Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: One Promise
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Lately, Cheondo's been acting strange.
"Senior Brother... would you like to eat this?"
A shyly offered ripe heavenly peach.
As I took it, Cheondo suddenly grabbed the hand holding the peach and gently stroked the back of it.
Her physical contact has increased way too much.
She was clinging to me more than before. Her voice had also become more childlike.
Cheondo turned her flushed face away so I couldn't see it and rested her head on my shoulder.
"......"
Avoiding my gaze while pressing her body right up against me.
It was an aggressively bold move that felt burdensome.
"Cheondo."
"Yes?"
"Is something wrong?"
Cheondo shook her head and closed the distance even more.
There was no more space to close, so the flesh near her shoulder pressed firmly against me.
"......Is there something bothering you, maybe?"
"No... nothing."
She cut off mid-sentence as if I'd hit a nerve, then quickly smiled nonchalantly.
The look in Cheondo's eyes as she gazed at me held a light not befitting her age.
What's gotten into her? Did she maybe spend that night with her sisters, the one where...?
I wasn't certain, but if so, it could be a big problem.
Seeing her cling this much made my heart uneasy at the thought that she might be deeply disappointed if I disappeared.
Someone as pure as Cheondo would surely fall into great despair.
Time's World Tree.
[Yes?]
In a corner of my thoughts. I began slowly searching for a solution regarding her.
*****
-Cheondo, listen well? You have to wrap Senior Brother around your finger.
That night in the bedroom, Cheondo recalled the gems of advice her sisters had shared.
...His hand is so warm.
-Play hard to get a little, then slyly cling on. That's the key, got it?
Hand.
101 ways for a woman to captivate a man.
Hwando had passed down every single tip from one to a hundred, and they were firmly embedded in Cheondo's mind.
Senior Brother's hand...
-Cheondo, are you listening?
The Hwando in her head scolded her sharply.
Even so, oblivious, Cheondo was fully absorbed in etching every sensation from her fingertips into her memory.
If she stayed like this, she might even come up with a new martial arts manual.
It's so rough.
The feel of another's skin flowing over her fingers.
Even the familiar sensation of hands felt novel now that she was aware of her emotions.
To the point where she found her past self, who had resisted Hwando's advice, laughable.
-......How are you going to manage if you're embarrassed by something like that?
-I told you not to be shy! Good grief. It's not like I'm telling you to bring tofu and come over!
Create a space alone together.
Senior Brother always visited at night, so it was perfect.
Draw closer than usual, pretend to be coy while being sweet.
Cheondo didn't fully understand what "coy" meant.
With things having progressed this far with all the tips and such, Cheondo had lost her reason too.
Even ignoring what Senior Brother had once said about having an "owner."
-......Are you serious?
Baekdo, the one who had soured the mood, had covered her forehead with her hand, lain there for a while, then ended up cheering Cheondo on.
-I'm going crazy for real. If Cheondo likes him, what can I do?
-Will Baekdo look for someone like that too?
-......If they like hard peaches, maybe.
-No one like that exists~
-You wanna get scolded for real?
-Eek~
With her sisters united in spirit and cheering her on, Cheondo waited for Senior Brother.
-Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Her heart was pounding in real time.
Keeping a steady rhythm beside the person she admired.
He probably can't hear it, right?
Fanning her flushed red face, Cheondo thought.
I hope he can. Even the words in my heart.
Only one shoulder touching. Logically, with the distance between them, he couldn't hear.
Realizing her heart could make such a loud noise, Cheondo pressed her shoulder even closer.
Twitch. Senior Brother's shoulder trembled.
The muggy air in the room. Her heated red cheeks. A single peach clutched in her hand. Cheondo secretly broadcast her heartbeat to Senior Brother.
Senior Brother.
I want to know your real name.
If we really get close, will this person tell me without hesitation?
...Senior Brother.
A room about three pyeong in size. A tightly shut door papered with white paper.
A snow-white bed covered with a crimson cotton blanket, a lacquered wardrobe, and a bedside table.
A hand mirror on the table, an ear pick they'd used together.
The sight in the mirror of just the two of them sitting on the bed made Cheondo's heart stir strangely.
Even a single strand of black hair fallen on the floor became a memory in this moment. Something she'd normally scoff at now made her beam.
Peach blossoms bloom in clusters.
Alone, they can't fully display their beauty.
Two peach blossoms precariously hanging at the tip of a twig. Black and vermilion, a pair that seemed mismatched at first glance.
Ah.
That was a bit cringy just now.
Sentiments she'd hated or found gross sometimes now surfaced in her own mind.
She stopped thinking.
Right now, she just wanted to feel this moment. It was regrettable she couldn't use Hwando's tips, but she hadn't known what to do from the start anyway.
Just savoring it quietly wasn't hard.
Even as her tensed shoulder cramped, the smile didn't leave her face.
"......"
Senior Brother sometimes... has such a serious face.
Like now.
He scratched his cheek awkwardly, then suddenly sank into bitter thoughts.
Watching him like that, he seemed like someone with a screw loose.
Like Master, he looked full of wounds, like he might vanish any moment.
Poor guy.
There must be a reason he can't tell me his name.
Why won't he tell me? Am I not helpful enough?
Before she knew it, Cheondo reached out and wrapped her arms around Senior Brother's arm.
Her upper body pressed firmly against his arm.
"Senior Brother."
"Yeah?"
At her words, his serious face softened, changing to the expression he showed only to her.
Even lost in heavy worries, seeing her melted that expression away.
She knew that.
Cheondo's eyes began to brim with affection bit by bit.
