ALL NOVEL At the dinner table, Dokgorin found herself bewildered by the unexpected behavior displayed by Dokgoseok.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Surely, based on everything she knew, Dokgoseok was a total scoundrel who sold his family out for personal gain.
Yet here and now, Dokgoseok was treating her with an absurd level of care.
Dokgorin was utterly confused by this starkly different portrayal of him compared to what she had previously understood.
‘Is it possible that I was wrong all along?’
She firmly believed that Dokgoseok, the second son of the Dokgose family and her second eldest brother, was hiding a tremendous ambition beneath his seemingly languid persona.
He had never intended to conceal this ambition, which was why he sought the aid of the external forces of the Murim Association to overturn the hierarchy within their family.
In that process, he was blindsided and met a tragic end at the hands of the very Murim leader he had hoped would assist him.
That was the history that Dokgorin recalled.
However, the Dokgoseok of the present, while still putting on a clownish facade to win the favor of others, seemed to genuinely care for her as a younger sister.
‘What on earth is going on in Dokgoseok’s head?’
The more she pondered, the more her head spun.
At that moment, a voice from the adjacent room reached her ears.
[…I’m bored.]
Perhaps it was due to the thin walls, but the conversation from next door was audible.
Lying on her bed, she instantly sat up, ears perked.
[According to the doctor, he suffered such a shock when his parents passed away that he can’t remember anything before the age of twelve.]
Now that she thought about it, she realized she knew nothing about Chilbok.
To be precise, it was about his past.
Before returning to their original timeline, Chilbok never liked talking about his past, often deflecting questions with a bitter smile when she asked.
But for some reason, he had opened up to Kyungah, who shared the same room with him, and Kyungah had accepted his sorrow without reservation.
[If you face any difficulties in the future, feel free to talk to me. I’ll do my best to help.]
While Kyungah hadn’t done anything wrong as an adult, the moment Dokgorin heard those words, she felt a surge of anger.
It made sense; even after coming back to the past, she had yet to earn Chilbok’s trust.
But Kyungah, seamlessly blending in, had quickly formed a bond with him, even reaching the point where she could hear Chilbok’s previously shrouded history.
Realizing this left Dokgorin with a strange feeling.
A queasy sensation that simmered in her chest.
Soon, she recognized this emotion as ‘jealousy.’
She was envious of the bond that had formed between Chilbok and the maid, Kyungah.
In a fit of impulsive frustration, she pounded on the door.
“Chilbok, are you in there?”
The moment she knocked, she sensed hustle and bustle from inside the room.
They were probably startled by her sudden visit, scrambling to hide something.
Imagining them in such disarray only cooled her down more, prompting her to call out again.
“Chilbok?”
“Yes! Miss!”
Chilbok hurriedly opened the door to greet her.
Just moments ago, she had no idea what he was doing, but his disheveled appearance was clear.
Not to mention, the familiar scent of sweat from Kyungah, who had been sleeping on the streets, wafted faintly from him, as he always carried around a pouch to mask it.
If one didn’t know the full context, it was just the sort of situation ripe for misunderstandings.
Blinking in mild confusion, Dokgorin bit her lip and asked.
“Why did it take you so long to come out?”
Chilbok, without even moistening his lips, fed her a thinly-veiled lie.
“I was in the middle of sorting my things.”
“Oh really?”
Had he just been honest, she wouldn’t have had to face such ugly feelings.
“Then why do you smell like that maid?”
And so, she pointed it out.
“…Huh?”
“This is definitely the musky scent she carries around.”
A particular element that had been bothering her since earlier.
“Did you two do something?”
She confronted him directly, a dark feeling rising from deep within her.
*
Her tone was sharp, as if she would never tolerate any lies.
Caught off guard by Dokgorin’s intangible pressure, I began to brainstorm frantically.
Even if I fumbled for excuses here, she wouldn’t buy it.
So, I simply laid out everything I had discussed with Kyungah.
I detailed my amnesia, explaining how I remembered nothing of my life before age twelve, including anything about my parents.
When I mentioned that Kyungah had hugged me out of pity after hearing my story, Dokgorin finally relaxed her stiff expression.
“Well, if that’s the case, I can’t help it.”
