Even My Life Is Yours Chapter 53

“Where is your lifeline?”

At those words, Hongyo instinctively reached for the chest of her clothes where she had hidden the pouch, only barely stopping herself. If she touched her chest now, it would be no different than openly revealing where the pouch was. Instead, Hongyo kept her eyes fixed on the man in front of her and assessed the situation.

Even without this brute, she could sense there were about three or four more behind her. Judging by his build alone, she doubted her chances of winning against just him, and now there were these underlings as well. If she at least had a wooden sword, she might be able to find a way, but there seemed to be no way to face four men bare-handed, especially not a demon-like brute who beat people mercilessly with his bare fists.

As Hongyo remained silent, the man in front of her seemed to run out of patience and spoke.

“If you don’t want to answer, don’t. We’ll find it all when we search you anyway.”

“……”

“And if we don’t, a few punches will be enough to make you talk.”

Hongyo bit her lip. There was no need to be swayed by such vulgar words. However, her biggest worry was the fact that a man who could hit people without batting an eye wouldn’t hesitate to do exactly as he said and search her thoroughly. If he did and discovered she was a woman, not only her life but also Mohyun’s and her grandmother’s could not be guaranteed. This pouch was literally her lifeline.

Hongyo looked at the brute, who was leisurely tossing the pouches he’d snatched into the air and catching them. Seeing him try to take yet another pouch when he already had what looked like at least five, she realized that to him, this wasn’t a hazing ritual but a hunt. All the while, the men were gradually closing in, surrounding her.

She could feel her heartbeat with every breath. Hongyo lowered her stance, ready to duck if necessary. It was the same at the dojang; guys who moved in packs like this always seemed to rush in all at once as if on cue. Therefore, if she lowered her stance sharply as they charged and threw sand, with a stroke of luck, she might be able to buy enough time to escape. It would have been great if a better plan came to mind, but with no weapon and being outnumbered, running was the best she could do.

“But is this guy really a man? He’s incredibly pretty.”

“I know, right? Just by his face, I’d believe it if you said he was a girl.”

“It’d be a bit of a waste to mess him up. He’d be useful for attracting the attention of ladies if we kept him around.”

Amidst the suffocating tension, she could hear the men’s jeering laughter. She’d heard that all the sons entering Hwayoungkyung were nobles, but it seemed there were nobles and then there were nobles. Their slick faces had a semblance of nobility, but their words and actions were no different from any common street thugs.

But even this was something Hongyo was used to. She had learned not long after starting at the dojang that being a noble didn’t mean one couldn’t be vulgar. These guys were cut from the same cloth as the ones who used to surround and torment her when Gamyoung or Kyungrak weren’t around. The only difference was that back then, she had nothing to lose, and now, she did.

“Instead of being so stubborn, how about you crawl between our legs? Whether you get your pouch taken here and crawl or you crawl here, it’s all the same, isn’t it? Who knows? We might let you go just because of that face.”

These crazy bastards. Hongyo gritted her teeth. It was then. One of the men behind her grabbed her shoulder. Simultaneously, Hongyo, who had lowered her center of gravity, hooked her leg inside the man’s leg and executed a trip-throw. With a loud thud, the man was slammed neatly onto the ground.

As if that were the signal, the men, who had been momentarily stunned, charged at her haphazardly. Throughout all this, the man in front of them remained motionless, merely watching Hongyo. The large man let out something akin to a sound of admiration, as if the last blow had been quite interesting. At that moment, one of the men behind Hongyo hesitated, looking flustered. Hongyo quickly scooped up a handful of sand.

“Four of you ganging up on just one. How very impressive.”

At that voice, the man who hadn’t moved an inch scowled fiercely. Then he turned around and spoke indifferently.

“To what do we owe the pleasure of the Gamkyung’s presence at this humble event?”

Hongyo, who had been crouched down to grab sand, also looked forward at the sound. Her eyes widened. The man, already clad in the Hwayoungkyung uniform even before the hazing ritual was over, was someone she was seeing for the second time, if her memory served her right.

“It is a humble event, as you say, but I too have entered as a new recruit, so I cannot very well miss it, can I?”

Saying this, the man, who openly showed the pouch tied to his waist, spoke.

“But are four of you currently intimidating one person?”

At that, the brute in front of her let out an overt sneer.

“Does the enemy ever show mercy on the battlefield? Even if you are the Gamkyung, isn’t this an overreach of authority?”

“Daeho, I didn’t know you knew such difficult words. Lord Pangam would be so proud.”

At that, the man who had been smirking just a moment ago scowled. He then glanced at Hongyo.

“You, you got lucky.”

