The Water Mirror
The food was exquisite, each dish meticulously prepared and delicious.
Yeo-won had expected it to taste like nothing, just as the saying went—like a painting of rice cake. But the refined flavors reminded her of an expensive hanjeongsik restaurant. When she finally came to her senses, half the rice in her bowl had already vanished.
Startled back to awareness and suddenly embarrassed, Yeo-won stole a glance at Shin-wol, only to meet his eyes directly.
He was staring at her intently, as if the sight of her chewing so diligently was utterly fascinating.
She tried to ignore him and keep eating, but his persistent gaze felt like it was boring straight through the side of her face.
Finally, Yeo-won set her spoon down. He tilted his head in confusion.
"How can anyone eat when you're staring at them so intensely?"
At her quiet protest, he smiled faintly and gave her cheek a light tap.
Yeo-won's eyes widened in surprise.
She was both flustered and astonished to see such a gentle expression on his face. His beauty struck her anew. If anyone—man or woman—saw him smiling like this, they would want to do anything for him. In a way, it was a dangerous expression.
By the time those thoughts crossed her mind, Yeo-won realized she had been staring at him openly without meaning to.
She snapped out of it, but it was too late. He had already caught her admiring his face with a completely dazed look.
He rested his chin on his hand, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
Desperate to change the subject, Yeo-won pointed at the milky-white soup in the earthenware bowl on the table.
"Um, what is this dish?"
She had eaten it because it was in front of her, but the flavor was strangely subtle. Inside the pale broth were medicinal ingredients like jujubes, pine nuts, and ginseng, along with something whose texture made it hard to tell if it was fish or meat. It tasted similar to samgyetang, yet somehow different.
"It seems like it could be chicken or fish. The taste is really unique."
Shin-wol kindly pretended not to notice her awkward smile.
"Ah... soft-shelled turtle..."
She had heard of turtle soup before but had never actually tried it. Yeo-won fished out a small piece of meat from the broth, popped it into her mouth, and savored it.
It had a slightly gamey flavor, but it was genuinely delicious.
Fortunately, Yeo-won wasn't the type to be overly squeamish about such things. After seeing live grasshoppers the other day, this seemed perfectly tame by comparison.
But more than that...
There's way too much food.
Her stomach was already full, yet the dishes showed no sign of diminishing. Even though she had devoured the rice so quickly earlier, more than half still remained.
What a waste. It's all so good.
Yeo-won fiddled aimlessly with the tip of her chopsticks, glaring at the luxurious side dishes.
Shin-wol, meanwhile, hadn't touched any of the food. He was still only watching her.
Then, something Cheong-sil had mentioned in passing came to mind. Spiritual beings didn't feel hunger, but they could still taste food. The image of him crunching on the grasshoppers he had caught also resurfaced.
Pushing that second thought aside, Yeo-won cautiously asked Shin-wol,
"If you'd like, would you eat with me?"
His eyebrows twitched. He made an odd expression, as if he had heard something absurd.
"I heard you don't need to eat, but there's too much for me to finish alone."
In truth, the bigger reason was that eating together would be far less uncomfortable than having him watch her so intently, but she decided not to mention that.
Shin-wol gazed at her quietly for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle.
"What? Offering what?"
He asked again, as if to confirm.
At his words, Yeo-won looked over the side dishes once more. Every single one was delicious and luxurious. Besides the turtle soup, there were several dishes she had never tried before, but she couldn't see anything problematic among them.
When she tilted her head in confusion, Shin-wol's eyes narrowed into slits and the corners of his mouth curved upward in a sly grin.
The faintly sinister smile made Yeo-won flinch.
Feed him? Yeo-won glanced at his elegant hands. It was a silent protest—you have hands, eat it yourself—but he ignored it completely.
Instead, he lowered his head slightly, waiting for her to feed him.
"...You really don't have to force yourself."
When a faint shadow crossed his smile, Yeo-won quickly picked up a random side dish with her chopsticks and held it out to him.
"This one was really good."
The dish she offered was grilled eel. The plump flesh glistened with oil, looking appetizing.
Shin-wol stared at the piece of eel she politely held out but didn't eat it. Instead, he kept chuckling softly.
Yeo-won had no idea. Every dish prepared for her today was meant to restore vitality. And that the line between foods good for restoring energy and those good for virility was razor-thin.
The fact that the very thing she was feeding him happened to be eel made it impossible for Shin-wol not to laugh.
He briefly wondered what kind of face she would make if he told her. She would undoubtedly turn bright red and sincerely deny that she had meant it that way.
Why did the urge to tease her rise even though he knew everything?
