How Does Brother Namgung Know About the Possible-Chungs...?

"I'm so sorry!!"

Just what in the world had I done?

A faint haze of alcohol still lingered, though it was only that sweet, low-proof honey-water wine that never got anyone truly drunk. The pink-tinged haze of the drug that had painted my mind, however, vanished the instant the oral service ended.

"I-I was completely wasted... and made a terrible mistake... I have no face left to show..."

With my reason more or less restored, the promised wave of shame crashed over me the moment the drug wore off. I could not bring myself to meet the great hero's eyes. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into a mouse hole and disappear.

Brother Namgung had said it would be fine as long ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as we didn't press navel to navel. All I had meant to do was wear clothes that suited the great hero's tastes, stick close to his side, pass drinks back and forth, and grow closer. Instead I had crossed every line imaginable.

"A mistake, is it..."

Seeing me on my knees apologizing, the great hero let out a deep sigh, pressed his lips tight, and lowered his gaze.

"Mm, Namgung... Miss Gaeul... no, Gaeul. It's all right. Come, stand up."

A hint of regret colored his voice as he lifted me with those powerful arms as easily as if I were a small child. The sight of that sturdy strength and the hard muscle of his arms made my calmed heart start pounding again for no reason at all.

W-why am I like this...?

I pressed both hands to my chest in flustered confusion. The great hero gently wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Ahem. When a person gets drunk, they can make all sorts of mistakes, can't they? You didn't damage anyone's property or injure anyone, so it's fine."

"Ah, Great Hero...! Your generosity is as vast as the rivers and seas. I don't know where to put myself..."

Whew, thank goodness...

Even as my heart hammered strangely against the arm around my shoulders, the cool part of my mind was already calculating that getting off with a simple kneel of apology was a win. No matter how much he chalked it up to drink (or rather, the drug), spilling wine on a man's crotch and then "cleaning it up" by going down on him was not something any normal person would just brush aside.

But the fact that he let it slide so cleanly... is he just that broad-minded? Or is he simply a soft-hearted good guy...?

The great hero's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen you at the gymnasium lately... Have you switched to another place?"

"Ahaha... Well..."

After the "towel-lift and crotch-reveal" incident in the bathhouse, I had been too embarrassed to face him and had simply gone at different hours. Admitting that was hard, so I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stayed silent. Seeing my hesitation, the great hero spoke a little awkwardly.

"If... if it's possible, how about training at my residence during the first hour of the Hai period—between nine and ten at night?"

"Pardon...? At the great hero's mansion...?"

My hesitation only seemed to steel his resolve. He pressed forward with certainty.

"Yes. I would like to teach you myself. I hope you will grant me the chance. ...Would that be all right?"

Held by the shoulders, face to face, I met Geungwang's earnest, unwavering gaze. Heat flooded my cheeks until I felt I might cook right there.

"Yes?! N-no... I-I mean, yes... that sounds good..."

"...Then you'll come to my house tomorrow at the first hour of Hai. Correct?"

At this rate I would agree to anything short of co-signing a loan. This was dangerous.

"Tomorrow?! ...Ahaha, fine. I'll... come tomorrow at the first hour of Hai... So please, let go of me..."

After setting the appointment for tomorrow's first hour of Hai, we managed to wrap up the drinking party without further disaster and returned to the inn that served as our lodgings.

Once I had changed clothes, I began chattering to Brother Namgung about everything that had happened at the special café—glossing over the oral part, of course. The talk stretched on until we ordered tea and snacks and kept conversing while we ate and drank.

"...So what I'm saying is, isn't Young Hero Geungwang a little too broad-minded?"

I posed the perfectly reasonable question and took my first bite of a pudding I had never tasted before. The soft, trembling texture melted on my tongue, and a sweet yet savory yolk richness slid down my throat.

"You've been calling him Great Hero this whole time. Why the sudden demotion?"

"Ah, well... right before we parted he said being called Great Hero made him feel awkward..."

I am not a man worthy of the title Great Hero, he had said, bowing repeatedly and asking me to call him something else from now on. The image of Young Hero Geungwang rose in my mind.

"Is that so... And another thing. The man has feelings for you, which is why he let it slide so easily. No matter how broad-minded someone is, no one would just overlook that."

"...Hahaha, Brother Namgung. What kind of ridiculous joke is that between men?"

I tried to laugh off his absurd jest, but Brother Namgung's expression remained completely serious.

"Tsk tsk. You really don't know anything. Unlike the old days, there's a maxim that circulates in the world these days."

