Chapter: 790
Red, bloodshot eyes.
Moisture forms inside and runs down the cheeks.
Fluttering eyelashes and slightly crooked eyebrows.
From the lightly colored bridge of the nose to the downturned corners of the mouth.
An expression on her face as if she’s trying to hold back her tears.
That unique distortion is reflected in her face.
That was Cheonma’s expression just now.
“… What’s wrong? Are you crying?”
Seeing this, the hand that was holding her lets go.
It was an utterly shocking sight.
The heavenly horse is crying.
That lofty being, who reigned in the sky and looked down on all, was weeping in such a pitiful manner.
And even worse, she was hugging Ddoldol while doing so.
You could see that not just the tips of her fingers, but her whole body was trembling as well.
In the midst of this, the little one being held had a puzzled expression on her face.
And it wasn’t just her; the people around were equally bewildered.
‘What is going on?’
What in the world could be happening?
Why was this kid sulking here?
Wait, was it even possible for her to shed tears in the first place?
I’ve seen her with mocking and contemptuous looks before, but this crying face? Never.
Seeing it this way, she oddly seemed to resemble Wi Seol-ah more.
It wasn’t just about appearance; it was about the feelings too.
Maybe that’s why.
“…”
A hesitation formed in the hand that had been slightly withdrawn.
Cheonma was endlessly crying while holding Ddoldol, looking utterly dejected.
Watching this scene filled me with an inexplicable feeling.
[Come here.]
‘Huh?’
I frowned.
Turning my head slightly to glance around.
Whose voice was that?
It sounded like something I just heard, but it was broken and disjointed.
[Are you going to greet Dad?]
“…”
A headache flared up.
I had to clutch my temples for a moment.
Whose voice was that? I could hear it clearly, but I couldn’t quite recognize it.
The subsequent headache even affected my breathing.
Kkuddeuk-!
In that instant, something inside felt like it was about to break.
Woom-!
Suddenly, a vibration spread from deep within my heart.
It felt as if I was holding onto something fragile and pulling it back with all my might.
Kwuk.
As the vibration reached its peak, something tightened, like a loose strand of string being tied up.
Simultaneously, the headache and the faint sounds vanished.
My breathing settled, and my trembling fingertips became still.
Maybe my emotions had calmed down; the hesitation vanished too.
I grabbed Cheonma’s shoulder again.
“Come out.”
“…”
It felt as though she didn’t want to let go, as if a force was keeping her in place.
I frowned at that.
“Why did you suddenly show up and cause a scene? Do you think this is your living room? Come out quickly.”
“…”
“Why are you suddenly hugging me and crying? Do you know this kid?”
Do you know Ddoldol?
At that question, the corners of Cheonma’s eyes wavered.
What? Do you actually know?
Where have I seen her before?
As masses of questions flickered through my mind.
“… I don’t know.”
Cheonma said.
“What?”
“I don’t know… I don’t know…”
She doesn’t know. She doesn’t know who the child she’s holding is.
Of course, it’s natural not to know.
“But why’s your face like that?”
It’s strange not knowing.
Why doesn’t she know this?
Cheonma’s eyes looked as if bewilderment was the very essence of her being.
“What’s with that expression?”
“… I don’t know…”
“So you grabbed a stranger and started crying on the spot, and now you’re asking why you’re making that face.”
“I… I don’t know that either.”
“Then what do you know?”
“I kno-…”
Thud-!
“…!”
I yanked Cheonma, who kept babbling nonsense.
Having let my guard down, this time it was easy to pull away.
Distance increased between them. Cheonma made futile attempts to grab hold again.
Clank-!
I caught her wrist, preventing her from getting closer.
“If you don’t know, then let go.”
The voice that flowed out was so cold it surprised even me.
“…”
Was it that voice that had an impact? The strength in Cheonma’s hands drained away.
Feeling this, I pushed Cheonma back.
She stumbled away towards Gu Hee-bi.
Gu Hee-bi quickly caught her.
With the distance increased, the situation settled down a bit.
I glanced towards Ddoldol.
“Are you okay?”
“Uh? Yeah. I’m fine.”
Unlike Cheonma, who was reacting dramatically, Ddoldol didn’t seem particularly shaken.
I wondered if it was because the original was a monster or something.
“I guess there’s another mom I didn’t know about.”
“What the heck are you talking about?”
He was spouting something nonsensical. I heard a quick click of the tongue afterward.
“I was just eating deliciously. Tsk.”
“…”
This is definitely strange; something isn’t right with this kid.
The face looks like mine from when I was young. But why does it radiate such an eerie vibe?
“It seems that the face is the only thing resembling me.”
