Ch.257Youko

From the moment we are born, everyone eventually dies.

It’s just that we aren’t born only to die.

As a child, I realized this fact faster than anyone else.

“The weak die. Because they are weak, because they are pitiful, heaven takes pity and takes their breath away.”

Is that why mother died?

At that time, I couldn’t bring myself to say those words.

Because father’s words seemed so cold and lonely.

Because if I approached carelessly, I thought I might get cut.

“You must grow strong, strong.”

What is strength?

Father always lived with the phrase “the best under heaven” in our small rural village.

Claiming he was the strongest under the sky.

Boasting about uncertain tales of past valor.

Showing off his might to farmers who only held plows.

What meaning does that have?

How foolish is it to hold a sword in a peaceful place?

From the moment I had that thought,

A corner of my heart grew to look at father with pity.

No matter how good the martial arts he taught me.

Even when he taught me what was right.

The gaze in my heart did not look kindly upon father.

If he compared himself to heaven and called himself the strongest,

How could he not pity himself?

An arrogant heaven is no heaven at all.

One should not keep staring at the setting sun.

The moment these thoughts came to me,

I thought about leaving home.

Knowing I could never be the best in this narrow world,

From then on, I struggled desperately to escape the well.

“Surpass me, surpass me and you will be the best under heaven!”

The first thing I did was to surpass father.

I tried to break the chain of heaven’s mandate

That had continued tediously since childhood.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, I inherited father’s talent.

“Kuhek…!”

At an early age, I was able to defeat father.

I didn’t kill him. I couldn’t kill him from the start.

How could one kill someone with a wooden sword?

I merely cut it off.

The chain of heaven’s mandate.

The knot of fate.

Once I cut it off, everything after that was incredibly easy.

I thought I could cut off the fate tied to people whenever I wanted.

Until she appeared before me.

Saying I once saved her life.

Saying she almost lost her chastity but I protected her.

A woman who came running, saying she wanted to spend her life with me enters my sight.

Even after I threatened to kill her several times, she doesn’t hesitate.

Saying she’s already a dead person.

Her behavior, saying she doesn’t care when she dies,

Somehow reminds me of my mother.

I feel the scent of my mother, whom I don’t even remember.

So I strongly felt I should kill her.

Kigigik.

I drew my sword.

Drawing my relatively long left-handed sword,

I pointed it at the woman.

“I know. I’m already a dead person anyway. Just kill me and go.”

“…”

That’s when I realized.

I had never once been prepared for death.

While priding myself on living closer to death than anyone else,

I had never had the same resolve as this woman.

‘Trembling eyes, tears welling up… how can she approach with those?’

Not hesitating when the blade touches her neck,

Is it not because she isn’t afraid, but because she’s prepared even for that fear?

When that thought came to me, it was I who became afraid.

Of a woman with delicate wrists that couldn’t even hold a sword,

I suddenly became frightened.

Because she seemed to be living more strongly than me.

So I dropped my sword.

Clatter.

Warrior, samurai,

The path of a martial artist, the path of Asura.

All those things I had been earnestly spouting became meaningless.

Making my earlier threats seem hollow.

I collapsed at the woman’s steps.

“What is this…”

I cannot cut her.

The moment I realized that,

I became so afraid.

Whoosh.

I embraced her.

Like a foolish animal burying its head in the ground,

Feeling safe when it can’t see,

That’s what happened to me.

“…What is your name?”

“Would a dead person have a name? If you find it awkward to call me, please give me one.”

“I will call you Youko.”

Youko.

The name of the woman who first showed me the form of death,

And the name of a formidable opponent I met on the path of Asura.

A woman I must cut down,

And perhaps a partner I might embrace.

Putting aside my confused heart,

I pick up the sword that fell to the ground.

A woman in one arm.

A sword in the other.

What an enormous luxury this is.

“…My heart is still filled with chaos.”

Is being the best under heaven so far away?

What vain thing was father chasing after?

Pondering such thoughts, I slowly look up at the sky.

And at the same time,

“Cut! OK! Good!”

With the director’s words, the warrior’s mask comes off.

+++++

Kiryu Sota frowned deeply at the atmosphere Kim Donghu created.

