“Oppa, a letter?”
Cheon So-hee looked at the piece of paper that her master, Dan Seo-wol, offered.
“A letter for Jeong-in? 5-ho’s love letter! Yukiko! I’m so jealous!”
Seol-ja went wild, as if she was about to die from envy the moment she grasped the situation.
“A letter envelope?”
The Salmak’s stronghold wasn’t a place where personal letters could be exchanged. The letter that Kang Yoon-ho sent six months ago was merely a note.
As soon as Cheon So-hee realized that the piece of paper was an envelope, not a note, she muttered in confusion.
“Originally, only notes were allowed, but this time, I used a bit of my power. It’s only one page, though.”
“…Give it to me.”
Seeing the slightly apologetic expression on her master’s face, Cheon So-hee nodded and took the letter.
[To my beloved So-hee.]
The letter from Kang Yoon-ho, received after half a year. A letter filled with heartfelt emotion. Cheon So-hee’s cheeks involuntarily twitched.
“Uh-huh, uh-huh. Just look at 5-ho’s expression! It’s so hot she could throw a fiery fist! Ninja ninja!”
“Are you not going to read it right away?”
Dan Seo-wol asked her disciple, who was lost in thought, staring at the words written on the envelope.
“Yukiko is curious about the contents too!”
“Is Yoon Ho okay?”
“Are you doubting your master? I’ve already confirmed it.”
Cheon So-hee nodded at her master’s confident words and opened her mouth.
“Then I’ll read it in my room.”
“Ah! Are you going to read it by yourself, how mean!”
“You’ve been too noisy since earlier.”
Though she was already a bothersome pest, today she was even noisier. Cheon So-hee frowned and said.
“Ninja ninja! Yukiko! It’s a major wound!”
“……”
Cheon So-hee was speechless as she watched Seol-ja clutch her pathetic chest and dramatically fall over.
“If you want to read it alone, go read it.”
“Uh. And.”
Cheon So-hee nodded at Dan Seo-wol’s words and stared at her master.
“Do you have something to say?”
A disciple tends to stare blankly at their master when they have something to say. Dan Seo-wol could see through her disciple’s attitude.
“Thank you.”
Cheon So-hee bowed at the waist, thanked her master, and promptly disappeared from her spot.
“I never thought she’d be that kind of child…”
Just as he thought he had read her inner feelings, the thank you was unexpected. Dan Seo-wol wondered if he had just imagined the quick departure of his disciple.
She had always been an insensitive and careless child. Could it be because she trusted him, who had been training in seclusion? Or was it because he kept Jeong-in’s letter? Nevertheless, a thank you?
Dan Seo-wol couldn’t help but be surprised by his disciple’s new side.
“It makes sense! Did you hear the love confession earlier? Yukiko! It was shocking!”
Seol-ja, having recovered from her emotional injury, approached Dan Seo-wol, flailing her arms.
“Yes. If he’s the one, she has no reason to live. Is she truly the disciple I know?”
If her beloved was dead, would she really say she’d seek vengeance and die?
He knew she was in love. But she had been the kind of child who struggled to live even for a day. He never thought she would end up with something more precious than her life.
Dan Seo-wol recalled the disciple who had just given a heartfelt love confession in front of him and smiled warmly.
“It’s true that when you fall in love, you get something more precious than life.”
“If you have a place to depend on, you can change too.”
“Did you just see 5-ho’s face? She’s totally girly. I almost couldn’t tell if it was Heavenly Killing Star or girly.”
“Yes. I saw it too.”
She was like a piece of white paper. She was trying to hide her expression, but there was no way she wouldn’t notice her face turning pink.
“Ninja ninja! Yukiko! I can’t stand it! I need to get ready!”
Seol-ja clenched her fists, beginning to pull something from her coat.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m too curious about the love letter’s contents! I’m going to use concealment techniques to sneak a peek!”
“Stop messing around and follow me; we have preparations to do.”
“Tch.”
Dan Seo-wol briefly looked in the direction Cheon So-hee had gone and led Seol-ja away somewhere.
—
[To my beloved So-hee.]
My heart races. The two characters ‘love’ turn worry and malice into anticipation and excitement.
Cheon So-hee hurried back to her room and cautiously opened the letter envelope.
Is he safe?
What had happened to Oppa? Is he okay?
