The Dance of the Cleansing Soul
Seonghwa Ru's third-floor VIP room, in another chamber. Madam Ye Hyang, even more restless than before, bowed her head deeply.
"Bangju-nim, it's been a while."
"I've been busy. I heard Yusun is ill."
"Yes, she's in a lot of pain."
"That bad? What did the physician say?"
Ye Hyang knew that Mu Yun was learning dance from Yusun. She also knew he was completely unaware of what had happened to Yusun a few days ago. It wasn't her place to gossip, nor did she want to. Yusun, whom she'd treated like a little sister, wouldn't want that either.
But she had to tell him the diagnosis now.
"The physician called it a damjeokgoe—a gallbladder mass. Liver cancer."
Mu Yun's eyes widened in shock. It was such a dire illness that he immediately pressed for details.
"How far has it progressed?"
"Everyone says it's not easy."
Mu Yun went blank for a moment, a self-reproachful sigh escaping his lips.
I should have checked her myself.
Thanks to his superhuman senses, he was better at diagnosing illnesses than most physicians. But while learning dance, he'd deliberately restrained his senses toward her. It hadn't felt right to probe the body of a woman so intimately.
By the time external symptoms of damjeokgoe appeared, it was usually too late. Of course, even if he'd known a few months ago, it might not have been curable—but it would have been better than now.
The wave of regret was unavoidable. She had been like a teacher to him in dance, practically his master.
He had to ask if there was anything he could do.
"I want to see her."
Ye Hyang's eyes flickered with unease.
"Well, you see..."
"I'll go to her. Where is she?"
Ye Hyang knew there was no hiding it.
"In that room over there."
"...?"
In the room Ye Hyang had pointed to.
"This is truly outrageous."
Yusun's cold voice carried an involuntary edge of fury. The money pouch tossed carelessly onto the floor left her no choice but to react that way. Rage boiled like molten lava from the unbearable humiliation, but even her outburst had been calculated—the man before her was dangerous.
A thrill of excitement and wicked delight curled at Ha Hu Tae's lips.
"That's three nyang of gold pieces—fifty nyang in silver. I heard you're ill, so you need the money, right?"
"Even so, to strip and dance?"
"I'm leaving tomorrow. I wanted to hold you tonight, but since you're sick, I backed off. I've made this concession—don't you think you should do something in return?"
Yusun proposed a compromise.
"I'll manage one song somehow. But with my clothes on."
Ha Hu Tae had suggested it for a reason.
"Ho! Discriminating now, are we?"
"Why say such things? How could I..."
"I heard you stripped for someone else."
Yusun froze in stunned disbelief, her words catching in her throat. Her heart plummeted, her body trembling uncontrollably.
No way!
A memory from a year ago flashed through her mind. Ha Hu Tae's sinister smile confirmed it.
"My brother bragged about it at a drinking party. He said he had no idea a naked dance could be so beautiful. He went on about it for ages."
"..."
Ha Hu Tae unleashed his true madness, a feral killing intent.
"You did it for the first brother, but not for the second? Is that what you're saying? Especially when I've already untied those ribbons before."
"...!"
Yusun's lips quivered, nausea rising, unable to close her mouth for a long while. Even Jin Gye-chan, the young master of Seungmunjang, who had been chuckling beside them, paled.
Damn it!
He'd tried to curry favor at the farewell party, only to end up in a spine-chilling mess. The "first brother" was undoubtedly the young master Ha Hu Cheon-gi. If he found out they'd all toyed with a woman he'd had alone...
But Ha Hu Tae wielded comparable power. No—in Chimju, everyone knew that with full backing from the Seomun family, he was the frontrunner.
There was a famous saying from the southern coastal province of Gwangdong: When whales fight, the shrimp's back cracks. He was that shrimp now.
I have to defuse this.
Ha Hu Tae, having drawn his sword with intent, wouldn't back down. After racking his brain, Jin Gye-chan offered what he thought was the best solution.
"Haha! Young master, it's not just you—there are others here. Full nudity might be awkward. How about covering the essentials with thin silk gauze? That'd be more elegant, don't you think?"
Ha Hu Tae's playful smile twisted slightly.
Of course.
To spread rumors, these people weren't enough—he'd planned to open the door. But full nudity meant he couldn't force the dance.
