Chapter 49
Chapter 49: Motel Training Method (2)
"A condom? Aah, so that's what they call this non-slip glove."
"Uh......."
Yu Ye-rin had a gut feeling.
That if she didn't tell him the truth, something far worse was going to happen.
But what on earth am I even supposed to say?
Breaking into a cold sweat, she rapidly spun her mind into overdrive.
How could she do this without making things awkward, without killing the mood?
She didn't know about anything else, but first she needed to get that condom off his hand.
Steeling herself, Yu Ye-rin walked to the front of the bed.
Right then, Mu-yeong furrowed his brow.
"But this condom is tighter than I expected. I wish it were a bit bigger. It's too small for me."
"S-, small, is it? Ahahaha."
"I've got it on for now, but if I push any further, it feels like it might burst. It also doesn't seem like blood can even flow through."
"That would be a problem......."
A conversation that seemed to be on point yet was subtly missing it entirely.
Yu Ye-rin was biding her time for the right moment when Mu-yeong tried to rise from his seat.
"I should probably go back to the motel owner. To tell him it's too small and won't fit me."
"No, don't!"
Yu Ye-rin quickly pressed down on his thigh to stop him.
Mu-yeong's eyes asked why, and she swallowed hard, as if the moment she had been dreading had finally arrived.
I really can't put this off any longer.
Yu Ye-rin braced herself with layers upon layers of composure, then held up an intact condom.
She brought it close in front of Mu-yeong's eyes, as if telling him to look carefully.
"Um, Mu-yeong-nim. Listen without jumping to conclusions. You see, a condom—"
Riiip!
"—is a thin rubber pouch made for contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. It's not a glove you put on your hand like this."
"......What are you talking about?"
"Exactly what I said. Right now, Mu-yeong-nim is using it in completely the wrong way."
Mu-yeong blinked both eyes.
Still wearing an expression of incomprehension, he looked down at his own hand.
"So it's not a glove."
"Yes."
Next, he looked at his groin.
"It's for contraception?"
"Yes......."
Yu Ye-rin averted her gaze.
That reaction alone was enough.
But Mu-yeong still couldn't wrap his head around it.
He had clearly come here thinking of the motel as the perfect training space.
It was a little different from what he had imagined, but it wasn't a bad place.
That was why, even though it was something the motel owner had given him, he hadn't suspected a thing—and now, out of nowhere, it was suddenly a contraceptive device?
Looking at her expression, she doesn't seem to be joking.......
Mu-yeong removed the condom from his hand first.
Seeing the rubber membrane stretched beyond compare to when he had first put it on, he could vaguely imagine the purpose.
Certainly, that size would suit that use.
He nodded, and Yu Ye-rin let herself drift slightly away.
"Do you understand a little better now?"
"Except for one thing. We came to a motel—I don't understand why he gave us a contraceptive device."
"Because ninety-nine out of a hundred people come here for that purpose. Couples come to share their love....... Ah! That said, I absolutely did not come here for that! I genuinely, purely just wanted to learn from Mu-yeong-nim in person!"
"......You don't need to make excuses like that. I know. I know well enough that you have no intention of doing that with me."
"That's— Cough cough cough!"
Yu Ye-rin suddenly choked and quickly turned her head.
Perhaps from coughing so hard, her face had turned red again.
Watching her sneak glances at him, it was as if all the puzzle pieces fell into place for Mu-yeong.
Now I understand. Why she completely covered her face from the very first time we met.
She said she hadn't meant anything by it, but just the fact that the two of them had come to a motel together was more than enough to invite misunderstanding.
But then why had she taken such a risk and come here anyway?
Even if the facilities here were good, if you really thought about it, there were plenty of better places.
"May I ask why you came here? Why you deliberately chose a motel that could cause such a terrible misunderstanding."
"Ugh....... That's."
Yu Ye-rin paused, then let her words spill out at twice her usual speed.
