Cha Iran had arrived, and the secret coffer reacted?
‘Could she possibly have a bead?’
Geom Mugeuk was inwardly startled. Until now, whenever he had met her, it had never reacted once. Today was the first time.
Geom Mugeuk asked the secret coffer in his breast.
‘Do you perhaps absorb things other than beads? Are you the sort of fellow who picks up and eats anything when you’re hungry?’
Of course, Geom Mugeuk knew very well that was not the case. He had clearly seen the symbols of the secret coffer and the beads painted on the mural.
In the end, it meant she had brought a bead.
Of the six beads, only two remained. The red bead, Jeokjeong, and the purple bead, Jajeong.
‘One of those two beads is with Cha Iran?’
Geom Mugeuk’s heart pounded.
He had never once considered that someone might possess one of the beads the secret coffer absorbed. After all, until now, the secret coffer had been stored as though hidden in the most secret of places.
Was it because the secret coffer had reacted?
Who knows? Perhaps something nice will happen when it’s just the two of us.
Even the words she had spoken while walking over a little earlier sounded meaningful now.
Could she know that he had absorbed the energy of the beads? Or was she carrying one by chance for some other purpose, without knowing?
If she had brought it knowingly?
If you can, kill me and take it. Was that what she was thinking?
What would she do if I really did?
Cha Iran naturally sat down beside Geom Mugeuk. Normally, the reaction should have grown stronger, but this time it was different from usual. The moment she came close, the reaction stopped dead.
“Aren’t you going to congratulate me? I made it to the finals.”
“Congratulations.”
“It feels nice to be congratulated, even if I had to prod you in the ribs for it.”
An Hupyeong came over to them and quickly introduced Bi Sain.
“Miss Cha, this is the young alliance leader of the Sado Alliance.”
Cha Iran looked at Bi Sain and put on an expression of feigned surprise.
At that reaction, An Hupyeong was inwardly pleased and subtly placed himself on the same level as Bi Sain.
‘Surprised, aren’t you? First you meet the young leader of Shinhwa Gang, and now even the young alliance leader of the Sado Alliance?’
Bi Sain was thinking along similar lines.
‘Well? It’s your first time seeing such a beautiful woman, isn’t it?’
Cha Iran smiled bewitchingly and greeted Bi Sain.
“I’m Cha Iran.”
She had her own way of dealing with men by nature. Even without deliberately trying to seduce them, the look in her eyes and the smile she wore when greeting someone made the other party restless and drew them in completely.
Bi Sain silently gazed at her.
Through the letter Geom Mugeuk had sent earlier, he knew this woman intended to kill his master. Yet he revealed no hostility whatsoever.
The fact that Geom Mugeuk had naturally arranged a seat like this meant he trusted him. If he was to become someone who would one day lead the Sado Alliance, he ought to be able to control his emotions to this extent.
Wasn’t that woman, who was about to kill his master, facing him without so much as a change in expression?
“I am Bi Sain.”
At Bi Sain’s belated reply, An Hupyeong was inwardly delighted. He thought Bi Sain had been so captivated by her that his greeting had come late. Naturally, he began to show off.
“For this special gathering today, I rented out this entire place!”
No matter what, he had to be the main figure who had arranged today’s meeting.
“I was determined to introduce Miss Cha to the young alliance leader.”
“To me?”
At Bi Sain’s questioning gaze, An Hupyeong smiled and fawned on him.
“I thought the two of you would suit each other very well.”
He laughed heartily as he said it, but Bi Sain’s reaction was not what he had expected.
“I think this gathering is inappropriate.”
An Hupyeong asked in surprise.
“What do you mean?”
“Is it acceptable for these young ladies to be present at a seat where you are?”
He meant that someone from the tournament’s organizing side should not privately meet with women who had advanced to the finals.
‘What kind of stifling nonsense is that from someone who will become the supreme figure of the evil path!’
That was what he truly wanted to say, but—
“This is a special seat with you present, young alliance leader, so everyone will understand.”
“Are you using me as an excuse?”
“No, absolutely not. That was never my intention.”
Bi Sain did not bother to hide his thoughts or feelings. As though he did not know her identity, he behaved as he usually did. He revealed his natural self to Cha Iran.
She was no ordinary woman. She had come alone to a place where both he and Geom Mugeuk were present. Perhaps she believed they did not know her identity, but even so, she was not ordinarily bold.
Cha Iran looked at Geom Mugeuk and said,
“Thank you for introducing me to such an esteemed person, but my heart belongs to only one man.”
There was an expression she showed only when looking at Geom Mugeuk.
An Hupyeong could not understand it. What on earth was so good about that guard?
“It seems that guard has some charm I don’t know about.”
Whatever it was, he intended to tear it down somehow.
“You can’t see it? I can see a great deal.”
Cha Iran brought her face close to Geom Mugeuk’s. So close that if she moved just a little nearer, they would touch.
