**Chapter 322. Practical Training. (1)**
The incident occurred right as dawn was crossing over into morning.
Perhaps because my mental training had become more frequent these days.
Because of that, I had been sleeping more in the morning.
Forcing myself awake felt like too much of a bother.
I had even told Pae Ucheol to wake me up as late as possible, so.
I assumed today was one of those days as well.
“Hyung-nim… Hyung-nim.”
At the sound of the voice, I cracked my eyes open slightly.
Wondering if it was time to get up already.
My body was heavy as I tried to rise.
Lately, it had been especially like that.
I wondered if something was wrong with my body, but I didn’t feel particularly strange.
It seemed mental fatigue accounted for most of it.
Letting out a deep sigh, I raised my upper body.
Even though I didn’t want to get up, I had to.
When I lifted myself and finally opened my eyes.
Someone was visible right before me.
Was it Pae Ucheol?
If not him, was it one of the other housemates?
“…Huh?”
Surprisingly, it was neither of them.
If it were Pae Ucheol, his physique wouldn’t be so frail.
I rubbed my bleary eyes and looked at the person.
The sunlight through the window frame was warm. The light falling through as if heralding morning.
It was as if it shone upon only one person completely.
“…You.”
Kneeling on both knees.
The one who greeted me in a proper, humble posture was none other than Wi Seol-a.
Hair of brown suffused with a faint golden hue.
And golden eyes (金眼) that seemed half-lidded caught my eye.
No, this wasn’t the time.
Now wasn’t the time to admire Wi Seol-a’s appearance.
‘Why is she here?’
I wondered if it was a dream, but it wasn’t.
The situation said as much.
Not only Pae Ucheol, but the other men gathered in the room had stopped moving.
They were staring at Wi Seol-a.
Their pupils were shaking.
The sight of them standing stiff as stones, seemingly at a loss, was striking.
What the hell.
What kind of situation was this?
I immediately looked at Pae Ucheol, who had woken me.
That big oaf seemed flustered by the situation too.
Noticing my gaze, he quickly approached and whispered in my ear.
He didn’t seem to be at the level to use sound transmission yet.
“What the hell is going on?”
“…She suddenly said she had business with you, hyung-nim…”
“And you opened the door for her?”
“When I said you were sleeping… she said she’d wait inside, so the nunim…”
“So you really let her in? How many men are in this room right now?”
And what was with the ‘nunim’?
Wi Seol-a was several years younger than Pae Ucheol.
Hell, even I was younger than Pae Ucheol.
Not like he’d even passed his coming-of-age ceremony yet.
“…I’m sorry. It was sudden for me too.”
While Pae Ucheol scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Wi Seol-a, who had been silent, cut in.
“I insisted. I said I wanted to come in. Young Master Pae is not at fault.”
The moment “Young Master Pae” came out of Wi Seol-a’s mouth.
Pae Ucheol’s face melted.
He was eating it up.
Thwack—!
“Kkeuk!?”
Not liking the sight, I lightly kicked Pae Ucheol’s shin.
Immediately, his large body crumpled as he hugged his shin.
What an act—I only tapped him.
“Such an exaggerator. Our Ucheol.”
“…Hyung-nim, I think it’s really cracked though?”
I ignored Pae Ucheol, who spoke with a tearful face.
Leaving Pae Ucheol be, I looked at Wi Seol-a again.
“What is it?”
“…I have something to say to the Young Master.”
Something to say.
‘She said she needed time to think.’
That was how my last conversation with Wi Seol-a had ended.
She had said she needed time to think and asked for time.
How many days had passed since then?
I had decided to respect Wi Seol-a’s words.
After leaving her be like that for a few days.
Wi Seol-a had come to find me herself.
Up to that point, everything was fine.
Everything was fine.
The problem was why she had come at the crack of dawn like this.
“What do you have to say?”
I regretted it the moment the words left my mouth.
I should have said it was good to see her after so long. That her complexion looked great.
That she should have eaten breakfast.
I should have asked such sensible things politely.
But the tone that leaped from my mouth was brusque beyond compare.
I had a feeling this wouldn’t be fixed until the day I died.
To my question.
Wi Seol-a’s head rose slightly.
Golden pupils were looking directly at me.
The pure, innocent gaze I had seen when she served as my attendant.
It seemed a little remained, but.
It was almost gone.
