WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Retuned Zenith wants to Rest ◈
Episode 13:
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“NOVA? What’s NOVA?”
“I watch them all the time!”
“How am I supposed to remember everything you watch?”
“Ugh.”
Yoo Gaeun thumped her chest.
She thought having meat stuck in her throat might be less frustrating.
“Gaeun. You’ll get indigestion doing that.”
“Thanks, Mom. Phew. I can’t talk to someone this frustrating! I-I’m sorry! My brother’s ignorant and doesn’t know anything about the world.”
“I-it’s okay. He might not know.”
“I’m not that bad.”
“My tutor had to teach you how to open your banking app.”
“...”
Lee Serin let out a quiet laugh.
There were plenty of fans who recognized her away from the stage. But it was rare to find someone being scolded right beside her for not knowing who she was.
Yoo Kangmin tilted his head, then seemed to finally remember something.
“Ah. The young lady who made wings out of fire?”
“What do you mean, ‘young lady’? She’s only a year older than me!”
Feeling that Gaeun was too much to handle, Kangmin simply shut his mouth.
“Here.”
At just the right moment, his mother placed some meat on his plate.
As soon as Kangmin fell silent, Gaeun quickly turned back to Serin.
“I’m a real fan. I’ve liked you since your debut.”
“Really? What’s your name?”
“I’m Yoo Gaeun!”
“Gaeun, it’s nice to meet you.”
A natural smile spread across the face that had been suffering from the heat moments earlier.
Gaeun’s expression melted.
It was an expression she had never shown Kangmin.
“Seriously.”
“What?”
The way she instantly turned into a wildcat was really something else.
“Could I get an autograph...?”
“Ah, of course.”
Han Jisu took a pen and a small notebook from her bag.
As Serin wrote her name on a blank page, she suddenly stopped.
She had only breathed slowly as Kangmin had told her to earlier, but her condition was holding steady.
‘It’s still holding.’
Serin’s gaze turned to Kangmin.
Amazingly, he had no interest in her. More precisely, he had gone back to being interested in the meat.
“Mother, would you like some more?”
“You eat. Mom’s had plenty.”
“You’ve only had a few pieces since earlier.”
Kangmin placed a nicely cooked piece of meat on his mother’s plate.
Watching this, Han Jisu cautiously spoke up.
“Excuse me, but could we speak briefly after the meal?”
“About what?”
“About what you said earlier.”
Swish.
Han Jisu offered him a business card.
“I’m Han Jisu, NOVA’s manager.”
Kangmin accepted the card.
He had never heard of the company. After scanning the title and contact information, he set it on the table.
“I’m with my family right now...”
He was about to refuse.
His family might get the wrong idea.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have stepped in to begin with?’
He did feel as though he had meddled.
“Kangmin.”
“Yes?”
“Gaeun and I will be fine. Why don’t you talk with them?”
“Oh, all right.”
He had not expected his mother to say that, so Kangmin nodded in confusion.
“Then let’s step outside.”
“Ah, shall we?”
Han Jisu bowed to his mother and rose from her seat.
“Ah.”
Serin also wanted to stand, but Gaeun was practically glued to her side, leaving her unsure what to do.
As though she understood Serin’s feelings, Kangmin’s mother stepped in at just the right time.
“Gaeun.”
“Yeah?”
“You got your autograph, so make room now.”
“Ah!”
Realizing she had been a terrible bother, Gaeun startled and bowed to Serin.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay.”
“We can take a picture when I get back.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. So keep eating.”
Gaeun promptly sat back down.
Kangmin stared at his sister in disbelief.
“What? Why? What do you want me to do?”
“...”
Serin put her glasses back on and adjusted her hat.
The three of them left the restaurant.
“Thank you again. Your sister could have been hurt.”
“She wasn’t hurt, so it’s fine.”
“Still...”
“That doesn’t mean it’ll be fine next time.”
Han Jisu fell silent.
Serin also fiddled with the brim of her hat. They knew she was like a ticking time bomb that could go off at any time.
“Even so, this is the first time it’s been okay for this long.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re better. It only calmed down temporarily.”
“Then should I keep practicing this breathing technique?”
“It’ll help. But your body hasn’t changed. Just breathing won’t solve it.”
Han Jisu immediately asked,
“Could you perhaps teach us more about that?”
Before replying, Kangmin looked Serin over.
It was not as though he could not teach her. But there was something he needed to confirm first.
“What do you intend to do with it?”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t let her answer for you. You tell me yourself.”
Serin looked at Han Jisu.
Han Jisu nodded.
After thinking for a moment, Serin opened her mouth.
“I want to put the fire out.”
“You want to put it out?”
“Yes.”
It was unexpected.
Usually, those who possessed great power wanted to become even stronger.
“The company says I might even become S-rank. But the stronger I get, the fewer things I can do.”
She could not hold a cold drink for long.
She felt self-conscious practicing close to the other members.
She had even nearly hurt a fan earlier.
“NOVA’s first solo concert is in two months.”
“A concert? A performance?”
“Yes. All five of us prepared it together, but they say I shouldn’t go near the audience. I also have to leave out choreography we were supposed to dance together.”
