Growing Doubts on the Mountain Path
Something felt off. It took Jin Samwol about half a shichen—roughly an hour—riding piggyback on Jongchil's back before she realized it. The sun had dipped beyond the clouds, leaving the surroundings cloaked in deepening twilight.
From earlier, it seemed like Jongchil kept circling the same area. Once the wolf tracks vanished, he'd started wandering freely, scouting around on his own whim. But the occasional beasts that appeared weren't the wolf they were after.
What could it be...? The clothes and Dark Blood Beads that vanished so suddenly. Could a wild animal really have done that?
At first, she'd been too flustered to think straight. Her mind had been solely fixed on recovering her master's lost artifact, narrowing her vision completely. So Jin Samwol had no choice but to take Jongchil's sudden appearance and words at face value.
Now that she'd regained her composure, reflecting on the moment her clothes and beads disappeared, the situation struck her as suspiciously contrived.
What wild beast would steal clothes reeking of human scent? She'd never heard of such a perverted animal her whole life.
And it wasn't just the clothes—it was blatantly odd that the Dark Blood Beads were taken too.
Ferocious beasts might drag off a person if they attacked, but snatching human garments? That had never happened, not once, and there was good reason for it.
I lost my clothes... and right after, I met Jong gongja.
Jongchil had claimed a wolf burst out carrying his clothes, and he'd chased it down to hunt it.
Thinking back now, even that seemed fishy.
If the wolf had fled from Jongchil, why bother lugging along cumbersome human garb while escaping?
No matter how she turned it over, it didn't add up logically.
Looking back, there hadn't even been beast footprints near where her clothes had been. Just some weird scrapes in the dirt, like the ground had been clawed. Anyone could make marks like that easily.
A chill prickled along Jin Samwol's spine. Every circumstance surrounding her felt astonishingly suspicious.
Was this man carrying her really telling the truth? And if it was all his doing, what was his goal?
Unconsciously, her interlocked hands tightened. To keep from slipping off Jongchil's back, she'd been holding onto the nape of his neck.
No way... Jong gongja?
There was an old saying: suspicion breeds ghosts in the dark. Once she pegged Jongchil as the culprit, all the contrived events around her suddenly made perfect sense. She pressed her lips together.
If Jongchil was the thief who stole her clothes, why was he dragging her around Changbai Mountain chasing a nonexistent wolf?
It was a baffling question, but the answer came quickly upon reflection. To toy with her, obviously.
Jongchil was a man—a male. Scheming this ridiculous play just to grope her body made total sense, didn't it?
Come to think of it, that hand groping my ass since earlier isn't exactly innocent either.
Jin Samwol clamped her mouth shut. Her thoughts had clarified, but she lacked certainty. It was all just her speculation. Guesses were no better than delusions without evidence. That's why you shouldn't voice your thoughts carelessly.
If Jong gongja's the culprit, where are my clothes and beads? No way they're in that bundle of his...
Jin Samwol's eyes flicked to the bundle slung over Jongchil's shoulder. He'd been carrying it since they met.
It was probably stuffed with travel essentials. Given how far he'd come, the sizable pack could easily hold her clothes.
Right. If he's carrying my stuff, this is the only place it'd be.
Her thoughts stopped there, but she didn't act on them. Even if she suddenly suspected him, she couldn't just outright interrogate him.
If he turned out innocent, her position would become incredibly awkward. From his perspective, it'd be like demanding he hand over his bundle after he'd rescued a drowning woman.
Is it really him? Did Jong gongja really steal my clothes and beads? No way he's that shameless, right? Ugh... I don't know. I have my suspicions, but no hard proof!
She and Jongchil weren't the closest of friends, but they weren't enemies either.
If anything, after sparring hand-to-hand, they were fairly close. For Jin Samwol, who had few relationships, Jongchil ranked among the handful of people she could count as intimate.
Well, aside from Master, Hon Punsu-nim, and the market aunties and uncles, there's no one else I chat with at length anyway.
Suspecting someone close hurt far more than doubting a stranger. The fallout from a misunderstanding couldn't be mended with time alone—especially for someone like Jin Samwol with such a narrow circle. Risking total rupture to press him was no easy task.
Did he do it? Or not? Ughhh... How do I even ask? 'Sorry, but aren't you the culprit, Jong gongja?' You idiot! Even if he is guilty, he's not gonna admit it straight up!
