words, Soyou lowered his head.

This is because it was he who contributed to the historic defeat.

“There is no need to be at Yan Lun Gong anymore. Even if you come to Bingryungong, you can continue to learn martial arts. You can become stronger than you are now.”

Cheongyeon’s voice, speaking clearly, one syllable at a time, tore Soyou’s barely-strengthened self-esteem to pieces.

I felt dizzy and my ears were ringing.

Just standing here makes me feel nauseous and dizzy.

There are two options for Soyou to choose from here.

One is to fit into that gap,

The other way was to turn around and go back to the room.

Naturally, Soyou chose the latter.

It was when I turned my body and took a step with my legs, which were heavier than before.

“Why me?”

I heard Inho’s blunt answer.

Soyou quickly turned around.

Cheong-yeon must have been surprised by In-ho’s answer, and her eyes, which had always been lazily open, were wide open.

“Huh? That’s it. Because Bingryungong is stronger than Yeomryungong.”

“That’s right. Bingryun-gong is stronger than Yeomryun-gong, so why am I going over to Bingryun-gong?”

“Wasn’t it… you learned martial arts to become stronger?”

Cheongyeon tilted her head and asked.

“Well, there is a reason for that.”

Cheongyeon frowned even more at Inho’s cool answer.

“Isn’t it right to learn stronger martial arts? If you have just started training Yeomryun Gong, there is no problem in learning other internal techniques.”

“I am not learning Yeomryun Gong simply to become stronger.”

“Then?”

“Because I have a teacher, I learn Yeomryun Gong.”

At Inho’s words, Cheongyeon blinked.

“I don’t understand.”

“Well… to put it simply. I’m at Yan Lun Gong because I want to be next to Master.”

– My heart is pounding

Soyou’s heart, which had stopped, begins to beat again.

“Even if the teacher is an instructor of a third-rate dojo in a remote area. I would have been next to Master.”

“…I don’t know.”

“They say that the human heart is unfathomable.”

Inho chuckled.

“But… then it will become dangerous.”

Hearing Cheongyeon’s incomprehensible sound, Inho thought for a moment and gave a thumbs up as if there was no problem.

“I don’t know what’s dangerous, but the only way to do it is to die?”

“……”

The sound was so carefree that Cheongyeon seemed frozen in place and did not move.

– crispy

The sound of a tree branch breaking was heard from afar, and Cheongyeon and Inho’s heads turned.

Before he knew it, Inho saw Namgung Soyu walking towards him and waved his hand.

“Ah, Master! Still looking for it… huh?”

Namgung Soyu walked with long strides, covered Inho’s mouth with his palm, and moved him behind him.

It seems that Namgung Soyu split the gap between Cheongyeon and Inho.

“Yes, I heard it from my teacher. Let’s go to the festival.”

Looking straight into Cheongyeon’s eyes, Namgung Soyu said.

“Cheongyeon. Don’t do this again.”

Namgung Soyu growled lowly, and Cheongyeon left the garden without saying a word.

Inho, who greeted Cheongyeon as she walked away, turned his gaze to Namgung Soyu.

“Phew, I was scared because I thought the two of you were fighting. Master, let’s go quickly too… right?”

Inho looked at Namgung Soyu, who was leaning on his shoulder, with a strange expression.

“Well, well. I leaned over because I felt dizzy for a moment, so please stay quiet.”

Feeling Inho’s eyes staring at him, Namgung Soyu turned his red face to the other side and muttered.