“Are you awake now?”
I blinked hard at the sound of the voice.
When I turned my head and looked to the side, I saw a side profile of Choi Hyun-woo, who was sitting on a chair and sharpening his sword.
“What is it, Hyunwoo? ?”
He moved his strangely stiff body somehow and got himself up.
He chuckled at my voice that had subsided and burst into laughter.
“Something very disappointing? After all, out of so many people, I was probably the one who was by my side, so it would be okay.”
“What nonsense… .”
“Drink because there is water next to you. It’s hard for me to listen.”
“Uh-huh.”
It was definitely what he said.
My mouth was dry and sticky.
Without reaching for the water bottle next to me, I flinched.
arms were long
The boy groaned and burst into laughter.
“It came back to normal while I was sleeping.”
At his words, I glanced at my body.
She wore the same clothes she wore when she was young.
And he immediately explained whether he had noticed my question.
“It was said that the size of the clothes changes according to the condition of the owner. Thanks to you, I had some fun watching.”
“Everything is there.”
“That’s it.”
He smiled as he continued to sharpen his blade.
“There are drugs that change young or old, even gender. Wouldn’t that be the case?”
He gently raised the blade to eye level and carefully put it inside the scabbard and added.
“In a country that has the ability to return the body to its heyday. like my master.”
“… … .”
shudder.
With the sound of a tight engagement, he set his sword down on the table.
It was a supply sword that could be obtained immediately by requesting it from the academy.
“Hyunwoo.”
When I called his name in a strange atmosphere, he trembled in disgust.
“What, am I me now? Why are you holding so much weight and calling someone by name?”
He smiled playfully and closed his eyes.
Then he quietly opened his eyes and looked at me with serious eyes and said:
“… can i talk to you? It’s a little serious.”
At his words, I nodded and got up from the bed.
And when I sat down moderately, he also turned toward me and sat down.
He scratched the back of his head as if awkwardly, and then suddenly spit it out.
“I met you again, Master.”
“What? when?”
“When you were still in the form of a dragon.”
Hyunwoo Choi hesitated, then sighed a little.
“… I don’t know how to swim yet. To be honest, I don’t know if I can talk to Sooyoung. I wondered if it would be better for me to know by myself… .”
And he looked into my eyes and said cautiously.
“Hey, Jihyuk. I’m not saying this because I mean something weird. Can I ask you just one thing?”
“What. It’s okay, ask me anything.”
“Perhaps… When you were young, your family was a little… Did you?”
I paused for a moment at his words and then nodded.
Instinctively, I was able to notice earlier that he was trying to bring up a story he had hidden deep in his heart that he had never told anyone.
So, I thought it would be right to tell the story that was also hidden here.
“It was a lot. My parents are divorced, my younger brother is raised… I did a lot.”
I don’t want to think about it, but I was a being that people could call an illegitimate child.
My biological father said I was disgusting, and my father, who raised me, left to find another family.
My mother resented and resented me all her life.
It was only because of my sister that I was able to survive until now without going astray.
“It wasn’t my intention, but I heard you talk about it in your sleep.”
He nodded and added.
“As Yuna said, as the body changes, it seems that the mind is also affected.”
“What did you say?”
“Well, just… it was kinda I didn’t say much.”
He mumbled and mumbled.
“It just made me decide to tell you this story.”
With a helpless laugh, he began to speak quietly.
It’s a bit of a long story, but with the addition of asking if you would like to hear it.
“As you know Jihyuk, Sooyoung and I are orphans abandoned by our parents. Maybe our names aren’t even real names? Hyun-Woo Choi, Soo-Young Han… I think there must have been another name other than this name. Actually, I don’t even know our birthday. I overheard it at the orphanage that it was just a reasonable decision.”
He smiled and continued talking.
“I don’t even want to recall those memories. All I can remember is that it was really hard, and that we were right next to each other from the moment we woke up. Meanwhile… We met Master.”
He smiled softly.
“Since that day, our lives have changed. He… Master was literally our master, our parents and our family. We learned a lot from him and we got it. Perhaps this grace will never be repaid even if I pay it back for the rest of my life. By the way… .”
