Chapter 112: Ah, How Can I Resist Cheon Yu-hak’s Birthday Party! (13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 112: Ah, How Can I Resist Cheon Yu-hak’s Birthday Party! (13)
He was big.
I don’t mean his physical stature, nor did he possess an intimidating aura like the War Demon.
And yet, that was my first impression upon meeting the man known as Cheon Mu-jin.
The pressure emanating from the man who led the Cheonhwa Group, the nation’s top conglomerate, felt different from the martial intimidation one feels from the strong in the heat of battle.
If I had to put it into words, I’d call it presence.
“As I thought, it’s a waste.”
The man, who had once been a hero himself, looked at me with eyes full of greed.
“If you were a girl, you’d be the perfect daughter-in-law for our Yu-hak.”
…What is this crazy bastard talking about?
This is the head of the country’s greatest corporation? Is the Cheonhwa Group on the verge of bankruptcy or something?
“Hahaha! Kang So-hyun, you haven’t changed a bit! Even back then, your face would sour like that whenever I made a joke!”
“It’s just that, to me, it didn’t feel like a joke.”
“Oh, so your wit has improved since then!”
It wasn’t a joke.
But I had a feeling that if I insisted it wasn’t a joke again, things would get complicated.
“If I set my mind to it, I could easily get my hands on a gender-swapping Artifact. The fact that I haven’t done so is proof enough that I’m joking, isn’t it? …If only you weren’t Hyun-woo’s son.”
“Haha, I see. That was very funny.”
I almost got screwed for running my mouth. Or rather, I almost lost the very thing that makes me a man.
“Anyway, thanks for the gift. When people stay in a place like this for too long, they get busy keeping each other in check and digging pitfalls. It’s only right that a young person stirs up an unexpected incident.”
His large hand reached out and gripped my shoulder.
“But leave it at that. You know Ri-ra can’t be with our Yu-hak, right?”
He had cast a soundproofing barrier in an instant, so no one else likely heard him.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“When you were a child, I thought you were just brave because you were ignorant. But now that you’re old enough to know better, you’re still quite bold. I like that. However, there are things in this world that cannot be solved by friendship or love alone.”
“If you keep this barrier up for too long, people will get suspicious.”
“Your situational awareness isn’t bad either. But listen, So-hyun.”
“Yes.”
“I am a man with the power to crush such petty suspicions whenever I wish. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, of course.”
He truly was a top-tier hero in the past; there was no lie in his words, and his intimidation was formidable.
Not that I was actually scared, though.
‘Humans are creatures that fear overwhelming power, whether it be martial or financial.’
That was a line Cheon Mu-jin often repeated in the original work.
It was a sentiment that applied to most people he had encountered in his life, and it was the fundamental reason he had grown disillusioned with others.
The reason this cheerful, mischievous man was acting serious and pretending to threaten me was likely because he harbored a hope that I might be different.
Was he testing whether I was qualified to be the friend who could lead Cheon Yu-hak down a different path than his own?
In truth, I had drawn all that aggro partly for this very moment.
Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your son walks a different path than yours.
“Don’t worry. I’m not the type to give up because of a pathetic threat like that.”
When I gave him a smile full of conviction, the mask he had been wearing finally cracked.
“You…”
In the past, Cheon Mu-jin had been subjected to a similar test by his own father.
A test to see if the people around him were clinging to him for the family’s glory and wealth, or if they were truly people who cared for him and would stand by his side.
Well, how strong could kids who had just entered the Academy be?
In the process of that test, the woman he loved succumbed to money, and his friends, unable to withstand the threats, left his side one by one.
In the end, he married the fiancée his father had prepared, and he spent his life with my father as his only true friend. But if you were to ask if his life was unhappy because of it, the answer would probably be no.
That was why he was hesitating.
To find out which path was right for his son, he had staged this massive show and was testing us in a way ten times more tedious than his father had.
Hoping that his son would be left with as few scars as possible.
But if a party is riddled with such schemes, it’s hard to enjoy it.
“I will never betray him. And the same goes for the others. If you want to keep testing us, I won’t stop you, but it’ll be a waste of time. You might as well just enjoy the party.”
Hmm, I wanted to look as confident as possible, but I wasn’t sure if I was pulling it off.
For a fleeting moment, a mix of tenderness and bitterness flickered in his eyes.
He was probably remembering the time his own friends had faced similar threats.
“How did you know?”
