As soon as Dang Iheon joined us, the usual atmosphere at the table changed. Especially those so-called brothers of mine—today, they were all acting stiff and serious.
“Is the food to your taste?” asked Moyong Cheon.
“It’s excellent,” Dang Iheon replied with a gentle smile. “I hardly know how to repay such gracious hospitality. Next time you come to Sichuan, I’ll make sure the finest dishes and wines are waiting for you.”
“Well. Can’t say I’ll be heading to Sichuan any time soon.”
Moyong Cheon looked a bit sour, clearly not pleased about something. Moyong Ha stayed silent but didn’t try to smooth it over either. The head of the house, Moyong Wi, finally spoke in his calm, dignified voice.
“Cheon. He’s our esteemed guest.”
He really put weight on that word—guest.
Huh. I’d heard this sort of thing plenty back when I was running around on the streets. Usually it was the polite way to oppose a marriage: keep calling them a “guest,” so it’s clear they’d never be part of the family.
Which meant… for once, the Moyong Clan and I were actually on the same page!
I jumped on the moment, hurriedly swallowing the food in my mouth.
“So, there’s something I wanted to say about my engagement to Dang Iheon—”
But before I could finish, Dang Iheon, who had been looking down at his plate, suddenly cut in.
“Yeonhwa. I should be the one to speak about this. That’s only proper.”
Huh? Is there some kind of etiquette rule that says the groom-to-be has to handle the breakup? Maybe that’s how it works among these fancy families. I didn’t know—I’d never done this before. So I just nodded along.
Dang Iheon set down his chopsticks, his expression growing serious.
“It’s been nearly ten years since Yeonhwa and I were first betrothed. It pains me greatly to bring this up now, after so long…”
The moment he mentioned our engagement, all the Moyong people fell silent and listened intently. The air grew heavy. Surely it wouldn’t come to bloodshed just because we called it off, right? They’re orthodox sect types, they care about appearances—surely not. Probably.
Dang Iheon continued.
“When I return from my current duties, I intend to formally speak with you, the Head of the House, and move forward with our marriage.”
…What? What did he just say?
“And what’s prompted you to change your mind so suddenly?”
Moyong Muhyeok asked, his expression dark.
Yeah, I’d like to know that too. We already agreed to break it off—why’s he flipping the script now? Was he just messing with me this whole time?
“No, this is—”
“Ahwa. Don’t rush to defend him. I want to hear what Young Master Dang has to say. Marriage isn’t something you toss aside like picking out clothes.”
His tone was firm and unusually severe.
Excuse me, but I put a lot of thought into my clothes. And for the record, I wasn’t trying to defend anyone—I was about to end this engagement!
I glared at Dang Iheon, mentally cursing him out. But he just continued calmly.
“After Yeonhwa’s accident, spending time here in the Moyong Clan, I came to realize something. I’d been foolish and blind all these years, failing to see what truly mattered.”
Whatever he was about to say—please, don’t. Just don’t.
Under the table, I slammed my foot into Dang Iheon’s shin. Hard. It clearly connected, judging by the way Moyong Ha’s face turned bright red, though Dang Iheon himself didn’t even flinch.
Ah. Must’ve kicked the wrong person. Oops.
“And what is it you realized?” asked Moyong Muhyeok.
Don’t ask! Nobody answer him! Please, just let this die here!
“That Yeonhwa is far more precious to me than I ever recognized. More dear and valuable than—”
“Aaaargh! AAAAAH! Gaaah!”
I let out a strangled shriek and bolted upright from my seat. Ignoring everyone’s stunned faces and the voices calling after me, I ran from the room without looking back, goosebumps crawling over every inch of my skin.
These maniacs—!
***
“If you’re gonna laugh that hard, you might as well just grin normally instead of trying to hold it in!”
“Haha! Hahaha! Hahahahaha!”
“Get out!”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I snatched up a pillow and hurled it across the room. Naturally, Sahyeon dodged it easily—and annoyingly enough, he kept laughing the whole time.
Late that night, that bastard had slipped into my room without even his mask on. The moment he saw me, he burst out laughing. Apparently he’d watched the whole humiliating scene in the garden.
Even when I demanded to know why he’d come, he just said he’d gotten curious and dropped by for a look—like we were old pals sharing secrets or something. The nerve of this lunatic.
And because I couldn’t exactly raise a racket to drive him out, I ended up just leaving him there, where he acted even more outrageously. Seeing that smug, smiling face made me want to smash it with my fist.
“Ha, it’s just too funny. After you went storming out screaming like that, everyone sat there for ages looking completely dumbfounded, like they’d swallowed flies. Especially your youngest brother—he was so shocked he even got the hiccups, hahaha….”
“…Fucking hell, seriously.”
“You say you’d never in a million years marry me. So what now? Have you decided to grow old together with Young Hero Dang instead?”
“Shut up. It’s not like that. That bastard just went and did whatever he wanted…!”
“No need to make excuses. I’m already wounded, you know.”
“Ugh, seriously! Wouldn’t it be simpler if I just killed this bastard and that bastard and all the rest of them!”
I was going to throw the pillow, but I’d already thrown it earlier, so I grabbed the next thing that came to hand and chucked that instead. It turned out to be a teacup. Sahyeon snatched it clean out of the air, maybe worried the commotion would draw someone over.
Then he had the nerve to pour tea into that cup and leisurely savor the aroma. What a pretentious bastard.
“Why do you think Young Hero Dang suddenly changed his mind? I thought he wasn’t even considering marriage.”
“How the hell should I know what’s in that bastard’s head? Maybe he just snapped for no reason!”
