Chapter 107: A Match Made in Heaven (2)

On his way to the clearing where Jeong Hyeon, Baek Cheon, and Ju Seo-yeon would be, Il-mok had a thought.

‘Is it about time for me to make my escape?’

It wasn’t because he’d found out Jeong Hyeon was a woman.

Whether Jeong Hyeon was a woman or a man didn't particularly matter to Il-mok.

In fact, none of the cadets in the Hall sparked any romantic interest in him. Although he was physically sixteen, his mind was that of a mid-thirties individual.

Not that he wanted to date someone in their mid-thirties or older, but he couldn't help but feel a certain aversion to anyone who wasn't yet an adult. It felt like committing a crime.

What Il-mok craved above all else was undisturbed tranquility, moments of peace where no one demanded his attention or energy.

While contemplating when he could slip away, Il-mok's eyes caught sight of Jeong Hyeon and Baek Cheon.

"Before Young Master Il-mok arrives, how about we practice vocal exercises together? Come on! Try shouting after me! The heaven is indifferent and the earth is desolate (天地玄黃)!"

There was Baek Cheon, acting as he pleased while making her practice vocal exercises.

“Hoo… The heaven is indifferent and the earth is desolate..."

And there was Jeong Hyeon, sighing but still doing as Baek Cheon instructed.

'Ah!'

It was then that Il-mok had a realization.

‘They matched each other very well, didn’t they?’

Mayble Jeong Hyeon took a liking to Baek Cheon.

‘He did say she was the one who approached him first.’

A girl with social anxiety so severe she could barely utter a word to anyone had mustered the courage to approach someone first.

That alone left no room for doubt about Jeong Hyeon's feelings toward Baek Cheon.

Moreover, she who had been running away from him was now sticking around with Baek Cheon like this every day.

'Oh no...'

The realization drew a bitter sigh from Il-mok. It wasn't that he was upset. It was just…

'Who would have thought her type would be attention-seekers...'

He simply felt sorry for her strange taste.

However, Il-mok had no intention of stopping Jeong Hyeon.

'Ideal types change as you meet people, break up, confess, and get rejected. Yeah.'

Romance was something you learned by bumping into things and getting hurt. He knew all too well that once someone was blinded by love, no amount of advice would get through to them.

'Ah, to be young…'

He watched the budding romance between the attention whore and the social recluse with the eyes of a weary old man.

"Young Master. What are you doing standing there instead of going?"

Ju Seo-yeon's booming voice snapped him out of it. Baek Cheon and Jeong Hyeon’s gazes also turned toward them.

Il-mok suppressed a sigh at her tactless behavior and spoke to Baek Cheon and Jeong Hyeon.

"I have something to discuss with Disciple Ju for a moment; go on with your practice."

"With me?"

To successfully redirect the tactless Ju Seo-yeon, Il-mok dangled the most effective bait he could think of.

“It’s about Lady Jin Hayeon.”

“If it’s about her, then I’m all ears, Young Master!"

Watching Ju Seo-yeon's eyes sparkle as she followed him, Il-mok couldn’t help but think whether being a lunatic and being dense are inextricably connected.

***

The next afternoon.

The next afternoon, after classes were over and he’d had his bath, Il-mok was enjoying his dinner.

Bang Mi-hwa, sitting to his left so he could only see her good side, quietly opened her mouth.

"Young Master. Are you planning to head to that clearing again today?"

"That's right."

"Then, would it be alright if we joined you today?"

Though not every day, Il-mok, Bang Mi-hwa, and Ha Young often had dinner together.

Most other disciples rushed off to train immediately after their evening meal. But Il-mok made a point to bathe the moment classes ended and would only head to the dining hall after all the sweaty disciples had left. Bang Mi-hwa, who hated the very idea of eating with Il-mok while smelling of sweat, would often join him after she had cleaned up as well.

But that was usually where it ended. After their meal, Bang Mi-hwa and Ha Young would typically part ways with Il-mok to do their own training.

Nevertheless, the reason Bang Mi-hwa specifically wanted to follow Il-mok today was simple.

Her progress in martial arts had recently stagnated, and she felt frustrated by the feeling of hitting a wall.

Whether through sparring with Il-mok or simply enjoying fresh air and conversation, she needed a change.

And she was confident of one thing.

Young Master Il-mok, who was so clearly smitten with her, would never refuse her proposal.

As she expected, Il-mok nodded.

'If Bang Mi-hwa and Ha Young join as well, I can make my exit without any problem now.'

Even if he left, there would be Baek Cheon and Ju Seo-yeon, plus Bang Mi-hwa and Ha Young. A full four-person audience would be secured.

He could finally switch Jeong Hyeon's social anxiety training to full autopilot.

With their different goals in mind, the three of them headed for the quiet clearing.

And Baek Cheon, who had arrived first at the clearing with Jeong Hyeon today as well, rushed over as soon as he spotted Il-mok.

"Young Master! We have a problem!"

He completely ignored Bang Mi-hwa and Ha Young standing behind Il-mok.

Il-mok sighed inwardly.

He couldn’t even begin to guess what sort of lunacy the attention-seeking psycho had cooked up this time.

Without waiting for his response, Baek Cheon launched his rant.

"I've recently had inspiration and am planning a new play, but the problem is the actress. My beauty is so profound that I could play the female lead myself, but then who would play the hero?”

"......."

"By any chance, do you have someone in mind to play the female lead?"

It was such a classic Baek Cheon problem that Il-mok was speechless.

Just then, Bang Mi-hwa, who had been listening, snorted from behind him.

