Hmph, You Should Have Stayed Quiet
"Hmph, you should have stayed quiet from the beginning."
As I slowly lowered the hand I'd used to cover his mouth, Jang Cheol ground his teeth and hissed in a low voice.
"Y-you crazy girl! Why the hell are you practicing pressure point strikes?"
"To ambush idiots like you! Why? It's working pretty well, isn't it?"
"A talentless fool without any internal energy...!"
"Hmm, isn't the real fool you? Getting taken down by someone without internal energy."
"You, you...!"
Jang Cheol opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.
"Anyway, idiots always let their guard down around people without internal energy, just like you."
"I-I didn't expect you to attack out of nowhere!"
"No excuses. Jang First Young Master, you think even Namgung Ryu-cheong would have fallen for that? Tsk, it's just your own lack of skill. Admit it."
Jang Cheol's face flushed beet red as he snorted in fury.
While we were debating who was the real idiot between him and me, I suddenly recalled how Namgung Ryu-cheong had once called me an idiot via telepathy. It was ridiculous.
The idiot was this guy all along!
I let out a sigh and decided to stop teasing. Time to get to the point.
"Which do you hate more? Me, Namgung Ryu-cheong, or Jang O? Out of the three, who's the worst?"
"Obviously...!"
Jang Cheol started shouting but suddenly clamped his jaw shut.
"Why the hell should I tell you? Who are you to ask? What do you even know?"
"Who knows. But I probably know your future better than you do."
"What... what nonsense is that?"
I met his crazed stare calmly.
"Even I, who's only been at the Namgung Clan for a few months, have heard about it."
"Heard what?!"
"That the Jang Family Head hates you?"
"......"
"They say he ignores his firstborn, Jang First Young Master, and only dotes on his second son, Jang Second Young Master."
It hit him hard. Right on target.
"Plus, the Little Madam told me herself. She said Mrs. Jang dragged her sickly body over to apologize because she didn't want you getting scolded by the Family Head."
I pressed on during his silence.
"But what are you going to do, acting out like that? After Mrs. Jang left, she couldn't stop coughing and had to rush back to rest."
"......Mom?"
Mom, huh. Spending time around Namgung Ryu-cheong, who always referred to his mother formally as "Mother" or "Madam," made Jang Cheol suddenly seem so young.
His face gradually drained of color.
At least it seems she cares for her mother.
Whether the Little Madam thought I'd be hurt by it or just didn't see the need to tell me, there was a bigger reason Mrs. Jang had come to apologize. Her sincerity in wanting to apologize to me was real enough. But more precisely, it was an excuse to visit the Namgung Clan.
She probably planned to mend ties with the Namgung Clan during this visit. No one knows their own body better than themselves. She wanted to build connections that could help her son, whom her husband despised—even if just a little.
But even if she spoon-feeds him opportunities, if he's this dense...
"Is Mom okay?"
"How should I know?"
I snorted derisively.
"You worry about your mother but can't even apologize properly, turning the situation into this mess?"
"That's...! It was that Namgung Ryu-cheong bastard who butted in...!"
"And that wasn't enough—you tried to beat your little brother right in the middle of the Namgung Clan grounds."
"He started it...!"
His pressure points must have loosened by now, because Jang First Young Master flailed his arms at the empty air.
"Always blaming others... Jang First Young Master, that's ugly."
"You...!"
"You think constantly shifting blame and resenting everyone will do you any good?"
Jang Cheol's face twisted bit by bit.
"......Why are you telling me all this?"
I lowered my eyes for a moment.
"Because I don't want to see a stupid villain side character end up like that."
"What?"
"I want your future to change."
"Wh-what the hell are you talking about?"
I turned away without further explanation.
The environment shapes a person, but... Still, I hoped he could change. I wanted him to escape that pointless villain role.
From here on, it's Jang Cheol's choice.
At least I'd stopped him from grabbing his brother's collar in the Namgung Clan.
I glanced toward the hallway where Namgung Ryu-cheong and Jang O had been standing, using my golden eyes. Nothing caught my sight.
Did they leave?
The thick walls might block my vision anyway... but after all this time in the room, it'd be weirder if they were still hanging around.
As I opened the door with that thought, I froze in shock.
