Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Blazing Like a Piercing Flame
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Jin Sohye had boldly declared "my man," but now she gazed at Baek Moo-jin with wide, round eyes. It was a look seeking confirmation from him.
'Right?'
Yi Mongyeom looked at Baek Moo-jin as well. But the meaning in his eyes was utterly different from hers.
'Is it true?'
Baek Moo-jin usually kept a perfectly expressionless face, but Jin Sohye's frank and brazen words brought a faint smile to his lips right away. Yi Mongyeom's awkward expression only made him want to grin more. Still, with Yi Mongyeom watching, it felt awkward to laugh outright.
Baek Moo-jin deliberately schooled his features into a serious look and let his playful side loose.
"I wouldn't know about that."
For a moment, Baek Moo-jin flinched, half-convinced that flames had actually sparked in Jin Sohye's eyes.
'Whoa, what the hell. Her gaze just flipped.'
Yi Mongyeom shot Baek Moo-jin a look that said I knew it, and Baek Moo-jin replied in a flat but unmistakable tone.
"The Little Palace Lord is my woman."
"This guy really..."
Yi Mongyeom stared at Baek Moo-jin in utter disbelief, while Baek Moo-jin and Jin Sohye locked eyes and burst into laughter. With a heavy sigh, Yi Mongyeom said,
"Are you two making fun of me right now?"
"Not at all."
"No way."
Yi Mongyeom's voice began in a very low register before rising into a near shout.
"When exactly did you two meet? Huh?"
"Not long ago."
"Not long... Then when did things turn into this? Did you, Patriarch Baek, approach her on purpose knowing she's the Little Palace Lord of Sacred Flame Palace?"
"What?"
As Baek Moo-jin glared at him, Yi Mongyeom hurriedly shifted his gaze to Jin Sohye and raised his voice.
"Little Palace Lord, what exactly do you plan to tell the Palace Lord!"
Jin Sohye glared back at her martial uncle and shot back,
"I'll explain it properly."
Yi Mongyeom suddenly flashed a sly grin and fixed Baek Moo-jin with a piercing stare as he said,
"Are you aware of the marriage proposals?"
Jin Sohye, of all people, scowled at that.
"Marriage proposals?"
"Why pretend you don't know? The one I mentioned last time..."
Jin Sohye made no effort to hide her irritation as she replied,
"Marriage proposals can just be canceled. How can you act like it's a done deal when we haven't even met? What kind of nonsense is that?"
Yi Mongyeom shook his head.
"It's not someone you can dismiss so lightly."
"Where was it again? I heard it happened while I was away."
"This isn't the place to discuss it."
Jin Sohye racked her brain at those words, and her face hardened. Deciding to clue Baek Moo-jin in on purpose, she voiced her suspicions.
"The fact that you can't speak of it outright means it's one of the Nine Heavens. A faction aligned with Nine Heavens floated the marriage idea as a condition for withdrawing from there, right? Father's scheme to topple Nine Heavens using my marriage isn't right. Using my marriage for a place like that. And Nine Heavens with Sacred Flame Palace..."
She nearly said they weren't a match in stature but clamped her mouth shut on her own. It was obvious talk of Snow Mountain Baek Family would come up next.
Yi Mongyeom held his tongue because of Baek Moo-jin. This was about Sacred Flame Palace's future direction—no need airing details in front of an outsider.
But Baek Moo-jin could read from Yi Mongyeom's demeanor that Jin Sohye's guess had landed close to the mark.
'Martial uncle's dropping some good intel.'
Baek Moo-jin had already resolved not to let Jin Sohye's circumstances sway him anyway. Whatever the martial uncle blabbed, he was content with the Nine Heavens Alliance info he'd gleaned.
As the talk kept souring thanks to Yi Mongyeom, Jin Sohye rose to her feet and said,
"Patriarch Baek and I need to head back soon, so I'll walk him out for a bit. You stay here, Martial Uncle."