“Hahaha, please. If you wanted to ask me, you could’ve just said so. You're much shier than you look."

When Il-mok turned around, wondering what nonsense this was, Ha Young, Bang Mi-hwa's best friend, clapped her hands as if she had realized something.

"Ah! So that's what it was! Well, I guess there’s really no one better for the heroine than Mi-hwa.”

As soon as Ha Young finished speaking, Baek Cheon looked Bang Mi-hwa up and down as if appraising her.

“You think you can handle the lead role?”

"Ohoho. Can't you tell just by looking? The word ‘heroine’ was made for me.”

"Ho. I like that confidence."

After finishing his appraisal, Baek Cheon nodded and launched into a brief summary of his play and the heroine’s character. He then gave Bang Mi-hwa a few lines, and just like that, an impromptu acting class began.

"That's not it! More desperately!"

"It's not just about being beautiful! Get into character!”

“That was brilliant! Hahaha!”

Baek Cheon pointed out or praised her acting like a director.

“Ohohoho! This posture, these lines… Am I not the picture of elegance?”

"Hmph. This much is only natural."

And Bang Mi-hwa, regardless of whether she was being praised or chided, was too busy being conceited to care.

Watching the two suddenly start their acting lessons made Il-mok's head spin.

'...Talk about a match made in heaven.'

Jeong Hyeon, meanwhile, was breathing a quiet sigh of relief.

‘Phew. At least he won’t be trying to make me act now.’

For someone already struggling with Baek Cheon, this development shone like a beacon of salvation.

Il-mok, tearing his eyes away from the head-spinning spectacle, didn’t miss Jeong Hyeon’s sigh.

'This foolish girl...'

They say if you stay still, you're halfway there.

In that sense, even Ju Seo-yeon had at least stayed still, but he, on the other hand, had just introduced a love rival in the form of Bang Mi-hwa.

His eyes instinctively found Ju Seo-yeon.

She’d shown up at some point and was now watching the duo with a blank, happy smile.

'Wait, am I even more clueless than Ju Seo-yeon??'

Unable to accept this fact, Il-mok immediately took action.

—Disciple Jeong, I’m sorry. This won’t happen again starting tomorrow.

"???"

While Jeong Hyeon sent him a puzzled look at the sound transmission, “Ahem, let’s save the acting for later and get back to why we’re here, shall we?”

He stepped between the two engrossed actors.

“The reason we’re all here is to help Disciple Jeong Hyeon with her archery. Senior Baek Cheon, let’s try to focus on Disciple Jeong Hyeon.”

The second the words left his mouth, every pair of eyes in the clearing snapped to Jeong Hyeon.

Pinned by their collective gaze, she hunched her shoulders and ducked her head.

‘D-Did I do something to offend him again?’

She couldn't understand at all why Il-mok was trying to bully her again.

***

After all of their usual routine was finished, Bang Mi-hwa, for some reason, stayed the whole time and started another acting lesson again with Baek Cheon after the practice was over.

'What's this...? Don’t tell me Bang Mi-hwa has a thing for him too?'

They say that bad boys are popular with women back in his previous life, but could that also be true in this world too?

While Il-mok was lost in this confusion, Jeong Hyeon let out a quiet sigh and carefully began to walk away.

She was trying to slip out of the clearing while no one was paying attention to her.

But unfortunately for her, Il-mok didn't miss Jeong Hyeon's movement.

He quietly followed her, careful not to enter the radius that would trigger her panic.

"Disciple Jeong Hyeon."

"...Yes. Young Master."

When Jeong Hyeon answered sullenly, thinking he might be trying to bully her again, Il-mok clenched his fist and spoke.

“No matter how hard it gets, you must not run away.”

He thought she was running away, crushed by the sight of Baek Cheon and Bang Mi-hwa looking like a match made in heaven.

But this wouldn't do. Even if she failed, she needed to face it head-on so she wouldn't have any lingering regrets.

Because love is something you fight for!

As long as you didn't become a stalker like Ouyang Mun, that is.

"I'll help you from the side, so hang in there just a little more."

Above all, since he was the one who had brought Bang Mi-hwa into the picture, Il-mok felt he had to do something.

Hearing Il-mok's encouraging words, Jeong Hyeon nodded with a moved expression.

'As expected. He wasn't trying to bully me.'

Jeong Hyeon realized.

She understood now. Il-mok had focused everyone’s attention on her to help her overcome the side effects of the Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow.

***

The next day, and the day after that, Bang Mi-hwa brought Ha Young to the clearing, even though Il-mok hadn't invited them.

And every day, before Jeong Hyeon's training started and after it ended, she would grab Baek Cheon and seriously discuss and practice acting.

Finally, on the third day, on the way to the clearing, Il-mok—who had promised to help Jeong Hyeon—decided to ask Bang Mi-hwa directly.

“Why are you working so hard on acting with Senior Baek Cheon? Do you have a thing for him or something?”

At Il-mok's question, Bang Mi-hwa suddenly raised her nose high and burst into laughter.

"Oh ho ho ho. You're cuter than you look, Young Master. Such jealousy."

"???"

He had no idea what she was talking about, nor did he want to. So he just asked again what he had originally wanted to ask.

“So, are you interested in him or not?”

She snapped open her fan with a dramatic flair and gave him a haughty look. “Ohoho, don't you worry, Young Master. The reasons why I’m learning acting from Senior Baek are, first, because I enjoy it, and second, because I think it’s actually helping my martial arts.”

"...Acting helps with martial arts? What kind of nonsense is that?"

Il-mok's expression contorted with disbelief at this unprecedented claim.