The Snake, the Flower, and the Tiger - Chapter 21

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

Episode 21

Je-eon gazed at Hui-seo steadily at her assertion, then traced the rim of his teacup with his long fingers. He inclined his head gently toward her.
The sleepless formal suit with vest and the neat appearance that revealed his features through pomade were as always, yet today there was something enigmatic about him.
‘What is this? What scheme is he cooking up?’
Hui-seo found herself tensing, scrutinizing him. His shamelessness remained constant, but Je-eon exuded an oddly equivocal atmosphere. He lifted the teacup and took a sip of tea, then hid his subtly crooked smile behind it as he posed a counter-question.
“What makes you so certain I wouldn’t have saved you?”
Je-eon had anticipated mockery from her. But contrary to his expectation, Hui-seo set down her spoon and answered flatly.
“What matters most to you right now is that body. There’s no way you’d jump in to save me, is there? It’s only natural. And if I disappeared, you’d keep that body all the safer, wouldn’t you?”
“…Yes. That is the natural thing.”
“Right. Stop talking common sense and tell me where and how you pulled me out.”
“Common sense, is it….”
Je-eon turned over her words in his mind, reciting them softly. His face bore an expression as though he himself couldn’t quite grasp something, the smile having vanished.
Before Hui-seo could register this unusual sight, Je-eon smiled again and asked.
“You don’t remember?”
Hui-seo fell silent at his question. It was an admission that would wound her pride, so she had no desire to be honest. Besides, she wasn’t obliged to be.
“I lost consciousness the moment I fell into the water. A full day of fasting probably brought on hypoglycemia.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie, strictly speaking. Spiritually Awakened People feared the Han River because countless Water Ghosts congregated there. The Water Ghosts, whom Hui-seo would normally have escaped from without difficulty, seized their chance when she was weakened and clung to her.
Exhausted from being pulled about by people all day, her strength completely drained, Hui-seo was drawn down into the water, and soon after lost consciousness. Her last memory was reciting the Sutra Chanting while swallowing mouthfuls of the filthy Han River water.
“You seem to be quite a poor swimmer for your confidence, Hui-seo. I thought you’d be skilled at it, the way you jumped in so boldly.”
“…Didn’t you just hear what I said? Someone starved me all day, that’s why.”
“If you ever plan to jump into the Han River again with the thought of saving someone, I’d strongly suggest doing it on a full stomach.”
That bastard. Hui-seo huffed and tried to work up proper anger, but Je-eon rose from his seat first.
He held a Tablet lightly in one hand and approached Hui-seo. Then abruptly he brushed the back of his hand across her forehead. Hui-seo, startled, jerked her head back to avoid his touch, but she couldn’t prevent skin from meeting skin.
“Your face is still pale, which worried me, but your body temperature seems to have returned.”
Je-eon recalled the chill when he’d pulled her from the dark water. For a moment his gaze narrowed, then quickly returned to its usual expression. Hui-seo, flustered by his sudden physical contact, failed to notice the shift in him.
There was something he seemed to want to say in the way he looked down at her, and Hui-seo felt a flicker of discomfort. It was strange that he now acted as though he genuinely cared about her, when he’d watched from across the river without lifting a finger.
‘Did I swallow too much Han River water and get indigestion? There’s no way he’d actually worry about me.’
If that creature had truly been concerned for her, he couldn’t have looked at her with such indifference from the yacht.
No—more to the point, the entity now inhabiting Kim Je-eon’s body was precisely the one who stood to gain most if Hui-seo disappeared. Suppressing her inexplicable frustration, Hui-seo spoke in a flat tone.
“What about that girl? What happened to her?”
A fresh young face throwing itself into the river waters. That was all the information Hui-seo had about the suicide victim.
Je-eon tilted his head as though pondering her question. Then, as if genuinely curious, he leaned forward and braced the Tablet on the back of the chair where Hui-seo sat, his hands pressed against it. As the distance between them closed, she caught a faint trace of his scent.
“You don’t know that girl, Hui-seo. You met her for the first time yesterday. Isn’t that right?”
“…Is it really so strange if someone I happened to know was waiting for me to pass by at that exact time and then fell?”
Je-eon’s face was uncomfortably close. To deliberately avoid his gaze, Hui-seo said whatever came to mind, and in that moment she was acutely reminded that his most dangerous weapon was Kim Je-eon’s face itself.
With his long, straight hands, he gently caressed the back of the chair where she sat. For an instant, Hui-seo felt as though he were touching her shoulder, but he made no further move to close the distance between them.
“A woman who would throw herself into the water to save even a complete stranger….”
You really are something. Je-eon trailed off, and his quiet laugh seemed laden with emotion.
“That girl regained consciousness safely at the hospital and her parents came to pick her up before dawn. So you don’t need to worry. If anything, it’s me you should worry about.”
With those brief words, Je-eon turned and left the dining room.
If anything, it’s me you should worry about… What did that mean?
Left alone, Hui-seo couldn’t bring herself to touch her spoon as the food cooled. An emotion akin to indigestion was lodged in her chest, refusing to settle.

