The Chat's Stirring
"Yeah, I've got no plans until Wednesday. So, make sure you all coordinate your training time well."
"Yes."
Zixu brought over a notepad and scribbled furiously with a pen, nodding at every word Kang-jun said. She especially listed out everything they needed to do on weekdays when he wouldn't be around.
"Kang-jun-ssi, ah."
"Ah."
Kind Hana quickly buttered a slice of bread, toasted it, and popped it into his mouth the moment she heard he was leaving. She couldn't let him go on an empty stomach. Both women looked utterly exhausted, their faces caked with fatigue, but they couldn't just lie still on the bed. Only Hye-mi, still blissfully lost in dreamland, slept on, oblivious to the world.
The ogre man and the troll woman sat on the living room sofa, each with a morning cup of coffee, watching the disaster news. After living here for over a year, modern life had clearly settled into their bones.
"Alright, I'll be going."
"Yes, team leader. Please take care of yourself."
As soon as he said he was leaving, kind Hana hurried out of the kitchen and pointed inside with her finger.
"Kang-jun-ssi, I'm toasting one more slice of bread…"
"No, it's fine. This is enough."
Kang-jun headed for the front door, and the four team members trailed after him. He briefly channeled his mother-in-law, nagging them a bit. He told them not to just laze around on weekdays when he wasn't there.
"Explain things well to Hye-mi. …Anyway, I'm off now."
Kang-jun checked the time on his phone one last time and quickly opened the front door. Zixu and Hana dragged their slippers out to see him off all the way to the gate. He waved them back inside and climbed into the car Jang Hwa-young was riding in.
The sedan had been idling since he stepped out, and it now glided smoothly onto the road. Thanks to the air conditioning running inside, the car was cool and refreshing—a world apart from the sweltering heat outside.
"You've got everything ready?"
"Yes. And you, senior…?"
"I told them to bring my luggage tomorrow. Just one day, it's nothing."
The conversation paused there. Kang-jun and Jang Hwa-young each looked out their opposite windows, lost in thought.
Hey hey, I was counting on you! The fire was lit, and the responses were great.
C'mon, no way. …But these guys might actually do it. They're the type to go that far and then some.
…Fuck, these bastards. Still, he believed they'd probably throw him around 50 coupons if he played it right. Jang Hwa-young was a popular character, after all.
The sedan kept driving. The scenery outside gradually changed. The gray buildings standing in neat rows like tombstones in a cemetery slowly disappeared, and everything around them turned green. Eventually, the entire view became a vivid, brilliant green. …Some old writer had once called this the blank margin of the drab Earth. Of course, he was nowhere near a genius writer like that—he could only think in simple terms like "grass" and "water."
Ah, now there's flowing water.
It was a mountain stream. The car had long since left the city behind and arrived at the foot of the mountain. The paved road disappeared, replaced by a bumpy dirt path. It was a road that made one nervous about driving a luxury sedan on it.
After climbing the dirt road a bit further, it ended abruptly in the middle. "Let's get off here," Jang Hwa-young said. Kang-jun stepped out of the car and stretched his stiff body. Standing under the cool shade of dense trees, feeling the soft breeze blow past, was quite pleasant. …Maybe next time, when he had some free time, he could bring the team members to the mountains.
"You can head back now."
"Yes, sir."
The driver drove the car straight back down. In this stillness, only Kang-jun and Jang Hwa-young remained. He carried two water jugs and a bag of groceries, trailing behind Jang Hwa-young as she climbed the mountain.
After walking a good distance from where the car had stopped, a mountain villa came into view. In front of it stretched a fairly wide lawn that looked well-maintained. If it hadn't been for the training dummies and wooden posts set up for practice, it would have looked far more peaceful.
"Let's go in."
The villa was a size suitable for five or six people. There were no separate rooms—just one large living room with a bathroom and kitchen attached. Seeing it reminded him of a freshman orientation retreat. It was exactly that kind of place.
As soon as they entered, a slightly musty smell wafted out from inside. Kang-jun immediately threw the windows wide open to ventilate. He opened a water jug and poured water into an overturned glass cup, handing it to her. "Thanks," she said, and drained the whole glass in one gulp. Kang-jun did the same, swallowing his own cup in one go.
"Nice place."
"Right? I used to come here sometimes back in the day, but I haven't been much lately."
The two of them briefly admired the lawn where the sunlight poured down, then stood up. Jang Hwa-young turned on the sprinkler. They watched it silently as it sprayed water with a chirping sound.
