Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 321 (Part 1)



321 (Part 1)

<Chapter 322> Practice. (1)

The incident occurred at the point where dawn was transitioning into morning.

Perhaps it was because I had been practicing spiritual training more frequently lately.

As a result I had been sleeping in more.

It felt a bit awkward to force myself awake.

I had told Pae Woo-cheol to wake me up as late as possible if he could.

I thought today would be the same.

“Hyung-nim…. Hyung-nim.”

I opened my eyes slightly at the sound that reached me.

Is it time to get up?

My body felt heavy as I tried to rise.

It had been particularly so lately.

I thought my physical condition was off but I didn’t feel particularly unwell.

It seemed that most of it was due to mental fatigue.

« * »

…Ugh—

I let out a deep sigh and propped myself up.

Even though I didn’t want to get up I had to.

As I finally opened my eyes I saw someone in front of me.

Is it Pae Woo-cheol?

If not is it another housemate?

“…Huh?”

Surprisingly it was neither.

If it were Pae Woo-cheol he wouldn’t have such a delicate body.

I rubbed my eyes which were still heavy and looked at the person.

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The sunlight streaming through the window was warm. The light coming through the frame seemed to point directly at one person.

“…You.”

Kneeling on both knees.

The one greeting me in a modest posture was none other than Wi Seol-ah.

Her brown hair shimmered with a hint of gold.

Her golden eyes which seemed to be half-closed caught my attention.

No this isn’t the time to admire Wi Seol-ah’s appearance.

‘Why is she here?’

I wondered if it was a dream but it wasn’t.

The situation confirmed that.

Not only Pae Woo-cheol but also the four other guys in the room had stopped moving and were staring at Wi Seol-ah.

Their eyes were all shaking.

They looked as if they were frozen unsure of what to do.

What is this?

What kind of situation is this?

I immediately looked at Pae Woo-cheol who had just woken me up.

It seemed he was just as bewildered by the situation.

Noticing my gaze he quickly approached and whispered in my ear.

It seemed he wasn’t at the level where he could use telepathy yet.

“What’s going on?”

“…Suddenly she said she had something to discuss with Hyung-nim….”

“Did you open the door for her?”

“When I told her you were sleeping… she said she would wait inside Hyung-nim….”

“Does that really mean she can come in? There are several guys here.”

And what’s with the ‘sister’ thing?

Wi Seol-ah must be a few years younger than Pae Woo-cheol.

Even I was younger than Pae Woo-cheol.

Didn’t Pae Woo-cheol just turn twenty?

“…I’m sorry. It was sudden for me too.”

While Pae Woo-cheol scratched the back of his head awkwardly Wi Seol-ah who had been quiet interjected.

“I insisted on coming in. It’s not Mister Pae’s fault.”

Hearing Wi Seol-ah call him ‘Mister Pae’ made Pae Woo-cheol’s face melt.

He seemed pleased.

Thud-!

“Ugh!?

I lightly kicked Pae Woo-cheol’s calf because I didn’t like the sight.

Immediately his large body toppled over as he hugged his calf.

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He was just being dramatic.

“Stop being so dramatic our Woo-cheol.”

“…Hyung-nim I think I’m really going to cry.”

I ignored Pae Woo-cheol who was pouting.

Leaving him be I turned my attention back to Wi Seol-ah.

“What’s going on?”

“…I have something to say to Young Master.”

Something to say.

‘She said she needed time to think.’

The last conversation I had with Wi Seol-ah ended with her asking for time to think.

How many days had it been since then?

After hearing Wi Seol-ah’s words I decided to respect her wishes.

After a few days of silence Wi Seol-ah came to see me directly.

That was fine.

Everything was good but—

!

.

The problem was why she had come so early in the morning.

“What do you want to say?”

I regretted asking as soon as the words left my mouth.

I could have just said it was nice to see her after a long time that she looked healthy.

I could have asked if she had eaten breakfast in a polite manner.

But the tone that came out of my mouth was blunt.

I felt like this would never change until the day I die.

As I spoke Wi Seol-ah’s head lifted slightly.

Her golden eyes were fully focused on me.

