Claire Keane
trying on a metaphor
titsay
đ©” avery cochrane đ©”
RMH
pixel skylines
Sade Olutola
noise dept.
Product Placement
izzy's playlists!
occasionally subtle
will byers stan first human second
Jules of Nature
Cosmic Funnies
Misplaced Lens Cap
Not today Justin
No title available
todays bird
if i look back, i am lost
⣠Chile in a Photography âŁ
seen from Denmark
seen from Malaysia
seen from France
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
seen from T1
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Chile
seen from Finland
seen from Germany
@urpen-pal
PAIRING; Cheongmyeong x f!Reader
STATUS; ongoing
âżâĄâżSynopsis:
The chinese grandpa next to you gently held your hand to keep you from hurting yourself. One of the older men coughed into his fist before speaking. "You are in the presence of the Sect leader of the Mount Hua Sect" he says. Yeah, hearing Chinese thrice was all you needed to hear. Chat, realistically wyd? đ„
TAGS: language of flowers, gardening, crashouts, slow burn, horror, angst, fluff, modern references, real-world values, friendships, homesickness, humor, attempt at humor, historical accuracy, attempt at said historical accuracy, Chinese culture, foreign reader, female reader, mentally older reader, saxophones slowly getting louder as story goes, i promise the writing gets better, more tags to be added.
WARNINGS: graphic depictions of being killed by flowers, body horror, attempted suicide, physical violence, use of a gun, self-deprecating thoughs, kidnapping, period-typical racism, period typical sexism.
DISCLAIMER: this is a work of fiction! All characters (aside from yourself), belong to their rightful owner.
English is not my first language, so please excuse any grammatical errors you may encounter while reading. I also have not fully read the novel (I'm working on it tho!), so there may be some mischaracterizations on a few characters. I'll still do my best!
âżâĄâżNOW PLAYING: Neath the Grove is a Heart by Yaelokre.
"âŠShe makes everything come alive with just a touch of her hand; Flowers bloom even in the winter at the sight of her" â random(?) old man, Chapter 1.
Table of Contents đŐ..ŐđŠŻ
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Ao3 link
A/N: heavily edited this masterlist cause I love a good aesthetic đ.
Thank you for reading and supporting my fanfic! Remember, comments are love âĄ.
Halluuu @dezzyartz-mh1228! I saw your comment on ao3 and I thought of answering it. But since this answer has a few pictures (I don't know how to put those on an ao3 comment), I'll be posting it here on tumblr instead! I'm sure there are some readers who are also confused about what happened sorry about that so it might be better if I answered it here.
Your comment was:
Came back to binge read this fic once more! I think I'm a little confused. Has the reader's physical appearance (in her pov; through her eyes) changed and shaped to accommodate the appearance of the reality she's in right now? Because I'm not so sure myself with my confusion between reader's appearance and her short description of Cheong Myeong's appearance.
Someone please help me! Even after binge reading this multiple times, I STILL can't properly picture what the last few paragraphs are supposed to look like lol
Long rant/spoilers for chapter 17-18 onwards under the cut!
As you all know, the reader was kidnapped from her home by a withered plum blossom branch. After an agonizing transformation, she finds herself in the webtoon world of rotbb, in the body of a much younger version of herself. For a while, the reader doesn't notice the strange appearance that everyone has. It is only until she grew older inside the world that she realizedâ something's not right here! It's the same vice versa for the characters.
He could make out individual strands of hair on her head, and they were most likely thousands of them. On her hands were lines that he had never before seen on a person. The uniform she wore looked flat on her figure- which seemed heavy.
From her face to the rest of her exposed skin, there was some sort of texture that he couldn't understand. She looked as if she stepped into the wrong world- not fully human, not truly alien. Soheng had never seen someone who looked like that before.
It was uncanny- and even almost frightening. -Wei Soheng, Chapter 12
The reason I wrote this scene this way is because Wei Soheng, like the rest of the rotmhs cast, are 2d characters. The reader is the only exception, as she is a real human being brought to a fictional setting. She is a 3d character amongst 2d characters who don't know that a 3rd dimension exists. Another example is this excerpt from the same chapter:
"Why would she suddenly receive letters?" The divine dragon raised a brow as he questioned his senior. "No offense, but she kinda looks... Well, back then it wasn't obvious..."
Cheongmyeong trailed off, allowing the silence to explain his thoughts. -Chapter 12
Likewise, the same sentiment is shared with the reader. Seeing a 2d character come alive and act animatedly is a strange sight. But, since the reader has been around them for quite a while now, she has become desentisized by it.
You ignored his comment, returning to eating your food. If anything, they were the ones who were striking to you. They truly looked strange, with their straight lines, wide (unnatural colored) eyes, and weird reactions to some things. No one in your world can make the faces they do. -Reader, Chapter 14.
However, despite appearances, it is the reader's 3D human-like body that makes her special. Her full control of her body allowed her to do her job of cooking, cleaning, crafting, and fixing around the sect. It is the reason why her dishes taste good, because her hands are perfectly controlled to cut and mince ingredients in a way that makes it even more delicious than before. It is also this same reason that the reader is complimented frequently with the way she uses her hands.
Her 3d-ness is quite literally the reason she has such a big advantage in that world.
"Ah, it's just thatâ the way your hands look... like that" he made a gesture towards your hands and in turn, made you look at them too. "It seems to be the reason why you work very efficiently" -Jo Geol, Chapter 16
How else would she be able to do her work efficiently? The amount of work she does is triple the amount a normal person of that world can do in a single day.
"Hm" Iseol lowered her head even as you continued brushing. "Your hands are good..." -Yu Iseol, Chapter 16
Okay! I'm done explaining this part, nowâ on to your questions!
Has the reader's physical appearance (in her pov; through her eyes) changed and shaped to accommodate the appearance of the reality she's in right now?
Yes, it has and unfortunately, it was not a consensual transformation at all. If the reader was awake for a while longer, then she would have experienced a worse sensation than the time she was kidnapped.
I could go on and on about descriptions but since you also mentioned that you can't properly picture what happened, I'll give you some visual examples instead! This is also because I'm still actively working on chapter 18, and the aftermath will have much better descriptions to go off of. I'd like to keep it a secret until I upload it hehe.
Essentially, the reader went from this (ignore her appearance, I used a photobashed edit of my oc FOR EXAMPLE PURPOSES ONLY):
To this:
The way the reader perceived the rotmhs world is that of a cartoon. She saw everyone as a cartoon version of themselves that she couldn't fully associate them as real people. To simplify, everything in that world looked like a child's drawingâ Lewis' scribbles, if the reader felt like it. It is only until the events of chapter 17 happened that she actually saw them for who they are.
Which is why when the reader opened her eyes in her new body, the word she used to describe the first thing she saw was "real".
Whatever the world used to look like is no longer the same way she saw it last time. The reader has changed too, in more ways than one, and is now completely part of rotmhs. Whether she returns to her original world or remains trapped forever is not up to me to decide, but only Time will tell.
That's all I have for now! I hope I answered your questions and cleared up any misunderstandings. Before I go, I have one last question.
Since I mentioned that this story is inspired by the fairytale of the Little Mermaid, have any of you noticed the parallels in this story and that? Let me know what you think! Tag me in any of your analyses! I'd love to know your thoughts!
Until the next update! (If I ever survive those freak ass entrance exams)
A few months ago, I celebrated my birthday. As a gift for myself, I wished that chung myung would come homeâ and he did after another few months! In the form of a cotton doll...
So I took pics of him! (pls ignore the date I didn't realize my digicam's date was wrong)
Chung Myung visited a university (pls let me in) to see the sunflowers that had just bloomed. He even wore a cute accessory to match with them! You can mistake him for a sunflower this way haha.
He then went to go have lunch, even going too far as to order a piece of cake! I wonder if his stomach is bigger than his head. Ouch, my wallet :((
Just be grateful you're being carried. I hope you like the view.
I love your stuff so much like HELLO??? it's so good..so delicious so so SOOOO amazing to read that I re-read how to kill a plum blossom 3x YES. THE ENTIRE SERIES 3X AND I'M NOT STOPPING. AND YOUR NEW SERIES??M I'm actually SO in love đ”âđ«đ«¶....... like please don't explodâ đ„đ„đ„đ„đ„
Woah, you read how to kill a plum blossom 3 times!? That's a lot more than the amount of times I re-read my own work! I'm so happy that you fell in love with my work to re-read it multiple times. Thank you so much!!
I'm still not used to receiving compliments about my writing, so when I get an ask like this; I get giddy, my face warms, and then Iâ
saw the ao3 notification and I already left kudosâhappily reading your new work in full rn :3
HI TWINNNNNNN
Omg gulps pls lmk ur thoughts abt it. : ]
I miss u sb twin :'))
âĄàŸàœČ 01. MY NAME IS PINK AND I'M REALLY GLAD TO MEET YOU
There are multiple ways Cheongmyeong thought this little walk would go.
 "Okay, which kid from 2022 owns this harry potter core, dream-shifting I am in rn!?"
 Meeting a stranger speaking in a foreign language is not one of them.
 To understand what happened, let's rewind to a few minutes ago...
 The sun had only set recently, allowing the night to envelop Mount Hua in darkness. Only a few lamps illuminated the sect, but by the time a certain hour passes, the lights will be extinguished.Â
 On one particular trail, where a path carved from the footsteps of frequent visitors of such a location, lacks the bright flames that aids the human eye. The modern person cannot navigate through such a route, especially when. The only kind of person accustomed to this kind of darkness are those who lived in a more ancient era. However, the absence of light proved to be crucial to a certain disciple.
 "Woah, the moon is a lot brighter tonight"
 Cheongmyeong stared at the moon, having just left the repentance chamber. He had been holed up in there for days, for a reason he most likely already forgot. The stars winked above him, almost as if there was something they had to say.
 When a person lives in this kind of world, where the inventions of man have not yet been discovered, it is difficult to not appreciate the skyâ and the kind of light it brings. Although, once a person is too much habituated with the natural environment, they often take this kind of scenery for granted.
 The protagonist is not at all like that. Instead, he sees the opportunity, and takes advantage of it. Like what he is doing now.
 He stands across two paths. One that is straightforward, narrow, and is sure to bring him back to his sahyung's place in mere minutes. The other is a path inside the forest-part of the mountain. The "scenic route", one might call it.Â
 There are no torches or lamps to guide the way, making it harder to navigate, and there is no way to make sure that the terrain is flatâ forcing anyone walking through the woods at night to watch their step. Trees grew thick from living off of the nutrients provided by the mountain, and whole ecosystems composed of grasshoppers and the like thrive during this time of night. Walking through the woods also prolongs the time it takes to return to the main sect. Â
 It just so happens that Chung Myung is now walking toward it.
 ' If I delay my return... maybe I can avoid doing the chores sahyung assigned me! '
 âis his thought process.
 His shoes stepped on a few dry leaves as he walked, each emitting a satisfactory "cruncchhh!" in their wake. A cold wind blew, but it failed to make the trees shudder and move their branches. It did manage to free a few pink flowers, the shade a little lighter compared to the eyes of the young man watching. The plum blossoms made their descent gracefully on the ground before Cheongmyeong's feet.
 It is spring, which is why the plum blossom trees are in full bloom, why the crickets hiding in the bushes are louder, and why the temperature in Mount Hua is not as cold as it was before. Usually, someone would exclaim that "It's a wonderful day!", only to repeat those words the next day, the next day, and then the following days as well. Certainly, they would say this with all their teeth showing as their mouth curves upward. They say that a person is the happiest when it is spring.Â
 Cheongmyeong would like to share the same sentiment, but what's on his mind right now is what dish is prepared for dinner, his sahyung's plans for spring cleaning, andâ
 The figure laying beneath that tree.
 Alarm bells rang in the young man's head, his face moving multiple muscles at once in an effort to make a reaction. His brows furrowed, then the slight frown on his lips opened its lower jaw to gape, and then he squinted his eyes to get a better look. Surely, that is justâ
 By the Tao, it looks like a person. A stranger!
 Carefully, Cheongmyeong approaches the what-seems-to-be unconscious civillian. He finds himself now in a small clearing, just a few meters away from them. It strikes to him the abnormal clothing this person is wearing. This person... he seems to be wearing pants, and some sort of robe as another layer.
 His eyes narrowed, is this person a threat? What else could he be doing on Huashan's premises at this hour?
 The man stirs from his slumberâ
 Cheongmyeong immediately drew his sword, waiting until the man sat up from their place. Unfortunately, his back was facing towards the protagonist, so he could not see their face clearly. That's alright though, he could threaten this suspicious person from the back.
 Mount Hua's disciple pointed his sword at the man's neck.
 "Who are you?"
 At once, the person froze on the spot. He could almost hear the man's frightened heart flutter against his ribcage. It occurs to Cheongmyeong that this man is smaller than he expected.Â
 He pressed the blade deeper against the man's neck, just enough to sting. "You are to answer when spoken to!"
 "Hiiikkkâ"
 Hick?
 Shuddering, the man slowly turned to face him. Only to revealâ
 That's... that face undoubtedly belongs to a woman.
 The moon shone brightly now, deliberately spot-lighting the two of them. Its shine highlighted the features of the woman before him. Her eyes and lips are drastically different from what he is used to seeing, the color of her skin, the way her hair frames her face in a way that can only suit her; she looked so out of place in this world. Everything about it is different, foreign.
 Otherworldly.
 In normal circumstances, Cheongmyeong's breath would have been caught.
 But this certainly was not a normal meeting.
 "Ah, a womanâ?"
 She screamed, a blood curling, hair-rising, heart-pounding scream.Â
 "What level of the backrooms are you from!?" She jumped, making as much distance as she could from him.
 Her scream was done with such a high volume and genuine fear that Cheongmyeong almost instantaneously concluded that she was terrified of something. His head whipped around, foolishly looking for some kind of monster that was threatening her. With the language barrier, it is easy to misunderstand these types of things.
 "What's wrong, Miss!? Where's your attacker!?"
 A feeling of guilt crept up in his heart. After all, he just pointed his sword at her! To Cheongmyeong, his mind made the inference that this foreigner is some unfortunate woman with unfortunate circumstances that led her to the mountain. How she managed to find herself here was beyond him.
 When the young man took another step toward her, she took even more steps backward, screamingâ just to get away from him.Â
 "NOOO! Stay away from me!" Her head turned to each side to take in her surroundings. She looked even more distraught as time passed. "What is this place...? Why does everything look like that!?"
 He had not a single sliver of understanding with what she's saying. "Missâ"
 "Stay where you are! Don't come any closer!"Â
 "My name is Chung Myung" In turn, he walked a few steps back in an attempt to make her feel less frightened. "I want to help you"
 "Cheongmyeong?"
 She managed to single out his name in a foreign language? "Yes! And you are...?"
 "Oh" her hands fell to her side as she swayed slightly. "...you need to do better at cosplay".
 With those words, the foreigner's eyes closed as she fell unconscious.
 "Miss!!"
 Thankfully, Cheongmyeong managed to catch her on time, a few seconds before her body hit the ground. With her in his arms, the disciple can see that there is a large dark imprint on her neck... in the shape of a spiky rope?Â
 He adjusts his hold on her and tries to shake her awake.
 "Chung Myung!"
 Immediately, Cheongmyeong recognized that voice, realizing a little too late on what kind of trouble this will get him into.
 A few pairs of footsteps made their way to him. He didn't realize that they were coming until now. Cheong Mun took the lead, and was the first to find him.
 "I heard screams, what did youâ" his sahyung grabbed his shoulder, pushing him to the side before gasping "Of all things good and evil what on earth?"
 F*ck
 The next thing Cheongmyeong sees after blanking out is the table he shares meals with his sahyung with.
