A Scent of Jealousy
A chill instantly settled over the inn. The fact that someone who usually walked around with a bright, cheerful smile had suddenly turned dead serious made it all the more terrifying. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. The thugs who had been acting so cocky just moments ago began shrinking back, carefully watching Dokgo Seok’s every move.
It was the textbook definition of acting tough against the weak and weak against the strong. The moment the two others started quietly backing away, clearly ready to bolt, Dokgo Seok released the thug’s head he’d been holding in his right hand and spoke.
The two men glanced nervously at Dokgo Seok before cautiously approaching. They quickly hoisted their unconscious companion and fled the inn in a hurry.
“Hmph. What a bunch of all-bark-no-bite cowards.”
Dokgo Seok flicked his long sleeves and sat back down in his chair. As if nothing had happened, his face returned to its usual bright, smiling expression. He turned to Dokgo Rin and apologized.
“It’s fine.”
As Dokgo Rin spoke, she carefully set the palace treasure rice bowl she had protected through all the chaos back onto the table. Dokgo Seok reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
“…Please remove your hand.”
“Hahaha! So prickly!”
Anyway, the situation ended more anticlimactically than I had expected. Still, it was a huge relief that no one had gotten seriously hurt. My only real concern was that the thugs who had run away might come back harboring a grudge and try to cause trouble. But Gyeong-a noona confidently declared that there was nothing to worry about.
“Second Young Master was a Peak expert?”
“Oh my? You didn’t know? While he may not be on the same level as the First Young Master, our young master has been famous as a prodigy since he was little. He reached the Peak realm at the ripe age of twenty.”
“Whoa.”
In the original novel The Heavenly Poison Witch, Dokgo Seok was only mentioned in passing, so this was the first time I learned he had this kind of backstory. Honestly, like most martial arts novels, the power inflation in this world was pretty steep. Dokgo Rin had reached the Transcendent realm by the age of thirty, but that was because she was an anomaly. Normally, becoming a Peak expert in your twenties was already considered the mark of an incredible genius. Most martial artists struggled just to manifest weapon energy, after all. That was why people made such a big deal about prestigious clans and families.
After chatting and eating like that, the food on the plates had completely disappeared before we knew it. I was happily patting my full, rounded belly and savoring the aftertaste when Dokgo Rin suddenly beckoned to me.
“Huh? All of a sudden?”
“Yeah. I’m curious about something.”
I had no idea what this was about, but I told her to ask away. Without hesitation, Dokgo Rin went straight for the throat.
“…Excuse me?”
“I saw the two of you looking awfully close. Don’t tell me that’s your type?”
“No, no. Type or not, why is the conversation even going in that direction?”
“Didn’t you say that men and women can’t be friends?”
I had kept saying that to instill proper values about relationships in Dokgo Rin, but I never imagined it would come back to bite me like this. Still, that was that and this was this, so I decided to clear up her misunderstanding.
“Even so, an age gap like that is too much. Besides, Gyeong-a noona doesn’t even see me as a man. What would I gain by getting my hopes up alone?”
“Hmmm—”
Dokgo Rin looked half-convinced after hearing my explanation. When I added that I would have been more proactive if I actually had any ulterior motives, she finally accepted what I said.
“…If I had to say, I suppose so?”
It felt like I was digging my own grave, but I decided to just go with it.
Having successfully gotten the answer she wanted, Dokgo Rin immediately returned to sipping her tea with an innocent, prim expression as if nothing had happened.
After finishing dinner, we each headed to our own rooms. In my case, it apparently didn’t make sense for a mere servant to have a room to himself, so I ended up sharing a room with Gyeong-a noona. It was probably because I looked like a child, but from the perspective of an adult man on the inside, it was honestly awkward knowing where to look.
“Men and women are fundamentally different. No matter how young I may look, there’s no need for an unmarried maiden to show her skin.”
When I logically pressed the point, Gyeong-a noona chuckled and said, “Chilbok, you’re so mature for your age.”
After receiving her permission, I turned back around. Gyeong-a noona was sitting on the edge of the bed, now wearing clothes slightly thinner than her usual outfit. If it wasn’t my imagination, she seemed to smell faintly nicer too. This was my first time sharing a room with a woman, so I couldn’t calm down and kept fidgeting awkwardly. That’s when Gyeong-a noona casually spoke up.
“Ah, about me, you mean.”
Her sudden question caught me off guard and left me momentarily speechless. The truth was, while I had possessed the body of the child named Chilbok, my real identity was still Choi Seok-woo from my previous life. I had never formed any emotional bond with Chilbok’s parents, so all I knew about them was from surface-level knowledge. Bringing up my previous life’s parents would only make things weird, so I decided to give a vague answer.
“Actually… I have amnesia.”
“What?”
“According to the old physician, I received such a big shock when my parents passed away that I can’t remember anything from before I turned twelve.”
“That’s terrible…”
Gyeong-a noona’s eyes grew misty as she listened to my story, and she covered her mouth with her hand. It seemed to be working even better than I had intended, but since I had come this far, I decided to commit fully and put on my best tragic face.
“Still, I’m happy now, so it’s okay. It’s much better than living alone in an empty house. At least now I can talk with people like this.”
When I gave her a sorrowful smile, Gyeong-a noona suddenly stood up from the bed, walked over, and pulled me into a tight hug.
With my face buried in that soft sensation, I barely managed to keep my voice steady.
“It’s okay. You didn’t know, after all.”
But that only seemed to trigger her maternal instincts even more. Gyeong-a noona hugged me tighter.
‘Ugh!’
Just as I felt like I was about to suffocate with my face pressed into her chest, she whispered softly into my ear.
“…Yes.”
It wasn’t what I had planned, but maybe this was for the best. At least now I had gained a trustworthy ally. As I quietly stayed in her embrace with that thought, a sudden knock came at the door.
Knock, knock!
It was Dokgo Rin’s familiar voice. Only then did Gyeong-a noona snap back to her senses. She let go of me in a fluster.
Realizing she might have gone overboard, her face turned slightly red.
“No, you did it because you were worried about me. I’m actually happy.”
When I smiled gently, Gyeong-a noona returned a smile full of trust and nodded.
“Chilbok?”
Hearing Dokgo Rin call again, I realized I couldn’t delay any longer and answered quickly.
I got up from the bed and told Gyeong-a noona, “I’ll be right back. You can sleep first.”
With a kind smile, she saw me off. I bowed politely to her, then opened the firmly closed door. Dokgo Rin stood there in comfortable clothes, looking at me with a slightly displeased expression.
“I was in the middle of organizing my things.”
When I answered and quietly closed the door behind me, Dokgo Rin narrowed her eyes and let out a low “Hmmm—”
“Why are you acting like that?”
“Nothing. You two just seemed really close, that’s all.”
“I keep telling you there’s nothing between me and Gyeong-a noona.”
As I waved my hands to dismiss the idea, Dokgo Rin suddenly sniffed the air and said,
“…What?”
“This is the scent of musk that she always carries on her body.”
With that, Dokgo Rin stared at me with an expressionless face.