An Unexpected Encounter
The place Dokgo Rin led me to after suggesting we look around was a massive pond tucked away in the corner of the courtyard. The artificially crafted waters teemed with colorful carp, some of them so enormous they were nearly as thick as an adult’s forearm. The sight was impressive, but also slightly grotesque.
“Wow, what on earth are they feeding these things to make them grow so big?” I marveled, leaning over the edge. Dokgo Rin, standing beside me and watching the fish, answered in her usual calm tone.
“Even without a special occasion like a sixtieth birthday banquet, the Murim Alliance leader’s estate sees plenty of visitors. They probably feed the carp as they come and go.”
She pointed to a feeding basket installed along the railing. It seemed anyone who visited could help themselves.
“Should we give them some too?”
“Sure.”
Dokgo Rin accepted my suggestion, walked over to the basket, and picked up the long ladle inside. She scooped up a generous portion and scattered it across the pond.
Splash!
“Oh.”
The carp began drifting toward the food, gathering in a slow, swirling mass. We stood there in silence, mesmerized by the way their large mouths opened and closed. Then a voice called out from behind us.
“Um…”
“What is it?” Dokgo Rin’s innocent expression vanished instantly, replaced by a guarded, icy stare. The boy our age who had spoken jumped back, waving both hands frantically.
“Ah, I’m not a suspicious person!”
He retreated several steps, then offered a proper fist-and-palm salute.
“I am Cheongsong, third-generation disciple of the Huashan Sect. If it isn’t too forward, may I ask the young lady’s name?”
Dokgo Rin let out a tiny sigh and placed a hand on her hip.
“You’re already being forward.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m enjoying a nice moment with my dear one. Stop interrupting and go away.”
She waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly. Cheongsong looked back and forth between us, completely flustered. Even though I felt a pang of sympathy for the boy—who clearly thought he’d been wounded—I knew nothing would soften Dokgo Rin’s frosty demeanor. I deliberately ignored his gaze and stared back into the pond.
“S-sorry for disturbing your time together…”
In the end, Cheongsong shuffled away with slumped shoulders. Dokgo Rin gave a haughty snort, then immediately turned to me with a bright, sunny smile as if nothing had happened.
“Chilbok, did I do well?”
I offered a wry smile at her terrifyingly swift change in attitude.
“You don’t have to be that cold, do you?”
She shook her index finger with a tsk tsk, looking at me like I didn’t understand the world.
“You have to reject these things firmly from the start. If you leave even the slightest opening, they’ll come back.”
She wasn’t entirely wrong, so I decided to let it slide.
After that, more boys enchanted by Dokgo Rin’s beauty kept approaching us while we watched the carp. Each time, she shut them down with an impenetrable wall of ice. A few even tried picking fights with me, thinking I looked like an easy target. Those fools were instantly subdued by Dokgo Rin and subjected to such vicious, bone-chilling insults that I couldn’t even repeat them. They’d probably carry the trauma for the rest of their lives.
Anyway, we’d seen enough of the carp. We decided to move on to the pavilion that had caught my eye earlier.
“Wow, it’s actually pretty high up.”
After climbing the stairs to the second floor, the view opened up completely. Unlike the cramped feeling I’d had earlier when buildings hemmed us in on all sides, the wide-open scenery made my chest feel refreshingly clear.
“From here, we can see the entire courtyard where the birthday banquet is being held.”
Dokgo Rin leaned against the railing and pointed toward the area we’d just left. I spotted Sister Gyeong-a fidgeting anxiously while Dokgo Seok tried to calm her down. The sight made me smile bitterly.
“I probably should have at least told them where we were going.”
“This much of a detour is fine,” Dokgo Rin declared, puffing out her chest with shameless confidence. She was still growing, so her chest remained almost completely flat. It was almost sad.
Since we’d enjoyed the scenery, it was probably time to head back. I was about to call her name when—
“Wow! You can come up here too!”
