Free Web NovelAfter the long story finally ended, the White Tiger Unit commander made Shin Kangheon an offer.
“If you’re okay with it, I’d like to eat dinner together later.”
“I’d love to— ah.”
Shin Kangheon had been about to say yes, but he suddenly remembered the promise he’d made with Kim Muhyuk this morning, and spoke with a regretful expression.
“I already have plans today. Can we push it to next time?”
“Sure. Your head must be a mess. Go back early today and get some rest.”
“Thank you.”
Shin Kangheon stood up, performed a fist-palm salute, and turned around—
“Kangheon.”
“Yes?”
As if he’d set down some of the weight, the White Tiger Unit commander spoke with a warm smile.
“Not in an official setting, but in private... you can call me Uncle.”
“......Ha.”
Of all things, it was the word “Uncle” that made Shin Kangheon give an awkward laugh. Calling someone else that made him hesitate for a moment.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow!”
After brightly greeting the White Tiger Unit commander and stepping out, Shin Kangheon’s expression hardened the instant he left the Martial Alliance.
“.......”
Because of one person.
His only family in the world—yet someone who was starting to feel farther away than anyone else in the world.
‘What are you even hiding from me?’
—It’s all for you. Your uncle believes you’ll make a wise decision.
Had that really been something said for his sake?
Then why had his uncle never once told him what the White Tiger Unit commander had told him today?
To control his nephew however he wanted?
......And if it wasn’t even that—
“If there’s an even more horrific reason... to the point where that would be better.”
Unlike how he usually looked to people, Shin Kangheon wasn’t a simple idiot.
He’d only believed like an idiot because it was family.
‘Because I thought no matter what anyone said, family had to trust each other unconditionally.’
But now that he knew about his parents’ death and his own past—things that had been hidden behind a fog—he wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t know anymore.
[I'm done with what I had to do. I'll go to the hideout first and wait.]
[ok]
After sending Kim Muhyuk a message, Shin Kangheon started walking aimlessly, partly to cool his tangled head.
In a situation where his only blood relative might be an irredeemable villain—
“.......”
He’d thought he would shudder with betrayal or get furious enough to lose his mind, but when it became real, instead of shock, he felt a strange sense of acceptance.
Maybe because he’d been sensing it unconsciously all along.
Even a dog raised at home knows who likes it and who doesn’t.
‘Was he trying to use me from the start?’ ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
‘No. This could all be a misunderstanding.’
‘If he’s connected to the one who killed my parents...’
‘What do I do?’
‘If it comes to that, uncle or not, I’ll kill him.’
From the outside, he probably looked like he was walking with a blank face, but inside, Shin Kangheon’s head felt like it was about to burst, and his emotions boiled like a live volcano.
But there was one ironic thing.
Sudden misfortune and tragedy—things that fling emotions to both extremes—
WHOOOSH!
Sometimes, for a martial artist, they become the trigger for change or growth.
“Ghh—!”
All at once, his stomach turned hot. The internal energy piled in his lower abdomen began to boil up without warning.
‘What the hell is this, all of a sudden?’
Cold sweat ran down Shin Kangheon’s forehead.
Inside his body, the blazing-yang qi of the Blazing-Yang Art was moving and rampaging however it wanted.
It was the first time this had happened since he’d received the Sun and Moon Gate’s Blazing-Yang Art from Glacier Priestess and learned it.
‘Don’t tell me... deviated cultivation?’
Even as the ominous thought flashed, the blazing-yang qi churned through him on its own.
It felt like living fire was sprinting inside him. He clenched his teeth against the pain, like his blood and qi were being heated red-hot.
“Hoo... hoooooo......”
Shin Kangheon leaned his back against the wall of a nearby building and closed his eyes. In a hurry, he recalled the oral formulas of the Blazing-Yang Art and took deep breaths.
When he traced his fingers over the photos of his parents tucked against his chest, it felt like the heat eased a little.
