After Kang Yun-ho had successfully settled into Daseogak in Yichang, he secretly sought out the local branch of Salmak, just as he’d been told.

He asked them to deliver a letter to So-hee, but Salmak was a closed-off organization. Since Yun-ho was not one of their own and the location of the main base was a tightly guarded secret, his request was denied.

In the end, all he could get through persistent pleading was a vague promise: the branch would send a brief report of his current status.

That brief report from the Yichang branch—

It struck Cheon So-hee’s mind with more force than any blunt weapon.

“They say he’s working as the manager of a bookstore called Daseogak in Yichang.”

It was a truth too unbelievable to accept.

Cheon So-hee was so overwhelmed by the shock in her head that she could barely hear her master’s words, even though Dan Seowol had already read the report.

“Oppa... is living with a woman?”

Who? Oppa.

With whom? A woman.

Why? ...Why?

Faced with something she couldn’t comprehend, Cheon So-hee had no choice but to ask herself again.

“This can’t be! I could have handled a simple affair, but cohabitation already?! Yukiko! I can’t handle the shock! I, Yukiko, am trembling at this steep climb up the staircase to adulthood! Ninnin!”

Number 6 clutched her forehead, spinning in theatrical dismay, while Cheon So-hee watched her blankly.

A man and woman living under the same roof without even being married? She couldn’t understand.

How could they do something like that?

Even she had never once used a different room than Kang Yun-ho when they lived together, but such a fact didn’t matter to her.

They were childhood friends. The Fate-Reverser and the Heavenly Killing Star. A man and woman who had promised each other a future. Living together had simply been a given.

Even if they made a promise, a man will always want to pluck the flower in front of him...

Oppa wouldn’t... right?

“Oppa would never do that.”

Her voice came out resolute and unwavering.

Even in the face of such a shocking revelation, Cheon So-hee felt no rage or betrayal toward Kang Yun-ho.

No—in fact, her faith in him remained unshaken.

The Kang Yun-ho she knew would never be that kind of person.

There had to be some mistake. Something else must have forced him into living with that woman.

Yes. If there was a problem, it would be the woman.

“Tang Hwa-rin.”

She must be the problem.

Who was she? Someone from the Tang Clan? That name rang a bell.

Cheon So-hee stared at the name “Tang Hwa-rin” like she was boring a hole through it.

Who are you?

Why are you living with my Oppa?

Oppa promised me a future.

Who do you think you are, staying at his side—the man I love?

If her glare could kill with words, the name “Tang Hwa-rin” would have been shredded stroke by stroke.

From within the Heavenly Killing Star, something dark and sticky began to seep out.

“Yukiko alert! I think I can see the ‘Heavenly’ in ‘Heavenly Killing Star’ lighting up right now! I, Yukiko, am not equipped to handle a berserk Number 5! I will now activate my ultimate escape technique, Cicada Molt!”

Number 6 flailed in faux panic as she watched Cheon So-hee get consumed by a rising, sickening emotion.

“...It’s not like that.”

It wasn’t the usual murderous intent.

She was furious. But it wasn’t the all-consuming kill-lust of the Heavenly Killing Star. It was cold, yet hot. Hot, yet cold. Sticky, heavy, and quietly boiling—a strange feeling.

Cheon So-hee tried to remember when she had last felt something like this.

Yes. When Oppa had once mentioned the woman who taught him the Tohnap Technique.

It was the same kind of emotion.

It was jealousy. Born of love.

But it was a feeling she had only experienced once, so she found it hard to name.

“If I saw her face, I feel like I’d run straight to Yichang.”

Dan Seowol gave a soft smile at the look on her disciple’s face—a look filled with jealousy she’d never shown before. She’d expected this.

“...”

Can I go?

Cheon So-hee didn’t speak, but she didn’t deny her master’s words either.

She missed Kang Yun-ho. She wanted to ask why he was living with a woman.

