Chapter 53 – Chapter 5 – Beginning of Waiting

[So Yeon-ah, it’s good to train yourself, but I want you to interact with other people as well.]

This is what Master said when I was only interested in practicing martial arts without interacting with others even in Hwasan.

In fact, Master seemed to connect me with other people around me, including students from other private schools, and expected me to interact with them, but I wasn’t very interested in other people.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand other people’s feelings and only thought of myself.

I actually did kindness to people and received their thanks.

But that’s only for a moment when you’re kind

There was no interest in going any further.

I thought so.

Until I met a child.

“Wow…”

Discovering this place was by accident.

While wandering around the place where I could go around to practice light gong, I happened to find a place where I could see the space where the disciples were practicing.

But not that day.

“Cute..”

It was quite far away, but there was a child who stood out from afar.

When I first saw her, she was so beautiful that I was confused whether she was a boy or a girl.

Eyes shining like obsidian and a body that was thin and fragile overall. And the face, which seemed to have pulled out the word ‘cute’, stimulated the viewer’s desire for protection.

The face was also a face, but the body was so thin that there were even more confusion about the gender.

However, I was able to tell that it was a boy because he was where the male disciples were.

That day, I continued to watch the child practice there.

He didn’t seem to get along well with his peers.

Most of the disciples avoided him, and I could see the discomfort and displeasure in their gaze.

The kid seemed lonely about it.

He seemed to keep trying to reach out to the other kids, but ended up practicing alone in a corner due to continued bullying.

Skills… To be honest, I couldn’t say it was good even with empty words.

In the first place, his natural muscles and bones seemed too weak, and he didn’t look good in intelligence either.

What he is currently practicing is not a swordsmanship called Maehwa Fist, but a basic martial art.

Even compared to his other disciples, he seemed to be lagging behind the most, so what more do I need to say?

‘…How did I pass the entrance exam?’

He was honestly questionable.

The test wouldn’t be soft enough to pass with a body like that.

Is there anything that can be done that is different from what it looks like?

‘Ah. Now is the time…’

He was so busy watching him that he didn’t notice the passing of time.

He hurriedly looked at the sun and was more late than he thought.

He felt that Master would wait if he did not return quickly.

‘..Will there be tomorrow too?’

Since he has already entered the mountain, he will not disappear somewhere in a day.

I hope to see you in the future, and that day I went back to Master’s place.

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After that, whenever Master wasn’t there, I went out to see the child.

Fortunately, the child was still holding on.

The achievement of training doesn’t seem to be increasing, but is there a reason to go that far?

‘..Can I help you?’

It was to the point where I even thought of it like this.

But it wasn’t easy.

It was because I didn’t know what kind of scolding I would get if I got caught by Master.

‘But if you get seriously injured and have to descend…’

While I was stomping my feet without being able to do this or that

“What are you looking at?”

“Hey?!”

A familiar voice came.

“S-Master?! It’s not that I’m neglecting my training…”

“I haven’t even scolded you yet, so why are you lowering your head already? I just asked what you were looking at.”

Master put my shoulder on my shoulder and scanned the place I had just been looking at.

-Gulp

‘Did you find out?’

Could it be that I’ve been watching the child closely?

No, since when were you there?

If you were caught not only today, but earlier…

‘Ah..’

My body was already trembling at what kind of scolding I would hear.

I waited patiently for Master’s mouth to open.

“These are the disciples who just entered the mountain a few days ago. Soyeon, I was worried because you didn’t seem to have much interest in other people, but now you can ease your worries.”

“Oh, no! I didn’t come here on purpose…”

“Huh? Looks like you’re looking for one person? I thought I was here to see all of those disciples, so I said that.”

“Oh..”

It was as if he had revealed himself that he was seeing someone in particular.

In an instant, her face turned red.

“Does anyone know? Most of the students here are probably children who haven’t even passed their literacy yet.”

“No! No! I came down like this just to see the children learning the sword under the same name as Hwasan, even though they are secret disciples! I swear I have no other evil intentions!”

I was very embarrassed and made my own excuses.

But..

“..For something like that, it seems that the eyes were focused on only one person earlier.”

