The Fox and the Chicken Skewers
With every step she took, people glanced her way. With one more step, someone would inevitably strike up a conversation.
This was the first time Yeo-won had ever felt that the path to the bus terminal was so long and arduous.
It was also the first time in her life she had received such an overwhelming number of business cards. Of course, none of them were for her. Every single one was for Shin-wol.
Half the cards clutched in Yeo-won’s hand were from entertainment agencies, and the other half were from beautiful women.
They paid no attention whatsoever to the woman standing beside him. They spoke directly to him and offered their cards without hesitation.
It might have been better if they had treated her like a ghost. Instead, a few of the ruder ones looked her up and down and let out mocking little snorts.
Recalling it all, a bitter smile rose to Yeo-won’s lips.
Feeling strangely diminished, she had spent the entire bus ride pretending to be asleep.
Only after they arrived at the rest stop did she finally pull out the business cards she had carefully tucked into her pocket and ask,
“Do you need any of these?”
“What possible use could those scraps of paper have?”
“I figured as much. Then I’ll go throw them away. Just wait here a moment.”
Yeo-won ran to the trash bin at the far end of the parking lot and dumped the entire stack. A strange sense of guilt pricked at her, and she muttered under her breath,
“Maybe I really should have changed his face…”
“Does my face displease you that much?”
Shin-wol was suddenly standing right behind her, as if he had been there the whole time.
“I told you to wait.”
“And before that, I told you not to leave my side.”
“This is fine.”
“How troublesome you are.”
He let out a small sigh.
“The air in the mortal realm is still so murky. This is no place to linger long.”
His expression remained unchanged, yet his words carried an unmistakable trace of weariness. Yeo-won pursed her lips and grumbled,
“That’s exactly why I told you not to follow me.”
“If you want me to hear you, speak louder.”
“Never mind.”
Before leaving the house, Yeo-won had extracted several promises from him: they would travel by bus, he would not use sorcery recklessly in public, he would not leave her side, he would keep his mouth shut as much as possible, and countless other conditions besides.
Honestly, she had expected him to recoil in disgust and refuse to come. Instead, Shin-wol had accepted every condition without complaint.
And even after riding the bus for nearly two hours, he showed no sign of wanting to turn back.
Today, of all days, the traffic was especially terrible. They still had at least four more hours to go. At this rate, Yeo-won was the one beginning to regret not asking him to send her straight to Inwol.
“So.”
Huh? Yeo-won looked up. He tilted his head at an angle and asked,
“I asked whether my face displeases you.”
“…It’s not about whether I like it or not. It’s just too conspicuous to walk around with. Are all spirit creatures this ridiculously good-looking?”
Come to think of it, Cheong-sil had also been far more attractive than other children. His striking features had even made Manager Kim Young-ju gush about how pretty he was.
“The appearance of most spirit creatures follows human standards. After all, it is easier to win favor when one is pleasing to the eye.”
It had been a casual question, but the answer that came back was unexpectedly heavy. The mood grew somber, and Yeo-won, flustered, pointed toward the restroom.
“I’m going to the bathroom for a minute. Why don’t you sit somewhere and wait?”
“……”
“And don’t follow me this time. If someone reports you, it’ll be a huge hassle.”
After repeating her warning, Yeo-won hurried off to the restroom.
Whenever this kind of topic came up, she never knew what to say.
She knew avoiding it wasn’t the right answer, but when she saw that faintly sorrowful look on his face, the words died in her throat.
Standing at the sink, she stared at the rushing tap water and washed her perfectly clean hands over and over.
*
After cooling her head for a while, Yeo-won stepped out and looked around. The rest stop was packed with people, yet finding Shin-wol was not difficult at all.
A small park sat beside the rest area, and an unnatural crowd had gathered there.
‘He must be over there.’
Without hesitation, she headed in that direction. Sure enough, Shin-wol was sitting on a bench in the park, surrounded by four young women.
As she drew closer, she saw that the woman standing directly in front of him had both cheeks flushed pink and was twisting her body shyly.
She looked to be in her early twenties, with a cute appearance that would catch anyone’s eye.
