Chapter 25

<Episode 26> The Flavor of Corruption is All That Matters. I Just Pushed His Back.

Whoosh! A sound cuts through the air as a sword slices it.

Chul-soo swings his sword with both hands, holding it tightly.

A clean, no-nonsense motion—purely straight-line action.

He’s directly mimicking Yu-jin Kim’s sword technique he’d seen before.

“Definitely a clean technique.”

Typically, heroes prioritize mobility.

Unless you’re an emergency-class top-tier hero, slicing through a high-level monster in one strike is impossible.

And there aren’t many heroes who can withstand the attacks of such monsters either.

That’s why most focus on evading monster attacks as much as possible.

“But this swordplay is fundamentally different.”

On the other hand, Yu-jin’s sword style outright rejects that mindset.

It doesn’t even entertain the possibility of failure.

No thought for what comes after—a ruthless two-pronged slash.

The sheer destructive power emanating from it is its strength.

“Indeed, when it comes to pure destructive force, this guy might be on par with top-tier heroes.”

Something only someone who has fought and observed these battles firsthand could know.

His strength had already reached a lofty level.

Could anyone endure just one swing of that sword?

That’s the bare minimum condition to defeating Yu-jin.

“After all this time studying and training like crazy, if I went back to the start, I think I could win now.”

Paradoxically, Yu-jin served as a great source of motivation for Chul-soo.

Though diligent by nature, that diligence was merely at the level of “working hard.”

He hadn’t committed his life or pushed himself to the bone.

Sweat and tears, sure—but not blood-tears.

But things are different now.

With the single-minded determination to protect Young-hee,

Chul-soo trains daily with the fervor of pouring his soul into it.

Even though his talent for swordsmanship was already in the genius range,

his skills skyrocketed over the past few days.

“What an idiot.”

An insult flies toward Chul-soo as he stops swinging his sword.

Turning his head, he sees Young-hee standing there.

Unlike before, her hair is shorter now, and she looks down on him disdainfully.

“Are you really going to beat Mr. Yu-jin like this?”

“Guess we won’t know unless we try.”

“Try? I already know.”

She sits down casually, crossing her legs arrogantly.

Her face drips with mockery for her opponent.

“I can already picture how you’ll embarrassingly lose again and cry your eyes out.”

A tone she wouldn’t have used before.

Expressions and gestures she never would’ve made.

How did she learn all this?

“You think I don’t know what’s going through your mind? You’re probably thinking something like, ‘I’ll win and save her from Mr. Yu-jin’s arms.'”

“…”

“Idiot… Don’t you get it yet? Even if you wish for it, I’m not coming back to you. I’ll run right back to Mr. Yu-jin and grovel.”

Chul-soo shakes his head and resumes swinging his sword.

Seeing this, Young-hee steps forward, her expression tinged with frustration.

“Let me tell you the facts: No matter how much you train, you’ll never stand a chance against Mr. Yu-jin. It’s a waste of time. You’re just gonna end up in the hospital.”

“As I said, you won’t know until you try.”

“Hah! You’ve gone completely stupid. That’s what they call the delusions of a loser.”

Young-hee tosses her hair behind her ear lightly.

“And about ‘wishes’? Do you actually believe in that nonsense? Are you an idiot? Don’t have a brain? Do you think Mr. Yu-jin would keep a promise to some pathetic guy like you? You’re nothing but a toy to him.”

“Maybe.”

Chul-soo remains emotionless, as if he’s killed all feelings within himself.

He simply keeps swinging his sword.

“Honestly, you’re such an idiot. I’m embarrassed for my past self for ever liking someone like you.”

“Then stop paying attention to me. It’s simple.”

“What?”

Chul-soo turns his head.

“If Mr. Yu-jin is so great, then someone like me is just annoying. Why don’t you just ignore me and live your life? Why come here and say all this stuff to me?”

Young-hee looks flustered.

Caught off guard.

“That’s because you’re interfering! If my relationship with Mr. Yu-jin gets weird because of you, will you take responsibility?”

“Responsibility? Is that what you’re talking about?”

Suddenly, Chul-soo moves his arm.

He pulls Young-hee into an embrace.

Leaning in, he lightly brushes his lips against hers.

“…Wha, what?”

A fleeting kiss.

Enough to throw the girl’s heart into confusion.

Young-hee’s face flushes red.

“You… you…”

“I should’ve done this earlier if I knew this would happen.”

Chul-soo smirks.

A sly grin unlike the innocent boy he once was.

“I realized something thanks to that guy Yu-jin. Being honest alone gets you nowhere. Sometimes, you gotta be a complete jerk.”

Just as Young-hee changed, so did Chul-soo.

More accurately, he broke.

