Surviving the Romance Fantasy

Its movements were more agile than those of famous artists, so it was difficult to follow them with the naked eye. Quite a few unmanned soldiers seemed to give up the chase as soon as they saw it.

However, Seol Tae-pyeong faithfully pursued Po-ryeong by going back and forth on the tiled roof of the market building.

“aaa!”

The figure of Seol Tae-pyeong chasing from behind is like a wild animal chasing its prey.

In the eyes of Seol Tae-pyeong, who was seriously stepping on foot, he even felt a strange murderous intent, which aroused fear in Po-ryeong, who was no different from a weak herbivore.

As if he hadn’t expected that his opponent would be able to use this level of footwork, Po-Ryeong took out small memorization beads from between his collar and scattered them on the floor.

Longevity with long bones lost their center of gravity and slipped just by stepping on it.

– Woe!

– Kagagak!

Seol Tae-pyeong also couldn’t escape from the laws of physics.

Seol Tae-pyeong, who had not expected to suddenly scatter such memorized words, slipped on a marble and fell through the buildings.

– Quaang!

As it fell onto the pile of lumber that was piled up next to the lumber dealer, there was a clang and the sound of things collapsing as dust rose.

“…Huh uh uh uh uh!”

As soon as he saw the dust rising up, Pohwa-ryeong suddenly came to his senses.

I was so surprised that I crashed my opponent down the building. It is a shock that could result in serious injury if it is done, or fatal injury if unlucky. No matter how urgent the situation was, this was not it.

“I-I didn’t mean to…! No, stop being surprised…! I need to call the… member… the member…!”

At that moment, Seol Tae-pyeong’s sword strike kicked off the dust.

Between the broken timbers, Seol Tae-pyeong, who managed to get his body to fall, meets his eyes. There was a lot of dust here and there, but no one was hurt from falling from that height.

However, the feeling of pressure rising from the eyes of Seol Tae-pyeong, who pulled out the sword, stimulates fear.

“aaa!! A monster, a monster!!!”

Po-ryeong ran out between the tiled roofs again with tears in her eyes.

Seol Tae-pyeong quickly adjusted his posture, kicked off the wall, and landed on top of the tiled roof. When I stepped on the step again towards Po-ryeong Po-ryeong, who was running far away, goosebumps rose from Po-ryeong-ryeong’s whole body at that spirit.

Seol Tae-pyeong runs from behind and closes the distance.

Po-ryeong runs away screaming with tears in her eyes.

I don’t know if it was an urgent moment for the person concerned, but if you look at it one step away, it looks like a scene of a beast hunting a herbivore.

“sorry! sorry! sorry!”

“Stand for a moment! Po Hyeonbi! And treat them badly!”

“Wrong! Wrong! You are wrong!”

Saying so, but never stopping. Just looking at their spirit, it seems like they will be skinned, cooked, and eaten the moment they are caught.

After jumping down the building with her light green hair flying, Po Hyeon-bi landed skillfully and jumped between the buildings.

Perhaps he had a foreboding that he would soon be caught if he competed only with his pure footwork skills, and he intended to ostracize him by entering the complex city.

As it was, Seol Tae-pyeong also landed between the alleys and ran across the dark back alleys.

Several wooden crates or kegs set up by merchants are piled up. As Pohwa-ryeong made her way through the gap, she took off the flower shoes she was wearing and threw them around.

When I reached the end of the dirt floor with my white bare feet, the energy of my whole body was concentrated and the speed increased even more.

He pushed and broke the piled up wooden barrels, obstructing Seol Tae-pyeong’s path.

– Kwakwang kagagak!

Collapsing barrels attacked Seoltaepyeong, but they all broke in two when he swung his sword.

Seol Tae-pyeong’s body suddenly narrows the distance between the wreckage of the broken keg. I get goosebumps because the eyes are so terrifying.

Po-ryeong closed her eyes as she ran away. What is pursuing him now is not a person, but a monster.

No matter how guilty they are of sneaking out of the Qingdao Palace, what is the point of dispatching a monster that can kill people single-handedly? Aren’t you guilty of that much?

Po-ryeong ran through the alley again with tears in her eyes, and climbed the flagpole on top of the huge business building.

First of all, I was thinking of going up high, increasing my distance from the man, examining the surrounding structure, and establishing a plan for the most efficient way to escape.

It was the moment when I climbed on such a large flagpole.

– Tak!

Seol Tae-pyeong took a big step forward and slashed his sword horizontally.

