Hong Yeon-hwa looked around with fresh eyes.
A long corridor covered in a bright red carpet.
Countless doors on either side, adorned with art pieces like pottery and paintings.
Beyond the windows, a scene that seemed better described as a forest or a field rather than a garden.
Impressive buildings constructed beyond the park.
Not to mention the architectural styles that caught her attention, the air of respect and decorum as well as the warm welcome from the servants.
The main house of the Gop-hwa Clan.
A place where she had spent most of her life.
Hong Yeon-hwa was born here and had always spent her time in the depths of the main house, where strict protective measures were in place for the control of Gop-hwa.
Even after starting her activities outside, she had spent most of her time in the main house as well.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she had practically spent her entire life in this space.
While looking around, Hong Yeon-hwa felt a sense of familiarity, but at the same time, she experienced a strange excitement.
If she had to name this feeling, perhaps she could call it joy.
Although it had only been a few months, the density of the time spent in Shio-ram had been overwhelming.
While the time spent in the main house wasn’t shallow, the recent memories were far too intense.
The impulses from the emotions she had felt recently were much stronger than those from her time in the main house.
Especially in recent days… she had felt an uncontrollable surge of emotions.
“Oh.”
As she wandered down the corridor, lost in thought, Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly exclaimed. She turned to Ariel, who was following behind her.
“Where’s Mom?”
“She is in her office attending to the morning schedule.”
“I just wanted to check… is it okay if I go in now?”
“Yes, I anticipated this, so I notified her in advance.”
“Thanks.”
Having come back after a long time, she had almost forgotten. Thanks to Ariel’s foresight, she could avoid further hassle.
She took a moment to walk upstairs.
At a point where a splendid door came into view.
Ariel, who had been quietly following a few steps behind Hong Yeon-hwa, stepped boldly forward.
She checked her outfit and knocked on the door before her.
– Knock, knock
“Lady Choi Jiyun, the young lady has arrived.”
– Oh, come in.
The response came almost instantly. Ariel grasped the door handle.
Opening the door without making a sound, Ariel stood to the side and bowed.
“……”
Always thinking about how troublesome it was, Hong Yeon-hwa stepped inside.
As soon as she entered, her eyes fell upon a desk made of aged wood… and on it lay a towering mountain of white papers.
That was a wrong expression. Hong Yeon-hwa blinked.
It was not a mountain of white snow but rather a heap of documents, and saying it was a single mountain would be inaccurate; it was more like a continuous mountain range.
From among that mountain of documents, a woman who looked like a stranded mountaineer lifted her gaze.
Her swept black bob tumbled down, and her deep brown eyes glinted with a dull light.
“…You’ve come? It’s been hard to see my daughter’s face.”
Choi Jiyun.
Currently the wife of the clan’s head and an important figure in charge of the clan’s overall affairs.
Also, she was Hong Yeon-hwa’s mother.
“…What’s all this?”
Seeing her family after a long time, rather than joy, Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression held a hint of apprehension.
Of course, she was thrilled to meet her parents, but even more, her gaze was drawn to the mountain of documents and her mother’s haggard face, which seemed like it needed an immediate nap.
“What else could it be? A pile of annoying tasks.”
In response to her apprehensive reaction, Choi Jiyun furrowed her brows. The deep shadows under her eyes indirectly hinted at her weariness.
Hong Yeon-hwa could see it clearly. She debated whether to lay her mother down on a cot immediately.
“Uh… there never used to be this much work. Besides, what’s with all this paper? Weren’t all documents supposed to be stored as holograms?”
“When work overlaps, it ends up piling up like this… Plus, many documents are written on paper for security reasons…”
She spoke as if that were obvious, revealing her exhaustion in her tone.
As Hong Yeon-hwa’s thoughts leaned more towards laying her mother on a cot, Choi Jiyun suddenly squinted and stared at Hong Yeon-hwa.
