CLS-Chapter 223

Chapter 223

“‘No relationship at all’…”

Ho Cheol-san trailed off slightly and glanced at Jin Ye-ran.

His gaze clearly contained the intent of ‘If you say you have no relationship, then why do you keep looking over there?’

“I wondered if you might be traveling companions, but it seems you’re not.”

“Traveling companions…”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his head vigorously.

It was awkward to call them traveling companions, but also awkward to say they weren’t – that was precisely the relationship between him and Jin Ye-ran. They had come together, but since they hadn’t come together for any particular purpose, it was hard to call them companions.

If you called that being companions, then everyone here would be Wei Yan-ho’s companions.

“Right. But why are you down here? Don’t you have lodgings upstairs?”

“Well, father called for me, so I came down, but he’s not here.”

“Father… you mean Great Hero Wei Jeong-han. Great Hero Wei Jeong-han left a little while ago for an executive meeting.”

“Ah, really?”

Wei Yan-ho scowled deeply.

It seemed his father had called him down then left because he had business to attend to.

“He said he wanted to introduce his son. It seems he called you down to have you get acquainted with us.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded and looked around at them all.

Naturally, there were no familiar faces. If his father had been there, he would have introduced him to each person individually, but right now there was no one to step forward and sort out the situation.

So what should he do?

As Wei Yan-ho seemed to be pondering, Ho Cheol-san, who had been watching the situation, quietly spoke up.

“It seems you came to make introductions.”

“Well, something like that.”

“Hmm, now that I think about it, I’m acquainted with all the other junior members here, but I’m not acquainted with you.”

Ho Cheol-san turned to his group and said:

“The second son of the Guangdong Wei Family, the son of Great Hero Wei Jeong-han and younger brother of Wei San-ho – Wei Yan-ho has come to make introductions. Everyone, please welcome him with applause.”

It was a slightly exaggerated introduction. There seemed to be a bit of mockery mixed in, and just as Wei Yan-ho was about to react, applause poured out from all directions.

“Wow!”

“Ooh!”

As people whose faces he didn’t even know clapped enthusiastically, Wei Yan-ho found himself grinning without realizing it.

Wasn’t Wei Yan-ho someone who was weak to praise and weak to atmosphere?

“Hehe, what kind of warm welcome is this… hehe.”

Watching Wei Yan-ho bow his head left and right, Jin Ye-ran unconsciously let out a sigh.

‘If only he had self-awareness proportional to his abilities.’

While being humble was good, when someone with ability was excessively humble, it wasn’t such a pleasant sight either. Moreover, Wei Yan-ho wasn’t being humble – he simply lacked awareness of his own position.

‘Come to think of it, Great Hero Wei Jeong-han also lacks awareness about his son.’

Looking at Wei Yan-ho objectively from the side, he was truly an amazing person. Even from her perspective, knowing little about the martial world, Wei Yan-ho was clearly worthy of receiving proper treatment.

Yet Wei Yan-ho didn’t seem to think of himself as anything more than a lazy late-stage junior, and Wei Jeong-han didn’t seem to regard Wei Yan-ho as anything more than that either.

That secretly made her angry.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Ah, yes.”

As Ho Cheol-san extended his hand with a gentle smile, Wei Yan-ho also grinned and grasped his hand.

For Wei Yan-ho, who was naturally treated as a parasite wherever he went, this kind of warm welcome was something he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

“I hope this will be a good connection. Since you’re the son of the Guangdong Wei Family, I’m sure we’ll have many opportunities to meet.”

“I don’t really come outside much, so there probably won’t be opportunities to meet.”

“…”

Ho Cheol-san stared at Wei Yan-ho with a dazed expression.

‘What’s with this guy?’

He couldn’t possibly be taking polite words seriously, could he?

‘No. That can’t be.’

If Wei San-ho were just a strong but stupid person, he couldn’t have gained such fame. Wei San-ho was famous for having a sharp mind as well. There was no way Wei San-ho’s younger brother could be stupid. When one sibling is gifted, the other might not be interested in studying, but it’s rare for them to actually be stupid.

‘Is he being sarcastic?’

But that bright, innocent expression seemed strange for sarcasm.

“Ahem, is that so?”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded as if he’d said something perfectly natural. Ho Cheol-san realized that his conversation with Wei Yan-ho wasn’t going to proceed constructively. Moreover, Ak Seo-hui had been giving him looks since earlier.

“Right. Then you must be tired, so go on up.”

“But father told me to come down…”

Ho Cheol-san smiled broadly.

“Didn’t Great Hero Wei Jeong-han call you down because he wanted you and us to get acquainted? Now that we’ve exchanged greetings, even when Great Hero Wei Jeong-han returns, he won’t scold you.”

“…Do you think so?”

“Of course. I guarantee it.”

“Hmm…”

As Wei Yan-ho seemed to hesitate, Ho Cheol-san patted his shoulder and said:

“What are you so worried about?”

“I desperately want to go up, but…”

“But?”

“What if father gets angry after I go up?”

Ho Cheol-san laughed as if it were absurd.

“Didn’t I guarantee it? No, I’ll even give you my word. So don’t worry.”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Ho Cheol-san with a pathetic expression.

“So you gave your word, but what will you do if father gets angry?”

“…Huh?”

Ho Cheol-san blinked.

“Will you take the beating for me or something?”

Ho Cheol-san was momentarily at a loss for words. I mean, I said he wouldn’t get angry, but if he asks what I’ll do if he does get angry, how am I supposed to answer that?

‘Is this guy picking a fight with me right now?’

Ak Seo-hui poked Ho Cheol-san in the ribs as he quietly observed Wei Yan-ho’s reaction.

“Tsk.”