Then the large flagpole was cut off, and then it began to collapse sideways.

“This, does this make sense…?!”

It was a sight to cut off a gigantic flagpole thicker than a human torso with a single sword strike. It was the first time he had seen anything like this since he was born.

On top of a flagpole that is overturned, Po-ryeong surveys her surroundings in an instant to decide where to land. That’s how I lightly land on the tent of the fruit vendor on one side of the market.

– Wow!

– Kwadangtang!

A cotton cloth rolled around and several fruits on display rolled on the floor.

“Aagh! what!”

“Sorry sorry! I’ll reimburse you with this here!”

Po-ryeong threw down a few silver coins and quickly ran out, crossing the crowd and looking back.

And as soon as I saw it, I thought I had seen it for nothing.

It was because he met eyes with Seol Tae-pyeong, who was making his way through the crowds by stepping here and there.

Ping Do swallowed the tears again and quickly entered the city.

Here comes the hunter.

They try to escape by turning and turning the winding road between the buildings several times, but the pursuer shows no sign of being shaken off.

‘This is the first time I’ve ever been this persistent! If this is the case, I’d rather go out of the palace…!’

– Took

At that moment, as soon as I turn the alley, I bump into a person and fall backwards.

The moment Pohwa-ryeong pressed her forehead and raised her head to apologize… she just swallowed in vain.

“…”

Seol Tae-pyeong, covered in dust, was looking down at her.

As soon as I saw those eyes, I felt the blood drain all over my body.

The moment Pohwaryeong was about to run back, Seol Tae-pyeong quickly grabbed Pohwaryeong’s wrist.

“Ah!”

“Po Hyeonbi…”

“I’m sorry… No, I’m sorry…!”

“…”

“…”

Seol Tae-pyeong said as he brushed off the dirt on the end of his clothes with his empty hand. There was no emotion in that voice.

Po Hyeonbi closed her eyes tightly. With so much fuss going on, I had no idea what kind of harm would come.

“First of all, let’s eat while we finish eating…”

“…yes?”

*

When he came to his senses, what was in front of him was Seol Tae-pyeong, who was guzzling down the leftover soup from Chunhyangjeong Pavilion.

Pohwa-ryeong, who was sitting across from him and was hesitant, had his arms tied to the table legs with ropes.

“Please understand the great rudeness of having to tie the Hyeonbi up here in the status of a mere warrior. If you want to punish me, I will return to Qingdao Palace to receive it.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay…”

“…”

“Oh, it’s okay…”

Pooryeong did not understand the current situation well.

Pohwa-ryeong, who was caught at the end of the chase that turned Hyeonmu-shi upside down, was led back to Chunhyangjeong by the hand of Seol Tae-pyeong and eating soup.

Of course, the soup that Seol Tae-pyeong was eating had cooled down, so he had to order a new one. This time, it was two bowls, including Po Hyeon-bi’s soup.

The store owner, who had been hiding Hyunbi Po, shuddered as soon as he saw her sitting side by side with the detached table at Cheongdo Palace, with rice soup between them.

Since this was a restaurant that Pohwa-ryeong had frequented even before she ascended to the position of Hyeonbi, upon hearing her circumstances, he decided to hide it. However, Po-ryeong himself was acting like a fortune teller because he said he couldn’t get help without paying anything.

It was a bold move indeed, but no one would have known that the owner of Hyeonmu-gung would be serving rice soup in a place like this, and there would have been no better place to observe the movements of military commanders circling Hyeonmu-si.

In fact, he was observing Tae-pyeong Seol, who came to eat soup every day, and watched his movements.

In reality, it was not Seol Tae-pyeong who was being observed, but Po-ryeong himself.

Pohwa-ryeong had a snowball fight with hot rice soup, and was watching Seol Tae-pyeong with a sidelong glance.

In terms of seoltaepyeong, they were slurping the world deliciously while blowing hot soup.

Just a moment ago, they were chasing them like they were going to kill them, and because of the Saboteuryeong’s sabotage, they fell, were crushed, and were covered in dust, but they didn’t seem to care.

On one side, he looked mature and on the other hand, he looked inhuman… So Po-Ryeong couldn’t figure out what he was doing.

“Aren’t you eating?”

“…”

“You have to eat now, you won’t be hungry later. They say let’s eat and live, but whatever we do, we have to do it while eating.”

Saying so while slurping pickled cabbage is a blessing to eat.

