Childhood Friend of the Zenith - Chapter 78

EP.78 I’m not ugly. (1)

You’re not ugly (1)

[Oppa…!]

Crying voice Blurry gaze and warm sunlight unlike the cold season.

These were childhood memories.

The time when I was walking in the woods of my house.

Toddles with short steps.

he was a drunkard

Because it’s scary to hide alone, so it’s better to find it.

My brother told me not to worry because he was confident in hiding from me.

[Brother…where are you?]

He moved forward little by little, pointing to the tree.

Oppa is not good at hiding unlike words.

There was always going to be something obvious.

This time, you can see a glimpse of clothes behind a wooden pole in the distance.

The weeping eyes soon brightened.

Slow steps speed up.

found!

sudden! and pushed his face in to surprise.

[Oh…?]

But contrary to expectations, there was no brother.

Only the outerwear of the Gu family remained.

[Where did you go ….]

[Wow-!]

[Ugh

!]

I was so surprised that I had tears in my eyes.

I looked back and saw my brother smiling.

Although he is an older brother with ferocious eyes, he has a kind face when he smiles.

[Surprised?]

[So… I was surprised…]

[I thought this would work.]

It was disgusting to see him smile proudly at being surprised.

I was so mean that I slapped my brother on the shoulder with my hand.

My brother just kept smiling, as if it didn’t hurt that much.

After laughing for a while, my brother reached out his hand as if asking me to hold it.

I put on a pouty face and grabbed my brother’s hand and pulled me up.

[Let’s go back now, my mother will be waiting for you.]

[Already…?]

[Then she might get angry if it’s later.]

That can’t be the case.

They had never seen their mother get angry.

He just nodded his head, saying that he understood what he was saying.

The held hands were warm.

The outerwear he had taken off to surprise himself was draped over his shoulder before he knew it.

It was because it was a cold day.

The season was cold, but because it was the two of us, we were able to endure it.

[…Yeonseo-unnie bullied me earlier.]

[Sister-in-law?]

[Yeah…just glared at me and said that my mom is my mother but her own mom…]

[I guess so.]

At my words, my older brother I stroked my hair.

It felt like my heart melted when I touched her hair.

[Can’t you say that because your sister is also a family member?]

[…Yeah.]

There was always warmth in her older brother’s low gaze.

That was good.

He didn’t like his father’s cold stare, but the eyes his brother and mother gave him were warm.

That’s it.

Gu Ryeong-hwa thought so at the time.

[What shall we eat today?]

[Ryeonghwa wants to eat fish!]

[Really? Let’s go and talk.]

[Yeah!]

As we walked together, little by little we saw the place.

Perhaps because night would come sooner or later, I could see my mother waving her hand from afar in the lighted dwelling.

[Mom!]

Gu Ryeong-hwa waved her hand vigorously.

He ran right away and was taken into his mother’s warm arms.

Mother’s hands were cold, probably waiting outside for a long time.

It was good though.

The mother stroked the hair of her older brother, who came up behind her.

Although it was a cold season, Gu Ryeong-hwa could feel the warmth.

This is it.

If you live like this, you will be happy.

It was a small dream that I had in my young heart.

But maybe the sky didn’t like it that much?

Seven days and nights after this.

Everything was ruined and Gu Ryeong-hwa’s life fell into hell.

******************

Every year in late summer, Hwasan gathers his students and holds a shoemaking contest.

It was a simple non-muje where each disciple gathered and engaged in sparring, but it was no different from a test bed that was helpful in the process of selecting plum swordsmen.

Among the two great disciples, those who were not plum inspectors were required to participate, and the three great disciples had to apply.

In that way, since Gu Ryeong-hwa was a disciple of Swordsman and a disciple of the second generation, she had to participate unconditionally.

Guryunghwa rejected this.

I didn’t want to do it in the middle of the three great disciples, and I thought I shouldn’t back down even for the honor of the swordsman.

Whiik! Whiik!

The wooden sword being swung is loaded with weight.

A sword that I wielded tirelessly after entering Volcano.

I couldn’t even do the Maehwa sword because I couldn’t reach it, but it wasn’t the only thing that was the sword of the volcano.

impatient

Even thinking about it, I was in a lot of haste now.

On the contrary, the teacher said that there was no need to be impatient while looking at himself.

Since he is young, he has many plans to shine in the future.

but.

Even if you are recognized for your efforts and shine.

Is it meaningful if there is no teacher next to him?

