Even My Life Is Yours Chapter 65

Kicking off the seat and running away was fine, but the problem was what came next. In a situation where she didn’t know which way was which, she could neither go outside nor return to the room where the Gamhwi were. Hongyo ran down an unfamiliar corridor and then, unable to overcome her own speed, fell down. Fortunately, the floor was made of wood, so she wasn’t hurt, but she was bewildered, unable to do anything in the structure where everything looked the same.

Just then, Yehyang and half a dozen other women who had come out of the room Gamyoung was in, discovered Hongyo sprawled on the corridor floor and approached her.

“Young master. Is something the matter?”

Yehyang, unusually flustered, realized that the person before her was the same man she had briefly encountered at the door earlier and moved closer. She didn’t know why she had been standing in front of that door, but her sudden flight made her wonder what she had seen that had startled her so. However, as the owner of Myeongwolgwan, she had seen so many incomprehensible people that a man running away like a pitiful deer was not particularly surprising.

“Oh my, he’s handsome.”

From behind her, she heard Heeok’s whispering voice. They might have been whispering quietly amongst themselves, but worried that he might hear, Yehyang thought she would have to discipline them more strictly and kindly extended a hand towards Hongyo. Up close, just as Heeok had said, he was a very handsome young master. However, his features were still far from manly, with a stronger, somewhat pretty feel, and one could tell at a glance that he was so naive he probably had never even held a woman’s hand, let alone the edge of her sleeve.

Yehyang extended her hand with the intention of teasing this naive-looking handsome man a little. She was also curious how this young master would react, among the brutes who, despite all their whispering about her, couldn’t even manage to touch a single fingertip of hers. But contrary to her expectations, the young master before her took her hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Thank you. It is embarrassing, but I have made a fool of myself by getting lost.”

The hand that nonchalantly took hers to stand up had calluses from holding a sword for a long time, and its joints were firm. Though she looked slender, she was stronger than expected, and Yehyang, who almost stumbled, was held firmly by Hongyo.

“I-I’m terribly sorry. I’m still a bit tipsy…”

Staggering around, what a disgrace. Hongyo was genuinely ashamed of herself. It seemed better to leave quickly rather than return to the room where Yeoryeong was.

“Excuse me, but do you happen to know the way out? It’s my first time here, and I can’t seem to find the way.”

Seeing her so flustered, it was clear she wasn’t trying to flirt on purpose. It was strange how she seemed naive yet wasn’t shy around women. But even if it were a flirtation, Yehyang, who had found herself willing to guide her personally, was about to open her lips with a smile when…

“What are you doing here?”

A cold, low voice was laced with chill. When Yehyang turned her head to look, the Hwayeonggyeongjang who had been in the room just a moment ago was staring at them coldly. Yehyang quickly composed herself. However, the man’s gaze was fixed solely on the man who was still holding her hand. It was a colder, more chilling gaze than she had seen in the room.

As Yehyang let go of her hand under the gaze that looked sharp enough to cut, Hongyo, as if just realizing she was still holding Yehyang’s hand, hastily corrected her posture. Seeing that, Gamyoung strode over and stood in front of Hongyo. The height difference, which was already a full head, felt particularly larger today. As Hongyo unknowingly swallowed, Gamyoung, who was looking at her, turned only his head towards Yehyang and said.

“My subordinate was drunk and acted rudely. I apologize on his behalf. I will take Yeo Gamhwi with me, so please watch your step.”

Gamyoung, who finished speaking with a clean, no-nonsense attitude, grabbed Hongyo’s hand and slung it over his shoulder. Then, holding the waist of Hongyo, who was leaning awkwardly due to the raised posture, he exited the corridor. In the unmistakable manner of someone taking care of a drunkard, the women standing behind Yehyang whispered that he hadn’t given them a single glance but was taking such good care of his subordinate, but Yehyang thought differently.

On the surface, he appeared calm and seemingly unfazed, but Yehyang, who had seen countless people, did not miss the boiling fire within. That was the look of a man who adores a woman. It was the eye of a man blinded by jealousy just by seeing the woman he loves close to another man.

But weren’t they both men? Watching the two of them walk away, Yehyang smoothed her fine brow. There were many people in the world, so it was natural for there to be those who transcended the combination of yin and yang.

“Be quiet, all of you. What’s with all the chatter?”

Then, she disappeared, taking her still-whispering girls with her.

As they stepped outside, the cold air hit her cheeks. Thanks to that, Hongyo, who had sobered up a little, looked to her side and saw Gamyoung supporting her with an expressionless face.

“Let go of me.”

As soon as she managed to utter the words, their eyes met. But the face, still just as cold, which she had so longed to see, brought a sense of unfamiliarity and disappointment rather than longing. Gamyoung looked at Hongyo and then released her arm. At the still-cold eyes, Hongyo was about to speak but then closed her mouth. She couldn’t even guess what he was so angry about, but she wasn’t unaware that saying the wrong thing to Gamyoung with that expression could only make the situation worse.

