My Dad Is the Strongest Under Heaven
Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Chapter 25. Just Who on Earth Is That Man?
How much time had passed?
“Pant, pant! Gasp…”
Before anyone realized it, the hellish run was crossing the highest ridge of the mountain.
Even from the mouths of the martial artists who sprinted up this hill every single day, ragged breaths tore out.
Today’s run was far more grueling than usual.
It was because the squad leader leading the run chose only the most dangerous, treacherous paths to dash through.
‘What is wrong with him!’
‘Someone stop that lunatic, please!’
‘Even so, this is way too much!’
They knew Noh Ilbong had set his mind firmly today, but they never imagined he would go this far.
Thanks to that, only the running warriors were being pushed to utter exhaustion.
It was a level of difficulty where falling behind in an instant was inevitable if one didn’t stay completely alert.
“Pant, gasp, huff…”
Their hearts felt ready to burst.
And yet,
‘Does this make any sense?’
‘No, how can this even be possible?’
‘Is that guy truly just a scholar who spent his whole life reading books?’
Among them, only one person—Yeo Woonhwi—was running leisurely without showing the slightest strain.
He was even casually taking in the surrounding scenery along the steep slopes going up and down.
‘What kind of bizarre ghost trick is this!’
Everyone felt as though they were bewitched by a ghost.
And there was another person who saw this.
Grit.
Running at the very front, Noh Ilbong’s face twisted viciously.
Though he was already drenched in sweat, he was provoked by Yeo Woonhwi’s relaxed demeanor and kept sprinting down even rougher paths.
Yet until the moment they circled the entire mountain and descended, he never once saw Yeo Woonhwi panting for breath.
Meanwhile, the run was drawing to an end.
Far in the distance, the Peng Clan compound came into view.
Once they stepped inside the Peng Clan and returned to their starting point, today’s run would be over.
For that was how it had always been.
“Wheeze, pant, wheeze…”
Amid the wheezing sounds coming from all around that were far harsher than usual, Noh Ilbong, who had planned all this to torment Yeo Woonhwi, looked back with a deeply flustered expression.
‘It can’t end like this…’
This was a picture entirely different from what he had envisioned.
At that moment, Yeo Woonhwi, meeting Noh Ilbong’s eyes, grinned.
Snap.
That made Noh Ilbong, who was leading the run, completely lose his temper.
From Yeo Woonhwi’s perspective, he had merely offered a light smile out of gratitude for being invited to the morning run.
The martial artists, drenched from head to toe in sweat, no longer cared whether Yeo Woonhwi was suffering or tired.
They were simply grateful that the run was almost over.
‘I need to hurry back and drink cold water.’
‘I’m going to douse cold water down my back. That’ll feel so refreshing, right?’
‘I’m going to drink a cup of water and lie down for the entire break. Nobody dare touch me.’
But then.
“One more lap.”
“Pardon?”
To the questions of the warriors who turned their heads to look at Noh Ilbong, wondering if they had misheard, Noh Ilbong shouted at the top of his lungs.
“One more lap! Move!”
“Ehhk…?”
At his words, everyone turned pale as death.
‘No, has that madman…?!’
‘What the hell did he eat to lose his mind like this!’
But no one could stop him.
Not even the fellow squad leaders.
Because their rule was to unconditionally obey the orders of the squad leader leading the run that day.
Though the rule certainly hadn’t been made for something like this.
‘Ugh, n-noooo!’
Everyone screamed inwardly.
But Noh Ilbong, completely crazed, turned right back around and began sprinting toward the mountain again.
‘Oho. Another round? Sounds good.’
Yet Yeo Woonhwi alone remained relaxed amid that hellish pandemonium.
One might say he looked as if he had merely stepped out for a morning stroll.
And so… the true hellish run began.
And how much time passed again?
“Gaaah…”
“Wa-water… waaa-ter…”
Before they knew it, they were finishing their third lap.
Thud. Thump.
In front of the Peng Clan’s main gate, warriors collapsed one after another.
An utterly unwatchable, wretched sight lay strewn all over the place.
For an aftermath not born of a life-or-death battle, but merely from a morning run, it was an excessively gruesome sight.
“Groan… O-one more…”
“S-stop it! Everyone will collapse and die at this rate!”
With nearly thirty percent dropped out or collapsed, none of the remaining men seemed sane as they vomited everywhere.
Unable to endure it any longer, one of the warriors shouted at Noh Ilbong, who had turned the morning run into a living hell.
Noh Ilbong’s face was already as gaunt as could be, and his legs were trembling like aspen leaves.
It wouldn’t have been surprising in the least if he collapsed and fainted right on the spot.
However,
“Don’t talk nonsense… That guy… is still fine. I… I can never… accept this…”
Still having not come to his senses, he was displaying useless stubbornness.
Just then, Yeo Woonhwi walked over.
“Phew, I’m finally starting to break a light sweat. Truly nice. Though I haven’t done morning runs very often. Haha!”
He continued speaking while lightly jogging in place.
“Well then, I look forward to tomorrow morning as well. Good work, everyone.”
“Pardon? T-tomorrow? W-wait…”
But Yeo Woonhwi merely said his piece and vanished into the distance in the blink of an eye.
He looked as if he still had endless energy to spare.
At that sight, everyone was rendered completely speechless.
“T-t-this can’t b—Bleurgh!”
