It was neither Ru Amuh nor Ru Hiana. Or Zelit, Eshnunna, or Hawa. The woman who came with Chi-Hyun was Noel Freya. Chi-Woo was surprised to see her.
“Huh? Why did you…?”
It seemed Noel was also surprised to see Chi-Woo. Chi-Woo looked to his brother for an explanation, and Noel looked at him from head to toe. Her eyes lingered on the ropes tying the club to his hand.
‘…What is that?’ She wondered, but her curiosity soon faded. This was a matter that Choi Chi-Hyun had personally given special attention to. There must be a reason why Chi-Woo’s hand was in such a weird state.
“I was wondering where you were since you’ve been gone for a while. I didn’t expect to see you here.” After she finished her inspection, Noel crossed her arms and smiled snidely. “I thought you were already dealt with. Well, I’m sure you had your uses to be left alive.” She nodded to herself in understanding and turned to Chi-Hyun. “I got it, sir. I just have to guard this man while you are absent, right sir?”
“…Noel.”
“If you wish, I can teach him in your stead,” Noel said.
Chi-Hyun’s expression turned serious. He didn’t know how he was going to untangle this very messy, complicated situation. Trust was a scary emotion. Once a person began to trust another person with blind faith, a fanatic was born. To Noel, Chi-Hyun was a god-like entity, who she followed with absolute loyalty no matter what he did. And such blind faith often begot a plethora of misunderstandings, as was in this case. While Chi-Hyun had captured a hero with a good reputation and many accomplishments under his belt, Noel immediately jumped to the conclusion that the hero was in the wrong even though she hadn’t found any faults in the man herself.
Chi-Hyun hadn’t given Noel any updates or explanation to clear up the situation. Furthermore, Chi-Woo’s current condition was ragged at best. Even though he ate and slept well, the place he was staying was inside a mountain. His hair was shaggy, and his clothes were worn out from the rigorous training. Added to the fact that Chi-Woo hadn’t taken a step inside the capital and was staying inside the cave, it completely made sense that Noel would think Chi-Woo was someone ‘so dangerous the lord has personally separated from the others and overseen, but kept alive for the uses a prisoner may have.’
It was all a misunderstanding that Chi-Hyun had brought about. After pondering for a while, Chi-Hyun decided to dive directly into the matter.
“I told you before.”
“Huh?”
“That I had someone to introduce to you.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Let me do that now,” he said, “This is my brother.”
It was so sudden that Chi-Woo’s eyes turned wide. They needed to hide the fact that Chi-Woo was Chi-Hyun’s brother and the youngest of the Choi family. Chi-Hyun had said again and again that there was nothing they could gain by revealing this truth. Thus, Chi-Woo was surprised that his brother was revealing this secret so unceremoniously now.
Surprisingly, Noel maintained a perfect poker face and simply turned to Chi-Hyun before asking, “…Sorry?”
“He’s my brother,” Chi-Hyun confirmed.
It was then Noel’s face finally broke into astonishment.
“Huh…you knew him? What? Among the heroes, there’s no one you would call a brother…” Noel glanced at Chi-Woo. “I don’t recall anyone like that. It’s my first time seeing him.”
Noel, who was well aware of Chi-Hyun’s short list of acquaintances, looked befuddled.
“It seems like you’ve misunderstood, so I’m repeating myself again. I’m not saying he’s my comrade, but my actual brother, to whom I’m connected by blood.”
Chi-Hyun enunciated each word so that Noel heard him clearly.
“He’s my biological brother.”
“…” Noel blinked hard. With her forehead creased, she tilted her head. Then she looked back and forth between Chi-Hyun and Chi-Woo.
“Ah…sorry?”
“He’s my brother.”
“Sorry? Huh?”
“Do you not understand?”
“Huh? What?” She blinked even faster, and her face reddened. It seemed her brain had reached full capacity, and she was struggling to accept completely unexpected information.
“Choi Chi-Woo,” Chi-Hyun said while gesturing to his brother. “Come and show her your name on the user information.”
Chi-Woo was also baffled, but he did what his brother told him to do. A simple message popped up in front of Noel.
<User Information>
1. Name: Choi Chi-Woo
Noel’s eyes shook intensely as soon as she saw the line. “Choi Chi-Hyun. Choi Chi-Woo? Choi Chi, Hyun. Choi Chi, Woo…? No, no. Choi, Chi-Hyun. Choi, Chi-Woo…?” She murmured to herself, looking at the brothers and then the message blankly. After a while, the light in her eyes dimmed like a prisoner who had failed to endure gruesome torture and ended up as a living corpse. She seemed to have short-circuited completely.
