Chapter 206
Chapter 206
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Our Bet
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Cheongryang opened her eyes after a few days had passed.
As soon as she came to her senses, she cried out that her whole body ached. Frowning at the bruises and torn wounds, she forced herself to sit up.
"Those bastards..."
At least they hadn't killed her. It seemed like they'd done this to show her off to someone.
And as Cheongryang pulled herself up, she came face-to-face with that 'someone' beyond the iron bars.
"You're awake?"
Unhyang, who had been squatting and looking at her, waved her hand.
Cheongryang's heart sank, and Baek Yi-dan's words came back to her.
"...Unhyang?"
"Yeah. It's me."
"Why are you here?"
Unhyang didn't answer the question, just smiled casually, and her old face overlapped with the one from the past.
She had always been good at hiding her own pain, ever since they were much younger than now.
"I just came back."
"You call this 'coming back'?"
"Hiding out was getting tough. And I'm sick of being a manager now."
"Sick of it? Bullshit."
"Now I want to go back to being a Player. Time to reclaim my old fame."
This wasn't a conversation—it was a one-sided declaration.
She said it with a smile, but she couldn't fool her eyes. Unhyang's gaze, looking at Cheongryang through the bars, said this:
It's just an excuse, but I'm fine.
"And your acting sucks. Were you trying to ditch me by saying that? You didn't have to. Anyway, I..."
Bang!
Cheongryang slammed her head into the iron bars.
Her skull rang, blood trickled from her forehead, but her mind was still sharp, and her anger didn't subside.
It had happened again, just like always.
Time had passed, they'd both grown up, and even if fate existed, they'd struggled to escape it, but in the end, they were back where they started.
It all felt like an inescapable inevitability, choking her breath.
"Am I..."
Cheongryang glared at Unhyang beyond the bars with an expression she'd never worn before.
"...just gonna pretend like an idiot again?"
"......"
"Just run away. Kill me here and use what your dad taught you to get out. You can do it alone, right?"
Unhyang hated using anything she'd learned from Uncheon-geuk.
Because of that, not only Cheongryang but no one had ever seen her use the family's secret techniques.
And if they had, they'd all ended up like Reinhardt—dead.
"No need for that."
Unhyang stood up from her squat.
"I'll get you out soon. Rest a bit more."
As Unhyang turned to leave, Cheongryang spoke up.
"Wanna make a bet?"
Unhyang paused, about to walk away without hesitation.
A bet, out of nowhere?
"On whether you'll stay stuck here or not."
"A bet?"
"Yeah. I can't stand seeing you like this."
Especially if it's because of me.
Cheongryang swallowed the rest and continued.
"Like old times, we'll bet candy. What do you say?"
Unhyang looked into Cheongryang's eyes at the sudden proposal.
She tried to read what she was thinking, but her friend's face, usually so transparent, was unreadable now.
What are you thinking?
After pondering Cheongryang's intentions for a while, Unhyang asked.
"But you've never beaten me once."
"We'll see about that."
Confident tone.
In the end, Unhyang nodded as if she couldn't resist.
"Fine. Let's do it."
With that answer, she left the thunder prison.
"This time, I'll win."
Cheongryang muttered as she watched Unhyang's retreating back.
"I have to make sure of it."
-I was an orphan.
My name was Cheongryang. No one gave it to me. At some point, I just started calling myself that.
Having no name at all felt too sad, no matter how I thought about it.
"Shinryeong Castle?"
The warrior from Shinryeong Castle invited me there.
It was probably right after a street fight. Back then, I was deep into brawls and pickpocketing.
"Why me, from a place like that?"
"To sponsor kids like you—talented but without background."
I'd thought about it.
Am I actually a genius? I could take on six kids my age, even guys way bigger than me.
If that's not genius, what is? Right?
"Screw it, let's go."
The decision was easy. I had nothing to lose anyway.
The place I ended up was on another level from my rural village dump.
Roofs with tens of thousands of tiles. Walls at least ten jang long, filled with warriors radiating immense presence.
"Whoa..."
I gawked like a bumpkin.
Slurp. I wiped my drooling mouth with my sleeve. I felt mocking stares around me.
Following the Shinryeong Castle warrior, we arrived at an annex a bit away from the main castle.
"This is where you'll stay."
"For real?"
It looked a little old compared to the other facilities, but I was satisfied. For a street kid like me, a roof was enough.
"Tomorrow, proper training begins."
Words that blew away any thoughts of the lodging. My heart pounded at the idea of learning martial arts.
I probably didn't sleep a wink that night.
'Since I'm here, I'll become the best.'
So childish.
Getting cocky just because I scrapped on the streets. Dreaming of being the top at Shinryeong Castle on that alone.