Even though she maintained her composure inside the training hall, she found it hard to calm down the moment she opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.
[So-hee. Are you healthy? Recently, I was dragged to the Tang Family because of a novel I wrote. It seems that a minor misunderstanding arose because the protagonist was from the Sichuan Tang Family.]
“Did they misunderstand just because the protagonist is from the Sichuan Tang Family?”
Even the emperor does not block criticisms directed at him. He was dragged there just because the protagonist was from the Sichuan Tang Family? Those treacherous Sichuan Tang guys. So, the rumors about biological experiments were true after all.
Cheon So-hee couldn’t hide her anger towards the distant Tang Family.
[Fortunately, the Tang Family cleared up the misunderstanding. I even received gifts and was treated as a guest when I returned.]
“Phew.”
An uncommon sigh of relief escaped Cheon So-hee’s lips. If Dan Seo-wol had seen it, he would have been amazed that she was sighing like this, even after narrowly escaping death.
[I’m sorry if I made you worry unnecessarily. This is my first time in this situation, and there’s no one I could think of to trust but you.]
“No, Oppa.”
Cheon So-hee shook her head as if to say, “What are you talking about?”
She relies on Yoon Ho, so couldn’t Oppa rely on her too?
No. The even stranger thought that Oppa might be the one relying on her made her feel odd. I even hurt him.
Deep emotions swelled within her heart.
Though she couldn’t give a name to that feeling, her face was already blushing and smiling.
Kang Yoon-ho’s recent situations. The enjoyable moments. His fame in Yichang. The letter was only one page due to circumstances, but it was filled with everything that had happened.
Cheon So-hee read each letter he had written lovingly and with tenderness.
[So-hee. I will become the most famous author in the Central Plains. No matter what hardships come, I will become the most famous person and save you.]
Before she reached the last line, she couldn’t help but hold her breath for a moment.
“……”
Though it wasn’t written in the letter, it was clear that he had endured hardships he couldn’t speak of in the Tang Family. Yet, despite that, Oppa wanted to save her.
Cheon So-hee’s eyes trembled.
[Don’t let go of your fate held in your hands, my beloved So-hee.]
Your fate is not in the heavens but in these hands. Cheon So-hee recalled the last words Kang Yoon-ho had said before parting.
Yes. Fate is in these hands. It was these hands that pulled out her killing intent from the sticky sea of the Heavenly Killing Star.
The hand that Oppa had held.
“Oppa. Yoon Ho Oppa.”
Though they were apart, as long as neither of them gives up, they would meet again. All Cheon So-hee could do was hold the letter tightly to her chest with overflowing emotions.
—
“Did you finish reading the letter?”
After giving her disciple enough time to calm down, Dan Seo-wol entered her room.
“He says he’s writing for me, safe and healthy.”
“I hear that your Jeong-in’s book is becoming increasingly famous in Hubei Province. I thought it was just a temporary trend, but it seems it’s more than that.”
“It’s Oppa.”
Did that child really make that kind of face? Dan Seo-wol was momentarily speechless at the prideful expression on Cheon So-hee’s face as she hugged the letter.
“Yes. Did you achieve anything in there?”
“I found my killing intent.”
Dan Seo-wol’s body jolted at his disciple’s response.
“You found yours within the Heavenly Killing Star’s killing intent?”
“Yes. Oppa helped me.”
Cheon So-hee had the aura of the Reverse Heaven’s Decree within her. Although it was only a hair’s breadth, without that energy that confidently repelled the temptations of the Heavenly Killing Star, she wouldn’t have achieved her success.
“Amazing.”
The killing intent of the Heavenly Killing Star is not mere anger or temperament. Even invoking the killing intent stirs the energies of the Heavenly Killing Star.
Although she was a child born under the energies of the stars, humans cannot fully contain the stars, leading to their eventual demise.
Dan Seo-wol had taught the Heavenly Killing Star as a master, but even the archenemy Jeok Na-chal only taught how to satisfy or control the killing intent within one’s heart.
To think she discovered a way to evoke killing intent without the energies of the Heavenly Killing Star following it. Dan Seo-wol was left in admiration at his disciple’s positivity.
“Not perfect yet.”
She merely found the path. Cheon So-hee added. But finding the path was certainly important.
“With your issues resolved and your achievements deepened, it’s a reason to celebrate.”