“I’ve been telling you it’s a misunderstanding.”
Then Dokgorin adopted a smug expression.
“But Chilbok, you tend to charm the pants off women if you just look away for a moment.”
Hearing that, I sat there blinking in disbelief.
“Me? Charm women?”
That was news to me.
“Yeah.”
But Dokgorin nodded seriously.
“Chilbok is nice to everyone. It’s inevitable that misunderstandings will arise.”
“I thought I was the one being avoided.”
In fact, during my month working at the Dokgose estate, the ones who initiated conversations with me were mostly adults.
Children my age kept their distance, hesitant to approach, making me feel somewhat isolated.
“Regardless, let’s stop the meaningless talk and get to the point, shall we? Why did you suddenly summon me, miss?”
I shifted the topic to avoid drifting further.
It appeared that she had completely forgotten the original reason for summoning me while pressing me for answers about what I was doing in the room.
“Actually, I’ve been thinking these past few days that since we don’t know what might happen during our travels, it would be good for you, Chilbok, to learn something to protect yourself.”
“Huh?”
What is she blathering about now? Is she suggesting I learn martial arts or something?
But as if fate was cruelly humorous, what slipped out of Dokgorin’s mouth next was completely unexpected.
“Would you like to learn martial arts from me?”
*
Martial arts.
Honestly, as a web novel enthusiast, that was an exhilarating offer.
After all, isn’t it common for everyone to fantasize about being a Cheonma, a master swordsman, or a grand magician at least once in their lives?
To have the protagonist of this world, Dokgorin, propose teaching me martial arts was astonishing.
In a whirlwind of excitement, I asked cautiously.
“What kind of martial arts do you mean?”
She wouldn’t possibly teach me the family’s exclusive “Nine Shadows Curse” technique, would she?
Especially since that technique could only be learned by direct descendants of the Dokgose family, no less than the accompanying “Great Void Internal Skill” would be required—it would be useless otherwise.
And as expected, Dokgorin mentioned a completely different technique.
“The martial art I want to teach you is a stealth technique called ‘Muryeongsa.’”
Muryeongsa, that was a name I recognized.
According to the original work, “Cheondokma Witch,” it was a stealth technique primarily used by the bloodline of the Sacheondanga, focusing on mastering a steel wire that could be drawn as long as a thread.
Dokgorin’s previous alias was ‘Spider Woman’ precisely because she had mastered this technique to an astonishing degree.
“If you master Muryeongsa, even you, Chilbok, could easily defeat an average mid-tier warrior.”
“Me? Learn such a precious martial art?”
“I’m offering it because it’s you. Normally, you couldn’t buy something like Muryeongsa even if you had the money.”
Seeing Dokgorin boast so confidently made it clear that this was a martial art with significant value.
“So, what will it be? Would you like to learn it or not?”
Without so much as a moment’s hesitation, I nodded vigorously at Dokgorin’s question.
“I want to learn!”
There was no way I could let this golden opportunity slip by.
Especially since Dokgorin was supposed to become one of the top ten martial artists in the future, right?
Becoming a disciple of such a master carried immense merit in the world of martial arts, even if that master eventually became a notorious rogue.
“Then from now on, Chilbok and I will be master and disciple. Would you like to bow to me?”
“Huh? Isn’t that a bit much?”
“Hehe, just kidding.”
As she teased me with a mischievous grin, she crossed her arms and said.
“Do you seriously think I’d make you bow before teaching you martial arts?”
She certainly seemed like the sort capable of that, but I chose not to comment on it.
Sometimes it’s wise to choose one’s words carefully.
“Anyway, let’s call it a day. To learn Muryeongsa, you’ll need some preparation, and I doubt we can procure everything right now.”
“Preparation?”
“Yeah. We’ll get it when we reach the next city.”
“……”
I genuinely wanted to start my martial arts training right away, but given the current circumstances, the power dynamic lay with Dokgorin.
With her, the master, unwilling to teach unless she felt prepared, I had no choice but to comply with her decision.
“Make sure you won’t change your mind later!”
“I’ll be the one deciding that. I won’t take pity on you if you start whining.”
At first, I wondered how everything would turn out, but thankfully, we concluded our talk on a warm note and re-entered the inn before anyone noticed us.