Earlier this morning, after Baek Suryong had left for work, Geo Sangwoong gathered his juniors and told them that the man they had played cuju with yesterday might be their Senior Brother.
"What?!"
"That guy's our Senior Brother?"
"Mr. Baek never mentioned anything like that!"
"No wonder..."
The clueless boys, who hadn't suspected a thing, gaped in disbelief. Yeo Min, who had suspected as much, simply nodded.
Geo Sangwoong quietly admonished his juniors. "Don't act like you know anything. Just behave as you normally would and don't worry about what Mr. Baek thinks. Got it?"
His juniors pouted and grumbled, but soon nodded in understanding. They were all good kids.
Geo Sangwoong ruffled each of their heads with his large hand and grinned. "I'll go visit our Senior Brother. Ya, Suhyeok, you come with me."
"Just me?"
"You're the one who's closest to our Senior Brother."
"Tsk, all I did was get a few meatbuns from him."
And so, he took his clueless junior with him and started searching for their Senior Brother first thing in the morning. They knew his description and had confirmed the direction he went.
It would have been difficult if their Senior Brother had intentionally hidden, but finding one person was easy using the Golden Dragon Trading Company's information network.
"...Ahem, I'm sorry." Geo Sangwoong swallowed dryly and apologized, sensing the firmness in the handwriting. He had deliberately called the man "Senior Brother" to lighten the mood, but he never imagined he would receive such a harsh reaction.
After a moment of silence, he wrote in his notebook.
Number Four took out his notebook. Despite the unexpected visit and the boys' unexpected request, he knew exactly what he needed to write.
I am not your Senior Brother.
Staring at them blankly, Number Four stood up.
"...Ahem, I'm sorry." Geo Sangwoong swallowed dryly and apologized, sensing the firmness in the handwriting. He had deliberately called the man "Senior Brother" to lighten the mood, but he never imagined he would receive such a harsh reaction.
As I thought, something must've happened between him and Mr. Baek...
Why go to such lengths?
Geo Sangwoong had an extraordinary knack for reading people, even though he struggled with numbers. Arguably, this was a more valuable talent for a businessman than even math.
He was the first to notice that the mysterious stranger might be Baek Suryong's former student. He couldn't understand sign language, but from Number Four's immense martial skill and Baek Suryong's attitude, he deduced their connection.
His juniors pouted and grumbled, but soon nodded in understanding. They were all good kids.
Mr. Baek didn't seem to want to tell us about it.
He recalled Baek Suryong's stiff posture and the low sighs that had occasionally echoed from his teacher's room the previous night. Surely, something had happened between them that he and the other four didn't know about.
Still, it didn't seem like Baek Suryong and Meatbun-hyung outright hated each other. Rather, theirs simply seemed like a complicated relationship.
"I don't have time to slowly overcome my difficulties.
So Mr. Baek's human after all.
"Senior Brother... no, may I call you Senior?"
Seeing Baek Suryong's vulnerable side was a novel experience, and it made him curious about the circumstances behind it. His juniors must have felt the same way.
"Damn it! How can you expect us to quit after seeing a body like that?!"
He smiled affably. "I apologize if I offended you. I was just so happy to see you that I overstepped my bounds."
"......"
"Senior Brother... no, may I call you Senior?"
We were born with strong and resilient bodies.
"......" Number Four did not answer. He stared blankly at Geo Sangwoong and Ya Suhyeok for a moment. Just as the two were about to say something out of impatience, he finally moved his brush.
I am not your Senior Brother.
You want to learn martial arts from me?
Geo Sangwoong nodded firmly. "Yes, if it's not too much trouble."
"Lately, I've felt like my martial arts has hit a wall," Ya Suhyeok added awkwardly.
On his head, Silver Tiger let out a deep sigh.
Your master will oppose it.
Number Four shook his head. He had all but lost interest in teaching martial arts after his old instructor told him that they were taught using the wrong method. Assuming that was true, his method of teaching would not benefit these children.
However, Geo Sangwoong and Ya Suhyeok were persistent.
"But we really want to learn from you!"
"We can just keep it a secret between us..."
"......" Number Four frowned. In the past, defying an instructor's order was an act punishable by death, yet these boys dared to challenge authority without a hint of fear. This stirred up his inner demons, sparking a glimmer of rebellion in his heart.
"W-Well, of course, learning a new martial art without permission wouldn't be right, but since we practice the same martial arts, wouldn't it be okay for you to just check our stances?"
"......" Number Four did not answer.
"......" Number Four fell into deep thought.
Geo Sangwoong carefully pressed his point, "I apologize for saying this about Mr. Baek, but when it comes to external arts... I believe there are things we can only learn from you, Senior."
"Yes, if it's not too much trouble."
"...Me too," Ya Suhyeok chimed in.
They definitely would risk death if their training intensity was increased, but.
This wasn't about determining who was stronger or which martial art was superior. Both boys instinctively knew that this suspicious Senior Brother was the most perfect external martial artist of all.
Number Four was bewildered. He couldn't understand why they wanted to learn from him, even if it meant keeping it a secret from their master.
Why go to such lengths?
"Yes, if it's not too much trouble."
"I want to get stronger. I don't want to fall behind Jicheon or the other seniors," Ya Suhyeok stated firmly, embodying the pure spirit of a martial artist.
Geo Sangwoong, on the other hand, had a more specific goal. "...There's a bastard I absolutely must crush."
The First Tyrant, Cho Il, was a fourth-year student at the Heavenly Martial Academy who had traumatized him at the Heavenly Martial Festival two years ago, causing him to experience qi deviation.
"As a student of the inferior Azure Dragon Academy, you should know your place."
Cho Il's mocking smile was still vivid in his memory. He would face his nemesis again at the upcoming Heavenly Martial Festival, and he was determined to wipe that smile off the bastard's face the next time their paths crossed.
However, his opponent was a prodigy who had reached the finals of last year's Dragon and Phoenix Tournament. In contrast, he had squandered two whole years, wasting away.
"I don't have time to slowly overcome my difficulties. I want to get stronger, no matter what it takes."
On his head, Silver Tiger let out a deep sigh.
"Me too."
Geo Sangwoong's and Ya Suhyeok's expressions instantly soured.