Book 22 Chapter 22
A Roundtable Discussion with Biryu and His Group
Surprise! A New Serial Comic Begins!
A Cozy Tea Party with Yeonbi and the Young Ladies
(In a room, four women sit elegantly around a rosewood table, drinking tea.)
Na Yerim: (Sipping her tea) It's truly regrettable to witness an era drawing to a close.
Yeonbi: But it’s inevitable for a new era to dawn. The new sun cannot rise if the old sun doesn't set.
Eun Seollan: Hmm, it’s been noisy outside the door for a while now. What is that sound?
Lee Jinseol: I know, it’s quite loud.
(Outside the door)
Bang bang bang!
Jang Hong: Hey, let us in! We have a filming today. Hey! Hey!
Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!
Hyo Ryong: Brother Jang, there’s no response.
Jang Hong: Keep knocking. There must be some mistake! This can’t be!
Hyo Ryong: Ah, Brother Jang! Something is stuck here! Men… Not… Allowed… Entry! It says "No Men Allowed."
Jang Hong: What! Why! Why is it "No Men Allowed"! This corner was always ours, men!
Hyo Ryong: Uh… It seems… we've been cut from this part starting now?
Jang Hong: You’re so foolish!
(Back in the room)
Yeonbi: Come, let’s not pay them any mind and just drink our tea. That’s just the echo of the ghosts of the past. A final struggle, perhaps?
Eun Seollan: But how can we not pay attention when it’s so noisy?
Na Yerim: That’s true. In this echo, I feel the fleeting vanity of men and the lament of a decaying vested interest. It's a pity, but it's painful to listen to.
Lee Jinseol: I don’t know who it is, but they’re really loud. If they’re men, they should have some substance.
(Outside the door)
Jang Hong: Where is that Biryu fellow at such an important time!
Hyo Ryong: He hasn’t been seen since the last volume ended. He was talking about the other world last time, maybe he flew off to the other world?
Jang Hong: …What about filming this work! This won’t do, Hyo Ryong! We’ll have to use emergency measures.
Hyo Ryong: Brother Jang, what emergency measures? Did such a thing even exist from the start?
Jang Hong: We’ll create one now. Come, Hyo Ryong, let’s go.
Hyo Ryong: No, why me?
Jang Hong: Isn’t Jinseol So-jeo in there? You can try pleading with her. Maybe she’ll open the door. Don’t you know the story of Prince Hodong and Princess Nangnang? Come on, you can do it, Hyodong!
Hyo Ryong: …My name is Hyo Ryong.
Jang Hong: Let’s ignore trivialities.
Hyo Ryong: Alright. Then… (Knock knock!) Jinseol, Jinseol, are you in there? It’s me, Hyo Ryong. Please open the door for just a moment. (Bang bang bang!)
(Inside the door)
Lee Jinseol: (Restlessly) Wh-what should I do? What do I do? Hyo Ryong is calling me, Unnie. He says just for a moment, should I open it?
Yeonbi: (Grabbing the flustered Jinseol and shaking her head) Men all say the same thing at first. They say ‘just a moment,’ or ‘just a little,’ or ‘it’s okay,’ and it always ends with ‘keu keu keu.’ I know well, if you fall for such flimsy trickery, later… sob sob sob!
Na Yerim: Ye-Yeonbi!! Is that so, don’t cry. (Patting Yeonbi)
Eun Seollan: (Trembling) …!
Na Yerim: (Looking coldly at Jinseol) Be strong-hearted. You have me and your other colleagues here.
Lee Jinseol: Ack, unnie! I was wrong! I absolutely won’t open the door! Hyo Ryong, I’m sorry! I’ll follow you, unnie.
(Outside the door)
Hyo Ryong: Keu heu eo eo eo eo eo! Brother Jang, it failed! And I… I think I was greatly insulted…!
Jang Hong: Tsk, don’t be discouraged! That means you lose! How can this be! The defense is so strong!
Hyo Ryong: What do we do now?
Jang Hong: We have no choice! We have to call ‘him.’
Hyo Ryong: (Echoing!) Ah, ‘him’! Yes, he can do it! No matter what anyone says, he’s a supporting lead.
Jang Hong: Exactly!
(Inside the door)
Na Yerim: One way or another, the atmosphere of our quiet tea party has been disrupted.
Yeonbi: (Abruptly) If Rin says so, then let’s chase them away right now. (Clap clap!) Guards!
(Outside the door)
Jang Hong & Hyo Ryong: (Dragged away…) Nooooooo!!
(Inside the door)
Lee Jinseol: I can’t hear them anymore.
Na Yerim: I see.
Yeonbi: Phew, can we finally drink our tea in peace?
Eun Seollan: (Picking up her teacup) Indeed, that’s what we wanted.
Yeonbi: By the way, Eun So-jeo, what happened with your visit to meet Hwi… no, Young Master Mo Yong?
Eun Seollan: Sigh, why do men not understand women’s hearts… It’s truly pathetic.
Na Yerim: I too, once feared the fact that half the world was men. It was a terrifying thought.
Yeonbi: Tsk tsk, men… It’s about time they evolved, isn’t it? They only think of themselves. Most of them just wait for women to dote on them, still so short-sighted.
Eun Seollan: It’s true. He’s also so pathetic. He can’t read a woman’s mind at all, yet he’s so good at cleaning.
Yeonbi: Speaking of which, I was thinking about this in this chapter, Eun So-jeo, will it really be okay for you later? If you have to match his standards for cleaning, you’ll be sweeping and wiping from morning to night, and you’ll have a fit over every single fallen hair.