Normally, he would have to thoroughly educate this impudent junior about what consequences come from contradicting a senior’s words, but…

‘If I do that, I won’t be able to sleep because of that guy’s nagging.’

Ho Cheol-san decided to mercifully let Wei Yan-ho off.

“It won’t happen, but if such a thing were to occur, I’ll take responsibility and convince Great Hero Wei Jeong-han that you did nothing wrong.”

“Hmm.”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Ho Cheol-san with dubious eyes.

Then he slowly nodded.

“Well, fine.”

While Wei Yan-ho didn’t completely trust Ho Cheol-san’s words, he couldn’t just wait indefinitely for Wei Jeong-han to return either. Having secured a suitable shield, Wei Yan-ho resolved to somehow make good use of this guy to escape from Wei Jeong-han’s clutches.

“Then I’ll head up. It was nice meeting you.”

“Yes, it was nice meeting you too. Go on up.”

“Yes, then.”

Wei Yan-ho turned around and headed upward. For a moment, his eyes met Jin Ye-ran’s, but Wei Yan-ho paid no attention and went upstairs.

‘Really…’

Jin Ye-ran looked at Wei Yan-ho with a resentful expression.

She knew he wasn’t being malicious. That man was incredibly oblivious. He probably didn’t even realize what kind of predicament she was in right now.

She knew she shouldn’t expect anything, but she couldn’t help biting her lips. Just as she resolved that she would have to handle this situation somehow without Wei Yan-ho, a blunt voice reached her ears.

“Aren’t you going up?”

“Pardon?”

Jin Ye-ran whirled around in surprise.

Wei Yan-ho was looking at her with annoyance dripping from his face.

“The lodgings are upstairs.”

“Pardon? Ah… yes!”

“So do you have business down here or something?”

“No! I don’t!”

“Then let’s go.”

Her face brightened.

‘He was thinking of me.’

She had thought he was just indifferent, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

“I’ll come right now.”

Jin Ye-ran smiled brightly and followed behind Wei Yan-ho. Seeing Jin Ye-ran’s face like that, Wei Yan-ho unconsciously blushed slightly.

‘She’s incredibly pretty.’

While Jin Ye-ran was always dizzyingly beautiful, Jin Ye-ran smiling like this was beautiful enough to shake even Wei Yan-ho’s ten-thousand-pound boulder-like composure.

“Ahem.”

Wei Yan-ho cleared his throat awkwardly and turned to go upstairs.

“Wait!”

But at that moment, a voice that broke his mood rang out.

“Hm?”

As Wei Yan-ho and Jin Ye-ran turned their heads, Ho Cheol-san was looking at them with a stern expression.

“Where are you going?”

“You told me to go up, so I’m going up. You told me to go and now you’re asking where I’m going – that’s absurd.”

“Not you!”

Ho Cheol-san’s face turned red and blue.

Why couldn’t this guy distinguish between when to butt in and when not to?

Wei San-ho wasn’t like this – this guy has terrible perception.

“Miss Jin.”

“…Yes?”

“It seems you haven’t properly responded to our request to join us for a meal? Wouldn’t it be discourteous to leave without giving a proper answer after receiving our invitation?”

Jin Ye-ran’s face hardened.

It seemed these people had no intention of letting her go quietly.

What should she say in response?

She was looking for an answer that wouldn’t escalate the situation, but she didn’t need to find that answer. Someone who specialized in the most hellish way of escalating situations had opened their mouth first.

“Ah, she said no, so why do you keep being clingy? It’s pathetic.”

“…”

Ho Cheol-san’s body flinched momentarily.

Sentences are combinations of words. While there are countless combinations of words in the world, at this moment, there probably wasn’t any other sentence that could make Ho Cheol-san feel as bad as this one.

“C-clingy?”

When had he ever heard such words?

But Wei Yan-ho wasn’t considerate enough to think about what kind of words he was accustomed to hearing.

“You’re being blatantly clingy.”

Wei Yan-ho stared at the shocked Ho Cheol-san and opened his mouth.

“Are you married?”

“N-no.”

“Do you at least have someone you’re seeing?”

“No.”

“That’s why you don’t.”

Wei Yan-ho shook his head from side to side.

“When you’re blatantly doing things women hate, which woman would say she likes you? If a person has no experience and no brains, they should at least have some perception. Why do you keep asking questions when someone is obviously showing they dislike it?”

“Gasp…”

Not only Ho Cheol-san, but Jin Ye-ran also had her mouth hanging wide open.

Had this man always been so quick to notice things… no, no, that’s not it! What the hell is that guy trying to do?

There are many truths in the world, but there are also truths that should never be spoken aloud. But Wei Yan-ho was relentlessly attacking Ho Cheol-san as if such things didn’t matter at all.

“Let’s go.”

As Wei Yan-ho spoke as if he’d said everything he wanted to say, Jin Ye-ran nodded with a bewildered expression.

“Y-yes.”

Just as Wei Yan-ho and Jin Ye-ran began going upstairs, an angry shout erupted.

“You bastard!”

The one who shouted was Ak Seo-hui.

“How impudent! Everyone here is older than you, and they’re your brother’s…”

“Stop, stop.”

Wei Yan-ho cut off Ak Seo-hui’s shouting.

“I’m originally quite talkative, but…”

“…Huh?”

“I know very well when words are needed and when they’re not needed.”

“…”

Wei Yan-ho clapped his hands together and came leisurely walking down.

“Well, whatever words come in between, it’ll end with ‘apologize’ or ‘admit your fault’ or ‘I’ll teach you a lesson,’ right? I have no intention of doing any of that, so…”

Wei Yan-ho grinned and said:

“If you’re pissed off, come at me.”