“Miss Jin, please accept my sincere feelings.”
The young man confessed as if pleading, his eyes earnest.
Compared to the lovestruck young man, Jin Haryeong’s reaction was calm. It was something like a side effect from when Hubei’s First Beauty had led the gathering of rising talents.
“Young Master Im.”
“Miss Jin.”
How much do you even know about me to confess? We have things we must do. I put work before love. She had tried various methods, but this one was the quickest and most certain.
“There’s someone I like.”
The young man was startled. When she said this, the reactions were generally divided into two types: those who gave up and turned away, and those who, like this man, could not abandon their lingering attachment to the very end.
“Who is it?”
“What if you knew? Would you go to that person and try to stop him?”
Here, too, they split into two types: those who belatedly realized they had gone too far and backed down, and those who, like this man, tried to see it through to the end.
“If I could, yes. Even if I had to do that, I’d want to show you how much I like you, Miss Jin.”
Perhaps someone had advised this man that if he wanted to win a woman, he had to charge forward with spirit. Perhaps that method had even succeeded once or twice in his life. But at least, it would not work on her.
“What if someone came now and tried to stop Young Master Im from liking what he likes?”
“I would not let it pass.”
“I feel the same way.”
Jin Haryeong’s gaze turned cold. If he did not back down here, she would have to release her aura as well.
Fortunately, this was as far as the young man went. He lowered his head and apologized.
“Please forgive my rudeness. I’m not usually this kind of person.”
Only then did Jin Haryeong’s gaze soften.
“I’ll see you at the next gathering.”
After giving a deep bow, the young man left.
Then Chuho, Jin Haryeong’s escort warrior, who had been standing some distance behind her, walked over and said,
“Shall I take measures so he can’t attend the gatherings?”
He had been so rude, and yet he claimed he was not that kind of person? Unlike Chuho, who wanted him dealt with sharply, Jin Haryeong was lenient.
“Leave him be. If we did that, his life would needlessly become gloomy and dark.”
Having received many confessions, she knew how to handle the other party.
“Do you think taking back feelings for someone is something you can do at will? We should give him time too. Whether he comes or doesn’t come should be his choice.”
At some point, Chuho had begun to feel that Jin Haryeong had become much more mature. And he knew when that point had been.
“But do you truly have someone you like?”
Jin Haryeong looked at Chuho with an expression that asked why he was asking that.
“You always refuse them with those words. I wondered whether you were saying it as an excuse, or perhaps…”
“I do.”
When Chuho feigned surprise, she asked in return,
“You asked even though you knew, didn’t you? Why pretend not to know between us?”
“My apologies. I simply thought you might want to talk to someone about that person, my lady.”
Chuho knew. He knew that Geom Mugeuk had taken a place in Jin Haryeong’s heart.
She had revealed those feelings to no one. It would be better if she simply blurted out a confession like that fellow earlier; at least then her heart might feel lighter.
Chuho was worried. Worried that if this went on, she might even fall ill from pent-up emotion. That was why he hoped she would at least confide in him.
“Are you worried about me?”
“No.”
“It’s not to the point where you need to worry. I just miss him sometimes. On days like this, I miss him once more. Very occasionally, he appears in my dreams. That’s about it.”
And on days like today, without a single cloud in the sky.
—See that color of the sky over there? That’s the color of my sword aura.
She thought of his words too.
Jin Haryeong recalled what Geom Mugeuk had said before he left.
—Near our cult’s main headquarters, there’s a tavern with good wine and a good owner. I’ll invite you there next time.
Liar.
Then again, was it because Geom Mugeuk was a liar? The problem was probably the places where he and she had been born.
Jin Haryeong said it was not to the point of worrying, but.
‘You like him as a man, that is.’
But Chuho did not say those words aloud. The two of them could never be together. Jin Haryeong must know that well too.
“Then one day, he’ll suddenly show up and startle me, won’t he?”
It was at that very moment.
Someone spoke from behind them.
“I suppose that day is today.”
The two of them turned around in shock, and Geom Mugeuk was standing some distance away.
“Have you been well?”
Jin Haryeong asked with a startled face,
“How long have you been here?”
“Just now.”
Fortunately, it did not seem as though he had heard the conversation she had shared with Chuho.
She turned to Chuho and said,
“Find out where my older brother is right now.”
“Understood.”
Chuho immediately obeyed. He knew it was an order that also carried a request for him to step away for a moment. Normally, he should not leave his post, but Geom Mugeuk was an exception. In any case, if Geom Mugeuk harbored ill intentions, Chuho knew well that his presence would be of no help. The fact that he had failed to notice Geom Mugeuk standing behind them just now was proof enough.
“Shall we have a drink?”
“Sounds good.”
Jin Haryeong’s mood improved. There was a distinct fluttering in her heart that she felt only when she met Geom Mugeuk.
The two went to the inn where they had first met before and ordered noodles and wine.
Geom Mugeuk did not hurry. Persuading the Murim Alliance Leader was important, but his relationship with her was just as important.
Eating with her, drinking with her, bantering with her. This was his life. It was as important as killing his enemies.
