So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 64: Envy (猜忌) (3)

The following afternoon.

Il-mok was enjoying a meal with Bang Mi-hwa and Ha Young.

Surprisingly, he managed to finish the meal without much discomfort. He wiped his mouth and spoke.

“I’ll take my leave first to continue my training.”

Ha Young, seated across from him, and Bang Mi-hwa, beside him, responded with gentle smiles.

“We have evening training as well, so please go ahead, Young Master.”

“Today was a pleasant time as well.”

However, for some reason, Bang Mi-hwa was looking straight ahead rather than at Il-mok directly while answering.

The reason was simple—she was maintaining the angle he had mentioned yesterday.

Because of yesterday’s incident, Bang Mi-hwa had become convinced.

That Il-mok was infatuated with her.

And just in case, she had checked herself in a mirror upon returning to her quarters. She had to admit that her right side was indeed more attractive than her left.

Thus, Bang Mi-hwa had spent the entire day positioning herself on Il-mok’s left—even during classes.

It was a thoughtful gesture, ensuring that whenever he turned his head, he would always see her right side.

She was the kind of woman who could extend such consideration to a man she fancied—especially one who admired her.

‘Hehe. What a woman I am.’

She was quite taken with her own magnanimity.

And it seemed her efforts had paid off. The Eighth Young Master no longer avoided her today and even initiated conversation from time to time.

In a way, it was contradictory.

Until yesterday, she had assumed he was avoiding her out of shyness.

Yet today, even though she only showed him her beautiful right side, he spoke to her without hesitation.

But Bang Mi-hwa didn’t dwell on the contradiction.

‘He must have realized that if he kept being shy, he’d lose a beauty like me. Hohoho.’

For someone with narcissistic personality disorder, the world always revolves around themselves.

***

After parting ways with Bang Mi-hwa and Ha Young, Il-mok headed to the same secluded spot as yesterday.

Though he had found a way to solve his problem with Bang Mi-hwa, Il-mok still preferred secluded places.

A spot where he could rest without prying eyes.

When he arrived, he found Jeong Hyeon there again, practicing archery.

‘It must be because of his social anxiety.’

No doubt, this place was comfortable for him too—away from others.

“Ahem.”

Il-mok deliberately cleared his throat to make his presence known while keeping a considerate distance.

Jeong Hyeon, who had been focused on his target, flinched at the sound and turned.

He flinched slightly upon seeing Il-mok before scrambling to greet him. Il-mok quickly raised his hands in a placating gesture and bowed.

“I apologize for yesterday.”

Jeong Hyeon’s expression twisted in a mixture of emotions before he carefully opened his mouth.

“I-I was the one who acted pathetically. I should be the one apologizing, Young Master.”

“It wasn’t your fault. There’s no need for apologies.”

“Y-you didn’t have any ill intentions either, Young Master. There’s no need for you to apologize.”

Satisfied that his apology had been accepted, Il-mok cautiously asked.

“Would it be alright if I came here from now on? This seems like the best place to practice stealth.”

Jeong Hyeon hesitated at the question.

This place wasn’t his home to begin with, so Jeong Hyeon had no right to tell Il-mok whether to come or not.

He could choose to avoid this place himself, but Jeong Hyeon also found this nearly deserted location most comfortable.

That left one option—sharing the space.

After contemplating this briefly, Jeong Hyeon nodded and replied.

“Y-You’re welcome to come, Young Master. I look forward to… training with you.”

Thanks to yesterday’s memory—not the breakdown, but Il-mok’s words before that.

The memory of Il-mok acknowledging his archery—which was often dismissed as a coward’s skill—made Jeong Hyeon feel somewhat more comfortable around him.

Noticing that the other party seemed a bit more at ease, Il-mok smiled softly and said.

“Since we’ll be sharing this space, feel free to address me casually, Disciple Jeong.”

“I-I’m still more c-comfortable this way. S-sorry.”

Watching him bow deeply, Il-mok scratched his head awkwardly and changed the subject.

“Ah, now that I think about it, your martial art is quite unique. Are you skilled in stealth techniques as well?”

“It’s not something I can boast about, but I have learned some.”

As he spoke, Jeong Hyeon slung his bow over his back, and his presence gradually blurred.

Jeong Hyeon’s already faint presence became even hazier, until he was no longer visible to Il-mok’s eyes.

And a moment later.

Jeong Hyeon, with a much more relaxed expression than when conversing with Il-mok, carefully released his stealth technique and reappeared.

Watching a person fade in and out right before his eyes, Il-mok couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“That’s incredible! Disciple Jeong, could you teach me a little?”

“M-me?!”

At Jeong Hyeon’s startled question, Il-mok nodded vigorously.

“From what I’ve seen, your stealth is the best among the disciples! If you’re willing, could you share some of that skill with me?”

“C-Calling something like stealth a ‘great technique’ is… t-too much.”

“Nonsense! What skill could be more valuable than stealth?”

With stealth, he could hide and laze around anywhere, anytime!

‘Dammit! I should’ve learned this from Third Brother earlier!’

Regret gnawed at him for not learning the stealth technique before the Hall’s entrance exam.

While Il-mok was lost in thought, Jeong Hyeon’s face flushed red at the praise—first for his archery, now for his stealth.

“W-Well, if you insist… I-I’ll do my best to teach you.”

He demonstrated his stealth techniques several times, diligently explaining the insights and experience he had learned.

After listening attentively to Jeong Hyeon’s lesson, Il-mok spoke with a somewhat disgruntled tone.

“Um… couldn’t you teach me from a bit closer?”

Jeong Hyeon had been maintaining a distance of at least three meters while demonstrating his technique.

Every time Il-mok took a step forward to see better—

Flinch

—Jeong Hyeon would take one step back.