The thought that it was a bit of a shame brushed past me.
My head was still hazy.
Should I say I was in a daze?
Since this body had reached the pinnacle, it shouldn’t be overwhelmed by fatigue simply from lack of sleep.
Lately, it had been a bit strange.
Thinking I couldn’t go on like this, just as I tried to circulate my gi to drive out the fatigue.
Wi Seol-a spoke to me.
“I like you.”
“…Huh?”
At the voice that reached my ears.
I let out a stupid sound without realizing it.
“What did you just—”
“I like you.”
As if I had misheard.
Ignoring my attempt to ask again.
At the words she spat out once more, as if delivering a killing blow.
Something thudded and scattered in my head, which had been hazy as if veiled in fog.
“You…”
Wi Seol-a, who had spoken, wore an expressionless face.
Seeing that, I was bewildered for several seconds.
What was I supposed to say?
My mind filled with such thoughts, words wouldn’t come out.
Breaking through the transparent wall blocking my mouth.
I barely managed to spit out a question.
“What are you saying all of a sudden?”
My voice trembled slightly as I spoke.
“I’ve finished worrying.”
“Worrying?”
“Yes. Worrying.”
She had said she had many worries.
That she needed to think it over and asked for time.
And this was the answer she came up with after all that?
What was this?
Could this really be a dream? That seemed more realistic.
‘What…?’
I examined Wi Seol-a as she spoke. Looking at her closely, I finally saw.
Wi Seol-a’s ears, while she maintained an expressionless face.
Were burning bright red.
Kyu—
Seeing that, I met Wi Seol-a’s eyes again.
“Well…”
Feeling like I had to give some kind of answer, I recited words in my mind.
For a few short seconds, I thought of tens of thousands of replies. Searching and searching for a single word.
The moment I tried to speak it aloud.
“Since it’s come to this… I ask for your consideration from now on.”
Before I could speak, Wi Seol-a abruptly said that.
She bowed her head deeply and sprang to her feet.
“Uh… huh?”
Her ears, glimpsed for a moment, were even redder.
I urgently tried to call Wi Seol-a, but she quickly moved her feet and bolted out.
She was so fast I couldn’t even call out.
“What the…”
Only after the sound of Wi Seol-a’s footsteps running down the corridor faded.
Could I gradually comprehend the situation that had suddenly struck.
‘What did she just say?’
Did she say she liked me?
I was pretty sure she did.
While I stammered as if my gears had jammed.
“Hyung-nim.”
Pae Ucheol cautiously spoke to me.
“…Y-Yeah… what?”
It seemed not only my head but also my mouth had stiffened; my answer didn’t come out as usual.
Pae Ucheol wore a rather serious expression.
He slightly bowed his head and spoke again.
“Excuse me… hyung-nim.”
“Speak.”
“…May I hit you just once?”
“What the— what, man?”
When I furrowed my brows fiercely, Pae Ucheol quickly retreated backward.
This was probably the turning point.
Wi Seol-a’s behavior became a bit strange after this.
Morning training was naturally skipped.
After attending theory lessons.
Lunch arrived quickly.
I had heard the afternoon training was packed with something.
It seemed to be an early lunch for that.
Either way was fine.
“What’s for lunch today?”
“I don’t know…”
“Yeah, I’m used to that by now.”
Asking Pae Ucheol, who wouldn’t have remembered anyway, had become.
A bit of a routine.
No matter what came out, he wolfed everything down, so it was clear he never bothered to learn.
“I think I heard it was meat.”
“Then you can’t eat it.”
“As the old saying goes, you shouldn’t be picky with food.”
While chatting with Pae Ucheol, Jamryong had subtly interjected himself.
Starting a few days ago, Jamryong had begun tagging along to eat with us while pretending otherwise.
I wasn’t going out of my way to stop him.
But there was a slight problem.
“…Can’t you please pay attention to other people’s gazes?”
“I didn’t expect you of all people to say that to me.”
At Jamryong’s incredulous words.
I let out a deep sigh.
The reason I bothered to bring this up was simple.
Jamryong clearly belonged to the Taoist sect.
There was a separate meal distribution for those who couldn’t eat meat.
And yet this guy was brazenly piling meat on his plate…
“Hey… your martial brothers are looking at you like they want to kill you?”
“Martial brothers? They’re just friends I don’t know. Don’t mind them. I’m an only child, after all.”