It’s like a warrior who came every day and acted as if eating soup was a stigma of life.

“Are you sure you don’t eat?”

“…”

“Are you sure you really don’t eat?”

“mmm…I’ll eat…”

“…”

“No, don’t eat…”

Responding somehow to the protruding respectful words reflexively, Pohwa-ryeong tried to put the soup into her mouth.

Seol Tae-pyeong swallowed my soup with a smile, as if he was very satisfied with the way he put the soup into his mouth with tears in his eyes.

It’s like sitting face to face and eating rice.

The eyes of the customers and the shopkeeper inside Chunhyangjeong were unknowingly focused. It shows a girl sniffling with one hand tied to a table and a soldier covered in dust sitting side by side eating soup.

It was a strange duo no matter who saw it.

Po-ryeong raised the spoon and stirred the soup bowl.

After stirring the bowl a few times, skim off the oil floating on top.

Seeing this, Seol Tae-pyeong flinched and shivered.

Po-ryeong added the chives that came with it as is, rolled it up well, and after eating the broth, checked the seasoning and added some more salt.

Eventually, the rice in the bowl is cut into a cross shape using a spoon, and added little by little, adjusting the amount of soup and rice appropriately.

Then, he picks up an appropriate amount of chives and beef meat wrapped in soup, rolls them up nicely, dips them in soy sauce, eats a bite, and slurps another soup before the taste wears off.

‘……..Properly a master…!’

Seol Tae-pyeong gulped and swallowed. Even cold sweat was pouring out.

How long has it been since you met such a rival? Staring at Hyeonbi’s appearance, I even felt a sense of awe.

‘…I can feel the life in my eyes…’

However, from the point of view of Pohwaryeong, it tasted like death.

It was his own fault for jumping out of the Qingdao Palace, running away as soon as he was discovered, and making him suffer a lot… but I didn’t expect him to stare at me like that.

The appearance of Po Hyeon-bi, who put soup into her mouth with tears in her eyes, was pathetic.

“so…”

In fact, the reason Seol Tae-pyeong went this far to feed Po Hyeon-bi was not much different.

“Why did you come out of Qingdao Palace?”

Because I wanted to ask about it.

According to what I heard, it is often said that rice is first fed during interrogation. This is because, in terms of human psychology, when you eat rice, the defense instinct fades a lot.

It wouldn’t matter if he took over the new recruit as it is, but Seol Tae-pyeong was personally curious.

This is because the Hyeonbi seen in Cheonryong Love Song always kept her dignity and possessed the mystery as if she had fallen away from the world, and did not deviate from this.

In fact, it was a good thing from Seol Tae-pyeong’s point of view, but I wanted to hear the full story of the incident before going back to Baek Seon-gung.

“That is…”

Pohwa-ryeong, who flinched and trembled while making soup, carefully looked at Seol Tae-pyeong.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The movement of the spoon that was preparing soup stopped.

Prompt or swearing wasn’t a very good choice here.

“If you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to.”

Rather, Seol Tae-pyeong took a step back and was considerate of Po-ryeong.

In fact, I only asked about Seol Tae-pyeong out of personal curiosity. Of course, if he figured out all the reasons for Pohwaryeong’s escape, the credit would be bigger, but he wasn’t obsessed with that kind of thing.

Sensing such consideration, rather, Pohwa-ryeong’s mood became very complicated.

Like a wild beast, they chased after them and caught them, and all they did was tell them to brush off their worries while feeding them rice.

Even though he thought he was a man who couldn’t catch the strand, Pohwa-ryeong spoke out with a feeling of grabbing at least a straw.

“I just wanted to… say goodbye a little…”

Looking down at the rice soup, I lost a lot of energy.

It was only then that Seol Tae-pyeong knew the appearance of Po Hyeon-bi.

Sitting in Hyunmu Palace and occasionally looking up at the sky, she looked like a bird trapped in a cage.

“When I was young, I got seriously ill and was abandoned on Mt. Baeksak. So… I had to get a lot of help in order to survive…”

“…”

“In the process, the old woman at Chunhyangjeong’s store, the herbalists at the market, the herbalists wandering around Mt. Baeksak, and the blind friend…”

“…”

“Walking around those people… Now that I’m in the concubine, I’ll never see you again… I really wanted to say hello…”

It’s a very personal reason.

The owner of Hyeonmu Palace is not a reason to escape Cheongdo Palace.

However, Seol Tae-pyeong did not bother to point out that fact. He just kept his mouth shut and stirred the soup a few times.

