Chapter 255. To Become Stronger (2)
“It’s been a while, ma’am.” Chi-Hyun said.
Onlookers who weren’t aware of their relationship would be shocked that the legend would address someone so politely. Chi-Hyun spoke informally to everyone but spoke in honorifics to the person in front of him.
“Yeah, it’s been a while,” a quiet and tranquil voice replied. “I guess you’re still alive.” Her voice was authoritative but also calm. “Since the Celestial Realm was working so frantically to send additional recruits, I thought you might have fucked up and kicked the bucket.”
It was shocking that the speaker not only spoke so informally to him, but also laughed and made a jab at him.
“The fact that I’m alive must mean I still have work to do here.” Chi-Hyun calmly replied and looked at the person sitting comfortably across from him. She appeared extremely relaxed as she rested her head on the top of the sofa. With both of her arms drooping loosely to her sides, she placed her crossed legs on Chi-Hyun’s desk. There was even a long pipe in her mouth. Although she was sitting in an extremely rude manner, Chi-Hyun didn’t seem to mind at all.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“It’s because they were making such a huge fuss at the Celestial Realm.”
“The Celestial Realm?”
“Yeah, they said that the prophecy was looking for me in a hurry or something. They pestered and begged me to participate in the ninth recruitment until my ears bled.” She let out a deep sigh. “That Laguel girl, who’s usually like a wooden doll, implored me so desperately too. I was also curious about how you were doing, and I might as well look for a husband here.”
“I’ll pretend I misheard the last part.”
“No, you heard it right. Isn’t this where all the Celestial Realm’s heroes are gathered in droves? There must be at least one decent guy here.” With a pipe in her mouth, she made a soft smile.
Chi-Hyun snorted. “I guess you still have that impossible dream.”
“What?”
“And please be mindful of your age. If I may ask, do you have a conscience?”
“What did you say?” Her voice instantly became sharp. “You dare to speak to me like that? I guess you have a death wish today.”
“Are you confident that you can beat me?”
“…Bastard.” It didn’t seem like she had a comeback for that as she huffed in anger.
Chi-Hyun let out a soft laugh and continued, “Anyways, it’s been a long time since I’ve been pleased with the Celestial Realm’s work. Thanks to you, I feel much more relieved.”
The woman blinked with slight surprise. “There must be something serious going on if a stuck-up guy like you is saying that…” When she put the pipe in her mouth, a faint wisp of smoke flowed out like a silhouette. After a short silence, she said, “Tell me. What is it that a hero like you, who is called a legend among legends, is troubled about?”
Chi-Hyun hesitated for a bit, but soon opened his mouth. “It’s about my brother.”
“Brother? There’s a hero you’re close enough to that you’d call him brother?”
“No, there isn’t.” Chi-Hyun shook his head and continued, “I’m talking about my blood-related brother.”
The woman’s small shoulders slightly flinched. She reflexively raised her head from the sofa and stared intently at him.
“I’m talking about Chi-Woo,” Chi-Hyun said again with a sharp look.
After a brief pause, the woman said, “…First of all, sorry for making you repeat yourself.” She exhaled the breath she had been holding.
“It’s all right. I completely understand.”
“I simply hadn’t expected this at all.” She uncrossed her legs and straightened her posture. “It seems like…” She brushed her hair back and finished, “We need to have a long chat.”
* * *
As time went by, the sun sank toward the horizon, and dusk fell.
Whoosh! The sound of something cutting through wind rang in the air. Chi-Woo was swinging a club nonstop in the yard, and his splattered sweat reflected the sunlight. He didn’t know why he was blindly wielding the ghost-busting club without rest; he couldn’t understand it very well himself, but he just felt like he had to do something after meeting his brother. He felt like he needed to vent his emotions somehow; if he didn’t at least do something, it felt like his heart would explode. Thus, even though he knew it was meaningless, he repeated the snapping technique like crazy for more than a day.
—Sigh…
Philip sighed as he stared at Chi-Woo. He didn’t stop Chi-Woo at first because as someone who was always by Chi-Woo’s side, he could guess how he must be feeling. However, there was a limit to everything. When Chi-Woo looked like he was about to cross the line, Philip couldn’t just stand back and watch anymore.
