The Snake, the Flower, and the Tiger - Chapter 30

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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 30

“Actually, I had something to tell you anyway. Yesterday I heard from the employees who rode in the car with the Executive Director, and apparently the driver kept saying strange things the whole time, like he was drunk, and seeing odd things. He was definitely a local driver we use regularly for our executives, but when they asked what was wrong, he didn’t say a word. By evening he said he couldn’t drive anymore and just disappeared.”
“What do you mean?”
“So one of the Branch Managers drove the Executive Director here himself on the way in.”
“……He saw something strange? Tell me more about it.”
“I only heard it secondhand……. The Branch Manager made the employees keep quiet about it, so I couldn’t ask further. And also, well, the Executive Director, he……. If the Chairman and the Young Miss are found out doing something like that, I mean.”
Jo Manager had initially assured Hui-seo that she’d detected nothing suspicious from Je-eon until now. But now she was clearly doubting him. She couldn’t ignore what she’d witnessed and felt, either.
“One person barely caught the driver shouting, and what he said was……. ‘Arbeh.'”
“Arbeh?”
“Yes, that……. It’s from the Bible, ah. The Young Miss probably doesn’t believe in that sort of thing.”
“It doesn’t matter. When I was little, I went to church every Christmas to get presents. It’s fine, just tell me—what is Arbeh?”
“Arbeh is……. It appears in Exodus, and it’s said to be the eighth plague that God sent down.”
“A plague?”
The eighth plague? The strange words made Hui-seo frown. The driver saw a plague while driving?
Jo Manager, too, merely stared at her with an expression of equal bewilderment.
Yet in that moment, something flashed rapidly through Hui-seo’s mind.
‘Water turned to blood, flies covered the houses……. Livestock died, frogs filled the houses. I’ve definitely heard this story before.’
Where death dwells, so do spirits; where plague dwells, so does evil. Evil and spirits differ in form but not in nature.
The eighth plague. Hui-seo certainly knew what it was.
Jo Manager leaned in closer, her anxiety deepening as though afraid someone might overhear.
“That eighth plague is…….”
“‘The eighth: locusts devour everything,’ isn’t it?”
Before Jo Manager could finish speaking, Hui-seo completed the sentence.
In that instant, a swarm of insects vividly flooded Hui-seo’s vision. Those grotesque forms that had fallen like mush—they were locusts, without a doubt.

***

Hui-seo didn’t return to the Hotel until late that night. It was long after Je-eon had come back. She’d deliberately stayed awake, watching Je-eon’s Bedroom, waiting for something strange to happen—but nothing unusual occurred, contrary to her expectations.
The hours passed, and the sun rose dimly. It was no different from yesterday’s sun. The moment the light appeared, drowsiness crept over her. Against her will to resist, Hui-seo fell asleep right where she was sitting.
When Hui-seo’s breathing had grown steady and calm, Je-eon’s Bedroom door opened.
“…….”
In an immaculate suit without a single wrinkle, Je-eon approached her quietly. Even as he drew close enough that his breath could touch her face, Hui-seo’s breathing remained peaceful. He gazed at her with still eyes.
“This defenseless.”
Had she heard the soft whisper? Hui-seo shifted slightly and leaned her body against the sofa. It was curious how she remained sitting despite looking ready to collapse into a sprawl.
Je-eon knelt on one knee at her feet, regarding her sleeping face.
A small face that made his tall frame seem especially lanky, dark circles beneath her eyes. Her eyes, cut long at the corners, appeared far more docile in sleep than when awake. His gaze was drawn to her lips, roughened by the tension she’d maintained ever since leaving Korea.
Without his awareness, the tips of Je-eon’s fingers trembled.
“…….”
The hand extended carelessly halted in mid-air before it could touch her lips. Je-eon stared at his own hand with an expressionless face as though regarding a foreign object.
It was as though he’d discovered something alien attached to his own body—his eyes held a faint glint of revulsion. Then, in the next moment, his other hand grasped it and pulled it away.
The expression on Je-eon’s face as he left Hui-seo’s side was surrounded by a far colder chill than before.

