Chapter 37: Chapter 36

It was now evening.

Kang-hyuk was in his office, looking through his attendance book whilst mentally making plans for the field trip.

“I’m coming in, Seonsaengnim.”

It was Byeok Ae-rin. She entered through the open door. Kang-hyuk turned to look at her.

“What is it?”

“It’s about tomorrow’s field trip.”

Kang-hyuk raised his head.

“Did you ask Mu-jin to order it?”

“I did.”

“Has this field trip got something to do with your plan of using your traditional methods?”

“Indeed.”

Kang-hyuk sighed.

“Don’t you think that it’s a bit much, putting the students and the other teachers in danger due to a personal problem of mine?”

Byeok Ae-rin immediately bowed her head.

“I apologize, but there is a justification for this. I have chosen the location of the field trip with extremely careful consideration.”

She continued.

“It’s Goseon Mountain.”

Kang-hyuk nodded his head upon hearing the name of the location.

“That place has spectacular scenery…but isn’t that fellow’s place of retirement near there?”

Byeok Ae-rin nodded.

“Indeed. That’s why there’s no need to worry about the students’ safety. Well that’s if they stay in the prescribed locations.”

“Okay, but remember to be more cautious from now onwards.”

“I understand.”

Byeok Ae-rin hadn’t left yet, and so, Kang-hyuk had a hunch that she still had something left to convey.

“I’ll inform you of the plan regarding Oh Seonsaeng.”

“Didn’t I say that you could just proceed without telling me?”

She shook her head.

“You are my Lord and the one directly involved in this matter, so you should of course be informed of this!”

She then proceeded to explain the plan. After she finished explaining, Kang-hyuk nodded.

“So you are using your traditional methods!”

“I am indeed.”

“Anyway, I’ll be leaving with Baek-gap now.”

Kang-hyuk slapped his knee in exclamation.

“Aha! Of course!”

The Academy’s field trips differed from those of other educational institutions in that they required more martial skill.

Therefore, quite often, they were beyond the capacity of those who did not have martial training.

In consideration of this, maids and servants usually left for the site of the field trip the day before the trip in a carriage.

Neither Byeok Ae-rin nor Baek-gap required this kind of consideration, but since they didn’t wish to flaunt their abilities, they too were going to leave the day before the trip with the rest of the maids and servants.

Kang-hyuk realized that Byeok Ae-rin did not just come to inform him of her plan regarding Oh-Tae, but it was also to notify him that she would shortly be leaving with the rest of the servants.

He stood up.

“I should see you off.”

“Thank you.”

As Kang-hyuk stepped outside, he saw Baek-gap, who had finished all of his preparations, standing and waiting.

“We’ll be leaving then.”

“Have a safe journey.”

“Yes. By the way Seonsaengnim, I’ve packed your luggage in advance.”

“Thanks.”

Thereupon, figures could be seen approaching Kang-hyuk’s residence. As they came clearly into sight, they were revealed to be the music teacher, Chu Gung-wol, and his servant.

“Are you leaving now?”

Chu Gung-wol nodded at Kang-hyuk’s question.

Liberal Arts subject teachers were also given the option of leaving the day before.

“Kang Seonsaeng, are you not leaving right now?”

Kang-hyuk replied to his question.

“From what Ok Seonsaeng said earlier, it seems that I’m to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Kang-hyuk bowed his head towards Chu Gung-wol.

“I request you look after my maid and my servant.”

“Hahaha! Don’t worry about that!”

Tears began to well up in Byeok Ae-rin’s eyes at the sight of Kang-hyuk lowering his head at Chu Gung-wol for her sake.

This was coming from a man who didn’t even snort!

‘Aaahh! My Lord!’

Byeok Ae-rin, Baek-gap, and Chu Gung-wol then left towards where the carriage was waiting to take them to the site of the fieldtrip.

Tilting his head back, Kang-hyuk closed his eyes.

‘A field trip huh….’

