The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 274: Fake - 5

Ho-pil’s close friend. Kang Yun-ho.

The man who discovered Author Ho-pil, who had been buried in obscurity.

The merchant who brought Storm of the Tang Clan into the world.

The manager of the top bookstore in Yichang.

The close friend who risked his life to be dragged off to the Sichuan Tang Clan in Ho-pil’s place.

A name deeply engraved in Zhegall-hyang’s memory—because he was the last blind date partner she’d run away from.

That Kang Yun-ho had come to her.

To find out who dared impersonate Ho-pil.

“S-s-s-s-sorryyyyy!”

Zhegall-hyang fell flat on the floor, trembling, unable to lift her head in front of Kang Yun-ho.

“Raise your head. Simply apologizing without explanation won’t change anything, Author Ho-pil.”

You scammer, you bastard.

That’s how Zhegall-hyang heard it when Kang Yun-ho addressed her as “Author Ho-pil” at the end.

“Th-th-th-that’s...”

She cautiously lifted her head to look at Kang Yun-ho—only to hurriedly lower it again.

No. I can’t lift my head.

She’d run from the blind date—and now she was guilty of the far greater sin of impersonation.

And now the victim of the incident had come and was speaking in a grave tone. Zhegall-hyang wanted to crawl into some fruit crate or something and disappear.

“Please, stand up. I’d like to hear the reason why you impersonated someone else. Author Ho-pil.”

Author Ho-pil...

It had once been a name she said with reverence—but now, it weighed on her chest as nothing but guilt and shame. Every time Kang Yun-ho said it, it sank deeper.

What do I do? Ho-pil’s close friend has come to find me. I can’t take this.

Zhegall-hyang racked her brain in desperation and, making up her mind, stood up and looked at Kang Yun-ho.

“Th-the thing is, my name is...”

I should start with a self-introduction.

“Lady Zhegall-hyang. I already know.”

“Oh... Yes.”

This is bad. I have nothing to say except my name.

What do I even say in a self-introduction when I’ve already said my name? Yesterday I was at home. A week ago, also at home. A month ago, at the main residence.

No, that’s not the point. He already knows my name, and he still called me Ho-pil? He must be really angry, right? What do I do? Zhegall-hyang was flustered.

In truth, this whole situation was something Kang Yun-ho had set up.

From what he’d heard of Zhegall-hyang’s passive personality, he was using guilt and conversational control to seize the upper hand. But of course, she had no way of knowing that.

From just a brief conversation, Kang Yun-ho could already tell her personality was worse than he’d heard, and that she was fully aware of the wrongdoing.

“I understand the shock of such a sudden appearance. Please take a ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) deep breath.”

“Huuhhp. Huuuuhhhp. I can’t calm down, c-c-can I do internal breathing exercises?”

“I snuck in as a delivery man, so I don’t think we have that kind of time.”

“Ah... okay...”

She messed up again.

He’d said it considerately, but what had she just said? Internal breathing exercises to calm down? Does she even have a brain?

Zhegall-hyang sighed to herself at her own hopeless conversational ability.

Sensing her desire to crawl away again, Kang Yun-ho adopted a gentle, sympathetic expression.

“I only came to hear why you impersonated him—not to blame or threaten you. Could you share what happened?”

Zhegall-hyang glanced at him, seeing that he looked willing to listen to anything, and took a deep breath.

Okay. Zhegall-hyang. You can say it now. Tell him how it all happened.

She held together her collapsing nerves and opened her mouth. Just explain it calmly. Calmly.

“S-so, um, I ran away from a blind date. No, I mean... Just a moment, pleaaaase...”

Impossible.

How was she supposed to say all that? She had overestimated herself. Zhegall-hyang quickly dashed to her desk and dipped her brush in ink.

Writing—that she could do. She’d written plenty of letters before.

[Hello. My name is Zhegall-hyang.]

[Since I was young, I’ve been shy. I usually stay at home, so...]

No, no, no! Why would she write so much unnecessary information? Zhegall-hyang hastily scratched out the irrelevant parts and kept only the important bits.

Then, with a trembling heart, she handed the letter to Kang Yun-ho.

***************

“Your aunt and cousin Heo Song mistook you for Author Ho-pil? You’re saying they didn’t believe you no matter how much you denied it?”

