YSEM Chapter 32

It was truly a tragic event.

Not only that a promising guard died,

But also that brother had to live with regret and self-blame because of it,

And that the assassin and the one who commissioned the deed couldn’t be caught.

In fact, all my actions were to prevent this.

I had made the maximum preparations I could.

I could prevent the worst-case scenario.

Still, it seemed best to give a separate heads-up.

“brother, about tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Why do you look so serious all of a sudden?”

“I have a bad feeling. It might just be groundless, but I’d appreciate it if you listened to me just for tomorrow. Please listen well to what Guard Jeon says. Don’t be stubborn.”

“Huh? What Guard Jeon says?”

brother tilted his head and looked at Guard Jeon.

Naturally, Guard Jeon had a clueless expression.

“Got it.”

“Can you promise?”

“I promise.”

At the conversation between brother and me, Guard Jeon Woojin, who had been standing behind, cupped his hands and said,

“Don’t worry. I will protect the Young Master even at the cost of my life.”

I chuckled inwardly.

That’s why I’m saying this.

But I couldn’t say that, so I also cupped my hands and said,

“Please take good care of our Young Master.”

Because I will save that life of yours.

***

It was morning.

I got up from bed, did qi circulation, and changed clothes.

Today was Jeong-ho’s junior merchant head announcement ceremony.

Still, my martial arts teacher wouldn’t skip training.

As I came out to the courtyard, Teacher entered the courtyard right on time.

A few shichen[1] later, I plopped down on the courtyard.

Today, too, I trained to the point of exhaustion as always.

“We’ll end today’s training here.”

“Good work.”

After accepting my bow with a nod, Teacher spoke with a serious expression.

“Today, it seems we must be cautious.”

“Pardon?”

“The murderous energy is thick.”

At Teacher’s words, I was momentarily dazed.

Honestly, if I had been completely unaware of what would happen today, I would have brushed it off as nothing.

But because I knew what would happen today, it didn’t sound like nothing.

“What do you mean by that, Teacher?”

“I sensed a thick murderous energy inside the company earlier.”

“How do you know that?”

“This is one of the abilities of the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Technique I taught you. You’ll understand what it means when your cultivation reaches a higher level.”

Even with that explanation, I didn’t understand.

I had definitely reached the level of a top-class warrior in my previous life and had risen to a comparable level now as well.

Yet I couldn’t sense the murderous energy Teacher spoke of at all.

Here, a question arose.

In my previous life, we had also invited people from Changin Escort Agency, an important business partner, to the banquet.

Then couldn’t Teacher have known beforehand and prevented that incident?

“It’s highly likely an uninvited guest will visit.”

“I’ll tell Father to tighten security.”

“That would be best. And coincidentally, I won’t be able to attend this banquet. I have to make a trip to Zhejiang Province starting tomorrow and won’t be back for about a month.”

From Teacher’s next words, I finally understood why Teacher couldn’t stop the incident back then.

Teacher had been away.

“Anyway, you can practice the Descending Snow moves I taught you today.”

“Understood. But is it all right to practice swordsmanship alone?”

“You have already passed the dangerous stage of solo practice.”

“I-I see.”

As I answered, I slyly turned my head.

I felt like I had been caught trying to make excuses.

Wait.

Teacher had instantly noticed the thick murderous energy. Then wouldn’t he also know who the assassin was?

There was a reason I was only preparing for contingencies and couldn’t fundamentally block the assassin.

It was because I didn’t know who the assassin was.

According to Jeong-ho’s testimony, the culprit wore a woman’s palace attire and even a veil, so the face wasn’t visible at all.

Which meant the assassin could be a woman, but it could also be a man disguised as a woman.

“Teacher. Is it possible to know who is targeting our company?”

“I don’t know either. I only sensed the murderous energy for a brief moment. And they quickly concealed it. If they had been close by, I could have known, but it’s regrettable.”

