Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: A Short Rest and the Mage (1)
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Once the clan's name was set to "Hwajeon," everything proceeded smoothly.
Park Jungwoo had almost nothing to do. Chae Seoah, skilled with paperwork, and Yang Jihee, with her wealth of experience, handled most of the issues.
'Mr. Park Jungwoo is our central pillar. You don't need to worry about the trivial stuff.'
He often recalled Yang Jihee patting his head as she said those words. He hadn't realized "don't worry" meant he could completely hands-off and it would all get done anyway.
Chae Seoah had become incredibly busy. She'd been out of the house almost non-stop for the past three days. Seeing her come home looking a bit worn out, sleep, and leave again made it clear just how hectic things were.
With Chae Seoah away, he naturally spent more time with Moon Hayeon.
For instance, right now. Park Jungwoo was eating the meal she'd prepared.
She sat across from him. With the low dining table they'd bought recently between them, the only sound was the faint clinking of her picking at her food.
"...It's delicious."
Normally, Moon Hayeon would have asked if it was good ten times over by now, but since she hadn't said a word, Park Jungwoo spoke first after swallowing his bite.
"Huh? Oh, yeah... G-Good... I'm glad..."
Ever since the tattoo on her stomach had been removed, even three days later, Moon Hayeon's demeanor was off. She'd seem to avoid him subtly, but if he spoke first, she'd giggle and respond.
Right now, too. It wasn't anything special she'd heard, but Moon Hayeon was grinning ear to ear. She even set her chopsticks down on the table, fiddling with her empty hands and letting out bubbly laughs.
Park Jungwoo's brows furrowed. He stared at her sullenly, as if something was bothering him, and she averted her gaze.
The one most affected by her changed attitude was, naturally, Park Jungwoo. His own behavior was shifting in subtle ways too.
After finishing their meal and settling down to rest, they sat leaning against opposite walls of the room, facing each other.
Today was the last day of the week they'd agreed to live together. Park Jungwoo's eyes kept darting between the clock and the suitcase next to Moon Hayeon.
Whenever she made the slightest move to get up or glanced at her suitcase, his fingers, sprawled on the floor, twitched.
"Mm..."
After agonizing for a while, Park Jungwoo raised his hand slightly. He patted the spot next to him invitingly, and Moon Hayeon shot up like she'd been waiting.
"Heehee, hehe..."
Moon Hayeon trotted over and plopped down beside him. After a moment's hesitation, she just sat there, knees up, tapping them rhythmically with her fingertips like playing an instrument.
She looked thrilled, as if she couldn't contain her joy at being called over, but Park Jungwoo's face still held a hint of displeasure.
...There was still about a foot of space between them. When Park Jungwoo shifted his body slightly, Moon Hayeon's eyes, which had been forward, snapped toward him. She tried not to show her dejected expression, but it was all over her face.
As Park Jungwoo scooted closer and leaned his head on her shoulder, she started giggling darkly again, as if that sad look had never been there.
Park Jungwoo, still wearing a slightly uncomfortable expression, quietly rested his head on her shoulder and passed the time.
"J-Jungwoo. Can't sleep?"
In the dead of night, Moon Hayeon lay on the blanket she'd spread out on the other side of the room, gazing at me.
Something was definitely off. I could feel my face tensing up involuntarily.
"W-Why are you like that, Jungwoo...?"
Over the past three days, she hadn't pounced on me once. It made me a bit sad to realize I found that strange, but anyway, it was weird.
Right now was no different. Even when I'd beg and plead for her to let me sleep alone, she'd insist on sharing a blanket. But lately, without a word, she'd matter-of-factly set up her own separate one.
The first day had felt comfortable. But as it dragged on, it started to feel uncomfortably empty.
I turned my body, which had been lying flat staring at the ceiling, slightly toward her. Burying my face in the soft pillow against my cheek, I stared straight at her.
"Do you have something to say to me?"
My tone came out surprisingly curt, startling even me. Moon Hayeon clamped her mouth shut at my words and pulled the blanket up to cover her nose and mouth.
"N-No, nothing..."
Through the strands of her long hair that had fallen down, her purple eyes darted around the empty air.
A long sigh escaped me. I just stared at her silently.
She fidgeted, avoiding my gaze, and only after a good while did she finally meet my eyes.
"...I-I'm just curious, that's all... Why didn't you, l-like, report me...?"
Suddenly, the question struck me as ridiculous. But her tone wasn't playful.
I closed my mouth, gathered my thoughts, and slowly parted my lips.
"First off, there's no evidence. Honestly, back then I was a bit scared you might get revenge..."
Park Jungwoo's voice was calm, like he was recounting an old tale. With just his head poking out from under the blanket, he spoke in the dark room in a lower tone than usual.
Moon Hayeon buried her face deeper into the blanket. If anything, her expression looked even more complicated.
