The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor [Novel] Chapter 25

Chapter 025

I Will Give You a Standard

Cha Yusik couldn’t get the Emperor’s Sword Form out of his mind.

Even during his regular classes after morning training, he secretly read the translated copy hidden beneath his desk.

‘What incredible swordsmanship.’

The more he read, the more fascinated he became.

Just imagining himself mastering such a technique made his blood race.

‘Brother must be studying it seriously by now.’

Cha Dusik had graduated at the top of the 17th class.

That only made Yusik more anxious.

His brother certainly wasn’t wasting his time on these pointless classes.

A few days later, at the old building’s training ground.

“Haaap!”

Cha Yusik repeated the Earth Form of the Three Calamities Swordsmanship as he always did.

Kang Hyeon watched from the podium, sipping his whiskey.

‘Look at him.’

His eyes narrowed.

‘His heart isn’t here.’

Yusik’s body was performing the technique perfectly.

But his mind was somewhere else entirely.

Most people wouldn’t have noticed.

Kang Hyeon did.

Clack.

He set down his glass.

“Stop.”

Every sword in the training ground came to a halt.

The cadets turned toward the podium.

“Cha Yusik. Step forward.”

“Yes, sir.”

Yusik wiped the sweat from his face and walked forward.

Kang Hyeon looked down at him.

“I was going to teach you the third stage of the Three Calamities Swordsmanship today. Humanity.”

He paused.

“But I can’t. Not with you like this.”

Silence settled over the training ground.

“…Did I do something wrong?”

Yusik couldn’t help feeling guilty.

“I don’t think you need me to tell you what you did.”

His mind had wandered, yet his movements had been flawless

‘Can he read minds?’

“Did you get your hands on a decent secret manual?”

Yusik’s pupils shook.

‘How did he know?’

This man was always like this.

No matter how carefully Yusik tried to hide something, Kang Hyeon seemed to see straight through him.

There was no point pretending anymore.

“I’ll be honest.”

Yusik clenched his teeth.

“I know your Three Calamities Swordsmanship is excellent. It’s the best possible technique for building fundamentals. But…”

He looked straight at Kang Hyeon.

“It’s still the Three Calamities Swordsmanship.”

His voice grew firmer.

“Compared to higher-level sword techniques, its limits are obvious. Even you, Professor, are far stronger when you use other techniques.”

Kang Hyeon slowly swirled the whiskey in his glass.

He already knew what had caught Yusik’s attention.

He had recognized it from a single movement.

‘The Emperor’s Sword Form.’

The ultimate sword art of the Namgung Clan.

A domineering technique that crushed an opponent beneath the sheer force of its sword intent, leaving them unable to move before cutting them down in a single breath.

Alongside the Azure Void Boundless Swordsmanship, it was one of the Namgung Clan’s greatest arts.

And it suited Cha Yusik’s proud nature perfectly.

‘No wonder he was tempted.’

Even Kang Hyeon, with his Heavenly Martial Body, had needed half a year to master that technique.

But there was a problem.

The greater the sword art, the stronger the foundation it demanded.

If Yusik tried to learn the Emperor’s Sword Form now, he’d only end up copying its surface.

A beautiful shell with nothing inside.

So Kang Hyeon decided to cure him of that temptation the hard way.

“Is it the Emperor’s Sword Form?”

“…Gasp.”

Yusik nearly choked.

Impossible.

His family had obtained that secret manual under the strictest secrecy.

He had only read the beginning.

The movement that had slipped into his form just now had been completely unconscious.

How could Kang Hyeon possibly know its name?

“It suits you.”

Kang Hyeon took another sip of whiskey.

“But without a proper foundation, you won’t be wielding that sword.”

His eyes hardened.

“It’ll be the sword wielding you.”

Yusik’s mind went blank.

He barely heard the words.

How did this man know about something his father had forbidden him to tell anyone?

“H-How did you know?”

“All right.”

Kang Hyeon smiled.

He stepped down from the podium and walked toward the five cadets.

“I understand how you feel.”

He stopped in the middle of the training ground.

“You’re probably sick of swinging the same basic technique every day. You want to become stronger. You want to see the results now.”

He looked at them one by one.

“But a castle built on sand won’t stand.”

His voice was firm.

“The reason I make you practice the Three Calamities Swordsmanship until your bodies nearly break is simple.”

