1440 - Chapter 32

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 32
[How terrifying—she had the nerve to act innocent, pretending to be clean while doing such things, when in reality she was spiteful, cruel, hateful, and just as petty as everyone else, without a shred of shame.]
Mina stumbled backward. She didn’t even think to retrieve her phone, just fumbled her feet, desperate to create distance.
[Pretty? Are you prettier than me?]
“Ugh! Ah, why——.”
The hand holding the Cuticle Nipper moved of its own accord. A violent force gripped Mina’s hand, refusing to release the nipper, and dragged it slowly toward her face.
“No, no, I hate this, no! Don’t!”
Mina recognized it instantly as the ghost’s work. Because what was happening now was exactly what she herself had done.
She had been the one to hide the Voodoo Doll with the housekeeper, knowing that Soyeon’s face would be destroyed.
The small blade designed for cutting cuticles didn’t stop. It bit into Mina’s soft cheek, released, bit again, released, bit again, released
.
.
“Ahhhhh! Aaaaah! No, ahhhhh!”
No matter how desperately Mina screamed, it didn’t stop. Blood streamed down her cheek in a jagged line, as if someone had stitched her face with crude, close-set seams.
Even after Mina lost consciousness from the pain and shock, the clicking sound of the nipper continued for a long time.
***
By now, he had grown accustomed to keeping his door open.
There was no one else in the Separate House besides Yeonsu and himself, and since Yeonsu knocked and asked permission to enter several times a day, he had simply taken to leaving it open.
Yeonsu was the only person who didn’t regard him with discomfort. When he felt the warmth in Yeonsu’s gentle gaze, he became so happy he wondered if he was dreaming.
Thinking of Yeonsu made even his waking hours feel full. Apart from the times when he received Prayer, his mind was consumed entirely by thoughts of him.
When he opened the back door, he recalled Yeonsu’s neat, sturdy silhouette standing with Purified Water drawn at the stone jar; when he saw the cats, he remembered Yeonsu’s tender care in bringing them quality food.
And when he touched the soft Robe draped against his body, he remembered Yeonsu’s careful hands, praising his skin as beautiful, touching him with such delicate reverence.
At such moments, guilt would creep in. It pained him to hold feelings in his heart that he had no right to keep toward someone who knew nothing. Yet these feelings were not something he could control.
“Are you awake?”
Whenever he saw Yeonsu leaning through the doorframe with such a gentle smile, his heart would lurch without warning.
Today, too, Yeonsu asked permission before entering. He was nothing like Inym or Yeonhyung, who used to burst through the door whenever they pleased and treat him as they wished.
When he offered a cushion, Yeonsu sat upon it and extended an envelope. It was made of brown paper, rectangular in shape, and appeared to contain something thin.
He accepted it and pointed to himself with a gesture, silently asking if it was for him. Yeonsu smiled and nodded.
“Yes. I brought it for you.”
He slowly opened the envelope and withdrew its contents—a book filled with unfamiliar characters. A thin book covered in brightly colored illustrations.
When he held the book in confusion, unable to make sense of it, Yeonsu laughed and took it back. He spread it on the floor and began turning the pages one by one, explaining as he went.
“It’s a Korean Language Book. Since you already know Chinese characters, I thought it would be good for you to learn Korean now.”
Then Yeonsu produced a new Pencil and placed it in his hand.
He accepted it awkwardly. But the tool felt so thin and unfamiliar compared to a brush, its tip so short, that he simply held it uncertainly. Yeonsu rose from where he had been sitting across from him and moved to his side. Then, overlapping his own pale, slender hands with his, Yeonsu began slowly tracing the characters written in the book.
31
“Giyeok, Nieun, Digeut, Rieul…….”
His gaze was fixed on the paper beginning to show black marks and the remarkable tool in his hand. But every fiber of his attention was turned toward Yeonsu.
The gentle voice from beside him, the warmth of their overlapping hands, the solid chest brushing against his shoulder—it made it impossible to focus on letters and words.
Fortunately, his expression remained composed as he appeared to study the page, so Yeonsu didn’t notice that he wasn’t concentrating at all.
After slowly reading through the first page or two and having him trace along, Yeonsu eventually realized he wasn’t paying attention.
“Oh. Isn’t this very interesting for you?”
Yeonsu readily released his hand. Then he gazed intently at his profile.
The sharp jawline and slender neck, the gently rounded head that contrasted with his narrow shoulders—it was endearing. Velvet-soft hair with a beautiful texture flowed over the elegant curve of his skull.
It was beautiful. Lovely. The emotion in Yeonsu’s eyes conveyed all of this plainly. He felt awkward being regarded so adoringly and turned his head away.
As he turned, the delicate line of his jaw became visible. Drawn in by the faint fragrance of lotus that seemed to drift from him, Yeonsu found himself lowering his head without thinking. Large hands wrapped around his shoulders, and Yeonsu pressed his lips to his cheek, drawing him close as if to gather him into an embrace.
The instant their lips touched, he jolted in alarm and pulled away. Wide eyes looked up at Yeonsu in shock. Yeonsu himself was startled by his own action, so he quickly released the hand he had been holding as he drew back.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that knowing your body won’t develop any more wounds……, I was so happy about that.”
He hadn’t revealed everything he was thinking, but it wasn’t a lie either. He had been captivated by the beauty of his profile and had kissed him, yes—but in that moment when their lips touched, the joy he felt was genuine, knowing that his body had become healthy and free of pain.
“I should go offer Prayer now.”
Yeonsu rose reluctantly. If he stayed any longer, he might find himself kissing those flushed cheeks again.
As Yeonsu left the room after tenderly arranging the books, he remained frozen with his hand pressed to his cheek, watching Yeonsu’s departing figure in a daze.
***
Yeonsu could no longer bear the Affliction that kept rising within him and decided to leave the Separate House.
A call had come from Deokwoo at just the right moment—word that everything with Soyeon had been resolved.
He already sensed that the flow of life had been severed, so the news wasn’t surprising, but he needed an excuse to leave the house, so he ended the call suggesting they meet and talk.
When he came down to the first floor, the paper door was closed. He seemed to be asleep. Careful not to wake him at the sound of creaking floorboards, Yeonsu tiptoed out of the Separate House. Then he exhaled the breath he’d been holding and drove straight toward Seoul.
For slightly more than an hour of driving, only one thing occupied his mind: the man’s cheek. It had lodged itself so thoroughly that even after a long session of Prayer, it still drifted endlessly through his thoughts.
He had left the Separate House now precisely to escape that Affliction.
In a space shared only with him, he didn’t know how far his self-restraint would stretch. He feared he might end up doing something cruel to him, like those Baek family bastards would.
He tried to erase the soft sensation that lingered on his lips. But it wouldn’t fade.
As I stepped closer, his scent became palpable—subtle, intimate—and the air seemed to still around us. Then her cheeks began to flush slowly, and those dark eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at me. The more I replayed it, the sharper every detail became.
Even sitting in the Cafe waiting for Deokwoo, those startled eyes kept surfacing in my mind. I wanted to tear my hair out.
Why did I do that? What was I thinking, Yeonsu?
Before I knew it, I was cradling my forehead in both hands, on the verge of collapse against the table. Deokwoo arrived with perfect timing and settled into the seat across from me.
He set his heavy Makeup Box on the empty chair beside him, then gave me a strange look.
“What’s wrong? What are you doing?”
“…Nothing. You made it?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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