No, no matter how I looked at them, they were clearly Wudang disciples.
At times like this, I wondered if Jamryong was truly insane.
How did he live like this without getting expelled from Wudang?
‘…Is it because of his talent?’
Was that really it?
Well, with talent at Jamryong’s level, you couldn’t find that just anywhere.
They might find it a waste to expel him even if he caused all sorts of trouble.
“Oh! Chicken.”
Look at him, getting excited because meat came out.
I wondered if he was really a Daoist.
‘…As Elder Shin said, even Shaolin’s Hwang-a Bul-yeong ate grilled meat and drank alcohol when he was young.’
To be honest, compared to people who acted righteous on the outside while putting on airs behind the scenes.
Jamryong, who lived instinctively like this, might actually be the cleaner one.
“Hyung-nim…”
“What.”
“Didn’t you take too much? I don’t think you can eat it all.”
“You’ll eat the leftovers, right?”
“That seems like a very good idea.”
At my words, Pae Ucheol smiled brightly.
Since we moved around as a group, whispered voices could be heard from behind us.
—“Is Jamryong really in that group…?”
—“By Cheol-cheol-yang? To think even Wudang’s Jamryong was recruited… How could that happen…!”
—“Wait. Cheol-cheol-yang? Wasn’t it Cheol-yang-cheol?”
—“That’s not important.”
—“The name isn’t important?”
—“They say Geomryong goes around with Jinryong these days… Could it be?”
—“Then just what is Mad Dog Cheol Ji-seon, who has three of the Six Dragons under him…”
Dizzying rumors were spreading from every direction.
Among them, the one about Mad Dog Cheol Ji-seon just refused to die.
No wonder he comes down with hwabyeong.
It wasn’t just me hearing those whispers.
Jamryong quietly received his food and smirked.
“So now, is it Cheol-yang-cheol-hyeok?”
“Sneaking yourself in there.”
“So what. It was roughly made up anyway, so you can fit one more in.”
Seeing him say it was roughly made up.
It seemed he knew I had been joking back then.
As expected, he was quick on the uptake.
“But is this really okay?”
At my question, Jamryong tilted his head slightly.
He had an expression saying he didn’t understand what I meant.
“If you get entangled with us like this, it might not be good later.”
“Ah.”
I knew well how much the Wudang Sect Leader obsessed over others’ gazes and reputation.
Not to mention, Jamryong was the one who monopolized that Sect Leader’s favor.
Would he really look kindly upon Jamryong hanging out with troublemakers?
That was what I had asked, but.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s fun, isn’t it?”
Jamryong was perfectly composed. As expected, this guy was definitely not normal either.
“And.”
“Huh?”
“Being able to eat quietly is a tremendous blessing.”
“Look at all the people in the dining hall. Like you can eat quietly?”
Since we had arrived a bit late, it was already crowded.
Quiet, my ass.
At my words, Jamryong chuckled and.
Took more food again.
Getting even more meat in the meantime.
I shook my head at the sight.
Finding a seat was never difficult.
Because the quick-witted Moyong Hui-a had already secured seats at one side of the dining hall.
Those gathered were three of the Four Great Families.
A gathering where the ladies of the Namgung, Moyong, and Tang families were assembled.
It was extremely rare for others to join them.
Even if someone tried.
A few sharp words from Moyong Hui-a or Dang So-yeol would make them tuck their tails and disappear.
Sometimes Pung A-hui appeared and ate with Dang So-yeol, but.
Even that was only occasionally.
In the end, the remaining seat was practically reserved for me whenever I appeared.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
As always, the moment I tried to sit.
Moyong Hui-a’s cold voice flew in.
“What?”
“I’m asking why you sit down as you please.”
She was colder than usual.
The cold girl had become even colder.
What?
“Hah…”
Seeing her turn her head sharply, I thought I had done something wrong… Ah.
At Moyong Hui-a’s sudden attitude, I finally realized.
“Sorry, I had some matters to attend to back then.”
The other day, when I had arranged to meet Moyong Hui-a to talk.
Because I had broken my promise with her due to a summons from Cheol Ji-seon.
It seemed she was angry about that.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t gone to see her after that.
…She had a right to be angry.
“Sorry.”
When I apologized once more, Moyong Hui-a turned her head toward me again.
“…I’ll really get angry next time.”
She had softened a bit with a single apology.