“I want to forge your foundations until they can bear any martial art I put in your hands.”

Silence.

Then Kang Hyeon’s eyes sharpened.

“Fine.”

“If you want a real challenge that badly, I’ll give you one.”

He glanced at the cadets.

“When are the midterms?”

The Academy’s midterms were held as a Murim tournament between cadets of the same grade.

It was a long-standing tradition.

“In two months, sir.”

Kwak Dojin answered.

“Good.”

Kang Hyeon had made a promise to the Dean.

He would produce results good enough to shut the complaining professors up.

He had promised to make these cadets stronger.

Now all he had to do was prove it.

“In the tournament two months from now, every one of you will place in the top five of your grade.”

The cadets froze.

“…!”

“If you do that, I’ll give you what you’ve been wanting so badly.”

His gaze swept over them.

“I’ll teach each of you a true martial art suited to your body and temperament.”

Their eyes widened.

Finally.

After all this time, they could finally leave the Three Calamities Swordsmanship behind and learn something worthy of them.

Excitement began spreading through the training ground.

“However.”

Kang Hyeon dropped the next condition without a hint of concern.

“You will use only the Three Calamities Swordsmanship in the tournament.”

“…What?”

The excitement died instantly.

It made no sense.

This was the Academy.

The place where South Korea’s most gifted young Hunters gathered.

Even reaching the top five was a brutal fight.

And he expected them to do it using nothing but the Three Calamities Swordsmanship?

“Professor! That’s impossible!”

Cha Yusik immediately protested.

“Fundamentals are important, I know that. But how are we supposed to reach the top five using only the Three Calamities Swordsmanship?”

There was another reason he couldn’t accept it.

He needed the Emperor’s Sword Form for the succession battle.

Kang Hyeon might know about it.

But there was no way he could actually teach it.

Or so Yusik thought.

“I’ll teach you the Emperor’s Sword Form.”

Kang Hyeon spoke before he could ask.

Yusik stared at him.

“You know how to use it, Professor?”

“Come at me.”

“…What?”

“I’ll show you.”

Kang Hyeon picked up a wooden sword.

“Come.”

Yusik swallowed and stepped forward.

Doubt still filled his face.

“You’re probably reading some half-baked translation right now.”

Kang Hyeon’s tone was almost mocking.

“Forget what you’ve read. Watch carefully.”

Screeeech.

He slowly raised the wooden sword over his head.

It was a simple movement.

Almost lazy.

There was no burst of energy.

Nothing seemed to happen.

Then the sword reached its highest point.

It stopped.

Kuung!

A deep roar exploded inside Yusik’s ears.

His breath caught.

The air itself seemed to grow heavy.

No.

It wasn’t the air.

It was the pressure coming from the sword.

Kang Hyeon’s figure filled his vision.

For an instant, he no longer saw a professor holding a wooden sword.

He saw a mountain towering over the world.

An Emperor looking down upon all things beneath heaven.

‘I-I can’t move!’

Yusik’s legs trembled.

His instincts screamed at him to run.

But his feet wouldn’t move.

They might as well have been rooted to the earth.

There was no visible attack.

No blade had touched him.

Yet the sword’s presence alone had seized the entire space and crushed his will to resist.

The first stage of the Emperor’s Sword Form.

Suppression.

“I’ll cut you down.”

Kang Hyeon’s usually relaxed eyes turned cold.

The wooden sword fell.

Straight toward Yusik’s head.

Yusik knew it instantly.

If that had been a real sword, he would have been split in two.

The sword stopped just above his head.

“Huff… huff…”

Yusik’s legs finally gave out.

He collapsed to the ground, drenched in cold sweat.

Kang Hyeon lowered the wooden sword.

“Does that answer your question?”

Life returned to Yusik’s eyes.

‘Then maybe…’

Maybe he could surpass his brother.

No.

With Professor Kang Hyeon…

He would surpass him.

“I-I’ll make the top five!”

“The rest of you.”

The other four cadets, who had been watching in stunned silence, straightened.

“Listen carefully.”

Kang Hyeon looked at them.

“What I teach you will be no weaker than what you just saw.”

His voice was calm.

“So if you want it, reach the standard.”

The cadets’ eyes lit up.

For the first time in a long while, there was nothing but fire in them.

“We’ll do it, Professor!”

“We’ll claw our way into the top five!”

“Forget the top five! We’ll crush the whole grade!”