Choi Hyun-woo mumbled a little.
“I don’t know.”
He was smiling a little.
“I don’t know, really. Even though I met Master again that day… What could I possibly say to the one who said sorry to me? What the hell did I have to say, what do you mean sorry? Master, oh… did not do anything wrong. If there’s anything wrong, it’s my fault.”
In the middle of the conversation, he quietly blinked his eyes.
“I thought my thoughts would be organized to some extent, but when I met Master again that day… I had a thought I couldn’t explain. To the extent that if I had known this would be the case, it would have been better not to know anything.”
What should I say to the benefactor who endlessly murmured that he was sorry?
There was no way I could say anything to Choi Hyun-woo who said that.
Then he suddenly looked at me and said,
“That’s why I hate you, Jihyuk.”
“… yes?”
“I’m joking, don’t be so mean.”
Hyun-woo Choi burst out laughing and giggled in an instant.
“It’s not that I hate it. just… I have dignity in you.”
“Hyunwoo.”
Surprised by his confession, I called out his name.
But he continued to speak as if he hadn’t heard.
“Every time I talked to Master, I knew. What was the feeling you were holding on to? And every time I find out… I had to admit that you are truly amazing.”
He tapped and tapped the scabbard with his fingers.
Then all of a sudden, I thought of what kind of sword it was.
Many of the swords he carried were shattered or shattered while fighting for me.
“You were weaker than me when we first met, how did you become so strong? Now it’s hard to follow, let alone stand side by side. How the hell did you go through such things? .”
He shut his mouth for a moment.
“… How can you survive like that? I’m really curious about that. If I were you, I would never have made it.”
“… I’m not that great of a kid.”
He laughed softly at my answer.
Then he quietly raised his sword, held it with both hands, put it in front of him and said,
“You’re great, kid.”
He quietly grabbed the handle of the sword and pulled out the sword halfway silently.
The blade of the sword gleamed faintly in the light, and Choi Hyun-woo, who stood in front of it, somehow seemed not to be the same person.
“… Even if there is me in front of you, cut me down, if you have a family, cut down your family, if there is a monster, cut down the monster, if there is a close friend, cut down the close friend too.”
I could see right away that what he was talking about was a Buddhist doctrine.
And I could also recognize that it was Nam Hyeon-hwa’s teaching.
At first glance, it may have sounded as if he was implicitly saying he was going to cut me off, but I knew he would never do that.
“One sword, I don’t need more than that. So it’s the sword. I am here now… .”
Having said that, he put his sword back in silence again.
He shook his head slightly and muttered.
“That’s what Master said on the first day he taught me swords. And for some reason… Those words popped into my mind when I was fighting Minerva and never left my mind.”
But I still don’t know what it is.
I was able to notice to some extent the way he was smiling and smirking.
The only people who had awakened now were him and Jin Ye-seul.
The words he just muttered had something to do with his awakening.
And I could see what he was thinking about right now.
“… When I said that, the words got really hot. I was just trying to bring out the stories I had inside and listen to advice. When you look at it like this, I really don’t have the talent for words.”
“someday.”
“yes?”
“One day we will all depend on you.”
Hearing that, Hyeonu Choi made a blank expression for a moment, then chuckled and gave a smile that I thought would be cool even if I was a man.
“I’m really looking forward to it.”
“I’m not saying it for nothing.”
Hearing my words, he looked at me with a blank expression for a moment.
Hyunwoo Choi.
Along with Han Soo-young, he was called Jinju Artificial, and was also the character who boasted the most popularity.
His rival, Ahn Do-hoon, was about achieving spiritual growth, while Choi Hyun-woo’s main story was about attaining enlightenment.
In other words, it was said that Hyun-woo Choi was already a complete hero both physically and mentally.
Actually, every time I saw him, it wasn’t the first time I wondered if he really was a child ten years younger than me, or was he actually older than me.
A being who dares to be called a genius of unearned money, even if it is purely based on talent.
A person who constantly trains and abuses himself to the point of cruelty by constantly, silently, and constantly working hard.
And a hero who always stands where it is needed and supports everyone.
