Chapter 196: CH 195

     I nearly bowed to Seo Dawon and shouted thank you at him. However, without giving me a chance to languish in gratitude, he shot me a cool look. “However, this time I’ll need solid evidence.”

     He spoke as if he would no longer tolerate these sorts of words in the future if I couldn’t figure out what was so suspicious about Bae Jaemin.

     I thought Seo Dawon had infinite trust in Jung Garam, but I flinched when that belief was shattered. At some point he would draw the line and treat me as the head of a guild would. “…Understood,” I said.

     However, Seo Dawon was the one to draw me, who had flinched at his attitude, back into an affectionate mood again.

     Seo Dawon looked at me before placing his hands over my bangs. Then, with an expression that didn’t hide how cute he found me, he began tousling my hair.

     “What is this, all of a sudden…” I had never even received this sort of affection from my father; naturally, I freaked out and avoided his hand.

     However, Seo Dawon ignored my attitude and continued as normal. It was as if, now that official business had completed, we moved onto a private conversation. “Did you eat?”

     “I didn’t…”

     “Eat with me.”

     “But, Ryu Hyerin-ssi and you are…”

     “What about Hyerin-ie?”

     When I looked like I wanted to bite myself at the slip of the tongue, Seo Dawon only laughed instead of interrogating me further. It was as if he knew what I wanted to say…

     “There’s still a few hours left until dinner,” he said.

    “……”

    “If not, do you want to join Hyerin-ie and me later?”

    “What? No! I don’t want to.”

    “It’s better to eat with just the two of us, right?” Seo Dawon had clearly never been rejected before. Eventually, I sighed and followed his lead.

* * *

     “It’s good to see you, Seo Dawon-ssi.”

     Seo Dawon took me, in his car, to a luxurious restaurant on the city outskirts. The appearance or the service level of the staff was quite extraordinary; the menu we were handed had no prices listed. Nevertheless, the spacious restaurant was filled with people.

     Even among those gathered, Seo Dawon was a spectacle. Because the restaurant boasted an open floor plan, I could feel the others’ piercing gazes; trying to ignore the stares combined with the pressure of such a high-class restaurant, it was hard to stay calm.

     “The fish here is decent.” Of course, Seo Dawon was calm. Furthermore, before I could peruse through the menu properly, he had finished ordering my share.

     Considering how I could barely pronounce the menu items, it was probably better for Seo Dawon to choose. However, I inwardly sighed when I thought about what his proficiency in these sorts of situations meant for his life experiences.

     “Ohoh. If it isn’t Seo Dawon-ssi!”

      However, those thoughts were cut short. Someone suddenly, and quickly, approached our table.

    I turned towards the approaching people, wondering if I should block their approach, and opened my eyes wide. Another familiar face again. To be exact, one of the approaching men was the last person I had expected to see.

    ‘…That’s Moon Issak?’

     The nerves in my body alighted sharply as I stared at Moon Issak. Perhaps he noticed my gaze–he glowered at me without blinking once. 1

     His gaze was more vigilant and weighty than what I remembered from when I was in my own body… What was more concerning were the people in Moon Issak’s company. In particular, the chubby man at the forefront wore a smile–in contrast to Moon Issak’s impassive face–as he reached a hand out to Seo Dawon.

     “Congressman-nim.” Speaking of smiles, Seo Dawon’s bright smile filled his face as well. I–how should I say this… Should I say that I felt elements of steadfastness, reliability, and professionalism from that smile? I inadvertently stared, startled by the Mage’s expression.

      Moon Issak’s companions, who seemed to be on their way out after a meal, blushed and smiled heartily when they saw Seo Dawon’s expression. The chubby man grabbed Seo Dawon’s hand and continued on into a more private conversation. “Ohoho, it’s been almost 2 months since I last saw you in Jeju.”

     “That’s right. How have you been?”

     “Hahaha, me? Well, I’m always the same. Rather than me, I think our Guild Master-nim 2 would have been far busier.” The man at the front of the party clung onto the Mage’s hands, busily raising his voice–it was as if he were announcing to all here his life’s most important networking connection.

     In particular, he kept on using words like ‘Red Lotus’ and ‘Guild Master,’ like he wanted everyone in this restaurant to recognize Red Lotus’s Seo Dawon.

     If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to maintain a straight face next to such a burdensome person… Seo Dawon didn’t even cringe and was perfectly attuned to the other’s beat.

     And, Moon Issak was…

     ‘He seems to…hate Seo Dawon a lot?’