 He stopped counting the amount of times his sahyungs and elders asked him to recount what happened. They bombarded him with the attention only a suspect of crime would be given. His voice came dry as another iteration of the events left his mouth. Each time with the same story rolling out of his tongue.
 No, he wasn't the one who hurt her. Yes, she really was found beneath that old tree.Â
 Other questions soon followed, but he wasn't sure if he answered them correctly. The bizarre event left him momentarily stunned.
 As he continued to stare at the food left for him, the air shifted. Left by the chaos that happened before, at least to him. In his body, a pressure that weighed his chest festered. The same could be said on the item currently weighing his pocket.
 With a quiet "tsk!", Chung Myung dug into his pocket to pull out the object plaguing his conscience.
 In his hands, what could only be referred to as a "necklace" lies. The metal gleamed in his grasp, and the chain held a pendant in the shape of a heart. The clasp as well stayed consistent with the foreign identity of its owner. A thing of beauty, yet it somehow made the young man's heart race with anxiety.
 Why is it so?
 Maybe it is because this necklace belongs to the lady that he met earlier.Â
 She had dropped it, or it may have loosened from her neck, or perhaps he had unclasped it stealthily during her unconscious state. For what reason would he even do that? He doesn't know, his memory is a mess (after telling the same story a hundred times). That doesn't matter, since it now stays with his person whether it was intentional or not.
 He quietly admired the intricate pattern carved into the metal. It seemed like the work of an artisanâ smooth valleys forming an aesthetic picture. Curves shaping petals, an illustration of vines, and an arch in the shape of a heart. Could a commoner really have this kind of jewelry?
 He tentatively bit into it.
 It's... it's real gold/silver!!
 He could already hear his sahyung scolding him in his head.
 ...
 It's not stealing if he returns it... right?
 But that wasn't even the bad part of it.
 "Hey, hey, Chung Myung"
 This bastard...
 "Is it true? Is it really true? You met a woman in the woods and she screamed at you?" Chung Jin grinned from ear to ear, his hand resting on his sahyung's shoulder.
 Before his Saje could finish his sentence, Chung Myung had already pocketed the necklace.
 "I don't understand, why would she react like that?" He stared at his food; his stomach was growling, but he couldn't bring himself to get a bite.
 "Maybe she thought you were a monster"
 "You wanna go?"
 At the threat, Chung Jin doubled down. He looked over at his sahyung only to see that he was already stuffing his mouth with foodâ that he couldn't help but purse his lips at. Usually, the correct form of etiquette was to eat until their sasuk arrived. But since when was Chung Myung someone who followed the conventional? He could count on one hand the number of people Chung Myung would listen to. Â
 Silence reigned for a while, allowing the clink of porcelain bowls and chopsticks to disturb.
 "To think it was you of all people she met first" the junior of the two clutched his chest, as though he really was heartbroken. "I already feel this deep throbbing ache in my heart for her"
 Chung Myung only rolled his eyes in response. "Oh, like you would react better than me".
 "No, but in all seriousness I think you looked so unsightly to her that she was scared out of her wits"
 "Me? Unsightly?" The young man in question, pointed at himself. He had the audacity to look confused. "What part of me is hard to look at?"
 "Well, we can start with the hairâ"
 "Shut your mouth and just eat"
 "Yes, yes I will ahâ huh?" Chung Jin looked at his plate, expecting it to have the food he served himself with. Instead, there was nothing, not even a single grain of rice. "Hey! My foodâ! YOU STOLE IT AGAIN!?"
 Chung Myung laughed at his face until the only door in the dining area opened. Their sahyung, Chung Mun, finally returned after what felt like hours. In all honesty, it had only been an hour since the incident. When he entered, the protagonist was suddenly the most behaved child in the world.Â
 "Sahyung" the disciple who had his food stolen, greeted his senior, attempted to report this slight against him. However, once he saw his sahyung's serious expression, he had no choice but to swallow his complaints. "Welcome back"
 "Good evening" Chung Mun nodded towards his junior, his gaze then moving to the youngest. "...Chung Myung"
 In turn, the protagonist merely hummed in acknowledgement, still stuffing his mouth with rice. Silently, the older man stared at him wordslessly, unsure of whatever was going on in his head. After a whole minute, Chung Mun took his seat by the table and started serving himself food.
 Unlike his sahyung, Chung Jin kept glancing at Chung Mun. A questionâ maybe multiple, surfaced in his mind, but they all died in throat. He watched through fleeting glances, his sahyung get an even number of meat and tofu, before taking the rest to place on the bowls of the other disciples. Unbothered, the protagonist continued what he was doing, all too focused on what was in his bowl than what was going on.
 The silence stretched on for minutes, before being broken by a "sahyungâ".
 "I know you have many questions to ask me, but I'm afraid I don't have the capacity to answer them all". Chung Mun answered, swallowing the rice that was once in-between his chopsticks.
 The upright posture that Chung Jin had suddenly collapsed as he slouched. Sighing, his disappointment was apparent from the frown that now sat on his face.
 Noticing this, the elder continued.
 "âYou can save those questions for when the translator arrives" he finishes, chopsticks resting comfortably in his dominant hand.
 "Translator?" The junior echoed, his head turning to his sahyung's direction. "So Mount Hua has the capabilities to summon a linguistic master..."
 Chung Mun nodded, looking directly at the younger man. His hand found the cup nearest to him, and assumed it was his before pouring himself tea. As he lifted the cup to his mouth, he paused mid-sip.Â
 The youngest of the three in the room had stopped eating, despite there being almost half of his food left. Instead, he was staring at the meal before him, eyes unfocused, and seeming deep in thought.
 The man who practically raised this boy for so long almost choked at the sight. He had never seen Chung Myung this... serious before.
 He called the young man's name and coughed into his hand to get his attention. "Don't you have something to ask me?"
 "Is she dead?" The protagonist replied quickly.
 "Youâ! Hah..." Chung Mun sighed.
 "Hehehe"
 "Look, he's going crazy after just one encounter with the opposite sex" Chung Jin backed a few inches away, his hand to his mouth as though he was disturbed. "Imagine ifâ"
 Whatever scenario the junior was going to say fell on deaf ears, since the protagonist interjected his sentence.Â
 "We will not even find out this woman's identity until that translator arrives?" Chung Myung picked at his food, looking elsewhere as long as it wasn't his pocket.Â
 Who even is she?
 The question echoed in his mind.
 Chung Jin perked up. "Is there not an empire in the west with an ongoing war? What if she hails from there?"
 "We'll have to wait and see..."
 "What if, what if she's actually a princess from a distant kingdom and sahyung just saved her life!?" The junior gasped as he connected non-existent dots, turning to the young man in question.Â
 "What are the elders letting you read?" The protagonist's face twisted at the fantastical twist his saje just spouted. "Are you really studying or just reading fairytales?"
 But... somehow, Chung Jin's words don't feel impossible at all. Chung Myung's mind flashed to the pretty necklace that belonged to a certain foreigner.
 "Pft..." Chung Mun pursed his lips, managing to maintain his composure. "For the time being, the lady will be staying with us"
 "The sect isn't going to send her to the sanitorium in Huayin? Orâ report this to an imperial official?"
 "The... unfortunate incident happened on Mount Hua, so Mount Hua will be taking responsibility" he glanced at a certain young man through the corner of his eye. "And it is the sect leader's desicionâ"
 " This doesn't make any sense ". Chung Myung thought to himself.
 A woman who seemed to be in her late 20s, suddenly appearing in Huashan's premises? Mount Hua? The Mount Hua? The Mount Hua that is so very difficult to climb? Especially for the average person that isn't trained like a normal martial artist?
 That Mount Hua?
 " She did it with fresh injuries too... " the protagonist's brows furrowed, remembering the mark around her neck.
 The foreigner wasn't found in front of the main gate either. She was in the woods, under one of the oldest plum blossom trees on the mountain. How on earth did she get there on her own? Did she climb from the back? There's no way a normal person like her would be able to survive climbing all of that.
 Who is she? What is her intention in Mount Hua?
 It doesn't make sense. No matter how much he tries to wrap his head around it.
 ...what is this foreboding feeling in his chest?
 "What do you think about this, sahyung?" Chung Jin's voice came to the forefront of the young man's mind. Interrupting his thoughts.
 "Well, among many other things... I speculate that the young woman is a human trafficking victim" his sahyung answered.
 Oh.
 That... that makes sense.
 His saje gasped. "...that poor girl"
 "Unfortunate indeed"
 That answered a few holes in the story, but would a kidnapper really go that far? Hopping mountains for the sole purpose of what? Unless...
 "But, this kind of plot..." Chung Jin muttered, sharply looking up at the protagonist. "Isn't it similar to a princess's fate? Sahyung, I think she really might be a princess"
 Chung Myung rolled his eyes.
 "Do you have any idea on who's behind this, sahyung?" The longer-haired young man asked.
 "Yes... but this is all just speculation," Chung Mun nodded. "We have no confirmation for any of this, so you'll have to wait as us elders investigate"
 A few beats of silence passed, thenâ
 "So, Chung Myung" the eldest of the three set down his utensils. "Please tell me that you did not do anything that would leave a negative impression to the girl"
 Had it been any other situation, Cheongmyeong would have been able to lie with no effort. But the circumstances are different, and the young man felt the need to tell the truth.
 "I drew my sword at her neck..."
 Just as he expected, the other two men looked at him with the same horrified expression. His saje, with an expression akin to a man that lost in his bet, and his sahyung, looking up at the ceiling as if he was going to find his ancestors up there.
 "Tsk, tsk, tsk" Chung Jin shook his head in disappointment. "I can't believe you blew all your chances of marrying a princess, sahyung"
 "I did not know she was a woman" Cheongmyeong was quick to reply in his defense, deciding to ignore his saje's comment. "Her... countenance made it difficult to figure it out"
 "Do you really have to comment on her appearance?" The older man's nose scrunched up in displeasure. "You could have used the darkness of the night as an excuseâ and that's no way a proper man talks about a woman"
 "Right, that's enough" as always, the elder was there to calm the two down. "Chung Myungâ"
 The young man sighed, already aware of the fate that awaits him. "I'll see myself to the repentance chamber on my own..."
 "No, that's not it" Chung Mun shook his head, posture straight. "To morrow, you will visit the lady in the medicine hall. Among the many cuts she came with, there was a prominent one on the side of her neckâ I'm sure you know what that implies"
 Did he do that? Chung Myung mentally questioned himself. Did he somehow cause a cut in her neck and completely forgot about it?
 Seeing his sahyung's grave expression, the young man decided not to question it.
 "Can you apologize to her?" Chung Mun asked of him, looking at the young man sincerely. "Imagine yourself in her shoes, I'llâ"
 "I'll do it"
 At his admission, Chung Mun stared at him speechless.
 "It's different when there's a lady involved?"
 "They don't deserve to be troubled so much"
 Chung Mun did not know whether the young man's respect for women came from the many years he took care of himâ or simply because there were barely any women in Mount Hua that he did not have any clue on how to act around them.
 Still, he supposed that it is a good thing.Â
 "Can I join? I want to meet this woman and shake her hand"
 "No!"
 "Can you hurry up?" In the end, Chung Myung had to let his saje tag along. "It's going to be mid day by the time we get there"
 "Yeah, yeah..."
 Together, they walk along the path that would lead them to the medicine hall. The sun barely reached the center of the heavens, leaving only one side of them to be illuminated. Their shadows dragged behind them with each step. A few people were already up and about, walking around and greeting each other.
 "Sajae" Chung Myung's voice interrupted the silence. "Am I hideous?"
 "Are you sure I'm the right person to ask that?"
 "No, it's just..."
 "Wait" Chung Jin stopped in his tracks, turning to face his sahyung. His hair that was usually unkept looked tidy and purposefully styled, and his uniform was free of any wrinkles on the fabric. The young man looked him up and down. "Since when have YOU cared about what you look like?"
 "From the first moment I met that woman, I feel like I've been insulted," the protagonist explained, clicking his tongue at the nuisance it all was, putting in any amount of effort. "I need to knowâ for my own peace of mindâ that she did not mean to"
 "And how do you know that she insulted you?"
 "I have a feeling"
 "Good morningâ" Chung Jin's greeting was cut off as he saw the sight before him. "AH! What are you doing, miss!?"
 The foreigner let out a small gasp, immediately straightening from her earlier position of crouching. She did it relatively quickly, and in doing so caused a sharp sting on one of her bandaged wounds. Her breath hitched, whilst her hand came up to press against her throat.
 "Miss, you shouldn't move around so much" the disciple was careful to keep his distance. "You're still recovering from your injuries..."
 With half-lidded eyes, the young woman's gaze roamed around the roomâ searching. It was at this time Chung Myung had the bright idea to offer his hand. But the moment he tried to reach out, she moved from him. Almost as though she was avoiding him.
 He swore that her eyes flicked to his hand before she ignored him.
 And to that, he raised a brow.
 "I'm sorry, I didn't know that I was going to have visitors" she spoke, taking a few steps so as to create distance. Her head remained bowed, carefully avoiding the gazes of the two men.
 "Ooo, you have a very nice voice" the junior of the two disciples commented, crouching slightly to peer at her. "What language are you speaking?"
 The young woman lowered her head even more. "...?"Â
 "Please, sit!"
 Just as Chung Jin took his seat on a wooden stool, he made a gesture towards the bed adjacent to himself. His sahyung waited until the foreigner sat on her bed before following suit. The white covers sank a bit as they held up a person's weight. Though, there were no creaks whatsoever as these beds were installed recently.
 Chung Myung takes his time to stare at the foreigner, who skillfully avoids his gaze. Again.Â
 It was much better to look at her while she was unmoving. His eyes roam over her face, from the shape of her eyes, and to the color of her lips. He could make out each line of hair, each defined stroke of a shadow, and the cross-hatching that makes up the shade of her skin. All these features seemed to be formed in a meticulous manner, as though the gods spent more time on her than anyone else.
 But, something felt... odd? No matter how much he looked at her, it feels as if there is something he can't see. Her appearance, though highly detailed, was not the whole picture. He knew it.
 He concludes that she is made up of fragments from a dimension he could never perceive fully. But what does that mean? Everyone agrees that she's a foreigner, but to him, she's more alien. Why is it that no one is bringing this up?
 The protagonist does not really know how to make of this.
 "Pssst!" Chung Jin nudged him by the elbow. "Stop staring too much! You're scaring her!"
 Sure enough, he was right. Chung Myung saw the foreigner, who he last saw sitting on the bed and avoiding his gaze, now leaning away from him with a look that only a person who is about to be tortured would wear. In an instant the young man corrected himself, coughing into his hand while sheepishly moving his gaze elsewhere that would not cause discomfort.
 His gaze fell to her hands, and (despite the strange way it was drawn) he realized that her hands look smooth. Not a single blemish or rough texture in sight. Chung Myung swallowed.
 This woman... she didn't climb the mountain on her own.Â
 Which means, she was definitely brought here by someone.
 "What were you doing earlier, miss?" To break the tension, his junior spoke slowly, purposely making his voice soft. "Did you lose something?"
 "Ahhhmm..." the foreign woman reached for her collarbone, her fingers fiddling with air. She muttered under her breath. "Ay, if these people can understand me, I would've asked them to help me find my necklace. I have to do everything myself, don't I?"
 Every now and thenâ Chung Myung noticesâ the foreigner will rest her hand around her neck. As if there was something she used to hold onto done by habit. His pocket suddenly weighed heavier as he realized.
 "I'm so sorry about the commotion my sahyung brought to you" Chung Jin continued, still talking in a manner that brings the protagonist chills. "You must have been very frightened"
 The foreigner's gaze slowly lifted to finally look at themâ or more specifically, Chung Jin. She stared at him clueless, most likely not knowing what to say.
