The Snake, the Flower, and the Tiger - Chapter 24

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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 24

Hee-seo closed her eyes and focused on her own breathing. If her mind wavered, gaps would form, and through those gaps, the Ghost would exploit her weakness. She knew the Ghost’s nature better than anyone.
When she opened her eyes, Kim Je-eon was right in front of her face—close enough that the slightest tilt of her head would bring their lips together.
She caught the sweetness mingled in his exhaled breath. Biting the inside of her cheek with her molars, Hee-seo answered him coldly.
“I did it because I could. A wound like this is nothing compared to saving suffering people and driving the Ghost away.”
“……Dozens of times? Tearing at living flesh, in such agony?”
“Yes. Dozens, even hundreds of times—I don’t care. That’s why this is my final question.”
“…….”
“Does the real Kim Je-eon still exist inside your body?”
Hee-seo focused intently on the man before her. Even as he heard her question, he blinked slowly as if he couldn’t hear a sound, dark eyes vanishing and reappearing between long lashes.
Then his large hand traced up her back from her waist. His solid palm moved slowly along her spine, as though searching for other scars.
When his hand reached the nape of her neck, Je-eon spoke.
“Kiss me.”
“……What?”
“If you kiss me, I’ll answer you. So please, kiss me first.”
He whispered with an aching voice, as if confessing love, as if pouring out a desperate longing.
At words that sounded almost like pleading, Hee-seo couldn’t hide her shock. She leaned her upper body back as though to flee, but Je-eon merely gazed at her lips—he made no move to close the distance.
“You want to know if Kim Je-eon is still inside me, don’t you? You’re afraid that driving me out will leave this body an empty vessel. Let me show you the answer. So just once, just one single time……please, kiss me first.”
“……Hey, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
“You and I, we couldn’t even spend our First Night properly, remember? I still regret that night.”
Despite the playful tone of his words, Je-eon’s eyes were dark and deepening, looking as though they might drown at any moment. It was Hee-seo who found herself flustered by that pitiful expression.
From the start, the First Night had been a pretense—a chance to learn the Ghost’s identity through his blood or essence. The fact that he was saying such things despite knowing this meant he was definitely playing at being vile.
Yet Hee-seo couldn’t easily push him away.
“Just one kiss. It should hurt less than damaging your body.”
“…….”
“Is that not it? Is it so distasteful to kiss someone possessed by a ghost?”
She had lain in the marriage bed of her own volition—surely a kiss would be no harder than that. By Je-eon’s own logic, it was easier than drawing blood.
Yet even thinking this, Hee-seo couldn’t bring herself to answer.
“Lee Hee-seo.”
“Don’t call my name.”
“Hee-seo.”
“I said don’t.”
“A name holds tremendous power, doesn’t it? I’m glad.”
“Glad about what?”
The remark made no sense. Hee-seo frowned without meaning to. At that, Je-eon cupped her cheek and smiled faintly. The blurred smile made him look fragile.
“……Even if you say you’re a false bride, at least one thing is certain. I know your real name.”
In that instant, as if someone had poured ice water over her, Hee-seo’s blood ran cold. She yanked her arm away from Je-eon roughly and pulled back. Je-eon released her without resistance, as if he had anticipated her reaction.
Her heart raced like a runner who had suddenly stopped. Hee-seo clenched her jaw and glared at him.
Once again, she had failed to extract much information from Je-eon. But one thing was certain: he knew as much as she did, perhaps even more.
“Don’t use my name so carelessly.”
“Why? Are you afraid I’ll control you with it?”
“It won’t be as simple as you think.”
Just as calling the Ghost’s name was used to command it, so too calling a person’s name was how the Ghost seduced and controlled them—the principle was identical. Hee-seo moistened her parched lips and retraced her memories.
‘Ever since we entered this Hotel and were left alone, he’s been calling my name. Over and over, with every word he speaks.’
Though the temperature wasn’t cold enough to feel chill, goosebumps rose on her skin. Hee-seo found herself staggering backward without realizing it.
The conversation meant to uncover the Ghost’s identity had instead made her reveal her own weaknesses while under its spell. Her inability to look away from him was proof of the same.
“There’s a limit to what I’ll allow out of consideration for Kim Je-eon. Don’t say my name whenever you please.”
“What will you do if I don’t show mercy?”
As Hee-seo retreated, Je-eon closed the distance. She forced down her rage and looked up at him.
The moment Je-eon reached out his hand toward her, watching her cheek tremble finely—
“Consider this a warning. Don’t you dare touch my body.”
“Ugh…….”
Hee-seo swiftly seized his wrist and wrenched it in the opposite direction. At the abnormal angle, Je-eon let out a low groan of pain. Yet instead of resisting, he hung his arm limp and gazed at her with narrowed, pained eyes.
“My name and my body—if you touch either without permission, I won’t spare Kim Je-eon anymore even if he gets hurt. Do you understand?”
“Hee-seo, ugh!”
“Answer me!”
The moment his name left Kim Je-eon’s lips, Hee-seo tightened her grip on his arm. The pain of bending joints was something even an adult man would struggle to endure. Kim Je-eon exhaled sharply and nodded.
“I understand. If you don’t permit it, I won’t do anything, so please don’t hurt me. If this body gets injured……. It’ll be difficult for you too, won’t it?”
This bastard, really. Should she just break his arm outright? Hee-seo clenched her teeth and deliberated. But he wasn’t wrong. She ground her jaw and shoved him away.
“While you’re here, I’m using the upstairs. Don’t set foot on a single stair. There are countless ways to cause pain even without breaking bones.”
Kim Je-eon looked at her as though he had something to say, but Hee-seo left him behind and climbed the stairs without looking back. Fortunately, the warning seemed to take effect—he didn’t call her name.
The second floor had several rooms along the hallway. Hee-seo entered the first one she saw and closed the door behind her. Bang. The moment it shut, her legs gave way beneath her.
Seven days of honeymoon felt as though it would be the longest week of Hee-seo’s life.

