The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 133
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Li-han frowned around his eyes.
“Seo-yu’s friend is a boy? And handsome too?”
“That’s what I’m telling you. Even Li-han hyung would be shocked if you saw him?”
Even when he asked again thinking he might have misheard, the answer didn’t change. Li-gon even went further.
“Shocked, really. You’re exaggerating too much.”
“But it’s true.”
Yi-ryeong emphasized again with wide eyes. Li-han nodded his head carelessly.
“Of course it might seem that way to you two. I understand. You’re still at an age where you haven’t met many people yet. But this elder brother has seen many people over the years. Our perspectives can’t be the same.”
“No! He’s just really pretty!”
“Sure. I understand everything.”
Children’s characteristic exaggerations originally came in various forms.
As an older brother three years senior to the twins, Li-han, who had endured countless exaggerations, was certain this was just another fuss. As it always was.
It was right after Li-han, treating it as an ordinary matter, was about to pick up another book that he hesitated.
‘…Seo-yu is still a child too.’
Seeing Yi-ryeong and Li-gon making such a fuss, the boy must be reasonably good-looking. That meant he could look quite appealing to Seo-yu’s eyes too.
Seo-yu was the same when it came to having little social experience and meeting people, so her standards wouldn’t be high yet either.
‘I knew something like this would happen.’
What if some pest came buzzing around his innocent and cute younger sister?
The worry he’d had even before Seo-yu entered the Medical Academy had finally become reality!
And to think the boy even came to visit the household by himself. This was no ordinary matter.
‘No, wait. It’s better for her to experience this early. That way Seo-yu will also learn what’s dangerous and what she needs to be careful about.’
As a life senior who had lived a few more years, this was the perfect incident to give his younger sister some guidance.
Li-han stood up abruptly with a determined expression.
“Let’s go. I need to see this friend myself.”
* * *
Was this really the right thing to do?
Yi-eon couldn’t even sit down due to his complicated feelings and kept pacing around inside the reception room.
He wanted to see Seo-yu.
He had come all the way to the Golden Dragon Family with that simple, pure intention, but now that he had actually crossed the main gate, the bewilderment of ‘what have I done?’ came rushing in belatedly.
‘I walked into a Four Spirit Family with my own feet.’
Yi-eon had grown up hearing the words to never even go near the Four Spirit Families until his ears were sick of it.
He didn’t even want to imagine what his deceased mother would think if she were watching him like this.
‘I should go back now after all…’
It was right when Yi-eon, thinking this really wasn’t right and coming to his senses, was just moving toward the door.
Click!
The reception room door opened and Seo-yu entered with a bright expression.
“Yi-eon!”
Seo-yu, who had run over in one breath, spread both arms and hugged Yi-eon tightly.
Yi-eon, who suddenly found himself being hugged by a girl smaller than himself, froze completely.
‘Why, why is she hugging me?’
His black eyes rolled around unable to find their bearings, and his Adam’s apple moved greatly.
Having spent his entire life avoiding people’s eyes, this kind of contact was truly a first for Yi-eon, who had found it difficult to even greet Seo-yu once.
‘I’m not even injured, and even if I were, it doesn’t seem like Seo-yu would be able to lift me…’
When Seo-yu had injured her ankle, he had carried her on his back, but this wasn’t that kind of situation.
He couldn’t understand the reason at all, but the bigger problem was that he didn’t feel like escaping from this unfamiliar situation at all.
“Thank you for coming to visit. Seeing you like this makes me so happy.”
From within his embrace, Seo-yu spoke in an extremely excited voice. Only then did Yi-eon realize that this hug was a sign of joy.
“…I’m happy too, Seo-yu.”
Yi-eon awkwardly wrapped his arms around Seo-yu’s back with hands that had been hovering in the air.
Feeling her much smaller frame so clearly made his feelings a bit strange, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Rather, the warmth made his heart feel warm.
‘So this is why people hug.’
Soon Seo-yu pulled away and offered Yi-eon a seat. Yi-eon, who had become embarrassed for some reason, clenched and unclenched his hand once before sitting in the chair.
“Yi-eon, was it hard getting here? I heard the Mountain is high so it’s not easy for sea folk to visit… Thank you so much for coming.”
“…No. I’m the one who should be grateful for the invitation.”
Seo-yu knew him as a dolphin beast-person, but that wasn’t the case at all. Yi-eon hung his head, feeling unnecessarily sorry.
“Still, I’m so happy that Yi-eon came to visit like this. I really wanted to invite a friend over!”
However, drawn by her bright voice, Yi-eon’s gaze turned toward Seo-yu once again.
Seo-yu, smiling brightly, looked extremely happy.
‘I did well to come visit.’
At that smile, Yi-eon felt his momentary reflection and regret fly away all at once. Having made Seo-yu smile with this simple meeting, there could be no more rewarding decision than this.
“Ahem, ahem. Seo-yu, Young Master Li-han.”
Just then, the sound of throat clearing came from outside.
“Youngest, can we come in?”
“We brought Brother Li-han!”
The lively voices of the Twins followed. Seo-yu’s already bright face became even more radiant.
“Everyone must have come because they want to see Yi-eon. They’re my family, would it be okay if I introduced you to them?”
“Yes. Please do.”
If they were Seo-yu’s family, they would all be Golden Dragons. Not just one, but having to be in the same room with multiple members of the Four Spirit Clan.
He was actually quite nervous, but Yi-eon nodded while pretending to be calm. It was because he knew how much Seo-yu loved her family.
“Young Master Li-han! You came?”
The reception room door opened wide once again.
