Chapter 143
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Not Doing What's Asked (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Myo Narang was spending calmer and happier days lately than ever before.
All the problems that had plagued her had been neatly resolved in one fell swoop, so it was only natural.
No matter how bright and cheerful one's nature, it's hard to stay positive when the weight of reality crushes your shoulders.
The troubles that had tormented her until last year.
The Black Despair Seed, which was now intertwined with Mirinae’s issues, along with the fundamental problem of Myo Hwaseo’s spiritual power weakening.
The Southern Barbaric Beast Palace had only her as its sole human, yet she still bore the heavy responsibility of caring for all those countless beasts who looked only to her.
And the inevitable loneliness that came with being unable to mingle with people, even with Myo Hwaseo by her side.
But what about now?
The tangled mess of threads had unraveled all at once, to the point where she wondered if everything could really go this smoothly.
On top of that, she no longer had to rely on the name of the Beast Palace, and every time she saw the children looking far happier than they had in Yunnan, Myo Narang felt joy swelling within her too.
And though it was still a bit awkward, she could even feel the warm bond shared between blood relatives.
It was truly a case of turning misfortune into fortune.
A drastic change that had unfolded in just one year—no, a mere two months.
And at the center of that change was Geum Sihyeon.
He had handed over the Heavenly Beast Heart-Returning Art without asking for anything in return, Deciphered and explained those incomprehensible ancient script characters that resembled cursive calligraphy, resolved the Beast Palace's issues, and even reunited her with her father and sister.
How could she not feel grateful toward such a man—and attracted to him on a rational level?
But.
“Huuu……”
As her thoughts turned to Geum Sihyeon, Myo Narang let out a sigh without realizing it.
He was the one who had brought her peace and happiness.
Yet paradoxically, that very happiness came with an undercurrent of anxiety stirred by the man himself.
Naturally, her mind recalled what Myo Hwaseo had told her before.
- He might love many women, but he'll share his love equally among them. So you'd better steel your heart from now on.
Rationally, she understood completely.
Of course she did.
She hadn't been around that many men, but even at the Hundred Flowers Academy, where all the promising young heirs of prestigious families gathered, he stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Of course, plenty of men had approached Myo Narang.
Her refined beauty and her family background that was modest to the point of being in ruins.
……If she evaluated herself coldly, she could even be called the perfect candidate for a concubine. There had indeed been men who approached her with exactly that intent.
But.
Who in the world would willingly settle for second place?
.
.
.
“Sihyeon, you're here? Hehe, how's Narin-unnie?”
“She'll…… be fine, I suppose.”
In an effort to help Geum Sihyeon, who had looked so busy lately, Myo Narang had volunteered to assist with student council duties first.
They exchanged some light chit-chat and reminisced with laughter about the entrance exam from around this time last year.
Scritch-scritch, thump—
But with quite a bit of work piling up, the student council room soon filled with the sounds of brushes on paper and stamps hitting down, preventing any prolonged idle talk.
They weren't particularly important documents, but she still reviewed them meticulously.
Myo Narang glanced up at Geum Sihyeon.
Scritch, thump. Scritch, thump.
Geum Sihyeon was plowing through the mountain of papers at such a speed it made her doubt if he was truly checking them properly.
“Wow……”
“Hm? What?”
“N-nothing!”
Suddenly, Myo Narang felt a little inadequate.
No, no.
Don't think like that……!
She tried to force positive thoughts.
But stray thoughts, once they spring up, tend to scatter freely everywhere, impossible to rein in.
Suddenly.
- Y'know, the other day I was studying with Geum Sihyeon.
She recalled the whisper from her sister Dang Narin, with whom she'd grown much closer lately.
Thanks to Geum Siyu’s sudden antics, her toxic energy had gone berserk again, but Geum Sihyeon’s timely intervention had helped her endure it.
That could happen.
Geum Sihyeon was kind, after all.
But the method he used……
It stirred up just a tiny bit of jealousy—a feeling she definitely shouldn't harbor toward her own sister.