Their fighting spirit was blazing.

But Kang Hyeon knew better.

It wouldn’t be easy.

They had less than half a year to reach the level he demanded.

“Enough boasting.”

He waved them off.

“Come back after you’ve actually done it.”

The five cadets left the training ground.

Kang Hyeon’s gaze then fell on Baek Yuyeon.

She was still in the corner, trembling as she held her horse-riding stance.

“Huff… huugh…”

“Enough.”

“Haah… haah!”

Her legs finally gave out.

She collapsed onto the floor, sweat pouring from her face.

Kang Hyeon looked at her.

“All right. What’s your question today?”

For the past week, Baek Yuyeon had been trying to solve the problem Professor Hwang Yerim had given her.

She had searched through books and racked her brain for an answer.

Nothing.

That was why she’d come to Kang Hyeon.

Not because she expected him to solve it.

Even Professor Hwang, the country’s leading authority in Martial Medical Arts, hadn’t found an answer.

Yuyeon was simply grasping at one last possibility.

“Is there a way to disperse the cold energy blocking the acupoints without damaging the heart meridians?”

“That’s your question?”

“Yes.”

“How many acupoints are blocked?”

“Nine.”

Kang Hyeon’s expression changed.

“The Nine Yin Severed Meridians.”

For the first time, a sharp light appeared in his usually lazy eyes.

It was only natural.

The Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

An innate condition so rare and terrifying that even the people of Murim had dismissed it as a legend.

Those born with it were filled with extreme Yin energy from birth.

The freezing energy gradually blocked the body’s nine major meridians.

Unable to circulate properly, the energy brought constant, bone-deep agony.

Most who possessed the condition never lived past twenty.

A cursed constitution.

And Kang Hyeon had been looking for someone who possessed it.

‘Because it’s the only constitution capable of using the Moon Luminary Formation.’

Among all the old monsters who had tormented him in Murim, there had been only one woman.

The Sword Empress, Seol Muwol.

She possessed the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

‘That old hag.’

Her fake innocence had been enough to make him sick.

After using Rejuvenation to regain her youth, she had spent her days in Murim playing the part of a graceful, kind-hearted woman.

Men adored her.

Everyone respected her.

But in front of her only disciple, Kang Hyeon…

That smile disappeared.

Whenever training began, the elegant Sword Empress became a merciless witch.

She had beaten him until he could barely stand.

Again and again.

No blood.

No tears.

To Kang Hyeon, Asura wasn’t the true Demon God.

Seol Muwol was.

Kang Hyeon took another drink, trying to suppress the irritation rising inside him.

“Why are you looking into this?”

Baek Yuyeon’s lips parted.

After a moment, she answered quietly.

“…To cure my younger brother.”

“Your brother has the Nine Yin Severed Meridians?”

Kang Hyeon’s eyes widened.

That was almost unbelievable.

One family had produced both the Heavenly Vein Eyes and the Nine Yin Severed Meridians?

Only then did Kang Hyeon understand.

Why Yuyeon had thrown herself so desperately into Martial Medical Arts.

“Don’t tell me that’s why you’ve been studying pill concoction too.”

“Yes.”

She nodded.

“I wanted to create an elixir that could disperse the Yin energy.”

“Hoh.”

Kang Hyeon slowly closed his eyes.

“So that’s why you’ve been pushing yourself this hard.”

He glanced at her trembling legs.

“Even to the point of enduring that horse-riding stance.”

“If it means saving my brother…”

Chapter 025

 

I Will Give You a Standard

 

Cha Yusik couldn’t get the Emperor’s Sword Form out of his mind.

 

Even during his regular classes after morning training, he secretly read the translated copy hidden beneath his desk.

 

‘What incredible swordsmanship.’

 

The more he read, the more fascinated he became.

 

Just imagining himself mastering such a technique made his blood race.

 

‘Brother must be studying it seriously by now.’

 

Cha Dusik had graduated at the top of the 17th class.

 

That only made Yusik more anxious.

 

His brother certainly wasn’t wasting his time on these pointless classes.

 

A few days later, at the old building’s training ground.

 

“Haaap!”

 

Cha Yusik repeated the Earth Form of the Three Calamities Swordsmanship as he always did.

 

Kang Hyeon watched from the podium, sipping his whiskey.

 

‘Look at him.’

 

His eyes narrowed.

