Black Swan Chapter 31

One month after the King of Murder was crushed under horse hooves, the princes declared that they would henceforth focus solely on internal affairs and plunged into a war for the throne. Only then did the two nations of the eastern peninsula withdraw their troops. The 40,000-strong allied navy of Shin and Ryun—which had been stationed in top secret to strike Yubyeok, the enemy’s secondary capital and coastal city, the moment snakes crossed the border—also fell back. The 9,000 army of Shin, serving as the first border line, and the 12,000 army of Ryun, serving as the second border line, likewise lifted their emergency alerts. It was eight months after the King of Murder died that the “Nation of Shin” finally removed all screens and amplifiers.

The era of slaughter drew to its close.

∞ ∞ ∞

Ten days after the death of the King of Murder, Mukso, the 1st Regiment under the Mae-Ran-Guk-Juk Division was disbanded. Even within the Mae-Ran-Guk-Juk Division, which was strictly handpicked from die-hards, the 1st Regiment was a secret special forces unit that directly engaged the snakes at the very forefront of the border. In recognition of their contributions during seven years of grueling garrison duties, the members of the 1st Regiment received a three-year extended leave, a hefty monetary reward, and a two-rank special promotion.

On the day of the regimental disbandment ceremony, the expressions of the members were bright. Convinced as they all had been that only death lay ahead of them, they could hardly believe the reality of returning safely to their hometowns. On their way out of the 1st Regiment’s entrance—once the gates of hell—the members patted each other on the shoulders and said:

“We’ll see each other in three years, I suppose.”

“You’ve been through a lot all this time.”

“Let’s forget everything and start fresh.”

“We must definitely forget the past.”

All the members of the 1st Regiment looked excited and happy. Except for just one person, Kim Hobong. Having basked in the abundant favor (!) of Lee Hwanmae for four years, he was the very one who had received a bolt-from-the-blue notice from his direct superior, Yoo Nanoh, just yesterday.

— You don’t need to return to the military in three years. You know the reason without a long explanation, right? Go down to your hometown and live quietly for the rest of your life.

Having finished speaking, Yoo Nanoh cracked his knuckle joints with a terrifying expression that might haunt one’s dreams. In short, his hyung was now going to get married, so Kim Hobong should leave on his own accord before getting cast aside. At the King of Hell’s threat, Kim Hobong couldn’t utter a peep and submitted his resignation letter. Having spent four years thoroughly immersed in playing the role of Royal Noble Consort Sukbin Choi, he was now deeply engrossed in roleplaying Deposed Queen Lady Yoon, shedding streams of tears.

“What are you bawling for, you bastard. Then did you really think you’d be consecrated as queen?”

Yoo Nanoh scoffed, kicking Kim Hobong hard in the buttocks. Kim Hobong wiped away his tears tightly with his sleeve.

“Commander, do I look stupid enough to have that kind of delusion? I thought the day of parting would surely come someday. It can’t be helped… I’m a man… I’m a body that can’t give birth to children… Ahhhhhh!”

Kim Hobong ripped his thick catfish lips apart and wailed loudly. In the briskly falling sunlight, his hopelessly long front teeth gleamed intensely. Yoo Nanoh carved the Chinese character for patience into his fist and spoke with forced composure.

“Lee Hwa added a generous alimony to your severance pay. When you go down to your hometown, make sure to get dental braces. I don’t know if it’s possible with your mug, but try dating too.”

“Dating, you say. I am officially Lee Hwa’s ex-wife. We just didn’t hold the wedding ceremony, but we were in a de facto marriage for four years, you know. Have you ever seen a concubine get chased out of the palace and remarry? I’m going to observe chastity for the rest of my life.”

Yoo Nanoh’s face turned beet red. In the meantime, members who had picked up Kim Hobong’s lines were snickering and pointing this way. Amidst the barrage of ridicule, Yoo Nanoh could simply not bear the embarrassment. That washed-up gisaeng of a bastard, picking out someone so hopelessly ugly to take as a concubine and making even me look shameful!

Even if Kim Hobong had possessed a face that was somewhat passable, this moment would have become a tragic scene of its own, earning the sympathy of the members. However, due to Kim Hobong’s outrageously ugly face and dazed lines, only poor Yoo Nanoh was taking the blame.

Let’s endure it. In any case, he is a guy who was the king’s favorite concubine in this country. Let’s show him respect for his final departing journey.

Gathering all his reason, Yoo Nanoh forced a smile.

“Farewell. Make sure to get dental braces.”

“Thank you, Commander.”

