As soon as he woke up, Eun Seonmyeong turned to the side and frowned when he discovered Shim Iyul sleeping against the wall instead of clinging to his side.
“Why is there no consistency in your sleeping habits?”
He would lecture him about lacking manners and etiquette at every turn, acting all high and mighty. Shim Iyul’s inconsistent attitude seemed truly rude.
“……”
Yesterday, he clung to his side while sleeping, and later even climbed on top of him like a mountain, causing a major incident that broke his thirty years of virginity. Then as soon as his heat ended, he slept stuck to the wall – what an eyesore.
Sex with Shim Iyul was a major event for Eun Seonmyeong. Though he didn’t express it, his entire worldview was shaken. Although he had declared he wouldn’t marry, that didn’t mean sex with a man instead of a woman. He had maintained his virginity thinking that even sex with a cursed body might harm the other person, after seeing his mother who died young after giving birth to him. That wasn’t very difficult. Ban Hanseong thought it pathetic that he didn’t use his perfectly fine body and appearance, but sexual desire wasn’t a big part of Eun Seonmyeong’s life. He had lived calmly enough to wonder if he was asexual. Until yesterday, that is.
Eun Seonmyeong, who confirmed his lower half standing more erect than usual, let out a sigh. His lower half, which rarely needed touching except when urinating, had been asserting its presence frequently these days.
Even after getting up and going to the bathroom to roughly take care of it, Shim Iyul was still sleeping peacefully against the wall. Feeling annoyed for no reason, when he grabbed Shim Iyul’s shoulder to lay him flat, he could see his slightly parted lips.
“……”
As he stared quietly and poked his lower lip with his index finger, Shim Iyul furrowed his brows in displeasure. When he poked once more, the furrow between his brows deepened. As he reached out again while swallowing a laugh, Shim Iyul’s eyes flew open. Eun Seonmyeong, who flinched without realizing it, changed the direction of his index finger to lightly flick his forehead instead of his lips. As if the forehead had been the destination all along.
“Violence first thing in the morning?!”
Shim Iyul, who covered his forehead with both hands, sat up and protested.
“Violence, what violence? Should I show you what real violence is?”
Eun Seonmyeong showed his clenched fist.
“You must have energy to spare? Trying to use force first thing in the morning.”
“I always have energy to spare, so if you’re curious what real violence is, feel free to ask anytime. Get up. The sun is at its peak.”
“Peak, what peak! It just passed 7 o’clock!”
Shim Iyul, who glanced at the time, burrowed back into the blanket. Eun Seonmyeong kicked Shim Iyul’s legs as he closed his eyes saying, “I’m going to sleep more, so don’t wake me.” Then Shim Iyul rolled half a turn to avoid Eun Seonmyeong’s kicks. Eun Seonmyeong, who snorted, opened the window and door wide. Cold, fresh air rushed in as if it had been waiting, and Shim Iyul’s scent that had filled the room began to disperse. At the same time, the heaviness that seemed to constrict his heart faded. It finally felt like he could breathe normally.
His heat cycle ended, so why is his body scent so thick?
“Spiteful!”
Shim Iyul, who finally got up, grumbled.
“And you’re a lazy fox. Get up, wash, and move around. And let’s eat breakfast together.”
“For breakfast, I want freshly squeezed 100% grapefruit juice and yeast-fermented bread toasted with plenty of butter, fresh salad… cereal is fine.”
Shim Iyul, who had been speaking with an arrogant expression with his arms crossed, glanced at the unimpressed Eun Seonmyeong and changed his words.
“You probably at least have bread. Though I don’t know if it’s yeast-fermented.”
Eun Seonmyeong, who drove Shim Iyul out to the yard, headed to the kitchen. Actually, since Han Seolju handled all the housework, there was rarely a reason to enter the kitchen, so he didn’t know exactly where things were. He just assumed there would be leftover bread since he sometimes ate it, but no matter how much he searched, he couldn’t see a single piece of bread. Of course, there was no cereal that Shim Iyul had mentioned either. Although he occasionally made toast for breakfast, Han Seolju fundamentally preferred Korean food, so he had never eaten cereal until now.
“This is why you shouldn’t do things you’ve never done before.”
Eun Seonmyeong, standing in front of the nearly empty refrigerator, muttered awkwardly. After sending Han Seolju to Ban Hanseong’s house, he had skipped breakfast. But he was bewildered at himself for suddenly thinking he wanted to eat breakfast together with Shim Iyul.
It was absurd that he kept doing things unlike himself, but after suggesting they eat breakfast together, he couldn’t now say “Let’s eat next time” like an unreliable person. He didn’t want to do that. For a hunter’s pride, saying two different things with one mouth was unacceptable. So when he came out of the kitchen to say he would go to a nearby bakery, he saw Shim Iyul squatting on the main hall, on the phone.
“You sold it? You got a good price, right? Well done. How’s your body? Is hospital life manageable? If you feel your energy fading and think you’ll meet the Reaper, tell me. I’ll gift you a ginseng root considering our long friendship. Then you can stay in this world for a few more years.”
Whatever the other person said, Shim Iyul threw his head back and laughed loudly. His uvula was visible. Eun Seonmyeong’s eyes narrowed.
