Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Leap or Soar (2)
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Jang Seonhwa's human-faced bird was called Hongsun.
It wasn't a name laden with grand meaning.
She had simply named it that because its lips were red and pretty.
Human-faced birds gain independence around ten months after hatching from their eggs.
Females, in particular, could begin proper mail delivery training from that point.
That was exactly the age when Hongsun met its current owner.
Jang Seonhwa, who had taken in a young human-faced bird from the neighbors, immediately dashed to the Scripture Pavilion.
There, she borrowed a book called *Beginner’s Guide to Human-Faced Bird Training*.
As expected from a work penned by a human-faced bird enthusiast in the royal capital, it was packed with useful information.
The delivery bird training process wrapped up in no time.
The bird itself might see things a bit differently, but it wasn't because Jang Seonhwa taught particularly well.
The trainee's talent was just that exceptional.
Hongsun was smarter than other human-faced birds.
Not just a little smarter—tremendously so.
If you plotted human-faced bird intelligence on a bell curve, Hongsun would be at the far right tail.
Naturally, its language skills were outstanding as well.
Generally, a human-faced bird that could form complete short sentences was considered clever.
But compared to the pinnacle of human-faced bird output—Hongsun—they were all just acorns measuring heights.
Of course, very few knew about Hongsun's language prowess, which extended to freestyle rap battles.
It couldn't be helped.
The bird itself never showed it off.
To put it a bit oddly, the reason Hongsun acted like a birdbrain was simple.
It wanted more snacks.
That was all.
It happened around six months of age.
Amid the squabbling flock of siblings, a realization dawned on the contemplative Hongsun.
It was the correlation between language ability and snack acquisition rate.
Compared to peers with advanced speech, those chirping "kak-kak" while pecking at straw received snacks at twice the frequency.
Hongsun was quietly appalled.
From the next day, it kept warming straw and snacks in its beak nonstop.
Mindless foolery could never beat thoroughly calculated foolery.
Hongsun acted smarter than anyone.
Being chosen by Jang Seonhwa was the result.
The reason for its beyond-expectations training results was similar.
It had accurately grasped the customer's needs.
In truth, Hongsun feasted on praise and snacks.
As time passed, Hongsun's snack acquisition strategy grew ever more sophisticated.
Bluntly demanding snacks from Yi Agum alone was part of a tailored approach.
Sometimes shamelessness worked better than cuteness.
Days continued where it felt full without even eating feed.
Then one day, Hongsun met Shiksan Daebung.
*****
Around the time the first scouting projectile launched toward the sky-piercing barrier, Shiksan Daebung headed for Damcheong's cherished cactus field.
It was the very place Seoran had strictly forbidden entry to.
Kids never listen.
The startled Hongsun tried to stop Shiksan Daebung.
“Where are you going right now? No, right? You're not going in?”
Shiksan Daebung turned its head and chirped.
It was just bird noises.
But Hongsun understood roughly.
“What? You say you're just gonna look? Then look from outside the fence. Don't go in.”
Chirp chirp again.
“You wanna see up close? You have no intention of just looking, do you? That's right, isn't it?”
A denying chirp.
“No, what do you mean no...”
As it pressed further, Hongsun suddenly realized something.
Hongsun and Shiksan Daebung were having a conversation right now.
Even if limited to basic intent, a conversation was a conversation.
Hongsun asked.
“Do you actually understand what I'm saying by any chance?”
Belatedly, Shiksan Daebung was shocked too.
Thinking back, it had never conversed with anyone before.
It was so natural that it only noticed now.
Feeling strong curiosity toward each other, Hongsun and Shiksan Daebung sat in the field and talked.
Communication wasn't perfectly smooth, but it was enough.
By the time the scouting projectile shot beyond the sky-piercing barrier, the two had grown slightly close.
The space structure construction plan kicked into full gear.
Jang Seonhwa visited Seoran's estate almost daily.
Of course, with one extra human-faced bird in tow.
The two birds, big and small, always played together.
Shiksan Daebung couldn't stray far from its main body.
So the duo turned to banditry, ambushing passersby.
Shiksan Daebung burst from the bushes and shouted.
“Peep peep!”
Then came the practiced neck tilt.
Of course, it wasn't attacking innocent travelers.
It meant tilting its own head at the most irresistibly cute angle imaginable.
A maid heading to Seoran's estate, munching snacks, let out a shriek that could scare off suitors if overheard.
She handed over her chicken skewer.
The brutal bandit vanished with its loot.
In a hideout not far from the maids' commute path, Hongsun awaited its partner in crime.
