Episode 250
“Master Sunwoo, how… how could you do this? I truly thought you had abandoned me… I really did… sob!”
Jin So-eun finally broke down in tears.
It happened just after she had taken a moment to catch her breath, having dealt with all the assassins from the Blood Brotherhood who had opposed her. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sunwoo Jin watching her with a faint smile.
Sunwoo Jin was caught off guard.
He had never imagined that the woman who always seemed so strong and composed would suddenly burst into tears.
“J-Jin Sojeo, I never abandoned you… I—”
He tried to explain, fumbling for words.
He wanted to convince her that he hadn’t left her behind, but rather pushed her away to help her grow.
But it was no use.
“I don’t care! It’s cruel! I hate you, Master Sunwoo! I really hate you! sob sob sob!”
Jin So-eun refused to listen, her tears flowing even more freely.
It was as if all the pain and sorrow she’d bottled up over the past few days were pouring out in that moment.
“N-No, Jin Sojeo, I mean…”
Sunwoo Jin was at a loss. He had no idea how to handle this.
After all, the only woman he’d ever tried to comfort before was Dang Yeo-eun—and he couldn’t just hold So-eun in his arms like that.
So, feeling helpless, he turned to the one person he respected most, Mukrang, for advice.
“Elder, what should I do in a situation like this?”
Mukrang’s reply was cold and blunt.
“Why are you asking me? The one who caused this mess should be the one to fix it…”
The tone was so firm, so final, it was like a line had been drawn.
Sunwoo Jin was stunned, mouth agape.
It was as if Mukrang was saying this had nothing to do with him.
No, it almost sounded like he was enjoying the detachment.
For the first time, Sunwoo Jin felt betrayed by Mukrang.
He snapped at the elder.
“Elder! You were the one who said she’s a warrior and would understand that this was for her growth! How can you say something like that now?!”
That was true.
When Sunwoo Jin had questioned whether leaving her alone was too harsh, Mukrang had answered with absolute certainty that it was necessary.
In fact, while Sunwoo Jin had carried out the plan, Mukrang was the one who had devised it.
Mukrang fell silent, hearing Sunwoo Jin’s angry outburst.
“……”
But when the silence stretched on, Sunwoo Jin took it as dismissal and shouted again in frustration.
“Elder! I’m truly disappointed! I respected you not only as a martial arts master but as a life mentor, and yet you abandoned me so irresponsibly…!”
Mukrang finally spoke softly.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…What?”
“Didn’t I tell you before? After all these years, the one thing I still can’t understand is a woman’s heart. So when I talk about women, you should take what I say with a grain of salt…”
“Elder!”
Sunwoo Jin squeezed his eyes shut.
To be betrayed by the one person he trusted most—it was unimaginable.
Hearing an apology only made him feel emptier.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Right now, Jin So-eun was still crying right in front of him.
And the ally he had trusted had just proven to be an incompetent betrayer.
This was the toughest crisis he’d faced yet.
It felt even more difficult than when they faced Yoon Sak of the Blood Sea Demon.
“What do I do? How can I get through this…?”
After a moment of thought, Sunwoo Jin let out a deep sigh.
“Huu…”
He realized he had to give up trying to solve this with his usual clever tricks.
When it came to matters of the heart, his knowledge and crisis management skills were below average at best.
“No, to be honest, maybe not just below average—maybe among the worst men alive. And to think even my master is the same…”
It felt like an inescapable fate.
In that moment, he felt a surge of gratitude for Dang Yeo-eun, who had endured all this and still loved him.
Anyway, Sunwoo Jin decided to surrender completely.
He knew he had no ability to turn this situation around.
He spoke to Jin So-eun with all the sincerity he could muster.
“Jin Sojeo, I truly apologize. I never imagined you would be hurt this deeply… I admit I was so focused on helping you grow that I ignored your feelings.”
Technically, it was Mukrang who had been the one to push for that growth, but Sunwoo Jin didn’t say that.
A wave of frustration welled up inside him.
He ignored Mukrang’s clearing of his throat and continued.
“It was foolish of me. No matter how much I wanted what was best for you, I should have had your consent. I should have put your safety first. It’s all my fault. I’m truly sorry, Jin Sojeo.”
