1440 - Chapter 56

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 56
The man’s grip tightened around Yeonsu as he held her. His hands trembled, clutching and releasing the fabric of her clothes as if he couldn’t breathe, yet she couldn’t bring herself to let him go.
The kiss they shared in the hallway of the Separate Quarters tasted of apples. His tongue, far sweeter than the lotus-leaf flavor she’d tasted before, was drenched in something honeyed. The second kiss was the sharp sweetness of apples and sugar.
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Yeonsu had recently begun Physical Conditioning in the Backyard. Even in the crisp early-winter weather, once she’d moved her body for a while, the cool air felt just right—it always lifted her spirits.
At those times, the man would open the back door and stroke the cats while watching her work out. When Yeonsu finished exercising, she’d pretend to drink water and sit beside him.
She noticed him subtly comparing his forearm to hers, but she’d feign ignorance and spend the time remarking on how cute the cats were.
It was during one such afternoon when Yeonsu was doing Physical Conditioning in the Backyard that the rarely-opened front entrance of the Separate Quarters swung wide. Kim Hyewon stepped in, tapping lightly on the wall as she carefully drew their attention.
“Young master. Younger young master.”
Yeonsu pressed her bottom against the edge of the platform and leaned forward to block the man from view before greeting her.
“Oh, auntie. What brings you here?”
Kim Hyewon glanced at the closed sliding door, then turned back to Yeonsu.
“The mistress of the house has asked me to bring you to her. We have a guest at the Guest Hall.”
“Oh, really? Then I’ll just change clothes and be right over.”
As Yeonsu lightly stepped up onto the platform, Kim Hyewon added something more. There was an odd urgency in her voice.
“This is truly an important guest.”
It was unlike Kim Hyewon to offer such a cautionary note.
So Yeonsu dressed more carefully than usual and grabbed her shoes, then hurried over to the Guest Hall.
Inym and Yeonhyung were already there waiting.
“Good afternoon.”
She bowed politely and entered. Fortunately, no one faulted her for arriving last.
Rather than offer excuses, Yeonsu took her seat and studied today’s guest.
The guest was sprawled half-reclined on a cushion, affecting an air of self-importance.
“So this is the illegitimate son who’s supposed to have returned? Quite handsome, aren’t you? Why play at being a Mudang when you could be in entertainment?”
Each time the young man opened his mouth, red smoke leaked from between his teeth. He was a living embodiment of how one accumulated karma through speech alone.
“Or maybe you’re a bit loose like your mother, the former concubine? But these days money can cover all that up. You don’t have to worry about scandal if you can afford to bury it. What do you say? Want me to scout some sponsorship for you?”
“No, thank you. I have no interest in entertainment. I’m uncoordinated and have two left feet.”
“What? Haha! Well, you’ve got a sharp tongue on you. I kind of like that.”
When Yeonsu answered lightly on purpose, the man seemed delighted and slapped his thick thigh, laughing. Each time his palm struck it, the small Fetal Spirits clinging nearby scattered in all directions.
The man was burning. His entire body was engulfed in crimson flame where he sat, blazing away without a trace of pain, grinning as he ran his mouth.
Because the flickering fire obscured his face, Yeonsu only recognized him later.
He was someone she’d often seen on television. The successor to Wens Construction, one of Korea’s largest conglomerates—Park Geon-hu.
He spoke crudely regardless of whether Yeonsu recognized him or not. His manner came from the fact that he didn’t regard her as his equal.
The stance of a man who’d spent his whole life looking down on people—as if to say, so what if I’m vulgar? What are you going to do about it?
The man, who’d been cackling and cracking jokes, drawled his words as he turned to Yeonhyung.
“So anyway, Yeonhyung. There’s only one left now.”
“Yes, sir. I’m aware.”
“Ah, wait. There’s not just one, is there? Yeonhyung. You shouldn’t have answered like that.”
The man, who’d been flippant until then, suddenly grew serious and lowered his voice. Yeonhyung swallowed hard and acknowledged his slip.
“My apologies. You’re right. There is still that person remaining.”
“Right, right. Good—just as long as you know. I’m not trying to rush things.”
The man, graciously forgiving Yeonhyung’s mistake, stretched his legs out straight and reclined his upper body. His posture, as if he’d just arrived at a resort, made Inym’s eyebrows twitch as she suppressed her displeasure.
So it was true—she’d heard rumors that the chairman of Wens Group had recently taken to his sickbed. The information had come from Sanghyung, so it held some credibility, but to think it was the work of the Baekga people.
54
Yeonsu glanced between Inym and Yeonhyung. These two, who maintained a certain aloofness even when famous entertainers, business moguls, or politicians visited, were utterly subdued today—not moving an inch.
—Only one left now.
She understood what the man meant. Wens Group was famous not only for its global standing, assets, and influence, but for its dark rumors as well.
‘Those nominated as successors to Wens Group die.’
It was a crude phrasing that wouldn’t even fit in a YouTube title, yet it was true. She’d heard it happened not just this generation but the last one too. All the candidates were left to go insane or meet their end, with only a single successor surviving.
“What tea? Forget tea. Bring alcohol, will you? And you—you shouldn’t be working somewhere like this with a face like yours.”
Park Geon-hu, who’d been subtly touching the employee to demand liquor instead of tea, smiled wickedly as he looked at Yeonsu and Yeonhyung.
“So is this place also a succession battle? How does it feel, being threatened by a half-brother who suddenly came back? Pressured, are you?”
Yeonsu heard Yeonhyung grinding his teeth while keeping up a smile. It was a moment where he should have answered well, but she found it amusing how her brother couldn’t suppress his pride and control his temper over such a trivial jab.
Yeonsu answered on Yeonhyung’s behalf.
“Surely it’s best if my brother, who’s been handling this work all along, sees it through to completion? I still seem too inexperienced to take on something this significant.”
It was Yeonhyung who looked startled by her response.
He already knew that Yeonsu harbored some strange obsession with the creature in the Separate Quarters. She displayed an attitude suggesting she wanted something beyond merely breaking a curse like he did.
He’d noticed to some extent that she was desperately taking on commission after commission. But now she was suddenly and readily handing the work over to him? Curse work, no less?
In that moment, Yeonhyung seemed to grasp something, and a faint smile crossed his face.
You’re scared, little brother.
Yeonsu hadn’t fully recovered from the injuries she’d sustained from Yeonhyung’s arrow. Her body had only recently begun to heal.
With two broken ribs and a nasty blow to the head, Yeonhyung had been genuinely shocked when she returned to the Separate Quarters so soon.
But beyond the surprise, he’d learned something that day.
Baek Yeonsu’s obsession with that creature. He’d thought it might serve as a useful weakness to exploit later.
So he’d assumed that on a day like today, she’d throw herself at this task even more desperately—but it seemed his curse had frightened her more than he’d bargained for.
She’d curled herself into a ball like a scolded puppy, bowing her head and calling him “brother.” The sight was almost pleasing.
“Yes, that’s right. I was the one who should be handling this. Chairman—ah, I misspoke. Forgive me. I nearly called you by your current title when you’ll soon be chairman in truth.”
“Hah, ah. Baek Yeonhyung. You really do have a way with words. I should give our Yeonhyung a better allowance.”
“Thank you, Director. Then I’ll leave this to you as always, knowing you’ll trust me. I won’t disappoint you.”
Yeonhyung didn’t realize how much more craven and contemptible his behavior toward Park Geon-hu looked compared to the frightened Yeonsu’s. He only smiled, thinking of how his father would be disappointed in the sibling who’d run away, content in his own approval.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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