Kofi thanks to: Alilyana
Chapter 3. The 1st Continent
Cheongyeon had learned that countless continents existed in the world, and compared to them, Cheonghwa Town was infinitely small.
However, to him, who had never experienced any other continent, Cheonghwa Town was like his world. Everything he knew was confined to where he was born and raised, in Cheonghwa Town.
“Move to the left! Leave just enough space for the longline fishing boats to dock!”
“Left! To the left! Coil the mooring rope! If Peira gets scratched, you’re dead!”
Workers in green maritime workwear bustled about the dock.
Standing near the stern, Cheongyeon glanced at the Nok people preparing to dock and then extended his gaze to the side. The dock was lined with endlessly moored ships.
To accommodate the large vessel Peira’s docking, most ships had moved to the small craft dock beforehand. Still, the number of ships moored at the central dock was staggering. By rough estimate, it was at least ten times larger than the docks of Cheonghwa Town.
Far off at the dock, high-rise buildings stood in rows. The skyscrapers, dense enough that there was nowhere else to look, rivaled the Marine Building.
“Pull! Pull!” Dock workers gathered to pull the ropes to help dock the Peira. They were part of the ‘Nok Association,’ responsible for the security of the Nok Province’s dock. Their warm reception of Peira, which was not even affiliated with Nok, was not solely because of Cheonghwa Town’s chestnut liquor. The Nok Association was formed to represent the interests of Nok’s fishing community, but they had been troubled by recent pirate attacks.
They were ordinary fishermen, monitoring the dock around the clock, but their power was insufficient against the unpredictably attacking pirates. There were also financial limits to hiring mercenaries from inland.
Therefore, the Nok Association welcomed Peira more than anyone. At least during Peira’s stay, they could sleep with both feet stretched out.
Watching them, Cheongyeon was simply amazed. Even though it was not their own vessel, none of them frowned or grimaced. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and pitched in, a sight that seemed almost unbelievable. In Cheonghwa Town, fishermen also helped each other dock, but most of them moved reluctantly making all sorts of faces like they were made to bite the bullet.
The maritime workwear the Nok Association people wore resembled overalls. Unlike thin raincoats, the thick waterproof clothing seemed impervious to the cold.
Lost in thought, Cheongyeon belatedly checked his hand. The chocolate he was holding had melted down stickily. Luckily, it melted inside the wrapper. He quickly shoved the melting chocolate from the wrapper into his mouth before it became completely gooey.
As Peira successfully docked, Cheongyeon felt overwhelmed. The large dock, bustling crowd, and distant tall buildings felt like they were crushing him. Yet, a greater pressure rose from beneath his feet. He had been curious ever since boarding Peira.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
‘Are there the Hwa on the 1st Continent?’
Aera yfmjerf Dbxre oibkfgr yibbwfv vlv cba uejgjcaff atf fzlrafcmf bo atf Lkj mijc. Pc Jtfbcutkj Kbkc, fnfc klat j Lkj mijc wfwyfg ilxf tlwrfio, Dbxre oibkfgr vlv cba ugbk. Lbkfnfg, jr tf jqqgbjmtfv atf 1ra Jbcalcfca, Jtfbcusfbc yfmjwf mfgajlc.
Ktfgf fzlrafv atf Lkj mijc bc atf 1ra Jbcalcfca.
Snfc yfobgf rfaalcu obba bc ijcv, tf ofia atf fcfgus bo atf Jtfbcpl oibkfg, atf qijca reqqbgalcu atf 1ra Jbcalcfca. Lf mbeiv cba qlcqblca ktfgf lar gbbar kfgf, yea atf fcfgus ogbw lar rqgjkilcu ygjcmtfr jmgbrr atf mbcalcfca kjr qjiqjyif. Jtfbcpl oibkfg kjr ilxf j rajg lc atf rxs. Kter, fnfc klatbea ibbxlcu mibrfis, tf kjr jyif ab offi atf iluta fwjcjalcu ogbw yfcfjat atf ugbecv klat jii tlr rfcrfr.
However, the Cheonji flower of the 1st Continent felt different. Originally, like the Cheonji flower of Cheonghwa Town, it should be sparkling…
“You look too obvious of a country bumpkin, idiot.”
Suddenly, someone blocked his view and leaned forward. It was Tae Muwon, with a black coat casually draped over his shoulders. The jacket underneath was still flashy, nevertheless.
Muwon bent down to meet Cheongyeon’s gaze, as a string of piercings dangled from his ear. ‘Why are there so many piercings?’ Cheongyeon suddenly wondered but kept his mouth shut.
Since showing him the sperm whale, Tae Muwon had frequently come by to drag him to the dining hall. He would clear out the cafeteria, leaving them alone inside. Then, he’d order Cheongyeon well-grilled steaks or lobster, which he didn’t even know were onboard.
Muwon never ate with him but simply placed orders to the chef and left. Was he fattening Cheongyeon up to sell him off somewhere? Or was he trying to be nice and apologizing for the misunderstanding?
However, Cheongyeon did not dwell too deeply on Tae Muwon’s capricious behavior this time. In fact, he was only becoming more wary of him. In truth, the man hadn’t misunderstood. If he discovered Cheongyeon was of the Hwa clan, he might end up with his wrists cut and hanging from the stern of Peira. Tae Muwon was more than capable of such an act.
Even now, as Tae Muwon surveyed him with a smile, the tendons in his neck bulged, containing anger and frustration, giving a threatening sight.
