The Snake, the Flower, and the Tiger - Chapter 20

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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 20

Je Eon stared at the faint nail marks that remained across his gloved hand. He tried to organize the situation calmly. Hee-seo was skilled enough at swimming to rescue someone who’d suddenly jumped into the Han River. So there was no reason she would vanish so suddenly after boarding the yacht.
Something was definitely in the water below. And that something had dragged Hee-seo away. The odds were high that it wasn’t physical.
Je Eon suddenly remembered how Hee-seo had been reluctant to board the yacht.
“……Hee-seo.”
The woman in whom no fear could be found—what she’d been avoiding. And simultaneously, it might have been an opportunity for Kim Je Eon. A chance to make her disappear naturally, without leaving any complications behind.
Je Eon looked at the small CCTV mounted on the yacht. Like a black box installed for emergencies, it would prove his innocence.
‘…….’
If she disappeared, what would become of him? Perhaps he could go on living as he had been.
After this, Kim Jong-hyup would stop at nothing to drive him from this body, but there was only one existence like Hee-seo.
Perhaps through her mere absence, he could sustain this life.
But…….
Je Eon gazed at the gentle ripples on the water’s surface. The black water that had swallowed Hee-seo. It resembled something dirty and sinister about himself.
Without hesitation, the man stood atop the yacht’s railing. And in the next instant, with a sharp splash, he plummeted into the water.

***

“Young Master, I—what on earth has happened!”
“Call the physician.”
Jo Butler rushed out, his face drained of color. Jo Manager was with him.
Je Eon brushed past them and entered the Inner Chamber swiftly. In his arms lay Hee-seo, unconscious.
“Young Master, are you well? How did you get so soaked!”
“Jo Manager, did you call the physician?”
“Yes, Executive. She should arrive within ten minutes.”
Jo Manager answered calmly compared to Jo Butler’s ashen face. Yet even she bore the unmistakable marks of shock.
Hee-seo lay unconscious, and Je Eon himself was drenched; water trailed behind them like a tail wherever they walked.
Je Eon proceeded to the Inner Chamber and laid Hee-seo on his bed without a care for the sheets being soiled.
As Jo Butler, who knew of his usual fastidiousness, blinked in confusion, Jo Manager spoke to Je Eon.
“Executive, what happened? How did you both end up so wet?”
“We fell into the Han River.”
“The Han River?”
“I slipped on the yacht, and Hee-seo rescued me.”
Je Eon delivered the lie without the slightest change in expression.
Both Jo Butler and Jo Manager were essentially extensions of Kim Jong-hyup’s will. If he told them that Hee-seo had jumped into the Han River, regardless of the reason, it was certain that she would face difficulties once she woke.
In less than ten minutes, the Personal Physician who resided in the Mansion rushed over and examined Hee-seo. Fortunately, despite how long she’d been in the water, her condition was not grave.
The Personal Physician said she would wake once she regained consciousness. Je Eon felt an odd sensation, as if those words were somehow soothing him.
“Tell me immediately once she wakes.”
Je Eon entrusted Hee-seo to Jo Manager and made his way to the Bathroom. After closing the bathroom door, only beneath the cascade from the showerhead did he notice the acrid smell.
Je Eon tore off his shirt, soiled with mud and unidentifiable substances, and hurled it away.
He despises filthy things. Dirty water, foul odors, spoiled food and squalid places, corrupt human beings.
People often mistook it for fastidiousness, but it was closer to self-loathing. He hated himself—felt it in all that existed in this world.
‘……And yet.’
Nonetheless, Je Eon had plunged into water of unknowable depth to rescue Hee-seo.
The faint stench no longer registered, nor the density of the water. What seized him was only the thought that he must save Hee-seo.
Je Eon stood beneath the water and recalled Hee-seo’s image.
‘That’s the world she’s lived in all this time.’
To find Hee-seo dragged beneath the surface, Je Eon had to dive deep for what felt like an eternity. And in the darkness, what he found was her standing upright in the water—as if someone held both her feet, keeping her erect.
It was grotesque beyond measure. A scene that would inspire terror in anyone. Yet Je Eon did not stop swimming.
The closer he drew to her, the colder the river became, like the depths of an ocean, the current growing violent. Still, he did not stop.
‘……Why?’
Hee-seo, floating alone in the dark river, looked like a corpse. Je Eon felt desperate to reach her. And yet he himself could not fathom why he felt so desperate.
‘I nearly put this body in danger too.’
He had made a deal with her. Discover his true identity within one hundred days, and he would vanish.
But separate from the deal, he had to protect this body. He should never have committed such a reckless act as diving into the river to save her.
Je Eon lifted his head and stared at his reflection. The man in the mirror wore an unfamiliar expression.
“……That woman was simply necessary for my plan. Nothing more.”
That was all. The man murmured it softly—an excuse, really, spoken to himself. Perhaps it was more like self-hypnosis.
A thick vein rose and fell beneath the skin of his clenched fist.

***

Fortunately, Hee-seo woke the very next morning. The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was Jo Butler’s worried face.
Rather than answer his pestering questions about what had happened, Hee-seo shuffled toward the Dining Room, her stomach hollow with hunger—as though a handful of beggars had taken up residence inside her.
She’d expected the table to be empty, as always, so when she found it occupied, she stopped dead in her tracks.
“…….”
“Good morning.”
Hee-seo closed her mouth and looked up at the wall clock.
It was already past nine in the morning. The man who ordinarily vanished before dawn to head to the office was sitting at the table—it made no sense.
“Good morning yourself.”
She kept her voice low so the staff hurrying to prepare her meal wouldn’t hear. Yet despite her cool reply, Je Eon’s face broke into a radiant smile.
“I was worried, but you seem to be doing well.”
“……You were worried about me?”
The question escaped Hee-seo’s lips before she could stop it. Who was worried about whom, exactly?
“What kind of husband wouldn’t worry about a wife who threw herself into danger to save him?”
Je Eon smiled softly and raised his teacup. Only then did Hee-seo notice Jo Butler entering the Dining Room.
He wore an expression identical to his nephew’s and rushed toward her with urgent concern.
“Miss Hee-seo, are you well? Once you woke, we arranged for the physician to examine you again. I’ll have him called at once——”
“No, I’m fine.”
“You were in the water for quite some time. We should call the hospital and arrange tests——”
Despite her refusal, Jo Butler continued to pour out his worries. Hee-seo sighed and tried to stop him.
“There’s no need for tests——”
“There hardly seems to be any need for tests. The Chairman will only worry otherwise.”
Their gazes collided in midair. Hee-seo clamped her mouth shut and listlessly pushed the soup around with her spoon. Just moments ago, she’d been ravenous; now, looking at his face, her appetite evaporated.
As if reading her thoughts, Je Eon set down the Tablet he’d been holding and addressed Jo Butler.
“Butler, why don’t you give Miss Hee-seo some peace to eat? I’ll monitor my wife’s condition myself.”
“……Yes, Executive Director.”
It was a graceful dismissal. Jo Manager caught Jo Butler’s arm, and they slipped out of the Dining Room. The maid set down a simple meal before Hee-seo and vanished as well. In the vast, elegant Dining Room, only the two of them remained, eyes locked on each other.
“I threw myself into danger to save you? These people actually believe that nonsense?”
“They have to. We’re supposed to be a devoted newlywed couple, after all.”
His shameless reply, delivered as though he’d been waiting for the chance, drew a hollow laugh from Hee-seo.
“So we’re newlyweds who just watch while the other gets dragged away by a drowned spirit? How did this even happen? You wouldn’t have jumped in to save me.”

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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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