The Sun and the Sky
Why is this so much fun?
That was exactly how Park Gwang-seob felt right now. Lately, he had been smiling nonstop. Even he was surprised by it.
And the cause was most likely this prickly roommate of his.
“Hey, hey, Yeonu! Your hyung did it! I got it!”
“What is it this time?”
“Her number! I got her number!”
“??”
“You sent the signal yesterday while watching TV. You said, ‘She’s kinda pretty.’”
“W-when did I ever say that?!”
“Aww, don’t be shy. You’re an adult now. There’s nothing embarrassing about an adult man noticing a woman.”
“Ugh!! I said it’s not like that!”
“Should I call her? Or do a video call?”
“God damn it!! Give that back!”
“Puhahaha, look at you getting all embarrassed.”
In the end, he had to listen to some crude swearing, but the one who actually spat it out—Baek Yeon-woo—had a face so red it looked ready to explode. Meanwhile, Park Gwang-seob was grinning with deep satisfaction, clearly enjoying every second of it.
It was already a rare sight to see the usually sharp-tongued Sword Master smiling, but the fact that he was getting this close to a teammate? The unusual scene had the staff buzzing among themselves.
“Those two actually get along surprisingly well.”
“Right? When I first saw the roster, I wondered if the head director even knew about their history. But looking at them now, their chemistry isn’t bad at all.”
“As expected of Director Hong. He has a good eye.”
“By the way, they really look good together on camera.”
“Park Gwang-seob has had his share of scandals, but that face never fails him.”
“Hey, say it the other way around. The fact that he can stir up so many scandals and still keep that many fans means his looks are just that outstanding.”
The staff members stroked their chins as they watched.
Setting personality aside, the two of them certainly gave off a similar aura in terms of appearance. Their sharp physiques and keen features made them both feel like finely honed blades.
The national team members were feeling something similar, though for a slightly different reason. It was happening in the training hall.
Aside from the director’s supervised sessions, the national team’s training was entirely voluntary. During this time, the players usually sparred or interacted in various ways. Naturally, the strongest among them—Park Gwang-seob—was the most popular. Getting to fight other high-rankers without the pressure of team wins or records was an invaluable experience.
Yet during this entire national team schedule, Park Gwang-seob had only been sparring with Baek Yeon-woo.
“Park sunbae is playing with Baek again.”
“Tsk……”
“What are you staring at so hard? You’ll get an earful from sunbae if he catches you.”
“No, it’s not that… haa… It’s weird. Their attack patterns and sword styles are completely different, yet……”
“Is there any need to compare? Just looking at them, they’re obviously different.”
“I know that. I know, but… is there something wrong with my eyes? The more I watch, the more similar they seem.”
Brilliant sword lights clashed spectacularly.
The two colliding blades were clearly distinct.
Park Gwang-seob’s sword resembled the sun. It went beyond brilliance and burned fiercely. It roared with intensity, declaring that no one but himself could shine in the sky. It was domineering and tyrannical.
On the other hand, Baek Yeon-woo’s sword resembled the sky. It was as free as the heavens with no visible end. It felt vast enough to embrace everything, yet carried an arrogance that suggested it was only natural for everything to lie beneath it.
They were so different, yet the two opposites strangely complemented each other.
“With the long sword, it’s my win, right?”
“With the greatsword, I won.”
“No way. I don’t even use a greatsword.”
“Then I won’t use a long sword either.”
“Bullshit. Wanna bet your arm on it?”
“……I just won’t use it today.”
“Heh heh. Then how about we settle it with daggers?”
“Deal.”
As if they had planned it, Park Gwang-seob and Baek Yeon-woo tossed their swords aside. In their hands now were daggers.
The daggers danced.
Just as the sun could not burn the sky, and the sky could not place the sun beneath it, their blades refused to invade each other’s territory. They remained in a sharp, tense standoff.
And this peculiar harmony between the two inspired Director Hong Han-hyun.
“Yeonu and Gwang-seob. Come see me for a moment.”
“Yes, Director.”
“What is it, Director?”
