Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 13

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

13.

“What about traditional archery instead of shooting, Jiho? I joined the archery club.”

I was lost in thought, recalling Jeonghyeon’s appearance from the Faculty Office, when a voice pierced through my consciousness. Cheonhaerang, standing beside me, lowered his head to meet my gaze.
The moment I noticed Cheonhaerang’s face so close to mine, my breath caught in my throat.
We were suddenly near enough that our breaths seemed to intertwine. My heart plummeted with a heavy thud.
I couldn’t even blink, let alone breathe properly.

“Jiho?”

Called upon again, I snapped back to reality. I hurriedly turned my head and answered, my face flushing crimson.
The heat rose to my cheeks in an instant.

“Y-yes, what?”
“Did you hear what I said?”
“Y-yes….”

Truth be told, I hadn’t heard him properly. But I didn’t want him to know that.

“So will you join our club?”
“Huh? Oh, yes, I will.”

I didn’t know what club it was, but if it meant I could stay close to Cheonhaerang, there was nothing wrong with that. After all, I could protect him.

“Then I’ll tell the teacher that as well.”

Cheonhaerang spoke with a bright smile, clearly pleased by my answer. And my response was already decided.

“Y-yes….”

And so, without even knowing what club it was, my club membership was decided.

* * *

Unlike the day before, this day passed peacefully.
Though my heart wasn’t calm whenever my eyes met Cheonhaerang’s after returning to class, and Jeonghyeon’s eyes that shimmered strangely for a moment did weigh on my mind, there was no further pressure when Cheonhaerang said he would join the club.
It was an uneventful day. I desperately prayed that things would remain this peaceful until Cheonhaerang and I returned to the Heavenly Realm.
Mixing among the chattering children, I stepped out through the School Gate with Cheonhaerang when I spotted a flamboyantly styled car parked on the side of the road.
Though the Human Realm is said to be free-spirited, it was a purple car one would never commonly see on the streets.
Moreover, the figure of a woman leaning against the car with her arms crossed was familiar to me in every way.

“Wow, so damn pretty.”
“Is she a celebrity?”

The children’s whispers, impossible to ignore, burrowed into my ears. Yerim’s claim that she received business cards from talent agencies every time she stepped onto the streets in the Human Realm wasn’t a lie.
I hesitated for a moment—should I acknowledge knowing Yerim in this situation or not?
I was already drawing attention because of Cheonhaerang. I didn’t want any more of it.

“Isn’t that Yerim?”

Cheonhaerang’s voice tickled my ear, apparently having spotted Yerim as well. I felt my ear burning intensely as his breath brushed past it.
My heart raced uncontrollably. I desperately tried to think of other things to calm my racing heart.
That was when our eyes met as I turned my head toward Yerim. She immediately pulled herself away from the car and strode toward me.
It was already too late to run.
Faced with Yerim standing as majestically as a great general, I unconsciously took a step back. Her eyes, which seemed to gleam with intensity, were directed not at me but at Cheonhaerang.
Cheonhaerang, momentarily flustered by the intensity in Yerim’s gaze, soon greeted her politely.

“Hello, Yerim.”
“…”

Yerim stared at Cheonhaerang without answering.
A silence filled only with the murmuring of the surrounding children stretched on. How long did it last?
In terms of actual time, it was probably only a few seconds, but for Cheonhaerang and me, it felt like an eternity before Yerim finally opened her mouth.
Yerim smiled brightly. Her smile made the surroundings even more chaotic with admiration. Yet none of the three of us paid it any mind.
Cheonhaerang and my attention were fixed on Yerim, while Yerim’s focus was solely on Cheonhaerang.

“Hello, Cheonhaerang. Have you been getting along well with Jiho today too?”
“Yes, Yerim.”
“Good, I’m relieved.”

To Cheonhaerang’s ears, her words sounded strangely loaded with meaning.
Cheonhaerang noticed a bead that had slipped from his necktie heading toward Yerim’s hand, but he did his best to pretend he saw nothing and smiled back at her.
Watching Cheonhaerang appear unbothered by the aura she was emanating, Yerim thought to herself.

‘She’s not someone to be underestimated. She doesn’t seem like an ordinary high school student.’

Regardless of gender, a human of this age would naturally be intimidated. She was a celestial maiden. A boy of merely this age could not easily withstand the aura of a heavenly being.
However, after a full day of surveillance, Cheonhaerang turned out to be an ordinary high school student.
I didn’t know what had happened that morning, but the way he had comforted Jiho was telling, and the way Jiho followed him willingly was equally so.
Cheonhaerang was truly a male student on very good terms with Jiho, as if they were genuinely dating.
Though some unease still lingered, Yerim loosened her grip on suspicion somewhat.

“Cheonhaerang said you live in our apartment too, right? I’ll give you a ride. Get in with Jiho.”
“Really? Thank you so much, noona.”

At the innocent boy’s greeting, Yerim nodded and turned toward the car. Cheonhaerang and Jiho followed her obediently.
As Yerim reached for the driver’s side door, she felt a gaze from somewhere and froze, turning her head.
Among the uniformed students, someone stood there. It was a man with refined features. When his eyes met hers, he lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile.
Yerim’s heart felt as though it plummeted downward with a thud.
It was an unfamiliar face. Definitely an unfamiliar face, yet…

“Yerim.”

Yerim squeezed her eyes shut to escape the memory that shook her. When she opened them again, the man was no longer there.

* * *

An awkward silence filled the car.
Once inside, Yerim seemed somewhat subdued, and Jiho could only read her mood without daring to speak to her. It didn’t seem like Yerim’s state was caused solely by Cheonhaerang.
Sensing this as well, Cheonhaerang sent a text to Jiho instead of whispering.

Noona, is something wrong?

That was the problem—I didn’t know. What had happened while I was at school? She hadn’t even mentioned coming to pick me up.
Normally, Yerim should have been at the shrine at this hour. The shaman working in the Human Realm was quite famous, after all.
They said it was difficult to see Yerim without an appointment. Such a Yerim should have been at the shrine right now, earnestly performing her craft.
Jiho observed Yerim sitting in the driver’s seat and replied to Cheonhaerang’s text.

I’m not sure either.

No answer came from their exchange. In the end, the two decided to simply leave Yerim as she was.
Cheonhaerang sought to find joy in this discomfort and asked a question.

By the way, Jiho, are you good at archery?
Archery?
Yeah.

I rummaged through my childhood memories.
There were four weapons one could learn from childhood: the Lunar Blade, the sword, the gun, and the bow.
You selected one weapon that suited you best and focused on mastering it. That meant when choosing your first weapon, you had to hold all four in your hands.
And I had no talent for archery. Even my older brothers, who doted on me endlessly, had shaken their heads at it.

Why the sudden interest in archery?
Just curious. We’re supposed to start on Thursday anyway.
Start what on Thursday?

Reading that message, Cheonhaerang recalled the vacant expression on my face in the hallway earlier. He’d suspected as much, but since it wouldn’t hurt him, he’d pretended not to know.

Jiho, you said you heard what I had to say…
You agreed to join the traditional archery club.

“…!”

I lifted my head abruptly. Facing Cheonhaerang, whose eyes met mine, I blurted out without thinking.

“Traditional archery? The traditional archery club?”

The silence flowing through the car shattered. But I couldn’t bring myself to care.

“Yeah. Traditional archery.”

At Cheonhaerang’s innocent reply, I felt a wave of despair wash over me.

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