Chapter 7
The fact that Pae Maseong chose Yeon Cheongha caused a huge stir in Eumyeong Valley.
Son Eun seemed to feel humiliated that Pae Maseong had gone to Yeon Cheongha instead of him.
Different people would react differently to such a situation, but Son Eun was not one to resolve things amicably.
Even if he had thought well of Pae Maseong before, now that things had turned out this way, he seemed determined to make Pae Maseong regret it.
If Pae Maseong was not his disciple, there was no reason to let him become stronger.
This unexpectedly became a catalyst for Yeon Cheongha's awakening.
Until then, Yeon Cheongha had not been a prominent figure among the instructors, but he began to reveal his true self to protect Pae Maseong and me.
"Pae Maseong, Yasocheong. I heard it was your turn to maintain the training ground, but the maintenance is very poor. Re-maintain the training ground and prepare firewood for the instructors."
Son Eun said, giving us a task that was not ours. After that, such orders were given frequently.
"Sharpen all the instructors' swords."
"Wake up one hour earlier than everyone else and sweep the main gate of Eumyeong Valley."
"From now on, you will be in charge of cleaning the Valley Lord's residence."
Then Pae Maseong would make a wronged face and ask me if we had to do this.
I thought that if Yeon Cheongha found out, it might cause a fight between the instructors, so I placated Pae Maseong. I tried to keep it from Yeon Cheongha until the end, but eventually, he found out.
We were up at dawn cleaning the main gate when Yeon Cheongha came out.
He hadn't come knowing we would be there; he had woken up early, was circulating his ki, and happened to see us as he was passing by.
"You two, what are you doing here?"
He approached us, looking surprised to see us there before dawn, and asked.
Pae Maseong looked at me first, and I tried to just let it go.
"We couldn't sleep, so we were sweeping. It's nice if the main gate that everyone uses is clean."
Then Yeon Cheongha looked at Pae Maseong.
"You tell me, Pae Maseong."
He knew that Pae Maseong was not good with words.
Pae Maseong didn't know how to speak spontaneously and didn't seem to be able to think of what to say in such a situation.
"Did you two sweep here yesterday too?"
"...Yes."
"Have you been doing this for a while?"
"Yes."
"Are there other things you do like this?"
"Yes..."
As he answered, Pae Maseong's head bowed lower and lower.
"Who ordered you to do this?"
When he asked that far, there was no way for Pae Maseong to avoid answering.
"Instructor... Son Eun."
"Then why didn't you tell me sooner? Your training load is by no means small. I set your training load thinking that you were getting enough rest. But if Instructor Son Eun gave you such tasks without my knowledge, you should have told me. I don't think you wouldn't know that."
Then he stopped talking.
He seemed to have realized on his own why we hadn't said anything.
"Did you think that nothing would change even if I knew? Or did you think that even if I told Instructor Son, he wouldn't stop? So you thought I would just look ridiculous."
Then Yeon Cheongha sighed to himself.
"What else did Instructor Son order you to do?"
He only asked Pae Maseong until the end.
He seemed to think that Pae Maseong was the only one who would answer honestly.
Pae Maseong told him everything that had happened, and Yeon Cheongha nodded.
"Pae Maseong, from now on, if something like this happens, you must come and tell me. Don't do as Yasocheong says, no matter what he says. I am the instructor. Do you understand?"
"Yes... I'm sorry."
"I'll say it again. I am the instructor, and you are the trainees. I'm not telling you to worry about me."
"It's not that I was worried about you, instructor..."
Pae Maseong started to speak but then closed his mouth.
Yeon Cheongha had already disappeared from the spot.
"What should I do, Socheong? I think I did something wrong. Will they fight? If they fight, our instructor will get seriously hurt, right? I hope it just ends with him getting hurt."
Pae Maseong seemed to think that Son Eun might kill Yeon Cheongha.
That was a very real possibility.
"We'll have to wait and see."
"What if we tell the other instructors? Or even the Valley Lord."
"I don't think there's anyone who will take our instructor's side."
"Then what should we do?"
"Let's go."
I was curious to see how Yeon Cheongha would handle this.
If Yeon Cheongha just made up his mind, he wouldn't just be pushed around by Son Eun, but it was unclear how he would resolve the situation.
We went near the instructors' dormitory.
Thinking that since Yeon Cheongha had disappeared in such a huff, he must have already turned Son Eun upside down.
But the place was too peaceful.
We thought it would just end like this, but that was our misunderstanding.
* * *
When we went to the dining hall for breakfast, the surroundings suddenly became noisy, and the children started murmuring.
I was tired from working since dawn, and my eyes were half-closed, so I was eating without knowing where the food was going.
