Don't Overexert Yourself
The few raindrops that had begun to fall soon swelled into a torrential downpour.
Startled by the sudden rain, Yeo-won floundered in confusion until Shin-wol calmly drew her beneath the shelter.
Shaaaah—
Puddles bloomed across the ground in an instant.
She had noticed the wind carried moisture, yet she never expected it to unleash itself so abruptly. Yeo-won stared at the slashing sheets of rain in a daze before finally gathering her wits.
“Wait here a moment. I’ll run inside and buy an umbrella.”
There was a convenience store in the terminal that stayed open late. Other people would be rushing to buy umbrellas too, so hesitation might mean finding none left. Having decided in a flash, Yeo-won plunged into the rain without a backward glance and sprinted for the terminal.
Shin-wol reached out to stop her, but she slipped away with surprising agility.
He clicked his tongue softly while watching her retreating figure.
With a body that frail, what would you do if you caught a cold…?
From the sound of it, she had gone to fetch a rain umbrella. It seemed Yeo-won kept forgetting that he could wield spiritual power.
Without an umbrella, a single word from her would have been enough for him to keep every drop from touching her. He could have dried her soaked clothes in a breath. With a little more effort, he could have simply ended the rain itself.
Well, that was beside the point… Shin-wol tilted his head back and gazed at the black sky where rain hammered down.
He had sensed it from the moment the rain began—an unpleasant aura spreading across all of Inwol.
It appeared the humans had been busy while he was away. And in a rather amusing manner.
When he extended his palm beyond the shelter, the raindrops veered away from his hand as though repelled.
Something stirred near his feet. In the distance, he saw Yeo-won running toward him beneath a transparent umbrella.
Shin-wol lowered his hand and smiled at her as if nothing had occurred.
“They were almost sold out—only one left. Thank goodness I managed to get it.”
She must have run hard; her breathing came rough. Yeo-won drew in a deep breath, then bravely lifted the umbrella high.
“The hotel isn’t far. We can share this one. Come under it.”
Her hair had already turned into a wild tangle again. The moment he found her thunderous, unkempt appearance adorable, he knew he was already beyond saving.
Shin-wol bent and stepped beneath the umbrella.
Once he joined her, the ordinary vinyl umbrella felt painfully small. In truth, it was not enough.
It could never cover his full frame, and to match his height Yeo-won had to stretch her arm straight up as though saluting.
Unable to bear the sight, Shin-wol took the umbrella from her hand.
“Allow me.”
“Ah, thank you.”
They walked together in the direction she indicated, yet a small question nagged at him.
Strangely, her body remained dry. Given his size, at least one of her shoulders should have been drenched.
Puzzled, she glanced upward. The umbrella was tilted entirely toward her.
Alarmed, Yeo-won pushed hard on the arm that held the umbrella, forcing it the other way.
“You don’t need to be so considerate! Your shoulders are getting soaked, Shin-wol!”
At her words, Shin-wol’s eyes curved with hidden meaning. Even so, he made no move to straighten the umbrella.
Watching her fret, he asked with apparent curiosity.
“Have you forgotten that I am capable of using sorcery?”
“No… I know you can…”
Yeo-won answered in a tone that clearly asked why he would mention it now. His eyes narrowed further. He stopped walking entirely.
“Then why do you not ask me to wield it? It would be far more comfortable than cowering behind this flimsy shield.”
Yeo-won halted as well and blinked her wide eyes. She looked briefly flustered, thought for a moment, then spoke with care.
“I’ve envied the ability to use sorcery, but I’ve never thought of it as convenient. It isn’t some vending machine that spits out results when you press a button.”
Her eyes darted about as she added cautiously, “Besides, you don’t use it without any cost, do you? In that case, it’s better not to use it at all. What reason is there to expend power over mere rain? An umbrella is enough.”
Shin-wol stared at her in silence. Yeo-won tilted her head at his motionless figure, her face innocent of any wrongdoing.
She had spoken as though it were the most natural thing in the world, yet it was anything but.
Every human he had encountered until now had wanted something from him.
Small requests for medicinal herbs, grand demands for an immortal body, enlightenment that pierced the illusions of the universe, or wisdom that transcended mortal limits—they had desired everything without restraint.
Most humans, upon witnessing his sorcery, assumed it was omnipotent and threw themselves at him with greedy eyes.
They defined it solely as a tool of convenience.
