Promise with Yee Eun-chae
"Jin! Arian!" As we headed toward the cafeteria, a bright voice called out to us. With her black hair shimmering with hints of purple, Yee Eun-chae smiled warmly at Seo Moon-jin and Arian Liberin. Beside her, Yoo Eun-chae walked with her silver hair swaying gently, her posture composed and a soft smile on her lips. When her eyes met Seo Moon-jin's, she blushed shyly.
"Good morning, Eun-chae, Hyun-ah."
"Good morning, Eun-chae, Hyun-ah."
Seo Moon-jin and Arian Liberin greeted them, and both Yee Eun-chae and Yoo Eun-chae smiled back.
"Ah! Jin, Arian. Good morning!"
"Good morning."
After exchanging light morning greetings, the group walked together toward the cafeteria.
"Jin, yesterday's training went really well thanks to you."
"Really? I can feel that you've gotten stronger. It's good that you're making progress. Still, you haven't fully absorbed everything yet, right?"
"Mm! It's embarrassing, but you're right. Even so, I'll do my best and make sure to master it all."
Watching Yee Eun-chae's determined profile as she steeled herself, Seo Moon-jin headed to the cafeteria while also keeping an eye on Lee Se-na and Seo Moon-hyun's situation.
Lee Se-na's really having a hard time.
* * *
Lee Se-na still couldn't believe the attitude Seo Moon-hyun had shown just moments ago.
"Hyun-ah, why did you act like that?"
"What do you mean?"
Seeing that Seo Moon-hyun had no idea what he'd done wrong, Lee Se-na decided to speak plainly. If she tried to soften her words or beat around the bush, he probably wouldn't understand until the very end.
"I'm talking about what you said earlier. I only baked another batch of cookies as a thank-you gift because Seo Moon-jin saved me on Monday… Why did you get so angry?"
Lee Se-na genuinely couldn't understand. Seo Moon-jin and Seo Moon-hyun hadn't had any direct interaction yesterday. She knew Seo Moon-hyun harbored a sense of rivalry toward Seo Moon-jin, and that it bordered on inferiority complex if viewed negatively, but was it really something worth this level of fury?
This isn't something to get angry about.
No matter how much she thought about it, the answer was clear.
"Se-na. From now on, don't get close to Seo Moon-jin. In fact, don't even acknowledge him."
At Lee Se-na's words, Seo Moon-hyun responded with a sharp edge. Realizing that his hostility ran deeper than mere rivalry or inferiority, Lee Se-na looked at him in surprise.
"Hyun-ah?"
"That guy is someone I can never forgive, so don't associate with him."
Lee Se-na was even more confused by Seo Moon-hyun's words. Someone he could never forgive?
"Hyun-ah, what exactly happened? What did he do to you?"
Lee Se-na wondered if this might be connected to the reactions Seo Moon-jin and Seo Moon-min-hye had shown toward Seo Moon-hyun. She held a faint hope that Seo Moon-hyun might know something, but his next words exceeded her expectations.
"That bastard tried to drive a wedge between me and my friends. Arian, Eun-chae, and Hyun-ah all fell for his manipulation and betrayed me to side with him. They even went to his house together yesterday! Min-hye saw it too, right? I'm sure he pulled some trick on Min-hye as well!"
Lee Se-na doubted her own ears at Seo Moon-hyun's words.
"Hyun-ah. When were Princess Arian Liberin, Yee Eun-chae, and Yoo Eun-chae ever your friends?"
"We've been friends since the start of the semester! What are you even saying right now? Have you fallen for Seo Moon-jin's manipulation too?"
Lee Se-na felt that Seo Moon-hyun wasn't in his right mind. She had thought he was improving yesterday, but why had his symptoms worsened to this extent?
"Hyun-ah. Those people never considered you a friend, and they've never been close to you. In the first week, you only had a few sparring matches with them, that's all."
"No, we were friends. We really were."
At Seo Moon-hyun's stubborn insistence, Lee Se-na grew genuinely worried that something was wrong with him. She even seriously considered whether he might have been cursed and was suffering from mental issues.
"Hyun-ah, why do you think you were friends with them?"
Lee Se-na believed she couldn't let Seo Moon-hyun's distorted thinking slide. As his childhood friend, she felt it was her duty to help him when he was straying down the wrong path.
However, Seo Moon-hyun glared at her with eyes full of betrayal.
