Moyong Gyeom sat there like a wretched criminal, head ducked low, nervously watching for any sign from Elder Pae. He didn’t have to look hard. The old man’s whitening beard was quivering like it was about to combust.
Of course, Moyong Gyeom felt deeply wronged. He’d swallowed every bit of his shame just to try and get Moyong Yeonhwa punished—only for it to blow up spectacularly in his face.
And Elder Pae, who’d taken point in orchestrating this public disgrace, surprisingly didn’t lash out further. Aside from hurling two teacups at Moyong Gyeom’s feet, he merely stared out the window in a terrifying, quiet rage.
‘Fuck, everything aches. My whole body’s wrecked. And it’s all that bitch Yeonhwa’s fault…’
Moyong Gyeom was trying to shift his battered body when Elder Pae suddenly snapped around. The lamplight caught on his eyes, burning cold and bright. Moyong Gyeom froze instantly and ducked his head even lower.
Elder Pae finally spoke.
“Summon Sohae. We’ll move up the plan.”
Moyong Gyeom jerked his head up in alarm.
“B-But Grandfather, she’s supposed to be at that temple offering prayers for the clan’s fortune for three years—”
“Bring her back. I don’t care what excuse you make. You’re useless.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Utterly cowed, Moyong Gyeom bobbed his head in a frantic nod. If he argued now, he’d probably get beaten so badly that what Yeonhwa did would look like a love tap.
“Originally, I meant to save Sohae for a more critical moment… But so be it.”
Elder Pae clenched a fist inside his voluminous sleeve.
The fire of his long-standing grudge, banked for decades, finally found a new direction. No longer just at Clan Head Moyong Wi—but now toward Moyong Yeonhwa too.
***
After hearing Sahyeon’s explanation, my thoughts were a bit of a mess. And it wasn’t even my damn family.
“So what, he plans to literally sell off this whole massive clan? How?”
Sahyeon circled a name next to Moyong Gyeom’s on the dirt with his stick.
“Mm, I can’t be sure, but I figure he’ll use his granddaughter. Elder Pae’s too old to sit the Clan Head seat himself. The only real card he’s holding is his granddaughter Moyong Sohae.”
“Like a political marriage? Groom gets the clan, basically?”
“Exactly. Elder Pae would never let a woman actually run the clan. Sure, he might prop her up as a puppet Clan Head for appearances, but her husband’s clan would be the real power. And of course, that son-in-law would hand day-to-day control right back to Elder Pae. No way he’d hover here forever.”
What a shitshow.
Even for the Martial Arts World, this was a stunning level of dirty politics. And I’d seen some filth.
“So they’d have to get rid of the Young Master and the twins first.”
“Yup.”
Sahyeon smiled in that annoying proud way, like he was pleased to see me catch on. I smacked the tip of my finger against the name ‘Moyong Sohae.’
“This granddaughter—never seen her. Does she live somewhere else?”
“Eh, supposedly she went off last year to do a three-year Buddhist prayer retreat. Who knows if that’s even true.”
“Oh, huh.”
“If you do meet her, be careful.”
The hell? Careful? I just stared at him. Sahyeon sighed.
“She’s nothing like Moyong Gyeom. Smart, cunning. There’s a reason Elder Pae’s staking everything on her.”
“Hm.”
Actually, that was good. Three years cloistered away meant I wouldn’t be tripping over her. I had enough on my plate without getting tangled up in more Moyong family bullshit.
Apparently my relief was obvious, because Sahyeon gave me a look. Then, weirdly, he asked,
“So you’re really planning to get out of here before long?”
Ugh. As much as I hated to admit it, that bastard was perceptive.
“What, aren’t you? You’re not planning to keep lurking here for years behind that freaky mask, right?”
I jerked my chin at the creepy flesh mask he’d tossed nearby. Disgusting. Please tell me he didn’t craft that himself.
“Hmm. Dunno.”
Sahyeon just shrugged like it was nothing.
Yeah, sure. Typical. Always poking for my secrets, never offering his own. Slippery bastard. I didn’t know a damn thing about him. Not that I especially wanted to.
We were just two assholes each guarding our own pile of secrets, stubbornly parallel.
We traded a few more words after that, none of which shed any new light on who the hell he was.
I yawned and let my head thunk back against the tree trunk. As weariness rolled over me, I thought wryly—
Damn orthodox clans. Always so high and mighty, but rot’s seeping right through them.
Apparently the people wanting Young Master Moyong Muhyeok dead weren’t just outside forces. Maybe in my last life, it hadn’t even been Sahyeon who killed me… could’ve been one of them.
“…Asleep?”
“Wha—?”
I jolted upright. Shit. I must’ve dozed off. Sahyeon was right in my face, eyes locked on mine, close enough I could see the flecks of dark in his irises.
Startled, I shoved his chin away.
“You fucking psycho, why’s your face right there? Trying to get killed?”
Sahyeon let himself be pushed, looking amused. Then he smiled a little, like he was genuinely surprised.
“Just weirded out that you’re already this comfortable with me.”
Comfortable my ass. We’ve spent what, a handful of days together threatening to murder each other? It’s just…
“…Because I didn’t get any sleep thanks to that crazy old man.”
