Side Story 4 – The Same, Yet Not

Thanks to the piece, I unintentionally got the scoop on the heroines’ activities.

To be honest, my conscience did prick a bit.

I wasn’t even part of the conversation.

In essence, this was no different from eavesdropping.

[So, are you going to listen?]

‘I will.’

Still, I decided to lean toward listening for now.

I wasn’t looking to grab at their weaknesses or anything.

I was simply curious about what situation they found themselves in.

I even thought about jumping in if a dangerous situation occurred.

Meanwhile, the surrounding noise was still very loud, but…

The heroines and the piece weren’t that far away, it seemed.

Amid the noise, I could hear their voices quite clearly.

The first voice to catch my attention was Caressy’s.

“You’re really beautiful, our Caressy.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

And then the voice of the Pope, her conversation partner.

Even though the Beastman Kingdom was still busy rebuilding…

He willingly chose to attend this wedding.

To celebrate Caressy’s one and only marriage in life.

Well, the Pope was practically like a parent to Caressy.

So it would be rather odd if he didn’t show up.

At that moment, Caressy’s sincere voice of thanks reached me.

“Thank you for raising me all this time.”

“I was just doing my duty.”

“Seems like there are too many bastards out there who can’t do that.”

It was truly heartwarming, their touching exchange.

No drop of blood shared.

Not a single resemblance, but…

Still, they were family.

Common as dirt.

Just another ordinary, warm family.

“When do you think you’ll have grandchildren?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to squeeze them out soon.”

If it wasn’t for that last comment, it might have been even warmer.

“Remember the family motto. Once you start, you don’t stop until blood flows.”

“And I saw that yesterday too.”

“Good job.”

Now I understood why my lower body was hurting so much.

‘What do you mean, “good job,” you son of a bitch?’

[Pope’s a cat, by the way.]

‘Shut your mouth.’

At that moment, another family’s conversation rang in my ears.

Compared to Caressy’s case…

They were the same yet different.

Same composition. Just the difference of blood ties.

“You two look great together.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

The subject of this exchange was none other than Hyeji and her father.

“Hyeji.”

“Yeah, Dad?”

“If you happen to shed any tears, tell your dad immediately.”

A slightly worried voice that underlined pure joy.

Perhaps he was happy to witness his daughter’s wedding.

But at the same time, there seemed to be concern about letting his daughter go.

Especially since Hyeji was probably the last blood relative he had.

So his voice was complex, yet it didn’t feel strange.

For any father with a daughter…

It felt like a voice anyone could emit.

“Actually, I cried yesterday too.”

“What? This dad won’t let that bastard go—”

As soon as Hyeji’s words reached him, a snappy tone began to sneak into that complex voice.

“Shinwoo was… in bed.”

“-Is that so…? That’s just sad…”

“I don’t want to.”

The change from anger to sympathy was instantaneous.

Even the direction of his words flipped.

Because of that, my own heart began to feel a bit down.

[Having a period and crying both up and down… Isn’t this ‘the brother is finished’?]

‘My life is over, you fucking girl.’

Then suddenly, Elcia’s cheerful voice started to tickle my ears.

“Oh, what brings you here!”

“Can’t you see? I came to congratulate you.”

Then Spencer’s grating voice followed suit.

“You’ve greeted the others, right?”

“I did it in a rough way. I mean, there will be a lot of people coming besides me.”

A pretty blunt tone for speaking to the bride.

It could be considered a bit rude, but it was her own clumsy consideration.

In Elcia’s case, unlike the other heroines, she had very few connections.

In other words, it meant not many people would come to personally congratulate her.

So Spencer willingly showed up, probably to prevent Elcia from feeling isolated.

Elcia, not noticing Spencer’s kindness at all…

Soon responded to her with a bright voice.

“Anyway, I’m glad you came! Here, have a bread!”

However, that content wasn’t ordinary at all.

Too outrageous that I wondered if I heard it wrong.

That Elcia would willingly share food with others?

Honestly, do you think that makes any sense?

Is it true that people change after getting married?

Or is it because she wants to repay Spencer somehow?

Has Elcia finally started to show a more human side?

Whichever the case, that was the most goodwill Elcia could muster.

