Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 65

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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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65.

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Perhaps it was the exhaustion that came from the delayed release of tension.
Jiho fell into a deep sleep the moment she lay down on the bed after washing up, and she slept soundly until morning. If there had been no sound to wake her in the morning, she probably wouldn’t have gotten up at all.
Knock, knock.

“Jiho, are you awake?”

Cheonhaerang knocked, but Jiho remained deep in sleep. Even when he finally opened the door and entered, she was still the same.
Upon entering the room, Cheonhaerang carefully sat beside Jiho, who was sleeping soundly. Then he simply gazed at her.
She was so exhausted that she didn’t wake even at his presence.
Of course, there was no way she wouldn’t be tired after yesterday’s events.
Yesterday’s happenings flashed through my mind like a lantern show. Then my memory finally settled on the moment I faced it.
The Eight Trigrams Bell rang, announcing the presence of something wicked.
An Evil Spirit.
The Evil Spirit’s seal was not yet completely broken. So what I saw was merely a fragment of its true form.
Yet I couldn’t breathe. I had never felt such yin energy before. It was incomparable to Gihyeongrang.
When the Samjogo moved, I trembled in fear that the Evil Spirit might discover me.
Yes, I was afraid.
The Evil Spirit had grown stronger than before.
I was afraid of the Evil Spirit. I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to overcome this fear.
That I wouldn’t be able to pierce the Evil Spirit’s heart because of this fear.
That I wouldn’t be able to protect Jiho.
Cheonhaerang reached out and carefully cradled Jiho’s cheek. I could never lose this warmth that I had barely regained.
I had to overcome this fear.
I leaned down. I gently pressed my lips to her exposed forehead. Then I quietly woke Jiho.

“Jiho, wake up. You need to go to school.”

Mmm, Jiho made a small sound and shifted her body. She still hadn’t woken up.
Reluctant to move my hand away from her cheek, I gently tapped Jiho’s shoulder as she turned her back to me.

“Jiho.”

Jiho irritably brushed my hand away, then suddenly opened her eyes wide.

‘What is this?’

She had definitely fallen asleep alone. So why was a familiar voice reaching her ears?
I slowly turned my body. And then I discovered him.

“Did you sleep well, Jiho?”

Cheonhaerang was grinning brightly and waving at me. I nearly let out a scream.
Because I had indulged in improper thoughts about him last night, I couldn’t help but be greatly flustered.

“You, you, why are you…!”
“I came to wake you up. We need to go to school, don’t we?”

At Cheonhaerang’s innocent response, I found myself momentarily at a loss for words.
I should have pointed out that he had entered my room without permission, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Because after last night’s impure imaginings about such an innocent Cheonhaerang, I felt like I was the disreputable one.
Pushing aside the overwhelming shame, I spoke as casually as I could manage.

“Right, right. We should go to school.”
“Go wash up quickly. I’ll have breakfast ready.”

With those words, Cheonhaerang kissed my cheek with a soft smack.
I covered the cheek where his lips had touched and stammered helplessly.
I stared blankly at Cheonhaerang’s retreating figure as he left the room, when I suddenly remembered something.

‘Prepare breakfast?’

Normally, Yerim prepared the meals. Even with Cheonhaerang around, there was no way Yerim would have him prepare breakfast.

“Could it be….”

Sister hadn’t come home?
I bolted up from the bed. Then I quickly left the room.
Upon finding Cheonhaerang preparing breakfast in the kitchen, I asked with some urgency.

“Where’s Sister Yerim?”
“She didn’t come home?”

Yerim didn’t come home. She stayed out. She stayed out overnight.
Yerim spent the night away.

“She didn’t come home? Why?”

Jiho’s question was something I couldn’t answer. I trailed off awkwardly.