Even when told it was not without limit, they would pretend to understand for a moment, only to later ask him for the most trivial tasks.
Knowing full well how shameless it was, Shin-wol had still found it convenient.
If they craved wealth, he gave them gold. If they sought health, he offered herbs.
Fulfilling their desires was simple for him, and it was the only kindness he could extend to humans.
Those who openly revealed their self-interest were easy to manage. Those who did not were far more difficult.
In thousands of years, only one human had been different.
Now there were two.
Yeo-won looked at the motionless Shin-wol with worry.
“…Did I say something strange?”
Was this, too, the influence of her bloodline? Shin-wol deliberately erased the fleeting image of Mun-a that crossed his mind and began walking once more.
“No. Let us go.”
Yeo-won studied his suddenly altered mood, then flinched at the black mass ahead.
Startled badly, Shin-wol reflexively pulled her against his shoulder.
“Ah, it’s only trash…”
Yeo-won pressed a hand to her pounding heart and smiled in relief. Still half-leaning into his embrace, she laughed with embarrassment and murmured, “When it rains, those things become a little more visible.”
“You speak of lowly spirits. They cannot harm you.”
“I know that, but… fear is hard to control.”
Yeo-won smiled weakly and resumed walking. Even after confirming it was trash, she instinctively kept her distance from the pile.
“Do you dislike rain?”
“I don’t like it. The sky turns dark and heavy, and everything feels damp.”
She shrugged as if it were trivial, yet her tension was unmistakable.
“Still, I don’t see much of them today. Maybe because something scarier is standing right beside me?”
The awkward joke she rarely attempted seemed like a desperate attempt to mask her fear.
He had driven the spirits away once before, so they would not appear, but she disliked the rain.
“Hmm.”
Shin-wol exhaled slowly, as though considering something, then stopped again.
“Then it is simply a matter of making it cease.”
Teal light blooms from his feet and spirals upward, drawing the storm clouds into its vortex. With a soundless burst like a distant star exploding, the rain vanishes. Moon and stars pierce the clearing sky.
Beneath the newly revealed moonlight, Shin-wol smiled with refreshing ease.
Standing in that silver glow, he looked more beautiful than anything else in the world.
“What else shall I do for you?”
Having altered nature itself in the space of a breath, he spoke as casually as a child offering a new toy.
Confronted with such overwhelming power, Yeo-won could only stare in astonishment before answering blankly.
“…Nothing at all.”
After gazing at him for several seconds, she released a sigh heavy with resignation. She snatched the umbrella from his hand and shook the water from it with sharp, irritated snaps. At the hint of annoyance in her movements, Shin-wol asked curiously.
“Are you not pleased?”
Yeo-won, still flicking water from the umbrella, shot him a disgruntled look.
“I am pleased.”
“You do not appear so in the slightest.”
“Yes. In truth, I’m not.”
She answered coldly and folded the umbrella. Shin-wol pressed again.
“Did you not say you disliked the rain?”
“I do dislike it. But before that, I also said I dislike it when you, Shin-wol, expend your power for no reason.”
The sudden shift to a more respectful address made Shin-wol’s eyebrow rise. Ignoring it, Yeo-won continued grumbling as she closed the umbrella.
“I know you stopped the rain for my sake. But unless the situation truly demands it, you don’t have to do anything for me. I don’t want you to. Therefore, I won’t thank you.”
Yeo-won paused to steady her breathing, then slowly lifted her eyes to his.
“To be completely honest, I simply hate it when you overexert yourself. There’s no need, so please don’t use your power.”
Having spoken, she extended her hand toward him.
“Let’s go.”
Shin-wol stared at the small hand offered so openly and, without realizing it, let surprise show on his face.
Overexert? Do not overexert? The words were entirely new to him; for a moment his mind simply went blank.
Of course, great sorcery demanded a fitting price. Yet Shin-wol had never once revealed any sign of strain.
Was it because heavy use of power caused him to fall asleep? But he had only shown her that vulnerability once.
Human thought could be strangely unfathomable. Still, this particular shock felt refreshingly new.
As though enchanted, Shin-wol took the offered hand. Yeo-won gripped it firmly and pulled him forward.
“When you’re in human form, you can simply relax.”
Her tone was resolute, yet worry threaded through every word.
Watching her small back as she led him, a mysterious smile curved Shin-wol’s lips.