The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 86
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Their gazes met in the air.
‘Why, why is Miss Su-jeong here?’
Seo-yu instinctively took a step back. Her breath caught and her heart beat like crazy.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
Amidst the loud heartbeat that rang so loudly her eardrums felt muffled, only one word came to mind.
‘Why, why?’
A sensation as if her vision was becoming distant enveloped Seo-yu. Seo-yu, who had been stepping backward, turned around and fled the scene as if running away.
Meanwhile, Su-jeong was greatly flustered in her own way.
‘That’s Nok Seo-yu. Was she alive?’
She was so shocked for a moment. If Tae-eon hadn’t been beside her, she would have definitely screamed.
‘How is she in such perfect condition… No, why is she here in the first place?’
She had definitely pushed her off that steep cliff. She had pushed her with her own hands and clearly saw her fall.
But how could that Nok Seo-yu appear so brazenly! And right here at this Medical Academy!
In this incomprehensible situation, Su-jeong unconsciously bit her nails with a crunch.
“Su-jeong?”
“Ah, yes. Lord Tae-eon.”
She snapped to attention at Tae-eon’s voice calling her.
Though she had finally heard the name she had so desperately wanted to hear, before she could feel any emotion, shocking words followed.
“Are you acquainted with the young lady from the Golden Dragon Family?”
“The… Golden Dragon Family?”
What kind of nonsense is this now?
Su-jeong forgot to act sweet in front of Tae-eon and contorted her face.
She wondered why he was suddenly making such an unfunny joke, but Tae-eon didn’t even blink. Rather, he just tilted his head as if Su-jeong’s reaction was puzzling.
“Aren’t you? You seemed to know her.”
“Ah, no. She just resembles someone I know. Um, Lord Tae-eon. Do you happen to know that young… lady’s name?”
Young lady, what a joke. She was so dumbfounded that words wouldn’t come out properly.
Tae-eon, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth.
“Hwang Seo-yu, I believe she had a name like that.”
Hah.
Su-jeong couldn’t stop a hollow laugh from escaping between her lips.
* * *
Bang!
Seo-yu, who had hurriedly entered the room, leaned her back against the door as if collapsing.
“Hah, haah!”
As she gasped for the breath she had been holding, Bi-neung approached with surprised eyes. It was twice as fast as her usual speed.
“Where… hurt?”
Bi-neung carefully touched Seo-yu’s shoulder and asked.
Seo-yu shook her head vigorously, but her startled heart wouldn’t calm down easily. She kept hiccupping and her shoulders trembled.
Bi-neung, who had been slowly rolling her eyes, gently patted Seo-yu’s back. With that tender warmth, Seo-yu was finally able to calm down.
“…Thank you, Bi-neung. I think I need to go to bed early today.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Bi-neung didn’t ask any more questions. She simply helped Seo-yu spread out her blanket and quietly returned to her own spot.
Seo-yu collapsed onto her bedding and stared blankly at the ceiling. The patterns created by the wood grain kept looking like Su-jeong’s face.
‘The Qilin Young Family Head definitely said he had made an engagement…’
The rumor she had heard a few days ago vaguely came to mind.
In fact, the Medical Academy was always overflowing with various stories. Talk about who got engaged to whom, which family was proceeding with marriage discussions, and so on.
She never could have imagined that it was Su-jeong’s story.
‘Could I be having a bad dream right now?’
She wanted to think that way.
But reality was all too clear.
Su-jeong’s face, her shocked expression, and even the appearance of the Qilin Young Family Head standing beside her. It couldn’t be anything but reality.
Seo-yu clutched her blanket.
In the past, she wouldn’t have been surprised even if something like this happened.
No, she would have been surprised, but she wouldn’t have felt this despairing. Back then, this was everyday life. Misfortune was natural.
But now it was different.
Thanks to the time spent with the Golden Dragon Family and the warm affection her family had shown her, Seo-yu had come to understand what happiness was.
That’s why this despair felt even greater.
‘I need to sleep for now. Thinking more won’t change anything.’
Seo-yu forced her eyes closed.
‘So I told you to listen to me.’
However, Su-jeong’s voice lingered in her ears.
The hand that pushed her away without hesitation. The way she snatched the pouch away. The corner of her mouth that curled up in mockery. The cold gaze that looked at her from the edge of the cliff.