Jin So-eun’s tears began to subside.
It felt like a raging waterfall had calmed to a rushing stream.
Sunwoo Jin dared to hope.
“Could it be that my sincere apology is working?”
But she still sniffled, looking at him with a resentful gaze.
“Did you really… care about me?”
“Yes!”
Sunwoo Jin instinctively knew this was his chance.
She was finally willing to listen.
He had to seize this moment.
If he missed it, things would just go back to how they were.
He focused all his energy and answered quickly.
“Of course I cared! I was so worried I couldn’t leave your side! When there were too many assassins using the Earth Seal, I took them out in advance. And when you fought that old man with the secret technique, I also took down two similar old men nearby! I left just enough so you wouldn’t be in danger! Honestly, my heart was pounding so hard watching you—I thought you might die!”
He spoke without pausing to breathe, afraid that stopping would lose the moment.
Jin So-eun stared at him for a moment, then asked,
“Did you memorize that speech? Like you did with me, so you could say it whenever there are too many women around?”
“Ugh!”
A sudden pain shot through the back of his neck.
That was too smooth, too practiced.
The saying “too much of a good thing” flashed through his mind.
“N-No, that’s not true…”
He squeezed his eyes shut again, sighed deeply, and this time spoke more slowly, with genuine feeling.
“If I’d done this before, I’d know it was foolish. I swear, you’re the first woman I’ve ever done this for. And… I truly worried. If you’d been seriously hurt, I would never have forgiven myself.”
He poured all his sincerity into his words.
Jin So-eun, who had been looking at him with watery eyes, finally let out a small, genuine smile.
She stopped crying and smiled at him.
Sunwoo Jin’s face brightened instantly.
Even a man so hopeless with women like himself could succeed if he tried hard enough.
With a faint smile and moist eyes, Jin So-eun said,
“Actually, I already knew, Master Sunwoo. I knew you did all this for me. Thanks to you, I’ve grown so much. And I knew you were watching over me—cutting the net with the thunder traps, warning me with your telepathy. I knew it all.”
Sunwoo Jin finally exhaled in relief.
“Oh, I see. Of course…”
But then, tears welled up in Jin So-eun’s eyes again.
“sniff”
Sunwoo Jin, startled, opened his mouth to speak but stopped.
He couldn’t understand why she was crying again after saying she knew everything.
But even a man as clueless as him instinctively knew one thing:
That question was one he should never ask.
So he took a deep breath and decided to stay silent until he could understand the situation better.
Then, Jin So-eun wiped her tears and slowly stepped closer to him.
Suddenly, her scent drifted into his nose.
After nearly two days of rolling around on the ground fighting, he expected the sharp smell of sweat—but instead, there was a faint wildflower fragrance.
It was lovely.
She gently rested her forehead against his chest and whispered,
“Please… don’t ever do that again. Let my grandfather be the only one cold enough to treat me like that for my growth. Master Sunwoo… I want you not to be like that with me.”
Her eyes were filled with sorrow, her voice soft and moist, and that faint wildflower scent lingered in the air.
Sunwoo Jin nodded slowly, almost entranced.
“…I understand. I promise I won’t ever do that again.”
At that moment, Mukrang’s voice echoed in his mind.
“You really are hopeless with women…”
“Please be quiet, Elder.”
“clears throat Fine.”
The two stood silently for a moment.
Then, a little later, Jin So-eun suddenly blushed deeply and dashed away as if fleeing.
“Ah! I probably smell like sweat! You idiot!”
Sun Woo-jin chuckled softly as he watched her walk away.
She was adorable.
The next day, the two of them managed to enter Shantou, a bustling port city located at the eastern edge of Guangdong Province.
Their plan was to take a ship from there to Dainan Island.
Well, more precisely, they had made sure that people believed they were planning to go there.
As Jin So-eun wandered through the busy streets filled with sailors and along the harbor crowded with ships, she suddenly turned to Sun Woo-jin and asked,
“Wait, what do you mean by ‘making people think we’re heading to Dainan Island’?”
Since yesterday, she had been sparring with Sun Woo-jin and asking him questions about their situation, but she still hadn’t heard the exact plan for what lay ahead.
