DKM 27

Myoryeong looked at me as if I were the biggest fool in the world, but this was my best bet. I looked in the mirror and tied the choker so that the wound was hidden. I thought it would look strange since I made it in a hurry, but it was surprisingly okay. Maybe it’s because I’m cute. I praised myself while examining my reflection from various angles.

“……Do you really think that will solve it?”

Just then, it became noisy below. Soseo and Soyu had clearly returned. I spoke to Myoryeong boastfully.

“Just watch my social skills in action.”

“What on earth are you planning to do?”

We walked down the stairs.

“Then, Brother! I shall head to bed now to prepare for tomorrow!”

“……Right, please go to sleep quickly.”

“You’ve returned, Young Masters.”

“Ah, you two should also sleep early for tomorrow’s sake! Hahaha!”

Soyu patted my and Myoryeong’s shoulders before passing us by. I asked Soseo.

“Are you okay?”

“I was a bit tired, but….”

Soseo buried his face deeply into my shoulder.

“I feel better now.”

“Really?”

“Oh, Myoha. On the way back, I saw someone holding a puppy. I thought it was so small and cute….”

I looked at Soseo with puzzled eyes as he rambled on about something completely random. Soseo raised his hand and gently stroked me as if I were a puppy.

“I didn’t know a person could be this small and cute.”

“I’m not actually that small.”

I intentionally put on a serious face and pulled away from Soseo.

“Ah, sorry. I misspoke.”

Soseo quickly hugged me from behind and muttered.

“Our Myoha is not small at all.”

“Be careful from now on. I’ll let it slide just this once.”

“Our Myoha is so broad-minded. By the way, what is that?”

Soseo’s finger touched the choker.

“Is it a necklace?”

Finally, the moment had come. I gulped hard.

“Uh, it’s a necklace.”

“Really? It looks like a collar. Is it actually a necklace?”

I nodded fervently to erase Soseo’s suspicion.

“It’s a curious necklace. Anyway, it suits you well.”

“Thanks.”

“But you’ve never worn anything like a necklace before. Looking at the shape, it doesn’t look like something you bought, but rather something made in a hurry….”

Soseo’s finger slowly stroked the choker.

“Is there something you want to hide underneath here?”

“…….”

“I wonder what it is. Something Myoha wants to hide from me to the point of doing this.”

“No, there’s nothing I want to hide.”

“Then what is this, really?”

“It’s actually to reveal something!”

“What?”

“T-that I belong to you!”

Gasp. I heard the sound of someone taking a sharp breath. I whipped my head around toward the sound. Myoryeong was staring at me with wide, startled rabbit eyes, his palm pressed firmly over his mouth. I hurriedly tried to fix the situation.

“No, I phrased it strangely. I didn’t mean ‘belong’ in that way, but rather to reveal that I am a servant working for the Paeng Clan…. Ah, well, you are the representative of the Paeng Clan right now. In a way, it’s not wrong, but anyway, I wanted people to know. That I belong to the Paeng Clan.”

“……Is that so?”

I rolled my eyes, gauging Soseo’s reaction. Soseo thought for a moment in silence and then smiled brightly.

“I didn’t know you were having such a commendable thought.”

“Didn’t you know I was commendable before?”

“But this looks like it will break easily. Let’s go to my room for a moment. Myoryeong, you come too.”

Myoryeong, still covering his mouth with his palm, nodded. As soon as they arrived at the room, Soseo opened a drawer and took out a blue silk pouch.

“Hold out your hand.”

“Huh? Okay.”

Soseo turned the silk pouch upside down over my hand. Small, sparkling blue objects tumbled onto my [stolen content]palm. Wow, [unauthorized copy]they’re pretty. They sparkle so much, they look like star candies. The moment [unauthorized copy]the thought crossed my mind unconsciously, goosebumps broke out all over my body. How much are these worth?

“Um, are these perhaps….”