A bright, energetic voice rang out from behind us. I turned to see a blonde girl climbing the stairs.
“Huh.”
I recognized her. She was Namgung Ruby, the young genius of the Namgung Clan I’d seen earlier with Dokgo Seok.
She looked around the pavilion with sparkling curiosity, then noticed us and clasped her hands together in apology.
“Sorry! Was I too loud?”
“Ah, no, it’s fine.”
Her energy was on another level. I shook my head quickly, but she suddenly lit up and strode straight toward me. I stepped back in surprise, yet she closed the distance just as fast. Dokgo Rin, who had been looking down at the courtyard, finally sensed the newcomer and began to turn—only for Ruby to grab my hand first.
“Amazing!”
“Huh?”
“I’ve never seen another mixed-blood person before!”
Her eyes were a vivid ruby red, exactly like a rabbit’s. It suddenly made perfect sense why her parents had named her Ruby. They held a jewel-like brilliance that seemed to pull you in if you stared too long.
Her gaze locked onto my white hair.
“Are your parents foreigners too?”
“…If we’re being technical, I suppose so?”
Elder Baekhyeon had said my mother carried Goryeo blood.
“Wow! We’re the same!”
She leaned in even closer, her enthusiasm becoming overwhelming.
“First, let’s talk after you let go of my hand.”
Her intensity was hard for a normal person to keep up with. I was trying to pull free when—
Like the talons of a hawk striking at prey, Dokgo Rin’s right hand shot forward with terrifying speed.
“……!”
Namgung Ruby dodged the surprise attack by the narrowest margin, eyes wide.
“Who are you?”
The fact that Ruby was still holding my hand clearly irritated Dokgo Rin, who answered with a deadly serious expression.
“That’s what I should be asking.”
“If you want to fight, I won’t back down. But this isn’t a good place for it, is it?”
Ruby suddenly turned to me for agreement.
“Uh? Uhh…”
I nodded without thinking. Ruby immediately told Dokgo Rin, “He agrees too!”
But the way she casually spoke to me seemed to hit a nerve. Dokgo Rin’s face twisted with anger.
“Get away from Chilbok right now!”
Her right hand lashed out again, this time with even sharper, faster movements.
Namgung Ruby’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
She suddenly pulled me into her arms and spun around like a windmill, slipping gracefully out of range. Before I knew it, I was wrapped in a hug with a girl I’d just met. While I was still dazed, she yelped, “Ah! Sorry! You got dizzy, right?” and quickly let go.
Dokgo Rin, having missed her attack, regained her composure and muttered coldly.
“That mysterious movement just now… It was the Namgung Clan’s Heavenly Soaring Cloud Steps.”
“Oh! You recognized it!”
Ruby, completely oblivious to the heavy atmosphere, beamed with a sunny smile. I looked back and forth between the two girls—one cold and intense, the other bright and clueless—then steeled myself.
“Wait a moment!”
Both girls turned their burning gazes toward me at the same time.
“It looks like there’s been some kind of misunderstanding. How about we settle this peacefully through conversation?”
Dokgo Rin sighed softly.
“Chilbok, in the Murim world, once blades are drawn, it’s not easy to stop the fight no matter the reason.”
Namgung Ruby raised both hands above her head.
“Huh? I’m totally fine with talking it out?”
“……”
Dokgo Rin shot Ruby a glare that clearly said she thought the girl was hopeless at reading the room. But since the other party had no interest in fighting, Dokgo Rin reluctantly nodded with another small sigh.
“Fine. Then let’s resolve it through conversation like you said.”
By now Ruby had moved closer. She asked with an amused grin.
“So your name is Chilbok?”
“…Yeah. What about it?”
“Pfft! Don’t you get told a lot that it sounds old-fashioned?”
Look who’s talking. I muttered inwardly, giving the seemingly screw-loose Namgung Ruby a thoroughly sour look.