Restless Awakening and Gentle Anticipation

The brief outing I had enjoyed with Jin-cheong and Yeo-ui after such a long time had been quite pleasant. However, it was an undeniable fact that my body was utterly exhausted.

As I leaned against the edge of the bathtub and let out a heavy sigh, Yeo-ui, who was gently combing through my damp hair, burst into a soft laugh.

“You were incredibly tired today, weren’t you, Young Master?”

“I’d love to tell you I wasn’t, but yes, I am.”

“See, I told you so. I knew the fatigue from your long journey hadn’t fully cleared yet.”

“I just didn’t expect it to be this draining.”

When Yeo-ui had initially brought up the travel fatigue, I had scoffed inwardly, but I certainly wasn’t laughing now.

Aside from a brief stroll around the tavern and purchasing Jin-cheong’s sword after our meal, I had spent the entire duration of the trip merely sitting inside the carriage. It made me realize with bone-deep clarity that my stamina was pitiful enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Cupping my hands together, I scooped up a few stray flower petals floating on the surface of the bathwater. As the trapped water slipped through my fingers, the petals plastered themselves against my palms. Peeling them off one by one, I quietly muttered to myself.

“I could at least understand it if the roads had been bumpy and uneven.”

If that had been the case, my physical exhaustion would have made perfect sense. But the streets of Hefei were meticulously paved and exceptionally well-maintained.

“Should I ensure that your dinners are focused entirely on nourishing, stamina-building foods starting tonight?”

“Yes, please.”

I desperately needed to build up my health and start walking around the banking estate more often to increase my physical stamina.

Lamenting over my thoroughly pathetic constitution, I submerged myself in the water all the way up to my nose, prompting Yeo-ui to let out another bright giggle.

“Why are you being exceptionally cute today, Young Master?”

Cute?

I purposely narrowed my eyes at him in a sharp, sulky glare before lifting my face entirely out of the water. Then, I asked in a thoroughly gruff tone.

“What, do you dislike it?”

“How could I possibly dislike it? I say it precisely because I adore it.”

Giving him a playful, sideways glance, a soft smirk finally broke across my face. I quietly allowed him to finish combing my hair before pushing myself fully out of the tub.

“Let’s go get some rest.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Immediately bringing over a massive silk sheet, Yeo-ui began meticulously drying my body. Watching his dedicated movements, a strange emotion suddenly welled up inside my chest.

“…….”

There were brief moments like this where the reality of having successfully lived as Geum Seo-yul for several years truly hit me. Yes, exactly during situations like this. Seeing how naturally I now accepted another person’s intimate touch—something my past self would have absolutely struggled to tolerate—made everything feel profoundly new.

Silently yielding to Yeo-ui’s attentive care, I soon found myself dressed in lightweight, comfortable nightclothes.

“Your hair really needs to dry quickly before you sleep.”

“Just wring out the excess water roughly. It’ll dry on its own while I sleep anyway.”

“Do you have any idea how critical proper hair care is?!”

“Skipping a single night is perfectly fine.”

Although it was technically possible to dry hair in this era, it was a painfully slow process compared to using a modern hair dryer. Furthermore, because he insisted on applying various fragrant oils midway through, the routine naturally demanded an immense amount of time.

“Young Masteeeer.”

Leaving Yeo-ui’s whining completely behind my back, I marched straight into my bedroom and threw myself onto the bed.

“Ah, this is absolute paradise.”

“If you remain lying down, I’ll try my best to dry the remaining moisture with a towel at least.”

“Alright.”

“I really should loosen up your stiff muscles with a massage as well…”

“No, that’s quite alright. I thoroughly soaked in the warm water earlier, so my muscles are perfectly relaxed.”

If I foolishly agreed to a massage right now, it would be incredibly problematic if Geum Seo-yul’s sensitive body actively staged another physical reaction on the bed. As I shook my head in a firm refusal, Yeo-ui let out a soft sigh and began carefully patting the moisture from my strands.

Given that he had also participated in the long outing today, he must have been utterly exhausted himself, yet his dedication was truly profound. Submitting entirely to his gentle rhythmic movements, a heavy, sweet slumber gradually began to wrap around my senses.

My eyelids were growing incredibly heavy, and I was completely losing myself to his touch upon my scalp when a soft, quiet sigh drifted down from above my head.

A split-second later, the heavy, comforting weight of a thick blanket cascaded over my prone frame.

“Then please rest deeply, Young Master. If you happen to require absolutely anything at all, please summon me immediately.”

“…Mmh.”

I possessed absolutely no idea why he repeated that phrase every single night when there was zero chance of me summoning him in the dead of night.

