Chapter 47 : Reunion

“At this hour, he’s probably doing his individual training at the training grounds. Woobin never misses his scheduled training, not even for a day.”

Although it had only been three days since Yang Woobin joined the Jincheon class, Jin Sejeong had already figured out his every move.

Without hesitation, she started heading toward the training grounds.

‘…So this is how we end up meeting again.’

In the seven years since she last parted ways with Yang Woobin, Jin Sejeong hadn’t skipped a single day or moment without honing herself.

Even after becoming the successor, she continued to thrust her sword ten thousand times daily, all while not neglecting her studies required for her new position.

Truly a life of perfect balance between civil and martial disciplines, where she didn’t allow even one second just for herself.

The only joy she permitted in such a life was imagining her reunion with Yang Woobin.

Her strength, skills, and body had grown day by day—but her heart remained frozen at thirteen, when she used to spend nights beside him.

Even when she pushed her body to the point of coughing up blood, she could endure it all because her mind clung to those happy memories.

To her, memories of Yang Woobin were so precious that they had become the pillars supporting her entire life.

‘It’s a shame… I had thought over and over about how we’d meet again—what I’d look like, in what form, under what situation… I even planned to step in dramatically when Woobin was in danger, defeat the enemies with the Changryong Twelve Swords, then slightly turn my head and say, “Long time no see, Woobin,” showing him how much I’d grown… But now all of that is ruined. Still… it’s okay.’

As those past memories were dear to her, it was only natural that Jin Sejeong yearned for a beautiful reunion with Yang Woobin.

Day by day, her longing for their reunion had only grown stronger.

By now, a dramatic reunion had become one of the few items on her bucket list.

‘For now… what’s important is proving that the rumors about Woobin and Fuyuno Tsubaki aren’t true.’

She hated the rumor spreading in Jincheon-dong so much that she was willing to give up that cherished bucket list moment.

She hated it all—the fact that her status as his childhood friend had been completely stolen, the absurd rumor that they had promised a future together, and the way the two of them seemed to live in a world of their own, always stuck together.

If she wanted to get rid of all those things in one shot, the fastest way was to storm in and make Woobin clarify the truth in front of everyone.

That’s why Jin Sejeong chose to give up the touching reunion and instead march straight to the training grounds where he would be.

Step! Step! Step! Step!

“Th-The Discipline Leader is heading somewhere with a really angry face and footsteps!”

“She’s always dealt with problems calmly and head-on, but to see her show emotions like that… What on earth is happening?”

“No wonder things have been too peaceful the past few days… Something’s finally blown up. Let’s go!”

Sensing that something unusual was happening, the Jincheon class cadets nearby began to follow Jin Sejeong’s furious steps.

As she got closer to the training grounds where Yang Woobin was, the number of people following her grew, and by the time she reached the entrance, about one-third of the entire class had gathered behind her.

“Ahem.”

Normally, Jin Sejeong would’ve ordered the crowd to disperse, as such a gathering could cause chaos.

But this time, she kept silent—figuring the more people witnessed the truth, the faster the rumor would be corrected.

Just as she placed her hand on the door to open it—

A cadet behind her, looking through the training hall window, spoke up.

“Oh? It’s Yang Woobin and Fuyuno Tsubaki! Wow, those two are always together, huh.”

“…”

Although it was good news for Jin Sejeong that the two were there—after all, she came to meet them—she didn’t look pleased at all.

Instead, her jaw tightened, and her body started trembling from the mention of them always being together.

“Huh? Yang Woobin is spotting Fuyuno Tsubaki’s posture! Whoa, he’s helping her with squats. Wait—he’s putting his hands on her waist!”

“…!?!”

As the cadets continued narrating what they saw, Jin Sejeong instinctively turned her head toward the source of the commentary.

Their excited, dreamy expressions—like girls reading a romance novel—made her unable to take it any longer.

SLAM!

Jin Sejeong, who had always valued restraint and composure and never once showed a disheveled appearance to anyone, failed to control her strength for the first time since entering Daecheon.

When she forcefully pushed the door open with such impact that it echoed throughout the entire training hall and corridor, every gaze inside turned to her.

“…Huh?”

“Hm? What’s wrong, Woobin?”

Among them was Yang Woobin.