"......!"
Namgung Ryu-cheong stood impassively right in front of the door. I'd been so focused on the hallway that I hadn't checked right here.
"N-Namgung Young Master. You scared me."
Namgung Ryu-cheong tilted his head slightly, raising an eyebrow. I stepped forward cautiously and closed the door behind me.
"What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Uh? Ahem."
Wait, did I really need to hide that I'd been talking to Jang Cheol? We could just chat, right?
But Namgung Ryu-cheong continued.
"This is my room."
"What?!"
I glanced at the closed door behind me, then back at him.
"Don't you have your own quarters?"
"Yeah. This was the room I used until I was seven, when I stayed with Mother. Even after I moved out, she left it as is."
"Ah......"
Namgung Ryu-cheong tried to sidestep me and open the door. I grabbed him quickly.
"What?"
He looked at me with dissatisfaction, hand on the doorknob.
"Uh, well, um."
How was I supposed to explain being alone in his room with the guy he'd just fought? It wasn't like we'd been cozying up, but being alone together was... ambiguous.
Namgung Ryu-cheong sighed, placed a hand on my shoulder, and gently pushed me aside.
"Move. I heard everything."
"What?"
He flung the door open and strode in.
"Jang First Young Master, get out of my room."
Jang Cheol's face was streaked with tears—probably from crying after I left. Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke in his usual flat tone, as if the tears meant nothing.
"Mrs. Jang's quarters are in the building straight to the left. You'll find a maid there."
Caught crying, Jang Cheol wiped his eyes frantically with his sleeve in embarrassment and bolted out. As he passed, he shot me a glare full of resentment—as if asking why I'd brought him here of all places.
I didn't know either...
If I'd known, would I have said all that in this room? Ugh, I shrugged my shoulders.
He'd heard my entire conversation with Jang Cheol. How pathetic must I look to Namgung Ryu-cheong?
I wanna run too...!
I'd barely taken a step when—
"Stop right there."
"......"
I turned back with an awkward smile.
Namgung Ryu-cheong looked thoroughly pissed.
"I-I didn't know it was your room... Sorry......"
"Is that how you are?"
"Huh?"
"Do you always care so much about other people?"
I blinked in confusion. I thought he was mad about me barging into his room?
He continued coldly.
"What did Jang First Young Master say? Gonna be friends with him now? You already forgot how he bullied your precious servant and talked down to you?"
"......"
"You think giving advice to a punk like that will change anything?"
I scratched my cheek. Even without him pressing me, it was a question I'd asked myself. Would it make a difference?
"It will."
"What?"
"Next time Jang First Young Master bullies someone, don't you think my words might pop into his head?"
"......"
"If it gives Jang First Young Master even one chance in his life, then my effort wasn't wasted."
Namgung Ryu-cheong's mouth parted slightly before he bit his lip hard. Then he muttered in a deflated voice,
"You're such an idiot."
"You called me an idiot earlier, now it's fool?"
Ignoring me, he scanned the room. I followed him in, acting like I'd never planned to bolt.
I hadn't bothered looking around while with Jang Cheol, so it felt almost new. Even after the owner moved out, the Little Madam had kept it spotless—no dust anywhere. Though there were noticeable empty spots where things had been removed.
"Come to think of it, where's Jang Second Young Master?"
"Jang Second Young Master?"
"I saw you talking to him earlier."
"It wasn't really talking. We just ran into each other in the hall."
"Hmm, thought you were making a new friend."
As he examined the books on the shelf, Namgung Ryu-cheong whipped his head around to glare at me.
"......Why?"
"I only have you as a friend."
He declared it so boldly, without a hint of shyness—like it was the most natural thing.
My one and only friend. I felt flattered yet flustered by his acknowledgment.
"Is... that something to brag about?"
"So don't hang out with worthless people like that."
I gaped at him blankly.
Is this that classic 'don't play with anyone but me'?
Now it made sense why he'd been so irritated at the training grounds with the Suxiangmun folks. He didn't like me hanging out with others!
Haha, that's kinda cute.
I touched my rising lips, but a giggle slipped out anyway.
"Why are you laughing?"
"You might get mad if I say."
"Tell me."
"Because it's cute—see! You're mad!"