Sun Woo-jin glanced around at the sailors filling the harbor and replied casually,
“I’ll explain the details later.”
Jin So-eun puffed out her cheeks and glared at him.
“You promised you wouldn’t keep anything from me anymore.”
Caught off guard by her reaction, Sun Woo-jin stammered,
“Ah, well, you see…”
Since the Blood Brotherhood incident, their relationship had shifted somewhat.
Jin So-eun no longer felt intimidated by Sun Woo-jin.
Whether it was because they had broken down barriers or because they had been through so much together, she no longer held back—she expressed her feelings more boldly.
On the other hand, Sun Woo-jin found her a bit more challenging now.
He felt guilty about what had happened, and sometimes her emotions hit him so purely and intensely that he was left flustered.
He smiled awkwardly and tried to soothe her.
“There aren’t many people around here. It’s just not the right place to talk about the plan.”
“But you explained everything clearly through telepathy before.”
“Ah, yes, of course, but…”
At that moment, Sun Woo-jin’s eyes sharpened, and he turned his head to the side.
Through telepathy, he said to Jin So-eun,
“Prepare yourself, So-jeo.”
Though he didn’t specify what to prepare for, Jin So-eun didn’t ask further and followed his gaze.
Though she wasn’t as quick to sense it as he was, after hearing his words, she too felt it.
A group of people with a dangerous aura was approaching from the direction Sun Woo-jin was looking.
Their sharp eyes met those of a middle-aged man in blue walking toward them.
He was flanked by dozens of subordinates, wearing a cold, sinister smile as he stared directly at the two.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Their presence was like a pack of wild beasts.
They swaggered arrogantly, but their energy was sharper and more intimidating than many elite forces.
Even the rough sailors nearby, who had been chatting noisily, fell silent and stepped aside, clearing a path.
Finally, the man in blue stopped in front of them, grinning wickedly as he asked,
“Are you the brat called Inpa?”
His tone was condescending, his expression rude beyond measure.
Jin So-eun nearly stepped forward in anger.
But at that moment, she heard Sun Woo-jin’s telepathic voice.
“Stay still, Jin So-jeo.”
She decided to hold her ground and watch how Sun Woo-jin would respond, though she remained ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
She was certain he would retaliate.
From everything she had seen, Sun Woo-jin never let provocations slide with a smile.
He usually responded with even greater force.
So she expected a fight to break out—but this time, her expectations were completely off.
Despite the man’s taunting tone, Sun Woo-jin replied with surprising politeness,
“Did Lord Ma send you?”
What shocked her wasn’t just his courteous tone.
The content itself was startling.
Lord Ma?
The Southern Sea Lord Ma?
The man in blue’s expression shifted to one of slight admiration as he answered,
“Oh? You’re quite sharp. Yes, Lord Ma ordered me to bring you here.”
Sun Woo-jin studied him for a moment, then asked again,
“Then you must be Senior Cheongpo Hyochigon, one of Lord Ma’s Four Heavenly Kings.”
The man in blue gave a savage grin.
“You’ve got a keen eye.”
That was an affirmation.
‘Cheongpo Magun Hyochigon.’
Jin So-eun looked at him again, surprised.
He was far more formidable than she had expected.
Known as the Blue Dolphin or Cheongpo Magun, Hyochigon was one of the four supreme warriors directly under Lord Ma, one of the greatest sea villains of the Southern Sea.
His nickname, “the smartest dolphin in the sea,” spoke volumes about his cunning and skill—he was Lord Ma’s right hand.
Compared to the heads of the twelve clans of the Hainan faction, he was on an even higher level.
And here he was, personally showing up to fetch Sun Woo-jin.
Suddenly, the man’s grin turned fierce as he radiated a powerful killing intent.
“So… you recognize me but still act like that? Your backbone must be stiff. Shall I straighten you out myself?”
Whoosh!
“!”
The intensity was like a blade.
Jin So-eun instinctively raised her wooden staff in defense.
Even among the top-tier warriors, this was a level far beyond the three elders of the Blood Brotherhood she had fought before.
Behind Hyochigon, his subordinates wore intimidating smiles as they watched the two.
It was like staring down a pack of wolves ready to pounce at the slightest provocation.