“Could it be that Young Hero Dang actually likes girls who act like thugs?”
It was honestly a bit strange. A guy who’d shown no intention of marrying even after ten years of being betrothed, suddenly flipping his tune just because we shared a few sweets by the pond.
Could it be…
“Did that bastard maybe catch on to something?”
“Eh, I doubt it.”
“If he’s sniffed something out like you did, I’ll have to take care of him. What a pain in the ass.”
“Hello? Are you even listening to yourself?”
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the only explanation. The outside matched Moyong Yeonhwa perfectly, so what else would suddenly stir his feelings? Nothing else made sense.
Except—taking out the heir of Sichuan Dang House wasn’t exactly simple. Even if I hired someone, who’d be reckless enough to lay a finger on a scion of such a famous clan…?
Oh.
“That’s right.”
“Hmm? What?”
Sahyeon raised an eyebrow, bringing the teacup to his lips. I started calculating how much money I could muster.
“I’ll pay you. Take care of Dang Iheon for m—”
I didn’t get to finish. The tea he’d just sipped came spraying right into my face.
Warm liquid trickled down my cheek.
“….”
I drew my dagger.
“You son of a—!”
“Wait, wait! Let’s put the knife down and talk about this.”
“You spit in my face? I’ll carve out your tongue!”
I leapt up, charging around the small table. Sahyeon jumped to his feet too, skittering away with his hands up, his movements ridiculously exaggerated.
“It was an accident! I swear, it was just too absurd not to choke on. And it wasn’t spit, it was tea—sorry, sorry. Really. Now put the knife down.”
Like hell. He’d probably stay calm even if I brandished a glaive instead of a dagger. That phony show of alarm just made me angrier. I stabbed the dagger into the table and slumped into a chair, roughly wiping my face with the cloth he tossed me.
Sahyeon perched on the chair across from me, resting his chin on his hands like a flower.
“So, what are you planning to do about the marriage?”
“What’s it to you?”
“I’m curious. We’re in this together, aren’t we?”
“I never let you on my boat.”
“Harsh. I was saving you a spot on mine.”
“Get lost.”
He was impossibly flippant. I gripped my head.
“What else? There’s not going to be a wedding. We already agreed on that.”
“Funny, that’s not how Young Master Dang seems to see it.”
“He broke his word. After everything was settled. That means I’ll hold him accountable—no matter what.”
I clenched my fist tight. Not only did he break our agreement, he humiliated me in front of all those Moyong people with those nauseatingly sweet words—
I shuddered all over again, groaning silently as I tugged at my hair. At this rate, I’d shed enough strands to make half a tunic out of Moyong Yeonhwa’s locks. Still plenty left, though.
Sahyeon watched me quietly, then said,
“You know, Yeonhwa… seems like—”
“Seems like what?”
“You actually like all that sappy talk. Want me to say some? I’m good at it.”
“Out.”
Honestly, speaking to this bastard was always a mistake.
“You hate saying things twice, even more three times, but that’s the third time you’ve told me to get lost. Makes me wonder what the fourth’ll be.”
One day, when I get my martial arts back, he’s the first I’m killing.
When I didn’t answer, just glared at him, Sahyeon poured fresh tea into another cup and slid it over to me. I didn’t touch it. Instead, I said coldly,
“You’re not up to anything with the Young Master, are you? I’m watching you.”
Sahyeon poured more tea into his own cup, and I subtly shifted sideways in case he spit again.
“I keep my promises. Unlike some people.”
He winked. Again with that winking.
“You know, that looks like an eye twitch. Are you sick?”
“What? Haha, an eye infection? You kill me.”
Not meant to be funny, but he started laughing so hard he slapped the armrest. When I just stared at him, he rested his chin in his hands again and cooed,
“Keep it up, Yeonhwa. Make things interesting. That’ll make me want to stick around longer. Good for your Young Master, right?”
Well—good for him until I finally escaped this place. But I didn’t correct him. Seeing his soft smile gave me a bit of a chill.
“Oh, and the pouch you stole from me before. Hand it over.”
Ah, right. The night we nearly killed each other, I’d swiped one of his little pouches and never given it back. I hadn’t even checked what was inside yet.
Didn’t take long to find—it was still on the table, probably set aside by Hyangah when she was cleaning. Looked well-worn, clearly something he’d carried forever.
I gestured lazily.
“There. Take it.”
“You look inside?”
Sahyeon caught it, tossed it lightly, then caught it again. There was something faintly chilling in his eyes. I replied blandly,
“Why? Something valuable in there?”
“You didn’t look.”
“No profit in it.”
He seemed a bit surprised, then smiled and tucked the pouch back inside his robes. Just like that, all that sharpness vanished. It made me weirdly curious.
If I hadn’t forgotten, I probably would have peeked. The way he reacted, it probably wasn’t a weapon. Maybe some identifying crest? Or just something personally precious—like a lover’s token.
Well. I’d get another chance to steal it again.
“I’m going to bed. So get—no, just leave.”
Had to grit my teeth not to say “get lost.” Sahyeon laughed like that was the funniest thing yet.
“Want me to sing you a lullaby?”
“Out.”
“Fourth time! Love it.”
Ugh. I hated him more than any of these Moyong idiots.
Second only to that bastard Heavenly Demon, honestly.
***
In conclusion—
“He might be a little slow, but Sahyeon’s a good kid. Didn’t he help you out before? It always takes time to get in sync with the people under you. Since you brought him along, try to get along with him.”
…Utterly pointless. Completely hopeless.