Teacher continued,

“To this extent, it’s no ordinary fellow. So never let your guard down.”

.

.

.

The banquet began.

Amid the musicians and dancers invited from the morning boosting the festive mood with music and dance, the guests who had lined up in front of Eunhae Merchant Group’s gate started entering the banquet hall.

The tables prepared for this banquet alone numbered over two hundred.

It was a banquet of enormous scale prepared with the belief that the more people came, the brighter the junior merchant head’s future would be.

Recalling the money spent on this banquet, the image of Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo silently screaming while clutching his head came to mind.

It was understandable.

The expenses for this banquet were astronomical.

In my view, it was a justifiable expenditure, but Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo was the assistant head manager and the head of Chamber of Wealth Management.

Which meant he had to decide on all expenses with a heavy heart.

Well, it’s because there are people like that that Eunhae Merchant Group runs smoothly and solidly.

Today, brother Jin-ho and my task was to entertain those around our age.

In other words, the children of those who could be called VIPs.

Their seats were arranged separately in the pavilion in the garden.

“Welcome, young master.”

“Seeing you after a long time, you look different. You seem taller and healthier.”

“It’s probably because I’ve been learning the sword lately. Please go in and enjoy yourself comfortably.”

“I will.”

As I greeted the arriving guests, I turned my head at the gaze I felt from somewhere.

But at the place where I felt the gaze, young ladies were gathered and turning their heads, feigning ignorance.

I was sure they had said something while looking at me?

Beside me, brother Jin-ho sighed and said,

“The threshold will soon wear out from all the matchmakers coming and going.”

“What are you talking about? I’m only fifteen, so why would matchmakers already be coming?”

“Fifteen is old enough to get married.”

“That’s true, but… Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“Do you even look in the mirror when buying one?”

“Well…”

I was at a loss for words.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t looked in a mirror lately.

Because Palgap took care of my appearance, I didn’t need to look in a mirror.

And I didn’t have the hobby of admiring my own face in the mirror.

Just then, another young master approached with a young lady. brother Jin-ho and I quickly greeted them with courtesy.

“Welcome, Young Master Han, Young Lady Han.”

“Thank you for inviting us on such a joyous day.”

“We are simply delighted that you accepted the invitation and personally came. I thank you on behalf of my elder brother.”

“Hahaha. Of course I had to come. Don’t you agree, Baek-ah?”

“Yes, Orabeoni (brother).”

Their names were Han Baek-gon and Han Baek-ah.

Young Master Han Baek-gon was two years older than me, the same age as brother Jin-ho, and Young Lady Han Baek-ah was a year younger than me.

They were the children of the head of Hongnan Merchant Group, a company I held in quite high regard.

It was a company that knew business ethics to a fair degree, and Hongnan Merchant Group was also counted among the top hundred companies in the world like us.

And Han Baek-gon would inherit Hongnan Merchant Group.

They had engaged in friendly competition with our Eunhae Merchant Group and would grow into one of the top ten companies in the future.

They were good rivals.

But the one more formidable than Young Master Han Baek-gon was Young Lady Han Baek-ah, who stood demurely behind him.

She, who played the brain of Hongnan Merchant Group, was called the awl of Hongnang for her sharpness.

She would occasionally make keen moves that surprised even me.

I said with a smile,

“Please have a seat. We have prepared a lot of food.”

But Young Lady Han Baek-ah’s face slightly reddened under my gaze.

“…?”

Just then, the young ladies sitting over there called Young Lady Han Baek-ah, and she headed in that direction.

“Young Master.”

And Young Master Han Baek-gon called out to me.

“Yes.”

“Just in case, don’t even think about laying a hand on my sister.”

“…Pardon?”

And he headed to where the other young masters were sitting.

I was standing there dumbfounded, not knowing what he was talking about, and brother Jin-ho laughed and silently patted my shoulder.

“…”

What?

