Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: A Visit to Little Sister
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A quiet countryside house on the outskirts of Seoul.
Joo Ah-rin visited this place with her heart full of joy mixed with guilt.
It had been about a month, but since it was always in her thoughts, it felt as familiar as if she had come just yesterday.
She entered by punching in the familiar passcode and headed straight up to the second floor, to the room at the very end.
She carefully grasped the doorknob, cracked the door open slightly, and quietly peered inside.
There, she saw a little girl who looked much smaller than her peers.
Her face was so pale it bordered on ghostly, a thorn that pricked painfully at Ah-rin's heart, but even so, her doll-like delicate beauty shone especially bright today.
Large eyes and a perky nose.
Her hair, black as thoroughly burned charcoal, looked strikingly similar to Ah-rin's.
So similar it almost felt like looking at her own childhood self.
Was it because of that?
Ah-rin gazed at her for a long while with eyes brimming with affection.
The girl was sitting on the edge of the bed, drawing something.
"Ao."
But it didn't seem to be going as planned.
She puffed out her cheeks, scratched lines roughly, then erased them vigorously with the eraser.
Unable to hold back, Ah-rin let out a 'pfft' of laughter at how unbearably cute she was.
The girl's head whipped around.
Recognizing who it was, she broke into a huge grin and came running over.
"Sis."
"Be careful. You might get hurt."
Despite her scolding tone, Ah-rin hugged her tightly and buried her nose in the girl's hair.
The familiar scent, the little wriggles in her arms—Ah-rin felt a wave of relief, all her recent hardships forgotten because of her sister, Joo Seol-hwa.
The one light and purpose in her otherwise bleak life. The precious sibling she had to protect.
"Did you behave yourself, Seol-hwa?"
"Yeah. I took my meds on time, went to bed early, everything."
Seol-hwa answered spiritedly and burrowed deeper into her sister's embrace.
Ah-rin hugged her even tighter.
The sisters stayed like that for a while, feeling each other's warmth without parting.
How long had they huddled together like that?
Feeling like she wouldn't get anything done if they stayed this way, Ah-rin spoke first.
"Were you drawing?"
"Oh, yeah. I have something to show you, sis. Come here!"
Seol-hwa seemed to remember something suddenly and tugged Ah-rin's hand eagerly.
She led her to the bed and showed her a photo of the drawing she had been using herself as a model for, continuing.
"Isn't it really good? They say it's trending big right now."
"Yeah?"
Ah-rin took the photo with faint anticipation.
If this child, blessed with innate artistic talent, was this excited, it couldn't be just any ordinary piece.
And sure enough.
"Hmm."
The moment she saw it, a sharp thrill shot through her—it was that good.
A black-and-white sketch of a lone girl tilting her head up to gaze straight ahead, but somehow...
It was all the more provocative for it.
Eyes brimming with a strange allure that contrasted her shy posture, ambiguous lips that seemed both upturned and downturned—it was like beholding a sketch from a masterpiece.
As Ah-rin fell silent for a long moment, Seol-hwa, who had been beaming, spoke up.
"It's from Aeri unni's gallery."
"Trinity?"
"Yeah. Some rookie artist named D.H., but they signed with Trinity right at debut. Pretty amazing, right?"
"Yeah. Not quite up to our Seol-hwa's level, though."
Ah-rin stroked her hair, and Seol-hwa ducked her head shyly.
Then, fidgeting with her fingers as if she had something to say, she broached the topic.
"So, um... can I go see that painting in person?"
"Yeah?"
For an instant, Ah-rin felt a stab of pain in her chest, like thorns sprouting there.
But she quickly composed herself and gently admonished her.
"Seol-hwa, you know you can't leave this room. Without the magic circle's effect, your body still..."
"It's just for a bit. I really want to see it with my own eyes."
Seol-hwa shrugged her shoulders and pouted, but Ah-rin shook her head firmly.
Seol-hwa's incurable disease.
This stubborn illness that clogged her meridians throughout her body had reached this stage of treatment only by a miracle, so she couldn't afford any reckless moves.
The only way out was to borrow the family's power, but that wasn't easy.
For the two sisters, who were disliked because their mother had abandoned them and vanished, making any demands was next to impossible.
"Tch—"
But Seol-hwa's eyes quickly reddened.
She was mature beyond her years compared to her peers, but she was still a child.
Too young to fully accept being different from others, her true feelings slipped out now and then.
"Seol-hwa."
Ah-rin didn't let it show and slowly stroked her hair again.
"I'll make sure to get that artist's autograph for you instead."
"Really?"
"She's with Trinity, right? I can manage a request like that. So just hang in there a little longer, okay?"
I'll do my best.
I'll work hard and take you out for sure...
She didn't voice the rest, but Seol-hwa smiled sweetly. Ah-rin smiled back at her.
Even though they were trapped in this tiny room, seeing each other only a few times a year—an anguish unimaginable to ordinary people—at least they could smile together, and that was a relief.
