Chapter: 789
“…”
“…”
Our eyes met for a moment.
Gu Hee-bi was speechless at the sight before her.
Mihyoran merely let out a gasp as she looked at her eldest daughter.
Time passed like that.
“Huh?”
Mihyoran lifted the child in her arms and sat him down next to her, then carefully moved the snacks and tea out of sight.
And then she said,
“You’ve come.”
“…”
“Sit down.”
She acts as though nothing happened, just like usual.
After seeing this, Gu Hee-bi couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have just seen something absurd.
“Mother.”
“…”
“What’s going on…?”
Of course, there was no way to communicate effectively.
Mihyoran’s brows knitted slightly at Gu Hee-bi’s frowning question, clearly indicating she had no clue what was happening.
Gu Hee-bi, struggling to articulate, stammered, “What the heck is this? What is that kid doing…?”
Her eyes, looking crazily frantic, darted around like she’d seen something she shouldn’t have.
“It is….”
As her gaze turned to the child, it froze mid-sentence.
Her eyes widened even more.
There was no way she couldn’t be surprised.
How could anyone see that face and not be ?
“…Uh?”
A child tilted his head, looking at the frozen Gu Hee-bi, his innocent expression pulling her into memories at full speed.
[Look at this! It’s a flower—! I’ll give it to you, older sister.]
[Older sister—! Play with me—!]
Back when laughter was plentiful.
The image of her little brother, running with a flower to give her, flashed in her mind, along with the sight of him tightly holding her hand as he followed her like a puppy.
“…Uh…uh…”
He looked exactly the same as he did back then.
If anything, he might actually be cuter now… but undeniably, that child resembled her little brother.
That thought alone caused Gu Hee-bi’s body to move of its own accord.
Mihyoran’s earlier demeanor. The reason she had been summoned here so suddenly.
None of that even registered in her mind.
She thought, Let’s just go over there, pat his head, and think it through…
As Gu Hee-bi made up her mind to approach the child.
At that moment.
“Yangcheon….”
WHOOSH—!!
“…!?”
A fierce gust of wind erupted beside Gu Hee-bi.
Something shot forward with incredible speed, tearing through the air.
An acceleration too fast for anyone around to react. Gu Hee-bi’s gaze was fixated on one spot as the situation unfolded.
There.
“Yeon-ah…?”
The black-haired woman, whom she had taken in as a sister, was tightly hugging a child who looked just like her little brother.
Gu Hee-bi was taken aback by the sudden turn of events and the speed that overwhelmed her.
Mihyoran, who was standing next to her, also bore an expression of rare surprise.
In that stunned moment, everyone seemed taken aback.
Then, suddenly—
CLUNK-CLUNK-CLUNK—!!
Strange sounds began to emerge from all over.
At that, Gu Hee-bi immediately snapped into action, shouting, “Wait a moment—!”
THUD-THUD-THUD—!!
Blades rained from all sides.
It took a bit of time for me to feel dragged along by Elder Il.
Before I knew it, I was in a familiar place.
A neatly tended alley. A luxurious establishment loomed above it.
This place didn’t quite fit my image, but it was a backdrop that felt familiar nonetheless.
‘The government was here yesterday, so how could I not know?’
Yesterday.
The very spot I had sneaked into at night, being all stealthy.
This was where Mrs. Mi resided.
I had been led here once more by the elder.
The purpose? To see someone.
Naturally, since this was Mrs. Mi’s residence, it meant it was time to see her.
That was not the case.
‘Hmm.’
I surveyed the area with what I realized was a tense expression.
No, I hadn’t come here to see Mrs. Mi.
The elder had said we were here to see my grandfather.
‘To be precise…’
Maternal grandfather.
If I had to slice it just right, that would be the term.
‘Not a single drop of blood runs between us, though.’
Now, whenever I think of ‘grandfather,’ the only one that comes to mind is the old man I met the other day. But if we were to break it down, there was someone else.
The inaugural owner of the Baekhwa Association, which Mrs. Mi runs.
That would be Mrs. Mi’s father.
‘…Hmm.’
Contemplating all this brought a question to mind.
Could we really call someone like that our maternal grandfather?
‘Technically, he’s not even a real grandfather.’
After all, I was the child of a concubine and had no blood ties with Mrs. Mi, so it was clear that I wouldn’t be her maternal grandson either.
Even more perplexing.
