Chapter 175: Man and Woman
Chapter 175: Man and Woman
While Cheon Ju-eun and Seonwoo Jin's conversation was progressing, Dang Yeo-eun just stood there blankly.
She too had heard quite a lot about Hae Cheong-yeon.
That was because Seonwoo Jin had often spoken of her when he talked about the members of Squad Seven.
Seonwoo Jin held her in very high regard.
He had always told her that Hae Cheong-yeon was a far wiser person than himself, and that she was a beautiful woman who could rival even Dang Yeo-eun, merely hiding her looks beneath her long bangs.
'But saying she was similar to me was really just something he said so I wouldn't feel bad.'
Dang Yeo-eun had heard from Seonwoo Jin about the events that took place during the Jeonghyeopbang Incident.
And through that story, she had come to think that Hae Cheong-yeon must surely be far more beautiful than herself.
Because she herself had absolutely no confidence that she could, with her beauty alone, halt a battle between two factions, or rally hundreds of ronin to her side by her mere existence.
So her feelings had been a bit strange.
At the fact that someone far more beautiful and exceptional than herself was already at Seonwoo Jin's side.
'Still, I was a little relieved when he confidently answered that she was just a good friend....'
It seemed that had merely been a misunderstanding on Seonwoo Jin's part alone.
And upon learning that Hae Cheong-yeon, the daughter of the Sword Saint and a woman wiser and more beautiful than anyone, had been in love with him, Seonwoo Jin seemed to have completely lost his mind.
To the point that he, who normally sensed everything around him at all times, hadn't even noticed that she was watching him from behind.
Dang Yeo-eun thought that was entirely understandable.
Even when he hadn't known that fact, hadn't Seonwoo Jin been ready to risk his life to infiltrate the Blood Cult to save her?
And on top of that, she had been in love with him.
How must that feel....
She felt like she could somehow understand, just a little.
Thinking such thoughts, Dang Yeo-eun unconsciously hunched her shoulders and bowed her head deeply.
Suddenly, she wanted to slip away quietly before he noticed her presence.
That was it.
She wanted to run away.
From this situation that she couldn't bear.
She wanted to run from the reality she wanted to turn away from.
But she bit her lip hard.
'I can't do that.'
She had heard from Seol Pung that Seonwoo Jin was planning to head straight for the Blood Cult, risking his life.
So if she ran away now, she would have to send him off into the jaws of death without seeing him again.
This moment right now could very well be the last time she saw him.
So no matter how hard it was on her heart, she absolutely could not send him off like this.
It was while Dang Yeo-eun, caught in such thoughts and unable to bring herself to flee, had her eyes squeezed tightly shut.
Seonwoo Jin, as if he had suddenly come to his senses, sensed her presence and turned to look at her.
"Lady Dang?"
At his call, Dang Yeo-eun abruptly snapped to attention and looked at him.
And at the same time, she felt a deep emptiness and a pang of hurt.
It was because of the title he had used for her—'Lady Dang,' not 'Yeo Eun.'
With just that single form of address, the distance between them seemed to have grown impossibly vast.
It felt as if even the days she had spent with him had vanished, as though they had never existed in the first place.
But Dang Yeo-eun suppressed those feelings with effort and smiled as she spoke.
"Ah, you seemed to be in the middle of a conversation, so I was waiting. I heard you're going to the Blood Cult...."
At that, Seonwoo Jin gestured for her to wait a moment and first took his leave of Cheon Ju-eun.
"Anyway, thank you for letting me know, Lady Cheon."
"Not at all."
Cheon Ju-eun glanced briefly at Dang Yeo-eun, then turned and walked away.
Once he confirmed she had gone, Seonwoo Jin approached Dang Yeo-eun and opened his mouth to speak.
But Dang Yeo-eun was first.
Before Seonwoo Jin could open his mouth, she hastily spoke up first.
Because she didn't want to hear the words 'Lady Dang' come out of his mouth again.
"I heard you're going to the Blood Cult?!"
Seonwoo Jin, who had been about to say something to her, first nodded in answer to that question.
"Yes. I plan to depart soon."
"Is it... to rescue Lady Hae?"
"Yes, that's right."
