Chapter 161 – Hope to Get Closer (3)

I gathered information about Samayeryeong through people around her.

Preparations are complete.

Now, all that’s left is to chase after Samayeryeong, who runs away at the mere sight of me… no, to catch her!

“Let’s go!”

I shouted energetically and hid my body in the nearby bushes.

Sshh.

Although Samayeryeong has been eating in her own room lately, she always enjoys a short break in a small garden nearby after lunch, as if she misses the sunlight.

Sometimes she plays with ants or sighs while looking at flowers.

I’ll wait for that moment.

First, I’ll hide in the bushes next to the garden like this, and when Samayeryeong appears, I’ll rush out and catch her in one go.

Then, I’ll gradually ease her guard down with topics she likes, and finally, I’ll get to the point.

Hoo… I made it myself, but it’s a really perfect plan.

I boasted to myself silently and killed my breath. How much time has passed like this?

Thump thump.

I felt Samayeryeong’s presence coming this way with light footsteps.

But I can’t rush in recklessly.

There are several reasons why I haven’t been able to catch Samayeryeong, who has been running away from me until now, and one of them is simply because it’s hard to catch her.

Of course, my level is higher… should I call it a difference in aptitude?

Anyway, the martial arts I’ve learned, Ungju Cheonmudong, is not a high-level martial art. Even if I hit it well, it would be about this level.

And it’s a martial art specialized in endurance, not speed.

On the other hand, the martial art Samayeryeong has learned is a rising martial art that is unbeatable anywhere, and is generally specialized in speed and sophistication.

So I have to wait until she gets a little closer to catch her more surely.

Like a duck-billed platypus that detects bioelectricity from its bill to find prey, I closed my eyes and focused on my senses.

Thump thump.

A little more.

Thump thump.

Just three more steps forward.

Thump… thud.

Huh?

Tadadadat.

Suddenly, Samayeryeong’s presence, which was approaching, began to move away. And at an incredibly fast speed.

“Did she find out?”

Where did she find out?

No, I have to chase her now more than anything else.

“Stop running!”

I shouted loudly, spreading my martial arts in a hurry, but unfortunately, it didn’t work on Samayeryeong, who didn’t stop.

Instead, she started pushing herself from behind with some makeshift method, making her hair flutter unnaturally from behind.

Oh well. Since it’s like this, I’ll just chase her like this!

Normally, I would have given up at a point where I could have stopped, but I continued to chase after Samayeryeong without stopping.

“Hey, just stop for a moment and talk!”

“I hate it! I have nothing to talk about with you, you perverted Geomryong! Sae-ryong!”

“Wasn’t the misunderstanding cleared up last time?!”

“Misunderstanding? I heard everything from my mother! That’s just a typical side effect of a slut’s behavior!”

“….”

I can’t argue with that.

“But still, just stop for a moment! We can’t keep living like this! We’re family now!”

“Huh?! You’re the only family I have, my mother?!”

Sae-ryong’s response was so firm that it was almost petulant. This wasn’t just some adolescent who couldn’t accept their remarried parents….

No, maybe it was something like that. People don’t necessarily mature just because they get older.

You have to have experiences that match your age to mature.

Sometimes an orphan who has experienced everything beyond their years looks more mature than their peers, and sometimes an old person who acts like a child looks younger than their age. That’s why I feel like Sae-ryong is much younger than me, even though we’re about the same age if you add up our past lives.

Sae-ryong has made many enemies among her peers to avoid looking shallow, and she has never lost a fight in the conflicts that have arisen as a result.

In other words, she’s an adult who has never had a proper social life.

Her excessive obsession with Sama-mang and her attempt to escape from me without thinking about the consequences may all be problems that arise from this context.

I shouted with the mindset of dealing with a child, not an adult like me.

“Just because Sama-mang is getting remarried doesn’t mean your mother won’t be your mother anymore! Sama-mang will still be your mother, and you’ll just have another family!”

“I know what you’re thinking, you stupid Geomryong!”

Oops, I got it wrong.

“Then why do you keep running away?”

“I just…just…ugh!”

Sae-ryong bit her lip slightly and glared at me.

