When the Starlight Descends (2)
“Son! Have you been well?”
When I saw Mother, whose eyes were brimming with tears from joy, my heart surged. I did not need to hear it to know how much she had missed me.
This was also the reason I had run home in a single breath.
Mother held my hand and asked,
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“That is a relief. Truly, such a relief.”
At moments like this, there was no trace of Mother’s fiery personality. She simply became like every mother in the world.
Father, on the other hand, silently looked at me and gave one nod. If anything, his reaction was even more blunt than usual. I could tell. Their reactions were different, but their hearts were one.
I had never been a parent. Of course, I had met many parents. Through their stories, I had heard a great deal about what it meant to raise children.
But because I had never experienced it myself, I did not know exactly what that feeling was like.
I could only guess that the worry they felt for me could not be compared to the worry I felt for my parents.
“The situation in the Jianghu is chaotic. Please be careful.”
“Do not worry. This father of yours is also a person of the Jianghu.”
“Yes, Father.”
After the Demonic Cult officially revived, I gave orders to Jin and greatly increased the number of spies in the Shandong region. Especially regarding the Byeok Sword Clan and the Song Estate, if even the smallest change or movement occurred nearby, a report would immediately fly to me.
While eating with my parents, I told them stories of what had happened. Of course, they were not stories about fighting the forces behind the scenes, but other stories.
I told them I had created a small merchant company and an organization capable of handling information. I did not mention the exact scale, but even that much greatly surprised my parents.
I credited Gong Su-Chan for it. I said that his talent was becoming more outstanding by the day, and that thanks to him, many of our financial problems had been resolved.
“Do you happen to need money? I can lend it to you at a low interest rate.”
“You little brat!”
At my joke, Father laughed heartily.
Mother added to the cheerful atmosphere with a joke of her own.
“You must be hungry, right? Since my son is here, shall I show off my skills for the first time in a while?”
The moment she rolled up her sleeves and tried to head to the kitchen, Father and I threw ourselves forward to stop her.
In any case, thanks to revealing this fact, I could now place the contact office that had been outside inside the house.
It was so enjoyable to return home after such a long time.
As I spent time with my parents until late, I once again realized that I had changed.
Because the enemies revealing themselves were so powerful, normally I would have been worried and burdened. I would have interpreted everything according to the logic of the Jianghu. I would have felt the obsession that I had to become stronger in order to protect everyone.
Of course, I had to work hard. But that must not become everything.
Because this moment too was my life. I must not sacrifice reality for the sake of the future.
If the old me had lived only the Jianghu, now I felt that I was living a life within the Jianghu.
Of course, that was my case, and there was someone who was now madly absorbed in the Jianghu and living the Jianghu itself.
It was Gwangdu.
After finishing the meal with my parents, I went to Gwangdu’s residence late at night.
Gwangdu was training in the practice yard until late. I stood to one side and quietly watched him.
Gwangdu’s skill had truly improved a great deal. I had felt it before, but Gwangdu was born with talent for Martial Arts. With effort added to that, he was growing noticeably day by day.
Because he had not yet met a wall, Gwangdu moved forward as much as he worked.
Gwangdu was always saying silly things, but now, while he was immersed in training, he looked like a different person.
“Phew.”
After finishing his training, Gwangdu was soaked in sweat.
When Gwangdu turned around and discovered me, he flinched in surprise. Soon, he spoke as if nothing had happened.
“I heard you had come.”
He was the kind of person who used to run over shouting, Young Maaaaster, but his reaction was unexpectedly calm.
“Have you been well?”
“I’m the same as always. It’s late, so please sleep.”
Look at this little guy. So you’re going to act like this?
“All right, rest.”
I turned around and walked away. We walked toward different directions.
Just as I was about to turn the corner!
“Stop!”
When I turned around, Gwangdu was standing far away with his lips jutting out.
“You’re too much! How could you really leave just because I said that?”
“What is too much?”
“If you made someone worry that much, you should at least accept this much sulking.”
“Hahaha.”
As if I would accept only that much.