But was it because she was drunk, or because the tension had dissipated? Hongyo felt a surge of emotion as she looked up at Gamyoung, who was looking down at her without a word. Just as he had said, she had come to Hwayeonggyeong, gone through all this hardship, and even become the champion in the competition, yet she wasn’t even being congratulated, just stared at coldly. She didn’t like it. She could understand why he had looked at her as if she were a stranger in Hwayeonggyeong, since he had a position to maintain and didn’t want to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings, but she didn’t think there was a need to be like this when no one was around.

“What’s wrong now?”

At those words, Gamyoung felt a momentary surge of anger, but he suppressed it and said.

“Why are you so hands-on with everyone? You’ll have rumors with every woman in town.”

When Gamyoung saw Hongyo holding hands with Yehyang, he felt his whole body go cold. He was on the verge of getting angry just from them holding hands, but seeing them excessively close while trying to support Yehyang made him feel a strange sensation of boiling heat and his blood running cold at the same time.

Gamyoung knew he was being overly heated right now, but strangely, he found it hard to calm his anger. Come to think of it, this wasn’t the first or second time. He was well aware that Yeo Hongyo was quite popular with women.

Even when they were at the dojo, it was Yeo Hongyo who treated Sujin casually among the seniors who could only stare at her without being able to speak, and he knew that she had often received glances, known and unknown, in the marketplace. Especially with Sujin, their relationship was so close that he had seen him tuck her hair behind her ear. Come to think of it, during the hunting ceremony, some woman he had never seen before had tied his hair while facing him. And was it only women? Didn’t that new friend of hers, that Gu Yeoryeong punk, brazenly place the back of his hand on Hongyo’s cheek?

At that time, he didn’t know why he had gotten so angry seeing that, but now he knew. This was jealousy born from love. Realizing this, Gamyoung found his current state unbearably shameful, yet he couldn’t control this emotion at all.

But Hongyo, who didn’t know his heart, found it absurd that Gamyoung was pushing her this hard. It was Gamyoung who had said that if he had been a woman when they were stranded on the snowy mountain, he wouldn’t have been able to lay a single finger on him, so she could understand that he might not like this kind of situation, but in any case, she was a woman. Of course, Gamyoung didn’t know that fact, so he could be displeased with her touching a woman’s fingertips, but if you think about it, from his perspective, it was Gamyoung who was crossing the line by being so close to her.

Unlike the stuffy interior, the winter air outside was cold. But Hongyo, heated by the alcohol and Gamyoung’s attitude, forgot even the cold and argued.

“So, should I just stand there when someone is about to fall? Unlike someone who just walks away without a single glance even when a friend is sick, that person held out her hand for me when I fell. Misinterpreting a kind gesture as you please is rude to me and to that person!”

Gamyoung was momentarily at a loss for words at Hongyo’s attitude of only speaking the truth. But that was because Hongyo hadn’t seen the look in the woman’s eyes earlier. She was a man himself, so how could he not recognize a look of interest rather than kindness? But arguing further here would only risk revealing his own feelings. He could not, for the life of him, let Hongyo know about these feelings.

“I didn’t want to ignore you either.”

So, Gamyoung decided to take a step back.

“…I’m sorry.”

He was sincere. He hadn’t wanted to let her compete with Jang Daeho while looking sick even from afar. It would have been so even with just the affection of a friend, let alone for someone he loved. He was the one most tormented by his inability to do so. Gamyoung looked at Hongyo, who seemed a little surprised, and furrowed his brows in anguish.

“Are you okay now?”

A very gentle voice, different from before, rang out. It was a voice he would never use for anyone else, but for Hongyo, this gentle voice was the voice of the Gamyoung she knew. But at the familiar voice she hadn’t heard in so long, Hongyo felt something even hotter welling up inside her.

“You were really too much this time.”

She had acted like she was fine, but it seemed she had been deeply hurt. As soon as she heard the gentle voice she knew, complaints started pouring out.

“I understand you pretending not to know me. Our positions are different. I can also understand you not coming to see me even when I was sick. You must have been very busy after the competition. But…”

The voice that had been speaking clearly trailed off.

“Why did you never once look at me and just leave on the days I trained late into the night? No matter how many eyes are watching, who would come at that hour? Do you know what I thought, always just looking at your back as you left first? It got to the point where I thought, if I become the champion in the competition, maybe I can see you then.”

Ah… Gamyoung’s lips parted slightly. At the same time, Hongyo, who had been looking down at the ground to avoid his gaze, lifted her head. Then, as if she had realized something, she let out a small gasp.

“Gamyoung. I think I really missed you.”

Hongyo seemed surprised by her own words. But in that moment, Gamyoung’s heart pounded wildly at that one phrase. His fingertips tingled from holding back the urge to pull the Hongyo in front of him into an embrace right now. Instead, Gamyoung took one more step forward. Just as a question appeared on Hongyo’s face, Gamyoung spoke as if exhaling a breath he had been holding.

“Come here.”