In the end, even Noh Ilbong, who had clung to his stubborn pride until the last moment, couldn’t hold out any longer and collapsed forward, violently throwing up everything in his stomach.
Meanwhile, everyone was thinking the exact same thing.
‘Just what on earth is that man’s deal…?’
They should have known back then.
That Yeo Woonhwi never made empty promises.
From that day on, he truly showed up every single day.
The next day, the day after that, and the day after that.
The problem was that he liked the absurd, hellish pace from the first day so much that he demanded they keep running like that every time.
“Aaaargh!”
“Bleeuuurgh!”
“S-save meeee!”
Thanks to him, the martial artists were experiencing a veritable living hell every morning.
To the extent that their previous morning runs felt like child’s play.
Ultimately, all the fury fell upon Noh Ilbong, the main culprit who had brought about this disaster.
“Acting all high and mighty before… Ugh! Should we kill him or let him live?!”
“How on earth can we bury that guy in the ground and still get praised for it, huh?”
Even the fellow squad-leader-level warriors glared with fire in their eyes, demanding he take responsibility.
“…Fine, I get it, alright.”
In the end, unable to endure any longer, Noh Ilbong went to Yeo Woonhwi that very day and begged on his knees.
And,
“You really do not need to come out for the morning runs anymore. Please, I beg of you.”
He pleaded desperately, over and over again.
‘Tsk, it was quite fun, so this is a bit of a pity.’
Yeo Woonhwi had no choice but to agree.
In later days, the warriors would look back on that time and say:
Running alongside Yeo Woonhwi back then was the true run from hell.
And the rumors regarding the morning run spread throughout the entire Peng Clan.
“What happened?”
Peng Seoyeon looked at Yeo Woonhwi with an expression of utter disbelief.
She, too, had heard the rumors about what her husband had been doing every morning lately.
“Hm? What happened? What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, what do I mean? Since when did your stamina get so good? In the past, you used to gasp for air after running just a little.”
“Haha, was I like that?”
Yeo Woonhwi scratched his head and answered vaguely.
At that, Peng Seoyeon’s eyes narrowed.
“‘Was I like that?’ Look at you. You’ve gotten so much more sly lately, honestly.”
“Haha. To tell the truth, I’ve been diligently practicing my running behind your back all this time.”
“Does it really work just by doing that?”
“It worked for me, though?”
“What is this? Are you really going to keep this up?”
“Hahaha! Sorry, sorry.”
Watching Yeo Woonhwi laugh heartily, Peng Seoyeon let out a soft laugh.
She knew better than anyone just how immense the stamina of the Hebei Peng Clan’s warriors was.
It was completely unbelievable to her that her frail husband had beaten them in long-distance running.
Frankly, her husband had been strange lately.
There wasn’t just one or two suspicious things about him.
Even so, she chose not to interrogate him for now.
She decided to wait until he opened up and told her on his own.
Because she trusted her husband more than anyone else.
She felt that if he wasn’t telling her now, he must have a good reason for it.
And above all, the current situation was a hundred times better than her husband being bullied and insulted.
So, for now, she chose to let it be.
Still, letting it slide just like that didn’t feel entirely satisfying.
Therefore,
“Ouch!”
Yeo Woonhwi, having his arm pinched with all her might by Peng Seoyeon, looked at his wife with a tearful expression.
“Darling, that hurts. W-why are you doing this?”
“Hmm. Just… how should I put it? Because you’re strangely cheeky today?”
“What?”
“Daddy! Mommy said you’re cheeky!”
“Eh?”
Yeo Woonhwi rubbed his arm with a bewildered face, and Yul-i giggled merrily as if finding the scene delightful.
Only then did Peng Seoyeon wear a slightly mollified expression.
“…Hahaha! Is that truly the case?”
“Yes. They say that ever since then, the warriors never even utter the word ‘run’ in front of him and sneakily avoid his presence.”
“Hahahaha!”
Peng Seojin burst into laughter again at Heo Ukil’s report.
“Fascinating, truly fascinating.”
To be honest, Peng Seojin had also thought that Yeo Woonhwi would suffer quite a bit this time.
But he never imagined things would turn out like this.
To think that their attempt to be clever and torment his brother-in-law had brought about the exact opposite result.
‘Still, how intriguing.’
He had heard the man did nothing but study diligently, so how could this be?
Was he not a far more amusing man than expected?
Stroking his chin, Peng Seojin thought he should share a drink privately with his brother-in-law sometime soon.
Secretly from his father, of course.
It was then.
A presence was heard outside.
“Grand Young Master. It is time to depart.”
“Is it already that time?”
As Peng Seojin nodded and rose from his seat, Heo Ukil spoke up.
“Is it really alright for me not to accompany you?”
At Heo Ukil’s words, Peng Seojin chuckled.
“Do you not have tasks to attend to today?”
It was almost time for the White Tiger Squad’s training to begin.
“Besides, I cannot drag the Vice Captain around with me everywhere. Who would train and manage the White Tiger Squad then?”
“Even so…”
“It is fine. Anyone seeing this would think I was heading into dangerous territory. As I always say, you worry far too much.”
When Peng Seojin patted Heo Ukil on the shoulder with a smile, Heo Ukil nodded.
“Understood.”
“Then I shall be on my way.”
With those final words, Peng Seojin set out on his way.
Even then, he did not know.
Just what kind of event would befall him that day.
