Book 10 Chapter 4

Na Yerim's Visit to the Sickbed

Startled!

As Binggeom exited the medical hall, his face naturally creased.

He could never be happy about his unexpected encounter with Yeomdo.

Yeomdo was equally startled but quickly returned to normal. Binggeom turned away from Yeomdo as if he found his face unsightly.

"Oh, really!"

Yeomdo narrowed his eyes and glared at Binggeom. But Binggeom ignored him. It seemed he had decided to treat Yeomdo as if he didn't exist.

"Hmph!"

Yeomdo, in turn, ignored Binggeom. A compulsion to not be outdone by him seized him. The two stood frozen, turning away from each other. The spot where Yeomdo and Binggeom directly met was near the threshold, barely wide enough for one person to pass. It was not a place where they could both pass by simultaneously while looking away. One of them had to yield. However, neither of them had any intention of yielding first. Na Yerim could only be bewildered by the complex and subtle emotions flowing between the two.

Pretending to be oblivious, Yeomdo said,

"What brings you here? Did you perhaps come to visit our master?"

'Master?'

Strangely, the master of Master Binggeom was not known in the martial arts world. The same was true for Master Yeomdo. So how did Master Yeomdo know about it?

Binggeom glared at Yeomdo with a cold gaze in response to Yeomdo's taunt. Yeomdo's mocking smile was increasingly irritating to him.

"Aren't you talking about yourself? Do you not know the saying, 'A dog with mud on it scolds a dog with bran on it'?"

It meant that they shouldn't act superior when they were in the same situation.

"Hmph! It's not adult-like to take out your own shortcomings on others."

Yeomdo sneered. Then, he suddenly turned to Na Yerim and said,

"Yerim! Have you heard that disciples acting defiantly towards their seniors is becoming a frequent problem in the martial arts world?"

"No, I haven't."

She hadn't heard such a thing even as a rumor. However, Binggeom's face had visibly hardened. Something had clearly unsettled him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Your face is not something I want to look at for long, so please move aside quickly. How long are you going to block the path?"

With that, Binggeom took a step back. He realized that confronting Yeomdo any further would be a waste of time and energy.

Only then was Na Yerim able to escape from this strange stalemate.

"Hmm! Did you wake up?"

Yeomdo gestured with his chin towards Biryuyeon's hospital room and asked. In such a situation where he wouldn't even be answered politely, there was no way he would get a good response.

"Don't you have eyes? See for yourself!"

Binggeom disappeared, exuding a cold chill. Yeomdo's face turned red. Na Yerim couldn't understand why they were acting this way at all.

"What a rude and arrogant junior disciple!"

Fortunately, Yeomdo's grumbling complaints did not reach Na Yerim's ears.

His unexpected encounter with Yeomdo was truly the worst. He had almost lost his sanity.

Binggeom opened the door of the medical hall and stepped outside. The refreshing and pleasant air, which flowed deeply into his lungs, was in stark contrast to the air inside, which was mixed with an overpowering medicinal scent that seemed to numb the senses. His head felt a little clearer, and his mind felt cooler.

'What should I do from now on?'

It felt like a dead end, with no escape. He was so ashamed and humiliated that he didn't even dare to ask for help. Also, rather than suffer utter disgrace, it seemed better to secretly serve as Biryuyeon's disciple.

'If that foul-tempered Yeomdo can do it, why can't I!'

However, his pride was still in a state of serious rebellion. It was only natural. But he had to kill that pride. Gritting his teeth, even if it meant biting his tongue, a promise is a promise! Loyalty is loyalty. He couldn't break a vow once made due to personal pride.

"Ugh!"

As various thoughts swirled in his mind, he felt intense pain once again. He clutched his chest. Binggeom lifted the front of his robe and gazed at his chest. A deep darkness spread across his face.

"It's still there, huh?"

The brand imprinted on his chest was still there.

A blue brand.

Proof that someone's fist had shaken his heart!

Binggeom felt this blue bruise was like the brand of a slave.

"What a ridiculously shameful thing this is…"

He roughly clutched his chest. The god of fate was too cruel.

Of course, Yeomdo, and even Na Yerim, had eyes. As Na Yerim entered the hospital room, her eyes widened for a moment. Biryuyeon, whom she had heard was in a coma due to severe injuries, was awake, contrary to her expectations. The moment she saw him, she felt a sense of peace. She was startled by her own relief, thinking, 'Thank goodness.' Why should her feelings be affected by Biryuyeon's health? Na Yerim was confused about the reason for this.

Na Yerim's face, which had brightened, quickly darkened because Biryuyeon's complexion was noticeably pale. The lively demeanor he had shown earlier in front of Binggeom was gone, replaced by a gaunt and weak appearance. One thing was certain: Biryuyeon was doing this 'intentionally.'

"You're awake, Young Master Bi! That's a relief."

"Hahaha! When the young lady is worried, how can I remain lying in bed? You've come to visit me, so I can't possibly commit such a discourtesy as to stay lying down, can I?"