"Lately... you haven't been hugging me...?"
She said it, and he looked at her with slightly surprised eyes.
Cheondo cast her gaze downward. Had she phrased it weirdly?
As she inwardly fretted, soon thick arms wrapped around her body.
"Better? You didn't hate being hugged, right?"
"...I don't know."
So warm.
Her forehead burned so hot that Cheondo covered her face with both hands.
In the place she couldn't see, Siheon's face grew complicated.
What do I do now... I don't think I can face him anymore.
-Sizzle!
As she flopped over, they both ended up lying on the bed.
"Sleepy? Should I head out?"
"Don't go."
Cluelessly, as Senior Brother tried to get up, Cheondo grabbed both his arms from behind in her position.
She fixed his hands firmly around her waist like a lifeline and smacked the backs of his hands, telling him not to let go.
She pulled the blanket up over them.
Sharing the same blanket, embracing each other.
Cheondo, who had lightning-quickly hidden her head under the covers, finally turned her face to bury it in Senior Brother's stomach.
"Can't you just sleep here?"
"That okay?"
Instead of answering, Cheondo gripped tighter, holding him in place.
The sensation of his body filling her hands brought an indescribable fulfillment.
They weren't facing each other, but just being together felt good.
"Sigh, fine."
Pat pat.
At Senior Brother's perfunctory pats, Cheondo rubbed her forehead against him vigorously.
His scent filled her nostrils.
The thumping from Cheondo's crushed chest reached the man as well.
-Thud roll roll.
The peach fell from the table and rolled across the floor.
"...Oh, the peach fell."
"Just stay."
Her excited heart felt like it could fly away in winged clothes.
Her trembling fingers clutched the hem of Senior Brother's back tightly.
Her body shook like a drowned rat. Yet her face was peacefully relaxed.
"Do-won Senior Brother."
"Yeah?"
"...Even if I become the Heavenly Demon later, will you stay with me?"
As if the answer was already there, the words Cheondo hoped for slipped from Senior Brother's mouth.
"Hehe."
After starting training, for the first time, Cheondo grinned childishly like a kid.
It was one week before the Little Heavenly Demon's death.
*****
Time passed.
Cheondo's changed demeanor dramatically increased the time we spent together.
What do I do now.
[What do you mean... Isn't this the path you invited yourself?]
True.
Cheondo walking through the peach tree garden, holding my hand.
She smiled shyly at me. Such a pretty face.
But from the start, there was no method.
I hadn't expected Cheondo of all people—unlike Hwando or even Baekdo—to develop feelings for me.
And now, the day I die and return to the present was not far off.
Even I couldn't help but worry about Cheondo.
She likes me too much.
[Isn't that a good thing? It means you've become a memory to someone.]
I'll leave her with a horrific trauma too. What if it scars the kid?
She slyly linked arms and, with a fallen peach blossom tucked in her hair, grinned asking how it looked.
"Senior Brother, there are so~ many flowers!"
Her expressions were growing more varied.
Her voice tone kept changing too. I'd thought Cheondo's tough voice was natural.
"Senior Brother?"
A voice so emotionless it might make you think she was angry.
"Senior Brother~♪"
Now, anyone hearing it would instinctively say it's cute.
As if picking up what she'd discarded becoming the Little Heavenly Demon one by one, her smiling faces diversified more than before. It felt like Cheondo's emotions were gradually reviving.
...Me doing something like pseudo-romance with a kid.
Self-loathing welled up, but seeing her smile, I couldn't bring myself to scold her.
[Age difference doesn't matter, does it?]
Even I have limits.
[I see.]
Still, I was trying to make her as happy as possible.
Aside from the time plotting with the old man, I was always hanging out with Cheondo. Spending time with my young master was enjoyable in its own way.
"Senior Brother!"
Senior Brother, Senior Brother, Senior Brother.
Hearing it nonstop made me feel like I really would die.
"Yeah?"
"Why do you keep spacing out?"
Was I lost in thought too much?
I relaxed my expression and stroked Cheondo's head.
Cheondo took that hand from her crown and forcibly made it into an arm link under her armpit.
"Hurry, hurry."
"Why the rush? You hiding something?"
"I am hiding something."
What could she be hiding so secretively that it took two hours walking from Do-won?
Half curiosity, half obligation, the place we arrived at was a vast garden.
"This is where I always played as a kid."
A cascading waterfall and a long winding stream.
A single rock jutting out in the middle of the river.
Tall peach trees enveloped this scenic view.
-Swoosh!
Flower petals drifted along with the river current.
From afar, it felt like gazing at a pink river.
"It's amazing, huh?"
"Right? Come here."
"What now?"
Cheondo dragged my arm to a certain rock.
With a broad smile, on the rock was a flower ring, unknown who made it.
"Here, for you."
Deep pink.
A ring made of pointed-tipped peach blossoms. The band woven from green grass seemed like it would crumble with a little pressure.
"This?"
"When I was little, I made them often for Master... I wanted to give one to you too, Senior Brother."
Cheondo glanced at me with a smile, then thrust the ring at me like passing a hot potato.
"Is it too childish?"
Considering Do-won's kids act childish, it suits her age. I didn't think it childish.
[......Huh?]
What.
[No, nothing. Congratulations.]
Congratulations my foot.
I took Cheondo's ring and tried it on my finger to show her.
Cheondo, happy just with that, beamed innocently at my hand with the ring.
Not bad.
A ring handmade by Cheondo from peach blossoms.
Holding my hand up to the sky, it seemed to shine brighter reflecting the sunlight.