Chapter 38
Through an antique garden.
As you stroll along the path where sandalwood trees flourish, a small lake emerges.
The watermill spins along the stream, and in the lake, silk-like koi swim, gleaming like a golden carpet.
A bridge stretches across the lake.
Crossing “Imugi’s Bridge,” adorned with engravings of sightless dragons, you find a pavilion, the “Dragon’s Rest Pavilion,” where dragons repose.
Kim Yeon-hee sits at the pavilion, gazing at the eaves, etched with dragons.
“Excessive. Could it be any more obvious that this is the Jinryong clan? Dragons here, dragons there.”
“What can we do? We are dragons, and dragons are us.”
Kim Yeon-hee’s gaze shifts.
The woman standing before her is Yoo Hae-ryun.
A graceful aura emanates from her delicate appearance.
Once celebrated as the “Radiant Vanguard” in the Holy Armored Cavalry, she is now the wife of Jin Do-ha, head of the Jinryong clan, and mother to Jin Yu-ri.
However, to Kim Yeon-hee, Yoo Hae-ryun holds an entirely different significance.
“You’re late, girl.”
“Shut it. You just show up whenever you want, without notice.”
They grew up in the same neighborhood.
Their parents were friends, allowing them to visit each other’s homes without hesitation.
Elementary, middle, high school, and even the academy—they shared each step of life, more like family than friends.
Both had lost their parents in a villain attack and had vowed revenge. Yoo Hae-ryun was Kim Yeon-hee’s pillar when she founded Optimum, sharing her pain and purpose.
They cried shamelessly at each other’s weddings and were by each other’s side for their children’s births.
A bond thicker than blood—that was Kim Yeon-hee and Yoo Hae-ryun.
“That green tea was excellent, Hae-jjong. Did you get it recently? Pour me another cup.”
“Another cup? Since when did my dear Hee-tteng get so demanding? You think this is a tea house? This is the Jinryong clan. Even the president wouldn’t dare show up uninvited.”
“So, Hae-jjong, are you really not going to serve tea for your only friend who wants another cup?”
“Ha… it’s easier to die than argue with you. What sin did I commit in a past life to be entangled with this girl?”
A bell chimes, and soon, from across the lake, a tray with a teapot flies over.
Naturally, the tray and pot bear the clan’s iconic blue dragon design.
“Your taste is truly consistent.”
“It’s called identity. Ever heard of it?”
“Identity? Should we put a giant tiger on our door?”
“Good idea. Get something flashy.”
“With a dragon for you?”
“Yes, showing every scale.”
They giggle, sharing a trivial joke.
Outside these walls, she may be the prestigious hostess of Jinryong, one of the world’s five major agencies, known beyond Korea.
But here, she’s just another woman of her age.
“What have you been up to?”
“Same as always—meeting people and managing our agents. You? You were in Russia, weren’t you, for that ‘Rare Beasts Research Society’ seminar?”
“Don’t ask. Russia… ugh, Russia. They’re relentless, asking my husband to help create a ‘Dragonborn’ with some flimsy ‘Human Transmutation Report’ they handed over.”
“Is that even possible?”
“If it were, they wouldn’t need our help. They’re clearly out of ideas and just passing the buck. They were insane.”
“Ah… Russia. Always pushing the limits.”
“Just thinking about it exhausts me. Is Gun still in the U.S. with Soo-hyuk?”
“Yep, they’re still deployed.”
“Still? Isn’t it a Level 7 gate?”
“It’s the first naturally occurring high-level Blue Gate in nearly a decade. They’re conducting ecological surveys, risk assessments, setting up outposts—it’ll take at least a year. Their contract is for a year.”
“A year?! That’s way too much. Six months should be enough.”
“As if, girl.”
“Please. You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, yeah. By the way, how’s it going with you guys these days?”
“Girl, there’s nothing you don’t talk about. Seriously!”
The two friends continue their idle chatter.
The tea alone wasn’t enough—soon, an elaborate meal follows, and they continue their spirited conversation, emptying the grand feast before them.
They might stay up all night like this. Yoo Hae-ryun even suggests it.
“Want to stay over?”
“No, I can’t sleep if I’m not in my own bed.”
“Liar. I know you knock out the second your head hits the pillow.”
As they continue to chat, evening quietly descends, and the day’s main topic—talk of their children—finally arises.
“I hear Yuri and Ki-hyuk are taking their finals together?”
“Ha, they’ve caught the teacher’s attention. A little flexibility would be enough, but he won’t back down. Just like his dad.”
“Ha! Look who’s talking. If anyone’s stubborn, it’s you. Ki-hyuk got it from you. Gun would’ve just laughed it off.”
“Girl, you talk too much. But Yuri has really changed. I didn’t recognize her at the entrance ceremony. You were in Russia then, right?”
“You saw her at her worst. When I saw the photo of my daughter standing with the heirs of the Sword Master family, I nearly asked if she was even mine.”
“You were there when Ki-hyuk was at his worst, too.”
Everyone knows Park Ki-hyuk suffered through mana deficiency.
But few are aware that Jin Yuri narrowly survived a similar ordeal.
Mana drain.
This trait of absorbing mana like breathing is rare even among the Jinryong bloodline.
Jin Yuri’s mana drain manifested too early and too intensely.
Mana flooded in before her heart’s mana core was fully formed.
Her body began to collapse.
As if unrelenting rains drowned fields with unbuilt dikes.
It’s almost cosmic irony.
One suffers from an absence of mana, the other from an excess.
“Yuri’s healthy now, right?”
