Swoosh!
A dark blade cut through the air.
It was the weekend. In New Yongsan Street.
In the workshop’s test room, Baek-seo continuously swung the black sword.
Multiple elegant sword paths were carved into the air, as if watching a dancer with a beautifully fluid motion.
I was montarily entranced by the sight, but soon regained my composure.
"Baek-seo, how does it feel?"
"Hmm."
Baek-seo stopped her movents.
"It will take so ti to get used to it, but once I do, I think it’ll be better than the Baekryun-do. It’s definitely good."
"That’s a relief."
The sword Baek-seo was wielding was newly crafted using the Platinum Mileage she had acquired in middle school and kept in reserve.
The workshop was a place I had found using my knowledge from the original work.
After the recent Moon Chae-yeon incident, Baek-seo lost her sword, the Baekryun-do.
Since the Baekryun-do was a sword she was already familiar with, I was worried whether she would find a replacent that suited her, but it was a relief that this new weapon was even better.
"Hyunundo…"
Baek-seo murmured as she looked at the sword in her hand.
The sharp black blade reflected the light.
Hyunundo (玄雲刀).
The Baekryun-do was nad for its white wheel-shaped guard, hence the na Baekryun-do (White Wheel Sword).
The current sword, Hyunundo, enhances the Thundercloud domain of the unique ability Unsight, and its clean, black blade stood out, earning it the na Hyunundo—aning "Black Cloud Sword."
'The Baekryun-do was a good weapon, but the Hyunundo seems like an upgrade.'
I felt a sense of pride.
It was like the satisfaction of giving your favorite character a new piece of equipnt in an online ga. Well, it’s been a long ti since I played online gas, so I’m not sure if that’s the best comparison.
"I’m satisfied. I was honestly a bit worried. How did you manage to find such a good place?"
"I know a bit about these things. I did so research back when I was looking for the Iron Dragon Staff."
"You're thorough, Leader…. I’ll repay you later."
Baek-seo smiled brightly.
'This is healing…'
It felt like I was being compensated for the grueling week I had just endured.
But.
"……."
"?"
Baek-seo seed deep in thought as she stared at the Hyunundo.
Normally, I would’ve thought she was just contemplating the new sword, but she had been lost in thought quite often recently, which made worry.
"Baek-seo."
"Yes?"
"I’ve been thinking about sothing lately, and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way. Is everything okay? Nothing’s been bothering you recently, has it?"
I asked directly, and Baek-seo looked at with curiosity.
"Why do you ask that all of a sudden?"
"You seem troubled. I’m not entirely confident, but I think I can read your expressions to so extent."
I had been watching Baek-seo’s face for a long ti.
Because of that, I had learned to distinguish her expressions sowhat. I could usually tell when sothing was wrong.
Recently, Baek-seo often seed troubled, even without realizing it. It appeared that she was struggling to hide her emotions.
"Well…. Honestly, thinking about the Baekryun-do, which I had grown attached to, does make my chest ache a bit."
That didn’t sound entirely truthful.
Baek-seo rarely shared her concerns. Even though we were now in a relationship.
I wondered if she was waiting for another major incident to happen before she would open up about her struggles.
"You don’t believe , do you?"
"...If you ever feel like talking, let know."
"You’ve beco more perceptive, Leader?"
"I’ve always been perceptive…."
I had always been sowhat perceptive.
If she wasn’t ready to talk, then it was fine. I would just have to wait.
We left New Yongsan Street and boarded the back seats of a bus together. Since it was still before evening, there were few passengers.
I focused on the view outside the window as the bus moved.
These days, I would take any opportunity to train, even in everyday situations.
My gaze was fixed on the outskirts, where a crescent-shaped rock stood. I had familiarized myself with its location beforehand.
‘Setting coordinates on the rock… is still difficult.’
It wasn’t hard to set coordinates in an unseen location. The problem was doing so at a distant and specific target.
Yes, my current training was focused on setting coordinates on the crescent-shaped rock.
─ ‘If you create a crack adjacent to the object you want to move, you can forcibly pull that object into the wormhole. Then, the object will follow the flow of the wormhole and move to the other end of the crack. Concepts that are intangible, like temperature or water pressure, are difficult, but solid objects like rocks are possible.’
A few days ago, Geum-yang had explained the technique she demonstrated to .
The idea was to pull the object into the crack using its own force to enable spatial movent. The environnt outside the crack doesn’t affect the wormhole.
Geum-yang had suggested imagining an “invisible hand,” but I still didn’t fully understand that explanation.
"Leader."
"Hmm?"
Baek-seo’s voice interrupted my concentration.
I canceled the coordinate setting and turned to her.
"Do you still carry that charm with you?"
"Charm?"
I took out the purple peony charm from my inner pocket.
"This?"
Baek-seo nodded.
"You said the person who gave you that charm was soone you liked a lot, right?"
"Well…"
Wait a minute.
Was I really talking about soone I liked in front of my current girlfriend?
"Soone like that, I guess."
"Was it an ex-girlfriend?"
"No, it’s not…"
"I’m just kidding."
"……."