Director Hong had been preparing a sharp blade to pierce through the defensive shield of Singapore. Combining Lee Shin’s manual with his own discerning eye, the sharpest blade on the team right now was…
“……Park Gwang-seob and Baek Yeon-woo. It’s you two.”
“Wait, aren’t you underestimating me too much? With all my experience, you’re putting me on the same level as this kid?”
“The kid who cut you.”
“Hey! I went easy on him because I felt bad!”
“Quiet. Let me talk.”
Director Hong had imagined using these two blades together.
A dizzying violence that no one would dare oppose. Opponents losing their will to fight and collapsing. A storm of unrelenting violence from the very beginning of the match until the end.
However, one prerequisite was needed for this picture to work.
“One of you has to go to the jungle.”
The mid-lane Sword Master and the top-lane Baek Yeon-woo.
It wouldn’t be easy for these two lanes to coordinate from the early game.
That was why he wanted one of them to move to the jungle.
“……”
“……”
A brief silence fell.
Because it involved positions, the atmosphere was heavy. Moreover, Park Gwang-seob was a top-tier ranker. At this level, position was a matter of pride.
Perhaps that was why, the moment Baek Yeon-woo seemed about to raise his hand—
Something unbelievable happened.
“I’ll go to the jungle.”
The supposedly selfish Sword Master, Park Gwang-seob who lived for his own pride, had offered to yield first. And he was even smiling cheerfully while doing it.
“!!”
“……You? Really you? Why?”
“It looks fun.”
Just clashing swords in the training hall was already this entertaining. How much more fun would it be to coordinate together in the canyon?
“When else would I get to breathe in sync with this kid?”
The sun cannot burn the sky.
The sky cannot place the sun beneath its feet.
However.
The sun and the sky are undoubtedly together.
With his arm draped casually over Baek Yeon-woo’s shoulder and a smile on his face, Park Gwang-seob looked surprisingly comfortable.
Meanwhile, in the chairman’s office at Lee Do Group.
Chairman Lee Sang-byuk had come all the way to the elevator with a surprised expression to greet an unexpected guest.
A moment later, the elevator doors opened, revealing a golden-haired elderly woman with blue eyes.
“Sister?! Is it really you, Sister?”
“Long time no see, little brother. Have you been well?”
“Wow, this is crazy. It really is you, Sister.”
Families that often appeared in mystery novels as the Illuminati or Freemasons.
But in reality, they were even more than that. The Rothschild family.
The elderly woman was a member of the Rothschilds and a remarkable woman who had even aimed to become the family head despite being female. She was Evelyn Rothschild.
Lee Sang-byuk and Evelyn sat facing each other inside the chairman’s office.
“Is the translation working well? If there are errors, we can switch to a different model.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s working well. What would you like to drink? Tea? Coffee?”
“Coffee. Let me try that Korean coffee you sometimes send me.”
“Cheol-ong, go make some mix coffee.”
When Lee Sang-byuk had pushed into the European market despite everyone’s opposition in his youth, Evelyn had been the head of a major corporation at the time.
They had bickered, competed, cooperated, and eventually formed a sibling-like bond.
“I heard you retired, so what brings you to Korea without a word?”
“Didn’t you hear I was on a world tour? Sister, I’m starting to feel hurt.”
“Ah, that’s right. Look at me. I’ve gotten so forgetful in my old age.”
“Is that something you should say in front of me, Sister?”
“Oh dear, I completely forgot you haven’t changed a bit since the old days!”
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t properly thanked you in person. I’ve been taking the Woongjindan you sent. It’s very effective.”
“I would’ve been disappointed if you didn’t mention it.”
“You really are still as cute as ever, Sang-byuk.”
One of the very few people in the world who could call Lee Sang-byuk cute. That alone showed how special this elderly woman was.
That was precisely why Lee Sang-byuk felt both glad and curious. Why had this noble sister of his come to Korea without so much as a letter or phone call?
A short while later, after sipping the mix coffee Yu Cheol-ong had brought, Evelyn answered that question.
“I saw your grandson.”
“Grandson? Whose grandson?”
“That boy! The one who looks nothing like you when you were young. Extremely handsome.”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t pretend to think about it. You already know who I mean.”
“Are you talking about Shin?”
