The Snake, the Flower, and the Tiger - Chapter 28

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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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Chapter 28

Her childhood vigil proved worthless. They never returned—not after a month, not after a year, not even after more than a decade. With no blood relatives to claim her, it was Somyeong, a Divine Sister at the Wolcheon Shrine, who had taken in the orphaned Hui Seo.
The name surfaced unbidden, and Hui Seo fixed her gaze on her phone.
‘Did this call come while I was sleeping? Is that why I had that dream?’
She powered on the phone and found another missed call. The number was familiar. Somyeong again.
Hui Seo hesitated a moment, then messaged Hae Jung.

「It looks like Aunt kept trying to reach me. Hae Jung, what’s going on? [7:02 AM] [Hui Seo]」

Since Hae Jung always carried her phone with her, Hui Seo expected a quick reply. But no matter how intently she watched the screen, her mood only sank lower, and no message came from Hae Jung.
Hui Seo pushed herself to her feet and headed for the bathroom.
She had grown accustomed to the garishly ornate bathroom, even if it exhausted the eyes, but mindful that blood might pour forth as it had yesterday, she turned on the water and waited for a long while. Mercifully, nothing of the sort occurred this time.
‘I swore I wouldn’t do this anymore…….’
Standing beneath the cascade, Hui Seo stared fixedly at the inside of her wrist.
Most of the scars that had startled Je Eon were ones she had inflicted upon herself.
They appeared to be self-harm, but in truth they were marks she had made to survive—evidence of her will to live. Yet today those scars felt darker than ever.
As the shower drew to a close, the phone began to ring. Hui Seo hurried out in her shower robe and picked up. The caller was Hae Jung.
“Hae Jung, did you see my message? Aunt called and—”
[You do answer my calls, Hui Seo.]
A middle-aged woman’s voice continued on the other end. Hui Seo recognized the speaker at once and let out a low sigh, acknowledging her.
“……Aunt.”
[Did you block my number, perhaps? I couldn’t reach you no matter how many times I dialed.]
“Blocked? No, nothing like that. I was out earlier and couldn’t take the calls properly.”
[Ah. You’re abroad, then? The General told me as much.]
“…….”
Hui Seo bit her damp lips and swallowed her words.
Somyeong’s Spiritual Power had weakened long ago. Whether she still possessed any Divine Spirits at all was itself in doubt.
Somyeong was fond of grandstanding about the General, one of her Divine Spirits, but it was clear she was merely repeating what she had heard from Hae Jung.
“Yes. Give me a moment. I’ll be back soon.”
[Why rush home when you’ve traveled all that way? Stay longer and enjoy yourself. Your spiritual aura is too muddled for you to benefit from staying in one place anyway—traveling suits you far better.]
There was a barb beneath the kindly tone, a sarcasm Hui Seo knew all too well.
“I’ll manage that myself, thank you. What did you need?”
[What’s this now? Must I always have business to call my niece? I’m practically your Divine Mother, after all.]
“I don’t think so. Every Divine Descent Ritual you performed on me failed, so you’re hardly my Divine Mother.”
[……Still the same caustic tongue, I see.]
Somyeong replied as though wounded by Hui Seo’s blunt retort.
Yet Hui Seo knew perfectly well that Somyeong was not truly hurt by such trifles. Each time Hui Seo spoke plainly, she was cast as sharp-tongued and ungrateful, a bitter child.
[Don’t you understand why the rituals failed?]
“Because my prayers weren’t sincere enough? Because I lacked devotion?”
[Precisely. Your heart harbored petty desires, and you kept your mind scattered on useless matters, so no matter how much I prayed, the Divine Spirits would not answer—]
“I asked you for one thing, Aunt.”
Hui Seo cut her off with a cold voice. Through the phone, Somyeong’s shock and displeasure were palpable.
[What? What’s this?]
“I asked you not to call searching for my parents a useless matter. Just that one thing. Even when you dragged me to your séances and used me to exorcise all manner of spirits, I never once refused. And I was grateful—because you gave me a roof over my head so I could at least finish university. So, Aunt.”
[…….]
“I’m not asking anymore. This is my last warning, Aunt. Don’t you ever again tell me that searching for my parents is pointless. I’ve staked everything I have on this.”