She wanted to know just who that woman was.

But she mustn’t go.

If she lost control, she might never be able to see Oppa’s face again.

She must never go to him again.

Cheon So-hee clenched her lips tight, as if to endure the pain of restraint.

“I figured you’d feel this way, so I requested a follow-up report. Read the second one.”

One bad news, and two good ones.

Cheon So-hee took the second slip from her master and began reading.

“Tang Hwa-rin. Purple hair, green eyes. Believed to be of Tang Clan bloodline. From the Seong Family Manor. Was expelled due to the incident caused by the Heavenly Killing Star. Seong Family’s Seong Hwa-rin?”

Cheon So-hee’s eyes widened slightly, repeating the name that seemed familiar.

“You know her?”

“Yes. I’ve seen her before.”

She remembered it now—from the assassination mission targeting the head of the Seong Family Manor.

On her first day infiltrating the manor, she had seen Seong Hwa-rin lashing out at the client in irritation.

“They say the incident you caused led to a power shift, and she was kicked out alone.”

“Because of me?”

“Ah! Is this the famed karmic cycle?! The woman exiled by your actions... now stealing your man in a tale of revenge?!”

“Seol-ja.”

Cheon So-hee’s voice went cold as she called Number 6 by her real name.

“Wha—wait, what did I just—uh! I’m sorry! This time, Yukiko was definitely in the wrong!”

Seol-ja bowed her head immediately, feeling the chill between master and disciple.

“If you’ve seen her in person, then you’ll understand this more easily. Read the next line.”

“From the lower jaw down to her body, she has discolored blotches resembling a skin disease, which she constantly keeps covered.”

Cheon So-hee recalled seeing her in the Seong Family Manor.

Even though she wore a face covering, it wasn’t enough to fully hide her condition.

Oppa... is living with a woman who’s not even beautiful—but has a skin condition?

“Bah! Why would someone as stunning as the Heavenly Killing Star, with that devastating figure, ever lose to a woman like that?!”

Seol-ja tried to cheer her up, hoping to erase her earlier mistake.

Could it be that Yun-ho Oppa had some other reason...?

The weight in Cheon So-hee’s chest started to lift, just a little.

“It’s written in the report, but I also found out more about Tang Hwa-rin when I was handling matters in the Seong Family Manor.”

“What did you find?”

Dan Seowol immediately picked up on her disciple’s shifting emotions and calmly began sharing what she had learned.

“They say this girl named Tang Hwa-rin was saddled with enormous debt. Thanks to your husband’s help, she was able to keep her bookstore—but the debt still remains. So they aren’t living together as lovers. They’re just staying in the same place while running the bookstore.”

Because of her debt, they’re simply cohabiting at the large bookstore building.

Dan Seowol explained what she’d discovered, smiling as she recounted the fruits of her investigation into her disciple’s romantic matters.

“I get it now. But still, he should’ve told me.”

It wasn’t hard to piece together the situation.

Oppa, who had embraced even the girl who tried to kill him. He met a woman in trouble and helped her. He’d given up the difficult life of a street storyteller and become a bookstore manager.

Not cohabiting as lovers—just living in the same building while running a joint business.

Even Cheon So-hee could accept that much.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“The only joy in this dreary Salmak stronghold is your love story, dear disciple. Wouldn’t it be boring if I gave away everything too easily?”

Dan Seowol smiled faintly. She would’ve been disappointed if her disciple hadn’t chosen the bad news first.

“......”

Cheon So-hee narrowed her eyes at her master, clearly displeased.

“You seem a little more at ease now. Well then, this next piece of news should give you even more comfort.”

Dan Seowol held out the third report.

“What is it?”

“This one is from your husband himself.”

Unbelievable. Even with her own eyes, she could barely follow the movement. Dan Seowol let out a quiet sigh of admiration as she watched the note vanish from her hand like magic.