 The junior nudges the protagonist the second time.
 "Uh, right!" He replied, sweat dropping, he then turned his head to give a glare of warning to the other young man beside him.
 Unexpectedly, he feels something heavy by the side of his head.
 His head jerks face-forward to the source, only to go eye-to-eye with the foreigner.
 This was the first time he's ever made eye contact with her.
 Her eyes...
 As quickly as he caught it, the young woman averted her gaze away. She looked as if she was burned, and an uncomfortable expression donned her faceâ at least, that's what the protagonist assumes from the way her brows furrowed.Â
 Huh?
 "Miss, please don't mind my sahyung" Chung Jin continued the conversation, taking the foreigner's attention with it. "He's just curious, but he means well"
 Huhh?
 "When are these people going to leave..." she spoke freely, her sights landing on the junior in front of herâ whom she smiled at.
 Wait, wait!Â
 How come she could look at Chung Jin without physically recoiling, but when it comes to himâ suddenly he has the face of the ugliest creature in the world!?
 That's not right!
 The young man stared at the woman, and once could translate his "stare" as a glare. Really, you'd think that she just insulted him in every way possible from the heat that was radiating off of him. Chung Myung wasn't sure if he should speak up or whatever.
 The other two somehow managed to maintain casual conversation, however the topic was really hard to tell.
 "I hope papa's not going through my phone while I'm away..."
 "You know, I don't recognize the language you're speaking"
 "Sh*t, I left my ao3 tabs open last night"
 "Right!? I come from a family of scholarsâ surely, I should know..."
 Her reaction only ignited a surge of curiosity in Cheongmyeong. This curiosity however, is closer to borderline suspicion. The longer-haired male narrowed his eyes at the foreigner, attempting to catch her gaze once again.
 She spared him a small glimpseâÂ
 Hmmmm!!! His eyes widened as he intensified his stare.
 The foreigner averted her eyes. "What the hell..."
 If Chung Myung could understand her, he would agree. Indeed, what the hell is this situation and why is she making intermittent glances at him!? All the while ignoring him once caught!? Make it make sense.
 "This thing?" Chung Jin, misunderstanding the foreigner's glance at the book he was carrying, brightened. "I'm working on something really cool, but I'm not allowed to show outsiders about it"
 "me when my bro brings up the ancient texts"
 "Unlessâ" the young man gasped. "Are you interested in becoming a disciple of Mount Hua?"
 "Is this the part where you asked me to do drugs?"
 "Stop that, did you forget that she doesn't understand us?" Chung Myung interjected before Chung Jin could misunderstand again (not that he knew what she meant anyways). "You haven't introduced yourself yet either"
 "Right!" The junior disciple perked up, placing a hand on his chest as he addressed himself. "My name is Chung Jin, Chung-Jin. It looks like this when you write it..."
 Gently, the young man pulled out his bookâ pages bound with string and leather, and flipped it open to show her the name inscribed with ink. He traced each character with his fore finger, speaking his name slowly so as to help the foreigner to memorize it. There were other characters written in the book as well, but because of the woman's illiteracy in their language, he wasn't at all concerned with her being able to read it. In good measure, he pushed the book closer to her to keep Chung Myung's gaze away from it too.
 She reached out to trace the characters on her own. "Chung... Jin..."Â
 "Wow! You're such a fast learner!"
 The woman paused for a few seconds, her eyes focused still on the name, before slowly looking up at him. "Isn't that the name of the disciple mentioned in the first few chapters of the webtoon?"
 "I don't know what you just asked so I'm just going to agree"Â
 "...well, my name isâ" the foreigner pointed at herself, saying her name that sounded just as out of this world as she looked.
 "How do you pronounce that?"
 The woman spoke her name again, making sure to enunciate each syllable for their own comfort. Still, as Chung Jin attempted to say her name, it didn't sound right. Or at least, it sounded like a far cry from what she just said. Thankfully, the foreign woman was patientâ and she taught them her name again.
 Chung Jin mispronounced her name still after 10 tries.
 "Agh! I'm sorry miss!" The young man starts apologizing, his head bowed in shame. "I can't get your name right!"
 The young woman seemed to understand what he was trying to say, so she reassured him. "It's okay... I know it's hard to say for you guysâ"
 Chung Myung abruptly interrupted her, by speaking her name perfectly. "...that's your name, right?"
 Both taken aback, they simultaneously turned their heads to the protagonist's direction. Chung Jin, with a shocked expression, and the foreigner with a complicated one. They gawked at him for a moment, until the foreigner looked awayâ just like the last time.
 "How did you get it on the first try!?" Chung Jin exclaimed despite his disbelief.
 The longer haired male narrowed his eyes at her, before answering. "...you're thinking too much about it".
 "We've met already, my name is Chung Myung," the young man introduced himself.
 The foreigner froze, but made no move to acknowledge him. For the first time in his life, his heart tightened in frustration at this woman.
 Still, he tried again, bowing his head this time. "I hope you can forgive me for what happened last night..."
 A sniff came fromâ
 Sniff?
 Chung Myung's head whipped upwards so quickly that it was a miracle he didn't get any whiplash from it. It was the same for Chung Jin, who also looked up at the source of the sound.
 Lo and behold, tears were already streaming down the foreigner's face. Her eyes and her nose steadily reddened as it continued. The woman's lips trembled, while her hands balled into fistsâ her final attempt to keep it together.
 At once, the two young men jumped at their feet, both startled at the sudden turn of events.
 "M-miss!?" The junior disciple reached his hands out to her but stopped at a short distance, unsure whether it was alright to touch her. "Wha-what's wrongâ?"
 "I'm sorry, I'm not usually this emotional..." she bowed her head, sniffling. The tears kept pouring from her eyes down to her cheek. "It's just..."
 She turned her gaze to the older disciple, then to Chung Myungâ before sobbing in frustration.
 "F*ck me, I'm really in the pbss era" the woman buried her face in her hands, crying at the situation she's found herself in.
 "Sahyung! You made her cry!" Chung Jin was fast to point accusing fingers at him. "And you call yourself a man!?"
 The protagonist, bewildered at his saje's words and the weeping woman in front of him, could only look over at the two hopelessly.
 "What did I do!?"Â
 "She hates me"Â
 "Hate is an exaggeration"
 "Alright" Chung Myung breathed in for emphasis. "She despises me, she LOATHES me"
 "How could you say that?" Chung Jin tried to mediate with a good point. "There's a language barrier, you might've misunderstood her"
 "Then why did she start crying as soon as I introduced myself!?" The protagonist raised his voice, his tone indignant. He was making it seem as though he was wronged in so many ways. "Andâ! That woman is deliberately ignoring me!"
 His saje's face looked like he didn't know whether to burst out laughing or to be the responsible one and console his sahyung. Seriously, it's so funny to see the protagonist, someone who is treated with the upmost care, meet someone who is not so impressed with him. Even going to such lengths to avoid making eye-contact with him. If Chung Jin didn't know any better, he would have thought the woman held hatred for his sahyung.
 "She's still very nice though"
 "Rude! That's what she is!" His temper flared as he reasoned with Chung Jin. "You knowâ what have I done to her? I have been all things polite, I have never treated a woman rudely! Ever!!"
 "I think it is becauseâ"
 "If you're going to talk about my appearance, shut your mouth"
 As soon as the woman started crying, one of the disciples in the medicine hall entered and immediately assumed that he had done something to her. Both him and his saje were kicked out of the room without being able to explain themselves.
 This report will definitely reach his sahyung's ears...
 Fine, if she hates him, he'll return that same attitude!
 "She's so... she's so weird!"Â
 Chung Jin watched his sahyung's face twist in frustration, before walking away on his own. The junior sighed, jogging to catch up.
 He's so easily aggrieved.
 "Whaâ how did you find this place!?"
 Chung Myung exclaimed as he took in the sight before him. A familiar sight of plum blossom trees surrounding this small clearing. So small that not many people know this spot exists, even the current sect leader and elders have no idea. But a foreigner he had been avoiding for the past few days was here. There she was, crouching in front of a log.
 His log, the one he sits on when hiding from his senior brothers and training. The one that has witnessed him open a bottle he shouldn't be opening.
 The only thing standing between him and shooing this woman away is his stubborn selfâ who would rather find somewhere else to drink.
 The protagonist wholeheartedly agreed with that thought.
 Turning, he had barely took a step away whenâ
 "Imagine yourself in her shoes!" His sahyung's voice echoed in his mind, clear and uninterrupted.
 It struck him much harder than it should.
 For once, he did imagine it. He imagined himself waking up in a different world from what he knew. Imagined what it would be like to be ripped away from his sect brothers, his sahyung, his Mount Hua. Only to be taken to a place where no one understood him, and he was left alone.
 He would go mad.
 The hand clasping the ceramic bottle's neck tightened their grip, and he sucked in a breath.
 A world where Mount Hua was no more...
 Sharp, he turned around and marched his way to the woman's side. The back of his mind protested, but the thought from before weighed heavily. It must be the reason why he is acting this way. Once he reached her side, he crouched down next to her.
 "Ahhh, this was supposed to be a secret spot" he began, looking far away from her. "Now some foreigner found it mere days of staying here"
 From the corner of his eye, he spared a glance toward her only to find her already staring at him. Her unexpected look caused him to flinch, but just like the last time, she moved her gaze downwardâ avoiding him.
 This ticked him off for some reason. Why is she staring at him, only to look away when she meets his gaze?Â
 She was looking at something beside him now.
 "...This isâ!" He grabbed the bottle at his side, almost breaking it from the speed he moved it.
 Wait, why am I trying to hide liquor around her? It's not like she'll report me or anything!
 Tweet
 The unexpected sound surprised him, and in turn made him whip his head toward the source. It came from a small bird, with white and brown feathers, a diamond-shaped beak, and eyes that are comparable to the smallest obsidian. He blinked at the avian, mouth agape at its existence.
 "Uh, is that a bird?" Chung Myung pointed at the avian, who was nuzzling into the foreigner's hand. "Where did you find that tiny thing?"
 His question was met with silence, save for the random chirps that the bird would make.
 "Are you even allowed to go outside of the medicine hall?" He tried once more, awkward.
 The quiet continued.
 The protagonist looked to the foreigner, eyes narrowing. Has she gone mute? Deaf? Why is she so unresponsive to his questions!?
 It was almost like he wasn't there, and it was only her that existed at the moment, staring at what was in front of her. She made no expression, almost lost in thought while the wind blew light against her hair. Her hands moved towards the bird, fingers petting it gently. Chung Myung watched, as her attention remained solely on the avian.
 The protagonist's face twisted in displeasure.
 "Hey, are you still going to keep ignoring me? That's rude, you know" realizing that she was really going to ignore him after another pause, he decided to call her by her name. "Yah, ...!"
 She flinched, turning her head to see him. "Yes...?"
 "So you can look at me"
 Instantaneously, the foreigner tried to turn away.
 Tried.
 Except Chung Myung caught her by her cheek, pinching it and forcibly turning her head to meet his eyes. He had half a mind to raise his voice just to annoy her like she had, but recognized that it might not be the best course of action. Especially if he wanted to get her attention in a way that wouldn't make her even more displeased with him.
 "Don't look away" he tells her, slowly letting go of his grip and teased. "What, never looked at a Chinese man before?"
 "I can smell your lunch"
 Chung Myung scowled at no one in particular. "Of all languages to speak, you just had to be a foreigner!"
 "...?"
 "Can you at least talk?" He leaned closer, frustration evident. "You're turning this into a one-sided conversation! At the very least, speak!"
 "..."
 "Haahh..." sighing, he dragged a hand over his face.
 From afar, distant shouts of other disciples' training echoed. The sound reaching the two people in the clearing. Upon hearing this, the foreigner whipped her head curiously to the source of the sound. On the other hand, Chung Myung opened the bottle in his hand with a flick of his finger, taking a swig of the alcohol as soon as it was free.
 The perfect blend of bitter and sweet engulfed his throat, the familiar sensation burning him. It travelled from his mouth to his stomach, and his heart began to beat faster, red covering his cheeks and reaching the tips of his ears. All of this happening as he continued to gulp down the contents of the bottle like water.
 Meanwhile, the young woman at his side simply looked at him, then towards the training groundsâ where sounds of disciples training vigorously ensued. She alternated from looking between him and at the other disciples training before finally settling her gaze on him. She stared at him intently.
 It didn't take long for Chung Myung to notice her. "What's wrongâ? Oh, you want some?"Â
 She pushes away his hand that was offering liquor. "Stop that"
 "Hm?"
 "Are you not going to train with the others?" The foreigner spoke sternly. "You're seriously slacking off?"
 Now it's his turn to stare with confusion. "...?"
 "Tsk..."
 Pointing at the sword resting on his hip, she makes a swinging motion. "Sword!! Ha! ha!"
 He gestured to her in confusion. "You want to train?"
 "No!!" She said it in a way that made it seem like she was offended. "You! Youuu!!" She continued, indicating him.
 Is she telling me to train!?Â
 "My sword? Swish-swish?"
 The foreigner nodded only after Chung Myung pointed at himself.
 "I'll do that tomorrow" he says, waving a hand dismissively.
 The foreigner's eyes narrowed at himâ in what seemed like irritation? Why the hell would she be irritated at him?Â
 Rolling her eyes, the foreigner spoke with a firm tone. "Girl, pick up your swordâ I promise training a little more is not going to kill you"
 "You can't tell me what to do" . Somehow sensing what the woman was talking about, the protagonist protested against it. After all, why would he take orders from a foreign woman he met barely a few days ago? Much more when this woman had offended him(?) several times. "I'll do whatever I want!"
 "It's almost like... your beloved mount hua will live forever... if you train harder"
 "Ah! I heard 'Hua'!" Chung Myung jumped, and in turn startled the woman. He used his index finger to point at her, eyes brightening at the recognition of such a word. "Did you say 'Mount Hua?'"
 "Hua...?" The foreigner repeated.
 "Mounntt Huaaaa"
 In just a few attempts, the woman managed to perfect speaking it. "Mount Hua"
 "Yes! That's it!" He clapped his hands in joy. "Mount Hua!!"
 "Okay bro" keeping her distance from him, she gestured at his sword once more. "Go train... for Mount Hua"
 Again, sensing what she meant, he shook his head. "I don't need to do that"
 "Lazy ahh..." the young woman clicked her tongue, crossing her arms as she looked away from him. The protagonist watched as she muttered under her breath. "I hate slackers"
 "This won't do" Chung Myung sighed, there was a limit to what he could understand. "It's so hard with this language barrier"
 There is no such thing as a "universal language" at this point of history and it is a shame that only few people could come into contact with foreigners. If the opportunity were granted for all, he would not even be having this problem. For a moment, Chung Myung imagined a world where everyone could speak in Mandarinâ making it the dominant language. Maybe in that reality, this foreigner and her overall strangeness could be easily explained with just a few bearable sentences. But everything must always come with effort.Â
 There must be a way to break down this language barrier...
 How can he make her understand him?
  .
 .
 .
 Should he teach her?
 Growing up, Chung Myung had been surrounded by teachers. His sahyungs are teachers, the elders are teachers, everyone who is a part of the Mount Hua sect are teachers. So who is to say that he can't teach?
 If you hit a dog enough times then it can learn to do tricks for you.
 Wait, but he can't just hit a woman!
 ...
 Where would he even start? There's so many things that he has to teach. The characters in the Chinese alphabet are a pain to memorize as well...
 Perhaps he could teach her basic words first? Like yes and no...
 Chung Myung mulled over the topic on his own, almost forgetting the foreign woman's existence beside him. It was only until she opened her mouth that he looked at her again.