 

‘His heart isn’t here.’

 

Yusik’s body was performing the technique perfectly.

 

But his mind was somewhere else entirely.

 

Most people wouldn’t have noticed.

 

Kang Hyeon did.

 

Clack.

 

He set down his glass.

 

“Stop.”

 

Every sword in the training ground came to a halt.

 

The cadets turned toward the podium.

 

“Cha Yusik. Step forward.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Yusik wiped the sweat from his face and walked forward.

 

Kang Hyeon looked down at him.

 

“I was going to teach you the third stage of the Three Calamities Swordsmanship today. Humanity.”

 

He paused.

 

“But I can’t. Not with you like this.”

 

Silence settled over the training ground.

 

“…Did I do something wrong?”

 

Yusik couldn’t help feeling guilty.

 

“I don’t think you need me to tell you what you did.”

 

His mind had wandered, yet his movements had been flawless

 

‘Can he read minds?’

 

“Did you get your hands on a decent secret manual?”

 

Yusik’s pupils shook.

 

‘How did he know?’

 

This man was always like this.

 

No matter how carefully Yusik tried to hide something, Kang Hyeon seemed to see straight through him.

 

There was no point pretending anymore.

 

“I’ll be honest.”

 

Yusik clenched his teeth.

 

“I know your Three Calamities Swordsmanship is excellent. It’s the best possible technique for building fundamentals. But…”

 

He looked straight at Kang Hyeon.

 

“It’s still the Three Calamities Swordsmanship.”

 

His voice grew firmer.

 

“Compared to higher-level sword techniques, its limits are obvious. Even you, Professor, are far stronger when you use other techniques.”

 

Kang Hyeon slowly swirled the whiskey in his glass.

 

He already knew what had caught Yusik’s attention.

 

He had recognized it from a single movement.

 

‘The Emperor’s Sword Form.’

 

The ultimate sword art of the Namgung Clan.

 

A domineering technique that crushed an opponent beneath the sheer force of its sword intent, leaving them unable to move before cutting them down in a single breath.

 

Alongside the Azure Void Boundless Swordsmanship, it was one of the Namgung Clan’s greatest arts.

 

And it suited Cha Yusik’s proud nature perfectly.

 

‘No wonder he was tempted.’

 

Even Kang Hyeon, with his Heavenly Martial Body, had needed half a year to master that technique.

 

But there was a problem.

 

The greater the sword art, the stronger the foundation it demanded.

 

If Yusik tried to learn the Emperor’s Sword Form now, he’d only end up copying its surface.

 

A beautiful shell with nothing inside.

 

So Kang Hyeon decided to cure him of that temptation the hard way.

 

“Is it the Emperor’s Sword Form?”

 

“…Gasp.”

 

Yusik nearly choked.

 

Impossible.

 

His family had obtained that secret manual under the strictest secrecy.

 

He had only read the beginning.

 

The movement that had slipped into his form just now had been completely unconscious.

 

How could Kang Hyeon possibly know its name?

 

“It suits you.”

 

Kang Hyeon took another sip of whiskey.

 

“But without a proper foundation, you won’t be wielding that sword.”

 

His eyes hardened.

 

“It’ll be the sword wielding you.”

 

Yusik’s mind went blank.

 

He barely heard the words.

 

How did this man know about something his father had forbidden him to tell anyone?

 

“H-How did you know?”

 

“All right.”

 

Kang Hyeon smiled.

 

He stepped down from the podium and walked toward the five cadets.

 

“I understand how you feel.”

 

He stopped in the middle of the training ground.

 

“You’re probably sick of swinging the same basic technique every day. You want to become stronger. You want to see the results now.”

 

He looked at them one by one.

 

“But a castle built on sand won’t stand.”

 

His voice was firm.

 

“The reason I make you practice the Three Calamities Swordsmanship until your bodies nearly break is simple.”

 

“I want to forge your foundations until they can bear any martial art I put in your hands.”

 

Silence.

 

Then Kang Hyeon’s eyes sharpened.

 

“Fine.”

 

“If you want a real challenge that badly, I’ll give you one.”

 

He glanced at the cadets.

 

“When are the midterms?”

 

The Academy’s midterms were held as a Murim tournament between cadets of the same grade.

 

It was a long-standing tradition.

 

“In two months, sir.”

 

Kwak Dojin answered.

 

“Good.”

