Strange Man
Inside the pavilion’s meeting room, Namgung Seonwu—the young master of the Namgung Clan and leader of the Cheokmadan—finally spoke.
“As you all know, our Cheokmadan is a little... unusual.”
The people seated around the round table, with him at the center, were Yunryeong of the Ami School, Hye-rin of the Huashan Sect, Hyegwang of the Shaolin Sect, and Dang Cheolsan of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Without a single martial unit under its command, the Cheokmadan’s force consisted entirely of the victors of the previous Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.
“That’s why our battlefield isn’t the front lines. Our role is to hold back experts above the Transcendence realm from the battlefield. That’s what we’re here for.”
In close combat, anyone who had reached a certain level was a disaster in human form. A single one of them could sweep away thousands of soldiers, which was why war in Murim could only be sustained if the balance between experts held.
The Murim Alliance had entrusted the Cheokmadan with preserving that balance of power.
“Up to Transcendence, we can handle it ourselves. But what about experts at the Hwagyeong level?”
Hyegwang of Shaolin answered Dang Cheolsan’s question.
“In that case, the commander will move.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
Once the brief exchange ended, Namgung Seonwu began handing out sheets of paper one by one.
“These are the experts of the Demonic Sect we’ve currently confirmed.”
“That’s not all of them, is it?”
“There will be a few more, but for now...”
·
·
·
“Let’s stop here for today.”
That sentence signaled the end of the meeting that had dragged on since morning.
As Lee Hyun slowly got to her feet, an arm slipped through hers.
The wide sleeve was embroidered all over with plum blossoms.
“Yunryeong, what should we do when we get home?” Hye-rin asked, looking bright and excited. She hadn’t been able to focus properly the entire meeting, and now that it was finally over, she seemed thrilled.
“Let’s think about it slowly on the way.”
After so many years together, Lee Hyun found herself unexpectedly grateful for the fact that Hye-rin had never changed.
“Don’t you want to do anything in particular, Yunryeong? It always feels like I’m the only one getting excited.”
“I’m fine with anything...”
As she chatted with Hye-rin and stepped out of the pavilion, Lee Hyun stopped speaking at the sensation of someone’s gaze.
When she turned her head, she met the eyes of the owner of that stare.
A man standing ramrod straight beyond the wall, staring straight at her.
There was a deep, aching longing in his face, half-hidden by his long hair.
Lee Hyun looked at that unfamiliar face and felt a strange sense of recognition she couldn’t explain.
Maybe he was someone she knew? She looked him over again, but no memory surfaced. While she was flustered by the emotion rising in her chest, Hye-rin leaned in and whispered softly.
“Yunryeong, do you know him?”
“No. I don’t know him...”
At that, Hye-rin tilted her head.
“For someone you don’t know, his vibe is pretty weird. Maybe you’ve forgotten him? Go on, say something to him.”
Lee Hyun wondered for a moment if she really should, but in the end she chose to ignore him.
“...It’s fine. Let’s go, Hye-rin.”
As Lee Hyun passed the man, she did her best not to look at him.
If she kept staring, she felt as though she might not be able to control the heat spreading through her entire body.
⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎
All the way back to the lodging, Jang Il was consumed by indecision.
Should he ask his friend about what had just happened, or should he leave it alone?
In the end, he couldn’t keep quiet any longer, mostly because So-cheon’s expression had been bothering him.
“Hey, are you sure this is the first time you’ve ever seen Binghwa Seonrang?”
“...”
So-cheon remained as silent as ever, but Jang Il was able to infer the answer from the slightest change in his expression.
“Huh... so there is something after all. Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask what your relationship with her is.”
Honestly, Jang Il had been dying of curiosity too. But what he felt even more strongly than that was concern for So-cheon.
“What I want to know is what on earth is wrong with you. Why have you been looking so down ever since you saw Binghwa Seonrang? You’re making even me uneasy.”
Jang Il didn’t really expect So-cheon to answer. After all, the man hardly ever exchanged more than a few words with him.
But just as he hummed a tune and looked up at the sky, So-cheon finally opened his mouth.
“...I’m afraid.”
Jang Il was briefly taken aback by the sudden answer, but then he realized that it was a response to his question.
“Afraid! Well, if it’s a woman like Binghwa Seonrang, that would make sense. But looking at your face, that’s not what you mean, is it? Hmm...”
He scratched his head for a moment.
