Could We Meet Just Once More?
The meetings between Han Cheong-un and Tang Seo-yeon continued.
Tang Seo-yeon thought she should refuse him, but Han Cheong-un gave her no opportunity to do so.
He skillfully cut off her protests, leaving room for their next encounter, and with each new meeting, he found various ways to build a connection with her.
Sometimes he brought her street food that she could never eat inside the clan estate, and other times he bought her small gifts like trinkets or books.
Recently, he had brought a game they could enjoy while maintaining their distance. It was...
"Moving the horse two spaces forward and one to the left. Check."
"I will move my left guard up one space."
"Moving the chariot on the right to..."
It was janggi, Korean chess.
They had set up two separate boards, calling out their moves to play against each other.
This allowed them to play together while keeping a safe distance from Tang Seo-yeon.
"Checkmate, my lady."
"Ah..."
"How about it? Shall we play another round?"
"Yes, please."
It was the first time in Tang Seo-yeon's life playing the game, but she was completely absorbed in it, finding it thoroughly enjoyable.
Winning or losing did not matter.
Simply sharing such a small, trivial pastime with someone else was a first for her.
For the first time since her birth, she felt like she was connecting with another human being.
The thought crossed her mind that she was not alone.
By now, the thought of refusing Han Cheong-un's visits did not even occur to her.
Instead, every time they parted...
What if he doesn't come next time?
...an anxious dread would creep into her heart.
Before she knew it, the time spent with Han Cheong-un had become the most precious part of her life.
But there were eyes watching her from afar.
"My Lord. What would you like to do?"
The speaker was Tang Chan, a close aide to Tang Myeong, the Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
The two stood at a distance, quietly observing Han Cheong-un and Tang Seo-yeon playing their game.
A myriad of emotions crossed Tang Myeong's face as he gazed at them.
To think that child could converse with someone like that...
Tang Seo-yeon was utterly isolated, even within the Sichuan Tang Clan. Even as her father, Tang Myeong could barely recall the last time he had spoken to her.
It broke his heart, but there was nothing he could do.
She was a child born with myriad poisons coursing through her veins.
Even Tang Myeong, the leader of the great Tang Clan, found it too overwhelming to handle her.
She was a child he had left abandoned, simply because he did not know what else to do.
And now, for the first time, someone was reaching out to her.
At this moment, Tang Myeong felt deeply moved—not as the head of the Tang Clan, but simply as a father. However...
"My Lord. It is not wise to expose Seo-yeon to an outsider like this."
Standing beside him, Tang Chan had to make a cold, rational judgment as the clan's chief steward and a blood relative.
Tang Seo-yeon was the child who carried the deepest, secret wish of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
The Myriad Poisons Body, created at the cost of countless sacrifices.
She was the key to elevating the Tang Clan to the glorious position of the greatest family under heaven.
As the chief steward of the Tang Clan, Tang Chan could never allow such a child to be exposed to an outsider so carelessly.
"..."
Tang Myeong understood what Tang Chan was trying to say.
How could he not? He was the head of the family. Yet...
"Increase the surveillance. Have them watch from a distance."
"My Lord."
"Shouldn't that child have a breathing room as well?"
"..."
"I ask this of you, Chan."
Tang Chan bowed his head.
His cousin, who had never spoken to him so casually since ascending to the position of family head, had gone so far as to use the word "ask."
He could not refuse any further.
"I shall do as you command."
Thus, the meetings between Han Cheong-un and Tang Seo-yeon continued, unofficially condoned.
Han Cheong-un was deep in thought.
"It's strange."
Thwack! Bam!
"No matter how much I think about it, it doesn't make sense."
Crack!
"Focus, you bast— Argh!"
Crunch! Snap! Thud!
"Stop... sto— Aaaargh!"
Thud! Whack! Thump-thump-thump-thump!
"Sp-Spare me..."
"Huh? Oh, are we done?"
"..."
Did you seriously plan on beating me even more?
Steam was rising from the collapsed body of Tang Jin, who had been beaten so thoroughly.
He looked like a freshly cooked dish.
"Ugh... uuuugh... You absolute demon."
"Hahaha. This is all for your own good, young master."
"..."
"In fact, aren't you getting used to your new weapon quite quickly?"
Tang Jin shut his mouth.
