The Snake, the Flower, and the Tiger - Chapter 27

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

Chapter 27

Hee-seo, who’d been applying an ice pack to Je Eon’s shoulder, suddenly let out a sharp cry.
The bruise was on Je Eon’s shoulder, yet her own face burned hot. The only mercy was her thick skin.
“It hurts so much, Hee-seo….”
At that, Je Eon looked up at her with a bewildered expression.
The gesture—pitiable as a rain-soaked puppy—made Hee-seo’s face contort. She couldn’t explain why the Animal Spirit that had lingered in the Mansion’s basement suddenly came to mind.
“Bear with it. It’s not even your body anyway.”
“But I can still feel the pain.”
“I could make it hurt a lot worse.”
Hee-seo, wielding the ice pack, spoke in an ominous tone. The atmosphere was so menacing that anyone unaware of the situation would have thought Hee-seo was the one in pain.
Yet Je Eon simply hunched his large frame as small as it would go and rested his forehead against her shoulder.
“Do you like it when I’m in pain, Hee-seo?”
“What…?”
“Sometimes I see these moments where you look so frightening and dizzy. Of course, I’m willing to adjust to your tastes.”
This bastard was no pitiable dog. He was simply obscene.
Without thinking, Hee-seo moved to strike Je Eon’s uninjured shoulder, but forced herself to suppress the urge. The body’s original owner bore no fault.
“Don’t. Stop talking.”
Hee-seo sighed and shook her head. Any further conversation would only drag her into his games.
“Why? Are you angry?”
But contrary to her resolve, Je Eon leaned his face close to hers and asked. His wet hair hung down today in a way that made his face look particularly youthful.
It was then that Hee-seo recalled Je Eon was actually younger than she was.
“You, listen here….”
Hee-seo glared at him with narrowed eyes. Unmoved by her terrifying gaze, Je Eon continued to play the pitiful puppy. She pressed on immediately.
“Now that I think about it, why do you keep using formal speech with me this whole time? Is that some kind of concept you’re going for?”
“Hah. A concept?”
“Yeah. You keep using formal speech even when we’re alone together.”
In truth, Hee-seo’s question was a probe. Je Eon had known about her Amulet from the very first night, and he’d even known that she’d approached him for Exorcism.
So how much did he know about her personal information?
“A spirit using formal speech—it’s so unbecoming.”
“Does my formal speech bother you? Perhaps you don’t feel like I’m a man?”
Je Eon asked with a playful gesture.
“Are you a little crazy?”
Hee-seo turned serious. Then Je Eon broke into laughter, wrapping his arms around his stomach. It was a laugh as refreshing as the body wash he smelled of.
“If I’m crazy, I’m crazy. What does ‘a little’ crazy mean?”
“If you were completely crazy, you wouldn’t even be having this conversation with me. Or else….”
‘You’ve got some other agenda.’
Hee-seo recalled the strange events that had unfolded earlier that day.
As she thought of him orchestrating such things while playing fox games in front of her, suspicion began to seep through like melting ice becoming water. He seemed increasingly sinister.
“Or else?”
Then Je Eon’s hands wrapped around Hee-seo’s waist and drew her gently closer. They’d been sitting side by side on the sofa while he inspected his shoulder, so suddenly their knees touched.
Hee-seo looked down expressionlessly at her own waist.
“Let go of my waist.”
“Hee-seo.”
“I could break your fingers instead of just your shoulder.”
“The pain is mine, but the body that would break belongs to Je Eon, doesn’t it?”
Je Eon lowered his head and whispered low. His unusually subdued voice burrowed into her ear, tickling somewhere deep. Hee-seo pressed her lips firmly together.
“This isn’t a concept. It’s real.”
“…Let go.”
“I really do want to be your devoted servant, Hee-seo. Even if you break my shoulder, my fingers—all of it. So please don’t hate me so much.”
The hands that Hee-seo had been glaring at fell away with a reluctant air. But Hee-seo went rigid, holding her breath.
Something soft had brushed against her lower lip, near her chin, very briefly before disappearing.
……
“That was my sincere expression of gratitude for the ice pack treatment. It’s French-style, so forgive me. Understood?”
His voice, tinged with laughter, continued to tickle her ear before fading away.
Hee-seo remained on the sofa, frozen solid as stone. As Je Eon turned to leave, he raised his voice playfully.
“And I always try to use formal speech with older women. So Hee-seo, look kindly on me. Good night.”
Je Eon’s laughter hung in the air like mist. Hee-seo pressed a hand to her forehead as a wave of dizziness washed over her.