Li-han, who entered while receiving Seo-yu’s welcome, deliberately spoke without looking at Seo-yu’s friend.
“Yes, Seo-yu. I heard you came back late yesterday. Aren’t you very tired?”
Then, with the face of a gentle elder brother, he pointed out the friend’s rudeness.
With the underlying meaning of ‘Coming to visit without making arrangements beforehand, there’s a limit to how inconsiderately one can behave.’
“Ah…”
Fortunately, he wasn’t completely oblivious, as a quiet sigh could be heard.
“I’m sorry, Seo-yu. I must have been a burden by visiting so suddenly. I sent a reply letter but didn’t know when it would arrive, so I couldn’t wait.”
Li-han, who was about to snort in derision, slightly narrowed his eyes at the voice that was different from his expectations.
The voice was markedly lower than not only Li-gon, who was the same age, but even compared to himself, and it was quite pleasant to hear even for him as a fellow man.
‘Well, the voice is at least tolerable…’
Li-han’s eyes widened as he turned his head while giving what was, for him, a generous evaluation.
The boy with jet-black hair was a beautiful youth as if painted with a brush. Moreover, he looked as if he had stepped out of a masterpiece painted with delicate control of ink’s light and shade.
Even though he was merely wearing an apologetic expression, his long eyes seemed to be moistened with melancholy, which was quite a remarkable talent if it could be called that.
It was beauty that even Li-han, who was born with excellent looks and felt little excitement about others’ beauty or ugliness, had no choice but to acknowledge.
‘No, this is…’
It was none other than he who had warned Seo-yu several times to be careful of men with only handsome faces.
But.
‘Isn’t this excessively handsome?’
Even the numerous adults and relatives who attended banquets had never spoken about such cases.
Unable to find an alternative either in reality or in books, Li-han felt confusion for the first time in a very long while.
“No, Yi-eon. I’m fine. I’m just grateful that you came. Young Master Li-han, it’s because I couldn’t read the letter.”
Seo-yu casually resolved the situation and introduced Li-han and Yi-eon to each other with a cheerful laugh.
“Yi-eon, this is our eldest brother, Young Master Li-han. Elder Brother, this is my friend Yi-eon. We attend the Medical Academy together.”
“It’s my first time meeting you, Young Master.”
“…Yes. Welcome to the Golden Dragon Family.”
Li-han, who emerged from his thoughts a beat late, nodded his head. Then he suddenly felt something unfamiliar about Yi-eon.
“However, you don’t seem to be from the Western Region.”
The Twins, who had been staring at Yi-eon with curious eyes, also chimed in as if they had been waiting.
“We thought so too! Right, Hwang Li-gon?”
“That’s right. Your aura is somehow peculiar!”
“Ah, that’s…”
Under the gazes of the three Golden Dragons focused on him, Yi-eon could only move his lips without easily answering. His lips became parched from the overwhelming tension.
‘Yi-eon, you must especially avoid the Dragon Clan.’
‘Dragons? Why?’
‘They are very sensitive to beast-people’s aura. No matter how much we try to hide it, they will eventually see through who we are.’
Mother’s voice, which had been emphasizing this point, rang ominously in his ears.
“Yi-eon! Let me introduce you to Sister Yi-ryeong and Brother Li-gon too. They’re twins!”
Seo-yu cheerfully intervened and changed the topic. She seemed to have noticed that he didn’t want to reveal what kind of beast-person he was.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t say. I’m Hwang Yi-ryeong, and this is Hwang Li-gon.”
“Geez, Hwang Yi-ryeong. I have a mouth too. You said Yi-eon, right? I’m Li-gon. Nice to meet you!”
Fortunately, the two didn’t seem to find it particularly strange and naturally went along with Seo-yu’s words.
“I’m Yi-eon.”
Toward Yi-eon who answered with relief, Seo-yu secretly winked one eye. As if to reassure him, ‘You don’t have to say anything!’
Such a Seo-yu looked exactly like a kind-hearted Fairy Lady who had descended from the sky in Yi-eon’s eyes.
“Instead of all standing around like this, let’s have tea together! Okay?”
Seo-yu, who had linked arms with the Twins, quickly led the family to the table. Yi-eon also naturally joined them at the seats.
And so, around the table filled with the gentle fragrance of tea, the four siblings of the Golden Dragon Family and one beast-person harboring secrets came to sit together in a row.
* * *
That evening, Yi-eon did not attend dinner and remained in the guest room. It was to avoid facing the family head Hyeon-rang as much as possible.
When he told Seo-yu that he was sorry but wanted to skip dinner because he was tired, Seo-yu gladly respected his wishes.
Instead, she brought him herbal decoction that was good for recovering from fatigue.
Seo-yu looked at him with worried eyes.
“Yi-eon, you’re not seriously ill anywhere, are you?”
“No. I think I’m just a little tired from moving around a lot on land after such a long time. Sorry for making you worry.”
Yi-eon swallowed a bitter smile at the lie that came out so easily.
Even though it was something he had to do to hide his identity, speaking falsehoods never sat well with him, and now it felt particularly uncomfortable.
“That makes sense! Yi-eon lives in the sea. Swimming underwater and walking on land must be very different.”
Seo-yu empathized with his hardship without any suspicion. Just as he was about to unconsciously avoid her eyes, feeling ashamed of his repeated lies.
“Oh, but Yi-eon. I read in a book that the sea is connected everywhere!”
“That’s right. The sea has no end.”
Yi-eon had readily agreed to what seemed like a question that suddenly occurred to her, but he froze at the next question that followed.
“Then have you ever been to the Northern Sea?”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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