Chapter 456: Cho Hyejin’s Instruction Manual (1)

Regressor Instruction Manual

“Cough! Cough! Cough!”

“O-Oppa, are you okay?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

“Cough!”

“O-Oppa!” exclaimed Jung Ha-Yan.

“Cough! Cough!”

Jo Hye-Jin’s question made me choke on my own spit, and the constant coughing was hurting my chest. Jung Ha-Yan looked worried. She definitely thought that there was something wrong with my health, and she looked as if she was about to call a priest, so I quickly raised my hand to stop her.

“I’m fine. I just choked on my own spit—Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!”

“S-Should I bring you some water?” she asked.

“It’s fine. I’m going inside, anyway…” I declined.

“Yeah, no need to worry. I really just choked on my own spit,” I repeated.

“S-Still…”

“I’m fine.”

I was done coughing, but I couldn’t understand what she was talking about.

‘What kind of bullshit is she talking about?’

I was sure that Jo Hye-Jin was misunderstanding something and was imagining all sorts of things. Her remark made my heart pound, even though I wanted to tell her that what she just said was absurd.

Jo Hye-Jin looked depressed while waiting outside.

Of course, I had an idea of what was going on.

Kim Hyun-Sung had probably told her that he would head over to the Rift Inn by himself.

The nervous Jo Hye-Jin was waiting anxiously in front of the Guild House because she couldn’t wait for him in her room.

‘If you’re that worried, why didn’t you follow him? You could have insisted and followed him secretly, you dummy.’

Of course, Kim Hyun-Sung would notice her, but it was better than feeling anxious without doing anything. Kim Hyun-Sung was frustrating, but she was just as bad as him.

I finally knew why their relationship still hadn’t progressed so far. After inwardly calling her a dummy, I started talking because I had to hear what was going on.

“Let’s head inside for now.”

“What?” Jo Hye-Jin asked.

“People might misunderstand, and nothing will really change if you just stand here without doing anything. Let’s go inside for now, and you can tell me what happened by then,” I suggested.

“Y-you haven’t heard anything?” she asked.

“That’s right. I haven’t heard anything. I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about right now, Miss Hye-Jin… Are you sure that what you’ve heard isn’t just a rumor? As far as I know, Mr. Hyun-Sung is seeing Miss Yeon-Joo of the Black Swan Guild, but you can’t really say that they’re in a relationship,” I replied.

“I-I’m not sure… I’m not sure, but Mr. Deok-Gu…” she trailed off.

“What?” I asked.

“He said he was sure…” she continued.

“He said what?” I asked.

‘What did that pig tell her this time?’

Park Deok-Gu could be unexpectedly helpful in the strangest situations, but he often acted like a troll in the strangest situations as well. The situation had to be the latter. As expected, I heard his loud voice.

“Oh! Hyung-nim!”

“...”

“Hyung-nim!” Park Deok-Gu called out again.

It seemed that the saying about how speaking of the devil would make him appear was still true. I turned my head and saw the large-framed Park Deok-Gu.

We had seen each other recently, and I wasn’t happy to see this pig. I got even more worried because I didn’t know where he had heard the rumors that he told Jo Hye-Jin and how Kim Hyun-Sung was suddenly dating someone.

‘That pig…’

His proud expression made me feel anxious. He hugged me tightly, but I was still anxious.

“Well, it’s been a while… Nice to see you again. Hey, hyung-nim, have you heard?” he asked.

“Heard what?” I questioned.

“Well, our bro went on a date late last night with a mysterious woman!” he replied.

I became sure that he exaggerated the story.

“There weren’t a lot of witnesses since it was late at night, but I’m sure of it. I was actually surprised. I honestly thought that our bro wasn’t interested in women, but at the end of the day, it seems that he’s still a man,” he continued.

“Talk slowly. What exactly happened?” I asked.

“Ahem, so you haven’t heard it yet. You’ll probably hear it later, anyway, so I’ll just tell you now. I’m not sure what happened, but our bro was enjoying a pretty romantic date with a beautiful woman last night at a nearby restaurant. They drank wine while sitting really close to the point that their noses were even touching. That basically confirms it. It’s kind of strange when you consider his personality. Think about it. Our bro isn’t the type to have wine and kiss some random woman late at night,” he answered.

It wasn’t a romantic date, and we didn’t even kiss.

“There’s a saying that a fair face may hide a foul heart, but who knew our bro would get involved in a scandal before anyone else? This is my assumption, but… I’m sure that woman is no ordinary woman. I don’t know what kind of cunning woman she is, but I’m sure she’s very experienced…”

”I’m worried that she’s a gold digger trying to use our bro,” he added.

‘That was me, you pig!’

Park Deok-Gu probably didn’t notice how Jo Hye-Jin’s face got more serious as he talked. He definitely had a gift of instigation because he knew how to say certain things without holding back.

If I were to let him keep spreading rumors like that, he would eventually end up spreading rumors that the mysterious woman was pregnant with the child of the Guild Master of the Blue Guild.

He had always been so focused on other people that I had never imagined that he would take interest in this kind of news.

His excited look was a ridiculous sight to behold. Thankfully, he seemed like he wasn’t investigating Kim Hyun-Sung’s partner, but if Park Deok-Gu really wanted to do so, then I was sure that he would easily uncover the mysterious woman’s identity.

“I knew it…” Jo Hye-Jin muttered.

“It’s too early to tell, Miss Hye-Jin. She could be someone he’s meeting for business. Rift Land had just opened, so I’m sure he has to meet a lot of people like merchants and clan masters of powerful clans,” I told her.

“You think so?” Jo Hye-Jin asked.

“That’s what I thought at first, but I don’t think that’s the case. They met for business, but they were as close and as clingy to each other as rice cakes next to each other…” Park Deok-Gu chimed in.