What kind of reaction would she have if he said he wanted to devour her spiritual energy instead?
"Aren't you going to eat it?"
Yeo-won's arm was starting to ache. She asked cautiously.
When Shin-wol opened his mouth, his fangs were visible. They looked larger and sharper than a human's, and her body instinctively stiffened.
She was sure she would have felt them when they kissed, yet she hadn't. Did that mean he could control them?
Just as she wondered if his fangs were adjustable too, his mouth closed again.
His beautiful lips moved subtly for a moment before stopping. If his throat hadn't bobbed, she wouldn't have even realized he had swallowed. Every action was eerily silent.
Yeo-won found it deeply unnatural. It didn't feel like he was eating; it felt more like he was imitating a human. She tried not to let the shiver crawling up her spine show as she asked as naturally as possible,
"Does it suit your taste?"
At his indifferent reply, Yeo-won gave a small smile in response.
She took a sip of water to ease her suddenly dry mouth and finished her meal.
"Thank you for the food."
The moment she announced the meal was over, Shin-wol waved his hand through the air. With a few gestures, the table and all the dishes vanished without a trace.
After seeing this bizarre act several times, she had grown strangely accustomed to it.
With dinner finished, silence settled over the room as if nothing had happened. But unlike before, it wasn't pitch dark.
At his words, she looked down. A small tea tray had appeared with a cup of tea on it.
She had no idea when he had made it. It looked as natural as if it had always been there.
Only after taking a sip of the warm, refreshingly fragrant tea could Yeo-won speak.
"I... I think I should go home now."
Shin-wol, seated across from the tea tray, rested his interlaced hands on one raised knee.
Even such a simple movement had a magnetic pull that drew all attention to him.
"I have work piling up, and I can't stay here forever. And... I'm worried about Grandmother."
She didn't distrust him, but she wouldn't feel at ease until she saw her grandmother with her own eyes.
Not knowing how much time had passed outside was also a concern for Yeo-won. No one was waiting for her, but there were things she had left unfinished. If she suddenly stopped responding to messages, people would find it strange. She needed to return as soon as possible.
Whether he knew of her worries or not, Shin-wol blinked languidly and flicked his finger.
His long finger pointed at the teacup in front of her.
Huh? Blinking in confusion, she lowered her gaze. The tea inside the cup was rippling. She felt no other vibration. A few seconds later, the surface calmed, and something began to move within it.
Yeo-won's eyes, fixed intently on the tiny teacup, widened dramatically.
"Grandmother..."
Incredibly, the surface of the tea reflected her grandmother working in the fields. With an expressionless, indifferent face, Grandmother was squatting and planting potatoes. Next to her was Grandmother Yoon.
Ever since Grandfather passed away, Grandmother Yoon would always come help with the potato planting.
Thank goodness. She's recovered enough to work in the fields.
Grandmother Yoon was pointing at the house and saying something. Grandmother waved her hand dismissively, as if annoyed, and continued planting the seed potatoes.
Although she couldn't hear their voices, Yeo-won could roughly imagine the conversation.
I'll finish the rest, so go inside and rest already! You'll collapse again at this rate!
I'm fine. I've been lying down so long that my body feels stiff.
The voices played automatically in her ears, and Yeo-won couldn't help but smile.
Wanting a closer look, she reached out to touch the teacup. The surface of the tea rippled.
Startled, she quickly pulled her hand back, but the image had already vanished.
"The Water Mirror is delicate. It disappears easily if touched."
"Ah..."
Letting out a regretful sigh, Yeo-won couldn't tear her eyes away from the teacup.
Watching her, Shin-wol gave a small laugh.
Yeo-won nodded and rubbed her stinging nose.
Still, seeing her grandmother moving around like that eased her heart considerably.
"Ah, but I have work to do. And giving you spiritual energy every day would be difficult... How about we set a specific day to meet?"
At Yeo-won's suggestion, Shin-wol made a thoughtful hum and stroked his chin. When he wasn't smiling, an icy pressure radiated from him that was truly frightening.
She couldn't guess what he was thinking. His chilling expression made her cautiously raise four fingers.
"Once every four days..."
His expression didn't change. He simply looked down at her with his head tilted at an angle.
Yeo-won swallowed hard and folded one finger.
"Then... every three days..."
In truth, even three days felt too much. She was only pretending to be fine, but her entire body was still throbbing. If this happened every time they exchanged spiritual energy, her body wouldn't be able to endure it.
A heavy silence fell between them. Those few minutes felt endlessly long to Yeo-won.
In the tension of walking on thin ice, Shin-wol finally spoke.