So, are you enjoying this? (2)

“…Enjoying this, you say?”

The blood runs cold.

Even though he had promised to himself not to back down regardless of Jang Ilso’s reaction, and even though he believed that Jang Ilso would never genuinely show hostility towards him.

With that one short sentence, his blood cooled and his heart sank.

“Gamyeong.”

It was a name he had heard countless times. A voice he had heard for a long time. Jang Ilso had called Ho Gamyung’s name for such a long time.

But the resonance in that voice now was distinctly different from what he had heard before. At least, Ho Gamyung could feel it more clearly than anyone else.

“What do you mean by that?”

Jang Ilso’s gaze began to tighten around Ho Gamyung.

But Ho Gamyung did not retreat easily.

“I mean it literally. I am asking if you are having fun, Ryeonju.”

“Ho Gamyung!”

Jang Ilso’s voice rose slightly.

Of course, it was only a bit louder, but its significance was not small. The tension that suddenly arose made the air thick.

Jang Ilso, who had been staring intently at Ho Gamyung, covered his face with one hand. His long fingers pressed against his face somewhat irritably.

“Did you come to me this early in the morning to ask meaningless questions?”

“Is it meaningless?”

When Ho Gamyung asked calmly, Jang Ilso’s eyes, visible between his fingers, gleamed like those of a ferocious wolf.

“Gamyeong-ah…”

“That may seem trivial to you now, Ryeonju, but it is very important to me.”

“…Haha.”

Jang Ilso laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.

“You think my happiness is more important than how the situation is going and its urgency?”

“Yes.”

It was a firm answer that left no room for negotiation, not even a needle’s width. Jang Ilso’s eyes narrowed involuntarily.

“Is that… the conclusion your cold, rational mind has reached?”

“…”

“Hmm? Gamyeong? Answer me. Is that the conclusion your brilliant mind has come to? That in this critical moment, instead of enduring the pressure, I should become a pig chasing pleasure? Is that really it?”

The emotion in Jang Ilso’s eyes now wasn’t contempt.

But there was a faint trace of disappointment, that much was clear.

Disappointment…

The eyes that once held only solid trust now held disappointment. This entire situation might be something Ho Gamyung had brought upon himself.

But Ho Gamyeong did not succumb to this.

“You called it pressure?”

“…”

“When I first joined you, you told me I was about to experience hell.”

Jang Ilso nodded faintly.

“That was true. It was indeed a path as difficult as hell. But knowing that, I still chose to serve you. But… do you remember what I said to you back then?”

“You told me to take it easy, didn’t you?”

“No. I said that being with you might be hell, but it would at least be fun.”

Jang Ilso fell silent. Ho Gamyeong bit his lower lip gently.

“The reason I said that was not because of who I am, but because of who you are. Back then, you were someone who could laugh and mock your enemies even in the midst of hell. But can the present you still do that?”

Jang Ilso glared at Ho Gamyeong without responding. Perhaps it wasn’t that he chose not to answer, but that he couldn’t.

He must already know.

Someone like Jang Ilso couldn’t be unaware of what Ho Gamyeong was implying. If he hadn’t sensed it, he wouldn’t have reacted so violently.

“So?”

Through Jang Ilso’s twisted lips, his white teeth were bared. He looked fierce and sharp, as if ready to seize and tear into someone’s neck at any moment.

“What if I say I’m not happy? What do you want me to do about it? Do you want me to enjoy this situation? Or should I just drop everything and drown myself in alcohol? Hmm?”

A small sigh escaped from Ho Gamyeong.

This conversation made it clear.

That scene. The scene from that day.

Even Ho Gamyeong feared seeing it again in his dreams, and Jang Ilso had not escaped from it at all.

“If there is an enemy, you fight.”

“…”

“If you can’t win with strength, you use strategy. If strategy fails, you use poison, dig a deadly trap, take hostages, and even lick the enemy’s feet to make them lower their guard – anything to win.”

Jang Ilso’s face grew increasingly colder and harder.

“That’s the methods of Paegun I know.”

“…”

“The one who wouldn’t look for a way to escape because he couldn’t win, but who would fight to win at all costs, and if still unable to win, would just laugh it off, saying there was no other way. That’s the Paegun I know!”

“Ho Gamyeong!”

Jang Ilso finally shouted. Ho Gamyeong, too, cried out clearly but desperately.

“What on earth did you see that made you give up even resisting? How could Paegun, Jang Ilso, lose the will to fight and run away?”

Crash.

The bottle in Jang Ilso’s hand shattered, pieces falling to the floor. Liquor dripped down his hand, its scent spreading incongruously in the tense atmosphere.

A brief silence fell.

It seemed to draw a line between the two of them, a cold, brutal division.

“…You sure know how to talk.”

Jang Ilso brushed off the liquor from his hand, letting out a short sigh.

“What you see and what I see are different.”

