episode_0177

“Huh?”

“Kneel.”

“Understood…”

At Cheon Soyul’s voice, which was as cold as if it had dropped below zero, Lee Hyunjin got off the bed and knelt, his posture extremely cautious.

This was because Lee Hyunjin was aware of his mistake. It was a situation where he had no choice but to take a submissive stance.

The same went for Hyeon-a Cheon, who was covered by a blanket on the bed, watching her younger sister for cues.

She called out to Cheon Soyul in a voice so faint it was as if she had become a criminal.

“Um, Soyul-ah…?”

“…”

“A-are you, perhaps, very angry with Unnie—”

“Unnie, just be quiet for a moment.”

“…Mm-hmm.”

Hyeon-a Cheon was shot down in a single blow. She crumpled up even further, pulled the blanket over herself, and completely hid inside.

Lee Hyunjin felt a sense of betrayal at Hyeon-a Cheon’s behavior of running away by herself—

“Lee Hyunjin.”

“…Uh.”

It wasn’t a situation where he could reveal such feelings. As he was about to glance at Hyeon-a Cheon, he frantically returned his head to its original position, answering briefly.

Cheon Soyul continued in an eerie voice.

“Do you understand why I’m doing this?”

“…”

That was one of the most difficult questions in the world to answer. A furious woman asking, ‘why am I angry?’

There was no other question as cruel, but Lee Hyunjin had to rack his brain anyway.

“That, because I… did it with my sister-in-law…?”

And he gave the answer that seemed most rational. In fact, it was hard to think of any other reason.

Although it was true that Cheon Soyul had implicitly allowed his relationship with Hyeon-a Cheon…

Perhaps the sense of emptiness that came after it was all over might have awakened her sense of reality instead?

Even if her venting dissatisfaction in that state seemed quite unreasonable, it wasn’t incomprehensible.

Therefore, Lee Hyunjin was prepared to meekly endure her wrath. Yes, after all, it was true that he had enjoyed himself with another woman while having a fiancée.

“Wrong.”

“?”

At Cheon Soyul’s even colder voice, Lee Hyunjin raised his head again.

Not this?

“…My sister and I, sleeping together, I also implicitly agreed to that. Do I look like such a petty person that I’d get angry about something like that belatedly?”

“Ahem…”

Indeed, Cheon Soyul was not someone with a fickle personality who would change her stance on such a matter.

Lee Hyunjin let out an awkward cough and again watched Cheon Soyul for cues.

Regardless, no other reason came to mind at all. So what exactly was the problem?

At the incomprehensible look on his face, Cheon Soyul roughly chewed her lip.

Then, *crack!* Seeing a streak of lightning spark from her eyes, Lee Hyunjin had no choice but to quickly compose his expression.

Even if he didn’t know exactly what it was, he could easily guess that Cheon Soyul was absolutely furious.

“You… filthy horny dog!”

“Gasp.”

And Cheon Soyul expressed that anger with a kick. She kicked Lee Hyunjin, who was kneeling, hard in the shoulder.

Of course, as a pure-blood mage, her leg strength wasn’t particularly amazing…

Lee Hyunjin cleverly pretended to be in pain and staggered slightly. He wasn’t foolish enough to withstand it perfectly at this timing.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice his acting. Cheon Soyul merely huffed and raised her voice.

“You! If you’re not going to use a condom, you should at least pull out! You bastard!”

“…Ah.”

And only then could Lee Hyunjin understand Cheon Soyul’s true intentions.

So that was the point she was arguing about?

Hyeon-a Cheon, who had been quietly listening, also poked only her head out from under the blanket and looked at Cheon Soyul.

She thought, *It wouldn’t be okay to say that it would be fine because I’d taken care of it immediately, would it?*

*I should stay quiet.*

There seemed no need to needlessly upset her younger sister further. While her sister’s anger was focused on her brother-in-law, Hyeon-a Cheon cunningly hid her presence, disappearing back into the blanket.

“You…! Just you wait. If my sister gets pregnant before me? That day, you and I are over. I’ll divorce you!”

“No, but…”

Flustered, Lee Hyunjin chose his words internally. After all, he couldn’t very well blurt out, ‘But we’re not married yet, are we?’

“I’m sorry…”

In the end, there was nothing else he could offer but an apology. Lee Hyunjin bowed his head deeply, showing his regret to Cheon Soyul.

However, as if her anger hadn’t subsided, Cheon Soyul stomped on the bowing Lee Hyunjin as if he were crumpling paper, grinding her teeth.

