541

 [Chapter 147]

[The Power to Fabricate Truth (3)]

─You probably won't be able to function as a man for a while.

Stygian Eye.

Eunha, who injected one fear into Choi Ye-jang, quickly left the place.

Han Seo-hyeon followed without a word.

"What, there's a guy like that?" "...I know. I didn't know he was such a petty person either."

Looking back, Choi Ye-jang was sitting dazed.

Eunha turned his gaze away from him and conversed with Han Seo-hyeon.

People seemed to be reading the mood, not trying to approach.

"More importantly, you promised me." "Huh? What?"

Han Seo-hyeon, who had been gossiping about Choi Ye-jang.

Then she giggled and spoke to him.

Eunha tilted his head.

Soon she frowned and─

"─Amusement park."

"..."

"Clear your schedule soon."

"Ahaha... You know." "What?"

He was annoyed by that guy constantly pretending to know Han Seo-hyeon.

He just said it out of anger.

But she seemed to have taken it seriously.

Eunha tried to smooth over the situation with an awkward laugh, but

She didn't seem to have any intention of doing so.

In the end, Eunha meekly─

"─Should we go together, the three of us?" "Are you crazy?"

"..." "Once with me, once with Ha-yang. Can't we go separately?"

"Ah, I was just joking. I was planning to do that from the beginning..."

There was something that had to be maintained to keep a smooth two-timing relationship.

If you give to one side, you have to give equally to the other side.

If you fail to maintain balance, your relationships will be in danger.

Hah...

Noh Eunha wanted to cry.

On the other hand, Han Seo-hyeon seemed to be in a good mood.

Just then─

Creak

The door to the Sky Lounge opened.

Eunha suddenly heard the door sound and turned his head.

""""...."""

Two people entering long after the gathering started.

People's gazes turned towards them.

"─Sorry. We're late, right? The road was blocked on the way so we're late. I'm really sorry!"

Clicking her heels,

A woman dressed up spoke to those around in a shrill voice.

"I didn't know she would come here too..."

Eunha muttered discontentedly.

Though it was a woman he was seeing for the first time,

He could see through the woman's identity by looking at the partner she brought.

There was also supplementary explanation from Han Seo-hyeon.

"It's Hong Ye-hwa from Dangun Ilbo. It seems she attended as a representative of the Dangun Group."

"Hong Ye-hwa..."

Hong Ye-hwa, direct descendant of Dangun Ilbo.

But the person his gaze was directed at was not her but the young man standing next to her.

On Tae-yang.

""..."" 

When Noh Eunha discovered him,

On Tae-yang also discovered him.

Their eyes met.

He thought they met.

...What?

Where is he looking now?

Eunha realized On Tae-yang's gaze was subtly directed elsewhere.

Where is he looking?

Eunha frowned and followed his gaze.

...Huh?

Soon he noticed On Tae-yang's gaze was directed at Han Seo-hyeon.

Eunha frowned.

Han Seo-hyeon also seemed to have noticed the gaze and was looking at On Tae-yang.

Eventually─

"─It seems..."

"Why? Do you know him?"

Han Seo-hyeon slowly opening her mouth.

Eunha tilted his head.

She seemed to know something.

So he listened to her words and─

"─He seems to have fallen for me?" "...Huh?"

Eunha doubted his ears.

☆

If there is a noble and beautiful person,

Wouldn't it be referring to that person?

"Whew, it's fortunate we arrived before it ended. Right, Tae-yang? Hm? Tae-yang? Hey?"

"..."

A gathering of those with power.

No, a gathering of those who will have power someday.

On Tae-yang, who reluctantly accompanied Hong Ye-hwa who whined about not having a partner to go with, looked around.

""""...."""

Direct descendants of the political and business world.

The types he didn't like.

Since he came here, he intended to clearly remember the faces of people living in a different world from him.

Then he suddenly felt a gaze.

On Tae-yang discovered Noh Eunha.

"Tae-yang? Hey?"

As expected, he thought.

He knew Noh Eunha would be here.

There was no disappointment, no anger.

Because he knew that's the kind of guy he was.

So he made an indifferent face and tried to check the face of the woman next to him, presumably his fiancée.

"Wow..."

Then he inadvertently admired.