Without any intention of hearing out, Baek-seo quickly cut off.
Although her expression didn’t change, I felt a brief, cold sensation and a sense of danger to my life.
"So, why do you ask?"
"What if the person who gave you that charm forgot that they gave it to you?"
What did she an by that?
"Dentia or mory loss? Is that what you an?"
"Yes. Let’s assu they have Alzheir’s."
Was this related to the struggles Baek-seo had been dealing with?
I decided to answer in a calm, but serious manner to avoid making the atmosphere too heavy.
"Well… it would be sad, but would it change anything? The value of the charm they gave wouldn’t change just because they forgot. Even if I felt disappointed that they forgot, if it happened because of sothing like Alzheir’s, then there’s nothing I can do about it."
"What if they start forgetting more and more?"
"What are you trying to say?"
I narrowed my eyes.
I couldn’t help but ask, as it seed she was implying a worse situation.
Baek-seo closed her eyes and leaned her head against the seat back.
"Just like the person who gave you that charm is precious to you, there’s soone precious to as well."
Baek-seo answered with a gentle tone, like a kindergarten teacher speaking to a child.
"Are you talking about that withered flower in your room?"
"I see you noticed that. Yes, that one. That person gave it to ."
I had seen it when I went to her house looking for her the other day.
Baek-seo seed to have quickly deduced how I had seen the withered flower and responded without any hesitation.
"Are you saying that person has lost their mory?"
"That’s the feeling."
So that was Baek-seo’s struggle.
She had been roundabout, but now she was finally speaking honestly.
"And that person also gave you a peony, huh."
"Yes."
I paused for a mont and imagined it.
What if Kim Dal-bi forgot that she gave the peony charm? What if she forgot about ?
How would I feel?
"……."
"Leader?"
Probably…
"It would be hard for both of us. That’s all I can say."
It would hurt a lot.
The last ti, at the hospital, I had been harsh to Dal-bi as a sort of desperate outburst.
No matter what story Dal-bi had, we were on opposing sides.
As the Disciplinary Leader, I was responsible for the safety of Ahseong High's jurisdiction, while Dal-bi, on the contrary, was a terrorist who wreaked havoc.
As I’ve said before, our relationship had ceased to be just between the two of us.
It had beco a war, with responsibility and the safety of many people involved.
So, no matter what story Dal-bi had.
Unless Dal-bi openly betrayed the Principal and returned to , unless she relied on , I couldn’t allow myself to get closer to her.
But… human emotions aren’t that simple.
The peony charm still held great significance to .
I didn’t want to lose that evidence that Dal-bi had cared about .
That was my honest feeling, and because of that, I couldn’t afford to treat Dal-bi kindly, even if it ant making an enemy of my own heart.
This charm was initially a symbol of longing, but it had now beco a symbol of regret. If I couldn’t deny my feelings, I could only endure by holding onto this charm. That was my resolve.
So if Dal-bi forgot about this charm and .
Even though I wouldn’t drop my guard, I wouldn’t be able to avoid the emotional pain. That wasn’t sothing I could control.
I didn’t know who the person Baek-seo was talking about was. But I knew that Baek-seo must have relationships I wasn’t aware of. It was clear that she was troubled.
So I decided not to dig too deeply into her pain.
Baek-seo looked at for a mont before raising the corners of her lips.
"…You’re quite understanding, Leader."
"Understanding? It’s more like avoiding. No matter what I say, it would be ddling. I haven’t experienced it firsthand. If I were to go through that situation… I don’t know what I’d think or what decisions I’d make. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help."
No matter what I said with my limited experience, values, and mindset, I wouldn’t be able to resolve the concerns weighing on Baek-seo.
"Hmm, no."
Baek-seo shook her head with a smile. Then she replied in a gentle voice.
"I wasn’t asking for a solution. Just trying to understand is enough. Maybe that’s the answer I wanted most."
"If it comforted you, then I’m glad."
After that, our conversation ended. Since Baek-seo seed lost in thought, I stopped talking.
Eventually, Baek-seo subtly looked over the seats ahead of us. There were only about three other passengers. Not many.
We were in the back seat. Not the most conspicuous seat in the back, but still.
"What are you doing?"
"Just checking if it’s a good environnt for so affection."
"?"
"No problems here."
Suddenly, Baek-seo gently wrapped her arm around mine.
The soft, intimate sensation made my body tense up, and I inadvertently shivered.
"Wait, Baek-seo? Doing this in a public place…"
"It’s fine as long as we don’t get caught."
Baek-seo smiled contentedly with her eyes closed.
‘Isn’t that a criminal mindset…?’
If soone saw us, it would definitely be an inappropriate scene for public decency…
But since I had already acknowledged Baek-seo as my girlfriend in my heart, it was difficult to easily escape this situation.
The image of Baek-seo at Moon Chae-yeon’s hideout suddenly ca to mind.
The Baek-seo now seed incredibly precious to .
‘Well… I guess it’s fine.’
I was a 6th rank. It was easy to sense the gaze of others.
If a problem arose, I’d let go then.
For now, I could indulge in this luxury of enjoying a happy mont.
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