Mind to Mind at Jinhae Tower
It was an absurd situation. In a single restaurant at Jinhae Tower, separated only by paper screens, the orthodox and unorthodox factions were holding their banquets side by side on the same floor. But who could they blame? They couldn’t fault the owner of Jinhae Tower. If the Hwaryong-jo from the Murim Alliance had arrived first, it might have been different, but strictly speaking, the Salwol Gate executives had been the first guests. Then suddenly a group of righteous faction warriors had burst in demanding the best seats with the nicest view on the top floor. And of course Jin Seol was among them. From the owner’s perspective, he absolutely could not mention the Salwol Gate. What, you’re turning us away because you’re busy serving those evil faction bastards? That would mean both the owner and the Jin family considered the Salwol Gate superior. It wasn’t a question of whether they could accommodate them. The very act of bringing it up was the problem. Even asking them to be careful could be taken as a grave insult, so the safest response was simply to say there were no seats and send them away. The problem was that the Gwangdong Jin Family’s exclusive VIP room sat prominently on the top floor. If that room were empty, the situation would look even stranger. In short, there could not be “no seats.” So what was there to do? He simply had to overcome it with the power of prayer. Buddha, Jade Emperor, Young Master, please let nothing happen.
A sparrow trying to follow a stork should never compete in a footrace. Victory in any contest comes from playing to your strengths and exposing the opponent’s weaknesses. If a sparrow wants to beat a stork, it should hide its weight class and compete with cuteness instead. Unfortunately, Gyeon Po-hui was not clever enough for such tactics. Therefore she had no idea what would happen if she tried to chase after Cheong at a drinking party—the giant of the banquet table, the incarnation of alcohol, the stork of drunkenness.
“Oh, nice to meet you! Since it’s nice to meet you, shall we have a drink? We know each other’s faces and names, so we’re friends now. Friends should drink together. Come, come, those who are struggling can cover your cups. I’m still perfectly fine. I can take more. Since the Cheonhwa-geom herself is pouring, I simply must have another cup. What, that’s all? What a man. What a great hero. Cheers! Cheers, cheers!”
“Oh, that table over there looks upset. Wait here a moment, I’ll be right back. So, a quick farewell drink before I go? Come on, cheers!”
Then she would grab a single wine cup and scurry off again. “What are you all talking about? Oh, pardon me, make some room. Hehe, hello everyone! First, please accept a drink…”
By the time Cheong had made two full circuits of the banquet, one could only wonder exactly how much alcohol her sworn sister had consumed.
Gyeon Po-hui was naturally someone who had to accept every cup Cheong poured. Because it was her rightful share, of course. If Cheong poured drinks for strangers, her own family could not be neglected. That was why she stuck to Cheong like glue, gulping cup after cup without pause. Just in case someone else received a drink instead of her.
“Oh, Changbin looks bored. Ah, right. I promised I’d pour him a drink. I’ll be right back, okay? You’d better not be passed out when I return.”
With those brazen words, Cheong stood up and headed toward Changbin’s table—where Jin Seol sat with a face like boiling water, Jo-hyung who was clearly the cause of it, and Changbin who was staring at the wine cup as if it were some mysterious artifact.
That was when it happened. Suddenly Gyeon Po-hui grabbed Cheong by the nape of the neck and threw her full weight against her—no, hung off her entirely. With her arms wrapped around Cheong’s neck, dangling like a pendant, she rested her chin on Cheong’s chest and looked up.
“Hehe. Sworn sister~”
Cheong was startled. Gyeon Po-hui never leaned on her. She never did anything that might make Cheong uncomfortable. Their relationship had been entirely one-sided, with Cheong being the one to hug, lean on, and cause all sorts of scenes. This was the first time she had ever seen Gyeon Po-hui hang off her with her full body weight.
Still, though surprised, Cheong wasn’t flustered. After all, anything could happen at a drinking party.
“Oh. Sworn sister. Are you okay? You kept drinking and drinking. Are you drunk?”
“Huh? Yeah. I guess I am drunk. I’m drunk, hehe.”
“Aigoo, look at those glazed eyes. You kept drinking even though you couldn’t handle it? Sworn sister? We should expel the alcohol a bit—hey, stop. Not here.”