The Crimson Rakshasa observed with interest as her disciple treated the note with reverence, carefully unfolding it as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.

So-hee-ya. Thanks to a new friend, I’ve found my place in Yichang and achieved a small success. I will continue to live my best for the promise I made to you.

A single line.

Kang Yun-ho had written the note and sent it after achieving success with Tang Clan Storm, volumes 1 and 2. Copies of those books were rare and hard to come by, but he managed to bring them to Salmak and gained permission to send this message.

It was Oppa.

It was his tone. His presence could be felt.

Cheon So-hee read it once, twice—again and again as if she might consume it whole.

“They say a book of unknown authorship from a bookstore named Daseogak is shaking all of Yichang. It must be your husband’s handiwork.”

She’d told her master that he intended to succeed through writing. It hadn’t been hard for Dan Seowol to deduce the identity of the mysterious author.

“And the ‘friend’ he mentioned in the note... must be that Tang Hwa-rin!”

“Indeed. If he were truly cheating, he wouldn’t have brought up another woman at all. The fact that he told you about her likely means he sees her only as a business partner—or at most, a friend.”

Whether the woman felt the same was another matter entirely, but Dan ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Seowol withheld comment, trying to ease her disciple’s heart.

“I’ve never heard of a cheating man who’s the one to bring up the other woman first!”

In truth, when Kang Yun-ho wrote that note from Yichang, he still thought of Tang Hwa-rin as just a friend, so he hadn’t hesitated to mention her to So-hee.

Cheon So-hee kept staring at the note.

It had been a misunderstanding.

Even if it was brief—she had doubted Oppa, who was doing everything he could for her.

“Oppa... Yun-ho Oppa.”

She held the note to her chest and softly called his name, the name of the man far away.

She knew how much he had suffered as a street storyteller. He never had much money.

He said he’d succeed through writing. He must have wanted to work at a bookstore. How hard he must have fought to earn that position.

And even so, Oppa kept trying to keep the promise he’d made to her.

He’s thinking of me. He’s writing for me.

And now, he had achieved a little success.

All the dark, swirling emotions in her chest were swept away by comfort and relief.

“Oppa... you really are keeping your promise.”

Cheon So-hee quietly embraced the message Yun-ho had sent.

He was moving forward.

And she, who had doubted him—Cheon So-hee was struck by emotion toward him, and shame toward herself, until she slumped down.

“Number 5! Are you going to cry now? If you get mad and then cry, you’ll get a pimple on your butt!”

----------

The next day—

“...I’m pretty, right?”

Cheon So-hee murmured softly, touching her own face.

Her doubts had been cleared, but a faint unease still lingered. He said the woman was just a friend, but something about it still made her uncomfortable.

She didn’t know it was a woman’s instinct—intuition.

“Are you comparing whether you’re prettier or if that Tang Hwa-rin is?”

A familiar voice came from the ceiling.

“You? Where did you come from?”

“That’s not important! Yukiko is frustrated! Number 5, just look in the mirror!”

“Why the mirror?”

“I hate to say it, but Heavenly Killing Star! I, Yukiko, have never seen a woman more beautiful than you in all of Joseon! Do you really think someone with a weird face could steal the man the heavens destined for you?”

Yukiko pushed the mirror toward her as if it were a holy artifact.

And sure enough—Cheon So-hee’s reflection was beautiful. Though she’d endured harsh snow and brutal training, she was a flower bud on the verge of blooming.

Cheon So-hee had never thought much about her own appearance, but Yukiko’s words patched up the unease in her heart and stirred a small sense of confidence.

Let’s forgive Oppa for eating half the egg, she thought to herself.

“Still worried, Number 5?”

“...No.”

“If you are, I do have a method.”

“Method?”

“Would you like to learn the Seduction Techniques of the Eastern Ninja Women?”

While Seol-ja made an unexpected offer to the still-puzzled Heavenly Killing Star...

—urgent news was already flying toward them from Yichang.