I strode over and pulled Gwangdu into a tight embrace. Startled, Gwangdu tried to pull away.
“I sweated a lot!”
“It’s fine.”
I hugged Gwangdu sincerely.
How could I treat you carelessly? If you had not been there at my new beginning, the current me would not exist either.
Gwangdu too was relieved that I had returned safely.
After releasing the embrace, I said to Gwangdu playfully,
“I thought you had forgotten me.”
“That’s what I should be saying! Just what kind of amazing thing were you doing that you didn’t even contact me?”
“Sorry. Let’s be together from now on.”
When I said we should be together, Gwangdu flinched.
“What on earth did you do?”
“I tried to stop the assassination of the Murim Alliance Lord, and I saved the Chief Strategist’s life. From now on, I have to get involved in selecting the new Alliance Lord too. I also have to fight the revived Demonic Cult… Now I feel a little relieved. Because you’ll be with me.”
Gwangdu quietly stepped backward.
“That’s how human relationships are, you know. If you’re always stuck together, you don’t realize how precious the other person is. You have to spend some time apart for the relationship to deepen, and to treat each other better.”
I smiled at him.
The words about being together were a joke. For now, I intended to leave Gwangdu at home.
They said Gwan Hui of the Small Sword Unit was doing well, but he was still young, so Gwangdu would surely be a great source of support. Also, Gwangdu was necessary for the Sword Clan.
“Protect the house well until I call you later!”
“Do not worry!”
Perhaps the person who wanted to go with me more than anyone else was Gwangdu. But Gwangdu did not force unreasonable demands or requests. That was why I thought Gwangdu was clever, and also why I liked him.
As I turned and walked away, heading toward the main gate, Gwangdu asked from behind,
“But where are you going? At this hour?”
“There’s somewhere I need to visit for a while.”
In truth, when I thought about how to spend my vacation, there was someone else who came to mind first. Though I felt sorry to my parents.
Song Hwa-Rin, who had been lying in bed trying to sleep, eventually came outside.
She came out very carefully so as not to wake Su-Ran, who was sleeping in the next room. Her Martial Arts had now far surpassed Su-Ran’s, so she could move without making a sound.
Strangely, she could not fall asleep tonight. Her heart kept pounding. It felt as though someone somewhere was calling her.
Thinking there was no way such a thing could be happening, she moved her feet.
The place she arrived at, drawn there without realizing it, was the field behind the house.
And there was someone there.
Byeok Ri-Dan was standing there, looking up at the night sky. Tonight, the stars were especially dense.
“You came?”
Byeok Ri-Dan spoke as though he had been waiting.
Song Hwa-Rin was truly startled. She had never imagined he would be here.
“When on earth did you come?”
“I arrived today.”
“And here?”
“About fifteen minutes ago.”
“Why didn’t you come find me?”
“It was too late.”
“But still, here…”
At that moment, she flinched in surprise.
“Don’t tell me? This sounds insane, but… did you call me here?”
It truly was an insane thing to say. From her room to this place was quite a distance.
Sending out energy waves and calling someone from this far away was something only a truly supreme expert could do.
Instead of answering, Byeok Ri-Dan asked,
“Shall I see how much your skill has improved?”
Song Hwa-Rin chuckled.
‘What a man who doesn’t understand the mood. We meet after so long, and the first thing he wants to do is draw swords?’
But at the same time, she also thought this. Because she had learned Martial Arts from him, they could be together so naturally like this.
“Fine.”
She stood before Byeok Ri-Dan and slowly drew her sword. She had trained truly hard because she felt the gap between her and Byeok Ri-Dan growing wider and wider.
Song Hwa-Rin swung her sword carefully, doing the very best she could.
After the forms of the Evolution Sword Art ended once, Byeok Ri-Dan made another suggestion instead of evaluating her swordsmanship.
“This time, let’s do it together.”
“Together?”
“Yes.”
Byeok Ri-Dan performed the Evolution Sword Art together with Song Hwa-Rin.
“Don’t mind me and just do it.”
The movements of the two became one and moved together. Behind her, Byeok Ri-Dan moved exactly the same way, as if a shadow were following her.