"Fine, I can allow that."
"Haha! With such generosity from you, young master, Yusun will handle the rest... Ahem!"
Yusun exhaled the breath she'd been holding. She knew refusing further would provoke anything from this man. And above all, something she couldn't endure.
I can't let that name come up again.
It was for that someone else. The one she couldn't even name yet, unsure if it would ever see the light of day.
Her voice, cold and sunken, conveyed her pent-up rage. Once this was over, the nausea would end.
"Understood."
"...!"
In the other VIP room, Mu Yun let out a deep sigh upon hearing about Ha Hu Tae.
"You should have sent Yusun out beforehand."
"I'm sorry. I canceled the reservation, but I didn't expect him to barge in."
Ak Mu-gil snorted in fury.
"Even so, to do this to a sick woman—argh!"
At that moment, a massive cheer erupted from the open third-floor space.
All eyes turned to the VIP room whose door had suddenly flown open. To the woman frantically covering her body, clad only in thin gauze.
"Whoa! What the hell?"
"Wait—that's Yusun, isn't it?"
"Yeah, looks like it. But what's with that see-through outfit?"
"What else? They were messing around inside."
"Man, they said her figure was killer, and damn, it's true."
"Why'd they open the door all of a sudden? Good for us, though."
"You see the head seat?"
"Oh! Ha Hu's young master! A true connoisseur of pleasure. Heh!"
"Thanks to him, our eyes are feasting today!"
"Yeah, free show without paying!"
Then Ha Hu Tae's bellow filled the third floor.
"What are you waiting for? You agreed to one dance. I gave you three nyang in gold!"
Cheers exploded around them.
"Whoa! Three nyang in gold!"
"No wonder! Even haughty Yusun..."
"Heh, for that much, I'd strip too."
"You? What do you even have to show?"
"Just saying."
Then someone stepped forward.
Clack!
Scanning the room, the man burst into laughter toward Ha Hu Tae.
"Haha! I've heard she's Chimju's greatest dance maiden! In my drunken haze, I'd love to dance with her. Mind if I do?"
"Who the hell is that?"
Gong Ya-seong continued in his usual alias.
"I'm Sa Gong-yeon, the wandering scholar from everywhere and nowhere. A poor wretch like me—when will I ever dance with such a beauty? I'd be grateful for life. Please allow it."
Through the opening door of the other VIP room, Ha Hu Tae spotted Mu Yun's surprised face. A sinister smile crept across his lips.
This'll be fun.
His woman stripping and dancing with another man right in front of him—what greater thrill?
"Go ahead."
"Thank you! May fortune favor you."
At that moment, a fierce glint flashed in Mu Yun's eyes.
Through the open door, he saw Yusun trembling violently. Countless lecherous gazes fixed on her—she had no choice.
Uncontrollable rage swirled like a gale. Unable to contain his surging fury, his body shuddered.
You bastard!
She was his comrade and teacher, sharing true joy for months. No time for second thoughts now. He had to protect her first.
As Mu Yun rose, Madam Ye Hyang, sensing his intent, hurriedly intervened.
"Please hear me out first."
"Later."
"That man's a physician. The one who treated Yusun."
Mu Yun erected an inner energy barrier and asked firmly.
"You want me to let a guy like that off?"
"He hasn't been here long, but he treated our girls and others for free. No way he'd do this without reason."
"I'll ask him myself."
In desperation, Ye Hyang revealed the truth.
"Yusun's baby was in danger, and he examined and saved it. Would a man who did that really expose her for spectacle?"
"...!"
"There's a reason. Please watch just a bit longer."
After brief hesitation, Mu Yun shook his head slowly.
His heart raced, but he owed Ye Hyang an explanation for caring so much about Yusun.
"If he's that kind of man, he has a plan. Still, I'm better at stopping this than some physician."
"...!"
But as Mu Yun stepped forward, his foot halted abruptly.
Thud!
It was because Yusun, meeting his gaze, shook her head firmly and signaled with her eyes.
Having shared body and soul through dance for months, he understood.
Not the trembling eyes of scorn and humiliation from before, but a fierce, tiger-like blaze of resolve.
I'll handle this. Don't interfere.
No lie. Not a desperate bid to end it quickly amid complaints. Her resolute expression burned with unyielding determination in her eyes.