The very person she had missed so dearly and wanted to see so badly—when their eyes met, Jin Sejeong’s mind went completely blank.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Everything she had wanted to say, all the questions she had planned to ask, vanished completely, leaving only the thunderous sound of her heartbeat echoing through her entire body.

“Woobin, do you know her…?”

But when she saw Fuyuno Tsubaki, who was next to Yang Woobin, subtly hide behind him and whisper that question, a dark, sticky emotion began to boil from deep within Jin Sejeong’s chest—snapping her back to her senses.

Inhale, exhale.

After taking a deep breath, Jin Sejeong sharpened her gaze, pointed her index finger at the two of them, and shouted with conviction.

“Yang Woobin!”

She hadn’t planned to call out his name so roughly, but this was the best way to get what she wanted.

She opened her mouth again, ready to demand, “What exactly is your relationship with that girl? Say it clearly!”—but before she could speak, another voice cut her off.

“Shorty! You’re Shorty, right?”

The one who interrupted her was none other than Yang Woobin.

“Sho…Shorty? Did Yang Woobin just call the disciplinary head ‘Shorty’?”

“He’s clearly looking right at her… I don’t think he’s talking to anyone else.”

“Calling the disciplinary head ‘Shorty’… has he lost his mind?”

For the students of the Jincheon class, calling the first-year top student and symbol of martial power ‘Shorty’ was unthinkable.

The students in the training hall and those who had followed Jin Sejeong instinctively watched her reaction.

They all knew what kind of punishment awaited anyone who dared show disrespect to the disciplinary head.

“…”

However, instead of reacting with fury to such an insolent nickname, Jin Sejeong’s cheeks turned red.

The students were left puzzled. It was a side of the disciplinary head none of them had ever seen before.

“I was looking forward to seeing you once I moved up to Jincheon. I couldn’t find you anywhere, so I was really worried. I know you’ve been busy as the disciplinary head, but… I was honestly a little hurt.”

“…!”

As Yang Woobin continued, Jin Sejeong flinched and shrank her shoulders.

The moment he said he’d missed her, that he had worried about her, the fierce and battle-ready momentum she had arrived with instantly deflated.

Wo-Woobin missed me?

Does that mean he felt the same way?

Just like me… he wanted a touching reunion too…?

Jin Sejeong felt the words “Me too… I missed you so much, Woobin…” rising all the way to her throat.

But those heartfelt words never made it past her lips.

“Woobin…?”

It was because Fuyuno Tsubaki was standing right behind Yang Woobin.

At that moment, uncovering the truth was more important than rushing into an emotional reunion.

So Jin Sejeong shook her head to regain focus, reforged her softened momentum into something sharp again, and pointed her finger once more as she spoke.

“What’s going on between you two! Why are you always together!?”

It was a question she had wanted to ask ever since she first saw Yang Woobin sticking close to Fuyuno Tsubaki.

The question that had kept Jin Sejeong up at night finally left her lips.

And the brief moment between her asking it and Yang Woobin answering felt like an eternity.

What if he doesn’t say, “We’re nothing special”?

What if he says, “We’re childhood friends. We promised each other the future”?

That fear made Jin Sejeong clench her fists and bite her lower lip until it hurt.

“What’s our relationship? Hmm… servant and master?”

Thankfully, what came out of Yang Woobin’s mouth wasn’t something horrible like “childhood friends” or “we made a promise about the future.”

Just as she began to feel relieved, a new wave of anxiety washed over her—what if they started out as childhood friends and then became “servant and master”?

So Jin Sejeong asked again, just to be sure.

“Then what about childhood friends? You’re not childhood friends, right?”

“Come on, of course not. You’re the only childhood friend I’ve got, Shorty. I haven’t even known her for two months yet.”

“R-Really!?”

The moment those words came out of Yang Woobin’s mouth—that they weren’t childhood friends—Jin Sejeong felt the heavy weight that had been crushing her chest finally lift.

The dark, gloomy world around her lit up again, and the blood in her veins that had felt frozen began to warm.

Now that she had confirmed the rumors going around were all nonsense, it was time for the emotional reunion she had put on hold.

Letting out a breath of relief, Jin Sejeong looked at Yang Woobin and half-joked as she said,

“Thank goodness… So that stuff about you being engaged and all—that’s nonsense too, right?”

“Huh? No, I do have a fiancée.”

“…What?”

And just like that, her reunion with Yang Woobin happened in the worst way imaginable.