The Snake, the Flower, and the Tiger - Chapter 55

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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 55

Hee-seo leaned back against the pillow and lifted her scarred arms to examine them. She too had not believed in her own abilities at first.
“I don’t know how it’s even possible, either. If my mother were still here, I’d understand better…….”
At least if A-seon at Baeksong Temple had retained her full faculties, she could have offered some explanation, but Hee-seo couldn’t burden her elderly mentor with her own questions on top of everything else.
Hee-seo’s heart grew heavy as she revisited those days. And unwilling to let it show, she spoke lightly instead.
“At least I’ve confirmed the effects work with my own body, so it’s not a fraud. I never received Divine Possession, so I’m not a proper mudang, but I’ve learned Minor Tricks well enough, and even though my Spiritual Sight hasn’t opened, I can perceive and sense all manner of things.”
That dealing with spirits was made easier by Sacred Scriptures and Shamanic Implements—this too was knowledge she had gained through direct experience.
Despite Hee-seo’s efforts to mask it, Kim Je-eon read the wound that lay beneath.
“You dealt with those spirits because of that shaman called a Calling—is that right?”
“Well, I had to earn my keep. With a niece who failed to receive Divine Possession, I needed to be useful in some way.”
“But this…….”
Kim Je-eon’s expression had already gone still, and he grasped the inside of Hee-seo’s arm.
The scars that marked it densely looked at first glance like the marks of self-harm from someone who had abandoned life, but in truth they were evidence of her determination to survive.
Kim Je-eon lowered his head and pressed his lips against her scars.
“I’ll repay this, so don’t worry.”
“What? Repay what?”
“Your meals. I’ll pay you back with interest.”
“Hey, don’t joke around. That was ages ago.”
Hee-seo let out a hollow laugh and glanced away. Kim Je-eon followed suit with a loose smile, laughing along with her. But he never quite answered.
“I’ll go heat up some fresh water. Just wait a moment.”
“No, you need to answer. Don’t do anything strange, okay?”
“Aren’t you hungry? Should I grab you something?”
“Hey, stop changing the subject. Though now that you mention it, I am craving some ramen…….”
“It’s too late in the evening for ramen, Hee-seo.”
Kim Je-eon headed downstairs with a couple of damp towels, and Hee-seo hurried after him.
For the past few days, Hee-seo had been addicted to the ramen Kim Je-eon made. The man cooked with supernatural skill—even instant ramen became sublime in his hands.
In the end, Hee-seo cajoled and pestered him until he relented and stood in front of the induction cooker, his expression betraying reluctance even as he began heating water.
“Where did you learn to cook like that?”
“I took some bridegroom lessons in advance. Figured the moment I met a woman like you, I’d be ready to marry.”
“Your way with words…….”
She grumbled, but it was pleasant to hear. One side of her chest felt warm, like boiling water roiling beneath the surface. In moments like these, she and he seemed almost like an ordinary couple.
Hee-seo sat at the island counter with her chin propped in her hand, then deliberately turned her gaze away from Kim Je-eon to look elsewhere.
She hadn’t taken a single bite of the spicy ramen yet, but her cheeks burned hot. The room must be warmer than usual. Hee-seo was rising from her seat to crack open the kitchen window when—
“……What is that sound?”
“Hee-seo?”
“Wait.”
Mmm…… ah, mmmmgh…….
A muffled sound reached Hee-seo’s ear. Kim Je-eon, seeing her expression suddenly turn grave, switched off the flame and moved closer to her.
Wail, wail, wail, waaaaail!
Then the sound, which had been so faint, exploded outward. It was coming from the stairwell leading to the basement.
“Hee-seo.”
“Do you hear that sound too?”
Hee-seo scrunched up her face and pressed her palms over her ears. But the wailing didn’t diminish—it was as if an infant were crying right in front of her.
Kim Je-eon’s eyes clouded with concern as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and asked again.
“What sound are you talking about? I don’t hear anything.”
“A baby crying. You really don’t hear it?”
“A baby? There’s no baby crying around here. Not in this house, anyway—not anywhere nearby. You know that.”
