The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

Chapter 106: Escape (2)

Pathetic and miserable.

These thoughts haunted Tang Hwarin during the days she was trapped in the Black Tiger Gang’s cage.

“I thought I could live without care once I got out into the world.”

In a cage where no one could hear, Tang Hwarin sighed softly to herself.

Starting from the servants at the Sung Family, moving to a new family, and then to her mother. People either loathe or despise her.

To escape such circumstances, Tang Hwarin devoted herself to martial arts, becoming so strong that she could confidently say there were few among her peers who could match her.

A stifling cage. As the days passed, Tang Hwarin grew stronger and began to view the Sung Family as such a cage.

She believed she could do anything once she was out in the world. That’s what she thought inside the suffocating cage. But reality was different.

Once driven out from the cage known as the Sung Family, starting with her mother, everyone abandoned her. The servants cursed her and disappeared. There was no money in her pocket, and she had never earned any. Moreover, she was sick and couldn’t do anything.

A bird that always wanted to escape the cage, once expelled from the world of the cage, realized that it knew nothing.

From the day she entered the world, Tang Hwarin began to shrink endlessly.

“I wanted to be of help.”

Tang Hwarin thought of the man who treated her kindly. With him, all problems were solved. Like a bird trembling out of its cage climbing onto the owner’s shoulder, she felt as if she had regained her confidence.

Just as a bird confident in its only known song sang for its owner, now Tang Hwarin only had to protect him with her confident martial arts.

She thought she had found a way to live outside this cage.

But she couldn’t.

“I’m a fool.”

Tang Hwarin cursed herself, trapped in the cage.

As the man who had always been her anchor disappeared, and the pain from the poison that had undermined her confidence and thoughts about her martial arts vanished, a vicious sense of helplessness began to encircle Tang Hwarin’s mind.

“If I can’t even use martial arts properly, what am I?”

A foul-mouthed woman. A nagging woman. A woman with a skin disease. A bastard. A despised woman. Yes, she was nothing.

The bird realized its reality only after being trapped in the cage once more.

Misery began to fill her heart, and with misery came other negative emotions.

As the mental wall of confidence in her martial arts that had protected Tang Hwarin crumbled, countless unhappy moments she had experienced from the past to the present flooded her mind.

Why was she so unhappy?

Misery, though agonizing and painful as it gnaws at you, is an addictive emotion. Constantly arising are grievances, helplessness, anger, pity for oneself, and self-loathing.

Even though it was a self-destructive action, she couldn’t stop this addictive behavior, indulging in self-pity.

Until a voice was heard.

“Hong Gil-dong says! Even if trials befall me! I cannot just sit down!”

Tang Hwarin heard a voice from afar, as if reproaching her, in the familiar voice of a man.

The man who was trapped in a cage was now out, calling bandits his brothers. It looked ridiculous, yet impressive in a way.

A man with a completely different attitude, even in the same situation as hers.

“The government forces! To capture Hong Gil-dong! In every village, north, south, east, and west, people are saying! I am Hong Gil-dong! Come capture me!”

Listening to his words, the negative thoughts began to fade.

Hong Gil-dong.

A man who became a hero in a similar situation to hers.

Perhaps Kang Yun-ho brought up the story of Hong Gil-dong because, from afar, he wanted to cheer her up, who was feeling down.

“Chuckle. That’s ridiculous.”

Even though Tang Hwarin thought it was ridiculous, she wondered if that man could do it.

With that thought, a bit of warmth began to fill her heart, which had previously been consumed by severe self-pity.

Although Tang Hwarin found solace in Kang Yun-ho’s story, she couldn’t completely rid herself of self-pity.

“Is it bearable?”

“Why did you come?”

Even though his voice brought her comfort, and she yearned to face him again, Tang Hwarin found herself unable to honestly express the strange emotions that surfaced upon seeing him.

“Why did I come? Because I could. Why do you seem so listless these days?”

If it weren’t for her, he could have escaped.

Yet, the fact that he didn’t flee and instead came to see her made her feel both foolish and embarrassed.

“…Because I’m an utter fool.”

Tang Hwarin glanced at the man’s face.

The man looked back at her with genuine concern. At the sight of Kang Yun-ho’s expression, she remembered the unhappiness that had tormented her for the past few days.

It felt as though he would listen, understand, and constantly offer comfort.

Over the past few days, no, throughout their journey, Tang Hwarin began to confide in the man who had supported her, sharing the past that had made her unhappy.

It was a story of inner turmoil she had never shared with anyone before. The more she revealed what was inside her, the lighter her heart felt.

“…Why am I such a fool? Why do I have to be this unhappy?”

But even after laying everything bare, the feeling of depression lingered.

Kang Yun-ho watched Tang Hwarin for a while.

‘Did I speak out of turn?’

With a disheartened heart, Tang Hwarin stole a glance at him, wondering if she had only burdened him unnecessarily.

He couldn’t solve anything for her. Yet, contrary to her expectations, the man approached her.

His touch was indifferent yet tender, a touch that, despite rejection, persistently offered comfort. The man sought to comfort her not with words, but with actions.

“You’re not crazy. Don’t be too embarrassed if it’s about your skin. I’ve experimented a lot with my friend’s medicine.”

“It’s not that! Heh! Hng!”

“I’ll even give you a special massage.”

“Hey. Don’t… Heh! Hey! Where are you touching… Huh!”

Despite feeling embarrassed, there she was, unable to tell him to stop.

As her embarrassment dissipated the gloom, the man began to share his own difficult life story.