—Hey, hey. Stop it now.
Chi-Woo didn’t reply. He didn’t even turn around. ‘I just have to get stronger…!’ He gritted his teeth and continued to vigorously swing his club.
—I told you to stop.
Philip repeated himself.
—What’s the point of this? I understand how you feel, but—
“I’m in the middle of training.” Chi-Woo quickly cut Philip off. “You told me to get stronger, so I’m training to get stronger. What’s wrong with that?”
—No, it’s good to get stronger, but…
Philip was dumbfounded.
—You consider this training?
“What is it if not training?”
—You want me to be honest? You’re just swinging the club like a pissed off kid—
“You’re swinging your club like someone mindlessly hitting a sandbag in anger.”
Chi-Woo, who was about to angrily shout at Philip to mind his own business, faltered because the person who just spoke wasn’t Philip. The voice was physical—one that belonged to a living person. When Philip and Chi-Woo both looked at the speaker, their eyes widened at the same time. It was a woman they had never seen before; a woman who looked to be around her twenties was holding a long pipe.
There was a deep glow on her face; a deep, cozy, and tranquil glow like a temple in the mountains on a snowy, winter night. “He didn’t say a single thing wrong.”
However, her voice was very different from her clean and calm appearance. “Every single word he said is right.” She sounded slightly raspy and hoarse as a result of years of drinking and smoking. And she dressed simply, wearing a straight skirt without wrinkles long enough to cover both feet, which gently revealed the soft curve of her hip. Her torso was only wrapped with a cloth around her chest to clearly expose her collarbone, but she wore a baeja[1] with wide sleeves that came all the way down to her knees. Although her clothes were nothing special, her presence and relaxed attitude made one think of a martial arts master who had reached the pinnacle of her art.
When Chi-Woo didn’t respond, the woman smacked her lips and pointed with her pipe—not at him, but at Philip. “I’m talking about what that spirit just said.”
—….What?
Philip made a shrill noise.
—What the…perhaps…can you see me?
Philip asked just in case.
“I can see you clearly.”
—Wow? Wooahhhhh!
Philip exclaimed in glee.
“…Hmph. What’s the big fuss about seeing a spirit?”
—Wow! It’s nice to meet you, mademoiselle! I can’t believe a pretty lady like you can see me! It’s an honor!
Philip breathed heavily and flew straight toward the woman. His bad habit of going crazy for any pretty woman was triggered again.
—Since this is also fate, how about it? Shall we go into a room and share a sincere and deep conversation?
“You and me? What would we even talk about?”
—Is that really important? We can have a back and forth with our tongues, and then if our hearts connect, maybe we can also…!
“…Well, that’s not a bad suggestion, but…” The woman listened to Philip’s desperate words and continued, “Can you do it?”
—…Eh?
Philip made a stupid sound, and the woman looked him up and down. “Can you even get it up?” Philip stiffened at her quite straightforward comment and immediately collapsed to the ground. His body began to fade away; the shock was so great that it manifested as a serious blow.
“Tsk, he doesn’t have a backbone. There’s no point meeting him.” The woman clicked her tongue and coldly walked past Philip. Then she came up to Chi-Woo and assessed him. “So, you must be Chi-Woo.” It was a very sudden remark. “Chi-Hyun’s younger brother and Suho and Elrich’s youngest son.”
“What?”
“Ah. To you…is she Okbun? That was my mistake just now. Forget it.”
Chi-Woo was baffled. Who was she that she would mention his brother, father, and mother by names?
“Do you know me?”
“More than you’ll ever know.” The woman gave him a soft smile. “You sure grew up a lot since you were a wee baby crying for milk in my arms.”
“W-what?”
“Geez…I sure feel the passing of time whenever this happens.”
Chi-Woo shook his head as he looked at the woman muttering to herself with a bitter smile. “I…have no idea who you are.”
“Of course you don’t,” the woman said flatly. “You were only a newborn baby when I carried you around and coaxed you. It’d be stranger if you remembered that.”
