Chapter 46: An Unexpected Home Visit (2)

It was summer break.

Which meant it was time for freedom.

Time to escape, however briefly, from the hellhole of a workplace that exploited him for a pittance.

And it also meant…

‘Time to focus on finding my wife.’

He had been too busy with exams and other nonsense.

“Summer break, hooray!”

He raised his arms in the air, savoring the feeling of freedom.

Just then…

The door opened, and a group of people entered.

They were wearing Murim Alliance uniforms.

“What brings you here, gentlemen?”

“Wait, aren’t those experts from the Outer Hall? What are they doing in Dongcheon Hall…?”

“Did something happen?”

The instructors murmured amongst themselves.

This wasn’t a common occurrence.

Their confusion turned to shock as they saw the man who emerged from the group of warriors.

“Master Namgung Il-jun?”

“It’s the Southern Heaven Sword!”

“What’s a Murim Alliance official doing in Dongcheon Hall?”

Namgung Il-jun’s gaze swept across the room, searching for someone.

‘This is bad.’

Cho Un-hwi discreetly tried to make his escape, but their eyes met.

“Ah, there you are.”

Damn it, he had been spotted.

“Don’t be alarmed. I’m here for a ‘family meeting.’”

A family meeting?

Yeo Mae-hong whispered, “I told you things would get busy.”

“What’s a family meeting?”

“It’s an instructor’s duty to visit their students’ families during the break and report on their progress.”

No way.

Why had he never heard of this before?

“It’s in the second chapter of the Instructor’s Handbook. Didn’t you read it?”

This was unfair.

Incredibly unfair.

“But it’s summer break!”

“It’s a break for the students. For the instructors, it’s an extension of our duties.”

“But it’s summer break!”

So that was the catch. The stingy Murim Alliance had given them paid vacation, but it came with strings attached.

Damn the Murim Alliance.

Those cheapskates.

Namgung Il-jun approached him, his expression stern.

“It’s good to see you again.”

“I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“We met at the midterm exams. Don’t you remember me?”

Yeo Mae-hong, sensing the tension, intervened.

“Greetings, Master Namgung.”

“And you are…?”

“I’m Yeo Mae-hong, a new instructor at Dongcheon Hall.”

“Instructor Yeo, I see.”

“I’m not important enough for you to remember.”

Yeo Mae-hong bowed, her tone polite but firm.

“If you wanted a family meeting, you could have contacted us through the student. Why did you come here in person?”

“You’re right, I should have followed protocol.”

Namgung Il-jun sighed dramatically.

“But there’s a slight problem. My nephew has changed. He’s not as welcoming as he used to be.”

“Ah, I see.”

“It’s a little hurtful, but I’m curious about his progress. I want to see how he’s doing.”

The instructors murmured sympathetically.

“So, Instructor Cho, I’d like to request a meeting with you. Will you accept?”

All eyes were on Cho Un-hwi.

They were urging him to accept.

But he tilted his head and said, “No.”

“What?”

“Student Namgung doesn’t want to see you, so why should I meet with you?”

“I just explained that he’s upset about something and won’t accept my request.”

“He’s a grown man. I’m sure he has his reasons.”

Namgung Il-jun’s aura turned icy.

“Are you sure you want to say that?”

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

Chung-hyeon, who had been watching from a distance, rushed over to them, his face pale.

“Master Namgung!”

He stood in front of Cho Un-hwi, his face contorted in anger.

“Instructor Cho, how dare you speak to Master Namgung like that! He’s taken time out of his busy schedule to visit us!”

Then, he turned to Namgung Il-jun with a sunny smile.

“Master Namgung, please forgive Instructor Cho. He’s new and inexperienced. He doesn’t understand the importance of etiquette.”

“I’ll make sure he apologizes to you personally.”

“Rules are meaningless when a distinguished guest like you honors us with your presence.”

Namgung Il-jun’s expression softened as he saw Chung-hyeon groveling.

“Thank you, Head Instructor Chung-hyeon. You’ve saved me a lot of trouble.”

He glared at Cho Un-hwi one last time, then turned and left.

“Farewell, Master Namgung.”

Chung-hyeon bowed repeatedly until Namgung Il-jun was out of sight.

***

As soon as Namgung Il-jun left, Chung-hyeon exploded.

“Are you insane?!”

He unleashed a torrent of abuse.

“Do you know who that was? That was the Southern Heaven Sword! The Southern Heaven Sword!”

“And you said ‘no’ to a request from a prominent figure like that?!”

“Do you think your job is a joke? You can’t just say whatever you want!”

He stormed back to his desk, grabbed a piece of paper, stamped it with his official seal, and said, “This is a meeting authorization form. Go apologize to Master Namgung immediately.”

“But I’m busy…”

“Take it before I fire you! This is an order!”

“Ugh.”

Nothing was going his way.

‘I was planning on searching for my wife during the break…’

His plans had been disrupted by an unexpected visitor.

But his misfortune didn’t end there.

Another uninvited guest barged into the office.

The instructors froze as they saw the black and red uniform.

“Master Mo Yong-ju?”

“What’s going on today?”

“Wait, his expression doesn’t look good…”

They were right.

Mo Yong-ju stormed into the office, his eyes blazing with fury.

“Which bastard did this?!”

He roared, his voice shaking the room.

“Who dared to leave my granddaughter alone with a pile of broken dummies?!”