That was Hyunwoo Choi.
The reason he is wandering right now may be a problem with his teacher, Nam Hyeon-hwa, but I could say that I was also responsible.
He felt helpless and doubted himself.
All I could say to him was this.
There will come a day when everyone, including me, leans on you.
And it was sincere.
“… Seriously, I’m not lying.”
At those words, Choi Hyun-woo, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly snapped and burst into laughter.
Unlike the first laugh I had seen, it seemed like it was really fun, and it was a laugh that looked somewhat reassuring.
“That’s Sooyoung or Yesul. Or why don’t you say the same thing in front of Yeeun or Yuna?”
“Hey, why is that story all of a sudden here?”
“Do you think you know your fault too?”
Having said that, he stood up.
He said as he placed his fluttering sword on the table.
“Let’s go eat some rice. You didn’t even eat rice to eat when you woke up.”
“What, why? It’s embarrassing for people.”
“Are you burdening me for a day or two?”
As soon as he said that, as soon as he opened the door, someone rushed in, as if waiting for him.
It was Minerva.
“Dear, you are finally awake. I thought I was going to die of boredom waiting!”
“Minerva? Why are you still like that?”
“Because I didn’t receive magical powers from you who returned to your original form.”
She, still a child, said so and smiled contentedly.
Then he stretched out his hands to me and said,
“Come on, hug me. Hurry up and hug your real woman in your wide arms. hurry.”
“If I send you magic, won’t you come back to normal? then… Ouch!”
For a moment, I was pushed by her tail, and I fell backwards and collapsed onto the bed.
She immediately moved her tail and lifted me back up.
“hate. Hug me when you are like this.”
Minerva sighed and shook her head.
“I saw it in dramas earlier. A man twice as large as he was hugging the woman. I want my wife to feel the same way.”
“… I hope you don’t watch dramas like that.”
“So what are you going to do? This is my mother’s earnest request, will you listen to me? right?”
I bowed down at the sight of her, her tail gently rustling like that of a puppy.
Then she let out a small sigh and came straight up to me.
“Um, that’s how it feels.”
Minerva muttered as if satisfied.
Then he moved his tail to wrap around my waist or wrist and burst into laughter.
Just as I was thinking that something really childish had changed in my childish form, I heard someone leaning against the open door and knocking.
“Lord?”
“It’s back to normal.”
That person was Yeeun Lee.
She leaned against the door, folded her arms, and looked at this side with disappointment.
“Are you hungry? Let’s eat first and talk.”
“… I’m sorry, have I been asleep for a long time?”
“Not long ago. three hours?”
Yeeun Lee tilted her head.
“Instead, there were more than two calls looking for you in the meantime, so it was a problem. Jihyuk said you were busy right now, so it would be nice to do it anytime, but he asked me to contact you as soon as possible.”
“Wait, two bottles?”
Yeeun Lee nodded at my question.
Alice Buck and Cass Lyle.
Evangeline Lohengrin.
And the blacksmith of Yado.
It would be nice if the three of them contacted each other like greed, but there was no way for them to contact each other after less than half a day since they broke up.
It was only Lydiana Esmeralda Listenerger who could roughly predict it.
Because of the seeds of the World Tree, they learned that they had been spies under the name of Maxim Goldenberg, and that they were caught while being purged.
Perhaps you are trying to tell a lot of stories about it.
‘Then who is the other one? ?’
After pondering for a moment, I asked Minerva to fix it and hug her.
“May I know who contacted you?”
At that, Yeeun Lee nodded her head.
“First of all, if you say Amelda was the first person to come, Jihyuk said you would know.”
Amelda.
It was the name Esmeralda Lisnerger claimed to be when they first met.
As she was nodding her head at the expected name, Yeeun Lee opened her eyes slightly and spoke the second name in her mouth.
“And then, Seul-hye Yoon.”
“… Wait, who are you?”
“Ji-hyeok is the Yoon Seul-hye you know. Yoon Seul-hye, who is an idol as well as upbringing.”
Yeeun Lee said in a very businesslike voice.
“Ji-hyuk said he wants to entrust you.”