"Well, I'm the second-generation disciple of the Daehwasan Sect and a public figure, aren't I? So what if someone were to see me learning martial arts from an outside man? It's obvious people around me would look at that unfavorably, right?"
"Certainly. The Nine Sects and One Gang are a proud group, so there would surely be those who'd take offense at seeing someone else play the role of teacher."
"Exactly! So I looked for a private space where no one else could see us, and after searching and searching, this is the place I chose. It's also reasonably close to my home, so it's easy to get to......."
She had been about to say something more, but closed her mouth.
She snuck a glance up at Mu-yeong and fidgeted with her fingers.
"......Was it uncomfortable coming with me, by any chance? If the motel bothers you, we could go somewhere else."
"Hardly."
"Then?"
"You made the reservation and drove all the way here thinking of us both—why would I dislike it."
Watching Yu Ye-rin's expression grow brighter by the moment, Mu-yeong picked up the white bag.
He put all the items he had taken out back inside, then took aim at the trash can.
"Then I should throw all of this away."
"Is-, is that really necessary?"
"Aren't all these things related to sexual activity? If they stay in sight, they could actually end up distracting from our training, so I should clear them away in advance."
"Ah......."
Swoosh!
Mu-yeong threw the bag.
Yu Ye-rin's eyes tracked its arc, and even after it landed in the trash can, she stared at it quietly for about three seconds.
She briefly moistened her lips, then shook her head side to side.
And then she energetically drew her Practice Sword.
"Shall we start training now?"
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.
.
.
"Haat! Hat! Hwaap!"
Teaching her martial arts was progressing smoothly.
To be more precise, there was almost nothing to correct.
Watching Yu Ye-rin diligently swing her sword, Mu-yeong quietly applauded her inwardly.
It's only been a single day, yet she's already at this level. Remarkable.
The 9th and 10th Forms that had been rough were now perfect.
The 11th Form was at a stage where just a little more time familiarizing herself with it would complete it quickly.
He thought that within a few days, she would likely be able to make it fully her own.
Can she really have changed this much just from having her posture corrected and practicing through the night?
Watching her work, she clearly had talent.
Then why had she only gotten that far with the Twenty-Four-Form Plum Blossom Sword Art?
She had surely been receiving steady instruction from her teacher or the first-generation disciples.
Even accounting for the Great Unification and the three years that had passed, it was her Internal Energy that had vanished—her insight itself was intact, so there should be no problem with learning.
Hmm.......
Mu-yeong narrowed his eyes.
There was some unknown problem lurking beneath the surface.
He stared sharply at her as she took a brief rest, then drew closer.
He tested the waters.
"It seems you'll need to learn the Forms after Plum Blossom Gradual Bloom as well—do you happen to know the Formula or the movements?"
"Well...... I do know them, but I don't think I can execute them right now."
"Is it because we're indoors?"
"That's part of it, but from the next Form onward, you have to be able to use Plum Blossom Gradual Bloom skillfully before you can move on. If the 12th Form is the plum blossom gradually blooming, then what comes after is the full bloom, and then the withering, and the scattering. It has that kind of feel, so if you're even slightly off, you absolutely cannot execute it."
"That is certainly true."
To put it simply—first the plum blossom has to bloom before anything else can follow, for better or worse.
How could the next Form proceed when there's no plum blossom to begin with?
"For now, could you at least show me the outline or the Sword Path?"
"Ah, yes. I'm not sure how well it'll go, but I'll do my best."
Yu Ye-rin began unfolding the Forms from the middle.
After about four failed attempts, she finally managed to bloom the plum blossom, then continued into movements he had never seen before.
"The 13th Form—Plum Blossom Spreading. It means the plum blossom spreads and spreads."
The tip of Yu Ye-rin's blade trembled.
As if trying to scatter and bloom as many plum blossoms as possible.
The wavering sword stopped in an instant.
"And the 14th Form—Plum Blossom Full Bloom. From here, the petals begin to fall and you have to prepare in earnest for them to scatter."
