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Title: The Black Dragon
Series: 군주-가면의 주인 | Ruler - Master of the Mask
Chapter: An Extraordinary Burden
Characters: Woo Bo, Senior Peddler
Summary: Snippets of the time period Lee Seon was living as a peddler.
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"Can you take this burden off me?"
"He won't last two weeks and will run away."
"How about we take a bet over that and see?"
He hates it when it turned out that his thoughts were proven wrong. Even more when there's a stake involved. Though, to be fair... from the very beginning he's already at a disadvantage. Since Woo Bo always make a bet whenever he was very sure that he could win.
Who'd imagine that the little runt of a 'burden' that Woo Bo had shoved to him turned out to be hiding some special abilities underneath that small frame? There's something more to that boy he can just feel it! That sneaky Woo Bo...!
The old peddler stopped in front of the old hut before promptly knocking on the door, calling for his old friend. The effort took him quite a while as the old hermit wasn't the type to remain sober at this time of day. As Woo Bo stepped out of his hut, the old hermit let out an amused laugh.
"I thought you'd never come back to see me after our last chat. What? Are you trying to cheat your way out of our last bet?"
Senior Peddler let out an annoyed grunt before taking out a medium-sized gourd from his pack. He placed the gourd next to Woo Bo as the two sat down on a nearby landing.
"What kind of a person you think I am?" exclaimed the old peddler. "D'you really think I'd avoid you just because I lost a bet with you? Nah, it's just that I was too busy dealing with my own business to worry about some silly bet. That burden of yours was quite handful, y'know?"
Woo Bo laughed out loud. "I thought so. Else you wouldn't be coming to see me after almost two years or so." The old hermit snorted at him. "So, what have the runt done all these times? What kind of trouble has that kid caused you?"
Senior Peddler just shook his head. "I wouldn't have come over here just to complain about the runt. But that boy sure gave me quite a lot of work to do. Just when I thought I've already have everything dealt with, the kid would start suggesting new ways to improve on the things we usually do. That kid turned out quite a clever one, I never thought I'd ended up benefiting a lot by having that scrawny kid around."
He turned his head towards Woo Bo before nudging the hermit with his arm. "Now Woo Bo, fess up. What's the actual deal with that boy? What was it that you're keeping mum about him?"
"What in heavens are you talking about?" asked Woo Bo, feigning innocence.
Senior Peddler frowned at him. "You know what I'm talking about. That runt was smart enough that he should've had some kind of proper education drilled into him since young. And as much as the runt didn't seem to be any different than any other kids that could easily be found littering the streets, that runt wouldn't quite fit in well amongst them. That runt is a special one, isn't it? There's no way a kid THAT clever could be raised from some poor background, there's no way that kid would be born without even been given a proper name!"
The old man just huffed at Woo Bo. "You know very well of the kid's true identity. That's why you told me last time that the runt would prove a lot more useful to me than how he appeared."
Woo Bo let out a loud chuckle. "Hah! You've caught me, my old friend. But before that, tell me how's that boy been doing now?"
Senior Peddler just shook his head exasperatedly. "Ye don't need to worry about that kid too much." The old man made a small guttural noise under his breath as Woo Bo immediately took notice of it.
That didn't sound like a sound of dissatisfaction. More than that, it sounded more like his friend had been trying his best not to sound too pleased with himself, despite the many complaints the old man had regarding the Crown Prince.
What could that possibly mean?
His old friend grinned at him. "Nowadays that runt had grown to become an even more busy man compared to me. I don't think I'd find any other kids his age that could be as useful or brilliant. Kid's a real treasure."
The old peddler let out a sniff. "That runt was really something. Within a short time he managed to charm his way towards anyone who've met him and no problem went unsolved for too long when he's around to help fix it. That runt was too helpful than anyone ever deserved! I'd say that lately people were more pleased to seeing him dropping by than seeing me when doing business. There's even talks of us setting up a proper organization with him leading everyone in mind!"
If he had whooped aloud in between the outburst of words that his friend had let out, Woo Bo wouldn't have admitted that it came from him. Why should he be acting so surprised? Shouldn't he be expecting such outcome?
But really, colour him surprise! This was more than what he had expected the Crown Prince to be able to achieve! And in such a short time even. When push comes to shove that kid could really do wonders!
After hearing so much great tidings about the Crown Prince, it really felt like he could use some drinks. Since this was a thing to celebrate! If the Crown Prince could achieve so much in rallying the peddlers together, then what kind of great accomplishment would the young prince achieve once he could reclaim the throne?
Even then, such dreams were still so far off... and one shouldn't let the notion get over his head. After all, there's still the old man in front of him, waiting for some explanation.
Woo Bo leaned over towards his old friend.
"I'd tell you that kid's secret, but how can I trust you to not let anyone else find out about it?"
Immediately he was assaulted by the old peddler. "Enough dillydallying! Did you really think I'm such an untrustworthy person?"
Senior Peddler gave Woo Bo a stern look. "Don't act like this, Woo Bo. I know that you had other reasons to pushing that runt on me aside from letting him learn about the trade. You want to protect that boy as well, don't you?"
Woo Bo let out a small sigh. "Couldn't fool you too long, could I?"
Senior Peddler shrugged. "A gem like that boy? Even if he didn't do anything, he's bound to attract some attention."
"You'd need more than just one 'bodyguard' to make sure that the boy would remain safe at all times."
Woo Bo nodded his head slowly. "You got a good point there," he said softly before exhaling.
"Not sure you'd like it any better once you heard the truth."
