Chapter 8: Older Brother and Younger Brother (1)
I almost blurted out something purely on instinct.
Fortunately, my rationality kicked in just in time to swallow the words back down. If I had actually said them, my head would have been lopped off right then and there.
“……”
I responded to that question with silence.
I mean, seriously—how could I fall for someone who had just threatened to cut off my head with Qi Projection? Any remaining affection was pretty much obliterated on the spot!
Just then, Sa Biyeon, who had been watching from a distance, stepped forward and knelt down.
“I greet the Cult Leader.”
“Yes, Biyeon. You’ve worked hard as always, supporting Yura.”
“It is only my duty as a cult member.”
As someone close to the Young Cult Leader, she naturally had some acquaintance with the Cult Leader as well.
The Cult Leader’s gaze turned back to me.
“So, you're saying you're not the young master of the Jin Clan?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I only came here to fulfill my duty.”
“Hmm, duty. A duty, is it…”
For some reason, I felt uneasy watching the Cult Leader smile in apparent satisfaction.
Wait a second.
‘Huh? Why do I feel killing intent?’
Suddenly, a familiar sense of killing intent pierced my skin.
Its source was none other than Cheon Yura.
‘Why is she glaring at me like that?’
Could she be mad that I indirectly told her I wasn’t interested in her?
But she was the one who tried to sabotage this meeting too!
While I was staring at her in disbelief, the Cult Leader stroked his short beard and spoke again.
“If you came to fulfill a duty, then you should carry it out to the end.”
“Yes, of course… Pardon?”
My mouth, which had reflexively started to reply, came to a halt.
What did he just say?
“What do you think? Regardless of her position as the Young Cult Leader, this exchange between members of the Cheon and Jin Clans is a highly important matter from the leadership’s perspective.”
“Of course, Cult Leader. ‘Grit’.”
Wait, why is she grinding her teeth while agreeing?
She’s even smiling while doing it. I think I finally understand what it means to smile while being furious.
“It’s settled then.”
Clap!
“I’ll inform the Jin Clan once the next exchange is scheduled.”
“……”
“I hope to see you getting along well with our Yura next time too.”
“……”
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“Y-Yes, understood.”
In the Heavenly Demon Cult, the words of the Heavenly Demon were absolute commands.
Which meant one thing:
‘I’m screwed.’
The plan I had to enter closed-door training for five years to focus on martial arts shattered right from the start.
***
So, the Heavenly Demon—who had simultaneously saved my life and thrown my plans into the trash—left behind one last remark:
‘Hoho, it’s been a while. I should go have a drink with that Jin brat.’
…And then he vanished.
“……”
Now, in the lingering awkwardness of his absence, Cheon Yura was simply glaring at me.
“Uh, uhm.”
I let out a sound, unsure how to deal with her.
Honestly, my feelings were a mess.
I had ignored the final request of “Cheon Yura the Cult Leader,” and instead tried to help her in another way.
But that plan had been crushed from the start, and the bond I had tried to avoid was now showing signs of continuing—albeit in a strange form.
“Hey.”
In the middle of this chaotic situation, Cheon Yura—whom I thought would remain silent to the end—suddenly spoke to me.
“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”
I responded calmly to her words.
“I won’t apologize personally. After all, it’s true that you deceived me.”
Typical of her prideful personality.
But rather than the content of her words, I was more surprised by the fact that she said anything resembling an apology.
‘Normally, she wouldn’t have even said this much.’
She bit her lip slightly, then let out a quiet sigh.
“I get it—you don’t like me. That’s probably why you pulled that stunt. Still, with the Cult Leader’s command, even if we have no choice but to continue this exchange…”
“Uh, excuse me?”
I raised my hand to interrupt her.
Then I said,
“I don’t dislike you, though.”
“What?”
“I don’t dislike you, Young Cult Leader. Actually, I rather…”
Suddenly, I choked up, unable to finish the sentence.
“Rather what?”
After hesitating for a long while, I averted my eyes and mumbled,
“I rather like you.”
“……”
“Of course, I mean in a platonic sense. Please don’t misunderstand.”
“Platonic?”
Her expression grew more and more bizarre, and I quickly cleared my throat to get things back on track.
“A-Anyway, I regret what happened today. My actions had nothing to do with you, Young Cult Leader—they were driven by personal reasons. Things have gotten a bit strange now, but…”
“I see.”
Cheon Yura trailed off.
Something about her expression hinted at relief, and that made me feel oddly conflicted.
Still, she seemed to have calmed down, so I took the chance to retreat from the scene.
“Well then, Young Cult Leader. I’ll see you again if the opportunity arises.”
“Wait.”
Ah, what now?
Just as I was about to turn away, she stopped me.
“Don’t call me Young Cult Leader.”
“…?”
“Don’t forget the purpose of this exchange. While the exchange is in effect, you and I are to shed our original positions and stand on equal footing.”
“Then… how should I address you?”
“Well, I don’t know?”
At my counter-question, Cheon Yura stammered, unable to find a proper response.
Honestly, just a little—her flustered look was kind of cute.
Without realizing it, I ended up using the same form of address I had uttered not long ago when speaking to the Cult Leader.
“Then, I’ll call you Lady Cheon Yura.”
“……!”
As if that term was unbearably embarrassing, Cheon Yura’s face immediately turned bright red.
Sa Biyeon, who had been quietly observing from the side, let out a small gasp of admiration.
“Oh my.”
***
That conversation marked the end of the exchange event.
I slipped out of the Lesser Demon Hall as if fleeing and made my way home. Whatever thoughts were left behind in the minds of the others no longer concerned me.
“You were amazing, Young Master! Absolutely amazing!”
Gu Chil fussed excitedly beside me the entire way back.