"Should we head out now?"
Wherever she went, she always brought her sword. Kang-jun picked up his scabbard and followed after her.
Chirp chirp chirrrrp— The cicadas sang their hearts out. Kang-jun briefly forgot his miscellaneous thoughts and soaked himself in the peace.
The two of them went under the shade of a very large tree. She set her sword down beside her and sat in a cross-legged position. Kang-jun, catching on, sat facing her in the same position.
And then, they closed their eyes. The leaves rustled softly in the gentle breeze, making a sound like rain. It was a truly refreshing sound.
"How far can you see?"
Jang Hwa-young suddenly asked such an out-of-the-blue question. Kang-jun slowly opened his closed eyes. Her gaze was piercing him intensely.
Kang-jun suddenly remembered the time he had spent learning the Tai Chi Divine Sword in the 2nd Dungeon. Back then, his master had asked a similar question—not identical, but close.
How far can you see?
At first, he had no idea what it meant. But after mastering the Tai Chi Divine Sword and accumulating more experience, he had come to understand the question somewhat. …It was a question that was difficult to answer without going through enough storms.
The world beyond matter. The world of essence. That was what Jang Hwa-young and his master were asking about.
"Up to the point that all things are illusion."
Jang Hwa-young's eyes now sparkled with a gleam of recognition.
"Can you cut through that too?"
"Not yet."
"Then will you be able to in the future?"
"I don't know."
Kang-jun answered honestly. She might mistake him for a genius, but he knew he wasn't one. He simply had a lot of experience accumulated, making him appear genius-like compared to his peers.
Jang Hwa-young was excited by his answer. All things are illusion. How many years had she invested to reach that answer?
"To be honest, I still don't understand your sword."
"What do you mean?"
"It has a form, yet it doesn't. That's as far as I can see."
Still, as the best swordsman of the 3rd Dungeon, she had discernment. She had pierced through the exact principles of the Tai Chi Divine Sword. Having a form yet having none. Formlessness, and Statelessness. That was the essence of the Tai Chi Divine Sword.
"Statelessness. That is what I aspire to."
"Statelessness."
"A frame. In other words, if you're trapped within a form, space is created. Only limited things can fit inside it. But if you remove the frame, you can hold everything in this world."
This guy…!
Jang Hwa-young's heart beat faster. Of course, anyone could ramble something similar. But the difference between speaking from knowledge and speaking from ignorance was stark. Naturally, Kang-jun was the former.
In nearly ten years, she had never been this excited. For some reason, she felt as though she was conversing with a profoundly wise sage.
"That's something any high-level swordsman would know. The words are easy. But putting it into practice is difficult."
"People fall into a trap when they hear the phrase 'remove the frame.' That's the limitation of language, a limited medium. Removing a frame, or a boundary, doesn't mean going to complete nothingness. We are human. We cannot aspire to complete nothingness. If there's nothing, we can do nothing. That's the limitation of living beings."
"Then removing it… how exactly…?"
Kang-jun paused briefly. Jang Hwa-young waited with the mindset of receiving instruction. …For some reason, it felt like their positions had shifted.
What does it mean to remove boundaries?
Kang-jun had asked his master that same question. Because he didn't know either.
"Removing boundaries means removing yourself."
His master had answered exactly that.
"Removing… myself? …What does that mean?"
Jang Hwa-young didn't understand. Of course she wouldn't. Even his master hadn't fully grasped the meaning, he had said. It was a teaching passed down through generations.
"That's something each person must think through for themselves."
Kang-jun gracefully sidestepped a question he didn't know. She fell silent. And then she truly lost herself in thought for a long time. After a while, she slowly opened her now-dry lips.
"It's been a long time since I've felt this way. Thank you."
"No. I'm the one learning from you, senior."
"No, our relationship isn't like that. We push each other forward. On this path, there's no hierarchy."
Jang Hwa-young had felt this clearly for the first time. Kang-jun possessed a deeper understanding than she had ever imagined. …The ten years she had estimated for him to reach the top suddenly halved. With the depth Kang-jun had, he could become number one in five years.
"Kang-jun."
Jang Hwa-young reached out and took his hand.
"Yes, senior."
"No matter what happens, I'm on your side. Don't worry, and walk your own path."
She said that. He slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
"You don't need to worry."
And he gripped her hand more tightly.
"I will never waver."