The Brat's Fiancée
"So, where are we going…?"
Walking hand in hand was nice, but no matter how I looked at it, Dang So-ye's steps were not headed toward home.
In response to my question, Dang So-ye answered as if to ask what I was even talking about.
"Well, of course we're going out to have fun. Did you really think a man and a woman would just hold hands and do nothing?"
"That's…"
Her words stung a corner of my chest for no good reason.
Anyway, to hastily put together a date course for this not-quite-a-date, I rested my chin on my hand and began to think.
*'Where should I go? It's not like there are karaoke bars in this era, and there probably aren't cafés or movie theaters either…'*
As if she had peeked into my tangled thoughts, So-ye took the hand I had been resting my chin on and spoke.
"You don't have to be so troubled. You don't know where to go, do you?"
"That's…"
"You don't need to apologize. This all happened so suddenly, after all."
"Miss…"
"Call me So-ye. 'Miss' makes it feel like there's too much distance between us."
"Understood…"
"Anyway! Today I'll be your guide. Believe it or not, I did my research before coming."
It was strange that So-ye had prepared a date course in my neighborhood, but for now I decided to just do as she said.
Just as she'd said, there wasn't a single place I could think of to take her.
Obediently led by So-ye's hand, the first place we arrived at was the market.
Before I could even wonder why she had brought me here, So-ye headed toward a shop and opened her mouth.
"Ma'am! Two tanghulu, please!"
"Yes~."
"Gaga! Here, here!!"
The place So-ye stopped at was a small tanghulu stall.
Having ordered the tanghulu with practiced ease, So-ye beckoned to me.
"Come on, Gaga!"
"Do you like this sort of thing?"
I approached the urging So-ye and asked, and she glanced around before answering.
"Don't you like this sort of thing, Gaga?"
"I mean, I do like it, but…"
"Is it unexpected?"
"Yes."
Seemingly satisfied with my honest answer, So-ye smiled and replied.
"Just because someone's from a prestigious family doesn't mean they have to only like fancy food, does it?"
"That's true, but…"
"And you, Gaga, don't really suit this kind of food either, you know?"
"You think so…? I've never really thought of myself as looking particularly refined…"
"Really? With that face…?"
"…"
When I nodded silently, Dang So-ye looked at me with an expression of disbelief.
In a way, her reaction was only natural.
Jin Mu-won might have had terrible conduct, but in appearance alone, he was handsome enough to form a perfectly matching pair with Dang So-ye, who was called The First Beauty of Sichuan.
It was just that, since I identified myself more with reality than with Jin Mu-won, it was a problem by my own standards.
"Don't say that anywhere else."
"I know…"
"Two tanghulu, here you g— Eek! Jin Mu-won!!"
The clerk who had come out with the tanghulu saw my face and toppled over in shock.
Fortunately, So-ye, who was beside me, snatched the flying tanghulu out of the air at an invisible speed, so there was no secondary damage.
"As you can see, his usual behavior is such a mess that no one has the leisure to look at his face."
"Seeing this, that does seem to make sense."
After paying the fallen shopkeeper for the tanghulu and for mental damages (?), Dang So-ye handed me one of the tanghulu she was holding.
"Here!"
"Wasn't that the one you were going to eat?"
"It was the one I was going to eat. Together with you, Gaga! Or do you not like tanghulu?"
"It's not that I dislike it… it's just my first time eating it…"
"Really? Tanghulu…?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll be your first experience, Gaga."
I didn't answer her.
And for good reason—at the word "first experience," So-ye was looking at me with a mischievous smile.
Judging that things might escalate if I let it continue, I changed the subject.
"Let's go. We're going to eat other things too, right?"
"You just changed the subject."
She's not letting me off the hook…
"I wonder?"
"You did! You changed the subject!"
"I didn't."
"Hey! You just slipped up, didn't you?"
"I didn't."
"You did, you're still doing it right now?"
"How old are you, So-ye?"
"You don't even know your fiancée's age?"
"I didn't even know I had a fiancée until today."
"…"
At my words, So-ye's face hardened for the first time.
"Really?"
"Yeah…"
"…"
Her expression was growing more and more serious, and it seemed like things wouldn't end well if I left it alone, so I opened my mouth.
"No, that's…"
"You don't need to make excuses. It's not your fault you weren't told in advance."
"Even so…"
"Fourteen… I'm fourteen. Now you must never forget that."
"Got it. I'll never forget."
It seemed like if I teased her any more, she'd genuinely get upset, so I answered her seriously too.
Perhaps still not over her anger, So-ye turned her head away from me, but she didn't let go of my hand until the very end as she led me along.
Thanks to So-ye, who had been chattering away, turning her head and shutting her mouth, I had some leeway, and as I looked around, I noticed that at some point the gazes of those around us had focused on us.
