The bold confession of Samajak after her secret was revealed.
After that, Samajak’s attitude flipped 180 degrees.
Of course, since Samajak was in her male form at the academy, there wasn’t much change on the surface, but once she entered the dormitory, she would completely let her hair down and stay in her female form.
It was all a ploy to entice me openly, but there was no way for me to stop it.
After all, the dorm room wasn’t even mine, and if she wanted to relax in her own space, how could I even say anything?
Ever since I found out Samajak’s secret, a plethora of chaotic days began.
*
The Cheonmu Academy had classes six days a week and one day off.
Thus, students mainly used the day off to go outside the dormitory or make a quick trip home.
Typically, the purposes of going out varied; some would buy daily necessities not available at the academy or go drinking with friends, while others would dine out because they were tired of the dormitory food.
As for me, I didn’t have a particular place to go, so I often spent my day off cooped up in my dormitory room, but this day off felt a bit different.
“Jaek, you’re not going anywhere?”
“Not really? I just plan to relax in my room.”
Today, just like any other day, Samajak was rolling around on the bed in her female form.
Aside from study time, her only hobby was lying on the bed reading books—she was quite the homebody.
Honestly, as long as she was provided three meals and some reading material, she could probably spend an entire year without stepping outside.
However, the sight of Samajak lounging comfortably on the bed had an incredible destructive power in itself.
It seemed most of the clothes Samajak owned were purchased for her male form, which meant there was less fabric around her chest area.
Because of that, no matter what she wore, her chest would stand out, leading to quite a few near-misses in terms of revealing scenes.
If modern casual clothing existed in this era, wouldn’t any T-shirt become a cropped top?
I tried my best to suppress my gaze drifting toward her chest and said to Samajak, “I don’t have any clothes to wear at the academy, so I’m thinking of heading to the market. Keep an eye on the room.”
At that, Samajak’s upper body shot up in surprise.
“What? Then I’ll go too!”
I felt a bit lost at her sudden change in attitude and asked, “But you said you were going to stay in your room today.”
“But you lured me first! So naturally, I have to follow you.”
Saying that, Samajak got off the bed.
Soon, there was a crackling sound from her entire body as she reverted back to her male form.
“And it’s not weird for friends to go out together, right?”
With her indomitable logic, I had no choice but to concede.
“Ugh, fine. I suppose nothing strange will happen if the two of us go.”
I hadn’t stepped outside the academy in a while, so I thought I might as well get some fresh air while I was at it.
*
Dokgorin usually spent her weekends in one of two ways.
Training or taking a short break during training.
At this moment, her enemy was the Ming Dynasty royal family.
She didn’t know exactly who was behind everything, but even if it was someone from the royal family, she had no intention of forgiving them.
It was just a dynasty that had barely lasted a century.
Naturally, she felt no sense of patriotism, and if necessary, she was ready to take it down.
“Killing Father, a master of the Huajing, means there are Huajing-class masters in Sichang as well.”
In other words, to face them, at the bare minimum, a Huajing level was required; if there were multiple Huajing-class masters, she would need to reach an even higher level.
Thus, Dokgorin, who intended to practice the Gucheon-Hyun sword in the martial arts training hall today, was suddenly stopped by Namgoong Ruby standing in her way, and she asked with a serious expression.
“What’s the matter?”
“Rin! Let’s go outside!”
An utterly random suggestion to go out.
Of course, without a moment’s hesitation, Dokgorin replied.
“No thanks.”
“Eek!”
However, perhaps because it wasn’t the first time she acted this way, Namgoong Ruby didn’t give up and insisted, “Why not? What’s the reason?”
In response, Dokgorin clearly outlined her reasons.
“First, there’s no reason to go out. Second, I need to train. Third, going out with you is distracting.”
“That’s harsh!”
Namgoong Ruby exclaimed in response to Dokgorin’s slightly harsh remarks but didn’t seem particularly hurt by them.
It was probably because she had grown somewhat accustomed to Dokgorin’s cold treatment.