“Are you really giving this to me?”

“Of course!”

“Thanks, could you give me just one?”

And Spencer readily accepted that goodwill.

“But you seem to have a lot, how should I give it to you?”

“See my index and middle fingers? Put it on there.”

Just hearing their conversation warmed my heart.

Thanks to that, I learned two lessons right here.

First, goodwill delivered to others always comes back.

And the other one was…

“Here you go! I’ve put it on your finger!”

“……I meant in between the fingers…”

Avoiding ambiguous language is a must.

“Huh? I thought that was what you meant!”

“Why?”

If that confusion isn’t dealt with, it can lead to irreparable misunderstandings.

From the giver’s perspective, it might be a gesture based on goodwill…

But for the recipient, it could be taken in a different way altogether.

And that can lead to some pretty big wounds.

“Weren’t you asking to drill holes like Ace?”

“Hey, you fucking girl!!!!!!”

The purer the intent behind an action, the more innocent it is.

Anyway, the heroines mostly seemed to be talking with family.

Or chatting with familiar faces, it seemed.

But then, I heard the unfamiliar, slightly cheeky voices of two men I’d never heard before.

“Wow, Jeong Ahyeon is really going to have a wedding? Is this for real?”

“Fucking amazing. But you still can’t get married? You’re in worse shape than she is.”

Strange.

Ahyeon usually didn’t know any men.

Who the hell would talk so openly like that?

And at the same time, I felt angry.

Calling someone a useless piece of trash right in front of them is just fucking rude.

Especially when the target is the bride and the main character of today’s wedding?

I was curious what kind of crazy bastards would dare do that.

[Those are Ahyeon’s brothers.]

‘So, they’re her brothers…’

Thank goodness for that.

They were none other than Ahyeon’s real brothers.

Their names were probably Jeong-Eak and Jeong-Ja.

Siblings tend to have a genetic instinct to kill each other.

So I could somewhat understand their harsh expressions.

Still, hearing it firsthand didn’t feel good at all.

[But you’ve got nothing to say as someone who’s eavesdropping.]

‘True, it feels like I’m spying on a family gathering.’

By the way, did Ahyeon’s brothers get really upset by each other’s comments?

The sharp arrows of words aimed at Ahyeon…

Soon turned to each other.

Without any intention to hide, quite bluntly.

“Has that bastard been talking too harshly since earlier?”

“What are you going to do about it, idiot? Want me to beat you like old times?”

“This is fun. You’ve still got to take another beating from me to realize it.”

From what I gathered, the rift between the brothers seemed pretty deep.

Especially with how casually aggressive they were.

Given their similar ages, it must’ve led to lots of conflicts since childhood.

Siblings fight just as often as brothers and sisters, I understand that well.

Meanwhile, however I felt about it, their conflict started to escalate.

“Admit it if you don’t want to get beaten to death. That’s your sister.”

“That ugly thing is my sister? That’s your sister, fucking bastard.”

“I’ll return that stupid remark right back at you, you son of a bitch. Ugly it may be, but.”

Just listening, I could feel the tension in the atmosphere was thickening.

I began to worry that they might actually fight at the wedding.

“Stop denying it there! You fucking trash brothers!”

Of course, Ahyeon’s shout shattered the tense atmosphere in an instant.

Then came the ominous sounds of two creaky something.

Suddenly, the noise disappeared.

‘……What happened?’

[It’s been completely evacuated.]

‘Thank goodness they left, though.’

The sound of their conversation…

[Neck.]

‘Ah.’

And even their breathing slowed for a bit.

Anyway, even with a lot of people in the bride’s waiting room…

It seemed there wasn’t any major problem, which was a relief.

Just then, research students started flocking over to me.

[Do you really not want to hear more?]

‘Yeah, I’m good.’

I also welcomed them warmly, determined not to feel embarrassed.

How long had I been greeting the endless flow of guests like this?

As I maintained a smiling face, at some point, my face began to twitch fiercely.

Finally, a long-awaited voice piqued my hearing.

“Groom! It’s almost time to prepare for the wedding entrance!”

“Got it, I’ll be ready.”

Finally, it was time for my wedding to begin.

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