As previously announced to Choi Hyun-woo and Han Su-young, Nam Hyeon-hwa came to Seoul not long after.
Upon hearing the news of her moving to Tokyo, the two literally put everything aside and headed for the meeting place.
And as soon as he saw her standing still in an upright position despite her old age, she ran straight away without anyone telling her.
“Master!”
“Hey.”
Han Soo-young threw herself as if flying away and hugged her.
Nam Hyeon-hwa, who skillfully accepted Han Soo-young as if he was familiar with it, patted Han Soo-young’s back and stroked her hair.
“Maybe it would be nice to still be pampered like a child.”
While muttering as if in trouble, Nam Hyeon-hwa was smiling softly.
Han Soo-young rubbed her face and hugged her and did not fall.
“Master.”
“It’s Hyunwoo. It was so dignified that I almost didn’t recognize it.”
At her words, Choi Hyun-woo smiled brightly without realizing it.
Then, looking at Han Soo-young with a slightly regretful gaze, he opened his mouth.
“Are there any uncomfortable or uncomfortable places?”
“then. I’m too healthy to get rid of it.”
Then he gently stretched out his arm toward Choi Hyun-woo.
When Hyun-woo Choi stopped at the action, Hyun-hwa Nam muttered as if he was sad.
“Hey, doesn’t this old man not even hug him because he’s grown up now?”
“… … .”
Then, without a word, Choi Hyun-woo hugged Nam Hyun-hwa tightly.
Nam Hyun-hwa just smiled and hugged Han Soo-young and Choi Hyun-woo without saying a word.
Hyeonu Choi was also the same age as Sooyoung Han, and he was still young.
The three of them hugged each other for a while and moved to talk.
The three of them talked for a while and began to unravel their past.
To some extent, towards the end of the story, Nam Hyeon-hwa suddenly straightened his posture and looked straight at the two of them.
Naturally, Han Soo-young and Choi Hyun-woo also straightened their posture.
“Now.”
Nam Hyeon-hwa quietly opened his mouth, looking at the two disciples who had grown up to perfection.
“Don’t bring it up. As both of you already know, this time I’m not here for a light purpose.”
As always, Nam Hyeon-hwa spoke in a calm, yet powerful voice.
“As you know, the archivist who asked you to deliver the artifact was an old friend of mine… . However, that friend died in a mysterious accident, and this time Deokpil, who had been by his side for a long time, also suffered a mysterious death. … It can no longer be overlooked.”
She closed her eyes as if in regret.
“I and my close friends decided to investigate this incident on their own. That’s what I called you to know. For a while, let alone see your face, it will be difficult to contact you.”
From her words, Han Soo-young and Choi Hyeon-woo could feel that she had already made up her mind.
They didn’t even tell them there, but the fact that they had already caught up with the case to some extent.
“Now that you are adults too, I thought you should talk to me. There was something I wanted to convey.”
With those words, Nam Hyeon-hwa carefully pulled the bojagi he had been carrying in front of two people.
Inside were two books.
“It’s my whole life.”
She pushed it in front of Choi Hyun-woo and Han Soo-young, respectively.
“And it was also my master’s life.”
Hyun-woo Choi and Su-young Han picked up the book placed in front of them with trembling hands.
Nam Hyun-hwa nodded his head as if it was okay.
“If it’s okay, I want you to continue.”
“I, Master… . Something is strange.”
Han Soo-young mumbled in a trembling voice.
“As if this was the last time… . I’ll let you know later, why… .”
Nam Hyeon-hwa smiled silently at her words.
Han Soo-young felt a certain sense of insecurity in her expression.
[do not forget. Master… .]
Then, another word of his own that he had seen in Margo’s dungeon came to mind.
After a moment’s hesitation, Han Soo-young opened her mouth quietly.
“Master, maybe this is really rude.”
“Tell me.”
Nam Hyun-hwa nodded his head.
“If you say that to Sooyoung, you must have thought about it a lot.”
“… Beware of those around you.”
Han Soo-young added quickly.
In another world, it was said that Nam Hyeon-hwa died in vain because of the betrayal of a trusted colleague.
I thought maybe it could be now.
“I heard that these days, there are new species that disturb people’s senses, and there are things that are as vague as the human mind… .”
“okay.”
Nam Hyun-hwa nodded his head.
“Don’t be careful what you say.”
Since there was nothing more to say, Han Soo-young quietly nodded her head.
In the meantime, Nam Hyeon-hwa made a softer expression and looked at the two with a subtle expression.
“By the way, do you have any more stories to tell?”
“yes?”
“You and Hyeonu aren’t the same age as you, aren’t you? I went to a place where there were many children of your age besides you… .”
Nam Hyun-hwa nodded as if he remembered.
“Yeah, how are you doing with that kid Ji-hyeok? Are you going to be dating each other by now?”
