“Haha, this is really something. It’s a big problem.”
I stood in front of the gate, producing an awkward laughter. Grandfather glanced at me like that and grumbled.
“You find it amusing, huh?”
“Laughing brings fortune.”
“Who says such nonsense?”
“…….”
I also know that not everything in the world can be solved so easily. It’s just about having a positive mindset. And in situations like this, if you don’t think positively, it becomes an unbearable situation.
“Sigh, what should I do.”
I twisted my lips and looked at the gate of Sega. Numerous torn pieces of paper were scattered in front of the Sega gate.
It was the aftermath of Hyeol Jung-hyuk’s attempt to send a paper doll but failed.
Grandfather sighed heavily and mumbled.
“It seems you won’t easily give up on the Blood Alliance.”
“He wasn’t someone to give up easily.”
As I played along, Grandfather turned to me with an expression asking what I meant. I shrugged.
“He’s like a kid. He probably thinks of me as a toy he likes. Even if it’s broken, he wouldn’t want to hand it over to someone else.”
The Hyeol Jung-hyuk I saw was that kind of person. Hearing my explanation, Grandfather sighed, touching his forehead.
“Why do you always get entangled with such troublesome guys?”
I couldn’t let that remark pass. It sounded like blaming me, and the part where he called them ‘guys’ bothered me. I snapped back.
“No, how about Danmok So-gaju!”
“Do you not know about that? If it’s an obsession, it’s no different from others.”
“Ugh. It’s hard to deny that.”
Danmok-bi and obsession. Even in the original work, his sinister obsession couldn’t be hidden. Even with the changes now, it seemed like his fundamental nature hadn’t changed.
Still, Danmok-bi and Hyeol Jung-hyuk were not the same.
“But Danmok So-gaju would willingly let me go if I said I loved someone else.”
Danmok-bi would never do something he truly hated. He always thought of me first.
Upon hearing my words, Grandfather squinted his eyes, stared at me, and with pursed lips, said.
“And because of lingering attachment, he’ll keep lingering around you for 20 years, but will appear quickly if you break up.”
“Will you keep saying such unpleasant things!?”
What a new concept, an unfortunate thing to say. I found it absurd, so I pursed my lips, and Grandfather turned his head abruptly, responding spitefully.
“Say it a hundred times. That guy to me is just a wretched bastard, neither more nor less.”
“Grandfather, seriously!”
Continuing to express contempt for Danmok-bi like this won’t be easy. Feeling frustrated with Grandfather, who kept speaking ill of Danmok-bi, I retorted, and Grandfather chuckled lightly. Then he casually changed the subject of the conversation.
“That aside, it’s better for you to avoid trouble. At this rate, you might soon encounter Jegalsega.”
Grandfather’s words were too important to ignore when he said not to turn a blind eye. Even I could sense that if the paper doll continued to be obstructed like this, he would likely come in person.
“And with his short temper, he’ll come soon.”
He wasn’t one to wait for a long time or someone who would back down from a challenge. He would destroy everything and appear in person.
“He won’t consider me as family or anything like that.”
Thinking about it sent shivers down my spine. In the worst case, if I didn’t come out, he might kill all the villagers.
Carefully gauging Grandfather’s reaction, I asked, “Doesn’t that mean Jegalsega is in danger?”
Grandfather, understanding what I meant, flicked my forehead with his index finger, giving me a reprimand.
“How do you see Jegalsega? Even if a hundred guys like him come, it won’t be a problem.”
“I’m not saying I don’t trust you, Grandfather. I just think I might be causing trouble for Jegalsega….”
I scratched my forehead as I answered. As I spoke, it became clear that I was the one causing trouble, and my voice gradually lowered.
“Yeon-ah, Jegalsega is a kid. Attacking you is the same as attacking Jegalsega. That alone is reason enough for us to step in.”
Grandfather firmly held my shoulders as he said that.
“Moreover, this is not just your problem alone. If the Blood Alliance harmed my daughter, it’s an issue we cannot ignore.”
“…….”
Jegal Yeon’s mother. Thinking of her, who was found as a withered corpse, I clenched my fists tightly. Perhaps recalling that time, Grandfather spoke with a suppressed voice.
“Do you know how long I searched for that daughter? Every time I imagined my daughter taking her last breath on a cold street, it felt like blood tears were flowing from my eyes.”
“I know.”
The grief of losing a child, how can it be described? I held Grandfather’s hand.
“If only I had remembered a little sooner….”
“You did well enough. Thanks to you, I reunited with a daughter I never thought I’d see again.”
Patting my hand, Grandfather spoke with a compassionate tone.
“Meeting you that day was truly fate.”
That day refers to the day we first met. It was the day when, fleeing from the assassins Danmok-su sent, I encountered Grandfather. I grinned as I replied.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
