411 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

"Uuuuhh. Number 5, that's just too much." "It's not at all." Cheon So-hee directed her words towards Sul-ja, who wore an expression of unjust sorrow. Cream sauce tteokbokki, really. Yoon-ho oppa would occasionally comment on the exotic dishes at the tavern, muttering things like, "this isn't authentic cuisine." He was likely feeling something similar. Although Cheon So-hee stopped directing her anger at Sul-ja, she couldn’t entirely dismiss her dissatisfaction. "Yukiko! Do you realize how difficult it has been because of Number 5?!" Sul-ja looked at Cheon So-hee, acting as if she was being unfair in response to her chilly tone. "Because of me?" "Yukiko! I volunteered and took over all the missions Number 5 was supposed to complete!" "My missions?" Cheon So-hee tilted her head, unable to comprehend why Sul-ja would take on her responsibilities. "It's true. Sulja... huh?" Jeoknachal Dan Seo-wol turned her head away, sensing some awkward hostility as she tried to provide further explanation. "It's Number 6. Yu. Ki. Ko. It's easy to remember and pronounce!" Where Dan Seo-wol looked, Sul-ja stood, exuding chilling vibes despite her smiling face. Does she really hate the name Sul-ja that much? It's just a bit too rustic. Dan Seo-wol nodded towards Sul-ja. "Yes, Yukiko voluntarily completed all missions intended for you." "Yukiko! I'm not lying! Knowing that Number 5 would be exhausted after training, I finished them in advance! Are you still going to stay angry?" Sul-ja confidently addressed Cheon So-hee. Initially, she didn't mean to boast about taking the initiative, but she hoped it would dispel the anger. Sul-ja figured that as long as it might calm Cheon So-hee down enough to eat the meal, that would be enough. But Cheon So-hee's response was unexpected. "...Thank you." Cheon So-hee bowed her head towards Sul-ja. "...?" "Why?" Sul-ja's face was becoming paler by the second. "Jeoknachal, is Yukiko already dead? Has she become one with love and spirit without experiencing love?" "Surprisingly, she's still alive." Dan Seo-wol, grinning subtly, went along with Sul-ja's teasing. "What?! Does that mean Number 5 genuinely thanked me?!" "..." Cheon So-hee, watching Sul-ja wag her imaginary tail like a happy pup, realized she might have made a mistake. "Huhuhu. No taking back what's been said! Yukiko, in fact, has a great memory. Number 5 definitely admitted she was too shy to say how thankful she was for Yukiko taking over her duties!" Cheon So-hee considered correcting Sul-ja's interpretation but soon gave up. If she tried to argue, Sul-ja would just counter with dozens more words. It was best to nod and just eat if she didn't want to make a fuss. Cheon So-hee picked up her chopsticks and reached for the tteokbokki. The taste of the thick cream wasn't what she anticipated. Cheon So-hee opted for something fried to quickly change the culinary scene, only to realize something was missing. "The tteokbokki sauce…" She couldn't dip a fried piece into cream sauce. Cheon So-hee murmured somewhat dejectedly. "Just dip it in soy sauce! It's a delicacy too!" Cheon So-hee glanced at the small dish of soy sauce Sul-ja offered, cautiously dipped the fried piece, and took a bite. It tasted good yet somehow incomplete. "Still, not entirely grateful." Her voice was unusually sulky for Cheon So-hee. "Number 5, saying you're less grateful over tteokbokki is too hard-hearted. Uuuuh." Sul-ja didn’t understand. Fried food should traditionally be eaten mixed with tteokbokki sauce. Cheon So-hee resolved that when the opportunity arose, she would teach them the true taste of fried tteokbokki noodles. "There’re other dishes, let’s enjoy them together." Dan Seo-wol, observing her disciple and her friend’s interaction with pride, joined them in their meal. ------ "Number 5, for someone who was angry, didn't you eat pretty well?" After the meal, Sul-ja commented while looking at the empty dishes, a bit incredulous. "...It wasn't bad." Authentic tteokbokki required red pepper paste, but the cream sauce was an interesting alternative. Cheon So-hee wiped her mouth and replied with a slight pout. "Huhuhu. See that? Next time, dare to try soup rice with Yukiko!" "I'll pass." Her response was immediate. "Not appreciating the finer things! With a tonkatsu and kimchi radish, it’s surprisingly delicious!" "Next time, it has to be rose