Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: I Spent the Night with the Murim Alliance Leader's Youngest Daughter
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Hwangbo Chung was a man of strong determination.
Something I'd already rejected once. Yet he didn't hesitate to press me on it whenever he found an opening. His apparent agreement with my words had merely been a facade to lower my guard.
"Young hero. Isn't it said that heroes from ancient times were fond of the fairer sex? I've given it much thought, and there's no need for a man to have just one wife."
"Pardon?"
"Taking multiple women under one's wing is a mark of a man's prowess, no? I'm curious what you think."
"You still can't let go of it!"
The old man continued to grumble incessantly, but Hwangbo Chung showed no sign of backing down. He kept trying to win me over somehow. Faced with his repeated invitations, the card he finally played was a meal.
"You. You've come all this way—do you really intend to send a guest away without even offering a single meal?"
"You think I could stomach food looking at your face right now?"
"All that talk about family honor. Well, well. Looks like I'll have to spread the word far and wide that the Namgung Family treats its guests terribly!"
"Hah..."
The old man had been holding onto that mention of family. Hwangbo Chung had more of a lingering grudge than expected. Though caught off guard, it seemed the old man felt his words had gone too far, and he couldn't bring himself to chase Hwangbo Chung away outright. And so, just as we were about to eat together...
"Grandfather, so you're here?"
"Yeonhui. How did you know?"
"I saw your room was empty, so I asked the maids."
Yeonhui had arrived.
"Elder Hwangbo Chung is here too. Hello, Elder. Have you been well?"
"Y-Yes. Yeonhui. You look even more beautiful now that it's been a while!"
"Really? Thank you. But why are you sweating so much, Elder?"
"Must be my qi feeling a bit off. We were just about to have lunch—join us."
Hwangbo Chung looked flustered. He was the one who had boldly suggested becoming the son-in-law of the Hwangbo Family even with Yeonhui right there. With the person in question now standing before him, it was no wonder cold sweat was pouring.
"Anyone would think you were the master of the house!"
"It's just a meal anyway. Were you planning to send Yeonhui away like this?"
"Can't even hold your tongue!"
And so, the four of us ended up having lunch together.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Though he grumbled this and that, it seemed Namgoong Hwan had no intention of chasing Hwangbo Chung away just like that. The dishes brought in by the maids right on time were lavish, clearly prepared in advance.
"Dig in."
"Acting like this is your own bedroom!"
"Raising your voice at the dinner table is unbecoming."
"Hehe, you two are as close as ever."
"Where do you see that!"
"Showing leniency to the weak is a virtue, isn't it?"
As expected, it was a lively gathering. Namgoong Hwan grumbled incessantly, Hwangbo Chung brushed it off nonchalantly, and Yeonhui watched with a smile, as if it were a familiar sight.
"Come to think of it, Yeonhui."
"Yes, Elder?"
"I'm curious if your vitality has improved much."
"Pardon?"
"I've never seen a child with Go talent like yours. Ah, no. Now that I've met the young hero, you're second? I had a gut feeling the moment I saw you. With a bit of polishing, you'd surpass this old man faster than he thinks, haha!"
"I've already surpassed you long ago, you rascal!"
A comment Hwangbo Chung let slip casually during conversation. Yeonhui hurriedly corrected him upon hearing it.
"Ahaha, what are you talking about, Elder?"
"Have you been neglecting Go lately, by any chance?"
"I'm a complete novice at Go. I just played around a little watching Grandfather and you."
"Huh? That Go prodigy you showed back then was... Gah!"
"That fool should just eat quietly instead of talking so much."
Thud.
A dull sound echoed from under the table. It seemed Namgoong Hwan had kicked Hwangbo Chung's leg.
"Yeonhui. Have you studied Go before?"
"Pardon?"
"If even Elder Hwangbo acknowledges it, you must have considerable skill."
"No, he was just being kind. I only learned a bit as a child sitting by Grandfather. Elders always see children doing anything as cute, right?"
"No, Yeonhui. Your talent wasn't just... Guh!"
"I told you to eat!"
Yeonhui wore a deeply troubled expression.
The old man kicked Hwangbo Chung again as he stubbornly pressed on. Seeing the grim look and the glance he shot Hwangbo Chung, I could roughly piece it together. Yeonhui, who claimed she'd never studied Go. And this atmosphere now...
"No need to hide it. I think I get it. Why you wanted to keep your Go skills a secret."
"Gaga, it's not... Actually."
"You hid it to look good, right?"
"Pardon?"
"No wonder you picked it up so fast for a beginner. You hid it on purpose to impress me. Even Grandfather said nothing, so I fell for it."
"..."
"Am I right?"
"Y-Yes. That's right. Since you play Go so well, Gaga, I wanted to look good to you."
"I figured as much. No need to be so embarrassed. I've done the same to you—pretended not to know things or acted like I picked them up quickly."
"Really?"