“Noel?”
She didn’t even respond to Chi-Hyun’s call. Like a statue, she remained stiff with her arms hanging to her sides. Chi-Woo also sensed Noel’s strange condition. He carefully approached her and waved, but she showed no response. Just in case, he poked her nose.
“Hy-Hyun-Hyung,” Chi-Woo said in shock. “Ms. Noel…is dead…!”
* * *
Fortunately, Noel wasn’t dead. She simply stopped breathing in her shock, and her brain forgot how to function temporarily.
“Ha…”
Unable to bear it any longer, Chi-Hyun clapped.
“!” And Noel seemed to be coming to her senses.
“Noel.”
“…Yes.”
“I will introduce him to you again.”
“Huh?”
“He’s my brother.”
“What?”
“My biological brother. The youngest son of the Choi family, Choi Chi-Woo.”
“Whaat?” It seemed her senses hadn’t fully come back to her yet. But Chi-Hyun wasn’t confident that he could explain any better than this.
“Yeah, I understand that you must be shocked. There’s a reason I couldn’t tell you until now…”
Noel wasn’t paying attention to him though. She was looking pleadingly at Chi-Woo.
“Hello?” Chi-Woo greeted her with a pleasant smile.
“Ahhhhhh!” She let out a high-pitched scream and collapsed.
Bam! Her forehead slammed into the floor.
“Ah—! Ahhhhhh!” She continued to shriek in anger. “Ah! Ahhhhhh!” Her pitch fluctuated wildly as she screamed. “Ah—! Ah ↘ Ahahahah ↗ Ahahah↘ Ahahah↗ Ahahahah↗ Ahahaha↘ Ahahah↗ Ah-! Ah-! Ah-! Ah-! Ah-!”
“…Whoah.” Chi-Woo was impressed. He didn’t expect to hear Mozart’s opera piece coming out of her mouth, especially the part said to be the hardest part sung by the Queen of the Night, Aria.
Noel’s headspace was a mess, but all the suspicions she had been having fit into place with this new piece of information. Yes. She had thought it was weird, and that Chi-Woo looked a bit similar to Chi-Hyun. Moreover, there was no way a weird name like Chichibbong could exist even across the whole universe. She should’ve realized it was a fake name in the first place! There was even a time when Chi-Woo accidentally said that Chi-Hyun was his brother! To think they were really brothers!
“Why!” Noel raised her head abruptly and flailed both arms while looking up at Chi-Hyun. “Whyyyyy!”
Chi-Hyun looked at a loss for words. He didn’t expect Noel to be this surprised. He had thought she would easily settle herself down. But Noel soon got up and began to run with all her might while screaming, “Ahhhh!” She disappeared far, far away and escaped.
“…Did she do something to you?” Chi-Hyun asked after a long stretch of silence.
“No, well…” Chi-Woo scratched his head and sighed. “But more importantly, why did you suddenly reveal that we are brothers?”
“…”
“You hid the fact when my companions came.”
“I thought it would be better to tell someone in advance, especially to Noel.”
“Why? Is she a subordinate you trust?”
“There’s that too, but you would need somebody to oversee you while I’m gone.”
“While you’re gone?” Now that he thought about it, Chi-Woo recalled his brother telling Noel this.
“I’m going to leave for some time. It might take a while.”
Chi-Woo looked at his brother suspiciously. His brother once told him that he would come back in a couple of days and took ten days. Thus, ‘a while’ could mean several more days or months.
“Did something important come up?”
“You could say that.”
“Will you be in danger? Perhaps, a war—"
“No,” Chi-Hyun cut him off, “It’s about the godly territory that was established before. I’m going to that city.”
“Ah…” Chi-Woo nodded. Then it was understandable why it would take so long since his brother would need to leave the capital and go through the agreement process.
“Okay. Take care just in case. I hope everything will work out.”
“Of course it will. I’m sure the other side knows we aren’t complete idiots,” Chi-Hyun said calmly and asked Chi-Woo more seriously, “Are you…going to keep training in this place?”
“Uh…shouldn’t I? As long as there’s nothing weird going on.”
“No, even if something happens,” Chi-Hyun emphasized, “Stay put here.”
“…”
“What? Don’t you have to train more anyway? You won’t be able to find a place like this outside.”