“So-cheon, if you’re that scared, I’ll go with you. What are friends for? Just go and do something. Watching you is making me anxious.”
Even just a moment ago, that had been true. If something had happened bad enough to make So-cheon wear such a pained expression, he should have at least gone and spoken to her. Jang Il simply could not understand why he had stood there blankly, staring at Binghwa Seonrang.
·
·
·
Early the next morning, beneath the pavilion’s wall, Jang Il and So-cheon sat side by side.
Jang Il, who had dragged So-cheon out of the inn at dawn, said, “Oh, come on. There you go again, sitting there like you bit into a pile of shit. Relax your face, will you? This is what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
So-cheon might have acted indifferent, but to Jang Il, his thoughts were as clear as day.
He wanted to see Binghwa Seonrang.
They had been waiting in that dazed state for about half an hour when Binghwa Seonrang and the Plum Blossom Sword Maiden came walking over from afar.
Jang Il nudged So-cheon’s side to alert him, but by then So-cheon’s gaze was already fixed.
Just like yesterday, he stared at Binghwa Seonrang as though spellbound.
Jang Il rubbed his forehead.
Seriously, doesn’t look like he’s planning to say a word either.
He was honestly baffled by the man’s behavior, but for the sake of his friend, he held it in.
Youth really is something else. Just looking at the woman you love can make you happy, I suppose.
At least to some extent, Jang Il understood So-cheon. He had once been that age himself.
Seeing such a human side of his friend actually put his mind more at ease.
⁎⁎⁎⁎⁎
Lee Hyun stopped when she spotted the man from yesterday.
“Again...”
The man was sitting against the wall, watching her intently.
As Lee Hyun stood there, at a loss, Hye-rin asked, “Yunryeong, should I chase him off?”
“...It’s fine. Leave him alone.”
Hye-rin blinked.
“Huh? You used to hate people like that, didn’t you? Back then you’d glare like death at the men who secretly peeked at you. Why are you different now?”
Lee Hyun herself had trouble hiding her confusion.
She had driven away countless people over the years. She loathed the greedy looks aimed at her. And yet, this man didn’t feel nearly as unpleasant.
Why was that? Was he staring so boldly that she’d been caught in his pace before she knew it?
Hye-rin sent her a meaningful smile.
“Oh my, Yunryeong! I thought you just weren’t interested in men, but it turns out your standards are just unbelievably high? So that’s what it takes to pass?”
“I-I’m not saying that... It’s just...”
Even Hye-rin, whom she trusted most, was acting like this. Lee Hyun felt as though her head might explode.
But if she looked ahead, there was that man gazing at her with an almost burdensome intensity.
And beside him, the other man staring up at the sky with a completely vacant expression.
The bizarre combination left Lee Hyun dizzy, and in the end she fled back inside the pavilion.
·
·
·
“Yunryeong, I asked around a little. That man seems to be one of the people who volunteered to take part in this war.”
That was what Hye-rin said the next day when she saw the same man again.
That alone raised her opinion of him slightly in Lee Hyun’s mind.
From “a strange person” to “a strange person with some kind of personal code.”
“I can’t feel any internal energy from him at all, though. That’s impressive.”
Lee Hyun thought that was probably why she had even bothered to praise him.
When she and Hye-rin entered the pavilion, Namgung Seonwu was looking out the window.
“Hye-rin, do you know who those two are? They’ve been standing around outside for days, and it’s starting to bug me.”
Hearing that, Hye-rin broke into a grin.
“Seonwu, there’s something going on here. Maybe spring has come for Yunryeong.”
“Oh! Finally? Miss Yunryeong, which one is it? It looks like the long-haired one to me, obviously.”
The two of them got excited and started talking over each other.
Lee Hyun felt as though her soul was about to leave her body.
“I told you, that’s not it... I don’t even know his name, and I’ve never even spoken to him once. Why do you all keep—”
“What, still? That’s serious.”
The agitated Namgung Seonwu cut in.
“Yunryeong, we’ll make room for you two! Just trust me.”
“No, that’s not what—”
·
·
Lee Hyun barely managed to finish the meeting. It had been exhausting, mostly because every eye in the room had been fixed on her.
Even after leaving the pavilion, she still couldn’t relax.
The moment she opened the door, that fierce stare landed on her again.
Seeing the man still at it on the third day, Lee Hyun wondered if he really had nothing better to do.
“Hey!”
Hye-rin strode right up to him.
