Chapter 548: I Think... I Liked You, Young Master.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 548: I Think... I Liked You, Young Master.
Step, step.
Sun-woo began walking slowly toward his quarters.
Patter, patter.
Lee So-ran followed closely behind him.
After walking for a short while—
Creeeeeak.
Sun-woo pushed open the door to the reception room.
Thud.
He immediately took a seat at the table in the center.
"Please, have a seat, Lady."
He offered her a spot.
"....Yes."
Lee So-ran nodded. She sat down across from him at the table.
"Would you like a cup?"
As she sat, Sun-woo picked up the teapot and spoke.
"No... I'm fine..."
She shook her head gently.
"I suppose you don't enjoy tea as much as Madam Hwangbo does."
At her refusal, Sun-woo spoke in a calm tone.
Sizzle, sizzle.
He began to boil the water by infusing the teapot with his internal energy. Soon, the fragrant aroma of tea began to fill the reception room.
Trickle.
Sun-woo poured the tea into the cup before him.
Steam, steam.
Vapor rose from the cup as it filled to the brim.
Slurp!
He then proceeded to drain the entire cup in one go. It was as if he were knocking back a shot of liquor.
"Kaaaah...."
Having finished the tea, Sun-woo let out a satisfied exhale.
"Pfft."
Watching this, Lee So-ran suddenly burst into laughter.
"Why are you laughing?"
Sun-woo asked, looking puzzled by her sudden outburst.
"Young Master, you don't actually know how to drink tea, do you?"
She spoke with a small smile playing on her lips.
"That can't be. I enjoy tea quite often."
Sun-woo denied it with a nonchalant expression.
"Liar."
"What makes you think I'm lying?"
"Who drinks tea like they're throwing back a shot of booze?"
She continued with a giggle.
"Usually, you're supposed to appreciate tea with your eyes, take in the scent with your nose, and sip it slowly over several breaths. No one drinks it all at once like you just did, Young Master."
"..........So, I've been drinking it wrong all this time?"
"Did no one ever tell you?"
"No one ever specifically pointed it out."
"You have less influence than I thought, Young Master. To think there was no one to tell you something that would cause you embarrassment elsewhere."
"I suppose so. It seems I've lived my life all wrong."
Scratch, scratch.
Sun-woo scratched his head, looking sheepish.
"You really are human, Young Master."
Lee So-ran said, watching him.
"Did you think I was a beast?"
Sun-woo chuckled and spoke playfully.
"That's not what I meant!"
Lee So-ran flared up slightly.
"Then what did you mean?"
"I just thought of you as a monster who could do anything, but seeing this human side of you... it makes you feel like a real person."
"A monster... that's a bit much... Where else would you find a monster as handsome as me?"
Sun-woo replied with a droll expression.
"Even 'monster' isn't enough to describe you, Young Master."
Lee So-ran answered calmly. She was being sincere.
He was the man who had subdued all the 'Dragon and Phoenix'—the greatest rising stars—and revealed himself to the world as the future absolute ruler of the Murim.
Furthermore, despite being from a branch family, he had been recognized for his innate talent and granted secret martial arts. He had even completely crushed Yuri-geom Moyong Sang—the legendary warrior of Liaoning who had once purged thousands of demons—without sustaining a single scratch.
Based on his demonstrated level of power, even the Elders and Sect Leaders of the Nine Sects would have to take a step back.
How could the title of 'monster' possibly be sufficient?
He wasn't a monster. He was something unidentified that transcended the very definition of a monster.
"But weren't you saved by that very monster?"
Sun-woo asked with a mischievous grin.
".....I suppose that's true."
Lee So-ran nodded at his words. It was exactly as he said.
Because he possessed transcendental martial power.
Because he was a monster of immeasurable proportions.
She had been saved. Saved from Lee Hwa-young, who had tormented her so relentlessly.
How could she possibly deny it?
"Thank you so much, Young Master."
Lee So-ran stood up from her seat and bowed politely toward Sun-woo. She had realized she hadn't given him a proper thank-you yet.
"Straighten your back, Lady. I didn't step in just to receive thanks."
Sun-woo waved his hand dismissively, looking embarrassed. He seemed uncomfortable receiving gratitude for something that was already over.
"I'm sure that's true. But I still want you to accept my thanks. It might have been nothing to you, Young Master, but for me, it was an incident that could have left a scar deep enough to affect my entire life."
Lee So-ran spoke in a steady voice.
"I'll say it again: thank you truly, Young Master. If you hadn't come, I would have been in a terrible position."
"I understand, so please, straighten up now. You're going to turn into a hunched-over old granny at this rate."
At Sun-woo's words, Lee So-ran slowly stood up straight.
"Where would you find a granny like me?"
She spoke with a bit of a pout.
"True. Even an old granny wouldn't find it easy to be as much of a fool as you, Lady."
Sun-woo nodded as if in agreement.
"What did you say!?"
Lee So-ran flared up, raising her voice. It was the word she hated hearing most.
"Hahahaha!"
Sun-woo let out a boisterous, hearty laugh. He found her sharp reaction amusing.
"That's mean! I told you I hate being called a fool!"
Lee So-ran shouted, glaring at him. She truly disliked the word. Because she was usually slow and dull, it was a word she had heard until she was sick of it. How could he torment her with the very thing she hated hearing?
"But don't you act like a fool?"
"In... what... way!?"
"Didn't you camp out in front of my quarters for seven days and nights just to wait until I'd accept your apology?"
"......That's... because... I was the one... in the wrong..."
Lee So-ran stammered, her face flushing with embarrassment.
"That's exactly why you're a fool, Lady."
Sun-woo continued with a playful smile.
She was a fool. A fool who considered other people's feelings before her own.