Eun Seollan: He’s the one who will do that… No, more importantly, that question seems to have a strange premise. Why are you asking me this question? Is this… leading the witness?!
Yeonbi: You know, and you pretend not to. Isn’t that right, Rin?
Na Yerim: (Nodding) Your face has turned red, Eun So-jeo.
Lee Jinseol: Wow! It’s really red!
Eun Seollan: (Shaking her head) H-hmph! I almost fell for it. But I won’t fall for leading questions anymore. I will exercise my right to remain silent!
Yeonbi: (Snapping her fingers!) What a shame! If we had pushed a little more, she would have fallen for it…
Na Yerim: It’s truly a pity. The door of her heart, which was almost open, has closed tightly again. It doesn’t seem like it will open again today.
Yeonbi: Oh dear, should I have drunk alcohol instead of tea?
Na Yerim: My intuition tells me that would have been a much higher probability.
Lee Jinseol: I can drink alcohol too! Hooray for alcohol!
Na Yerim: You drink too much, that’s the problem. Does Young Master Hyo know that side of you?
Lee Jinseol: Don’t worry, Unnie. I can hide it for another twenty or thirty years!
Yeonbi: Ah, it’s a shame, but we’ll have to wait for the next opportunity. Tch! I could have caught just one weakness…
Eun Seollan: (Perking up) Yeon So-jeo, what did you just say?
Yeonbi: Huh? I didn’t say anything. Oh, more importantly, don’t you hear something from outside the door again?
Eun Seollan: Don’t play dumb… Oh, it’s true.
(Outside the door)
Bang bang bang!
Mo Yong Hwi: Eun So-jeo, it’s me. Mo Yong Hwi. I have something I want to tell you. Please open the door.
Jang Hong & Hyo Ryong: (In a small voice) Well done, supporting lead!
(Inside the door)
Eun Seollan: (Flustered by the unexpected voice) Wh-what should I do? The tiger comes when you speak of it… He says he has something to say, should I open the door for just a moment…
Yeonbi: (Suddenly tears welling up in her big eyes) Ye, Yerim…!! Sob sob sob!! Another foolish woman here…!
Na Yerim: Ye, Yeonbi!! It’ll be okay, calm down! (In a subdued voice) Eun So-jeo.
Eun Seollan: I-but…
Lee Jinseol: Heh, Seollan Unnie. I was in pain once too, but I overcame it. Let’s grit our teeth together and be strong! We mustn’t fall for temptation.
Eun Seollan: (Wiping away tears) I understand! I’ll endure. I won’t betray you. (Towards the outside) I don’t know who you are, but please go back now.
(Outside the door)
Hyo Ryong: Brother Jang, Young Master Mo Yong has collapsed! He seems to have suffered immense mental shock.
Jang Hong: Tsk. Is the defense really this impenetrable… Ah! Old man, why are you here again! Bringing friends along. Why have you come back, this was originally our spot…
Drag drag!
Jang Hong & Hyo Ryong & Mo Yong Hwi: Nooooooo!!
(Inside the door)
Yeonbi: Phew, it seems they’ve finally been dealt with. If they had conceded gracefully, it wouldn’t have ended like this ugly spectacle. A pity.
Eun Seollan: Did… did I do the right thing?
Yeonbi: Of course. If we want to maintain this tea party in the next volume, we have to be resolute. More importantly, let’s say hello to the readers and wrap things up. For our first appearance, let’s show we can do much better than the men.
Eun Seollan: Of course we should. By the way, this isn’t just a topic change, is it?
Yeonbi: (Smiling) Of course not.
Eun Seollan: Alright then. I’ll go first. (Suddenly becoming confident) Hello everyone. As I mentioned earlier, our fresh and light tea party will be taking the place of the men’s sweaty and drunken, messy roundtable discussions starting today. It seems men who haven’t let go of their past will try to make a comeback, but the possibility of recovery seems slim. The higher-ups have already decided. (Firmly)
Lee Jinseol: Unnie, you’re so different from how you were just a moment ago, looking apologetic. And your powerful lines. C-could it be… that you were just managing your image until now?
Eun Seollan: Ho ho ho ho. Oh my, no. That’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.
Na Yerim: Jinseol, I think it’s best not to probe too deeply. (Whispering to Yeonbi) But Eun So-jeo, doesn’t her personality seem to have really changed lately?
Yeonbi: (Whispering to Rin) It’s all because of someone who lacks tact.
Eun Seollan: I can hear everything!
Yeonbi & Na Yerim: (Jerk)
Eun Seollan: Well, how about Jinseol So-jeo finishes it off?
Lee Jinseol: Yes! Hello, to all the readers who love and cherish the Blade of the Iron Blood. The 22nd volume of the Blade of the Iron Blood is finally out. The ultimate survival novel, Blade of the Iron Blood! Can Yeonbi survive?! Please look forward to volume 23!
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…
Yeonbi: Am… I going to die? Survival? Life-and-death competition? No! That can’t be. I have to live! I want to live a comfortable life!
Na Yerim: Yeonbi, calm down. It’s all over now. It’s okay, this is just the Daegye Association.
Yeonbi: (Sweating) Is it really? Why do I feel like this is just the beginning?
Na Yerim: It’s just your imagination. Probably. (Patting Yeonbi)
Yeonbi: Ugh… Readers! Please wish for my health and well-being in volume 23! The protagonist never dies! Neverrrrrr—!!