657 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

"It seems they’ve arrived by now." It was the season when even the poisonous flowers of the secret garden promised to bloom next year despite the harsh winter. Tang Hwarin exhaled a white breath, bringing up those who had hastily departed. "Not following them was a wise choice." She had anxiously worried he might insist on going along, but Dok Muhu was relieved by Tang Hwarin's surprisingly supportive stance. "We can't resolve anything right away, so we'll have to be content with just letters." "That was well done. But why did you ask to split the delivery of the letters?" Tang Okran, recalling her student firmly instructing Yigakju, asked while thinking of the letters. "Hehe! Yunho needs to be taught a lesson. I wanted to mess with him a little." Though said jokingly, it was meant sincerely. At her cryptic words, Dok Muhu nodded and gently expressed some concerns to his student. "It would be nice if the issue could be resolved through peaceful discussion." He hoped it wouldn’t escalate into a war between families. As a warrior who had experienced a major conflict firsthand, Dok Muhu wished to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. "It will be fine. Yunho is there." "You have unwavering faith in your fiancé." "I’m not sure how much of what the family elders say is true, but I believe Yunho will manage things well in the middle." Most of Yunho's letters were filled with stories about a pink alley cat, making it hard to discern the truth, but even if the conspiracy of the Jegalse family were true, it wouldn't matter. Because it was Kang Yun Ho. Whether it was the Jegalse family’s conspiracy or the Tang family’s visit, he would certainly handle it wisely. "It’d be good if the Jegalse family just stepped down quietly." "Oh..." "Why is that not the case?" Tang Hwarin gave a bitter smile, glancing at her mentor, and asked cautious questions. "Is the position of heir at Mangumjeonja forfeited if he doesn’t marry the youngest daughter of the Jegalse family?" "Isn’t that part of continuing the family business? Although this case is a bit unusual, bringing a son-in-law to carry on the family legacy in a house without sons is common practice." Houses with no sons often brought in a son-in-law to continue the family business. While some prestigious families focused on continuing their family name, those for whom the family business was paramount sought an heir who could competently inherit it rather than emphasizing the surname. Such was the case with the head of Mangumjeon. "I wish, in my heart, that Yunho would just throw away the engagement and everything and come." "Something must be troubling you." Tang Hwarin sighed softly at her teacher’s observation. "Yunho struggled so much to become the heir of Mangumjeon. He even lost Daseogak and had to start from scratch, enduring hardships to win that position. How could I tell him to give it up?" Just from the letters, she knew he had suffered greatly, and even afterward, he took and passed a difficult test. How could she, as his fiancée, ask the man she loved to give up what he had achieved? "For a black-haired outsider to reach such a position in the central plains is nothing short of miraculous." "I don’t understand my own feelings. I don’t want him to give up. Yet, I hate the thought of him marrying someone else first." While she loved Yunho, she wished for his success. Yet, she did not want to lose the most important place in his life. It was a complex and delicate feeling. "It’s a difficult problem." Even Dok Muhu, as her teacher, found it a tough issue to offer solutions for. —— "Do you have any chickens?" "Miss Hwarin, you've come. Please wait a moment." Her teacher had advised her to go for a walk to clear her head. So, Tang Hwarin visited Yigak to obtain some chickens for training. "The moment they confirmed him as Mangumjeonja’s heir, they dragged him to the Jegalse family?" As Tang Hwarin sat down to wait, familiar topics started reaching her ears. "They say he was dragged like a dog!" "What?! Dragging a man they intend to bring in as a family son-in-law like a dog?" "The Jegalse family’s true nature has finally come out! Doesn't it imply they plan to make Kang Yun Ho the family hound?" "A family hound? What does that mean?" "Don’t you understand yet? To make Mangumjeon the Jegalse’s secret treasury and turn Hopil into the Jegalse family's author, it’s just a matter of taming one person." "The scoundrels!" A deep sigh escaped from Tang Hwarin’s chest, turning into a white breath. She had come to clear her head, yet here too, it was all about Yunho. It was inevitable. With the Tang family in turmoil, it seemed Yunho's affairs were an unavoidable topic everywhere. "As much as it shocks me, they say the Tang family’s storm is banned literature." "What did you just say? Tang family’s storm is banned literature?" "How envious of Tang family’s storm must they have been to resort to this?" "Do they mean to indefinitely stop the dissemination of Tang family’s storm by force...?" "They can’t afford to lose Hopil. That's why even the elders, who were so opposed, did not object to adding Kang Yun Ho to their family tree." "So that’s why those who departed for the Jegalse family seemed so resolute." "If they keep at it, they may end up losing Hopil to the Jegalse family...." "My friend! To the left. To the left!" "My goodness! I apologize." The warriors, after noticing Tang Hwarin, who had been listening to their conversation about Hopil, hurriedly apologized, but by then, the conversation was