Absolute Regression Chapter 140

In the 140th time, in the days of foolish beasts.

The horse’s face turned red.

I couldn’t tell if it was because of the alcohol, the sunset, or the shame that had been buried for so many years.

“I guess I need to drink more.”

I was about to stand up, but then I sat down again.

I know the reason why the relationship between Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon became bad. The two of them once liked each other as a man and woman, but they broke up on bad terms. But I didn’t know that Chuma was involved in that breakup.

“I used to drink with Geomjon and chat sometimes. One day Geomjon asked me if I knew who Doma was. I asked why. He said Doma had drawn a picture for me. I asked to see what kind of picture it was. The picture was a portrait of Geomjon. The moment I saw the picture, which was more beautiful than the real thing, I knew. Ah, Doma likes Geomjon. I had a feeling.”

They are in their youth. A bloodthirsty man drawing pictures for women! It’s really unimaginable.

“As expected, from then on, Doma started to show interest in Geomjon more and more. He asked me to drink tea with him, and took me for a walk. Geomjon told me everything about his encounter with Doma. Do you know how I felt at that time?”

“Was it bad?”

“a lot.”

“Did you also like Geomjon, Your Majesty?”

“It wasn’t like that from the beginning. Doma liked Geomjon, so he suddenly became anxious. Until then, I thought Geomjon liked the leader. So I thought no one would accept him, but that wasn’t the case. The leader was purely respectful.”

I poured some wine into the drunkard’s glass. He stared blankly into the glass and recalled past events.

“One day, while I was drinking, I secretly revealed to Geomjon that I liked him. But… … .”

Chwima couldn’t continue speaking. I sighed and spoke instead.

“I got rejected.”

Chwima nodded slowly.

“He said he was attracted to Thomas.”

Suddenly, the horse shouted.

“Does that make sense? Does that make sense? That skinny, ugly, ugly Doma, who was even older than us! I couldn’t even breathe because I was so angry. I was angry at myself for not confessing more carefully, and I was even angrier at being caught flustered when I was rejected.”

Chuma told everything honestly about that time without hiding anything.

“These thoughts have been tormenting me. In fact, I didn’t like Geomjon that much, but since Doma liked him, I guess I confessed because I didn’t want to give him to someone else. What an idiot who makes excuses like this because he was rejected! I couldn’t sleep for days.”

It was a pure sight that was hard to imagine when I think of this sinister drunkenness now.

“Wasn’t that the age of foolish beasts led by instinct?”

“It’s not you, is it?”

I did the same.

“Damn! Just thinking about that makes me feel so embarrassed and annoyed I could die!”

Chwima jumped up and paced back and forth in the pavilion. Then he leaned against the railing and looked out at the lake, which had now become dark.

“From that day on, my heart became twisted. I didn’t express it outwardly, but I wanted to somehow separate the two of them. However, as time passed, Geomjon’s affection for Doma only grew stronger. Then one day.”

Chwima lit the lantern attached to the pavilion pillar. He got angry, spoke, paced, and lit the lantern. Chwima’s complicated feelings were conveyed through his actions. When the lantern was turned on, the surroundings became bright.

“I was walking down the corridor when I heard Doma’s voice. He was drinking with the Namdo Order’s men. He was talking about Geomjon, and the Namdo Order’s men were asking about Geomjon. How much do you like him? Did you kiss him? Did you sleep with him? These are the kinds of things that friends usually say when they get together. I was furious. Those bastards!”

The drunkard drank his alcohol. I drank with him. Maybe it was because of the atmosphere, but I didn’t get drunk even though I drank. I felt like I was standing in the hallway of that pub with the young drunkard.

“I should have turned into the door!”

“Did you do that?”

“The moment I broke that door, I felt like my life was over.”

We know now. Even if we did, nothing bad would happen. When we look back, we will only remember it as a day of fighting and making a fuss.

“The next day, when I met Geomjon, I told him what happened yesterday. In fact, I met Doma yesterday at Giru. That alone must have upset her, but she also said something that didn’t happen. It wasn’t Doma who said it, but the people who were there were talking about it, as if it were Doma who said it. Doma was talking about kissing you. I still vividly remember my heart beating like crazy as he said that. Am I doing such a heinous thing? Am I just this kind of person? My heart was racing and my head was reproaching myself, but my mouth was saying, ‘Men usually show off in front of gisaengs.’ I don’t even know if there were gisaengs in that room that day.”

Crunch.

The railing of the pavilion was torn off by the drunken man’s hand. Anger and regret were visible in his drunken eyes. Now I could clearly see where those empty eyes had come from.

“Some time later, the Sword Master said that he and Doma had a big fight and broke up. From that day on, the two fought every time they met.”

“Did you continue to cause discord after that?”

The horse shook its head.

“There was no need for that. Once a relationship is twisted, it gets out of control. Rather, these days, they are freely causing discord. They even drink alcohol for the fun of cursing Doma together with Geomjon.”

“Have you ever thought about apologizing to those two?”

“I tried.”

“But why didn’t you do it?”

“If it had been for a great reason, I might have apologized to the Sword Master. But I couldn’t bring myself to say that I did it out of jealousy. Or maybe I still hope that things don’t work out for the two of you.”

Chwima looked at me and added.

“I am such a narrow-minded and fatal person.”

“I know.”

“what?”

“Then why would you have thought that Mr. Chuma was an upright and honest person? He was mean and wicked… … .”

“stop!”

It seems like he is seething inside when he hears others gossiping about him again.

“What did I do wrong? If we’re going to break up because of a few words, we were going to break up anyway, right? It’s true, right? It’s true that I went to Giru, and it’s true that I brought up the topic of Geomjon in the first place, right? Who wants to go? Want to meet me there? Damn it!”