With Jin Mu-won's body, just walking down the street drew attention, so it wasn't as if I hadn't expected it—but the gazes directed at me were very different from usual.
To be precise, the attention was concentrated on So-ye, who was walking beside me.
*'Well, So-ye is pretty.'*
She was a beauty who even bore the epithet "The First Beauty of Sichuan," so this kind of reaction was only natural.
*'Come to think of it, in novels, whenever you walk the streets with a beauty like this, at least one or two guys always show up to pick a fight…'*
As if I'd become the protagonist of a novel myself.
"Miss, over there!"
Exactly like this…
When I turned my head, a rather dashing-looking man had stopped So-ye and me.
*'A scabbard at his waist… a martial artist?'*
While I was on guard and assessing the man, So-ye responded to his call.
"Is something the matter?"
"It's nothing much—I simply saw that the young lady appeared to be in danger, and so I took the liberty of speaking to you."
"Me?"
"Yes, you, young lady."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
Hearing the man's words, So-ye questioned him with an expression that said, *Surely not.*
At that, the man directed a vile smirk at me and answered So-ye.
"I'm saying that the man by your side is dangerous. If by any chance you are being threatened…"
"That is entirely not the case, so please mind your own business and be on your way."
"Just a moment."
So-ye, who seemed somewhat angry, suppressed her emotions as much as she could and addressed the man—but whether he lacked tact or simply couldn't read the situation, he kept talking.
"It seems the young lady doesn't yet know much about that man. That fellow is…"
And then came the stream of slander about me.
The worse the slander about me became, the more I wanted to flee the scene right then and there.
Honestly, since Jin Mu-won had done those things, the man's criticism didn't bother me at all.
It was because of So-ye, who was beside me, that I wanted to run from this place.
Because…
*'I'm screwed. I'm screwed. This is really, seriously pissing her off.'*
I could tell without being told.
That So-ye, who had never once gotten angry, was angrier than ever before…
*'S-So… my hand hurts…'*
She was gripping it so hard that our joined hands were starting to hurt.
So hard that if it had been an ordinary person who hadn't learned martial arts, they would have collapsed on the spot and screamed.
Emotion had vanished from So-ye's face.
But I, standing right beside her, saw it.
The way her teeth were grinding inside her mouth, which had opened and closed ever so slightly…
"That's the kind of man he is. The man whose hand you are holding right now, young lady, so please hurry and leave such a scoundrel behind and…"
"You've said everything you wanted to say, haven't you? Then we'll be going now…"
"No, what did you take my words to mean? That man is…"
"Ah, seriously…"
Unable to hold back her anger, So-ye released our joined hands and walked toward the man.
"That's right. Don't worry. I'll make sure that bastard never lays a hand on you again…"
—*Smack!*
Before the man could finish speaking, So-ye slapped him across the face.
While everyone there, including me, was stunned by the sudden turn of events, it was none other than So-ye who broke the silence.
"I would appreciate it if you never slander my fiancé in front of me again. Otherwise, the next time will not be this mild."
At her words, the previously quiet scene erupted into a great commotion.
Some talked about the engagement between So-ye and me, others about So-ye herself, and still others mocked the man who had been slapped…
The man, perhaps still unable to face reality, only clutched his slapped cheek and muttered something.
"Let's go, Gaga."
But So-ye, as if she couldn't care less about any of it, took my hand and tried to leave the scene.
However, the man who had been slapped stopped us.
"Stop. Jin Mu-won, you bastard! So you've finally laid your hands on sorcery!! How else could that young lady!!"
"You…!!"
"Yes, that must be it—how else could a woman like her be at your side!"
Whether So-ye got angry or not, the man poured his rage out at me.
He was already a lost cause.
No words would reach a man so consumed by his emotions.
It looked a little pathetic, but at the same time I felt some sympathy for him.
Just what on earth had Jin Mu-won… what was I, that he would go this far for me… It was gratifying, yet it also left a bitter taste.
"Yes… it's all your fault. If I just kill you, she'll return to normal too. Draw your sword, Jin Mu-won."
"…"
"Surely you're not thinking of running away? No, you're exactly the kind of bastard who would—do you think I'd let you escape!!"
—*Kwaang!*
The man who had been spewing his absurd logic all on his own finally lost all reason and lunged at me.
*'Damn!'*
His attack was faster and stronger than I had expected, and my response was late.
And so, in the moment when I was about to take his sword head-on, So-ye moved.
"I told you, didn't I? That the next time wouldn't be this mild…"
—*Kwaaaang!*
With a massive explosion, the scene was engulfed in a whirlwind of sand.
And when the sandstorm cleared, the man was there beneath So-ye's feet, coughing up blood.
I had forgotten.
That she was the person who had once stood head-on against the protagonist in the middle of the story.
I made a vow.
That I would never, ever get on her bad side…