She even exchanged knowing glances with the physician. Her trembling body had steadied.
He had no choice but to watch.
A moment later.
As the awkward dance between the man and woman dragged on, boos erupted from all sides.
"Hey! Get apart!"
"Yeah! Can't see! Step back!"
"What the—dance my ass! Hey! Back off!"
"What kind of asshole is this?"
"Damn it! Ruining a good show. Hey! Move it!"
It was because the so-called physician had pressed too close to Yusun.
His clumsy movements shrouded her body entirely in his robe's hem.
Ha Hu Tae's eyebrows shot up.
What the hell is that bastard doing?
Mu Yun's turbulent heart gradually calmed. No—a faint, wistful smile began to form on his lips.
That's why he stepped in.
The physician's flailing, childlike arms betrayed his inexperience. Matching his erratic rhythm, Yusun's trembling hands swirled the robe's hem.
Her dance, syncing with his eyes but clumsy like his, was just as awkward.
Then her quivering lips came into view, choked with sobs. Tears welled in her moist eyes, trailing down her cheeks.
Yet she made no move to wipe them.
As time passed, Mu Yun, still hesitating, finally understood.
She's fighting to overcome this herself.
If those tears were from helpless rage at the situation, he would have charged in. But no.
Not tears of irreparable grudge. Her wistful gaze held firm resolve and determination.
The flowing tears carried a torrent releasing pent-up sorrow. Drop by drop, pain and grief melted away, turning into a pure shower she created herself, cleansing the knotted corner of her heart.
It started forced, but now infused with her own weight of will, she was forging through.
He could only watch such a sight.
Soon after, as Mu Yun watched her dance, his own wistful eyes shifted hues.
Erratic rhythm, awkward gestures, off-beat timing—yet utterly beautiful. A delicate fragrance wafted stronger than any ornate performance.
Not a relentless barrage, yet it stole his breath. Her clumsy heavenward gestures pierced his blocked chest like flames, island by island.
The heat from her fingertips incinerated the crud in his heart—a struggle to burn it away.
Beautiful.
Mu Yun lost himself, mesmerized. The soul's gestures echoing in his ears scattered into his heart.
A joyous downpour washed away the grime within, bringing clarity.
Now, Yusun's dance brimmed with her soul's roar. It came as certainty.
She's overcome it!
Suddenly, a conversation with his old writing teacher, Mok U, resurfaced.
He'd snapped irritably when Mok U suggested learning dance.
—"What's the point of such frivolity?"
—"Dance comes from the movements of survival struggles."
—"What?"
—"Look at the farmers."
—"I see them."
—"Work tires them. Back aches, body weary. They stretch like that to loosen up and regain strength."
—"So?"
—"Fool! Dance is that natural. Life's gestures themselves are dance, no lessons needed. All history of human growth is there."
—"What does that have to do with me?"
—"Your obsessed martial arts are the same. Can't you infuse them into dance? Rhythm and gesture breathe with nature, contemplate the body. Unifying essence, energy, spirit to express the innate—how's that different from martial arts?"
—"Ugh, whatever."
—"You'll understand someday. Just enjoy dance now. No dancer is evil."
—"I don't plan to be evil."
—"Fool! That's not the point. More joy can't hurt. Martial arts thrive on it too."
—"Fine, whatever. I can master martial arts without that crap."
—"Stubborn as ever."
—"You just figuring that out? Yeo Hwi says it all the time."
—"True. Still, you'll get it someday."
—"I'll tell you when I do."
—"Heh, if I live that long."
Mu Yun recalled two of Mok U's words.
—"Dance comes from survival struggles."
—"Life's gestures themselves are dance."
Yes. He'd seen her dance dozens of times, but never so soul-infused.
Her will-born struggle, life itself.
A sudden thought struck.
The baby in her womb!
Yes. This dance cleansed her heart's knots while being for her child.
A mother's resolve to her life nestled in her sick body. And the physician's clumsy moves, protecting because he knew.
Those two gestures resonated so deeply in his chest.
His heart pounded like when he first grasped martial arts.
Like when martial arts became life's gestures.
Like realizing martial arts could be his struggle against the world.
Now his heart told him.
That's dance!
Another vessel for his life's gestures and struggles. A different path from martial arts—or one to merge, holding new history of movement.