Series: 군주-가면의 주인 | Ruler - Master of the Mask
Chapter: An Extraordinary Burden
Characters: Woo Bo, Senior Peddler
Summary: Snippets of the time period Lee Seon was living as a peddler.
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Can you take this burden off me?"
"He won't last two weeks and will run away."
"How about we take a bet over that and see?"
He hates it when it turned out that his thoughts were proven wrong. Even more when there's a stake involved. Though, to be fair... from the very beginning he's already at a disadvantage. Since Woo Bo always make a bet whenever he was very sure that he could win.
Who'd imagine that the little runt of a 'burden' that Woo Bo had shoved to him turned out to be hiding some special abilities underneath that small frame? There's something more to that boy he can just feel it! That sneaky Woo Bo...!
The old peddler stopped in front of the old hut before promptly knocking on the door, calling for his old friend. The effort took him quite a while as the old hermit wasn't the type to remain sober at this time of day. As Woo Bo stepped out of his hut, the old hermit let out an amused laugh.
"I thought you'd never come back to see me after our last chat. What? Are you trying to cheat your way out of our last bet?"
Senior Peddler let out an annoyed grunt before taking out a medium-sized gourd from his pack. He placed the gourd next to Woo Bo as the two sat down on a nearby landing.
"What kind of a person you think I am?" exclaimed the old peddler. "D'you really think I'd avoid you just because I lost a bet with you? Nah, it's just that I was too busy dealing with my own business to worry about some silly bet. That burden of yours was quite handful, y'know?"
Woo Bo laughed out loud. "I thought so. Else you wouldn't be coming to see me after almost two years or so." The old hermit snorted at him. "So, what have the runt done all these times? What kind of trouble has that kid caused you?"
Senior Peddler just shook his head. "I wouldn't have come over here just to complain about the runt. But that boy sure gave me quite a lot of work to do. Just when I thought I've already have everything dealt with, the kid would start suggesting new ways to improve on the things we usually do. That kid turned out quite a clever one, I never thought I'd ended up benefiting a lot by having that scrawny kid around."
He turned his head towards Woo Bo before nudging the hermit with his arm. "Now Woo Bo, fess up. What's the actual deal with that boy? What was it that you're keeping mum about him?"
"What in heavens are you talking about?" asked Woo Bo, feigning innocence.
Senior Peddler frowned at him. "You know what I'm talking about. That runt was smart enough that he should've had some kind of proper education drilled into him since young. And as much as the runt didn't seem to be any different than any other kids that could easily be found littering the streets, that runt wouldn't quite fit in well amongst them. That runt is a special one, isn't it? There's no way a kid THAT clever could be raised from some poor background, there's no way that kid would be born without even been given a proper name!"
The old man just huffed at Woo Bo. "You know very well of the kid's true identity. That's why you told me last time that the runt would prove a lot more useful to me than how he appeared."
Woo Bo let out a loud chuckle. "Hah! You've caught me, my old friend. But before that, tell me how's that boy been doing now?"
Senior Peddler just shook his head exasperatedly. "Ye don't need to worry about that kid too much." The old man made a small guttural noise under his breath as Woo Bo immediately took notice of it.
That didn't sound like a sound of dissatisfaction. More than that, it sounded more like his friend had been trying his best not to sound too pleased with himself, despite the many complaints the old man had regarding the Crown Prince.
What could that possibly mean?
His old friend grinned at him. "Nowadays that runt had grown to become an even more busy man compared to me. I don't think I'd find any other kids his age that could be as useful or brilliant. Kid's a real treasure."
The old peddler let out a sniff. "That runt was really something. Within a short time he managed to charm his way towards anyone who've met him and no problem went unsolved for too long when he's around to help fix it. That runt was too helpful than anyone ever deserved! I'd say that lately people were more pleased to seeing him dropping by than seeing me when doing business. There's even talks of us setting up a proper organization with him leading everyone in mind!"
If he had whooped aloud in between the outburst of words that his friend had let out, Woo Bo wouldn't have admitted that it came from him. Why should he be acting so surprised? Shouldn't he be expecting such outcome?
But really, colour him surprise! This was more than what he had expected the Crown Prince to be able to achieve! And in such a short time even. When push comes to shove that kid could really do wonders!
After hearing so much great tidings about the Crown Prince, it really felt like he could use some drinks. Since this was a thing to celebrate! If the Crown Prince could achieve so much in rallying the peddlers together, then what kind of great accomplishment would the young prince achieve once he could reclaim the throne?
Even then, such dreams were still so far off... and one shouldn't let the notion get over his head. After all, there's still the old man in front of him, waiting for some explanation.
Woo Bo leaned over towards his old friend.
"I'd tell you that kid's secret, but how can I trust you to not let anyone else find out about it?"
Immediately he was assaulted by the old peddler. "Enough dillydallying! Did you really think I'm such an untrustworthy person?"
Senior Peddler gave Woo Bo a stern look. "Don't act like this, Woo Bo. I know that you had other reasons to pushing that runt on me aside from letting him learn about the trade. You want to protect that boy as well, don't you?"
Woo Bo let out a small sigh. "Couldn't fool you too long, could I?"
Senior Peddler shrugged. "A gem like that boy? Even if he didn't do anything, he's bound to attract some attention."
"You'd need more than just one 'bodyguard' to make sure that the boy would remain safe at all times."
Woo Bo nodded his head slowly. "You got a good point there," he said softly before exhaling.
"Not sure you'd like it any better once you heard the truth."
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