Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 393 (Part 1)



393 (Part 1)

“Gu… Master?”

“Yes?”

I had to respond with a voice tinged with confusion at Mo Yong-bi-yeon’s words. Master? Did she recognize me?

‘How?’

Even if she did recognize me the title felt somewhat strange.

Master…? It wasn’t a fitting title for me especially coming from someone like Baek Ryeon-gyeom who was my senior by quite a bit.

As I quietly observed Mo Yong-bi-yeon who seemed to be feeling a bit off she suddenly exhibited signs of confusion herself.

“Not… not really? Master is a bit more…”

A bit more?

“He was… handsome…?”

“…What?”

I couldn’t help but flare up at Mo Yong-bi-yeon’s words which seemed to spill out in a daze.

‘Oh no.’

I regretted my outburst immediately after I said it.

Having observed Mo Yong-bi-yeon’s personality from the side I realized that she had a somewhat aggressive nature contrary to my initial impression.

However contrary to my worries Mo Yong-bi-yeon was simply staring at my face with a puzzled expression.

Could it be that she mistook me for someone else?

‘If someone were to mistake me…’

If it were someone who would mistake me for Gu there was really only one person it could be.

‘Could it be my father?’

I asked Mo Yong-bi-yeon who was looking at me with an unreadable expression.

“Do you happen to know our Clan Head?”

“Clan Head?”

At my words Mo Yong-bi-yeon’s eyes sharpened. She then looked back and forth between Gu Yeon-seo and me.

“Could it be…?”

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With a somewhat surprised look she asked me.

“Are you… So Yeom-ra…?”

Damn it.

I had to squeeze my eyes shut at Mo Yong-bi-yeon’s words.

That damn alias was something I could never get used to no matter how many times I heard it. I vowed once again to find out who had come up with it.

And to make matters worse I was hearing it from someone else’s mouth which only fueled my frustration.

“…It’s Gu Yang-cheon from the Gu family.”

Even so I couldn’t let it show so I just squeezed my eyes shut and endured it.

“Oh my…?”

Seeing my reaction Mo Yong-bi-yeon suddenly came closer and grabbed my cheek.

I was startled and tried to step back but she blocked me from moving away.

What is this lady doing?

“So you’re saying… you’re the son of Gu Master?”

“No wait a moment… could you please let go of my hand…?”

“Now that I think about it you do resemble him. Your eyes for instance… your eyes…”

“Senior…?”

“Oh my why are your eyes hurt? They’re precious eyes you know…”

Mo Yong-bi-yeon seemed not to hear my words and began to roughly pinch my face with a crazed look in her eyes.

Gu Yeon-seo looked bewildered as if she couldn’t understand the situation. I was in the same state.

Finally unable to endure it I pushed Mo Yong-bi-yeon’s hand away.

“Why are you doing this?”

I spoke with a hint of irritation but for some reason Mo Yong-bi-yeon’s expression was filled with laughter.

“You’ve got quite the personality just like your father. I like it. This kind of thing.”

Instead of feeling angry she looked at me as if she missed me which only made me feel more frustrated inside.

Wiping my cheeks I asked Mo Yong-bi-yeon the same question again.

“Do you know our Clan Head?”

“I knew him back in the day. But now I don’t know. I wonder if he remembers me.”

From the way she spoke nostalgically it seemed like they were acquaintances.

But I couldn’t understand what kind of relationship they had that would evoke such a reaction.

Mo Yong-bi-yeon continued to look at me with a peculiar gaze.

That gaze felt burdensome. I could clearly sense that she was seeing my father through me.

As I subtly averted my gaze Mo Yong-bi-yeon spoke to me.

“I’ve heard rumors. Seeing you in person… you’re definitely something else. Blood doesn’t lie does it?”

At that moment I felt it. Mo Yong-bi-yeon’s energy was sweeping over me.

Crazy is she really checking me out so openly? It was absurd.

To scrutinize someone with energy could easily lead to a fight if things went wrong.

Mo Yong-bi-yeon was measuring me without a care. I didn’t like that behavior but for now I remained silent since she had saved Gu Yeon-seo.

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Was the inspection over? Surprise appeared on Mo Yong-bi-yeon’s face.

“Impressive…? I thought it was a misunderstanding. But really…”

She didn’t finish her sentence but I could tell she was about to mention Hwa-gyeong while looking at me.

‘So that’s why she used honorifics earlier thinking it was a misunderstanding.’

As a martial artist who had reached Hwa-gyeong she probably didn’t think I would be a prodigy which explained her attitude.

“This resemblance isn’t just a matter of similarity… it seems you’ve surpassed it.”

“…Thank you for your words but this feels a bit too close.”

It seemed like a compliment but the distance felt too intimate.

If she could just step back a little or rather a lot that would be great.

At my words Mo Yong-bi-yeon finally seemed to realize and took a few steps back.

Then she said to me

“Sorry I guess Noona got a bit carried away because I was so happy to see you.”

“…Noona?”

The title she casually threw out bothered me.

Noona? As far as I knew Mo Yong-bi-yeon was at least…

‘Isn’t she around my father’s age?’

She looked young but she was also a martial artist who lived in the same era as my father.

So at the very least…

She shouldn’t be calling me Noona.

It was a title that lacked a lot of conscience.

Of course I didn’t bother to voice my thoughts on this.

‘If I point this out I feel like she’d kill me.’

From the madness in her eyes I could sense that mentioning this wouldn’t end well for me.

“…”

Faced with an unknown killing intent I kept my mouth shut. Mo Yong-bi-yeon nodded as if she liked me and then spoke to Gu Yeon-seo and me.

“Nice to meet you. Your names are Yang-cheon and… Yeon-seo right?”

“Yes.”

“What a pity. Noona didn’t bring any money today so I don’t have anything to give you…”

“Oh no…! How could I possibly accept something from Senior Baek Ryeon-gyeom… ugh?”

As Gu Yeon-seo hurriedly tried to refuse I nudged her in the side to quiet her down.

She looked at me resentfully as if to ask why I was poking her but I had my reasons.

‘Why refuse when she’s offering? We should accept it.’

It was something given because of my father’s connections.

There wouldn’t be any repercussions for accepting something like this.

I only refused things that could lead to problems later. Seeing my actions Mo Yong-bi-yeon burst into laughter.

“Haha! This part is different.”

Saying that Mo Yong-bi-yeon took something out from her robe and handed it to Gu Yeon-seo and me.

As I carefully received the item I thought.

What is this?

It looked like a jade stone but I had no idea what it was for.

“What is this…?”

“It’s nothing special. Just a gem that’s nice to put in decorations.”

So it really is nothing special. I was immediately filled with disappointment.

Seeing my reaction Mo Yong-bi-yeon laughed even harder than before.

“This kid is funny! How can you be so openly disappointed?”

“I wasn’t disappointed. Thank you…”

“Really? That’s interesting. I think this is the most fun I’ve had in a while.”

I’m glad you find it amusing.

Regardless of Mo Yong-bi-yeon’s reaction I tossed the jade stone somewhere in my robe.

What am I supposed to do with this jade stone? Decorations are useless to me.

Unlike me Gu Yeon-seo seemed to be moved just by receiving something from Baek Ryeon-gyeom who was one of the idols among female martial artists.

Leaving Gu Yeon-seo to her own devices I turned my attention back to Mo Yong-bi-yeon.