Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 1158

Chapter 1158

……

I swallowed hard, the motion involuntary. The sight of my father’s sudden appearance had triggered it.

And even more than that—

‘Why in the world did he bring her back?’

The same human who had fled earlier was now suspended from my father’s grip. That girl, Gu Seon, the daughter of this house.

She twisted and fought, straining to get loose, but my father’s hold was unyielding.

“Hey! Let go of me this instant!”

Though Gu Seon continued to yell, my father was unmoved. He just shifted his wide, stunned gaze between me and Gu Seongyeol.

No matter how much she complained, he paid her no mind.

Or perhaps, he was simply too preoccupied to focus on anything else.

“What was that you just said?”

Gu Cheolwoon’s voice was sharp, his eyes burning. The tone alone was enough to silence both me and Gu Seongyeol.

“……Cheolwoon.”

Jin Yeonryeong stared at my father in disbelief, her eyes locking with his.

“……I greet you, Mother.”

Finally, my father offered a proper greeting to Jin Yeonryeong.

“I was delayed by other affairs and could not come immediately, but the moment I heard of your collapse, I rushed straight here…”

His piercing eyes then shifted back to Gu Seongyeol.

“I find myself struggling to comprehend what I just heard. Clan Leader.”

A hard edge had entered my father’s voice. Right then—

“What’s so hard to understand?”

Gu Seon, still dangling from his hand, was the one who spoke.

“You heard it all, you fool. They said there’s another spot in our family. You listened to every word, so why are you pretending to be confused—Aaaagh!”

Gu Seon shrieked.

“It hurts! It huuurts!! I’m sorryyy!!”

My father had apparently tightened his grip on her neck. Her screams faded as soon as she apologized.

“Ggghhh….”

“Clan Leader.”

Ignoring Gu Seon’s distress, my father focused on Gu Seongyeol.

“Is what I just heard the truth?”

“……”

Gu Seongyeol was silent. He could have simply denied it. But the reason he didn’t—

‘Because he knows my circumstances…’

Because he was aware that I am his son’s child.

‘…And because of Grandmother’s stare.’

Jin Yeonryeong’s glare all but promised he would not be forgiven if he failed to answer properly.

A total impasse. Even if Gu Seongyeol felt unjustly accused, he was in no position to respond adequately.

And that, in turn, meant trouble for me.

‘Damn old man…’

I felt a surge of resentment toward Gu Ryun. Why couldn’t he have just kept his mouth shut instead of stirring up this turmoil?

As my irritation grew, Gu Seongyeol released a heavy sigh and finally spoke.

“……It’s true.”

He had confessed. It seemed he saw no other way to evade the question.

“That boy is my child…”

Gu Seongyeol shut his eyes as he said it, his face a mask of weary acceptance.

“……”

Hearing this, my father fixed his gaze directly on me. His intense stare gave no indication of his thoughts.

“I see.”

Meanwhile, the moment Gu Seongyeol admitted it, Gu Seon, still hanging from my father’s grasp, turned to look at me and muttered,

“No wonder that brat’s nasty glare felt so familiar. I knew something was weird from the beginning. His eyes are the spitting image of our Clan Leader’s—YEEOWCH!”

She was cut off by another scream.

I felt like I was losing my mind.

“Baek Yangcheon.”

My father, while still tormenting Gu Seon, called my name.

“Yes, Vice Leader.”

“Were you aware of this?”

“Yes… I suppose…”

With Gu Seongyeol’s confession, there was nothing left for me to hide. I simply confirmed it.

“Was that the reason you purposely came to Shanxi?”

“That was part of it… yes.”

It was true that I had business with the Gu family. Just not this specific business.

“……”

My father listened to my reply in silence.

Thud!

“Urk…!”

He let go of Gu Seon. Finally free, she groaned, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Damn it… He’s unbelievably strong…”

Just as she was grumbling in annoyance, my father made a slight movement.

“Ack! I’m sorry!”

At that tiny motion, Gu Seon flinched and immediately apologized, but my father had already turned away.

“It appears I require some time to think. I will return to pay my respects at a later time.”

Whoosh!

Shrouded in flames, my father leaped into the air and vanished.

And Gu Seongyeol did not attempt to stop him.

“Cheolwoon…”

Only Jin Yeonryeong watched her son depart with a mournful expression before turning a sharp, cold glare toward Gu Seongyeol.

“…You, come with me.”

“……”

At her frigid tone, Gu Seongyeol clutched his forehead.

“Young Master Baek… I apologize, but could we speak again tomorrow? I need to have a word with this man.”

“…Ah, of course.”

That suited me perfectly. Merely standing in this tense atmosphere was draining. The main issue remained unresolved, but the situation had advanced, so retreating for now seemed the wisest choice.

“It would be best if you moved to a different room. I will have an attendant arranged for you.”

“Oh, that’s unnecessary. My current quarters are perfectly ade—”

“Then I’ll take him! I’ll do it, Mother!”

Gu Seon cheerfully raised her hand.

Jin Yeonryeong looked at her with suspicion, but—

“…Very well, Seon. Can you handle it?”

“Of course! I’m great at this sort of thing, you know?”

“……”

Just like that, my opinion was completely overruled.

“Let’s go, little sibling~”

Gu Seon abruptly grabbed my wrist and began pulling me along.

I could have easily resisted, but for the moment, I allowed her to lead me.

“Come in.”

“…Alright.”

I had absolutely no desire to witness whatever was about to transpire between Jin Yeonryeong and Gu Seongyeol.

**********

After leaving the infirmary, we walked down the corridor, heading toward a slightly raised hill. I knew precisely where we were going.

‘…That’s where my mother once lived.’