Shim Iyul discovered Eun Seonmyeong standing there and wrapped up the call.
“Who are you on the phone with first thing in the morning?”
He had a feeling who it was. It must be that old man he had visited in Sokcho for a hospital visit. Even while guessing, he asked pretending not to know.
“Old Man Kang. You should remember. My friend I saw in Sokcho.”
“Even for a friend, isn’t it too early to call?”
“What does time matter for a call with a friend?”
“How did you two meet?”
“I saved him when he was dying in the mountains.”
About sixty years ago. It was a very cold winter. He discovered Old Man Kang, who had come to the mountain to gather medicinal herbs, dying after slipping on an icy path. Saving him after trying to ignore him was a simple whim. After roughly treating his injured leg and taking him down to the village at the mountain’s base, he forgot about it, but a month later Old Man Kang came looking for him with meat. Saying thank you for saving him. When he found out he was a medicinal herb gatherer, he handed over what he had collected asking him to sell it, and he got quite a good price. The medicinal herbs Shim Iyul handed over were high quality and hard for humans to find, so they were expensive. After several transactions, Old Man Kang also made quite a profit and even opened a store. Then he exclusively handled the medicinal herbs and ginseng Shim Iyul gathered, and provided other small conveniences.
“A yosu saved a human?”
“Is there a law against it? If I feel like it, I save them.”
Feeling embarrassed for no reason at the disbelieving tone, he turned his head sharply and answered curtly.
“You brought the Dongjagwi asking for help.”
“That’s because it was clinging to me and being annoying.”
Shim Iyul, who was scratching his cheek while making excuses, blinked at the next question.
“Did you save my number?”
Wait, the question just jumped to a really strange place?
“Huh?”
“I asked if you saved my number. Was the question difficult? Don’t understand?”
“Of course I saved it!”
“Show me.”
“Come on, we’re in an alliance, why wouldn’t I have saved your number? We’ve called each other several times. Don’t you remember?”
Thinking it was making an issue out of nothing, he proudly held out his phone. Eun Seonmyeong’s eyes turned fierce after confirming the name Shim Iyul had saved.
“Lowly… Hunter?”
“What’s wrong with that? You are a hunter! What did you save me as then?!”
Shim Iyul flinched and lunged saying let me see your phone too.
“Fire Fox?”
The name Eun Seonmyeong had saved for Shim Iyul was Fire Fox.
“You are a Fire Fox.”
It was true, but somehow it didn’t feel good. Shim Iyul, who threw his phone back at Eun Seonmyeong, said.
“At least add -nim at the end. Fire Fox-nim.”
Of course, Shim Iyul’s request was flatly rejected along with a snort.
“If you change it to Great Hunter-nim, I’ll consider it.”
Shim Iyul also rejected Eun Seonmyeong’s request along with a snort.
“Fire Fox, what’s that? Fire Fox. So simple. At the very least, save it as Shim Iyul or Iyul. Wouldn’t that be nicer? With a perfectly good name. Really no sense.”
Shim Iyul, who was grumbling while receiving the Einspänner the cafe owner handed him, took a big sip and tilted his head. This isn’t the taste?
The name on the cup holder that Eun Seonmyeong bought yesterday was definitely this place. He looked again thinking maybe there was another place with the same name, but there wasn’t. Meaning this was definitely the place. But the taste seemed a bit different. No, the taste was the same but the feeling was different. If yesterday it stuck deliciously to his mouth, today it was just so-so. It was strange. It was the same coffee, but yesterday it was so delicious with overflowing flavor, but today it was mediocre.
Shim Iyul walked listlessly with some disappointment. He was passing by <The House Where You Are> with no energy when he saw the door was open.
It was definitely closed until just now, when did it open?
Although he was holding an Einspänner right now, he could definitely drink one more cup. He would drink it no matter what. He had been waiting so long for it to open. Nearly dancing with excitement as he entered, Lee Jinkyung, wearing an apron, turned around with a bright smile.
“Welcome.”
Shim Iyul immediately approached her. Then he reached out and grabbed her smiling neck.
“K-kkeok. C-customer? Wh-what is this…”
Because her neck was grabbed, she couldn’t speak properly. Her face gradually turned pale, and saliva dripped from the corner of her mouth. Shim Iyul looked down at her with emotionless, cold eyes.
“A mere wandering ghost dares to possess a human body and try to deceive me?”
The moment he saw her face turning around with a smile, he knew. A wandering ghost had possessed Lee Jinkyung’s body. At the same time, he had a gut feeling that the black cat had died.
Beasts generally sense their own death. You can often hear old stories of an old dog one was raising disappearing one day – this can be seen as the dog’s loyalty in not wanting to show its corpse to its owner. Sometimes they show different behavior than usual and make last memories with their owner before dying.
The black cat must have also sensed its own death. Lee Jinkyung was born with a constitution prone to ghost possession. Worried that after its death Lee Jinkyung might be caught in sleep paralysis or have her body taken by a ghost, the black cat must have asked Shim Iyul to look after her. It was the black cat’s last love and protection for Lee Jinkyung.
And just as the black cat worried, Lee Jinkyung, who lost the cat she cherished and loved, weakened by deep sadness, had her body taken by a wandering ghost.
“Wh-what are you s-saying…”
“Get out. From that body.”