When the forms proceeded from beginning to end, Byeok Ri-Dan said,
“One more time!”
Once again, the two performed the forms.
Byeok Ri-Dan’s movements changed. If earlier he had moved exactly the same way for Song Hwa-Rin’s sake, this time he led Song Hwa-Rin himself.
Seeing that the speed of the movements had changed, the quick-witted Song Hwa-Rin became the shadow this time.
It was different. It was different from the speed she had imagined, the spacing of the steps was different, and the angle of the sword was different. If she had simply watched, she might not have known, but standing side by side and performing the forms made her feel the difference clearly.
She thought she would not be able to feel it because she had to focus on her own forms, but strangely, she could tell. It felt as though his movements were being transmitted into her own body. For her, it was a truly mysterious experience.
“One more time!”
The more they repeated it, the smaller the difference became.
As she performed the exact same movements as Byeok Ri-Dan, she was feeling a certain exhilaration. It was not merely because her Martial Arts were being properly corrected.
The unity of this action even led to a strange emotional communion. It was probably because it was Byeok Ri-Dan and no one else. The joy that came from doing something exactly the same as him stirred her heart.
Byeok Ri-Dan continued like that three more times, then this time gave a different instruction.
“This time, put in as much internal energy as possible!”
She was startled. If one used internal energy to the fullest, the power would change greatly, and one could even be injured.
But Byeok Ri-Dan had already begun the form.
She also swung her sword together with him. It had been different earlier too, but now the sound coming from the sword was completely different.
She could tell. Her sword too should be making such a forceful sound.
It was not as dangerous as she had thought. She realized that her worry had, quite literally, been nothing more than worry.
‘Let’s not easily judge something I haven’t tried.’
She gained one realization. It might not seem like much, but for someone training in Martial Arts, it was truly important.
When they finished the forms, two identical marks remained around them.
“Ah!”
As she looked down at them, shame and a certain passion rose at the same time on Song Hwa-Rin’s face.
One looked like a trace made by a child, and the other looked like a trace made by an adult, and not just any adult, but a person of the Jianghu.
The trace Byeok Ri-Dan had left was deep, precise, and clean.
On the other hand, hers was shallow and crooked.
Until now, she had thought she was properly performing the forms, but when she compared them directly like this, that was not the case.
It was not simply because of the difference in internal energy. It was the difference in how accurately one used the forms. He had shown her with her own eyes how she should move forward.
Song Hwa-Rin looked at Byeok Ri-Dan.
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. Let’s rest a little.”
“Okay.”
The two sat down side by side. There were so many stars in the night sky that it seemed as though they might pour down at any moment.
They had drunk together, trained together, and gone through several things together. There was no awkwardness between them.
However, Song Hwa-Rin did have one regret.
“Rather than our relationship being…”
She stopped speaking midway.
Byeok Ri-Dan finished the rest for her.
“You wish we weren’t engaged?”
Song Hwa-Rin nodded slightly.
If that had been the case, she would never have brought up breaking the engagement.
What always held her back was the declaration of breaking the engagement that she herself had made. At the time, Byeok Ri-Dan had certainly behaved drunkenly in a way that was difficult to forgive, but she had been the one who brought up breaking the engagement first.
“I actually like things better now.”
At those unexpected words, Song Hwa-Rin turned to look at Byeok Ri-Dan.
Byeok Ri-Dan also looked at her and spoke.
“It’s good, isn’t it? We can get married, and we can break off the engagement. We’re standing in a situation where we can make any choice.”
She looked dumbfounded, then chuckled.
‘So our situation can be thought of like that too.’
Right then, her eyes sparkled.
“Ah, a shooting star!”
Far away, a shooting star was falling with a tail trailing behind it.
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.
Instead of making a wish, Byeok Ri-Dan looked at her. He thought that her figure with her eyes closed was endlessly beautiful.
The next moment.
Byeok Ri-Dan’s face slowly moved toward Song Hwa-Rin’s face.
[Read only on MugenCodex]
— Read only on MugenCodex —
