Chapter 89
“Wow! It’s a real fish!”
Swoosh!
Eun Sowol and Baekwoon’s eyes sparkled wide with wonder.
Excited, Baekwoon even climbed up onto a rock by the lakeside and wiggled his butt.
Then, as if he had spotted something, his eyes gleamed, and he jumped into the lake with a splash.
“Ah! Baekwoon fell in!”
Startled, Dam Hwiyeon said they should quickly rescue him, but Eun Sowol stopped her.
“It’s okay. He’s really good at catching fish. He’ll come back up soon.”
Even though it was a hot spring, Baekwoon loved soaking in hot water with her, so there shouldn’t be a problem.
As the others were preparing for fishing, bubbles suddenly began rising to the surface of the lake.
Swoooosh!
Soon, Baekwoon shot out of the water like a live fish, with a catch larger than himself in his mouth.
Landing safely on the ground, he shook off the water from his fur, and the people around burst into applause.
Baekwoon seemed to enjoy the attention as he proudly stretched his neck, showing off his soaking-wet, mouse-like appearance.
“Is that your pet? A weasel?”
“Yeah. That’s… right.”
Answering reflexively, Eun Sowol flinched when she realized the person who approached was Namgung Un.
“He’s cute. Can I touch him?”
“Ah, if you touch him, he might bi—”
But as Namgung Un reached out, Baekwoon quietly accepted the petting. He even flipped over to show his belly, eyes shining.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
‘What the—? He usually avoids even my uncles’ touches and bites strangers!’
Was this the protagonist buff at work?
“What’s his name?”
“Baekwoon.”
“White cloud… huh. That’s similar to my name.”
But why did he keep talking to her?
For the past five days, she and Namgung Un had barely spoken.
They’d only seen each other during mealtime, and whenever their eyes happened to meet, he would stare at her intensely. So Eun Sowol thought he disliked her because of what happened before.
“My name’s Namgung Un. I use the same ‘un (雲)’ as in Baekwoon. See?”
“Y-yeah…”
Still playing with Baekwoon, Namgung Un continued trying to talk to her.
“Your name’s Eun Sowol, right?”
Namgung Un struck up another conversation. Eun Sowol awkwardly raised the corners of her mouth and nodded.
“…That’s right.”
“How old are you?”
“Five.”
“Two years younger than me, then.”
So, he was seven.
‘That means he hasn’t regressed yet.’
In the original story, he regressed when he was eight. So before the regression, was he always this forward?
For some reason, despite the awkwardness, he kept glancing at her like he wanted to keep the conversation going.
‘If I can get close to the protagonist, that’s great for me!’
She had thought their relationship was completely ruined because of their rocky start, so she was grateful that he approached her first.
“You’re the youngest prince, right? Uncle Aki told me.”
“Uncle Aki?”
“Yeah. Dang Jin-ak. He’s my uncle.”
“Ah, the infamous third young master of the Tang family… wait, I mean—”
He nearly called him a delinquent.
Was Dang Jin-ak’s reputation that widespread even in Anhwi Province?
“He’s not a young master anymore. He’s the young clan head now.”
Since there was a reason behind Dang Jin-ak’s infamous name, Eun Sowol corrected him.
Namgung Un’s eyes widened like lanterns—it seemed he hadn’t heard the news before.
“The young clan head? Him?”
“Yep! He won the competition for the position!”
“…Then why is he in Hae Nam Island with you? I don’t see any other Tang family members around.”
“He followed me here on his own.”
Namgung Un looked completely baffled, but there wasn’t a better way to explain it.
He seemed to have many questions and kept asking—was she close with Dang Jin-ak, why was she on Hae Nam Island, how did she become the Flame King’s disciple, and so on.
He didn’t seem likely to leave until all his questions were answered.
“Master Yang just kind of… asked me if I wanted to be his disciple.”
“‘Just kind of’? You didn’t demonstrate your martial arts or anything?”
“I’ve never learned martial arts.”
“No way! Then how did you become the Flame King’s disciple?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know martial arts and I’m not very fit either. Just getting here was exhausting—you saw it, right?”
“Well… yeah, that’s true.”
Namgung Un looked at Baekwoon sprawled out on her lap and recalled Eun Sowol’s exhausted appearance earlier.
“Then what about you, why are you here on Hae Nam Island?”
“I followed my brother…”
“No, I mean—you’re not a member of the Murim Alliance, are you?”
