While having a conversation with the elders of the April Clan, the saying ‘you can’t hide blood’ comes to my mind often.
Just like the naturally curious Saeum, the elders keep asking me lots of questions, as well as to Oh Hyejung. Even though she’d already been here for a while, they still ask her lots of questions and listen to her answer attentively.
Hyejung was soft and kind to the April Clan, and it’s also obvious that the clan treasured her as well.
The only people against Semin and Hyejung’s marriage in this family is Semin himself.
‘They already look like a married couple.’
At the table where the elders were served and taken care of first, Semin and Hyejung always find time to take care of each other after.
Even though Hyejung was eating well, Semin made sure to put side dishes on Hyejung’s plate, and always took care of her glass and filled it with water or tea.
Semin was too busy taking care of Hyejung that he didn’t see the satisfied expression of Saeum and the elders.
We continued to eat and chat instead of disturbing the two.
“Saeum, you’re not eating a lot as usual.”
“He’s not a picky eater, but I’m worried because he eats so little. I thought he changed when he entered Eungwang High because he seemed to gain some weight.”
Saeum dropped his chopsticks to drink some water. He eyed the small oyster mushrooms of the japchae, and he picked them up and ate it like a small bird.
‘He eats a lot of Western food. Seems like Korean food is not his taste.’
Back at the dormitory, Saeum could eat 2 servings of western food by himself.
Every time we’re served western food, he goes with Hani and Bang Yoonseob to the famous bakery to eat more there.
‘Maybe he’s not eating much because only Korean food is served.’
All the dishes served at the table were Korean food.
Korean food is good for maintaining a balanced diet and consuming enough nutrients, but people are allowed to have a preference.
Their food seems to align with the preference of the last dynasty’s messenger.
In return for inviting me to his home, I’m planning to take Saeum to a famous western restaurant after.
After the meal with the April Clan…
Before I was off to return to the dormitory, I gave my greetings to the elders and the prospective newlyweds of the family.
The bride-to-be said something.
“The situation was a bit odd when we met so our greetings came a bit late. Thank you for taking care of Saeum.”
I’ve watched Hyejung’s violent past in the game before, so the introductions weren’t necessary for me to know who she was.
“Contact me if anything happens to Hyeji, okay?”
Hyejung asked for a favor for me to look over Hyeji.
“There’s still a lot of time left in our summer vacation, so it’d be really nice if we meet up often with the other kids from our class!”
Saeum of April is set to stay at home during the vacation, so he said that with a disappointed look.
I said my farewells, saying that I would visit again if I had the chance, before heading back to school.
* * *
After the scheduled training, I went back to the dorms.
I devoted myself to focusing on investigating something in order to distract myself.
The focus of my investigation was the Rat Clan.
‘Oh Hyejung’s connection with the Rat Clan could also be related to the Joo Group. The Joo-Oh Group, where Oh Hyeji and Joo Soohyuk belongs, would have a lot of information. Maybe I’ll find some on Saeum’s order.
In Korea, there’s a custom for kings and their servants to exchange Sehwa during the new year’s.
According to the Dongguksesigi, the chicken appears at the Sehwa along with the Tigers and the Dragons.
The rooster’s cry was the symbol of light that signaled the dawn after the night.
(T/N: Sehwa is a painting drawn during the New Year, believed to drive off bad luck and disasters. It’s a custom from the early Joseon Dynasty. The Dongguksesigi is a book explaining the traditional customs in Korea, also written during the Joseon Dynasty.)
While checking the traditions related to roosters, something caught my attention.
‘Eggs become the chickens, and the chickens develop and lay their own eggs. The chicken is sometimes viewed as a symbol or reincarnation.
The word ‘reincarnation’ caught my attention.
It’s a word that I recently heard from someone in the royal lineage.
— Unlike the other people from the royal lineage, I don’t need to leave my body and fall into a deep sleep. And even if I lose my body, I go over the process of reincarnation and recover again. The process, of course, takes some time.
It was the day the TC Knights won a record of ten consecutive games.
It was the words of Ok Toyeon.
Looking back, there were a lot of things he said that bothered me.
‘Is he referring to death or a vegetative state when he said that a royal lineage falls into a deep sleep? What exactly is the concept of the soul leaving the body? The word ‘reincarnation’ wasn’t as simple as the concept of dying and reviving. Is there a special or hidden meaning in there?’
I kept in mind to ask it to Hwang Jiho or Ok Toyeon the next time we meet.
The rooster was one of the Bibangsul. The shamanic belief Daesoodaemyeong, which means that an object can be cured by sacrificing it as a substitute.
(T/N: ‘Bibangseul’ and ‘Daesoodaemyeong’ were translated from Chinese characters. Bibangseul refers to something that achieves its purpose in a secretive way. Daesoodaemyeong is a Chinese four-character saying.)
Dingdong.
I received a message.
I checked who sent it, and it was from Yeom Junyeol.
He always greets me in the morning, so it’s a bit odd that he messaged me late in the afternoon.
While thinking that it was a bit strange, I checked the message on my device.
[Yeom Junyeol] Hello, teacher.
[Yeom Junyeol] (Photo)
The photo showed Yeom Junyeol and the Hongryong in coats, which wasn’t right for the season at all.
The background was a playground filled with artificial snow.
It showed Yeom Junyeol wearing a red duffle coat on top of his school uniform, and the Hongryong lighting up some flames.
‘Is it a winter uniform photoshoot? He told me a few months ago that he’d shoot one. He seems to be working hard.’
