Late Winter's Piercing Wind (5)
The long-familiar scent of chilsaekhwa tea settled his mind into a calm hush. The faint winter sunlight filtering through the cold window felt pleasantly warm. This peaceful, serene moment of leisure...
BAM!
Who the hell dares to slam open the door to the academy representative's office like that?! He was about to launch a kick on reflex.
"Uh... um, Saryeon-noona's here?"
"......"
The chilsaekhwa he'd just sipped seemed to have gone straight to his bladder—he suddenly needed to hit the john.
"Jin Sowoon... no, Senior Brother."
Her wide eyes blazing, Saryeon tilted her head with a sharp crick-crack, slipping right up to him like some ilhyanghwanwi illusion technique.
"What... the hell were you thinking?"
He knew exactly what she meant.
He first tucked the precious teacup safely behind him before opening his mouth.
"So, like..."
"Were you in your right mind?"
"Actually, back then..."
"You were acting normal these past few days, but you couldn't hold out and pulled this stunt again?"
"No, there's a good reason for..."
"Why can't you just stay out of trouble for one damn month?! What the hell!!"
Come on, give me a chance to speak! He shot a bewildered glare at the teacup, and Saryeon let out a long sigh.
"Fine. Go ahead and explain. What the hell's your deal?"
"......"
He silently met her eyes with a look that said, Ready to listen now?
But.
"...Don't tell me you got nothing to say? You! No, Senior Brother! Were you always this reckless?"
"......"
She pounded her chest in frustration. Watching her made his own chest tighten.
Let me talk, damn it.
#
"...So, the instructor did it on purpose, right?"
A little time later, having heard him out calmly, Saryeon softened her tone, seeming somewhat convinced.
"Even so, turning him into a cripple was too much."
"A cripple?"
"You shattered his dantian and crippled him, didn't you?"
No way he'd go that far, even if it was him. The guy was Tang-level from the Nine Great Sects' Cheongsung faction. Do that, and every Cheongsung martial artist would be after his head.
He had a brain, after all. Hell yeah.
"Ahem, what are you talking about? I just scared him a bit. Didn't smash his dantian."
"...For real?"
"Obviously."
"...Really? Swear it?"
"......"
Why couldn't she trust him, the Tae-eul Gate senior disciple she'd known her whole life? He shot her a dissatisfied glare, and she waved her hands defensively.
"Y-You've been pulling so many crazy stunts lately."
Forgiving his junior sister with magnanimity, he sipped his chilsaekhwa when Saryeon muttered as if struck by a thought.
"Come to think of it... I had something similar."
She explained: In the first class after the semester started, the instructor had chewed her out over last year's report evaluation. Sounded just like what he'd gone through. He'd used her top-scoring report as an example, saying the cohort's low level meant even that got high marks, downplaying the overall quality.
"Tch."
Their intentions were so obvious from the start that even the chilsaekhwa tasted bitter. What a waste of good tea.
As he frowned at his cup, Saryeon huffed and lightly scolded him.
"But even so, you went too far. Attacking an instructor is grounds for expulsion."
She zeroed in on the part he'd been avoiding.
"And you handed those bloodthirsty bastards the perfect excuse... What are you gonna do now?"
Tch. He had to admit he'd overreacted a bit this time.
What's his deal? Did playing black path turn him into one for real?
Regret hit him for acting so recklessly, like he had a home to return to. He wasn't even a real Heukryong Stronghold chief...
"It was called for."
"......"
Of course, that's not what came out of his mouth. Showing real panic would just worry her more.
He deliberately lifted his teacup leisurely and added,
"If they want us expelled, this won't be the end. They'd pile up excuses all semester and drop the hammer at the perfect moment."
"......"
"Then we'd finish the courses but graduate as rejects anyway."
Saying it out loud convinced even him. Human relationships were like that. Someone who hates you irrationally won't like you no matter how hard you try. Worse, your efforts could become ammo against you later.
Humans were that irrational.
"Better to strike first and deny them prep time. That way, we at least buy reaction time."
Call it "giving them a reason." The best counter to baseless hate? Give them a clear reason to hate you.
Plant a solid one, and when it fades, reconciliation's possible. Sounds contradictory, but it's truth. No respect, no real relationship.
"Hoo... seriously."
Saryeon sighed, convinced but not arguing back. Then, as if it just hit her,
"But why 'us'?"
"Huh?"
"You caused the mess, Senior Brother. Why lump it as 'us'?"
"......"
"If you're expelled, do we all have to go too?"
Uh... put like that, he had nothing.
Um...