“Yes, they are gemstones. I’ve been collecting them little by little since you two entered the Paeng Clan… and finally, the time has come to use them.”

“The time has come? What do you mean by….”

“Since you said you wanted a mark of the Paeng Clan, blue would be best, right?”

Soseo picked out two gemstones from the pile and asked us.

“Which of these two do you prefer?”

“Huh? Um…… I think I prefer the smaller one.”

Soseo nodded.

“Alright, I’ll make you a new necklace with this one.”

“No, you don’t have to go that far…!”

“How about you, Myoryeong?”

Soseo quickly asked Myoryeong while holding the remaining gemstone.

“Do you like this one? If not, would you like to pick another?”

Myoryeong quickly snapped out of it and spoke.

“No! I really like it!”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“But Young Master. I prefer bracelets over necklaces.”

“I see. Then Myoryeong, I’ll make yours into a bracelet.”

“Thank you, Young Master!”

That’s Myoryeong for you. There was no way he would miss an opportunity to obtain jewelry embedded with gemstones. I pushed the overly joyful Myoryeong aside and spoke.

“Um, Soseo. We….”

“Don’t feel burdened and just accept it. I also want to [visit our site]brag to unauthorized copypeople that you both belong to our clan.”

“Soseo…!”

My eyes welled up with emotion. Soseo really is kind. I threw my arms around him in a hug.

“I didn’t know you felt that proud of us!”

“It’s more than just being proud.”

Soseo patted my back and gave a piece of advice.

“Go to sleep now. If you don’t sleep early, tomorrow will be difficult.”

“Okay!”

After leaving Soseo’s room, I walked Myoryeong back to his room. However, Myoryeong seemed lost in deep thought the entire time he held my hand and walked.

“What are you thinking about so hard?”

“The guilty prisoner should be quiet. I’m currently debating whether I should be happy or scold you.”

“Why scold me again? And I’m not a prisoner, I’m—”

“……Yeah, you’re not.”

Myoryeong answered slowly, still pondering. It was only after Myoryeong grabbed the doorknob that his final words came.

“Right, why would I scold you. Thanks to you, I’ve received a precious gift. It’s nothing.”

“So fickle. Goodnight, Myoryeong.”

“Yeah, goodnight.”

“You are the successor of the Paeng Clan?”

“Yes, I am Paeng Soseo.”

“Where in the world do you look like a Paeng! How can a fellow as thin as a needle be from the Paeng Clan!”

On the day of the martial arts tournament, as soon as Paeng Soseo introduced himself at the venue, he was met with an unexpected thunderous roar. The Gaju of the Namgung Clan, Great Hero Namgung Ho-hun, was a very elderly man who relied on a cane.

“Where is Paeng Dae-myung! I must ask him if you are truly a Paeng!”

Young Master Namgung Hwa-rang, the unauthorized copygrandson of Read on Read BL NovelsGreat Hero Namgung Ho-hun, spoke up as if gently advising him.

“Grandfather, the previous Gaju of the Paeng Clan passed away a long time ago.”

“Ah, that was right. Right. Then that….”

Great Hero Namgung Ho-hun asked with a hazy expression, as if searching his memory.

“That fellow who was as big as a house, where is he?”

Everyone in the Paeng Clan except Soseo is large. While Soseo was troubled, not knowing who he was referring to, Young Master Namgung Hwa-rang gave him a subtle hint.

“My grandfather is looking for Great Hero Paeng Seoyu, the current Gaju.”

“Ah, my father delegated all rights to me and did not attend.”

“What a shame, then how do we verify….”

“I truly am a Paeng.”

“I’m telling you, a fellow like you couldn’t have been born into the Paeng Clan!”

Great Hero Namgung Ho-hun grew angry, even waving his cane.

“Setting aside the small physique, your personality is just like that—how can you be a Paeng? If you were a real Paeng, the moment I said you weren’t, you would have called this old man senile and flipped the tournament grounds upside down!”