“I fell in the eyes of the munhagwan… Because I ended up in the concubine so suddenly… I didn’t even have time to say hello…”

After saying that, he looked down at the rice soup as if to kill his emotions.

‘is it…’

Only then did Seol Tae-pyeong feel like the things he was curious about were resolved.

Entering the concubine and becoming the owner of the four palaces was a life that every woman regarded as a dream.

However, there were too many restrictions to live such a splendid life.

Even leaving the outer palace has to make the maids suffer, but if you want to go out of the palace at all, you have to convince all the superiors.

It is impossible to convince all those numerous dignitaries for such a personal reason as not being able to say goodbye.

– ‘I miss the scent of cherry blossoms I used to smell at Chunhyangjeong Pavilion…’

Those words that Po Hyeonbi used to say while sitting at a tea party.

The way he always looked up at the sky as if he was missing something while sitting in Hyunmu Palace.

She may have been sad because she was a bird nestled in Hyeonmu Palace with her wings broken.

It must have been that the remorse for the people who left without even leaving a proper farewell continued to linger.

′′ I know how blessed it is to be in my hyeonmugung. But… there are so many people I have to be grateful for in my miserable life…”

“…”

“I have so much trouble that I will never see you again… Thinking of parting like this in vain just bothered me so much…”

Hyeonbi Po just kept her head down as she said that.

It was.

At the point of being caught by Seol Tae-pyeong, Po Hyeon-bi’s last wandering road came to an end. Now, the long and long search work of the detached unit will come to an end by taking over the identity of Po Hyeon-bi from the future.

Seol Tae-pyeong quietly closed his eyes.

How valuable was this one-month time allowed to the girl.

During the day, I helped the old storekeeper of Chunhyangjeong, and at night, I went around to meet people I was grateful for… I wonder if I could have released all the resentment I had stored in me.

Who was the person who picked up the abandoned girl in Baeksak Mountain? Who was it that showed her the way to wander the mountains? Who was it that provided a way to eat and live? Who would have praised the value of life to a girl who had to live a pitiful life without a family?

No matter what happens, surviving is our life.

Who was the person who woke me up to that fact, the fact that in any case, a life lived to the fullest has value that cannot be explained in words?

There must have been an innumerable number of people who supported her on her life’s journey, and that virtue must have remained in her heart and tormented this girl to the end.

Even after becoming the owner of Hyeonmu Palace, that resentment remained in her heart, and the girl became a person who always looked at the distant scene.

“…”

Perhaps this girl will never be able to solve all of that resentment.

Even if Seol Tae-pyeong didn’t bother to catch him, he would have been discovered by the Byeoldongdae one day and returned to Hyunmu Palace.

Because it was like that in Cheonryong Sonata.

So, it would be difficult to see that Seol Tae-pyeong’s intervention produced any meaningful results.

However, what about that process?

If Seol Tae-pyeong hadn’t caught her, if her journey hadn’t ended here… How long would she have been able to escape from the detached unit?

Perhaps he could have escaped for a much longer period than now. In the process, I would have met several more people, even just one more person, resolved the core, and said goodbye.

In the end, even if all of that resentment is not resolved, the result of doing as much as possible may remain.

Perhaps the size of the remorse that would follow the girl’s life… might have shrunk a lot more than I thought.

I couldn’t deny that fact. In a way, the existence of Seol Tae-pyeong raised the girl’s resentment.

“…”

Seol Tae-pyeong looks down at the soup for a while and thinks.

The look of the young boy reflected on the surface had changed a lot compared to when he was suffering from fever and wandering around the outskirts of the ecliptic.

There was someone who held hands and wandered together. I know how much it meant.

If you split up at some point and never see them again, you know how much remorse you will have and constantly torment yourself.

That feeling, Po-ryeong would have been no different.

Humans are creatures that cannot live alone. So, whether we like it or not, we lean on the person next to us.

I have been walking alone since before I knew it, but I must never forget that there was always someone who supported me at the starting point of my first step. And, can’t forget. That was a human being.

A muffled sound came from outside Chunhyangjeong Pavilion.

With such a fuss and a chase, rumors had no choice but to spread to the market floor.

The team in charge of Hyeonmu-shi, who quickly received the rumors, and the detached corps led by Mi-rae were attacking.

“It’s enough… I’ve done enough… It’s only been a month since I was there, but I’m grateful that you pretended not to see me during that time. Even that, in a way, must have been your mercy.”