Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 67

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

67.

* * *

The bell signaling the break period rang out across the school.
Yet the classroom fell into a brief silence. It was because of the message their homeroom teacher had left behind.
After classes ended today, they had all agreed to attend Imdonggu’s funeral.
Imdonggu.
I turned the name over in my mind once more.
Honestly, I barely knew his face. If it hadn’t been for the Jade Emperor’s involvement, I wouldn’t have recognized him at all.
Still, he was someone I had spent time with in the same classroom. My heart grew heavy.
How many more incidents like this would I have to endure?
Would the Heavenly Realm continue to target the children of this school?
Could we protect them?
My mouth turned bitter. Nothing could be guaranteed.

The morning hours passed in a blur, and the lively lunch period arrived.
I ate lunch with a determined, almost combative intensity, as if steeling myself for battle. Cheonhaerang gazed at me with an amused expression.
As I left the cafeteria, I spoke.

“Let’s go see Sister.”

But Yerim could not be found.
Yerim had submitted her resignation.
And her resignation became the subject of conversation among multiple voices in the faculty office.

“What? A resignation letter after just a few days? And they accepted it?”
“It’s not good for the students to keep having teachers change.”
“I don’t know what’s happening to this school. Isn’t it all rather ominous? Disappearances and deaths.”
“Shh. Don’t talk like that.”
“Honestly, they call it a disappearance, but will they ever find them?”

Jiho exited the Faculty Office alongside Cheonhaerang, the whispers of the teachers still echoing in her ears. Cheonhaerang cast a subtle glance at her. Her face had grown even more rigid than it was this morning.
Yerim had not answered my calls. His calls went without saying.
Given such circumstances, I could confidently assert that Yerim would not be home even if I returned there.
Yerim had severed contact with us in this manner.
Why on earth? What was she planning with Gihyeongrang?
Was there truly a need to go to such lengths?
Even if I sought her out again, my sister would not provide a proper answer.
The Jade Emperor would not come for some time. What moved about the school was merely his avatar.
With no answers to be found, all we could do was trust.
Yet Jiho might very well be feeling betrayed.

“Jiho.”

Cheonhaerang called her name softly. Jiho did not even turn her head to look at him.
Cheonhaerang carefully drew her shoulder toward him, cradling her in his embrace. Then, as if soothing a child, he patted her back gently.

“It’s alright. Everything will be fine, Jiho. So let’s trust in your sister, yes?”

No answer came in return.

* * *

The phone that had been ringing incessantly fell silent. The messages Jiho had sent remained unread.
Yerim let out a long sigh and collapsed onto the table. Every inch of her body ached. She could barely walk.
Whether past or present, Gihyeongrang’s habits had not changed. He relentlessly pursued her.
He clung to her obsessively, remembering even the smallest details of what she loved.
Deliberately burying the memories of what had transpired through the night—even until this very dawn—Yerim quietly closed her eyes.
Cutting contact with Jiho without explanation in this manner was not right.
Perhaps Jiho was feeling betrayed.
But there was no helping it. To deceive Gihyeongrang even slightly, it was better to deceive Jiho and Cheonhaerang as well.
Truthfully, the only thing she could trust was Gihyeongrang’s heart. She did not believe he would trust her completely.
Still, she ought to be capable of at least pulling the wool over his eyes.
Yerim swallowed back a sigh that threatened to escape. Lying draped across the table like this only made her lower back ache.
Since no one would come to this abandoned shrine anyway, why not lie down and sleep?
With that thought, Yerim pushed the table aside and stretched out flat on the cold floor. The boiler had not been turned on.
She blinked vacantly before closing her eyes. As the distant sound of automobiles became her backdrop and her consciousness began to drift away, it was then—

“Lucky you.”

At the piercing voice that burrowed into her ears, Yerim’s eyes snapped open. The face of the figure crouching at her bedside, peering down at her, was somewhat familiar.

“Ugh!”

Startled, Yerim bolted upright from her bed and pressed her hand to her chest. Her heart was pounding wildly.

“What, what is it?”
“What else? I came to receive a work report. I heard you spent the night away. Seems like things between you two were quite passionate.”

At Hand Ogeong’s words, Yerim’s face flushed crimson. She was about to open her mouth to protest when—
The playful smile that had lingered at Hand Ogeong’s lips vanished. He faced Yerim with an expressionless countenance.
Yerim felt the crushing pressure bearing down upon her. She understood that this was Hand Ogeong’s true power. Or rather, she suspected he was only using a fraction of it.
Even that alone left Yerim feeling suffocated.

“So. Do you see any possibility?”

Yerim managed to answer.

“To be honest, you likely already know this, but Gihyeongrang won’t fully trust me. There may still be eyes watching. So it would be better to refrain from contact for now.”

Yerim’s words were not wrong. Surveillance was already in place. It was Gihyeongrang’s aura, clinging thickly to Yerim’s body.
It was an obsessive aura, relentless in its intensity. Even he could not be certain how long he could conceal the gaze of that aura.
Thus, Yerim’s decision to cut off contact with Jiho could be called the right judgment.
Though not from Jiho’s perspective. I could only hope that Cheonhaerang would console her well.

“Then I shall give you my final command. Celestial Maiden Yerim.”

At Hand Ogeong’s call, Yerim knelt respectfully on one knee.

“I await your command.”
“Retrieve the Threaded Anomaly Mirror that Gihyeongrang possesses.”

The Threaded Anomaly Mirror. It was one of the Heavenly Talismans. Why did Gihyeongrang have such a treasure?
Questions arose in her mind, but there was no one left to answer them.
As if they had never existed from the beginning.

* * *

A thick, cloying incense smoke pierced through my nostrils.
I observed the people gathered within the funeral hall.
The sound of weeping echoed from somewhere, brushing past my ears.
Imdonggu’s funeral carried a solemn atmosphere. Those who appeared to be his parents greeted the mourners with ashen faces.
In one corner of the hall, students in school uniforms sat quietly, murmuring amongst themselves.
I was among them, though I sat alone with Cheonhaerang.
This was my first time attending someone’s funeral.
Even during the war when so many perished, attending funerals had been the adults’ responsibility, not mine.
Loss devastates some people beyond measure.
The children who appeared to have been close to Imdonggu were weeping.
I gazed at them quietly for a moment, then turned my gaze away. Food was laid out on the table before me, but I had no appetite for it.
I had no taste for anything.
After spooning a few mouthfuls of soup, I set down my spoon. Cheonhaerang watched me with a worried expression.
Then, sensing a strange energy suddenly manifest, he turned his head.
A man bowing respectfully and rising.
My eyes met those of a man dressed in a pitch-black suit. He then curved his lips into a grin.
Cheonhaerang recognized him immediately.
It was Gihyeongrang.
Cheonhaerang shot up from his seat. He spoke to me, who was watching him with a puzzled expression.

“Jiho, I’m going to the restroom for a moment.”

But I couldn’t take his words at face value. His expression was not that of someone heading to the restroom.
I grabbed Cheonhaerang’s sleeve as he tried to leave.

“You’re really just going to the restroom?”
“Yeah. I’ll be back soon, so just wait here alone for a bit. Got it?”

Cheonhaerang smiled reassuringly. I released my grip on his sleeve with a soft sound.
Watching his figure recede with hurried steps, I too rose from my seat.

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