 

Kang Hyeon had made a promise to the Dean.

 

He would produce results good enough to shut the complaining professors up.

 

He had promised to make these cadets stronger.

 

Now all he had to do was prove it.

 

“In the tournament two months from now, every one of you will place in the top five of your grade.”

 

The cadets froze.

 

“…!”

 

“If you do that, I’ll give you what you’ve been wanting so badly.”

 

His gaze swept over them.

 

“I’ll teach each of you a true martial art suited to your body and temperament.”

 

Their eyes widened.

 

Finally.

 

After all this time, they could finally leave the Three Calamities Swordsmanship behind and learn something worthy of them.

 

Excitement began spreading through the training ground.

 

“However.”

 

Kang Hyeon dropped the next condition without a hint of concern.

 

“You will use only the Three Calamities Swordsmanship in the tournament.”

 

“…What?”

 

The excitement died instantly.

 

It made no sense.

 

This was the Academy.

 

The place where South Korea’s most gifted young Hunters gathered.

 

Even reaching the top five was a brutal fight.

 

And he expected them to do it using nothing but the Three Calamities Swordsmanship?

 

“Professor! That’s impossible!”

 

Cha Yusik immediately protested.

 

“Fundamentals are important, I know that. But how are we supposed to reach the top five using only the Three Calamities Swordsmanship?”

 

There was another reason he couldn’t accept it.

 

He needed the Emperor’s Sword Form for the succession battle.

 

Kang Hyeon might know about it.

 

But there was no way he could actually teach it.

 

Or so Yusik thought.

 

“I’ll teach you the Emperor’s Sword Form.”

 

Kang Hyeon spoke before he could ask.

 

Yusik stared at him.

 

“You know how to use it, Professor?”

 

“Come at me.”

 

“…What?”

 

“I’ll show you.”

 

Kang Hyeon picked up a wooden sword.

 

“Come.”

 

Yusik swallowed and stepped forward.

 

Doubt still filled his face.

 

“You’re probably reading some half-baked translation right now.”

 

Kang Hyeon’s tone was almost mocking.

 

“Forget what you’ve read. Watch carefully.”

 

Screeeech.

 

He slowly raised the wooden sword over his head.

 

It was a simple movement.

 

Almost lazy.

 

There was no burst of energy.

 

Nothing seemed to happen.

 

Then the sword reached its highest point.

 

It stopped.

 

Kuung!

 

A deep roar exploded inside Yusik’s ears.

 

His breath caught.

 

The air itself seemed to grow heavy.

 

No.

 

It wasn’t the air.

 

It was the pressure coming from the sword.

 

Kang Hyeon’s figure filled his vision.

 

For an instant, he no longer saw a professor holding a wooden sword.

 

He saw a mountain towering over the world.

 

An Emperor looking down upon all things beneath heaven.

 

‘I-I can’t move!’

 

Yusik’s legs trembled.

 

His instincts screamed at him to run.

 

But his feet wouldn’t move.

 

They might as well have been rooted to the earth.

 

There was no visible attack.

 

No blade had touched him.

 

Yet the sword’s presence alone had seized the entire space and crushed his will to resist.

 

The first stage of the Emperor’s Sword Form.

 

Suppression.

 

“I’ll cut you down.”

 

Kang Hyeon’s usually relaxed eyes turned cold.

 

The wooden sword fell.

 

Straight toward Yusik’s head.

 

Yusik knew it instantly.

 

If that had been a real sword, he would have been split in two.

 

The sword stopped just above his head.

 

“Huff… huff…”

 

Yusik’s legs finally gave out.

 

He collapsed to the ground, drenched in cold sweat.

 

Kang Hyeon lowered the wooden sword.

 

“Does that answer your question?”

 

Life returned to Yusik’s eyes.

 

‘Then maybe…’

 

Maybe he could surpass his brother.

 

No.

 

With Professor Kang Hyeon…

 

He would surpass him.

 

“I-I’ll make the top five!”

 

“The rest of you.”

 

The other four cadets, who had been watching in stunned silence, straightened.

 

“Listen carefully.”

 

Kang Hyeon looked at them.

 

“What I teach you will be no weaker than what you just saw.”

 

His voice was calm.

 

“So if you want it, reach the standard.”

 

The cadets’ eyes lit up.

 

For the first time in a long while, there was nothing but fire in them.

 

“We’ll do it, Professor!”