Looking at this bewildered Namgoong Ruby, Dokgorin let out a small sigh and said, “I’m going to train, so if you’re going out, find someone else.”
At this, Namgoong Ruby looked at her as if she couldn’t comprehend.
“Chilbongi seems to be going out, so why are you so fixated on training?”
“Excuse me? What did you just say?”
“Why are you so fixated on training?”
“No, not that, the first part.”
“…Chilbongi seems to be going out?”
“Who did you hear that from?”
“I just heard it from him while coming here.”
“…Then I guess I’ll take a break today.”
As Dokgorin said this and placed the sword without a blade that she was holding onto the rack, Namgoong Ruby looked at her with an expression of disbelief.
She hadn’t expected that her own invitation would fall flat, yet hearing that Chilbongi was going out caused such a quick change in her stance.
“Why are you staring at me like that? Are you not going?”
Finally, when Dokgorin asked with a huff, Namgoong Ruby thought to herself, ‘This isn’t what I intended,’ but she still followed Dokgorin out of the indoor training hall.
*
The marketplace of Chang’an was enormous.
Judging by its scale alone, it would likely have more diverse and numerous kinds of goods for sale than any modern department store.
The reason for Chang’an’s marketplace being so developed has two main factors: firstly, it was a city that served as the capital for various countries in the past, and secondly, it acted as both the starting and ending point of the Silk Road.
Silk Road.
Even those who have no interest in world history have probably heard that term at least once.
The long road of silk that starts from China, crossing Central Asia, and extending to the Western regions.
Thanks to this, you could still see foreigners with dark skin in Chang’an, and occasionally, one could spot foreigners with blue eyes and blonde hair as well.
Such people had, quite literally, traveled thousands of miles to earn money.
Because of this, one could procure all sorts of clothing in Chang’an without needing to travel far to a distant city, making it very convenient for shoppers.
“Wow, there are so many people.”
Samajak, who was sticking closely to my side, exclaimed this while looking around.
Indeed, the term “crowded” naturally came to mind as the marketplace of Chang’an was bustling with people.
Somehow, I ended up going out with Samajak, but since we had the excuse of shopping for clothes, it wouldn’t seem strange for us to be together.
I told her to cling to me tightly since she might get swept away in the crowd and asked as I looked around, “By the way, where’s your hometown?”
“Henan.”
“Are all the Samas originally from there?”
“Not particularly; after the downfall of the Jin Dynasty, the Samas scattered, and the first head of the Samaj family established the family in Henan.”
As she said this, Samajak glanced at my face and asked, “But why are you asking that?”
“Just wondering, we’ve been sharing a room for over a month, but I feel like I know nothing about you.”
Isn’t it customary to start with getting to know each other when becoming friends?
As I said this and rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, Samajak chuckled softly.
“Looks like you’re a bit interested, huh?”
“We can ask this much of each other as friends.”
“Let’s leave it at that, shall we?”
With that, Samajak shrugged her shoulders and glanced around, saying, “So where are you planning to buy clothes? There are so many clothing shops here.”
“I’m not sure; I might just look around and if I find a place I like, I’ll go there.”
As I said that and looked around, I noticed a store with particularly eye-catching clothes displayed.
“Samajak, what do you call that outfit over there?”
Glancing at the direction my finger was pointing, Samajak let out a small gasp and replied, “That’s called Goryeo-style (高麗樣) clothing; it’s influenced by Dongyi (東夷). It was first introduced during the Yuan Dynasty, and it seems there are still quite a few people looking for it.”
I never expected to see traces of Goryeo so far from home.
I felt a surge of pride swelling in my chest.
“Yes, I’ve heard that it was destroyed, and a country called Joseon was established in its place, but it seems the people here are more familiar with the term Goryeo.”
“Why don’t you try it on if you’re interested?”
“Should I?”
Feeling my heart race at her invitation, I eagerly nodded.
For some reason, it felt like the blood of the Korean Peninsula that lay dormant within me was stirring with excitement.
