Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Juuni
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“Sorry.”
Lying side by side, Doyoung suddenly spoke. Gamal lifted her eyes in confusion.
“What for?”
“For pushing you off the cliff.”
As he said it, Doyoung stroked Gamal’s hair.
“Didn’t it hurt?”
Gamal couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard a question like that. Hardly anyone thought of her as someone who could get hurt.
In truth, when Doyoung had pushed her off the cliff, she’d been startled and felt a twinge of betrayal, but she understood because she’d hidden things from him first.
Gamal shook her head.
“I’m strong.”
Doyoung was stunned by her brazen tone, then chuckled softly.
“I’m jealous that you can say that.”
“Doyoung’s strong too.”
“If Luas said that to me, it’d feel like teasing. But whatever—everyone has their own strengths.”
“I can’t do anything.”
But then Gamal lowered her eyes and murmured. Doyoung looked at her, sensing some deeper meaning. At that moment, Gamal raised her eyes to meet his.
“Can I sleep with you?”
They were already lying together amiably, and he had no intention of kicking her out after they’d had their fun, but her round eyes peeking cautiously were adorable.
Doyoung leaned toward Gamal and asked,
“Is it okay for a mere human man to sleep with a goddess?”
“Yes.”
Gamal answered so quickly it almost seemed desperate.
“Because the goddess wants to.”
***
After their lovemaking, Tora lay languidly. Then she turned to Aki, who was lying naked beside her, and said,
“So our Matty’s type is that kind of guy, huh? I get it now. Turns out she likes it when someone treats her rough.”
Aki glanced at Tora.
“This guest is human, though.”
Tora shrugged.
“That’s why. Once you become a vampire, everything gets easier. But for a human to reach that level? That’s pure, honest effort. I bet it’s that side of him that moved our Matty’s heart, like those Moai statues.”
“Complicated.”
Aki muttered. Then, with a worried look, she added,
“But won’t Lord Rato get mad? He might try to kill that guest.”
Tora didn’t answer, just stared at the ceiling.
***
Yeah, everything was great. Drifting to this island, somehow riding things out with a female vampire who’d lived longer than most rocks—it was all fine.
But was he really going to live here on this island with Gamal until he grew old and died?
Lying in a hammock strung between trees, Doyoung watched the sunlight filtering through the leaves and thought it over. Then he scowled and spat out,
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“What?”
Tora, who’d been sitting on the ground working, turned and asked. Her long hair was braided on both sides. Strangely, it suited her perfectly.
“At first, everyone goes through a phase of denial like you, Lord.”
Tora said knowingly.
“But later, even if they tell you to go back, you won’t want to. Trust me.”
“Even if you say trust you…”
“I’ve lived out there for a few years too, but the air’s bad, it’s crammed with all those humans in tiny spaces, everyone’s so pale from not seeing proper sunlight, stressed out like zombies…”
She had so much common sense about the outside world that you could drop her in a city right now and she’d fit right in—as long as she dressed properly.
“I have family out there.”
Doyoung said, and Tora asked,
“Are you married?”
“I’ve got three sons who are total toads.”
“What are their names?”
“Elio. Nicola. Julien.”
Tora stared at Doyoung blankly.
“You’re good at lying.”
“I got an A in drama class.”
Since he hadn’t expected it to work anyway, Doyoung admitted it readily. Tora shrugged.
“It’s for your own good, Lord. It’ll be easier to accept reality if you start a new family here soon.”
He hadn’t realized it was something you could say so casually. But Tora continued matter-of-factly,
“And once we truly believe you’ve become one of our tribe, we can even send word to your family outside.”
“What’s the standard for truly believing I’ve become one of the tribe?”
“It’s not something you can fake, at least.”
Then Tora added,
“My father came from outside too, three hundred years ago.”
He’d figured as much since they were mixed-blood.
“He died when I was in the womb, so I never saw his face, but he adapted well to the tribe, apparently.”
Tora rambled on about things he hadn’t asked.
“Johannes was the same. Oh, the letter you saw? That was pure fiction. Johannes washed up here, and the first person he met was Angela’s grandmother. He fell for her at first sight and courted her shamelessly.”
“So the part about having a wife and kids outside?”
“He did have family, and since they were pretty wealthy, there was apparently a whole family feud over inheritance that even made the papers. Johannes got fed up and ditched everything to go sailing. Like Henry Thoreau or something.”
An indigenous person referencing Henry Thoreau…
Tora kept going.
“Johannes was a writer. A total flop, but he did get a book published. I took the manuscript out and handed it to a publisher. Haven’t you read it? ‘John’s Mysterious Voyage.’”
“I’d love to check that out. I’ll look for it if I ever leave the island.”
Doyoung said it without much interest, but Tora chuckled. It sounded like he was determined to leave the island someday.
Just then, women’s voices like birdsong rang out, and Gamal appeared from behind the hut with the women. As Doyoung watched, Tora sidled up beside him and whispered slyly,
“Our Matty’s pretty, isn’t she?”
