Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Past (3)
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If you had to pick the happiest time in your life,
it would undoubtedly be when you devote your entire life to loving someone, and receive far more love in return than you deserve.
Lee Se-young had always thought such stories, heard in passing, were laughable.
'Who has time for love when they're just trying to survive? Who can you even trust in this world? You're lucky if you don't get stabbed in the back.'
These days, people meet up, but rarely take it seriously.
They date just to soothe a moment's loneliness. That's how society normalizes it, and it has been for a long time.
In this world, marriage sometimes becomes a means to an end, or even a tool for crime.
Even vows to devote one's life could turn into cruel lies.
Lee Se-young, a noblewoman, had been exposed to countless such stinking sewer-like tales of love since childhood.
She herself had nearly been used as a tool to forge ties between families.
That's why her beliefs were rock-solid.
Fairy-tale romance only exists in fairy tales. It's recorded in books precisely because it's an idealized notion.
How could love that lasts forever exist in the real world? If it did, those involved would just be pathetic suckers.
That's what she used to think...
'Never dreamed I'd become one of those pathetic suckers myself.'
Well, ignorance of love was her excuse.
If asked how it felt to be a sucker, she'd have only one answer.
'Feels fucking great.'
She was so happy holding that person that she'd want to yell at her past self if she could go back.
Now she finally understood: the moment you love is the happiest moment of your life.
Having never truly been loved since birth, how could she have known?
The one who coined that saying must have lived an enviable life. She was jealous.
Once her thoughts reached that point, she realized something.
If loving is the happiest moment, then the saddest must be losing the one you love.
"Keep it a secret. If the dog finds out, it'll be chaos."
Lee Se-young brought the teacup to her misty eyes.
The slightly cooled tea, perfect in temperature, carried a fragrance like the azaleas blooming before her.
Sweet floral scent with a subtle bitterness.
Emperor Oak petals weren't ideal for tea. The aroma was faint, they turned mushy when steamed, and the scent often evaporated during drying.
For some reason, that fact left a bitter taste in Lee Se-young's mouth.
"It wasn't a big deal. I just needed someone who'd stay by Si-heon's side even if I died."
Lee Si-heon had grown strong, but he still lived day-to-day in situations where his life hung by a thread.
Lee Se-young had known this for a long time.
As a countermeasure, Cheon-do had suggested training Si-heon rigorously. It was sound advice, and Si-heon had grown beyond recognition.
But Se-young's approach was different.
"What I'm doing now... it's something that could kill me anytime."
She believed she had to personally eradicate the roots of the forces targeting him.
Having received her sincerity, Azalea had to respond in kind.
Azalea stared coldly at Lee Se-young, but even she couldn't hide her shock.
Hearing the story, Azalea's breath caught, then slowly released.
"...You mean you don't know when you might die?"
"I told you all I went on a transfer, but that's not true."
The real reason Lee Se-young had left Si-heon and gone far away.
She refused to be passive about the trials ahead.
"I've teamed up with someone I know to root out every force targeting Si-heon right now."
Lee Se-young had joined hands with Star from the Hunter Alliance, investigated Flower internally, pinpointed their executives' locations, and planned a massive purge.
"Infiltrate Flower. Gather intel from there, then slowly devise a plan using it... Of course, it wouldn't be easy."
It was a plan built from the start assuming her death.
Even so, the odds were slim. Star, present at the time, had bluntly called her insane.
-You're lucky to even survive this? Sigh. Just like the crazy bitch from the academy days, pushing yourself too far.
-Yeah, they say love makes you alike.
-...Hey, I love Si-heon too? That's why I'm helping you, you know?
-Love my ass.
-Hing.
The day of Si-heon and Star's blind date.
Afterward, Lee Se-young had called Star over and brought it up.
-Se-young... No matter how I think about it, you're nuts. Know what they call people like you?
-The reliable senior type?
-Sucker, you idiot sucker!!! So shameless.
-You're the same.
-...Yeah. Hing.
By then, Lee Se-young's plan was already quietly underway.
For one person whose life was at risk.
Hearing Se-young out, Azalea fell silent in thought for a while, then set down her teacup and asked back.
Azalea's face remained coldly set.
"...And?"
"That's it."
How nice it would be if someone could comfort him by her side even after she died.
Telling Si-heon to take more women stemmed from that deep realization, leading to a different conclusion.
Of course, part of Lee Se-young's thinking came from modern sexual norms differing from Si-heon's original world.
"You think it'll be better for him if there's another woman by his side even if you die?"
Azalea asked, and Se-young nodded.
"Selfish, but yeah."
She judged and acted on her own terms.
