Chapter 10. That Woman. (2)
From the moment Kang-jun laid eyes on Jang Chul-min that morning, he rapidly synthesized the countless thoughts flashing through his mind. And when he faced him with a wooden sword in hand, he made his decision.
— Meet Jang Hwa-young.
He'd originally planned to push that meeting further back. The gap in their strength was simply too extreme. He'd been avoiding her for the plain reason that she was stronger. It was a pathetic excuse, but in a smut novel where strength was everything, there was no more certain justification.
His calculation that he'd meet Jang Chul-min once group training began hadn't deviated from his original plan. Of course, defeating him and arriving at the Jang family estate had been somewhat impulsive. But he'd never acted recklessly without thinking.
…If only Kang-jun could ride on Jang Hwa-young's coattails right now?
He could guarantee it would be a tremendous help for dungeon life. Personal growth, financial support, even political power—all within reach. …But there was something else that contributed even more to this decision.
'I can maintain the trait's conditions for a long time.'
Jang Hwa-young was the optimal woman for sustaining the conditions of the trait 'If You Pound It Long Enough, It'll Eventually Work'. In theory, it meant he could gain stats equivalent to hers just by having sex with her.
Moreover, they'd had quite a deep connection in the third playthrough. Their personalities, tastes, and overall lifestyles had many similarities. Things had eventually twisted into something slightly weird—like becoming the old man's secret friend—but the core thread of comrades exploring martial arts together never changed.
In other words, Jang Hwa-young was an old friend and comrade to Kang-jun, and…occasionally served as a stand-in lover.
Since she'd already been active in many ways during the third playthrough, the gods immediately went wild at the rice cake situation. Kang-jun quickly calmed them down.
Kang-jun chuckled softly when someone entered the reception room. It was a young woman. He recognized her identity the moment he saw her. Jang Chul-min's only daughter, Jang Hye-yeon.
"Hello, I'm Jang Hye-yeon."
"I'm Lee Kang-jun."
She'd confirmed that the precious guest was a young man, and there was a slight look of surprise. But it didn't show enough to be obvious.
"It seems your father stepped away briefly. He'll be right back."
"Yes."
The conversation awkwardly snapped off. Her tone was polite, but her voice was as cold as a winter wind. Just like her aunt, her temperament was somewhat chilly.
Anyway, Kang-jun waited for Jang Chul-min while drinking the coffee the maid had brought. Jang Hye-yeon sat nearby like a dead mouse. The atmosphere was colder than cold—it was frozen solid.
At that moment, Jang Chul-min was striding toward the reception room with Jang Hwa-young in tow. She, who never took a cigarette out of her mouth for even a second, suddenly stopped dead in front of the reception room. She stared at the door as if trying to see through it. Her younger sister blinked a few times, confused.
"…Noonim?"
Jang Hwa-young twisted the corner of her mouth. Look at this bastard? She'd been underestimating him just a moment ago, but her opinion had shifted.
"How old was this guy again?"
"Twenty-two, noonim. …But aren't you going in?"
"Twenty-two, huh."
She was almost the same age as Hye-yeon. But her mana reserves were on a completely different level. She seemed to be trying to hide it a bit, but her developed qi sense couldn't be fooled.
'You can fool this guy, but you can't fool me.'
Jang Hwa-young chewed the filter between her teeth and shoved the reception room door open with force. Jang Hye-yeon quickly stood to greet her aunt.
"Auntie, you've arrived."
But Jang Hwa-young mercilessly didn't even glance at her niece. She stared intently at the young man who was rising slowly, in stark contrast to Hye-yeon. The cigarette in her mouth had already burned down to the filter.
"I'm Lee Kang-jun."
The handsome young man bowed politely to Jang Hwa-young. She spat the cigarette she'd been holding onto the floor carelessly, put another one in her mouth, lit it with a snap, and drew the smoke in with a long shhhhk.
Jang Hwa-young smoked that cigarette right there until it was completely gone, then tossed the butt on the floor. A strange silence had passed by then. She collapsed into the top seat and crossed her legs out of habit.
"Sit."
The three of them, who had been reading the room, each chose a chair and sat. Kang-jun didn't avoid her gaze—he stared straight back. Shit… there's venom in those eyes. Her mouth twisted.