I wasn’t that twisted, so it couldn’t possibly be the case. But there’s definitely something odd going on here.
It must be so; otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense.
While I was looking at Ddoldol with a puzzled expression, the kid suddenly darted off somewhere.
As he took a single step, his expression morphed.
From an intensely grimace, he turned to a stunningly innocent gaze.
“Grandma-!”
With the most innocent expression he could muster, he shouted a ridiculous title and dashed off.
‘Crazy.’
Shockingly, the destination was none other than Mrs. Mi.
Ddoldol immediately ran up to Mrs. Mi and hugged her. And just like that, he took it a step further.
‘What? What did you just say? Huh… What?’
Did that kid just blurt something as he dashed toward Mrs. Mi?
I felt my mind going blank.
At this point, I figured even Mrs. Mi would be furious.
“Were you very surprised?”
‘Huh?’
“No, not really.”
“…”
Surprisingly, Mrs. Mi casually picked up Ddoldol and started patting him on the back.
“…?”
Seeing this, I turned my gaze to a certain direction.
It was directed towards Gu Hee-bi.
It was more surprising than the way Cheonma was sobbing earlier.
What on earth am I looking at right now?
So I looked at Gu Hee-bi, searching for an explanation.
“…”
“…”
Gu Hee-bi gently shook her head in reply to my gaze.
It was a clear sign that she was as lost as I was.
‘Oh, I see.’
I nodded.
‘This is a total mess.’
Honestly, I had no clue what was going on.
Really, I mean it.
This was a situation that felt more accurate to call a dream.
As I considered this, I slightly lowered my head.
But my focus didn’t land on Gu Hee-bi but rather on Cheonma holding Ddoldol.
Cheonma had the same strange expression as before as she looked at Ddoldol now in Mrs. Mi’s arms.
I frowned and spoke.
“Hey.”
“…”
“Now that everything’s settled, you need to….”
Follow me.
Just then, before I could finish my sentence.
“It’s noisy.”
“…!”
A voice echoed from outside the room.
At the sudden voice, everyone’s attention shifted toward it.
The entrance to the room.
Specifically, a few steps away from Gu Hee-bi’s back.
That’s where the voice had originated.
Where everyone’s gaze converged stood the figure of the voice’s owner.
‘…’
I instinctively realized it upon seeing him.
‘That old man.’
That very person.
A wrinkled, old figure clad in plain white, with a mane of white hair.
‘The one who called me.’
The old man who, in the times before Madam Mi, had been the leader of the clan.
In other words, he was the founder of the Baekhwadan.
Tweet. Tweet.
The chirping of birds resounded from the window.
It was far too late to still call it morning, but the sound made me feel as though it was still dawn.
In some ways, it was a scene that one might consider peaceful.
The sunlight streamed through the window, and the birds chirped leisurely. Could there be a more tranquil moment than this?
‘This is something….’
Contrary to that scene.
‘This is genuinely freaking uncomfortable.’
Inside, I felt increasingly constricted.
There was no escaping it.
If you find comfort in the current situation, then you must be a weirdo.
I cast my eyes over to the table.
The tea in front was still full—though it was steaming hot when it was first poured, now it had cooled down completely.
Simultaneously, the amount hadn’t decreased since the first serving.
What this implies is simply put:
A lot of time has passed and not a single sip of tea was consumed during that time.
Ugh.
I couldn’t possibly be sitting here without feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
Yes, I was indeed quite uncomfortable.
“Ugh.”
I coughed multiple times.
Keeping my eyes fixed on one spot felt awkward, twisting my gaze dozens of times.
And here I was, repeating it over and over.
‘Why is no one saying anything?’
The person in front of me showed no reaction whatsoever.
An old man who seemed to be in his eighty’s. He doesn’t seem to have studied martial arts.
Eyes that looked sharp enough to cut through the air.
A sense of resilience, untouched by life’s tempests despite his age.
He bore features suggesting he must have looked quite handsome in his youth.
He is Mrs. Mi’s father and the founding master of Baekhwadan.
The old man, who is nominally referred to as my maternal grandfather.
Once the old man appeared and broke the silence, the atmosphere fell quiet. He proceeded into the room, indifferent.
Soon after, he summoned me, enabling me to enter without worrying about Cheonma or any other interruptions.
Approximately half an hour had passed since I first came into contact with the old man.
I hadn’t exchanged a single word with him during the entire time we were alone together.
The reason for this was simple.
It was solely due to the fact that the old man hadn’t said anything.
Conversely, I wasn’t one to be particularly talkative either. At this juncture, I felt a stubborn urge to remain silent.
‘If this was going to happen, then why’d you call me?’