 "woâ wo men jin shĂȘng zhĂč dĂčng shĂŹ cÄng sÄng ku zhe lĂĄi yĂ o xiĂ o zhe zĂČu guĂČ ya"Â
 !?!?!?
 What theâ!?
 She continued with no shame. "pĂ©ng yĂ”u a rĂ ng wo men yi qi lĂŁo lĂĄo ming jĂŹ ya wÇ men jin shĂȘng xiĂ”ng di qĂng yi chĂĄngâ!"
 "HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!"
 "uh..."
 "Where did you learn that!?" Chung Myung slapped his thigh multiple times, clutching his stomach. "Haha, do you even know what that meansâ AHAHHAHAHA!"
 The protagonist bursted out laughing, both appalled and humored at the way this woman sang. It was so random, and she sang so confidently that there was no way she's not aware that she mispronounced a few words.
 Now that she stopped singing and realized that he was laughing at her, the foreigner stilled in her position. Her face slowly turned red at the humiliation she had to go through just to be understood. She clenched her fists, unsure if she wanted to hit the laughing man or to use them to choke herself to death.
 But as he continued laughing like a maniac, the foreign woman finally saw him for the way he isâ a weirdo. She looked at him the same way a mother would when she sees a crazy person only to then usher her children away from said maniac. That is how she is looking at him now. Like he's doing too much.Â
 Funny how they both have the same opinion of each other.
 "Haha... ha... you're funny" he's still laughing btw. "Why don't you sing like that to the sect leader? HAHA!"
 It took a whopping 15 minutes until Chung Myung calmed down. His stomach ached after having his breath knocked out of him for the past halved half-hour. The foreigner however, returned her attention back to the avian in front of her. The bird had been nipping at her fingers in an attempt to get her to notice him.
 Once the silence had settled, Chung Myung took the initiative to break it. "So, why do you want me to train so much?"
 The question made the woman turn her head to him, a puzzled expression on her face. At once the protagonist knew that his words made no sense to her.
 "Training!" He pointed at his sword and made vague gestures to get his point across. "Why...?"
 It seemed as if the foreigner understood, because she answered. "Mount hua!!" She clenched her hand into a fist, leaving the thumb upright. Then she made a slicing motion over her neck. "Krrrkkâ"
 "Watch your tone!" Chung Myung suddenly stood up, almost throwing the woman off balance. "How dare you! Are you insinuating that Mount Hua will die!?"
 "Eh?" Surprised at his switch-up, she tried to explain. "What I meant is... Mount Hua will reach its downfall because you depend too much on your talentâ!"
 "Shut up!" He raised his voice, outrage in his eyes. "Listen here, I don't know what you're thinking, but you better stop it now! You're just a guest, you don't know anything!"
 "Mount Hua is more formidable than you think!"
 Just like that, Chung Myung stomped away from the woman, leaving her alone in the woods. The foreigner watched his retreating figure, bewildered at the turn of events. His outburst had left her confused, and she had to re-evaluate if she had said something wrong. The conclusion she made was that he must have misunderstood her. But how would she know that if they didn't understand each other?
 "What the hell is wrong with him, Lou?"
 Tweet!
A/N: First chapter yippee!! Tysm for all the support you have for this fanfic. In fact, it was inspired by an anon from my tumblr who asked to see the reader and pbss!chung myung meet. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Comments are love!
PAIRING; PBSS!Chung Myung x Reader
STATUS; ongoing
âĄàŸàœČSYNOPSIS:
There are multiple ways Chung Myung thought this little walk would go. "Okay, which kid from 2022 owns this harry potter core, dream-shifting I am in rn!?" Meeting a stranger speaking in a foreign language is not one of them. IN WHICH the protagonist of Return of the Mount Hua Sect finds a foreigner in the middle of the woods. Despite the strange encounter, Chung Myung finds himself in the middle of a great dilemma. His sahyungs tell him to ignore it, yet it only leads him to question the foreign woman. At first glance, she seems normal, the picture of the perfect victim everyone is doting over. But after one thing she said, Chung Myung realizes there is more to her than what meets the eye, and it is up to him to unravel the mystery of her existence. Perhaps this isn't so simple at all. For how can he even begin; when they are already LOST IN TRANSLATION?
TAGS: attempt at humor, attempt at historical accuracy, Chinese culture, crack, fluff, angst, horror, modern references, historical era, PBSS era, saxophones slowly getting louder as the story goes, love-hate relationship, foreign reader, female reader, reader retains her original age, Chung Myung's POV, Chung Myung is a Little Shit, reader needs a hug.
WARNINGS: injuries, attempted suicide, death, mentions of human trafficking, kidnapping, harassment, graphic depictions of murder, profanity, period-typical racism, period-typical sexism.
DISCLAIMER: this is a work of fiction! This is also a side story of an existing fanfic, How to Kill a Plum Blossom. All characters (aside from yourself) belong to the rightful owner.
English is not my first language so there may be grammatical errors that I overlooked while editing. This fanfic may also have an ooc Chung Myung, please forgive me for any mistakes to his characterâ but I'll do my best!
âĄàŸàœČ NOW PLAYING // "About You" by The 1975
"Why does she look at me like that? It is as if she has me all figured out; like she knows something that I should have realized long ago. I want to know too! I want to be let in on her thoughts and secrets. If only her eyes were not so... mesmerizing" - Chung Myung in "Lost in Translation"
CHAPTERS!(*áŽÍËŹáŽÍ) ê€*.ïŸ
01. My name is Pink and I'm really glad to meet you
02. You're recommended to me by some people
03. Hey, ooh... is this illegal?
04. Hey, ooh... it feels illegal
A/N: I'm taking college entrance exams in a few weeks kill me neow!! Anyways, are any of you proud of me and this format? I spent too much time on this so I want some applause đđ. Go comment "PEAK COMEDY" if you ever laughed while reading any of these chapters.
This fanfic is inspired from an anon that requested to see the reader and Chung Myung from the PBSS era interact. Now, I don't know what made you think they'll get along because *checks drafts* they highkey hate each other đ€Ą. It's okay tho, I'll still write whatever you want dear.
If y'all couldn't tell from the first sentence, I haven't given y'all an update cause I was busy studying for college entrance exams (yes, I'm an unfortunate slave to the education system). Genuinely pls pray for me and my examsâ the results will determine whether these fics will be discontinued due to my untimely death or a 100 chapter(s) update /srs.
Hi! May I ask if the disciples would discover that the reader literally tried to do the unthinkable before? I hope you don't mind this question,thank you!
Umm I think they would help me what does anon mean, what unthinkable thing did the reader do.
If you mean the attempted suicide, kidnapping, and the declining mental state the reader is in then there is a high chance they will! If they did, I suppose they'll try to cheer her up, or make a whole mental wellness program for her.
If what you meant is the reader using a gun, then they would probably never know. Even Chung Myung wouldn't know about it.
I hope I answered your question...
Please submit another message anon đ, I would be able to answer much better if you specified what you meant. There is a lot of unthinkables that the reader did.
Anyways, take care! I hope I can see you in the next chapter!
Also, don't apologize for the hiatus, it's VERY understandable as to why you went on one.
i truly hope that pos that is putting you and your family's life in danger gets thrown into a pit. I wish you and your family safety and good luck!
Also, chapter 17 is AMAZING! I started getting so giddy about cheongmyekng picking the reader up HEHEHAHHERHHEAHHE, also WHAT WERE THE FLOWERS DOING TO US UNDERWATER, WHYRE THEY OUT TO GET US, WHY WAS EVERYTHING TRYNA GET US IN THE SWORD CRYPT, WHAT WAS THAT THING SHOOTING AT US, WHAT WAS THE LATIN CODE ABOUT, AND HAVE WE FULLY INCORPORATED INTO THE COMIC WORLD OF ROTBB?????????????????? Amazingly spectacularly delicious chapter, ilysm, youre genuinely out of this world for managing to make such a good and long chapter during the midst of what's happening.
I wish you all the luck in the world, stay safe and healthy!
Thank you for the well wishes!
Hehehe, it took a lot of daydreaming to get that out of my head. I'm so glad y'all enjoy it :))
As for your questions, all will be revealed sooner or later (during the beast palace arc shhhh don't tell anyone)
I wish you the best, anon!!
For example, if I chose a name for the reader, what would it be?
It depends on you!
If you haven't noticed already, I have never written the reader's name nor have I used Y/N to call the reader. I want the readers to be fully immersed in the story so I just keep it vague. For example:
He called the foreigner's name, attaining her attention in the process. "What are you doing here?"
If you want to use your name or an oc's name, I don't mind! I'm giving my readers the freedom to choose how to call the reader's name.
so happy to see that you're back!!!!!!!! The new chapter was so good omg. I think cheong myeong would kill the reader for not listening to him before the kidnappers even get to look at the readerđđđ
Potential cheong myeong crash out in the future chapters?????
Anyway,
Please make sure to take your time with releasing new chapters, I hope everything is going well for you, wishing you all the bestđ«¶đ«¶!!!
Thank you so much!! Little late, but you're absolutely rightâ he would definitely kill the reader. Or lock her up. Or not let her out of his sights from now on.
The next chapter will go more in depth on the aftermath + the 5 swords' reaction. Maybe Chung Myung will tear your hair out again, maybe not.
I will definitely make sure to take care of myself, as long as you will too! Thank you for the well wishes (*áŽÍËŹáŽÍ). Expect a new chapter this month.
Helloooo how are you??
I hope you're doing well! I absolutely loved the latest chapter, thank you for the amazing work!
So not to make this so long I was going through my textbooks and found this
I don't exactly remember when I made this doodle but it's supposed to be reader right after she transmigrated into rotbb world. So I thought you might wanna see it(?) She's so pretty (geol doesn't know shit how dare he call her ugly) and smart! I adore her sm ËÍâĄËÍ and so excited for future updates. No pressure tho~ take your time <3
Halluuu!!
WAAAWWW This is so pretty!! I have always loved your artstyle, and seeing you draw something for my fanfic makes me so happy! I'm so flattered!! Thank you for drawing this!!
I also drew something for u too :]
It's your oc from Nights!
I'm excited for what you have in store for the next chapter! Take care of yourself and remember to not rush peak.
Let's pretend that she just had the best sleep of her life instead of me forgetting to draw her eyebags haha...
When I saw your post with your art of her, I genuinely thought that she was pretty. That art was the reason why I started reading Nights hehe. I absolutely fell in love with her while reading your fic! She has this sort of aura that makes readers hang on to her every thought.
Hii!! I was wondering if there's maybe any connection between the MC and the Medicine immortal?
I think there's a few connections between them, like how the Medicine Immortal despised Martial Artists and the MC is unable to become one.
Alternatively it's how the medicine immortal was described to have a lot of Qi and so does the Mc. Maybe it's just a coincidence but it's a thing I noticed!
There'a no connection between the MC and the Medicine Immortal.
Don't be fooled; whatever happens in the next chapters, or how much there are hints about the Medicine Immortal in regards to MCâ they have nothing to do with each other.
Even if there was, it's a really thin line.
Source: trust me bro
Chapter 17
Hello everyone, Iâm really sorry for the late update. So many things happened to me in the past months that I could barely write. Long story short, there is an ex-convict and murderer that has threatened my family and Iâs life. Recently, he tried to kill my uncles. The whole situation is too messy to explain but Iâm really scared for the lives of my loved ones. Iâll try to do monthly chapter updates from now on since the Academic Year had just finished for me.
TW: violence, use of a gun
Oh divine physician! Please show me the route that will get these degenerates slimed out. Please!
âwas the prayer you repeated in your head while you took the lead and the others were just... there behind you.Â
Cowards. Too scared to set off traps that they'll make anyone go first.
Aside from walking, you couldn't do anything else since your hands are tightly bound behind your back. You were deliberate in dragging your feet to moveâ causing a slow pace for the group trailing you.
Everything from the floor to the ceiling was made of stone. The light stones were bright enough to see ahead of you, but dim enough to cast an illusion of the walls pressing down with each step. There had to be a specific name for it, but you weren't interested in that. You were more taken, however, by the absence of any dust or cobwebs on your path. It's almost eerie that there was no evidence pointing to life except for that, which indicated the existence of recent movement.
The corners of the ceiling, the lightstones above you, and the floor itself housed not a speck of dust that could hint at the place's age. More than that, no one hasn't coughed yet from the particles that should be filtering the air by now. This place is... clean. Recently cleaned, you'd argue.
You could only look at these people from the corner of your eye. They were watching with so much scrutiny that you could liken the feeling to being under a microscope. But they gave no verbal or nonverbal message that they sensed something was off as well.
No one noticed what you saw, and no one bothered to say anything aloud. Could it be that you're overthinking this? Sure, the rules of this world don't apply to you but you could definitely see clearly. They have to have noticed it at one point.
It's because they're too far up in their greed to notice such minute details. You bit back a sigh that threatened to escape your throat. Whatever is happening, you don't want to be a part of it.
"Why are we moving at a snail's pace?" One of the men questions you, his name started with Cho. "Are you sure this is the fastest way?"
"Of course it is" you lied, not really knowing where you were taking them. In all honesty, you just planned on leading them in circles until you actually found someplace, though a thought suddenly popped in your head. "But... my feet are so tireddd, poor little me! I'm not used to walking this great length, sirs!"
"So? Get a move on!" Someone from the back shouts at you. "We're all tired!"
"You're right, but I think we can go faster" with your head tilted slightly to the side, you continued. "If there was only some big, buff, gentleman to carry me on his shoulders so we can pick up the pace!"
"Just walkâ"
"But my feet hurttt!"
"Do you think we got a sh*t about that?" Dae Ra-Geom kicked your legs, causing you to stumble forward and fall. "Walk, b*tch!"
Still, at least you twisted your body so as your nose would not hit the pavement. Though, the ache was the same either way.Â
As your cheek hit the stone, the pain stung harsh enough that you blinked back tears. It took every ounce of self-control to not scream at them as you got up from the fall. No one helped you. You swallowed the anger welling up on your throat. Threatening to start.
You didn't mind being called a b*tch, it's only when a man does it that you become overwhelmed with hatred. How lucky they are, that you couldn't physically harm anyone in this world. If he tried that with the kind of person you were back home, you would've blown his head off.
"I said moveâ!"
"Can't you see I'm already moving!?" You raised your voice at the man. "No wonder why you only have one eye! You're so stupid that your brain can't support twoâ!"
He swung at you.
Funnily enough, he was aiming for your eye. But because he is a 2d character, you were a lot quicker and had more control over your movements. You managed to dodge himâ and stomped on a protruded tile on the floor.
It launched a poisonous arrow to his leg.
"Agh!" He hissed, the sharp edge digging into his thigh. "How dareâ"
"What!?" You leveled his glare with your own challenging tone. "If you thought that I was just going to take that blow simply because you're stronger, you're dead wrong"
Everyone was looking at you strangely. From their expressions alone you could tell it was anything but positive. You didn't care though, these men were testing you and your peace. It doesn't matter now if what you're saying could be understood by them and their smallâ
"Because you should know better as the stronger person" you spat. "And you shouldn't be picking fights with people weaker than you and calling them a b*tch"
When you saw how furious he looked, a tiny part of you felt guilty even though you're not at fault. Still, you decided to take the initiative to check on the burly man for his injuries in case you went too far. It was only until someone did it first that you conceded. You turn your back to them.
Dae Ra-Geom's face was red, and it could only be from humiliation. As much as he wanted to retort and kill you there, he understood that he was powerless at the moment. Especially when you seem to know this place well enough to strategically put him in a position that injured him.
Everyone else in the vicinity thought the same. They had such a lack of faith in you and your ability that they doubted Sam Sal-Gwi's claims of you being the real deal. It turns out that a simple trap activating in your favor is enough to convince them.
The problem is... you didn't mean to do any of that.
