When in Rome
As she slowly opened her closed eyes, a faded fabric came into view.
She stared blankly at the words Hanseong Express written across it until a soft voice drifted down from above.
“Sleep a little longer, my dear.”
“……”
Yeo-won’s gaze shifted toward the window. Beyond the curtains, the passing scenery flickered past like a panorama.
She blinked her drowsy eyes. Realizing she was inside a vehicle and that it was pitch dark outside, she easily deduced it was nighttime.
Only then did she notice she had been leaning against his shoulder. She straightened up at once.
How long was I asleep? No—why did I fall asleep in the first place?
She remembered meeting the Mountain God in the cave and speaking with Shin-wol about something, yet the actual conversation slipped through the cracks of her memory.
The recollections felt fragmented, cut off in jagged pieces.
Pressing firmly on her throbbing temple, Yeo-won turned to look at Shin-wol. He had assumed his human form so naturally that it was as if nothing had happened at all.
After studying him in silence for a moment, she finally spoke.
“Did I suddenly fall asleep?”
“Yes. The energy flow in that place was murky. It must have been difficult for your body to endure.”
“Is that so? The memories right before I fell asleep feel hazy.”
When she regarded him with obvious suspicion, Shin-wol tilted his head. A languid, seductive smile curved his lips as he whispered, “You doubt me.”
The bus was quiet, so his low voice seemed to burrow into her ear and resonate straight through her skull.
“……”
Instead of answering right away, Yeo-won let her eyes dart around the interior. There weren’t many passengers, but she still feared someone might overhear. Seeing this, Shin-wol gave a small chuckle.
“Ease your mind. Our conversation will not leak beyond this space.”
Reassured, she continued. “Then I can speak freely. Honestly, yes. It’s strange that I fell asleep without any warning, and I can barely remember our conversation.”
“Hmm.”
“Did you really not do anything to me?”
By now, even the most oblivious person would have grown suspicious. This wasn’t the first or second time something like this had happened. She had felt something off before but kept silent. This time, she needed to confirm it properly.
“Indeed. I placed you under a hypnotic slumber. The air there was unsuitable for you, so we needed to leave quickly, yet you insisted on being stubborn.”
“Stubborn?”
Yeo-won tilted her head in confusion, then let out a soft exclamation as if something had clicked.
“Ah. The bell.”
She glared at him for several seconds before letting out a long, resigned sigh.
Her anger had stemmed from him destroying it without a single word of explanation, but the fury refused to linger. Getting upset wouldn’t bring the bell back, and it hadn’t been particularly precious to her. Continuing to rage now felt foolish.
“It’s already burned, so there’s nothing to be done, but please don’t do that again.”
“Why?”
“It was a gift from someone else. Doing that right in front of the person who gave it is rude, and you never asked for my consent.”
“As though you understand what it was.”
“What was it, then?”
Her curious question earned her a long, silent stare before he abruptly looked away.
“You need not know.”
The deflating answer made Yeo-won pout. When she began grumbling that he never explained anything outright, Shin-wol narrowed his eyes.
The bell that cat had given her was a medium for contacting the Mountain God, imbued with a portion of Mu-ho’s power. The tiger roar he had used to threaten them inside the cave had only been possible because of the power stored within it. That beast had never possessed such strength on his own.
Yet Shin-wol had not burned the bell for that reason alone.
The act of giving Yeo-won his bell was akin to offering a bridal dowry. Divine spirits who held official positions were permitted to take mates. Should they produce offspring, the child would have a high chance of becoming a god in the future. For this reason, Cheon-sin even encouraged such pairings. Nak-mae was a prime example.
However, given the free-spirited nature of gods, taking a mate was exceedingly rare, and it was only permitted between beings of the same kind.
Even so, that cat must have taken a considerable liking to Yeo-won to offer his own bell—laden with the fervent hope that she would become his master’s mate.
Truthfully, Shin-wol would have gladly thrown both the beast and Mu-ho into a pit of flames, but he had refrained because of the promise he made to Yeo-won.
Unaware of any of this, she had grown angry instead, which only irritated him further.
While he pondered how best to deal with them, Yeo-won spoke up again.
“And when you use your arts, please tell me first. Waking up to find everything around me completely changed is disorienting.”
She sounded sulky. The expression was rather adorable, but the content displeased him, so he deliberately replied in a cold tone.
