“J-Jugeol Soja.”
“Hyang-i! How did you get here? Weren’t you locked up?”
Right. I heard that my father locked her up to prevent us from meeting. Both Gil-san and I couldn’t help but be shocked by the unexpected appearance of Jugeol Soja.
“Hehe. It was a bit tough! The martial artists my dad put in charge were watching even while they slept. But during the evening shift, I realized the guard at the second window on the right became a bit slack, so I escaped!”
How on earth did she figure that out?
Of course, protecting the direct line would be the Zhuge Family’s core strength.
Even though Jugeol Soja was in charge of Team Shadowless Thief, she’s definitely capable of carrying out the plan.
“How fortunate! Good news has arrived from the Head Family’s Hall.”
This is troublesome. Of all times, it’s when I happen to be holding Hwa-rin’s letter. I made an effort to change the subject by announcing important news.
“Is it about my dad?”
“Yes, he said he would meet me tomorrow.”
“Really?!”
“I’ve deliberately set Zhuge Seolrok loose in the family to sway people’s hearts. It seems to have had an effect.”
Taking advantage of Jugeol Soja’s moment of joy, I hid the letter behind me. Although we weren’t speaking, Gil-san naturally acted as if it was mine and tucked it into his chest.
Perfect.
Let’s keep the conversation going. While I distract Jugeol Soja, Gil-san can hide the letter.
“By the way, why are you hiding a letter?”
Caught immediately.
“U-um, it’s nothing special.”
“A letter with the name Master Kang written in big letters?”
“……”
“Who sent the letter?”
Jugeol Soja’s voice sounds a bit unfamiliar.
Why? Am I scared? No. Is it me who’s feeling scared? Sweat trickles down my back.
“I-I’ll just step outside.”
Coward. An emergency evasion maneuver. Gil-san quickly left the room.
“Master Kang?”
Jugeol Soja. Why the sudden formality, calling me ‘you’ instead of ‘you’? I couldn’t bring myself to ask.
How should I respond?
Should I make excuses? Lie? I thought for a moment, but the conclusion was one.
“It’s from my fiancée in the Tang Family.”
——
Jugeol Soja silently unfolded Hwa-rin’s letter. Her face was hidden by the letter.
“It seems you received it while I was locked up.”
Were you thinking of another woman while I was trapped? Is it just my imagination that it sounds like a reprimand?
Jugeol Soja, please don’t really mean that.
“Ah, the Chief of the Medical Department said the Tang Family’s representative has written back… Haha.”
“It only has his three-letter name written on it.”
“It’s a reply to the letter I sent before… It… it was just written like that.”
It was embarrassing when you receive a message from another female friend while on a date with your girlfriend. I brushed it off as trivial when my friend complained, but why does my back feel cold when I’m in that situation?
“You seem very angry.”
Jugeol Soja appears to be angry too.
“When I said it was okay if my side felt empty, I guess I shouldn’t have tried to satisfy both sides, huh?”
“Ahaha…”
It was a drier laugh than usual.
What should I do? Is Jugeol Soja really angry? Gil-san was right all along.
“I’m sorry.”
Right. I need to focus on the engagement issue now; it’s not a time to dwell on Hwa-rin’s letter. I lowered my head immediately.
“Y-yes?”
From behind, I heard a slightly flustered voice.
“I wasn’t trying to hide it on purpose. I just have so much on my mind. I thought it would be overwhelming to focus on the things I need to concentrate on now.”
“Ah, um, well.”
“It was a letter I received after a long time, so I hurriedly read it. But shouldn’t I be returning to the Tang Family soon? What should I do? Was the All-in Satisfaction Operation too much to handle? Is the saying ‘forgiveness is easier than permission’ a lie? I absolutely didn’t have such absurd thoughts.”
“Y-you thought that?”
“Ah! N-no! I thought there was no need to worry Jugeol Soja by showing it to you. I’m sorry.”
When I raised my flustered head, Jugeol Soja shook her head with an awkward expression.
“Ah, it’s not that.”
“Y-yes?”