With your back turned against them, no one could make out the expression you were making. Which was disbeliefâ at yourself and the lucky trick that Yak Seon left behind. The conveniently placed trap almost made you believe that the pill-maker foresaw your existence here. Almost.
Thank you, Mr. Yak Seon...
You swallowed down the uneasiness that crept in your throat. Flowers saving you was expected, but Yak Seon? A man who lived centuries before this timeline? That's ridiculous, it couldn't be him.
In an attempt to distract yourself, you walked forward fidgeting with the rope binding your wrists. Minutes passed before you managed to free your hands, simply ripping them off because of their 2d-ness. You failed to notice the way some of the men flinched at you ripping off the rope, not comprehending how you were the way you are.
Never in your original thoughts that you would be acting like some creature with echolocation abilities. Much less in a performative manner.
The same could not be said for the people lagging behind you. As soon as you started walking, they wasted no time in following your trail. Although they were still holding resentment against you, their interest was sooner piqued by the strange technique you were using.Â
You snapped your fingers in front of each doorway you passed. Once only, and then moving onto the next. This happened in a repeat cycle, and although you did this to indulge in their naĂŻvetyâ their voices and comments grew a lot heavier.
"Wow..." you hear one of them breathe out in awe. "She knows"
One of them addressed the reason you were here directly. "Where did you manage to find her?"
"..."
You almost blew your cover by laughing, which seemed to come to you so easily now. These people would not be able to tell a scam from the real thing in your world. It's best to cut them some slack.
I'll just pick a randomâ
Huh?
As you passed by another path, you froze and quickly returned to it. You must have been mistaken, there's no way you heardâ
Someone was calling your name from inside.
The sensation of your chest tightening anchored you enough to stop the perturbed feeling. Your name echoed, bouncing off the walls and travelling from the depths of that opening to where you were. The sound fell at your feet, ground trembling. But the characteristic octave of the voice's tone, and its accent similar to yours made you clench your necklace between your fingers tightly. It reeled you in. Closer.
That voiceâ it definitely belonged to your father.Â
There's no way he's here, isn't he?
"Miss, are we going inside?" A voice interrupted your thoughts.
You could still feel the vibration of the ground when you raised a hand. "Wait"
The tremor of the stone tile you were standing on felt different than the ones around it. Sensing that there was something off, you realize as you looked down upon it that it came loose. You fell to your knees and moved the tile away.
What theâ
It took you a good few seconds for you to process what you dug out. White fabric, made out of cotton, with looping threads meeting to form a decorative design. Its existence does not conform to the aesthetic of the world it finds itself in.Â
A veil. A lace veil of your world.
"Miss...?"
"Ah" You were still in a state of shock when they called for your attention. "Yes, um..."
You let the fabric fall out of your hands, like it had no use for you to take. While in all honesty, you just didn't know what to make of it. It shouldn't existâ but at the same time, you shouldn't either.
Ultimately, you decided to leave it.
Straightening your posture, you cleared your throat and motioned to the people around you.
"Let's go in"
You took the first step.
The long and winding stone hallway kept you and the men walking for a while. Well, more so speed-walking with how fast their pace is. Because of this, you were also forced to pick up speed in order to not bump into them and possibly cause another quarrel.
Your hands started to tremble. A wind blew at your faces, the howl almost ghostly. Goosebumps littered your skinâ even though they were covered by the sleeves of the aoqun. You could see the wisps of your breathing. With every step you took forward, it only got colder.
It might've been only 3 minutes that passed, shorter since there was no hint of any time. You could decipher these people's impatience. Their steps grow heavy with the weight of their dissatisfaction. Another gust of cold wind.
Each of the lightstones you passed dimmed more than the lastâ until no light was ahead of you. You took another step, and heard a strange sound below your feet. The sound of fire cracking reaches your ears and you turn your head to see the red-cloaked kidnapper lighting up something. Someone tapped your shoulder to hand you a lantern. There's no choice but to accept.
As soon as you brought the lantern ahead of your face, your quiet gasp brought the attention of everyone else.Â
Flowers greeted your face in a garish display. Its shadows form a shape that would terrify someone with an active imagination. A weird combination of white flowersâ roses, peonies, orchids, stargazer lilies, and baby's breath to fill in the gaps, hung from the ceiling. The mixed scents only burdened your nose with an awful smell. Clearly, the divine physician had a strange taste in flowers.
But that wasn't the only thing that caused you to freeze.Â
Ice. Occupying the floor beginning from your feet to the next side of the open clearing. There's water below the ice you were standing on. You could barely see it because of the lack of light.Â
An underground ice lake... coexisting with flowers that die during the winter. You took a step back from shock. Almost slipping.
Literally WHERE did this psycho physician find the materials to make ts.
"Miss!" Someone called, harshly bringing you to reality. "What are we going to do now?"
Seriously? They're not even going to question the unnatural terrain of ice and blooming flowers?
You huffed, eyes darting around to visually investigate the frozen lake. The ice seemed thick enough to walk on. To make sure, you turned to face one of the martial artists with your hand out.
"Use your axe to hit the ice" you tell him, simple but enough to raise questions.
He raised a brow at you, sneering. "And why would I do that?"
"Do you want to cross without falling into the freezing cold water or not?" You snapped. "It's your choice"
"I don't listen to a laowai" he lifted his axe and walked over to the lake.
You watched helplessly as the large man started walking on the ice with no precaution. Naturally, your instinct was to warn him. "Don't walk in the middle! Walk by the edges!" You shout in genuine concern.
It came as a surprise once he actually crossed the lake. He ignored your warning and even deliberately walked in the middle where the ice was most brittle. But he didn't know that. He was too busy proving a point.Â
So this time, it didn't come as a surprise anymore when the rest followed the man's lead. They disregarded your concern for their safety and even cheered as they passed you by.
"Haha! What are you so scared of?" One of themâ who was wearing something stupid. He bumped your shoulder. "Afraid to soil your clothes?"
"Women, trying to tell us what to do"Â
"Hey! Next time, bring her husband!"
"This one only nags!" A pair of hands grabbed your shoulders and dragged you across the lake. Your hand crumpled into a fistâ but you couldn't risk trying to fight any of them.
You couldn't risk losing consciousness around these men.
They laughed around you, turning more hysterical once you made it to the other side. How badly you wanted to draw their own weapons through their guts. But with your only experience being with a modern firearm, their weapons would likely be through your flesh instead.Â
Why were you kidnapped into this world with no ability to become a martial artist? Maybe things would be different if you could, just like how it was back home.
You hear cheering from them, and you lifted your head to see the last person on the ice. The red cloaked guy who was responsible for you bringing you here. He took his time to walk slower than the rest. Strutting across the ice before stopping and tapping his footâ his eyes meeting yours through his hood.
He was mocking you. Your gaze hardened at their attempt to humiliate you. They wouldn't be able to, this was not the worst thing that you experienced. What you endured would be the end of the world for them.
Splash!
You jumped slightly at the sound, the cheers fellâ dead. The person you were staring at was no longer there. Instead, a hole that their body could go through replaced the ice they had just been standing on. As though the universe finally heeded your plea of being swallowed by the ground the day before your 18th birthdayâ only to do it to the wrong person.
"Someone fell!" You grabbed the person next to you. Due to your surprise, your words became short. "Help them!"
What they said next brought a sickening feeling to your gut.
"Him?" The person snorted. "That's his mistake, there's no use worrying about him"
You took a step back. "What?"
"He's dead the moment he made that misstep"
Someone felt the need to reassure you, so they spoke up as well. "It's alright miss, death happens eventually"
What an awful thing to say. You could only stare at him, stunned speechless at the words that came out of his mouth.Â
Your feet moved before you could think, bringing you to the hole where the person fell. Once you regained your senses, you were mid-jump into the water.
A sharp, stinging sensation embraced your skin. For however long this place was since createdâ it retained its deadly temperature. Your skin turned numb just a few seconds after entering the waterâ and you figured that you were in for a lot of pain once you returned to the surface.
To you, it felt like you were on the ice giantâ Neptune, from how cold it was. There was barely nothing that you could see under the ice. The only source of light came from the opening you jumped from.
But your vision soon adjusted, and you could finally see several meters in front of you. With haste, you squinted at your surroundings looking for a hint of redâ
There it is! Just a few meters below you, the man cloaked in red was sinking. You hurried to grab him by the closest piece of him withing your reachâ which turned out to be his hood. He's struck unconscious by the temperature of the lake. The water surrounding you proved to be a great help in carrying his weight to the hole above. You pulled his arms up to secure his latch on you.
Something wrapped around your ankle.
You almost screamed, thinking it was some water snake. But when you looked down in alarm you recognized it to be a vine. Not pondweed, not kelp, it's not even an underwater vine. It is a floral vine that belonged to a decorative fence surrounding a garden. A vine that hasn't drowned from the water.
The vine moved its end to point in a direction behind you. If your skin wasn't numb yet, it would've crawled and produced goosebumps at how animated the plant was. You shook your head at the vine. ' No! I refuse to look behind me! '
You kicked your feet below you to swim upwards, but the tendril was just as stubborn as you are. It started dragging you down when you didn't comply. Only then did you turn your head to look behind.
A flower that haunted your entire existence greeted your face. Its bright pink petals shining better underwater.
It even came complete with the decaying branchâ the same one that brought you to this place. How could a healthy and blooming flower coexist with a dying thing? You want to raise questions but another peril came. Branches sprouted from below the bloom, wrapping around your feet that had already been frozen in place by the vines. The qi of these plants held a horrifying amount of bad intentions for you.
These plants are here to kill you! You realize soon enough.
Desperate, you let go of the guy for a minute to deal with what was happening. Your lungs ached at the excessive movement, and you knew that your saved breath was running out. Black spots appeared in your vision from the lack of air, you could feel your body pumping adrenaline.Â
You pull your knees closer to your chest to reach the branch's tight grip on your ankles. With no tool or weapon, you used your bare hands to feel for the weakest part of the decay and snapped it yourself. Now free, you didn't let those plants have amy time to recover. You grabbed the unconscious man and swam the fastest you ever had in your entire life.
First, you pushed both that person and your heads above waterâ with only you gasping heavily for air. You kicked your feet behind you until you were laying on your stomach in the water and continued kicking until you were crawling on the ice. Your body shook, tremors that made you teeth chatter. You couldn't tell if it was from the brush with death that you experienced or the freezing water you were submerged in for 5 whole minutes.
You continued to crawl over the ice until you were on stone ground, the red cloaked man in tow. The martial artists looked terrified as you dragged yourself and the drowning victim to the platform.
After fixing the man's position on the floor you checked his vitals. You didn't bother checking if he could respondâ you already know he's not going to respond.
"Missâ" one of them dared to speak up.
They were replied with a flying dagger that nicked the skin of their cheek, it hit a lightstone nestled within the wall with terrifying accuracy. They didn't even move to dodge that, and they soon realized the dagger belonged to that guy who almost drowned. You had moved so quickly that they didn't see you pulling the dagger from that guy's sleeve.
"Shut... up" You ignored the swell of pain in your heart and forced yourself to not fall unconscious. "Shut the f*ck up"
This is why you quit the red cross.
Straightening your kneeling position to fully stretch your arms outward, you positioned the heel of your hand on the center of his chest, your other above it. Only after doing so that you finally pressed down hard on his chestâ beginning chest compressions.
A familiar routine came to you, and your body somehow knew what was going on. Muscle memory moved before you could think properly. You kept your arms straight as you mentally counted each compression until you had to open his airway and give him rescue breaths. His chest rose each time you pushed down.
26... 27... 28...
By the 29th chest compression, he vomited out the water in his lungs. One of his fingers twitched, then his hand, until his arm movedâ instinctively grabbing your sleeve.
You stared at him, the first-aid treatment had come to you as muscle memory. It was also muscle memory when you called for his attention. "Sir, please breathe slowly and relax"
"Youâ" he stared at you, his expression unreadable to you.
Your hands trembled, you took deep breaths and watched him do the same. The emotions you were suppressing until now found gaps in your heart. You moved away from the man you just rescued, your arms wrapping around yourself for both comfort and warmth.
It was silent after that. No one really knew what to say.
"Maybe I should call you all the immortal physician" you finally said after a few minutes of silence. "Since you seem to know your way around this place more than I do"
Even if you really didn't know this place like you claim, the least they could've done was to listen to you. Your breath trembled as the cold settled in, water dripped from your hair, and you noticed your hands turning blue. You almost wanted to cry at your condition, but you could not find the energy to do so.
"It was a mistake, missâ"
"Mistake?" You turned to look at them, your voice sharp. "Your mistakes led to someone making a misstep that could've ended their life! And your response to it wasn't about saving him! You asked where we were going next!"
"What if it was you who almost drowned? What if no one came to your rescue and left you to die?" Pointing at them, you swear your blood pressure started going higher. "Do you think this is some place where you're allowed to make mistakes? You're all grown men! You should know better than this!"
"You all rushed in, didn't listen to me, let someone almost drown, and call it a mistake!?" This whole situation will lead you to hysteria at this point. "I can't believe how little you think of life!"
"Miss" one of them, a burly man, spoke for them. "We understand your frustrations and we know that you wouldn't be able to understand the goings-on in kanghoâ but you should know that our world is different from yours"
"He's right, no one asked you to save him" some other person chimed in. "Because that is what happens to those who cannot keep up with kangho, they are left to perish"
"We won't take this personally, but know your place" the same person continued. "You don't understand this world, so don't bother interfering with it"
"Oh! I'm sorry!" The pitch of your voice rose as you continued to speak, your hands gesturing wildly. "Do the laws of humanity not apply to you anymore? Is your pride so high that you think you can save yourself and deny medical help?"
No words came from the other end, they let their glares at you speak for itself.
"Hey, soâ since you clearly don't want me to do anything else than just be your little tour guide" you made sure to let your irritation be known through the tight smile you gave them. "Don't expect my help the next time you're in a situation of peril, got it?"
The men in front of you remained quiet, and you could tell that the dislike they initially had of you multiplied tenfold.
"We wouldn't dream of it"
Fine then, if they mistook your kindness for weaknessâ it's not going to be your problem when the protagonist and the other disciples eventually kill them.
Of course, you remained true to your word.
The men were helpless and could only follow your lead, blindly believing your abilities but skeptic of your sincerity. However, you had lost all remaining patience for them and so your sentiments became distant. You walked briskly to nowhere and everywhere at the same time, absolutely determined to get this over with as fast as you could manage.
There was not a single word uttered between you and the group; the atmosphere itself rivaled the freezing temperature of the grave. At one point, someone from behind activated a trapâ hurting himself and a few others. Your reflexes forced you to look over at them. Gaze lingering, you peeled your eyes away and continued to walk despite their efforts to keep up with you.
They can treat their own injuries.
Many other traps were found along the way. Since you were ahead of the group, you were usually the target of wandering arrows, poison, and crumbling floors. It seemed endless and out of nowhere. Your exasperation reached its boiling point when someone else activated a trap and it instead tried getting after you.
' Why is this whole thing designed to get a piece of my ass '. You think to yourself, eyes closed at the absurdity of the whole situation. ' Is the divine physician one of my opps from my past life? '
After those near-death experiences, you finally reached that circular room where everyone is soon to convene. The ceiling stood high above, illumined with lightstones that cast its light down. Doors leading from all sides propped up against the walls, and a deep chill greeted all its newcomers. Like all the rooms you've been before, this room was also spotless. Free of dust, as though your presence was expected.
You shivered and your teeth chattered against each other as the cold enveloped you. Your already-wet state did not help at all, despite your efforts to dry yourself off. If you weren't going to die from the traps, you are surely bound to meet death because of this temperature.