Yes, that's right.
Her heart lurched in that instant.
His unhesitating answer struck her heart like a heavy bell.
She wanted to turn her head away, feeling as if tears would burst forth at any moment.
No, she just wanted to run away right now, just like this.
But Dang Yeo-eun held it in with all her might.
No matter where his heart went, she could not send him into the jaws of death alone.
Even if her own heart were torn to shreds, it would be the same.
Because to her, the most important thing was his safety.
With her throat tightly constricted, she barely managed to force the words out.
"Please... take me with you. I want to be of help."
That was it.
She wanted to be of help to him.
If this was to be the last time, she wanted to be with him at least in that moment.
That was the one and only wish Dang Yeo-eun could hope for now.
But Seonwoo Jin shook his head firmly even at that request.
"I'm sorry, but that won't be possible. The people going there must all be skilled in movement techniques and stealth. We are not going there to die—we are going to save our comrades and return."
It was an immediate and resolute refusal.
Of course, his words were perfectly understandable.
With her own movement technique and clumsy stealth skills, she would only be a hindrance to him.
But... even though her head understood, her heart couldn't quite accept it.
She felt hurt and sorrowful, as if her heart were being squeezed.
"I see."
Dang Yeo-eun barely managed to say that, and unable to endure it any longer, she turned her body away.
She no longer had the strength to stand before him.
She absolutely could not hold back her tears any longer.
But as she was about to flee, the three old masters who had come with her suddenly came to mind.
Even if she herself couldn't, she thought that they could surely be of sufficient help to Seonwoo Jin.
So she stopped in her steps.
She didn't have the heart to turn back around and face him.
But for her, nothing was more important than being of help to him.
So she had to turn back around and say it somehow.
That those elders could be of help.
That he should please accept their aid.
It was while Dang Yeo-eun was mustering all her strength to hold back her tears and turn her body back around to say those words.
Abruptly, Seonwoo Jin spoke first.
"Yeo Eun!"
In that moment, Dang Yeo-eun stopped breathing with a gasp.
In an instant, her pupils had dilated as wide as they could possibly go.
Dang Yeo-eun couldn't believe it.
That the world could suddenly change so drastically just from the simple fact that he had called her name.
She was so... incredibly happy.
***
"She... was in love with me?"
Cheong-yeon had been in love with me....
I had never even imagined it, and even now, after hearing those words, I honestly still couldn't believe it.
But the more I sorted through my thoughts, the more I began to think that it could be possible.
Just as Lady Cheon Ju-eun had said.
The fact that she, who normally had little interest in others, had known my every single move.
And the fact that she had told me to confess to Na So-jeo, yet her own condition had been persistently poor afterward.
Even the fact that she had transferred squads so abruptly while I was away at the Na family estate.
When I sorted through all those facts, every cause led to a single conclusion.
In the end, the reason she had struggled was none other than me.
And I, utterly clueless to that fact, had wanted to help solve her problems.
"Ha!"
A hollow laugh escaped me.
The more I thought about it, the more dumbfounded I was.
'Seonwoo Jin, you're seriously a mess. Even if you're clueless about women, this is too much—how could you ever manage a relationship, let alone a marriage, at this rate?'
I was so pathetic, I felt immensely sorry toward her, and on the other hand, I felt a bit strange too.
No, to be honest, I felt good.
A peerless beauty and genius like Cheong-yeon had been in love with me—could there be anything more flattering than that?
Didn't it feel like I had become someone truly extraordinary?
It felt like my self-esteem was about to shoot up to the heavens.
But.
That was all.
That didn't change anything.
'Since I'm risking my life to save her anyway, the best I can do is ease my debt of guilt a little with that.'
Now I could say it with certainty.
That she and I were not fated to be.
When Cheong-yeon first fell for me, it was when I had eyes only for Na So-jeo.
And when I had no choice but to give up on Na So-jeo, Cheong-yeon was not at my side either.
And in the meantime, someone had quietly seeped into my heart first.
Dang Yeo-eun—it was her.
Back then, even I hadn't known, but now I could say it with confidence.
I am in love with Dang Yeo-eun....
If someone were to ask me why it was Lady Dang and not Cheong-yeon, I would probably answer like this.