Baek Moo-jin nodded and told Yi Mongyeom,
"Until next time."
Yi Mongyeom's response was lukewarm at best.
"Safe travels."
2.
The pair only began conversing once they'd reached a path free of Sacred Flame Palace warriors.
"Don't pay any mind to him. Martial Uncle's words. I'm not interested."
"Yeah."
Baek Moo-jin nodded. Truth be told, he had zero cares. Nine Heavens, Five Great Families, South Martial Forest—who gave a damn?
But when Jin Sohye saw his indifferent nod, she abruptly tossed out the exact opposite question.
"You really don't care?"
Baek Moo-jin blinked in bewilderment.
'What the...? She just told me not to mind, and now she's asking if I don't?'
A woman's heart was often a mystery even to herself—how was Baek Moo-jin supposed to figure it out? All the same, he knew this was the moment to soothe her.
Baek Moo-jin pivoted the topic.
"So, what should I call you now? Just Sohye?"
"Yes. Or no?"
"What? 'Yes, no' what."
"Call me Hyea. That's what family uses."
"Got it."
Sohye, Hyea—what difference did it make? In any case, Baek Moo-jin nodded.
"Alright. And handle the Nine Heavens business well."
"Handle it well how?"
Baek Moo-jin replied with deadpan coolness.
"So it doesn't clash with me, y'know. I might just go smash the whole place up."
After blurting that out, Baek Moo-jin desperately wanted to smack his own forehead. He'd tried being bold for her sake for once, and Jin Sohye cracked up laughing.
"You can say stuff like that too, huh?"
Baek Moo-jin barely suppressed a sigh. Thank goodness no one was eavesdropping. Having gauged her reaction, he nodded like some great realization had dawned.
'Hm, so this is how you talk to her. But doing it every time? Nah, gives me the chills... Still, gotta say the words.'
Self-recrimination or not, Jin Sohye bobbed her head happily in response.
"Got it. I'll make sure it's handled right."
Baek Moo-jin suddenly fixed her with a stare and said,
"Sohye, listen up."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Don't ever doubt me."
"When have I?"
Jin Sohye came off bold as brass around others, but with Baek Moo-jin broaching the subject so gravely, even she looked properly tense. He kept up the solemn mood and spoke earnestly.
"Believe in me."
Sensing she might be taking it half-heartedly, Baek Moo-jin cupped both her cheeks in his hands and locked eyes with her.
"Believe. No matter what happens down the line. I'm dead serious. Got it?"
Jin Sohye went quiet for a beat, then met his gaze and finally nodded.
"Yes."
Baek Moo-jin nodded back.
'She gets it.'
It was a secluded roadside. Suddenly, Jin Sohye glanced around before lunging forward to wrap her arms tight around Baek Moo-jin's waist.
Even as he jolted in shock, Baek Moo-jin let out a yelp like some doddering elder.
"Whoa! What... why? Why? Why!"
Still clinging, she tilted her head up to peer at him. If anything, it only made Baek Moo-jin more embarrassed. He couldn't quite voice what was running through his head.
'Her personality's way too fiery. Surely not every woman in the world is like this?'
Of course, women like her were one in a million. Baek Moo-jin just didn't know it. If anything, his fluster was the perfectly normal reaction.
Gazing up at him, Jin Sohye planted a light kiss. But she clearly had no intention of keeping it light. Baek Moo-jin tried to step back only to get held fast, barely weathering her relentless assault. Worst of all, the embarrassingly loud smacking sounds echoing in his ears left him on the verge of passing out.
'Please... enough already!'
Before they knew it, the solitary moon drifting across the sky gazed down at the pair in silence. Only after Jin Sohye finally called off her barrage of kisses did Baek Moo-jin—nearly suffocated—drop his gaze to the ground and gasp for air. For him, it was the most grueling moment since descending the mountain.
On that quiet moonlit night, Sun and Moon's farewell proved remarkably rowdy.
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