The group you came along with were the first ones there, it seemed to be for a few minutes. Though it didn't take long until everyone else realized the approaching presence of other people. But your focus was not on them, but at the door that was decorated in engravings separate from the restâ the exit.
Since you were ahead of the group, and the first to enter the room, you were consequently behind the others when they turned to face the new arrivals. Your current position concealed you from the sight of the newcomers, but it did not hide your gaze from fixating on their faces.
' These people are going to perish here '. Stiff civilities were exchanged between the two groups who recognized each other. The names that they were called are impressive, but could they prove it? Within the presence of a protagonist, you think not.Â
"âThen prepare to take your final breath here!" One of the martial artists (you were sure he didn't introduce himself to you when you were kidnapped) from your side roared, and ran blade-first into the opposite end.Â
This action caused the others to followâ very much like the blind leading the blind.
The men plunged themselves into chaos. Screams followed the clash of blades as technique after technique was used to defend, strike, and defeat. It didn't help that more people were coming from all sides of the place; and, after seeing what was going down, had the bold idea to join in. The floor shook in tremors as every now and then, someone would swing their qi-infused weapon down strong enough to create cracks.
Yet, the only woman in the room took her chance. You slowly backed away the longer the others were occupied. With all of them distracted, you could finally make your escape!
When you took enough steps backward to feel the cold iron of the exit door behind you, you seized the opportunity to pry it open. However, your strength could only take you so far. As the metal door did not budge an inch for you, looming a shadow of unforgiving. It was as if the doctor intended for only the strongest to escape.
If you don't get out of here soon, you'll soon be discovered and attacked. Even if that doesn't happen, you'll be caught up in the crossfire, or a stray swing of a sword.
"Please...!" Realizing at once the gravity of the situation, you looked up at the unmoving door in desperation. "Please, let me out!"
You pushed all the weight you could against the door, trying to use force. "Immortal physician! You can't let me die here!" The words came out of your mouth recklessly, but with the chaos ongoingâ no one had heard. "Is it not against your oath as a doctor, to allow an innocent's death!?"
Just as you said that, the door finally opened enough to be able to fit you. Its sound alone resounded all over the room. At the same time the door opened, a loud "BOOM!" came from the other side of the crowd, deafening the sound of the door perfectly.
You didn't know who you should thank first, your racing heart barely allowed you any time to think. As a strangled "thank you...!" escaped your lips, so did your body struggle itself to fit into the small space the door allowed exit from.Â
Your arm was the only part of your body that made it to the other side when something tugged at the skirt of your plain-colored aoqun. Looking down at the something/someone responsible, you almost jumped at the sight by your feet.
A man, who was most likely a martial artist, had come (or a better termâ crawled) over to you. His whole garments were soiled in blood that came from both him and his enemies. The black tressels he called his hair turned into the shape of string as he was soaked in his own sweat. In his mouth, a plea that is no different from a beggar's.Â
"Help..." he choked on his own blood before swallowing. "Please... help me...."
You didn't think twice before you were already checking his injuries, your hands worked at the speed of light to dress the wound located so near to his heart. There were so few resources to conduct it properly, but you did what you could to keep him alive long enough to find professional help from a real doctor.Â
"Sir, do not engage with anyone you cross paths with if you wish to live". Your hands helped him cross the small crevice of the slightly-opened door while you gave your instructions. "Get help for yourself as soon as you're out".
"An angel... I am forever in debt to you" he struggled to speak in full sentences from fatigue.
"Yes, yes" you shooed him with great urgency and as you tried to leave againâ
"Miss! Please let me out" a voice whisper-shouted at you. "I have a sonâ"
"What are you doing here!?" The concept of a man choosing to follow his violent career when he had a family was incredulous to you. And it opted you to push him into the door. "Out!"
Soon after, others followed with the same plea of escape. Most of them were critically injured, while others offered very acceptable reasons to be. At once, you shooed them away and into the door. You keep looking behind you as you dress another man's wound to check if they have found you out yet. It is positively well-fortuned for you when they haven't, and are extremely focused to the other end of the battle.
They are too occupied with themselves to care even one bit about you.
It comforts you very much when you recognize that you saved so many from dreadful fate, and there are not as many cadavers lying around in this room as the webtoon made it out to be.Â
Finally, it was your turn to shimmy yourself inside the door. Some others whom you have helped waited from the other side for you. At their sincerity alone, you could deduce that they are a lot more tolerable companions than the ones you've been forcibly grouped with.Â
"Come on, miss!" One of them cheered encouragement even if you only got one arm out. "You can do it!"
"Don't rush or you'll hurt yourself" an older martial artist advised, he looked the same age as your father.
The kindness made you freeze for a moment. This was the first time anyone from kangho showed any courtesy to you. It felt almost alien, remembering who the respect came from made you shiver in discomfort.
But that wasn't the only reason you froze.Â
Someone grabbed your other arm that was still on the other side. You barely shimmied your head into the room and now someone discovered you. Maybe you should have put yourself first...
"Run!" You immediately warned the others who were waiting for you. They remained still in their places as they hesitated. "Do I have to repeat myself? GOâ!"
As you screamed, the person who caught you by your other arm dragged you back inside the room you were originally in. It didn't take two einsteins to put together who it was in front of you.Â
"Ugh, this guy again" you spoke in your native tongue, though your expression did not betray the emotions you were feeling. From the remnants you have left of your hearing, you could make out footsteps that transitioned faintly the farther they got. At least they managed to escape.Â
The others were still occupied with their battles when you were discovered. You could only infer that this red-cloaked man finished his fight and found you. You struggled against his grip, but it was all useless in the endâ so you just gave up. He pulled your arm, urging you to walk behind him despite you almost tripping from the sheer force he put into that one pull.Â
"You know, you kinda remind me of that one streamer during the pandemicâ except he was green, I think" you let the man pull you to wherever. He looked over his shoulder at you to give you a weird look.
It wasn't that you gave up, but everything up until now has been so mentally exhausting that you ended up just going along with all this bullsh*t. "He didn't kidnap me like you, so that makes him coolerâ which I really hate to say about him"
"Speak in a language I can understand" he spoke gruffly.
"So I can't think out loud anymore?" You sighed in disappointment. "I miss my women's rightsâ did you just roll your eyes at me?"
Indeed he did, but your question remained unanswered as more inquiries were made known. You had felt a sudden rough and itchy texture around your wrists a few moments ago. At first, you thought that the guy was secretly a furry. Although, seeing the man who was just pulling you to go somewhere with his hands free made you realize that your hands were not bound by him, but it was now bound to a rock stuck inside the floor of one of the hallway-entrances.
"Oh" you couldn't think of anything that was worth saying in a position like yours.Â
"Stay here or else" he tried to threaten you, but you looked at him as if he was the weird oneâ and it made him falter.Â
"Don't worry, I don't plan on going anywhere" you reassure him, waving a hand to shoo him away.
The red-cloaked man merely looked at you wary before leaving to join the still-ongoing bloodbath that was happening before your eyes. You huffed, hands combing through your locks that were still soaked from the lake. It had tangled since you neglected to care for it. Although in your defense, it's difficult to focus on multitasking when so many overwhelming events happen with no break in between. It is only during moments of pause where you get to breathe and sort out your thoughts.
Like what you are doing now.
You wonder what the five swords were doing at this time. Obviously, better than how you were doing at the moment. You let your mind linger on the thought of them finding you hereâ drenched, cold, and bound with rope. For a second, you could predict their reactions.
Cheongmyeong would definitely kill you.Â
Nodding to yourself, you sighed in defeat as the idea really settled in. Cheongmyeong, who advised you in a letter that you stay in Nanyang, only to find that you disobeyed him. Oh, he'd be furious. Actually, who gives a d*mn about what he thinks? You worry most about what Iseol would thinkâ she'd be so disappointed.
You can only hope that you can get out of here alive. From the moment you woke up and found yourself here, you could feel an underlying presence. You weren't sure if it was the spirit of the doctor, or if it was something else entirely. That white veil, the eerily clean place, the frozen lake, the murderous flowers below it, the traps that were targeting you; that all did not go unnoticed by you. If anyone else knew what happened to you, they would hardly believe it...
It's like this whole place expects you to die here.Â
That thought brought your heart to skip a beat from fear.
With these things in mind, you could only hope that it is all the doctor's design and not something worse. Whatever that may be.
As you lamented your circumstances, something fluttered down on your shoulder with familiar chirps. At the simple sound alone, you turned your head immediately to the source. You almost leapt to your feet as you recognized who it was.
"Lou!" You cried, letting the bird fly down to the ground before you. "I'm so happy to see you! How did you find me?"
But the avian did not answer, only in the way of nuzzling affectionately against your hand. What else could you do but laugh at his antics? "Haha... it's like you always know where I am"
Lou chirps then, after flapping his wings enough to climb on your lap, started tapping his diamond-shaped beak on your thighs. From the years you took care of this bird, you already knew what he meant. "Oh no, Lou... I don't have any food on me"
An idea soon came to mind. You looked down at Lou who seemed to be crying dramatically. "But, I think... Cheongmyeong has some"
You scooped the small animal in your hand. "Do you think you can find him, and return to me as soon as you get food?"
The reason you suddenly asked this of Lou was for you to estimate how far the protagonist was from you. If your pet returns at a varied length of time, you will be able to tell if Cheongmyeong and his group are close. Furthermore, it is an indication for you to expect them.
The promise of food from the protagonist motivated Lou; he zipped out of your hands and into a certain distance. You watched his small build get even more tiny the farther he flew from you.
You relaxed once more, and tried to find a more comfortable position to sit inâ but who were you kidding? The position in which the red-cloaked man tied your wrist in was not the best example of comfort. That, and the fact that you were still shivering from the combination of cold air and water also worsened the situation you were already in. You had half a mind to simply free yourself when something surprisingly blanketed your figure.
Turning your head slightly made you recognize that the sudden embrace was from a warm garment. Its color is a dull gray, and it had a slight fuzz on the fabric itself. Although there is one important adjective to describe itâ it's dry.
You slowly looked up from your position. Because where would such a thing come from if not from someone? This kind of article of clothing surely wouldn't fall on your shoulders naturally. And you were rightâ for the person responsible was actually the same guy who kidnapped you.
Immediately, you flinched in surprise, your mouth drawing a sharp breath. You had not expected this at all, and coming from him? It's hard to digest. The two of you were stuck staring at each other awkwardly until someone would speak.
You decided to be the one to break the silence. The words caught in your throat for a moment before you could properly speak. "Uh, thank you... sir"
He didn't say anything. You could already feel the secondhand embarrassment creeping in your nerves. Nevermind that, maybe he's someone who speaks very little. In the webtoon, he seemed quiet. Though, you remembered that he was quite cowardly.
"I want to talk to you" he ended up speaking.Â
"But what of the panacea?" You bring the fabric closer to you before looking pointedly at his companions. "Surely all of you must be itching to move..."
"It's fine" he catches himself once realizing that he sounded too eager. "My companions aren't going to leave yet, people are coming so they want to get rid of them first
You laugh for the first time since you came to this place. But it was very short and fleeting. There's barely anything to laugh about when you're currently kidnapped.
"Is there something funny?"
"No..." you lowered your head to smooth the smile that threatened to invade your lips. "I just remembered something"
They're really going to die with their lust for blood, huh? You look at his companions, who were chatting merry nonsense. They conversed like the topic was a party, as if the hill of bodies they managed to slay did not exist.
They seem so happy to look like a mess.
"Miss..." the man called your attention again. It's strange that you don't know his name, especially since you saved him then. "Whyâ why did you save my life?"
What could you say to that? Would he be satisfied if you told him that you are under oath, from your life back home, to save any life on the brink of death? Do you think he'll accept the answer; "I saved your life because it's in my nature to help, not because I am supposed to"? If you told him this, he would surely doubt and ask even more questions.Â
"All lives deserve to be saved, and everyone has the right to live" you answer, the words familiar and distant all at once. "There is no one in the world who can dictate who lives and dies"
"But that shouldn't be enough of a reason to obligate you to save me"
"That's right" you turn to look him in the eye. The red-cloaked man stilled at your words.
"Do you see these cadavers? All of their lives are equal to each other... like when you read the number of casualties from the news, the value of those lives are the same" your voice shook, all the frustrations you kept silent from in regards to violence spilled out. "But, despite their value being the same, each life is worth more than the existence of time. I can't accept that some people would think a life's value is so littleâ that they are ruthless to eliminate".
"I don't understand how people could be so merciless to discard someone's life so easily" sighing, you continued. "Much more if it is millions of other lives, like how leaders around the world would declare war on one anotherâ with no regard for their civilians, soldiers! Who have just as much of life as any other!"
"You have a very strong opinion on war"
"It's my life's work to advocate against it" you faltered for a moment when you are reminded that you barely started your career as a diplomatâ and even then, it still affects your opinions. "But I recognize that there are some aspects that cannot be stopped"
Both of you remained silent, though it was mostly you. Taking deep breaths to calm yourself, the topic brought so many forgotten perspectives that you had back home. You remember writing a whole research article about the humanitarian causes of warâ such as deep-rooted racism caused by territory affairs.Â
"...Although I know you don't want to believe that I had done it because of empathy" you spoke up, moving your gaze to the floor. "So I will spare you the details and implore you to never ask this of me again"
Silence once more, and thenâ
"...I actually have a wife"
You had never turned around so fast in your entire life. Sputtering, you looked at him in disbelief. "A wife!? Then why are you here!?"
Omg, you're actually going to kill him. You hate these types of men! Going off to do stupid sh*t when they have responsibilities back home.Â
He looked as though he wanted to speak once moreâ but was interrupted by the fluttering of wings. Lou had returned quicker than you expectedâ and you already know that the five swords were near. And, based on the nut that was nestled between Lou's beak, they were most definitely alerted.
"Sir, please untie me now" you looked at the man, who blinked at the urgent tone you were using. But he still went on to untie the rope binding your wristâ which confused you.Â
Huh. You supposed that he will reject your request immediately, but there was not one word of rebellion from him. Still, you're not going to let this whole ' I have a wife but I went here anyway ' thing go.
You tore your gaze away from him to look at the other various swordsmen in your group. They all treated you horribly, that was for sure. Also, whether they end up really deceased or not after this whole ordeal was unknown to you. However... you are sure that they all have families or friends who expect to see them tomorrow. Wondering where they have been, just like your own.
Some people may not agree with what you are about to do.
As you approached them, they were caught up in conversation. It looked as if they were all determined to ignore you until you cleared your throat. The interruption forced them to finally turn their attention to you.
"Just go through that door and it will lead you to the panacea"
"Yes..." one of them looked at you. "Are you not coming with us, miss?"
"No" shaking your head, you mentally wished that they would just shut up and leave. "This is the end of my journey here, what lies ahead is your responsibility now"
"How will you go home?"
"That's my problem"
"Hm, then your payment..."
Before you could speak up, they handed you a heavy pouch. When you opened it, you were struck with the smell of blood on the silver coins. Huh. Maybe this journey was worth it after all.Â
"Ah, it's okay if you take those right?" They spoke with condescension dripping down their tone. "Don't mind the blood, you can just wash it off when you get home"
The men laughed. It was jarring to hear these kinds of men laugh simultaneously.
"Thank you, sir" you spoke dryly. "You are very kind... Now, if you all would just goâ"
"Ha, why are you rushing us?" Another one complained openly about you. "We'll take our time, all of our opponents don't stand a chance against us"
"Please, sirâ"
"Hey! You all heard the young lady" this guyâ Dae Ra Geom stepped up. "What is it sweetheartâ?"
"Don't sweetheart me"
"What are you afraid of, sweetheart?" He laughed, it made you want to shoot him. "Don't worry your pretty little head about us, we're quite formidable men. We'll survive..."