Jin So-eun swallowed nervously.
Judging by their demeanor, they clearly hadn’t come with good intentions.
She glanced at Sun Woo-jin, unsure how to respond.
“Master Sun?”
At that moment, she realized something—unlike herself, Sun Woo-jin wasn’t moving at all.
He seemed completely unfazed by the overwhelming hostility and murderous gazes, simply staring back at Hyochigon.
But he wasn’t just standing still.
After a moment, Sun Woo-jin bowed politely toward Hyochigon and clasped his fists in salute.
“It is an honor to meet Senior Cheongpo Magun.”
His greeting was so courteous it almost seemed submissive to Jin So-eun.
Hyochigon, who had been glaring as if ready to devour him, clicked his tongue and spat out,
“You’re a spineless whelp. I heard you were a tiger cub, but turns out you’re just a kitten.”
It was clear he had no intention of letting Sun Woo-jin go.
First, he picked a fight because he didn’t greet him, and now he was mocking the greeting as weak.
His subordinates chuckled and added,
“Looks like it’s not Hainan but Hainan Cat.”
“Maybe if you pet him, you’ll see him flip the boat over? Ha ha!”
“All those rumors about toppling the Hapsan faction and Baekgyo faction? Seems like it was all done by the woman behind him! Ha ha ha!”
Each comment was a provocation aimed at Sun Woo-jin.
But Sun Woo-jin just smiled gently and replied,
“Whether I’m a tiger cub or a kitten is for Lord Ma to decide.”
Hyochigon glared at him for a moment, then clicked his tongue.
“Bah, boring fellow. Follow me.”
With that, Hyochigon turned and strode away.
Sun Woo-jin followed him without hesitation.
Jin So-eun, still tense, followed closely, keeping a wary eye on the subordinates trailing behind.
Then, she heard Sun Woo-jin’s telepathic voice again.
“There’s no need to be so guarded. Since Lord Ma ordered them to bring us, they won’t make the first move. It seems Hyochigon doesn’t like me much, though. He’s trying to provoke us into acting first.”
Only then did Jin So-eun understand what had just happened.
She finally grasped why Sun Woo-jin hadn’t reacted to their provocations as usual.
And she realized anew that her shortcomings weren’t just in martial arts.
A short while later, Hyochigon led them to a massive ship docked nearby.
It was by far the largest vessel among all the ships moored there, its mast flying a black whale flag.
It was Lord Ma’s pirate ship.
Without hesitation, Hyochigon led them inside and showed them to a small cabin.
Inside was a single, bare bed.
In a gruff tone, he said,
“You’ll be here for about a day. Stay put and wait quietly.”
Just as he was about to leave, he glanced at Jin So-eun and smirked lecherously.
“Still, having a woman around should keep things from getting boring.”
“!”
Jin So-eun’s face flushed bright red.
Thanks to her training with Son Rang, she now understood a bit about matters between men and women.
Hyochigon looked at her with a lascivious gleam in his eyes, then left the cabin after adding one last remark.
“Enjoy your time. Oh, and keep your voices down—others might not be able to resist coming in.”
Thud!
The door closed, and silence settled over the cabin.
Sun Woo-jin casually sat on the edge of the bed, while Jin So-eun stood stiffly, unable to meet his gaze.
Hyochigon’s words echoed in her ears, making it impossible to look at him directly.
A sudden thought about the current situation popped into her mind.
“So, I’m supposed to be stuck here with Lord Sunwoo, just the two of us, for an entire day?”
She swallowed hard without even realizing it.
The memory of burying her face in his chest just yesterday flashed vividly and refused to fade.
And then there was what Sarang had told her about men and women—
“Sarang said that when a man and a woman are stuck together in a small space…”
Right then, the boat jolted.
Clunk!
“!”
Jin So-eun jumped in surprise, then remembered the boat had just set off for Daenam Island.
At that moment, Sunwoo Jin suddenly sprang up from his seat and called out to her.
“Miss Jin.”
“Y-Yes?!”
Startled, So-eun instinctively wrapped her arms around herself as she answered.
Sunwoo Jin fixed her with a sharp gaze and said,
“It’s time to move now.”
“W-What? Move? What do you mean? How?”