The Snake, the Flower, and the Tiger - Chapter 13

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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 13

Hee-seo felt Kim Je-eon watching her with that ambiguous smile, but she continued cutting her food in silence. It was the only way to release the fury rising in her chest.
The guests invited to the dinner appeared to be Kim Jong-hyup’s closest associates. When addressing him, they mixed titles like chairman or uncle into their speech. And as Hee-seo listened to their conversation, one thing became clear to her.
‘……This possessed grandson is being treated rather generously.’
Kim Jong-hyup was the kind of man who’d fabricate a false identity and arrange a marriage just to drive the spirit out of his grandson’s body. And the way he was treating Kim Je-eon in front of these people now—it was practically how one would address a successor-in-waiting.
‘Does he truly believe I’ll drive the spirit out?’
Kim Jong-hyup expressed his confidence in Kim Je-eon without hesitation. When he remarked that all future ventures of GM Group would be decided solely by Kim Je-eon’s abilities, everyone nodded in agreement.
Hee-seo, reaching absently for her wine glass, drank water instead and turned the thought over in her mind.
‘The thing inhabiting Kim Je-eon’s body doesn’t seem like the type to cause trouble, given how much he’s being praised.’
Spirits are rarely able to suppress their desires and cravings. Once they’ve become spirits through resentment, they have no reason to restrain themselves when a tool to vent that resentment appears. And a possessed person is essentially a tool for them to use.
The way they use that tool varies—sometimes through hunger or lust, sometimes through violence. What they have in common is that their desires are almost always one-dimensional.
‘But from what I’ve seen so far, there’s no way this can be Possession.’
Yet Hee-seo could sense no desire emanating from Kim Je-eon whatsoever. Though she’d only observed him for a week, he lived a life that seemed painted by routine.
Across all aspects of his life, he had never shown a single impulsive act or one-dimensional craving. If he hadn’t revealed his own existence on the first night, his normalcy would have been so convincing that she’d have doubted the Possession itself.
Perhaps her worry about Je-eon had run so deep. Hee-seo suddenly became aware that the room had fallen silent. She snapped back to reality to find everyone staring at her. A chill ran down her spine.
“……I’m sorry, my Korean isn’t very good. What did you just say?”
Fortunately, no one called out Hee-seo’s blatant excuse.
“It seems the madam has already departed, Mr. Je-eon?”
A young man sitting near Je-eon spoke teasingly, and the others burst into laughter. The way they all seemed to take delight in it was thoroughly unpleasant.
Feeling oddly like she’d become the butt of a joke, Hee-seo turned her gaze toward Je-eon. But Je-eon merely lifted his champagne glass lightly and smiled, offering no explanation whatsoever.
Expecting help from him in the first place was absurd. Hee-seo was about to play along with ignorance when she changed her mind.
“What do you mean, departed to where?”
Hee-seo asked the young man while pulling up one corner of her mouth in a forced smile.
“It’s not a common honeymoon destination, but it’s certainly romantic. I hope you have a wonderful trip.”
The man who’d called Je-eon “Mr. Je-eon” answered and clinked his glass into the air. At that, everyone gathered raised their glasses in unison and offered a toast to her.
As Hee-seo heard these incomprehensible words, her expression grew increasingly strained.
“I must say, the bond between the two of you seems far stronger than I expected.”
“It’s thanks to you, sir, for finding me such a perfect bride.”
“Indeed. She really is the right woman for you.”
Kim Jong-hyup also offered congratulations to Je-eon and raised his glass. As she listened to the exchange between grandfather and grandson, Hee-seo barely suppressed an empty laugh.
‘And here I thought only I was being played for a fool…….’
The only people she had any connection with were Je-eon, Kim Jong-hyup, and Seo Hyun-ah. Surrounded by strangers, unable to understand a word they were saying, was utterly frustrating. Their curious gazes only added to her irritation.
But what truly made Hee-seo want to explode was something else entirely.
“I trust you won’t come back empty-handed from your honeymoon. Remember, I only approved this extended business trip because of that.”
“A week will be sufficient, sir. This will be Hee-seo’s first time in Dubai, so we’ll make sure the trip goes smoothly.”
As Kim Jong-hyup set down his glass, Hee-seo’s grip on reality slipped for a moment. What on earth was she supposed to bring back from Dubai? But Je-eon quickly dragged her back to reality.
“I’ll do my best with Hee-seo, sir. To be honest, I never had any plans for children, but if it meant having a daughter who looks like Hee-seo, I’d say now is the perfect time. I’m not sure what you promised to give Hee-seo, sir, but if you give her that, she says she could manage up to ten. So, I suppose all I need to do is make the effort, yes?”
‘Looks like…… What effort?’
Ten? Ten children? With him and me?
When a person is too bewildered for words, their mouth simply stops working. Hee-seo found herself staring at Je-eon with her lips half-parted.
How much does this spirit think he knows about me? And to begin with—what right does some parasite clinging to a human body have to say such things?
Impossibly, Je-eon gazed at Hee-seo’s stunned silence as though she were an adored wife. Then, as if whispering a confession of love, he leaned in close and spoke softly against her ear.
“If our chairman knew that I’ve already discovered your true identity…… what do you think he’d say? Don’t you think it would be better for you if we pretended to be a bit more happily married?”
This wasn’t a game of tricks. This was a Gumiho’s trap. When their eyes met—his gaze dark and unreadable—Je-eon smiled as though he’d painted it there. It was a smile for the dearest, most beloved spouse in the world.
‘This…… wretched spirit, not even worthy of a memorial offering…….’
Hee-seo forced her trembling lips into a smile. Fortunately for her, that smile looked less like a forced grimace and more like the thrilled smile of a woman toward her strikingly handsome husband.
“You’re…… too much…… of a romantic, aren’t you. Dubai, honeymoon, trip……”
Ha, ha, ha. Today was when Hee-seo discovered just how unnaturally awkward her own laughter could sound. Kim Jong-hyup, watching the pair, laughed along with her a beat too late.