“Isn’t that strange? From what I heard, they looked like a couple that has been together for years. Our bro is very shy, so it’s strange that he would be in that kind of situation with a woman he had just met for the first time. This is just my assumption, but…” Park Deok-Gu trailed off.

“Yes?”

“I think he has been hiding their relationship all this while. They have to be in a relationship for at least a year now,” he continued.

‘Shut up, you pig!’

“It’s not something to get so worked up about. It doesn’t even make sense, and it’s ridiculous that we’re talking about someone else’s love life like this,” I criticized.

“That’s true, but… don’t we have to worry about it? If he gets married and ends up having children, then we’ll have a sister-in-law and a successor…”

”We have to find out exactly what’s going on. The fact that those two walked around late at night is fishy, and he even left the Guild House this morning. Considering that, I’m a hundred percent sure, yes, that has to be it,” he explained.

“That’s…”

“There’s definitely something going on, and I’m sure he’s just shy to talk about it to his fellow guild mates. Our bro is famous, so he has to worry about public opinion as well. He has been walking around and making his presence known recently, so I think he’s thinking about announcing his relationship soon. I think he’s just testing the waters right now,” he continued.

‘Why does he sound so convincing?’

His remark about Kim Hyun-Sung being in a relationship all this while didn’t make sense, but this pig managed to forcefully fit a puzzle piece into the puzzle. The way he spoke about his bullshit sounded convincing.

Jo Hye-Jin seemed like she was sixty percent confident in Park Deok-Gu’s assumption, and I couldn’t help but acknowledge the fact that Jo Hye-Jin had fallen for Park Deok-Gu’s trap.

“It doesn’t make sense to say that he has been in a relationship all this while. I really think that they met for business. I can’t see why he would hide his relationship from us for such a long time only to reveal it now. The timing is off, and the situation itself sounds off as well. I think you’re wrong about this one as well, Deok-Gu,” I explained.

“You have a point, but something smells fishy,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“It feels like our bro and that woman have known each other for a long time. I don’t know how to describe it, but my intuition is pretty good. My accuracy is almost a hundred percent when it comes to something like this,” he replied.

‘This quick-witted bastard.’

He was correct about how that mysterious woman and Kim Hyun-Sung had known each other for a long time, but his sharpness made me gulp unknowingly.

“And the answer is pretty easy to deduce if you look at the situation from a different angle. I’m sure he’s going to announce it to the public sooner rather than later,” Park Deok-Gu continued.

“What are you talking about…” I asked.

“He has no choice but to announce it, so I think that woman is pregnant,” Park Deok-Gu answered.

“What?!” Jo Hye-Jin exclaimed.

‘What kind of bullshit is that, man?!’

“It’s the only explanation for why he suddenly wants to reveal his girlfriend, whom he has been hiding all this while. I think that’s also the reason why he looks uneasy nowadays. If I were in his shoes, I would be anxious as well…”

“I mean, it’s peaceful right now, but I feel dizzy just thinking about raising a child on this continent,” said Park Deok-Gu.

‘Your words are making me dizzy...’

“I heard he has been spending more time walking alone recently,” he commented.

“What kind of nonsense—”

“Ah, it also explains that thing. Hyung-nim, Hye-Jin noonim. I’m sure both of you also know that this isn’t the first time that bro disappeared without telling us, right? There were times when we couldn’t contact him for an entire week, sometimes two…”

“He has never told us where he went during those times. I mean, I’m sure he’s getting his work done, but I’m also sure that he has spent at least a few days to meet that woman. Yes, it all makes sense now,” said Park Deok-Gu.

‘How did he make that connection?’

He was worthy enough to be called Master of Storytelling. I even felt like I was learning a thing or two from him. I realized from his words that one sentence was enough to instigate. Of course, dozens of documents and evidence were necessary to explain what he was saying.

Anyway, I had to protect Kim Hyun-Sung, but it was difficult because Park Deok-Gu’s momentum was suppressing me. We just ate dinner together, but this pig somehow managed to spin a story about how I was pregnant with Kim Hyun-Sung’s child and had been his girlfriend for over a year now.

‘You… crazy bastard.’

I was speechless, but I couldn’t just stand idly by and watch.

“You’re being too hasty, Deok-Gu. I’m sure Mr. Hyun-Sung would have told us long ago if it were really something like that. I also know his schedule whenever he goes out, and I can say that he has no time nor the luxury to meet a woman,” I told him.

“But…”

“You don’t need to worry so much, Miss Hye-Jin. I think Deok-Gu has misunderstood the situation,” I said.

“T-To be honest… it feels off because I saw him writing a letter last night,” Jo Hye-Jin said.

“What?” I asked.

“I couldn’t see it, but he was writing a letter in his study…” she replied.

“I think it’s a proposal letter,” Park Deok-Gu commented.

‘It’s not, man.’

It was probably an apology letter. Considering Kim Hyun-Sung’s nature, it had to be an apology letter. He had to have been dissatisfied with the apology he had given last night, and I was sure that his plan was to hand over the letter of apology along with the shoe. I didn’t expect him to lock himself up in his study to write something like that, but I was sure that nothing else had happened.

I got worried that if I were to let Park Deok-Gu continue like this, he would end up saying that Kim Hyun-Sung already had a child and he had been hiding his child from us all this while.

I placed my finger on my lips to signal to Park Deok-Gu that he should be careful because there could be other people eavesdropping on us.

Fortunately, he calmed down a bit when he saw my signal.

“...What should we do, Sub Guild Master?” Jo Hye-Jin asked.

‘Why are you asking me that?’

Jo Hye-Jin’s reaction was betraying her usual demeanor.