But the gaze Shin-wol fixed on her was ice-cold.
The way he looked at the woman was no different from staring at a monkey in a zoo—nothing more, nothing less.
And whatever she was saying, his eyes grew colder with every passing second.
The moment the corner of his mouth finally curled into a smirk, a chill ran down Yeo-won’s spine.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up. She rushed forward and grabbed his hand.
“Sorry I took so long. The bathroom was really crowded.”
When Yeo-won smiled awkwardly, Shin-wol’s expression softened at once. The women, however, clearly did not appreciate the sudden appearance of another girl.
In particular, the cute one who had been talking to him narrowed her eyes with open hostility.
“Who’s she?”
Her voice dripped with blatant irritation.
Instead of answering, Yeo-won simply smiled innocently and tightened her grip on Shin-wol’s hand. In response, he went a step further and laced their fingers together.
The woman stared at their perfectly interlocked hands, let out a disbelieving laugh, and turned away.
“What the hell? So annoying. If you have a girlfriend, just say so.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
Her friends shot Yeo-won one last glare before dragging their friend away. Only after they had completely disappeared did Yeo-won let out the breath she had been holding and drop her head.
“Humans never change.”
“…What exactly were you planning to do to those people?”
“Who knows.”
He merely offered an enigmatic smile and refused to answer her question.
Thinking she really couldn’t take her eyes off him for even a second, Yeo-won tried to pull her hand free—only to feel his fingers tighten around hers like a vice.
“You can let go now.”
Looking thoroughly amused, he lifted their joined hands and waved them deliberately.
“This way I won’t lose you.”
His face looked so innocently childlike that Yeo-won could only nod in reluctant acceptance.
Now that the tension had eased, her empty stomach let out a loud growl.
Come to think of it, she had barely eaten anything yesterday or today. She checked her phone for the time and saw there was still a little while before their bus departed.
They had at least four more hours until they reached Inwol. It would be best to put something in her stomach, even if it was light.
“Sorry, but I’m going to grab something to eat.”
“Do as you wish.”
Even as he gave his easy permission, he showed no intention of releasing her hand.
Yeo-won gave up and led him by the hand as she quickly scanned the food stalls.
Her eyes landed on a stall selling chicken skewers. Without hesitation, she placed her order through the machine.
These would be easy to eat on the go and enough to tide her over.
The employee immediately handed her two skewers from the display case.
Holding both skewers in one hand, Yeo-won looked uncomfortable and said,
“It’s hard to eat like this. Could you let go for a second? And here, take one.”
Fortunately, he released her hand. However, Shin-wol showed no interest in accepting the skewer she offered.
“You seem to keep forgetting that I have no need for meals.”
“I know, but you can still eat, right? In case you didn’t know, when you come here, you absolutely have to try these.”
He frowned and looked around. Unfortunately for her, there weren’t many people eating chicken skewers nearby, so her lie was immediately exposed.
“It’s embarrassing to eat alone. Just hold one for me, at least.”
At her plea, he reluctantly accepted the skewer.
He didn’t eat it in the end, but the sight of Shin-wol holding a chicken skewer was strangely captivating.
Would he get angry if she asked to take a photo?
Yeo-won bit into the end of her skewer and chewed thoughtfully. Shin-wol watched her in silence.
All while still holding his own skewer in one hand.
His intense gaze grew so heavy that Yeo-won finally thrust her own skewer toward him.
“Want to try a bite? It might suit your taste.”
“……”
With an utterly blank expression, he looked back and forth between her and the skewer before taking the tiniest bite from the end.
Just like last time, he chewed mechanically for a moment, then his throat bobbed as he swallowed. The sight of him eating still felt strangely foreign.
“How is it?”
“It is… adequate.”
His review was exactly the same as before. Yeo-won answered with a flat “I see” and went back to eating her own skewer.
“Next time we’ll find something that actually suits your taste.”
She had spoken without thinking. Shin-wol paused.
Next time.
He kept repeating those words that melted so sweetly on his tongue, and a secret smile curved his lips where Yeo-won could not see.
For a fleeting moment, raw lust flickered in his narrowed eyes. Yeo-won never noticed.