But it was good.
I learned how delusional and absurd that dream was in just one day.
Pa-ba-ba-bak!
"......"
What just happened?
For the first time in a fight with a peer, I lost. I'd been confident in fights. It was a shock.
And it wasn't just a loss.
One hit—I didn't even know how, and I blacked out on the ground.
And the opponent was a girl much smaller than me.
After beating guys twice my size, that day's shock is unforgettable.
"You okay?"
Lying spread-eagled on the ground, staring at the sky, I saw her face.
Unhyang.
The real genius I met as a frog in a well.
"Did I hit too hard? You're so weak."
Crack.
I got pissed.
First loss ever, and now called weak.
"Rematch!"
I charged again, fuming, but the result was the same. Down in one hit.
That was when it started.
Even though I couldn't keep up with her footsteps, I trailed after Unhyang like a rival.
"Bet with me!"
"What this time?"
"Race!"
"Fine. Candy on it?"
I kept challenging her to bets despite always losing.
Every loss meant scraping together what little money I had to buy candy and offer it up.
At some point, I knew it.
Ah, I can never beat this girl, no matter what.
That's what a real genius is.
Talented in everything, beautiful and strong.
She sparkled. I'd never seen a jewel, but if I was a stone, Unhyang was definitely one.
Still, I kept betting with her. It was the only way to hang out.
Before I knew it, we were friends.
Then one day.
"Where are you hurt?"
The seemingly perfect girl came back injured for the first time.
Visible bruises on her limbs, dark shadows on her face. She looked exhausted from afar, like she hadn't slept in days.
"Just from training."
"You haven't been around for days."
"Did it alone. After training with the instructor, solo practice led to mistakes."
Mistakes? Her?
I couldn't picture it. What kind of intense training did she do to end up like that?
I wanted to say let's compete today, but the words died in my mouth.
I wanted to play, but not with that shadowed face.
But then.
"C'mon, let's get some sweets."
Unhyang held out her hand with that tired face.
"My treat today. Bet next time."
A few hours after Unhyang left, it seemed.
Cheongryang had been sitting blankly with her eyes closed for quite a while.
Recalling the old days, a smile that didn't fit the place crept onto her lips.
It took a long time, but she'd finally made up her mind. Her resolve was set.
She struggled to move her tightly bound hands and pulled out a sharp needle hidden in her sleeve.
She'd thought this day might come someday.
The day she became Unhyang's ankle weight, dragging her down to ruin.
This poison was prepared for that moment.
The soft feelings from old memories sank instantly. She bowed her head deeply and bit her lip until it bled.
"Fuck... shit..."
Her language was never polite, but now it was worse.
No matter how grand the reason, who wouldn't fear death? And Cheongryang wasn't brave like Unhyang.
She was scared of dying.
Terrified.
But the curse spilling from her lips wasn't for that.
"That idiot... she'll think she got me killed."
She couldn't deny it.
But wasn't this fair? Unhyang had thrown away her life for Cheongryang first.
But if Unhyang found out.
Imagining Unhyang blaming herself, thinking it was all her fault, Cheongryang closed her eyes.
'Please don't.'
She'd hoped this day would never come.
If she'd known, she wouldn't have said such harsh goodbye words.
Just as the sharp poisoned needle was about to pierce her wrist.
"What are you doing right now?"
A welcome voice pierced the darkness like light.
"Trying to die?"
Her hands trembled as she looked up. Beyond the dim iron bars, a terribly welcome face appeared.
"Soo-hyuk... nim..."
Lee Soo-hyuk.
Their streamer, face hidden by a mask.
An incredible person. He seemed capable of anything.
In that moment, Cheongryang truly wished.
That he was the real Lee Soo-hyuk.
Her next words came impulsively from that wish.
"......Please help."
She clasped her hands in prayer, pleading desperately.
"Please, please..."
Begging with joined hands, she bowed her head shamelessly.
She knew.
How flimsy the bond between streamer and manager was, built on thin interests.
A contract ends, and they're strangers. Yet here she was, making an outrageous request just because he'd fought for Unhyang.
A request that wouldn't cover ten lives.
Asking for help with Unhyang in the heart of Shinryeong Castle was like asking him to fight a war alone.
She knew.
But she had nowhere else to turn.
If begging like this could get help from someone.
If there was hope for them again, she'd beg a thousand times.
"Ugh, heuk... heuk."
"You don't have to beg like that."
Grip.
Strength entered Soo-hyuk's hand on the bars.
His masked face was hidden. Far behind him, Shinryeong Castle warriors watched.
He turned to them, veins bulging on his forehead.
"You're already my comrades."