- Everyone has a first time. If you're the first wife, won't you have more say in who comes after?
Just like Myo Hwaseo had said.
Even if, coldly speaking, Myo Narang herself couldn't be Geum Sihyeon’s best match.
At the very least, she wished to be his first.
Overwhelmed by the sudden surge of emotion.
“You smelled Narin's breasts, right?”
Even she herself was shocked by the rather blunt words that tumbled out of her mouth.
But.
Once words are spoken, how can you take them back?
Instead, those words acted as a catalyst, spurring Myo Narang to muster the courage she hadn't fully summoned before.
Yes.
Steel your heart.
Don't be embarrassed, don't tremble.
I'd never expected it—coming from such an unexpected place, such an unexpected question. My train of thought froze for a moment.
“Hm? Sect Leader-nim?”
Drag—
With the sound of the chair scraping, Narang stood up.
“You're the student council president and sect leader now, right?”
And with that incredibly pointed preface, she bent at the waist to pick up the papers I'd dropped.
Of course.
That view visible only when she bends over……
The curves…… the valley between……
The atmosphere demanded some excuse, but that overwhelming mass kept my lips sealed.
The fleeting scenery passed.
Thud.
“How did that even happen?”
As she placed the picked-up papers on my desk, Narang whispered in a soft, coaxing voice.
“W-well, it was……”
I was on the verge of being labeled a lecher who drools at any woman's chest.
I desperately explained the situation at the time, Narin's condition, and how the only angle for emergency treatment had been that one.
“M-medicine is something we studied together. The body's center comes from the heart, so to stabilize the mind, you need to provide reassurance as close to the heart as possible, which helps quickly calm heightened emotions—”
“Aha.”
Narang nodded as if she understood.
But it didn't end there.
“I seeee. So in the future, if other women are struggling, you'll comfort them the same wayyy?”
She switched back to polite speech and her drawn-out endings to pressure me……!
Today, the pressure felt especially intense.
As if she'd been coached by someone else.
Right after sensing that odd vibe, I guiltily averted my gaze from her chest—pretending to bow my head—and looked at Narang's face.
Her earlobes, flushed an unusually deep red, caught my eye.
Like when I'd grilled Dalam about her cheating.
Or when our hands accidentally touched during a meal.
……Similar to the hue I'd seen just before our lips nearly met.
Probably.
She was desperately suppressing her embarrassment.
Come to think of it.
Since that time in Yunnan, we'd both subtly avoided mentioning it……
Of course, things got complicated afterward with the prospective father-in-law, then the year-end exams overlapped, and after returning to Xi'an, I'd been swamped.
That I'd been a bit indecisive—
Pat, pat, pat.
Squish!
“—!”
Indecisive……!
The sudden overwhelming mass and soft sensation blanked my mind with boundless emptiness.
Compared to Narin, the homebody with little external training, this one carried traces of cultivation—firm yet marbled with tenderness, like perfectly mixed muscle and sinew, offering memory-foam stability. Instead of herbal scents, a faintly sweet, sticky body fragrance wafted, enough to fill you up without a single bite of rice—
Stroke, stroke.
“Close to the heart…… does it feel reassuring? I wouldn't know, Sect Leader-nim.”
The gentle hand stroking my head.
The shy tremor in her voice brushing my ear, calmer than her usual clear tone yet quivering slightly……
A massive reaction swelled in my lower body, making movement awkward.
This was……
No localized flare-up.
A sudden declaration of full-scale war!
I, the man Geum Sihyeon.
Though my practical experience totaled zero across past and present lives, I'd studied countless audiovisual materials.
The most appropriate action for me here was, naturally……!
Drag, thud—
“I'm tired…… Sihyeon, are y—”
First, I yanked my head out from the buried treasure at light speed and returned to position.
Then, forcing my rigid neck to turn, I looked toward the student council room door, which I hadn't locked.
“……Geum Sihyeon Prefect, Myo Narang Prefect. What exactly are you two doing right now?”
As the room's temperature dropped about two degrees, Lady Seol's face, radiating chill, came into view.