 

“We’ll claw our way into the top five!”

 

“Forget the top five! We’ll crush the whole grade!”

 

Their fighting spirit was blazing.

 

But Kang Hyeon knew better.

 

It wouldn’t be easy.

 

They had less than half a year to reach the level he demanded.

 

“Enough boasting.”

 

He waved them off.

 

“Come back after you’ve actually done it.”

 

The five cadets left the training ground.

 

Kang Hyeon’s gaze then fell on Baek Yuyeon.

 

She was still in the corner, trembling as she held her horse-riding stance.

 

“Huff… huugh…”

 

“Enough.”

 

“Haah… haah!”

 

Her legs finally gave out.

 

She collapsed onto the floor, sweat pouring from her face.

 

Kang Hyeon looked at her.

 

“All right. What’s your question today?”

 

For the past week, Baek Yuyeon had been trying to solve the problem Professor Hwang Yerim had given her.

 

She had searched through books and racked her brain for an answer.

 

Nothing.

 

That was why she’d come to Kang Hyeon.

 

Not because she expected him to solve it.

 

Even Professor Hwang, the country’s leading authority in Martial Medical Arts, hadn’t found an answer.

 

Yuyeon was simply grasping at one last possibility.

 

“Is there a way to disperse the cold energy blocking the acupoints without damaging the heart meridians?”

 

“That’s your question?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“How many acupoints are blocked?”

 

“Nine.”

 

Kang Hyeon’s expression changed.

 

“The Nine Yin Severed Meridians.”

 

For the first time, a sharp light appeared in his usually lazy eyes.

 

It was only natural.

 

The Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

 

An innate condition so rare and terrifying that even the people of Murim had dismissed it as a legend.

 

Those born with it were filled with extreme Yin energy from birth.

 

The freezing energy gradually blocked the body’s nine major meridians.

 

Unable to circulate properly, the energy brought constant, bone-deep agony.

 

Most who possessed the condition never lived past twenty.

 

A cursed constitution.

 

And Kang Hyeon had been looking for someone who possessed it.

 

‘Because it’s the only constitution capable of using the Moon Luminary Formation.’

 

Among all the old monsters who had tormented him in Murim, there had been only one woman.

 

The Sword Empress, Seol Muwol.

 

She possessed the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

 

‘That old hag.’

 

Her fake innocence had been enough to make him sick.

 

After using Rejuvenation to regain her youth, she had spent her days in Murim playing the part of a graceful, kind-hearted woman.

 

Men adored her.

 

Everyone respected her.

 

But in front of her only disciple, Kang Hyeon…

 

That smile disappeared.

 

Whenever training began, the elegant Sword Empress became a merciless witch.

 

She had beaten him until he could barely stand.

 

Again and again.

 

No blood.

 

No tears.

 

To Kang Hyeon, Asura wasn’t the true Demon God.

 

Seol Muwol was.

 

Kang Hyeon took another drink, trying to suppress the irritation rising inside him.

 

“Why are you looking into this?”

 

Baek Yuyeon’s lips parted.

 

After a moment, she answered quietly.

 

“…To cure my younger brother.”

 

“Your brother has the Nine Yin Severed Meridians?”

 

Kang Hyeon’s eyes widened.

 

That was almost unbelievable.

 

One family had produced both the Heavenly Vein Eyes and the Nine Yin Severed Meridians?

 

Only then did Kang Hyeon understand.

 

Why Yuyeon had thrown herself so desperately into Martial Medical Arts.

 

“Don’t tell me that’s why you’ve been studying pill concoction too.”

 

“Yes.”

 

She nodded.

 

“I wanted to create an elixir that could disperse the Yin energy.”

 

“Hoh.”

 

Kang Hyeon slowly closed his eyes.

 

“So that’s why you’ve been pushing yourself this hard.”

 

He glanced at her trembling legs.

 

“Even to the point of enduring that horse-riding stance.”

 

“If it means saving my brother…”

 

Yuyeon’s voice was quiet.

 

“I’ll do anything.”

 

Kang Hyeon looked at her.

 

He could hear the sincerity in those words.

 

But sincerity wasn’t proven by words.

 

It was proven by what someone was willing to endure.

 

And this girl was grinding herself down day after day for the sake of her brother.

 

Kang Hyeon stared at her for a moment before asking, almost casually—

 

• “Even if saving him means giving up your own life?”