11. A Man Who Doesn't Get Screwed Over
11. A Man Who Doesn't Get Screwed Over
Something felt ominous.
A chill ran through her along with cold sweat starting to bead up.
Noticing her tense expression, Ju Ye-ji smirked and kneaded one of her shoulders.
"Why? You're going to pay your respects, right? You know what kind of places those two families are, don't you?"
"Yes...."
She knew all too well.
One was a vulgar family that tried to solve everything with money,
and the other was a barbaric shithole of the highest order that married off its precious granddaughter to some fucking human.
Of course, objectively speaking, they were the pinnacle families among the Five Great Families, the top continental powers.
She acknowledged their power itself, separate from her emotions.
That's why hearing she had to go pay respects to the heads of those two families only made her even more suspicious.
Dragging along some arrogant punk who's just a mere 3rd Rank Commissioner—and one who's arguably trying to screw over Ha Yeon-seo and the Ha Family at that? Would this really benefit Supreme Committee Member Ju Ye-ji?
"We're meeting for dinner later, so come out at 6. We're going together."
Such was Ju Ye-ji's command amid her doubts.
She didn't even ask about Eun-jeong's schedule.
It was a command, plain and simple.
"...Yes, Council Member-nim."
Eun-jeong bowed deeply and left the room amid that awkward ominous feeling.
What the hell was this sudden thing?
What was about to happen?
+++
"Long time no see."
"Yes. Have you been well?"
"Well? It's just the usual polite bullshit, but it's hilarious. Asking the obvious."
She smirked at the short scolding and sat across from her.
A simple table of snacks and drinks was already set between the two women.
"Speaking of, how about you? You must be under a lot of stress lately."
The woman with straight black hair adorned with dangling earrings and necklaces embedded with blue gems offered her glass first.
The short-haired woman across from her received it politely.
Jjorreureu.
The liquor filling the glass.
Staring at it, the short-haired woman spoke up.
"No need to say it twice—it hurts my mouth. The front lines are always brutal."
"Not that."
"?"
Yoo Tae-hee, who had taken the bottle to pour into the glass across from her, made a puzzled face.
"There are a lot of whispers going around these days. And you've had all sorts of shit on your end too."
"Ah."
That kind of talk.
The Yu Family was definitely drawing attention in various ways lately.
They'd always been hot topics for their exploits on the front lines, but this time the vibe was different.
Her granddaughter's marriage.
The Noblesse death incident her granddaughter was tangled in.
These two things had them getting hammered from all sides.
Of course, few had the balls to openly point fingers at the great Yu Family, but the stares alone made the back of her neck prickle inescapably.
"I wanna hear about it from you too. You saw it firsthand, right? How the hell did you decide to let her get married?"
"...That's family business...but, well, nothing much. It just happened."
She couldn't exactly say, 'She was doing a slave bet, so I stepped in midway and somehow it turned into a marriage,' so she brushed it off vaguely.
"Tch. Way to make me feel left out. Gonna keep me at arm's length like that?"
"We're both in our positions—shouldn't we show some restraint?"
"Haa. You're always so damn stiff~."
The straight-haired woman, Ha So-ri, sighed and downed her glass.
"...If you're gonna say that, didn't the Ha Family have some commotion too?"
"You bet~. What a fucking headache."
She'd already slammed one glass and one-shot another, now propping her chin on her hand as she eyed Tae-hee.
"Making a fuss over nothing and demanding the Chief Instructor be fired or whatever...Argh, for real."
She grimaced and poked at the appetizers on the plate.
She seemed seriously pissed.
"Forgot whose turf you're on? Flip the table already?"
If you dug into the source of the shit the Ha Family was eating, it boiled down to two incidents too.
A human becoming the Academy trainee representative.
And the Noblesse death incident near the Academy.
Coincidentally, whether it was stuff involving the Yu Family or the Ha Family, the key player in all those incidents was the same guy.
Ryu Si-hwan, Yu Ina, Ha Yeon-seo.
Ryu Si-hwan, a human, had become the Academy's trainee representative,
Yu Ina had married that Ryu Si-hwan,
and Ha Yeon-seo had officiated their marriage.
Then the victim (Jin Seong-hyeon), jealous of the marriage, went to Yu Ina—whom he'd always lusted after—and caused a scene.
In the process, he tried to kill her husband Ryu Si-hwan and ended up getting his limbs chopped off and exiled.
Afterward, victim number one killed himself.
And all this shit conveniently happened around the Academy where Ha Yeon-seo was Chief Instructor.
"Do you really need to go that far? It'll die down soon enough."
