Invitation
Even after Jegal Yun left, Cheongha’s complexion still hadn’t improved much.
She seemed troubled by the fact that her mood had dragged down the whole group, and even the way she forced herself to act bright only made her look more pitiful.
Ridiculously kind, as always.
“Why don’t we call it a day and get some rest?”
“No, I’m fine! Next we should—”
“I’m too full to move any more.”
“Mm, and Sae’s expression doesn’t look great either.”
No, I was trying to put it nicely.
Before I could even scold Dokgo Ryeon for her blunt, tactless remark, Cheongha apologized in a tiny, trembling voice.
In the end, our sightseeing ended early that day, and the group returned to the inn and scattered to our own rooms.
The next morning, thankfully, Cheongha looked much better.
She wasn’t quite as giddy as when we had first arrived in Yangyang, but the gloom from the night before was gone.
“What are we eating for lunch today?”
“We just ate breakfast.”
“I like to look forward to things in advance.”
So we wandered the streets of Yangyang again, resuming our little tour.
There were fewer than four days left in this free sightseeing window.
Maybe because the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly was drawing near, the streets were even livelier than they had been yesterday.
What stood out most was the bustle of people in blue clothing moving briskly through the city.
“Those are the same clothes we saw yesterday. Are they people from the Jegal Clan?”
“Looks like it. They’re probably checking the formation.”
“Formation?”
“This is the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, after all. Since no one knows what might happen, our clan seems to be taking extra care with the preparations.”
Cheongha said it calmly, watching the Jegal Clan members carve something into the walls and floors of the buildings.
The Jegal Clan—of course it was formations.
Come to think of it, I’d never actually seen a formation in Murim before.
“I see….”
Would it feel like a magic circle, the way I knew them?
Were formations that used people as tactics different from the ones they were checking now?
If the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly was being hosted by the Jegal Clan, then wouldn’t a damaged formation be a classic setup for the protagonist to notice?
They were handling it properly, right?
Curious, I stared at the people engraving the formation into the building.
“Is something the matter? Did you spot a problem?”
“Hm? No.”
Cheongha turned to look at me, puzzled.
Only then did I realize I’d stopped walking, so absorbed in watching them that I’d frozen in place.
Embarrassed at having drawn attention to myself for no reason, I tossed out the first excuse that came to mind.
“Just a feeling, I guess.”
A vague, meaningful little line.
That way, I could make it seem like I’d noticed something no one else had, something worth wondering over.
Just as planned, Cheongha tilted her head and stared hard in the direction I’d been looking.
“Unnie, do you know a lot about formations too?”
Cheongha was the type to take me far too literally, so she really did seem to think I’d discovered something.
In the end, she really was blood of the Jegal Clan.
Was formation theory that interesting a topic? Before I knew it, her eyes had gone bright and eager, and she was waiting for me to answer.
If I kept this up, she’d probably start asking some truly difficult question about formations.
“Come on.”
I just smiled and hurried past her, taking the lead.
Since I was walking in front, we naturally drifted toward a busier part of the city.
In a broad, square-like open area stood a stone stage.
Apparently this was where the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly would be held.
People clustered in little groups, chatting or busily preparing something, the whole place humming with activity.
“There’s no place for mere spectators to get in here.”
The mood was too hectic for us to do much, so we were about to quietly move elsewhere.
But then a man who had been directing people from afar spotted us and hurried over.
“Cheongha?”
He was dressed in the same splendid blue silk as Jegal Yun, but the bearing he carried was entirely different.
Unlike yesterday, the man who recognized Cheongha was smiling warmly, waving to her with genuine delight.
Almost reflexively, I checked Cheongha’s face.
Fortunately, unlike yesterday, she was smiling back brightly as well.
“Older brother.”
“I heard you’d returned to Yangyang, yet you didn’t even come greet your elder brother.”
He closed the distance in a few strides and pulled her into a firm embrace.
Cheongha looked a little flustered, but not exactly unhappy.
“B-Brother, there are people watching.”
“And since when does anyone look poorly on a brother embracing the younger sister he hasn’t seen in ages? You worry too much.”
If you had a younger sibling who’d run off and gone silent for ages, of course you’d be glad to see them again.
That’s family.
Watching their reunion with a soft smile, I felt strangely warmed.
Maybe the Jegal Clan wasn’t just a nest of schemers and rotten bastards after all.
I’d almost let the way Cheongha spoke of them, and the conduct of the second son I’d seen yesterday, warp my judgment.
That’s why first impressions mattered so much.
“You must have had a hard time. Your complexion looks a little off, so I’ve been worried. And why didn’t you send word home?”
“I didn’t have anything to say. And I’m sure you’ve been busy too, Brother.”
“I always have time to think of you. And these are…?”
After sharing a warm exchange with Cheongha, the man turned his attention to us.
“These are the companions I’m traveling with. This is Song Hyeon unnie, and this is Dokgo Ryeon unnie.”
“I’m Song Hyeon. I’m traveling with Cheongha.”
“Dokgo Ryeon.”
“Song Hyeon-sojourner and Dokgo Ryeon-sojourner.”
He repeated our names under his breath for a moment, then bowed politely.
“I’m Jegal Hyeon, the young master of the Jegal Clan. It seems my younger sister has been in your care.”
“It’s nothing. If anything, we’ve been the ones receiving help.”
With a gentle smile, he introduced himself in a courteous tone.
Excellent.
That’s how a young master of a prestigious clan should be.
Polite. Serious. Composed.
He was as different from Jegal Yun as heaven was from earth.