Doyoung raised one eyebrow and looked at Tora. She had a look like she had more to say, but she didn’t give him a chance to interrupt.
“Consider it an honor. All the men who came here worshipped Matty like a goddess, but she never gave her heart to any of them—the one and only Moai statue of Satadi Island. And you’re the first man she’s ever truly opened up to.”
He’d heard Matty meant “mom” in Satadi. So Tora was calling Gamal “mom.”
“No matter how much of a client you are, isn’t calling her ‘mom’ with that face a bit much?”
Tora put one hand on her hip and stood cockily.
“If Matty only had kids once every hundred years, how many sons like me do you think she’d have?”
“That’s not the point…”
Then Gamal cut in.
“What are you two talking about?”
She looked just like a jealous kid left out of the conversation. Doyoung waved it off and lay back in the hammock. Gamal peeked over and asked,
“Doyoung, sleepy?”
“Sleepy.”
Doyoung answered with his eyes closed. Gamal grabbed the hammock and said,
“Play with me.”
“Are you a kid? Fine, playtime.”
But just then, a young tribeswoman passed by, touched a flower to her forehead, and set it down in front of Doyoung before leaving.
Doyoung was puzzled. Next, a middle-aged woman passed by, bowed politely as she offered a fist-sized pouch, and set it down before going.
“What’s this?”
Doyoung asked, looking at the pouch. Gamal, behind the hammock, answered,
“Wheat grains.”
Doyoung turned.
“Wheat grains?”
Gamal nodded.
“Wheat grains.”
This wasn’t some Dumb and Dumber routine—Doyoung said incredulously,
“So why are they giving wheat grains to me…?”
This time, another middle-aged woman offered a small box and left, followed by two girls presenting a bouquet. Tora beamed and said,
“Word’s already spread, I guess. You’re Matty’s man. And Matty’s man is the tribe’s great Tawa.”
Tawa. That meant “dad.”
Doyoung was so flabbergasted he couldn’t speak. Were they treating him like a living Buddha now?
“Why don’t you just decorate me with flowers and put me on an altar?”
“If you pass away, they’ll do it themselves.”
Doyoung rolled his eyes at Tora’s words.
“Great Matty!”
Then the gathered girls called out to Gamal. She went over to them. Leaving a trail of fragrance.
Standing there casually with her hands behind her back, chatting with the girls, Gamal blended in so perfectly she could’ve been just another tribe girl. The kids seemed to see her less as a goddess and more like a stone dol hareubang statue—no fear or awe.
They didn’t seem repulsed or scared even when touching Gamal.
To the tribe, gods must be beings they lived, ate, and slept alongside.
Then the girls made a bit of a commotion and looked toward Doyoung.
“Look over there.”
Gamal turned too. The leaves rustled in the wind, sending tree shadows rippling over Doyoung as he gazed intently at her.
The girls swarmed Gamal, making a fuss. Doyoung stared at her like he was peering deep inside. Gamal blushed and turned her head away.
“Wow, our Matty looks like a schoolgirl.”
Tora exclaimed beside Doyoung, munching on something. Doyoung raised one eyebrow and turned.
“What’re you eating?”
Tora offered him a green plant stalk like celery.
“Sugarcane. Want some?”
***
“Not sleeping?”
Gamal asked.
Doyoung, sitting by the dying campfire, stared at her. Gamal tilted her head.
“Doyoung?”
Doyoung stood, his tone somewhat cold.
“Let’s sleep separately tonight.”
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t just become the tribe’s great Tawa and live like this. And for a single guy who’d never married to suddenly have a son? Ridiculous.
“Huh…?”
“Good night.”
As Gamal floundered, unsure what to say, Doyoung went inside the hut. He lay on the bed. Silence fell.
Doyoung rolled over facing the other way. Rustle. Soon he tossed again.
Finally, he shot up. Crossed the hut and opened the door. As expected, Gamal sat there like an abandoned puppy by the door.
“Doyoung.”
Doyoung scowled silently.
He couldn’t figure out why she always seemed like such an abandoned puppy. She got god treatment from the tribe and even had a client doting on her like a real son.
“Go to sleep.”
As Doyoung turned to go back in, Gamal hugged him from behind by the waist.
“Don’t hate me.”
Doyoung went quiet for a moment, then gently pried her arms off.
Gamal obeyed readily. She’d clung out of desperation, but she didn’t think forcing it would change his mind.
From what she’d observed, Doyoung had a sharp side—he wouldn’t let go of anything he hadn’t fully convinced himself about.
But suddenly, Doyoung pulled Gamal inside.
“Huh…?”
Gamal was baffled.
Click.
The door shut. As Doyoung pulled her arm, his other hand cupped her face for a kiss.
Gamal swallowed a sharp breath, tensing, but as the kiss deepened, her body began to heat up.
Doyoung kept kissing as he guided her arm around his waist. Then he pushed her toward the wall. Her back hit it.
Doyoung kissed like he’d lived three thousand years. Or like he had a PhD in every aspect of this.
Gamal grew aroused, tightening her arm around him. Doyoung pulled back slightly and said,
“I told you not to get excited.”