tteokbokki." Exotic flavors are just that, exotic; authentic spicy tteokbokki remained the real deal. As Cheon So-hee felt her tteokbokki craving unsatisfied, she stated. "Yukiko can't handle spicy things! Ah! Jeoknachal, where are you going?" Cheon So-hee and Sul-ja turned to look at Dan Seo-wol, who was getting up from her seat. "After the feast, I have to tidy up the matter from earlier." Cheon Sal-seong emerged from her secluded training, and with all the assassins mobilized, someone had to report today's events. "Is it because of me?" Dan Seo-wol smiled despite herself at her disciple's straightforward concern. Could she express emotion like this, growing more fascinating by the day. "I'm just meeting with shady folks. Is there anything you need? Speak now if there's something you desire; I'll bring it up along the way." "Yoon-ho oppa." "What?! Number 5, are you serious?! Is it a romance? Climbing the stairs to adulthood? Yukiko begs to witness it!" "Kidnapping might be difficult." Dan Seo-wol shook her head at the bold request of her disciple. "...News or letters. I want them again." "Very well. I'll bring it up on my way." --------- "Jeoknachal! Is it true Cheon Sal-seong hasn't committed murder for over a year and is still sane? What's the deal?" Jeoknachal Dan Seo-wol stood before the leaders of Salmak, addressing the matter related to Cheon Sal-seong's secluded training. "My disciple achieved something." Jeoknachal's words were calm, yet the impact of those few words was significant. "Achieved something in secluded training?" "Is it Surah Fatal Arts...?" "But it's Cheon Sal-seong! Cheon Sal-seong!" "If you're curious, instead of bickering among yourselves, it would be preferable if you asked me." With Dan Seo-wol's stern voice, the room quickly settled. Though some might regard her attitude as ill-mannered, none dared question Dan Seo-wol. Jeoknachal Dan Seo-wol. Despite the age difference with her disciple Cheon So-hee making them appear more like an elder sister and younger sister, Dan Seo-wol possessed the beauty of a woman in her late twenties. Still, no one in the Salmak could take her lightly. If she were to unleash her full abilities, she could easily dismiss the other high-ranking members of the Salmak as mere amateurs, given her renowned status even among the martial world’s vagabonds. She only tempered her demeanor because Jeoknachal was currently affiliated with the Salmak. "Jeoknachal, does this mean Cheon Sal-seong has managed to completely control her murderous impulse?" "She has merely found a path. She hasn’t mastered complete control yet. But there’s a vast difference between those who find a path and those who don’t." The child wasn’t one to exaggerate her achievements. Yet, she claimed to have found a path against Cheon Sal-seong. Even finding just the direction was an extraordinary accomplishment. "So, can she be immediately assigned missions again…?" "I’d prefer if she refrained from assassination missions for the time being." The mentor chose to speak up on behalf of her disciple who had just found her way. "What do you mean by that?" "She's already neglected missions for over a year and a half!" The dissatisfaction of the higher-ups erupted. "She only just found her way. No need to disrupt the path ahead." If necessary, she could still kill. But having found a path, it was imperative to see how far it could lead first. Dan Seo-wol firmly declined the executive’s proposal. "Cheon Sal-seong is also part of the Salmak's assassins." "She's my last disciple." "..." The leaders of the Salmak couldn't find words against the fiery eyes of Jeoknachal. "Any debt owed to the Salmak was repaid long ago, even adding in the lifeblood of my disciples." Jeoknachal Dan Seo-wol lost many disciples before. All of them withered before they even bloomed, due to missions of the Salmak. Cheon So-hee was Jeoknachal’s last disciple. Looking at the executives, Dan Seo-wol’s eyes were a mix of sorrow and wrath. "But…" "You’re the ones who held me back when I was about to leave. Entrusting a child no one could handle and pushing me, despite my refusal to take responsibility for her. And now you speak differently?" "Are you saying you’ll defy the mandate of the Salmak?" "I don't want to hear it! The only reason she fulfills the Salmak's missions is to control Cheon Sal-seong, not because she’s an assassin of the Salmak." "Jeoknachal...!" Several