All those moments were as vivid as if they had happened yesterday.
In the end, Seo-yu tossed and turned all night. She repeatedly fell asleep and woke up, and each time she woke, her entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
So even when morning came, she couldn’t get up. Her body felt heavy as a thousand pounds, and even opening her eyes was burdensome.
“Bi-neung, I’m sorry… I should be the one taking you there.”
Normally she would wake Bi-neung and go to class together, but today she couldn’t do that. Her voice naturally became small with guilt.
But something was strange.
Bi-neung was already awake. She had even changed her clothes and finished preparing to go out. For the usual Bi-neung, this was unimaginable.
Bi-neung quietly approached and handed her something.
“This…”
They were well-steamed chestnuts. Three or four of them, no less.
“Eat, and rest.”
Bi-neung said in a small voice.
Seo-yu accepted the chestnuts and somehow felt her nose tingle. She must have gone out early in the morning to get these.
Bi-neung, who was already slow and loved her morning sleep, had woken up early and prepared this to take care of her.
“Bi-neung, thank you so much. Really.”
“Yeah. I… I’ll go to class.”
“Be careful.”
After Bi-neung left, Seo-yu took a bite of the chestnuts. The sweet and warm taste spread in her mouth, but it was hard to swallow.
‘She must have brought the Snow Scale Flower to the Qilin Family Head, right?’
If Su-jeong had arranged a marriage proposal with Tae-eon, that would surely be the only way.
‘You’ll become a thief who stole the Snow Scale Flower I obtained and ran away. Do you think the Qilin Family Head would be grateful for medicinal herbs offered by a thief?’
‘How will you prove it? Who would believe the words of someone like you?’
Su-jeong’s mocking voice kept echoing in her ears.
‘What if Miss Su-jeong says I stole the Snow Scale Flower?’
Of course it wasn’t true. But there was still no way to prove it. She was the only one who could hear the Snow Scale Flower’s voice.
If that happened, the Golden Dragon Family’s honor would fall to the ground. With the disgrace of having accepted a thief as an adopted daughter.
‘That… I’d rather die than let that happen.’
Unable to bear the frustration, Seo-yu came out of her quarters. She felt like she needed to walk through the forest.
‘Maybe if I tell the Qilin Family Head about Seollin…’
She had that thought for a moment, but Seo-yu soon shook her head.
Seollin had clearly said not to carelessly tell others about it.
Of course, the Qilin Family Head, being a member of the Four Spirits, probably wasn’t a bad person, but a promise was a promise.
At least until she could talk with Seollin or the Dragon Spirit, she had to keep the secret.
“Sigh…”
It was when Seo-yu was trudging through the Bamboo Forest and let out a deep sigh.
Flutter!
She heard the sound of something passing overhead. Seo-yu’s eyes widened as she unconsciously looked up.
“Huh?”
A black squirrel was perched on the bamboo. Its obsidian-like sparkling black eyes looked familiar.
“Black…ie?”
Seo-yu cautiously called out the name, thinking ‘could it be, could it be.’
Then the Black Squirrel, as if recognizing its name, crossed between the trees and approached her.
“Are you really Blackie? Really?”
Seo-yu momentarily forgot her sadness and welcomed Blackie with a bright smile.
She had wanted to meet again someday, but never dreamed she would see him at the Medical Academy.
“Oh my! Blackie, I missed you!”
When Seo-yu called out happily, the hesitating Blackie climbed down the bamboo like an arrow.
Scurry, scurry scurry!
And then—
“Wow!”
For the first time, Blackie, who had always kept his distance and only watched, climbed onto Seo-yu’s palm. Seo-yu was moved.
“Blackie, how are you here? Did you come to see me by any chance?”
At her casual words, Blackie flinched, then suddenly flopped down on her palm, lying flat on his back.
“Ahaha, what are you doing?”
At the sight that seemed almost like he was acting cute, Seo-yu burst into laughter. As she carefully petted Blackie, a smile bloomed on her face for the first time.
“Thank you, Blackie. Thanks to you, I feel better.”
And so Seo-yu spent time with Blackie for a while, receiving comfort.
* * *
At that time, not far from the Medical Academy.
Su-jeong was anxiously waiting for someone inside a luxurious carriage. She bit her nails, crumpled her skirt, and kept looking outside.
‘It’s time for them to come. Why aren’t they coming?’
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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