What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 817

The Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike – Episode 817 (817/920)

We Are Always There for Each Other (4)

-Swishhhhh…

“This is too much….”

“It feels unreal, right?”

Jeong Eun-seo, in her middle school gym uniform, suddenly chimed in.

I nodded dumbly.

My sibling and I were standing like stone statues, watching the kitchen sink.

On TV, the cast of a variety show was exchanging silly jokes and giggling.

“The washed lettuce goes here, and you pluck off the stem like this.”

“Yes, Hyung-nim [term of respect for an older brother or male figure].”

“You’re doing great. Some people say it’s okay to eat without removing them, but the elders in my family taught me this way. Next is the perilla leaves.”

“Wow….”

To see Kyung Yohan Haynes wearing Jeong Hyeon-seo’s second favorite frilly pink apron, learning Korean cooking from Jeong Hyeon-seo and preparing to grill sliced pork belly….

It pays to live life to the fullest. This is even more unreal than the pretty boy actors on TV.

I changed into some casual clothes, but I was so shocked by what I saw in the entryway that I couldn’t remember how I took off my shoes, washed my hands, and entered my room.

Eun-seo, who had already set up the veranda table, handed me a convenience store sandwich.

We devoured the idol sandwich [a popular sandwich often eaten by K-pop idols] as an appetizer, admiring the two men’s backs.

“How can such a handsome man exist…? His eye color is so pretty, too. I came straight home after class today, even though it’s Friday, just to see Uncle Yohan.”

“I understand.”

Specifically, only Kyung Yohan. Hyeon was just my brother, so I wasn’t impressed.

Jeong Eun-seo leaned in and whispered.

“But he has so many scars on his hands. Did you see them, Oppa [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend]?”

I flinched!

“Oh, yeah, really? I didn’t notice.”

“What? You knew and you lied?”

“……”

My acting was so awkward that I was immediately caught.

I tried to laugh it off, stuffing the remaining half of the sandwich into my mouth.

If I didn’t shut my mouth like this, I didn’t know what secrets I might reveal with my terrible acting.

Um, it tastes a hundred times better since it’s been a while.

“I asked Big Bro, and he said he quit his company and works as a stuntman. That’s why he has so many scars.”

“……Oh, yeah.”

Gulp.

He quit being a mercenary and is now active as the Emperor’s sword, but I guess you could put it that way.

As expected of a writer…. I inwardly clicked my tongue, imagining Jeong Hyeon-seo rattling off lies without batting an eye.

The sandwich disappeared in an instant.

Eun-seo and I finished our appetizer with a triangular coffee milk, each with a straw in our mouths.

It feels different and delicious when you eat standing up.

-Slurp, slurp….

“He’s incredibly handsome, but somehow he looks familiar?”

Slurp! Cough.

“Huh, where did I see him…? I can’t forget a handsome man….”

“……Ahem, you’ve been busy since the semester started.”

“What are you talking about? No matter how busy I am, I can’t forget seeing a handsome person. I savor it whenever I have time. Handsome men are precious.”

“…….”

Right, you still remember the most handsome boy in your class from elementary school.

I nodded vaguely, watching Kyung Yohan, wearing plastic gloves, mixing green onion salad.

“Wait a minute.”

Wait, are you even teaching him the secret to green onion salad…? Really?

Kyung Yohan is good with his hands, but I didn’t know Jeong Hyeon-seo was so serious about training his juniors.

But the most surprising part is that the person himself is enjoying it very much.

“You know that YouTube link you posted in our group chat? The one about someone being on top of the World Tower or something.”

“Ah, that game ad!”

Jeong Hyeon-seo, who had filled the salad bowl with green onion salad, approached with the bowl in both hands, speaking nonchalantly.

Kiss! I quickly sucked up the last sip and pretended to help my brother.

I went out to the veranda to readjust the position of the grill pan and opened the refrigerator for no reason.

Fortunately, Jeong Eun-seo seemed to have resolved her sense of déjà vu in the meantime.

“Right, the paladin in that video had white hair too! That’s why I kept thinking about it. Sorry.”

“Paladin?”

Jeong Hyeon-seo asked back as if nothing was wrong.

Kyung Yohan was just blinking his eyelashes, pretending not to know anything.

I didn’t have the confidence to act so nonchalantly, so I just opened and closed the kitchen cabinet.

“Oh, that’s like, a job in the mobile game that’s coming out soon? They said they released a promotional article somewhere right after that video was uploaded to YouTube.”

Jeong Eun-seo chattered. My brother reacted calmly, as if he expected it.

“Yeah, it looked like Pangyo marketing [referring to the tech hub in South Korea, implying sophisticated marketing].”

“They even did guerrilla stunts near Jamsil Station? But I didn’t see the video of that. It’s close to my house, which is a shame.”

“…….”

“They said cars were flying around, and a knight in armor fell from the sky. People at the scene posted a lot of stories on Twitter.”

“…….”

We were silent for a while.

Even Jeong Hyeon-seo, the driver that day, couldn’t easily make up a story.

Of course, the youngest didn’t care about our silence at all.

Her topic quickly changed to a story about an academy friend she happened to meet at Jamsil Station.

“……She’s always been bold and decisive. She’s cool. As soon as she graduated from high school, she told her parents she wanted to go into the technical field, and she’s learning from her aunt these days. Her aunt does wallpapering. Isn’t that awesome?”

“It must have been difficult to make such a decision at a young age. That’s admirable.”

Kyung Yohan responded kindly.

I grabbed Jeong Hyeon-seo’s arm as he came into the kitchen and whispered urgently.