***

The next day, people in formal dress arrived at the hotel. They were Kim Je-eon’s close associates and secretaries, who had departed a day later than Hee-seo and Kim Je-eon.
She had no appetite to sit side by side and eat, so Hee-seo remained alone in the bedroom. Director Jo, who had made the effort to find her and climb to the second floor, lowered his voice as he closed the bedroom door behind him.
“The chairman asked me to convey a message.”
“The chairman?”
“Yes. Since you’ve come this far, he said he’ll await good news…….”
On the surface, it sounded like an encouragement to enjoy the honeymoon well, but Hee-seo and Director Jo both knew what Kim Jong-hyup truly wanted.
Hee-seo exhaled a long sigh and sat on the bed, regarding Director Jo.
“Did you check on what I requested?”
“Ah, yes. Here—what you asked me to photograph, sir.”
“It was impossible to bring them, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. It seems…….”
Hee-seo nodded matter-of-factly and examined the phone Director Jo offered.
The screen displayed the Purified Water and Salt that Hee-seo had secretly arranged in Kim Je-eon’s bedroom. The moment she reviewed the photograph, her face went rigid.
“Is there some problem, miss?”
“No. There isn’t.”
The problem was that there was no problem. Both the Purified Water and the Salt remained exactly as Hee-seo had left them. Which meant they had exerted no influence on Kim Je-eon whatsoever. Hee-seo rubbed her face, seized by a hollow, helpless feeling.
Director Jo glanced at the closed door, gauging the situation, then whispered.
“I should probably head back downstairs now.”
“Wait. Besides you, who else came with you?”
“The executive vice president’s secretarial team and Han Do-yun, the head of the Innovation Division. He oversees all secretaries and butlers like us. He was originally the chairman’s closest aide. You probably met him at the wedding.”

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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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