“Ryeonju.”

“If you felt what I felt, you wouldn’t speak so easily. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Is that so?”

A faint light flickered in Ho Gamyeong’s eyes.

Jang Ilso could see it. He knew the emotion in those eyes, not so different from what was in his own.

“So, you’re saying that until now, you’ve only made enemies out of those who were manageable.”

Jang Ilso, who had been wiping his hand, suddenly froze.

Jang Ilso’s eyes, like those of a viper, glared directly at Ho Gamyeong.

“What did you just say?”

“Am I wrong?”

“Gamyeong-ah.”

A chilling aura emanated from Jang Ilso’s face.

“There are lines between people that must not be crossed. No matter who you are, there are boundaries you shouldn’t overstep.”

“No. I am not the one who crossed the line. You did, Ryeonju.”

Jang Ilso’s lips curled into a dark smile, thick and menacing.

“Fine. Keep going. Let’s see how far you’ll take this.”

“Was it the way of Paegun to give up the fight against an unbeatable enemy?”

“No. Finding a way is my method. But if I can’t find a way, what’s the right course of action? Should I charge in with a foolish plan and be utterly crushed? Should I hasten my death because it’s inevitable?”

“Is there truly no way?”

“…”

“The method of Paegun I know isn’t like that. If there’s only a one percent chance of winning, you find that one percent. That’s the way of Maninbang, the way of Paegun, and the way of Jang Ilso.”

“So now you…!”

“Join forces with the Just Sects.”

Jang Ilso, who was about to lose his temper, froze.

Once again, silence pooled between them. After a long pause, Jang Ilso spoke.

“What… did you just say?”

“Join forces with the bastards from the Just Sects.”

“…Ha. Haha.”

A hollow laugh escaped from Jang Ilso’s lips.

“Do you think that makes any sense?”

“It’s impossible if there’s no common enemy. But if there is a common enemy, it’s entirely possible. If they understand the threat of ‘that person,’ they will join hands with you. History has proven this.”

Jang Ilso fell silent.

“If the chances of winning a fight are too low, you increase those chances. If that’s your method, then an alliance with them is the most certain way to increase the odds right now. Is there any reason not to consider it?”

As Ho Gamyeong continued, Jang Ilso’s eyes began to twitch.

At the same time, a different light appeared in Ho Gamyeong’s eyes.

It wasn’t unusual for Jang Ilso to show aversion. After all, he was someone who mocked everything.

But the aversion Jang Ilso was showing now was closer to revulsion than mere discomfort.

It was a visceral rejection, like a person fearing a snake or hating an insect. What was evident in Jang Ilso now was exactly that kind of repulsion.

After a moment, Jang Ilso pressed his temples firmly and shook his head.

“That’s nonsense.”

“Ryeonju.”

“Gamyeong, Gamyeong. You said you had a sudden dream, but you’re really talking like you’re dreaming. I wondered what you were trying to say.”

Jang Ilso chuckled softly.

“Fine. You might be right. That could be one way. But Gamyeong, don’t you know them by now? Do you think those pig-headed fools would believe me? Especially in this situation?”

“…”

“Let’s say they believe me. Do you really think they would be willing to join forces with me?”

This time, it was Ho Gamyeong’s turn to remain silent.

“You know as well as I do that it wouldn’t happen.”

Jang Ilso sneered.

“Sometimes, hatred surpasses reason. There are plenty of people in this world who would rather die themselves than let their enemy live. So… do you really think they would join forces with me to survive?”

“They aren’t fools.”

“Strategies belong in books. But people don’t live in books.”

“…”

“There are many among them who lost kin by my hand, who lost their sects because of me. Do you think they would protect my back for the laughable notion of ‘greater good’?”

Jang Ilso’s face contorted in a grimace.

“That’s ridiculous. An ally you’re constantly worried about stabbing you in the back is worse than a clear enemy. If you can’t keep them underfoot, there’s no point in considering them an equal, don’t you understand that?”

“That’s strange to hear.”

“…Strange, you say?”

“From what you’re saying, it sounds like you’d never ally with the Just Sects, but haven’t you already done so before?”

“…”

“In Hangzhou, didn’t you fight alongside them? What prevents you from doing the same now? Is it because the situation has changed? Or….”

Jang Ilso’s face stiffened slightly.

Unbeknownst to himself, Ho Gamyeong was smiling coldly.

“Have you changed from who you were back then?”

Jang Ilso stood up, as if he’d heard something utterly intolerable. But Ho Gamyeong didn’t back down either.

“Say it again.”

“I asked if you have changed, Ryeonju.”

“You….”

Jang Ilso’s boiling gaze clashed with Ho Gamyeong’s resolute eyes.

It was an unprecedented scene. An unprecedented confrontation.

Their steps, which had always been in sync, were now, in this moment, just slightly but unmistakably misaligned.