Chapter 130
“Un Hyang and I grew up together in Shinryeonseong.”
The story began calmly. As he recalled the old days, a slight smile played on Cheon Ryang’s lips.
“I joined Shinryeonseong when I was young. At that time, Shinryeonseong would take in orphans from the Murim World and teach them martial arts.”
“That sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it?”
“It was. If you look at it, it was part of their welfare projects.”
Taking in orphans and teaching them martial arts. It was an excellent way to polish the group’s image. Many guilds were already running such programs, with the Murim World leading the way.
And the place where Un Hyang and Cheon Ryang grew up in the Murim World was precisely…
‘Shinryeonseong…’
Shinryeonseong.
In the vast world of the Murim World, it was the second-largest faction, after the Martial Alliance. A place that symbolized the strength of the Murim World.
That was Shinryeonseong.
‘This involves a bigger entity than I thought.’
From the opponent Un Hyang fought, it was clear that it was no small place. But Shinryeonseong?
‘At least it’s not the Martial Alliance. I should be relieved about that.’
As Suhyuk was lost in thoughts.
“Un Hyang is the daughter of Un Cheon-guk.”
“… What?”
Suhyuk’s eyes widened at the sudden bombshell. Whose daughter?
“Un Cheon-guk. Don’t you know?”
“Of course, I know.”
There was no way he wouldn’t know that name. Even a three-year-old child in the Murim World would know his name.
Un Cheon-guk.
He was the master of Shinryeonseong.
And long ago.
‘The crazy bastard’s daughter?’
He was also one of the countless players who had once been trampled by Suhyuk. Un Cheon-guk’s daughter. That explained most of the events that had happened so far.
If this were true, Un Hyang wasn’t someone who should be stuck as a mere manager at some company.
“But why?”
While many things were clarified, many questions also arose. Why was someone of such noble birth here, and why were they so desperate to take Un Hyang?
“To her, that place was hell.”
The smile disappeared from Cheon Ryang’s face.
“No. At some point, it turned into hell.”
“Hell?”
“Yes. It was for everyone, but especially for her.”
Clench—
Cheon Ryang clenched his fist.
“Training, and more training. Since she was ten, she didn’t live like a human. Her face would swell, her whole body would be covered in bruises and cuts. She’d slather herself with ointments, and barely get proper sleep…”
His voice grew more repressed. He was trying to calm his anger.
Decades ago.
In those distant days, Cheon Ryang recalled his and Un Hyang’s childhood.
“Why haven’t I seen you around lately?”
“Ra-young.”
Even back then, Un Hyang was always bright and lively. Despite her body being covered in bloody bruises and cuts, causing her pain.
“Don’t worry too much about me.”
“Even as a child, she was an adult.”
Un Hyang was strong. While young Cheon Ryang was afraid just to see her injuries, she never showed any sign of pain or struggle.
“She accomplished everything. Just as her heart had grown prematurely, so did her body, becoming an adult. She endured through that hellish place.”
Time passed.
Both of them grew up quickly.
And then, one day.
“I thought she was fine.”
Cheon Ryang discovered the truth.
“Until I saw her crying.”
That she was struggling immensely.
“It was baffling. How hard must it have been for her not to notice me standing right behind her?”
Watching her cry for a long time, Cheon Ryang quietly left her alone.
A few days later. Once again, covered in bruises and bloodstains, she faced Cheon Ryang.
“She pretended everything was okay again. Whether she didn’t know I had seen her or was just pretending not to know.”
“I got some money. Let’s go get something sweet!”
Recalling her smile, Cheon Ryang covered his face with both hands.
“Damn it…”
It was a curse aimed at himself. A lament for his helplessness in doing nothing.
“I couldn’t do anything. No strength, no background. I was just a liability.”
Listening to the story, Suhyuk carefully considered his words. Their past was heavy, demanding careful deliberation.
“What made her eventually choose to run away?”
Un Hyang had endured Shinryeonseong’s training for a long time. But in the end, she chose to abandon everything and flee.
It might have been because she could no longer bear it, but it didn’t seem that simple.
“If she had continued, she might have become the next master of Shinryeonseong.”
Un Hyang’s training was most likely preparing her to become the next master of Shinryeonseong.
If she had given up from the start, it would be understandable, but she had held on remarkably well.
Yet she abandoned it all in an instant.
“I don’t think it was because of the harsh training.”
Even after the fight, Un Hyang prioritized Suhyuk’s well-being over her own injuries, showing her strength.
“She’s not someone who would give up because of something like that.”
There must be another reason.
But.
“I don’t know.”
Unfortunately, Cheon Ryang did not know either.
“You don’t know?”
“No. One day, she just told me.”
The day before leaving Shinryeonseong. For the first time, she cried her heart out in front of Cheon Ryang.
“This isn’t right…”
“….”
“That day, I left Shinryeonseong with Un Hyang. We had to make a living, so we found jobs, which led us to this work.”
Clap—
At the end of the story, Cheon Ryang clapped his hands loudly.
“That’s all I know.”
“… Thank you.”
After hearing the difficult story, Suhyuk bowed his head briefly in thanks.