Swish!
The Wooden Sword cut horizontally.
It didn't end with one stroke—it was repeated several times.
It's like a wind is blowing. An operation to knock the petals loose, perhaps?
Mu-yeong interpreted what he saw and carved it into his eyes.
He didn't miss a single small movement.
Then suddenly Yu Ye-rin spun around in one full circle and began rapidly swinging her arms.
Unorthodox and dazzling swordsmanship.
Clumsy and rough-edged, yet even so it was sufficiently beautiful.
After the brief demonstration, Yu Ye-rin let out a ragged breath.
"Haa...... haa.......—that was the 15th Form, Plum Blossom Scattering. I couldn't even unfold half of it, but that's my limit."
"You worked hard. The latter Forms certainly feel completely different."
"Right? That's why from here onward it's sometimes called the real Twenty-Four-Form Plum Blossom Sword Art."
"The early Forms are no different from fertilizer to make the plum blossom bloom—that's more than fair enough."
He nodded, and she crouched down onto the floor.
Perhaps feeling dizzy, she rubbed her forehead as well.
"After staying up all night yesterday, my limits are starting to show little by little......."
"It wasn't just staying up all night either—you were swinging your sword the entire time, weren't you? Overexerting yourself is bad for your body, so get some proper sleep and then get up."
"Is that alright?"
"Isn't that what the bed here is for? While you do, I'll train on my own."
"Ah, then I'll shower real quick and catch a bit of sleep."
A little while later.
While Yu Ye-rin was washing up, Mu-yeong sank into thought.
If I were to teach her properly, the dream of becoming the Plum Blossom Swordmaster might not be a mere illusion.......
Of course, Mu-yeong wasn't helping her out of pure goodwill either.
He was gaining quite a bit himself—that was why he was teaching her alongside her.
The largest part was, naturally, being able to analyze the Twenty-Four-Form Plum Blossom Sword Art down to the marrow.
A sword art called the essence of Daehwasan would naturally have profound insights and ways of thinking he would never have imagined woven into it.
If he could even slightly make that his own?
It might become the key to reaching a higher realm.
Of course, for that, I'll need to raise Yu Ye-rin's level quickly.
Bluntly speaking—grabbing the Sect Leader or the elders of the Daehwasan Sect and asking, I'd like to watch that sword art, if you please!
There was no way that kind of request would ever be possible.
So Yu Ye-rin, with whom he had familiarity and with whom he could give and take, was the perfect person.
But from the latter half onward she was showing considerable difficulty, and that was a cause for concern.
Just then, a good idea flashed through Mu-yeong's mind.
"Ah, with that, it might be possible?"
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.
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Phew........ That shower was so refreshing....... Now if I just lie down on the bed I feel like I'll fall asleep instantly.......
Yu Ye-rin walked out of the bathroom, shaking her hair.
Facing her head-on, Mu-yeong spoke with a grave expression.
"Take it off."
"......Pardon?"
Yu Ye-rin let out a dazed sound.
She met Mu-yeong's gaze directly, as if confirming whether she had heard correctly.
To her, now reaching up to clean out her ear, he said it again.
"Take it off. And show me your back."
"Wh-, what!? S-, suddenly? I'm not ready yet......."
"Don't worry. I'll take care of everything."
"What!?"
Yu Ye-rin swallowed hard.
She knew it was a strange situation, but Mu-yeong would never say something like that without reason.
Thud.
Calming her pounding heart, Yu Ye-rin moved forward slowly.
Following his instructions, she turned around first.
"B-, but what are you going to do...... could it be?"
"I'm going to give you the Bone Marrow Cleansing."
"......What!?"
At Mu-yeong's words, Yu Ye-rin shot up with a start.
Her face flushed bright red as she wrapped both hands around her shoulders.
A brief silence.
Unable to meet his eyes, she asked back in a very small voice.
"......S-x?"