‘I’ve never even seen him.’
I had never set eyes on Mrs. Mi’s father, the founding leader of the Baekhwa Association, in my life.
‘And I just found out he’s alive!’
I had never heard of him, let alone seen him in person.
He’s still alive, huh?
‘I wonder if my sisters knew this.’
I’m not so sure about Gu Hee-bi or Gu Yeon-seo.
While I might be a complete stranger, those two are truly his granddaughters.
Of course, that makes it all the stranger.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Not only did this first chief character suddenly appear, but he had to go and bring Elder Il along as an escort, traversing all the way to Hanam with him.
So…
‘Why me?’
Why would he be so insistent on seeing me?
This, too, was something that had never happened in my past life.
As usual, the costly accidents I had caused seemed to be at play here.
‘No matter how I think about it, I can’t figure it out.’
What went wrong that got us in this situation?
No matter how hard I strained my brain, nothing came to mind.
So, raising my head, I looked at the grand figure in front of me and asked.
“Elder Il, can I ask you something?”
“Hmm?”
At my query, the old man, towering at eight feet, turned around.
“Why exactly are you looking for me?”
Why would the first leader of the Baekhwadan be looking for me? I inquired of the elder.
“Well…”
“…”
“I suppose he just wants to see his grandson, don’t you think?”
No particularly helpful answers came back.
Well, I guess the fault was mine for expecting anything from this old man.
“… You can’t be serious. Not even my grandson, and yet you want to see me? If you really wanted to see me so badly, wouldn’t you have come long ago?”
“Uh… is that so?”
“In the first place, why did you take on the role of escort, Elder? You’re an old man.”
An elder from a prominent family.
Why on earth would someone like him take the role of an escort and follow me all the way to Hanam?
At my words, Elder Il scratched his cheek with his hand.
“Well, it just happened that way. It’s fine. You can just consider it a stroll to see the kid, right?”
“A stroll? That’s normally called a trip, not a stroll.”
WHIIP!
As I spoke, I turned my head.
That’s because the elder abruptly swung a fist at my head.
He just barely grazed my head, and I heard him chuckle.
“Oh, dear. Was that a hit?”
“Use words, use words… Violence is not a good thing.”
“Hum, you seem to be developing quite the knack for nitpicking as the days go by.”
The elder rolled his wrist as if feeling regret.
I motioned to him and said, “Be honest with me.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you come here because you lost a bet again?”
“…”
Twitch! At my question, the elder’s shoulders twitched slightly.
“What… what are you talking about? What bet did I ever lose?”
“Isn’t that the case?”
“Of course not! Do you think I’m some kind of lunatic who loses bets?!”
“Isn’t your track record a bit too glittering to say no?”
“…”
Looks like I hit him where it hurts, as Elder Il shut his mouth tight.
How could anyone fail to be suspicious?
Who brings back the Volcano faction’s ghost just because he won a drinking bet?
What kind of trouble did you face over there in Seomseong?
Anything that seemed like trouble tied to that guy was either connected to drinking or betting.
‘Looking at his reaction, it must be something along those lines again.’
Of course, as I expected, there seemed to be some kind of shady reason this time as well.
‘As if I didn’t see that coming.’
Elder Il seemed to want to steer the conversation elsewhere, as he started to whistle repeatedly.
The irony? He couldn’t even blow it properly; all I could hear was the sound of air wheezing through his lips.
“…Elder?”
“Oh, didn’t you say no?”
Not quite.
I could tell just from his expression. Sure enough, this old man had gotten himself into some sort of mess again.
“Please, just be honest with me.”
“What?”
“What kind of accident did you get into this time?”
I continued to question the elder as if I were interrogating him.
An accident caused by the elder? At first glance, it doesn’t seem like a big problem since an individual can handle it on their own.
Not for me.
‘Absolutely.’
Having lived through my current life, this became clear.
‘Whatever mess this old man creates always seems to come back to me.’
No matter how much I try to put some distance between us, I always end up tangled up in the mess.
How many times have the accidents caused by Elder Il turned into my responsibility to clean up? I felt this time would be no different, so I was intent on extracting a confession from him.
“No, that’s not true. Don’t you trust old man?”
“Of course, I can’t trust you. I might trust other people, but there’s no way in hell I’m trusting Elder Il.”
WHOOSH—
“!”
I stopped speaking and looked away.
