He had tried his best at the job, but ended up losing his temper, b.u.t.ting heads with his colleagues as well. Matters escalated to a point that the head of the Sky Thunder group recommended him for the position of a teacher at Hwacheon Academy.
He had said that it was a recommendation, but in truth, it was a blatant expulsion.
He had no other option but to accept, and become a teacher. Therefore, the only thing Oh-Tae had remaining was his own self-pride.
However, Kang-hyuk, a man that seemed to be unaware of his rank within the school, had hurt the last crumbs of pride he had.
This, was intolerable to him.
To remove Kang-hyuk, the thorn in his back, he had even met with the fourth-year teacher, Yun Hseong.
It was however, a fruitless venture, leading Oh-Tae to seek out the Gyoro Elders personally. The first Elder he had sought out was Eun-san of the Hwasanpa Sect.
Eun-san had shaken his head at Oh-Tae, saying:
"I don't think Kang Seonsaeng is that sort of person."
"But the thing is…"
"Why are you trying to create such meaningless disputes between teachers that should be getting on harmoniously? Tsk tsk."
"I'm not creating meaningless disputes at all!"
"The way I see it, you are just creating unnecessary disputes. If you really want him expelled from the academy, bring concrete evidence of his misdeeds first!"
Eun-san had slammed the door in front of Oh-Tae's face.
This was why he had been so joyous upon hearing the news that Kang-hyuk had brought an outsider into the Academy.
Seeing as there was no record of the outsider having exited the Academy, this meant that they had stayed overnight within his residence — which was against the Academy rules.
With that a.s.sumption, he hurried over to inform the Princ.i.p.al, Eun Myeong-myeong. He was in need of definite evidence, and a witness.
This was why Oh-Tae and Eun Myeong-myeong were standing in front of Kang-hyuk's residence.
The door opened, and not long after, Kang-hyuk emerged. He bowed towards Eun Myeong-myeong in greeting.
"What can I help you with?"
Eun Myeong-myeong looked at Kang-hyuk sternly.
"I'll get straight to the point. Oh Seonsaeng has informed me of a disturbing occurrence."
"What kind of occurrence are you referring to?"
"The occurrence that last night, you brought an outsider into your residence."
Kang-hyuk responded to the accusation.
"Whilst I did indeed bring someone into my residence last night, they aren't an outsider."
"They aren't?"
As the question left Eun Myeong-myeong's lips, a young man stepped out of the residence. His clothes were clean and unbloodied. Due to Kang-hyuk's ointment, he had no trace of injuries on his body. "I couldn't inform you of it yesterday as it had gotten too late, but I've acquired a new a.s.sistant."
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g hurriedly bowed.
"I am Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g."
Eun Myeong-myeong looked at Kang-hyuk. A teacher had complete autonomy in the choosing of their a.s.sistant, and they only needed a final approval from the Princ.i.p.al. The only requirement of an a.s.sistant was that they had a verified background.
Oh-Tae, clearly displeased, cried out.
"Who is this a.s.sistant of yours? And where is he from!? If he doesn't have an appropriate background, he isn't qualified as your a.s.sistant!"
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g hesitantly responded, "I am the son of the 'White Snow' Cheon Family."
He had fearlessly revealed his familial ident.i.ty, believing in Kang-hyuk's words that the Blood King Valley had been his family's attackers.
"...!"
Eun Myeong-myeong stared at Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g with wide eyes.
"The Cheon Family? But...didn't he go missing…."
To verify his ident.i.ty as the son of the Cheon Family, he drew the Silver Ice Sword.
It was well known that only a member of the Cheon Family could hold the sword without harm, and therefore, it was a sure verification.
"I see. Well then, I give my approval."
Eun Myeong-myeong turned to look at Oh-Tae, who was clearly perplexed at the unexpected conclusion of the situation.
"You can come with me."
"…..Yes, of course."
As they both left the residence, Byeok Ae-rin rushed up to Kang-hyuk.
"Seonsaengnim, you should eat breakfast now."
"Ah, time has flown by, hasn't it? Well then, let's eat!"
Byeok Ae-rin then turned towards Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g.
"I'm the maid of this residence. You should have some breakfast, too."
