The Taste of Shared Misfortune
"You bastard!! How dare you humiliate me? Look at your hand!!"
Bae Yu-gang, who had been speaking with surprising courtesy, finally roared.
And sure enough, in Jin Rinmu’s hand was the key to the elixir storage box.
W-why is this in my hand...? Don’t tell me I actually did this?
I didn’t want to believe it, but every circumstance pointed at me as the culprit.
"Akchim!! Explain the situation one more time!"
One of the men behind Bae Yu-gang rushed forward.
"Last night, at chuksi—between 1 and 3 a.m.—that bastard broke into the medical hall, subdued me, and stole the key.
He took advantage of the brief window after my master left! If Young Master Jin hadn’t helped me, I’d still be tied to that chair."
"Jin Rinmu!! Did you hear that? I’ll refer you straight to the disciplinary committee. The Jin Family will have to compensate for this loss several times over!!"
But Bae Yu-gang’s words didn’t reach Jin Rinmu.
Only one name kept circling through his head.
Young Master Jin...? Right... After I fought that guy yesterday...!
"T-the culprit is Jin Sojin! It wasn’t me!! I’m innocent!!"
He shouted desperately, but the air only grew colder.
No—by now, the atmosphere was almost icy.
"Jin Rinmu... you’re filthy to the end. Did you think I didn’t know you’d been tormenting Jin Sojin all this time? And yet Jin Sojin still tried to protect you...."
"It’s all right... Master, I’m used to having the blame shoved onto me."
At some point, Jin Sojin had walked out from behind Bae Yu-gang.
"Sojin... are you all right?"
"Master, Jin Rinmu isn’t a true martial artist—he’s nothing more than an immature child. If you could keep that in mind...."
"Chief! I’m really not the one who did this!! Jin Sojin set this whole thing up!!"
He had no evidence, but Jin Rinmu blurted out whatever came to mind.
The result wasn’t good.
"Gah!! You’re still lying through your teeth!! Do you really expect anyone to believe that a first-rate martial artist like you lost to Jin Sojin, who’s only second-rate now??"
"T-that’s... Right! A-arts of evil, yes! Jin Sojin used sorcery! I’m being framed!!"
"You pathetic trash!! I don’t want to hear it! I was going to let this slide for Jin Sojin’s sake, but that’s enough. Take him away! I’ll personally request punishment from the academy lord over this matter!!"
Jin Rinmu’s face went white as paper.
This was real life.
"I-I’m sorry. Chief!! I-I did it! I’m sorry for lying... Please, just once, forgive me!!"
"Shut up! It’s too late!! Akchim! Take Jin Rinmu to the detention hall with the others!"
"Understood, Chief!"
You don’t insult someone’s parents.
What was supposed to be one hit became ten.
"Serves him right. Look at that bastard’s belly. How many elixirs did he stuff in there?"
"He was a total thug anyway. The way he strutted around all this time was so annoying...."
"I knew Jin Rinmu would cause trouble sooner or later."
I’d planted a bit of life experience in Jin Rinmu. He wouldn’t pull this stunt again after today.
A man who teaches even his enemies something useful.
That was me.
The moment I got back to my quarters, I sat on the bed and took out the elixir to eat it.
Glug—
I crossed my legs and slowly guided the elixir’s energy into place.
There was no denying that things had gone my way.
This is one of those times it actually helps.
All thanks to Cheon Sojin’s normally spineless behavior.
Common sense said that a man who’d been getting beaten senseless not long ago couldn’t suddenly become strong overnight.
By comparison, Jin Rinmu already had a rotten reputation.
This was all just karma coming back around on him.
As I moved through the small heavenly circulation, I broke open the meridians throughout my body one by one.
This was an elixir I’d acquired through hard work. At the very least, I needed to open every meridian with it.
*
Tap—
Tap—
I headed toward Jeongdo Academy.
As the dutiful Cheon Sojin, I didn’t need to attend any more classes for no reason. I had another purpose.
Thanks to the results of days spent training without eating or sleeping, my body felt light as air.
Meridians were nothing more than channels, the most basic of the basic, so they took priority over accumulating internal energy....
The corner of my mouth lifted slightly.
Far ahead, on the practice grounds, I saw a familiar face.
I walked up to them and casually raised a hand in greeting.
"Huh? Isn’t that Jin Sojin coming this way?"
"Jin Sojin?"
"You know—the useless young master from the Jin Family. The one everyone’s been talking about lately. I even heard he beat Namgung Jin?"
"Hey, don’t say stuff that’s easy to misunderstand. He didn’t beat him. Namgung Jin just got drunk, fought him, and fell over by himself."
"Really? Well, I guess that makes sense... Namgung Jin’s not the kind of guy who’d lose to him."
"I heard that the other day he even helped capture the great thief Jin Rinmu when the medical hall got robbed?"
"What’s that now? Tell me more."
As I approached, most of them wore curious expressions and chatted among themselves, but
only one person looked like she’d swallowed a mouthful of filth.