Shiksan Daebung entered proudly, chicken skewer in beak.
Another jackpot, as always.
Hongsun laughed wickedly.
“Hahaha, humans really are idiots.”
A pleased chirp.
“Excellent, Daebung. You're my equal—or even better.”
Shiksan Daebung, thrilled and wiggling its rear, offered the skewer from its beak.
“You want me to eat first?”
Chirp chirp.
“Thanks, Daebung. Let's split it half and half.”
The two amicably shared the chicken skewer.
“Delicious, right?”
An affirming chirp.
“Wait here. My turn this time.”
Hongsun fluttered out of the hideout.
Shiksan Daebung stored the chicken skewer's flavor in its unnecessarily high-performance memory.
The reason a hungerless puppet could taste snacks was simple.
Its creator had installed taste receptors.
More precisely, something akin to chemical sensors.
A prototype born of advanced tech, though explaining the principles was pointless.
No one but Jang Seonhwa would care anyway.
In any case, the food Shiksan Daebung swallowed traveled through a passage straight to the incinerator.
It was instantly reduced to ash by overwhelming heat.
Shiksan Daebung let out a cute little burp.
Moments later, Hongsun returned with a bag of cookies in its beak.
“I'm back, Daebung. Check this out. Pretty big, huh?”
Chirp chirp.
“Yeah, exactly. They hand over a whole bag just for acting cute a bit. Humans really are idiots.”
The two savored the sweet flour cookies.
Hongsun and Shiksan Daebung's friendship lasted over three years.
That time changed Shiksan Daebung a great deal.
For better or worse.
The good was clear.
Shiksan Daebung no longer wailed pitifully at the world when Seoran or Damcheong weren't around.
It had gained some independence.
But the bad was clear too.
It had learned from Hongsun's antics.
Even the slightly cocky speech patterns.
That's why there's a saying you can't even drink cold water carelessly in front of kids.
*****
Seoran, listening to the testimony, asked.
“So you didn't know Daebung could talk until now either? I mean human language, not bird talk.”
“Yes, that surprised me too.”
“Well...”
Hongsun swiftly submitted a verbal letter of apology.
“But that doesn't erase my fault. Over the past three years, I sincerely bow my head in apology for flooding the innocent Daebung with human-faced bird supremacist ideology, harmful sentiments, and all sorts of vulgarities. Moreover, I indirectly inflicted an indelible wound on Investigator Geum's heart. I gladly accept any punishment regarding this, and I promise my best efforts to resolve the issue.”
Specific description of its own misdeeds, naming direct and indirect victims, polite remorse, and a commitment to take responsibility.
It was a textbook apology rarer than a meteor shower.
Unbelievable that it was improvised on the spot.
Damcheong, watching, chimed in.
“It really seems remorseful. Doesn't feel deliberate, so let's forgive it this time.”
Seoran nodded and said.
“Since even you say so, Damcheong, we'll let it slide with a verbal warning this once. Be careful from now on.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Seonhwa, I've scolded it sternly for you, so go comfort it now.”
Jang Seonhwa unleashed a barrage of kisses on Hongsun's face.
Cheek, forehead, cheek, cheek, forehead again.
A shower of pecks overwhelmed the human-faced bird's tiny face.
Jang Seonhwa said, voice choking.
“Hongsun, you're so good. Admitting your mistake honestly and reflecting like that—you've grown up.”
“No, stop already...”
“Who's so pretty like this? Huh?”
Seoran ignored Jang Seonhwa and tended to her friend.
“Yeongyeong, snap out of it. Daebung didn't call you an idiot because it hates you, okay? Hongsun kept saying humans are idiots, so it thought 'human' and 'idiot' were synonyms. Look, it's calling everyone idiots even now.”
Geum Yeongyeong, lost in delusion, revived instantly.
“Right? I misunderstood?”
“Of course. You know Daebung really likes you?”
“Phew, felt like I aged ten years.”
Damcheong, watching the farce, asked.
“But what do you plan to do with Daebung now? We need to fix that bad habit ASAP.”
Jang Seonhwa, who had slathered Hongsun's face in saliva, offered an idea.
“Send it to Teacher Ho Hye-mun's writing class?”
Seoran couldn't hold back her admiration.
“Right! Why didn't I think of that?”
Ho Hye-mun.
Teacher at the largest writing academy in Black Bamboo Sect, master of juvenile education, walking factory of filial sons and daughters, and stunning beauty to boot.
She was hope for turning a parrot-like 'idiot'-spouting Shiksan Daebung back into a proper little bird.
And so, Shiksan Daebung's enrollment was decided.