"I'm sure you will"
"So, what could possibly happen?"
You extended your arm outward to a certain direction, pointing. "That will"
They all looked at the thing you were pointing at, which was an open hallway. The inside was dark, so it was quite hard to see. But that is the advantage of qi training. Every person and animal in the room could feel it; the presence of more enemies approaching. Or, in your unfortunate case, the steady approach of the one who will kill you the moment he spots you in this place.
There wasn't much to think about now, as your thoughts were now occupied with surprise. One of the martial artists grabbed you by the neck and held you in such a way that looked like you were being held hostage. Your neck was squished between this stranger's forearm and bicep. It's not at all comfortable, especially if it is an attempt at your life.
"Sir! Wait!" Your hands tried to claw your way out of his grip. "Don't do this, you'll only make the situation worseâ!"
"Don't worry miss, we won't kill you" he reassured you, tightening his grip. "We'll just use you as leverage against the people incoming"
HELL NO! Why couldn't these losers just leave? They're so weird for wanting this much bloodshed!Â
"Trust me, sir!" You pleaded for both the life of this stranger and your own. You feel the coat that Sam Sal-Gwi lended you fall to the ground. "I am the last person you will ever want to use as a hostage! Moreso with these people!"
You feel lightheaded as the person holding yourself hostage rejected your plea once more. From what you could feel, the five swords were at least 2 minutes away from you. You don't want to be there when they see you!
"Please!!" You were begging now. "If you value your life let me go!"
"For the last time; NO!"
"Fine! I guess we're all going to die here!!"
They looked at you as if you had come from a mental facility, but that was the least of your worries. Oh goodness, you could hear their approaching footsteps. What are you going to do now!?Â
You didn't know if this was caused by the sudden spike of stress, muscle memory, or an idea that just popped up into your head, but you soon felt all of your muscles fall asleep at once. Even your eyelids closed as you went completely limp.
"Take one more step and this civilian woman's head is going to be chopped off!"
Oh, we're going for this route? Ok... đ
A resounding gasp came from the opposite side of the square you were on. It was a mix of voices, and if you picked it apart you could single out whose voice belonged to whose. In that moment, one voice stood out from the rest.Â
"Moâ! Ack!"
With your eyes closed, you could recognize the voice of Yunjong, and your thoughts already shifted into worry. What do they look like now? Did they obtain any injuries throughout their journey through this place? You remember that the last obstacle they had before entering this place is a cave full of bats. In the webtoon, those same bats clawed at Cheongmyeong's skin.Â
However, as much as you wanted to see them, you can't compromise your current position of false fainting. If you had made known that you were conscious, it would make the situation even more troublesome. You could only hope that they're not doing anything reckless.
Someone seemed to recognize the people you were with, as you suddenly hear their names spoken in mid air. Huh. Hearing those names aloud made you realize that it suited these characters.
"How could you drag an innocent young woman into this!?" A slightly-familiar voice spoke, and from the line alone you could tell that this person was one of the beggars. "She's no martial artist!"
' That's right! He's so right! You knew that the only ethical people in the world are the poor! 'Â
There wasn't much to see since you had your eyes closed, but you almost blew your cover by almost laughing aloud from your own thoughts. You summoned all of your high school theatre experience to school your face expressionless.
"Andâ where on earth did you get her from!? She's a foreigner! Don't tell meâ"
"I only picked her up from the side of the road" a voice came from behind you, it belonged to the red-cloaked man. "I'm not a human trafficker"
"Surely, but why would you take her!?" The beggar reasoned, baffled by the excuse. "She must have no useâ"
"Haha, that's where you're wrong" another voice, but from above. It must be from the one holding you hostage. "She's the one who graciously showed us the way to the panacea until now"
"What!? How is that possible!?" The beggar continued to talk, his voice travelling through the space of the room. "How can a foreigner know the layout of a centuries-hidden grave!?"
"You tell me, we were in luck" the same person who has his arm threatening your air supply scoffed with arrogance. "Judging from the fact that we were here much quicker than youâ we had a lot of time in our hands, and it's all thanks to her"
"Time used to mercilessly kill innocent lives?" He argued. "For such a trivial reason..."
"Don't act so naĂŻve, beggarâ"
Goodness gracious, if these people keep going your body is going to go numb. The only thing that is holding you up now is someone's armâ and their grip hurts like hell. You could feel the circulation of your blood be put to a stop the longer you're held like this. With the blood draining from your face, and your breath being shortened, you could infer that you must looks so pale right now.
"Disciple Baek Cheon. Please help us" Hong Dae-Kwang turned to the handsome face who looked serious. "Most especially, we must help the poor girl held hostage"
"Of course, we will" the younger man nodded in agreement. "I am not someone who prides himself on following the rules, but I don't like seeing people take advantage of an innocent civilian".
"This⊠the disciples of Mount Hua." Was his name Dae Ra-Geom? You don't remember. "Recently, the name of Mount Hua has been going around a lot. Unfortunately, you will find out that you arenât that strong in Kangho"
Shut up!
"Shut up!" Baek Cheon yelled.
Oh, you said that in your head the same time Baek Cheon shouted.Â
"Have you said everything that needs to be said?"
Hahaha... that's Cheongmyeong's voice. You're so dead.
"Who are you?"
"You don't need to know"
"What did you say?"
"âAnd what has she to gain from helping the likes of you?"
Your heart dropped simultaneously with a bead of sweat that rolled down from your forehead. Despite shivering from the cold before, your heart beat felt twice the speed it normally does. Why is Cheongmyeong's voice doing this to you...?
"The rest of her life" the arm around your neck tightened, it forced you to hold your breath. "And her dignity intact"
"HOW DARâ!" Jo Geol was cut off, muffled perhaps by his sahyungs.
Huh? What happened? You weren't really listening.
"Hm" Cheongmyeong spoke again. "The world usually works like this, was it?"
Then, the protagonist uttered "I will show you what true heartlessness looks like".
The sound of a sword being unseathed echoed through the silence that those words left everyone with. Your captor shivered, and you could feel the faint bumps on his arms left ghostly. It only took the protagonist one step forward for them to regain their words.
"Stay back, boy" Makhwi snarled, bringing you along as he stepped back slightly to unsheath his own blade. "One more and her head won't be attached anymore"
"Then kill her if you dare"
WHAT
You almost fell to the ground if it were not for the man supporting your limp frame. It seemed like the others had a similar reaction too, as shouts of protest came from the other side. Calling his name, spoken with frustrations.
"Cheongmyeong!! Why would youâ"
"You can't let her die!"
"Young disciple! What are you saying!?"
The man holding you hostage had a different idea though. He laughed, booming and arrogant that your ears (who are so close to his mouth) rang after the sound.
"Oh? It's my first time seeing a taoist react like this"
"What about her is worth saving?"
Just you wait, Cheongmyeong. Once you get your hands around his neck, you're going to squeeze until it's all purple.
"Well, if you had acquired her earlier you would've had a nice tour guide" one of them, aside from the others who had already spoken, boasted. "She has enough expertise that she got us this far"
"In that case, there is no use for her anymore" Cheongmyeong justified, and you had never wanted to choke him more than now. "Beyond that gate is what we are all fussing over about, so there's no need to hold her hostage"
"Youâ"
"Don't belittle that child"
While they moved on with another topic, you haven't. You can't believe that Cheongmyeong suggested killing you. Is he mad at you!?
Before you could finish processing Cheongmyeong's apathy to your life, you were unexpectedly thrown to the ground. A loud yelp escaped your throat as your body hit the floor with a thud. Sharp stings seared the side you landed on. The weight of the rest of your body heaved against the arm you used to soften the fall.
"âor are you going to continue prattling on?"
Now, if you keep up your unconscious act after being shoved to the floor like thatâ you will only look stupid. You had no choice but to pretend as though that action woke you.
With a groan, you sat up slowly while making sure that you looked visibly in pain. A hand massaging over the arm that you landed on, you raised your head to find Mount Hua's disciples staring straight at you from the other side of the room.Â
Your jaw dropped slightly. "Sajeâ EEEEKK!!"
A hand grabbed you by the hair, forcing your face to stare directly at the ceiling. Your gaze fell to the floor as the sudden pull kept you from focusing on anything else. Although the preparator's hand kept a loose hold on your hair, you expressed your dissatisfaction almost immediately.Â
You're feeling really petty rn...
"NO!! STOP IT, PLEASE!!" Tears started rolling down your cheeks as you babbled in your native tongue. You stopped and looked directly at the person with his fist in your hair before resuming. "Oh no! Not YOU! "
"Sir, you can't do this to me!" A sob escaped your throat, and you sounded so pitiful that although the other side couldn't comprehend what you said, they concluded that you were crying in pain. "Anyone can touch my hair! Just not you!"
"And why not?"
"Youâ you look like Tr*mp..."
"Who is that"
"Ahh!! It hurts! It hurts more since you look like Tr*mp!"
Makhwi, who teared his gaze away from the confrontation to listen to you, decided to step in. "Hey, you don't have to hurt her that much..."
"But I'm not evenâ" the martial artist looked offended, as if he were the victim instead.Â
"Help!! A Tr*mp lookalike is pulling my hair!! He's balding too!"
His temper only flared worse when you continued to complain. "Shut up, b*tch!"
Until a small something pressed against your neck, tilting your chin further up. You shrieked at the sudden existence of such a blade at your throat, but not from the pain. Your eyes were almost blinded from looking at the lightstone aboveâ lodged into the ceiling.
"Be grateful that I'm not letting you see these people perish"
"Don't put your mouth next toâ!"
Slash!
A thud followed and then silence. The blade at your throat slowly lowered, allowing you to finally look at what's in front of you. It took a second for you to lower your head, gaze at Cheongmyeong's first before falling to...
The head, neatly severed from the body which now fell a few feet away. A pool of fresh, red blood actively spilling over the worn floor.
Your hair was let go, framing your face as it was beforeâ but you made no move to escape. Your eyes still glued to the severed head several feet ahead of you. The beating of your heart did not change, which was strange for someone who just saw a cut head for the first time.
The arm that was holding you up and supporting your whole weight weakened, and it didn't take long until you were dropped to the floor with a thud. The force of your fall, combined with the bruises you obtained, made the pain even more numbingâ and you soon saw black spots in your vision.
Then, you hear Cheongmyeong's voiceâ soft, yet had no need to demand attention.
"Next"
Like a switch that had been turned on, your eyes closed as you succumbed to unconsciousness.
Unfortunately, your passed-out state was short-lived.
The next time you open your eyes, the scene that unfolded is chaotic in itself. A flurry of Mount Hua's robes, combined with mismatched uniformity of the group you came with, gave way to a live-action version of what you had read before. Words you couldn't make out were flung across the room. The sound of blades clashing and blood splattering echoed, most especially in your ears.
Looking up to have a grip on your surroundings, you were met with the face of the man who dragged you into this whole mess. He was staring ahead, giving subtle glances toward you as if he were in a dilemma. Your body was stuck in a sitting-up position, and your muscles protested with pain whenever you tried to move even in the slightest.
You could feel that your whole weight had been shifted onto the man, with the way you were leaning on him, and his hands supporting your upper half by holding on to your arms.Â
"What's going on?" You questioned him. "Let go of me!"
Is this how he treats his wife back home? You're genuinely going to beat his ahh...
The red-cloaked man did nothing to look you in the eye. He removed his outer coat and wrapped it around your shoulders. "We have to go"Â
And, after abruptly shooting up from his position and wrapping his hand around your wrist, you were forced to get up and run alongside him.Â
Almost immediately, your legs screamed at the sudden use of muscle. You nearly fell over from doing so, but there was barely anything you could do to help yourself. When your kidnapper suddenly tries to bring you to a second location, you can only dig your heels into the ground and pray that it keeps you there.
Just like a few hours ago, your heart beat faster in fear for your life. "Stop it! Where are you taking me!?"
"Be quiet!" The man tugged at your wrist, trying to pull you in. "You're going to get us killed! I'm trying to save yourâ"
"This bastard is acting so hideously"
You and that man froze, both heads turning towards the place where the voice came from. Lo and behold, it turned out to be Cheongmyeong.
"Can't you see that she doesn't want to come with you?" He addressed your captor, his eyes did not glance at you once. "Is that how you snatched her up earlier?"
The protagonist continued, "And! No matter how temporary this alliance is, how can you run away when the people on your side are fighting for their lives? Huh?"
Cheongmyeong's gaze fell on Sam Sal-Gwi's hand still on your wrist. The moment his lips curved downward and his brows almost joined together from how hard he was furrowing it, you tried to tug your hand back and free yourself. The look he gave alone made your skin crawl in the most uncomfortable way possible.
"Yah" his glare at the man became downright murderous. "Let go of her hand"
Sam Sal-Gwi's grip only tightened around your wrist. You sincerely wished that you could die at that moment.
"You dragged an innocent civilian into this situation" clicking his tongue, he steadied his glare at him. "These martial artists today no longer have any chivalry"
The older man somehow found his voice "Isn't it in our nature to take advantage of an opportunity?"
"Oh?"
Noticing the teen's intrigue, he continued to speak. "Besides, I'm not heartless enough to not return her home after this is over"
"Hm... fine, let's say you will do that" the protagonist tilted his head. "But that's not why I caught you"
âIf I let you go like this, you will surely take her with you, right?â He pointed his sword in your direction. "You're not taking her anywhere"
"..."
"I can't let her leave me for you"
Before you could even blink, the older man tackled you to the ground. His hands softened the blow of your back hitting the stone. It all happened too fast, and you were too stunned to find your voice to scream.
Then, the body that pushed you to the ground fell limp over you.Â
Oh my god...
He's dead!
There's a corpse on top of youâ!
A quick shove from the protagonist, and then the older man's body is pushed to the side. Now free, there was still some shock in your body that kept you still. Cheongmyeong pulled your arm to get you to sit up. His hands grazed lightly over your arms.
He called you by your name. "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"âŠI could say the same to you" you stared at him, wide-eyed. You were still processing what just happened that you didn't notice Cheongmyeong removing the coat left by Sam Sal-Gwi and replacing it with... where did he get this?
"Are you okay? You're shaking"
"I'm finâ"
"That doesn't matter" Cheongmyeong turned away, walking towards the body clad in red. "What does isâ"
You never stood up faster in your entire life. "Wait!"
"Move away" he frowned at your interruption. "I might hurt you"
"Just let him be"
His jaw dropped slightly, and you mentally braced yourself. "Why should I!? Did you forget that he kidnapped you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then why are you protecting him?" The protagonist's face twisted with frustration. "You can't just let people get away with harming your life"
"Who said that I'm letting people go after what they did to me?"
"So why are you letting him stay alive!?" His voice rose as he spoke, his hand gesturing to the body of your kidnapper. "He doesn't have any qualities that can be redeemed!"
How do you tell him that you're more worried about this guy's wife than the man himself!?Â
"Have you taken a look at yourself?" He now gestured to you. Hands flailing over your still-drenched state and your now tattered clothes. "Look at you! Look at the state they put you in!"
"What about you!? You look worse than me!"
This argument was getting so loud that you and Cheongmyeong attracted the attention of the other mount hua disciples and beggars, who were chatting amongst themselves after defeating their enemies. Now, their heads turned to see the two of you bickering.
"Alright, that's enough out of the two of you" Baek Cheon made his way between you and the protagonist. "Cheongmyeong, we're losing time the longer we stay here"
"If she just let me kill that guy, maybe we would all get a move on from this place!"
You gasped in offense. "but if you just listened to me, we wouldn't be arguing!"
"Well, if you listened to me about staying back in Nanyang, I wouldn't have to worry about you!"
"Since you don't want to worry about me" Your voice shook as all the stress from earlier revealed itself in your words. "You shouldn't have asked the sect leader to bring me along with you in the first place!"