WHOOOOSH.......
Thankfully, as if nothing had happened, the blazing-yang qi returned to where it belonged, and Shin Kangheon exhaled in relief as he slowly opened his eyes.
In that moment, a flame-shaped image formed in Shin Kangheon’s pupils and vanished—but the person himself still didn’t realize the change that had occurred in his body.
*****
With weary steps, Shin Kangheon headed to < cafe Naru >.
Because he’d burned a lot of mental strength forcing the rampaging blazing-yang qi down.
“Hoo......”
He let out a sigh and walked toward the café, and familiar figures came into view through the window.
Shin Kangheon opened the door, stepped inside, and said with a weak smile.
“Mister, ma’am. I’m here.”
“Kangheon’s here!”
With a happy face, Kim Chanho turned around, strode over, and grabbed Shin Kangheon in a big hug.
“Why’ve you been so scarce lately?”
“I’ve been really busy. Getting hired at the Martial Alliance, and a bunch of other stuff.”
“I already heard you got hired. Is the Martial Alliance worth working for?”
“It’s....”
As Kim Chanho was about to plant Shin Kangheon in place and start chatting, a SMACK landed on Kim Chanho’s back.
Park Jiyeon shot her husband a look, then smiled sweetly at Shin Kangheon.
“Sit him down first and talk. You’re hungry, right? I’ll bring you something simple to eat in a minute.”
As Shin Kangheon sat down, a man who’d been wiping tables on the side approached awkwardly and greeted him.
“Hello. I’m Han Jaechun. I’ve heard a lot about you from the owners.”
“......Who are you?”
“An employee.”
What kind of café employee trains martial arts this hard?
Feeling the raw, unrefined rough energy coming off Han Jaechun, Shin Kangheon narrowed his brow.
It didn’t feel like it had been that long since he’d last come to < cafe Naru >, but in that short time, some unfamiliar man who’d learned martial arts was working here in a coffee-colored apron that said [naru].
“Then why are you working here?”
At Shin Kangheon’s guarded question, Han Jaechun cleared it up simply.
“I owe Muhyuk a lot. And the two owners pay me well, too.”
“......Mm.”
If Kim Muhyuk brought him in, that could be it.
Reassured, Shin Kangheon nodded with a calmer expression.
The vibe was strangely rough, so he’d been worried, but hearing he was Kim Muhyuk’s acquaintance made it immediately make sense.
“I’m the same age as Muhyuk. Want to speak casually?”
“Ha. Is that okay?”
“It’s a little uncomfortable since we just met.”
“......Ah, sorry.”
“I’m kidding.”
While the two of them were introducing themselves, Kim Chanho and Park Jiyeon brought over coffee and food.
Snacks piled full on a tray, considering how much Shin Kangheon usually ate.
But Shin Kangheon took a few bites, then set it down.
At the unfamiliar sight, Kim Chanho and Park Jiyeon asked with serious expressions.
“Are you sick?”
“A kid who usually wipes out five sandwiches in one sitting...”
Embarrassed, Shin Kangheon scratched the back of his head. He just didn’t have an appetite.
“I’m just a little tired.”
Most people would have let it go at that.
But Kim Chanho and Park Jiyeon didn’t miss the subtly different atmosphere around Shin Kangheon.
He was forcing himself to act fine, but his face wasn’t fine at all.
“......Then I’ll go upstairs for a bit.”
The two of them exchanged a quick look, then nodded.
“Yeah. Then take this up and eat it later.”
“If you’re tired, lie down on the sofa and get some rest.”
With snacks in hand, Shin Kangheon took the elevator up to the fourth floor, the crew’s hideout.
“Hoo......”
Tired and drained, all he wanted was to lie down somewhere and rest as fast as possible.
DING-DONG—
The elevator doors opened, and the moment Shin Kangheon arrived on the fourth floor—
Apricot and Kim Bokja, who had been hiding their presence with spellcraft, pounced on him.
