My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 19

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

Episode 19. Two Hands Must Clap to Make a Sound
Yeo Un-hwi and his family sat gathered around a table in the reception room.
Tea meant for guests sat atop the table, but even as the steam rising from it cooled and dissipated, the cup remained nearly full.
Especially the one set before Peng Seo-yeon.
Exhale.
Peng Seo-yeon’s breathing had been ragged from the moment they arrived at this place.
The current situation clearly made her anxious and on edge.
Why was that?
Peng Seo-yeon knew her father Peng Wu-gang’s volatile temperament better than anyone.
From childhood, the person she feared most had been her own father.
That temperamental man.
What would he possibly say to her and her family now that they’d returned?
Or worse—might he cast them out?
At least if he rejected them with civil words, she could count that a mercy.
The further her thoughts wandered down that path, the more her dread swelled with each passing moment.
She found herself thinking that it would have been better to stay in Sodam Village, living as they had—simple and content, just as before.
Not to have come back at all.
Just then, someone took hold of Peng Seo-yeon’s trembling hand.
It was her daughter, Yeo So-yul.
The moment Peng Seo-yeon saw her, affection and heartache bloomed across her face at once.
Yeo So-yul didn’t understand why her mother was acting this way, yet the girl’s gesture was so endearing—but it also made Peng Seo-yeon afraid that she might show her daughter a frightened, shameful side of herself.
“Mother?”
“My dear……”
As Peng Seo-yeon called softly to Yeo So-yul, Yeo Un-hwi reached over and patted his wife’s shoulder.
A reassurance—don’t worry.
“Husband……”
Peng Seo-yeon’s gaze shifted to Yeo Un-hwi.
She felt grateful for his comfort and his smile.
Yet at the same time, confusion stirred within her.
Despite her own visible anxiety, her husband Yeo Un-hwi showed not a trace of trembling or fear in this moment.
Peng Seo-yeon found that remarkable.
In fact, it was her husband who should have been more nervous than she.
Even martial artists of considerable skill often felt overwhelmed by her father Peng Wu-gang’s overwhelming presence.
So for someone untrained in martial arts, the effect could only be greater—there was no question of that.
Yet her husband had already met her father once before, and he remained composed.
She remembered him being quite frightened at that first meeting, but the time between then and now was far too short for him to have grown accustomed to it.
Besides, that single meeting was all they’d had.
As Peng Seo-yeon puzzled over her husband’s composure, the reception room door swung open with a bang.
The sound of the door opening alone made Peng Seo-yeon’s heart leap.
“Sister.”
“Seo-jin!”
Peng Seo-yeon’s face brightened with delight.
The one who had entered was her younger brother and the crown prince of the Harbin Peng Family—Peng Seo-jin.
Though years had passed, the boy she remembered had vanished entirely, and her brother had grown into a composed young man; Peng Seo-yeon found it nothing short of miraculous.
“My goodness. Look how you’ve grown, my brother.”
“Ha ha. Not at all, sister. How have you been all this time?”
“Oh, I’ve managed well enough. What about you?”
“I haven’t managed well at all, sister. You vanished and never came back.”
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s precisely why I’m saying it—I’m the one sorry for you. Ha ha.”
Peng Seo-jin then turned to Yeo Un-hwi, who stood beside Peng Seo-yeon, and offered him a brief smile.
“It’s an honor to meet you for the first time, brother-in-law.”
At Peng Seo-jin’s casual way of immediately calling him brother-in-law, Yeo Un-hwi smiled back in return.
He was grateful. Peng Seo-jin had every reason to resent and reject him—perhaps more than anyone.
Yeo Un-hwi had learned that Peng Seo-jin had been quite devoted to his sister Peng Seo-yeon since childhood.
His sister had vanished overnight, and while the loss he felt must have been considerable, he offered his smile without complaint and called Yeo Un-hwi brother-in-law.
Interestingly, this was his first meeting with Peng Seo-jin—even accounting for his past life.
He had only heard his reputation as the future patriarch of the Harbin Peng Family, and an excellent one at that.
Because the family was his wife’s clan, Yeo Un-hwi had paid particular attention to the Harbin Peng Family’s affairs amid the many rumors and turbulent events of his previous life.
And……
For some reason, Yeo Un-hwi’s gaze flicked toward Peng Seo-jin’s right arm—just for an instant.
As if checking something.
Of course, no one noticed.
In any case, as these people who had been apart for so long—and were meeting for the first time—began to catch up,
tap-tap.
“Hm?”
Someone from below poked Peng Seo-jin’s belly.
Wondering what it was, he looked down to find a small girl with a lovely smile gazing up at him.
The sort of child who made you smile simply by looking at her.
Peng Seo-jin blinked and turned to his sister.
“Sister, could this child be…?”
“It’s So-yul. Yeo So-yul. Your niece.”
“Yeo So-yul…”
Peng Seo-jin repeated the name softly, then knelt down to meet the child’s eyes.
With the gentlest smile he could muster, he greeted her.
“Nice to meet you, So-yul. I’m your uncle.”
“Mm?”
“Say ‘uncle.’ Uncle.”
“Uncle?”
“That’s right. Uncle.”
“Hehe. Uncle, uncle!”
“Hahaha.”
As the newly discovered niece broke into a beaming grin, Peng Seo-jin found himself grinning widely in return.