“Why is she crying and fixing dummies by herself?!”

“Come out here and face me!”

Cho Un-hwi nudged Chung-hyeon in the ribs as the instructors turned to look at him.

“Can I have another meeting authorization form?”

This was a disaster.

***

“…And that’s what happened.”

Jegal Tan’s lips twitched as he listened to Cho Un-hwi’s story.

“Ha… ha… you’ve had a rough day.”

“Laugh again, and I’ll rip your mouth off.”

“Gulp.”

Jegal Tan clamped his mouth shut.

“You’re smart, and you’ve been at the academy for a while. Don’t you know any loopholes I can exploit to get out of this?”

“You’re asking a student for advice?”

“Yes, I’m desperate.”

He was starting to regret joining Dongcheon Hall.

He wanted to leave and search for his wife, but he was stuck dealing with this nonsense.

‘This is the perfect opportunity, with everyone else out and about.’

The Euncheon Hall students were also on break.

Which meant that he might be able to bump into his wife if she left the academy.

‘I can’t afford to waste any time.’

But Jegal Tan was skeptical.

“You can be exempted from family meetings if you have a health issue or a problem at your sect.”

He was healthy.

And he didn’t even know where his sect was, so he couldn’t possibly have a problem there.

‘That’s what happens when you fake your background.’

Jegal Tan mentioned a few other exemption clauses, but none of them were applicable.

“Hmm… this isn’t good…”

He was going to be stuck working even during the break.

Then, Jegal Tan said something unexpected.

“I’m surprised you’re not looking forward to the family meetings.”

“Who would enjoy such a tedious task?”

“It’s actually a matter of pride for instructors to receive invitations from prestigious families. It’s a sign of their connections and their reputation.”

Connections and reputation.

He didn’t need any of that. All he needed was his wife.

But then, Jegal Tan continued, “I heard that matchmakers in Muhan City use the number of family meeting invitations as a metric for evaluating instructors.”

Matchmakers? Evaluation?

Cho Un-hwi tilted his head.

“What do matchmakers have to do with this?”

“Well, how else are martial artists supposed to meet women? They need professional help. And matchmakers are thriving in Muhan City. They consider family meeting invitations to be a sign of an instructor’s social standing.”

“Really?”

That changed things.

Jegal Tan wasn’t done.

“It can also be financially rewarding.”

“Tell me more.”

“Families want their children to succeed, right? So they use the meetings as an opportunity to ask the instructors to favor their children.”

That was true.

Yeom-gwang was making a fortune from private tutoring.

And those overzealous parents wouldn’t hesitate to offer bribes during these private meetings.

“And since the meetings are held in private, there’s no need to worry about appearances. So they’re even more likely to offer bribes.”

“Interesting.”

Cho Un-hwi was intrigued.

The family meetings, which he had considered a nuisance, were now starting to look appealing.

“Family meetings… not bad. Not bad at all.”

He was glad he had consulted with Jegal Tan. He would never have gotten this kind of valuable information from Namgung Yun-ho, who was practically a recluse, or the other inexperienced students.

Cho Un-hwi’s eyes gleamed.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m going to the Jegal Clan.”

“Now? But you just said it was a tedious task… ow, ow, ow!”

Jegal Tan winced as Cho Un-hwi squeezed his shoulder.

“So, should I request a meeting?”

“Yes, please! I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”

Good.

He was satisfied.

He released Jegal Tan, who had been groaning in pain.

“…Is this about the bribes?”

“Yes.”

“Couldn’t you at least try to be a little more subtle?”

“I’m poorly paid. I’m practically a beggar. I need money. I’m going to milk the Jegal Clan dry.”

Jegal Tan sighed.

“Ugh… fine. I’ll arrange it. But why are you still here? You could be making a fortune elsewhere.”

“I want to get married with clean money.”

“You’re the first person I’ve ever met who considers bribes to be clean money.”

Jegal Tan grumbled, but Cho Un-hwi ignored him.

It was clean enough for him.

***

He was walking back to the academy, his steps light, after receiving the meeting authorization form from the Jegal Clan.

“Hehe, the righteous Murim is quite profitable.”

He was humming a cheerful tune when he saw a familiar figure slumped against a wall.

“Ugh…”

It was Namgung Yun-ho, his shoulders slumped, his expression gloomy.

Cho Un-hwi walked over to him and kicked him in the butt.

“Hey, why the long face?”

“I-Instructor.”

“Did you miss out on your favorite lunch special?”

“No, sir. You’re the only one who would be upset about something like that… ow!”

Namgung Yun-ho hopped on one foot, clutching his shin.

“I just had a conversation with my clan elder, and it was frustrating.”

“Your clan elder? Oh, you mean Namgung… what’s-his-name?”

“You know him, Instructor?”

“Hehe.”

Of course he did.

He recounted the events of the day, his voice dripping with malice.

Namgung Yun-ho’s face hardened as he listened.

“So he went to see you too.”

He looked even more worried than before.

Cho Un-hwi nudged him in the ribs.

“Why? Do you hate him that much?”

“It’s not that I hate him, it’s just…”

He hesitated, then asked cautiously, “When did he ask you to visit?”

“Five days after the start of the break? He said he preferred an evening visit.”

“I see.”

He bowed and walked away, his expression resolute.

Cho Un-hwi was puzzled.

“What was that about?”

Was it puberty?