"It pisses me off. And we can't set this precedent. We gotta make it crystal clear who the fuck they're messing with and what happens when they do."
"...The world should know that the great Hero of the Continent is this petty."
"Huh?"
She snatched the plate right in front of Tae-hee.
"..."
Tae-hee's chopsticks, aimed at the fried snack there, sliced through empty air pathetically.
"This is on me, got it? Think it over."
"...The world needs to see this side of you too."
Just a sigh.
Ha So-ri was a woman revered by all, but in private like this, she had this subtly petty streak.
It just looked cute now, but it had been pretty shocking at first.
Old memories resurfaced.
"But, how's he doing?"
"Who do you mean?"
"Your son-in-law, duh."
"..."
"You personally approved a human marriage—I'm curious."
"...That's also...family business."
Sihwan's face came to mind.
He didn't hide his arrogance.
No, he didn't even seem aware he was arrogant.
Standing before her—a Noblesse and head of one of the Five Great Families—without backing down an inch, pushing through his will.
She'd been so furious back then that he'd seemed repulsive, but looking back, he was definitely one hell of a human.
'Kinda cool too....'
It kinda brought back her girlish days.
She'd once admired guys like that. Then realized reality was full of wimps and got pretty disappointed.
"Agh, keep that up and I'm really gonna feel hurt?"
"Hey, why pry into someone else's family shit?"
"We strangers now?"
"Yeah, we are."
"Haa...such an ungrateful bitch...I'm getting dizzy..."
"Cut the bullshit."
Ha So-ri dramatically placed the back of her hand on her forehead in exaggerated acting, while Tae-hee scolded her.
Despite Ha So-ri being older and higher in status, in this scene, Tae-hee seemed the adult.
Knock knock.
Just then, someone knocked on the closed door from outside.
—Clan Head-nim, it's Ju Ye-ji.
The very reason and cause for today's gathering.
Supreme Committee Member Ju Ye-ji and one other.
"Come in? Door's open."
Ha So-ri, who'd been laughing and chatting with all sorts of expressions until now, hardened her face completely.
The atmosphere shifted in an instant.
It was so total she barely seemed like the same petty, playful woman.
+++
'What the fuck.'
6 PM.
Eun-jeong, neatly dressed and meeting Ju Ye-ji before heading to the appointed spot with her, cursed inwardly.
Hadn't she thrown her a crumpled newspaper earlier and told her to pick a restaurant?
So she'd thought it over and chosen one, but when they arrived, it was a totally different place.
What the hell was this?
Some kind of harassment?
"Been a while for this spot."
Seureuk, leaving the Magic Carriage that cloaked her body behind, Ju Ye-ji draped an arm over Eun-jeong's shoulder.
"You'll do fine, but don't fuck up. Got it? Whatever happens, just do as you're told."
"...Yes, Council Member-nim."
Eun-jeong swallowed her displeasure as best she could and followed Ju Ye-ji inside.
All sorts of negative thoughts bubbled up inside.
Was she getting screwed over for no reason?
'The reason for making me do the greetings—what the hell is it?'
No matter how she thought about it, it didn't make sense.
If a woman like Ju Ye-ji dragged nobodies like her to meet top-tier family heads just for some flattery, there'd be a massive line of heavyweights dying to suck up those scraps around her.
But in reality, there weren't that many.
Lost in such thoughts, they were suddenly at the door.
It had that traditional Noblesse vibe: light brown wood with paper screens.
"Clan Head-nim, it's Ju Ye-ji."
Thump thump.
Her heart raced for no reason.
—Come in? Door's open.
A bored voice.
That ominous feeling amplified.
"We'll be entering."
The haughty, carefree Ju Ye-ji suddenly adopted a polite posture like Eun-jeong standing before her and slid open the door.
But then,
Just as it was half-open and the room's interior came into view, something flew and smashed into Ju Ye-ji's face, scattering shards and booze everywhere.
"!!"
It was Ha So-ri hurling the liquor bottle.
At none other than a Supreme Committee Member.
'What, what the fuck.'
No matter that she was head of a great family—throwing a bottle at a Supreme Committee Member?
A Supreme Committee Member wasn't just the top of the Noblesse Committee; she held a seat in the continental Supreme Committee too, a core of power.
A woman who could erase a whole family with a single glare—what the hell.
Drip drip.
Ju Ye-ji's neatly styled hair was soaked and plastered down, sour liquid dripping onto her clothes, making her look like a drowned rat.
Yet she didn't complain, bowing deeply instead.
"Have you been well?"
"You think I'd be well, you fucking bitch?"