After reading the heavily revised explanation, I asked Zhegall-hyang.

I feel like I’ve seen this handwriting somewhere before. It's oddly familiar.

“Y-y-y-yes, yes!”

She nodded up and down with ferocious intensity.

I looked at her with a slightly baffled expression.

As I’d heard, she was quite the beauty.

If Im Ha-yeon’s beauty was that of an aloof, elegant wildcat, then Zhegall-hyang looked like a small animal terrified of human touch.

And the way her expression changed with every word was fascinating. Right now, she looked on the verge of tears.

From what I’d heard of her personality—and based on her current behavior—what she’d written was likely true.

It’s one of the situations I prepared for. I’ll proceed with the plan I set up.

A surprise situation. Before she’s driven out by someone, I’ll make her take my side.

“I was devastated when I heard Lady Zhegall-hyang ran away from our blind date.”

And to do that, I had to start by piling guilt on top of guilt.

I made the expression of some Mr. Kang who had gone to a banquet only to watch every woman avoid sitting next to him.

“Ah, I’m s-s-sorry...”

Zhegall-hyang dropped her head, seemingly unable to respond. But I didn’t just want to make her feel bad.

With a face full of understanding, I spoke gently.

“I understand. Being told to marry a black-haired barbarian must have been horrifying. Running away would have been the better choice.”

I stepped closer to better show my “wounded” expression.

But I couldn’t push her too hard. Zhegall-hyang was the type to bolt if cornered.

I had to become the wounded animal. Make her the clear aggressor. I needed to make her feel bad enough to come to me.

“Th-that’s not it! Actually...”

“Actually?”

I waited to hear what she would say, gazing straight at her.

“Your face is too closeeee!”

Was the distance too much for her shy personality? Zhegall-hyang flailed, slightly flushed, and stepped back while covering her face with both arms.

“Heo Song said this: Ho-pil—Lady Zhegall-hyang—was hurt because of me. So I wondered if trying to match with the Zhegall Clan’s daughter had offended you, and that this was revenge.”

I clutched my chest like I’d just been stabbed through the heart.

“Huh?! I-I never said that!”

Zhegall-hyang looked at me in shock, then quickly lowered her head again as if it was too hard to maintain eye contact.

Never said it? Doesn’t matter. I’m going to keep raising your guilt level anyway.

“But it doesn’t change the fact that I was harmed. I was planning to open a Daseogak branch in Wuchang soon, and now I’ve suffered huge losses. And imagine how shocked Author Ho-pil would be to hear that a devoted fan was impersonating them...”

“Uuuuuuugh...”

Zhegall-hyang contorted her face in guilt she could no longer suppress. She must feel wronged too—but with the real victim standing right in front of her, what could she do?

I had now perfectly painted her as the culprit.

Time for the next phase...

“Lady?”

Where’d she go? Zhegall-hyang had suddenly vanished from my field of vision.

“H-here...”

She had once again bowed her head deeply and lay flat, just like before, offering me a small pouch.

“What is this?”

“I’m... currently a runaway, so this is all the money I have...”

Zhegall-hyang, as if making the most painful decision of her life, held out her allowance pouch to me.

No, I wasn’t asking for money. She really does seem like a good-natured young lady by nature, but... she’s the kind that puts people in a bit of a tight spot.

“It’s fine.”

“I’ve been saving my New Year’s money carefully since I was little, so if I go back home... No, I can’t go home! But somehow! I’ll even give you my New Year’s money later!”

“That won’t be necessary.”

I need to move on to the next step—if she folds already, that’s no good.

As I was feeling slightly awkward, a martial artist’s voice called from the door.

“Ahem. Lady Hyang! The delivery man who just entered doesn’t seem to be coming out.”

-----------------

A deep silence fell for just a moment.

“Ah?! Th-that’s because!”

Did we stay too long? Zhegall-hyang scrambled to stand, her expression clearly flustered.

“He said he’d take the dishes back directly, so we were waiting. The food must’ve been quite good.”

“...Is that so?”

“Y-yes, that’s rightttt.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

Until the martial artist’s footsteps faded away, neither of us said a word—we just stared at each other.

Thank goodness. That was close. Zhegall-hyang, too, let out a sigh of relief, clearly thinking the same.