You don’t want to act like you know me?
Then I’d just have to make it worse.
Sometimes this worked better than cursing or hitting someone.
"How’ve you been? Long time no see. It’s really good to see you!!"
I deliberately waved both hands exaggeratedly and flashed a huge smile.
"What? Those two know each other?"
"Are you deaf? They’re engaged."
"I heard they broke off the engagement...."
"And yet Jin Sojin looks way too cheerful for that. Another fake rumor?"
The more brightly I smiled, the closer I drew,
the darker her face grew.
A beautiful woman with pink hair that fell to the nape of her neck glared at me.
Her face stood out all the more for being so unlike her colorful, flashy training robes.
"Hng... you... why are you here?"
She folded her arms beneath her chest, which looked ready to burst, and glared up at me.
My former fiancée, Guyang Jihee.
"That hurts. I’m a student here too, so what’s weird about me being here?"
"That’s not what I mean! I’m asking why you showed up in front of me!"
Jihee snapped back irritably, and soon someone emerged from behind her.
"Miss Guyang, what’s going on? Ah... could this be?"
A tall, broad-shouldered man with sharp features stepped up beside Jihee, high enough that our eyes could meet.
He was handsome enough, though nowhere near Cheon Sojin’s level.
On top of that, he was a skilled martial artist...
What an annoying bastard.
He was Wei Shiyun, the son of the Martial Alliance Leader.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am...."
"He’s nothing. Ignore him. He’s not worth mentioning."
Hiss... this wasn’t good.
Could she really cut me off like that?
That alone told me she was already looking down on me.
I hadn’t even done anything yet, but she was sweeping me from head to toe with eyes full of contempt.
He must’ve had a hard time.
Still, don’t worry.
I was an expert at this sort of thing.
"......"
"He’s only my former fiancé, as arranged by the family. Now that we’ve broken off the engagement, he and I have nothing to do with each other. Honestly, he’s been such a pain all this time...."
From the way things looked, she’d either finished her engagement with Wei Shiyun or was in the middle of something like it.
"......"
When I just stood there in silence, Jihee went on, pouring out her words like muddy water.
"He’s so stupid that he even got stripped of the Jin Family heir position, you know? Pathetic, really.... I was embarrassed for him, honestly."
I didn’t know exactly what Cheon Sojin had done to deserve it, but every single word she said carried naked loathing and contempt for me.
This was the sort of occasion where she could spout something provocative in front of everyone and put me down.
"He always just grinned like an idiot. What is he, an animal? He’s got no backbone as a man... anyway, I just don’t like him."
"......"
Wei Shiyun laughed heartily and slipped into our conversation.
"Hahaha! Miss Guyang, no matter what, we are still fellow students. Please calm yourself."
"B-but this person is... ."
"Just getting involved with someone like him lowers your standing, Miss."
Wei Shiyun looked down at me and smiled thinly.
Inside, I was practically cheering.
There it was. If the son of the Martial Alliance Leader also had a perfect personality, that would’ve been absurd.
Right now he might be strutting around as the academy’s number two, but once the demonic factions and Blood Sect began to run wild, he would die pretty quickly. He was the kind of guy who ended up with far less information than you’d expect.
"Hmph... I suppose so. Once we graduate, I’ll have no reason to see him again anyway. If you understand, don’t come any closer to me. You’re annoying."
The moment she turned away coldly, I seized it.
With a deliberately wounded look, I raised my voice.
"Miss Jihee, that’s terribly heartless...."
"...Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
Sure enough, Guyang Jihee, who had been about to disappear into the crowd, stopped in her tracks.
"Are you afraid I might reveal that secret? Don’t worry, Miss Guyang. I’m a man who knows how to keep my mouth shut."
"W-what are you talking about? What kind of insane nonsense is that!!"
"Even if you’ve had countless men around you in the past... I don’t mind at all. I’ve loved only you."
The second I finished speaking, the place began to buzz.
Even Wei Shiyun’s eyes, which had been fixed on Jihee, shifted slightly.
"Miss, what does he mean by that?"
"No, this lunatic is just spouting nonsense!!!"
Rumors.
Rumors always swelled out of proportion.
Whether they began as good rumors or bad ones.
Especially when the subject was something as juicy as the son of the Jin Family, the heir of the Martial Alliance, and the daughter of the Guyang Family.
"It’s pink hair, so scientifically speaking, yeah."
"Now that you mention it, she was engaged to Jin Sojin for a long time."
"Did you see how Jin Sojin couldn’t say a word when Jihee was talking? He must’ve been getting crushed under her thumb for ages...."
"Yeah, breaking off the engagement at this point does seem weird."
"Jin Sojin might be useless, but he used to follow Jihee around all the time... so that’s what was going on."
Before long, every gaze in the area was fixed on Guyang Jihee alone.
There’s an old saying that even beans should be shared.
I was more than willing to share a little misfortune with my former fiancée.
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