Chi-Woo stared blankly at the woman who smirked at him. Then he thought of the question he should have asked first. “Who are you?”
“Well…you can just call me Byeok. Miss Byeok will be even better.” She quickly added a qualification. “For your information, it’s Miss Byeok. If you call me Mrs. Byeok, I’ll kill you cause I’ve never been married.” After introducing herself as Byeok, she blinked at Chi-Woo’s reaction. “Perhaps…do you not know me?”
Chi-Woo barely managed to nod. Then Byeok looked taken aback and said, “Ah.” She exclaimed and struck her forehead. “That’s right. You grew up as an ordinary person who didn’t know anything. It’s no wonder you don’t know me.”
Chi-Woo was shocked; Byeok just revealed an extremely well-kept secret. Even Noel didn’t know much about how he grew up.
“Anyway.” Byeok cleared her throat. “I came all the way here for you as soon as I entered Liber because I received a request.”
“A request? From whom?” Chi-Woo asked in reflex, but on second thought, there was only one person who would make a request to someone who knew his situation so well like Byeok. “Did hyung—”
“You don’t have to know that.” Byeok easily dismissed his question and suddenly looked around. “Well, it’s okay to stay for a while…” Then she asked, “What were you doing?”
“Wait, please wait a minute. I still don’t understand.”
“I’ve explained enough. I’ll ask the questions, and you just need to answer.” She spun the pipe in her hand and said, “I’ll ask again. What were you doing?”
“…Training,” Chi-Woo replied a bit timidly. He didn’t know why, but he had a strong gut feeling that he might get hit with her pipe if he didn’t respond properly.
“What training?” Byeok immediately asked. “Are you practicing the snapping technique?”
Chi-Woo, who didn’t think that she would reply with another question, nodded.
“Why are you practicing that?”
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”
“I told you to only answer me.”
Chi-Woo gaped at her sharp tone. He couldn’t tell her honestly, so he said, “Just…to train…”
Byeok frowned at his mumbling reply. “Your words don’t add up.”
‘What did she mean by that?’
“The reason for training is to get stronger.”
Chi-Woo agreed. However, he couldn’t agree with her following words.
“Then why are you practicing that technique?”
Why was she asking this question? He answered, “The better I get at this technique, the stronger I can be compared to how I am now.”
Byeok snorted at his reply, and Chi-Woo was slightly offended by her obvious ridicule. “Why are you laughing?”
“I’m laughing because it’s funny.”
“What is so funny?”
“Every person has a training method that best fits them. But isn’t it funny that a guy like you who can’t even do addition is trying to do multiplication?” Byeok folded her arms and shook her head. “Since you lived as an ordinary person, you couldn’t have mastered that on your own. That means someone taught you. What kind of idiot…”
“My brother was the one who taught me.” The person who actually trained him was Philip, but Chi-Woo said it was his brother. Since he learned this technique to solve the task that his brother assigned him, he wasn’t technically wrong.
“Then I should be insulting him.” Although Chi-Woo mentioned his brother, Byeok didn’t even blink an eye. “Why did he teach you such a stupid…ah, wait.” Then she said after a short pause, “Considering his personality, he wouldn’t have made a mistake like that. Was there a situation that forced…”
She narrowed her eyes and suddenly sighed. “…Ah…I’m already getting a bad feeling about this…” She looked slightly worried, as if she thought she got caught up in a troublesome affair. “But…I said I’d decide after seeing him…” Then she murmured to herself as if she had no choice and suddenly approached him.
Chi-Woo inadvertently stepped back.
“Stay still.”
“W-What are you doing?”
“How cute. Do you think I’m going to eat you?” Byeok moved behind Chi-Woo, who was stepping back. “You’re overreacting.”
Chi-Woo’s neck shrank when her breath touched his back.
“Do it properly or not at all. It’s maddening to see you swing your club so emotionally.” Byeok grabbed the back of Chi-Woo’s hand as he held the club. He tried to resist when she manipulated his hand.
“Don’t resist.”