“Wow, uh… !”
As Han Soo-young blushed in embarrassment, Nam Hyeon-hwa murmured, “I’m still here,” and looked at Choi Hyun-woo.
Hyunwoo Choi smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
“I am still. And honestly, seeing Sooyoung and Jihyuk next to me is even more fun.”
“Ohh… .”
Nam Hyun-hwa nodded at Choi Hyun-woo’s words.
Then he looked at Han Soo-young and asked.
“Tell me a story. To be honest, you don’t know how hard it was to hold on to what I wanted to ask from the last time.”
Hyun-hwa Nam smiled and spoke, and Hyun-woo Choi, with a bitter smile, got up and said that he would go to the bathroom for a while.
Han Soo-young, who confirmed that Choi Hyun-woo was leaving, muttered in a quiet voice.
“That, that… . In fact, from the first time I saw you… .”
“Oh my goodness.”
Nam Hyun-hwa’s eyes lit up and leaned a little more.
“So, I’m also very vague about this… .”
Han Soo-young continued speaking while bowing her head in shame.
“Something strangely familiar to me when I first saw it. Like… . As if I had seen Master, as if I had seen something after a long time, I also felt nostalgic… . It was the first time I had felt this way for someone else, so to be honest, it was just a little, a little bit interesting. This was my first impression. I still don’t really understand.”
“and?”
Han Soo-young wiggled her fingers in embarrassment trying to say this in her heart.
“By the way… . The fact that Hyeonu and I did not care that it was difficult for us to be in our position when we were accused of being thieves, that we went out to protect the director with me, and that he did not even express himself to me even though he still had scars on his face… . It was like seeing what Master had said. So it was amazing. Ah, there really is another person like that… do.”
Nam Hyun-hwa nodded as if to say more.
“So, somehow, we ended up going together… . At some point, without realizing it, I keep getting more and more concerned, and I see it over and over again… . and… .”
Here, Han Soo-young swept her hair without realizing it, fiddling with the earrings Yoo Ji-hyuk had given her.
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Of course, Nam Hyeon-hwa did not miss it, but he did not express it.
“Well, actually, I don’t know. It’s my first time doing something like this… .”
still.
“I think I know a little bit what it is now.”
Han Soo-young smiled softly.
“Jihyuk and I were born in completely different places, we were brought up completely differently, and we must have lived while seeing a completely different world. But if the child gets hurt… I’d be sick more than that. I have never felt this kind of feeling except for Hyeonu and Master.”
After saying that, Han Su-young thought that he had said something quite unfamiliar.
So I glanced at Nam Hyun-hwa, but for some reason she just smiled.
“… Actually, I thought Hyeonu would be faster than you.”
Nam Hyeon-hwa muttered something like that and pulled something from his neck.
It was the necklace she always wore around her neck.
“The ear has already received what the child has received, and the fingers must be left empty for the child, so all I can give is what I wear around my neck.”
“Huh, eh?”
Han Soo-young was startled and startled.
However, Nam Hyun-hwa just smiled and hung it around Han Soo-young’s neck.
“You’ve been protecting me since I was younger than you. I will protect you now.”
Nam Hyeon-hwa looked at Han Soo-young with eyes full of concern and affection.
“I wish this was just an old man’s useless worries… . When I see you with that child, I can’t shake the feeling that somehow I’m going to be walking on a thorny road.”
It’s going to be very hard.
Nam Hyeon-hwa muttered like that and gently stroked Han Soo-young’s cheek.
“Whatever choice you make, you want to make sure you have no regrets. You are a good enough child.”
Hyeonhwa Nam’s words and advice from another future self coincided strangely in their direction.
do not regret
Don’t let regrets come.
“… … .”
Han Soo-young carefully tampered with the necklace she was wearing.
Then he quietly nodded.
* * *
The arrow that escapes from the demonstration is directly hit by the target.
In just a few days, his archery skills have risen dramatically, and now he was able to take on the role of the back row, even if it was only for half a person.
It was the effect of Lee Ye-eun’s guidance, archery skills, and the buff of the branches of the world tree.
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Of course, even taking that into account, it grew at an unusually fast pace.
‘Is it because I ate a bowman in Margo’s dungeon?’
All I could remember was this.
In fact, the information on the branches of the World Tree that appeared in the status window did not change, but in all respects it grew much more than in the past.
It was a story with a lot of potential.
‘If I had known this would happen, I would have eaten all the other guys.’
Mumbling an eerie sound calmly, I stopped shooting the bow.
When I turned my head, Yeeun Lee was there, looking at me as always.
She nodded her head with a happy expression.
“It looks like you don’t need me to teach you anymore.”
“It’s all thanks to you.”
“You don’t need to be too humble because your junior has followed me more than I thought.”
Yeeun Lee said so and naturally handed me the towel she was holding.
