Childhood Friend of the Zenith

"A weakness? For Father?"

That man’s made of steel. Could he even have a weakness? I’ve never heard of anything like that in my life.

"Is this supposed to be a joke?"

There’s a high chance Gu Seon’s just spewing nonsense again. Honestly, the more I look at her, the more I’m convinced—she’s not a normal person.

And besides—

“…Even if I knew, what the hell would I do with it?”

Even if I heard about Father’s weakness from her… what’s the point? I don’t get why Gu Seon would offer something like that as part of a deal.

When I asked because I didn’t understand, she answered like it was nothing.

“Just saying—my brother’s got his eyes on you, and it looks like our little brother’s got his eyes on him too. Am I wrong?”
“…You’re wrong.”
“Wow. That’s a lie, huh? Guess our little brother’s not very good at lying. Can’t even hide it on your face.”
“…”
“Why are you two so hung up on each other anyway? Oh—what, you trying to become clan head or something?”
“Don’t say stupid shit. I wouldn’t take that even if you handed it to me.”
“Ooh, love that decisiveness. I was gonna stop you if you said yes. I’ve got zero interest in watching that kind of disaster unfold. But then—if you’re not after that, why are you two still hung up on each other?”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“Fair enough. I don’t really care either. What matters is—you do care about my brother. Right?”
“…”

Shit. I let her words drag me in and slipped up. She already got her answer from my reaction.

“So, what do you say? Don’t you wanna know what Father’s weakness is? If you’re not curious, just say so. I won’t bring it up again.”
“…”

She figured out exactly what I needed. So now she was leaving the choice to me.

‘Clever bitch.’

She really is a Gu through and through. Sly as hell.

‘Father’s weakness, huh…’

I gave it some serious thought.

Is this even worth thinking about? That’s where it starts. But luckily, I didn’t need to think for long.

Because I already knew my answer.

“…What do I have to do?”

Might as well hear her out first.

At that, Gu Seon smiled sweetly.

“Nothing big.”

Then she grabbed my wrist and started pulling me away.

**********

We ended up in Hyeon, in Shanxi.

It’s a place I used to come to as a kid. One of the few places I was even allowed to go.

Still crowded. Still smells the same. Still got that same old energy.

Even though this was over a decade ago—before I regressed—it didn’t feel all that different from what I remembered.

That’s where Gu Seon and I were walking now.