However, he didn’t stop.
“…I.” Byeok’s voice dropped an octave lower. “Told you not to resist.”
At that moment, Chi-Woo clearly felt murderous intent mixed with annoyance from his back. She wasn’t just threatening him. She really wanted to kill him just now; that was how pure her murderous intent was. As soon as he felt this, he completely stopped putting up a fight.
“…Since we might have to stay together for a while, I’ll tell you in advance.” Byeok’s voice lowered even further. “I absolutely detest repeating myself.” She quickly tapped Chi-Woo’s calf and knee with her foot and continued, “I can kindly and perfectly explain it to you the first time since you might not know better, but if you still don’t understand even after all that…” She twisted his waist and shoulder with her other hand and forcibly adjusted his posture. Then she raised the hand she was holding high into the air. “As someone who’s teaching you, it drives me—” Like this, she corrected his posture in an instant, and before it could go awry, she swung his arm down. “Mad!”
Cracccccck!
—Hey, Chi-Woo. Can I borrow your body—whaaaat?!
Both Philip, who realized something and quickly flew towards him, and Chi-Woo were astonished.
—What…
Philip’s feelings were particularly intense. As someone who had made quite a lot of achievements in his life, Philip realized at a glance how amazing the attack just now had been. In short, he knew how unbelievable it was for a human to have performed that action.
“How was it?” Byeok asked.
Chi-Woo didn’t reply—no, he couldn’t. ‘Just now…’ Chi-Woo had clearly swung his club in the air, but instead of the sound of it cutting through air, it made a sound of breaking rocks. It wasn’t an illusion. It felt like his arm had been naturally swept away by a tsunami pouring from top to bottom. The sensation of splitting the air into two still lingered in his arm and hand.
“If you didn’t feel any difference…it’ll be extremely hopeless. There’s not much point in teaching if you don’t even have the talent of an ordinary person…” Byeok tilted her head and breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Chi-Woo’s face. “At least that doesn’t seem to be the case. That’s a relief.”
“…Who are you?” Chi-Woo asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“Didn’t I tell you that I don’t like repeating myself?” Byeok crossed her arms to show her displeasure.
“That’s not what I’m saying, but who in the world are you that you can—!”
“Goodness.” Byeok clicked her tongue. “It’s already becoming bothersome. She scratched her head and said, “Then, let’s do this.” She raised her hand and lifted her index finger. “A thousand times.”
“?”
“You can poke or slice. If you’re confident, you can swing your club while dancing around.” Byeok pointed to his club with her chin and continued, “Use the feeling just now to swing your club to your heart’s content. Then I’ll answer your question to your heart’s content.”
“Like just now…”
“Well, I’m telling you to continue doing what you were doing. Of course, with a different purpose than before.” Then she turned around. “I feel like you’re going to ask again, so let me tell you again in advance. It’s exactly a thousand times.”
She trudged towards the verandah and said, “Let’s see. The deadline is…okay, until I finish reading this.” She sat down and took out a bundle of paper.
Then she lay down as if she was at her own home and said, “Don’t worry too much. I’ll take naps, go out, meet people, and eat in the process.” Then she lay on her side and propped her head up with a hand on her temple.
Chi-Woo was shocked by the movement just now, but he was about to ask why he had to obediently follow her words.
“Ah.” But as if she’d read his mind, she said, “By the way, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Of course, you can give up halfway. I won’t stop you or say anything. I promise I’ll leave immediately while humming instead.” She licked her fingertip and flipped to the next page before continuing, “But if you’re planning to do that, tell me in advance. Another thing I really hate is wasting time.” Then she said nothing more and focused intently on the documents in her hand. She really seemed like she didn’t care if he chose to do this or not.
Chi-Woo looked around in bewilderment at the sudden turn of events, and then he made eye contact with Philip.
—…Do it.
Philip still had a look of astonishment on his face.
—You have to do it. At all costs. Do it like it’s your life on the line.
Chi-Woo didn’t know the exact reason why, but Philip looked more serious and solemn than ever.
1. Baeja is a type of traditional Korean vest. ☜