Chapter 36
“Hey, you’re the kind mister who helped me find my brother! No fighting!”
“…Helped? Are you saying that guy is the one who secretly took you from your home?”
Eun Sowol, who had been watching their conversation, whispered to Dok Go-ryong.
“Uncle, did he kidnap that kid?”
“Would I do that?”
“He said he found her by the wall.”
“She just followed me on her own. If it weren’t for me, she’d really have been kidnapped. Don’t follow strangers outside, even if they say they know me, okay?”
“Am I a kid? You think I’d fall for such a lame lie?”
“You’re a kid. So, are you an adult then?”
While the two were having this small argument, the man questioned Jinmyeong.
Eventually, Jinmyeong had no choice but to confess the truth.
“I came out through the dog hole that my brother uses.”
“What? You! I told you not to go near that place…!”
“But brother didn’t come home! He didn’t come home for ten nights, twenty nights!”
The man frowned and abruptly turned his head.
“I clearly told you not to look for me anymore. So why do you do things I didn’t ask?”
“I just wanted to see brother… Does brother not want to see me?”
“No. Why would I want to see a little brother who’s always crying?”
Jinmyeong shed big tears and looked at the man desperately, but he coldly looked away.
As if he had no intention of going back.
Jinmyeong, hurt deeply, choked back sobs and tears.
“I hate brother… I hate brother the most in the world!”
He suddenly stomped away.
The man turned back hurriedly.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going without knowing the way?”
“Don’t come! I don’t need a hateful brother!”
Despite this, as the man tried to follow Jinmyeong, Eun Sowol grabbed him.
“I’ll go.”
“Where are you going?”
Instead of the man, Dok Go-ryong stopped her.
“I won’t go outside. Uncle, comfort that man.”
“…Don’t go far.”
“Okay!”
With permission granted, Eun Sowol quickly followed Jinmyeong.
‘I’m sure she went this way.’
Sniff.
While looking around, Eun Sowol heard sniffling and carefully headed toward the sound.
Jinmyeong hadn’t gone far, just hiding behind the outer gate’s wall of Chwiseonru.
With red-rimmed eyes, she looked at Eun Sowol, sniffling.
“I’m worried about brother. Let’s go back quickly.”
“No… I don’t have a brother.”
“Aren’t you here to find the brother you don’t have?”
Jinmyeong didn’t answer, instead drawing her knees tighter.
Seeing her sorrow reminded Eun Sowol of herself.
Left alone at the Dokgo family estate, longing for Dok Go-ryong.
“Did brother run away from home?”
“What’s running away?”
“Leaving home.”
“Home…”
After a long silence, tears suddenly burst from Jinmyeong’s eyes.
“Waaah! It’s all my fault… What if brother never wants to see me again?”
Hearing the loud crying, Eun Sowol didn’t know what to do but pat Jinmyeong’s back and try to comfort her.
“Does brother hate me? Because mother died…”
“Huh? Mother died?”
“Yeah… I said I wanted to go outside to play… The carriage overturned…”
It seemed like a tragic accident.
Eun Sowol felt pity, knowing well how painful losing a mother could be.
“Brother liked studying with grandfather, liked training… But now he does nothing. Doesn’t even come home… Other brothers and sisters say he’s changed…”
“Are there more older siblings?”
“Yeah.”
“How many brothers and sisters?”
Jinmyeong wiggled her fingers.
“Eleven.”
That’s enough siblings for a soccer team.
No matter it’s a martial arts story, can a family really have so many children?
‘Ah, maybe…!’
“Are they all half-siblings?”
“Yes! Father has five wives including our mother.”
A household with five wives — quite remarkable.
“You seem especially close to that mister? Don’t other siblings look for him?”
“Not close to other siblings…”
“But you have so many siblings?”
“Brother told me not to get close. Says he’s poisonous.”
“Oh? Poison?”
“But… Jin-hyuk hyung told me where brother is, so I came out… Brother would be mad if he found out, right?”
“Definitely…”
If he warned her like that, he must get angry.
More than that — poison?
Even among half-siblings, how can they casually talk about using poison?
Usually, the worst treatment among the Dokgo family’s brats is bullying.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Eun Sowol’s mind.
That mister — though a hooligan — seemed like a rich nobleman wearing black gloves.
Just like a poison user.
Also, didn’t Dok Go-ryong say he found Jinmyeong by the wall?
And the place he just came from was…
“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I’m Eun Sowol! What’s your name?”
It was a sudden question, but Jinmyeong didn’t seem to find it strange and rubbed her eyes.
“Dang Jinmyeong.”
So she really is from the Sacheon Dang Clan!
“Well, then mister… no, wait! What’s your brother’s name?”
“Dang Jinak.”
Now she understood why their family was so big.
The Sacheon Dang Clan is known to value bloodlines and have many children.
‘But Jinak? That name definitely…’
“Ugh!”
At that moment, a strange sound made Eun Sowol snap to attention.
She turned and saw a white cloth covering Jinmyeong’s face, and behind it, a figure in black covering their mouth.
An assassin.
Eun Sowol felt chills run to her scalp.
“Unc…ugh!”
Her mouth and nose were suddenly covered by someone.
A faint scent stung her nose, and her vision started to blur.
“…”
“…”
After the two children disappeared, silence settled.
Dok Go-ryong and Dang Jinak exchanged wary looks.
After a long silence, Dok Go-ryong spoke first.
“Stop acting pitiful and go bring the kid. Beg so hard your hands and feet disappear, and never come near that kid again.”
“You start trouble for no reason and act crazy.”
“Then don’t be like a thrown-away bastard.”
“But this guy…!”
“Your sister?”
Dang Jinak’s hand twitched.
“She asked a stranger to find her brother. I tried to ignore her but some kidnappers tried to take her, so…”
“What?!”
Dang Jinak shouted, and Dok Go-ryong gave him a disdainful look.
“I just brought her back. Teach your sister some manners. How can she follow someone she barely knows who says he knows her brother?”
“She’s innocent, that’s why. You have someone similar with you.”
“She’s smart and won’t follow just anyone.”
Is that a compliment or an insult?
Dang Jinak suddenly understood where Eun Sowol’s fierce temper came from.
“A grown man runs away, and his little sister has to come find him?”
“You don’t seem like someone who cares about others.”
“Yeah. I’m not curious about your reasons either.”
“Then why are you whining?”
“Don’t know. Maybe she reminds me of that brat.”
Dang Jinak frowned and glared at Dok Go-ryong a long time.
He really looked like he didn’t care, annoyed with the whole world.
That somehow made Dang Jinak feel relieved, and he plopped down.
“…Have you ever regretted bringing a brat along?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened?”
“…”
Dok Go-ryong stared, waiting for him to speak first.
After a long silence, Dang Jinak finally spoke.
“…I was a promising heir of the clan. There were talks that I might inherit the position.”
“The heir means the clan head candidate?”
“Yeah. One of the candidates… Wait, how do you know that?”
Dang Jinak’s eyes flickered.
He didn’t tell Dok Go-ryong his name or background.
That’s why he spoke indirectly about being heir.
“Your eyes are sharp. Before clashing with the green gloves, the way you put your hand in your sleeve — definitely a family trait.”
Actually, Dok Go-ryong didn’t realize it immediately but could tell upon closer observation.
And Jinmyeong was found in the Sacheon Dang Clan’s dog hole.
“Keep talking. I don’t care if you’re a clan heir candidate or just a wandering thug in Sichuan.”