I came because you asked me to clear my schedule, and here we are, engaged in silence.
‘Are you attempting a battle of wills or something?’
You might wonder why anyone would go to such lengths, but if I displeased him, that seemed plausible.
As the illegitimate child of a concubine, being forced to carry on the family name just because he was a son.
If he believes that my capable granddaughters are overshadowed by me, then that could certainly justify his actions.
‘… Hm.’
If that’s the case, I genuinely had nothing to say.
It’s not entirely untrue now, is it?
Therefore, I resolved to see it as a competition of wills, and I aimed to bow my head and comply.
“Uh….”
Thus, I finally opened my mouth, having held it back until now, and spoke to the old man.
“Elder.”
Upon uttering the title, the old man turned to regard me.
His gaze felt icy.
I wondered why Mrs. Mi’s eyes were so fierce; it appears she took after him.
Did he perhaps find the term ‘Elder’ off-putting?
However, there was nothing else that came to mind to replace it.
“I heard from Elder Il that you were looking for me.”
Carefully asking this, the old man’s lips finally parted.
“Indeed.”
It was a monotonic response.
A voice I finally heard after a considerable wait.
“… May I ask why?”
Why on earth did you want to see me?
Someone who hadn’t been tied to me in my previous life has now sought me out in this life.
This situation, while it had occurred a few times before, was uniquely inexplicable.
It imbued me with a peculiar sensation.
‘Today is filled with bizarre occurrences. Honestly, it’s annoying.’
Setting aside that old man, it was the immediate reaction from Cheonma and subsequently Mrs. Mi’s surprising behavior.
Should only one of these strange events have occurred, it could have been easily dismissed; yet they occurred one after another.
This suggested my thoughts were in utter disarray.
Clink.
The sound of a teacup lifted. The old man, in response to my inquiry, took a sip of tea without a word.
Like mine, the tea he held had already cooled down.
Taking a sip to moisten his throat, he said,
“I apologize.”
“Excuse me?”
An unexpected apology from him.
That made me unintentionally wear a blank expression.
“Suddenly… what for?”
“I realized it while drinking the tea. Seeing the warm tea turn cold signifies that significant time has passed.”
“…”
Could it be he wasn’t aware of it?
“I guess it’s because I’m growing older; I find myself often lost in my thoughts. I sincerely apologize.”
“… No. And please lower your tone. When you elevate it, it makes me slightly uncomfortable—”
“I typically don’t lower my voice for anyone unless they are someone close to me. I hope you can understand that.”
“Oh, yes.”
With that, I closed my mouth awkwardly.
He doesn’t speak lower to anyone who isn’t close.
There seemed to be a massive barrier erecting between us.
I’m not someone close to him, and I definitely didn’t come merely to greet my grandfather.
This implies there’s a further meaning threaded into it.
‘Then what is the real reason?’
Why on earth did you seek me out? It escapes my understanding.
‘If it’s nothing special, then I’d appreciate if we could end this matter as soon as possible.’
I wouldn’t jubilantly celebrate the old man’s visit nor sulk due to some distance.
After all, we are entirely unrelated.
To a nobleman with whom I had no prior ties, I found no reason to be overly concerned.
Just the fact that he is Mrs. Mi’s father ticked off a minor concern…
‘… But why does that matter?’
While reflecting on this, I couldn’t help but ponder why that specific fact bothered me.
Could it possibly harbor significance?
After all, Mrs. Mi is just a person too; it’s merely a familial distinction.
‘Hmm.’
I couldn’t pinpoint why this thought crossed my mind.
In any case.
“So, what reason did you have for looking for me?”
The old man’s words provided a modicum of solace.
If he hadn’t thought much, that left me free of worry.
Consequently, with a much more relaxed stance, I spoke.
“…”
The old man remained silent, staring at me intently.
That gaze was so compelling it made me want to reevaluate my posture.
… Should I really shift my stance? While I was deeply conflicted on whether to do so,
“The reason I’ve summoned you is quite simple.”
Fortunately, the old man began to speak before I could rethink it.
“The reason I called you here is that I’d like to ask you something.”
“What…?”
“Can you break the barrier for me?”
“…?”
I swung my hand without objection.
Woohoo-!
In an instant, a barrier enveloped all around us.
However, due to being unable to control the power, a notably thick barrier was raised.
“I placed it.”
“Thank you.”
What was he planning to express that required a barrier to be erected so suddenly?
At this point, I was more puzzled than frustrated.
“Now I will inquire.”
The old man asked me.
“Did Confucius turn back time?”
Woohoo-!!
Upon hearing those words, the curtain I had so diligently maintained began to shake violently.
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