"Ah, yes…."
Baek-gap rushed to explain Byeok Ae-rin's casual use of informal speech.
"She's a maid with quite a unique personality, so she doesn't use formal speech with anyone other than the master she's serving."
"Ah…."
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g accepted the explanation unquestioningly, and headed towards the dining table as Byeok Ae-rin slapped the back of Baek-gap's head.
"Ow…"
She then grinned at him.
"Go and eat."
As Baek-gap sat down to eat, Byeok Ae-rin stared outside the door. She was looking at the fleeting figure of Oh-Tae.
'How dare he disappoint Seonsaengnim!'
Her gaze became ice cold, recalling Kang-hyuk's past promise.
"If he happens to ignore the advice, and still attempts to attack me, you can move in any way you want without informing me."
The time had finally come.
'I'll make it so that you'll be on your knees, begging my Lord for forgiveness!'
***
Eun Myeong-myeong thrusted his office door open.
"Come in!"
"...."
Oh-Tae followed him into the office. Eun Myeong-myeong immediately sank into his seat, sighing.
"Why are you trying so hard to kick Kang Seonsaeng out?"
Oh-Tae replied, "That man is destroying the ranking system between the teachers."
"The ranking system?"
"Yes! Liberal art teachers are attempting to stand above the martial teachers! Is this not unacceptable under the eyes of the Academy?"
Eun Myeong-myeong sighed once more.
"Well, whilst it is one of the foundational ideas within the Academy, it doesn't really have that much relevance in the current times."
"What? What do you mean by it doesn't have much relevance?"
Eun Myeong-myeong continued speaking.
"You seem to be misunderstanding something. The Academy wants to prevent the liberal arts teachers from quitting, not for you to trample over them, causing them to quit!"
"...."
"I think you've gone too far."
Oh-Tae clenched his fists at Eun Myeong-myeong's remark.
'For whose sake did I go so far! Now, you're just singing another tune!'
Eun Myeong-myeong deeply sighed one more time.
"I'm saying this because I still have a bit of remaining affection for you. Be very cautious, I don't have a good feeling about this."
"What on earth do you mean by that?"
As a former head of Hyeonmugak, having sifted through piles of information, Eun Myeong-myeong had developed an intuition for when a person was due to experience a personal crisis.
He could feel such a circ.u.mstance potentially arising for Oh-Tae.
"I especially and deeply emphasize that you should not bother Kang Seonsaeng henceforth."
"Why is that so?"
Eun Myeong-myeong didn't respond, instead looking in the direction of a particular corner of his office. There, emanating a golden light, was a Radiant Golden Lotus in full bloom.
It was the very Lotus that Kang-hyuk had bloomed for his test. When Eun Myeong-myeong had attempted to return the Lotus to him after he had been accepted as a teacher, Kang-hyuk said:
"I think it would be better placed in your office than in my residence."
Since then, the Radiant Golden Lotus had been in his office, and Eun Myeong-myeong was clearly able to feel a greater sense of relaxation and peace within his heart with its presence.
He turned away from the Lotus, and looked at Oh-Tae once more.
"I didn't mention this before as I felt that it might cause trouble, but to be honest, Kang Seonsaeng's recommender was…."
All of a sudden, the guard standing outside the office door called out.
"The Elder, Shim-gu has come!"
"...!"
Eun Myeong-myeong immediately rose from his seat.
The all-important ending of his sentence, 'Kang Seonsaeng's recommender was the Clan Leader', couldn't be said.
"Keep what I said in mind!"
However, Eun Myeong-myeong's warning to Oh-Tae was too late.
Shim-gu stepped into the office, standing in front of Oh-Tae.
He was the former head of Hyeonmugak, and presently involved in the running of Hwacheon Clan's operations as an Elder.
"I greet you humbly, Elder."
Oh-Tae rushed to bow in greeting Shim-gu.
"I see, so you're the fellow known as Oh-Tae!"
"Yes, I am."
Oh-Tae was confounded as to how Shim-gu knew his name.
He could also feel a threatening energy emanating from him.
'Did...did I do something wrong?'
Unaware of the background circ.u.mstances, Oh-Tae could only keep his head deeply bowed.
