An accident occurred.
A tangled situation where everyone is at a loss. Where to point out the problems? Where to start fixing this? It’s a troubling accident for everyone.
Whose fault is it? In the midst of a multi-vehicle collision, it’s hard to determine the ratio of faults, and here I am, standing in it.
Why did this accident have to happen? If it hadn’t, I would have arrived home safe and sound. Regret is not what I should be feeling right now. I can’t just sit down and wait for it to sort itself out.
“If I just stand still, I’ll be the only one who suffers in the end.”
If I don’t step up now, the one who suffers the most will indeed be me. After all, the cause of this accident is me anyway.
Time to move.
Man Geum Battlefield. Elders’ Council of the Zhuge Family. Father-in-law. All the way to the Sichuan Tang Family. Before they all point fingers at me as the culprit, I need to act first.
For now.
“Chief of the Medical Department, you seem a bit too excited. Let’s calm your anger for a moment…”
I’m going to step in smoothly to soothe the Chief of the Medical Department.
“What’s happening here?”
As soon as the Chief of the Medical Department frowned, the martial artists from the Tang Family moved.
“Master Kang, pardon our interruption.”
“No! Wait a second!”
You reckless Tang Family folks! Can’t you see that raising your voices is just going to complicate the fault discussion? It’s not the time to be caught in your hooks and overpowered.
I infused energy into the Yongcheonjeol.
“Uh?! When did Master Kang learn the Transcendence Technique?”
My fiancée informed me. Not the silver-haired one. The pink-haired one!
“Catch him!”
No way I’m getting caught. I elegantly slipped between people.
“This is a sweet spot.”
What’s that Gil-san doing over there? As I weaved through, I spotted Gil-san, presenting his rear as he took a seat toward the Elder’s Council.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m Jeon Gil-san, the nephew of the Head of Family. Don’t mind me. There’s ample room, so I’ll just sit here.”
“No…”
“I brought some butter-grilled squid. Would you like some?”
No wonder there was a delicious smell when we came over!
At the moment Gil-san presented the plump butter-grilled squid to the Elder Council, I felt the martial artist’s hand at the back of my neck almost simultaneously.
“Master Kang! Please stay still!”
Look over there. The Elder Council is watching with keen interest.
“Hmm…”
“I brought plenty, knowing this would happen. Don’t refuse, just eat.”
“Master Kang! What have you been up to?!”
It’s the Shadowless Body Technique.
Dodging the martial artist’s hand, I stepped forward. It’s my Ascending’s Skill that allows escape from any situation.
“Give me a moment to speak!”
No matter how rowdy the Sichuan Tang Family martial artists are, even they would find it tricky to handle the Shadowless Body Technique.
“Quiet! Please!”
“Ugh!”
“I’ve subdued him!”
Oh no. I’m not the Shadowless Thief.
“Ugh! Mmmmmm!”
I desperately resisted to avoid being put down. Chief of the Medical Department, if you don’t give me a chance to speak, I’ll continue to embarrass myself! I’ll draw all eyes toward me. I’ll throw a tantrum!
Oh please, let me go.
The Chief of the Medical Department sighed viewing me.
“…Let him go.”
“Gah! Gah! Even if others have nothing to say, shouldn’t I be able to speak!”
“Your mouth is the biggest problem…”
The Chief of the Medical Department spoke to me, glaring intensely.
“I won’t disappoint you. Just give me a chance.”
“What could you possibly have to say? Are you going to defend the Zhuge Family who’s treating you this way?”
“Chief of the Medical Department…”
In that moment, I was at a loss for words. There was sincere anger in the Chief’s voice. Anger meant for me.
“If word of this gets out, the Sichuan Tang Family won’t sit idle.”
“What?!”
“What do you mean by that?!”
Beside me, Gil-san, who had been watching with interest, gasped as an Elder Councilman chewing on squid shouted.
“The reason I have is in my hands right now! Do you think we, the Sichuan Tang Family, can just stand by after this?!”
In the Chief of the Medical Department’s hand, he held evidence so strong that no excuse could work against it.
“Hmmm.”
It’s an entangled mess of a situation.
What should I do now?
It’s a misunderstanding. It’s actually my fault. I intentionally didn’t explain. The Zhuge family isn’t to blame. The Man Geum Battlefield is at fault. But even if I say this, they won’t believe me.
Man Geum-jeon is the father-in-law of the Zhuge Family Head. The Zhuge Family’s Elder Council forced me to use Zhuge Seolrok on them. No matter how much I try explaining, the misunderstanding won’t clear—it’ll just be a waste of breath.
Now that we’ve come this far in the situation, I need to pull out a different card.
Let’s use the Small Wheel Mental Image Technique. To ensure everyone can hear. So even the excited Chief of the Medical Department can hear. I slowly opened my mouth.
“It’s a gift.”
“Kang Yoon-ho, what are you saying?”
“Zhuge Seolrok is a gift I offered to the Zhuge Family.”
——
If it’s difficult to untie the knots of misunderstanding, then let’s swing a blade at the knot.
“A gift, you say?”
“Yes, it’s a gift I gave to my fiancée. Just as I used The Rise of the Tang Family for Hwa-rin, I used Zhuge Seolrok for Miss Zhuge.”
I’m telling a lie.
The Zhuge Family too. The Sichuan Tang Family too. Everyone gathered here can see that I’m telling a blatant lie.