"Of course. I just won't tell you what."
"That's mean!"
At my words, Yeonhui sighed in relief, patting her chest.
'Better to play along like I don't know.'
I'm not an idiot; how could I not see through this situation? Hwangbo Chung is as sharp as the old man when it comes to Go. If he calls her a prodigy, Yeonhui has the skill to crush most professional players.
Yet the reason Yeonhui pretended to be a novice was simple.
To find an excuse to spend more time with me.
It was common enough. Pretending not to know something you do to ask for help. A classic approach women use on men they're interested in. Like asking a guy to open a stubborn bottle cap because it's too hard.
'She tricked me!'
There was no need to say it out loud.
Wasn't it cute? Her excuse, thought up with such effort, was something so simple. Clumsy, but that made it all the more endearing. Thinking of Yeonhui pushing through her embarrassment to do it made me chuckle unwittingly.
So, it was best to just let the misunderstanding slide. No need to pick apart every odd detail.
Crush with logic!
No, not like that.
There are times when you should pretend not to notice a woman's little mistakes. A lesson directly imparted by my esteemed master.
"Just eat quietly, you fool. What's with all the chatter?"
"Meals are meant for conversation, aren't they? If it were just about eating, you'd do it facing a wall."
"Is that so? If you like talking so much, fine. Shall we pick up where we left off earlier?"
"What?"
"Yeonhui. Do you know what nonsense this old coot spouted earlier?"
"Hey! There are things you say in front of a child and things you don't!"
"Oh my. What could it be? Another one of your amusing stories between grandfathers."
Since the two bickering over trifles wasn't a rare sight, Yeonhui perked up with interest. Her face said she was looking forward to whatever nonsense it was. She wouldn't be smiling like that once she heard the truth.
"You two are so close that you laugh easily even over little things."
"If Gaga says so, it makes me even more curious."
I tried to put on the brakes once, but spilled words can't be gathered back. As if he'd been waiting for this moment, the old man began spilling the beans.
"I called this old man to ask him to take Se-woong as an adopted son."
"An adopted son?"
"The boy has no family to rely on. I thought that might be why the engagement was dragging, so I wanted to help."
"That seems like a good intention, doesn't it?"
"It's like entrusting fish to a cat! Know what this fool said? 'Wouldn't you rather become the son-in-law of the Hwangbo Family instead of an adopted son?' That's what he asked!"
"?"
"Yeonhui. There's a misunderstanding..."
"Misunderstanding my foot!"
"You were having quite the interesting conversation."
Chilling.
I hadn't wanted to get used to it, but here was that coldness again.
Yeonhui was smiling, for sure...
But that smile carried a thread of frost.
"Elder. Isn't trying to split a man and woman who have pledged their future together against propriety?"
"Yeonhui."
"I'm not done speaking. I never dreamed the Elder Hwangbo Chung, whom I respected, would stoop to this."
"..."
The mouth runs amok.
The old man's quiet mutter without interrupting.
Hwangbo Chung looked ready to crawl into a rat hole if left alone.
"If you come at me like this, I have no choice."
"Huh?"
"I'll have to dredge up things I locked away in the depths of memory to the surface."
"W-What do you mean by that?"
"Last June. You went on a trip gathering Go players with our Grandfather. You told your wife it was to help with family events."
"How do you...!"
"Two years ago in April, you went fishing under the pretext of inspecting business sites. In September, you set up a drinking party claiming a meeting with the elders."
"You're not thinking of telling my wife all that, are you?"
"Who knows. It depends on how you conduct yourself from now on, Elder. Let me see..."
Yeonhui sharply listed out Hwangbo Chung's misdeeds(?).
Hwangbo Chung coughed repeatedly as if about to spit blood at the ongoing exposures, but Yeonhui, now fully turned foe, showed no sign of stopping. Finally, when she pointed out how he'd skimmed from estate funds to buy jade Go stones, Hwangbo Chung could endure no longer and...
"I get it. My mistake! I won't say another word to the young hero!"
"Glad you've come to your senses."
He surrendered.
Hwangbo Chung, that guy. Just how much has he done behind his wife's back? Couldn't he have just been upfront about it?
A stuffy bitterness, like the plight of a married man, stuck in my throat like a fishbone.
"Elder, your complexion looks awful. Have some water. You might choke."
You made him that way.
As if her savage barrage had been a lie, Yeonhui kindly offered water to Hwangbo Chung. That was even scarier.
"Come to think of it, Gaga. You're planning to invite your master as a witness to our engagement?"
"Huh? Ah, yes."
"That's wonderful!"
"But he's such a wanderer; hard to get in touch."
"Shall I deploy the Secret Shadow Unit?"
No, the Secret Shadow Unit is directly under the Alliance Leader, but you can't mobilize an intelligence agency for something like this.
It was a joke, but Yeonhui looked dead serious.
For Yeonhui's sake if nothing else, I needed to find a way to track down my master soon.