"I'm Jang Hwa-young."
"I've heard your illustrious name until my ears are worn out."
"Don't flatter me. I don't like pretentious words."
This bitch. She used to say she liked it back in the day. Still, right now Kang-jun was thoroughly in the subordinate position. If she wanted to tear him apart, he'd let her. Whether it was his head or his dick.
"Yes."
A working auntie placed coffee cups and bowls of cookies in front of each of them. But Jang Hwa-young didn't even glance at them.
"I heard you swing a sword a bit."
"I can protect myself to some extent."
"If that's all you could do, this guy wouldn't have brought you to me. Still, even if he lacks skill, he has an eye for it."
Jang Chul-min's mouth poked out slightly at the comment about his skill, then retreated back into his eyes.
"That's my assessment of my current level."
The old woman put another cigarette in her mouth. It was amazing her lungs hadn't rotted out from smoking like that.
"We'll see about that later."
Jang Hwa-young gave a creepy smile. Seeing that smile, Kang-jun felt a chill run down his spine. Then she suddenly told the two women to step aside.
"Both of you, go out for a bit. I have something to talk about with this guy."
Jang Chul-min took his daughter and left the reception room. The moment the door slammed shut behind them, Jang Hwa-young threw a question that struck the vital point without warning.
"You—how did you gather that much mana?"
Kang-jun spoke fluently as if he'd been waiting for this.
"It's my natural constitution."
"Drop the nonsense. Even constitutions have limits."
"My mana channels are larger than most people's. That's helped me a lot."
"…Show me."
Kang-jun closed his eyes right there and began circulating his mana. Jang Hwa-young strained her eyes, watching the flow intently. And she soon confirmed that his words were true. His mana channels were abnormally massive. No—could they really be that big? And the speed was fast too.
She dropped the cigarette from her mouth without realizing it. Even she, who had worked her ass off for forty years, didn't have half the mana channels Kang-jun had. …The problem was that the opponent was just a twenty-two-year-old greenhorn. Even natural talent had to have limits—this was almost unfair.
Jang Hwa-young struggled to hide her shock. She quickly stubbed out the fallen cigarette on the cookie plate.
"That's enough, stop."
Kang-jun stared back at her with a completely unfazed expression. Her head was getting a bit muddled. The situation kept flowing in a direction different from what she'd expected. Suddenly her mouth went dry.
Jang Hwa-young downed her coffee in one long gulp. Then she calmed her mind again. Thanks to years of meditation, her emotional control was remarkably fast.
"Follow me."
She stood up immediately and left the reception room. The mother and daughter waiting outside hurriedly followed the two striding off somewhere. They wondered where they were going, but it was toward the dojo. The four of them soon arrived at the dojo. Inside, Jang Chul-min's disciples were diligently practicing swordsmanship.
Jang Hwa-young looked at them and said something shamelessly.
"All of you, get out."
The moment they heard that, the people poured out of the dojo like a receding tide. It was Jang Hwa-young's word, who ruled over them as a near-divine existence, so of course they had to leave without complaint if she told them to.
The dojo emptied in an instant. Jang Hwa-young even blocked Jang Chul-min and Jang Hye-yeon from entering. The niece felt a bit hurt there. It was because she sensed something strangely unusual excitement from her deeply respected aunt—different from usual. Jang Chul-min, seeing the door slam shut, chuckled without understanding his daughter's mood.
"Right, noonim wouldn't fail to recognize him."
"What do you mean, father?"
The moment Hye-yeon's words ended, an enormous sound began erupting from inside the dojo. Occasionally, the cement walls would crack with a grrrrk. This wasn't sparring level—it was an outright fight.
"That young man from earlier is a talent who might fulfill our aspirations."
His daughter didn't understand right away and furrowed her brow, tilting her head slightly. Jang Chul-min didn't give any further explanation. He just smiled, saying it was a good thing.
"He's going to become something huge. Yeah."
Hearing that, Jang Hye-yeon clenched both fists tightly without her father noticing. She'd occasionally received praise from Jang Chul-min for having excellent talent, but she wasn't unaware that it was lip service given to blood family. Of course, she wasn't completely talentless, but she wasn't dazzlingly outstanding either. …In short, she was better than Jang Chul-min but worse than Jang Hwa-young. Right in the middle.
