CHAPTER NINE The Things She Refused to Admit
504 Words
Yeonhwa did not change her fighting style.
That would imply she was influenced.
She was not influenced.
She simply… adjusted.
Slightly.
Very slightly.
Barely noticeable.
Probably irrelevant.
—
Training courtyard.
Early morning.
Mist still hanging in the air.
Yeonhwa stood alone.
Wooden sword in hand.
She exhaled.
Moved.
Strike.
Step.
Stop.
She frowned.
Wrong.
She tried again.
Slower.
More control.
Less force.
She hated it immediately.
“Trust it more.”
She paused.
“…Tch.”
—
Again.
This time—
she didn’t drop her shoulder.
Better.
Again.
Her movements became cleaner.
Less wasted motion.
More silence between strikes.
She didn’t notice the improvement at first.
Because she was too busy being annoyed.
—
From the wall above—
someone was watching.
Black robes.
Still.
Taejun.
He said nothing.
Just observed.
Yeonhwa didn’t see him.
She turned.
Reset.
Strike—
and stopped.
Something felt wrong.
She turned sharply.
Eyes scanning.
Empty courtyard.
She narrowed her eyes.
“…I know you’re there.”
Silence.
Then—
from above—
“You’re late.”
Yeonhwa looked up.
There he was.
As if he belonged there.
She frowned.
“Stop doing that.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“Doing what.”
“Appearing without warning.”
His answer was immediate.
“That’s called watching.”
She scoffed.
“Why are you here?”
He looked at her training stance.
Then said—
“To see if you actually listened.”
Annoying.
Yeonhwa stepped back.
“Of course I did not.”
He didn’t react.
“…Show me.”
She blinked.
Then narrowed her eyes.
“No.”
A pause.
Then—
“You’re worse when you hesitate.”
She froze.
That landed too accurately.
She hated that.
So she attacked.
—
Not at him.
At the wooden post.
Fast.
Clean.
Controlled.
No wasted movement.
Less emotion.
More precision.
Strike.
Step.
Turn.
Stop.
Silence.
She exhaled.
Waited for criticism.
Nothing.
She turned.
He was still watching.
Expression unreadable.
“…Well?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then—
“That’s closer.”
Only that.
Yeonhwa crossed her arms.
“That’s it?”
He shrugged slightly.
“It’s enough for now.”
She stared at him.
“…You’re incredibly irritating.”
He nodded once.
“I’ve been told.”
A beat.
Then—
very quietly—
Yeonhwa added:
“…But it works.”
Silence.
Taejun looked at her.
For a second longer than usual.
Then—
almost like it slipped out—
“…Good.”
That was it.
Just one word.
But Yeonhwa stopped.
Because it sounded less like advice.
And more like approval.
She hated that she noticed.
—
Later.
She left the courtyard.
Walking alone.
She tried to ignore the feeling.
Failed.
“…It’s just sword technique.”
She said it out loud.
To nobody.
“…Nothing else.”
From somewhere far behind her—
barely audible—
a voice:
“You talk to yourself too much.”
Yeonhwa stopped.
Turned slowly.
Empty air.
No one there.
She closed her eyes.
“…I really dislike him.”
- Writer
