Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Unexpected Counseling
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Only then did Im Chun-sam seem to realize the tremendous foolishness he'd committed, asking in a choked-up voice.
“W-What should I, I do then?”
What should he do.
There was only one answer.
“Go find your wife and tell her everything about the great hero's feelings. Hold nothing back.”
“W-Will that be enough?”
“Of course not. She’ll probably be furious. You’ll have to work hard to calm her anger.”
Hearing Hwayeon’s words, Im Chun-sam looked as if he’d made up his mind, his expression turning resolute as he stood up from his seat.
“…A-All right. I-I’ll go tell her right now.”
With that, Im Chun-sam marched straight out of the guest hall.
His strides were bold, as if he were heading into the world’s gravest battle.
Even though he was just going to grovel before his plainspoken wife.
“Hey, you rascal!”
Perhaps worried about his brother, who was highly likely to get an earful of abuse, Im Chun-il hurriedly chased after him.
And so, Goon Ja-seong’s counseling service was able to close up shop for the day.
…Hopefully it never opens again.
“…How on earth did we end up doing marital counseling?”
“Yeah. With rebellion talk coming up the day after tomorrow, what the hell are we doing?”
I let out a hollow chuckle at Hwayeon’s bewildered voice and shrugged, rolling my stiff neck around.
Ah, I need to get some sleep too.
Couldn’t catch a wink because of those guys.
I smacked my lips bitterly, and Hwayeon, who had been watching me quietly, continued her questions.
“But weren’t you going to pick up Branch Chief Zhuge? Where’s the branch chief, and why did you bring those two instead?”
“Ah, well…”
After rubbing the back of my neck a few times, I briefly explained everything that had happened since going to find Zhuge Geun-yeong up until now.
When she heard about the proposal I’d made to Chief Administrator Zhuge, Hwayeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“…In one day? Is that even possible?”
I smirked at her round eyes and shrugged.
“Well, by my estimate? I’d already been planning bits and pieces in advance.”
“Planning in advance…? You mean all that footwork you were practicing alone?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
I answered Hwayeon’s question with a sly grin.
“I could feel those hot stares on my back while I was training hard.”
“…I was just curious what you were doing.”
She averted her gaze, her response oddly shy.
It was so adorable that my lips refused to stop smiling.
I sidled up next to Hwayeon and whispered.
“…Just curious?”
“W-What do you mean.”
“I mean, were you really just curious? Or did you gaze at me longingly because you wanted to look?”
At my teasing question full of mischief, Hwayeon narrowed her eyes.
“…Why ask when you already know? What’s your angle?”
“Hmm. The angle of wanting to see your shy face? For someone who just advised a guy to be honest with his wife, you sure get embarrassed easily, don’t you?”
I giggled as I teased her, and Hwayeon, who had been glaring with axe-like eyes, replied with feigned nonchalance.
“I looked because I wanted to. Happy now?”
“…Aw, come on. Lame.”
Her straightforward admission deflated my fun.
Hwayeon snorted leisurely at my reaction, then wiped the smile from her face and gazed at me intently.
“…What? Do I have something on my face?”
“Young Master Goon. No, Ja-seong.”
“…!”
The unfamiliar way she addressed me made me flinch involuntarily.
She’d always called me young master, never once by name. Why now?
“W-What…?”
“…Well, calling you Young Master Goon all the time feels too distant, doesn’t it? You call me Hwayeon, so it’s only fair if I call you Ja-seong too.”
I agreed that it felt distant, so I welcomed the change in address.
Just one question, though.
“…So if I call you Lady Ryeon, will you call me Young Master Goon in return?”
At my question loaded with ulterior motives(?), Hwayeon’s face flushed bright red.
“T-That’s… a bit later…”
“Pfft, hahahaha…!”
She lost her composure again, turning adorably shy, and I burst out laughing.
Hearing my laughter, Hwayeon scowled once more and reached out with both hands to grab my head.
What? What’s she planning…? Maybe?
I suddenly recalled the kiss from before meeting the Zhuge family head, wondering if this was leading to a sequel.
But Hwayeon’s next move was a little different from my expectations.
She gently pulled my head toward her and placed it right on her lap.
In other words, she was giving me a lap pillow.
“…Uh, Hwayeon? What’s this?”
“A lap pillow.”
“No, I know that, but…”
What thought process led to this outcome?
I looked up at Hwayeon with an expression full of questions, and her voice came softly, a bit subdued.
“You haven’t slept a wink since last night, have you?”
“…That obvious?”
“Very.”
Her short, weighty immediate reply made me smack my lips.
Hwayeon looked down at me and brushed my hair as she spoke.
“Three hours from now… make that two now. You said you have to meet the branch chief again. Get some rest, even if it’s just a little.”
“…You’re going to let me use your lap for two hours? Won’t that be tiring?”
“I’m a martial artist too. Despite appearances, my internal energy is stronger than yours, Ja-seong.”