After greeting guests at the pavilion for a while, it was soon sasi (9-11 a.m.).

Thud-thud-thud!

The music that had been resonating from all directions in tune with the drum beats abruptly stopped.

And everyone’s attention turned to the platform set up in front of Eunryongjeon, the company’s largest building where Father’s office was located, a building that symbolized the company.

Father, dressed in splendid attire, spoke loudly,

“I am Eun Gil-sang, the head of Eunhae Merchant Group. I express my gratitude to all of you for attending my eldest son’s junior merchant head announcement ceremony today.”

Father bowed his head to express his thanks to the guests.

“Now, let me introduce my eldest son, Eun Jeong-ho.”

At Father’s words, Jeong-ho stepped onto the platform. And he said, cupping his hands,

“I am Eun Jeong-ho, the eldest son of the head of Eunhae Merchant Group. I thank everyone who has attended here today.”

Father looked at Jeong-ho with a satisfied expression and announced to everyone,

“Today, I, Eun Gil-sang, head of Eunhae Merchant Group, declare that my eldest son, Eun Jeong-ho, has officially become the junior merchant head.”

And he handed Jeong-ho the silver identification plaque that had been on the tray held by Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo Dae-ik, and brother received it and hung it at his waist.

I also smiled, looking at Jeong-ho expressing his thoughts on becoming the junior merchant head with a beaming face.

Hoping that smile would continue this time.

***

As time passed, the banquet gradually reached its peak.

Eun Jeong-ho was busy expressing his gratitude to those attending the banquet.

Usually, he expressed his thanks for congratulations with a single “Thank you,” but there were situations where he couldn’t do that.

In cases where they gave a rather expensive gift or a large sum of congratulatory money.

For such people, it was polite to call them to a separate reception room and exchange greetings.

Eun Jeong-ho pressed his brow with his fingers.

Seeing that, Guard Jeon Woojin said with a worried expression,

“You seem tired.”

Eun Jeong-ho’s attendant grumbled with a small sigh,

“It can’t be helped. He’s already met twelve people separately. And why are their words so long? They could just cleanly say congratulations on becoming the junior merchant head, I look forward to working with you, let’s be close. But they just go around and around…”

“Don’t be like that. It must have been difficult for them to bring it up.”

“Anyway, our Young Master Jeong-ho is too kind for his own good. Don’t you agree, Guard Jeon?”

At the attendant’s question, Jeon Woojin nodded.

“I concur with that as well.”

“I also want to refuse coldly, but what can I do when this is my personality?”

Eun Jeong-ho laughed and continued,

“But fortunately, those around me guide me well despite how I am.”

At Eun Jeong-ho’s words, the attendant suddenly made a playful face and said,

“Come to think of it, she came today, right?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“You know, the young lady from the Jin Clan of the Martial Arts Association.”

“Ugh!”

At the attendant’s words, Eun Jeong-ho’s face reddened, and the attendant laughed.

“That young lady should see our Young Master like this.”

“Hmph.”

Just then, the maid in charge of the reception room approached and said,

“Young Master, a guest is waiting to meet you in Nanshil.”

“Oh, is that so? Then I should go.”

Eun Jeong-ho headed to Nanshil.

When he almost reached the front of Nanshil, Jeon Woojin stopped.

And he called out to Eun Jeong-ho.

“Young Master.”

“Hm? Why are you doing this?”

“I think it would be best not to meet the person inside. I can’t explain, but I have a bad feeling. In cases like this, nine times out of ten, something bad happens.”

“But it would be rude to just send away someone who waited to see me.”

“Still, I think it would be wise to be cautious.”

“It’s all right. It’s our company’s banquet, and Guard Woojin is here, so what could happen?”

As Eun Jeong-ho said that and was about to open the door, he recalled what his younger brother Eun Seo-ho had said last night.

It was a request to listen well to what Guard Jeon Woojin said because he had a bad feeling.

And he had promised to do so.