Gu Ryeong-hwa bit her lip.

The year God said is not far away.

It must have been a long time before he blossomed plum blossoms at the tip of his sword.

Nevertheless, Gu Ryeong-hwa wanted to show his master the plum blossoms blooming on his sword.

‘Like him…If only I had talent.’

A person who is almost the youngest of the three great disciples.

At the same time, he was named in the plum inspection and was evaluated as the best talent in Hwasan.

Sword Dragon Youngpoong.

If he had such a talent, he might have lessened his teacher’s worries.

Gu Ryeong-hwa was jealous and jealous of Young-pung without knowing it.

Because he knows that he cannot become that way, his narrow-minded mind does not think to open up.

Is it because of that?

The sword didn’t seem to swing well today.

“…Whoa.”

His palms were tingling, perhaps because he had been swinging them incessantly.

I was thinking of holding on to this and continuing to wield Guryunghwa.

The master is not in a position to teach himself the sword.

So the lack had to be filled by myself.

“…it’s annoying.”

There was nothing that could be done because my mind was distracted in an impatient situation.

Is it because of what I saw this morning? It felt more like that today.

The appearance of Guyangcheon, who was entangled with an unknown woman.

The appearance of the blood line I hadn’t seen in a long time looked so indolent.

The older brother Gu Ryeong-hwa remembered had already died.

From the moment my mother disappeared, my brother died.

At least that was the case for Guryunghwa.

The boy, who had warmth within his ferocity, burned to death in the heat of the Gu Family.

The only thing left in the embers would be the evil spirit.

“A little… I expected a little bit.”

Goo Yangcheon, whom I met after a long time, was different.

It’s not like it was before, but it was different from what I’ve seen recently.

At least it felt as if the creepy emotions contained in her eyes had been removed.

So maybe he was hoping for it without realizing it.

that it may return to the past.

Such a silly thought.

“I couldn’t have.”

Did you give up at best and run away from the fear and discomfort, but still couldn’t let go of the lingering feelings?

Gu Ryeong-hwa hurriedly swung her sword once more to get rid of it.

Today is the day that literary men do not come to the training grounds in the mountains.

It will probably be the day when group training is scheduled.

Gu Ryeong-hwa thought it would be more comfortable that way.

Because holding a sword in the midst of discomfort couldn’t have been easier.

I’m trying to open a starter like that.

Whoops-.

The sound of the wind stopped the action.

hook-! Whoop Whoop Whoop-!

It’s the sound of a sword swinging.

But something is different.

It was different from the sound made when using a certain movement, unlike Hwasan’s sword path, which required strict rules until plum blossoms were smoked.

Even more so, what is that tingling energy that brushes my shoulder?

Gu Ryeong-hwa moved in the direction of the sound. What if you are a writer?

The thought flashed through my mind for a moment, but I couldn’t stop.

Before long, the tip of my toe reached the back.

Woo-wook-!

Gu Ryeong-hwa’s hair fluttered in the fierce sword wind.

‘…what?’

My first impression was that it was beautiful.

The fluttering white hair following the violent movement and the blue eyes that only looked at the tip of the sword were extremely beautiful.

The steps she took for the sword path were light, but she could feel that the weight she was supporting would never be light.

Theft.

Why did I get that feeling from that irregular sword?

Guryunghwa could not understand.

Do you dare not see yourself? Was that woman’s martial arts superior?

Countless complicated thoughts swirled in my head, but my eyes were still looking at the woman’s sword dance.

How can you move so flexibly?

With what kind of mind does that person swing the sword?

Will the day come when he can wield a sword like that?

Gu Ryeong-hwa was listening to the sound of my heart beating.

It was damage from excessive concentration, but I felt like I could get something if I saw this sword path to the end.

The moment when the woman takes half a step and draws her sword horizontally.

“…after.”

The woman stopped moving without finishing the sword.

At the tip of the sword that was being saved, Gu Ryeong-hwa felt serious regret and thirst.

If I had looked a little more, I thought I could have gotten something.

However, there was one big problem behind the regret of the old age.

The fact that he arbitrarily watched the training.

Even more so, it was a problem in that he tried to gain enlightenment through the training.

I was led as if I was out of my mind, but there was no excuse for this.

Since the outsider was wielding a sword in the training ground of the volcano, wouldn’t it be okay to push it to this part?

While Gu Ryeong-hwa was planning a way to live like that, the woman’s gaze reached Gu Ryeong-hwa.

“…uh?”