"Tae-eul Gate disciples stick together, dead or alive."
"......"
She scrunched her brow hard. He knew that look from childhood. It meant I really, really hate this!
Ouch. That stung. Really stung.
#
Even after Saryeon left.
BAM!
"Young Master Jin, what the hell happened?!"
BAM!
"What kind of crap are you pulling around here!?"
BAM!
"Representative! Is what I heard true?!"
The door was gonna shatter at this rate.
"Easy on the..."
BAM!!
...Thanks to these folks who always burst in like they wanna wreck the door, it finally gave out.
Would the academy cover repairs? No way he was paying out of pocket. Worry crept in.
Couldn't just leave the rep office wide open like a hallway either.
"Hm... this could definitely blow up big."
Jang Ujae, who'd slipped in just before the door's demise, said so. He hadn't slammed it, entering quietly with a detached expression. No blame on him.
Classy guy. I like him. Really like him.
He leaned forward seriously.
"Even if the assault blows over quietly, the instructors' intentions will shape what comes next."
Exactly his worry.
"Like you—or rather, Cheol Sunjik—said, if they're here to rig scores, they'll get bolder."
He eyed the door-murderer next to Jang Ujae.
"What do you think, oh door-smasher?"
"...Urgh, the door was already half-broken anyway..."
Ilgak wiped his sweaty bald head and waved it off.
"Anyway, even among the Nine Great Sects and Great Clans, opinions on the new instructors aren't great. They dismissed us, intentions or not."
Reactions split half-half: half outraged at the attack, half glad the instructor got his.
Hm, but where's his support? Shouldn't some say the rep did good?
As he spaced out, Ilgak murmured low.
"Biggest worry... is Tae-eul Gate folks."
"Huh?"
"They know now. Representative Jin's beyond them."
"......"
Ah. So his juniors take the hit instead.
That what he meant? Damn. Maybe pick a bigger fight with the instructors...
"...Don't escalate pointlessly."
Saryeon's chilling voice cut like winter wind.
"Getting nitpicked is one thing. Making enemies is another. It won't just hit us—future mandatory service juniors too."
True. Numbers-wise, couldn't fight all Nine Great Sects now.
She nailed it. Hostility wasn't the issue; deployed juniors in mandatory service could suffer if reassigned maliciously. Who knew what they'd face?
Murim Alliance preached absolute hierarchy, transcending sects. Seemed fair, but incumbents saw it differently.
Like if Mudang elites took orders from third-rate Tae-eul's Jin Sowoon? Hurt pride, pissed off.
Or Shaolin's Ilgak bullied by Iron Sword warrior? Acceptable?
That's why old powers schemed in fair evaluations—and why he couldn't act on whims.
"We expected some bias. This level? We can handle."
Saryeon straightened up.
"This'll happen plenty more. No resolve, we wouldn't be here."
She stared him down.
"So don't stir bigger shit for us!"
"......"
"Stop sacrificing for us!"
Seong Moran's addition to her fierce shout: "Whoa, Junior Sister's more mature than Senior Brother."
What the—? Under her piercing glare demanding agreement, he nodded.
No answer, and she'd cause trouble.
But her words didn't ease him. Gold-silver-bronze brothers might've faced humiliation in today's class. Their academy life could get hellish ahead.
He desperately hoped their spirits weren't broken. After how hard he'd trained them... Ahem. Kids just spreading wings shouldn't hit limits and stall. He'd feel too guilty.
Then.
Tatata-tatata.
Eager footsteps pounded the hall. He knew without looking: gold-silver-bronze brothers.
"Huh? Why's the door off?"
"Senior Brother first!"
"Y-Yeah, right!"
Geum Pyo tilted his head entering, then focused on Eunho's words and came in. Their stiff faces drew a small sigh from him.
Definitely something happened.
"You guys run into trouble today too...?"
"Senior Brother!"
Eunho cut him off. This polite kid interrupting? Big deal.
Worried, he stood and approached.
But.
"You crushed the instructor with inner power? True? How?!"
Geum Pyo's disbelief kicked it off.
"Senior Brother, be straight. What'd you eat behind our backs? No, what'd you take? Elixir, right? Right!?"
Eunho's impudent, grievance-filled face.
"Senior Brother, t-teach me too. How to shatter dantians with inner power..."
And Dongryong's sparkling eyes with that scary request.
"That's why you rushed here?"
"We're curious. How?"
"Fess up, Senior Brother. We'll let it slide."
"C-Can I learn now? Or need more inner power?"
Uh... tougher than expected. Probably a good thing, right?