In my past life, my mother and I had stayed there briefly. It seemed that was our destination now.

We walked for a while in silence—

“…Sorry.”

“……?”

Gu Seon suddenly apologized.

“For what?”

“For picking a fight with you earlier. My apologies.”

“…Why now?”

I was taken aback. She never struck me as the apologizing type. So she was capable of it? That was genuinely surprising.

“The whole ‘you’re an intruder’ thing was a lie. I actually thought my mother had brought another man home.”

“…What?”

Jin Yeonryeong bringing a man home? That was a disturbing notion.

“Lately, she’s been trying to arrange a marriage for me. She’s been looking at potential suitors nonstop. I thought you were one of them.”

“…Ah.”

Thankfully, it wasn’t the kind of disaster I had first imagined.

‘Wait a minute…’

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

Back when I first met Jin Yeonryeong—

‘…The way she questioned me felt a little strange.’

She had asked about my family background, as if trying to verify something. When I asked why, she had seemed on the verge of proposing an idea.

‘…It can’t be.’

Was it this?

That would be utterly horrifying.

“I’m so tired of it. It’s draining. Honestly, it’s simpler to just sabotage things before they even start.”

“So that’s why you attacked me…? What if I had been seriously injured?”

“But you didn’t look like you would be. And you weren’t.”

“……”

Was that good intuition or just pure recklessness?

No, it was definitely just recklessness. There was no question about it.

“I thought you were just another one of those guys. But look how it turned out. You’re actually my little brother. Incredible, really.”

“…Why am I the younger one?”

“How old are you?”

“…Old enough.”

“Sure. According to my brother, you’re only about twenty. That makes me your older sister.”

“……”

When had she even asked him that? Damn it.

“I always thought it would be nice to have a younger sibling… but now that I actually have one, it’s a bit disappointing. You look far too much like our father. It’s like seeing his duplicate.”

“…Do I really resemble him that much?”

“The two of you should go look at a lake together. No one would be able to tell you apart.”

“……”

“I really wanted to believe,” Gu Seon said, looking straight at me.

“That father would never do something like that. That he wouldn’t betray my mother that way. But after seeing you, I’m certain. Oh, yes. This is real.”

“……”

Damn. That felt like an insult.

Did I truly look that much like him? That sharp-eyed old man?

‘Well, we share blood, so of course there’s a resemblance…’

But being told I resembled him more than our father did was strangely disconcerting.

“Well, it is what it is. Since this is how things are, let’s try to get along. Oh, by the way, are you interested in becoming the Clan Leader? That could be an issue.”

“…I have no interest.”

“What a relief. Even though he’s my brother, that man isn’t human. If you got ambitious, you’d only be making your life difficult.”

“……”

Listening to Gu Seon talk, my curiosity got the better of me.

“You’re really not bothered by this?”

“By what?”

“That a bastard child showed up out of nowhere.”

“…Should I be?”

“…Most people would be.”

At my words, Gu Seon let out a short laugh.

“They’ll deal with it themselves.”

“What?”

“Looking at you, it doesn’t seem like things will blow up into a catastrophe. The only one who’s going to get wrecked is our father. My brother looks like he has a lot to ponder, but I don’t really care. They’ll work it out on their own.”

“……”

“I don’t particularly dislike you or anything. You just seem kind of pitiful. But not, like, in a major way… just whatever.”

She was so nonchalant. It was clear she simply floated through life. In a sense, she seemed remarkably open-minded.

“We’re here.”

Gu Seon came to a stop. A residence lay ahead.

As I had expected, it was the place I remembered.

“You can stay here. Whether you stay for a long time or leave is your decision.”

“……”

“Oh, and Mother said we’re all having breakfast together tomorrow morning. She told me to tell you, so I am. I’m heading out now.”

With that, Gu Seon gave my back a few pats.

Then, whistling, she ambled away.

“…What a strange person.”

Of all the people I’d encountered recently, she was by far the most peculiar.

I always considered myself the only normal one in the Gu family, but she operated on a whole other level of weird.

‘…Tsk.’

I ran a hand through my hair once Gu Seon was out of sight.

‘What do I do now?’

Everything had become completely tangled. My plan was just to quietly conclude my business and leave.

But somehow, I’d ended up officially recognized as my grandfather’s son.

‘This is a real headache.’

The further things progressed, the more complicated they became, pulling me deeper into this mess.

‘…I need to speed this up.’

If I delayed any longer, there was no telling how much worse it would get.

I had to finish this quickly.

‘And I still have matters to attend to on the front lines.’

I had been entrusted with classified missions, too. No matter what, I needed to wrap things up.

With that thought, I headed toward my room.

‘For now, I should get some rest…’

Tomorrow morning, I would start moving. Jin Yeonryeong had plans, and I needed to be prepared.

But for now, rest was the priority.

As I entered the residence—

I halted.

‘…What’s this?’

Something felt amiss.

I turned my head.

“Hm?”

There, in the poorly maintained pond within the residence, stood a figure.

When I looked closer—

“…Lady Hyun?”

It was Hyun Soyeon.

What was she doing here?

She was standing by the pond, her face tilted upward toward the sky.

I followed her gaze upward.

But all I saw was the moon.

What in the world?

“Lady Hyun. What are you doing there?”

Bewildered, I asked again.

Only then did Hyun Soyeon slowly turn her head to look at me.

“…Why are you even he—huh?”

As I spoke, my eyes widened.

“……”

Something was wrong with her eyes.

‘That’s…?’

They were glowing.

Hyun Soyeon’s eyes shone with a fierce, unnatural blue light.

And within them—

‘…Lightning Qi?’

There was no mistaking it.

It was Lightning Qi.