A proper martial artist could circulate their qi to drive the alcohol out of their body. However, expelling alcohol at a drinking party was considered extremely rude. The fumes that erupted were stronger than any drink, and the vapor alone could make someone with weak tolerance fall over drunk. So if you really couldn’t hold it anymore and were about to cause a scene, you should step outside for some air, expel it in an open area, and then return.
“Then where?”
“This won’t do. I need some air. Let’s go catch some wind for a bit.”
“Okay. I don’t like the wind, it’s cold. But you want to get some air, right? Let’s go quickly.”
“Come on, don’t lean so much—up we go.”
“Oh. No. You can’t carry me. Your legs are still uncomfortable, you can’t do that. But… um, it’s cramped. It’s narrow.”
“Pushing like that doesn’t make my chest get squished, you know? Hey, stay still.”
“Hehe. Yeah. Ah. This feels nice.”
Gyeon Po-hui buried her face deep into the crook of Cheong’s neck and let out foolish, silly giggles.
When they opened the paper door and leaned against the railing of Jinhae Tower’s observation deck, the salty sea breeze brushed against their skin. Factually it was winter in Gwangdong, but to Cheong it had already felt like spring for a while. Gwangju had mild winters where even the coldest night stayed above fifty degrees in her hometown’s terms, and brutally hot, humid summers that felt like being trapped inside a steam cooker.
Of course, Cheong had already reached a level close to being impervious to cold. But on the highest observation deck in Gwangju, where the rough sea wind howled in one’s ears, it would be cold for anyone who wasn’t at Cheong or Jin Seol’s level.
“It’s cold.”
“Here. Expel the alcohol and let’s go back in quickly.”
“No, I don’t want to.”
“Huh?”
Things had been going smoothly and then suddenly she was being difficult. What was this? Did her sworn sister become rebellious when she drank?
“Call me big sis. Big sis. Hurry.”
“Um. That’s a bit…”
“Then I’m not going. I’ll stay here. I’ll stay here shivering all by myself in the cold. If I freeze to death, you’ll cry your eyes out later, right? Sob.”
“Oh boy.”
“So, hee, hurry, big sis. Call me big sis. If you don’t, I’ll freeze to death here, sob, hic.”
“Sworn sister, stop that. No, why is a grown woman crying?”
“Not sworn sister. Big sis. Hurry.”
“Uh, um.”
Cheong’s mouth opened and closed. Perhaps because of the strong wind, goosebumps spread rapidly from her forearms across her entire body. It would be better to hear “mom” from her son. Saying “big sis” with her own mouth—her lips refused to move, goosebumps erupted everywhere, her heart pounded, and her fingers twisted on their own as if they might tie themselves into a butterfly knot.
Instead, Cheong tried to dodge it with a joke.
“Sworn sister lives here. Sworn sister is going home.”
“You don’t want to? Why, why? Is it because I’m not worthy of being your big sis? Because I’m a stupid bitch?”
“That’s not it. No, wait. Stupid bitch? Who would dare say that to you?”
“No. I know I’m stupid. When I was in the Huanxi Palace, my senior brothers always said so. That I was a stupid, deficient bitch. Yeah. Eugh. That’s why it’s embarrassing for you too, right? Sworn sisters, but ultimately fake. Yeah.”
And then the tears flowed.
Cheong realized her mistake. She had only called her “sworn sister” because it was physiologically impossible to call her anything else, but it seemed the other party had always taken it to heart.
Cheong let out a deep sigh. Gyeon Po-hui, startled, hurriedly wiped her tears.
“No, hehe. I’m not crying. I must be drunk?”
“Sworn sister?”
“You don’t find me annoying, do you? Ah, do you want to touch my chest? You like my chest, right? Wait, it’s not loosening, just a moment, just a moment.”
Gyeon Po-hui started undoing her collar. But whether her hands were shaking or she had pulled the strings too tight in her haste, she struggled and whined because she couldn’t get it undone.
Cheong gently placed her hand on the back of Gyeon Po-hui’s hand.
“Sworn sister. No. Hoooo…”
Cheong took a deep breath.
“Big sis.”