Chi-Hyun was right, but Chi-Woo didn’t hastily agree with his brother; he wasn’t the type of person to give a promise he didn’t think he’d be able to keep. Chi-Hyun looked at his brother, who stood still without a word, and raised a hand with frustration. “If you want to leave so badly—” With a wave, he conjured a rock the size of a house in front of them. Chi-Woo’s mouth widened at the rock’s enormous size. Then Chi-Hyun continued, “You have to break this rock first.”
“Break this rock?”
“Yeah, and with only one hit.”
One hit. Chi-Woo thought it might be possible if he poured all his exorcism mana into the hit. No—there was no way his brother would miss that.
Chi-Hyun added, “This isn’t just a rock.”
Chi-Woo’s eyes narrowed. “You’re purposely saying that because you don’t think I’ll be able to break it.”
“Yep.” Chi-Hyun easily admitted with a nod. “I’ve originally planned this as the training after your next training.”
Not his next training, but the training after. Chi-Hyun continued, “You definitely won’t be able to do it in your current state, but…if you really do manage to break it somehow in one shot, I’ll feel at least a bit reassured.”
“…”
“I promise you.”
Chi-Woo didn’t reply. He looked into the distance and whistled.
Chi-Hyun glared at him and sighed. Then he said, “And you should start thinking for yourself.”
Chi-Woo replied, “Think? What do I have to think about?”
“Ways to get stronger.”
“Do I even have to think about it? You told me that if I just follow whatever you tell me to do in this space, I’ll get stronger.”
“I’m not talking about basic training.” Chi-Hyun clicked his tongue. “You have a lot of things you can use.”
“Ah, you mean my special abilities.” Chi-Woo finally understood.
Chi-Hyun replied, “No, not just your special abilities. Your club, holy water, talismans, and many other things. Ponder about how you can effectively use what you have by yourself.”
“Well, that’s nothing much.”
“I’ll also think about it, so let’s talk when I come back.”
“This feels like homework. You gave me too much to do.”
“Yeah, so you won’t think about useless thoughts until I come back,” Chi-Hyun said nonchalantly and continued, “Anyway, just focus on training. Don’t think about anything else. And while I’m gone, Noel will…” He shifted his gaze, but Noel still hadn’t returned.
“Noel…” Chi-Hyun smacked his lips. “…I’ll try talking to her again.”
* * *
On that same day, Chi-Hyun left as soon as he finished talking to Noel. Then Noel came back to the cave the next day.
“Um…” Chi-Woo, who had finished breakfast and was getting started with basic training, turned to see Noel’s approaching figure. To his surprise, her hair was neatly braided, and her face was beautiful and bright with whatever she had put on. She had also dressed up neatly as if she was meeting her in-laws. It was one-eighty from how she usually presented herself, having her hair down and wearing plain, white clothes. However, her eyes were bloodshot, and her expression looked very grave. Judging by the deep dark circles under her eyes, it was clear that she had been unable to sleep all night.
Chi-Woo greeted her, “He…llo?”
Noel’s mouth became skewed. It seemed that she was trying to smile but was having a hard time. No, her lips were trembling. “I…I…received Lord Chi-Hyun’s orders and…” Then she suddenly shouted, “I brought it!”
“What?”
“No, I mean! That!” Noel, who had been waving with both hands like a maestro, dropped several bags at his feet. “I don’t know what you would like, so here! I brought all kinds of food..!”
“Ah, yes.”
“Go ahead! Please continue with your training! There’s no need to mind me! You can think of me as a bug!”
Did she even know what she was saying? Chi-Woo smiled wryly and lifted his barbell. “…Um.” However, he couldn’t focus. Noel’s restless and anxious gaze might as well be boring a hole into the back of his head, and he put the barbell down. When he turned around and made eye contact, Noel’s mouth became twisted again. It didn’t look like she was smiling at all; instead, it was rather scary. Chi-Woo could easily guess why Noel was acting like this. He thought he should properly talk to her about their situation at least once. After organizing his thoughts, Chi-Woo said, “Excuse me.”
“I’m sorry!” However, Noel dropped to her knees and almost buried her face into the ground. “I’m sorry! I made the gravest mistake, worthy of death! Please forgive me! Please!”
Chi-Woo became lost for words in the truest sense. He wondered if she was the same person who confidently acted as his brother’s representative and led a huge group of heroes. He said, “Please get up.”
“I apologize for not recognizing you!”
“It’s all right.” Chi-Woo put great emphasis on his words. “You didn’t know.”
“Would you please keep what I did a secret from him…what?”
