"Come to think of it… is there something up today? Why did two female teachers come here early in the morning?"
It was the a.s.sistants' gathering that had the most rumors within the Academy that were widely spread. Chun Haekw.a.n.g was also one of those a.s.sistants at the gathering, so he was able to hear a lot of things from other a.s.sistants.
There was a man named Baek Gook, who had found a hobby in creating questionnaires. Thanks to him, the gathering always had many topics to discuss. Out of many questionnaires, one of those that Baek Gook drafted, was a questionnaire about the most beautiful women of the Academy.
After thorough research about popularity amongst students, martial art prowess, and sheer beauty, a total of five female teachers were picked out and were nicknamed as the Hwachun Academy's Five Flowers.
Among those five, Ok Haemi and Tang Euna were two of those five.
"Anyway, today's a lucky day! I met two of the Five Flowers in the morning! Haha."
"Woof?"
Deuk tilted his head, not understanding what Chun Haekw.a.n.g was talking about. And that's when Chun Haekw.a.n.g realized something.
"Oh! Come to think of it!"
Baek Gook also went on to research the most handsome men within the Academy, and these men were nicknamed as the Five Dragon Knights. Chun Haekw.a.n.g was told that it was very likely that the next batch of Five Dragon Knights would include Kang Hyuk.
"I guess it is natural for him to be popular."
"Who's popular?"
"Eeek!"
Chun Haekw.a.n.g became startled as someone suddenly appeared behind him without any notice.
"Oh! Mr. Carpenter!"
It was Ji Chulmook. Kang Hyuk was away from the Academy to cure the drug poisoning of five students, so Chun Haekw.a.n.g was alone while looking after the Yeonkyo Garden. As such, he had come across Ji Chulmook many times in the garden, even bringing him some homemade dishes. With that, they became quite close.
"What brings you down here?"
"I'm finished with the storage."
"Oh! That's great news!"
"But, uh… isn't he here yet?"
Chun Haekw.a.n.g immediately knew who Ji Chulmook was referring to.
"I think he'll be back late afternoon."
"I see."
Ji Chulmook sighed. The storage was finished, and the tools for gardening were fully loaded for Kang Hyuk to use. But all of this was not finished until Kang Hyuk was there to see it.
"So, what were you mumbling about anyway? Who's popular?"
"Oh… I was talking about Teacher Kang."
Ji Chulmook became interested in Chun Haekw.a.n.g's words.
"Teacher… Kang Hyuk?"
"Yes sir. I found him quite popular amongst the a.s.sistants lately."
"Oh-oh! Is that so?"
"I mean, he's handsome, young, knowledgeable, and very kind. It's only obvious that he's popular."
"Hahaha! That's quite right."
Ji Chulmook nodded and reminisced.
At the time when Kang Hyuk was the Captain of the Quickstorm Regiment, the entire Hwachun Clan became quite noisy over the young Captain. But it wasn't because Kang Hyuk was young. The Quickstorm Regiment was created to be used and disposed of, so it did not matter if the leader of such a regiment was young or old. The reason why he became an issue was that he was very handsome.
All of the warriors were so engrossed in their training that none of them cared about their appearance. As such, all of the warriors of the Hwachun Clan were far from being good looking men and were not often liked by women. It was amongst such men when Kang Hyuk rose as a Captain of the Quickstorm Regiment.
All of the female warriors tried their best to have a peek on Kang Hyuk. Many of his men sighed at the sight. Ji Chulmook became so angry at this that he went to Kang Hyuk and blamed him for it.
"Hey, captain! I've had enough! This is too much!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I can't train because of you! All of these women coming over, screaming and yelling at your sight- it's driving me crazy!"
"Why is that my fault?"
"It's because…"
"I know I'm popular, but shouldn't you be saying that to those women instead?"
"Uh- erm…"
"You don't have the b.a.l.l.s to talk to them like that, do you?"
Kang Hyuk's question was right on the spot. Of course, it wasn't because Ji Chulmook wasn't brave enough to stand and speak to those women, but because he wasn't brave enough to handle what was to come after if he did that.
"Oh, I'm sure the Clan Leader's daughter is one of those women as well. Along with the daughters of commanders from the Jade Dragon Regiment and the Phoenix Regiment."
"….."
"And why is that a problem? You do not need to tune into their noise if you are into your training. I consider these women's interest in me to be a chance."
"A chance… you say?"
"Yes. A chance. The reason why our clan formed the Quickstorm Regiment is that they needed a disposable force."
Ji Chulmook couldn't answer. He didn't want to accept it, but it was the truth.
"But if we increase our popularity like this, it won't be easy for the clan to just dispose of us like that."
"Ah!"
"If you understand, spend some time on your appearance for your sake, you smelly old b.u.m!"
"Oh man, don't call me like that!"
"But it's the truth. It's because of your smelly a.s.s that doesn't allow you to ask a girl out."
"T-the smell doesn't matter when it comes to true love!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Kang Hyuk shook his head.
"How do you measure your first impression when you see a woman? Do you immediately look into their personalities? Where do you look first, when you see a woman?"
"Erm…"
"Speak honestly, if you don't want your a.s.s whooped."
"Neck…"
"Huh?"
"Above and below it…"
"AND you're considering true love? Alright. It's about time. I should tell Hong Ryuguh to start working."
"W-what? What are you planning to do?"
"It's thanks to him that I dress this way. He's very good at this."
"…"
"Hong Ryuguh will start teaching you all how to dress and care for your skin, as well as everything else, starting today."
"Ugh… but he's creepy!"
"Creepy? He's such a sweet boy. Why do you say that?"
"I-I mean, he's creepy in another kind of way!"
"Hmm… I think I understand what you're talking about, but it's for the future of the Quickstorm Regiment. So just do as I say."
"Ugh. Yes, Captain."
And after that, the Quickstorm Regiment was reborn. All women became entranced from Kang Hyuk and his handsome and cool members, and as they proved themselves to be powerful, even men became entranced, increasing their popularity.
Thanks to all of that, the Quickstorm Regiment was able to ride on the fast track to success.
