“Wuuuuu. Number 5. This is too much.”
“It’s not too much.”
Cheon So-hee said with an aggrieved expression directed at Seol-ja.
Cream sauce tteokbokki, really?
Yoon Ho hyung must have had similar feelings when he occasionally mumbled that such exotic dishes at the inn weren’t traditional food.
Cheon So-hee stopped shooting angry glares at Seol-ja but couldn’t quite hide her dissatisfaction.
“Yukiko! Do you have any idea how hard it’s been because of Number 5?!”
Seol-ja looked at Cheon So-hee with a slightly taken aback expression at her cold reaction.
“Because of me?”
“Yukiko! I took on all the missions that Number 5 should have done!”
“My missions?”
Why would Seol-ja speak of her own missions? Cheon So-hee tilted her head in confusion.
“It’s true. Seol… Huh?”
Jeok Na-chal, Dan Seo-wol, was about to elaborate but turned his head with an unusual hostility.
“Because it’s Number 6. Yu. Ki. Ko! It’s easy to pronounce and remember!”
Where Dan Seo-wol was looking, Seol-ja, with a smiling face, was radiating a chilling vibe.
Did he really dislike the name Seol-ja that much? It was just a bit old-fashioned. Dan Seo-wol nodded towards Seol-ja.
“Right. Yukiko took on all the missions that you were supposed to do.”
“Yukiko! I’m not lying! Number 5 did everything in advance because he was worried it would be hard when he came out from the training hall! Will you keep being angry even after this?!”
Seol-ja said with a proud expression directed at Cheon So-hee.
Since he did it voluntarily, there was no intention to show off. He just hoped she’d stop being angry and eat. That was all Seol-ja thought when revealing the truth.
But Cheon So-hee’s reaction was different from Seol-ja’s expectation.
“…Thank you.”
Cheon So-hee lowered her head towards Seol-ja.
“…?”
“Why?”
Seol-ja’s face turned increasingly bewildered.
“Jeok Na-chal, is it possible that Yukiko is already dead? She couldn’t even experience love and has turned into a soul?”
“Surprisingly, she is still alive.”
Dan Seo-wol also wore a strange smile as he played along with Seol-ja.
“Whoa! So Number 5 really said thank you to me?!”
“……”
Cheon So-hee realized that she had made a mistake upon seeing Seol-ja looking like a puppy wagging its tail in delight.
“Hehehe. Once you lose, you can’t get it back! Yukiko, actually has a good memory. Number 5 really said he was embarrassed and grateful for Yukiko who took on his missions!”
Cheon So-hee attempted to correct Seol-ja’s statement but quickly gave up.
Just one word and he’ll spout dozens of them. Better not make a fuss and just nod and eat. Cheon So-hee picked up her chopsticks and grabbed some tteokbokki.
The mushy cream’s flavor. Not quite what she wanted. Cheon So-hee lifted the fried food to quicken the change in taste but soon realized something was missing.
“The tteokbokki soup…”
You can’t dip fried food in cream sauce. Cheon So-hee murmured in a slightly dejected voice.
“You can dip it in soy sauce! It’s a delicacy too!”
Cheon So-hee looked at the soy sauce bowl that Seol-ja was hurriedly presenting. She tentatively dipped the fried food and took a bite. It definitely had flavor, but somehow it felt lacking.
“Still less grateful.”
It was a pouty voice not typical of Cheon So-hee.
“Just because of tteokbokki, Number 5 is less grateful? How stingy! Wuuuuu.”
Seol-ja didn’t understand.
Fried food should be eaten mixed with tteokbokki sauce from the start. Cheon So-hee decided that next time she got the chance, she would teach him the true taste of tteokbokki and fried food.
“We have other dishes too, let’s eat together.”
Dan Seo-wol looked happily at the sight of his disciple and her friend and then took food for himself.
——
“Number 5. You ate pretty well considering you were angry, huh?”
After the meal. Seol-ja looked at the empty bowls with a somewhat bemused expression.
“…It wasn’t bad.”
Authentic tteokbokki should have gochujang, but cream sauce wasn’t too bad either. Cheon So-hee wiped her mouth and replied with a haughty look.
“Hehehe. See? Next time, let’s try Yukiko’s soup rice too!”
“I’ll pass.”
It was a direct answer.
“You don’t know good food! Pork cutlet with radish kimchi is tastier than you think!”
“Next time, it has to be rose tteokbokki.”
