The Divine Dragon Battle which was a good topic for many discussions had been decided.
“Did you hear? The first Divine Dragon Battle of the year.”
“Yeah, I heard. The challenger is Miss Yoo Hwa Yeon, right?”
“This is going to be interesting. Two people who were once engaged are going to face each other.”
The news of the broken engagement, which had been a long-awaited topic for a long time, came back from the grave as people imagined the two former lovers standing on the martial arts stage against each other.
“So, what do you think the real reason for the breakup was?”
“Who knows? Only the two of them would know that.”
“There’s no way to find out?”
It was said that some students, who loved to spread rumors, had even started questioning people close to Baek Woo Jin and Yoo Hwa Yeon.
“Hey, Jang Sam, we treated you to a hefty drink, so it’s about time you talked.”
“Huh? About what?”
“The real reason Young Master Baek and Miss Yoo broke up! We spent a fortune to buy you that meal, didn’t we?”
“Oh, that? Hic! Wait a moment.”
With that, Jang Sam began pulling out the various items he used when performing divinations, one by one.
“What are you doing now?”
“You said you wanted to know why the two of them broke up, didn’t you?”
“That’s right, so hurry up and tell us…”
“I’ll ask the gods of heaven and earth to reveal the reason they split, but give me a little time…”
Before he could even finish speaking, the gathered group started grumbling in frustration.
“Damn it!”
“This is pointless.”
“Let’s go!”
Jang Sam, who was left alone in no time, didn’t seem to care at all and just enjoyed the food left on the table. A satisfied grin spread across his face.
Others behaved in a similar fashion. Shin Ye Hwa and Jegal Yeon Ji feigned ignorance and insisted they knew nothing as they ran away, while Goo Wang Soo, like Jang Sam, kept getting free meals before ditching everyone at the end.
As time passed and no one could provide a clear testimony, the day of the Divine Dragon Battle finally arrived.
The students’ interest in the battle which was the first one of the year across all grades was intense.
“So crowded.”
Baek Woo Jin clicked his tongue as he looked at the massive crowd gathered in the Grand Martial Arts Arena.
The thought that all these people had been gossiping about his broken engagement with her gave him a headache like never before.
“Y-Young Master Baek…”
Jegal Yeon Ji, who was with him, called out to him with a trembling voice as if something was making her uneasy.
“What is it”
When he responded lightly with a question, she hesitated. Her face was full of words she couldn’t bring herself to say.
Why do I feel so uneasy…?
People were gossiping excessively about the two of them even though their relationship had already ended. Yo Hwa Yeon was relentlessly pushing herself and getting closer to Baek Woo Jin right under her nose.
Yeon Ji felt a sense of unease and foreboding from everything happening right before her eyes, and for reasons she couldn’t quite understand.
No matter how vast the academy was, it was nothing more than a frog’s well compared to the boundless martial arts world of the Central Plains. Though everyone here had come in search of something, it was only natural for youths full of vigor to perk up their ears and react to such provocative rumors.
But this was too much…
Even considering all of that, the current situation was hard to fully grasp.
There were far too many people fixated not only on the battle but on the relationship between the two of them.
It’s like…
Like being on a stage someone had carefully set up.
She tried to convince herself that it couldn’t be, that it was just her own anxiety about Baek Woo Jin meeting his former lover Yo Hwa Yeon. But if someone had orchestrated this situation, there could only be one person behind it.
And if she had truly created this atmosphere, there could only be one goal.
To reunite with Baek Woo Jin.
No, it can’t happen.
Jegal Yeon Jii’s face turned pale. The thought of the two being together again as if they were one overwhelmed her with an intense sense of dread.
That must never happen!
She did not want to return to the time when all she could do was helplessly watch from the sidelines as if there was no room for her to intervene between them.
If she had to go back to that, she would rather choose death.
She wanted to confide all her anxieties to him, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak. If all of this was nothing more than her imagination running wild, there would be nothing more ridiculous.
It’s going to be fine; everything will be fine…
She repeated the words to herself over and over, desperately trying to calm her racing heart. But even as she did, time marched steadily forward, and the moment when the former lovers would come face to face was drawing near.
Baek Woo Jin’s supervising instructor Yeom Cheol Jin stepped onto the martial stage as the official judge of the match. Just his presence alone sent waves of excitement through the surrounding students.
“From this moment on!”
His powerful voice was infused with qi and it rang out.
“We begin the first Divine Dragon Battle for the second-year students!”
– Waaahhh!
The roar of the crowd echoed like the frenzy of the Dragon and Phoenix Martial Arts Tournament.
“Baek Woo Jin and Yoo Hwa Yeon, step onto the stage!”
Baek Woo Jin, who had been sitting in the temporary waiting area, rose to his feet.