I felt that it wasn’t just Doma and Geomjon who had been fighting for so long. Maybe Chwima had been fighting the most fiercely.

“That’s right. If they really loved each other, they wouldn’t have been shaken to that extent. If they had just left it alone, they would have broken up for other reasons.”

“Right? Right?”

When I took his side, Chwima came next to me and laughed heartily. Then suddenly he let out a sigh.

“When I told you we broke up, I wasn’t happy at all.”

Now is the time to ask why.

“Why did you tell me this?”

“Haven’t you been asking me? Why did I approach you? The other day, at a drinking party, Geomjon said that you wanted to use Doma and yourself as your left and right wings.”

“Have you come to clip my wings? Have you come to reattach them so we can fly together?”

Chwima shook his head.

“I don’t know. I just saw Doma and Geomjon hanging out together around you, and I thought I should jump in too. I didn’t know I’d end up saying this.”

“Do you feel relieved now that I’ve told you everything?”

“I’m already regretting it. Why did I reveal such a pathetic act with my own mouth? You must be possessed by a ghost. You’re falling for something like half-pure.”

He lay down on the floor and stared blankly at the ceiling of the pavilion.

“You’ll always think of this when you see me.”

“You’ll remember. Oh my, my useless brother.”

At my words, Chuma laughed. The small laugh grew bigger and bigger. After laughing heartily, he asked.

“Are you going to tell them the truth?”

I shook my head.

“It’s not my place to decide.”

“I plan on never revealing anything to them?”

“Please do so.”

“I really will do that.”

“do it.”

The horse suddenly sat up and looked at me.

“Don’t you want the two of you to reconcile?”

“Will those two be happier now that they know the truth?”

“!”

“Putting aside their hatred for the Master, the two of them will regret that their love did not come true for that reason. The regret will be even greater because it cannot be reversed. But will the two of them start a new love now? Will that be possible? In the end, all three of them will be more unhappy than they are now.”

I think this is a truth that should be buried forever. Blood Heavenly Demon might get angry and try to kill Chwima. Even if he kills Chwima, Blood Heavenly Demon will also have to pay the price. In the meantime, what will Geomjeon think? After all, Chwima also liked him, so that’s what happened.

“You only have one chance to tell the truth, and I think I’ve wasted that chance now.”

It would make a big difference whether you told me or not. This past that haunts me like a ghost is not something I can deal with alone.

“If you let go of the obsession with revealing the truth, you might be able to reconcile the two of you better. Try to become close to Hyeolcheon Doma from now on, and when you drink with him, compliment him instead of gossiping. If you do that, won’t an opportunity arise unexpectedly that will bring the two of you together? Give me wings, even now.”

“You should be the older brother.”

“No. My ugly brother, if you’re going to tease me, it’s more fun if you’re the older one.”

Chwima’s expression became much more relaxed. He seemed relieved after saying everything.

“Make sure to keep one promise.”

“Something?”

“Cut down on drinking and eat some snacks. Since it has come to this, I have to make sure that my useless brother lives long.”

I don’t know if today will be the turning point and change the fate of the drunkard. If I do this, will I end up dying from alcoholism, or will I live a different life?

Maybe I’ll die sooner as my fate changes. But that’s okay. Any death is better than the drunken end of a drunkard.

“Hey, let’s have a drink. I can’t drink any more. And… …Thank you for being honest with me.”

The look on his face as he looked at me was something I had never seen before. Will we be able to maintain this look on each other until the end?

“Oh my… … Thank you.”

The drunkard toasted my glass.

* * *

The next day my father called me.

When I entered Cheonmajeon, I felt that the atmosphere was different than usual.

Grand General Sima Ming was there, and his older brother Geommuyang was also there.

After I greeted my father and Sima Ming, Geommuyang spoke to me.

“It reeks of alcohol. How can you smell alcohol when you’re meeting your father?”

“I drank too much yesterday. With the person who likes to drink the most in our school.”

He mentioned drunkenness on purpose. Geommuyang tried to act calmly.

“Yeah, I heard you’ve been hanging out with drunkards a lot lately. Don’t drink too much.”

Geommuyang will be in a bad mood. He will want Chwima to come and cause trouble for him, but it will look like the two of them are having fun together.

However, Geommuyang was trying hard not to show his emotions. It was clear that Hyung was a different person in front of his father.

“Shouldn’t you be more careful, hyung?”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard you’ve been hanging out with the poison king lately? I’m drinking, but you’re poison. Be careful, hyung.”

It was in front of my father, but a tense war of nerves was unfolding. I didn’t hide it on purpose. From my father, or from my brother.

As you can see from the case of the drunkard, hiding and hiding emotions will eventually cause problems. Fighting openly like this and engaging in a war of nerves. If you want to fight to save your brother, this is the right thing to do. If you get angry on the outside, you will curse, but if you get angry on the inside, you will send an assassin.

My father watched our conversation with an unreadable look in his eyes, then nodded to Sima Ming and gave him a signal.

Then Sima Ming stepped forward and said.

“Today, the two gentlemen will each be given different tasks.”

Sima Ming held two red envelopes in his hands.

The time has finally come. The real test to determine the successor has begun.

“To be fair, please choose whichever you like best.”

The moment I saw the envelope, my heart was stirred.

Before returning, today came to mind. The two tasks given to us.

My brother succeeded, and I failed.

I completely lost my place as successor by failing in this mission.

As in the past, my brother gave me the chance to choose first this time too.

“Choose first. Don’t regret choosing wrongly later.”

“That probably won’t happen.”

I slowly reached out and picked one of the two envelopes.