Exotic dishes are just exotic. Authentic tteokbokki is definitely rose tteokbokki. Cheon So-hee spoke while feeling the still unsatiated craving for tteokbokki.
“Yukiko! Spicy food isn’t my strong suit! Ah! Jeok Na-chal, where are you going?”
Cheon So-hee and Seol-ja looked at Dan Seo-wol, who was about to get up from his seat.
“Now that we’ve held a feast, I have to go clean up the earlier mess.”
The Heavenly Killing Star had completed its closed-door training. And with the assassins mobilized, someone had to report about today’s events.
“Is it my fault?”
Dan Seo-wol couldn’t help but chuckle at the worried gaze from his disciple. Was this child actually capable of expressing emotions? It was fascinating to see more and more.
“Just seeing those gloomy faces. Do you need anything? If you have something you want, I can bring it up while I’m there.”
“Yoon Ho hyung.”
“Whoa! Number 5 is bold! Is it finally bossam?! Are you leveling up?! Yukiko, please allow me to observe!”
“It seems difficult to kidnap him.”
Dan Seo-wol shook his head firmly in response to his disciple’s bold request.
“…I want news or a letter. I want to hear from you again.”
“Alright. I’ll mention it while I’m there.”
———
“Jeok Na-chal! How on earth has the Heavenly Killing Star not killed for over a year and maintained sanity? What is going on?”
Jeok Na-chal Dan Seo-wol stood before the higher-ups of the Assassin’s Group related to today’s closed-door training at Heavenly Killing Star.
“There’s been an achievement with my disciple.”
Though Dan Seo-wol spoke in a calm tone, the weight of that single statement was substantial.
“Is that possible through closed-door training?”
“Is it really Suratal Myung-gong…?”
“No matter what, Heavenly Killing Star! Heavenly Killing Star!”
“If you’re curious, I’d prefer you all not to chatter amongst yourselves but to ask me directly.”
With a voice laced with irritation, Dan Seo-wol quickly calmed the atmosphere in the room. It was an undeniably rude attitude, yet no one dared to point that out to Dan Seo-wol.
Jeok Na-chal Dan Seo-wol.
Despite her appearance, she looked somewhat like an older sister to her disciple Cheon So-hee with a bit of an age gap, in her late twenties, but no one in the Assassin’s Group would underestimate her.
If she were to unleash her entire strength, she could boldly declare that the assassins had no right to act tough in front of her, being a renowned master even among factions.
It’s just that she was currently holding back her tempers purely because Jeok Na-chal was affiliated with the Assassin’s Group.
“So what does it mean that the Heavenly Killing Star has completely governed her killer’s instinct?”
“She’s only found her path. She’s not fully in control yet. But there’s a huge difference between those who’ve found their path and those who haven’t.”
She doesn’t exaggerate her achievements. That child claimed to have found a path against the Heavenly Killing Star.
Even if it’s just direction, it’s still a massive accomplishment.
“Then can we proceed with missions immediately…?”
“I would prefer not to engage in assassination missions for a while.”
The teacher decided to step forward for his disciple, who had just found a path.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s already been a year and a half since we sidelined our missions!”
The complaints from the higher-ups erupted.
“She has just found her path. There’s no need to disrupt the path any further.”
If needed, she could kill. But if she’d found a path, it’s more important to gauge just how far she can go.
Dan Seo-wol resolutely rejected the proposals from the higher-ups.
“Heavenly Killing Star is an assassin of the Assassin’s Group as well.”
“She is my last disciple.”
“…”
The higher-ups of the Assassin’s Group could not utter a word facing the blazing eyes of Jeok Na-chal.
“The debt owed to the Assassin’s Group was repaid long ago. Along with the lives of my disciples.”
Jeok Na-chal Dan Seo-wol had already lost countless disciples. All because they never got to bloom properly under the Assassin’s Group’s missions.
Cheon So-hee was the last disciple Jeok Na-chal received. The blend of sadness and anger was evident in her gaze directed towards the higher-ups.
“However….”
“It was you who detained me when I tried to leave. You insisted on having that child entrusted to me while handing me powers that no one could handle, pushing me to accept. And now you’re saying this?”
“Are you refusing the orders of the Assassin’s Group?”
“I don’t want to hear it! That child performing missions for the Assassin’s Group is to control the Heavenly Killing Star, not because she is an assassin of the Assassin’s Group!”
“Jeok Na-chal…!”
Several of the higher-ups stood up, ready to argue. The atmosphere was electric with tension. Dan Seo-wol had no intention of backing down for her disciple.