***

Because her condition recovered far too quickly for someone who’d fallen into the Han River, Hui-seo spent several days consumed with honeymoon preparations. Time slipped away before she could even blink. And amid it all, Kim Jong-hyeop had only further muddled her mind.
Hui-seo sat in her airplane seat and opened her phone to pull up a photo.
Before boarding the flight, she’d received a message with a photo attached from Kim Jong-hyeop. The moment Hui-seo saw what was captured in the image, she had to rub her eyes in disbelief several times.
The photo was unmistakably one of her mother’s shamanic instruments—a Shamanic Knife. Unlike those used by other shamans, it bore a distinctive shape with a crimson silk cord attached, leaving no room for confusion.
‘That was definitely Mom’s Shamanic Knife…. I should have been spending all my time searching for it, but why—why am I, of all people, going on a honeymoon with that possessed bastard….’
At that moment, Je-eon, who’d been absorbed in his Laptop with a concentrated expression, looked up and met her eyes. Hui-seo stared at him blankly before pressing the button on the armrest. The door connected to the seat slid shut silently with a soft whoosh.
The fiendishly expensive and cozy first-class cabin offered Hui-seo its own consolation. The food delivered right on schedule and the desserts soothed her as well. The meal was excellent and the service impeccable.
Yet every time she encountered Kim Je-eon, it made her tense. Every time their eyes met, he played at being an affectionate husband. Just like now.
“I think salmon would suit you better than steak, Hui-seo. How about it? Oh, and if there’s champagne, would you bring us each a glass? We’re on our honeymoon, after all.”
The flight attendant, who’d greeted them with “It’s an honor to serve you,” promptly brought out a cake and champagne at his words.
The cake was dusted with edible gold leaf, and the champagne was a brand Hui-seo had never seen or heard of before. She sat beside Je-eon in the facing seat and glared at the cake.
“You’re planning to broadcast our honeymoon all over the neighborhood?”
While the steward had stepped away to prepare food, Hui-seo ground her teeth and posed the question. Je-eon responded with a soft smile, leaning toward her. Unlike the cramped economy seating of other aircraft, the spacing between their seats was remarkably generous, so his gesture didn’t appear strange at all.
“Isn’t it rather pleasant to be congratulated by people? Enjoy it. A honeymoon only happens once in a lifetime.”
“If this were real, maybe.”
Before Je-eon could finish, Hui-seo cut back with ice in her voice. Yet there was no hint of displeasure on his face.
“You know how simple people can be.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, suddenly?”
“Humans believe only what they see. How many do you think would trouble themselves to wonder what lies beneath?”
The remark came from nowhere. Hui-seo fixed him with a look sharper than champagne would have earned. His evasive words had gotten under her skin.
“What are you trying to say?”

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