What is this situation?
I had to sort through countless thoughts as I observed the scene unfolding before me.
No, before thinking, I first needed to understand.
âWhat is that?â
Why are these old men here?
Not only was the Divine Doctor, whom I was already planning to find, present, but even Paejon, who was supposed to be in Shanxi, was here. Why on earth was he here?
âWhatâs going on?â
No matter how much I tried to wrap my head around it, it didnât make sense.
When I arrived at the lodging the Baekhwa Trading Company had arranged for me, I found not only the Divine Doctor and Paejon but also this bizarre situation.
Caught off guard, I stood speechless for a moment.
At that moment, Paejon, who had been chuckling at the sight of the fainted Divine Doctor, turned his gaze toward me.
âOh.â
Our eyes met. Paejon reacted to this by giving a slight smile.
âGood to see you. Itâs been a while, hasnât it?â
ââ¦?â
The unfamiliar tone threw me off for a moment, but I quickly realized why. Right behind me were Seong Yul and Tang So-yeol.
Since neither of them knew Paejonâs true identity, he must have been acting this way deliberately.
ââ¦Yes. Itâs been a long time.â
At my greeting, Paejonâs grin widened. Seeing that smile made cold sweat break out on my forehead.
âThis guyâ¦â
He was absolutely furious.
If there was one thing I had learned after being beaten up by Paejon for several years, it was this: the angrier he got, the more he smiled.
There was a difference, albeit subtle, between his amused smile and his angry one.
It was a difference you could only notice after spending a lot of time around him.
Judging by thatâ
âDamn it.â
There was no doubt. Paejon was mad.
âHow many months has it been now? I heard youâd be back soon. Ha ha.â
ââ¦â
From his words alone, I could already guess why he was angry.
I had told him I would wrap up my affairs quickly and return to the Gu family. But instead, I ignored that plan and came straight to Hanan.
âAh, crap.â
While it hadnât taken me long to travel from Guangdong to here, it had been several months since I had left the Gu family.