     He stood far away from the Mage, eyes lowered and mouth closed in a tight line. Still, the negative emotions that he could not fully bury had permeated into his body language.

     Surprisingly, though, Seo Dawon talked happily with the ‘Congressmen’ surrounding him before finally turning towards Moon Issak, as if he just now noticed the man. He called out in an innocent voice, “And this person is…”

     “Ah! He’s administrative assistant Moon Issak… He’s a very competent friend. 3 Didn’t you see him once in Jeju?”

     “Did I?”

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     “…Nice to meet you again. I’m called Moon Issak.”

     Seo Dawon only grinned after receiving Moon Issak’s greeting. That was to say… he dragged the lull until the person who had greeted him felt a bit ashamed.

     However, the other lawmakers didn’t rebuke or say anything to Seo Dawon. They simply smiled genially and moved away, promising to meet again ‘next time.’ Moon Issak bowed deeply and slowly straightened his back again. I clearly saw that he looked as if he was holding in his irritation before he twirled around and left the restaurant.

     “Do you…hate Moon Issak?” When dining service, which had been paused temporarily due to the interrupting conversation, I stirred the soup in front of me and asked the Mage an abrupt question. The relationship between Seo Dawon and Moon Issak concerned me.

     However, Seo Dawon responded indifferently, as if it weren’t a big deal. “No?”

    “But then, why…? Um…”

     “You want to know why I gave him a hard time?”

     “Yes…”

     “He was weirdly abrasive from the first time we met.”

     “Huh….?”

     “Well, live a long enough life and there will be people you hate for no reason at all. I guess he just didn’t like me.”

     Moon Issak picked a fight with him first? However, Seo Dawon seemed to have used his status and connections to skillfully mess with him–to treat him as subordinate…

     Perhaps he read something from my expression, Seo Dawon lightly took a sip of his soup before saying, “So, I decided to give him a reason.”

     “Ah…”

     “But, the funny thing about him… Now that I’ve messed with him a few times like this, he waited for me in the bathroom and attacked me the last time I was in Jeju island.”

     “What did you say?” I looked at Seo Dawon, surprised.

     However, he simply blinked his eyes and shrugged, as if he were reminiscing about something quite amusing. “He endures me well. Garam-ie, is he possibly to your taste…?”

     “Huh? W-What?”

     “I smashed the bones in the back of his hand, and he didn’t groan even once.”

     Crazy….. What on earth happened between you two? Furthermore, doing things like that… What was with him reminiscing about something like that as if it were something fun? I lost my appetite; I placed down the spoon that I had been using to stir my soup.

    “What’s wrong? It doesn’t taste good?”

    “It’s just… Mm, I’ll eat later.”

     Seo Dawon was being kind when he asked me that question, but I refused him while cold sweat. I remembered the few times I rebelled against Seo Dawon since I had met him. I even called him a pervert… Now that I think about it, there were many fortunate incidents where the Mage had let me slide.

‘Seo Dawon is… incredibly generous to those that he considers within his boundaries.’ 4

     Then, something abruptly occurred to me. What did Seo Dawon think when Ryu Hyerin betrayed him?

     “Hyung… Hypothetically…”

     “Hm?”

“If I were to make a huge mistake in regards to Hyung… Will you forgive me?”

     “What is this all of a sudden?”

     “…It’s just, well… Things like that could happen in life.” Though I pretended to be joking, the ends of my sentences sounded shaky.

     Seo Dawon stared at me absentmindedly, “What would constitute a ‘huge mistake’?”

      “…Ruining what Hyung has been working towards, losing all your money… A mistake that would ruin Hyung’s life.”

     “And how could you make a mistake like that?”

     “So, that’s why I said hypothetically…” I stabbed my innocent soup with my fork while avoiding Seo Dawon’s persistent eyes. Now that I’d spoken out loud, I wanted him to dismiss my words as emotionally charged nonsense.

     “If you beg for forgiveness, I’ll have to grant it at least once.”

     “……”

    “After all, that’s what you do with mistakes.”

 

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TL:
Seo Dawon: “So, I decided to give him a reason.”

That’s the level of pettiness I sometimes aspire to have. 
FootnotesTo be exact, not blinking, in this situation, means not faltering in his movements/actions. I translated a bit literally here since I felt that English had similar nuances, but I might localize this in the future. ‘Our’ guild master-nim, of course, refers to Seo Dawon. Seo Dawon isn’t his guild master, but the “our” here denotes intimacy or friendliness. Friend, here, doesn’t actually mean friend. Think of it more as ‘person I know’. Aka ‘his’ people. 

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