I took it with both hands and wiped the sweat with my thanks.
“Honestly, I think we can make it to the finals.”
“Ahaha, you’re saying too many empty words.”
“… ? It was sincere.”
As I smiled and said that, Yeeun Lee took a towel from me and handed me a bottle of sports drink this time.
“Sleep, it’s important to stay hydrated after sweating.”
“thank you.”
As she lowered her head and drank it, her eyes met with Yeeun Lee.
She silently looked at the towel and made eye contact with me, but somehow bewildered, she immediately put it into the collection box with a loud noise.
“More than that, juniors, at the party of the finalists.”
She was already convinced that I would make it to the finals.
She looked at me as if not to forget.
“It’s okay to share with the person you were with at that time. But don’t forget that you have to match the dress code like a suit as it is a seat.”
“Wait, a suit?”
“yes.”
When I looked at her in embarrassment at the first hearing, Yeeun Lee had a confused expression as well.
“uh… . If you don’t have… ?”
“… … .”
I nodded my head slightly.
Although I rarely wore it in my original world, I had a few suits.
But there was no way for me in this world to have such a thing.
“… You can’t go wearing an academy uniform, right?”
“… … .”
At my words, Ye-eun Lee raised her bow without saying a word and put it on the shelf.
Then he carefully took the bow I was holding, put it together, and grabbed my hand tightly.
“Let’s go right now. If you do it right now, you will be right on time.”
“Yes?”
“Come on, come on.”
Saying so, she dragged me out.
And he was constantly muttering to himself, ignoring the gaze of others.
“… I don’t have enough time to get there… . For now, I only stocked the size and style today, and later… .”
“Seniors.”
“… Fool, why didn’t you care about this? In a way… .”
“Seniors. I won’t run away, so just let go of my hand.”
“ah.”
Yeeun Lee paused at my words, and then she let go of my hand in surprise.
“Mi, I’m sorry.”
I waved my hand at her apology as if it was okay.
Because I was already used to it.
We were soon able to arrive at the dressmaker housed inside the academy.
“welcome.”
When we opened the door, a middle-aged man with a neat impression appeared and greeted us with a smile.
“I’m here to get a suit.”
“Oh, is that so? Men, then this way… .”
Yeeun Lee skillfully guided me and I started to measure in front of the mirror following the guidance of another staff member.
“How do you style it?”
“Isn’t Italian the most easy-going? Please do that.”
“How many buttons do you want?”
“Uh… . Since your junior has a slender look and a skinny body, I think three would be fine… . Still, it’s okay this time.”
“Then I’ll take two.”
Yeeun Lee skillfully talked to the man.
While thinking about how she knows better than me, Yeeun Lee naturally picked up a few shirts.
“How long will it take to order the fastest?”
“Are you in a hurry?”
“yes. a great many.”
“then… .”
As if the story had already been told, the man bowed his head and said that he would see it in three days.
Ye-eun Lee nodded her head as if she knew it for a moment, even though she looked shaky.
And naturally, she pulled out a card, so I stepped forward and stopped her.
“Senior, what are you doing now?”
“yes?”
Lee Ye-eun hesitated and answered my sudden words.
“uh… . Now that I’ve placed my order, I’m going to start paying… .”
“Why are you doing that?”
Without realizing it, I replied sharply.
I first took the card out of my pocket and handed it to the man.
He hesitated for a moment, then politely accepted it, finished the payment, and handed it to me.
I glanced at the receipt and saw that the price wasn’t too bad.
It was a price that I would never have touched if I was in the original world.
“… Whoa.”
I let out a small sigh and ruffled my hair.
Then, looking at Ye-eun Lee, who shrugged as if anxious, she said in a quiet voice as if to appease her.
“Senior, thank you for always taking good care of me. Thank you so much for caring for me. But this… This is not it.”
“That, that… . I am just out of pure favor.”
“It’s wrong to buy a junior for a few million won simply out of pure favor, senior. Even if your senior is okay… .”
As I was speaking, I could feel the gaze in the dressmaker pointing towards me.
I first took her out of the store.
And I took Ye-eun Lee, who had died suddenly, to a rare place.
“Seniors.”
“… Yes, junior.”
She nodded at my call.
“First of all, I like you very much. I respect him as a junior.”
Yeeun Lee nodded her head helplessly.
“But, but it was just overworked. Why don’t you just buy a few million won… . Don’t you think it was something that could be taken badly by some people?”
“… Sorry. I was short.”
“Of course, it’s not that I was angry with you or that I felt bad. But isn’t it just me and your seniors and juniors? I’m still hearing strange noises these days… .”
“… Yes.”
“Yes?”
Ye-eun Lee muttered with her head bowed.
“It’s just a simple senior-junior relationship… . No.”
She bit her lip and exhaled hard.
Then he looked up at me cautiously and said.
“in fact… !”