“I thought you received an invitation and were going without me…”
Jugeol Soja turned away with a bashful expression and confessed quietly.
“There’s no way I would do that.”
Thank goodness. She suspected for a different reason.
“It’s because I’ve experienced it.”
“Y-yes?”
“When I was at the academy, everyone received birthday invitations, but there was a time when I didn’t get one.”
“……”
Suddenly, the painful memory of the fiancée pierced my heart.
“That friend definitely said he sent invitations to everyone. Someone must have hidden it.”
“Ah! There must have been a friend who really disliked you. It happens sometimes! Friends who dislike you for no reason.”
“Master Kang.”
Why did Jugeol Soja’s expression suddenly harden?
“Y-yes?”
“Just because everyone studies in the same space doesn’t mean everyone will be your friend.”
It hurts. It feels icy cold. I couldn’t deny the sharp conclusion.
“Jugeol Soja, I didn’t know you went to an academy.”
I wanted to quickly escape the subject, but bringing up Hwa-rin is tricky. Besides, her school life?
Even while living together, I had never heard of it, so I switched the topic that way.
“It’s the Zhuge Family school. I didn’t want to go, though.”
I heard that Jugeol Soja’s education level was high. I wondered if she learned from a tutor, but it seems the Zhuge Family had an academy for girls.
“Meeting various people while you’re young is a good experience. There’s a strong academic atmosphere, so people study hard.”
“During recess, I used to pretend to sleep, and during lunch, disappearing was my routine.”
“……”
I think I understand why Jugeol Soja deliberately avoided that subject.
“Ah! B-but pretending to sleep while listening to the kids’ conversations was fun. They shared surprisingly interesting stories.”
Seeing Jugeol Soja looking flustered at my expression, she hurriedly brought up a pleasant memory to gloss over it.
“Is that so?”
Of course, it felt even more painful.
“Lunch wasn’t so bad either. I could eat in a place where no one knew me and then come back. But, of course, after I overslept too long and everyone spent the whole day looking for me, those good times ended.”
Maybe I picked the wrong topic. It feels like walking on a minefield with Jugeol Soja.
“I assume you did well in your studies.”
I need to escape this minefield. Let’s erase those painful memories of the past as accomplishments from school days.
“I was overwhelmingly top of the class. Before I arrived, the top student cried. They were friendly to everyone. They all thought I must have received the answer sheets from the Zhuge Family. They said I probably cheated. Why would they say it when I could hear them? Hehe.”
I pressed the emergency escape button in a hurry, but where I escaped to was a hellfire.
“Kids at that age tend to be jealous.”
“She used to greet me every morning. After that, she didn’t greet me anymore. And someone hid my birthday invitation.”
Jugeol Soja. That invitation must have been…
I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
———
“It was a letter from your fiancée in the Tang Family, huh?”
Eventually, the topic had to return to the letter. A subject that deals critical damage with just a touch could not be pursued any longer.
“I’m really sorry.”
“Ah. N-no, it’s okay. You mentioned you had sent a letter before. It’s reasonable to expect a reply.”
Jugeol Soja nodded her head with a quiet smile.
“That’s right, isn’t it?”
Gil-san, truly unnecessary worries. Jugeol Soja isn’t the type of girl you think she is.
“I didn’t expect you to keep and read your fiancée’s letter.”
“……”
An unexpected attack suddenly made my stomach churn.
I felt the acid rising. Being interrogated by your partner? This situation, I can’t withstand it.
“Ah! I-I didn’t mean it that way. Y-you don’t have to worry too much. If things go well!”
“Y-yes?”
When I turned to look at her with a dazed face, Jugeol Soja’s face suddenly turned red. She couldn’t hold my gaze and shouted at me with her head down.
“Therefore! I-I-I-I will become Master Kang’s first wife!”
“Jugeol Soja…”
My heart unexpectedly warmed at Jugeol Soja’s sudden confession. I had trouble keeping my mouth from curling into a smile.
I’m sorry. This is my second time.
If I didn’t feel the slightest guilt, I would have just hugged her right away.
