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Childhood Friend of the Zenith (Web Novel) - Chapter 1158: The World of Ascension (88)
Chapter 1158: The World of Ascension (88)
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
“.......”Gulp.
I swallowed dryly. Seeing my father appear made it happen naturally.
Even more so—
‘Why the hell did he bring her back?’
The human who had run away earlier was now dangling from my father’s hand. That girl, Gu Seon, the daughter of this household.
She struggled, squirming desperately to break free, but my father’s grip didn’t loosen.
“Hey! Let me go already!”
Gu Seon kept shouting, but my father remained the same. He only alternated his gaze between me and Gu Seongyeol, his eyes wide in shock.
No matter how much Gu Seon protested, he didn’t pay her any attention.
Or rather, he was in no state to pay attention to anything else.
“What did you just say?”
Gu Cheolwoon’s eyes blazed as he spoke. That voice alone was enough to render both me and Gu Seongyeol speechless.
“......Cheolwoon.”
Jin Yeonryeong looked at my father in astonishment, meeting his gaze.
“......I greet you, Mother.”
At that, my father properly greeted Jin Yeonryeong.
“I was unable to visit right away due to other matters, but upon hearing that you had collapsed, I hurried here at once...”
His sharp eyes flickered as he turned to look at Gu Seongyeol.
“I can’t seem to understand what I just heard. Clan Leader.”
A slight edge crept into my father’s voice. At that moment—
“What’s there not to understand?”
The one still caught in my father’s grasp, Gu Seon, spoke up.
“You heard everything, you idiot. They said there’s another spot in our family. You listened to the whole thing, so why are you acting all confused—Kyaaaah!”
Gu Seon let out a scream.
“It hurts! It huuurts!! I’m sorryyy!!”
It seemed that my father had tightened his grip around her neck. As soon as she apologized, her screams began to subside.
“Ggghhh....”
“Clan Leader.”
Ignoring Gu Seon’s cries, my father turned to Gu Seongyeol.
“Is what I just heard true?”
“......”
Gu Seongyeol couldn’t answer. He could have just denied it. But perhaps the reason he couldn’t—
‘Because he knows my situation...’
Because he knew that I was his son’s child.
‘...And because of Grandmother’s gaze.’
Jin Yeonryeong’s stare practically screamed that if he didn’t answer properly, he wouldn’t be left alone.
A complete deadlock. Even if Gu Seongyeol felt wronged, he couldn’t give a proper response.
And because of that, I was in trouble too.
‘Damn old man...’
I resented Gu Ryun. Why couldn’t he just stay quiet instead of causing all this chaos?
As frustration built up, Gu Seongyeol let out a sigh and spoke.
“......That’s right.”
In the end, he admitted it. It seemed he had no way to twist his words otherwise.
“That bastard is my child...”
Gu Seongyeol closed his eyes as he spoke, his face filled with reluctant resignation.
“......”
At those words, my father stared straight at me. His burning gaze gave no clue as to what he was thinking.
“I see.”
Meanwhile, as soon as Gu Seongyeol admitted it, Gu Seon, still hanging in my father’s grasp, turned to look at me and muttered,
“No wonder that brat’s nasty glare seemed familiar. I knew something was off from the start. His eyes look exactly like our Clan Leader’s—AAACK!”
She screamed again mid-sentence.
I was going to lose my mind.
“Baek Yangcheon.”
My father, still tormenting Gu Seon, called out to me.
“Yes, Vice Leader.”
“Did you know?”
“Yes... well...”
Since Gu Seongyeol had already admitted it, there was nothing left for me to say. I just acknowledged it.
“So, was that why you deliberately came to Shanxi?”
“That too... yes.”
It was true that I had business with the Gu family. Just not this kind of business.
“......”
My father listened to my answer in silence.
Thud!
“Urk...!”
He dropped Gu Seon. Finally freed, she groaned, clutching the back of her neck.
“Damn it... He’s ridiculously strong...”
Just as she grumbled with irritation, my father made a slight movement.
“Ack! I’m sorry!”
At just that small action, Gu Seon flinched and immediately apologized, but my father merely turned his back.
“It seems I need time to think. I will return to pay my respects later.”
Whoosh!
Enveloped in flames, my father leapt into the air and vanished.
And Gu Seongyeol didn’t try to stop him.
“Cheolwoon...”
Only Jin Yeonryeong gazed after her son with a sorrowful look before turning a sharp glare toward Gu Seongyeol.
“...You, come with me.”
“......”
At her icy voice, Gu Seongyeol clutched his forehead.
“Young Master Baek... I’m sorry, but could we talk again tomorrow? I need to have a conversation with this man.”
“...Ah, understood.”
That was fine by me. Just standing in this atmosphere was exhausting. The issue wasn’t resolved yet, but the situation had progressed, so for now, retreating seemed like the best option.
“It would be best if you moved to a different room. I’ll arrange an attendant for you.”
“Oh, no. The place I’m staying in now is comfortable enou—”
“Then I’ll guide him! I’ll do it, Mother!”
Gu Seon cheerfully raised her hand.
Jin Yeonryeong looked at her with suspicion, but—
“...Fine, Seon. Can you take care of it?”
“Of course! I’m good at this sort of thing, you know?”
“......”
Just like that, my opinion was completely ignored.
“Let’s go, sibling~”
Gu Seon suddenly grabbed my wrist and started dragging me away.
I could have resisted easily, but for now, I let her pull me along.
“Come in.”
“...Alright.”
Because I had no desire to endure whatever was about to unfold between Jin Yeonryeong and Gu Seongyeol.
**********
After leaving the infirmary, we walked along the corridor, heading toward a slightly elevated hill. I knew exactly where we were going.
‘...That’s the place my mother used to live.’
