Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: The Yandere Fairy's Gaze is Strange
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"I'm not Soeun-i's boyfriend. I'm just her older brother figure from back home."
"Th-that can't be... or is it? Did I see wrong?"
The conversation had barely started, and Kim Sejin was already losing her grip on reality.
It seemed like Soeun-i had been dating a guy who looked just like me.
"Take a closer look at my face."
At my words, Kim Sejin's eyes wavered.
As if rummaging through her memories, she slowly scanned my face once more.
Then, with a troubled expression, she spoke cautiously.
"But... it's weird..."
"What's weird?"
"I didn't notice before... but now that I'm looking closely... Soeun's boyfriend seemed a bit older than you."
At that moment, a sharp thought pierced my mind.
A bit older?
The words echoed in my head.
After eating the Heavenly Peach that the Silver Fairy had first given me, my appearance had changed dramatically.
And not just that.
My skin had tightened, my muscles more defined, making me look as young as I did in college.
Everyone was shocked, asking if I'd been taking better care of myself lately.
But still.
The puzzle pieces weren't fitting together.
The photo of just me and Soeun-i was from around elementary school.
We were both way too young for Kim Sejin to mistake it.
"I know you don't want to remember the incident, but could you tell me everything without leaving anything out?"
I had no idea how much money Jin Hyeong-o had shoved her way, but she explained it far more methodically than I'd expected.
However, it was no different from what Jiwon-i's mom had told me.
I let out a short sigh.
"You're sure it's a photo of Soeun-i with her boyfriend?"
"Y-yes! She was definitely with a man who looks just like you."
"...I see."
I nodded heavily, and Kim Sejin raised her eyebrows again.
"But really, it's not you?"
"Pardon...?"
"No matter how I look at it, you seem so similar. Sorry if this is rude, but you haven't had any work done on your face recently, have you?"
"Ah... no."
"And you're not dating Soeun?"
"I'm really just her older brother from home."
"That's strange... you really do look alike..."
Hearing "you look alike" over and over stirred another ominous thought in my mind.
What if Soeun-i had been looking at a photo of me and Kang Jua together? A chilling possibility.
I quickly pulled out my phone from my pocket.
I tapped the screen a few times, found a photo, and held it out to Kim Sejin.
"Isn't the woman in the photo you saw back then this one?"
Kim Sejin frowned at the photo, then tilted her head.
"...Huh? Doesn't seem like it...?"
"Are you sure?"
At my question, she examined the photo again, then suddenly spoke as if something was off.
"But... this woman in the photo looks a lot like Soeun."
"...Pardon?"
Looks alike?
No way.
The woman in the photo was my ex-wife, Kang Jua.
"This is my ex-wife. But she doesn't look anything like Soeun-i."
At that, Kim Sejin's face filled with confusion.
"No way... she definitely looks alike..."
With a somewhat indignant expression, Kim Sejin hurriedly scrolled through her phone.
Her fingers flew across the screen, searching for something.
And then,
a few seconds later—
This time, Kim Sejin shoved her phone screen in my face.
"Look at this! It's a group photo from the company outing, and your ex-wife looks just like Soeun!"
My eyes flicked down reflexively to the screen, and my pupils shook as chills ran down my spine.
The woman in the photo was unmistakably Soeun-i.
But there she was, wearing the subdued blouse and neat skirt that Kang Jua often favored.
And her hairstyle and vibe too...
It was a perfect doppelganger.
'What the fuck... what is this...'
It felt like Soeun-i was perfectly imitating Kang Jua.
I looked at Kim Sejin with uneasy eyes.
"Um... do you remember the background of the photo you saw back then?"
"The background...? Hmm, it was some beach, I think, and Soeun was wearing a wide-brim hat..."
At that instant, my heart sank again.
I quickly opened my phone's gallery and started scrolling through old photos.
My finger paused at last.
— Vietnam, Phu Quoc.
A photo from there popped up on the screen.
I swallowed hard and zoomed in.
A single shot against the blue ocean backdrop.
It was a photo from our anniversary trip, taken with Kang Jua.
With trembling hands, I held the phone out to Kim Sejin.
"Was the photo you saw during the incident this one, by any chance?"
Kim Sejin's eyes widened as she stared at the screen.
"...Huh?"
A small groan escaped her, and she peered at the phone in disbelief.
Then, in an excited voice, she shouted.
"That's it! That's definitely the photo I saw back then!"
The rural night air was still chilly.
I leaned back in the rooftop bath chair, fiddling with a cold beer can in one hand like a rolling toy, and let out a deep sigh.
"Ha..."
Then, small, soft footsteps tapped across the rooftop floor, approaching.
"What's wrong? Your face looks terrible."