Giving a casual wave of my hand to dismiss him, I watched a continuously sighing Yeo-ui blow out the candles before quietly slipping past the threshold.

Creak. Hearing the heavy door click securely shut, the image of the stranger wearing the black bamboo hat whom we had chanced upon at the tavern naturally floated to the forefront of my mind.

“Just who on earth was that?”

Perhaps he was merely the son of an immensely wealthy clan traveling the provinces for a light excursion. Or maybe he was a genuine wanderer who possessed a reasonable amount of skill with a blade.

However…

Based on my firsthand experiences living within this world, every single individual who happened to possess an exceptionally handsome countenance invariably turned out to be a named character from the original novel. This meant there was a distinct probability that the man who had introduced himself as ‘Jo Mo’ was also an established figure in the plot.

“…No, there’s no way.”

Because Hefei served as a critical geographic and commercial hub, it was entirely normal for countless martial artists of the Jianghu to constantly drift through its borders.

Among that endless sea of travelers, it was only logical that a few reasonably handsome individuals would exist. Yes, if there was one thing I could count on, it was the absolute fact that this novel was a BL story—meaning it was a baseline rule for any character possessing an ounce of relevance or power to be visually striking.

“Huu.”

Perhaps because of the sheer volume of chaotic events I had been forced to process the exact day I returned to Hefei, that man named Jo Mo was lingering in my thoughts to a thoroughly bizarre degree. Furthermore, the moment my mind drifted toward Yeon Ji-oh—the absolute architect behind this entire structural mess—my brows naturally knit together in irritation.

I possessed absolutely no idea why the plot elements from the original novel, which should have occurred much later in the timeline, were suddenly accelerating to aggressively disrupt my mental peace.

Letting out a series of heavy sighs as I restlessly tossed and turned across the mattress a few times, the slumber that had briefly evaporated gradually reclaimed my senses. Abandoning my resistance to the encroaching wave of exhaustion, I finally sank into a deep, uninterrupted sleep.

Perhaps due to the physical exertion from yesterday’s outing, it was entirely understandable that the sun had climbed past its zenith by the time I finally cracked my eyes open.

“Ugh…”

However, the sheer intensity of the muscle aches locking up my frame was entirely unacceptable.

“This body truly is catastrophically fragile.”

If I had known I would wake up feeling this battered, I should have simply endured the massage last night before going to sleep.

I lay frozen on the mattress for a long moment, slowly gathering my scattered wits. Calculating that remaining completely stagnant would merely cause my muscles to seize up even further, I decisively pushed myself into a sitting position.

“Ouch.”

Despite executing the movement with absolute, agonizing slowness, the sharp pangs radiating from every single joint were incredibly intense. The deep aches embedding themselves within my lower back and hips were practically beyond description.

“This is infinitely worse than how I felt during our actual travel excursion.”

Throughout our two months on the road, we had continuously utilized a carriage, and I had certainly experienced a matching baseline of soreness back then. However, the terrain back then had been treacherous and uneven, whereas Hefei’s roads were flawlessly maintained—making it thoroughly preposterous that I was in significantly more pain today.

Enduring the continuous throbs locking up my frame, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, slipped into a loose outer robe hanging from the wooden rack, and stepped out of my chambers.

“Young Master, you have awakened.”

The exact split-second I pushed the doors open, the sharp gazes of the servants who were busily cleaning the reception hall instantly locked onto my form. Watching them bow their waists in unison to offer a formal greeting, I scanned the line before directing my question to the attendant standing closest to my flank.

“Where is Yeo-ui?”

“He has briefly vacated the courtyard to attend to a matter, Young Master.”

“Is that so?”

“Should I fetch him immediately?”

“No, that won’t be necessary. He’ll return when the time is right. Just bring me a cup of tea.”

“Right away, Young Master.”

The exact moment the command left my lips, the servant rapidly retreated to execute the order while I settled myself onto a polished wooden chair on one side of the hall. Resting my elbow against the side table to prop my chin in my palm, I had barely settled into the posture when the servant who had just stepped outside returned, carefully balancing a tray.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“It is my absolute honor, Young Master.”

Taking a few deliberate steps backward to establish a respectful distance, the servant smoothly resumed their unfinished chores.

Silently sipping the hot liquid while observing the staff quietly organizing the perimeter, my hand froze as I set the teacup down. The sheer level of frantic bustle animating the servants today felt uniquely exaggerated.

“Did something happen?”

I had merely tossed the question out as a casual piece of morning conversation.