"Shall we have some spaghetti?"
"...Huh?"
"I'll whip it up quick."
"N-No, sis, you're busy..."
Seol-hwa couldn't hide her bewilderment, but Ah-rin suppressed her chest full of heartfelt joy and headed to the kitchen.
Cooking was no big deal. Chop, toss in, boil, done.
It was just as Ah-rin was confidently rolling up her sleeves.
Her phone on the dining table buzzed with an incoming text.
[Hey, I'm heading out sword shopping right now with the unparalleled swordsman Park Ha-yul. I'll fill you in on the review later, so look forward to it.]
* * *
At the same time, in Jongno, Seoul.
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had been puzzling over why Park Ha-yul was so confident, finally figured it out.
"But what makes you think you know swords so well?"
"Just... something special? I judge based on what I've read."
Tch. Knew it.
Probably read some book blabbing about great swords or whatever and was strutting around like that...
It was absurd, but not incomprehensible.
Everyone acknowledged Park Ha-yul was smart.
Top of the aptitude evaluations, the brain of Class A whom even Professor Cha Myung-hwan doted on endlessly.
But Cheon Seo-yoon declared confidently.
No way could you understand swords just from reading books.
It was mere arrogance from someone who had never properly swung one.
She had swung hers tens of thousands—maybe even hundreds of thousands—of times, and the king of all weapons couldn't be defined by mere printed words.
"The more I think about it, the madder I get."
This assumption triggered a severe rejection reaction in Seo-yoon, who was inherently skeptical of theory.
So she thought it was for the best.
Maybe this time she'd finally see that smug face twist in embarrassment.
Stopping in front of Jongno's most famous armament shop, Seo-yoon grinned at Ha-yul.
"Wanna bet before we go in? Whose pick is better."
"Bet?"
"Yeah. You so confident? Let's bet then. Loser buys dinner, cool?"
"Nah, no need to go that far."
"Chicken?"
Seo-yoon twisted her lips in a taunt toward Ha-yul.
Only then did Ha-yul chuckle softly and reluctantly agree.
"Fine, whatever."
"I'm gonna go for something crazy expensive, so don't freak out."
Seo-yoon, convinced of victory, entered the shop.
After passing through the luxurious lobby, the owner—a man with a somewhat sharp demeanor—bowed his head in greeting.
"Welcome. Tell me the type of armament you're looking for and your price range, and I'll guide you."
"Well..."
Seo-yoon scratched the bridge of her nose awkwardly and explained the conditions for the weapon she wanted.
Around 150 cm in length, price about 20 million won.
A whopping 30% of her available funds, but her quieter voice was because it was cheap for an armament.
The best she could hope for was standard low-grade.
"Hmm. At that price range, hard to recommend specifics—you'll have to pick yourself. Follow me."
The owner's attitude grew more perfunctory as he led the way.
Past the main display racks, deeper and deeper inside, to a somewhat plain and spacious room.
A warehouse-like space with hundreds of swords stuck here and there.
"Scan the barcode on the armament, and it'll show the details. Once you pick..."
The owner droned on in a dry tone.
He explained only the bare essentials and turned to leave briskly.
"Excuse me."
Park Ha-yul, who had followed silently, grabbed him.
"Yes?"
"Everything here is 20 million, right?"
"Yep. They're all about the same, so uniform pricing."
"For real?"
"...Yes."
"Even if I find something good, price stays the same?"
As the same questions kept coming, the owner finally raised his voice.
"Look, customer. Seems like you're hoping for some miracle find, but it won't happen. We've double- and triple-checked already. Just spend more money. Then..."
"Yeah, yeah, got it. Haha."
Unable to stand it, Seo-yoon stepped in with an awkward laugh.
Once the grumbling owner left, she poked Ha-yul in the side.
"Ow, hey."
"What?"
"If you don't know, just stay quiet. Gotta act nice to haggle even a bit."
Seo-yoon suspected the guy was doing it on purpose.
"Uniform price, remember? Nothing to haggle. Hurry up and pick so we can go."
Ha-yul scanned the surroundings with an indifferent expression.
Then he started gripping just the hilts, like shaking hands, and moving along swiftly.
"Ugh, seriously."
Seo-yoon clutched her head with a deep sigh.
Realizing it was her problem anyway, she slapped her cheeks.
Focus—
She chanted to herself and approached a nearby display.
She swept her eagle eyes over them, pulled out one with an appealing design, and swung it lightly.
Listened to the sound cutting through the air, checked reverse grip since it felt okay.
Pulled out tissue she'd brought and inspected the blade.
"Not bad at all."
After meticulously checking, Seo-yoon set it aside separately.
Planning to pick a few more for comparison later...
"You're lucky. Buy this one. Best here."
...But in that instant, Ha-yul's voice rang out.
About five minutes had passed.
In his hand was a weathered long sword.