Seo Moon-hyun's Reality
Shuuu— The mana frost coating Yee Eun-chae's blade carried an even sharper edge as she swung it with full force toward Seo Moon-hyun.
The warriors of the Yee family, from the head to the elders, all had their eyes light up at her flawless movements. The technique she had just displayed looked simple, yet it packed tremendous power and demanded an extremely high level of understanding in both swordsmanship and mana.
Standing on the higher realm she had glimpsed thanks to me, she unleashed her strongest strike at Seo Moon-hyun right here and now.
"Graaaah!"
Feeling the danger, Seo Moon-hyun let out a bloodcurdling roar, eyes bloodshot, and swung his sword with everything he had. Null-attribute mana, infused with the power of the Seo family's sword art, tore through the air.
Unlike the Yee family's style, which embodied the pure will to cut through anything, the Seo family's swordsmanship focused on destroying the very essence of its target. In the original story, it had been the sole hope capable of shattering Terenity's immortality.
But the Seo family's sword art now being wielded by Seo Moon-hyun was being swung in an utterly ugly, pathetic manner—nothing like the heroic technique it had been called in the original tale.
"Yee Eun-chaaaaae!!!"
Their full-powered attacks collided. Seo Moon-hyun's scream quickly twisted into a shriek of agony.
"Graaaahhh!"
His desperate strike destroyed the razor edge of Yee Eun-chae's mana, dulling it, yet it failed to stop the mana itself. The raw mass of power slammed straight into his body.
Pain exploded through his arms, legs, and every non-vital spot. His insides churned violently. Seo Moon-hyun vomited blood and was hurled several meters before crashing to the ground, writhing in torment.
"Haa~"
Yee Eun-chae exhaled softly and elegantly slid her sword back into its scabbard. The victor and the defeated stood in stark contrast.
"Ugh..."
The fallen Seo Moon-hyun looked so wretched it was impossible to believe he had once been the protagonist of this world. His arm and leg bones were completely shattered, bruises covered his body, and his face—nose bleeding, teeth missing, swollen beyond recognition—had lost every trace of its former handsomeness.
Since he looked exactly like me, the sight made me wonder briefly what my own face would look like if it were ruined the same way.
"Chun, I won just like I promised!"
Yee Eun-chae turned to me with a bright smile.
"Yeah. Good job, Eun-chae."
I smiled and walked toward her. She met me halfway, and we high-fived with a crisp smack.
At the sound, Seo Moon-hyun stirred.
"Urgh..."
He glared at me with pure resentment. Even now, he refused to acknowledge any fault of his own and blamed the world for not supporting him. In the original story, everything had gone his way until Seo Moon-jin appeared, so readers had never noticed his true nature.
"Seo Moon-jin...! You... someone like you should have died long ago!"
Having lost all reason, Seo Moon-hyun was finally facing the truth he had desperately denied. If he had thought about it even a little, he would have realized I was his older brother, Seo Moon-jin. But he had forced himself to reject that fact to preserve his image as the perfect, righteous hero.
Now, with his ugly true nature laid bare, he knew exactly who I was.
"It wasn't enough to have you expelled at five! I should have killed you back then! I should have killed you!"
His words came out slurred, teeth missing, but the meaning was clear.
"Yeah. That was your real intention all along."
I sneered down at him. If Seo Moon-hyun had ever shown genuine remorse like Seo Moon-min-hye, I would never have marked him for revenge. As children, we had both been shaped by Seo Moon-kang-hyuk's treatment, but even after growing up he kept denying my existence and treating me as someone who needed to disappear.
If I had been the younger brother, things might have been different.
He probably would have treated me kindly—not out of affection, but to use me as a foil that made his own superiority shine brighter. And if my abilities ever surpassed his, he would have branded me a villain without hesitation and done everything in his power to destroy me, all while convincing himself he was a tragic hero forced to kill his evil younger brother.
"Chun?"
Yee Eun-chae looked between us, clearly wondering about the true relationship hidden beneath Seo Moon-hyun's words. It was time to tell her.
"I'll explain later."
"Mm, okay."
She nodded without the slightest doubt, trusting that I would keep my word. The more I looked at her, the more adorable she seemed. I felt the urge to kiss her right then, but I held it back once again.
"First, what do we do with him?"
"Leave that to me."
At my words, Yee Woo-jin stepped forward.
"No matter how pathetic he looks now, he's still the heir of the Seo family. We can't kill him. But we can certainly use this incident to demand answers from them."
His voice was cold. He had no intention of letting the insult to his family slide.
"You're angry too, but my daughter already punished him as your friend. Could you yield the rest to us?"
Even while speaking, he sought my permission, worried I might feel slighted if he decided Seo Moon-hyun's fate without me. At the same time, he was clearly maneuvering to secure practical benefits for his family. I nodded.
"I'll allow it, for Eun-chae's sake."
My desire for her had only grown stronger, and showing the Yee family that I was willing to make concessions for her would work in my favor.
"Thank you."
Yee Woo-jin smiled with satisfaction, now holding the right to dispose of Seo Moon-hyun.
"Then for now, he won't die, but we'll leave him exactly as he is until the Seo family responds."
Still furious over the insult to his daughter, he planned to withhold treatment and let Seo Moon-hyun suffer until a reply arrived. While he always put family interests first, he was not without pride in his talented daughter. Insulting her was the same as insulting the entire Yee family, so he intended to make Seo Moon-hyun endure a little more pain.
"Since everything happened right in front of the main gate, we already have plenty of evidence. They won't be able to deny it. You two go inside and rest. We can't keep troubling our guest any longer."
His words carried a hidden meaning. On the surface he was simply offering to handle the aftermath, but sending Yee Eun-chae in with me suggested he expected—perhaps even hoped—that I would make a move on her. Even while valuing family honor above all, he remained a man who kept his promises.
This type is easy to read, which makes things convenient.
He loved his daughter, yet placed the family's interests and honor above everything. That was why Yee Eun-chae had never been able to open her heart to her family and had instead longed for friends at the academy.
* * *
Damn it.
Lying on the ground, Seo Moon-hyun felt far more wronged by his situation than the pain ravaging his body.
Eun-chae, how could you do this to me—your friend? And how can the Yee family just stand by and allow something so unfair?