The demon was right.
The weapon he had made for him, the Silver Flowing Flying Dagger, felt more and more natural in his hands the more he used it.
Even without studying specific forms, simply repeating these combat-like spars was enough to make his progress visibly skyrocket.
It felt less like learning a new martial art and more like his body was reclaiming a skill it had already known. But...
"Why weren't you focusing during the spar? You were beating me half-heartedly."
"Ah, my apologies. I should have beaten you with more care, but I've had something on my mind lately..."
"Tsk. If you're going to beat me, you might as well do it properly."
"I will take that into consideration."
Both of them were slowly losing their minds.
But putting that aside for now...
"So, what is this concern of yours?"
"Well, you see... Come to think of it, Young Master Tang Jin, you and Lady Tang Seo-yeon are siblings, right?"
At that, Tang Jin's eyes narrowed, and he glared at Han Cheong-un with deep suspicion.
"How do you know Seo-yeon?"
"Ah, we crossed paths by chance, and we've been spending some time together recently."
"...What?"
Tang Jin could not process the words.
It wasn't that he didn't understand the language, but rather that the content of the statement completely shattered his common sense.
"You've been spending time with her?"
"Yes. We get along quite well when we talk."
"You talk to her?"
"Yes, of course we do."
Tang Jin was utterly bewildered.
Tang Seo-yeon was a child who lived in complete isolation, rarely ever leaving her separate annex.
Even as her biological brother, he only spoke to her a few times a year. Yet this outsider was conversing with her?
"What on earth...?"
Looking at Tang Jin's dumbfounded expression, Han Cheong-un cleared his throat and got to the point.
"Ahem. Young Master Tang Jin, if it's not too rude, may I ask you a few questions about your sister?"
"Well, even if you ask me..."
"Does Lady Seo-yeon hold any... resentment toward the Tang Clan?"
"Why are you asking that?"
"Well... she seems quite isolated, to say the least."
"..."
"It's a common story, isn't it? Someone neglected by their family growing to harbor resentment and ill will toward them."
At Han Cheong-un's words, Tang Jin let out a deep sigh.
He ran a hand through his messy bangs, pushing them back, and spoke.
"I wish she did."
"...Pardon?"
"I wish she hated the Tang Clan. I wish she cursed our bloodline."
Tang Jin bit his lower lip hard as he spoke.
During Tang Jin's childhood.
He had hated his younger sister.
Their mother had passed away giving birth to her, and the nanny who raised him had also died because of her.
To the young Tang Jin, his sister was like a plague, a curse that had stolen away everyone precious to him.
Yet, that detestable sister lived under the strict protection of the clan, and even Tang Jin, her own brother, was forbidden from seeing her.
When Tang Jin turned thirteen.
After repeatedly begging his father, he was finally allowed to see his sister for the first time.
And Tang Jin saw.
"Ah... Aaaargh!"
The sister he had hated and deemed a curse was living in a living hell.
Born with the Myriad Poisons Body, Tang Seo-yeon's poison was not only lethal to those around her, but it was also eating away at her own body.
As she grew, the poison grew stronger, periodically ravaging its host.
It was a sight that could only be described as a literal hell on earth.
She would faint from the pain, wake up, and writhe in agony all over again.
There was no way to alleviate her suffering.
The best they could do was chain her limbs with dark iron to prevent her from self-harm, leaving her to writhe in agony.
The life of the sister he thought was living comfortably and shamelessly under the clan's protection was, in reality, a nightmare.
As he stood frozen at the sight, his father spoke to him.
"Are you satisfied now?"
Tang Jin could not say a word.
Why his father had kept his sister hidden from him.
Why she had to be raised under such strict isolation.
Everything was explained by that single, horrific sight.
"..."
As Han Cheong-un stood speechless, Tang Jin continued.
"Just to produce the strongest master under heaven... Just to make the Sichuan Tang Clan the greatest family in the world..."
"..."
"My sister was born into a living hell. And that is how she has lived her entire life."
"..."
"Honestly, if I were in her shoes, I would have hated the clan and cursed my family. But that child..."
Tang Jin bit his lip.
He recalled the very first conversation he had with his sister when they were young. The first words she spoke upon meeting her brother were...
"I'm sorry."
That was it.
The young girl had apologized to him through her tears.
