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The Mist Side Story 5, Sword Master - (d)
🕑 Added 2024-11-04 12:04:18 +0000 UTC#Side Story, Sword Master - d
"What brings you here?"
"Ah... Is Kang Mu-heon here by any chance?"
The moment Seok-ho finished speaking, he saw the atmosphere in the gymnasium sink to a chillingly cold level. Most of the boys' expressions either distorted or looked as if they might cry. The boy standing in front of Seok-ho was no different.
"He's not here."
"Pardon? I heard he was at this school..."
"He's not here! Because he's hospitalized!"
At these unexpected words, Seok-ho's eyes widened in rare surprise.
"Hospitalized...?"
"..."
"The captain isn't here. Go to Yu University Hospital."
Another boy with a relatively calm face answered through the coldness. Seok-ho was about to nod, but remembering that the other person he was looking for was also from this school, he spoke again.
"Then is Jeong Seung-jo here?"
And an even more brittle tension than before flowed through the gymnasium. While everyone else kept their mouths shut, the boy who had earlier told him to go to Yu University Hospital shook his head with a sigh.
"...The vice-captain isn't here either."
"..."
At this point, truly feeling that something was wrong with the situation, Seok-ho could only close his mouth without daring to ask why. Perhaps disliking his hesitation, someone else among the boys spoke up loudly.
"It's no use waiting. We heard he quit school."
At that voice clearly wanting the intruder to leave immediately, Seok-ho had no choice but to exit the gymnasium without saying anything more.
What on earth had happened? With an increasingly anxious and sharp feeling, Seok-ho first returned to his hotel.
As soon as he entered his room and turned on the computer, connecting to the web page and searching for "21st National High School Kendo Championship," he could understand the cause of everything he had just experienced.
'This can't be...'
[ ...Not even 30 minutes after victory... Unfortunate accident caused by lack of traffic awareness ]
[ One critical, two minor injuries ]
Though they were small articles, fewer than the many other incident reports, they were enough. Seok-ho clicked on one of those articles with stiffened hands.
[ On the 21st, after the men's division finals of the National High School Kendo Championship held at APC Gymnasium, winner Kang (surname) and runner-up Jeong (surname) left the gymnasium and violated traffic signals by entering a crosswalk, where they were hit by an oncoming truck, resulting in Kang sustaining serious injuries.
The truck driver Lee (surname) stated that while driving according to the signals, he saw two students ahead and quickly applied the brakes, but the accident occurred due to the wheels skidding, and witness Jeon (surname) gave the same testimony, so the police concluded it was an accident due to the two students' carelessness.
Currently, Kang is hospitalized at Seoul Y Hospital. ]
Seok-ho threw off his glasses and covered his forehead and eyes with both hands. It felt like the light he had finally found after coming all this way was suddenly dimming.
Feeling the accumulated travel fatigue and exhaustion of several days rushing in at once, he went to lie down on the nearby bed and remained silent with his eyes closed for a long time.
He had searched for "the best" for a long time. His current work involved creating a world that didn't exist in reality, and he was particularly handling the crucial skills section related to magic and weapons.
Of course, these existed in all other games too, but the important point was that they weren't just making people watch skills being used. Making people directly feel and move their bodies while accepting evidence of unreality in reality - it was something that was barely comprehensible.
Nevertheless, thanks to the geniuses who accomplished this impossible task, the work that had been steadily progressing with their help was now facing only its largest framework and most important part. Befitting the most important part, after months of development difficulties, he, the least helpful person, had come to Korea and thought he had finally found a breakthrough thanks to the gem discovered at that arena, seeing some way forward...
"Sigh."
Just as he exhaled softly while changing position on the bed, still wearing his coat without even changing clothes, he suddenly felt a vibration from inside his coat. It was his call, recognizable without looking.
"Yes. This is Yoon Seok-ho."
[ Hm? Why does your voice sound so weak? ]
Seok-ho didn't say anything, but the other person had always been eerily good at picking up on his changes that no one else noticed. But this time, he didn't feel like answering honestly.
"It's nothing."
[ What do you mean nothing? Are you lonely perhaps? ]
"..."
[ It's okay. Loneliness is human destiny. It's not strange, so go on dates sometimes too. There's nothing wrong with people meeting people. ]
A low laugh was heard from across the phone. For a moment, his chest throbbed painfully. This pain wasn't felt much during daytime when they met and talked officially, but it was felt countless times on nights like this when he called with excessive kindness.
Though Seok-ho listened without showing any reaction to the familiar pain felt near his chest, that didn't mean the pain easily disappeared.
[ Hmm... Thanks to you, work's going well, so I was thinking of going on a date today too. ]
The voice tinged with pleasant playfulness seemed to reveal its owner's affection without reserve. Somehow, this night lying alone felt like it might be a little harder to endure than any other time when they had countless similar conversations.
[ Hey, if you stay silent here, it makes me embarrassed again~ Try playing along a bit at times like this. ]
Feeling the throbbing pain in his chest now resonating in his head as well, Seok-ho opened his mouth coldly.
"Yes. Have a pleasant date, Director."
Though he felt it might have been slightly dangerous after saying it, it seemed there wasn't enough stimulus for the man who appeared to have killed off all sensitivity except for work-related matters.
[ Ah, you're not taking the bait. I was trying to help you end those eunuch rumors about you in the company all at once. ]