The standoff built to a fever pitch.
“Enough of this.”
With the entrance of one person, the situation diffused instantly.
“The Master of the Assassin’s Group?”
Dan Seo-wol and the higher-ups of the Assassin’s Group wore startled expressions at the sudden appearance of the Master.
—
“Hoho. Jeok Na-chal seems to be feeling a bit uncomfortable. I’ve already firmly warned them, so don’t worry too much.”
The Master of the Assassin’s Group spoke with a smile as his serious expression followed Dan Seo-wol into the office.
“Master.”
“Master? Now that’s cold. Where did the kind Seo-wol I used to know go?”
The Master of the Assassin’s Group, Dan Se-aak, whispered while sipping strong liquor from a small bottle, appearing somewhat sentimental.
“I’ll be leaving.”
Dan Seo-wol turned around as if she disliked any more conversation.
“There’s no need for you to get too worked up over what the old folks say.”
As an older brother with a lot of backstory, the Master of the Assassin’s Group and the younger sister, Dan Se-aak, chuckled softly to calm her down.
“Number 5 is my disciple.”
“When did you say you wouldn’t take any affection?”
“Master…!”
“Indeed. I told you to find a good guy and get married. In your youth, you were a thunderbolt causing trouble everywhere. Now that you’re older, all of a sudden, that motherly love is sprouting… Oh!”
Dan Se-aak lightly tilted his head to evade a hidden knife that came flying towards him.
“Say one more word, and you’re nothing more than a brother, a savior, or anything else.”
“Alright, alright. Regardless, as long as you’re not causing trouble in the main house, I won’t mind much.”
“If the Master says that, I’ll believe it.”
Dan Seo-wol finally sighed softly and replied.
“Seriously, those old folks are the problem. How long will they stick to the old ways of raising? While manpower is dwindling and kids are dropping off like flies, they insist on keeping tradition. It’s no wonder we’re running short on people, right? They’re just making unreasonable demands.”
Dan Se-aak began spilling his complaints about the Assassin’s Group to his younger sister.
“…”
“The field workers have long since refreshed their minds, but the old folks are too stubborn and reluctant to leave. Their heads have hardened! Compared to you, who’s still somewhat cute in my eyes, the old folks just make me want to strangle them.”
A battle between the relatively younger Master of the Assassin’s Group and the older higher-ups. While most might tremble at the thought of the Master, he too dealt with serious challenges as the group’s leader.
“If you have no further remarks, I’ll take my leave.”
“Wait. I have something to give you.”
The Master motioned for Dan Seo-wol to hold on as he pulled something out of the drawer.
“What’s this?”
The Master handed over something unexpected.
“The Rise of the Tang Family. A book that’s rumored to be impossible to find in Hubei Province.”
“How did you…?”
Dan Seo-wol knew this book’s title very well. After all, it was written by her disciple’s beloved.
Why on earth was this book in the Master’s hands? Dan Seo-wol, hiding her bewilderment, asked the Master.
“I instructed them to separately bring me news about Cheon So-hee. I’ve told the branch that if there are any letters to Cheon So-hee, they’re free to allow as much as they want.”
“……”
The words she had just delivered to the branch head somehow made their way to the Master’s ears. Numerous thoughts raced through Dan Seo-wol’s mind.
How much did he know? It’s impossible for him to know the truth about the Reverse Heaven’s Decree. Does he know what this book is? Who wrote it? Why on earth is he handing me this book?
Dan Seo-wol’s expression grew serious.
“What I’m asking for in exchange for this convenience is a message you’ll convey to Number 5.”
Dan Se-aak said playfully, a smirk on his face as he addressed Dan Seo-wol.
“What is it?”
Jeok Na-chal Dan Seo-wol felt taken aback.
Was he indeed plotting something?
Finding out the opponent’s weaknesses and taking what they desire. Expecting death before realizing it has arrived. Truly, this was a skill befitting the leader of the Assassin’s Group, devoid of flesh and blood.
What could he want from my disciple?
Could it be another assassination mission?
Or perhaps an assignment to utilize the Heavenly Killing Star?
Dan Seo-wol looked at her blood kin with a tense expression as he grinned slyly.
The leader of the Assassin’s Group approached Dan Seo-wol slowly, smiling as if he had something to whisper. He then leaned closer and murmured quietly into Dan Seo-wol’s ear, hoping no one would overhear.
“Later, could you send me a copy of Ho Pil’s manuscript?”
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