I had no interest in who was making a fuss or murmuring.
But the sound of footsteps seemed to be heading our way, so I opened my eyes and looked up to see Son Eun approaching.
I thought he didn't check on the work he ordered, but it seemed he did.
Looking at his face, he seemed angry that we hadn't done what he had ordered. Thinking that I didn't know anymore, I put down my chopsticks and paid my respects to him. Pae Maseong did the same.
"Why didn't you do what I ordered? Did you think my words were a joke?"
When Son Eun spoke fiercely, a familiar voice came from behind.
"Instructor Son, I had something to ask you about that matter anyway, and I happen to see you here. I need to know why you gave orders to the children in my class."
Son Eun turned around.
In that spot, there were other instructors besides Yeon Cheongha.
The dining hall used by the trainees and the one used by the instructors were different, so it was rare to run into instructors in the dining hall.
When we first came here, one or two instructors would eat with us in the dining hall to establish discipline and give quiet orders, but that was no longer the case.
Yet, the fact that there were so many instructors meant that they had a purpose.
I knew that all the other instructors were on Son Eun's side, and I thought that if Yeon Cheongha didn't make a decision here, he would be greatly humiliated in front of the instructors and us.
Son Eun looked at Yeon Cheongha and sneered.
"These children may be in Instructor Yeon's class, but they are also trainees of Eumyeong Valley. Is it so wrong for me, an instructor, to give them orders to teach them properly?"
"It is wrong. I will teach the children in my class, so do not give them separate orders from now on."
"If you don't like it, Instructor Yeon can also give orders to the children in my class."
"Do not give separate orders to the children in my class from now on."
Yeon Cheongha repeated what he had said.
The trainees were so tense that they couldn't even breathe properly.
If they were to clash like this, Son Eun had more to lose.
Son Eun was the most famous person among the instructors, but Yeon Cheongha had low expectations from the beginning.
If Pae Maseong, who had received everyone's expectations, hadn't decided to learn from him, there probably wouldn't have been many trainees who remembered Yeon Cheongha's name.
Thinking that at least that was a good thing, I cheered for Yeon Cheongha inwardly.
If he had waited to come here instead of going straight to Son Eun at the instructors' dormitory, it seemed that Yeon Cheongha also knew how to use his head to some extent.
"What will you do if I don't listen to you, Instructor Yeon?"
Son Eun said with a mocking smile.
But Yeon Cheongha was not to be trifled with either.
"For someone who can't understand words, a beating is the medicine. If you beat someone who doesn't listen, they become a little more compliant."
I heard people next to me gasp.
I hadn't expected Yeon Cheongha to go that far, so it was getting more and more interesting.
Son Eun, as if he was dumbfounded, looked up at the sky, let out a hollow laugh, and glared at Yeon Cheongha.
"What did you just say?"
"Can't you hear either?"
"Instructor Yeon, are you sure you're thinking straight? Do you want to end your career in Eumyeong Valley? It seems you have no desire to get out of here alive."
"Ah, are you going to kill me?"
Son Eun seemed flustered, as if he hadn't expected Yeon Cheongha to come on so strong.
No sound came from the people gathered next to them.
A tension like walking on thin ice filled the space.
Looking at the instructors' faces, I could roughly guess what outcome they were expecting.
They would think that Yeon Cheongha would be killed by Son Eun.
They couldn't imagine any other outcome.
At that moment, Son Eun suddenly looked at Pae Maseong.
"Pae Maseong, if your instructor dies, it's your fault. Your instructor is dying because of your wrong decision."
Pae Maseong seemed tense at those words and looked back and forth between Yeon Cheongha and Son Eun.
Then, at the end, he looked at me.
It seemed he was doing so because he had no idea what to do.
Then he seemed surprised to see my expression so relaxed.
Son Eun, who had been looking at Pae Maseong, seemed to have just remembered me and glanced at me.
But he didn't say to me what he had said to Pae Maseong.
It was probably because his purpose from the beginning was to torment Pae Maseong, but it was a relief that he didn't talk to me.
It would have been annoying to have to answer.
"Ah, what happens to the trainees who don't have a supervising instructor? There has been no precedent since no supervising instructor has died in the middle of it all. But well, a supervising instructor is like a master, so I think it would be good for the trainee to share the same fate as the supervising instructor."
When Son Eun spoke, Yeon Cheongha laughed.
"It's one thing to die because of one's own lack of skill, but don't you think it's too much for the children to die just because they had an incompetent person as their supervising instructor?"
"Why do you say that? Have you grown so attached to these children in that short time? You seem to be thinking a lot about them."
"I'm just saying that because I feel sorry for Instructor Son's children."
The war of nerves between the two was tense.