“Even though circumstantial evidence is everywhere, are you trying to protect the Zhuge Family with a lie?!”
As expected, the reaction was what I anticipated. But just because it’s a lie everyone can see doesn’t mean it won’t have effect.
“Just because a husband brings home fragrant flowers for his wife on her birthday morning, it doesn’t lose its meaning.”
“Kang Yoon-ho!”
A lie everyone can see can also make people sense the heart of the liar.
‘For now, I’ll keep a mental debt to the Zhuge Family.’
Kang Yoon-ho is defending the Zhuge Family. Even the disapproving Elder Councilman’s glare lightened a bit with what I said.
‘It gives the Sichuan Tang family a reason to step back.’
In any case, this is my self-written story. I must speak to the Chief of the Medical Department.
“Everyone already knows! So why are you…!”
“Of course, the hints were excessive, but…”
I playfully affirmed his misunderstanding, looking at the flustered Chief of the Medical Department.
“Hahaha.”
A heartfelt sigh escaped the Elder Council, unable to refute my words.
That’s what I wanted.
‘There’s no need to resolve the Tang Family misunderstanding.’
Instead, I should utilize the Tang Family’s misunderstanding.
Even if I were to clear up the misunderstanding right now, the remaining truth would just be that I’m a man who tried to marry without revealing my fiancée.
‘The Sichuan Tang Family must become a firm ally for me.’
There’s no need to untie a knot of misunderstanding that simply can’t be unraveled.
Instead of resolving misunderstandings, let’s provide justification so the Zhuge Family can’t pressure me unfairly. But at the same time, I need to show my resolve so they have no justification to stubbornly oppose me.
“Kang Yoon-ho, if you desire it, the Tang Family will not remain idle.”
The Chief of the Medical Department’s words were quite serious.
“I appreciate the sincere anger, but I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me.”
“Martial artists must act when the time calls for it.”
“I’m a writer, not a martial artist!”
“Someone has to stand up for you…”
“I don’t want to write with spilled blood.”
“…….”
Father-in-law. Elder Council members from the Zhuge Family. You’re all watching, right?
Every moment is adding a debt towards me. Stopping a full-scale war with the Tang Family.
“Bring him here by force! They’re the ones who made you write to satiate their dark desires!”
“Well, it seems so. Living as a writer, I feel I often encounter such matters.”
Didn’t I face this last year too? Even having been taken against my will. A self-mocking smile appeared on my face, causing the Chief of the Medical Department to stare at me in surprise.
“Kang Yoon-ho!”
“Like you got angry for me, calm down for me, and give me a chance to clarify, just like that time.”
All the misunderstandings you hold are true. I won’t deny them. But it’s also true that I’m here to seek permission to marry. So please wait just a moment.
I smiled gently toward the Chief of the Medical Department.
On a certain day last year, it was the same face when I was leaving the Tang Family.
“…Your sweet tongue hasn’t changed, I see.”
“I see the Chief of the Medical Department hasn’t changed either, and that’s comforting.”
In the end, I managed to buy some time.
——
I calmed the Chief of the Medical Department, but this is just the starting point.
The bomb has detonated.
The plan to make it a dud and clean it up beside the grinning grandson has gone up in smoke. I took a deep breath inward and passed by the Chief of the Medical Department.
With the eyes of the Elder Council and Miss Zhuge on me, I slowly walked toward my father-in-law.
“Father.”
“Kang Yoon-ho…”
His expression bore the signs of an imminent explosion.
I felt like I was a fish out of water.
“I’m sorry for causing a ruckus.”
Emergency evacuation! Emergency evacuation! In apologizing to my father-in-law, I also apologized to the Elder Council.
“A forced engagement? What do you mean by that?”
“Didn’t they fall for each other and decide to live together?”
“What are you saying about fiancée?!”
“Son of the Tang Family Leader. This is really the son of the Tang Baek-ho, right?”
The Elder Council immediately spewed their curiosities, but all fell silent at the cold voice that echoed from the head seat.
“What on earth is going on?”
All eyes within the Head Family’s Hall turned to my father-in-law.
“It seems that there are many misunderstandings tangled between us.”
“…Really.”
I could sense the tremor of betrayal in my father’s voice.
“…”
“Did you really have a fiancée?”
The fury pouring out seemed limitless.
How should I answer? Is there a way to soothe my father-in-law’s anger? How can I navigate through this chaos?
I didn’t hesitate.
“Yes, I have a fiancée named Tang Hwa-rin, whom I still love.”
It was an answer without a hint of hesitation.
“Really? Was it true all along?”
“Yes, I had a fiancée before I met Miss Zhuge.”
I answered proudly. Just like I did nothing wrong.
“You…! You’ve been deceiving me all this time?!!!”
The armrest of my father-in-law’s chair shattered. I had seen his angry face many times, but this expression was beyond anything I’d witnessed before.
“Dad!”
A catastrophe looms.
I can hear the sound of impending doom. A man with a fiancée coming to ask for marriage permission while keeping it secret from his father-in-law.
‘This is just perfect.’
An absolutely unforgivable act. Why did it have to be the Tang Family? Let go of that bitterness. Instead consider it fortune that it happened before it was too late.
Right now, this moment.
There’s a way to escape here. It allows me to proudly acknowledge the existence of my fiancée.
“I asked her to keep it quiet.”
“Lady?”
“I instructed her not to say anything to me.”
Mother-in-law.
I have another ally.
