We finally arrived in Chunwu.
The gates were towering and majestic. The moment they opened—the atmosphere inside burst with life.
Merchants lined the streets, warmly advertising their goods. Some people were busy bargaining. Far ahead, grand pavilions rose proudly into view. Junghyun and I stood there for a moment, stunned by the sight of Chunwu City—until a man suddenly shouted at us.
"Hey, beggars! Don't stand in the middle of the road, idiots!!"
Hearing that, we simply stepped aside.
There was no offense taken. No anger.
Because both Junghyun and I knew it—we didn't belong here.
We kept walking.
For some reason, the sight of Chunwu rekindled the nearly extinguished flame inside us. We began searching for any sect that might be willing to accept us as we were.
We arrived at a wooden building, fairly large for a martial arts school.
On the plaque at the entrance were the words: Floating Leaf Sect.
Two large men stood guard by the door.
Without hesitation, Junghyun stepped forward.
"Who are you?" one of the guards asked.
"I'm Junghyun, and this is my friend, Yeo Woon. We're looking for a sect to train under."
The guard remained silent, scanning us from head to toe while stroking his beard.
"Where are you from?"
"We're from Wei," Junghyun answered without the slightest hesitation.
The two guards exchanged glances. When one of them nodded, the other went inside.
"Wait here."
Junghyun and I waited there for over an hour.
Eventually, the guard who had gone inside returned—but instead of inviting us in, he spoke casually to his companion.
"Ahh… I'm stuffed. Today's meal was pork belly. Hurry up before it's all gone."
Then the guard who had been standing with us went inside as well.
"Excuse me…"
"What about our request to join the sect?"
Junghyun, still resolute, tried to confirm that the hour we spent standing there hadn't been meaningless.
"Hah?"
"Hahaha. Are you insane?"
"Beggars like you want to learn martial arts?"
"There's a limit to stupidity, kid."
Those words hurt deeply.
We were wrong.
That hour hadn't passed because the world asked us to wait—
it passed because the world simply didn't care.
Junghyun clenched his fist. I could see a faint tremor.
"What? You want to fight?" the guard mocked.
Junghyun slowly loosened his grip, then turned to me and smiled.
"Come on, Woon. Let's try somewhere else."
We tried again.
One place after another.
The result was always the same.
Blunt rejection.
Some didn't even bother pretending to hear or see us.
As evening approached, we returned to the city square. There, Junghyun stopped at an old woman's skewer cake stall. He bought two skewers and handed one to me.
"Let's go home, Woon."
Junghyun turned around and walked ahead.
From behind, I could see his shoulders trembling slightly.
I knew that feeling all too well—
the feeling of trying again and again, only for the world to keep saying no.
The feeling of watching the one thing you believed in collapse right in front of you.
"Junghyun… are you okay?"
It was a stupid question.
But it was better than leaving him alone.
"Yeah… I… I'm fine."
His voice was hoarse.
I couldn't see his expression.
Because Junghyun didn't want to show it.
That was why he lied.
So this was how the characters I created felt.
Truthfully, Junghyun was always meant to become a great martial artist.
He was rejected by every sect—because I wrote it that way.
But he was supposed to head in the opposite direction.
He was supposed to meet a legendary master who would teach him martial arts.
Junghyun and Woon were supposed to part ways here.
He was supposed to be stubborn.
He was supposed to run toward the forest over there.
So why was he…
trying to go home?
"Junghyun…"
His name slipped from my lips.
Junghyun stopped walking.
I could have stayed silent.
I could have let Junghyun's dream die right here.
But I didn't want to run away from my responsibility anymore.
"How about we go that way instead?"
I pointed in the opposite direction of our path home.
Junghyun turned back.
"Why go that way?"
"Well… I thought maybe we could take a little walk first."
"When else will we ever come to Chunwu again? Hahaha."
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly—just like Junghyun always did.
"Hahahaha."
Junghyun laughed brightly, for the first time that day.
"Alright. Let's celebrate this failure."
So we headed toward the forest.
This was the right choice.
Junghyun was supposed to meet his master here.
And yet…
somehow, it felt wrong.
The sky grew darker as we walked through the forest.
Only rocky paths and the sound of frogs surrounded us. We decided to stop and rest for a moment.
That was when two figures suddenly appeared in front of us.
They were dressed in black, their faces covered.
One carried a sword.
The other wielded a wooden staff.
"Hand over everything you have!"
"Sir, we don't have anything valuable," Junghyun said.
"We're just travelers trying to get home."
He stood two steps in front of me, trying to handle the situation peacefully—
even though I could see his body trembling with fear.
"Damn it. Just die!!"
The man with the sword lunged at Junghyun. He barely managed to dodge and shouted for me to run.
But at that moment, I saw the other man—the one with the staff—charging toward Junghyun.
That sentence echoed in my head once more.
Guide your story toward its true ending.
If Junghyun died here, this story would never be finished.
I ran toward him, throwing my body forward to close the distance.
And—
Bugh.
The wooden staff struck my head.
Everything faded instantly.
And then—
darkness.