It was a short story, but it had a long history for both of them. It couldn’t have been easy to share.
However, not all questions were answered. Why Shinryeonseong imposed such extreme training on Un Hyang. And why Un Hyang decided to give up everything at the end.
But those were questions only Un Hyang could answer, not Cheon Ryang.
‘Shinryeonseong, Un Cheon-guk.’
More questions formed in Suhyuk’s mind.
‘Do people usually get this obsessed with a successor?’
Suhyuk was well aware of Un Hyang’s skills. With just a little more time, she could surely succeed Un Cheon-guk as the master of Shinryeonseong.
But even so, it was strange to be so fixated on a successor who had voluntarily left. There was no point in placing someone who hated Shinryeonseong in a position of power.
Finishing the conversation, Suhyuk felt his tired eyelids droop. It had been a very long night.
*
In her dream, Un Hyang stood in the middle of Shinryeonseong. A fortress connected by red silk and an expansive courtyard. The sounds of swords clashing from all directions.
Even the suffocating atmosphere was exactly the same.
“I really don’t want to come back here…”
She knew it was a dream. She had returned to this place in her dreams more than a hundred times. While she had been tricked at first, she no longer was.
However.
“Do you think you can escape?”
Despite knowing it was a dream, Un Hyang faced the man before her once again.
Swish—
A handsome man appeared as if out of a mirage. The great star of the Murim World, revered by all martial artists.
Her father, Un Cheon-guk.
“I won’t be fooled.”
“A dream, right?”
“Yeah, this is all just a dream.”
She refused to be deceived. She had been deceived enough in the dozens of times she dreamt this dream. But despite her denial, Un Cheon-guk remained calm.
“True. It is a dream. But you know it too. Eventually, you will return here.”
Step—
He took a step closer.
“That’s why you keep having the same dream, isn’t it?”
“… Stay back.”
“You cannot defy your destined path. You accepted that destiny yourself.”
“I never did.”
“My daughter—”
“No—!”
She shouted and released her magic. The ground of Shinryeonseong cracked, causing a momentary earthquake.
But she knew. If this were truly that recurring dream.
Vroom—
He would soon appear. The bright sky of Shinryeonseong turned black. The sun was obscured, revealing a dark moon, and darkness descended.
The presence of the man who would appear behind Un Cheon-guk felt many times, even tens of times, more overwhelming.
“You’ve returned.”
It was different from when she faced Un Cheon-guk. She could neither scream nor deny it, claiming it was impossible.
She had no courage to confront him.
“No matter how many times you run, dozens, hundreds of times, it’s useless. You will eventually come back here.”
‘No.’
Tremble, tremble—
Her body shook.
She remembered.
The end of this dream was always the same. It didn’t matter whether she knew it was a dream or not. The moment the man standing behind appeared, the outcome of the dream was predetermined.
‘It’s the same again.’
Even though she had barely escaped, she returned to this place in her dreams every time. And it always ended the same way.
Returning to that dreadful hell. Living according to the destiny spoken by these two men.
‘Might as well…’
Un Hyang’s gaze turned to her own wrist.
Would it be easier?
As she contemplated the same thought she had repeated countless times upon returning to this place.
Boom—!
Thunder flashed in the dark night sky. It was a first. The darkness engulfing Un Hyang was dispelled. The enormous presence behind her faded, and for the first time, Un Cheon-guk showed a troubled expression.
“Who is…?”
“An uninvited guest, it seems.”
Swish—
The forms of the two men who had invaded Un Hyang’s dream began to fade.
Boom, rumble—
Thunder illuminated the sky, and with it, both Un Cheon-guk and the oppressive presence disappeared without a trace.
Another man had driven them out.
Step—
A man with familiar black hair, wearing a mask, entered Shinryeonseong. Although she couldn’t see his face, Un Hyang recognized him.
Lee Suhyuk.
The great legend of Blue Eyes and her hero.
“Why are you here…?”
It was strange. Despite dreaming this dream more than a hundred times, he had never appeared in it before.
Why now, of all times, did he appear in her dream?
The question was soon answered.
“Manager.”
Un Hyang’s eyes widened.
“Why are you here?”
“Su… Suhyuk…”
The man who had brought thunder and lightning into Shinryeonseong.
“Suhyuk?”
He wasn’t Blue Eyes’ Lee Suhyuk, but Balhae’s streamer Lee Suhyuk.
Was it because they were in a dream?
She had momentarily forgotten.
Why she had been so captivated by the player Lee Suhyuk. He was the one who had saved her.
And.
“Let’s go back.”
Even though he might not be the same person. Being with him felt as if she would receive the same salvation.
“Huh…?”
Seeing Un Hyang tear up, Lee Suhyuk’s eyes in the dream wavered. Un Hyang burst into tears. Collapsing to the ground of Shinryeonseong she despised so much.
Without any intention of stopping her tears, she cried her heart out. When she woke up, she felt truly rested for the first time in a long while.
TL’s Corner:
So there’s someone is behind Un Cheon-guk. Welp, it’s probably Murim Alliance leader.