“Yes.”
Originally, Evelyn had been on a world tour to celebrate her retirement. She had finally realized her youthful dream of backpacking.
Of course, traveling in a luxury limousine, flying on a private jet, and sleeping in presidential suites every night hardly qualified as backpacking, but to Evelyn, it was.
One day during her travels, she happened to catch a broadcast while on her private jet.
A young man wearing glasses and a lab coat that looked like something a mad scientist from a B-movie would wear, calling himself Professor Lee.
That young man, whose charm was enough to make even an old woman’s heart flutter, had led her all the way to Korea.
“W-what? So Sister, you came all this way because he’s handsome?”
“No, no. Don’t reduce it to just being handsome. That child is on another level. He is a treasure of humanity.”
“A treasure?”
“You know my philosophy, don’t you? Beings that transcend common sense—whether objects or living things—are assets to humanity simply by existing. They must be preserved and protected. It’s still a mystery to me how such a child came from your bloodline.”
Evelyn continued to lavish praise on Lee Shin’s appearance for quite some time. Occasionally, English words slipped out, but her sincerity was abundantly clear.
However, Lee Sang-byuk’s expression grew serious as he asked,
“Evelyn, Sister. I understand. I get it, so tell me the real reason.”
This was the famous Evelyn, after all. The very Evelyn of the Rothschild family who could turn the notorious wolves of Wall Street into chihuahuas.
She was not the type to move on personal whims.
Besides, this was Korea. For her to leave her own domain in Europe and come all the way here, there had to be a clear purpose.
As expected, Evelyn shrugged as if she knew she wouldn’t be able to hide it and revealed her true intention.
“I wasn’t trying to hide it. It’s true that I came after seeing the broadcast and wanting to meet the boy named Shin.”
“……”
“Of course his face played a part, but what that child says and the knowledge he possesses is what truly brought me here.”
The live lecture where he used the three rising stars of the international competition as examples, and the preview commentary that unraveled the flow of matches.
After watching those lectures, Evelyn had seen a light in Lee Shin’s eyes. It was the same light she once possessed, the same light that Lee Sang-byuk before her had possessed, but which they had both lost.
It was the light of talent granted only to those chosen to change the world. And that light was now shining on Lee Shin.
“So I looked into him. From the time he was a worthless third-generation failure cast out by his family to his current position as the future of Korea’s hunter world. It was more fascinating than any hero’s legend.”
“You’re saying you investigated someone else’s grandson with such confidence?”
“It’s better than lying, isn’t it?”
In the end, Evelyn had seen in Lee Shin the potential to change the world.
That was why she wanted to form a connection with him as soon as possible—before it was too late. Though in truth, it might already be too late.
“So you’re trying to get in on the action?”
“Oh God…… Could you please not cheapen someone else’s sincerity with such a crude expression?”
For the first time, Evelyn furrowed her elegant brows. Then she flicked her hand, and a butler wearing white gloves pulled out a document and placed it in front of Lee Sang-byuk.
“These are the youth hunter teams our family currently manages.”
“Hah, anyone who saw this would think you were raising a private army.”
“You know it’s normal in Europe. Anyway, I want to entrust our youth players to that Mir Guild. Will you help your sister out?”
“Sister, I’m sorry, but even if I had the authority—which I don’t—the league is currently in progress.”
“Heh, hasn’t Korea already been eaten up anyway? You even gave consulting advice to America. We’ll send the children directly to that guild. Of course, we’ll cover all their living expenses. All that boy Shin needs to do is give advice like he does on his broadcasts.”
“Hmm. And the price?”
Lee Sang-byuk tapped his fingers on the table as he asked. But Evelyn’s single response made his fingers stop completely.
“Anything.”
Anything. Whatever it may be.
It was an unlimited promise from Grand Duchess Evelyn Rothschild.
Without hesitation, Lee Sang-byuk dialed Lee Shin’s number.
“Shin? There’s someone who wants to meet you.”
Lee Shin was genuinely, truly taken aback for the first time in a long while.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Grandma Evelyn. May I shake your hand?”
“O-of course.”
This jackpot…
No, why did the treasure chest walk over here on its own two feet?