The Terminally-Ill Side-Character Inside of a Martial Arts Novel

Recently, I developed a new hobby besides returning to my room after finishing training. It was none other than taking a walk in the backyard garden.

When it became late afternoon after training ended, the sunset was slowly fading.

By that time, most people had returned to their respective resting places.

Unlike the large scale of the inner palace, there were very few people working here.

Therefore, when a few people left, the inner palace became as quiet as if no one lived there.

Taking a walk in the quiet garden of the inner palace calmed my mind and helped me organize my thoughts.

While feeding the fish and walking through the garden, when the sunset completely faded and the evening star slowly revealed itself, one person would appear.

As always, a voice came from behind.

“Are you feeding the fish again today?”

“They must be hungry too, so they should eat a lot. After all, I know better than anyone about the sorrow of not being able to eat.”

I answered calmly to the familiar voice, and laughter came over.

When I glanced back, the man I had met before was smiling.

I stared at him intently.

He raised his eyebrows as if asking why I was looking at him like that.

“You must have been busy today too. You don’t look well.”

“Isn’t a father most handsome when he shines at work? It’s proof that I lived hard today to protect the family.”

I tilted my head at his words.

“Then have you found an answer to the question I asked you recently?”

“You mean the question about whether I regret leaving?”

When I smiled brightly, he pondered deeply and then slowly shook his head.

“I’m still not sure. Whether I’m regretting it or not.”

I quietly watched the man who was letting out a quiet voice.

The man’s face I was looking at in the darkness often reminded me of someone.

So, I couldn’t ignore his words.

I continued speaking while following his gaze that was staring blankly somewhere.

“Aren’t you just afraid of regretting?”

“Afraid?”

“Yes. That’s right. To regret means to acknowledge one’s own mistake, and acknowledging a mistake means you have to make an effort to change something.”

After shaking off all the remaining feed in my palm into the water, I raised my arm to receive his gaze directed at me.

His eyes moved along my arm.

“Do you know? Barren land doesn’t just happen. That place was once full of beautiful flowers and greenery too. But due to one small mistake, it becomes a land where plants can’t live.”

His gaze and mine reached the empty space that Hyuk Dojin had gifted me. My voice continued gently.

“But even in such barren land where nothing grows, life lives on. Horsetail learned how to survive in the most barren places, and as those horsetails grow, the barren land turns back into grassland.”

His gaze moved back to me. I smiled softly as I received his gaze.

“People’s hearts are the same. So, I’ll become horsetail for you.”

“…You?”

“There must be fertile soil somewhere in a dry person’s heart that can bloom beautiful flowers. So, will you entrust it to me?”

“…”

The man closed his mouth tightly.

I quietly watched him keeping silent while constantly rolling his eyes as if in deep thought. There was no need to press or rush. There was plenty of time.

How much time had passed?

Eventually, his mouth opened.

“It would be nice if beautiful flowers bloomed in that empty space.”

“I’m planning to plant hydrangeas. Five-colored hydrangeas.”

He turned to look at me and grinned.

“When the hydrangeas bloom, call me then too.”

* * *

Hyuk Dojin slowly let go of my hand and rubbed his face. He alternately examined Hyuk Muhyeol and me with a complicated expression.

Although words had been exchanged, the atmosphere was still dark. When I asked Man Do, he hesitated, saying it seemed like I was doing something unnecessary.

At the same time, he expressed that when the two of them were together, it was drier than a desolate desert.

That’s not all. He even said that jumping into fire with straw on your back would be safer than sitting together with the two of them.

At first, I wondered if it would really be like that, but seeing it in person, Man Do hadn’t exaggerated.

But it was a problem that had to be resolved someday.

It might seem excessive and unnecessary for me to intervene between the two of them, but at the same time, I thought it was my duty.

Hyuk Dojin and Hyuk Muhyeol.

The father and son of the remaining Hyuk family were said to have a worse relationship than strangers, but from what I saw, it wasn’t like that at all.

At least Hyuk Muhyeol cared for his son more than Hyuk Dojin thought. But the relationship between the two was strained by the figure of Geum Soso.

It certainly wasn’t a simple matter. But the relationship between the two wasn’t just complicated.

Hyuk Dojin thought Hyuk Muhyeol had abandoned Geum Soso, but Hyuk Muhyeol was regretting what happened that day.

He lamented his foolishness, saying he couldn’t do anything when his family was shivering in the cold.

They couldn’t fill the empty space after leaving, but there was no reason for the two to turn their backs on each other. At least that’s how I saw it.

Hyuk Muhyeol quietly looked at Hyuk Dojin, then glanced at me before slowly speaking.

“You’ve taken quite an affectionate child as your wife. A lovely child who doesn’t suit my bleak son.”

“Since when did you care about such things? I never thought such soft and ticklish expressions would come out of Father’s mouth.”

“Then I must be getting old too. As I age, a cute daughter-in-law looks more lovable than a gruff son.”