Yeom Junyeol really prioritizes his duty as a player and as a student.
There were constant love calls from the entertainment industry to the star player Yeom Junyeol.
At first, Junyeol refused to work in the entertainment industry. In the end, he worked hard on other activities like modeling, seeing that they were actually helpful in improving public awareness for players, as well as promoting safety for everyone.
In terms of compensation, Junyeol, although he was born with a red diamond spoon in his mouth, he doesn’t spend a lot of money himself.
Yeom Junyeol donated all the profits he gained from his activities in the entertainment industry. For that reason, the very small number of Junyeol anti-fans fail to hinder him in his activities.
The photo sent by Yeom Junyeol was the result of my good student working with such a pure and commendable idea.
‘He must’ve had a reason why he sent me this.’
I tried thinking outside of my knowledge of the failed game and used my observational powers instead.
I suddenly remembered a difference between this picture and the one I first saw of them.
The Hongryong was growing up.
Its body was taller than Junyeol’s cheek, and its eyebrows of flames were burning higher.
[Me] The Hongryong has grown, I see. Congratulations.
[Yeom Junyeol] As expected of you, teacher! I didn’t even need to tell you, you just figured it out right away.
Seeing Junyeol’s reaction tells me that I got it right.
I don’t know whether it’s an effect of training ‘energy swallowing’, or if it’s just a change due to Junyeol’s growth, but I was pleased with the improvements of my playable character.
[Yeom Junyeol] Thank you, teacher!
[Yeom Junyeol] (Stamp)
Junyeol sent a stamp of the Hongryong raising its hand joyfully.
[Yeom Junyeol] This stamp has a new design, and it’s matched with the growth of Hongryong.
Although the Hongryong has indeed grown, the difference is not that huge yet.
Was it really necessary to make a new one?
Either way, it’s a good thing that the fine growth of my playable character is reflected on the emoticon’s design.
[Yeom Junyeol] The person who designs this is from the Dragon Clan. As soon as they heard that the Hongryong grew up, they started working on it right away.
If the Dragon Clan is involved, then it couldn’t be helped.
It seems that new stamps will continuously be released as the growth of Hongryong continues.
After talking about the Hongryong’s growth, the topic shifted to the story of Junyeol’s vacation homework.
[Me] How’s your homework going?
[Yeom Junyeol] … I’m working hard on it, but it’s not going well so far.
Junyeol sent a negative answer, but this was expected.
‘It’s just what I thought. This task wouldn’t be as easy as the ‘energy swallowing’ task.’
The task I gave Junyeol was ‘killing the sense.’
Yeom Junyeol’s talents aren’t fully realized yet, but it’s for sure that he has the energy of a dragon. When the Hongryong is summoned, that energy grows even bigger.
Although the skill of hiding that sense was a thing to be learned, he’s yet to use it skillfully.
‘The people from the Dragon Clan will be anxious if they suddenly don’t feel Junyeol’s energy, so he probably hasn’t had much chance to practice it. On top of that, he must’ve been busy learning some combat skills.
My answer was a bit delayed, so Yeom Junyeol sent me a long message, perhaps because he felt nervous.
[Yeom Junyeol] Ah, although I had a photoshoot today, I didn’t forget about the assignment you gave me. I practiced it while we were filming. Although I didn’t get much results.
[Me] The photoshoot is over with now, so I’ll practice harder from here on!
I immediately gave a response to my good student so he wouldn’t worry anymore.
[Me] Alright. Don’t overwork yourself.
[Yeom Junyeol] Of course! I’ll do my best.
My student was truly sincere and honest.
I ended the conversation by praising his hard work and effort.
A different message arrived as I was talking to Junyeol.
[Seong Gukeon] Hoobae.
[Seong Gukeon] I got the location of the ‘weapon’s exorcism’
It was sent to me via private message, not through the group message room with Seong Siwan.
The fact that he found clues before Hwang Jiho did proves the extraordinary abilities of my playable character.
[Me] May I ask where it is now?
[Seong Gukeon] I don’t know that yet for sure. I only confirmed that it was overseas.
Overseas.
The ‘weapon’s exorcism’ went out of the Korean Peninsula?
The collaboration of the best masters and disciples on the Korean Peninsula must have alerted the others and made its price go up to be sold overseas.
I didn’t know whether to be proud of it or not.
[Seong Gukeon] During that period, remodeling companies found traces of contact with overseas brokers.
That answers one question.
After it disappeared, it was odd that not even the 4 biggest chaebols did not have it in their possession.
It was difficult to locate because it already left the Korean Peninsula.
Sung Gukeon briefed me on the difficulties in obtaining cooperation from overseas investigative agencies.
[Seong Gukeon] I’ll contact you again as soon as there’s progress in the investigation.
[Seong Gukeon] Leave this matter to me. It’s your summer vacation, so you should relax a bit.
Somehow, the last message he sent was a voice recording of him giving a pleasant ‘Hahaha!’ laugh.
He seems to be considerate of me, his junior who suffered a big deal at the youth retreat of my first summer vacation of high school.
Still, I couldn’t just leave it alone to the busy Seong Gukeon.
I received a call from someone.
[Caller: Jang Namwook]
It was common for the naggy Jang Namwook to give me a phone call, but it feels somewhat unusual.
I cleared my voice and answered right away.
“Hello?”
[Euishin.]
The voice that called me sounded heavy.
“What’s going on?”
[…]
Jang Namwook skipped all the pleasantries and immediately brought up what he called for.
[Sihoo got hurt.]
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