“For now. Her mana core settled without issue. And Ki-hyuk? He’s been casting spells. Has he overcome mana deficiency?”
“He says he found his way when he almost died, but who knows.”
“Near-death enlightenment?”
“Near-death enlightenment?”
“Some get insights from close brushes with death. The ‘Drug Shock’ stunts the Western agencies try are all to simulate it.”
“Don’t lump my son in with those idiots.”
“Our lives have been so turbulent, haven’t they? Even our kids’ struggles mirror each other. Some things just shouldn’t run in the family, right?”
“What can we do? It’s fate. So, back on topic. What are we doing about the finals?”
“What can we do? They’ll manage. They’re not kids anymore.”
“I hear your Ki-hyuk is causing trouble for Yuri’s team.”
“Is that it? Yuri did mention she’d quit as team leader. Something about being a true swordswoman now? So, her calling. Although, Park sure doesn’t hold back. A young lady, yet obsessed with swords!”
“She’s serious about resigning?”
“Completely. Yuri’s set on it.”
“Sorry my son caused trouble for her team.”
“Don’t worry. I know those gossips talk, but they know better than to cross fists with me, Yoo Hae-jjong. No one messes with our Park.”
“…Wait, have you been calling him ‘our Park’?”
“Did you forget? When I had Yuri, at the postpartum center, you brought Ki-hyuk and proposed they get married.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Not me, you.”
“Not me—no, you. You’re the one, girl.”
They laugh, their fingers wagging as they bicker.
Yoo Hae-ryun breaks the laughter.
“But, do you think they know? That they’re bound by a promise to marry?”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course! I already have the wedding planned.”
“Are you mad? Who arranges marriages these days?”
“Arranged marriage? It’s a love marriage if they like each other.”
“…Love? Wait! Stop!!”
Love? Love is between two people.
Kim Yeon-hee looks aghast, demanding an explanation as Yoo Hae-ryun laughs smugly.
“Yuri said she likes Park.”
“What… Ki-hyuk?”
“My Yuri, she’s taught to take what she wants.”
“I’m going to lose my mind.”
“What should we give as wedding gifts? A car? A watch? Maybe a house?”
Who’s talking about me? Why are my ears burning?
Already dizzy with Jin Yuri in front of me, my ears itch too.
“Let’s go with guns! Look, this new M-86 rifle. 120 mana-armor-piercing rounds. It has a quick-change magazine and a smart burst-fire feature! Isn’t it thrilling?”
“I’ve told you a thousand times. I like classic things.”
“Then how about this? Made by the French arsenal, FGU-3300. Its scope is the key—cloaking detection, terrain mapping, X-ray vision…”
Who would’ve thought Jinryong’s youngest was a gun enthusiast?
“No, I’m sticking with swords.”
“But I love guns!”
“Then you use them.”
“I’ll use them, but you should too.”
“No.”
“Then neither will I.”
“Then what?”
“Go with guns. Look, you’ll love this one…”
It all started when I offhandedly mentioned switching my Skeleton weapon.
That was all it took for Jin Yuri, the gun fanatic, to thrust catalog after catalog into my face.
It’s been two weeks.
By any measure, isn’t this brainwashing?
“I told you. Even I can’t pull that off.”
“Then let’s research it together. I’m ready.”
“I said no.”
“Hmm, still not convinced? Should I show you a few more?”
“Enough. Put them away—oh! Don’t you dare pull them out! Fine, I’ll help with your War Armor research. Just… please, give me a break…”
Wait… what did I just say?
I realize too late as Jin Yuri smiles a fox-like grin.
“…Can’t I take that back?”
“Where’s that catalog?”
“After finals.”
Since the day we tackled a Gate, and I demonstrated the ‘Guide to Using Jin Yuri’ to the team.
Jin Yuri has been glued to me ever since.
She’s skipped club, Gate training, even attendance, just to follow me.
If asked why, she’d laugh and say, “Because I like it.”
Yeah, that smile.
That smile is where the disaster began.
I admit, I’m soft on kids. But I am not soft on girls.
Normally, I’d brush her off and tell her to get lost.
But that smile, that damn smile is the problem.
Why do I see the Saintess in her smile?
They look nothing alike!
Jin Yuri has black hair; the Saintess, golden.
Jin Yuri is Asian; the Saintess, Caucasian.
Jin Yuri has a typical Eastern face.
The Saintess is a classic Western beauty.
Then why do I see the Saintess’s smile in hers?
That’s when things started spiraling.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Aren’t you going? I’m heading to see Bomi.”
“So, what are we eating? You’re not going to feed the kids?”
“You’re coming?”
“Yes.”
“Would you please just go? I’m begging you.”
“I’ll buy. Bomi’s so cute. I’ll treat her to something nice.”
What? Did this tiny thing just call herself my “big sister”?
My head spins.
I faced a dragon’s breath without flinching, yet here I am, reeling at a small girl’s words.
No, change the subject.
“So, your team! Weren’t things tense? Why don’t you talk it over with them?”
“No point. After finals, we’re done.”
“Still, you can’t ignore it. Connections are crucial at your age.”
“Cute. You and I are the same age.”
“The same? Really?”
“Call your birthdate. I’ll bet I’m right.”
“I don’t take bad bets! Argh!”
“Save your words, or you’ll seem shallow. I don’t like shallow guys.”
“Why would I care what you like?”
“A cab’s here. Let’s go.”
“Hey! Jin Yuri! You little—!!”
Jin Yuri followed me to the orphanage, winning the kids over with bribes.
Especially our Bomi. Those two were inseparable, which was lethal.
And so the days dragged on until finals finally arrived.
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