Until the very end as he left the 1st Regiment, Kim Hobong repeatedly turned back to look in the direction of Lee Hwanmae’s official residence with a deeply wistful gaze. Once he completely vanished, Yoo Nanoh managed to calm down and turned around.

From a short distance away, Ryu Hopi was gazing steadily at Yoo Nanoh. His face held his characteristic expressionlessness, but the gaze directed at Yoo Nanoh carried a cold condemnation.

“What is it, cat? What’s with that look, huh!”

“Don’t you know?”

“You think I went too far? Fuck, would you want to have such an ugly male sister-in-law?”

“Looks aren’t everything about a person, you know.”

Ryu Hopi, talking back stubbornly, looked quite angry. As soon as Mukso died, Yoo Nanoh had rushed over to find Lee Hwanmae and made a fuss telling him to “settle things with Hobong right now,” and Ryu Hopi was one of the witnesses who had seen that scene along with Cho Younghyun.

“Didn’t the cat see it clearly back then too? That fellow Younghyun also backed me up and advised the washed-up gisaeng to end it with Hobong. Yeah, as the cat says, looks aren’t everything about a person, but Hobong is really out of the question. Leaving everything else aside, his gender fails right off the bat.”

“Hobong sunbae, he was a really great person though….”

In the end, Ryu Hopi let out a heavy, regretful sigh. Even he, who had followed Kim Hobong quite well during military life, seemed to have accepted reality. Regardless of time or place, reproduction is a crucial duty for a king. Lee Hwanmae could not be an exception to this duty.

Stepping with long strides toward Lee Hwanmae’s official residence, Yoo Nanoh said:

“I just took the bullet, cat. Imagine if the washed-up gisaeng had personally chased out the concubine he favored for four years—how appalling it would have looked to the members?”

“That’s true. So are you going to get Lee Hwanmae married off now?”

“Of course.”

“Will there be any woman willing to marry that guy?”

“What the… Cat!”

Yoo Nanoh snapped and glared sharply at Ryu Hopi.

“I admit it too! The washed-up gisaeng is a sociopath with a damn terrible personality! Even so, can’t he get married? That guy is the king of this country, the king! From his basic qualifications, he’s the top groom material! His face is also decent, resembling mine! Objectively speaking, he’s not lacking anywhere!”

“Please don’t get excited. Yes, Lee Hwanmae is senior’s hyung in name, so he wouldn’t be unable to get married at all. Then let me change the question. Will married life last long?”

At this, even Yoo Nanoh closed his mouth like a mute who had eaten honey. Ryu Hopi had truly hit the nail on the head. Not that it wasn’t so—Yoo Nanoh himself had been worrying immensely about this very issue.

Since Lee Hwanmae’s qualifications were perfect, marriage wouldn’t be a problem. How long married life would last—that was the real issue. Lee Hwanmae, whose basic personality was already terribly foul, had been reborn through military life as the worst personality-disordered wreck in the world. It only raised serious doubts as to which woman in the world could handle Lee Hwanmae. Unless she were the Goddess of Mercy.

Though his mood grew extremely heavy, Yoo Nanoh brushed it off with a feigned, nonchalant tone.

“It seems the cat still doesn’t know much, but it’s not easy for a king and queen to divorce. For all practical purposes, a queen is no different from a subject subordinate to the royal family. One gets married with the absolute determination to bury their bones in the royal family.”

“Only the woman who marries Lee Hwanmae is to be pitied. Senior, you’ll have to take good care of the sister-in-law.”

“Need you even ask, cat? If the washed-up gisaeng throws even the slightest temper at his wife, this brother-in-law plans to step in and fix him right up! By the way, cat, I heard you’ve already started preparing your work to submit to the manga contest? Is it going well?”

Yoo Nanoh smoothly changed the subject. The extremely simple-minded Ryu Hopi immediately broke into a confident smile.

“Need you ask. I completed the storyboard three days after starting work.”

“Hmm, our cat is indeed amazing! As an ultra-genius who hit back-to-back mega-hits with two works since his underground manga days! All that’s left is to win the grand prize at the contest and make a flashy debut! …By the way, what’s the plot? I heard the cat wrote the story directly for this submission…?”

After stringing together three or four formal compliments, Yoo Nanoh asked about the part he was most worried about. As far as he knew, Ryu Hopi was only good at drawing and had absolutely no talent for storytelling. The hits he made during his underground manga days, [The Returned Old Prodigal] and [Save Mukso’s Cock], had been written by his roommate Shin Jeonghan.