The guest threw off their hat and looked back at Myojeong with a bright smile. The features hidden under the hat were very beautiful. When the name of his master came out of the mouth of the guest, the boy who had been spewing out a string of murderous curses and profanities as if possessed stopped talking.
“’Myojeong’? D- Do you two know each other?”
At the same time as the boy’s question, Myojeong, who had been kneeling, stood up. The guest and Myojeong, who were standing close to each other, hugged each other tightly, without saying without much regard. The boy’s eyes widened like lanterns.
Myojeong hugged the guest’s shoulder tightly and said, “How long has it been…”
The sight of the two hugging happily made the boy dumbfounded. They were like enemies until just a moment ago, but to think they knew each other… That wasn’t the only reason the boy was surprised. The guest who took off her hat revealed very short hair. It was cut short enough to reach below their ears. He had never seen anyone with hair like that before.
“Haha, how have you been?” The guest smiled broadly and asked. The energy in her smile was clear and warm. The wind that came down the mountainside gently blew the guest’s short hair. “I am fine as always.” Myojeong graciously replied. As the guest patted Myojeong on the back, she cast her gaze at the boy who was sitting blankly.
“By the way, Myojeong. I’m going to break a bone or suffocate to death, so if you’re not going to pay for the funeral, why don’t you let me go for now?”
The boy’s eyes widened at the guest’s words. It’s obviously intimate words, but it’s strangely poignant. Even though they were embracing each other, it was as if a guest was buried in Myojeong’s arms. It was because of Myojeong’s height.
The guest who escaped from Myojeong’s arms looked at the boy. The startled boy raised his eyes and stared back at the guest. He was relieved that it was not an enemy, but he was still wary.
‘Is that the child?’
This was what the guest had whispered in Myojeong’s ear earlier. In the middle of the tussle and fight, Myojeong handed over the sword to the boy. He didn’t say anything, but the guest noticed the meaning of the action at once.
‘Please teach my student a lesson.’
Myojeong was a mischievous teacher. The guest already knew about the boy. It was because he had sent letters several times before, saying he took in a child as a disciple. This was the first time she had met the boy she had only heard about, in person.
“Did you say your name was Gyeom?”
The guest asked a question for confirmation but Myojeong blinked instead of answering. Then the guest swept her short hair and strode toward the boy. While squatting in front of him, who was sitting on his butt, she spoke.
“You are the disciple of Myojeong, whom I have only heard about.”
“Who are you? You know me?”
When the boy snapped at him, the guest leaned back and laughed boisterously. She then cast her gaze at Myojeong, then raised her finger and pointed at the boy. “You have a peculiar disciple with a temper?” Myojeong smiled at the question, which came in a teasing manner, and replied, “That’s right.” and smacked her hand lightly.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Hwirim.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Hey, is it because you’re young? It’s like glutinous rice cake.”
Hwirim chuckled and tried to reach out her hand again. Meanwhile, the boy quickly got up and ran to Myojeong. He asked, clutching Myojeong’s sleeve.
“Wh- wh- what is this person…”
Myojeong replied with a smile.
“Hwirim is an old friend of mine.”
What? Friends? The boy was startled. He did not expect that Myojeong had friends. The boy realized that he did not know much about his master. Of course, Myojeong seemed reluctant to talk about himself, including his past. Even if the topic came up, he would naturally avoid it. That’s why even though they lived together for years, he didn’t even know that he had a long-time friend.
He learned something new about his master today, and instead of being happy, he was slightly disappointed. He was also envious of him. He had no friends and he wished he did. Whether or not he fathomed his disciple’s heart, Myojeong just smiled and put his hand on the boy’s head, then asked Hwirim a question.
“Hwirim, what was it like crossing swords with my disciple? Is he good?”
At that, Hwirim stared blankly at the boy. For a moment, the boy swallowed without even realizing it. He was strangely nervous waiting for an answer. After being deep in thought for a moment while touching her chin, she opened her mouth with a smile.
“Of course, the disciple is like his master.”
Just when the boy’s eyes lighted slightly at the calm praise,
“Taking after his master, his swordsmanship is null. It’s dull, dull.”
Hwirim jokingly added, waving her hands.
“…”
“…”
The boy quietly looked up at Myojeong, thinking that he had just heard mistakenly. But the man just gently put his hands behind his back with a calm expression, as if he had not heard it wrongly…
“What?! Who are you calling dull? Hey! Are you that good?”
Eventually, the boy let out an outburst with a furious expression. He was ready to run towards Hwirim at any moment but Myojeong interrupted with an “Uh-uh,” and laughed awkwardly as he grabbed the boy’s shoulder.