'Because Cheong-yeon is too exceptional a person?'
Cheong-yeon was a complete person all on her own.
Perhaps it was because she was simply too outstanding, but with her, it always felt as if she were the center of the world and everyone else was merely positioned around her.
Even I, the one she was supposedly in love with, had felt that way.
And that was why I hadn't been able to even imagine that she was in love with me.
'On the other hand, Lady Dang...'
When I was with her, it felt as though I had become the very center of her world.
That didn't mean she seemed like someone who would collapse if I didn't hold her steady.
It meant that I seemed to have become more important to her than herself.
She had always placed me before herself.
That kind and vivid sincerity had shone upon me like sunlight the entire time we were together.
And I, receiving that sunlight head-on, had fallen in love with her before I even knew it.
So naturally—like a flower that blooms in the sunlight without anyone noticing.
This was what I had come to realize during the time I spent away from her at the Seonwoo family estate.
And so now I could say it with confidence.
'I love Lady Dang. I love Yeo Eun.'
That was the truth.
Even at this very moment, I missed her terribly.
That was when it happened.
Out of nowhere, Mukrang spoke to me.
- I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this, but the lady you miss so much is standing right behind you. In fact, she has been for a while now.
'...What?!'
Startled by those words, I abruptly turned around.
And there stood Lady Dang, her complexion strangely dark, looking at me.
"!"
My heart plummeted.
She had been behind me and heard everything—and I hadn't even noticed.
It seemed I had been rather out of my senses for a moment.
I was so flustered I nearly called out 'Yeo Eun!' right then and there.
But in that moment, I suddenly remembered that Cheon Ju-eun was still beside me.
So I barely managed to change the form of address.
"Lady Dang!"
Startled as well, she spoke to me with an awkward expression.
"Ah, I thought you were in the middle of a conversation, so I was waiting. I heard you said you were going to the Blood Cult..."
Her complexion looked very poor.
Well, come to think of it, that was only natural.
Hadn't I made her wait at the Tang Family estate and then not returned to the front lines, leaving her alone?
I had caused her to come back by herself, so it was perfectly understandable if she was disappointed in me.
And since she must have heard everything Cheon So-jeo just said, I was suddenly afraid of what she might be thinking about it.
Gulp!
After swallowing dryly, I decided to send Cheon So-jeo off first and then talk with her.
"Anyway, thank you for letting me know, Cheon So-jeo."
"It's nothing."
Cheon So-jeo studied her and me with a meaningful look, but I didn't even have the presence of mind to pay attention to that.
There were so many things I wanted to ask Lady Dang.
Whether anything had happened at the Tang Family estate while I was gone, whether the marriage talks with that bastard had proceeded in my absence...
But before I could ask anything, she urgently questioned me first.
"You said you were going to the Blood Cult?!"
There was a strange sense of distance in her question.
But I thought it couldn't be helped.
After all, that was the most urgent matter right now.
So I answered that question first.
"Yes. I plan to depart soon."
And I had no choice but to refuse her words about wanting to come along.
"I'm sorry, but that's not possible. Everyone going there must be skilled in movement arts and stealth. We're not going to die—we're going to rescue our comrades and come back."
It was unavoidable.
Her martial skill was certainly outstanding, but this time, movement arts and stealth techniques mattered more than sheer skill.
But it seemed the foolish me had made another mistake yet again.
When I answered that I couldn't take her, she completely turned her body away.
It looked as though she was simply going to walk off and leave.
Panicking, I hurriedly called out to her.
"Yeo Eun!"
And thankfully, she stopped.
She seemed extremely angry, but it looked like she was still willing to hear me out.
She really was far too kind a person.
Facing her turned back, I hurriedly began my excuses.
"That... I'm sorry for making you come back alone. You'll probably think this is just an excuse, but I really was on my way to the Tang Family estate. But then I was suddenly attacked by Am Hyeol-hyang, and I heard that the Sword Saint Elder was going to duel the Ghost Sword, so I had no choice but to come to the front lines..."
That was when it happened.
She spun around to face me with a shocked expression and cried out.
"What?! What did you say?!"