It was a terrible first dinner for Hee-seo.
When the dinner ended, Hee-seo trudged out of Kim Jong-hyup’s Residence.
Je-eon had suggested they ride home together in the car, but she was in no mood for that. Had she endured another moment in his presence, she might have lost all composure.
The sun had already set, and her body felt heavy, as if waterlogged.
‘……If I could perform the Transference on that spirit even a day sooner, I wouldn’t have to keep doing this.’
Pretending to be a daughter-in-law to a conglomerate family—something completely outside her fate—had drained her of every last ounce of strength.
Kim Jong-hyup was inscrutable as a thousand-year-old viper, and the spirit attached to Kim Je-eon was no ordinary being either.
‘All I’ve managed to figure out is that Kim Jong-hyup is hiding something.’
If she truly wanted to drive her grandson away, the least she could have done was offer some small kindness.
But Kim Jong-hyup had done nothing but place Hee-seo beside Kim Je-eon and then stand on the far bank like a bystander, watching her burn.
“Cunning old fox.”
With no one to hear, her curses came freely. Hee-seo had stepped off the walking path and was cutting across the lawn when she suddenly stopped. Even though they weren’t high heels, the backs kept sinking into the soft earth.
‘Nothing works, and nothing ever will.’
Without hesitation, Hee-seo slipped off one shoe and stepped barefoot onto the grass. The weather was mild enough that walking without them seemed possible.
As she bent to remove the other shoe, Hee-seo froze. She’d heard movement behind her.
…
She took off the second shoe and rose slowly. Before straightening fully, she swung her arm down hard.
Whoosh! The heel of the shoe cut through the air with a sharp, vicious sound.
“Old habits. Damn it. Still the same?”
The shoe she’d hurled crashed against something and stopped cold in the air. Her wrist, caught fast, trembled violently as she lost the struggle for control.
Artificial light fell dimly across the man’s face. Hee-seo’s eyes widened as she recognized those familiar features.
“…Choi Jin-wook. What are you doing here?”
For an instant, recognition flooded her face. But shock quickly curdled into disgust.
“That’s my line. Hee-seo. What are you doing here? Who do you think you are, coming to a place like this?”
“What?”
“A washed-up shaman playing with spirits—what right do you have to be here? Huh?”

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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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