Dan Seo-wol looked at his disciple with a warm smile.
“Ninja ninja! Then we should have a celebration!”
“Yukiko?”
“Where did you come from?”
With the sudden appearance of Seol-ja, both looked bewildered.
“Ninja ninja! It’s the shadow technique of ninjutsu!”
“What the…?”
“Hu hu hu! That’s not important! 5-ho has achieved success! And the problem with 5-ho’s beloved has been resolved! We have to celebrate! Right? 5-ho!”
“I’m not interested.”
Cheon So-hee shook her head coldly, as if doused with cold water.
“It’s just going to be you, me, and 6-ho. Just the three of us.”
The celebration was actually prepared by Dan Seo-wol, so even Jeok Na-chal supported Seol-ja’s statement.
“That’s right. I’ve prepared delicious food too!”
“I don’t feel like eating,”
Cheon So-hee thought she’d rather read Oppa’s letter a few more times than go. That was her internal thought.
“Hu hu hu. Can you take responsibility for that statement?”
Seol-ja grinned, suddenly leaning her head toward Cheon So-hee.
“What’s with that?”
“I predicted 5-ho’s reaction! After all, Master Dan Seo-wol also said he believes in me! I’m going for it!”
Seol-ja had understood that no matter how much Cheon So-hee tried to pull her sleeve, she wouldn’t budge. But a first-class ninja never gives up. She had a way.
“That’s why I’ve prepared your favorite tteokbokki.”
Seol-ja decided to use the technique of drawing out her target into the trap.
“Tteok…bokki?”
A curious sound escaped. Seol-ja smiled to herself, realizing she couldn’t let this chance slip.
“Not only tteokbokki! I’ve also got fried kim-mari, sweet potato fries, vegetable fritters, squid fritters, and sundae! It’s a feast!”
“You prepared tteokbokki fried food?”
“Ninja ninja! 5-ho! Don’t you want to dip fried food in the tteokbokki sauce?”
Cheon So-hee looked at Seol-ja, who enthusiastically posed a question to herself.
It was strange.
She hadn’t felt hungry until just now. But suddenly, upon hearing tteokbokki, fried food, and sundae, her heart fluttered.
The stimulating taste of tteokbokki, the crispness of the fried food, and the fragrant smell of the fried dishes, along with the sundae.
She wanted to eat.
She wanted to eat the tteokbokki she hadn’t had for six months. Unbeknownst to Cheon So-hee, her stomach responded.
“Let’s eat then.”
“We’re going!”
Though Cheon So-hee felt a little miffed at Seol-ja’s knowing smile, she ultimately had to nod.
Because the killing intent of the Heavenly Killing Star’s tteokbokki was howling.
“Ninja ninja! As expected! The power of tteokbokki is incredible!”
Cheon So-hee didn’t explicitly agree. It felt like declaring defeat to tteokbokki when the Heavenly Killing Star’s killing intent had not been defeated.
—
“What’s this?”
In the modest dining hall, Cheon So-hee couldn’t conceal her shock upon seeing the food in front of her.
“Can’t you tell just by looking? It’s tteokbokki!”
“It’s not tteokbokki.”
Cheon So-hee’s voice was laced with betrayal.
It couldn’t be helped.
“It’s gourmet tteokbokki. It’s a crème sauce tteokbokki.”
The food in front of her was not what she had been expecting.
“…Why?”
The question arose from her diaphragm towards Seol-ja.
“Yukiko! Actually, I’m weak with spicy stuff!”
“You said you eat fried food dipped in the tteokbokki sauce, right?”
Then it should naturally be spicy sauce.
“You can also eat it dipped in crème sauce! Huh! Wait! Don’t tell me? 5-ho doesn’t like soup rice or something, right?”
Cheon So-hee stared blankly, bewildered at Seol-ja, as if asking what was wrong.
Of course, tteokbokki’s essence lies in the spicy sauce.
And it should have been mixed with crème sauce to add smoothness—a rose tteokbokki that sends thrills to the tongue should be the best.
Adding delicious tteok, chewy thin noodles for a happy taste should be the standard.
But crème sauce tteokbokki?
Crème sauce without gochujang?
Cheon So-hee felt something bubbling deep within her heart.
“This isn’t authentic tteokbokki!”
That day, Cheon So-hee unleashed her anger, which she had just made her own, toward Seol-ja.
