Crossroads

Chapter 6

Chapter Six : A New Opportunity

After Jintai finished training, he went for a walk. While walking, he saw a bird with an injured wing. Jintai looked at it, sat in front of it, and gently stroked its head with his finger. However, someone kicked the bird forcefully with his foot. Jintai looked up and saw Nari smiling with a mischievous expression on his face. Jintai asked him why he did that.

Nari replied, "Not everything you see on the ground belongs to you, hahahaha."

Jintai looked ahead without saying a word.

Nari was surprised and asked, "Is this really your reaction? You've become hopeless, anyway. I want to see your face when you fall from above, hahahaha, it will look even more ridiculous." Then Nari left. But Jintai remained seated, and when he got up, he went to the bird and found that it was not breathing. He then carried it, buried it, and went to a public bathroom to wash his hands and face and looked at himself in the mirror.

Afterwards, he returned home carrying some items. At sunset, Jintai stopped to admire the beautiful view and was gazing at the sky. But someone appeared in front of Jintai's view; it was Ransi. Ransi approached Jintai, telling him to forget everything that had happened between them. Jintai nodded without any preamble.

Ransi replied, "Yes, I know you are a kind person, Jintai. I promise I will make up for what happened after the competition. We will go back to playing together as we used to. I am now 10 years old, and you are only seven, so shall we continue being friends for the rest of our lives? What do you think, Jintai?"

Jintai smiled slightly and agreed to rekindle their friendship, as he had been waiting for this day for a long time. Ransi responded with a warm smile, "I am excited to compete together. I will teach you anything you need or help you get to know all the competitors. What do you think?" Jintai replied that he would be happy with that, as he had missed school.

They continued their way together until Jintai said goodbye to Ransi and entered his house, greeting his brother Miriya and his mother.

Miriya was 5 years old.

While Jintai was lying on his bed, he heard a sound from the window. When he approached, he saw Ransi throwing pebbles at the window, trying to get his attention. When Ransi saw him, he waved and gestured for him to come down.

When Jintai went outside, Ransi told him why he had come at this time. Ransi said he was feeling bored and decided to drop by to take a walk with him. Jintai told him he couldn't go far from home. Ransi sighed and said, "It's okay, I'll stay here."

In the garden of their house, they started talking until their laughter woke up some neighbors. One of them shouted at them to shut up, stop talking, and go to sleep. Ransi then got up and ran off, bidding Jintai goodbye. Jintai gave a faint smile, went inside the house, and closed the door.

AM 7:00

Jintai was training in his garden, wielding a wooden sword and counting: 501, 502, 503. While he was training, Ransi entered, astonished, "Hey, Jintai, have you been training since early morning?"

Jintai told him, "Yes, I need to be prepared. The competition will start soon."

Ransi laughed and said he was very excited. Jintai responded, "Only lazy people call diligent ones overly enthusiastic

Sounds of laughter

Ransi tells Gentai that he has become more arrogant than before and doesn't know where his arrogance will lead him.

Gentai replies sarcastically: "I'd rather be arrogant to the world than have the world be arrogant toward me."

Ransi is surprised and says: "Huh? Who is this? When did you start passing judgment? You haven't changed at all; you still have a sharp mind."