“I will go big with my feelings too.”
Jugeol Soja said to me while straightening her posture as if feeling relieved.
This is overwhelming. Maybe it’s because she’s wearing silk. It feels like meeting a large waterfall made of silk.
“It seems to have grown larger compared to the beginning of the year.”
“Y-yes?”
“Ah, no! I didn’t mean it that way!”
No matter how I think about it, it seems like things are indeed growing bigger. When I first saw her, she was under Hyun-Yeon, but now, no matter how I look at her…
I awkwardly cleared my throat, and Jugeol Soja carefully opened her mouth.
“U-um. Can I hear about the fiancée at the Tang Family?”
“About Hwa-rin?”
When I asked in surprise, Jugeol Soja nodded her head slightly.
“She’s a sickly fiancée, so wouldn’t it be good to know how to take care of her?”
She’s dazzling.
It feels like there’s a halo shining behind Jugeol Soja’s kindness.
“Jugeol Soja, it seems there has been a misunderstanding.”
Jugeol Soja’s feelings moved me, but I had to clarify something.
“Y-yes?”
Jugeol Soja tilted her head as if asking what I meant.
“Hwa-rin is not sickly.”
“She’s been said to have had an incurable disease since childhood and is undergoing treatment…”
“Just because they’re sick doesn’t mean they all have similar personalities. Hwa-rin’s personality is more like a wounded tiger than a sickly little creature.”
She has a personality that can conquer a mountain alone despite being wounded.
“R-really?”
“When I heard the news, she tried to escape from the Tang Family and ended up quite a few martial artists having a hard time before she finally calmed down.”
“W-what? If she has such a personality, then my generous first wife plan…!”
Jugeol Soja, why are you suddenly looking for something? Her expression is turning more flustered.
“There are similarities, right? Hwa-rin has no friends! She grew up only in her home, not even going to the academy!”
Just when I was barely blocking her from getting into the box, I finally found some common ground.
“Ah! So you’re somewhat similar to me!”
“Yes, surely there must be connections!”
“Uh, I really thought the generous first wife strategy would be hard! Hehe! The friend strategy who can open up…! That should work, right?”
“…”
“Master Kang?”
I can’t visualize it.
A wounded tiger and a penguin becoming friends. I averted my gaze without realizing.
“U-um! We have plenty of time! I’ll tell you about Hwa-rin!”
No, when I first met her, Hwa-rin has a much softer personality now. They could definitely become friends.
Maybe.
“I feel a bit uneasy somehow.”
“If you listen about Hwa-rin, you’ll understand.”
This is a good opportunity. I began sharing stories about Hwa-rin with Jugeol Soja.
“By the way, you call the fiancée in the Tang Family by her name.”
Jugeol Soja asked me curiously.
“Hwa-rin also calls me by my name.”
“Ah… Yes.”
“So Hwa-rin, here’s the thing!”
I started happily talking about Hwa-rin.
“Ahahaha…”
Jugeol Soja seemed to grow quieter as the conversation went on.
——
“Good job. Well done.”
The next morning, as I prepared to meet my father, I shared what happened yesterday with Gil-san.
“Why?”
This traitor looks like he’s got nothing to be happy about early in the morning.
“Did you keep talking about the fiancée in the Tang Family until Hyang-i came back?”
“Jugeol Soja wanted to hear it. She’s not my ex-girlfriend; I thought it was about time to know.”
I’m not so rude as to talk about another woman in front of my girlfriend.
I avoided talking about Hwa-rin in front of Jugeol Soja as much as I could, but it was about time she knew, right? Yesterday was a good chance.
“Cut it off soon… No. You’re the only one in the world with three fiancées. It’s a different case.”
Why does this guy sound like he’s given up?
“Did I do something wrong?”
I had no problem talking about it with Hyun-Yeon back then.
“This isn’t something you need to worry about right now. Do you have everything ready?”
I nodded, dressed properly.
It’s a hard-earned opportunity. I confidently said to Gil-san.
“When I come back, I’ll call him not ‘Father’ but ‘Father-in-law.’”