Jin Samwol sank into worry. So deep in thought, she didn't notice Jongchil observing her face.
Jin Samwol's starting to catch on. Heh heh! But she still can't bring herself to say it to my face.
I'd expected my half-baked plan to unravel eventually. It was that sloppy from the start. But no matter how much she suspected me, there was no evidence.
I've got the clothes and Dark Blood Beads in my inventory, so she can't find them. In the end, I'm innocent.
Even murderers walk free without evidence. Isn't that why cops scour for proof with fire in their eyes? If she pushes with mere suspicion, I just demand evidence and shut her down. Unless the victim's tears count as proof.
Anyway, my goal right now was to tease the naked Jin Samwol while enjoying this date. And it was going splendidly. This skinship would pry open the door to her heart.
Her body was warming up nicely, in fact. Even after bathing in that icy lake, she felt comfortably toasty against my back now.
The only gripe? For a date, Jin Samwol was awfully quiet.
Since earlier, she'd clammed up like a seashell on the beach. She'd only give curt replies to my casual tosses, no real conversation flowing between us.
With a dark expression lost in thought, her gaze drifted to my slanted bundle. Staring at it so pointedly meant suspicion, no doubt. Did she think her clothes were in there?
If she wants to misunderstand like that, all the better for me.
Read the opponent's moves and counter appropriately. That's what Teacher Kim Minyoung and Han Kangwoo drilled into me endlessly.
Simulating her next action in my head, my response formed automatically.
Time to rattle her a bit here.
The date was getting monotonous. It needed a shake-up. I stopped walking.
"Hm?"
As I halted, Jin Samwol lifted her gaze from my back. Turning my head, our eyes met.
She panicked and looked away. I caught the negative flicker in her eyes—definitely suspicion toward me.
Yeah, keep doubting me. I'll roll out the red carpet for you.
I gently set Jin Samwol down on the ground.
"Sorry. Been running a while—getting tired."
Carrying her for over half a shichen. Sure, I'd slowed for breaks now and then, but it wasn't short.
And this was none other than Changbai Mountain. Even local herb gatherers marveled at its rugged terrain.
"Ah, right. Sorry. I was lost in thought and didn't notice. Of course you're worn out."
"Lost in thought?"
"N-no, nothing."
A light prod, and she flustered away. Somehow, our roles felt reversed.
Normally, she'd be grilling me. But our positions were delicately balanced now.
She had suspicions but no proof. If she pressed and I proved innocent, she'd be the one in a bind.
Plus, with her sprained ankle, she can't move properly without my help.
I held the reins here. I'd engineered the situation from the start, after all.
"Gotta take a leak. Jin sojeo, excuse me a sec—be right back. Sorry to hold us up when we're in a rush."
I said it and unslung my bundle. Her eyes darted frantically after it.
Her blatant reaction nearly made me chuckle. Reading her mind was child's play.
"S-sure. Go ahead."
I headed toward the thick underbrush. Then, from my surveillance inventory, I pulled out the Surveillance Eye. Handy little item for situations like this.
Jin Samwol watched me go with utmost caution. She reminded me of a meerkat on the African savanna.
Once I vanished completely behind the bushes, she lunged for my bundle without hesitation.
"Gotta be quick!"
No hesitation in her hands. She'd mulled it over plenty while on my back.
She fumbled the bundle open in haste, and its contents spilled out in a heap.
I keep money and valuables in my inventory. The bundle was just a prop to look like a traveler. Still, it had some stuff inside.
"What... what's this for?"
Jin Samwol stared in bewilderment at the pink dildo in my bundle. Naturally, no clothes or beads. Just the dildo, rotor, anal beads, lube gel, and the like.
"My clothes... beads... my clothes... not here...?"
No matter how she searched, her clothes and beads were gone. Self-reproach clouded her face as she pawed through the scattered items on the ground.
Jin Samwol's bid for decisive proof had failed. How would she react now? Watching that promised to be entertaining.
She'll blame herself, or maybe think I hid the clothes and beads elsewhere.
Given her personality, probably the former. We hadn't known each other long, but she didn't strike me as overly paranoid. Her first suspicion had already fizzled as a mistake, so she'd hesitate to double down.
As expected, Jin Samwol clutched her head and muttered.
"Th-then Jong gongja really is... for my sake... ugh! I'm the worst."