A woman who exudes dignity just by standing still.

A person who seemed like they could only be seen in paintings, as if they weren't of this world, was in front of his eyes.

"T-Tae-yang!? Hey! Where are you going?"

His feet moved on their own.

On Tae-yang advanced forward, regardless of the voice calling him.

He wanted to see her up close.

He wanted to touch her once to see if she really existed.

On Tae-yang reached out his hand.

But─

"─What. What's wrong with you?"

"Ah..."

Suddenly she was pushed back.

On Tae-yang's heart ached seeing her startled and pushed back.

Suddenly pulling a person like that.

Isn't that too much?

"─Noh Eunha..."

Isn't he treating her too roughly?

On Tae-yang glared at Noh Eunha who hid her behind his back.

At that moment, Noh Eunha's eyes flashed for just an instant.

Stygian Eye

☆

On Tae-yang seems to have fallen for me.

The moment he heard those words from Han Seo-hyeon, Eunha immediately reached out his hand.

His body reacted faster than his head.

He quickly hid her behind his back and glared at On Tae-yang.

"─What. What's wrong with you?" "Ah..."

As soon as he hid Han Seo-hyeon behind his back,

On Tae-yang let out a sigh as if regretful.

...I don't like it.

Strangely, he didn't like it.

It was the same when Choi Ye-jang was pestering her.

It was the same now too.

He didn't know how to express this emotion.

But he felt really dirty.

So he decided to use Stygian Eye to scare On Tae-yang.

Stygian Eye

"─Kugh...!"

"...It doesn't work after all."

"You, what did you just..."

But it was only for a very short moment.

He who was consumed by fear knelt one leg on the floor but soon regained his senses.

He who instinctively grabbed his collapsing body staggered and muttered.

"What did you just do to me..." "I didn't do anything." "What?"

"I said I didn't do anything."

Gift <Brave >.

He has some resistance to magic that attacks the mind.

Eunha, who newly confirmed the effect of his gift, replied gruffly.

"You think I'll believe you didn't do anything!? Tell me quickly!"

On the other hand, On Tae-yang persistently questioned.

He even roughly grabbed Eunha's arm as if trying to get an apology somehow.

""""...!!""""

Even as people watching swallowed their breath in surprise,

He gradually raised his voice.

Just then─

"─I'm sorry. Tae-yang doesn't know anything since this is his first time at such a gathering."

"..."

Noh Eunha's eyes narrowed.

When people nearby were about to make displeased expressions,

Dangun Ilbo's direct descendant Hong Ye-hwa approached and hurriedly apologized.

"Ye-hwa noona, let go of this. This guy just did something strange to me..."

"What are you saying Eunha did? Tae-yang, you must have misunderstood. Ahaha, you said you were tired on the way here, you must have been very tired?"

A place where one word becomes a sword.

Though it's said to be a place for people in the political and business world to gather for exchange, this place was also one where they could bring each other down at any time.

Therefore, questioning someone was no different from saying you'll bring that person down.

"Tae-yang, please stay still."

"Kuk..."

The fate of the person holding the sword was one of two.

Either kill the opponent with the sword in hand,

Or die by the opponent's sword.

However, On Tae-yang's fate was no different from being determined as the person who dies by the sword.

"...I got it."

"Thank you... Tae-yang, you too, hurry." "..." "Tae-yang, please..." "...I'm sorry. I misunderstood."

The objective situation was clear.

On Tae-yang claimed Noh Eunha tried to harm him, but it was a story not accepted by people.

There was no evidence at all.

But everyone witnessed On Tae-yang roughly grabbing Noh Eunha's arm as if threatening him and yelling at him.

Above all, On Tae-yang didn't have the power to say the truth is truth, or the power to fabricate even lies as truth.

""""...."""

"Damn it..."

It's not simply talking about force.

Force including wealth and power.

The three powers that move the world.

The place they were standing on now was a very small society that miniaturized the world.

A lawless zone that cut out and miniaturized only the world of powerful people among them.

Power creates law.

A world where that law creates justice.

Truth was meaningless in front of power. It's a world where the presence or absence of power fabricates truth as lies, and lies as truth.

"─Hello. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Hong Ye-hwa from Dangun Ilbo."