What kind of life he had lived. What misfortunes he had faced. Even though she had only heard a snippet of his life, she could tell he had faced unimaginable hardships.

“Everyone thinks their own life is the most unfortunate.”

Kang Yun-ho looked at Tang Hwarin with a kind gaze and spoke.

As if he understood everything. Living in the Central Plains with nothing, as a black-haired barbarian, must be as hard as living here with such a face.

They were the same. Yet different.

“So what?”

He was also struggling. Why did he talk about it as if it’s nothing? A sharp retort sprang from her lips.

She spilled her heavy emotions on him, so how could he take it so lightly? How could he live as if nothing’s wrong?

As Tang Hwarin looked at Kang Yun-ho with a sullen gaze, he rested his chin on his hand and looked straight ahead before speaking.

“Why am I so unhappy? Why must I alone suffer like this? The people walking over there don’t seem as unhappy as me. Why am I the only one who’s this unhappy? I’ve thought about this every day since coming to the Central Plains.”

Kang Yun-ho spoke with a voice full of his own experiences, as if he had just spilled his unhappy experiences like Tang Hwarin.

It’s a thought he has all the time. Tang Hwarin tried not to show her surprise that the man had the same thoughts.

“Because of the misfortune given to me, I wanted to just collapse and give up. No, I did collapse and couldn’t get up.”

Kang Yun-ho turned his head and looked at Tang Hwarin with a sad face.

“But you didn’t.”

Unlike herself, the man was standing and moving forward.

“I realized something.”

The man’s sad face transformed into a broad smile.

“What?”

“The reason why people who have experienced misfortune can stand up again.”

“How?”

“I realized I had strong legs to shake off my misfortune and stand up.”

Kang Yun-ho shook off his legs, straightened his back, and looked at Tang Hwarin with an energetic face.

He showed Tang Hwarin that even if one carried unspeakable misfortune, one could always stand up again.

Tang Hwarin gazed up at him blankly.

‘Why are we so similar yet so different?’

They were the same age. They grew up in similar environments and faced similar great misfortunes. Yet, she couldn’t do what he did. She had been drowning in depressive thoughts for days, unable to rise due to a feeling of powerlessness.

He had strong legs, but she didn’t have such legs.

She couldn’t do it.

Just when a dreadful sense of powerlessness was about to fill Tang Hwarin’s heart,

“I also have hands to grab those who are unfortunate.”

Kang Yun-ho’s hand gently reached out in front of Tang Hwarin.

“Let’s go together. We’re escaping from here.”

His hand was large, unlike herself, who was endlessly small.

Did she deserve to take this hand? This man had always helped her unilaterally. Did this not make her no different from those who blatantly used her?

A sense of self-loathing surged in Tang Hwarin’s heart.

“Why me? You don’t need someone like me. Go by yourself.”

Without her, he could escape freely.

一 A load! Even without you!

The words her mother always cursed her with like a spell. Though she truly didn’t want to admit it, to this man, she was nothing but a burden. Utterly useless.

“Hwarin.”

When Kang Yun-ho tenderly called her by her name for the first time, Tang Hwarin was startled and looked up at him.

“I need you.”

As if he truly needed her help, he reached out his hand more assertively in front of her. His sincere face and gesture shook her.

“Really… You need me? You’re not lying?”

“Helping each other when one is unfortunate doesn’t mean one side unilaterally helps. It means relying on and supporting each other. So let’s go together, Hwarin. Please help me.”

The man spoke tenderly, as if he couldn’t do anything without her, waiting for her to take his hand.

Tang Hwarin looked back and forth between the man’s face and his hand.

In reality, she might not be needed. Even the only thing she had, atonement, didn’t necessarily have to come from her.

Yet, this man was reaching out to her.

He tried to lift up the unfortunate her.

He wanted to delve into the heart wounded by friendship. Instead, this man too easily stepped into her heart with his muddy feet.

Sometimes casually. Sometimes indifferently. Sometimes tenderly.

Even if she wanted to give up, this man would persistently come into my her . And Tang Hwarin didn’t dislike this man coming into her heart.

“Okay. Let’s go together.”

Therefore, Tang Hwarin firmly took Kang Yun-ho’s hand.

“Let’s go! Hwarin!”

Tang Hwarin, led by Kang Yun-ho’s hand, ran out of the prison to escape.

Bandits must be swarming ahead. Could she escape together with this man? She should do her best to protect him. If it was too difficult for both of them to escape, then she should confront the bandits and let him go.

That would be the right thing to do for the man who extended his hand.

Tang Hwarin resolved as she looked at the reliable back of the man of the same age leading the way.

“Shit! Step back!”

As they ran out of the prison, a formidable group of bandits wielding weapons blocked their path. Tang Hwarin, startled, made Kang Yun-ho step back behind her.

So many bandits. Had they already noticed? Tang Hwarin had resolved to protect him at all costs, but seeing the number of bandits, a sliver of despair flashed through her mind.

But then, Kang Yun-ho, who was behind her, stepped forward with a smile.

“Hey. Step back…”

She admitted his back looks dependable, but this wasn’t the time. Tang Hwarin was about to speak when Kang Yun-ho addressed the bandits blocking their path.

“Have you all gathered?”

“Here he is!”

“Chief! We’ve been waiting!”

“Shall we start right away?”

The bandits approached Kang Yun-ho with welcoming faces.

“What’s going on?”

Tang Hwarin asked the man, her face filled with confusion.

Then Kang Yun-ho, wearing a mischievous boyish grin, said to Tang Hwarin,

“The thing is! I’ve started a revolution!”