This was going to be his first ever experience of a field trip, seeing as he hadn’t graduated from Hwacheon Academy.

His heart was fluttering in excitement.

It was the next day.

It was around 6 a.m. when Kang-hyuk’s eyes jolted right open.

He could have woken up later, but waking up early was a habit that had become a habit for him.

Kang-hyuk sat down on his bed, beginning his Qigong practice.

He had no real need to do Qigong practice since his enlightenment, but since others would think it was odd if he wasn’t practicing, he continued to do so.

He also found his daily Qigong practice quite refreshing.

After finishing his practice, Kang-hyuk stepped out into the courtyard. He noticed that the vines in his garden were completely still, as the Morning Glory plant was still asleep.

‘I guess they must be tired after moving around all day.’

As Kang-hyuk continued to walk around the yard, observing the plants, the door of the residence opened, with Cheon Hae-gwang emerging.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, how about you?”

“I slept well too.”

Cheon Hae-gwang immediately began preparing breakfast, and soon, it was ready. He laid it out on the table.

“Oh? This is great!”

Kang-hyuk nodded in appreciation after having swallowed a mouthful.

“You’re embarrassing me.”

“I can tell by your skills that you’ve made it more than a few times.”

“This was actually the cheapest meal I could make for myself, so I made it quite often.”

“You must have learnt it from somewhere, right?”

“I actually learned it from the cook at Hyangwooru. He taught it to me in repayment of a favour from a time when I had helped him.”

“I see!”

After having finished his breakfast, Cheon Hae-gwan quickly washed the dishes and left to Yeongyowon.

His task at Yeongyowon was to check whether the students were coming and tending to their plots.

Kang-hyuk stroked his chin as he observed Cheon Hae-gwang.

‘The work I tasked is too much for Cheon Jogyo to do alone. I’ll have to find another assistant.’

Kang-hyuk picked up the luggage Baek-gap had packed for him, and walked towards the training ground with Cheon Hae-gwang.

“Good morning!”

The first person who had greeted Kang-hyuk was Ok Hae-mi.

Upon seeing her smile, Kang-hyuk observed that she was quite a beautiful woman.

“The person next to you must be your new assistant.”

“Yes. He’s a very useful assistant. Greet her, she’s the Whip Martial Arts teacher.”

Cheon Hae-gwang promptly bowed at Kang-hyuk’s instruction.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kang-hyuk Seonsaengnim’s assistant, Cheon Hae-gwang.”

She smiled, returning Cheon Hae-gwan’s greeting.

“It’s nice to meet you as well. I’m Ok Hae-mi. I teach the Whip Martial Art to first-year students.”

“I request you to take good care of me henceforth.”

“I would request you to do the same.”

She turned to Kang-hyuk, looking at the document in his hand.

“I see you have the Samjo group…”

She had received the schedule for the field trip the day before, and had discovered something strange whilst looking over it.

Kang-hyuk, a Liberal Arts subject teacher, had been listed as travelling to the site of the field-trip with the martial teachers and students. Usually, the Liberal Arts subject teachers travelled separate from the martial teachers, and left the day before.

Therefore, she had inquired why this was so to the Principal, Eun Myeong-myeong. He had replied, saying that it was upon the instructions of the Clan Leader, and to just leave it be.

However, it was still strange.

“You can go over where there’s a flag erected with ‘Samjo’ written on it.”

“Okay.”

“Cheon Jogyo, you can also go there with him.”

“Understood.”

“In that case, I’ll see you later.”

Ok Hae-mi then went over to the other teachers that had just arrived. Kang-hyuk smiled as he watched her leave.

‘She’s always in a cheerful mood whenever I see her.’

As Kang-hyuk reached the location where a flag had been erected, he realized that Byeok Ae-rin had made a rather elaborate plan.

He had been placed in a group with five first-year teachers, with one of the group members being Oh-Tae.

“As a Liberal Arts Teacher, why are you here?”

His questioning was only natural.