“More importantly, didn’t I explain this clearly? I personally went over it multiple times!”
Hong Yeon-hwa was the heir to the Gop-hwa Clan.
The next head of a world-renowned clan, she was naturally educated in various studies necessary for managing the clan.
Choi Jiyun, who was currently running the clan, taught her personally.
“Come on, how am I supposed to remember all that? Just studying the Shio-ram theory feels like my head is going to split!”
The result of her teachings stood right in front of her.
The heir who was supposed to lead the Gop-hwa Clan was scratching her head, as if to say how she could remember all of that, which crumbled some part of Choi Jiyun’s dignity.
The current head… Choi Jiyun’s husband was no better.
He frequently fled from paperwork, despising it. As a result, Choi Jiyun had to step in and help with the workload that was inadequate due to his slow progress.
Thus, the burden of the work naturally fell upon Choi Jiyun. No matter how much she tried to delegate to other members, important matters and ultimate decisions always came back to her…
So, at the very least, she had hoped that her own child… would not be a burden for the next head like Hong Yeon-hwa had turned out to be.
“You say the next head? If Mom keeps reapplying—”
“This crazy girl! Just kill your mother already, would you!!”
“Why are you cursing all of a sudden?”
“Because here I am, suffering and in pain, and you want to keep putting more on me, isn’t that enough to curse about?”
Choi Jiyun exclaimed while grabbing her neck. The tingling sensation was unbearable.
It felt as though her once robust superhuman body was fading into illness…
“Ha… sit down.”
At her mother’s command, Hong Yeon-hwa quickly plopped down on a reception sofa.
As Ariel brought over tea, Choi Jiyun, having calmed down a bit, took a seat on the opposite sofa.
Comfort. The moment she sank into the sofa, Choi Jiyun felt a wave of relaxation.
Strictly speaking, her office chair was definitely of better quality, but the fact that the mountain of documents was no longer in sight brought her mental ease…
“So, why has my daughter come?”
“Didn’t you receive the message?”
“I did, but! Just in case there was any misunderstanding, I wanted to remind you again…”
Instead, her eyes caught on the pile of documents, the precious Hong Yeon-hwa stood out.
Her appearance often likened to beautiful flames and shining rubies.
In many ways, she was a lovely and delicate daughter, but in other ways… not so much.
Choi Jiyun took a sip of the warm tea Ariel had brought.
“So… you’re bringing home a crush during break? Sounds like things are moving quickly.”
“No, how the heck did things get condensed down to that?”
Hong Yeon-hwa grimaced incredulously. Her reaction wasn’t as lively as before—had she gotten used to the term ‘crush’ now?
Choi Jiyun expressed a hint of regret as she sipped her tea. The fragrant aroma of the tea slowly eased her nagging headache.
“Then… should I refer to him as a member of the clan?”
“Do you think I’m bringing him home for fun?”
And recalling Hong Yeon-hwa’s message brought on another headache.
Lee Ha-yul.
The first transfer student of its kind.
The young hero of Shifnahah.
Her daughter’s rare crush, whom she was incredibly protective of.
And, the owner of Gop-hwa…
‘……’
She swallowed a sigh that almost escaped her lips.
More than 20% of the documents piled on that contemptible desk were for seeking information about Lee Ha-yul.
Choi Jiyun, who gently swept her gaze, raised her head. She spotted Hong Yeon-hwa, who looked strangely anxious.
It seemed Hong Yeon-hwa understood how important this matter was.
“Long story short, I still haven’t found anything regarding the bloodline of Lee Ha-yul.”
“You couldn’t find anything either?”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened in surprise.
Noting her daughter’s evident shock, Choi Jiyun felt strangely compelled.
Should she be pleased at her daughter’s faith that she would have certainly found it?
Or should she be sad that her daughter thought of her as just a machine for gathering information…?
“I’ve been looking for a while since receiving the contact. I have sources working on it… I’ve been trying to gather anything I can, but there’s been no trace whatsoever.”