“Well…? I’m not entirely sure myself….”
“She stayed out. My sister stayed out. She doesn’t even have anywhere to go from here.”
“Maybe she went home for a bit?”
“Then she would’ve contacted me. Said she was going home and coming back. No. That’s not it.”
“Then?”
“Maybe she went to Gihyeongrang. Either she went on her own, or he took her.”
“Gihyeongrang? Why would he want your sister?”
“You… don’t know? You didn’t hear about it?”
“Hear about what?”

Looking at me with a confused expression, Jiho fell into thought for a moment.
I wasn’t sure if I should tell him about this past. It was possible he might feel uncomfortable about Yerim because of it.
After all, she was directly connected to Gihyeongrang.
But eventually he would find out anyway. Whether now or later, it wouldn’t change anything.
With that thought, Jiho opened her mouth with a serious expression.

“The truth is… they dated a long time ago.”
“What?”

Clatter.
The spoon I was holding fell to the floor and rolled away with a distant, echoing sound.
I stared at Jiho with disbelief written all over my face.

“Yerim and Gihyeongrang dated?”

Jiho nodded quietly.
At her answer, I let out a heavy sigh.
Now I understood. Why the Patriarch chose Yerim as my guardian.
He knew about the relationship between Gihyeongrang and Yerim. So he thought that because of Yerim, Gihyeongrang wouldn’t easily lay a hand on me.
Whether you’d call it cold or simply fitting of him.
I honestly couldn’t believe that such a man could love another person so deeply.

“So you think Sister didn’t come home because of Gihyeongrang?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you say Gihyeongrang came to see her not long ago? So if she’s not coming home without even contacting us, it can’t be anything else.”

I thought Jiho lacked perceptiveness, but she actually had more insight than I expected. With circumstantial evidence to back it up, her words carried considerable credibility.

“Then why Gihyeongrang? Why did he come to see her?”
“This is just my thought, but also what the Jade Emperor thinks….”

Jiho trailed off and sat down in a chair. I picked up the spoon that had fallen on the floor and placed it back on the table.
The set table included an egg roll and miso soup that I had made myself.
Beyond the wisps of steam rising from the miso soup, Jiho spoke.

“It seems Gihyeongrang hasn’t forgotten about Sister. The Jade Emperor said so too. The fact that he’s willing to take risks and appear means he definitely hasn’t forgotten her.”
“….”

He cared for her that much…? That was another fact I found hard to believe.
It was already surprising that Gihyeongrang had dated a celestial maiden. But to the point of not forgetting her and appearing before her like this?
It was simply remarkable that he was capable of harboring such feelings.

“What if Sister really did meet Gihyeongrang? What if he does something?”
“If he cares for her that much, wouldn’t it be fine?”
“But it’s Gihyeongrang we’re talking about.”
“That’s what love is. When you love someone, you always want to do only good things for them.”

Before I knew it, I was sitting across from Jiho, looking into her eyes and smiling. Jiho stared at me blankly as if enchanted.
When you love someone, you always want to do only good things for them. My words echoed in her ears.
Her heart seemed to sink with a thud.

“That’s why I made this delicious egg roll and miso soup for you.”

I learned to cook so I could make meals for Jiho after we got married.
Jiho looked at the egg roll and miso soup with wide, surprised eyes.
To be honest… it looked more delicious than what Yerim usually made.

“Did you really make this?”
“Yeah. So go wash up and come eat, Jiho. Understood?”
“Oh, okay….”

I nodded obediently and headed to the bathroom.
While I washed up, Cheonhaerang filled a rice bowl to the brim, his mind lost in deep thought.

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The rolled omelet and miso stew that Cheonhaerang had made were, to be honest, more delicious than what Yerim had prepared.
Thanks to that, I finished one bowl of rice and ate another.
With my stomach pleasantly full, I left the house holding Cheonhaerang’s hand tightly.
Since neither Yerim nor the Jade Emperor were around, today’s commute was naturally by bus again.
Holding Cheonhaerang’s hand all the way to school, I thought this seemed better than commuting by car.
I could chat comfortably with Cheonhaerang without worrying about anyone’s gaze. Through our conversation, I even learned that he had studied cooking.

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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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