Lee Se-young thought that if Si-heon heard this, worst case, he might try to distance himself emotionally.
She knew Si-heon shared her mindset.
She didn't mind dying herself, but hated the idea of him dying.
If both thought that way... their relationship would naturally drift apart.
"...I'm a bitch too."
Lee Se-young murmured lowly, lost in regret.
If she'd coldly rejected his confession back then, none of this might have happened.
If she'd slapped him and yelled, 'Are you insane? Didn't I tell you before?' it would have ended neatly.
Then she could have executed her plan fully intact.
But she couldn't. Swayed by a moment's emotion, uncharacteristically immature.
Azalea could guess the reason.
People can't be perfect.
"I can't empathize."
Even hearing her inner thoughts, Azalea couldn't sympathize with Lee Se-young.
She understood her motives and circumstances, but they were based on Se-young's standards.
It didn't change the fact that she was forcing something Si-heon didn't want.
"But... I get where you're coming from."
Azalea's hands no longer trembled. Her face even relaxed a bit.
Her thoughts now sorted, she spoke first to the awkwardly smiling Lee Se-young.
"The professor and I... we're both the type to act on our own whims."
If it were her, she'd have chosen Si-heon regardless.
But since it was personal, Azalea didn't voice it.
"Right now, there's a lot to sort out. Deep worries, all tangled up."
Azalea and Lee Se-young were women, but also businesswomen.
People with clearer principles than anyone.
Even regarding love. Their convictions were firm.
...Of course, both were still novices at love, experiencing their first.
If likened to companies, they were undeveloped industries.
Azalea as a passionate startup just beginning development; Lee Se-young as a major corporation steadily expanding.
A ridiculous analogy.
-Clink.
Azalea downed the remaining tea. The floral aroma from her own petals was quite luxurious.
You could tell the brewer had put in years of effort.
"...If you need help, say the word. Jinmok Group will assist to the max. Money or whatever, we'll cover it all."
Azalea began wrapping up.
She voiced her first thought upon hearing Se-young out.
"Hearing that from someone who owns whole companies feels reassuring."
"And the main point..."
Azalea's feelings toward Lee Se-young had started with anger but had now subsided greatly.
From inexplicable to understandable, even somewhat respectful.
But Azalea's answer was decided from the start.
"I can't accept this method."
"I understand."
Lee Se-young nodded with a wistful smile.
"I'll do it my way. Sorry. I'll keep the secret."
Maybe she's even more devoted to him than I thought, Lee Se-young mused.
And if she died, knowing someone like that would be by his side brought relief.
"Good luck."
Azalea bowed slightly, gathered her things, and stood.
As she headed for the entrance,
"Ah, then shall we chat a bit?"
Lee Se-young stopped her.
"That might be tough right now. Especially right after this talk."
"Tell me about Si-heon, business stuff too. Don't you want to hear things you don't know?"
"......"
"Without experience, it'll be hard sticking with Si-heon."
A sly fox of a woman.
Trying to build rapport right after such an awkward conversation, and with a rival no less.
"Who says I lack experience?"
"Bedroom skills."
"Wha...?"
Emphasizing "bed," Lee Se-young grinned slyly.
A piercing sensation in her chest. A twinge of displeasure, yet inexplicably swept up in the mood.
Azalea had felt this emotion once before, when she first met Si-heon.
"I-I can't right now. I'm leaving."
To avoid prolonging the topic.
With a handful of jealousy, Azalea left swiftly without even a farewell at the door.
Watching Azalea's retreating figure intently, Lee Se-young bowed her head the moment she was gone.
"......"
Where she left, only the cooled flower tea remained, keeping lonely vigil.
What was it... Her thoughts deepened.
Having blurted out everything without filter midway. Like the energy suddenly drained away.
After intense immersion came exhaustion; Lee Se-young sighed.
-Do you even like him to begin with?
That earlier remark was hard to hear, even for the cool-headed Se-young.
"...How do I explain this to Si-heon? Heh."
She chuckled dryly for no reason.
"Still, that Azalea girl must really like him... How the hell did he seduce her?"
Praising her where Azalea couldn't hear.
But the more she spoke, the more pathetic she felt.
It was just a difference in loving styles, but Azalea had poked at her reverse scale—the flaw she'd been avoiding.
She didn't think the path she'd carved was wrong.
Even if sent back in time, Se-young's actions wouldn't change much.
-If you like him that much, just accept his confession and stick together forever.
"......"
Se-young silently caressed the ring on her index finger.
The ring Si-heon gave her, more precious than anything she owned, never leaving her side.
Secretly worn on her left ring finger, she brought her hand to her face.
It was the path she had chosen.