Anyone who knew him well would have been astonished.
A man of such deep composure that he rarely let his true feelings show—yet once combat began, no one could stop him, earning him the name Radiant Dragon.
Seeing him grin like this was a sight worth paying money to witness.
“Just once.”
“Hm?”
Peng Seo-jin turned to Peng Seo-yeon with a pleading look.
“Could I hold her just once, Sister?”
“Ah, of course. Go ahead.”
The moment permission was granted, Peng Seo-jin lifted So-yul into his arms.
The way he held the small child, as if she might shatter, was both awkward and tender.
Nestled against him, So-yul soon began playing with his face, her tiny fingers running over his features with complete naturalness.
Flustered, Peng Seo-jin looked back at Peng Seo-yeon.
“Um, Sister, what is she—”
“Ah, that’s So-yul’s specialty. She only does that with people she likes or takes a fancy to.”
“Ah!”
At Peng Seo-yeon’s explanation, Peng Seo-jin let out a soft exclamation, and Yeo Un-hwi let out a quiet laugh.
Peng Seo-jin’s grin widened again.
That meant this lovely niece had taken a liking to him.
How could he not be happy?
Peng Seo-jin was savoring this unexpected moment of joy.
“By the way, Seo-jin.”
“Yes?”
“What about Father?”
Peng Seo-yeon asked with a hesitant expression.
Peng Seo-jin answered with an awkward look.
“Ah, well… it seems he’s not in the mood to see anyone just yet. When he heard that you’d arrived, he went straight to his room. So I came rushing over. Haha.”
“I see…”
“The elders wanted to come too, but they were all watching Father’s mood and couldn’t make a move. And Mother probably heard the news about you by now…”
Bang!
“Seo-yeon!”
The door suddenly flew open, and a middle-aged woman who looked strikingly like Peng Seo-yeon rushed breathlessly into the room.
“Oh, Mother.”
The middle-aged woman looked Peng Seo-yeon up and down, trembling.
“What is this… what are you wearing? You heartless thing. You ungrateful child.”
Yet even as she spoke those harsh words, tears welled in her eyes, and she pulled Peng Seo-yeon into a fierce embrace.
“…Mother.”
“How could you be so cold? How could you leave like that and never send word? How could you?”
“I’m sorry…….”
Peng Seo-yeon, cradled in her mother’s arms, bowed her head low.
Even with ten mouths, she would have had nothing to say.
Back then… she’d thought it was the right choice.
Even now, if she could go back to that time, she wouldn’t choose differently.
Yeo Un-hwi and Yeo So-yul were that important, that precious to her.
But she hadn’t understood then how deeply her father and mother must have grieved.
And now she did.
Only after giving birth to Yeo So-yul did Peng Seo-yeon come to know how profound that sorrow had been, how their hearts must have torn and ached.
So she wept bitterly.
She wanted to show her parents Yeo So-yul, and she wanted so badly to tell them how deeply sorry she was.
But she’d thought the distance between them had grown too great, that it was far too late.
She’d never imagined a day like this would come.
And now, seeing her mother’s face at last, no words could come—only an endless stream of tears.
Then,
“Mom, why are you crying?”
At the child’s sweet voice, Dan Hee-young, Peng Seo-yeon’s mother, turned her gaze that way.
Peng Seo-yeon wiped her tears and spoke.
“Mom, this is your granddaughter, Yeo So-yul. Say hello to grandmother, Yeo So-yul.”
“Huh? Grandmother?”
“Oh my goodness.”
“Grandmother! Hello.”
“Yes, yes, how lovely. Hello, Yeo So-yul.”
The shock faded quickly, and Dan Hee-young gazed at the child, who had folded forward in greeting, with eyes overflowing with tenderness.
She’d gained a granddaughter without even knowing it.
For reasons she couldn’t name, she felt both vexed with her daughter and aching with pity for her.
Dan Hee-young quietly took Peng Seo-yeon’s hand.
“You’ve been through so much, my daughter. So much.”
At those words, Peng Seo-yeon’s tears welled up again.
With each word her mother spoke, fresh tears spilled from her eyes.
The daughter wept, and the mother wept for her, the cycle repeating.
It was a veritable sea of tears.
How long they wept like that.
Finally, after a long time, the tears of Peng Seo-yeon and Dan Hee-young began to subside.
And then,
“So it’s you.”
“Hello, madam. I apologize for my belated greeting.”
Dan Hee-young’s gaze swept across the man who had been standing at Peng Seo-yeon’s side.
She seemed to have much to say, and her lips pressed together firmly.
But soon she sighed softly and turned her head away.
The man who had brought all this trouble upon them.
There was no way she could view him kindly.
Then Yeo Un-hwi lowered his head.
“I’m deeply sorry for the hardship I’ve caused. This is all my fault.”
“Yeo Un-hwi.”
Peng Seo-yeon looked pained at the sight of him bowed like that.
Dan Hee-young, who had been watching quietly, slowly opened her mouth.
“It takes two hands clapping to make a sound. Our daughter must have cared for you deeply.”
Dan Hee-young approached and placed a hand on Yeo Un-hwi’s bowed shoulder.
“You came all this way. Rest easy now.”
“Madam.”
With Dan Hee-young’s warm words, the atmosphere became wonderfully tender.
But then,
“That’s something I cannot allow.”
A voice called out from beyond the room.
The door opened, and a figure stepped inside.
A man with an overwhelming, commanding presence—as if a tiger had materialized in human form.
It was Peng Wu-gang, the patriarch of the Harbin Peng Family.

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