Wi Yeonho was lost in sweet, delicious sleep.
Strangely, no matter how much he slept, it never seemed enough. One would think that sleeping a lot would make it harder to sleep the next day, but that wasn't the case.
On the contrary, after a good night's sleep, he would get sleepy even earlier the next day.
His sleep had piled up in layers like that, and now, unless he slept more than eight hours a day, he would be so exhausted that he could barely function.
Wi Jeonghan would often foam at the mouth in frustration and curse him out, but what was he supposed to do? It wasn't his fault he kept getting sleepy. How could it be Wi Yeonho's fault that sleep came so easily? It was sleep's fault.
So today, too, Wi Yeonho had no guilt.
The warm sunlight gently shining on his face felt like it was demanding him to continue sleeping.
At that moment, the door opened.
"Oppa, wake up!"
Wi Yeonho frowned and pulled the blanket tightly around himself.
He felt the blanket being tugged.
"Wake up! Wake up! You lazy bear! I said wake up!"
Wi Yeonho clung even more stubbornly to the blanket. But the little devil trying to wake him today seemed determined not to give up.
"Wake up already!"
"Ughhh!"
Wi Yeonho stuck his face out from under the blanket and yelled.
"Ah, come on! Why are you bothering me so early in the morning?"
Normally, by now, Wi Suryeon would have gotten mad and stormed out. But not today. Today, she didn't know the meaning of "give up." She slapped at the blanket and shouted.
"You have to get up! Or you'll be in trouble! Hurry up and get out of bed!"
"Go away! Won't you? Why are you messing with your big brother from this early hour? Hey, scram!"
"You have to get up and train!"
"You go do it. Okay? Suryeon, your poor brother is exhausted right now, so why don't you go train instead."
Wi Suryeon puffed up her cheeks in indignation.
"You'll regret this."
Faced with the tiny threat, Wi Yeonho let out a chuckle.
This little thing was already trying to toy with people.
"Regret what."
"I warned you, oppa. Don't come complaining later."
"Whatever."
Wi Yeonho wrapped himself up in the blanket like a cocoon.
Wi Suryeon scowled and shrieked,
"Die in bed for all I care!"
She stormed off, leaving Wi Yeonho to bury himself back into the mattress with irritation.
"Ugh, what kind of kid likes training that much? Her name really suits her."
Relieved to be free from his sister's torment, Wi Yeonho happily closed his eyes again.
It was annoying to be disturbed by Suryeon, but there was a hidden upside. Her appearance meant Wi Jeonghan, who always tried to devour him whole, wouldn't be coming by. That meant more time for quality sleep.
In life, for everything you lose, there's something to gain.
'Maybe I'll sleep a bit more.'
Yes, it was time for a sweet nap.
Crash.
But then, the door opened again.
Just as he was drifting off, Wi Yeonho was jolted awake.
'That damn girl again!'
Step.
Step.
'Huh?'
Just as he was about to explode, Wi Yeonho stopped. He thought it was Wi Suryeon again, but something was different.
The footsteps were too heavy to be hers.
'Is it Father?'
The steps slowly approached him.
'I'll just say I trained. I did, after all. He won't scold me. And if he asks why it was so short, I'll just say he never told me to train for a long time. Then he'll probably tell me to train more tomorrow, but today I can still rest…'
"Get up."
A calm voice spoke.
Wi Yeonho didn't move.
Just a little longer…
Smack!
A sudden, unbearable pain exploded in his head.
"AAAAHHH!"
He screamed and shot up from bed. What kind of maniac hits someone just because they didn't respond the first time?
"You could've just said something, why resort to violence?!"
But he didn't get to finish.
Standing in front of him wasn't his father—but a tall young man with a stern expression.
"…Hyung?"
"How many hours do you think you've been sleeping?"
"When did you get here?"
"I asked you first."
Wi Yeonho glanced out the window.
The sun was high in the sky.
"It's… already midday…"
The young man's face hardened even more.
Panic rising, Wi Yeonho tried to explain himself.
He knew all too well how dangerous his brother's expression was.
"No! Wait! Hyung! I really did train this morning! I trained hard, that's why I was tired! I'm telling the truth!"
He waved his hands in desperation.
If it were their father or mother scolding him, he wouldn't have reacted this way. He could've brushed it off with a calm excuse.
But the man in front of him wasn't someone you could weasel out of things with.
'When did he come back?!'
Wi Sanho (魏山澔)!
The eldest son of the Guangdong Wi clan and Wi Yeonho's one and only older brother.
Unlike Hansang-ah, who felt guilty for not taking better care of Wi Yeonho, or Wi Jeonghan, who had been away and emotionally distant, Wi Sanho had no reason to go easy on him.
