40-53

Chapter 53: Chapter 17: Subtle Intentions (2) 

"What are you trying to do?" 

After the couple left, the mood inside the hangover soup restaurant was icy, with tension thick in the air. More precisely, the two elderly people were glaring at each other, making no effort to hide their hostility. Both knew exactly what the other did, and neither concealed their displeasure. 

"You’ve got the guts to come to my place at this hour, but can’t even start the conversation?" 

"Ha, it’s not like I’m here for anything good why should I act humble?" 

In the next instant, the two elderly figures transformed. The old man became a handsome young man with white hair, and the old woman turned into a beautiful lady in a red skirt and yellow jeogori. The cheap restaurant table between them became an antique wooden table in a flash. 

The woman, with an irritated gesture, summoned a cup. 

"Here. Now talk. Why are you here? What do you want to say?" 

A cup of steaming green tea appeared in a fine ceramic cup. The man picked it up, downed it, and growled, 

"I told you. Make sure those two kids are matched up at the right time." 

"Are you here to talk about that again?" 

Suddenly, the woman’s tone changed. She now spoke like a noble lady addressing a subordinate. The previous sense of equality vanished, replaced by an overwhelming aura of dominance. 

"I told you clearly. The timing of their match isn’t something I can just delay as I please." 

At those words, the man exploded. He slammed the cup down and shouted, 

"Since when did you ever follow the rules? Ha! As if I didn’t know! Since when has our Samshin Halmi lived so strictly by the rules " 

"Silence." 

Bang!!! 

A heavy force pressed down on the space. The man, who had been snarling moments ago, could barely keep his posture. 

"Ugh..." 

"How dare you speak so loudly." 

"Shut, ugh..." 

"Tsk." 

The woman sipped her tea and said, 

"The problem is your poor skill at spinning threads. My only role is to ensure those children are born at the happiest possible time." 

"Bullshit..." 

The man snickered. 

"I told you, let’s agree on a four-year gap for those kids. But you made it ten years, so after six years of marriage, they already have five kids." 

"How is that my fault? They’re so in love they can’t live without each other." 

"You shouldn’t say that. If that girl had been born three years earlier, she could have met that man sooner. If she’d been born with a different fate, she could have been even happier." 

"..." 

"Even I can see that from the sidelines, so you must know it too. And yet, you say there’s nothing you can do?" 

"So what?" 

The woman spoke with a blank expression. 

"You can’t just decide all fortunes and misfortunes as you wish. If those years hadn’t passed, would those kids have become such a harmonious couple? You’re not thinking deeply enough." 

"Shut your mouth." 

The man gritted his teeth. 

"Fine, the other kids, whatever. I don’t care what happens to average ones. That boy’s a bit of a loss, but that’s okay. But... this is different." 

With a snap of his fingers, the man conjured an image of Kim Sehyun in the rising steam from the teacup. At the sight, the woman flinched ever so slightly. 

"I told you, I’m going to use him as my successor." 

"..." 

"Do you know how many times his blue thread has been torn? You’re the one who did that." 

"..." 

The woman said nothing, just gazed at the image in the steam. The man, growing angrier, raised his voice. 

"If you’ve got a mouth, use it! I told you fifty years ago I’d use him as my successor. I said you should match him with the red thread early on!! Do you even know what’s happened because you tore up his blue thread?!" 

"Do I need to know?" 

"What?" 

"I asked if I need to know." 

The woman looked at him coldly. 

"Then let me ask you. Do you remember all the threads of those children?" 

"What kind of crap is that?" 

"Do you remember all the red threads tied to his split blue thread?" 

"What " 

The man stopped mid-sentence. The woman closed her eyes, sipped her tea, and spoke quietly. 

"You don’t even know what you’re talking about. Fine, let me tell you my side. What about the threads you tied to my precious daughters?" 

"That, that’s..." 

"I know. I know better than anyone that it wasn’t your choice. I’ve been doing this since the beginning, far longer than you’ve held the job." 

She gripped her cup tightly, trying to control her emotions. 

"So you should understand. If you’ve tied such miserable, tragic fates to my girls, you should understand this much." 

Her trembling hand finally shattered the cup. 

Crack! 

"A girl thrown away like a rag, one who’ll never be treated as a person and will die alone, one who’ll be tricked by love and become nothing but a seedbed for men, one who’ll go mad watching her daughter be violated! You dare raise your voice at me after tying such threads?!" 

"...Damn it." 

"Whew..." 

The woman calmed herself and spoke. 

"I won’t say more. Give up on this child." 

"Ha!" 

"In return, I promise I’ll match the next child at the right time, just as you want. No matter how hard it is for me, I’ll do it. So leave this one alone." 

"...Really?" 

"Unlike you, who’s gone through countless generations, I’ve been alone since the beginning. I don’t break my word." 

She layered more smoke over Sehyun’s image. 

"The fact that this child has so many tragic fates to carry isn’t your fault or mine. In the end, we’re just following the path as it was meant to be. Still, out of a bit of pity, I can use a little discretion." 

"..." 

"And you know, saving a few fates means just as many will be saved in turn. The merit of saving a miserable life where do you think it goes?" 

"..!!" 

The man’s expression changed. The woman smiled gently and continued. 

"I usually prefer mutual love, but in this child’s case, it can’t be helped. I’m both grateful and sorry to the one who’ll save my abandoned daughters." 

"Old woman, does that mean..." 

"I’ve already sent a gift to that child. It’s not strange for his energy to awaken early, since he met his destined partner sooner." 

"Whew..." 

The man scratched his head and sighed. 

"So, in the end, my job is just one thing. To help that kid embrace as many women as he wants." 

"That’s not wrong. You know as well as I do there’s no turning him back now." 

"Why do I have to go through this crap..." 

After banging his head on the table for a while, the man finally looked up and answered. 

"Fine. But you have to keep your promise. If he fails, you have to match the next successor properly, with a partner. No matter how hard it is for you, you have to do it." 

"I don’t break my word." 

With that, a spring breeze swept through the shop. The man vanished without a trace, leaving only shards of the broken teacup on the table. 

Back in her grandmotherly form, the woman gathered the shards and murmured, 

"I’m sorry, child." 

It was spoken flatly, with a hint of bitterness. 

Aunt Jiye, who had been sucking me off in the alley, climaxed twice with just two thrusts. 

"What... what is this..." 

"Wow... she’s worse than me." 

Sunhwa, who was keeping watch, shook her head in disbelief. But you’re no better you were dripping all over while getting pounded in front of your daughter. 

Still, I didn’t mention it in front of Jiye. I have some tact. I plan to scold her tonight when we’re alone. 

"Heh... heh..." 

"...If you go any further, she might die." 

"I think so too. She’s barely breathing. I mean, master, your thing is just too big." 

True. It is abnormally large. 

"But you and Sua don’t have a problem." 

"We’re not in pain, but we’re just as sensitive, you know? And it hurt a lot at first." 

"For all that " 

"W-what!" 

"Never mind... Anyway, what do we do now..." 

With Jiye limp and trembling, there wasn’t much we could do. It felt like I’d hit an unexpected snag. To think she’d pass out just as we were getting into it. 

"Let’s just go home. We can’t do anything more like this, and the mood’s ruined anyway." 

As Sunhwa said, we threw some clothes on Jiye, slung her over my back, and decided to head back to my place for now.