leaders of Salmak stood up, an atmosphere on the brink of violence. Yet, Dan Seo-wol wasn’t going to relent for her disciple. The tension was reaching its peak. “Let’s leave it at that.” At the entrance of one person, calmness swiftly returned. “Head of Salmak?” Dan Seo-wol and the executives showed a look of surprise at the abrupt appearance of the head of Salmak. --- "Heh heh. It seems Jeoknachal is in a bit of a foul mood. Don't pay it too much mind; I had them depart swiftly after firm instructions." The head of Salmak smiled at Dan Seo-wol, who had followed him silently into his office. "Head." "Why so formal? Where did the kind Seo-wol, who shared sweet words with her elder brother, disappear to?" The head of Salmak, Dan Saeak, murmured as if disappointed while sipping from a small bottle of liquor. "I’ll take my leave." Dan Seo-wol turned as if uninterested in continuing the conversation any further. "No need to fret over what the old fogeys said." Dan Saeak, the head of Salmak, smiled faintly, trying to calm his sister. "Number 5 is my disciple." "Weren’t you the one who professed not to get attached?" "Head..." "See? I told you. You should find a good man and get married. You wandered around like a reckless youth, causing trouble, and suddenly developed a newfound maternal instinct as you’ve aged... Ah!" Dan Saeak slightly moved his head to dodge a throwing knife aimed at him. "If you say one more word, there'll be no elder brother or savior!" "Alright, alright. Anyway, as long as nothing gets out of hand at the main base, I’m indifferent." "If you say so, I’ll believe you." Finally, Dan Seo-wol let out a subtle sigh as she answered. "The real troublemakers are those old geezers. Holding onto the old ways of cultivation. They claim they must preserve the tradition of young ones dropping dead, a tradition leading to scarcity of forces. And then they spout nonsense because they’re desperate." Dan Saeak began to vent his frustrations about the Salmak to his sister. "..." "The field workers are fresh and adaptable, but the old ones remain stagnant—unwilling to change or step aside. Their obstinate minds are infuriating. My rebellious little sister might still seem sweet to me, but them? I wish to wring their necks." Despite the assumed overwhelming fear of the Salmak chief by the public, Dan Saeak, relatively young himself, found himself at odds with the existing ways as the leader of his faction. “If you have nothing else to say, I think I’ll be going.” “Wait, I have something to give you.” As Dan Seo-wol intended to leave, Salmak’s head leaned over a drawer and retrieved something unexpected. “What is this?” The object the chief presented was unforeseen. “'The Tale of the Tang Family.' It's said to be scarce in Hubei Province.” “How on earth?” Dan Seo-wol was well aware of the book’s title. After all, it was written by her disciple’s beloved. Why did the head of Salmak have this book in his possession? Keeping her surprise under wraps, Jeoknachal inquired of Saeak. “I’ve instructed the branch to bring updates on Cheon Sal-seong's beloved’s condition. If there are letters heading to Cheon Sal-seong, let them send freely.” "..." The words she had entrusted to the branch head not long ago had already reached the ears of the Salmak’s chief. Jeoknachal’s head spun with thoughts. How much did he know? Surely nothing about the renegade. Did he know the book’s author? Why had he shown this book now? Dan Seo-wol’s expression hardened. “In return for this favor, there’s something I need you to tell Number 5. Will you relay the message?” Dan Saeak, with a sly grin, asked Dan Seo-wol. “What is it?” It felt as if Jeoknachal had been caught unaware. Clearly, he had an agenda. Finding the other’s weakness and aiming for their desires — a masterful approach befitting the chief of assassins who leads the ruthless Salmak without a shred of pity or remorse. What could he possibly want from her disciple? Assassination missions, perhaps? Or missions leveraging Cheon Sal-seong’s abilities? Dan Seo-wol looked tensely at her sibling, who sat upon the throne of Salmak, having claimed it through bloodshed and cunning hidden behind that wily expression. The leader of Salmak approached Dan Seo-wol slowly, smiling. Then, fearing eavesdroppers, he leaned close to her ear and whispered his request quietly. “Could you also send me a signed copy of Ho-pil’s works someday?”