“You don’t have to say it, I know. It’s common knowledge to everyone that Sowol is lovable, regardless of what words you say or what evaluation you make, Father.”

“Oh? Knowing that, you weren’t even going to introduce her to me?”

“Why should I introduce her? Did you think I wouldn’t know you were secretly meeting your lovable daughter-in-law because I didn’t introduce her?”

“My stomach hurts from you keeping the good thing all to yourself, hiding it in your bosom like an ancestral tablet. I wanted to exchange words with my daughter-in-law too, but you’re not letting me, so how could I not be upset?”

“I didn’t know you were so weak that your stomach would be upset over such a thing. It’s unexpected.”

…What am I hearing right now? I thought it was good that they were having a conversation, so I was waiting, but all the words they were saying were related to me.

Moreover, they were saying embarrassing expressions like lovable, cute, and cherished with stiff faces, so even I felt strange listening to it.

Feeling uncomfortable with them mentioning my name with faces like they had just killed someone, I hurriedly opened my mouth.

“W-wait a moment.”

As soon as my words ended, the two men’s eyes quickly turned to me. I closed my mouth and flinched back at their eyes that seemed to have been waiting, or mixed with resentment.

Did I make a mistake in having them meet? I wondered if I had been too hasty, but it was already done.

I alternately examined the two and calmly opened my mouth.

“Um… Cult Leader.”

“You don’t have to call me so stiffly. Just call me Father normally…”

“You’ve become senile with age. Father, you say? Don’t you remember? It was just three months ago when I went to ask you something and you suddenly attacked me, making me cough up a handful of blood. And now you’re telling my wife to call you Father… You’re shameless.”

Blood? I hurriedly looked at Hyuk Muhyeol. Hyuk Muhyeol moved his lips as if troubled, then turned to look at me and shook his head.

“That’s not it. I heard words full of murderous intent in front of me, saying he would stain his hands with blood if I didn’t answer immediately. How could I stay still? I just needed to discipline him a bit.”

This time I turned to Hyuk Dojin. Murderous intent and unfilial? Is this the Hyuk Dojin I know?

At my gaze, Hyuk Dojin also opened his mouth with a flustered face.

“…I had no choice at that time. When Sowol suddenly said she only had half a year to live, what was there to consider? All I could do was rush over and demand a solution.”

“Huh, hearing this, you’re quite insolent? Were you going to rip off your father’s head to save your wife if necessary?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“This brat?”

The initially heavy atmosphere had lightened a bit, but now the conversation had turned into childish bickering.

Moreover, it had degenerated into a conversation exposing the past. From stories of wetting the bed on the winter solstice to getting lost in the inner palace and crying.

I couldn’t hide my surprise at the unexpected stories pouring out. Hyuk Dojin hurriedly tried to stop Hyuk Muhyeol’s words.

But the exposé was unfavorable to Hyuk Dojin, and eventually, unable to bear it any longer, Hyuk Dojin gritted his teeth and shouted.

“What did Father do so well then?!”

Hyuk Muhyeol, who had been opening his mouth, closed it in a straight line at Hyuk Dojin’s shout and stared at him blankly.

Hyuk Dojin frowned and clicked his tongue as if displeased. He unbuttoned the button at his neck.

“Having a normal conversation like this doesn’t make the events of that day disappear. I still remember. On the day Mother passed away, they didn’t let me take even one step out of my room located in the inner palace. I asked Father for help, but in the end, you didn’t show any action. As always, you coldly turned your back on me.”

“…”

“I couldn’t even see Mother’s last moments. Mother, who worried about me calling my name until she passed away, left like that without even seeing my face. And Father also didn’t see Mother’s last moments. Just because time has passed doesn’t mean Father can say these things to me and be forgiven.”

Hyuk Dojin grasped my hand and pulled. Before I knew it, I was pulled by his hand and Hyuk Dojin quickly passed by Hyuk Muhyeol’s side.

Is the conversation really ending like this? I hurriedly pulled on Hyuk Dojin’s arm, but he just walked ahead with a stiffly set face.

Hyuk Muhyeol showed no reaction. He didn’t look this way, nor did he get angry. But that wasn’t the end.

“I don’t intend to be forgiven.”

“…”

Hyuk Dojin’s legs, which had been approaching the door, stopped at those words. Hyuk Muhyeol quietly turned his body and looked at Hyuk Dojin.

“I know that no matter how much time passes, the consequences of my actions don’t disappear. I know that those consequences have hurt you and…”

Hyuk Dojin slowly released my hand he had been holding. As his arm lowered, Hyuk Dojin’s body turned.

He faced Hyuk Muhyeol with cold eyes. The gazes of the two crossed again.

“Soso as well.”

“…”

“Yes, I won’t make excuses. I won’t give any pretexts for that. But if I had chosen the only path I could choose… if that path was Soso’s will, could you understand such a me?”

Hyuk Muhyeol quickly approached the stiffened Hyuk Dojin.