Hwacheon Academy’s field trips weren’t dissimilar to an outdoor training drill, and so, physical strength and martial ability was required.

Kang-hyuk replied, “Ok Seonsaeng told me to come here.”

“I told her to organize a decent team but…”

Oh-Tae spoke with a certain expression on his face that Kang-hyuk disliked.

“Well, you better not hold us back.”

“Of course.”

Cheon Hae-gwang tilted his head upon observing the interaction.

‘He was like that before, and he’s like that again, that Oh-Tae teacher definitely doesn’t like Kang Seonsaengim!’

It was then that.

“Everyone, pay attention!”

Ok Hae-mi’s voice resounded throughout the space.

As it was nearly time for departure, the Principal Eun Myeong-myeong stood on a podium.

He gave a simple address to the students and teachers standing in front of him.

“Well then, let’s get going!”

As he moved his hand in signal, drums began to beat.

The Academy had set out for the field trip.

The sight of depart itself was quite spectacular.

Hwacheon Academy.

It didn’t exclusively house teachers and students. As people were residing at the Academy, other people were needed for various tasks.

Such as providing the necessities of life to the students and teachers.

Therefore, there were, of course, people present at the Academy working to provide food, as well as maintaining the buildings for the students and teachers. The teachers also had their personal maids and servants that worked at their residences.

Personal servants however, were not permitted for the students.

This was due to varying differences in the social status of the students. Hiring a servant to enter the Academy with the student would be quite expensive, and so, it would only be reserved for those with a more wealthy background. Therefore, in the interests of equality, the Academy hired workers to do the students’ laundry, provide them with meals, take care of their cleaning and et cetera.

“Right, let’s have a bright and beautiful day!”

The location was the training ground of the Academy.

A middle aged man could be seen standing in front of dozens of people.

They were employees who worked at the Academy, and the man standing in front of them was their Chief Manager.

He then spoke.

“Firstly, I would like to introduce you all to a new worker.”

As he gestured his hand, a man wearing a small earring on his left ear stepped forth.

He was wearing a blue uniform like the other workers were.

He was also wearing an article of black clothing, something which was forbidden for workers. He seemed to have a gentle gaze.

The young man stepped forward and introduced himself.

“It’s nice to meet you all. My surname is Shim, and my name is…. I’m quite a little embarrassed to say it, so you can just call me Shim-ga. My age is…. twenty-eight years.”

The other workers nodded in approval.

“Right. Shim-ga, you’ll be assigned to cleaning the classrooms with Hong-ssi over there.”

“Understood.”

The young man’s eyes sparkled as he heard where he would be cleaning, but this went unnoticed by others.

Shim-ga and Hong-ssi soon headed towards the direction of the classrooms. But then, Shim-ga felt as though something was a little off.

It was because the school was completely quiet.

It was around two in the afternoon.

He felt as though it was quite a bit past the time for the students to wake up.

“The school is quite quiet, isn’t it?”

He had decided to ask Hong-ssi about the matter, which Hong-ssi responded with a smile.

“Ah! It’s your first day here, so I guess you don’t know.”

“Sorry? What don’t I know?”

“The students all left today for a field trip. I think it was for four days and three nights?”

“What?”

He was taken aback.

‘That means I won’t see Hyung-nim for another five days? This is ridiculous!”

The young man’s real name was Shim-gu, the very Shim-gu that was the former head of Hyeonmugak.

He had tried to obtain the position of Kang-hyuk’s assistant as he wanted to be by his side, but had been refused.

That was why he had requested the position of a cleaner when he had met Eun Myeong-myeong in his office.

And today was the day when he had finally started work.

He had organized it so that he would be able to work as a cleaner in the classrooms in which Liberal Arts subjects were conducted.

He had also used Byeonyongsul (1) to change his appearance and name so that others wouldn’t recognize him.

In this way, with plenty of planning and preparation, he had entered the Academy for the first time as a cleaner.

(1) Byeonyongsul – A technique to assume a different appearance and identity