However, true to the Jang family bloodline, she didn't give up. She worked her ass off to earn recognition from her respected aunt. …But right now, she felt an enormous sense of crisis that she was about to have that stolen away by that bastard. Her lips went dry with anxiety.
The sparring lasted quite a while. The commotion finally subsided after a long time. A long silence followed.
Hye-yeon, who had been waiting wondering when it would end, suddenly saw the door fly open. Jang Hwa-young came out with a flushed face, soaked in sweat. Kang-jun was sitting weakly on the dojo floor.
"Take him to the treatment room."
Soon, two large men carried Kang-jun to the treatment room. Jang Hwa-young took the towel her niece handed her and wiped the sweat from her face and neck. Even though she was drenched, she had an expression of incredible refreshment.
"Noonim, how was it?"
Jang Chul-min asked with an eager expression. But instead of answering, Jang Hwa-young told him to bring her phone. Hye-yeon, sensing her chance, quickly ran to fetch her aunt's phone.
"Here you go, auntie."
Jang Hwa-young dialed someone. Truru truru. The ringtone continued for a long time. …Damn it, why isn't he picking up? This bastard. An impatient sound burst out, and the call connected with a click.
"Oh, yeah, it's me, Jang Hwa-young. …Yeah. Nothing special, but you know, we have a new recruit. This kid, Lee Kang-jun. …Yeah, chief? He's the chief?"
As Jang Hwa-young said that and looked at Jang Chul-min, he quickly nodded in confirmation.
"Anyway, we're keeping him at our house for a few days. …No, wait. No, mister. You're the branch chief, what's it to you. …No, there's no separate problem. Anyway, I'm going to keep him for a few days. Yeah? You understand? …No, then, the roster, uh, be flexible about it. Hah, damn it. Just change it so he went out in the morning and came back in the evening, that's all. You're so frustrating."
Jang Chul-min wiped his face with his palm. Here we go again, that stubbornness of hers.
"Anyway, branch chief. You know how much I rely on you, right? I'll come visit sometime with a gift. …Yeah. Thanks for your hard work. Yeah."
She pressed the call end button and immediately cursed. Ugh, this bastard, I could've just let it slide, but he had to nitpick everything. If I had my old temper, I would've just chewed him out.
Jang Hwa-young handed her phone back to Jang Hye-yeon. Then she put another cigarette in her mouth out of habit. She was about to light it when…she stopped, snapped the cigarette in half, and threw it on the floor. Jang Chul-min, thinking her anger hadn't fully subsided, quickly took the branch chief's side.
"No, noonim. Still, there are procedures, you know…"
"…That's not it, kid."
She put the lighter in her pocket and looked at her niece.
"Hye-yeon."
"Yes, auntie."
"While he's staying, make sure he's not uncomfortable. Take good care of him."
"Understood."
Jang Hye-yeon's voice had dropped, very slightly.
The sun dropped in an instant. All around was already dim. Jang Hwa-young had been lost in thought for a long time, eyes closed and chin propped up.
…Knock knock. At the sound, Jang Hwa-young lifted her propped chin and looked toward the door.
"Auntie, it's me."
"Come in."
The sliding door slid open with a rururu. Jang Hye-yeon came in carrying a beautifully patterned wooden tray. On top of it, oddly mismatched with the fancy tray, sat a pack of cigarettes and an oil lighter. Seeing that, Jang Hwa-young checked the time. It was 8 PM. Had it already gotten this late?
"Lee Kang-jun—nothing uncomfortable? He said the bed was comfortable?"
"Yes, he said there was nothing uncomfortable."
"Good, you did well."
As Jang Hye-yeon placed the tray on the desk and turned around, her aunt suddenly called her back.
"Hye-yeon."
"Yes, auntie."
"Take the tray away. …And from tomorrow on, you don't have to bring it anymore."
"…What?"
She didn't understand her aunt's words right away. …And then, at Jang Hwa-young's next words, she was so shocked she nearly fainted.
Jang Hwa-young's left mouth corner stretched long.
"Auntie, I quit smoking."