Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Leap or Flight (5)
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Shiksan Daebung mustered his courage to save his friend.
To be a bit more precise, it wasn't so much mustering courage as it was launching himself into the air without a moment to even think.
But in the end, the boy who actually saved the kid falling from the tree was another boy standing nearby.
Shiksan Daebung streaked past the tree like the wind and naturally looped back around to the streamside.
It was fortunate his friend wasn't hurt, but it was also a somewhat deflating conclusion.
Shiksan Daebung felt a little embarrassed.
The hollow-eyed kid's dejected posture.
Among the group, the eldest (ten years old this year) girl was the first to notice Shiksan Daebung's mood.
The girl quickly praised the youngest (three meters tall).
"Not holding back your body for the sake of a friend! Daibung, you're really great!"
With that, the girl elbowed the person next to her.
A nonverbal signal to hurry up and praise him like she was doing.
The person who got elbowed in the side quickly clapped like a seal and started praising.
"Y-yeah! Daibung, I really see you in a new light! Of course, I already thought well of you before!"
The other kids joined the praise train in order of their quick wits.
"You're amazing, Daibung!"
"You're the best!"
"You're so cool!"
The students surrounded Shiksan Daebung, clapping nonstop.
It had been five whole years since his ego had awakened, right at the age where he loved receiving praise.
Amid the shower of compliments, Shiksan Daebung's beak naturally shot up toward the sky.
Afterward, Shiksan Daebung returned home with a magnificent flight.
The three guardians showed a colorful array of reactions.
Thanks to them, Shiksan Daebung felt even better.
His flight phobia or whatever had melted away like snow long ago.
*****
From the day after his first successful flight, Shiksan Daebung kept circling around the mansion's servants.
Meaning he kept peeking around the maids sweeping the floors or moving furniture.
He had the look of someone waiting for something.
One of the maids asked Shiksan Daebung.
"Daibung, do you need something?"
Shiksan Daebung shook his head side to side.
"Nope."
Anyone could see he had business to attend to.
But since it wasn't coming from him directly, it felt awkward to keep prying.
He wasn't really getting in the way of their work, so the maids decided to just focus on their tasks.
And then the moment Shiksan Daebung had been desperately waiting for arrived.
The all-day summer deep cleaning had finally ended.
A ton of items that were too worn out or broken to use had piled up during the cleaning.
The maids stuffed all the trash to discard into burlap sacks.
Now they just needed to decide who would take it out.
"Just to check, any volunteers?"
"Absolutely not."
"Let's settle it clean with rock-paper-scissors."
"One round only. No complaints later."
"You're not gonna chicken out late like last time, right?"
"Me? When?"
Shiksan Daebung leisurely appeared near the maids, who were putting all their effort into not losing at rock-paper-scissors.
"Ahem!"
Shiksan Daebung's fake cough had little effect.
The maids were too busy agonizing over what to throw.
Losing here meant inevitably trekking to the dump.
When the reaction he hoped for didn't come, Shiksan Daebung sent a more blatant signal.
"Hmm, I feel like going out..."
The maids, who had been exchanging flimsy mind games like "I'm definitely throwing cloth," all turned their heads at once.
One maid asked tentatively, just in case.
"Daibung, you wanna go out?"
"Yeah."
"Where to?"
Shiksan Daebung glanced at the burlap sacks as he answered.
"Just... west field or something?"
For reference, the dump was to the west of the fields.
At this point, it was impossible not to know even if you tried.
He was laying it on thick.
One maid said with a bright smile.
"Daibung, then could you maybe take the trash on your way?"
"You're asking me to?"
"Yeah, we're asking you like this, big sis style."
Shiksan Daebung's beak shot up toward the sky.
"If you're asking like that, I guess I have no choice."
Shiksan Daebung clutched the trash-filled burlap sack in his talons and took off.
The maids stared at Shiksan Daebung's rear as it rapidly receded into the distance.
Soon, he vanished from sight.
The maids exchanged opinions.
"He was following us around all day just to run an errand?"
"Who knows..."
"Maybe he wanted to show off how great he is? Like when we were kids learning at the writing academy—once you picked up one thing, your mouth itched to show off all day."
"Anyway, when he gets back, we definitely thank him."
"That's my specialty."
A little later, Shiksan Daebung returned to the mansion.
The maids rushed over and petted him all over his body.
They showered him with thanks and praise.
"Thanks, Daibung!"
"The deep clean was so much easier thanks to you!"
"You're seriously fast!"
"Like a bolt of lightning!"
Shiksan Daebung was truly delighted.
*****
Seoran pulled out her mobile phone and dialed Yi Agum's number.