“……It’s true that my father or brother would likely have done that.”

It was just as Soseo agreed.

“Brother!”

Paeng Soyu appeared. It’s going to get noisy again soon. The moment I thought that, Great Hero Namgung Ho-hun’s eyes sparkled with delight.

“Yes! Now this is what a Paeng should look like!”

“Wow! Who is this Great Hero? You recognized me as a Paeng immediately!”

“How could I not recognize you when you look like a Paeng from the outside! I am the Gaju of the Namgung Clan, Namgung Ho-hun. So, this straw-like fellow is your brother. Then that house-sized—no…. Is your father doing well?”

“Yes, my father is well.”

Then Soseo called out to Soyu.

“Soyu.”

Soyu immediately whipped his head toward Soseo.

“Yes, Brother!”

“Is that thing on your back perhaps….”

“Yes! That’s right! It arrived just in time this morning!”

Soyu was carrying a thick, very long rod-like object wrapped in cloth on his back. Soyu promptly handed it to Soseo.

“I’m glad it arrived before we started.”

Soyu stripped away the cloth without hesitation. A massive great saber with a long handle painted blue flashed dangerously under the sunlight. To think a weapon is much taller than I am. I’m a bit annoyed. Still, I couldn’t deny that it was cool. It looked exactly like the Green Dragon Crescent Blade used by Guan Yu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. When Soyu held out the great saber with both hands, Soseo gripped it lightly with one hand. Hmm? One of Great Hero Namgung Ho-hun’s eyebrows twitched upward.

“Brother, how is it?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to swing it a few times to find out.”

Soseo passed us and went to the martial arts training ground where the participants were warming up. After swinging the great saber a few times, Soseo slammed it straight down into the ground.

—CRASH!

Stone fragments flew everywhere, and cracks spiderwebbed across the ground around the great saber. Soseo looked at the saber embedded in a straight line with satisfied eyes, then gripped the handle again. The great saber was pulled out as easily as an umbrella from an umbrella stand. As if by agreement, we all glanced back at the Great Hero. Great Hero Namgung Ho-hun stroked his beard and spoke awkwardly.

“……He is indeed a Paeng.”

“Right, Grandfather made a mistake this time.”

“No, but seriously, why are the body and personality…!”

“Now, now. Stop that and take your seat, Grandfather.”

Great Hero Namgung Ho-hun continued to grumble as if he refused to acknowledge Soseo’s existence until the end, only stepping back after Young Master Namgung Hwa-rang finally persuaded him. The way he argued every little detail was almost like… a fan who cannot tolerate a plot hole. Thinking that, I watched the two of them walk away, then suddenly looked back at Soseo and Soyu.

“Young Masters, shouldn’t you head to the waiting area for participants soon?”

“Yeah.”

We took out the papers we had prepared, written with the character symbolizing the Paeng Clan, and cheered.

“We’ll cheer for you hard!”

“Good luck!”

“We’ll do our best too!”

Soyu laughed boisterously and clenched his fist. As I was about to head to the spectator seats with Myoryeong, Soseo, who had sent Soyu ahead, lightly grabbed my wrist.

“See you later.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Soseo spoke in a voice that only I could hear.

“And the new necklace will be finished around this evening.”

“That fast?!”

“I want to see it soon.”

Soseo’s finger traced my choker and then slid up to my chin. Lifting my chin to meet my eyes, Soseo whispered with his eyes curving beautifully.

“The sight of you wearing that necklace.”

“……Really?”

“Then, goodbye for now.”

Soseo walked away from me, his clothes fluttering. I needlessly rubbed the spot where Soseo had touched a couple of times. What is this? He didn’t say anything strange, nor did he touch any sensitive area….

“Why does this feel so erotic?”

Moreover, why is my face flushing? Without knowing the reason, I scratched my neck vigorously and tilted my head in confusion.