“Telling you would change nothing.”
In other words, he would do as he pleased. Yeo-won refused to yield.
“Knowing beforehand and being subjected to it unilaterally are two entirely different things.”
“I do not ask for anyone’s consent.”
“Then you can start now.”
“How comforting it must be to remain so carefree even when life and death hang in the balance.”
The blatant mockery made Yeo-won’s face twist.
“I’m not being unreasonable. In truly urgent moments it can’t be helped, but that wasn’t the case earlier.”
“And what exactly would change?”
“My mood would be different.”
His eyes curved with lazy amusement.
“Mood.”
Repeating her words, Shin-wol’s pupils narrowed into thin slits like a cat’s. His brown irises flashed golden for an instant before returning to their usual calm.
He leaned his head back, gazing at the ceiling as he murmured, “Mood, is it…”
He appeared to be deeply contemplating something. At a glance, he almost looked astonished.
After all, who would dare tell him to consider her feelings enough to ask for consent? People might scramble to accommodate his moods, but the reverse was unheard of.
Still, she could not allow herself to be swept along by him forever. She had no idea how much longer she would live, but this was one line she needed to draw clearly.
From the fragments she had heard, the humans he had encountered before seemed to hold considerable status, yet he had withheld the truly important information from her.
But with Mun-a… he seemed genuinely affectionate.
Or perhaps not. The Shin-wol who appeared in her dreams afterward had shown no hesitation in killing humans.
He was not kind to humanity. He simply chose to perform kindness for certain individuals.
Yeo-won added carefully, “Just so we’re clear, asking for consent and simply informing me are two different things.”
“You certainly demand a great deal.”
“And you, Shin-wol, remain ignorant of a great deal.”
After a brief hesitation, she sneaked a glance at him.
She often wondered whether it was even right to try teaching him human values and emotions. Part of her wished he would understand them, while another part hoped he never would—an ambivalence that tugged at her constantly.
She did not want him to be influenced by her, only to remember her later with that same expression.
Yeo-won knew exactly what face he made when longing for someone who had already passed.
I hope he never wears that expression after I’m gone.
Even so, if she could be a little greedy, she hoped that while they were together he would at least try to understand human values.
All while silently praying that their time together would not be too long.
She reached out and lightly tapped the back of his hand before continuing.
“I’m not asking you to obey my every word. Your values and mine are vastly different. But they say when in Rome, do as the Romans do. While you’re here, I’d appreciate it if you could follow the ways of this place.”
She offered him an awkward smile. Shin-wol’s eyebrows twitched faintly as he studied her face.
“I will not remain in the lower world for long. I see no reason to accommodate it.”
Yeo-won answered as though it were obvious. “That’s because we’ll be living together from now on…”
Her words trailed off. Shin-wol’s expression had changed. The mischievous glint in his eyes and the playful curve of his lips told her that her phrasing had carried an unintended nuance.
“Hmm.”
“I’m only clarifying in case of misunderstanding. It doesn’t mean anything strange. It means we must stay together until the spiritual energy is fully exchanged…”
“What exactly do you consider the ‘strange’ meaning?”
His serious tone left her speechless. She had dug her own grave.
As she fumbled for words in embarrassment, he let out a low laugh.
The gentle sound made her realize he had been teasing her.
“I shall consider it, to a degree. However, should I deem you in danger, I will use my power without hesitation.”
He looked most alive when playing such tricks. Feeling that she had been thoroughly teased, Yeo-won answered in a deliberately crooked tone.
“Yes, yes. I should be endlessly grateful for even that much.”
Still, it was a small victory. Deciding the outcome wasn’t bad, she turned her gaze back to the window. The bus had left the mountain and was speeding along a quiet road. Unlike before, cars occasionally appeared around them.
She checked the time on her phone. Fortunately, only a few hours had passed. It had felt like at least half a day inside that place.
Because of the bus accident, however, they would arrive in the middle of the night.
If I were alone it wouldn’t matter, but since Shin-wol is with me, maybe we should stay at a lodging near the terminal and head over in the morning.
Having made up her mind, Yeo-won turned to ask his opinion.
“Um, Shin-wol. When we arrive it will probably be the middle of the night, so perhaps at a lodging near the terminal…”
“Until when do you intend to keep addressing me with such honorifics?”
“Pardon?”