She must have been confused. She had lost the virginity she had cherished for twenty years in such an absurd way. And yet, she had suppressed those chaotic emotions and approached him just to apologize. Even before she had properly processed her own feelings.
How could he not call her a fool?
"Uuuu..."
As Sun-woo repeatedly called her a fool, Lee So-ran's face began to crumple into a pout.
Among everyone she knew, Sun-woo was a man close to perfection.
He possessed overwhelming martial arts worthy of the title 'Future World's Greatest Martial Artist.' He had a handsome face that, while seemingly ordinary, strangely drew the eye. His body was packed with dense muscles that looked like finely woven steel chains. He held a massive reputation that echoed through the Cheonmu Alliance and the entire Murim. He even had the silver tongue to silence the insolent Lee Hwa-young in an instant.
He was, quite literally, perfection itself.
To have such a person definitively call her a fool... there was no way she could feel good about it. She began to wonder if she really looked like an irredeemable idiot in his eyes.
"Young Master....... do I... really... seem like a fool?"
She asked him with a piteous expression, like a lost kitten.
"Yes, you seem like a fool."
Sun-woo answered immediately, without a moment's hesitation.
"............"
Slump.
Lee So-ran's shoulders dropped. The confirmation felt like a finishing blow that drained all the energy from her body.
"Are you hurt?"
Sun-woo asked with a teasing look as she wilted.
"......Yes...... a whole lot..."
"Hahahaha!"
Sun-woo burst into laughter again.
"Don't laugh!"
Lee So-ran shouted in frustration. How could he laugh so cheerfully in front of someone who was feeling depressed?
"Hahaha... I'm sorry... Your reaction was just so funny I couldn't help myself."
"Don't treat me like a laughingstock!"
She yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Laughingstock? I care for you quite a bit, Lady."
"Does someone who cares for me tease me like this?"
"Teasing is only possible when there's affection behind it."
Sun-woo replied with a playful smirk.
"Hmph, I guess you actually have affection for a fool like me?"
Lee So-ran retorted sarcastically.
"Of course."
Sun-woo answered instantly, without a shred of hesitation.
"............"
That immediate response made Lee So-ran shut her mouth tight. His attitude was so matter-of-fact that a wave of bashfulness washed over her.
"Don't... don't tease me..."
She thought he was just making fun of her again.
"I'm not teasing."
But contrary to her thoughts, Sun-woo continued in a very serious tone.
"I harbor a great deal of affection for you, Lady."
Sun-woo spoke to her with an incredibly earnest expression.
"......What!?"
Her eyes went wide with shock as she stared back at him.
"A person who suppresses themselves to live for others is a fool, but I don't dislike that kind of fool. It's proof of how strong their altruism is."
Sun-woo gazed at her with serious eyes.
Flush.
Meeting that gaze, Lee So-ran's face began to turn bright red. She could feel the sincerity in his eyes.
"......No..... I'm... not that kind of person."
Lee So-ran shook her head, denying it. She had never once felt that she was particularly altruistic. He had to be mistaken.
"No. The 'Lady' I've experienced is exactly that kind of person."
Sun-woo spoke with a look of absolute conviction.
"............"
Lee So-ran fell silent at his confident words.
Whoosh.
Her face grew even redder. An inexplicable heat rose to her cheeks.
"......Young Master.."
She looked at Sun-woo, her face flushed, and opened her mouth.
"Go ahead."
"..........Thank you."
She spoke slowly while looking at him.
"For what?"
Sun-woo asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"Except for my mother, you're the first person to ever speak to me like that, Young Master."
She gazed at him with a burning intensity.
"Truly...... truly..... thank you."
She looked at him with an expression full of emotion.
"There's no need to be so thankful. I only said what was obvious."
Sun-woo waved his hand, looking a bit sheepish.
Lee So-ran continued to stare at him with that intense gaze. Her eyes were filled with a greedy longing. A greedy longing for the man named Jang Sun-woo himself.
She was a woman who had grown up being ignored by her sisters her entire life. To her, Sun-woo's kindness and consideration provided an immense sense of fulfillment, and that fulfillment soon began to transform into a craving. A craving to monopolize that kindness and consideration.
"Go on, speak."
".......Do... you know?"
"Know what?"
Sun-woo asked, not following.
"That... that... day.."
Lee So-ran hesitated, barely managing to get the words out.
"That day?"
"The day we.... first.... had relations... I mean.."
Her face was completely crimson as she spoke.
"Ah....... yes.."
Sun-woo also blushed, looking embarrassed.
".......That... was... my first time..."
"......I... see.."
"......I gave... my first time... to you, Young Master Jang...."
Lee So-ran emphasized it again, staring at him with burning eyes.
"So..... I hope you don't misunderstand....."
"Misunderstand what?"
Sun-woo asked, looking puzzled.
"I'm not... the kind of lewd woman... who does that sort of thing with just anyone..."
"Then why did you... with me?"
Sun-woo asked, curious.
"..........."
Lee So-ran fell silent at his question. She thought deeply about it. Why had she made that choice that day?
It didn't take long for her to reach a conclusion. As to why she had pounced on him that day.
".....Young Master."
Lee So-ran slowly began to speak.
"Go ahead."
"It seems...... I..... like you, Young Master."
"......What?"
Sun-woo asked back, looking bewildered.
".......From the very first day we met....... I think.... I liked you."
She continued, staring at him with a face that was practically glowing red.
"That's why.... I think I did... that... that day.."
She fidgeted with her index fingers.
"What do I do now?"
She asked Sun-woo with a look of utter confusion.
'Why are you asking me!?'
Sun-woo looked at her, completely flabbergasted. How on earth was he supposed to answer that?