Chapter 262
Chapter 262
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Year-End Festival (3)
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“Aren't you going too far? Running away at the sight of the student in charge?”
“……”
“I said it again, but we're not loners. We're just the ones ditching everyone else.”
Ah, I suppose so.
“Shut up. Where are the others?”
“So-hye said she was meeting friends and went off alone.”
“That lively girl who seems full of energy will be just fine on her own.”
I wouldn't want to hang around with these lanky idiots and get treated like a total outcast either.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just...”
Out of pity.
As I teased Jegal Tan while walking, Yeo Mae-hong let out an “Eh?” of surprise.
“It's Moyong the student.”
“Oh, yeah it is.”
But.
Why is she alone?
I'd figured a girl whose friendliness was practically alive and breathing would be swarming with friends.
Surprisingly, Moyong So-hye was standing in the middle of the bustling market, her eyes brimming with tears like a kid who'd lost her mom.
“Moyong, student, what happened?”
Yeo Mae-hong asked kindly, and Moyong So-hye burst into a loud wail.
“All my friends ran away!”
“Wha, your friends?”
“I waved and went up to them, but they all turned and bolted.”
“Ah, I see.”
Chu Un-hwi, who'd been listening, crossed his arms and scratched his chin.
“Maybe they got scared off by the thick stench of blood around you.”
“Instructor! It's because of you!”
“It's true I've spread some nasty rumors about you lately, but smoke doesn't rise from a chimney without a fire.”
He wagged his index finger side to side, chiding her.
“Asura Blood Book. The jianghu is a lonely place.”
“Who're you calling Asura Blood whaaat?!”
“Cry it out. When those tears dry up, you'll be a true warrior.”
“Waaah, Instructor, you dummy! You jerk!”
“Why are you so mean?”
Smack. Smack.
Moyong So-hye swung her tiny fists wildly in front of him, while Yeo Mae-hong relentlessly jabbed his side with her elbow.
For the record, it hurt quite a bit.
On the other hand, there was one unexpected case.
“Don't follow me. I'm busy.”
Baek Ri-seol brushed back her hair and lifted her chin haughtily, but a horde of female students trailed behind her.
“Unnie, just for a bit?”
“It'll only take a moment.”
“Watch the fireworks with us.”
She turned to the girls pleading with sparkling eyes, stopped abruptly, and swept her fallen hair behind her ear.
“Didn't I say I have prior plans?”
The female students' lips curved into goofy grins at her aloof demeanor.
“What the heck is going on?”
Chu Un-hwi couldn't find words for the scene unfolding before him.
“How is that girl...”
“She seems pretty popular.”
Yeo Mae-hong poked her own cheek with her finger at Jegal Tan and Nangong Yun-ho's flustered voices.
“Come to think of it... She's so cool and skilled, but she has this oddly caring side, so a lot of students admire her.”
“……”
My kid's changed.
He turned to look down at Moyong So-hye's head.
“You. Do you have even fewer friends than Baek Ri-seol?”
“...Ugh.”
“Isn't there something wrong with you as a human being?”
“Waaah!”
Moyong So-hye burst into tears again.
It was a cry full of grievance.
How did it come to this?
Chu Un-hwi ground his molars as he glanced at the ducklings trailing him.
At this rate, my plan to patrol and scout for the bride is toast.
As he pondered shaking them off, Baek Ri-seol tugged his sleeve.
“Instructor. Instructor.”
“What?”
“There's goldfish scooping.”
“Oh. So there is.”
Among the games set up by the students and instructors was one where you scooped goldfish from a small tank.
It was popular; several students wielded crude nets, giggling away.
“Let's try it too.”
“Tsk tsk. Ri-seol, you don't get it. A master angler doesn't touch toys like that.”
Didn't you hear?
“Fishing is war!”
She pushed up her upper lip with her finger and taunted him as he declared it forcefully.
“They say a true master isn't picky about tools.”
“...What?”
“You're not backing out because you suck, right?”
He barreled through the students enjoying their games and monopolized the tank.
“Here! Money! How much!?”
“Do, Dongcheon Mad Dog!”
The shoved students paled and scattered.
Some grumbled, but it fell on deaf ears for Chu Un-hwi, already baited by the taunt.
“I can tolerate insults to me.”
But.
“Disrespect fishing? Never!”
Time to show the skills of a swamp master angler.
The result was a total failure.
“You blew ten silvers and didn't catch a single one. Even kids would've nabbed some.”
“Such a waste. For that money, you could've bought dozens of fish.”
“If Instructor Yeo Mae-hong hadn't scooped them all at once, we'd have gone home empty-handed.”
“That looked like a real master angler.”
“……”
Feeling utterly depressed, he pouted as someone patted his shoulder.
“It's okay. Everyone has off days.”
“Don't smile so kindly at me.”
It only made him feel worse.
Time to focus on patrolling and finding the bride.
“Instructor. Instructor.”
“All games are no-gos. I won't play along with your pranks.”