Only then did the man’s gaze leave Lee Hyun and shift to Hye-rin.
“Why do you keep staring at Yunryeong?”
“...”
No answer.
The man beside him hurriedly defended him. “No, it’s not like that, young lady. This friend of mine isn’t doing it on purpose. He’s actually a very good friend, but I think something he ate might have gone bad...”
Hye-rin shouted at the absurd excuse. “Yunryeong’s uncomfortable!”
Lee Hyun only felt more helpless, wondering why Hye-rin was acting like this here of all places.
Hye-rin narrowed her eyes and asked the man, “Hmm... do you maybe like Yunryeong?”
The pointed question left the man flustered.
For once, he was actually panicking in a way that didn’t suit him at all.
Lee Hyun snorted despite herself.
Then, as she was still thrown off by the fact that her lips had curved up without her meaning them to, Hye-rin folded her arms.
“If that’s the case, why don’t you go talk to her instead of standing around like this? For days, too?”
The man who had been defending him suddenly changed his tone. “That’s exactly what I want to say! Just what on earth is the problem here?”
At that, the man became even more restless.
Watching from Lee Hyun’s side, Namgung Seonwu stepped in and gave the man some advice.
“As someone who’s lived a few more years than you, let me tell you this: opportunities don’t just come whenever you want them to. Especially if the other party is Binghwa Seonrang.”
Why is he talking like that over there?
Lee Hyun couldn’t believe how foolish Namgung Seonwu looked, ending his speech with a self-satisfied grin.
What a dizzying scene, she thought. And she should probably stop this before it got worse.
“Everyone, stop it... you’re making him uncomfortable.”
“Oh!”
Hye-rin made a strange little sound of surprise.
Lee Hyun finally lost her patience and shot her a glare.
“Look, Swordsman, I don’t know why you’re doing this either, but please stop staring and go. It’s not like you have time to waste, so why—”
She was cut off in the middle of her sentence.
The man was staring at her again with those same unwavering eyes. This time, he even looked a little disappointed.
What on earth was wrong with him?
Lee Hyun truly couldn’t understand it.
Did she have something on her face?
And he wasn’t the only one she couldn’t understand. She herself was acting strange too.
Normally, she would have driven him away the moment they met.
That was how she had always lived for eight years, because there were things she had to do.
And yet, for some reason, she didn’t want to do that with this man.
Why wasn’t she repulsed by him? Why was she like this?
Everything was full of questions.
As they stood there, dazed, staring at each other, Lee Hyun felt as though she might be pulled into those jet-black eyes of his.
Then Hye-rin spoke up.
“Hey, Yunryeong. In that case, we’ll step aside, so why don’t the two of you talk a little? It looks like you’ve got plenty to say.”
“No, Hye-rin. Wait—”
When Lee Hyun tried to grab her, Hye-rin quickly jabbed Namgung Seonwu in the ribs.
“Ah, and I was just hoping for some time alone with Hye-rin.”
With how smoothly he said it, Lee Hyun couldn’t exactly object.
Besides, she had already thought she was getting in the way of the two of them.
“Hey, brother, come along too. I’ll show you a nice place.”
“Now this is a good day. Let’s go at once!”
How on earth could that man be so effortlessly friendly?
“Ah...”
Watching the others wander off in a daze, Lee Hyun finally realized one thing.
She had been left alone with this strange man.
When she was with him, she herself became strange. She stopped feeling like herself.
There was no time to be lingering around here like this, and yet for some reason, she couldn’t control herself.
“Ignore what those people said. They’re just messing around because they’re bored. And...”
She broke off for a moment. The long-haired man was still watching her.
“You should go back now too, Swordsman. Don’t come again tomorrow.”
She felt a little sorry toward him, but this was where they needed to stop.
“I’m leaving first.”
It had been brief, but not a bad memory, Lee Hyun thought as she turned away.
Or rather, she tried to leave.
But a hand caught her wrist and stopped her from moving any farther.
It was a hand that exerted almost no force at all.
And yet it was enough to hold Lee Hyun in place.
“...Why?”
When she turned her head, eyes full of reluctance met hers.
“Um...”
It was the first time she had ever heard his voice.
“Could we talk for a moment...?”
She was naturally going to refuse, but her mouth had already opened on its own.
“...All right.”
Lee Hyun felt confused by the sensation that her body and mind were no longer moving in sync.
Still, if it was only for a moment, that should be fine, she thought.
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