After a short ring, the call connected.
It sounded noisy, like there were a lot of people around.
Seoran raised her voice slightly.
"Agum, where are you right now?"
"Oh, sis! I'm at a friend's daughter's wedding! It just ended, so I'll be right there! Start eating without me!"
"Okay, got it."
As Seoran hung up, Geum Yeongyeong asked.
"Where'd she say?"
"She was at a friend's daughter's wedding as a guest. She said she'll be right here, so eat first."
"Oh?"
No sooner had Geum Yeongyeong finished speaking than she picked up her chopsticks.
Five-spice braised pork, her absolute favorite in the world, one bite.
The pork filled her empty stomach satisfyingly.
By the time everyone had picked at a few bites of food, Yi Agum arrived.
"Sorry, was I super late?"
Ho Hye-mun smiled and said.
"Nah, you timed it perfectly."
"Long time no see, Hye-mun sis."
"Long time? We've talked on the phone a few times."
Yi Agum sat in the empty seat as she replied.
"Psh, but it's different seeing your face in person. Hello, Dragon Lady."
Damcheong, who had been wrestling with fish bones, looked up.
"Oh, nice to see you. I'm doing great as always."
Greetings went around the round table a few times.
The Leisure Club members enjoyed lunch in the cool breeze.
The conversation topics shifted here and there.
Then, out of nowhere, Jang Seonhwa spoke up.
"Teacher, I just got curious about something."
Seoran and Ho Hye-mun both looked at Jang Seonhwa at the same time.
Coincidentally, Jang Seonhwa called both of them "teacher."
This kind of mix-up happened every time.
Jang Seonhwa used a clearer form of address.
"Oh, Ho Hye-mun teacher."
Seoran refocused all her attention on the duck meat.
Ho Hye-mun asked her old student.
"What are you curious about?"
"Is that guy still chasing after you, teacher?"
Here, "that guy" referred to Ho Hye-mun's disciple smitten with her.
The young man and Jang Seonhwa were close in age.
So they'd attended the writing academy around the same time.
Ho Hye-mun gave a wry smile.
"Not these days. I gave him a good talking-to recently."
Geum Yeongyeong asked.
"Who's chasing who? What's the story?"
Seoran thought for a moment and managed to recall.
When the story of Ho Hye-mun's suitor first came up, Geum Yeongyeong hadn't been there.
Around that time, she'd been suffering through inhuman overtime at the talisman workshop.
Seoran gave a brief summary.
A former student over thirty years younger proposing; Ho Hye-mun in a bind.
Geum Yeongyeong, listening quietly, tilted her head.
Then she asked.
"What about you, Hye-mun? Do you like the guy?"
All eyes turned to Ho Hye-mun.
Ho Hye-mun said calmly.
"If I had to say, yeah, I like him. He's a student I taught for years, after all."
Geum Yeongyeong said.
"Then why not accept the proposal?"
"Huh? Why does it have to go there?"
"But you like him, right?"
Ho Hye-mun recoiled in horror as she replied.
"Liking him as a student is the same as liking him as a romantic partner? I've never seen him that way. To begin with, he's even younger than Seonhwa."
Jang Seonhwa, who had been deboning fish for Damcheong, nodded silently.
Seoran and Yi Agum agreed with Ho Hye-mun's view.
Even so, a thirty-year age gap was a bit much.
But Geum Yeongyeong, unbound by mortal common sense, had a different take.
"It's just a thirty-year difference. What's wrong with that?"
The table fell silent as if cold water had been poured over it.
Jang Seonhwa pretended not to hear, staring intently at the neatly deboned fish.
Damcheong was too busy eating the fish flesh to care about the conversation that had just passed.
Ho Hye-mun and Yi Agum seemed at a loss for words.
In the end, Seoran had to step in.
"Yeongyeong, a thirty-year gap is kinda..."
"Why? Even if it's over a hundred years, as long as they love each other, that's all that matters, right? Foundation Establishment Cultivators don't age anyway."
"No, but still, who in the world marries someone a hundred years older..."
There were.
"Why not? You met one just the other day."
"Me? Who?"
"My 22nd-generation ancestor."
Seoran was about to ask, "So who the heck is that?" but paused.
Geum Yeongyeong's ancestor—one still alive to this day.
One person immediately came to mind.
Seoran asked cautiously.
"By any chance... Lady Geum Gyo-wol?"
"Yeah, her."
"Oh..."
Seoran carefully shut her mouth.
Anything she said felt like it could be a faux pas.
She desperately wanted to change the subject.
Seoran stammered.
"I-it's hot. Let's finish eating."
She vowed never to bring up this topic in front of Geum Yeongyeong again.