"Se-na, how can you say that? Even if they betrayed me, why weren't they my friends?"
Lee Se-na realized that communication with Seo Moon-hyun was impossible.
"Hyun-ah, you only sparred with them. Does that mean everyone you've sparred with becomes your friend? No. You were just acquaintances with those three."
"No, no. Se-na, snap out of it. You've fallen for Seo Moon-jin's tricks right now!"
Madness flickered in Seo Moon-hyun's eyes.
"Just like those women who betrayed me and went to his house to do lewd things, you've clearly been tricked by him too."
Startled by Seo Moon-hyun's words, Lee Se-na glanced around. His statement had crossed a serious line. If anyone had overheard, it could have caused a major uproar.
"Hyun-ah. Who exactly is Seo Moon-jin that you're reacting so excessively? You're acting really strange right now. Strange."
"No, you're the strange one, Se-na. You're siding with him instead of me right now. Doesn't it seem odd that even Min-hye shows hostility toward her own brother?"
"Hyun-ah, he saved me. Are you forgetting that?"
"I told you, no. That bastard definitely pulled some trick. He must have taken the top spot through some vile and dirty method. I'm certain of it."
As he spoke, Seo Moon-hyun completely ignored Lee Se-na's words and continued pushing his unreasonable claims. Watching him, Lee Se-na resolved to do her best as his friend to help him regain his senses, but at the same time, the deep trust she had held for Seo Moon-hyun was slowly crumbling in her heart.
I need to find out exactly what happened to Hyun-ah.
She decided to look into Seo Moon-jin in more detail. Not just Seo Moon-jin, but also Seo Moon-hyun's past before she met him. Even though Seo Moon-hyun was acting strangely now, as his childhood friend, she intended to do everything she could to help him recover and return to his former self. If a friend was going astray, it was a friend's duty to correct them and stay by their side.
* * *
Seated in the cafeteria, Seo Moon-jin began eating early while keeping his senses alert to Lee Se-na and Seo Moon-hyun's location.
Seo Moon-hyun seems to be slowly realizing it too.
Seo Moon-hyun was simply refusing to acknowledge it himself, denying and rejecting the possibility. Deep down, he was gradually coming to terms with the high likelihood that Seo Moon-jin was his real older brother. His subconscious, which had already imagined that Yee Eun-chae and Yoo Eun-chae had gone to Seo Moon-jin's residence yesterday to have sex with him, was probably filled with such delusions right now.
In his mind, his older brother Seo Moon-jin, who was supposedly expelled rather than leaving of his own accord, has shamelessly returned to the family, caused a scene, and stolen his position as the next head of the household. That's the kind of delusion he's having.
If Seo Moon-hyun had been winning easily and living comfortably, he might have continued hiding his twisted nature behind a model facade. But Seo Moon-jin's mere existence was forcing him to reveal his ugly true self, and now even Lee Se-na's willingness to understand him would gradually fade.
"Jin."
Yee Eun-chae, sitting across from him, suddenly called his name while eating.
"What is it, Eun-chae?"
"Did… did my family contact you again yesterday?"
Yee Eun-chae was worried that the Yee family might have reached out to him again. Seo Moon-jin reassured her.
"No contact. If they do reach out, I'll let you know right away."
"…Understood. Jin, because of what you said yesterday, I won't apologize. Instead, I'll say thank you."
Yee Eun-chae smiled slightly and thanked him.
"You remember what you said about fulfilling any request of mine as long as it's not unreasonable, right?"
"Haha… I hope you won't tease me again."
At Yee Eun-chae's mention of yesterday's marriage conversation, Seo Moon-jin nodded.
"Got it."
After breakfast ended and classes began, Seo Moon-hyun glared at Seo Moon-jin but, surprisingly, didn't take any direct action. However, seeing Lee Se-na's troubled expression confirmed that her feelings toward Seo Moon-hyun were beginning to shift, which satisfied Seo Moon-jin.
Now isn't the time to act rashly, but…
Soon enough, the moment would come when he could show Lee Se-na Seo Moon-hyun's true nature. As theory and practical classes repeated, lunchtime arrived, and a report from Baalzebul reached Seo Moon-jin.
"My lord, the Yee family has not made an official request yet, but they are expected to take some action this weekend."
Shortly after Baalzebul's report, a notification sound came from Yee Eun-chae's phone indicating a message had arrived.
The Yee family really is in a hurry.