"...."
As Shim-gu had entered, the guard closed the door behind him. It slammed shut.
***
"Please come in."
Eun Myeong-myeong politely bowed.
When Eun Myeong-myeong was a junior of Hyeonmugak, Shim-gu was the head of the organization. They worked closely together, and therefore, he was able to ascertain Shim-gu's feelings by observing his facial expressions.
He could see that at this point in time, Shim-gu didn't look too pleased.
Therefore, Eun Myeong-myeong cautiously asked, "Er….are you displeased in any way?"
"It's nothing much. There's just a fellow that offended me."
"...."
Eun Myeong-myeong could tell that the offending fellow was Oh-Tae. He had noticed that Shim-gu's gaze towards Oh-Tae was mixed with threatening energy.
'That must be the reason why I had a bad feeling about Oh Seonsaeng.'
Nonetheless, he felt that there was nothing more he could do for Oh-Tae, aside from praying for the salvation of his soul.
Shim-gu then spoke in a frank manner.
"Anyways, I came because I needed your help."
"My help?"
"Could you do with another cleaner for the Academy?"
"...."
***
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g let out a sigh.
'Me, a teaching a.s.sistant? At Hwacheon Academy?'
He too, had attended the Academy as a student.
But during his summer vacation as a second-year student, his family had been attacked, and he never returned.
He felt a little sad that he was not even able to graduate.
Picking up his sword, he stood up and walked into the courtyard where Kang-hyuk was tending to the flowerbeds.
"Er...Seonsaengnim."
"What's wrong Cheon Jogyo (1)?"
"I'm going to need to leave for a while. Today's the day I receive my monthly salary at Hyangwooru, so…."
Kang-hyuk nodded in understanding.
"If that's the case, you should definitely go and claim the money for your hard work."
"Thank you for your understanding."
"You should get going."
"Yes."
As Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g turned to leave, Kang-hyuk grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait, I'll come with you."
"Sorry?"
"Didn't you say that you worked at Hyangwooru?"
"Indeed."
"I'm curious as to what kind of place it is."
Kang-hyuk looked over at Byeok Ae-rin.
"I'll be heading out for a while."
"I'll tell Baek-gap to accompany you."
"There's no need…."
He then conveyed a message to Byeok Ae-rin telepathically.
-That fellow Shim-gu is in the Academy right now.
***
Kang-hyuk and Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g stood in front of Hyangwooru.
"This is it."
"I see."
Whilst he had pretended otherwise, Kang-hyuk was well informed about Hyangwooru, and its owner as well.
This was the reason he had insisted on accompanying Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g.
"Let's go inside."
"Yes, Seonsaengnim."
As they entered, a server immediately came up to them.
"I'm sorry, but we're not open yet…."
He then looked over and noticed Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g.
"Ah! Musnim (2)! What on earth happened yesterday? We were so worried when you didn't come back after escorting the customer home! We looked for you all over!"
"Er, a situation came up last night. Is the Boss here?"
"He's in the office."
"Thanks."
As they headed towards the owner of Hyangwooru's office, Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g tilted his head.
The path to the Office was a little windy, and sometimes, even he had gotten lost on the way.
However, Kang-hyuk seemed to be walking a step ahead of him, without his guidance.
Within a few minutes, they were outside the owner's office. Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g addressed the guard outside the room.
"I would like to meet the Boss."
The guard went inside, and soon the owner's voice echoed through the door.
"Come in."
As the door opened, they entered the room.
The interior decor of the office wasn't particularly unique in any way. Kang-hyuk stared at the owner, who was sitting behind a wooden desk.
He looked around forty years of age, and was wearing a robe made out of fine silk.
Kang-hyuk likened the owner's outer appearance to a pig wrapped in silk. He saw no change in his countenance from the past.
"My greetings to you."
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g bowed his head.
"Have you come for your salary?"
"Yes. I also wanted to inform you of my resignation."
The man then stood up, brought out a doc.u.ment, and then, returned to his position.
"You can resign if you wish to do so, but I can't give you this month's salary."
(1) Jogyo= teaching a.s.sistant
(2) Musnim= honorific term for a guard/warrior
