Chapter 47 – Please Embrace Me, Sanggong (1)
“Who are you?”
A chill ran down my spine.
As both a mother and a woman, Jegal Mireyeong had seen a lot in her life.
But the way she stared at Hyeong-wan with eyes full of hostility was like a lioness ready to pounce.
“I am a disciple of the Myeonggyo Iljangro…”
“I don’t need to hear anymore.”
Jegal Mireyeong cut him off coldly and immediately sent a gust of wind his way.
The sharp wind flew like an arrow, but Hyeong-wan couldn’t move his body easily.
Upon closer inspection, the end of the wind was twisting and turning, making it difficult to predict where the attack would land.
“Crazy…”
Even though he had dodged the wind with ease before, Hyeong-wan finally suffered a loss and stepped forward.
Pashit!
With a short sword filled with a deep black energy, Hyeong-wan barely managed to deflect the wind. He then kicked the table next to him, which flew towards Jegal Mireyeong like a missile. As it hit her, the table broke into two, and Hyeong-wan took advantage of the opening to escape.
It was terrifying.
Jegal Mireyeong, who had a delicate and intelligent appearance, was expected to use soft martial arts like a shaman, but…
At best, the wooden pencil, which was just over a foot long, flew like a missile and violently pushed Hyeong-wan back when he tried to restrain her with the sharp wind. Whenever Jegal Mireyeong’s pencil moved gracefully in the air, Hyeong-wan was pushed back and had to retreat.
Although he sometimes managed to keep the situation going with close combat, even in mid-range combat…
“It’s like a salmon swimming upstream…”
As Jegal Mireyeong’s pencil moved gracefully in her hand, Hyeong-wan was pushed back and had to retreat.
Hyeong-wan, who suffered losses in both close and mid-range combat, looked at me and shouted.
“Isn’t this supposed to be a martial art? Why are you…”
“I never agreed to a fight, did I? Don’t they teach you the meaning of the word ‘attack’ in your school?”
I couldn’t swear at her because she was Jegal Mireyeong, but I made a sarcastic comment. Hyeong-wan’s face twisted, but he seemed too busy dealing with Jegal Mireyeong to retaliate.
As Hyeong-wan was gradually pushed back and the people who had fled began to peek out from the alley to watch, he finally snapped.
“I won’t forget this!”
Jegal Mireyeong didn’t seem to have any intention of chasing after him and turned to look at me. Seeing that she wasn’t even out of breath, I realized the difference in our skills.
“Hyeon-ah, are you hurt anywhere?”
Jegal Mireyeong approached me and looked me up and down… but then suddenly let me go.
What’s going on? Is it because of my mood?
Chapter 47 – Please Embrace Me, Sanggong (1)
“You’re such a coward!”
Hyeong-wan, who was highly regarded in the Myeonggyo Iljangro, was completely shameless.
I’ve never seen anyone so audacious as to receive help during a sacred martial art and still act so brazenly.
It would have been better if he had continued to curse at me like he did before, but when he suddenly changed his attitude and started using polite language, it felt even more disgusting.
“That high school student who used that pencil…”
With just a few pokes of her metal brush, Jegal Mireyeong had him cornered in no time.
As he tried to dodge her attacks, Hyeong-wan twisted and turned like a salmon swimming upstream, but eventually had to retreat.
“But I’ve gathered enough information on him… If I bring this to my master, he’ll be pleased…”
Feeling proud of himself for collecting information from A to Z, Hyeong-wan grinned from ear to ear.
When we returned to the estate, Jegal Mireyeong began to overprotect me… or so I thought.
After defeating the thug, Jegal Mireyeong hugged me once and then let go, relieved that I wasn’t hurt.
Something felt off, but since Jegal Mireyeong had been resting her hands long before she approached me, I didn’t think she would use any strange techniques.
…Or would she?
Although I only received a warning to be careful in the future since I got involved with a strange guy, I felt strangely uneasy.
“So you came to see me?”
In the office of Dang Hyewon, the owner of the room looked at me with a worried expression.
I naturally placed my hand on Dang Hyewon’s belly and gently stroked it.
“We came to see Hyewon and our baby, but we also wanted to talk. Meeting is the main purpose, the conversation is just a side note.”
“I don’t think so…”
Although she looked at me suspiciously, she liked it when I touched her belly.
Since having a child, Dang Hyewon seemed to have become more emotionally stable.
There was a feeling that the desire to be recognized that had been bowing its head for a long time and was distorted by obsession was fulfilled by me, but after having a child, that obsession seemed to have shifted a bit.
According to my psychology (which I never learned), that was the case anyway.
“So you fought with that Hyeong-wan and Jegal Yeohyeop helped you, that’s all?”
“Yes, nothing else happened… but it’s strange that Jegal Mireyeong didn’t show any strange reactions.”
“It’s just that… why did the Myeonggyo send a martial artist to Cheonju in broad daylight, without even sending a combat unit, to perform martial arts during a ritual?”
Dang Hyewon seemed more interested in the Myeonggyo than Jegal Mireyeong’s reaction.
“I’m not sure…? I was caught off guard, so I couldn’t really investigate the situation accurately.”
Thank goodness… I wasn’t the weird one.
It would have been easier to understand if we were attacked, but what kind of martial arts ritual takes place in the marketplace?
“Come to think of it, that no… that guy said I was the best martial artist in Cheonju, what does that even mean?”
Since when did I become the best martial artist in Cheonju? It’s probably not even true, and even if it were, there’s no event where my name would be announced.
“I’ve never heard of that before?”
“…Maybe that guy was just having some strange delusions.”
Talking about the little shit Jegal Mireyeong was a waste of time. If he shows up again, I’ll have to train harder and crush him with my own strength.