Unexpectedly, she let it go easily.
In my previous life, I had been caught like a rat.
I apologized once more at those words.
When I sat in the empty seat in front.
Jamryong and Pae Ucheol, who had been watching carefully, also sat down.
I naturally sat beside Namgung Bi-a, who was half-asleep as always.
When Jamryong tried to sit next to me.
Namgung Bi-a slightly rose and made a hand gesture.
It was a gesture toward Jamryong.
“There… seat… taken.”
“…Hm?”
“Seat. Taken.”
“Ah, you said the seat is taken. My apologies.”
At Namgung Bi-a’s pointer, Jamryong sat one space over.
Seat? Was someone else coming?
“Who else is supposed to come?”
After speaking, Namgung Bi-a rested her face on my shoulder again with a drowsy expression.
Her thin hair strands got in the way of my meal, but.
Since she kept doing this, I didn’t really mind anymore.
While naturally eating.
Moyong Hui-a in front suddenly spoke to Jamryong.
“It's been a while.”
She said with a bright smile, but.
Somehow there were thorns in it.
Jamryong seemed to feel it too and let out a dry cough mid-meal.
“…Ahem. My voice hasn’t changed too much, has it?”
“It’s natural since the other party is different.”
“…Ah, yes. Well… it’s been a while, Lady Moyong. My greeting is belated.”
At Jamryong’s words, Moyong Hui-a took a sip of tea.
What were these two? Had they met before?
“When I visited before, I believe you said you had no intention of going to either side, or of joining any group.”
“…That. Well, isn’t human affairs something you can never know?”
Ah.
‘Well, I heard she was gathering the official disciples. Is that it?’
Among the factions spreading within Sinryonggwan, the largest was Moyong Hui-a’s.
Disciples stuck with disciples.
Merchants with merchants.
People with similar backgrounds were gathering together.
Not long after arriving, I had heard Moyong Hui-a was gathering people like that.
It seemed she had gone to Jamryong too.
Jamryong had apparently refused.
Having said he wouldn’t go anywhere.
He had brazenly come to this side instead, which seemed to displease her.
“My apologies.”
When Jamryong, rarely, apologized.
Moyong Hui-a folded the fan she was carrying and smiled slightly.
“It’s fine. Rather, if it’s the Ninth Young Master’s side, I should consider myself fortunate.”
…Aah.
“If you had gone elsewhere, I was planning to bury you…”
“Huh? What?”
“It was a joke. Hoho.”
To me, it was absolutely not a joke.
Because among the words I had heard from Moyong Hui-a in the past, that was the closest to the truth.
Jamryong seemed to sense the danger; I could see faint cold sweat forming on him.
Even that crazy guy found Moyong Hui-a quite scary.
Well, in my previous life, Jamryong had too.
If he got caught after causing trouble, he’d sell me out.
…It pissed me off just thinking about it.
It felt like fire had erupted inside me.
The moment I tried to take a sip of the water Namgung Bi-a had passed me.
Scrape.
Someone sat down beside me.
Namgung Bi-a had said there was someone who would sit here.
Was this that person?
Wondering who it was, I looked up.
With their presence, a familiar floral scent reached me.
“Oh.”
It was Wi Seol-a, who had visited me that morning.
Every time I visited her, she had refused to eat together, but.
What was going on today?
While wondering, I examined the food she had brought.
‘She piled rice like a mountain.’
Every side dish was large in quantity.
Wi Seol-a seemed to notice me looking.
Blushing slightly, Wi Seol-a spoke.
“…Because you said eating a lot is good…”
Because I had kept telling her to eat a lot.
She meant she had taken a lot.
“I-if you don’t like it. Shall I take some back?”
“Take back? What take back? You have to eat it all.”
“…Yes.”
Seemingly relieved by my words, Wi Seol-a sat down and began eating.
Not only was there no talk about earlier.
It was all just eating.
I wondered if Wi Seol-a had already forgotten.
But ears redder than they had been in the morning proved otherwise.
‘…Did Namgung Bi-a call her?’
Since Namgung Bi-a was the one who had said someone was coming.
It seemed she had known.
Namgung Bi-a merely closed her eyes and leaned on my shoulder.
“…And here I thought one person was missing so I was pleased about it. Tch.”
Moyong Hui-a quietly whispered during this gap.
It was an awkward mealtime, knowingly or not.