TA-DA!
Apricot clung to Shin Kangheon’s face, flapping, and at the same time Kim Bokja punched him in the stomach with a fist tightly rolled into shape.
“Punch of the beautiful spellcaster who’s strong in both pen and sword!”
It was the kind of prank she’d done now and then for a long time. From the receiving end, there was zero impact—he’d teased her before, asking if she was giving him a massage with that soft fist.
“......Hah.”
With a sigh, Shin Kangheon grabbed Apricot off his face and peeled it away.
BBAK BBAK BBAK!
Like it was complaining about how long it had been, Apricot flapped its tiny wings and pecked—poke poke poke—at his palm with its beak. Kim Bokja was still swinging her fist.
Looking down at them, Shin Kangheon said coldly.
“Stop. I’m not in the mood to joke around.”
A curt response that was unlike him.
His voice was sharp enough to make the one pranking him feel awkward.
For a split second, even Shin Kangheon flinched at how stiff his own voice sounded.
‘Was I too harsh?’
Thankfully, Kim Bokja wasn’t the type to get intimidated because someone got a little stern.
“Why’re you acting tough like it suits you?”
Kim Bokja snorted, planting both hands on her hips.
“I heard the situation from Muhyuk. You said you’re going to settle it for good with your uncle over your mom and dad?”
“......That bastard can’t summarize for shit.”
“So what? You’re the only one without parents? I don’t have parents either!”
“Wow, you—”
The moment Shin Kangheon’s words got stuck at that completely unreasonable line—
KYYAAAAH!
A small fireball Apricot spat out exploded right in Shin Kangheon’s face.
PFOOM!
With his face blackened by soot, Shin Kangheon finally snapped and shouted.
“You crazy—! Are you out of your mind?!”
“Good job, our Apricot!”
BBBA-BBAK!
“You’re both dead!”
Shin Kangheon, Kim Bokja, and Apricot tangled together and started roughhousing like lunatics.
It was a pretty brutal sight for “friends joking around,” but even in the middle of it, all three of them had smiling eyes.
The Blue Wolves’ hideout.
Somewhere along the way, this place had become more comfortable to Shin Kangheon than home.
“Waaaahhh—!”
“Why the hell are you suddenly screaming like that?”
“......Because I think doing this makes my chest feel a little better.”
After a long bout of hitting and shoving, it finally felt like he could breathe.
With the tension he’d been gripping all day finally loosening, Shin Kangheon sprawled out flat on the sofa and asked.
“So when’s Kim Muhyuk coming?”
“No idea. He’ll probably come later.”
But Kim Muhyuk must have had something keeping him busy, because he didn’t return to the hideout until it was nearly evening.
Kim Muhyuk looked around the hideout, now a complete wreck, and let out a low sigh.
“......Just like I expected. You trashed the place.”
“You’re back?”
His tangled head had cooled down a bit. Shin Kangheon had already wiped out every last snack he’d brought up from the café, and he smacked his lips as he spoke.
“You should’ve brought up more food from downstairs.”
“If you have even a shred of conscience, pay for what you eat already.”
“Kim Muhyuk! You’re the one who said we should gather—how are you the last one here?”
BBAK BBAK—
Reunited after a while, the three of them naturally started with the overdue chatter.
There was an important main point—Black Heaven Society, Red Worm, and Shin Junhyun being tangled together—but as if it was nothing, they just joked around and laughed while making small talk.
Then Kim Muhyuk tossed out a line like it was nothing.
“Oh, by the way. You guys want to sleep over at my place tonight?”
“All of a sudden?”
“Why?”
Kim Muhyuk scratched his chin like he wasn’t sure himself.
“My parents said they want to cook something good for you guys and told me to ask. If you don’t want to, you can say no, but....”
“I’ll sleep over!”
Since he didn’t want to go home alone anyway, Shin Kangheon lit up and raised his hand.