‘To create such deep emotional valleys in such a short time.’

Some suggested making a drama with this story.

They said Musashi was too short to be made into a film.

But at that time, Kiryu Sota had declared:

‘There are stories that can only be shown because they are short.’

At most two hours.

He said there was an emotional depth that could be shown in that time.

That’s what he had said.

‘To think he would show it exactly like this.’

How could a man barely in his early twenties

Act with such readiness for death, such transcendence?

Acting well.

Imitating well.

Embodying the character from the script perfectly.

It wasn’t just at that level.

It went one step beyond.

He was acting as if he had truly lived in that era.

The most surprising thing was that he hadn’t been like this at first.

“What on earth happened to you to make your acting this good again!”

Kiryu Sota hurriedly approached Kim Donghu and burst out with his curiosity.

Normally, he wouldn’t ask such questions.

But the acting he had just witnessed made it hard to hold back.

‘Because it feels like someone openly wants to kill me.’

Since Kim Donghu couldn’t answer that honestly,

He just vaguely said it was because the script was good and he researched thoroughly.

“You should praise Chisako more than me. Don’t you think her acting has improved a lot since Cutting the Knot?”

“Haha, well, Chisako is a rising talent showing abilities in various fields.”

Perhaps because she inherited Usami Ken’s acting talent,

Chisako’s acting certainly had a power that drew people in.

‘More precisely, there’s something about her voice.’

Her vocalization is outstanding even among actors.

The fact that he thought this unconsciously said it all.

“Could you be a bit more specific about what you think is different?”

“Pardon?”

“No, I just feel like that praise was a bit lacking, so I thought maybe you could add something more… um… haha.”

It seemed Kim Donghu’s praise was insufficient.

Usami Ken, who had been quietly standing behind,

That is, Chisako’s father, cut in.

“Our daughter has made such painful efforts to act with you…”

“Dad! Dad! Stop! Stop! Stooooop!”

Just as he was about to continue, Chisako rushed in urgently and the conversation ended.

Kim Donghu nodded awkwardly, saying it was fine.

Chisako, her elegant appearance completely gone, immediately scolded her father.

“H-how could you just say such things! It’s a secret! Something you shouldn’t tell!”

“Ah, it was? But… you said you wanted him to know…”

“N-not like this! And definitely not with you delivering the message!”

“S-sorry.”

Indeed, father-daughter relationships don’t seem to differ much by nationality.

‘Come to think of it, my dad was probably this weak to Seohyun too.’

Daughters truly are their fathers’ ultimate counter.

Muttering this, Kim Donghu checked his schedule.

‘Christmas is coming soon.’

Time really flies, he thought.

++++++

Kim Seohyun, 7 years old.

A robust child who will soon turn 8.

For such a child, a shocking piece of news recently fell like a bolt from the blue.

“On the 24th… b-brother is bringing a woman?!”

“…Where did you learn to express it like that? Seohyun… that’s not it, a colleague is coming for dinner.”

“Why have that dinner specifically on Christmas Eve? The day when I eat with brother?!”

“There was a dangerous incident recently, but thanks to her, we got through it well… so I want to treat her.”

Thump.

A dangerous incident.

Kim Seohyun knew what that was.

A sudden assailant who appeared out of nowhere.

A very dangerous incident where someone threatened her brother with a gun.

If it was a woman who helped there.

‘Evelyn Queen Ember!’

She knew who it was.

Because in any video, she showed eyes full of love for her brother.

She might fool others, but not me.

At least not herself!

‘I have to protect brother!’

She knows the dark intentions of this woman called Evelyn!

“Hmm! If that’s the case… I guess it can’t be helped! But! But!”

Still, a woman participating in such an important family event?

This was clearly nothing less than a declaration of war to become her new sister-in-law.

“Huh! Our brother is only twenty-something!”

Marriage is out of the question.

There are so many amusement parks we haven’t visited yet.

I can’t just let him be taken away.

Kim Seohyun, almost 8 years old, snorted and strengthened her resolve.

But before that,

“That sister Evelyn is asking if you want to go to Disney World tour on Christmas Eve, what will you do?”

“I-I’ll go!”

She couldn’t resist Disney World.