However, the physical reaction from the staff was thoroughly bizarre. The exact split-second the words past my lips, every single servant froze in perfect synchronization—as if they had simultaneously received an invisible signal from a commander—and snapped their heads directly toward my position. I stared back at them, a heavy mask of suspicion painting my features.

“A-Ah, absolutely not!”

“How could anything possibly be amiss, Young Master?!”

“Everything is completely peaceful!”

“…Is that right?”

They were aggressively claiming that absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary, yet their physical postures were as rigid as wooden planks. Even if I desperately wanted to overlook their strange behavior and give them the benefit of the doubt, they were making it entirely impossible to do so.

The moment I narrowed my eyes into a sharp, analytical glare, the startled servants frantically scrambled to resume their chores with an even more cartoonishly exaggerated level of focus. Observing their frantic movements, it was glaringly obvious that a specific secret was being kept entirely hidden from my knowledge.

No, scratch that—I could actually form a reasonably accurate hypothesis.

There was a distinct probability that a member of my family was currently orchestrating another grand surprise or luxury on my behalf today.

Feeling a soft note of pleasant anticipation naturally bloom within my chest, I completely drained my cup, prompting a nearby servant to immediately step forward and refill the hot liquid. Right at that exact moment, a familiar figure rushed past the threshold of the reception hall.

“Oh! Young Master, you’re already awake?!”

Completely blindsided by the reality that I had already vacated my chambers, Yeo-ui froze mid-stride right at the doorframe, his features reflecting absolute shock. Rapidly closing the distance between us, his hands instantly moved to tightly secure the edges of the loose outer robe I had merely tossed over my shoulders. Receiving his tight care, I swept my eyes over the perimeter and spoke up.

“What exactly is the occasion today?”

“Whatever do you mean by an occasion, Young Master?”

“Every single time the servants begin frantically organizing the reception hall with this specific level of chaotic energy, a major event invariably unfolds.”

“…Is that so?”

Glancing at his blankly blinking eyes as he offered the response, it appeared the news was completely foreign to Yeo-ui as well. Letting out a soft sigh, I dismissed the matter with a casual wave of my hand.

“Forget it, never mind.”

“You must be deeply famished, Young Master. Shall I immediately order the kitchen staff to prepare a light luncheon for you?”

“Give it a short while. I literally just cracked my eyes open, so I possess absolutely no appetite right now.”

“Understood. Then I shall instruct them to take their time with the preparations.”

“Perfect. Ah, and also…”

Given that I had slept in to such an unforgivable hour, I was deeply hesitant to disrupt anyone’s packed schedule, but my curiosity was entirely impossible to suppress. After a brief moment of visible hesitation, I finally spoke my mind.

“Send a messenger to find out if either my eldest brother or older sister happens to have a free slot in their schedule today.”

“I shall dispatch someone immediately.”

“Yes. And make sure to explicitly inform them that if it makes things easier, I am more than happy to personally make the trip to their quarters instead.”

“Understood, Young Master.”

Perhaps deeply touched by my consideration, a brilliant smile broke across Yeo-ui’s face as he rapidly conveyed the instructions to another attendant. Watching a matching, profoundly heartwarming smirk bloom across the face of the servant receiving the order, a wave of sudden embarrassment hit my chest.

I could feel a sharp heat instantly rushing up to my cheeks, but if I foolishly allowed my discomfort to show, it was an absolute certainty that Yeo-ui would mercilessly tease me for the rest of the morning.

Forcefully maintaining a perfectly calm, unbothered expression, I watched Yeo-ui turn back toward me, his eyes crinkling into beautiful crescents.

“The exact second the Young Lord hears that you wish to share a meal with him, he will undoubtedly drop every single piece of banking business to rush straight to your side, Young Master.”

“…Which is precisely why I noted that I could simply go to him instead.”

“In fact, the Young Lord explicitly ordered me to send word to his office the exact split-second your eyes opened today.”

My eldest brother did?

Recalling how he never failed to ruthlessly carve out a piece of his exceptionally packed schedule just to attend a family meal, I felt an absolute certainty that his arrival was imminent. Meeting Yeo-ui’s gaze, it was glaringly obvious he had read my internal thoughts perfectly, his features softening into a deeply affectionate smile.

“Shall I instruct them to officially begin setting the table now?”

“…Tell them to prepare something light and simple.”

If my brother or the rest of my family truly intended to drop by, they would undoubtedly be sacrificing precious business hours to do so. Following my direct command, the attendant rapidly exited the reception hall. Staring fixedly through the wide-open wooden doors, my fingers naturally moved to absentmindedly trail through my hair.