“It couldn’t be helped because you didn’t know. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Honestly, he didn’t think she was completely innocent. Regardless of her ignorance, he was quite shocked by her complete change in attitude towards him. However, he didn’t want to pick on her or make it an issue. Even though people said ignorance was a sin, there were things that can and cannot be known. After all, Chi-Woo had also gone through a similar experience as Noel. After coming here without knowing anything, he had a huge fight with his brother when they first met.
He told her, “It’s all right, really.”
Slowly, Noel lifted the face she had pressed to the ground.
“I’m just his brother. You don’t have to act like that.”
“Ah…” Noel’s eyes slowly returned to their original vibrancy. At this moment, Chi-Woo looked absolutely dazzling to her; it really seemed as if a halo was emerging behind Chi-Woo’s back. By her standards, she had committed a crime so horrendous that she couldn’t even atone with her death. She felt a deep sense of awe at his generosity. ‘Oh my…!’ At that moment, Noel became sure that Chi-Woo really was a bloodline of the Choi family; as expected of Chi-Hyun’s brother.
After a while, Noel stood up. “I’ll…properly introduce myself again.” She fixed her posture and got on one knee. “Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Noel Freya, serving Lord Chi-Hyun.”
Chi-Woo felt burdened by her overly polite and formal behavior. He replied, “I’m Chi-Woo. It’s my first time revealing my real name here. Nice to meet you too.”
“I’ll work hard to make up for my past actions.”
“It’s really all right.” Chi-Woo raised a hand. “If you think about it, it’s my brother’s fault for not telling you in advance.” When he smiled, the tense look on Noel’s face slightly brightened.
Noel replied, “Yeah, he was really too much. My mind completely blanked out when I heard that yesterday…”
“Me too. I thought he would keep it a secret until the very end. I had no idea he'd suddenly reveal it like that.”
“Oh my, really? Then am I the first person he revealed this to?” Noel’s expression instantly changed to delight and joy.
“Yes, that’s how things turned out. Anyway, you really don’t have to feel sorry. It’s not your fault at all. It’s all because my brother is downright mean.”
“I apologize for being downright mean!”
“No, Ms. Noel. I wasn’t talking about you, but my brother.” “Lord Chi-Hyun is…down-right mean?” Her smile faltered. Then she forced her lips to move again and shook her head. “Haha…! Mr. Chi-Woo…no! Chi-Woo…uh…No, no! Young master… What a funny joke…!”
Chi-Woo was taken aback by Noel’s intense reaction to his light jibe at his brother. It wasn’t the first time he felt this way; she really was the ‘real deal’. No wonder his brother would trust her with his real identity.
Chi-Woo shook his head, and Noel managed to calm down and cleared her throat. “Lord Chi-Hyun has entrusted you to my care.” She put her hand on her chest and said, “Please tell me whatever you need. I’ll do my best to help.”
It was surprising how being Chi-Hyun’s brother somehow justified him treating Noel, who was influential enough to lead the central region, as one of his vassals. Of course, he had no intention of abusing this privilege.
Chi-Woo replied, “I’ll ask you for help in the future. All you need to do is bring me food and drinks from time to time. I’m going to stay here quietly and train like my brother told me to.”
“I understand. If there are any ingredients you would like, please feel free to let me know. I’ll definitely make sure to get them for you.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s no problem at all. I’ll be taking my leave since you need to focus hard on your training.” Noel bowed politely and even walked backward as she left. Chi-Woo thought she would be gone for good for at least a good while, since it took about a month for the supplies to run out. However, that was not the case.
“Young master~” Noel came back at noon. He didn’t know why she did, so he talked to her a bit and sent her away.
“Are you sleeping? Do you need anything?” Then she visited again at night.
“M-Ms. Noel? Why do you come again…”
“Ah, you can speak to me comfortably.”
“No, please sit down. Let’s talk.”
They began an honest conversation. The main subject was how there was no need for Noel to come so often. Chi-Woo expected his points to finally get through her, but he had underestimated her fiery devotion. Certainly, the number of times she visited had decreased—from morning, afternoon, and night each to morning and afternoon. In other words, from three to two visits per day.
In the end, when Chi-Woo got close to getting angry, Noel spoke like a dog soaked by the rain, “If I don’t do a proper job, I’ll be rebuked by Lord Chi-Hyun…” Her devotion to following his brother’s order was far beyond his imagination.
* * *
At dawn when everyone was deep asleep, a woman was tossing and turning in her bed.
—…
Was she dreaming? Her complexion didn’t look very well.
—…
She let out a groan, and sweat formed on her forehead. Sporadically, her head swiveled from side to side.
—…
Soon, a black and cold current of air reached the woman’s ear.
—Quickly…me.
Eshnunna’s eyes burst open.