I chuckled at Hwayeon’s slightly boastful tone, but a small grumble followed right after.
“I was going to do it earlier, but you kept teasing me, so it got delayed.”
“So you just yanked me over? I was actually hoping for something else.”
“T-That too… later…”
Her voice trailed off meekly.
She must have figured out what I meant.
My giggling didn’t last long; the soft sensation enveloping my head quickly brought on a wave of sleepiness.
“…All right, I’ll crash here for a bit then.”
“Yeah, see you later.”
Feeling Hwayeon’s hand stroking my hair, I gradually drifted off to sleep.
*
“…….”
Hwayeon silently gazed down at Ja-seong, who had fallen asleep in an instant.
He looked so deeply asleep that someone could carry him off without him noticing.
The cold, sharp impression he usually had softened considerably in sleep.
His face even seemed a bit innocent.
Well, come to think of it, he was only twenty.
He was usually so remarkable in every way that it was easy to forget, but at his core, he was a fledgling martial artist who had only recently stepped into the jianghu. It was natural for him to look young.
As those thoughts crossed her mind, Hwayeon continued staring at Ja-seong’s face.
Suddenly, an impulse arose to touch that face.
‘…He won’t wake up, right?’
Seeing his steady breathing in deep slumber, she figured it was fine.
She cautiously lifted her finger and brought it to Ja-seong’s face.
Hwayeon’s slender finger traced along his straight, thick eyebrows.
It moved to the bridge of his nose, followed the sharp line down, and finally reached his lips.
Lips.
The ones I’d kissed this morning.
‘Eek…!’
Recalling that moment, two red flowers bloomed on Hwayeon’s cheeks.
On top of that, her own words from then echoed in her mind.
-…I’m applying saliva in advance, so no looking away, okay?
‘I must’ve been crazy.’
How could she say something like that without any shame…!
Afraid Ja-seong might wake, Hwayeon froze in place, lower body unmoving, flustered beyond words.
Only after a long while did she calm her heart. Still fanning her hot face, she unconsciously touched her own lips.
The sensation from when they’d touched Ja-seong’s lips slowly revived.
If she just listed the facts, it was simply lips briefly touching and parting. Nothing more.
But the thrilling, sweet sensation from that instant was something she’d never experienced in her life.
The impact of her first time must have been huge, because once the feeling revived, it grew clearer and clearer.
At the same time, a single thought surfaced in Hwayeon’s mind.
‘I-I want to try it just one more time… Huh!?’
W-What shameless thought was that?
Covering her flushing face with both hands, Hwayeon agonized over whether she was truly such a lewd woman.
*
“You’re here early?”
“Only one day left, after all. Now we’ve got just nine hours.”
After a refreshing nap on that soft lap pillow, I parted ways with a strangely flushed Hwayeon and returned to Zhuge Geun-yeong’s residence.
And Zhuge Geun-yeong was already waiting for me in the training ground.
Fortunately, having recovered his energy, his eyes now shone with clarity, unlike his earlier wheezing state.
I nodded in satisfaction, but Zhuge Geun-yeong, whose expression was quite stiff, spoke up.
“Now tell me. How exactly am I supposed to beat the chief administrator in one day?”
Instead of answering, I drew my sword.
-Shing
As the low ring echoed and I pointed the drawn blade at him, tension clearly etched itself on Zhuge Geun-yeong’s face.
“Testing my skills first?”
“Yeah, well. There are a few other reasons, but let’s spar once anyway.”
“…Understood.”
Zhuge Geun-yeong nodded at my words and drew his own sword.
The spar that began that way naturally ended in my overwhelming victory.
Zhuge Geun-yeong, unable to emit his internal energy, couldn’t keep up with my speed.
After just three exchanges, seeing my sword at his throat, Zhuge Geun-yeong said with a sigh.
“…I lost.”
It was a spar where no other outcome was possible, and one might think it a pointless endeavor.
But not for me.
Thanks to the spar, I could be certain.
Certain that Zhuge Geun-yeong could master that ‘footwork.’
“I’ve thought this since last time, but your eyes are sharp as ever, Branch Chief.”
Just last night.
Watching him fight the Blood Ghost Squad, I realized he had an eye for the surroundings, regardless of martial skill level.
His field of vision was impressively wide.
Otherwise, there’s no way he could hold out against the Blood Ghost Squad charging en masse with his level of martial arts.
This was confirmed in the spar just now.
A short bout decided in a mere three exchanges.
But through that brief clash, I confirmed Zhuge Geun-yeong’s eyes accurately tracking my footwork and sword trajectory.
He might not grasp the principles like Joo Ho-jeong, but he likely understood the movements themselves.
“Do you know how you lost just now?”
“…You closed in instantly, deflected my downward strike, pressed down on my upward slash, and aimed for my throat.”
As expected, he perfectly understood the events in that single breath’s time.
I nodded with a satisfied smile.
“You saw it perfectly.”
“Ha, but I have no idea how you move at such speed. It felt like wind rising from your soles or something…”