The man spat on the ground as if to show his disgust and turned away from Hongyo. The men who followed him hurriedly trailed after. Watching them go, Hongyo let out the breath she had been holding once the brute was out of sight. That was a close call; her lifeline had nearly been cut. At the thought, all the strength drained from her body. Unable to keep any strength in her legs, she collapsed, and a hand was extended in front of her.

“To think of taking on that brute, you’ve got more nerve than you look. Still, it would be best to avoid him. As you can see, he looks like he could catch a bull with his bare hands, and his martial skills are not to be underestimated.”

Hongyo took the hand that was still in front of her. The firm palm was calloused at every knuckle.

“Thank you. For saving me.”

As Hongyo spoke, Jeonghwan replied.

“I didn’t step in to save you. I was merely bothered by such unmanly behavior.”

His casual voice was quite frank and refreshing. Just then, Jeonghwan, who had been observing Hongyo’s face, asked as if he remembered something.

“Have we met before? You look familiar.”

After thinking for a moment, Jeonghwan’s eyes lit up as if he had recalled something, and he spoke.

“Weren’t you the friend who went hunting with the Sixth Royal Brother during the martial competition?”

Hongyo recalled the day she first saw him. Was it at the hunting ritual? He was one of the men talking with Gamyoung before the expedition. At that time, Gamyoung had introduced her as his friend, so this person knew about her relationship with Gamyoung. As Hongyo instinctively sent him a wary glance, Jeonghwan snorted as if he knew what she was thinking.

“What does it matter to me whether you’re friends with the Hwayoungkyungjang or not? I’m not idle enough to go around gossiping about your personal friendships.”

At those words, Hongyo relaxed. From his earnest eyes and demeanor, she felt he was not a man of frivolous words. Besides, a ruffian like the one from before wouldn’t have interfered in something like this anyway. But her assessment didn’t last long. The bell signaling the end of Sulsi (戌時: 7 PM–9 PM) echoed through Hwayoungkyung.

“Less than one shijin left. If you need it, will you take mine?”

“No, why would you give this to me…”

“Do you really think they would expel the Gamkyung? I had no intention of participating in this game in the first place, so I’m offering it.”

Jeonghwan, truly intending to give her the pouch, untied it from his waist without any hesitation. Seeing it, Hongyo felt a surge of desire to gratefully accept the pouch.

As Jeonghwan said, he was the Gamkyung, who supervised all the Gamhwi. In terms of rank, he was the leader of the Gamhwi, making his position practically second only to the Hwayoungkyungjang. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a problem at all if he didn’t participate in something like this.

But if she did that… Hongyo shook her head.

“Thank you for the offer, but I cannot.”

At that, Jeonghwan looked at Hongyo with interest.

“I fear that if a mere Gamhwi were to take the Gamkyung’s pouch, some might come to look down on the Gamkyung. Also…”

Hongyo met his eyes and replied.

“Receiving help in this manner goes against my principles.”

At that answer, Jeonghwan, who had been expressionless until now, gazed intently at Hongyo. A smile formed on his refreshing lips, as if seeing her in a new light.

“I appreciate you worrying about the plight of a Gamkyung who gets his pouch snatched by a mere Gamhwi, but everyone will know that you didn’t defeat me to steal my pouch. Unless you’re worried about rumors of favoritism, aren’t you overestimating yourself a bit?”

At those words, Hongyo wore an expression of belated realization.

“My apologies! I didn’t mean it in such a profound way…”

“Still, upholding one’s principles is a fine attitude. I will be watching those principles of yours closely.”

Jeonghwan patted the shoulder of the still-flustered Hongyo and turned his back. As Hongyo watched his retreating figure, not knowing what to do, he turned back again as if he had remembered something.

“Ah, do you remember my younger sister? She was looking for you after the martial competition ended.”

At the completely unexpected topic, Hongyo tilted her head. Racking her memory, she recalled the young lady who had fixed her hair. But why would she be looking for me? she wondered, looking at Jeonghwan, who just shrugged.

“She’s my younger sister, but how can I know the heart of a woman? Anyway, she would be delighted to hear that you are here.”

As Hongyo watched Jeonghwan leave after saying such cryptic words, her heart grew urgent as the bell rang again. There was barely one shijin left until the end of Haesi. In that time, she had to protect her own pouch while simultaneously snatching someone else’s.

What should she do? It was then, as she was anxiously staring at the wall. A clever idea suddenly popped into her head.

“Will this work?”

She didn’t know if this would be a brilliant move or a disastrous one, but it was better to at least try. Hongyo grabbed onto the ivy climbing the wall with all her strength.

This was the first path she had chosen for herself. She could not turn back now.