Yeomryun-gong-3

-Chirp, chirp.

With the sound of birds chirping, dawn began to break.

“Ah… sleepy.”

Inho, who had been Soyou’s personal body pillow for the night, rubbed his bloodshot eyes, suffering from a lack of sleep.

Then, with a wronged expression, he looked to his side.

“……”

Beside him, Namgung Soyou was fast asleep, making soft noises.

It was as if the three days she had spent sick in bed were a lie; she looked perfectly fine.

He didn’t know if it was because of her exceptional recovery ability, or if all Martial Artists had such resilience, but it was a wondrous thing nonetheless.

“…I should eat breakfast and go to work.”

Inho moved on tiptoe, careful not to wake his Master.

-Creak.

“Where… are you going?”

As the outside air flowed in through the slightly open door, Namgung Soyou, who had been sleeping just moments before, opened her eyes and spoke to him.

Inho felt a chill run down his spine at her ghostly reaction speed, but he turned to face his Master with an indifferent expression.

“I’m going to eat breakfast. Would you like some too, Master?”

“Yes. Let’s eat.”

Soyou said, getting out of bed.

Inho tilted his head at the sight.

“I was going to bring it to you. Please, lie down a bit longer.”

“No. Let’s go together.”

Namgung Soyou said, heading out the door first.

In the kitchen, Inho took out a few potatoes that were left over from steaming the day before and placed them in a rough wooden bowl.

He had intended to make potato porridge for his Master, but Soyou declined, saying she was fine.

Returning to the room, Inho tidied the bedding and then took out a small table.

He roughly wiped the top of the table with his hand and placed the bowl of potatoes on it.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you for the food.”

It was a simple breakfast, but no one in the room complained.

When they were camping, they often had even more meager meals.

“So, what will you be doing today?”

Soyou asked Inho, taking a small bite of a potato.

“As I mentioned yesterday…”

He trailed off, watching Soyou’s reaction.

“You’re going to the market?”

Soyou’s eyes flashed sharply.

“Yes…”

He flinched at the piercing gaze, but he didn’t waver in his resolve.

“I already said I would. ‘A Martial Artist must keep their word.’ Those are your words, Master.”

Seeing his Master’s displeasure at his answer, he quickly added.

Soyou was not pleased with Inho’s sassy retort, but she couldn’t argue since it was something she always said.

In her heart, she wanted to say, ‘I don’t care about that, just stay by my side!’

“Hmm…”

Soyou ate a few potatoes without saying much.

However, she expressed her displeasure by occasionally clicking her tongue or tapping the table lightly.

Of course, Inho was not one to change his mind because of such things.

After breakfast, he changed his clothes to go to the market.

“Are you going?”

Soyou asked from behind him as he put on his shoes.

“Yes. I should get going.”

He quickly put on his shoes, afraid she might stop him.

“Wait.”

Just as he was about to leave the house, Soyou’s voice caught him.

“Yes?”

Wondering what she was going to say this time, he turned around to see Soyou standing before him, already changed into her outdoor clothes.

“I’ll come with you.”

His Master said without batting an eye.

“You’re not going to help with the deliveries. Where will you be?”

“I’ll be waiting in a suitably high place.”

“You were sick until yesterday. You shouldn’t be out like this. You need to rest.”

“I know my own body. You don’t need to tell me what to do.”

She followed Inho and put on her shoes.

“Master!”

Frustrated, Inho grabbed her shoulders and spoke firmly, Soyou twisted her hair with one hand and muttered.

“Are you, really not going to let me?”

Looking at Soyou, who was gazing up at him with a pitiful expression, Inho sighed deeply.

‘That expression… is cheating.’

It wasn’t easy to turn down a request made with the face of a puppy abandoned by its mother.

The market had been open for a long time.

Soyou, who had been following Inho from about ten steps behind, disappeared with the words, “I’ll be watching.”

“Why do you always hide your presence?”

Inho grumbled as he headed to the place he had been directed to yesterday.

The person who had introduced him to the delivery job had given him a rough map, showing the locations of the shops.

Since Inho couldn’t read anyway, he had added Korean letters to the map with a small brush.

“Here, wear this sash. If you wear this on your arm, the merchants will recognize you and call you.”

Inho received the yellow sash.

Watching the busy merchants and the people passing through the narrow alleys, Inho wandered around the market.

There were a few other people moving around with yellow sashes like Inho.

“Hey, you there~”

Just when he was wondering when someone would call him, someone stopped Inho.

“Ah, yes. How can I help you?”