Then what on earth does On Tae-yang have?

Nothing.

He doesn't have the force, wealth, or power for that.

The only objective power he could show people was wealth, that he receives full sponsorship from the Dangun Group.

The fact that he attended the gathering as Hong Ye-hwa's partner was proof of that.

However─

"─I'll apologize like this on behalf of Tae-yang. I'm really sorry."

The name of the Dangun Group has now become a relic of the past.

A world of survival of the fittest.

The Dangun Group, which fell out of the top 10 in business rankings, was now just a weak party.

Compared to that, what about Noh Eunha?

"─No, come to think of it, my attitude wasn't good either."

The force that the name <Quick-witted > has.

And wealth receiving full sponsorship from Sirius, Yeongwon, Alice, Luminous Groups, ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th in the business world respectively.

He can't be said to have no power either.

People who should know were inferring what happened there when he was recently investigated at the Mana Management Organization.

There were rumors that Eunha might have formed a friendship with the Fairy Lady.

"...Kuk...!"

So without clear justification,

No one could touch him.

In addition─

"─What's with him?"

"Why did Ye-hwa bring someone like that?"

"I don't know who he is, but he's a stupid guy. To think there's an idiot who tries to directly confront Noh Eunha at a time like this..."

"Tsk, now is the time to buy..."

"I'm getting annoyed for no reason. Did he just pick a fight with Seo-hyeon's fiancé?"

"You shouldn't do that to Ha-yang's boyfriend. He really has no sense."

"Yu-cheon was just bragging that Noh Eunha is a friend he can trust, this looks like it'll make him fall out of Yu-cheon's favor. What should we do..."

Just as people are connected to people, force, power, and wealth are each connected.

Just as a world where connected people gather becomes a society,

The three powers intertwine and form the world and make society function.

In other words, people directly connected to Noh Eunha and people connected to those people again become his power.

""""...."""

In fact, all Noh Eunha has in hand is force.

But people connected to him each hold different powers.

Nominally and actually.

The one with power in this small society is not On Tae-yang but Noh Eunha.

People sensitive to the direction of power knew this very well.

So they didn't try to stop it.

They didn't try to step forward.

They just stood behind Eunha and quietly watched.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it..."

On Tae-yang wasn't without sense either.

He realized how disadvantageous this place he was standing on was for him.

So he frustratingly bowed to Eunha.

But he seemed unable to do anything about his surging emotions.

Hatred boiled in his eyes.

Curses burst from his mouth.

"─Looking at it calmly, this won't do."

And Han Seo-hyeon, who had been quietly watching the situation behind Eunha, seemed displeased.

Han Seo-hyeon shook off Eunha's hand and stepped forward in front of On Tae-yang.

"Who are you?"

"..."

With an annoyed look,

Han Seo-hyeon snapped at On Tae-yang.

Then On Tae-yang closed his mouth.

On Tae-yang had no answer.

"It doesn't matter who you are. Anyway, the responsibility lies not with you but with Hong Ye-hwa who brought you here─"

─So that's that.

Just as she was about to express her displeasure to Hong Ye-hwa saying that,

Click click

The sound of heels.

Someone walked out briskly as people whispered lowly.

""""...."""

As people's gazes turned,

A woman in a green dress boldly appeared.

...Odd Eye.

The woman with short hair giggles.

Her two eyes were different colors.

Yellow on the left, blue on the right.

Odd Eye.

"─Why are you ruining the good mood? Even I'm feeling shitty..."

""""...."""

There was only one woman with Odd Eyes in the political and business world.

Eunha looked at the woman standing in front of her in a protective stance for Han Seo-hyeon.

"I heard Dangun fell as far as it could go, it seems that was true? Your peers' direct descendants don't attend, and you, a direct descendant of some small newspaper company, attend as representative. To think they're still having succession disputes? To think the only person in the world they can trust is a direct descendant of a newspaper company taking a stance separated from the business..." "...Oh Hae-in, you..." "Dangun's situation is going veeeery well."

In place of the half-fallen Dangun Group,

The Samra Group newly entered the top 10 in business rankings.

Main business areas include aviation, shipping, logistics, energy development, etc.

It was Samra Group's direct descendant Oh Hae-in.