She could’ve reported me, but she protected me—so the first operation was a success.

Now, on to the next phase.

She’s been misunderstood, but it’s hard for her to take either side—that’s the situation.

Author Ho-pil vs. her cousin. She’s suffering from the misunderstanding, but also afraid of ruining her cousin’s life. I can understand how she feels.

But I’d planned for that, too.

I turned toward where the martial artist had gone and said to her, showing a flash of hostility.

“Heo Song probably already knows you’re not really Ho-pil.”

If it’s hard to choose between two sides, then all I have to do is make one of them into the enemy.

“Huh?”

“Haven’t you ever found the guard arrangements strange? It’s not meant to keep outsiders away. It’s to keep watch over you.”

“It’s probably because I’m good at running away...”

Rather than doubt others, she chooses the possibility that she’s the one at fault.

But that’s wrong. That’s something parents might do—not something a cousin would bother with.

“Not long ago, I went to see Heo Song. He tried to stop the meeting between me and Ho-pil. Even though I’m a close friend. A cousin watching over you... refusing a meeting between sworn friends. That leads us to one conclusion.”

“Wh-what is it?”

“You’re the scapegoat.”

I revealed the cold truth to her like someone laying bare the facts.

“Wh-what?!”

“Just as you said, it might’ve started as a misunderstanding. But as you kept denying it, it must’ve occurred to them that they might have misunderstood. And yet they pushed forward anyway. Why? Because you’re the Zhegall Clan Leader’s youngest daughter. Even if it was impersonation, pinning it all on you would neatly wrap everything up. That’s why they were watching you.”

If Sichuan has the Tang Clan, then Hubei has the Zhegall Clan.

Even if it’s Daseogak, or the Ten-Thousand Gold Merchant Guild, or even the Sichuan Tang Clan—if they claim that the Zhegall Clan’s youngest daughter impersonated someone, it can all be passed off as a farce.

Heo Song probably thought it was a gamble worth taking, since his bookstore had nothing but flies anyway.

“You’re right. The more I kept saying things, the more the guards increased. S-so what do we do now?”

Zhegall-hyang finally seemed to grasp the situation and opened her eyes wide.

The fact that she’s turning to me for help in this situation—it's a good sign that she now sees me as someone she can trust.

“Let’s leave.”

“Pardon?”

“They probably wrote down somewhere that you’re staying inside because it’s too dangerous to go out. But it’s fine. You’re the youngest daughter of the Zhegall Clan’s head. Just say you’re going to visit your grandfather. They won’t be able to stop you.”

Right now, she was just staying at her aunt’s house. But if she says she wants to leave and they forcibly try to stop her?

That would become the same as kidnapping the Zhegall Clan’s youngest daughter. Who would dare?

“Ah, th-th-the thing is...”

“Is it because you think you’ll have to go back to the blind date?”

“......”

Got it.

“Lady... then, if there were a way to solve both your problem and mine, would you try it?”

Because I do have a way.

“There’s such a way?”

“Yes. You just have to do me one favor.”

“What kind of favor?”

I looked at Zhegall-hyang for a moment.

One of the ideas I had involved exposing the impersonation and intentionally ruining the blind date. But... was that really the best move?

The one testing me—The Leader of the Ten-Thousand Gold Merchant Guild.

Someone I normally wouldn’t even be able to meet. It might look like he’s putting me through trials, but in truth, he’s offered to wipe away an enormous debt in one stroke.

He’s also already made up his mind to pair me with his granddaughter.

Even if this blind date falls through, who knows—he might suddenly bring in the Namgung Clan’s young lady, or the Mount Hua Sect’s noble daughter.

I have to get Daseogak back.

I want all my debts wiped clean. I want to expand my business in Wuchang even more. I want to get back to writing Storm of the Tang Clan—and other novels—and spread my name.

And also... for a moment, the image of a certain pink-haired woman anxiously waiting for me flashed through my mind.

Yeah. I want to resolve Im Ha-yeon’s miracle issue, too.

Then I can’t ruin the blind date. I need a better way. And I have it.

A way to both satisfy the Guild Leader and completely throw him off.

Something good for me—and for Zhegall-hyang.

I stepped forward toward her and made a significant proposal.

“Let’s enter a contract relationship.”