At last, I’d met a proper noble young master, and I felt weirdly pleased by it.
After a few more exchanges, I realized Jegal Hyeon kept looking at me intently.
When the silence began to feel awkward even to me, I tossed out a light joke to ease the atmosphere.
“Jegal Hyeon, huh. We’ve got the same name?”
It was only meant to break the tension, but my words apparently surprised him.
“If it isn’t rude of me to ask, may I inquire which character you use?”
“Of course. It’s the character for virtue—.”
“Then it really is the same.”
His eyes brightened, and he started staring at me again.
What’s with him?
Was I going to get charmed by one line again?
I’d underestimated just how devastating this face was.
I really should’ve been more careful with lines that could be mistaken for flirting.
Uncomfortable under his gaze, I took a half-step back and changed the subject.
“By the way, aren’t you busy?”
Luckily, whether he failed to notice my subtle recoil or simply pretended not to, he smiled and answered easily.
“Yes, I am. I’m in the middle of important preparations for the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, so I’m afraid I can’t chat long. But there will be dinner at our residence tonight. If you’d like, would you come with my younger sister?”
The invitation itself wasn’t bad, but was it really all right to just follow him back to the clan estate so suddenly?
I glanced sideways at Cheongha.
She, too, looked troubled, fidgeting with her hair.
Jegal Hyeon seemed to notice our hesitation, and he spoke to Cheongha in a gentle voice.
“It’s fine. I’ll explain everything to Father myself. You didn’t seriously think you could come all the way to Yangyang and leave again without even saying hello, did you?”
“Well… no, but—”
As Cheongha wavered, Jegal Hyeon kindly patted her shoulder and turned away.
“Don’t worry. I’ll see you tonight, then.”
He returned to his subordinates and resumed overseeing the formation inspection.
…And he never actually waited for an answer.
Polite, yes, but stubborn as hell. The older and younger brother were the same that way.
“Is it really all right?”
I asked, looking at Cheongha, and she gave a small nod.
“Then I suppose it can’t be helped. Since we’re in Yangyang, meeting the local power players isn’t such a bad thing. Right, Ryeon?”
Wanting to lighten Cheongha’s mood, I turned to Dokgo Ryeon, who’d been quietly silent until now, and tossed her a casual remark.
She usually followed my lead without complaint, but she was still part of our group, so I ought to hear her opinion too.
But she didn’t seem to be paying the slightest attention to us.
Her eyes were fixed sharply, silently, on the movements of the Jegal Clan members checking the formation.
“Ryeon?”
“That’s strange.”
She tilted her head, then spoke.
“It feels as though something strange has been mixed into it.”
“Hm?”
Our self-proclaimed Heavenly Demon had apparently started some new little game. Was this her turn as a formation expert now?
At Dokgo Ryeon’s reaction, Cheongha also began studying the formation.
After a long look, her eyes narrowed.
“She’s right. If you don’t look closely, you’d never notice. It’s subtly different from the Jegal family’s usual style.”
“Right? It’s not a normal approach.”
The two of them fell into serious expressions, talking about something I couldn’t follow.
They really did coordinate beautifully whenever they were trying to leave me out.
“How does it look to you, unnie?”
“Hm? Well… it does seem a little artificial.”
Cheongha suddenly turned her arrows toward me, so I answered with a careless shrug.
I could’ve just said I didn’t know, but lately the two of them had been making me feel a bit left out, and that made me stubborn.
You’re the bad ones here.
It’s not because I have the moral fiber of a rotten sesame seed!
“I knew it. You noticed at a glance, didn’t you? That’s why earlier….”
Cheongha’s voice had reached the point where I couldn’t tell whether she was being sincere or just acting as her eyes sparkled at me again.
“Well, something like that.”
I couldn’t quite call it a lie with those eyes on me, so I averted my gaze.
No matter what else, I just couldn’t meet Cheongha’s eyes like that; my conscience started pricking me.
When I looked away, I saw Dokgo Ryeon still examining the formation beside us.
It didn’t seem like this was just some random story they’d made up to exclude me after all.
“If it’s wrong, wouldn’t you just say so?”
“It’s just that, if it were only a change in method that I didn’t notice, that would be troublesome.”
“Why? Then just say you didn’t know.”
“It’s an unspoken rule to point out formation flaws to members of the Jegal Clan. Setting aside everything else, they’re unbelievably proud of their formations.”
“Even the young master?”
“He’s the worst.”
That guy had seemed so friendly, but apparently not.
So even a noble young master was still a noble young master.
“Then even if we knew, there’s nothing we could do.”
“I suppose not. But it feels wrong somehow, and that makes me worry….”
Cheongha gnawed at the problem with a frustrated little frown, clearly unable to let it go.
Such a good girl.
She’d run away from home claiming she hated the clan, and yet in the end she still worried about them.
Touched by her kind heart, I came to a decision.
The solution was simple.
“Well, if that’s the case, leave it to your unnie.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ve got that dinner invitation tonight anyway. I’ll bring it up.”
“What? No, you can’t. The eldest brother hates being criticized the most….”
“It’ll be fine.”
I said it with complete confidence.
Because your eldest brother had fallen for me at first glance, that’s why.
He’d been staring at me so intently from the moment we met.
I was pretty, after all.
Pride and dignity were things that could bend quite easily in front of a woman you’d already fallen for.
I’d been trying not to use my beauty as a weapon since that time things nearly went disastrously wrong in Black Star, but this was for Cheongha’s sake.
If my sister was worried, then of course I’d roll up my sleeves and handle it.