Geom Mugeuk did not retreat and faced her gaze.
“This man’s eyes are filled with death, so how can they be so clear?”
She spoke as if that aura of death was visible to her eyes, but Geom Mugeuk said nothing.
The one who spoke in Geom Mugeuk’s stead was Yi An.
“I have never once felt death in those eyes.”
When Cha Iran slowly turned her head toward her, Yi An added,
“One’s own image is bound to be reflected in another person’s eyes.”
It meant that death, in the end, originated from Cha Iran herself.
A strange smile formed on Cha Iran’s face.
“Miss Yi truly likes this man, doesn’t she?”
“I’m not foolish enough to hate my guard.”
She meant that one could hardly dislike the person who protected one’s life.
An Hupyeong’s expression stiffened as he listened. It sounded as though those words were directed at him, who had clashed with Sachu just a little while ago.
Moreover, when the attention of both women had been focused on Geom Mugeuk from the very beginning, An Hupyeong felt displeased. He had lived a life where he was always the center wherever he went, yet here he kept feeling excluded.
An Hupyeong picked up the wine bottle and tried to fill Bi Sain’s cup.
“Now, young alliance leader. Please accept a cup from me.”
Bi Sain did not even pretend to hear him and only looked at the two women. The wine bottle in his hand suddenly became awkward, and his face flushed. Truly, these people!
Even so, he was still the young leader of Shinhwa Gang in name, and they treated him like this?
‘He’s filthy fond of women.’
If that were not the reason, then it would mean Bi Sain was looking down on him far too much.
In truth, Bi Sain was trying to grasp what kind of person Cha Iran was. In a certain sense, she was a woman more deeply connected to him than to Geom Mugeuk. If she killed his master, then in the end he would ascend as leader of the Sado Alliance.
In other words, she was a woman trying to place him in the position of alliance leader.
‘For what reason, exactly?’
Was there something she hoped to gain by putting him, who was not yet prepared, in the alliance leader’s seat? Or did she have some other intention?
An Hupyeong struggled to suppress his anger and spoke again.
“I cannot decide whom I should support in this final.”
He was trying somehow to display his influence.
An Hupyeong used the word support, not cheer for. He spoke as if he could influence the decision of the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven.
“Which lady do you support, young alliance leader? In truth, your support is the most important.”
This time, Bi Sain answered him.
“What importance does my opinion have? What matters is the will of the judges and the heroes.”
“Are you not in a position where you could overturn all those decisions?”
In his own way, it was meant as flattery toward Bi Sain, but Bi Sain’s response was cold.
“Are you now telling me to do something unfair?”
“No, that is not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I only meant that you are someone of that much greatness.”
At that still-cold gaze, An Hupyeong downed his wine. Somehow, things were not going the way he wanted.
“Why is the food taking so long?”
An Hupyeong rose from his seat and walked toward the kitchen. Even when he stood up, no one looked his way. His anger flared even further.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and bring out the food!”
The moment he entered the kitchen, he shouted. Just as he was about to vent his anger on the innocent cooks—
“Let us return.”
At the voice that came from behind him, he turned and saw Sachu. The man who had yelled at him earlier was standing in a corner of the kitchen.
“What did you say?”
“I said let us go back.”
An Hupyeong walked toward him with an angry face. At any other time, Sachu would have bowed his head deeply and apologized, but today he was staring straight at him.
“Do you know what kind of seat that is?”
“What kind of seat is it?”
“What?”
It was a seat with a clear purpose. A seat meant to curry favor with the young alliance leader! A seat meant to curry favor with Yi An. Sachu knew that too, and yet he was acting like this?
“Are you looking down on me too?”
“If I were looking down on you, I would have stayed as I always have, pretending not to know anything.”
Instinctively, he could feel it. Though he did not know why Sachu was doing this, he knew these words were being said for his sake.
Though Sachu was being rude, among the people here, he was the only one who was not looking down on him.
“That is not a place where you should be, young master.”
All four of them were people An Hupyeong could not handle. Only he himself did not know that fact.
“Hide in an underground tunnel and come out once that typhoon has passed. The reason you are safe right now, young leader, is because you are standing in the eye of the storm.”
“!”
The typhoons had told him, shh, but he had ignored their warning. Still, it was all right. This was the last piece of advice he would give him.
Of course, An Hupyeong did not accept it graciously.
“You arrogant bastard.”
He clearly knew the words were meant for his sake, but he felt offended. He had lived the sort of life where being told the truth made him feel offended.
“You’d better be prepared for later.”
The moment An Hupyeong turned around—
Tap-tap.
Sachu ambushed him from behind and pressed An Hupyeong’s acupoints. Since he had never imagined this would happen, An Hupyeong slipped into sleep.
After calming the startled cooks, Sachu opened the kitchen’s back door and called in the subordinates waiting outside.
“The young leader has drunk too much. Take him back to his residence and lay him on his bed.”