Gyeon Po-hui’s eyes widened into perfect circles. The seductive, provocative gaze vanished completely as she stared at Cheong with round, innocent eyes.
“See this? The goosebumps? The reason I don’t call you big sis is because I have some serious personal issues with it. It’s not because I’m ashamed of you. Well, it is a little embarrassing, to be honest. A grown woman crying and carrying on, baring her chest without shame in an open place like this.”
“Yeah…”
“Be honest. Do you really think I would think of you that way? Am I only worth that much to you?”
“Not ‘guy,’ but ‘girl—’”
“Tsk. Anyway.”
“…No.”
Cheong smiled brightly and stroked Gyeon Po-hui’s hair.
“To be honest, I’m an older sister who’s embarrassing to show off anywhere, but have I ever hidden you? Even inside the Murim Alliance, I’ve never once hidden that the Cheonhwa-geom’s sworn sister is Gyeon Po-hui. And I never will in the future. Whether it’s embarrassing or shameful, you are my sworn sister. Yes, because we’re family.”
“Yeah… But it is embarrassing, right?”
“Family doesn’t lie to each other.”
Gyeon Po-hui’s expression grew complicated. She was happy to be called family, but at the same time she seemed to be thinking, Am I really embarrassing?
“It’s okay to be stupid. I like you that way too. You’re cute and a bit pathetic. A hundred—no, a thousand times better than a smart sworn sister who acts all superior, because you always genuinely care for me.”
“One hundred, one thousand…”
“I don’t know why everyone in the Central Plains is so obsessed with not using counters. Sworn sister—no, then Hui-mae. Or would that sound like I’m emphasizing that we have different surnames? Should I just call you Hui? Between Hui and Hui-mae, which do you prefer? Big sis is still a bit hard for me.”
“Then Hui-mae…”
It seemed she couldn’t give up the title of older sister. Cheong gave her a wide smile.
“Alright. Hui-mae.”
“Yes!”
“You understand my heart now, right? Come here.”
Cheong pulled Hui-mae into a tight embrace.
“Ah. Yes. But if anyone points a finger at Hui-mae calling her a stupid bitch, break their wrist. No, that won’t be enough. Break their whole arm so they become a cripple. And tell them exactly: What have you contributed that makes you qualified to call me stupid? Being stupid and pathetic is part of my charm, don’t you know what idiot beauty is!”
“Idiot beauty?”
“Originally, it’s better for a beauty to be stupid and lacking. I like pathetic people like my Hui-mae much more than smart people who act all clever. It has its own charm. And since I’m smart, it doesn’t matter if Hui-mae is stupid, right?”
“Huh? That’s true. Hehe.”
“Right. Now, let’s expel that alcohol. It’s not cold but staying outside is awkward. We should go back in.”
“Um. Can you go in first? Are my eyes red? I’ll rest a bit and come in later.”
She had called her “little sister.” Even while constantly worrying about the “sworn” part, she couldn’t bring herself to use the more intimate term, so how much must she have been suffering alone? Had Cheong not given her enough reassurance? Cheong reflected on it. Just a little. In truth, wasn’t it mostly Hui-mae’s fault for being slow and misunderstanding everything on her own? If they were assigning blame, it was one to nine, with Cheong being the one.
“Okay. Don’t stay out too long. You’ll catch a cold.”
---
Cheong had told Gyeon Po-hui that if anyone called her a stupid bitch, she should break their wrist. Of course, this was simply a way of saying not to stay silent if someone insulted her. But the one who heard it was Gyeon Po-hui. Therefore Gyeon Po-hui was deeply impressed. As expected of my little sister. Little sister always has a plan. How did she know this would happen? Could she see the future?
“Glurk.”
At Gyeon Po-hui’s feet, a man lay foaming at the mouth. His arm, twisted one and a half times into a pretzel shape, was quite impressive. Gyeon Po-hui looked down at the man with eyes completely devoid of interest, as if looking at a random stone on the roadside.
“Oh. Little sister must be waiting.”
Gyeon Po-hui turned around and walked down the long corridor lined with sliding doors on both sides. Then she suddenly stopped. She turned back, cleared her throat, and spoke.
“What have you added to my being stupid? I may be stupid and pathetic, but that’s my charm. Don’t you know idiot beauty?”