Lee Ha-yul’s records began at the entrance of an orphanage.
The statement from the orphanage director began with saying they found a child who had been left there swaddled in nothing, a newborn baby with no cries.
Prior records? There wasn’t even the slightest trace. Just an absolute blank. No matter how much she searched, she simply could not find anything.
At that point, even if they were to conduct comparisons through some tests, it seemed unlikely that the parents would be found.
Initially, these could very well be the kind of people who wouldn’t even be registered in the database… and could a non-registered individual possibly be a member of Gop-hwa Clan?
Choi Jiyun’s words plunged Hong Yeon-hwa into thought. She likely felt a lingering unease.
Choi Jiyun felt the same, but there was nothing more to discover at this point.
Even if Lee Ha-yul himself were to come and cooperate, she sensed there would be no significant progress.
“More importantly…”
So she pushed those questions aside. It was futile to dwell on matters that couldn’t be resolved.
After all, this was a post-cataclysm world.
Now, while the basic knowledge had accumulated, no one knew when or where something could break that established common sense.
That a cataclysm could strike.
That phenomena such as mana and monsters could emerge.
Who could have predicted that a tower would crash down from the sky in the Demonic Realm of Africa?
“How’s business going with my daughter’s love life?”
Because of that, Choi Jiyun only reiterated what could be discussed.
She didn’t know if Lee Ha-yul was indeed Hong Ha-yul.
But she understood that there’s a possibility that Lee Ha-yul could become Hong Ha-yul.
Generally, not many changed their surname upon marriage, but it occasionally happened.
Especially among noble families that liked to flaunt their lineage.
“What the hell… no, what do you mean by that?”
The reaction was immediate. Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed dramatically.
“Whoa? Look at how panicked you are. Something must’ve happened!”
“What could happen? What? I’ve got something going on. Don’t make absurd insinuations.”
“It seems you made a mistake and earned Lee Ha-yul’s minor dislike from your side, huh?”
“Hey!”
Hong Yeon-hwa shouted angrily at Ariel, who made the remark from the side.
“Tch, as expected.”
“What’s with that reaction? It’s so annoying…”
Despite Hong Yeon-hwa gritting her teeth, Choi Jiyun clicked her tongue. She had suspected her daughter had made some blunder.
“What error have you made? Spill to Mom.”
“Spill what? I didn’t do anything…”
“Isn’t there a reason someone has the job of counselor? Talking things out can often lead to a good solution.”
“That’s true, Miss. Sometimes sharing burdens is more helpful than brooding alone.”
At Choi Jiyun’s signal, Ariel also chimed in.
“Uh, well…”
With the dual attack from in front and behind, Hong Yeon-hwa’s defenses began to falter.
No matter how tough she tried to act, they were her parents, the same ones who had been beside her since childhood as guardians, friends, and protectors.
Moreover, given that Hong Yeon-hwa lacked any experience in romance, it was only natural for her ears to kindle.
As expected, Hong Yeon-hwa’s gaze began to wander aimlessly, and soon enough, her previously sealed lips slowly parted.
“Lee Ha-yul introduced himself, but… he, he ran away.”
“Damn it.”
“……”
As soon as she blurted that out, an expletive exploded from the front followed by a look of exasperation from the back.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s shoulders shrank unexpectedly.
“…Why did that happen?”
With a thwack to her forehead, Choi Jiyun prompted her to continue.
“……”
At that, Hong Yeon-hwa tightly sealed her lips. Previously her defenses had been quite thick, but now, the silence was even thicker. Choi Jiyun’s eyes narrowed.
There must have been some reason.
Choi Jiyun patiently awaited the next words to emerge from Hong Yeon-hwa’s mouth.
And as if to repay that faith, Hong Yeon-hwa’s lips opened.
“…I thought he might… you know… escalate things.”
“?”
“?”
Did I hear that wrong?
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