Biryuyeon said with a weak smile. His lack of strength was clearly visible throughout his body. He looked like a sickly scholar exhausted from a long illness.

'That… that despicable person…!'

When had he ever been sick to be acting like a critical patient? Yeomdo was so taken aback that he couldn't speak.

"You seem worried, Miss Na."

Na Yerim felt a pang in a corner of her heart at his difficult smile as he looked at her.

"I don't know why you think I'm worried about you."

Na Yerim said coldly, flustered.

"Hoo, is that so? Then why is someone who has no worries or concerns here? In a place that smells of medicine and pus? You're here because you're worried, aren't you? Honestly, if we put aside our personal feelings, there's no reason for you to visit here, is there?"

His words were true.

"Th-that's…"

As Na Yerim became flustered again, Biryuyeon decided not to corner her any further. At times like these, one needed artistic control over the rhythm of tension. One should not push a woman too much. It could cause her to feel overwhelmed. That was the golden rule of romance.

"It's alright. I'm sufficiently grateful just that you've come here. I'll be satisfied with this for now. This was an unexpected achievement."

In fact, Na Yerim's visit was beyond Biryuyeon's expectations. That's why he was hastily feigning illness. Seeing how easily Na Yerim fell for this momentary acting, Biryuyeon's performance could be considered quite high-level.

"Of course, Master Yeomdo, as well."

Biryuyeon said with a meaningful smile towards Yeomdo. However, Biryuyeon's visibly ill face was too much of a burden for Yeomdo.

"Ho ho ho, what are you saying…"

Yeomdo, who would never say, 'You asked me to do it!'

"This is a get-well gift!"

Yeomdo placed the food basket on the table next to Biryuyeon's bed.

'Was Master Yeomdo such a thoughtful person that he would even bring a gift when visiting someone?'

Na Yerim had to feel bewildered once again. The Master Yeomdo present today felt completely different from the Master Yeomdo she usually saw, to the point of being disoriented.

"Why, thank you! I'll eat well."

Biryuyeon accepted the basket with a bright smile. He seemed to regain some vitality at the sight of the food. This was something he had been eagerly anticipating.

"Ho ho ho! What are you saying…"

Yeomdo, who would never say, 'You even wrote down a detailed list of the food you wanted me to bring!'

"Here! Miss Na, please have some too?"

Biryuyeon struggled to take out an apple from the basket and offered it to Na Yerim. Given the effort he put into offering it, Na Yerim had no choice but to accept the apple. It was an act worthy of a great actor.

"Can I eat such rich food right after waking up from a coma?"

Na Yerim asked, looking at the red apple in her hand.

"Huh?"

Unaware of what Na Yerim was asking, his hands were busy going in and out of the basket.

"Young Master Bi? What about the cracker you were holding just now?"

Na Yerim looked at Biryuyeon again and asked in surprise.

"What? What apple? I don't remember anything. You must have seen it wrong."

Biryuyeon stopped moving and looked at Na Yerim. His empty hands were fixed just above the basket. With a faint smile that seemed like it could melt away at any moment, Biryuyeon replied. However, Na Yerim had just seen Biryuyeon holding a cracker in his hand.

"What's going on? No!"

It wasn't the first time, or the second. It was impossible to have visual illusions multiple times in a row. When she briefly looked away and then looked back, the food in Biryuyeon's hand had changed again, this time to a traditional Korean confectionery (hangwa).

Na Yerim was dazed, as if she had been bewitched. She looked at Biryuyeon again, but she couldn't find anything suspicious about him. It felt as if the food was disappearing into an unknown space.

'I can't understand it. With his current physical condition, he can barely eat porridge…'

It was truly incomprehensible. Yeomdo, watching him, was even more bewildered.

'That… that monster…'

While Na Yerim's attention was momentarily diverted, Yeomdo witnessed the astonishing sight with his own eyes.

"An ordinary person couldn't possibly eat this fast! It's not a trick, but the whole thing in his hand goes into his mouth…"

It didn't take long for the basket to be emptied. Looking back and forth between the increasingly depleted contents of the basket and Biryuyeon, the main cause, Na Yerim said,

"Is it just my imagination, or does it feel like my worries were meaningless?"

It was no wonder she had such thoughts.

"Oh! So you were worried after all!"

Biryuyeon seized upon Na Yerim's words.

"It's a relief that there's no need to worry anymore."

Na Yerim replied coldly, but Biryuyeon didn't seem to mind.

"As they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And the beginning is half the battle, so we're already more than halfway there. We can cover the remaining distance gradually."

Biryuyeon was completely nonchalant.

After Na Yerim and Yeomdo left… a little later.

An empty basket was left in Biryuyeon's hospital room. The food that had been packed just a moment ago had vanished without a trace. Therefore, Yeomdo had to receive a list of food to buy for the next day again. Receiving the list was already infuriating, but what was even more infuriating was that there was only a list, no money. That money was all from Yeomdo's pocket.

"I haven't eaten for three days, so it's natural for me to eat three times as much, and faster! Isn't that right?"

Biryuyeon said shamelessly to Yeomdo, even while smiling.