He wasn’t ready to abandon social distancing just yet.

***

From that day on, Il-mok and Jeong Hyeon spent their evenings practicing either stealth or lightness skills.

Today, after another fruitful session, Il-mok decided to test his progress. Wearing black robes, he activated his stealth and headed toward the Black Dragon Pavilion.

Along the way, he spotted a group of fellow disciples chatting.

‘Perfect. Let me test whether they notice me or not.’

Treading carefully to maintain his stealth, he approached them, but they remained oblivious to his presence.

As he drew closer, their conversation became audible.

“It’s downright pathetic, don’t you think?”

“That’s what I’m saying. How can someone act like that in the Hall of the Demonic Way?”

Though he only caught snippets, Il-mok quickly grasped the topic.

‘Gossiping is a universal human trait, I guess.’

He was about to ignore it, partly because he had no interest in it and partly because he deemed it not worth his time, when he suddenly froze in his step.

“Even if Il-mok is the Heavenly Demon’s youngest disciple, does she really think sucking up to him will secure her a position? How delusional.”

To his disbelief, he was part of the gossip.

At least they weren’t directly insulting him—if they had, he’d have taught them a lesson like he did with those three idiots before.

“Is it because of her lack of talent that she resorts to such cheap tricks?”

“I heard she barely scraped into the Hall.”

“Lately, she’s been tailing the Young Master so much, so much that she barely trains and is at risk of failing.”

“What kind of martial artist joins the Hall only to neglect her own growth?”

“Hahaha. Maybe she’s smitten with him? Since she’s already failed as a warrior, maybe she’s aiming to become his concubine instead.”

It wasn’t hard to guess who they were talking about.

‘It’s not Bang Mi-hwa nor Ha Young.’

Those two were in the Upper Class like him and diligent in their training—light-years away from failing.

That left only one person—Ju Seo-yeon.

‘…I never imagined rumors would spread like this.’

Il-mok nearly laughed out loud.

Ju Seo-yeon, trying to become his concubine? Even a stray dog would find that ridiculous. Her goal wasn’t him but Jin Hayeon.

‘What a bunch of idiots.’

Since it was just a meaningless, baseless rumor anyway, Il-mok decided to ignore it and continued walking toward the Black Dragon Pavilion while thinking about something.

‘Hmm. The gossip isn’t my business, but her constant visits are annoying.’

Pondering how to shake her off, a wicked grin spread across his face as a plan formed.

***

The next day.

Instead of going straight to meet Jeong Hyeon as usual, Il-mok waited for someone near the dining hall.

“Young Master!”

Soon enough, a certain persistent stalker who had been searching for him all day arrived.

Looking at Ju Seo-yeon approaching with her eyes sparkling as always, Il-mok asked with a stern expression.

“Ju Seo-yeon, do you truly admire Jin Hayeon that much?”

“!!! Yes! Finally, you understand my feelings, Young Master! About Miss Jin Hayeon…”

Just as she launched into another fanatic spiel, Il-mok struck first.

“Stop!”

Seizing the initiative, Il-mok pressed her before she could regain her composure.

“Then why don’t you act like Miss Jin?”

“!?”

“Jin Hayeon started from nothing, entered the Hall with low scores, yet graduated from the Hall as the second-ranked disciple. But what are you doing right now?”

“So you knew too, Young Master! Yes! Miss Jin is truly an exemplary figure who, despite her lofty and beautiful appearance, overcame harsh conditions through effort!”

Ju Seo-yeon was indeed a formidable opponent. Even after being scolded, she hadn’t lost her admiration for Jin Hayeon.

Il-mok felt exasperated, but he couldn’t just stand there and let Ju Seo-yeon derail the conversation.

“Disciple Ju. I am the youngest disciple of the Heavenly Demon. Do you think I would take on an incompetent person as my attendant?”

“You’re absolutely right, Young Master! Only someone like Miss Jin is worthy of your attention!”

“What I mean is, at your current level, you’re not fit to be my subordinate. Obviously, you’ll never be Jin Hayeon’s junior either.”

“!!!”

Only then did Ju Seo-yeon look at Il-mok with a shocked expression.

Seizing the opening, Il-mok delivered the final blow.

“Miss Jin graduated from the Hall as the second-best. Since the position of the top seat will obviously be mine, you should at least aim for the second rank. If you can’t even fulfill that, you should give up your dream of becoming Ji Hayeon’s junior.”

“H-how could that be…”

Looking at Ju Seo-yeon, whose face suggested she might have a breakdown any moment, Il-mok casually dropped the final bait.

“On the other hand, if you do graduate as the second in rank, I’ll personally take you as my subordinate.”

“!!!”

Ju Seo-yeon looked at Il-mok with a startled face.

The scheme Il-mok had devised was simple.

Offer an obsessed fan the chance to meet their idol in person if they achieve a certain rank.

For a true fan, it was a condition that would make their eyes roll.

“So instead of wasting time chasing me to talk about Jin Ha-yeon, devote every second to training.”

“Yes, Young Master!! I will definitely secure second place!”

As Il-mok had expected, Ju Seo-yeon left with a face like she had received some divine mission.

Watching Ju Seo-yeon’s retreating figure in the distance, Il-mok smirked.

‘I’ve finally gotten rid of one leech.’

Il-mok had no intention of taking her as his attendant. She would be a nuisance to Jin Hayeon, and it seemed like it would be troublesome in many ways.

‘Since she barely passed the entrance exam, second place should be impossible, right?’

This was just an elaborate trick to keep her away from him.

But what Il-mok failed to understand and dismissed is one factor.

It was the madness of a sasaeng fan.

(TL Note: Sasaeng Fans = Fanatic Fans)