“There's turtle racing over there.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“The grand prize is special fishing bait.”
Sure enough, one of the prizes was labeled “Northern Sea Earthworms.”
“Can't miss that!”
He charged through the students again.
Every game Baek Ri-seol lured him into ended without a prize.
The dagger toss started strong, hitting dead center on the first try.
“Scatter! It's a senior instructor!”
Hitting the target was fine, but the dagger infused with rage pierced right through and flew at a passing senior instructor.
Instead of prizes, he spent ages fleeing from the bellowing senior.
It was a complete disaster from start to finish.
“Haaa...”
Exhausted.
“Hehe. This is fun.”
Meanwhile, Baek Ri-seol, licking her ice treat beside him, looked thoroughly enjoying herself.
I fell for it.
Regretting how he reacted to her prodding his pride, he fiddled with the silver hairpin in his pocket.
When can I give her this gift?
Screw the patrol—maybe slip away and find the bride first?
As he mulled it over.
Piiik! Piiik!
Trumpet blasts mixed with drumbeats echoed.
“Oh my. Time flew. Shall we head to the main training grounds?”
Fireworks time had arrived before he knew it.
“Ah...”
Distracted by the chaos, he hadn't noticed the time passing.
If today ends, who knows when I'll see the bride again.
As he swallowed his tears, Baek Ri-seol grabbed his arm and pulled.
“Come on. We need good seats.”
“It's so popular, go late and you'll be watching from afar.”
He trailed behind with the gait of an ox trudging to slaughter.
Hm?
A familiar presence pinged his senses.
Turning, he spotted someone peeking from the crowd far off.
The bride.
Jin Seol-hyang. It was her.
“Gotta step away for a sec.”
“Where are you going?”
Others tried to follow, but he couldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance.
“Just... something.”
He bolted into the crowd, ignoring the calls of “Instructor!” behind him.
***
“Fireworks already?”
Jin Seol-hyang murmured wistfully, watching people head to the main training grounds.
“Lucky. I wanted to watch too.”
She wished she could laugh and chatter with others under the spectacular display, but she gave up quickly.
A bit lonely, sure, but she couldn't throw a tantrum.
Spending's been too high this year.
She'd scrimped, but without odd jobs here and there, her livelihood hung by a thread.
“It's fine. Doesn't bother me at all.”
She'd vowed it after losing her mother on the snowy peaks of the North Sea, left alone.
No more relying on the world's kindness.
Yet, beneath her resolute face, a flicker of loneliness crept in—perhaps because she was only human.
As she tried to force her reluctant feet to move.
Piiik! Piiik!
Dum dum dum dum!
Trumpets and drums swelled amid the growing buzz.
Just a quick peek?
The year-end fireworks signaling the sun's farewell.
A moment couldn't hurt.
She clasped her hands, awaiting the first bursts, when—
“Jin Seol-hyang?”
Her name jolted her like a shock.
This voice.
The one who always appeared by chance when she was worn out, offering warm words.
Turning, she saw him peering through barren garden branches.
“Chu... Instructor.”
Stunned by the unexpected encounter.
“It's really you, Jin Seol-hyang.”
Her heart fluttered unwittingly.
***
Good. Not too late.
He scanned around quickly and approached her cautiously.
“What brings you here alone?”
“Oh, uh, well.”
She hid her hands behind her back, looking nothing like someone enjoying the festival.
Her apron stained with food.
Sleeves rolled up to her shoulders.
She must've come from work.
Come to think of it, she'd said before:
—I've always been alone. I do whatever jobs I can to attend the academy.
Having lost her only family, spending her days solo.
Even on a day like this, she has to work?
Maybe her life, unfiltered by nostalgic rose tints, was harsher than he'd imagined.
It's okay now.
Because I'm here.
“You've worked hard. Even on a day like this.”
“N-no, it's not like I have to. I just like the work.”
Her fumbling words and flailing limbs were utterly endearing.
“Haha. I see. Same here. I'm on patrol even today.”
“Ah.”
“Living diligently is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“...Thank you. Honestly, I didn't want anyone seeing me like this.”
Jin Seol-hyang mumbled shyly.
“Lucky timing. I have something for you.”
“For me?”
She pulled out a worn pouch and fished something from it.
“This is...”
A hand-woven silk cord with a tiny gold ornament attached.
“I saw you'd changed swords.”
Now he understood why she'd work even today.
It was handmade, but the silk cord and gold fit for a sword were clearly expensive.
“I'm always grateful. For saving my life, for always giving me advice.”
Can such an adorable creature exist?
p>Overwhelmed with emotion, Chu Un-hwi couldn't hold back his surging feelings.
“It's modest, but... will you accept it?”
“It's not modest at all.”
Far from it—the greatest treasure.
One worthy of the deepest imperial vaults, where even thieves would lose sleep fearing theft.
“Not modest in the slightest.”
Jin Seol-hyang's face lit up.
Without thinking, he seized her hand and nodded vigorously.
“Really. A gift like no other in the world.”