Vol. 1 Chapter 2.4

Along with the sound of the Guest House doors opening, a stranger appeared.

From the moment he appeared, the man captured everyone’s attention. Yeon, Namgung Ji-hyun who had been on the verge of losing it, even So-jin standing by the entrance all stared blankly at him.

“Ahh…”

He was a man so handsome he could easily slap the faces of modern celebrities a dozen times over.

His refreshingly elongated eyes, the perfectly sculpted lines of his nose and lips. If there was a male god representing Eastern beauty, he must have looked like this, yet his translucent skin and distinct T-zone gave an exotic feel that made one admire him anew.

Beneath his prominent brow bones, his shaded eyes were a deep dark brown. For some reason, that pupil color felt very familiar to Yeon, but his indifferent, almost detached gaze offset that familiarity. He was a person with many conflicting charms.

After a moment’s pause, the man slowly began to walk. His long black hair, roughly tied in the back, and his unkempt bangs fell across his smooth forehead. Even that sight was indescribably beautiful.

Yeon didn’t know much about things like jade or fine features. More than that, this man strongly resembled someone she knew.

Finally, a sound almost like a groan escaped Yeon’s lips.

“Elond…?”

The man didn’t seem to have missed Yeon’s small voice. Their eyes met in the air.

That gave Yeon another chance to observe him closely.

No matter how I look at him, he’s exactly like Elond. Of course, with a bit of an Eastern touch, but…

Actually, that was even better.

It felt like seeing a new version of Elond. Elond had stepped out of 2D and fallen into reality (Eastern style). Having witnessed him directly, Yeon mentally applauded.

Ten out of ten. A perfect score.

Just then, a booming voice shattered the silence of the Guest House.

“Hahaha! Who do we have here? If it isn’t Cheon-gang.”

The man who stood up with exaggerated laughter resembled Namgung Ji-hyun. And for good reason.. he was Namgung Myung, the first son of the Namgung Clan.

“What brings you here? You haven’t shown your face in a while.”

“Well, you know…”

As Lee Cheon-gang trailed off, his eyes briefly swept over Yeon. But the glance was so fleeting that even Yeon herself didn’t notice.

“Just thought I’d drop by.”

At his simple answer, Namgung Myung nodded. Then, casually walking over in front of Yeon and Namgung Ji-hyun, he positioned himself as if to block them.

“Good to have you here, friend. The atmosphere was getting tense, but thanks to you, things should settle down.”

There he was, having remained silent all this time, now running his mouth. Naturally, Yeon’s eyes narrowed.

What’s with this guy? He was keeping quiet until now.

Namgung Myung, wearing a generous smile, turned to Yeon.

“Young Lady Hwangbo, let’s stop here. You’ve come to an exchange gathering after a long time, no need to get heated. Ji-hyun, you should quit it too.”

Well, look at that?

Not a single word of apology for his sister’s rudeness. He was subtly positioning himself as a mediator. It almost would have ended that way but…

Fortunately, Namgung Ji-hyun didn’t seem to want that.

“Brother! We can’t just let this slide. You saw everything just now. That insignificant Clan’s-”

“Ji-hyun!”

Namgung Myung’s harsh voice cut off Ji-hyun’s words. His lowered gaze quickly checked on Lee Cheon-gang before returning to his sister.

“I said, quit it.”

At his coercive tone, Ji-hyun’s eyes defiantly narrowed. Still, she seemed afraid of her brother and didn’t dare to talk back.

Yeon watched the close-knit siblings with interest. Ji-hyun’s overstepping behavior was one thing, but the way things were unfolding was quite amusing.

Come to think of it, he stopped the fight because of Cheon-gang too.

But why? Why was he so conscious of him?

As Yeon pondered, information about Namgung Myung suddenly surfaced in her mind. About him and Lee Cheon-gang, and further, about the relationship between the Namgung Clan and the Lee Clan. Even the secrets intertwined between the two families.

Ah, so that’s why…

The moment she realized it, Yeon impulsively moved. Toward Lee Cheon-gang, who was standing there idly. Before anyone could stop her, she reached him and asked,

“Are you the young master of the greatest clan under heaven, the young hero Lee Cheon-gang?”

“Whoa!”

“Oh my…”

The juniors in the Guest House were all flustered. Because of the phrase “greatest clan under heaven” that Yeon had used.

Calling Cheon-gang that, in front of Namgung Myung was practically taboo. Because that title, greatest Clan under heaven was one the Namgung Clan had lost. To none other than Cheon-gang’s father, Lee Baek-san.

“This crazy bitch really…”

Namgung Myung grabbed his sister’s arm as she tried to lash out again. His smile gone, veins bulged on his forehead.

Lee Cheon-gang, who had been silent, finally answered.

“I don’t know about the rest, but I am indeed Lee Cheon-gang. And you, young lady…”

“I’m Hwangbo Yeon.”

At her answer, he nodded with an odd expression. After watching him for a moment, Yeon looked around and said,

“But why is the atmosphere like this? Did I make some kind of mistake?”

Yeon acted as if she had no idea. Her expression was just like So-jin’s when she’d watched Hyun-oh run away earlier.

“How strange. It wasn’t like this earlier… Surely it can’t be that mentioning Young Hero Lee Cheon-gang’s name was a mistake.”

Tilting her head, Yeon’s eyes rolled toward Namgung Myung, who was quietly glaring at her.

“Could it be because of the phrase ‘greatest Clan under heaven’?”

Sparks flew from Namgung Myung’s darkened eyes.

“…Young Lady Hwangbo, are you picking a fight with me right now?”

“Huh? A fight? That was with ‘Young Lady’ Namgung. She spoke rudely about my clan, didn’t she?”

This time, Yeon’s eyes turned toward Namgung Ji-hyun.

“Insignificant, she said. I don’t know how great the Namgung Clan thinks it is to throw around words like that.”

“You-!”

At the blatant provocation, steam seemed to rise from Namgung Ji-hyun’s head. Yeon could almost hear a hiss. For a moment, she wanted to say “Beep. Cooking complete,” but barely held back.

Laugh internally. Laugh!

Just as she was humming a melody inwardly, Namgung Myung approached Yeon. Rolling his eyes, he spit out his words as if chewing them.

“Listen here, Young Lady. Hwangbo. Yeon.”

A fierce energy radiated from Namgung Myung’s entire body. At the same time, an invisible force slowly began to choke Yeon. The original Hwangbo Yeon might not have been able to handle it. But…

Pfft.

Yeon casually shrugged off the pressure. Finding Namgung Myung’s show of strength annoying, she considered provoking him further, but then another thought occurred to her.

“Oh, wait a moment. When you come at me so fiercely… Ahh…”