“Did you finish the chocolate?”
“…Yes.”
“Fuck, do you only know how to say yes?”
“…Thank you.”
Cheongyeon bowed his head to Tae Muwon, who had given him the chocolate. At that moment, Muwon’s face came closer, nearly bumping foreheads as he inhaled deeply. Then, Muwon straightened up, muttering “Fuck, the smell…”
Cheongyeon had taken a clean shower after being told that he would be disembarking half a day ago, so he had no idea what smell he was talking about.
As the disembarkation ramp was lowered, workers began lifting bottles of Cheonghwa Town’s chestnut liquor from the cargo hold. Several trucks were already waiting at the dock. Cheongyeon, backpack on, watched Muwon. Muwon was giving orders to the planets, but the noise made it hard to catch everything. Cheongyeon only gathered something about collecting payments.
Amid the bustle, he looked for a chance to escape. He had planned to blend in with the workers after Muwon and his executives disembarked. However, Muwon had dragged him from cabin 107 to watch the docking process.
Smoking, Muwon at some point lost his temper at one of the planets and threw the cigarette butt somewhere on the deck. At that moment, Cheongyeon was slowly trying to slip away among the workers but Muwon then grabbed his shoulder firmly. Though Cheongyeon wasn’t as startled as before when he came and harshly pestered him, his heart raced.
“Where are you sneaking off to?”
“I can’t stay on the ship forever…”
“We have to go see Hwang Ran.”
As he was dragged into Tae Muwon’s arms, he felt crushed in a different way than before. It was so strong that it felt like if the man pressed a little more, there would be bruises all over the place where it touched.
Muwon walked towards the disembarkation ramp, his grip still on Cheongyeon’s shoulder, causing trucks coming up and workers disembarking to halt and make way.
Cheongyeon lowered his head a little more as people’s gazes flew all over his body. Meanwhile, Tae Muwon seemed to have no interest in whether anyone was staring or getting out of the way.
“That damn merchant has good senses.”
Tae Muwon tapped Cheongyeon’s shoulder, suggesting he look ahead. Lifting his head slightly, he saw Hwang Ran, smiling with his teeth bared. Hwang Ran’s eyes bulged wide as he smiled so hard that his facial muscles convulsed while wearing his fedora as he looked at Cheongyeon in disbelief. Cheongyeon was equally embarrassed.
‘The talk of trading just an excuse, so why was he here? And no matter how omnipresent Tae Muwon was, there was no way to communicate with Hwang Ran at sea.’
Perhaps Hwang Ran came out to make a good impression upon hearing of Peira’s arrival.
Struggling to match Muwon’s stride on the downhill slope, Cheongyeon nearly stumbled. Muwon’s firm support caused a fresh pang of pain in Cheongyeon’s shoulder. Unable to bear it, he groaned, prompting Muwon to click his tongue.
Cheongyeon thought he was going to scold him for not being able to walk properly, but Muwon suddenly wrapped one arm around thighs, lifting him. Surprised by the sudden change in perspective, Cheongyeon instinctively wrapped his arms around Muwon’s neck.
Then, he came to his senses belatedly, and struggled, asking to be put down. There was no way he could overpower him, but he consistently tried to push away from Muwon’s shoulder.
“Cheongyeon oppa, you need to push a little harder.”
Muwon chuckled, holding him closer.
“Oh dear! Muwon-nim, you’re here! I’ve been waiting to welcome you! And Cheongyeon is here too, oh!”
Muwon reached out with his free hand, gripping Hwang Ran’s face. His large hand obscured the other’s features.
“My hawk?”
“It’s well taken care of in my shop. Don’t worry! I even fed it the freshest beef from Nok!”
As Hwang Ran rambled on with his face gripped, Cheongyeon felt like people kept whispering about him, so he gave up trying to push Muwon away and lowered his head again.
Once Muwon released him, Hwang Ran’s face was marked by the handprint. He glanced at Cheongyeon who was in Muwon’s arms. In the meantime, Hwang Ran had been struggling with addiction to lotus tea.
Although the tea did not have any addictive components, the experience was akin to drugs for Hwang Ran, who couldn’t forget the moment his lower body gained vitality like it did when he was a young man. However, there was no mention of an apothecary in the message sent via Muwon’s hawk.
“I won’t… do the deal.”
After being completely silent almost the whole time, Cheongyeon spoke up. As Muwon leaned in to catch the murmur, Cheongyeon’s gaze fixed on the piercings dangling from his exposed ear.
“I… don’t need to do the deal. I’ll just take a look at the continent while I’m here.”
In order to go to the flower shop, he had to leave Tae Muwon’s side, so Cheongyeon mustered up his courage even if it meant being thrown onto the ground by him.
“Wow, you’ve finally opened your mouth. But who said anything about the deal?”
“…Yes?”
Muwon held Cheongyeon’s thighs tightly with both arms, lifting his head. His lips were very close.
“Didn’t you say you were going to be my lover and live an easy life?”
Cómo que decidió ser su amante??? Jajaja Muwon habló por los dos sin esperar la respuesta de Cheonyeon jajaja
Ugh he’s so shameless 🤣
Omg I can’t 😂
And uuuhhh is Boner tea man going to become desperate? Addiction makes one desperate and Boner tea man is already greedy to begin with & kinda full of himself when he shouldn’t be at times too.
boner tea man is tew funny
Muwons checking off his list of fantasy’s one at a time ones he knew he had and ones he didn’t but were put in his head