“How have you been?”
At Jin Haryeong’s question, Geom Mugeuk made a fuss.
“Don’t even ask. You wouldn’t believe how tremendous the things that happened were.”
“Tell me. All of it.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at her. He had expected her to say, What a bluff! But she truly seemed ready to listen to everything.
“I heard from my brother. That you went to the Sado Alliance with the young alliance leader of the Sado Alliance. You have no idea how alert our alliance was over that.”
That was why he had come. The Murim Alliance was watching every move of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Sado Alliance with keen attention.
“You didn’t know? When you move now, the murim begins to move with you.”
“They’re worried a loach might muddy the water.”
Now Jin Haryeong knew.
What her grandfather and the Murim Alliance were worried about was whether the wish-fulfilling jewel this dragon before her would grasp when he ascended would be the blue of that clear sky, or a jewel drenched in blood.
“Is everything all right on the Sado Alliance side?”
Geom Mugeuk nodded once.
In that moment, a thought came to her.
‘Well, of course. You went there.’
To her, Geom Mugeuk was that kind of person.
“I’m the granddaughter of the Murim Alliance Leader in name and fact, yet I’m relieved to hear that the Sado Alliance is all right!”
At her banter, Geom Mugeuk smiled and said,
“At the same time, it’s also a friend’s matter.”
“A friend?”
“A friend of a friend is a friend.”
“My grandfather would faint if he heard that. If even the young alliance leader of the Sado Alliance became your friend. You alone are enough.”
She liked talking with Geom Mugeuk no matter the subject. Whether they spoke of the fate of the murim, or of how the noodles were especially salty today. He seemed like someone who would understand and accept whatever she said. Someone who would show her a new perspective.
“By the way, where is Ian?”
“She’s busy these days. She’s out on business.”
Ian had left to recruit Seojin, the younger sibling of Gwiryeongja, as a captain of the Ghost Shadow Squad. For the first time in her life, she was alone in the Central Plains, carving out her own fate.
“I miss Ian.”
“Then see her.”
“That’s easy to say.”
“What’s difficult about it? If you miss her, come visit anytime. Or we can come.”
“That may be true in your murim. It doesn’t work in mine.”
“We live in the same murim.”
Jin Haryeong silently looked at Geom Mugeuk.
Were they truly in the same murim? Even now, to her, Geom Mugeuk was someone like a dream, appearing suddenly and vanishing like smoke.
“Actually, I came because I have a favor to ask you and Captain Jin.”
“What favor?”
“There’s something I must see the alliance leader about and persuade him to do. In case I fail to persuade him myself, I need a second and third contingency.”
“I’m the second contingency?”
“Captain Jin is the third.”
“What on earth is the favor?”
“Let’s meet your brother and talk all at once.”
Jin Haryeong met dozens of new rising talents every month, but it was always stifling and tedious. Yet less than a quarter hour had passed since she met Geom Mugeuk, and her heart had already begun to race.
Just then, seeing Chuho enter the inn, Geom Mugeuk rose first from his seat.
“Now then, shall we go meet the third contingency?”
* * *
Jin Hagun was training in the practice yard.
The practice yard was heated fiercely by his energy.
These days, he had been pushing himself to his limits.
He felt anxious that as he was now, he would not be able to face Geom Mugeuk. And was it only Geom Mugeuk? In the eyes of Bisain, his realistic rival, he had certainly felt a fire as well.
Training was not the only thing that had changed.
As he had told Geom Mugeuk, he also tried to observe people more carefully when dealing with them. Things he would have once let pass with a “I suppose that’s how it is,” he now thought over once more. Instead of judging by his own standards, he tried to consider the other person’s position.
It had happened not long ago.
One of the warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad requested leave. It overlapped with a mission, but Jin Hagun gladly permitted it. In the past, that would have been the end of it.
Jin Hagun called him aside and asked the reason for his leave. As it turned out, there was conflict within his household over the selection of a successor. Since the Demon Extermination Squad was made up mostly of scions from prestigious families, such problems commonly arose.
Jin Hagun went one step further than simply asking the reason.
—Do you perhaps need my help? If you do, tell me anytime.
The man refused the help, but he was deeply moved that Jin Hagun had said those words.
Because he had never said such a thing before.
Of course, the feeling had always been there. They were comrades who had crossed battlefields together, so how could he not feel that way? But he had never said it directly.
Through this opportunity, Jin Hagun realized anew just how great the power of words was between people.
—I thought you naturally knew how I felt.
Words like that, spoken after everything was over, were excuses.
—What need is there for words between us?
No. Only when you said it directly did the other person know.
And now that he had tried it, he understood. For someone with his personality, who always tried to keep the words he had spoken, even speaking was not easy.
What if his subordinate had truly asked for help? What if he mentioned someone in his family and asked Jin Hagun to pressure that person into backing down?
One had to be prepared to go that far before speaking in the first place. Only then could one answer without fluster, Very well, leave it to me.
Suddenly, Geom Mugeuk came to mind.
That man said all sorts of things. Was he prepared to take responsibility for every word he uttered?