As always, I had a suitable excuse ready for when I was asked such questions.
“Cheon Yu-hak is softer than he looks. He gets hurt easily. It’s only natural to be worried.”
“You and my daughter are probably the only people in the world who would call Yu-hak soft.”
A smile was already playing on his lips as he spoke.
This should be enough.
Suddenly, my eyes drifted to Cheon Yu-hak, who was looking this way from afar with eyes full of trust.
Though not depicted in the original work, after losing me—his friend—the guy had wavered. Then, after losing the comrades who followed him and Ju Ri-ra who loved him, he became even more obsessed with power.
And yet, he suffered defeat after defeat.
He almost never won against a truly powerful enemy during the Academy arc.
One might expect him to give up at that point, to accept that his talent, like his father’s, couldn’t reach the heavens.
But he never gave up.
If he couldn’t overcome through sheer will, he sought other means. Driven by that singular focus, Cheon Yu-hak eventually laid hands on the Forbidden Arts.
The Forbidden Arts—paying a price to an Otherworld deity to gain power.
At first, he offered relatively small things like a finger or blood, but every time a stronger enemy appeared, Cheon Yu-hak didn’t hesitate to burn away his own body.
— I won’t lose anymore. I won’t yield a single thing.
By the time the novel went on hiatus, half of his body was possessed by an Otherworld deity, and he couldn’t even maintain his sanity without auxiliary devices.
The one who helped him obtain those Forbidden Arts was none other than his father, Cheon Mu-jin.
I could only guess that he chose that path because he’d rather see his son burn brilliantly than watch him break while being unable to do anything.
Regretting the things he couldn’t protect even with all his accumulated power and wealth, perhaps he couldn’t bear to just watch his son struggle against a fate he refused to accept.
I didn’t know for sure.
His true feelings weren’t written in the original story or the settings.
In the end, the heart of a father who sacrificed his own life as the price for his son’s contract with an Otherworld deity was something I could no longer know.
Because that was now just a possibility of a future that I had broken with my own hands—a future that would never happen.
“Anyway, if it looks like he’s going to fall, I’ll be right there beside him, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
Even without contracting with some Otherworld deity, there are plenty of Fortuitous Encounters in this world. It’s just that the villains usually gobble them all up.
A hero who loses his pride, loses his self-respect, loses even himself, and yet thrusts his spear to protect the one lingering attachment left at the end… this world doesn’t need that anymore.
I’ll make sure of it.
“Sometimes, looking at young people makes me think.”
“Yes?”
“That maybe I could have lived more as a hero, instead of becoming an adult like this.”
His hand tapped my shoulder again. His face looked somewhat bitter, but I couldn’t feel even a hint of pressure from his touch.
“Thank you for saying that.”
“No problem. Besides, it’s not like you were actually going to cancel the search for Yu-hak’s fiancée candidates anyway, right?”
“Of course not. Seeing our boy get embarrassed is a rare treat. And who’s to say there isn’t a better lady for Yu-hak than Ri-ra?”
Well, personally, I’d like Ju Ri-ra to win, but it would be overstepping for me to interfere that much, wouldn’t it? I only went overboard with Lee Yu-na because she was headed for a Berserk ending; this is a different case.
Ri-ra! Love and victory are things you have to seize for yourself! Good luck!
Ah, serious talk is serious talk, but I need to enjoy myself too!
Time to get a front-row seat for this rom-com!
* * *
…How did it end up like this?
I’d done what I needed to do, so I planned to eat some delicious food and watch the rom-com unfold.
Well, technically, I was watching it.
It was quite interesting to see Ju Ri-ra doing her best to reserve the first dance in front of the women swarming Cheon Yu-hak. And as for Lilac, he supported a woman who had tripped and asked if she was okay, which set Lee Yu-na’s heart ablaze with jealousy.
The woman who was about to ask him for a dance caught one look at Lee Yu-na’s eyes, developed a case of the hiccups, and fled.
And watching Woo Jae-hee and Chan-hwi—the male members of Cheon Yu-hak’s party—standing around awkwardly and losing favorability with the female members while trying to pick up girls was funnier than I expected.
Wait, is that bastard Woo Jae-hee still trying? He was talking to another woman.
…Yeah, good luck with that.
Anyway, you might wonder what I was complaining about, but I wanted to be a spectator, not a participant in the rom-com.
“U-Um… could you perhaps dance with me later…!?”