[……Well, yes. Yes. I was wrong. I didn’t understand your sensitivity and spoke carelessly. Don’t hold it against me. At your age, why burden yourself with such feelings? You haven’t even married yet.]
Hui Seo swallowed the words that rose to her throat. ‘Actually, Aunt, I already did. I even have a younger husband.’ But she held her tongue.
Given Somyeong’s nature, if she’d gleaned everything about Hui Seo’s current life from Hae Jung, she would certainly have asked first about GM Group and Je Eon. There was no need to create fresh material for her meddling.
‘She still doesn’t seem to know about the fake marriage. Did she spy on a recent message I sent Hae Jung?’
Because Somyeong was always stealing glances at her phone, Hae Jung kept hers close. But finding an opening in Hae Jung’s defenses was as easy as taking candy from a child.
“Thank you for your concern. When I meet a decent man, I’ll go ahead and marry him.”
[Yes, well, you’d need a man who meets your standards. You’d better be careful not to end up like you did in college—spreading rumors that he was some lunatic after you broke up, if you can imagine. The General says you ought to develop a better eye for men. What was his name? That law student you dated? Even his first impression wasn’t good, I hear.]
She had watched Hui Seo long enough to know her weaknesses better than anyone. It was an attack Hui Seo had endured many times before, and it stung each time.
‘This is exactly why I didn’t want to talk to her.’
Hui Seo raked her fingers through her damp hair, suppressing her anger.
“It’s remarkable that you know these things so well, Aunt, when the General has no experience with romance. If you’d known from the start that Choi Jin Wook was such garbage, you should have warned me beforehand. Did the General tell you about him only recently? Was it a lack of sincerity on his part, or a lack of affection toward me? Isn’t that right? If you’d heard that, you would have certainly warned me about it.”
She couldn’t simply swallow her anger and play the fool. She was long past the age for that.
Somyeong’s curse reached her ears, small and bitter. For that much, at least, Hui Seo felt a fraction better.
Hui Seo wiped her hair with a towel as she walked toward the glass window overlooking the city. The sweeping vista was, after all, one of the few things she actually liked about the hotel.
“Aunt, I can’t talk for long. This is an international call, isn’t it? There probably aren’t many customers at the Shrine these days, so please don’t let Hae Jung complain about the phone bill. Just tell me what you need.”
“…Come home to Korea for a bit when you get the chance. We should talk face to face.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s anything I really need to discuss with you in person.”
The reason she wanted to see her face was transparent. Somyeong would certainly try some form of coercion—a plea dressed up as a favor. If not, she would have hung up already instead of tolerating Hui Seo’s backtalk.
“How can you forget the debt you owe me, being so busy all the time? I know you’re upset with me about something, but what’s wrong with me asking you to do what you do best? Why are you being so cold?”
Hui Seo let out a hollow laugh at the voice that was not just confident, but aggrieved.
She’d had similar conversations with Hae Jung before, but Somyeong seemed genuinely convinced that she’d been a decent guardian to Hui Seo—just as she was to Hae Jung.
“I don’t think there’s any point in bringing up now how much blood I’ve shed during those rituals for you. I told you clearly last time that it would be the last. I don’t know how much money you got from whoever you sent me to, but please stop deceiving people before you incur karmic retribution.”
On any other day, she would have merely exchanged pleasantries and hung up on her end. But the dream from last night left Hui Seo unable to hold back.
Somyeong was her spiritual sister and had known her mother—which meant she had no right to do these things to her.
Yet the one being criticized simply fell silent. Silence, too, was one of her weapons. Unfortunately for her, it no longer worked on Hui Seo.
“…I suppose I’ll have to put Hae Jung on the ritual stage after all.”

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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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