Work Text:
I. People always talked about Master Seong's "star student," Hwang Seong-gyeong like he was heaven's gift to the kingdom of Joseon: a hero straight out of the epic tales, home-grown here in Jirisan. All the old ladies would gossip every time there was the possibility of Hwang coming back to town, somehow tapped into some information network Yun-seong couldn't even fathom. Yun-seong was very ready to be unimpressed once Hwang finally did return to the dojang. Then, however, the day finally came and Yun-seong spotted the warrior standing in one of the hallways of the dojang and he stood completely frozen in place.
Every glance of Hwang's, every movement of his muscles, his straight back and the sureness in his eyes -- Yun-seong had never seen someone with such a powerful warrior's aura, whose eyes didn't miss anything. (In fact, the hero's eyes glanced in Yun-seong's direction, instantly spotting him as he peered around a large chest of drawers, instantly sizing him up before moving on a moment later.)
The old ladies doted on Hwang as if he were all of their grandsons -- but Yun-seong trembled. At first he thought it was fear, but then he realized it was excitement. Once Yun-seong became aware of what heights were possible, if he continued along this martial path under Master Seong's tutelage, and having seen the distant mountain peak, Yun-seong was determined now to climb... and surpass!
II. "The boy shows promise," Master Seong said reluctantly to Yun-seong's uncle, Hong Gil-jong. "I worry, though; it risks going to his head. Talent like that is in danger of rotting on the vine through arrogance, complacency. I don't want to see Yun-seong's star burn out too early..."
Yun-seong did indeed understand the fear his master had. Praise went to his head too easily -- even now, hearing Master Seong's private evaluation of Yun-seong already had the youth smiling beneath a bowed head; he could never not notice how quickly he had surpassed the other students his age. He got why Master Seong was always so stingy with his praise, his frowns so disapproving.
But Master Seong Han-myeong was wrong about one thing: Yun-seong would never rest on his laurels. He still had leagues to go, and if his star did one day go out, Yun-seong knew it would not be before he had the chance to test himself against the great Hwang.
III. Gossip was going around the dojang again, this time about the master's failed attempt to betroth his daughter to Hwang.
"I wish that were me," Kim Cheol-hwan said wistfully.
"Hey, Hong," another student said, jabbing Yun-seong with an elbow. "D'you think Master Seong would let you marry his daughter if you manage to surpass Hwang?"
"Huh?" Yun-seong said, suddenly brought out of his reverie at hearing the phrase "surpass Hwang." "What?"
"The master's daughter! You wanna get maa-a-arried?"
The thought of marrying Mi-na made Yun-seong scrunch up his nose. He wasn't sure what a marriage to Mi-na would bring to him aside from an endless number of smacks upside his head.
As he trained, though, the idea stuck in his mind. If he surpassed Hwang, would his master really betroth him and Mi-na? Was that a thing that could even happen? Yun-seong had no idea. Still, he kept training and training.
IV. Yun-seong didn't know when, but at some point, he had begun to pour a lot of time and energy and thought into developing his own style. Some instinct, perhaps, that it would be impossible to surpass Hwang otherwise; that Hwang was already the apex of his and Master Seong's style, and mimicry could only get Yun-seong so far. Maybe it was a desire to impress Hwang with a new kind of fighting, something distinctively Yun-seong-style. Or maybe it was a hunger to have something his own, to leave his mark on the world. Whatever the reason, Yun-seong liked experimenting and combining and studying people other than his master and Mi-na and Hwang.
Yun-seong looked over at Seong Han-myeong and Mi-na as they critically eyed his new techniques, and hoped that it was startling; something that would make them see his fighting in a whole new light.
No, Yun-seong wouldn't be just a pale echo of Hwang; he would be better.
V. How can you be so selfish? Hwang's harsh words echoed in Yun-seong's mind over and over. Our country is at war!
Brooding again? -- Mi-na's voice this time, gentler and more teasing. Because Hwang wouldn't duel you, Mr. Center of the World? He wasn't sure if Mi-na had said that, exactly, but he could hear it said in her voice; he knew it was what she thought. No one but Mi-na could say words that were at once so comforting and so devastating.
Yun-seong looked at the gift Mi-na had given him, White Storm -- the light reflecting off it so bright it was almost blinding. Take this, Mi-na had said. It'll help you understand your own heart.
It was selfish, Yun-seong finally admitted to himself. Childish to stake everything on martial skill; childish to think that the gulf between him and Hwang could be crossed through cultivating fighting skills alone. With the help of White Storm, Yun-seong realized for the first time what he really wanted and what truly drove him; that becoming the kind of man he knew he could be had never turned on whether Hwang duelled him or not. Knowing what he had to do, Yun-seong left the dojang, hands tightly gripping Mi-na's gift.
VI. A quest, a chase, a journey -- together. Yun-seong didn't think he was anywhere close to the kind of man he needed to be, not yet. And yet, one night, with the wind whipping at her hair, Mi-na leaned forward and kissed him. The kiss shocked him -- he still felt too young, too foolish, not long enough in the world to get what it was all about yet.
But he returned the kiss, wanting to know more. And thought: maybe he was not as far off from who he wanted to be as he had assumed.
Mi-na kissed him again and again... and for the first time in his life, Yun-seong didn't feel jealous of Hwang at all.