The energy surged from inside the residence.
“Huh? Why are you reacting like that?”
The elder looked puzzled at my response. Apparently, he didn’t catch on.
Could it be that my senses were heightened?
Nah, not likely.
Since I was currently unfamiliar with the sensations, I had sealed off most of my perceptions. The range was markedly narrower than usual.
So what is this energy?
‘…This.’
It surged straight into my chest, causing my heart to race wildly.
Thump—!
Hoooooow—!
At the same time, I could feel another surge of energy from within the residence.
“…”
“Yangcheon?”
The elder called out to me, looking concerned.
WHOOSH—!!
Before I knew it, my toes ignited, propelling me forward.
THUD!
The pressure ramped up, and with just a few steps, the scenery shifted dramatically.
Although there was a high chance of accident due to my lack of speed control, I didn’t care; I was far too urgent.
WHOOSH—!!
I burst into a whirling blaze as I surged into the residence.
I brushed past the entrance.
Before the guards stationed by the door could even react, my body was already inside.
Still, my speed didn’t falter.
My destination? The source of that strange energy.
Unless I was mistaken…
‘This energy is definitely….’
With my heart clenched tight, I took a deep breath.
Having reached the destination in just seconds, I felt the energy emanating from Mrs. Mi’s room.
I dashed straight into the room.
Then, I quickly assessed the situation unfolding inside.
“…Hmm?”
As soon as I laid eyes on it, my vision narrowed.
‘What is this?’
The room was stuffed with countless people.
It wasn’t a small room—partly due to the grandeur of the residence—but packed with this many people, it felt quite cramped.
What caught my gaze inside was:
‘Gu Hee-bi.’
Gu Hee-bi gripped a sword, glaring intently at something. Beside her stood Mrs. Mi, eyes wide with shock.
And there was—
‘Heavenly Demon?’
A woman with a familiar silhouette.
Cheonma cradled Ddoldol in her arms.
She was encircled by bodyguards clad in dark clothing.
From the looks of it, they were the secret guards protecting Mrs. Mi.
All of them were aiming their blades at Cheonma.
‘…What on earth is happening?’
What in the world was going on?
Why was Cheonma hugging Ddoldol in that room? Why was she releasing such imposing energy like a minor volcano?
“…”
I squinted, trying to decipher the confusing situation.
At that moment—
“Let go of that immediately!”
One of the bodyguards shouted at Cheonma.
“If you don’t drop him now, I swear I’ll cut you down!”
Madness!
Attacking the Heavenly Demon.
I swallowed hard at that insane sound.
At the same time, I turned my gaze back to Gu Hee-bi and Mrs. Mi.
With the distance closed, a flare-up from Cheonma could spell trouble for those two.
Having reached that conclusion, I moved swiftly.
WHOOSH—!
“Huh!?”
“What—!”
I dove straight into the opening between the blades.
The guards immediately reacted to my sudden appearance, but thankfully, upon recognizing me, they froze.
“Master…?”
“Put that knife down.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Just set it aside for now and help out Mrs. Mi first.”
“B-but…”
“I’ll handle things from here, just hurry.”
“…”
Though the guards expressed some irritation at my firm tone, they were quick to follow orders and tended to Mrs. Mi.
The space between us barely widened.
Only then did I approach Cheonma.
She still held Ddoldol tightly.
“Hey.”
“…”
“What’s going on with you?”
She remained unresponsive to my call.
Cheonma was holding Ddoldol and merely continued to breathe.
I pressed on, “What the hell are you doing here?”
My tone turned sharper, meant to probe her reaction.
Despite my words, my heart raced anxiously.
What was the reason behind this?
Was there some hidden intention?
Had she undergone some transformation in this life, or was she still the same old Cheonma?
Anxiety clawed at me.
“You dare to ask what I’m doing now?”
As I spoke, I steeled myself.
If trouble arose, I needed to react quickly.
That was the strength I relied upon.
Slowly, I stretched my hand to touch her shoulder, applying just enough pressure to loosen her grip a little.
SWIPE.
At that moment, Cheonma raised her head, locking eyes with me.
The face of Cheonma, framed by black hair, came into view.
I came to a halt.
I couldn’t help but freeze.
It was inevitable.
“…What are you?”
Cheonma, holding Ddoldol, murmured.
“Crying?”
She was indeed crying.
And in such a sorrowful manner.
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