Seeing as he could not imagine Geom Mugeuk avoiding responsibility with some absurd excuse.
‘You live in quite a tiring way too.’
Having tried it himself, Jin Hagun now realized how difficult it was. He even thought that perhaps his own bluntness had been a form of escape from reality.
At that moment, along with the news that guests had arrived, two people entered the place. They were Geom Mugeuk and Jin Haryeong.
“It’s been a while.”
Since Jin Hagun had just been thinking of Geom Mugeuk, how surprised must he have been?
“We haven’t seen each other for a while, and you’ve already become awkward again. It’s me, your friend.”
He was so glad to see him that, instead, he could not show his joy well.
“Why have you come here?”
“So brusque! Why else? I came because I missed you.”
Then Jin Haryeong, who was beside him, tattled.
“That’s a lie. He says he came because he needs our help.”
Jin Hagun was already worried about his younger sister, who had become excited, but he was just as stirred up himself.
“What is it?”
“I invited the Sado Alliance Leader to my regular tavern in front of our cult.”
For a moment, Jin Hagun thought the invited person was Bisain. He mistakenly thought Geom Mugeuk had come to say, I invited Bisain, so you should come too.
“I won’t go.”
Realizing that Jin Hagun had misheard, Geom Mugeuk and Jin Haryeong stared blankly at him. Under their gazes, Jin Hagun flinched and asked again.
“Who did you say you invited?”
“The Sado Alliance Leader.”
Only then did Jin Hagun’s eyes widen.
He clearly had limits. Just as he had misheard a moment ago, the idea of inviting the Sado Alliance Leader to a tavern in front of the Murim Alliance headquarters had not even existed in his mind.
But Geom Mugeuk always leapt far beyond those boundaries. He leapt right over them and, as expected, gave a reason Jin Hagun did not have.
“I simply wanted to treat him to a drink.”
If it had been anyone else, he would have thought it an absurd lie, but by now he knew full well what kind of person Geom Mugeuk was. When he went to the Sado Alliance this time, he must have left an impression deep enough to invite even its alliance leader.
And it was not as if Jin Haryeong had not been surprised.
“What kind of joke is this, after meeting for the first time in so long?”
“It’s not a joke.”
Yes, she knew it was not a joke. Because the thought rising in her mind was that it was truly just like him.
Jin Hagun asked again.
“Did the Sado Alliance Leader accept the invitation?”
“He said he would, if the Murim Alliance Leader takes this meeting in good faith.”
“Good faith? How can anyone take it in good faith when the Demon Cult and the Sado Alliance are holding secret talks?”
“Secret talks? Have you ever seen secret talks where everything is laid bare like this?”
“Whatever it is! The Alliance Leader will never permit it.”
He knew better than anyone how wary his grandfather was of the Demon Cult and the Sado Alliance, and how much he disliked them. The only reason he had formed any friendship with Geom Mugeuk at all was because Geom Mugeuk had deep ties with his grandson and granddaughter, and had later even saved their lives. It was truly an exceptional case.
“That’s why I came to ask for help. I want you two to persuade him with me.”
“Wouldn’t it have been better to simply invite him without telling us in the first place?”
At Jin Hagun’s probing question, Jin Haryeong looked at Geom Mugeuk with the same thought in mind.
“I couldn’t do that.”
“Why?”
“Because you and I are friends, aren’t we?”
In truth, the reason he intended to invite Baek Jagang was to prevent a war that might occur in the future. But if, because of this invitation, the Murim Alliance believed that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Sado Alliance had joined hands behind their backs, then the invitation would bring more harm than good.
“Even if it hadn’t been a condition set by the Sado Alliance Leader, I would have come to ask permission.”
A thought suddenly occurred to Jin Hagun. What if it were him? Whatever the intention, if it was something that absolutely had to be done?
Would he not have simply gone ahead without creating unnecessary variables, then later said, “I’m sorry. It just ended up that way as I was doing it”?
When that thought surfaced, his face grew slightly hot. It was because he felt as though Geom Mugeuk was swimming through the sea called friendship, while he himself had only dipped his ankles in.
“I want the two of you to help me persuade the Alliance Leader.”
Jin Hagun firmly shook his head.
“Absolutely not!”
Jin Haryeong was the same. She shook her head.
“I can’t either. You’re saying that because you don’t know our grandfather well. If we bring that up, we’ll be driven out of the Alliance.”
“If you’re driven out, our cult will take you in!”
“Then Elder Brother won’t even get to become the successor.”
“How about using this opportunity to free yourself from your lust for power?”
“Excellent words, heir of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult!”
At that, Geom Mugeuk let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Ah! I never thought I’d be abandoned by my friends!”
The moment he heard those words, a doubt bloomed in Jin Hagun’s heart.
‘Did he really not expect this? Someone as clever as him?’
It suddenly occurred to him that perhaps Geom Mugeuk had not simply come to ask his grandfather’s permission.
‘Surely not?’
The one who spoke aloud the thought that had risen in his mind was his younger sister, who was even quicker on the uptake than he was.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of inviting Grandfather too?”