“Take this to the blacksmith’s shop over there. Be careful, it’s heavy.”

A merchant with a mustache handed him a sack full of metal scraps.

“Yes, I understand.”

Inho effortlessly lifted the sack and slung it over his shoulder.

“Oh…?”

The merchant’s eyes widened as he saw Inho carrying a sack that an average adult male could barely lift with such ease.

“I’ll be back.”

Inho dashed off down the street.

The story of the hardworking delivery man soon spread throughout the market.

They said he was so strong that he could carry the amount of goods that other delivery men would have to carry two or three times in one trip, and that he was so fast that he could return quickly even when sent to distant places.

The merchants began to take an interest in the suddenly появившийся delivery man, and this also applied to the village girls.

“Oh my, that must be him.”

The village girls, who were strolling through the market in groups of three or five, lowered their voices as they watched Inho carrying goods with his handsome face.

“He doesn’t look like someone who would do delivery work,”

Someone commented on his face.

“Look at the veins in his arms…”

Someone said, mesmerized.

“Wipe your drool, you guys. Hey~ you~ delivery man over there~”

A woman who seemed to be the leader of the group giggled and called out to Inho.

Hearing himself being called, Inho turned around and approached the village girls.

With each step he took, the group exclaimed, “Kyaa! He’s coming, he’s coming.”

“Yes, is there anything you need delivered?”

Inho asked, wiping the sweat that had slightly gathered on his forehead, and the leader of the group smiled coyly.

“Yes~ there is one thing. Do you deliver people too?”

“People?”

He asked, with a ‘What person?’ kind of look, and the woman lifted her foot slightly and said.

“Ah~ I’ve twisted my ankle. It’s too hard to walk, so if you could carry me to that place over there, I’ll pay you.”

The woman pointed to an open space with a small tree.

“Well… carrying a woman I’ve just met on my back is…”

“Oh, what’s wrong with that? It’s not like you have any ‘ulterior motives’, right?”

Saying this, they giggled among themselves.

Inho noticed that they were making fun of him, but he didn’t show his discomfort.

He couldn’t afford to lose his job by acting out of anger.

The woman, as if she really intended to be carried, took out four coins from her pocket and showed them to him.

“Well, I think this is enough as payment.”

Four coins for just twenty steps. Inho hesitated.

‘Ah… I do need the money.’

But he couldn’t ignore Soyou, who was probably watching him from somewhere.

Inho briefly pondered whether to choose financial hardship or Soyou’s rampage.

And his choice was, of course, the former.

‘I can’t make Master angry because of money.’

Just as Inho was about to open his mouth to refuse,

“Hey, you bastard. Where did you come from, stealing other people’s work?”

A man suddenly approached and grabbed Inho by the collar.

“Oh my, sir. Why are you doing this? Talk it out, talk it out.”

“Oh? You’re resisting? You’re resisting?”

The man who grabbed Inho by the collar tried to push him over with a rough force, but Inho didn’t budge.

The short, stocky man breathed heavily, looking angry, and pressured Inho.

Of course, it was a pressure that didn’t harm Inho in the slightest.

“You’re delivering in someone else’s territory without any business ethics? Where did you come from! Huh!”

“Please don’t do this!”

The village girls standing next to them tried to stop the fight, but he paid no attention.

“First, let’s put this down and talk.”

Inho could have easily slammed the opponent to the ground, but he decided to resolve the situation peacefully.

“What? Put it down and talk? You little brat!”

The man slapped Inho across the cheek.

And immediately, the man disappeared from Inho’s sight.

“Huh?”

Inho, who was about to retaliate for the slap, blinked and looked around when the man in front of him disappeared.

Not only Inho, but everyone who was watching this scene had the same expression.

“Kyaa!!”

The woman who had offered Inho the delivery was the first to understand the situation.

She screamed, pointing to the place where she had asked Inho to take her.

There, a woman was beating the man.

-Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The sound of flesh being crushed and bones breaking could be heard clearly.

“Not knowing your place.”

“Daring to. My disciple.”

“Touch him?”

A familiar voice entered Inho’s ears.

Suppressing the anxiety that made his heart pound, Inho slowly moved his legs.

Even as he got closer, the woman didn’t stop beating the man.

“M… Master?”

When Inho, who had narrowed the distance appropriately, opened his mouth, the woman’s body stopped beating.

“……”

The woman slowly turned her body.

“Inho, I punished the guy who was bullying you.”

Smiling brightly, his Master made eye contact with him.

“Didn’t I do well? Hurry and praise me.”