As Kim Je-eon said, the sprawling estate had only one adjacent property: Kim Jong-hyeop’s house. And there was no infant there who would be crying loud enough for this sound to carry.
“……It’s coming from the basement. I need to go down and check.”
“Wait. I can’t let you go alone. Let me go down and see what it is.”
“You can’t hear anything, so what good will you do down there?”
“Even if I can’t hear it, at least I won’t let it frighten you with crying.”
Kim Je-eon’s light, reassuring tone made Hee-seo furrow her brow. She tried to protest, but the wailing only grew louder, becoming genuinely unbearable.
Hee-seo shook her head and raised her voice.
“I have to understand what’s happening if I want it to stop. This won’t end on its own.”
“This is similar to what happened in Dubai, isn’t it?”
“Right. It’s not human work.”
Hee-seo reached into her back pocket and drew out the Three-Part Talisman, unfolding it. As she shook it lightly a few times, the wailing that had been shaking her skull diminished somewhat.
Only then did Hee-seo, briefly freed from the noise, give Kim Je-eon’s chest a light push.
“Since you won’t be jumping out of any windows this time, stop panicking and wait here a moment.”
“Hee-seo.”
But Kim Je-eon didn’t budge. It was as if the ease with which he’d been pushed back before had been a lie.
Hee-seo’s eyes narrowed with irritation, yet Kim Je-eon only clasped her hand tighter. And in that moment.
[Ding-dong. Ding-dong.]
The child’s crying still echoed from downstairs. Kim Je-eon kept his gaze on her, but Hee-seo’s attention fixed on the entrance where the doorbell had rung. The visitor wasn’t content with the bell alone—knock, knock—they rapped on the door as well.
“Young Master. It’s Jo Jae-un.”
A voice followed that was familiar to Hee-seo too. Jo Jae-un, Jo Jae-un. Who was Jo Jae-un again?
“He’s your grandfather’s butler, isn’t he? Right, that man?”
Hee-seo readily recalled a gaunt, middle-aged man.
Jo Jae-un was surely Kim Jong-hyeop’s closest confidant and butler. If so, did Kim Jong-hyeop want to see Kim Je-eon?
Hee-seo urged the tight-lipped Kim Je-eon once more.
“Go. Go talk to your grandfather if he wants to talk, then come back.”
“We could meet tomorrow.”
“That’s your thinking. You promised to help me, didn’t you?”
……
Kim Je-eon’s gaze looking down at Hee-seo grew hazy. Guilt pricked at her for a moment, but there was no other choice.
If something truly dwelt in the basement, she had to face it herself. She couldn’t leave Kim Je-eon—or the thing that inhabited his body—defenseless.
“I’ll check it out quickly and be back. It’s probably nothing. And you should go check too if your grandfather wants to see you right now. Understood?”
Before Kim Je-eon could protest, Hee-seo twisted free from his grip. Though footsteps sounded behind her as if he meant to follow, she ignored him and bolted straight for the stairs descending to the basement.
Her departing silhouette was terribly cold. Did she really regard him as nothing but luggage? Even if she did, it wouldn’t be a lie.
‘She was being chased back then on the mountain too.’
Most memories from when either Kim Je-eon or Je-seon occupied the body weren’t shared between them. This was also why Je-seon still seemed like an underdeveloped child.
Only later did Kim Je-eon check the car’s dash cam footage and learn about the situation in which Hee-seo had been pursued.
‘……Back then, even if I had been there instead of him, I wouldn’t have been much help.’
Hee-seo had a way of subtly diminishing herself.
A half-fledged shaman who hadn’t even received Divine Possession. She often degraded herself that way, but Kim Je-eon’s thinking was different.
She was a savior to someone. A lifeline. And to him……
Kim Je-eon walked toward the entrance with a stern expression.
If Kim Jong-hyeop had sent someone to meet him, as she’d said, he couldn’t ignore it. He had promised to help her, after all.
“Young Master. Are you there? It’s Jo Jae-un.”
The familiar voice called to him from beyond the door. Kim Je-eon grasped the doorknob and began to turn it, then paused.
Come to think of it, it was already close to midnight. And Kim Jong-hyeop was someone who always went to bed early and rose early. Moreover, the Jo Clan employees close to Kim Jong-hyeop typically shared all the Estate’s security codes with one another.
Then why would Jo Jae-un be knocking on the entrance door in the middle of the night?

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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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