“Seriously… Everything else is fine. Dammit, whoever you sleep with, it’s not a big deal anymore, but at least I should be the one to have the first child, shouldn’t I?”

“…”

“Answer!!”

“Ah, yes. You are absolutely right.”

Lee Hyunjin hastily bowed in submission. Putting everything else aside, there was no room for denial regarding her, the closest one, having the first child.

Honestly, if Hyeon-a Cheon were to get pregnant from today’s events… he felt he would feel guilty towards both of them.

“…Um.”

Around that time, Hyeon-a Cheon couldn’t help but interject into their conversation.

After all, wasn’t it a topic she was deeply involved in as well?

After much deliberation, she produced the optimal answer and carefully uttered it.

“U-Unnie will try taking the medicine, so calm down, Soyul-ah…?”

It was about the morning-after pill. Although it couldn’t guarantee 100% effectiveness, they still had to rely on the power of medicine, didn’t they?

Hyeon-a Cheon looked at her younger sister almost pleadingly, and Cheon Soyul couldn’t help but soften her anger significantly at her sister’s appearance.

“…Damn it…”

Her frustration still evident, she pouted her lips far out. She glared at Lee Hyunjin and Hyeon-a Cheon alternately, then whirled her body around.

“I don’t know anymore! You two just die!”

“So, Soyul-ah!”

And *slam!* Cheon Soyul blurted out the words as if throwing a tantrum, then left the room.

At that moment, she wasn’t in the mood to look at either of them.

“…Uh…”

“Hmm.”

“Uh, hmm.”

“…”

And in the room where only the two of them remained, Lee Hyunjin and Hyeon-a Cheon also let out short groans, exchanging glances.

After an awkward silence, it was Hyeon-a Cheon who spoke first.

“What are we going to do about this…?”

“…Indeed.”

Lee Hyunjin replied, rubbing his forehead. Even if pregnancy didn’t happen that easily, where in the world was there 100% certainty?

If Hyeon-a Cheon were to actually become pregnant, a lot of things would be over that day.

…For now, he didn’t know about anything else, but it seemed clear that Cheon Sehee and Cheon Woohyuk, the mother and son, would plunge him into an abyss of divine wrath.

“Hoo.”

Lee Hyunjin wiped his face with his hands, forcefully suppressing the rising tension.

There was nothing he could do. For now, he could only hope it wasn’t true.

“Hmm…”

In the room, where silence had fallen once again, Hyeon-a Cheon got off the bed after a slight pause and very carefully squatted down next to Lee Hyunjin.

“Sister-in-law?”

“…Hyunjin-ah.”

And towards Lee Hyunjin, who showed confusion, she asked with a slightly trembling expression.

“I-if, by some remote chance, you know… if a child is conceived… I’ll talk to Soyul about it properly, so you don’t worry about it, ah!”

But her words couldn’t continue to the end. Before she could finish, Lee Hyunjin clicked his tongue and lightly tapped Hyeon-a Cheon on the top of her head.

Hyeon-a Cheon absentmindedly rubbed her head and looked up at Lee Hyunjin.

“Hyunjin-ah…?”

“Don’t say such things.”

Lee Hyunjin replied curtly.

“It would be best if such a thing didn’t happen, but if it does, it would also be my child. How could I turn away and live?”

“Even if I have to beg Soyul for the rest of my life… I won’t abandon you, sister-in-law, so you don’t have to say such things.”

“…Hyunjin-ah…”

A faint mist of tears welled up in Hyeon-a Cheon’s golden eyes. Lightly wiping the corners of her eyes, she stealthily approached Lee Hyunjin.

In the closer proximity, Hyeon-a Cheon placed her hand on Lee Hyunjin’s thigh.

“Would it be okay if we kissed…?”

“…Please refrain today.”

Lee Hyunjin shook his head, his face tinged with a troubled expression.

Just imagine if they were caught doing such a thing.

If they did that on a day like today… it was possible that they might have to look for burial plots that very day.

Lee Hyunjin pushed Hyeon-a Cheon away with his palm as she kept trying to lean in for a kiss, then turned to look out the window with a low sigh.

The sky, without acknowledging his complicated inner thoughts, was merely clear.

While he had gained one more person he was close to in his in-laws’ home, Lee Hyunjin would now have to pay double the price if caught…

Lee Hyunjin thought that he would have to try not to run into Cheon Woohyuk for a while.

It definitely wouldn’t be easy, though, since he was planning to stay in this mansion for a few more days.

With a detached smile on his lips, Lee Hyunjin entered a state of thoughtless detachment.