“Do you know how strong Myojeong is! He can take you out with one fist!” Even if he made a hundred concessions, he could not bear to see Myojeong being undermined.
“Myojeong, what are you doing? Get the sword knife quickly! Sword!”
The boy stomped his feet abruptly.
“Gyeom-ah. Enough, calm down…”
Myojeong sighed and scolded his young apprentice.
“He’s looking down on you! Win and show him!”
“Gyeom-ah. If I do, this master’s head will fly off.”
Uhng? The boy paused and looked up at him.
“Even I don’t have the skills to beat her with swordsmanship.”
The master calmly told his disciple the truth. In addition, he even apologized implicitly. It wasn’t really anything to be sorry about, but he just felt like he should. “What? Really?” The boy asked blankly with an expression of disbelief.
Myojeong whispered softly into the boy’s ear.
“Hwirim is the best swordsman in the world.”
‘The best swordsman in the world.’ The boy widened his eyes. It was a moment that completely changed his impression of Hwirim’s impression. Suddenly his heart swelled greatly. The boy unwittingly threw his gaze at Hwirim. Then, she chuckled lightly.
“When it comes to handling a sword, no one can compare under the same sky. So, in fact, even an adept is dull in her eyes. Don’t be heartbroken.”
It couldn’t have been. He was never heartbroken or disappointed in his master. Rather, he was beginning to admire Myojeong even more. He must have been as strong as her to be friends, he thought.
When the boy’s eyes became strangely bright, Myojeong spoke in a laughing voice.
“Seems like you look at Hwirim differently.”
The boy fiddled with his finger without much reply. He glanced at Hwirim. It was true. Suddenly, Hwirim looked cool. Myojeong did not miss the opportunity and began to quietly curry favor in a soft voice.
“Do you know why Hwirim’s hair is so short? Because it was troublesome to have it become messy every time she swung the sword, she cut it with her own hands. It’s a spirit worthy of acquiring that lofty title worthy of being the greatest swordsman in the world.”
‘So cool! Cutting a bob with your own hands!’ The boy admired it with a slightly excited expression. Myojeong usually knew that he himselfwas strong, but he wasn’t the type to say or reveal it directly. It could be because of his simple temperament, but he kept quiet about himself.
However, he was quite vocal about his friend, Hwirim. It was unknown if he’s giving him advice to follow her example or if he’s amazing about how good his friend was but Myojeong seemed to want to let others know how strong and wonderful Hwirim was. Hwirim, who had been pretending to be indifferent moderately, cleared her throat, thinking that this would never end.
“Enough of that. I’m embarrassed to hear more…”
Hwirim muttered, rubbing the nape of her neck. Then Myojeong stopped talking and looked at her blankly. She slightly avoided his gaze and changed the topic, “Ah, these are the things Myojeong left the other day…” and handed over the entire backpack that was slung over her shoulder. Something like a thick cane was visibly protruding from the cloth backpack. Having received the backpack, Myojeong pulled out a long stick.
“Oh. what. What is that?”
The boy approached, full of curiosity.
“Ah, this is the bow that Myojeong has been using since before.”
Hwirim, who was standing next to him, responded kindly.
“A bow? What kind of bow is so straight? Besides, there is no bowstring…”
Myojeong smirked and said, “Look carefully.” He grabbed both ends of the stick and bent it with a force that might have broken it. The boy’s eyes widened like a rabbit. The rod, which should have been broken, was just fine. It bent flexibly under the force, boasting unbelievable elasticity.
“It looks like this, but it is more valuable and useful than any other bow.”
As Myojeong examined the bow, Hwirim stretched out her hand and rubbed the boy’s cheek like before. “Lil dunce, can you shoot a bow?” Hearing that word again, Myojeong burst into laughter as the boy hummed awkwardly with his cheek bulging out.
“Our Gyeom is somewhat clumsy with swords, but he is very good at bows. He is exceptionally talented at shooting an arrow, so it must be because he takes after his virtuous master.”
Myojeong finished speaking and placed the bow in the boy’s hand.
“Therefore, I will pass this on to my disciple who takes after me.”
The boy widened his eyes in surprise.
T/N: Hwirim’s gender is supposed to be a unknown at this moment but it’s a bit difficult to hide it, having to use pronouns in the text so… anyway, young Jaegyeom does not know it yet, and neither do the readers.
Thanks for d update
Well, I guess they/them could have been an option but that would have been too obvious, I guess. lol Now it is too late but since it was supposed to be not known just using “he” then would have been the best option … I think?
Anyway, doesn’t matter that much! Thank you for the chapter!