Whenever Brother Namgung started a sentence with "in the world these days," the things that came out sounded like a thousand years had passed in the decade I had spent hiding in the mountains—wild nonsense that somehow turned out to be reality. I braced myself for another ridiculous statement.

"What are you about to say this time...?"

"'Whether it's a female or a male, as long as it tastes good, that's enough.' The people who live by that creed call themselves faithful to whatever tastes they consider possible, so they're known as Possible-Chungs."

"Haaah..."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sighed openly at the incomprehensible words. Brother Namgung ignored me and continued explaining.

"According to surveys conducted in Kaifeng and Lin'an... roughly sixty percent of the population are Possible-Chungs. That means at least seventy million people in the Central Plains alone."

"...How does Brother Namgung even know that...?"

"You take age- and income-stratified samples and run questionnaires; the ratio comes out roughly right. While you were hiding in the mountains, the imperial court's administrative capacity has been rising almost exponentially with every successive reform. Of course they can manage something like this."

"I see........."

I answered with pure disinterest, but Brother Namgung did not care in the slightest.

"Anyway, this body has been doing a little side work as a troubleshooter."

"Troubleshooter...? You mean collecting unpaid debts?"

A man who looks like he owns at least ten thousand seok of land working as a debt collector...?

Brother Namgung clicked his tongue at my reply.

"Tsk. As if I'd do something so petty. I only take on peculiar troubles that neither the law nor fists can easily solve."

"Ah."

"Even so, your complete lack of interest is a bit much... Well, never mind. The client should be arriving at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the inn any moment. You can sit in and observe."

"What?! I-I'm busy, though..."

Sensing I was about to get dragged into something strange, I tried to slip away, but of course Brother Namgung caught me.

"Everyone knows that aside from one shichen of mental cultivation and one shichen of external training each day, you just loaf around with nothing to do. Listen to me for once."

At first he spoke as if gently persuading me. Then, little by little, he began tugging my absolute favorite dolphin shorts downward.

"Ah, okay, okay already?! Stop, they're coming off...!"

Thus persuaded by Brother Namgung, I ended up sitting beside him, observing while he consulted with his client.

"I saw the letter my friend sent to my mother. The contents made me so furious I don't know what to do. What should I do?"

The client who poured out his grievances to Brother Namgung was a twenty-one-year-old named Son Jieun, a still-youthful pretty boy.

"Hmm... let me take a look."

Brother Namgung hastily folded the letter he had opened.

"...Mm, I understand for now. What did you do after reading this letter? Did you try speaking to your friend nicely?"

Jieun nodded with a devastated expression.

"I tried persuading him gently, and I even got angry, but he just turned it around on me and asked what the problem was."

"Then have your mother reject him herself. If he keeps pestering her after that, report him to the authorities."

Hearing Brother Namgung's perfectly reasonable advice, Jieun hung his head low this time.

"Th-that's... Mother has been a widow for ten years. Because of that, she doesn't seem to dislike my friend's advances all that much..."

"Huuuh..."

As Brother Namgung fell speechless, Jieun looked up at him with desperate eyes.

"Yes. I know. It's a difficult matter, and not something one can easily tell others. I heard the rumor that Great Hero Namgung wisely resolves even such thorny problems, so I mustered the courage to contact you."

Brother Namgung pondered for a moment, then snapped his fingers as if a brilliant idea had struck him.

".........Hmm. After thinking it over, I have a good plan... Jieun, you must first swear that you will follow it no matter what before I can tell you. ...Well? Will you try?"

Leaning across the table until he was almost nose-to-nose with Jieun, Brother Namgung whispered in a voice that seemed to bind the listener with some dark magic.

"I have to swear first...?"

"That's right. We'll draw up a formal commission contract, and you'll sign it properly."

Why do I have a bad feeling about this...?

Even from a third-party perspective, Brother Namgung's proposal felt ominous. I could guess exactly how reluctant Jieun must feel without needing to see the clear panic on his face.

"Uh, well..."

"If you don't want to, fine. From this letter, I'd say your mother has a better than ninety-percent chance of falling for your friend after just two or three more attempts. You're the one who refused my offer. You may leave."

"......"

Faced with the dismissal, Jieun's flustered expression showed clear agitation. At last he squeezed his eyes shut and cried out.

"...I-I'll follow it...! I swear I'll follow Great Hero Namgung's plan, so please tell me!"

Is this guy going to be all right...?

As if to confirm my worries, the corners of Brother Namgung's mouth curled upward into that familiar "evil smile."

And after that expression came...

"Excellent. Very good. Now listen carefully. Before your mother falls for your friend, you will become that friend's lover... in other words, his girlfriend."