Serin’s hand slowly curled into a fist.
“I know it’s necessary for safety. But if this keeps happening, I feel like I’ll eventually be the only one left out...”
“Does that scare you?”
“Yes. It scares me.”
“Then quit being a singer and work as a hunter.”
Serin shook her head.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m an idol. I want to be a singer.”
There was no hesitation in her words.
“I look forward to the days I stand onstage more than the days I raid gates. I became a trainee because I wanted to sing in front of people.”
Kangmin suddenly remembered words he had heard in the martial world.
Whether it was the Martial Alliance, the Unorthodox Hegemony Alliance, or the Demonic Cult, all three had tried to recruit him.
Their methods differed, but the Martial Alliance mostly spoke of responsibility.
They said that if he had learned martial arts of such caliber, he should use them for all under heaven. He should establish a martial sect, train the next generation, and protect the martial world.
‘With great power comes great responsibility. That damned grand cause.’
But none of them had wanted to know why Yoo Kangmin had sought strength.
None of them had cared what he wanted.
That was why Kangmin had refused their offers.
He had not learned martial arts for some grand cause. He had learned them only to return home.
Serin seemed much like he had been back then.
Everyone around her was happy that she was gaining more power, but what she truly wanted was something else.
“I like making fire onstage too. I just want it to come out only when I want it to. I don’t want to make the people in the front row feel hot while I’m greeting them after a song.”
“You have modest wishes.”
“It’s important to me.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t.”
Han Jisu, who had been listening to their conversation, looked at Serin in surprise.
It was rare for Serin to talk about herself this much.
After thinking for a moment, Kangmin held out his hand.
“Give me your phone.”
“Pardon?”
“Your contact information.”
Serin hurriedly took out her phone.
He entered his number and handed it back.
“I run a kendo dojo. Start coming there tomorrow.”
“A kendo dojo?”
“Yeah. A kendo dojo.”
“Are you perhaps running an awakening academy?”
“No? It’s just a kendo dojo. You don’t know kendo? Kendo?”
“Ah...”
While Han Jisu was left speechless by his utterly casual answer, Serin nodded first.
“I’ll go.”
“Serin. We need to check your schedule first.”
“We can check it.”
Han Jisu quietly sighed and took out her phone.
She talked like that, but getting Serin there on time would be Han Jisu’s responsibility.
“How does four tomorrow afternoon sound?”
“That works.”
“What about tuition?”
“Come over and move around a bit. I’ll decide after seeing how much I need to teach.”
“All right.”
“Come to think of it, I never asked your name.”
“Yoo Kangmin.”
“Instructor Yoo Kangmin.”
Serin quietly repeated his name.
“I’ll be in your care tomorrow.”
“Wear something comfortable to exercise in.”
“Yes.”
Kangmin turned toward the restaurant.
Now that the conversation was over, he intended to return.
When the three came back, Gaeun abruptly raised her head.
It seemed she had diligently continued eating meat while waiting. Her small plate was spotless.
“Did the conversation go well?”
At his mother’s question, Kangmin nodded.
“Yes. She’s coming to the dojo tomorrow.”
“Huh.”
Gaeun’s chopsticks stopped.
“Who?”
“This young lady.”
Gaeun looked at Serin.
Serin smiled and nodded.
“I’m going to learn a little from your brother.”
Gaeun could not speak for a while.
When her private tutor said she wanted to learn kendo, Gaeun had thought her brother was running some kind of scam.
But now even her ultimate fave was going to learn from him.
‘What is this?’
Was her brother amazing?
Or had the world gone strange?
She could not decide yet.
“Gaeun, shall we take a picture?”
“Yes!”
She could figure it out later.
A picture came first.
* * *
On the way home, Gaeun could not put down her phone.
She looked at the photo they had taken together, then the signed photo, then the photo they had taken together again.
Then she suddenly sidled up to Kangmin.
“Oppa.”
“What?”
“Who’s cleaning the dojo tomorrow?”
“I am.”
“Won’t it be hard doing it alone?”
“All of a sudden?”
“You’ve gotten busy too. Family should help each other.”
Just yesterday, she had been treating him like an unemployed bum.
Kangmin stared at his sister, then nodded.
“Fine. Be there by six in the morning.”
“S-six?”
“You have to clean early.”
“No, we can do it in the afternoon!”
“Then don’t.”
His mother burst out laughing beside them.
Gaeun pouted.
Even so, she did not give up and kept following Kangmin.
“She said she’d see me again! Serin!”
“Seriously. You met her once and she’s already your big sister?”
“I met her just now! Just now!”
“Sure, sure. If you want to see her, enroll at the kendo dojo and pay. Then you can see her legitimately.”
“Should I really? How much is it?”
“One million won.”
“What?!”
“That’s your private tutor’s tuition.”
“I-I’m family!”
“With the family discount, it’s one million won.”
“Who has a family discount like that?”
“It’s my kendo dojo. I can do what I want.”
“Oppa!”
Kangmin pretended not to hear and walked ahead.
His little sister’s complaints did not stop behind him.
‘Starting tomorrow, I’ll be busy.’
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