Though the ties he had built with her were long and deep and it was uncomfortable to face her, he needed to distinguish between personal and official matters.
Just as he steeled his mind and moved to push aside the tent flap to step outside, Jegal Yeon Ji who had been standing next to him suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“Y-Young master Baek.”
“What’s wrong?”
Despite the warm spring weather, Jegal Yeon Ji’s body trembled.
Countless thoughts swirled in her mind. She struggled to lift the corners of her lips into a smile.
“Y-You’ll win, right…?”
Her tearful eyes reminded him of the cat in boots from Earth.
With a smile, Baek Woo Jin tousled her hair as he answered.
“Of course.”
As his hand touched her, the tension in her body began to melt away, and soon, so did her words.
“B-But don’t let your guard down. Don’t talk too much either and, and…”
Before she could continue, he lightly pressed his finger against her forehead and gently pushed her back.
“I’ll be back.”
…
….
She erased all the words that had floated through her mind.
Trust.
The best thing she could do now was to trust Baek Woo Jin.
Yoo Hwa Yeon, who was sitting alone in the waiting area on the opposite side, passed the time listening to countless rumors drifting through the thin fabric of the tent. She smiled.
The more they gossiped, the more likely it was that Baek Woo Jin would hear them as well. If even for just a single moment in the day, he thought of her and felt any sort of emotion, she would be satisfied with just that.
At least, for now.
“Baek Woo Jin and Yoo Hwa Yeon, step onto the stage!”
Finally, the awaited signal came. She hurriedly rose from her seat but suppressed the urge to rush forward. Instead, she maintained an air of composure and walked with graceful poise, step by step.
The tent on the opposite side was lifted, and her opponent emerged.
Ah, finally.
Just being able to face the one she had only watched from afar, to see his face up close, brought a healing sensation to the hardships she had endured until now.
She had worked tirelessly to stand here. She selected requests that pushed both her and her team members to their limits and stayed up day and night to devise the most efficient ways to solve them.
To tackle even more difficult challenges, she trained her team and pushed her own body far beyond what she demanded of them. And she never allowed herself a moment of rest.
Through all of this, she realized again and again. When someone has a clear goal, limits are merely obstacles to be overcome and broken through.
That’s why she came to regret and even hate her past self, who had sought the easier path before even attempting the difficult one.
The hardships she had faced became pieces of a puzzle, gathering and forming the grand picture that was now.
Gege…
The person she had only been able to glimpse in passing, the one she could only glance at from the corner of her eye, now stood before her.
And he was looking directly at her with a clear gaze.
Her chest swelled with emotion.
She wanted to pour out everything she was feeling right now, to express it all in detail… but she held herself back.
I have to control myself.
She restrained herself. She didn’t want to make the mistake of approaching too hastily.
As her excitement surged, she clenched and unclenched her trembling hands and feet in an attempt to calm her emotions.
The cautionary advice from Instructor Yeom Cheol Jin, who said to do your best but strictly forbid killing, entered one ear and left the other.
One step, then another. Instructor Yeom Cheol Jin stepped back and put some distance between himself and the two contestants.
With his steps, the surroundings began to fade away one by one.
The students surrounding her, the cheers that were reduced to a meaningless noise squeezed out of their throats. Everything faded away from her vision and senses and only Baek Woo Jin was left in her focus.
Before she knew it, her world had narrowed down to just herself and Baek Woo Jin.
No matter what…
Baek Woo Jin drew his sword and took his stance. She followed suit and drew her own sword.
A sharp aura poured out. The message was clear; he had no intention of dragging this out for long.
From his perspective, she was nothing more than a long-forgotten former lover and he had nothing to gain from lingering any longer.
But.
Never.
She released the energy she had kept bottled up, along with the bitterness buried deep in her heart.
Unlike Baek Woo Jin, her will was intense and almost sticky like glue. She held on tightly as she conveyed her determination.
I will never let this end easily.
She wanted to savor this precious time, even if just a little longer.
The wall that had kept her stalled endlessly and stuck in place was shattered in an instant.
Beyond the wall lay a path, untouched and pure, a trail of white snow where no one had left a trace. She left her mark upon it.
Only after reaching that point did she realize. What she had broken through wasn’t just a simple wall but a well that had surrounded her all along.
And.
Only now had she finally shattered the well and emerged to face the world.
The eyes of countless students who had been watching her were filled with shock.
It all began with the change occurring in the sword she held.
“S-Sword energy!”
She revealed her strong determination to prolong this battle through her blade.
The resolve he saw in her eyes, the conviction she displayed through her sword, and the fierce energy swirling around her.
When Baek Woo Jin saw the flower of obsession bloom brilliantly, fed by her relentless drive, his insides began to burn black with frustration.
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