***

Hui-seo woke quickly. It was because she’d set her alarm earlier than Je-eon’s usual waking time. But Je-eon seemed to have gone out at dawn. There was no trace of him having lain on his bed.
“What are you trying to do with me, you sly thing.”
Anger mingled with the quiet muttering.
The Cardigan draped over her body when she woke was certainly Je-eon’s. He’d left his mark on her like a taunt and vanished. Without any explanation regarding yesterday’s incident.
Now it was necessary to admit the truth. During the time since leaving Korea, Hui-seo had devised her own plan, but all of it had failed.
“……When did you figure it out.”
Hui-seo exhaled a long breath, holding a Small Camera in her hand. The camera was something she’d installed in Je-eon’s Bedroom on the first day they’d arrived at the Hotel. But every camera she’d retrieved had its battery removed.
“The camera leaves no trace, and the Talisman shows no reaction, so I have no idea what I’m supposed to do…….”
This was the first spirit so difficult to identify its nature.
If Kim Jong-hyeop, who’d recognized the Possession first, had simply spoken honestly about what might help, they wouldn’t have wasted all this time.
‘If I can’t find traces on the one who’s possessed, there’s no other way but to search their surroundings. For that, first I need to go back to Korea intact.’
Hui-seo gazed quietly at the unfamiliar curtains. It was the Hotel’s hasty measure to conceal the glass window dirtied by insect remains.
“This won’t be the end of it.”
Strange things would happen again. She was certain of it. If she put herself in Je-eon’s place—if she were the ghost inhabiting his body—she wouldn’t throw away such a golden opportunity either.
Hui-seo’s knuckles went white as she gripped the Sambuljeon.
Two days until she returned to Korea.
She had to protect herself from Je-eon during that time.

***

“Where were you yesterday? What were you doing?”
A voice came from behind Je-eon, who stood before the mirror checking his appearance. He turned slightly, laughing as he adjusted his Necktie. In the mirror’s reflection, Hui-seo’s face appeared.
Like Pavlov’s dog, Je-eon had begun smiling the moment he saw Hui-seo—every single time.
“Is that jealousy talking? I’ve always had a thing for that.”
With an answer that might have come from a newlywed, Je-eon’s smile deepened.
“Don’t brush me off. Give me a real answer. Where were you? Who were you with? Why are you just now coming home in the morning?”
Hui-seo was well aware that her words sounded like the hysterical complaint of an overly sensitive wife, but she didn’t particularly want to keep quiet about it. Besides, it wasn’t as though anyone could easily slip into a space where Je-eon and she were alone together.
“Were you missing me?”
Je-eon turned toward her. Had he changed his cologne? An unfamiliar scent tickled her nose, different from his usual one. Hui-seo frowned and looked up at him.
“Yeah. Thought you were dead or something. Got a little excited.”
Despite the frown on her face, her answer came out calmly. Je-eon wrapped his hand lightly across his chest and made a pained expression.
“Don’t say scary things like that. It hurts every time. Besides, if I—if this body of mine died, wouldn’t that be difficult for you?”
“So you’re saying you’re still in that body, thinking of me?”
Hui-seo’s sharp retort made Je-eon’s face go strangely blank. Then he trailed off.
“Ah…….”
“What’s with that look? You’re being stupid.”
At Hui-seo’s jab, Je-eon burst out laughing as if he’d never made that face at all.
“Ha ha ha. That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you have.”
No one would dare say something like that to a face borrowed for living. Almost without thinking, she found herself nodding in agreement.
Just then, Je-eon approached her as if he’d read her thoughts. With a tender touch, he brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen across her face.
“An event’s about to start. If you don’t feel like it, you don’t need to do your hair or makeup. But people might gossip, so I think it would be good to change clothes. I picked them out myself through Jo Manager. I hope you’ll like them.”
“That event. You came for that, didn’t you? The honeymoon was just an excuse.”

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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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