“I’ll do anything. If it means defeating him and getting you back, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

His eyes glimmer with madness.

Ah, so you’ve changed too.

Young-hee realizes this fact.

“…Even if you do all this, I’m not coming back to you.”

“Just like you don’t care about my feelings, I don’t care about yours anymore.”

“Don’t fight me, idiot! Do you really think I’ll come back to you because of this?! No way!

Absolutely not! So just give up! Just live your life!”

In the end, Young-hee was the first to succumb emotionally.

She screams, lashing out desperately.

But Chul-soo pays no mind, resuming his sword practice silently.

His gaze never returns to Young-hee.

Watching his cold demeanor, Young-hee sniffles and turns away, leaving.

Seeing Chul-soo swing his sword with such a frigid expression feels somehow painful.

“I want to train under Hero Tae-jin Kim.”

After pondering, Yu-jin makes his decision.

His homeroom teacher and the nurse react with opposite expressions.

Especially the nurse, who looks utterly betrayed.

‘What am I supposed to do now?’

It was an unavoidable choice for Yu-jin.

Two women fighting over him sounded enviable at first,

but experiencing it firsthand proved otherwise.

Rather than enviable, it was incredibly awkward.

He hadn’t done anything wrong but still felt guilty.

‘But in this case, siding with the homeroom teacher is the right move.’

After all, the homeroom teacher was the one who suggested it first.

Choosing the nurse midway would make it seem like he was being snatched away.

Plus, the recommendation of a respected active hero was appealing.

The terrifying people of Hwagcheon versus respected current heroes.

Which side was more normal didn’t need explanation.

‘And anyway, I only need to suffer for a week!’

…

If he chose Hwagcheon, there was a good chance he’d have to train even at home.

For an indefinite period.

Home was the only place Yu-jin could truly relax.

He didn’t want to lose that.

‘Still, it’s kinda sorry seeing her so disappointed.’

If the homeroom teacher was a puppy, the nurse was closer to a fox.

Normally quite cold and haughty.

Yet here she was looking so disheartened.

Even someone like Yu-jin couldn’t help but feel sympathy.

“But please don’t be so disappointed. If I ever wanted to, I could always train with Hwagcheon.” Though he had absolutely no intention of doing so.

Of course, he hadn’t said he’d train, so technically it was safe.

Still, it was uncharacteristically sneaky for him, causing the nurse to suddenly smile knowingly.

“Ah, I see! Forgive me for misunderstanding your deep intentions, young master!”

No, there weren’t any deep intentions.

I just don’t want to train, that’s all.

‘…But since she seems convinced, let’s just stay quiet.’

Experience told him speaking often worsened situations.

Remaining silent, the nurse bowed deeply.

“My apologies for failing to understand your profound wisdom, young master. I shall take my leave.”

Even as she left, she shot a glance at the homeroom teacher.

The homeroom teacher responded with a huff and turned away.

Thus, an unexpected disturbance passed through the faculty office.

Yu-jin looked back at the homeroom teacher.

“So, what’s this Hero Tae-jin Kim like?”

“Oh, he’s incredible! The greatest hero in Korea! Unmatched in martial arts!”

“Does he look like a big muscular guy?”

“Exactly! He’s over 60 and still active! When you see him, you’ll be amazed! He’s that amazing!”

Listening to this description, he started losing interest.

Seemed like the type who’d casually assign ten thousand punches into waterfalls or something.

Sports teachers are the worst.

Especially those who say, “Okay, everyone pair up…”

“Should I just go find him then?”

“Yeah! I’ve already spoken with him. Just go to the address, and he’ll teach you.”

Frankly, the address meant nothing to him.

He barely knew the area around here, let alone somewhere else.

Still, asking Secretary Park to drive him would likely work out somehow.

Anyway, since he agreed, he had to go.

“How strong is he?”

Not wanting to ask directly if he was scary, he rephrased it.

However, the homeroom teacher grinned widely.

“Much stronger than you imagine!”

Damn, what kind of evaluation is that? Scary.

Is he some kind of hellish demon king or something?

He’s starting to regret this already.

“Understood.”

With that, Yu-jin left the office.

Anyway, it’s only a week.

Just hold out for seven days.

Think of it as going to Marine Corps boot camp. Sigh… Let’s go!

‘Now that I think about it, I also agreed to spar with Chul-soo. Will this affect that…? Nah, probably not.’

After all, Yu-jin knows his own abilities better than anyone.

A week of training isn’t going to change much.

Besides, he barely has combat experience.

All he has is raw strength.

Even if the hero is incredible, teaching someone like him won’t be easy.

Chances are, his next match with Chul-soo will still end in defeat.

‘Might as well pass the time appropriately.’

With that thought, Yu-jin continued walking.

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