The subordinates carried him on their backs and returned to his quarters.
It was the last consideration he could show him before leaving.
If An Hupyeong remained here in this state of anger, he would ultimately cause a major incident despite the presence of the young alliance leader of the Sado Alliance. The An Hupyeong Sachu had experienced until now was that kind of person.
In any case, An Hupyeong would not let him leave peacefully, so this was how he intended to depart.
Just as Sachu was also about to leave through the back door, someone spoke from behind him.
“Was it because of your younger siblings?”
When he turned, Illang was standing there.
His question meant: was he giving up on his dream and staying under An Hupyeong because of his younger siblings?
Sachu confessed honestly.
“No. I merely used my younger siblings as an excuse to make the easier choice.”
If it had truly been because of his siblings, he would have challenged himself again once their hunger had been resolved.
He had earned good money, and following An Hupyeong around had been easy. At least here in Anhui, no one picked a fight with the young leader of Shinhwa Gang.
“I realized something today. There are two kinds of impossibility. One is impossible because you vaguely assume it won’t work. The other is impossible because you tried until you felt you would die, and it still did not work. I have already experienced the easy kind, so now I intend to go challenge the difficult impossibility.”
Sachu intended to newly enter the Sado Alliance.
His monthly pay would be incomparably less than now. Starting over at his age would be several times harder. And he knew that entering now and becoming one of the Sado Thirteen Wolves was also impossible.
Still, he intended to try. He would regard this chance to meet the Sado Thirteen Wolves again as the final opportunity heaven had granted him.
“When we meet again, I will greet you properly then.”
Then he added with an awkward smile,
“Though I probably won’t see you again in my lifetime.”
After respectfully giving a cupped-fist salute, Sachu turned and walked away.
When he was young, he had stood in front of the Sado Thirteen Wolves and thrown out a question. He had thought that was passion and sincerity.
But now, there would be no questions.
Because he had reached an age where he knew that true passion did not ask questions. Because he knew it began before one even asked.
Illang silently watched Sachu’s retreating back grow distant, then went inside.
“Young Gang Leader An has returned ahead of us.”
At those words, no one pressed to ask why he had left first.
Only Geom Mugeuk found it regrettable.
“Ah! The person who was supposed to pay for the drinks left first.”
At his joke, Cha Iran brought up something unexpected.
“Why don’t we wager on the drinks?”
The wager she proposed was truly something none of them had expected.
“Instead of just drinking, let’s each ask one another a question as we drink. If you can’t answer, you drink three penalty cups! The person who drinks the most penalty cups today pays for the wine. Oh, and no expelling the alcohol qi outside your body to keep from getting drunk!”
Of course, Geom Mugeuk was not the sort of person to refuse such an interesting proposal. Especially when there were things they wanted to ask one another.
He thought she might drink the penalty cups, but she was not someone who would lie. He himself had no intention of lying either.
“Good. Let’s do it.”
Since Geom Mugeuk accepted, Ian and Bisain naturally nodded as well, their eyes gleaming with interest.
“Since I proposed it, I’ll ask the first question.”
At Cha Iran’s words, everyone readily nodded. After they all toasted together and emptied their cups.
“I’ll ask Guard Geom.”
Her gaze turned to Geom Mugeuk.
“You like this young lady here as a woman, don’t you?”
The first question was already powerful. Ian was more startled than Geom Mugeuk. She had never imagined such a question would be asked.
“If you don’t want to answer, you can just drink three penalty cups.”
“There’s no need for that. I’ll answer.”
Geom Mugeuk glanced briefly at Ian and replied.
“I do.”
Cha Iran looked surprised.
“I was sure you’d drink the three penalty cups.”
Ian felt as though she could fly from happiness at Geom Mugeuk’s answer. Even if he had only said it because of the wager, she was happy.
But she was displeased by Cha Iran’s question.
‘So her first question is about me and the Young Cult Leader?’
She wanted to question Cha Iran at once, but Geom Mugeuk moved first.
“I answered the question, so the next question is mine.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’ll ask Miss Cha.”
This time as well, after they all toasted together and emptied their cups, Geom Mugeuk asked Cha Iran.
“Who is the person you trust most?”
It was a question with many possible meanings. She could answer with a family member, or with her leader. She could also answer with someone who had come here with her for this matter.
Cha Iran looked at Geom Mugeuk with a strange gleam in her eyes.
“I asked about someone you like, but you ask about someone I trust. Were you afraid that if you asked who I liked, I’d answer that it was you?”
Smiling brightly like that, she answered the question.
“The person I trust most is……”
A startling statement flowed from her lips.
“Someone you know too.”
“!”
Geom Mugeuk stared at her in surprise. He could not tell what she meant by saying that.
“I won’t tell you who it is, so you can die of curiosity. This is punishment for your first answer.”
She drank three penalty cups in succession, then set down her cup and asked,
“Now then, who’s asking the next question?”