The Namgung family from Sanha was affiliated with the Murim Alliance, but Namgung Un was only seven. No way he was already a member.
Besides, everyone else came here in the name of the Alliance. So why was he here?
Namgung Un quietly petted Baekwoon’s white fur, his lips parting slightly.
“I didn’t really have anywhere else to go…”
“Huh?”
“My parents are going away on a long trip, and my first and third brothers are busy and not home. My two older sisters are married and live far away.”
The Namgung family, being one of the Five Great Families, was always busy.
Still, since Namgung Un was the youngest, his family tried to rotate caretakers so he wouldn’t feel lonely.
This month, his second brother Namgung Kyung was supposed to be taking care of him.
“He was supposed to take time off to stay with me for a month, but then he got a sudden emergency order.”
“Don’t you have servants at home?”
“I do. But… I wanted to spend time with my brother.”
Namgung Un blushed. He liked to act mature, but he was still a child.
“Ahem! I was also curious about Hae Nam Island, and my brother promised that if we caught the Eternal Flame quickly, he’d spend the rest of the time with me. So… I got too eager and acted rudely.”
“Ah, I see.”
“O-of course, I already apologized to the Sect Leader and the elder.”
“Yeah, I know. Grandpa told me.”
As Namgung Un rambled in defense of himself, he looked relieved that Eun Sowol didn’t seem to mind.
“…Good. Glad there was no misunderstanding.”
Thud!
At that moment, something heavy fell between the two of them, and they jumped in surprise.
It was a fishing rod and a basket with bait.
“Jeez, unnie. You scared me!”
The culprit was Dam Hwiyeon.
The two hadn’t noticed, but she had been glaring at Namgung Un with bloodshot eyes ever since he approached Eun Sowol.
Now staring daggers at him, she stepped forward.
“…Do you have something to say to me?”
“Yes. Please stop pretending to be close to Sowol. She’s going to fish with me.”
Namgung Un glanced to Eun Sowol’s empty left side.
“Go ahead. There’s space over there.”
“No. I want to fish here. Please move.”
But Dam Hwiyeon pushed herself right between them.
Eun Sowol and Namgung Un naturally drifted apart. Namgung Un frowned and rubbed his creased forehead, lowering his voice.
“Hmph… who are you to be so rude?”
“I’m Dam Hwiyeon, a disciple of Hae Nam! I don’t like you, Young Master. Please leave Hae Nam!”
“…I was given permission to stay here. And my brother hasn’t even arrived yet. I’ll leave when he gets here.”
“You don’t have to wait here! Don’t you have your original inn or whatever?”
Struck in the heart, Namgung Un flinched.
“What are your real intentions for staying in Hae Nam?! And stop pretending to be friendly with Sowol! She doesn’t like you either!”
Dam Hwiyeon’s hostility was intense.
Even some of the senior disciples and Dragon Guards looked over in surprise.
‘Guys… if you’re going to fight, please take it outside.’
Eun Sowol, caught in the middle of this tiny whale fight, was at her limit.
“Dam Hwiyeon!”
“Young Master.”
Sure enough, Dam Suyeon and one of the Dragon Guards rushed over.
Dam Suyeon flicked her younger sister on the forehead.
Thwack!
“Ow! Unnie!”
“I hit you because it hurts! I told you to get along with people! What are you doing?!”
“I do get along with others—ow!”
Another flick, and Dam Hwiyeon’s eyes welled up with tears.
Meanwhile, Namgung Un…
“Young Master, did you have a fight with a Hae Nam disciple?”
“…I was just sitting there. She came over and picked a fight. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Still, didn’t the Young Master tell you to get along with others? Please get along, Young Master.”
“Apologize, Dam Hwiyeon.”
Both the Dragon Guard and Dam Suyeon pushed the kids forward.
The two glared at each other, lips pressed tight, looking completely unrepentant.
“Dam Hwiyeon.”
Dam Suyeon’s voice rang out in warning again. Finally, Dam Hwiyeon’s eyes grew wet and she began to sob.
“I didn’t do anything wrong…! He didn’t even help us find unnie! He just threatened the Sect Leader! Why should I be nice to him?!”
“What? That’s not what—”
“I did nothing wrong! Waaaah!”
Whether out of frustration or accumulated emotion, Dam Hwiyeon burst into tears. And some of the other disciples who sympathized with her began murmuring.