I couldn’t explain why Jegal Mireyeong’s behavior felt strange to me, so Dang Hyewon couldn’t give me a clear answer either.
“Yoon, do you want to make Jegal Yeohyeop your woman? Is that why you’re worried?”
She suddenly shifted to a more theoretical discussion. Dang Hyewon asked with a blank expression, but I was taken aback.
“…Our baby can hear us…”
“Should we write it down then? Since it won’t even be remembered, let’s not worry about the baby.”
I don’t know if it’s okay to talk about how daddy is going after other women when the fetus can hear…
It’s only been two months, so the baby probably doesn’t have ears yet, right?
When Dang Hyewon handed me a pen and paper, I lowered my head.
“That’s right…”
I told her everything I had been thinking.
There’s no point in kicking Gochen out since he’s surprisingly a decent guy.
I want to break free from the current situation where I’m perceived as a threat by Jegal Mireyeong.
Ultimately, I want Jegal Mireyeong to hold my child.
Dang Hyewon smiled with a disappointed expression, but she didn’t seem too upset.
“So, you’ve been eyeing four women so far? There’s also that… sister in Namgungse.”
If we’re going by who I’ve been eyeing, it’s five with Hwangbo Hyoseon, but I should keep my mouth shut for now. I haven’t done anything yet.
“I’m sorry…”
“You don’t have to apologize. If you think about it, I’m the second woman to come after that sister. If you want to apologize, you should apologize to her.”
As we talked, I realized that this was also a problem I needed to think about.
It’s great to have multiple women, but what will happen to their relationships with each other?
If I impregnate them and don’t take responsibility, I wouldn’t have to worry about these things, but I don’t like that.
How would Eun Soyoung react if she found out about all these women besides herself?
“She probably wouldn’t like it.”
Clap, clap.
I lifted my head at the sound of clapping.
“The most important thing right now isn’t that, though, right? We need to talk about how to handle Jegal Yeohyeop.”
“…That’s right.”
“Don’t do anything. Just act casual.”
Wait, is that really okay?
“Jegal Yeohyeop’s mind is very unstable. Even if we worry about it now, we can’t predict what will happen.”
That’s true.
Let’s say someone saw their son using strange martial arts.
Since martial arts can’t be mastered overnight, it’s reasonable to think that it’s someone else who just looks like him.
“But Jegal Mireyeong probably wants to believe that I’m her son.”
That way, he can become the person who came back from the dead.
It’s impossible to predict human psychology in such uncertain conditions.
“Plus, Jegal Yeohyeop is a very intelligent person. Whether she really knows or pretends not to, she probably has her own thoughts.”
It might be better to watch and see than to do something clumsily, Dang Hyewon said, nodding her head.
“If anything happens, let me know. I’ve delegated most of my work to the subordinates, so I have a lot of free time.”
“Okay.”
“And…”
When Dang Hyewon trailed off, I met her gaze, waiting for her to speak.
“S-since we’re not doing radiation therapy these days, could you come visit our baby more often…?”
She said something and then drifted off.
Since we have a baby now, we have to abstain from sex. So Dang Hyewon has been excluded from the recent sex rotation.
But her face was so cute when she said she wanted to see me more often.
Smack.
After lightly kissing her forehead, Dang Hyewon smiled contentedly.
When Kang Yoon went to see Dang Hyewon, Paeng Yeon-hwa received a visit from Jegal Mireyeong.
Today, Kang Yoon had gone to battle with Jegal Mireyeong, so Paeng Yeon-hwa had received a message that he would be resting, but she was curious as to why Jegal Mireyeong, who had gone out with him, had returned so early.
There was no reason to meet in the training ground, so Paeng Yeon-hwa opened the reception room to greet her guest.
Although she had cleaned every nook and cranny, the reception room was still cold because no one had been there, and a warm air rose.
“Little sister, what’s going on? I heard you went to battle with your nephew and went to the battle, but…”
Jegal Mireyeong’s shoulders trembled. When her expression darkened, Paeng Yeon-hwa spoke in a soft voice.
“What’s going on? I don’t know if I can help, but tell me your story. Even a blank sheet of paper can be useful when you’re carrying something heavy.”
“Unni…”
Jegal Mireyeong’s eyes flickered for a moment, then tears gathered in her eyes and she hugged Paeng Yeon-hwa.
“Uwaaaaah…”
Jegal Mireyeong cried like a child, and Paeng Yeon-hwa was taken aback. But she gently patted her back and comforted her.
It had been years since Paeng Yeon-hwa had seen Dang Mu-hon cry like this.
As she wiped away the tears with a warm towel, Jegal Mireyeong’s crying seemed to calm down.
“Mireyeong, you can tell me anything or nothing at all. Whatever makes you comfortable.”
“…”
“I just don’t want you to ignore difficult things and put them off, only to make things harder for yourself later. That’s all I need to know.”
“…Thank you for being like an older sister to me after all this time.”
“Isn’t that what being the older one is for?”
Her voice was slightly hoarse from crying, but Jegal Mireyeong seemed to regain some strength after shedding a few tears.
However, she still didn’t reveal what was bothering her to Paeng Yeon-hwa.
“Have you sorted things out?”
“…No. But I know I have to find the answers myself.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Jegal Mireyeong said her goodbyes and left the reception room. Paeng Yeon-hwa watched her go, lost in thought.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t imagine a woman like Jegal Mireyeong crying over something trivial.
“Kang Yoon.”
It must be about her son.
That man who only aimed for opportunities to betray her while claiming to practice special martial arts.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but if he’s found to be in the wrong…”
He’ll have to change his ways.