Urban Vagabond: Reload

The doctors who checked my condition all clicked their tongues.

“People say martial artists recover at a level you can’t even compare to ordinary people, but...... Mr. Kim Muhyuk, you’re research material even among the ones I’ve seen.”

No matter how many top-grade internal-and-external injury medicines and even elixirs the Sun and Moon Gate had sent—and no matter how much of that had been used in my treatment—when I thought about what I’d looked like when I was first brought in, it wouldn’t have been strange if I’d spent at least a full week doing nothing but lying down.

But in just three days, I recovered enough to walk around like nothing was wrong, and I decided to transfer to a hospital I could visit from home.

‘At this rate, I’ll probably be completely fine in another day or two.’

The web-like wounds all over my body had closed enough to be visibly noticeable, and my internal injuries had improved a lot too.

The doctors and nurses were stunned by that monster-like recovery, but they still warned me over and over.

“Even if you feel fine, don’t skip appointments. You must keep coming to the hospital. And training and exercise—especially internal energy training—are absolutely forbidden for the time being.”

“But the wounds on my legs feel basically healed. Can I at least do lower-body workouts?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Then a light run—”

“At this point, it might be better if we called your guardian and told them ourselves.”

“......”

“You can’t look at me with that disappointed face. You need absolute rest. Patient? Are you listening to me?”

I went through discharge while getting nagged to death, but I didn’t give up easily.

‘A little bodyweight exercise should be fine.’

Push-ups and pull-ups... and depending on how I felt, maybe something light like muscle-ups or planches just to loosen up.

I went home excited to work out for the first time in a while, but I got caught by Choi Geon that same day, got smacked, and had training banned.

“You’re out of your mind. You want to get old and crippled early that badly?”

“I was just going to do it lightly as rehab—”

“Not a chance. Do you think I don’t know how martial artists are? They can’t stand taking even one day off training, and then they wreck their bodies. Stop whining and lie down quietly!”

Choi Geon didn’t stop at words.

He confiscated every single practice wooden sword I owned, and he wrapped the few exercise tools in my room so thoroughly with blue tape that I couldn’t even touch them.

“...Teacher. Isn’t this too much? What if my body stiffens up? Mom, Dad—don’t just watch, say something!”

It was the first time I’d ever felt real resistance toward my teacher.

But Choi Geon snorted like I should stop getting cocky, and the parents who always trusted their son weren’t on my side at times like this.

“It’s good having you here, Teacher. Please scold this punk even more!”

“Just listen to your teacher. You’ve been doing whatever you wanted with training all this time, right? If professionals tell you not to do something, there’s always a reason.”

The three of them stood shoulder-to-shoulder with arms crossed, glaring at me, and for the first time I felt like I was alone in my own house.

With my lips sticking out, I grumbled.

“Since when have you three had such perfect teamwork?”

“You didn’t know? We have plenty of fun together even without you!”

In the end, under my teacher’s and my parents’ razor-sharp surveillance, I rested a few more days. Only after the hospital gave permission for rehab did I finally get to start light training again.

The moment I got a full recovery clearance, my dad, Kim Chanho, acted like he’d been waiting for it and pushed for a celebration.

“It’s late, but we still have to have a license celebration party!”

“The first-rate license exam is still left, though.”

“That’s something you do again later. This time, it’s to celebrate becoming an official martial artist. Next time, it’s to celebrate being promoted to first-rate.”

Even my mom, Park Jiyeon—who usually tried to rein in my dad when he got over-the-top—made a firm face and said we absolutely had to do a license celebration party.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say our whole family had been waiting for this day since I was little.

But because I’d suddenly gotten hurt and hospitalized at the Martial Alliance, my parents had ended up eating the cake they’d bought in advance by themselves at home.

“We should tell Kangheon and Bokja to come too, right?”

“Why are you saying something so obvious?”

“You don’t even ask your son anymore, huh?”