When I met my eyes, it was a face I had seen somewhere.

Blue eyes with white skin resembling the color of her hair.

A ridiculous appearance that looks more seductive than dirty in sweat.

A beauty that would take your breath away even for the same woman.

‘…was unmanned?’

It’s partly because I couldn’t see her properly because of the situation, but I only saw her as a beautiful woman, but to think she was an unmanned person of this level…

While looking into her blue eyes, beads of sweat formed on my forehead.

His blank, emotionless face made no sense of what he was thinking.

Once he looked at his face and tilted his head, once at his wooden sword and nodded.

what?

Gu Ryeong-hwa was very nervous that there would be a scolding for stealing her training.

The words that came out of the woman’s mouth were unexpected.

“…Rainbow…”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to…?”

Gu Ryeong-hwa thought he had heard it wrong, so he had no choice but to frown.

******************

So round and round now.

Fortunately, Gu Ryeong-hwa was not blamed or angry for stealing the training.

She didn’t seem to care about that part at all.

It’s a strange thing from the standpoint of being an unmanned person.

How could that be…?

In this situation, Gu Ryeong-hwa couldn’t help but be embarrassed by the story of the sudden recommendation.

I wondered if he was trying to embarrass me by pretending to be a martial artist, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Since such an opportunity would not be common, Gu Ryeong-hwa accepted the invitation after a short thought.

That’s how the rain started.

It took a long time to catch up, but Gu Ryeong-hwa’s sword could not even brush Namgoongbia’s collar.

His body was full of dirt from continuously rolling on the ground, and he shuddered as he ran out of energy from continuing his violent movements without stopping.

Gu Ryeong-hwa looked up at Namgung-bia with tired eyes and thought.

‘…How can it not reach me once?’

As we got to this point where the dangerous streets continued, I wondered if Namgoongbia was giving up the streets on purpose.

‘…why?’

teaching? Are you trying to teach yourself?

Then why on earth…?

Gu Ryeong-hwa, who had been out of breath for a long time, barely got up.

Namgoongbia, who is still waiting, doesn’t seem to be out of breath, unlike before during the sword dance.

If you look closely, it looks like a slightly bored face.

At this level, honestly, it seemed that there would be no problem even sticking with the students of this university he had seen.

I don’t know exactly how old he is, but if he had a little, he would have been under the terms or a little over the terms.

It’s not much different from Youngpoong’s age. After all, there are so many talented people in the world.

It felt like the sense of entitlement I was suffering from inside would deepen.

After thinking that far, Gu Ryeong-hwa spoke to Namgung-bia.

“…We saw each other in the morning.”

“…?”

“What is your relationship with that man?”

Perhaps Gu Ryeong-hwa’s question was unexpected, and Namgung-bia’s expressionless expression cracked a little.

His eyes seemed to have widened a little, and one eyebrow seemed to be slightly furrowed.

Contemplating what to say, Bia Namgung quickly opened her mouth.

“Engagement…”

“…a person like you is not someone to hang out with.”

“…huh?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I miss you a lot… It’s been a while to go around with someone who is so lazy, doesn’t make an effort, has a bad temper, and is terribly ugly…”

“…”

“So even now…”

Gu Ryeong-hwa, who had been talking for a while, shut her mouth for a moment.

Because the atmosphere has changed.

The woman in front still maintained her expressionless expression, but something had changed.

Tboob.

As he took a step forward, Gu Ryeong-hwa immediately raised his sword.

‘…what?’

Something has changed and I don’t know what it is.

Gu Ryeong-hwa could be seen overlapping with someone in the way he put down his sword and looked at each other.

Afterword (劍后).

own master.

The presence that the teacher in the not-too-distant past showed to himself in a very brief moment when he was still in good health.

Guryeonghwa felt the atmosphere, even if it was very shallow.

Hearing the bloody alarm bell ringing in his head along his back, he wrapped his sword around the bet that still remained weak.

said the woman.

“…not ugly.”

“yes…?”

“I’m not ugly.”

Are you angry?

It was a relaxed and effortless tone, but it felt like a little power was put into it.

The energy that had been subdued was now palpable.

I knew they were looking after me, but

I never thought it would be this much.

It must be because he was afraid.

“If you say it carelessly…”

The woman’s pace quickens.

“Honna…”

A wooden sword appears in front of you with a flash of blue light.

Guryonghwa closed her eyes at the feeling.

Was it an illusion?

Right before I closed my eyes, I felt as if I could see the flames surrounding me.