“Yeah, right. No way you’re comfy enough to nap on me. It’s not like you like me or anything, huh?”
“Obviously not.”
I shot that back flatly and stood up. Sitting around just made me sleepier. This pathetic Moyong Yeonhwa body was useless.
The idiots of this clan—if they truly cared about her, they should’ve put her through way more training. Useless pampering.
I stretched out my aching limbs. Last night’s dainty act had left everything stiff.
“Well, anyway, thanks for the intel.”
“Leaving?”
“No. You are.”
“Me? I never said I’d go.”
“I said it. So scram.”
I shooed him off like a stray dog. Might as well practice sword forms to wake up and clear my head.
Sahyeon asked, lips twitching,
“Won’t you be lonely if I go?”
What the actual—
“Do I look like I’d be?”
“Nope.”
“Good read.”
I rolled my neck and flexed my shoulders. Only when I was well into my warm-up did I hear Sahyeon finally move off. I didn’t even glance back, just waved a lazy hand over my shoulder.
…Wait. Had I ever thanked him for last night?
***
Luckily, my master didn’t question me at all. If Moyong Jegeom had started grilling me about last night, it would’ve been a nightmare. I never knew what that old man was thinking, but I was grateful for the silence.
So after our training—which got bumped to afternoon thanks to the night’s chaos—I was absolutely dead on my feet.
No wonder. I’d barely slept, then drilled on my own all morning, then spent the afternoon sparring with my master. I hadn’t stopped moving for a second.
Sure, Seol Danhae would’ve swung a sword for days without rest. But I was Moyong Yeonhwa now.
“Haah… This’ll be the death of me.”
But it wouldn’t. If people could die from this, I’d have dropped long ago. All this agony meant I was stronger now. One painful step closer to busting out of here. Even if it felt like hell.
I smacked my knotted shoulders and trudged toward my rooms. Before I could even step through the gate, Hyangah hustled up to whisper urgently.
“Young Hero Dang is waiting in the guest parlor.”
“Why?!”
“Pardon? He said you requested to meet him…?”
“Eh, me?”
Wait, I… oh.
“…Right. I did.”
I’d completely forgotten about the note I left last night. I’d meant for him to reply with a time and place—not to just march over. Then again, it wasn’t like I hadn’t had a thousand other distractions.
I jerked my chin for Hyangah to lead on. She blinked, surprised.
“Are you not going to change first, my lady?”
“What’s the point? I’m dead tired. I’ll have to change again to wash up anyway. It’s just a quick talk—bring some tea.”
“But you look like a mud puppy right now…”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Mud puppy, mud cat, who cares. As long as my mouth still worked.
I strode into the guest room. Dang Iheon sat there calmly, lifting his eyes to me with a faint smile.
“You’re here? Came right from training?”
“Yeah.”
“You could’ve changed and come slowly.”
He looked a little bashful about it, like he’d gotten the wrong idea. Whatever. Whether I rushed over because I missed him or because I couldn’t be bothered, the result was the same.
I just shook my head, yanked out the opposite chair, and collapsed into it. A moment later, Hyangah brought out the tea. It was warm, fragrant, elegant.
Honestly, though—if someone’s sweating, shouldn’t they think to bring something cold? But before I could say anything, Hyangah whispered quickly and vanished.
“If you drink something cold right after sweating, your stomach will ache.”
“…Yeah.”
Sometimes I missed my old life, where nobody dared nag me. I could’ve dunked myself in icy rivers, gulped down freezing water by the bowlful, and not a soul would’ve said shit. Because they didn’t care. Which was simpler, in its way.
Dang Iheon laughed softly at my muttering.
“I was startled to see your note last night.”
“You weren’t here.”
“Yeah, I got back a bit late. It was… quite the letter. Honestly one of the most memorable I’ve ever received.”
Well, it was pretty brilliant. If I’d been able to pursue a scholarly path as a kid, I’d probably have ended up a literary genius.
“It was… strong.”
“Strong?”
“I mean—”
“Don’t bother trying to butter me up.”
“Huh? Oh…”
He nodded, looking faintly awkward. Guess I overdid the flattery. Not that it mattered.
Then he fell silent, sipping at his tea. He’d come here to talk, but was making me start? Just as I was about to say something, he held out his cup.
“Don’t like hot drinks? Here, have mine.”
I just stared at it. Dang Iheon didn’t insist, just calmly poured himself more tea.
Eventually, I accepted the cup. It had cooled to the perfect temperature. Dang Iheon spoke.
“You want to settle the engagement, don’t you?”
“Yeah. Like I’ve said, I have zero interest in marrying you—”
“I know. You made that very clear.”
He cut me off. Then paused, swirling his tea in thought.
Sure, I could imagine. Even hearing ‘I don’t want to marry you’ over and over would get old. Not exactly sweet words.
Dang Iheon finally looked up, face serious.
“I completely respect your wishes. Before, when I pushed it… it was only because I have a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“Yeah.”
His expression was grave. This wasn’t a joke. I decided to hear him out. Anyway, only a clown like Sahyeon would joke about something like this.
Dang Iheon met my eyes.
“I’d like us to keep our engagement for a while longer.”