Ah, right. The trouble started when a woman I had never met before asked me to dance.
“Oh, what should we do? Miss, this friend’s dance card is full for today~ We might even be short on time. How about me instead?”
Before I could even respond, Ha-ni swooped in with some NTR-style behavior and led the woman away.
The problem was that it didn’t end with just one person.
Whenever I tried to enjoy the show while eating, someone would inevitably approach me to ask for a dance.
…I mean, I don’t even know how to dance in the first place?
What exactly are they expecting from me? It’s not like I can perform a talent show dance here.
As the numbers grew, even Ha-ni reached her limit in covering for me. Those who managed to bypass her guard then had to face the wall that was my Elder Sister.
“Oh my, it’s been a while?”
It seemed this latest challenger was an acquaintance of my Noona, but for some reason, the woman shrank back the moment she spotted her.
Where did the confidence go? Just a moment ago, she was asking me for a dance with a look that said, ‘I don’t think I’d embarrass my partner with my looks.’
“I didn’t know! Na-hyun Unnie! I really didn’t know!”
“Hmm, I suppose so. I know. If you had known, you wouldn’t have dared to look at my brother with those eyes, if only to save your own.”
…Save her eyes?
“Ah, or have you already healed up and forgotten like a goldfish? Should I burn both your eyeballs out this time?”
Oh, I didn’t know my Noona had a hobby of giving people DIY Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils. That’s terrifying.
“What are you doing? Get lost.”
“Y-Yes…!!!!”
Wow, she’s been a bit mild lately so I forgot, but this is my Noona. I’d better watch my step.
“…And you, stop charming every woman you see. Do you know she was just about to touch your butt?”
…Good heavens.
“Aren’t you overthinking it? Her gaze was a bit intense, but surely at a party like this…”
“That girl, she almost got arrested for sexually harassing a male celebrity while doing a program with me. She got off because she’s a C-rank Hero. Oh, for the record, she’s older than me. She’s only like that because I lightly toasted her once for acting up, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
Yes, I definitely won’t. Not at all. I’ve experienced it once before, and having your eyes seared with fire really hurts.
“…You just had a weird thought, didn’t you?”
Crap, how did she know?
“Ever since you were little, your expression gets softer than usual whenever you lie. Other people might not know, but did you think your own sister wouldn’t?”
Sister.
Sun Wukong had said we weren’t blood-related.
And even if So-hyun and she were related, it was hard to consider me related to her.
And yet, whenever I talked to her like this, it didn’t feel like we were strangers, however awkward it might be.
“The dance.”
“Yes?”
“Who are you having your first dance with?”
…I made up an excuse about having a partner, and now the first dance is the issue?
“Should I dance with you, Noona?”
When I said it as a joke, her lips quivered for a moment with an expression that was hard to describe, but in the end, what came out of her mouth was a hollow sigh.
After a brief pause, she spoke.
“…Forget it. Go take care of Cathy Unnie. Or are you going to dance with that Ga-eul girl?”
“I’m not sure.”
“…How did my brother grow up to be such a playboy? Are you going to come running to me later when you’re about to get stabbed?”
“Don’t say such horrible things. I’m not dating anyone yet.”
“You realize that saying ‘yet’ implies your relationships aren’t exactly wholesome, right?”
…I had no comeback for that.
“…It’s okay to run away.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m saying if it looks like you’re going to get stabbed, you can run to me and I’ll take care of you. Of course, even if that’s not the case, if you want to run away, you can. I’m capable enough to support you.”
I wondered if she was joking, but her face was incredibly serious.
Affection and obsession.
Responsibility and guilt.
The eyes looking at me seemed to be chasing someone who wasn’t me.
But I had no intention of running away, nor was I in a situation where I could.
There were still too many things to stop, too many things to set right.
— I don’t even have the right to run away.
And there was still so much I needed to find out.
“Well, I’ll try to handle things on my own before it comes to running away.”
“…Hmph, do whatever you want.”
Noona picked up a red drink that suited her perfectly and walked away with a haughty stride to greet others.
Sensing that the space beside me was vacant, others tried to approach again, but this time Ga-eul stepped in to keep the other women at bay.
Or rather, she tried to. It was quite amusing to see everyone ignore her and keep coming, as if they all thought they could take on someone like Ga-eul.
“Why is everyone ignoring me?!”
Ah, well, that’s because you’re Butt.