The conversation they'd had in Yang Jihee's living room still stabbed sharply at Moon Hayeon's chest.
His terrified face when they'd just pulled him out of Yang Jihee's basement kept replaying in her mind.
She nodded with a guilty look, and each time, her hair rustled against the blanket and pillow.
"I'm not that scared anymore, but still..."
He let out a groan. With enough space between them for another blanket, he squeezed his eyes shut, still gazing at her all the while.
A rustling sound. Park Jungwoo shifted, turning his back to Moon Hayeon and lying facing the wall. Unable to see his expression, she anxiously stared at his back.
"Living together, I got attached..."
He knew it sounded odd even to himself; his voice lacked confidence.
And it was true. In the past week, what had he and Moon Hayeon really done? For four days, she'd ravaged him, and the last three had been this awkward standoff.
They barely knew each other yet. Even in that short time, Park Jungwoo had given her a corner of his heart.
Even Moon Hayeon, who knew early on about his twisted side, hadn't expected that answer. She poked her head out from the blanket and perked up her ears.
"We even decided to form a clan. Reporting it wouldn't change anything... Like with Oroji, above all..."
His excuses stumbled out haltingly. He paused for breath. Pulling the blanket up to cover his head entirely, Park Jungwoo muttered softly.
"...I like having someone at home. That's all."
It probably wasn't Stockholm syndrome. He was still wary of her, even if just a little.
Watching him, Moon Hayeon felt considerable confusion. She could sense his emotions, but not the root of them.
But in the dark room, his back as he lay facing the wall looked smaller than ever tonight. So she quietly sat up.
The blanket rustled. Even crawling over on her knees, the sound and vibrations should have been noticeable, but Park Jungwoo didn't react.
Moon Hayeon lifted the blanket. Lying behind him, she carefully pulled him into an embrace. Whispering in a small voice, she asked,
"Y-You... won't kick me out...?"
"Yeah. For now."
"Then, you'll keep the promise too...?"
"If not, you'd make a huge fuss... I hate that."
"Th-Then..."
"My turn to ask a question."
"Huh? O-Oh, okay..."
Park Jungwoo hesitated. He knew how strange the question he was about to ask was. The pause stretched longer than usual.
"Tomorrow makes a week. So, are you leaving?"
Turning toward her, Park Jungwoo's face bore undisguisable anxiety. Through the tiny basement window's faint light, the shadows on his face stood out sharply.
"No... If, if you're okay with it, Jungwoo... Yeah..."
"Good..."
Rarely, before she even finished, Park Jungwoo burrowed into her arms. He pressed his face to her chest and let out a weak laugh.
Moon Hayeon stared at him with slightly widened eyes, then awkwardly wrapped her arms around his back, patting it. Her fingertips trembled faintly, and the corners of her mouth twitched.
"I thought you were about to leave soon..."
It was a worry hard for others to empathize with, but he looked utterly serious. He clung to her back hard enough to leave nail marks, rubbing his cheek against her like a child throwing a tantrum about his anxiety.
In truth, Moon Hayeon had kept some distance out of guilt. But he didn't know that, so he just whined and nuzzled deeper.
"I got worried..."
His expression had relaxed considerably. Then he noticed the breath on his forehead was rough and hot.
"...J-Jungwoo. If, if you say stuff like that now..."
Gulp. The sound of her swallowing felt unusually loud. Sensing something wrong, Park Jungwoo tried to sit up, but Moon Hayeon's hands clamped his shoulders, forcing him back down.
Whoosh. The blanket heaved with her rough movement. Moon Hayeon straddled his stomach. Pinning both his shoulders firmly to the floor, she panted heavily.
"Haa, haa..."
Her hips edged back slightly. As her ass settled right on his crotch, she started grinding against him over their clothes, wriggling her waist.
"I, I really tried to hold back, so hard, I was holding it in..."
Her words dragged longer than usual. In the dim light, her face came into view. Her characteristic creepy smile burned with more intense arousal than ever.
Her hands moved from his shoulders to his wrists. Pinning them down by his head, she rubbed her crotch against him like she was pleasuring herself.
"...W-Wait, I didn't mean for this."
"If, if you say such cute things, I, I..."
The lust she'd bottled up under a lid of guilt exploded upward. The desire to understand him was overtaken by the urge to mess him up right then.
Park Jungwoo's resistance was feeble. No matter how hard he struggled, Moon Hayeon's body, still under Seeding's effects, didn't budge.
If anything, every time he thrashed, the lascivious glint in her eyes grew fiercer.
"Sorry, J-Jungwoo, I really can't hold back anymore..."
With the illusion that the chilly room air suddenly heated up, he felt his cock—now all too familiar with these situations—helplessly hardening under her ass.
Frightened by the sudden, forceful act, Park Jungwoo's eyes looked up at her.
"So cute, so cute... I wanna fuck you..."
With a familiar mutter, Moon Hayeon—having shed her unease—beamed widely.