In my past life, my mother and I had lived there for a short while. It seemed we were heading there now.
After walking in silence for a while—
“...Sorry.”
“......?”
Gu Seon suddenly apologized.
“What?”
“For picking a fight with you. I’m sorry.”
“...Out of nowhere?”
I was caught off guard. She never seemed like the type to apologize. Oh, so she could apologize? That was honestly surprising.
“The whole ‘you were an intruder’ thing was a lie. I actually thought my mother had brought in another man.”
“...What?”
Jin Yeonryeong bringing in a man? That was an unsettling thought.
“Lately, she’s been trying to arrange my marriage. She’s been looking at guys left and right. I thought you were one of them.”
“...Ah.”
Thankfully, it wasn’t the kind of mess I had initially imagined.
‘Wait a second...’
Something flashed through my mind.
Back when I first met Jin Yeonryeong—
‘...The way she questioned me felt a bit off.’
She had asked about my family ties, as if trying to confirm something. When I had asked why, she had seemed like she was about to propose something.
‘...No way.’
Was that this?
That would be creepy as hell.
“I’m so sick of it. It’s exhausting. Honestly, it’s easier to just ruin things before they even begin.”
“So that’s why you pulled that stunt on me...? What if I’d actually gotten hurt?”
“But you didn’t look like you’d get hurt. And you didn’t.”
“......”
Should I call that good instincts or just reckless behavior?
No, it was definitely just reckless. There was no need to even think about it.
“I thought you were just another one of those guys. But look at this. Turns out you’re my little brother. Amazing, really.”
“...Why am I the younger one?”
“How old are you?”
“...Old enough.”
“Yeah, right. According to my brother, you’re only around twenty. That makes me the older sister.”
“......”
When did she even ask about that? Damn it.
“I always thought it’d be nice to have a younger sibling... but now that I actually have one, it’s kinda disappointing. You look way too much like our father. It’s like looking at a copy of him.”
“...Do I really look that much like him?”
“You two should go to a lake and check. No one would be able to tell you apart.”
“......”
“I really wanted to believe,” Gu Seon said as she looked at me.
“That father wouldn’t do something like that. That he wouldn’t betray my mother like that. But after seeing you, I’m sure. Oh, yeah. This is real.”
“......”
Damn. That felt like an insult.
Did I really resemble him that much? That sharp-eyed old man?
‘Well, obviously, we share blood, so we’re bound to look alike...’
But hearing that I resembled him more than our father did felt strangely unsettling.
“Well, whatever. This is how things turned out, so let’s try to get along. Oh, by the way, are you interested in becoming the Clan Leader? That’d be a bit of a problem.”
“...Not interested.”
“That’s a relief. Even though he’s my brother, that man isn’t even human. If you got greedy, you’d just make your life miserable.”
“......”
Listening to Gu Seon talk, I found myself getting curious.
“You’re really not bothered by this?”
“By what?”
“That a bastard child suddenly appeared out of nowhere.”
“...Am I supposed to be?”
“...Most people would be.”
At my words, Gu Seon chuckled.
“They’ll deal with it themselves.”
“What?”
“Looking at you, it doesn’t seem like things will turn into a disaster. The only one who’ll get wrecked is our father. My brother seems like he’s got a lot on his mind, but I don’t really care. They’ll sort it out themselves.”
“......”
“I don’t particularly hate you or anything. You just seem kinda pitiful. But not, like, that pitiful... just whatever.”
She was so carefree. It was clear that she just went with the flow of life. In a way, she seemed broad-minded.
“We’re here.”
Gu Seon stopped. A residence lay ahead.
As expected, it was the place I had in mind.
“You can stay here. Whether you stay long-term or leave is up to you.”
“......”
“Oh, and Mother said we’re all having breakfast together tomorrow morning. She told me to let you know, so I did. I’m off now.”
With that, Gu Seon patted my back a few times.
Then, whistling, she strolled away.
“...What a weird person.”
Among all the people I’d met recently, she was by far the strangest.
I always thought I was the only normal one in the Gu family, but she was on an entirely different level of weird.
‘...Tsk.’
I ran a hand through my hair once Gu Seon had disappeared.
‘What now?’
Things had gotten completely messed up. I just wanted to quietly take care of my business and leave.
But somehow, I ended up being recognized as my grandfather’s son.
‘This is a headache.’
The more things progressed, the more tangled they became, dragging me deeper into this mess.
‘...I need to hurry this up.’
If I delayed any longer, there was no telling how much worse things would get.
I had to finish this quickly.
‘And I still have matters on the front lines to handle.’
There were classified missions I’d been entrusted with, too. No matter what, I had to wrap things up fast.
With that thought, I headed toward my room.
‘For now, I should rest...’
Tomorrow morning, I’d start moving. Jin Yeonryeong had plans, and I needed to be ready.
But for now, rest came first.
As I stepped into the residence—
Freeze.
‘...What is this?’
Something felt off.
I turned my head.
“Hm?”
In the poorly maintained pond within the residence, someone was standing.
When I got a closer look—
“...Lady Hyun?”
It was Hyun Soyeon.
What was she doing here?
She was standing near the pond, gazing up at the sky.
Following her gaze, I looked up as well.
But all I could see was the moon.
What the hell?
“Lady Hyun. What are you doing there?”
Puzzled, I asked again.
Only then did Hyun Soyeon slowly turn her head to look at me.
“...Why are you even he—huh?”
As I spoke, my eyes widened.
“......”
Something was wrong with her eyes.
‘That’s...?’
They were glowing.
Hyun Soyeon’s eyes were shining with an unusually intense blue light.
And within them—
‘...Lightning Qi?’
There was no doubt.
It was Lightning Qi.