“Well, I guess.”
I responded with a hollow voice. Honestly, my grand plan had just gone up in smoke, and I was left temporarily deflated.
“The Clan Head will be delighted! That brat from the Ma Clan may have survived, but you received the recognition of the Heavenly Demon himself!”
Gu Chil was genuinely overjoyed, as if this had happened to him, not me.
And yet, despite everyone’s congratulations, my thoughts were tangled in a mess.
‘Haah, what do I do now?’
With things turned out like this, closed-door training was no longer an option.
Of course, that didn’t mean I planned to neglect training, but the results were bound to fall short of what I had originally hoped for.
More importantly, through these continued exchanges, I would have to build a new relationship with her—something that hadn’t existed in my previous life.
That was the most burdensome part for me.
‘Should I just enter the Thousand-Day Pass?’
I sighed and shook my head.
‘Let’s just rest for now and think about it later.’
Still, the exchange had wrapped up relatively smoothly, which meant Jin Gun-ak wouldn’t have any reason to bother me for the time being.
If I could handle my interactions with the Young Cult Leader well, I’d have more freedom to move around without worrying about my family watching my every step.
Just as I consoled myself with those thoughts and passed the gates of the Jin Clan—
An unexpected person stood waiting to greet my return.
“So you’re finally back, Brother.”
A tall, strapping figure with a body packed with muscle, a whole head taller than me.
It was hard to believe he was only sixteen years old.
Regardless, in terms of lineage, he was my younger brother.
“Yeowoon?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
Jin Yeowoon, the second son of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, snorted and cocked his head.
“I heard you were in closed-door training?”
“It ended today.”
“Is that so. Then what’s the occasion? Why did you come out to greet me?”
Truthfully, the relationship between us wasn’t all that good.
To be honest, we looked so different that it was hard to believe we came from the same mother.
‘What’s sad is that the one who truly fits the Jin Clan isn’t me—it’s him.’
There were even rumors that the first and second sons had been switched at birth.
Once those rumors reached his ears, Jin Yeowoon developed a deep inferiority complex about being the second son.
On top of that, since I—despite being the eldest—had never contributed much to the clan and had neglected my martial arts, his view of me probably wasn’t far from how one might look at an insect.
“You were training in the cultivation room until you went to meet the Young Cult Leader, right?”
“So what?”
“Don’t tell me… now you’re eyeing the Young Clan Head’s seat?”
Ah, so that’s what this was really about?
I had wondered why someone who disliked me would come all the way out to greet me at the gate.
“You’re not ignorant of the clan’s laws, are you?”
“Hmph! You’re the eldest son. You could end things with the Young Cult Leader at any time, don’t think I don’t know that.”
For someone built like a bear, he sure had a sharp mind.
No matter how lazy I acted, I was still the firstborn. He must’ve thought he’d never beat me to the succession unless he seized the right opportunity.
“I don’t recognize you as the successor to this clan.”
He glared down at me, eyes wide.
“You don’t belong in the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan.”
I had to resist the urge to nod in agreement.
If someone were to line up me and Jin Yeowoon on either side of our father, the Asura King Jin Gun-ak, and ask who the rightful successor was—
One hundred out of one hundred would’ve pointed to Jin Yeowoon.
‘I accepted that in my past life and handed the clan over to you.’
And frankly, if my connection with Cheon Yura continued, he would likely still inherit the clan in this life as well.
The only issue was—
‘Should I really allow someone who holds such hostility toward me to become clan head again?’
In my past life, I stayed out of clan affairs until I became the Inner Administrator, so we had little reason to clash.
But in this life, where I planned to be more active, Jin Yeowoon could be a dangerous variable.
That’s when—
“Young Master Yeowoon! You’ve gone too far!”
Gu Chil, still elated from the results of the exchange, scolded Jin Yeowoon.
“The Young Master just returned after making great achievements for the Jin Clan! Far surpassing anything the other clan scions have done!”
But Gu Chil’s protest was immediately cut short by Jin Yeowoon’s cold retort.
“And who are you, a stray assassin from the streets, to insert yourself into a conversation between direct blood members of the Jin Clan?”
Flinch!
The one who reacted most to that comment wasn’t even Gu Chil—it was Chief Byeok, the clan’s Chief Adminstrator.
Hmm. I’d sensed this before in my past life too, but my younger brother had a real way with words. And I mean that in the worst way. Is that really something a sixteen-year-old should be saying?
Annoying as it was—really annoying—I figured I had to step in.
“Looks like someone needs a little manners correction.”
“What?”
“And while we’re at it, maybe a refresher course on etiquette.”
If I wanted to avoid having my ankles shackled by the clan while I operated outside, I first needed to make this guy understand what it meant to have an older brother.
Upon realizing what I meant, Jin Yeowoon sneered.
“Are you serious right now, Brother?”
“Hmm. Come to think of it, we’ve never actually fought, have we?”
I’d heard the siblings of other clans beat each other to a pulp before forming tight bonds.
For us, a clan that used fists as weapons, to have never done that—it was truly a tragedy.
“In the Heavenly Demon Cult, etiquette education wasn’t done with Confucian classics. It was taught with the rod of love.”
“Do you even realize the nonsense you’re spouting right now?”
Muscles rippled across Jin Yeowoon’s entire body as he spoke.
Definitely looked the part of a direct bloodline descendant of the Jin Clan.
But I just chuckled and gave a thumbs-up, pointing inside.
“Follow me. Let’s head to the training yard.”
“Hah! I’ll finally get to see just how tough that outer skin of yours really is.”
There’s an old saying:
God designed siblings born from the same womb to be genetically predisposed to want to kill each other.
Back in the day, I thought it was nonsense.
But these days… it’s starting to sound pretty plausible.