Stunned silence. The Mount Hua disciples and beggars standing by the side while secretly listening were gagged. Some clasped their hands over their mouths.
Cheongmyeong looked even more shocked than them, his jaw dropping in a way that can welcome flies if he kept it open for too long. He turned to glare at his seniors, but they diverted from his gaze by looking at other thingâ all thinking it was the most interesting thing in the world.
But there was one beggar who was brave enough. "Uhh... did you force her to come hereâ?"
"Leave yourself out of this!"
You sighed like all the troubles in the world were on your shoulders. After that reveal, Cheongmyeong had turned his head, refusing to even look or speak to you
 Which is fine, your brain already feels half-dead from all this.
Too much is happening right now and in such a short time. Turning around, you distance yourself from them as you mentally clock out. You're tired, cold, uncomfortable, and hungry. Heaven help you, 100 years of sleep sounds so appealing right now.
A single chirp disturbs your thoughts, you don't need to look to know who it is.
Lou crooks his head to peer at you, before flapping his wings to fly around you. The small bird circled around you, pecking at your hair and clothes to elicit a reaction from you. Although, you were too fatigued to deal with his antics.
"No, Lou..." you trailed off as the avian landed on your shoulder. "Not now"
"You have a very smart bird with you, miss"
Freezing in place, you turned your head to see who had crept up behind you. "...oh, it's you". Almost immediately, you recognized his face. "The one I almost crashed into a few days ago"
"Ah, you remember still?" Hong Dae-Kwang chuckled in amusement. "Hehe, I guess it's quite memorable"
"...I'm sorry" you stared at him for a few moments, your mind blank. "I'm still quite out of it"
"Oh! That's fine!" The beggar reassured you. "The experience must have quite frightening for you"
"..."
"But, I'm quite curious" He spoke carefully to you, like he was talking to a victim more than a normal person. "One of those bad men claimed that you were proficient in navigating caves, can I ask how you got that information?"
"...that's not true" Is this man trying to milk you for information? "I don'tâ I don't really know this place, it was a huge misunderstanding that led me here"
"Oh" the man almost seemed disappointed. "Thenâ"
"Are you all ready?"
Cheongmyeong spoke to everyone in the room, still refusing to look at you. But his tone was a bit more... stoic? Serious? There was not a hint of playfulness in his voice.
"Yes" the disciples nodded their heads, and you stood up to your feet.
"Let's go catch those Wudang bastards"
You find your legs threatening to disconnect from your torso.Â
The group is now running through the halls of the cave. But no matter how hard you try to keep up with their speed, at the end of the day, they're trained martial artists and you're just a normal person. Their level is too high for an average person, and so you are visibly struggling.Â
Even as Yu Iseol held your hand so you could keep up with her speed, you were on the verge of collapsing. You never ran this much in your entire life.
Cheongmyeong's voice came from behind. "You didn't even run that far to be gasping so much! This is why I said you people should train more on a regular basis!"
Ack. You've never felt like such a fat pig since coming here until now.
Every single part of your body hurts. You're genuinely not built for ts.
All this running is bringing back memories...
"Wow, miss...!" A middle aged man wearing a tracksuit called your last name. "Your running's improved from last year!"
"Really!?" Your highschool-self exclaimed, clasping her hands together.Â
"Uh-huh, your speed's above average now" your gym teacher waved a timer in his hands.
Mr. Jones... I miss you...
Your train of thought is interrupted when Jo Geol got poked in the ass with Cheongmyeong's sword.
"Ah, it hurts! Ahhh! Mom! Cheongmyeong's poking me with his sword!"
"Run! Run!"
Despite the disciple's cries, you pursed your lips and remained silent. Inwardly, you apologized to Geol and hoped that he wouldn't take your silence against him. You didn't want to speak to Cheongmyeong at the moment, hence your muted answer.
My legs are going to cramp for days... my feet... they're bleeding huhuhu
"Sajeo, let go of me"
"??"
"I can't go on any further, I'll only slow you down" you speak between heavy pants, any more of this and you won't be able to walk properly. "You have to go first, I'll catch up eventually"
Reluctantly, Yu Iseol lets go of your hand and leaves you behind. You slow down a little and eventually come to a stop, silently hoping that Cheongmyeongâ
"Yah, why are you stopping?"
doesn't see you đ„č
"Ah! Um..."
Before you could even finish your sentence, the protagonist unexpectedly charged at youâ to lift you up in his arms. One of his arms carried you from under your knee, while the other found its way behind your back. You were so in shock that you completely forgot to hold onto him.
"Cheongâ!"
"Mount Huaaaaaaa Divine Dragonnnnnn!"
At those words, Cheongmyeong picked up speed. The rate that he was going was likened to a rollercoaster accelerating from a steep drop. You had no choice but to hold your tongue and to hold on for dear life.
"The exit!"
"Light!"
"Ahhhhh!"
The other disciples exclaimed ahead of you two. Cheongmyeong carried you into the next section of the cave. At the same time, you both looked up at what greeted you. A cliff.
Somehow it looked even more foreboding than how you saw it from the webtoon.
The protagonist spoke to the others. "Up there!"
"You mean for us to go up there?" They collectively looked appalled at the suggestionÂ
Until realization settled in. After all the training they did on Mount Hua, shouldn't this be child's play for them? Their bodies shook with excitement, they hadn't even bothered waiting for Cheongmyeong's instructions. All 4 of them ran towards the cliff as though the prize was really within reach.
Meanwhile, Cheongmyeong sets you back down on your feet.
"Stay here! If you move from this place, I'm going to kill you!"
You could only silently nod in agreement, suppressing your emotions and what you wanted to say. The protagonist's face crumpled up in annoyance at your silence, but he soon joined the others anyway.
Everyone in the room was all focused on climbing the cliff, leaving you alone at the bottom.
Wow, it really looks as it did from the webtoon. But... Is there something different about it? You watched as the Mount Hua disciples climbed, got attacked, and the beggars finally entered the scene to aid them.
...what are you going to do now?
Lou swoops in, landing on the palm of your hand. He took a while to catch up, and the flying seemed to take most of his energy from him. The little avian huffed and puffed on your hands, spreading his wings in exhaustion.Â
There really wasn't any food or water on you, so the only thing you can do is reassure the bird. "Just hang on a little bit, we'll get out of here soon"
The bird's weak chirps only fueled your guilt, so your eyes wanderedâ looking for something. It didn't take long to find it, as it was in the center of the room.Â
You glanced at the men climbing up the cliff, particularly at Cheongmyeong. Surely he wouldn't notice you taking a few steps forward?
The sound of a crash confirmed your mental question.
Slowly, you moved from your previous position to the direction of the protruding metal door on the floor. You fell to your knees beside it, your hands feeling the engraved symbols. It surprised your touch from how cold it was, no doubt from the temperature in the room. There were still remaining crumbs of dirt on it, so you made sure not to touch those parts. It was definitely the kind of door that can't be opened by just anybody.
The strange thing was, the symbols on the door looked like characters from a specific alphabet. At first you thought it was written using Mandarin characters, but upon closer inspection, it was written in the Latin alphabet.
VGltZSBoYXMgY29tZQ
UHJlcGFyYXRpb25zIGFyZSBzZXQ
Tm8gbWF0dGVyIHdoZXJlIHNoZSBpcw
RGVidCB3aWxsIGJlIHBhaWQgd2l0aCBhIGtpc3M
Or whatever that means.
Wait a second, this looks like a codeâ
Bang!
The sound of gunshot rang in your ears, the bullet hitting the metal as you barely dodged away from the sudden target at the back of your head. Its ringing felt so severe that you doubled over at the pain. For a few moments, you could not hear anything and your vision blurred as tears rose to your eyes. Judging from this alone you could tell immediately that the trigger was pulled really close to your ear. You turned only to meet your attackerâ
who pulled another shot at you.
Gasping, you moved from your place and up on your feet. The stray bullet caught itself in one of the stone walls in the room. It almost hit your temples.
There was barely any time to realize who was attacking you. Even if there was, you would not know who it was since their whole get-up was completely cloaked. Leaving no room for recognition.
The anonymous person pulled the trigger againâ and you evaded the bullet from hitting you once more. With the kind of movement that felt like it was all coming to you naturally. This time though, your movement was forward and to the side.
So, when the perpetrator tried to shoot you again, you lunged at them. Your hands immediately wrapped around the wrists that had the hands holding the gun. You struggled to move the muzzle away from your direction, and switched it to them. The two of you were stuck in a back and forth of sheer will, trying to take full control over the firearm.
"Who are you!?" You questioned them between push and pull. "Are you the same person who attacked us a few days agoâ!?"
They tried pulling the trigger againâ
You ducked under them, twisting their arm. The action of hurting someone caused a sharp feeling to your chest. Your heart skipped a beat several times than normal, so your breathing turned ragged and heavy while trying to keep the circulation of your heart going. The cloaked stranger made a sound of pain at you twisting their arm.
That wasn't a human sound.
Still, there was no time to linger on that thought. You snatched the gun from their hands as soon as you got the chance, before taking several steps away from them to keep a good distance. It was strangely cold for something that should be warmed by now. The familiar feeling of a firearm in your hands sent a fluttering feeling through your stomach. It felt comforting to hold something that you knew so well once again.
Before you could feel another sharp painâ
Bang!
This time, it was your fingers who pulled the trigger. You had aimed at the leg, with no intentions of harming someone enough to kill them. The stranger tried to evade your shot, but ultimately failed to. The bullet landed on the person's thigh with an alarming accuracy for someone that has not held a gun for years.
Was that important? No.
The cloaked figure fell to the ground with a thud and another inhumane sound. You threw 2 more shotsâ each at the feet of the person to immobilize them. In an instant, your vision started to blur and your heart started to squeeze itself inside your ribcage. You immediately knew what was about to happen. There were only a few seconds until your heart stopped completelyâ making you a code blue.
But there were no doctors or nurses rushing to your aid. This place was not the hospital your father worked in. Your father was a thousand years away from you.
So you ran.
You had to hide from this person, or at least, not let this firearm fall into their hands again. You ran towards the cliff with what little strength you had in your legs. And, once you got to a certain distance, you threw your arm back, and hurled the gun towards Yu Iseolâ who was still climbing.
The next thing you saw was the distance you now had from the ceiling to yourself. Your body had fallen, and you were left desperately clutching at your chest, gasping for air. But whatever you did, there was no oxygen that entered, leaving your heart beat to go weaker... lesser... until the circulation was no more.
Before your eyes closed completely, you saw the figure that attacked you stand up. Their joints move in a way that a human can't. Soon, their cloak fell, and so did the structure they held themselves with.Â
What is that!?
When you opened your eyes, you could tell there was something off.
Maybe it was the ceiling (out of wood nowâ which you were surprised to see), it looked so... real. In a sense that it seemed similar to what you were used to a few years ago before this all happened. At the same time, it was unfamiliar territory.
"She's awake!"
"Mom!"
Wait, you don't remember giving birthâ
You turned your head to the side, only to find a group of 4 people sitting to your right. Two boys leaned forward, worry etched in their faces. Although, they looked just as real as the ceiling above. Not fully real, but a bit that they did not look uncanny at all. There were two others who seemed older, but the younger ones were quick to grab your attention.Â
"Mom!!" One of the boys exclaimed, he was the first to rush to your side. "Are you alright...?"
"What happened? Why were youâ" the boy next to the other asked, but he cut himself off to look at you with guilt. "Mom..."
Stop!! You can't be a mom! You're only 27 (mentally)!
"Let's calm down" (Woah! This guy's handsome!) A man let his hand fall down toward the shoulders of one of the boys. "We shouldn't startle her off the bat"
Who are these people...?
"...you don't remember us?"
Sh*t, did you say that outloud?
"Uhh..."
"Don't tell me you hit your head so hard that you accidentally gained amnesia??"
You froze upon hearing those words. That voice...
Sitting upright, you turned your head to the left, where a man sat on a chair next to your bed. He had his arms crossed and a frown on his lips. There was no trace of the artstyle you perceived him in, rather, it was now a face that was comprehensible to your eyes.
"Cheongmyeong...?"
The protagonist raised a brow. "Right, youâre at the age to qualify for alzheimerâsâ hiiikkk!!!"
Without letting him finish, you lunged right at him. At the back of your mind, the others in the room cried out your name from surprise. But your target was Cheongmyeong, who had not expected your actions and almost fell off his chair. For some reason, he did not move to escape you, only leaning away a bit. Your hands gripped his face feverishly as you wore an expression of absolute disbelief.Â
The sudden closeness caught him off guard, so his face warmed under your hands. You paid no mind to that, all too focused on his skin, his eyes, and all the features of his face.
Cheongmyeong's face burned under your scrutinizing gaze, he could not find it in himself to complain about you squeezing his skin or your too close inspection of his brows. "Heyâ"
"Whâ" you struggled to speak for a moment. "Why do you look like that...?"
"Like what?"
"Like you'reâ" your eyes fell to your hands holding the protagonist's face.
That's... that's not your hands...
You gasped, moving away from the teen like you had been burned. Your eyes remained fixed on your hands, then you pushed the fabric of your sleeves higher. This revealed your arms, who were also in the same state of your hands.
It was a disgusting sight to look at. Your skin, that used to be detailed with lines and hairs. The texture was not the same as the last time you were awake. It felt... smooth, flat.
Unnatural.
"What... what is this...!?" You exclaimed, grabbing at what part of your "skin" was available. The neck, feet, and even this hair! Your breathing caught in itself, heavy and labored.
"What have you done to me?"
Iâm really embarrassed to ask this, but are any of you interested in getting writing commissions from me? As you have already read the notes from the beginning of the chapter, my family is planning to press charges against the perpetrator. The attorneyâs fees for this will be heavy on my familyâs finances. I want to help in whatever way I can. This is just a survey to see if there are people interested.
On a lighter note, I guess the ao3 curse really is real.
Please, let me know what yâall think about this chapter! And, I have a request! Give me a song recommendation that you think fits this fanfic. I want to make a playlist out of the songs you comment :)
Comments are love! âĄ
I'm sorry guys but did y'all notice smth about the new novel cover đ
Cheonma... He looks like... he looks like pbss...
STOPPPP PLAYING WITH ME BIGA đđ
Y'all I promise I'm almost done with chapter 17 of HtKaPBâ just give me a few weeks. It's been a long academic year for me đźâđš.
While y'all wait, here's a sketch I made of the reader and Cheongmyeong (spoilers for Chapter 15):
Also, snippet of the next chapter:
As you lamented on your circumstances, something fluttered down on your shoulder with familiar chirps. At the simple sound alone, you turned your head immediately to the source. You almost leapt to your feet as you recognized who it was.
"Lou!" You cried, letting the bird fly down to the ground before you. "I'm so happy to see you! How did you find me?"
But the avian did not answer, only in the way of nuzzling affectionately against your hand. What else could you do but laugh at his antics? "Haha... it's like you always know where I am"
Lou chirps then, after flapping his wings enough to climb on your lap, started tapping his diamond-shaped beak on your thighs. From the years you took care of this bird, you already knew what he meant. "Oh no, Lou... I don't have any food on me"
An idea soon came to mind. You looked down at Lou who seemed to be crying dramatically. "But, I think... Cheongmyeong has some"
You scooped the small animal in your hand. "Do you think you can find him, and return to me as soon as you got food?"
The reason you suddenly asked this of Lou was for you to estimate how far the protagonist was from you. If your pet returned at a varied length of time, you will be able to tell if Cheongmyeong and his group are close. Furthermore, it is an indication for you to expect them.
The promise of food from the protagonist motivated Lou; he zipped out of your hands and into a certain distance. You watched his small build get even more tiny the farther he flew from you.