And more than anyone else, he valued martial training and couldn't stand his younger brother going astray.
Also…
"You say you trained?"
"Yes!"
"Come outside."
"…Huh?"
"Let's see how much you've improved in the three years I've been gone."
"…."
Wi Sanho was the one who had trained Wi Yeonho while their father was away.
"If I'm not impressed, you better be prepared."
Wi Yeonho's face twisted in agony.
'I'm screwed.'
Wi Sanho and Wi Yeonho stood facing each other in the training yard.
Both held wooden swords and stared one another down.
"I'm telling you, I really did train…"
But Wi Sanho remained firm.
"Then show me."
"Ugh…"
Wi Yeonho sighed heavily.
Back at home, Wi Sanho had been obsessed with martial arts.
He was also the one who pushed Wi Yeonho the hardest.
Though he was often away for training or in seclusion, whenever he was home, he never let Wi Yeonho slack off.
If not for him, Wi Yeonho would've been even lazier than he was now.
Though they were brothers, there was a six-year age gap, and since Wi Sanho had taken care of him from infancy, Wi Yeonho never dared to rebel against him.
To Wi Yeonho, Sanho was more like a father than Wi Jeonghan ever was.
Three years ago, he had left home to enter Cheomnyong Martial Academy (潛龍武館), and Wi Yeonho had begun to enjoy life. But now, he had returned without warning.
"What are you doing?"
Snapped out of his thoughts, Wi Yeonho gripped his sword tightly.
Screw it!
"Haah!"
Wi Yeonho swung his sword through the air.
It was Flying Dragon Ascending Sword (飛龍天上劍), a secret technique of the Guangdong Wi clan. Specifically, the Flying Dragon Soars to Heaven form.
Clack!
But his form looked nothing like a dragon soaring skyward. With a light flick of his wrist, Wi Sanho's wooden sword struck Wi Yeonho's and sent it flying into the air.
Then Sanho raised his own sword.
"Eek!"
Wi Yeonho covered his head with both hands.
He knew what was coming—his cruel brother would surely smack his head to test if it was well cooked.
But strangely, the blow never came.
Instead, Wi Sanho stared at him for a long moment with a hardened face… then lowered his sword.
A sigh escaped from his lips.
"It's been three years."
"…"
"In three years, you could've mastered a sword technique. Broken through to a new realm."
Wi Yeonho couldn't respond.
"But you've gotten worse than you were three years ago."
Wi Yeonho wanted to crawl into a hole.
It wasn't the scolding that hurt. He'd heard those plenty of times, and he had thick enough skin to shrug off most insults.
What made him shrink was the genuine disappointment on his brother's face.
But even then, his own feelings couldn't compare to what Wi Sanho must be feeling.
Wi Yeonho wasn't weak—Sanho knew that.
Compared to others his age, Wi Yeonho was quite skilled.
Having seen many martial artists at the academy, Sanho knew his brother's level wasn't low enough to dismiss.
But the problem was this:
Wi Yeonho had regressed.
He might've gotten a bit stronger physically, but his swordsmanship was clearly inferior to what it had been three years ago.
To realize that the boy once called a genius at age nine had become merely average by twelve… the blow to Sanho's heart was crushing.
'What do I need to do?'
Clearly, while he was gone, Wi Yeonho had completely abandoned training and indulged in laziness.
Sanho only had two weeks before returning to the academy. If nothing changed, Wi Yeonho would go right back to the way he'd been the last three years.
Sanho couldn't let that happen.
"Go back to your room."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Wi Yeonho hesitated, watching his brother.
If this had been the past, there would've been yelling or a beating—but now, he just left.
'I didn't get hit, which is good… but…'
The unfamiliar reaction only made him more uneasy.
If Sanho had just exploded with anger or hit him, he wouldn't feel this unsettled. But this… this was worse.
"Hehehe."
A giggle came from behind.
Wi Yeonho turned sharply.
"Wi Suryeon!"
"Huh?"
"You knew, didn't you?"
"Knew what?"
She feigned innocence.
"Don't play dumb! You knew hyung was coming today!"
"Yup."
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
Wi Suryeon calmly retorted,
"Did you ask?"
"You—!"
Giggling, she ran off.
"Instead of yelling at me, shouldn't you be more worried about what Big Brother's going to do next?"
"Hey! Get back here!"
Wi Yeonho fumed, then let out a deep sigh. Even if he had known, nothing would've changed. Sanho wasn't angry just because he was lazy—it was because his skills had declined.
If martial arts were something you could improve overnight, no one would bother training.
"Ughhh…"
Slumping his shoulders, Wi Yeonho trudged back to his room, dreading the storm he knew was coming.