The bright gaze I had seen when she was serving me seemed to be somewhat left but it was almost gone.

I felt a twinge of regret about that.

My head was still a bit foggy.

I felt somewhat dazed.

My body was at its peak so I shouldn’t be overwhelmed by fatigue just because I hadn’t slept well.

But something felt off lately.

As I tried to gather my energy to shake off the fatigue Wi Seol-ah spoke to me.

“I like you.”

“…Huh?”

At the voice that reached my ear I unintentionally let out a foolish sound.

“What did you just say…?”

“I like you.”

As if she thought I hadn’t heard her.

Ignoring my attempt to ask again she stated it once more as if to confirm.

Something heavy fell in my foggy mind clearing it.

“You….”

Wi Seol-ah who had spoken wore a calm expression.

Seeing that I was momentarily stunned for a few seconds.

What should I say?

My mind was filled with such thoughts and I couldn’t find the words.

Breaking through the transparent wall that had sealed my mouth I finally managed to ask.

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

My voice trembled slightly as I spoke.

“I’ve finished my contemplation.”

“Contemplation?”

“Yes contemplation.”

She had said she had many things to think about.

She had asked for time to think and now this was her answer?

What is this?

Could it be that this is a dream? That seemed more plausible.

‘What is going on…?’

I looked at Wi Seol-ah who was speaking. As I examined her closely I finally noticed.

Her ears which had a calm expression were flushed red.

Q

Seeing that I locked eyes with Wi Seol-ah again.

“Um….”

I felt like I had to respond somehow so I mentally rehearsed my words.

In a brief few seconds I thought of thousands of responses. I searched for just one word to say.

Just as I was about to let it out.

“Since it’s come to this…. I look forward to working with you from now on.”

Before I could even say it Wi Seol-ah abruptly said that and then bowed her head deeply before standing up abruptly.

“Uh… Huh?”

Her ears which were barely visible had turned even redder.

I tried to call out to Wi Seol-ah in a hurry but she quickly moved and dashed out.

She was so fast that I couldn’t even call her name.

“What….”

After her footsteps faded down the hallway I began to slowly comprehend the overwhelming situation.

‘What did she just say?’

Did she say she liked me?

I was sure that was what she said.

As I stumbled over my thoughts it felt like my brain was malfunctioning.

“Hyung-nim.”

Pae Woo-cheol quietly spoke to me.

“…Uh… what?”

Not only my head but my mouth seemed to have frozen and I couldn’t respond as usual.

Pae Woo-cheol had a serious expression on his face.

He slightly lowered his head and spoke again.

“Excuse me…. Hyung-nim.”

“Speak.”

“…Can I hit you just once?”

“What the… what are you talking about?”

As I frowned Pae Woo-cheol quickly stepped back.

This must have been the turning point.

Wi Seol-ah’s behavior had become somewhat strange.

Naturally we skipped the morning training.

After the theoretical training lunch soon arrived.

I heard that something was mixed into the afternoon training.

It seemed that this early lunch was for that purpose.

Whatever it was it was fine.

“What’s for lunch today?”

“I don’t know….”

“Yeah I’m getting used to that too.”

Asking Pae Woo-cheol who probably hadn’t memorized it anyway had become a bit of a routine.

I was sure he would eat whatever was served so it was clear he hadn’t memorized it.

“I think I heard it was meat.”

“Then you can’t eat it.”

“They say you shouldn’t skip food in old sayings.”

While I was chatting with Pae Woo-cheol Jang-ryong had subtly joined us.

Starting a few days ago Jang-ryong had begun to eat with us pretending not to notice.

I wasn’t particularly stopping him but there was a slight problem.

“…Can you please pay attention to how others see you?”

“I didn’t know you would say that to me.”

At Jang-ryong’s incredulous remark I let out a deep sigh.

The reason I brought this up was simple.

Since Jang-ryong was officially part of the sect.

There might be separate meals arranged for those who couldn’t eat meat.

But this guy was boldly piling on the meat….

“Hey…. Your senior brothers look like they’re going to kill you?”

“Senior brothers? They’re just strangers. Don’t worry about it. I’m an only child.”