“……You haven’t heard from the police this week, have you?”

“By the grace of the Lord, no.”

“Haa…….”

My frantically pounding heart gradually calmed down.

Only then could I relax, grab a drink, and go out to the veranda.

*

The four of us grilled and ate a lot of sliced pork belly and even finished cleaning up together.

It was already bedtime.

“…….”

“…….”

Kyung Yohan was ‘supposedly’ Jeong Hyeon-seo’s friend, so it would be right for him to share a room with him, but my brother often types on the computer keyboard even at dawn, so it was difficult for him to share a space with someone.

It was also difficult to lay out a mattress on the floor because the L-shaped desk was quite large.

I secretly insisted that I would have my friend Kyung Yohan sleep in my room….

So far, we have been using the same room without any problems.

“……Um, Kyung Yohan….”

“Yes.”

I hesitated, looking at him with his hair fixed with a hairpin that was lying around the house.

Should I even say this? I didn’t mean to act like I knew.

“You can write in your diary when the light is on. If you’re worried about waking me up….”

“Oh, you caught me.”

The man sitting with his legs stretched out under the bed smiled, lowering his eyebrows.

As expected, what I saw in my sleep last night wasn’t a dream. I quickly pointed to the bedside table.

“This is called a mood light, and if you tap this button once, it emits a soft light like this. The way to turn it off is the same. You can use it whenever you want. I forgot to tell you on the first day….”

“It wasn’t a diary.”

He replied softly.

The man took out a palm-sized spiral notebook and a pen that he had been hiding under the blanket.

It seemed like my brother had given it to him to use.

“I was writing a letter. I meant to write a line whenever I thought of something, but I ended up worrying you, Your Highness.”

“…….”

“I didn’t want to see that expression, so I kept it a secret.”

The man smiled faintly. But I couldn’t smile at all.

Whenever and wherever he went, Kyung Yohan always wrote letters to Herrit when he had time.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine his feelings and clutched the blanket. Somehow….

“……Somehow…. If it’s difficult for me to go back, I’ll make sure to send even Kyung Yohan back. I promise.”

“I’m not worried, Your Highness.”

“Kyung Yohan.”

“Of course, I always feel guilty towards Herrit. Even at this moment, while I’m talking to Your Highness, I feel like I’m going crazy wanting to run and hug that child.”

“…….”

“But….”

He seemed to be choosing his words carefully for a moment. His jaw naturally tightened.

He’s worried about putting pressure on me.

Even now, he’s being considerate so that I don’t feel pressured or guilty.

“……Have you ever had faith, Your Highness?”

“Pardon?”

The question that came back was very unexpected. I blinked and gave an answer.

“……No, my sibling and I are non-religious. My grandparents go to church or temples, though.”

“People with deep faith often gain hope from faith itself.”

The man looked up at me with the expression of a devout believer.

So, Kyung Yohan is like my Seoul grandfather or Masan grandmother, with strong faith…?. [Seoul and Masan are mentioned to give a cultural context to the grand parents]

“……Um.”

But Kyung Yohan now knows the identity of the Lord, right?

And he hasn’t seemed very devout so far.

“Hahaha.”

I don’t know how strangely my expression changed, but anyway, it seemed to have succeeded in making the Cardinal laugh.

Before going to bed, I asked him one last question.

“……Um. Tomorrow, the hospital. Would you like to go with me to see Mom? My brother and I are going to ask about her well-being….”

“…….”

“……And try to get some clues about this incident. Without Eun-seo knowing.”

The last whisper was quite solemn. The Cardinal chuckled, finding that funny as well.

*

The majestic military procession of the Imperial Army, which had left the Venetian royal capital, was now entering its first obstacle.

It was the Memphis Mountains.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter….

“……In other words, His Majesty is trying to further solidify the position of his son, the Crown Prince, as the next monarch by sending His Highness the Crown Prince back first. It is only natural that the leader who reaches the royal capital first will receive greater cheers.”

“That sounds plausible.”

François D’Huem explained in a soft voice, and Gain nodded, looking back.

The army, so dense that the earth looked black, accounted for as much as 30% of the Imperial Army.

Of course, many of them were wounded soldiers in need of repatriation, the remains of fallen soldiers, and magicians who had entered a mana resting period, but anyway, many were many.

Many famous generals—such as Marchioness Karoline Mutte, Duke Cecil Blanquer, Prince Lorenzo Corleone and his son, and Admiral Emma Corleone—were still guarding the royal capital with Emperor Frederick.

Most of them would not return home until the trial was over and the framework for the armistice negotiations was in place.

-Click, click, click….

“In the meantime, His Late Royal Consort has been taking care of state affairs on behalf of His Majesty, but after returning to the palace, the Crown Prince will personally serve as regent. That will also help strengthen His Highness’s future power. It goes without saying that it will also promote the stability of the Empire.”

“……There are so many calculations. But His Majesty is always like that.”

‘The method of solving several things with one move is at the pinnacle of royal studies. The season of rewarding merits will come soon.’ The Marquis whispered.

Gain nodded her head again.

A pure white mare came into view in the lifeless, black and white vision.

“……Arimhardt, you’re going to meet your master now.”

-…….

“Prince Yesser…. We’re…. Friends.”

Friends. That’s right. I finally remembered. They were the best of friends.

Gain struggled to hold onto the awkwardly floating words in her head.

“……Let’s go home.”

-…….

I spoke in a warm voice, but the white horse did not show any special reaction.

Gain swallowed a sigh and looked up at the sky.

Still, there was no moon.