And a few days later, my house hosted a party celebrating our martial-artist license acquisition.

“Uncle, Auntie! I bought expensive whiskey as a gift!”

“Oh my goodness! Our Bokja really is a little bundle of luck, just like her name!”

“I brought a premium beef gift set from the department store.”

“Hahaha! Thanks to Kangheon, we’re going to feast today!”

As if it were a given, Kim Bokja joined the party, and Shin Kangheon also showed up with his cast off, carrying gifts.

“To celebrating Muhyuk and Kangheon getting their second-rate martial artist licenses!”

Clink!

From evening until late at night, it was loud and lively.

When Bokja first came to my house, she’d been awkward, but now she was basically inhaling food. Kangheon, meanwhile, went on and on about his exploits in the license exam.

“And since I couldn’t find Muhyuk at all, I seriously thought this—this punk got disqualified because he didn’t like his teammates and beat them up......!”

“Do you think I’m you?”

“Auntieee...... this is sooo goood......”

The two of them bickered nonstop, while off to the side, Bokja ignored it completely with cheeks stuffed full, looking genuinely moved and saying it was delicious. It felt like watching three siblings.

Watching the three of us with a pleased expression, my mom asked Kangheon,

“So, Kangheon, have you decided? Is there a gate you want to join?”

Kangheon scratched his head and answered,

“My uncle says I should pick somewhere with good conditions among the Eight Great Sects, but honestly, I don’t really know.”

Even if the first-rate license exam was still ahead, it was time to seriously think about the future.

But Kangheon grinned like he hadn’t worried much at all.

“There’s nowhere I really want to go. I might just go wherever my uncle tells me.”

“......”

Everyone knew that for Kangheon—whose parents had passed away—his uncle was his only family.

So even though nobody liked Shin Junhyun as a person, no one said anything.

“It’s something you should decide for yourself, so I won’t nag you one way or another, but.......”

Then Choi Geon—who normally didn’t jump into conversations like this—smiled and casually added,

“There’s one thing you should know. Kangheon, your father was an excellent blade wanderer.”

Hearing it for the first time, Kangheon’s eyes went round.

“You knew my father?”

“Shin Jaehyun. Didn’t he serve as deputy commander of the Martial Alliance’s White Tiger Unit? We weren’t close, but when we crossed paths, we at least exchanged greetings.”

“Why are you only telling me now!”

“You brat. When did you ever ask me?”

Choi Geon laughed and shot back. With a bit of alcohol in him, his eyes were softer than usual as he looked at Kangheon and continued,

“Looks like the son has more talent...... but to think the son of that steady Shin Jaehyun turned out to be a colt like you. At first, even when I heard the name, I wasn’t sure.”

Choi Geon almost never brought up his past.

This was the first time he mentioned something from his days at the Martial Alliance in front of people.

In its own way, it meant he was opening his heart to the people here, blending in, becoming family.

“Teacher! Couldn’t you tell me a little more about my dad?”

“I don’t know much myself...... hmm. Do you know anything about the White Tiger Unit?”

“I don’t know anything like that at all.”

For a while, stories poured out of Choi Geon’s mouth—about what various Martial Alliance organizations did, what they did for the weak, and how much they sacrificed to uphold justice.

‘So this kid’s getting interested in the Martial Alliance.’

During that time, Kangheon’s eyes sparkled more than I’d ever seen.

“White Tiger Unit.......”

Muttering like that, maybe feeling thirsty, Kangheon reached for the liquor bottle—

Smack! Smack!

Bokja and I each slammed his back from both sides.

“Hey! I’m an adult too! Can’t I drink a little?”

“What are you talking about? You’re the youngest and you want to drink?”

“You finally built a body worth having, and you want to ruin it with alcohol?”

With tears welling up, Kangheon glared at us nagging him, then puffed his lips out, reached to the side, and drank a soda instead.

“Tch. I’m everyone’s punching bag.”