‘Ah..’

It seemed like everything was already caught.

“Bo, have you seen it?”

“Actually, I wasn’t sure, but from your reaction, I think it’s real.”

“?!”

Could it be that it was an induction interrogation after coming all the way here?

She felt betrayed by Master.

Although I was the one who got caught in that intention.

“So, what kind of child are you?”

“Kko, do I have to tell you?”

“If you don’t want to keep sneaking out of the teacher’s eyes like this in the future, then you should.”

Master’s eyes were determined.

It was clear that if he didn’t tell me, he would not be allowed to come out in the future.

“..Hey. That kid.”

I calmed down and carefully pointed at the child.

The child was training hard today.

-Gulp

How will Master react?

He gripped his pounding chest and squeezed his stomach.

And the evaluation from Master’s mouth

“..Volcanic fire doesn’t mean flowers.”

It was about the child’s appearance.

It was definitely an unusual appearance from the first impression.

I couldn’t say much because I was interested in him based on his appearance.

‘What should I do, what should I do’

He continued to doze in his stomach, worrying about what Master would say next.

The thought of what to do if he told me not to meet again in the future kept rising in my heart.

And the words of the master that followed

“What are you doing? Don’t go and correct it.”

“Yes, four?!”

It was unexpected to go and help.

“Aren’t they children studying under the same name of the volcano? If there is something wrong, you should inform it as a senior. You must not stand by.”

“…!”

It was like watching him practice.

It looks like he’s trying hard to lift a rock.

If it wasn’t for another child, at least it wasn’t a good training method for him.

“I’m coming!”

As soon as Master’s permission was given, I ran to him while spreading light balls.

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– Glance

Normally, I only looked at her from afar, but seeing her up close like this, her appearance shone even more.

‘Uh, how should I talk to you?’

– Exciting

As I pounded my beating heart, I thought about how I could approach him naturally.

‘I should have changed my clothes…’

The current clothes weren’t bad, but they were far from pretty.

‘It’s hard to pretend to be the same disciple.’

It was completely different from the clothes worn by the other disciples.

‘Should I just break through?’

Should I say that I came from Bonsan from the beginning?

But then what should I say?

Have you been peeping at her training from a distance for a long time?

‘..I think I’ll run away.’

I don’t know, but it didn’t sound good.

‘Whoa…’

The downside of not interacting with other people usually appeared here.

I don’t know how to rush the conversation.

After much thought, I decided.

‘Let’s just rush.’

Except for the word that I was stealing, I will say it with a little refinement.

“Oh, hello?”

I approached him cautiously and greeted him.

“?”

He looked back at me with a puzzled expression.

The child, who was undergoing arduous training that did not suit him, was drenched in sweat.

“My name is Han So-yeon. I’m a disciple who is training in the main mountain over there.

“Ah?! I, really?!”

“Yeah.. It looks difficult alone.. I think the training method is not very good..”

“Thank you!”

– Wide open

If you express the word innocence in this world, you can express it with this expression now.

Seeing that child with a really pure smile, his heart started beating like crazy as if something was broken.

“For now.. Let’s put this rock away. Maybe after it’s grown a lot more, it’s rather poisonous now.”

“Chae, in the book you practice like this…”

“That’s all a lie. And Volcano’s martial arts aren’t the kind to subdue by force.”

– Exciting

Without trying to express himself, he approached the child and tore him off the rock.

The light emanating from him seemed to grow brighter as he approached.

When the sweaty scent entered his nose, his reason made an instant movement to jump out.

After hurriedly circulating the inner energy to clear the mind and block the urge, I thought as I looked at his trembling neck.

If you put your nose directly over there, how sweet the scent would be.

“…Come to think of it, I don’t even know your name yet. What’s your name?”

“Ah, it’s called Danyuseong!”

“I see.. It’s a meteor.. How old are you by any chance?”

“..I was an orphan and was taken by my grandfather, so I don’t know the exact age, but.. About..”

After hearing his age, I could barely come to my senses.

For some reason, I felt like something very big would happen if I just couldn’t stand it.

And decided.

Let’s just wait 5 years.