The Donghwa Fairy's eyes were filled with worry.
I took a sip of beer as I looked at her.
"If you're going into the sauna anyway, could you at least put some clothes on first?"
My gaze flicked downward briefly.
Her usual fluffy skin, not a hair out of place on her body.
Yet today, the Donghwa Fairy's visit didn't feel so bad.
At least she was a bath customer who could entertain herself without needing much attention.
Grab.
Suddenly, the Donghwa Fairy seized my hand and pressed it to her chest, her face flushing red as she raised her voice.
"It, it's grown a bit, right!?"
I gently moved my palm.
My thigh probably had more to grab than that, but I had enough consideration to humor her pride, so I widened my eyes a little.
"Whoa! It's grown a lot! But didn't you say it wouldn't grow all at once?"
At my empty flattery, the Donghwa Fairy seemed inwardly pleased, puffing out her chest proudly.
"That doesn't mean there's no growth at all!"
"Impressive. At this rate, your breasts might balloon up and pop like a balloon, who knows."
"Your mood still isn't better...?"
"Mood? It's the same as always."
"That's strange... I heard human men get over their anger if you let them touch their breasts..."
The Donghwa Fairy, like the Gold Fairy, seemed equally clueless about sex.
She kept doing weird things based on some bizarre advice she'd gotten somewhere.
Of course, breast size might help lift a mood, sure.
I quietly removed my hand from her breast and spoke.
"Where on earth do you get that kind of advice?"
"From the other senior fairies."
Suddenly, my conversation with the Gold Fairy flashed in my mind, and my eyes gleamed.
"Do you know someone called Jua Fairy?"
"Jua Fairy...?"
"Seemed close to the Gold Fairy?"
"Not really... I just know she's close to Gold Sister and that she gives off some scary aura as a senior fairy."
The Donghwa Fairy shook her pupils side to side in fear, fidgeting with her fingers.
This one seemed awfully timid for a fairy.
"...About those heavenly laws."
"Heavenly laws!?"
"If a fairy gets caught having relations with a human, she's dragged to the heavenly palace where Yama the Great King resides and has to choose one of two options, right?"
"That's right."
"So as long as you don't have relations, it's fine?"
"Of course!"
It was decent info.
As long as I didn't go all the way, I could use the toys I'd bought on the innocent Gold Fairy freely, no?
"You sure?"
"...Tell me what you're curious about, and I'll find out for sure."
It was a bit embarrassing to say "anything but pussy."
But I needed to confirm.
I didn't want to mess up and end up stuck with the Gold Fairy forever.
I leaned in and carefully pointed at the Donghwa Fairy's crotch with a finger.
"When having relations, does it only count if it's this hole? Make sure to ask."
"Huh? What other hole do you mean?"
"Well... there are a few... anyway, just find out."
"Okay, got it!"
I took another sip of beer and patted the Donghwa Fairy's head.
"Thanks."
Her face turned strawberry red.
"...So even if I couldn't get Gold Sister's weakness, I can keep using the bath?"
"Yeah, go ahead for now."
"Really!? Great, awesome!"
That aside.
Even if I'd roughly sorted out the heavenly laws, the human world was the real problem.
Soeun-i must have liked me for a long time to imitate Kang Jua like that.
How long exactly?
No way... from childhood all the way to now!?
If so, why hadn't she ever said anything?
'Fuck, this isn't some horror movie.'
Kim Sejin had mistaken Kang Jua in the photo for Soeun-i and said they looked good together, sparking this whole "accident."
If the full story got out, it'd make the news.
Ha...
I'd been so shocked after meeting Kim Sejin that I skipped dinner with Jiwon-i and drinks with Junseok, heading straight home.
The more I thought about it, the more stressed I got.
'Should I hire bodyguards or something?'
Gulp—
Gulp—
I'd already downed six beers.
The seventh can in my hand tilted halfway, cool beer sliding down my throat.
I set the empty can aside and slowly turned my gaze.
Swoosh.
Before I knew it, the Donghwa Fairy was splashing happily in the hot tub.
With an innocent smile, her small, cute hands and feet sent water flying everywhere.
"This is great, so fun!"
The alcohol buzz did nothing for my lingering stress.
Then, the Donghwa Fairy stepped out of the hot tub and looked at me again with worried eyes.
"...Your mood still isn't better?"
"Why? Want to cheer me up?"
"I let you bathe, so I want to repay you somehow!"
"Really?"
"Yes!"
The Donghwa Fairy nodded eagerly, looking thrilled as if she were about to do something wonderful.
I gazed at her quietly, then lifted the corner of my mouth slightly.
"Then, want to come down to the house with me for a bit?"