Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Fudehara Shizune (2)
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"What kind of test is it?"
Ren, seated in her chair, asked the question.
"Heh heh. It's simple. Try writing these Hanja characters. Any style is fine. Just write them as if they represent who you are."
These were the Hanja characters posted on the wall.
"Today's theme is 'Endurance.' Infuse it with your own personality and write freely."
Endurance, huh...
It was a word that strangely encapsulated her circumstances.
She was holding down the fort all by herself in the calligraphy club, and her family life wasn't exactly smooth sailing either. Of course, it wasn't as shattered as Ren's situation with her abusive father or Harumi's complete trainwreck of a family, but she still lived under considerable pressure.
Things like "What does a girl need with calligraphy?" or "How do you expect to make a living doing calligraphy in this day and age?"—those were the kinds of remarks she heard every single day. Her family had produced several renowned calligraphers, but they didn't approve of women taking it up. And lately, with calligraphy losing its place in the world, it had gotten even worse.
I might not remember the fine details, but I had this much background info.
Swoosh— swish—
The only sounds in the calligraphy club room were the brushes gliding over the rice paper.
I could see everyone sinking into their own little worlds.
Hm.
How long had it been since I'd spent time this quietly? Calligraphy seems like a pretty decent activity.
Whether it's regular sports or mind sports, anything with a competitive element inevitably leads to clashes, like it or not. But calligraphy is more like an art of self-contemplation—gazing inward, expressing it outwardly, and honing yourself. No reason to butt heads with anyone.
Meaning no worries about Harumi and Saki falling out.
Ren picked up her brush first. Straight, neat strokes, no frills. Just like her personality, every line exuded elegance.
Next was Saki. She hesitated for a moment after gripping the brush, then swung it boldly. The tip danced wildly, thick and thin lines fluctuating. It captured her vivacious energy perfectly, but the slightly crooked strokes revealed her occasional bursts of honest emotion.
Last came Harumi.
This little lady grabbed the brush with her usual haughty chin-up pose. But maybe because it was her first time, her tiny hand trembled, making the characters especially cute and wiggly. If anything, hers looked the least impressive out of the four of us.
Yet it was Harumi's writing that caught Shizune's eye.
"This can't be..."
"Heh?"
"You."
Shizune stood behind Harumi, completely entranced.
"Y-You... truly grasp the essence of 'Endurance'... H-How?"
"Ueng...? What're you talking about, sis?"
Harumi tilted her head repeatedly in confusion.
"Well... The Great Learning states: 'Investigate things to extend knowledge, make the will sincere, rectify the mind.' Writing is the heart, and each stroke is a trace of the self. This 'Endurance' from your tiny hand—how does such profound suffering flow from it?"
...Is this woman a psychic or something?
Shizune was one of those in-game characters with scant info available, but now it seemed like she had some kind of ESP, reading Harumi's past just from her handwriting. I'd heard that Go masters can tell a person's life story from their playing style alone. Was it like that?
Shizune kept staring at Harumi's characters as she continued.
"As Mencius said: 'When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a person, it first tests their resolve with suffering, toils their sinews and bones...' It vexes the mind and exhausts the body. The tremble in this brush tip isn't mere clumsiness. It's the shape of endurance and pain forced by the world. But that's not all. There's gentleness at the end of the strokes, as if those wounds are healing, hardening into strength..."
Harumi lifted her chin defiantly, but her eyes quivered.
"I-It wasn't that great or anything... Heh."
Even as she denied it, her mouth split into a grin, and she wriggled over, clinging to me.
"It hurts here... right here..."
She tapped her own head with her finger, pointing it out. Basically, she'd just been praised, so pet her now. I chuckled and stroked her little head.
Pet pet.
"Uuheun...♥"
It was the kind of scene that might make Saki and Ren jealous, but they were just as stunned by Shizune's insight as I was, so they didn't say a word. Makes sense—they didn't know about Shizune's mystique like I did, even vaguely. Reading a person's past from handwriting must've blown their minds.
"Confucius said: 'Observe what they see, watch what they follow, examine where they rest—thus one discerns the person.' Your writing may be cute and wavy, but it hides an unyielding spirit. A will that bends but never breaks. A living Four Gentlemen... You are like bamboo, child."
I had no clue what those classical allusions meant exactly, but she had definitely pierced right through Harumi's life. With just two characters, Shizune had read the countless years that little body had struggled to bear.
"Whoa...... Amazing.... She could go straight on a historical drama stage, no problem..."
Saki gaped openly in admiration, and even Ren couldn't hide her shock.
And finally, Shizune looked at my handwriting.
"...What is this...?"
What now.
She kept glancing between my "Endurance" and my face, over and over.
A look of utter incomprehension.
"What are you?"
"Pardon? I'm just a Korean exchange student."
Shizune looked utterly bewildered.
"Suffering... suffering... suffering! H-How are you even alive? I heard all Korean men are ex-soldiers who've done their military service. So, did you serve in some elite unit? Got deployed to a war zone or something...?"
I could kinda guess what had her so shocked. I hadn't been deployed anywhere, but I'd spent a year on a superhuman self-imposed regimen of physical and mental torture. Could she see that in my handwriting? Or maybe... even the time I'd brushed death?
But what excuse do I give?
Just play along?
She's Japanese anyway—what's the harm in a Korean guy puffing up some military tales?
"Uh... Yeah, something like that."
I answered nonchalantly, and out of nowhere, Saki and Harumi latched onto my arms.
"W-Woah! Yuu!! So cool! Incredible!!"
"Badass!"
If I'd actually been a deployed soldier, I'd feel proud, but this hit way too close to home. In my old world, I was just your average army sergeant who finished his term...
"...Impressive. So those scars on your body are all...?"
Even Ren blushed a little as she stroked my forearm.
Those are actually from baking bread in bread-making class and getting burned...
Ugh, guilt trip.
Time to change the subject.
"Ahem! So, does that mean we're in?"
"Of course! You all have such distinct personalities. Welcome aboard."
Somehow, the sun was already dipping low. Joining the calligraphy club didn't seem like a bad idea. Harumi, Saki, and Ren were already chatting, sharing their writings. If they kept interacting like this, they'd eventually have that happy love life. They're all just inexperienced for now.
"Now, sorry to cut this short right after joining, but it's about time to clear out the club room."
"Ah! Already this late?"
Ren nodded, noticing the dusk settling in.
At the club president's polite nudge, we all stood up. It felt a bit rushed, but still good. We'd left a strong impression on Shizune, and everyone seemed a little closer now.
"Eh? Already?"
Saki, also a club president herself, questioned if it was too early to close up.
Uncharacteristically, Shizune's cheeks flushed a bit.
"W-Well, I have some personal business."
Personal business?
"Oh, you have somewhere to be."
"Yeah. Even if you've joined, it's not right for the president to ditch the room on new members' first day."
Ren and Saki nodded in understanding right away. It'd be rude to pry into someone's personal errands. But our irrepressible little Harumi's curiosity was another story.
"Where ya going!"
From fiddling with her brush, she must've gotten hooked on writing today and wanted to do more. The president kicking them out probably irked her. At least she didn't go full blunt with her usual attitude.
Shizune gave an awkward smile at Harumi's question before answering.
"I... have tutoring... to go to."
Tutoring...
Tutoring?
"That tutoring—is it from some college student?"
"Hm? How did you know that, Yuu-gong?"
Damn it all.
So the dogshit NTR plot was already in motion after all.