“Soso sacrificed her life to protect a foolish man. I had no choice but to watch that happen.”

A bitter smile slowly filled Hyuk Muhyeol’s lips.

“I was a stupid man who lost such a wise and lovely woman due to my dullness. What Demon Cult Cult Leader and what sky of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult? I was just a stupid man who couldn’t protect even one woman.”

“…”

“I wonder if there will ever be such a woman again. One who can lend me her shoulder when I’m tired and weary. It’s still vivid. The air then, the voice… all of it.”

I blankly watched Hyuk Muhyeol muttering quietly. Hyuk Dojin also seemed uncomfortable seeing Hyuk Muhyeol like this and couldn’t say anything.

Hyuk Muhyeol closed his eyes tightly as if recalling something. Then he slowly opened his eyes, faced Hyuk Dojin, and took out a scroll from his bosom and threw it.

Hyuk Dojin reflexively caught the suddenly flying scroll.

Before unrolling the scroll, Hyuk Dojin looked at Hyuk Muhyeol as if asking what this was.

Hyuk Muhyeol jerked his chin. At his gesture, Hyuk Dojin slowly unrolled the scroll, and inside was content stating that the Murim Alliance wanted to jointly host the martial arts competition they hold annually with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

“The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is still powerful, but that’s not the same as the Cult Leader’s strength.”

Hyuk Muhyeol withdrew his gaze fixed on Hyuk Dojin, examined me, then looked at him again.

“I’m thinking of giving a positive answer to that letter. And I’m thinking of sending some late-blooming talents of the Demon Cult and you to the martial arts competition.”

“What are you thinking?”

“How much do you know about the Demon Cult, no, the Central Plains?”

Hyuk Dojin narrowed his brows with an incomprehensible face.

Hyuk Muhyeol smiled faintly and looked at me. He slowly approached.

“The Murim Alliance is hiding more than you know, and Namgoong Baek is lying behind those secrets. Not just the Demon Cult, but also the Nine Renowned Sects, the Five Great Clans, the Blood Sect of the Evil Path, and the Golden Blood Sand Sect. You need to see and know more.”

He eventually stopped in front of Hyuk Dojin. I alternately examined the two people whose appearances reminded of each other’s past and present.

Hyuk Muhyeol looked at Hyuk Dojin’s unwavering eyes, then eventually turned his head towards me.

“I once thought I could protect everything with my strength alone. But that was an illusion. If you want to protect the person by your side, you need to see more and become stronger than you are now.”

“…”

He took his eyes off the silent Hyuk Dojin and looked at me. A faint smile hung on his lips.

“I heard you’ve become much healthier. I heard your martial arts match recently was amazing.”

“You flatter me.”

“I’m glad the medicine I gave was useful. I’ll provide the remaining medicines too.”

I lightly bowed my head. Hyuk Muhyeol smiled brightly and then looked at Hyuk Dojin again. Hyuk Dojin’s mouth, which had been tightly closed in a straight line, opened.

“What do I have to do? Do I have to participate in the martial arts competition?”

“It would be laughable if the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult faced such sloppy fellows who aren’t even worth three moves.”

“Then?”

“You don’t have to do anything.”

“What?”

“Literally. Just go there and show your face. You don’t need to forcibly do anything or have to do anything. Just watch with your eyes and you’ll naturally… understand.”

Hyuk Muhyeol’s brows slightly narrowed as he was speaking, then he bit his lip hard and painfully spat out words.

When I blankly looked at him wondering why he was acting like that, Hyuk Muhyeol shook his head with a smile as if it was nothing.

“It seems you haven’t crossed the inner palace since my daughter-in-law came here. Why don’t you take this opportunity to wander a bit? It’s not everything to just train in one place. It wouldn’t be bad to go together.”

“Taking someone who’s sick to…”

“And it’s almost been a year now, so you must miss your family too.”

“…”

Facing Hyuk Dojin’s stiffened face, his mouth opened slowly.

“I hear the Moyong clan is participating too. The Moyong clan with its poor reputation will try to produce good results by any means. Perhaps your brother might be there.”

I slightly opened my mouth.

Hyuk Muhyeol hesitated for a moment, then slowly stroked my head before turning and disappearing.

Feeling like many unspoken words had passed between them, I turned to look at Hyuk Dojin. He was quietly staring at the unrolled scroll, then feeling my gaze, he looked down at me. Wondering if I had done something unnecessary, I lightly grasped his collar. Hyuk Dojin shook his head as if to say it was alright.

“…We should prepare.”

“Prepare?”

He quietly answered while rolling up the scroll again.

“It takes a good month to reach Henan where the Murim Alliance is, even if we ride horses. Since we’ll have to endure the cold winter, we should thoroughly prepare clothes and medicines.”

His head slowly turned to look at the flower bed where seeds had just been planted.

“When we return, we should be able to see the hydrangeas in bloom.”

Hyuk Dojin’s voice quietly resonated.