"I'm sorry. Because of me... Mother... and Nanny..."
No. That wasn't true.
She had simply been born.
How could that possibly be her sin?
It made no sense.
Every tragedy that occurred because of her birth was entirely the karma of the Tang Clan. And yet...
"I'm sorry. I was wrong. I'm sorry for being born. It's all my fault."
Why was this child the one apologizing?
Back then, Tang Jin had fled from his sister's room.
He ran and ran until he reached a place where no one was around, and then he threw up everything in his stomach.
The world spun around him.
He felt like the filthiest, most shameful insect in the entire world.
He had never felt so ashamed of being a descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
The pride and honor he had been taught since childhood felt as though they had been thrown into the gutter.
And after that...
"I turned away from my sister. I... didn't have the courage to face her."
"Is that why? Why you went astray and started acting like a troublemaker?"
"This clan has no honor anyway. No matter what I do, it's nothing compared to the karma this family has accumulated, is it?"
Indeed, it made sense.
His rebellious attitude toward the clan elders and his behavior as a troublemaker were likely Tang Jin's own way of protesting. But...
"Even so, you are still a Tang."
"What of it?"
"If a great tragedy were to strike the Tang Clan, leaving only you and a few branch family members, what would you do?"
"Ha, good riddance. We would have finally received the divine punishment we deserved."
"And the remaining clan members?"
"What do I care? They can fend for themselves."
At Tang Jin's irritable reply, Han Cheong-un gave a bitter smile.
"You won't be able to do that."
"..."
"You will take in the remaining clan members, care for them, and do your absolute best to protect the final name of the Tang Clan."
"..."
"You will dedicate yourself to the point of breaking your own bones to make it happen."
Hearing Han Cheong-un's words, Tang Jin wore an absurd expression.
"What kind of nonsense is that? Why would I do something so stupid?"
"Who knows? Perhaps because you are a blood relative of the Tang Clan?"
"That means absolutely nothing to me."
"And because the man named Tang Jin is someone who cannot turn his back on his duties?"
"Nonsense. I'm a piece of trash who turned his back on his own sister."
"Perhaps that's why you didn't want to live with regret a second time."
"...What?"
"No, it's nothing. At any rate, my biggest question has been answered."
"What do you mean?"
"Lady Tang Seo-yeon does not hate the Tang Clan. That was very important to me."
"..."
"If so, then perhaps my other hypothesis is correct..."
Tang Jin had no idea what he was talking about.
Han Cheong-un muttered something to himself, and then...
"Young Master Tang Jin. I have a favor to ask of you."
"Why should I do you any favors?"
"Can you perhaps make...?"
"How do you know about that?"
Tang Jin was startled.
Han Cheong-un had accurately pierced through his own private secret.
"As I thought, you can already make it."
"No, what do you mean? How do you know about that?"
"That is not important. At any rate, I ask this of you. Please share some with me."
"Why should I grant such a request?"
"There is no reason."
"Haah...?"
"I am simply asking."
Tang Jin looked at Han Cheong-un as if he were listening to utter nonsense.
What was this guy talking about?
Asking for such a favor for absolutely no reason?
Did he really think I would just comply?
Why would I?
"How much do you need?"
Wait, what?
"Well, the more the better. There is a limit to how long it lasts, right?"
"That is true."
"Then please keep supplying it to me until I tell you to stop."
"...Understood."
What is this? What am I even saying right now?
"Thank you, Young Master Tang Jin."
Han Cheong-un clasped his hands in a polite bow and took his leave. Left behind, Tang Jin...
"This is crazy. Why couldn't I refuse his request?"
He couldn't understand it.
They had known each other for less than a month.
The only interaction they had was one beating the other to a pulp while the other took it.
Yet, strangely, Tang Jin did not feel like Han Cheong-un was a stranger.
Despite being beaten so many times, he felt no hatred toward him.
Because of that, he had opened up his heart, shared his deepest secrets, and even promised to supply him with his most treasured item.
What in the world was this...?
"No way."
Tang Jin's eyes widened.
There was only one word that could explain this bizarre phenomenon.
But if that was the truth, it was absolutely horrifying.
Tang Jin wrapped his arms around his trembling body to steady himself. And then he muttered...
"I... I'm not into men, am I?"