Even while complaining, he listened, and my parents burst out laughing at the same time.

The conversations kept going until late at night.

“Thank you for the food!”

“Tell me more stories next time!”

When Bokja and Kangheon each went home, the inside of the house suddenly felt quiet.

“Now that those two are gone, the house looks empty all of a sudden.”

“They’ve got a huge presence.”

“Should we have packed a little more side dishes for them?”

“It’s fine. How much can kids living alone even eat? It’s better to give them small amounts more often.”

My parents treasured Kangheon and Bokja—kids around my age—like they were their own.

Coincidentally, neither of them had parents, so my parents tried even harder to be warm with them.

Maybe they could feel that, because these days Kangheon and Bokja sometimes came by first.

In Bokja’s case, the last time she came, she’d even asked first that we call her Bokja, not Red Rabbit.

The son of this house—me—looked dumbfounded at my parents taking better care of my friends than me.

“How did my house become their hangout?”

“I like it. Both of them have good hearts, and unlike kids these days, they’re pure.”

“I like it too. Is it common to find kids willing to be friends with a son like ours who isn’t friendly at all?”

“Sorry for being your unfriendly son.......”

Even as I muttered, I ended up letting out a small laugh.

Because the life I’d wanted in my previous life was exactly this.

Then Choi Geon smacked his lips and asked,

“I want one more drink. Would it be a nuisance if an old man stays?”

“The drinking starts now that the kids are gone!”

“Should I bring out the ginseng liquor?”

My dad, my mom, and Choi Geon clinked glasses back and forth, and I poured myself cola and enjoyed the relaxed time.

Then—

“Hm?”

While chatting casually, Choi Geon’s eyebrows twitched. He turned his head and looked straight at me.

“Muhyuk. You must be tired, so go into your room and rest.”

“What? I’m not really tired.”

I stared at my teacher with round eyes.

After being discharged, my days were just eating and sleeping, and I wasn’t training at all, so I wasn’t tired in the slightest.

Choi Geon practically shoved my back.

“Ahem. The adults have something urgent to discuss. Take the hint and step out.”

“...?”

Confused, but obedient, I headed to my room.

And the moment I stepped inside, I froze at the sight of someone sitting on my bed without the slightest sign of presence.

“Shh.”

When I tried to react, the other person closed in instantly, grabbed my wrist, and pressed it down.

“Good reflexes.”

Those gently curved eyes were looking at my fingertips. If I’d been even a little slower, my sword-finger would have tried to stab him.

“...Martial Alliance Leader?”

Only then did I recognize him. I murmured in a low voice and let the tension drain from my body.

Yeo Pilgeuk.

The King of Fists—the leader of the orthodox martial world—was hiding in my room, waiting.

“It wasn’t easy to slip out quietly. It’s a chaotic time, so it worked, but if it were normal days, someone would’ve noticed me already.”

The Martial Alliance Leader smiled like a mischievous kid and stepped back a couple paces.

After I closed the door behind me, I lowered my voice and asked,

“Did you come here because of me? If you tell me the time and place, I can come to you—”

“For keeping it secret, I thought this would be better. But we don’t have much time, so we should get straight to the point.”

Yeo Pilgeuk pulled an old book out from inside his clothes.

When I saw the words Five Elements Divine Art written across the cover in a single sweeping stroke, I swallowed hard.

“That’s—!”

“I heard from him that you have Five Elements affinity. I didn’t need you to tell me what you wanted.”

Over the past few days, Choi Geon had been assigned to interrogate the assassins inside the Martial Alliance and dig up who was behind them.

In that process, he told the Martial Alliance Leader about his disciple, and Yeo Pilgeuk understood why I had requested a private meeting.

“It’s the true copy. There’s nobody who can learn it anyway, so even if it vanished, there’d be no one to come looking for it. I think I can lend it to you long-term.”

After handing me a gift more precious than a thousand pieces of gold, the Martial Alliance Leader winked.