I Became a Supporting Character in a Martial Arts Novel - Chapter 28

…Even thinking about it again, it was truly an unpleasant statement.

To have to acknowledge that chilling ‘something’, clearly not human, as part of myself.

It felt even worse since I had learned that this ‘something’ was preparing to take root in my inner self and control me someday.

Honestly, these were vague words, but the problem was that I seemed to understand what they all meant. Should I say it’s more serious because I could feel it wasn’t meant to scare me? It also seemed to increase my aversion because the curse was spoken of as if it were a living being.

But even so, I had to do it. Only then could I break this curse.

It was natural for anyone to dislike a life controlled by others. Moreover, since it had taken over someone else’s body without the owner’s permission, it wasn’t entirely unrelated to me. I should be able to resolve this much.

I suddenly recalled the face of my master that I had seen before entering this room.

‘…He looked particularly distressed.’

It was clearly a face of someone heartbroken because there was nothing he could do.

It’s not new, but both in the original work and now, his life has become drastically complicated because of one disciple.

‘So I can’t drag this on any longer.’

I know he’s not the type to think he took in a disciple for nothing just because this happened. But out of my own guilt, I didn’t want to let him suffer any more hardships.

Not just the Great Master, but also Ha Hyun who might be worrying somewhere.

For that, I must leave this room intact, safe, without any part of me going astray.

I mulled over my conversation with Master Jemun Gakju again.

When I heard that far, I couldn’t manage my expression at all and made a disgusted face. Rather than scolding me, Master Jemun Gakju seemed to understand my feelings and concluded with a deep sigh.

My master and the Great Master, who were listening to this story together, seemed worried that I might recall the moment when I was left alone after my family was exterminated.

But since I wasn’t ‘Ha Eun’, I could rather remain calm.

Memories of the family’s extermination? I didn’t have such things. After all, I only knew about the Baek family through text that they were ‘exterminated’.

‘What will it show me?’

I retraced the life of the past ‘me’. Because it was just an ordinary and uneventful life, what memories I wouldn’t want to see didn’t immediately come to mind.

‘Perhaps that final traffic accident?’

Will I see the moment of my death again?

With that thought, I slowly closed my eyes.

Perhaps because I had been inhaling the incense filling the room all along, my heart was beating at a very stable rate. A much slower pulse than usual.

With a heartbeat this slow, one should feel sleepy, but whether there was some awakening component mixed in the incense, my mind remained clear.

‘I think I understand why the Great Master was reluctant.’

In this strange sensation where body and mind were separate, I slowly sank into my inner self. An indescribable sensation, and a moment that seemed like a flash passed.

I faced the unpleasant membrane covering my inner self again. Seeing it again after a day, perhaps because I now knew its identity, it felt even more unpleasant and gloomy. The feeling that I shouldn’t touch it was still there.

‘So I have to acknowledge this as part of myself…’

Resisting the urge to sigh right away, I tried my best. Following Master Jemun Gakju’s advice exactly, I approached slowly, not reaching out abruptly like the day before.

I approached cautiously, constantly recalling the words to take control. It was still creepy and chilling, but perhaps due to the effect of the incense, my senses were dulled, making it surprisingly bearable.

Thanks to that, after a long struggle, I was finally able to push just a bit into the membrane.

‘I did it.’

Since I didn’t cough up blood, it’s half a success.

But the feeling of success was very strange. It felt as if I was surrounded by something formless.

‘Now I have to deal with this…’

It was at that moment.

As if trying to drive me out from within, as Master Jemun Gakju had said, I suddenly felt like something unfamiliar was forcibly digging into my mind.

Like forcibly screening a movie, or perhaps like dreaming, something unfolding in my mind…

A memory.

I was tense for a moment, not knowing what would happen, but not long after, I ended up feeling a bit dumbfounded.

‘Isn’t this the memory of this body’s owner, not mine?’

That’s right.

The images forcibly playing in my head were presumably memories of ‘Ha Eun’.

Those that I only vaguely knew through text.

Losing her mother at birth, growing up half-ignored for over a decade.

‘Memories I don’t want to see, you say?’

This?

I couldn’t understand. I wondered if there might be some workings even Master Jemun Gakju didn’t know about.

Even though it’s me who entered this body and is using the brain, could some spell have read memories that I, who am using the body, don’t know?

All sorts of questions arose, but there was nothing I could judge clearly. ‘Ha Eun’s’ memories just kept continuing.

The time of ‘Ha Eun’ that I didn’t know continued to flow, eventually reaching the time of the family’s extermination.

It was a dark dawn.

No one came to wake her, and ‘Ha Eun’ woke up alone, hearing screams and sensing the ominous atmosphere. Seeing the flickering reddish flames outside the window, she rushed out of the room still in her nightclothes.

After a moment of confusion, ‘Ha Eun’ already knew how she was treated in the family. With no one coming to mind to ask for help,

She just ran away from the flames, not knowing where she was going, keeping her mouth shut.

Then, when she turned a corner, she encountered a large adult wearing a black mask. Reflexively, ‘Ha Eun’ realized he was one of the attackers.

The 12-year-old, who hadn’t learned anything, froze on the spot, but the unexpected attacker stared at ‘Ha Eun’s’ face for a while and then left her alone as if he hadn’t seen anything.

Bewilderment, confusion, relief.

With all sorts of emotions, ‘Ha Eun’ escaped from the estate in her own stealthy and hurried way, hiding in the nearby forest.

‘…Is this really the body’s memory?’

Perhaps because it was all progressing from ‘Ha Eun’s’ perspective, I could clearly feel even the emotions ‘Ha Eun’ was feeling as if they were my own.

The flames burning the Baek family estate were clear even from afar. Her place to return was disappearing. There was nowhere to ask for help. Tears flowed from fear, but ‘Ha Eun’ gritted her teeth to avoid revealing her location to the enemy with the sound of crying.

‘I feel like I’ve seen this scene somewhere before…’

It must be a misconception. But it’s strangely familiar.

Why is that?

But there was no time to think more about the reason.

As ‘Ha Eun’ watched the burning flames with a sense of despair, she suddenly sensed a presence and raised her head. At the end of her gaze was…

My master.

‘Ha Eun’ jumped out from the bushes just because my master was wearing white clothes, his face wasn’t covered, and he was wearing a Taoist hat.

My master looks surprised. ‘Ha Eun’ stumbled towards my master, grabbed his clothes, and pleaded.

My master, who had a surprised face, soon hardened his expression and embraced ‘Ha Eun’s’ back, picking her up. Although he was a stranger, perhaps due to the instinctive relief felt from his body temperature, ‘Ha Eun’ soon lost consciousness.

I forcibly confirmed everything up to that point without stopping.

After seeing it all…

‘What am I supposed to do with this?’

That’s all I could think.

Of course, it was heartbreaking, pitiful for the owner of this body, and scenes difficult to look at straight on. ‘Ha Eun’s’ life was objectively unfortunate. It was sympathy that I couldn’t help but feel as a human being.

But at the same time, I felt unpleasant and dumbfounded. It felt like I had witnessed someone else’s misfortune without permission. Even the feeling of sympathy was soon covered with guilt.

‘Why show me this?’

Did it expect me to become incapacitated after seeing this? Really? Although it’s true that these are memories I don’t want to see, I didn’t feel like I couldn’t escape from here.

Naturally, because they weren’t my memories to begin with.

Rather, the feeling of rejection rising from the depths of my heart was growing stronger.