already over. "It’s alright. Thank you for your effort." Though Tang Hwarin dismissed it casually, her shoulders felt heavier than usual. ───── "Yunho..." Tang Hwarin sat on her bed, gazing at the letter from her beloved. It had already been a year. Whenever she closed her eyes, the times spent with Yunho would vividly return, yet a year had already passed. The past year seemed to fade away like a fleeting white breath, yet the time with Yunho still radiated warmly in her heart. "You won’t just marry someone else without telling me, will you?" There was no reply. Marriage. In truth, Tang Hwarin was only upset with the pink alley cat that captured Yunho's heart. She believed that the issues with the Jegalse family were matters that the families themselves could resolve, and she paid it little mind. However, upon hearing that Yunho had been dragged to the Jegalse family, she could no longer take it lightly. The thought that Yunho could marry another woman was weighing heavily on her heart, a notion she had initially brushed off. "Sigh. What a futile state. Better just sleep it off." As if that would solve anything. Yet, having unwittingly stirred up her thoughts at Yigak, Tang Hwarin shook her head as if to toss away her worries. Time to get some rest. "I miss Yunho..." Though she knew she wouldn't see him. If she imagined Yunho's face, perhaps he might appear in her dreams. With this vain hope, Tang Hwarin allowed herself a small smile and drifted into sleep. "What is this? Is it a dream? There's no way Yunho could be in front of me." That night. Tang Hwarin experienced what should have been an impossible miracle. "Why is it that even in a dream, Yunho is this gentle?" What is this? Why is the Yunho I've yearned for standing before me in a dream? Why does it feel so vivid? Yet, none of that mattered. "Are you going to marry that woman? The one from the Jegalse family?" “…….” "Have you forgotten me...?" She found herself able to voice worries she had never even shared with her teacher. Watching Yunho's whole-hearted denial, she could smile. And then. "Hey, Kang Yunho. Eyes back over here." She could tell even without hearing him. His eyes said it all. She couldn't understand how, but she was certain. "Ahahaha." "This... isn't a dream, right?" It truly was Yunho. "You’re in trouble!" Though it felt like a dream, it was too vivid to be one. She vented all the pent-up anger she had held within. "Mm?! Mm-mm! Mmm. Are you crazy?!" And they made sure to mark each other clearly. “Ugh. That strangely carefree expression of yours. I don’t like it.” "......?!!!" "Yes, that's the Yunho I know. Hehe." Feeling the touch of her beloved, and reaffirming her heart. "Don’t worry too much. It’s just something I feared might happen. Even if you trust in Yunho, there will be moments of doubt. But it's alright now. As long as you haven’t had a change of heart. Just be prepared to face me later." Whatever had happened, it didn't matter. Whether it was a request to the Jegalse family or some other circumstance. She had reaffirmed Yunho's unwavering heart. In the empty winter, a warm flower bloomed in her barren heart. "See you." Though she couldn't hear Yunho's voice, she understood what he was saying. She watched silently as Kang Yunho ran towards the golden pillar. She couldn’t join him now, but it was fine. One day. Absolutely. "Keep going. I’m running towards you too." Because she would go to meet Yunho again. —— "You seem in high spirits this morning." Tang Okran observed her disciple, who was blooming with smiles. "I gave him a good thrashing. And I hugged him as much as I wanted." "What do you mean by that?" "Hehe. It’s something. I don’t think it was just a dream. I should write him a letter later." What on earth had happened? She was sure the matters with the Jegalse family had been resolved well too. She would write again once the people from the Jegalse family returned. "Hmm." "Teacher?" Even though Tang Hwarin was filled with joy thinking of last night’s dream, Tang Okran's thoughts were a bit different. The sudden change in her previously worried disciple's demeanor was puzzling. "Do you remember what I once told you? When I said I now understood why my fiancé waited for me till the end." Tang Okran cautiously shared a long-held sentiment. "Because it’s you, Teacher." "That’s not it." "What?" "I never hoped for my beloved fiancé to just wait for me indefinitely. If some other woman tried to take what was mine, I thought I’d simply win it back." Though a bit embarrassed by the impetuousness of her youth, her voice was filled with concern for her student. "Teacher..." "Ahem! You better hurry and establish who is first, shouldn't you?" "Hehe. Indeed, there’s no time to waste." Responding to her teacher's encouragement, Tang Hwarin exuded a determined aura. The aura seeped into the chicken coop. What would have once been lethal to the chickens now only dealt with the poison within. "Looks like we won’t need any chicken stew now." "It’s time to set a new goal." She had thought it would take ten years, but now she was sure five years would suffice. The student smiled as she answered the teacher's amazement. "What goal are you speaking of?" With a determined expression, Tang Hwarin replied. "Yunho, I’m going to have the first son, no matter what." No matter who tries to wag their tail beside Yunho now, it doesn’t matter. There’s no more insecurity. Having confirmed Yunho’s feelings, she would firmly establish who stands beside him first. In Sichuan's Tang family estate, the secret garden's daily life bustled as always.