***

‘This is a dream.’
The scene was achingly familiar—one she’d grown tired of knowing by heart. Hee-seo looked slowly around her.
The dreamlike quality was the same as always, but what differed was the crowd of spectators packed into every corner of the gymnasium. The peculiar smell of the indoor facility mingled with the charged energy of excited people, enough to bring on a headache.
‘……It’s only a dream. It’s already passed.’
She repeated it to herself again and again. But it did no good. Like a pinwheel caught in the wind, she found herself swept back into that moment despite her resistance.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, another scene unfolded.
Lengths of colorful cloth billowed from a flagpole raised high as if to catch the clouds themselves. Save for the flags jutting up behind the gate, the house looked much like any ordinary residence.
Before stepping inside, Hee-seo clutched the medal in her fist. The disappointment was immediate and bitter—her appearance now was no different from when she’d left so early that morning.
Yet Hee-seo pressed her lips together firmly and yanked the door open with force. She kicked off her shoes from the courtyard and raised her voice.
“Mom, Mom! Dad! I’m home! Mom!”
Standing on the wooden floor, Hee-seo carelessly flung her bag aside—the kind of thing that would have drawn a scolding if her father were watching. And fiercely, desperately, she wished he would.
“Mom, I got the medal! I told you I’d win, didn’t I? That older girl was seriously strong, you know? If I hadn’t trained so hard, I really would have lost. But you know your daughter, right? It was a complete knockout. The crowd went absolutely wild, I’m telling you?”
Silence met her words, and Hee-seo faltered for a moment before speaking again.
“Anyway, I’m starting the intensive camp next month. I have to go to full-scale training too, so I need to prepare for a lot of things. I think I need to get new martial arts uniforms, and shoes too. What else? Oh, my bag is getting worn out, so I need new… I need new things.”
Still speaking into the empty house, Hee-seo suddenly collapsed onto the wooden floor. She peeled off her soiled socks and breathed heavily.
Even here on the wooden floor, warmth had always lingered in this house. But though winter hadn’t yet arrived, her breath came out white with each exhalation.
“……You said you’d be back by the competition day at the latest.”
Hee-seo murmured quietly, staring at the firmly closed master bedroom door.
It had already been two weeks since her parents—Wolcheon Seonnyeo and her husband, both renowned shamans—had left the house.
“You said you were going to pray for me. Where are you? What are you doing? Why……. Mom, Dad.”
The last thing she’d seen was their figures disappearing at dawn, saying they had to pray for her before the competition. That morning their embrace had been especially warm, and Hee-seo remembered it vividly. But contrary to their promise, no matter how long she waited, there was no sound of them returning.
Hee-seo curled her body against a sack of rice and leaned her back against the cold wall.
“I’m alone here……. How much longer am I supposed to wait?”
Though their profession differed from other parents’, their affection for their only daughter Hee-seo was more than abundant compared to most.
Wolcheon and her husband often traveled to famous mountains to pray. When they were away for extended periods, even her father would hurry back early. But this—both of them gone for so long—had never happened before.
“……You promised you’d come back by today for sure.”
The appetizing smell of food drifted over from the neighboring house. Grrrrowl. Hee-seo’s stomach, empty all day, immediately responded to the scent.
Yet Hee-seo hugged her knees and waited for a long time, until the day grew dark.
Waiting for Mom and Dad to cross that gate with a cake in hand.

“……And here I am, dreaming about the past like I’m still a child.”
Hee-seo muttered dryly and sat up. As if by habit, she wiped hastily at her eyes. The back of her hand was damp, but she rubbed it carelessly against the blanket, pretending it meant nothing.

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