When she turned back, her eyes were brimming with tears, and her face had gone deathly pale.
And yet even that sight was still beautiful.
I forcibly collected my thoughts.
Seeing her tear-filled eyes made me realize anew just how much I had hurt her heart.
What in the world could I possibly say to soothe that heart? I couldn't even begin to guess.
'Still, I have to say something, right?'
So I decided to answer her question first.
"Uh, so, I mean it. I really didn't intentionally not go to the Tang Family estate..."
But the very next moment, I came to realize that I still didn't know her as well as I thought.
Because she suddenly rushed up to me with desperate eyes and asked.
"What do you mean Am Hyeol-hyang attacked you?! Why?! Are you hurt anywhere?! Are you really okay?!"
As she frantically examined my body all over, there was only one emotion I could read in her eyes.
Worry for me.
Only that, and nothing else.
She was simply worrying about me.
Just as she always had—as if her own feelings didn't matter in the slightest.
Suddenly, something rose up and surged within my chest.
In that moment, the impulse to hold her tight welled up, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
I answered her with a smile that naturally came to my face.
"I'm fine, Yeo Eun. Nothing happened... well, not nothing, but everything was resolved well. As you can see, I'm unharmed, aren't I?"
At that, she let out a sigh of relief as if she had been spared a great disaster.
Her sincere heart felt so vivid that it was almost visible, and I laughed again.
And somehow, after that, I felt like I could speak a little more confidently.
So I finally brought up what I had been wanting to say to her all along.
What I had wanted to say ever since I was at the Seonwoo family estate.
"Actually, um... this was something I wanted to go to the Tang Family estate and tell you in person, but I couldn't. Ah, of course, this is still in person right now, but..."
I had clearly felt like I could say it confidently.
Yet I could feel all too keenly myself that I was rambling.
Suddenly I wished that bastard Bi Sa-yeong were beside me so I could ask him to smack me in the back of the head.
Lady Dang was just staring blankly at my face with an expression that showed she couldn't understand what I was trying to say.
I tried to organize it somehow.
"So what I'm trying to say is, um, that's right. That I received permission."
At that, she opened her eyes wide and asked.
"Huh? Permission for what?"
"Ah, well, what permission, I mean, so, that, permission regarding our marriage..."
Having said that much, I glanced at her face.
And at that, she too seemed to finally understand what I was talking about, her eyes growing round and wide.
Her face also instantly flushed bright red.
I suddenly thought 'Oh no!' and immediately offered an excuse.
"Ah, of course, that was ultimately nothing more than a method I used to prevent Yeo Eun from having to marry that kind of bastard. And I do know that such a marriage could be a forceful method that disregards Yeo Eun's feelings. But..."
Having said that much, I could no longer continue.
Because in that moment, tears began streaming down her face.
Ceaselessly shedding tears.
She was smiling brightly.
So blissfully happy.
Dazzling, like sunshine.
Even I—clueless as I was about women—could recognize well enough that it was a smile of happiness.
And so I was able to summon the courage to say the next thing.
What I truly wanted to say to her.
"But... even so, I want to do it that way. Someday, when Yeo Eun is discharged and I am discharged as well, I want to go with Yeo Eun to my father and the head of the Tang Family and tell them in person. That I wish to... marry Yeo Eun. Would that be alright with me?"
At that, she—Yeo Eun—smiled joyfully and kept on shedding tears.
And slowly, she nodded her head.
"Yes, that would be good. And... thank you, Jin."
Seeing that, I could no longer endure it.
Enduring this seemed to be beyond the realm of what I was capable of.
It seemed I was not a man of sufficient patience to complete the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance after all.
Wrapping her in my arms!
Unable to hold back any longer, I pulled her into a tight embrace.
Her delicate body, held snugly within my arms, could not have been more precious.
And holding her tight, I looked at her face.
Her starry eyes were twinkling brightly at me.
The moment I saw that gaze, I decided to think no more.
I simply lowered my head slowly and brought my mouth to her lips.
Her small, plump pink lips touched mine softly.
Everything was perfect.
Her eyes gently closing, the moist sensation meeting my lips—not a single thing was imperfect.
It was a truly, utterly blissful day.