But soon, instead of what she wanted to say, a fairly familiar insult came out of her mouth.

“You’re so slow~! You’re supposed to be a master, but you can’t even catch me? You loser ♡ You’re so pathetic, Geomryong ♡”

“Okay. I’ll definitely catch you today. No matter what happens, I’ll catch you.”

“You’ll catch me? Me? The pathetic Geomryong? Heung~”

Sae-ryong said that with her hand covering her mouth and started to giggle. The same habit as Sama-mang. But her impression was completely opposite and felt repulsive.

“I don’t think it’s possible with that slow martial art of yours, but…I’ll cheer you on. Fighting ♡ Fighting ♡”

“Ugh….”

I know she’s deliberately trying to cover up what she was going to say earlier. I get it…but hearing that provocation makes me a little angry.

Sama-sega’s martial arts are undoubtedly impressive. However, it also consumes a tremendous amount of inner energy. I can’t keep running forever.

I gritted my teeth, determined to hold out until Sama-yeoryeong’s inner energy ran out.

…

…

…

…

From the large road by the corner of the garden to the crowded space of the servants, to the winding alleys between the expanded buildings.

Perhaps it was because I had installed the Jinbeop here before, but Sama-yeoryeong fearlessly passed through places where I couldn’t catch up with her, places I didn’t usually know.

I managed to follow her somehow.

As Sama-yeoryeong’s speed gradually slowed down and her back came closer, a problem arose.

“I caught…you?”

The moment I grabbed her shoulder, Sama-yeoryeong slipped out of her coat like a cicada shedding its skin.

Her brown eyes, which turned red, looked back at me in surprise. Then flames shot up from the coat I was holding.

“Are you crazy?!”

I threw the coat backwards in a moment of panic. At the same time, I felt a small sense of discomfort.

There’s no heat?

As I wondered, the flames disappeared as if nothing had happened.

“Is that sorcery…!”

A short hesitation that wouldn’t even last a second in time. But it was enough for Sama-yeoryeong.

As soon as I regained my senses, all I saw was Sama-yeoryeong catching the coat I had thrown and jumping onto the wall with a smile.

“Did you want to strip me naked, even after becoming my mother? Anyway, that’s why you can’t be a perverted Geomryong. I’ll take this back. Bye~!”

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

I quickly chased after the teasing Sama-yeoryeong, but…

“This is going to be tough.”

Beyond her was a bustling market.

Even I would find it difficult to find a hidden Sama-yeoryeong in a place with so many people.

Should I just barge into her room? She doesn’t want anyone in her room, but maybe it’s okay if I go with Sama-mang.

As I sighed deeply and turned back…

“Huh?”

Something caught my foot.

Is this…a book?

It seemed like something that was inside Sama-yeoryeong’s coat had fallen out.

Maybe it’s a novel with a hobby similar to Hong Yeon-hwa’s? And it’s a bit of an erotic content.

I probably won’t accept it if she asks for it back later. In a world where printing technology has advanced, book prices aren’t that expensive.

I put the book in my arms, thinking that I should ask Sama-mang to pass it on to her.

***

That night.

After finishing a round of sparring, I took a break while receiving Pung So-so’s cleaning.

Hong Yeon-hwa jumped up and down, her huge breasts bouncing wildly as she stared at the book on the desk of Sama-yeoryeong.

“Hey, you! Where did you get this?!”

“Huh? What’s the matter?”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s voice was filled with excitement for a completely different reason than before as she opened the book.

“This! Isn’t this the next installment of ‘Shindansu and Dubu’?! Did you meet the author? Or did you buy it at a bookstore?”

“What?”

But that came from Sama-yeoryeong’s coat. What’s more, what kind of content is this that the title is ‘Shindansu and Dubu’?

“At first, I wasn’t sure. It’s not uncommon for fans to write their own sequels. But I can’t be fooled! This writing style is undoubtedly the work of the original author, Yeomyeong!”

Hong Yeon-hwa explained the words she often used, the use of pronouns, and the author’s preferences hidden in the content, but that wasn’t important now.

Now that she looked at it, it was written with a brush, not printed letters. She quickly scanned through it and confirmed her suspicion.

“I can use this!”