TINL Ch 19

The buzzing vibration of Wol’s phone woke Sunwoo. He watched the screen, expecting it to stop eventually, but the five characters “[Wolgungju Wolye]” kept flashing. It seemed she was repeatedly calling, texting, and calling again.

‘Wolgungju… Myungwol’s direct superior. She’s acting like a stalker.’

Sunwoo reached out, grabbed the phone, and placed it in Wol’s hand. She was sleeping so soundly, it was almost embarrassing considering they had both complained about nightmares and poor sleep.

“Senior. I think you need to wake up.”

“Checkout isn’t until 11….”

“Surprisingly, that checkout time is almost here. More importantly, Wolgungju keeps calling and texting, so I think you need to answer.”

As soon as the words “Wolgungju” were spoken, Wol’s eyes shot open and she answered the phone.

“I apologize, Wolye-nim. Please instruct me.”

Wol responded with an overly stiff expression and tone, pointing to the clothes hanging on the wall. Sunwoo, who had been covering her, moved away. She jumped up and started to get dressed.

‘Just what kind of person is Wolgungju to make someone who was so indifferent to Mago so scared…?’

Sunwoo keenly observed her expression and gestures, holding the phone to her ear so Wol could dress more comfortably. She thanked him with her eyes and tied her hair back as she waited for Wolgungju’s instructions.

—Come out. I’m in front of the door.

“Right now… you’re in front of our room?”

—I happened to be passing by.

The call ended with a tone that implied she knew exactly which room they were staying in. Wol pressed her lips together, swallowed hard, and approached the door. While Wol dressed, Sunwoo changed his clothes and opened the door wide.

“Greetings. I’m Bae Sunwoo, trainee, in charge of Senior’s security detail.”

“Here, new gloves.”

Wolgungju handed a pair of jet-black leather gloves over Sunwoo’s shoulder, completely ignoring him. Sunwoo, with a business-like smile, took the gloves, briefly infused them with power, and passed them to Wol behind him. Wolgungju, noticing the light emanating from the gloves, raised an eyebrow and looked at Sunwoo.

“The power of purification and regeneration. Not bad for a trainee.”

“I hear that a lot. I just got rid of the trainee label and was officially confirmed as the Sun God, so please take care of me.”

Sunwoo grinned, showing off the confirmation message from Mago, which he was sure she had gritted her teeth while writing.

“There’s some treaty saying the Moon God and the Sun God shouldn’t be in the same place, right? I have a lot of questions, but I’d hate to cause a natural disaster with my curiosity… It’s a shame.”

Get lost.

Wolgungju’s lips curled into a sharp smile at the polite yet blunt dismissal.

“That rule was made because I shot ten filthy Sun Gods to death with my bow. I’ll let it slide this once since you’re my 항아’s bodyguard.”

You get lost.

Wolgungju retorted leisurely.

“Excuse me for interrupting,” Wol squeezed between the two men exchanging thinly veiled threats. Sunwoo, pretending to resist, stepped back. Wol stood tall with her hands clasped behind her back, tilted her head, and motioned with her chin.

“Mr. Sunwoo, pack your bags right now, check out, and go down to the car first.”

“I apologize, but… ‘Don’t think anything unnecessary and focus on protecting Director Myung.’ Ms. Mago specifically emphasized that part when she gave me the deity confirmation notice.”

Sunwoo shook his head, holding up Mago’s message like a shield. Wol glared at him with pleading and curses filling her large eyes, but he didn’t budge.

“Ms. Mago is a higher deity than Senior or Wolgungju-nim. So I have no choice but to prioritize Ms. Mago’s orders. I’m sure you two understand, since you’re not following Ms. Mago’s orders out of your own free will.”

“That brat, all he learned is how to run his immature mouth.”

“A fresh, youthful scent is better than a stale, musty odor.”

Wolgungju frowned. Sunwoo’s power, deeply embedded in Wol, was even more bothersome than the politely insolent trainee god.

“I want to take Wolha right now and wash her.”

Annoyed, Wolgungju checked her watch and raised her hand, holding something small.

“Open your mouth.”

Wol’s shoulders flinched slightly as Wolgungju’s hand approached. Sunwoo’s gaze stopped at the small movement. Wol’s fist, held behind her back, clenched tightly. Preoccupied with the small clenched fist, Sunwoo failed to stop Wolgungju’s hand from entering Wol’s mouth.

“Protecting someone and yet you can’t even stop something from entering their mouth?”

Muttering sarcastically, Wolgungju pushed her fingers deeper into Wol’s mouth, pressed down on her tongue, and forced her to swallow whatever she was holding.

“Ugh….”

“Swallow and suck.”

Even as Wol’s throat convulsed, Wolgungju continued to rub her index and middle fingers against Wol’s soft tongue, staring directly at Sunwoo. Sunwoo, after a brief moment of hardened expression, took out a handkerchief and shook his head.

“Senior… you told me not to accept anything from just anyone.”

Wol frantically signaled him to stop with her eyes, but Sunwoo pretended not to notice, dabbing her mouth and chin clean before scooping Wol up and carrying her back. Wolgungju’s saliva-coated hand remained in the air, and she furrowed her brow.

Sunwoo let out an exaggerated sigh and touched Wolgungju’s wet fingertips, restoring them to a dry and pristine state. Then, he calmly extended his hand.

“I don’t know what kind of medicine that was, but if you provide it with instructions, I’ll make sure she takes it. On time, accurately. I’ve taken care of the likes of Jacheongbi-nim and Seolmundae Halmang, who are some of the most difficult patients, so please trust me with this.”

“…….”

Wolgungju, who had been ready to strike at either Wol or Sunwoo, slowly lowered her hand. The threat to inform Jacheongbi and Seolmundae Halmang seemed quite effective, even on Wolgungju.

‘This stalker also hates Master’s antics.’

Seeing his opponent unable to do anything but glare, Sunwoo felt a small sense of accomplishment for the hundreds of years he’d spent cleaning up after Jacheongbi.

“Thank you for your precious visit during your busy schedule. If there are any areas that need improvement in the way we handled this, please contact Ms. Mago directly. I’m just a trainee who doesn’t know up from down, so I only do what I’m told.”

“Yes, that’s right. We must punish the one who taught wrongly.”

Wolgungju glared at Wol with a sharp warning. Sunwoo feigned an apologetic expression, pointing towards the elevator.

“Please have a safe trip.”

“You can look forward to it.”

Leaving behind a clichéd villainous threat, Wolgungju vanished. Sunwoo met Wol’s pale, breathless gaze and intentionally put on an even more foolish smile.

“Are you okay? Your breathing is unstable, but your temperature seems fine, so I guess it wasn’t a bad medicine.”

“No, the medicine isn’t the problem….”

“That’s a relief. I thought maybe you couldn’t talk, but you’re speaking clearly.”

Faced with his alarmingly carefree expression, Wol covered her forehead with her hand.

“Mr. Sunwoo…. You don’t know what you’ve just done, do you?”

“I got rid of a troublesome customer. By the book.”

“What book are you talking about…?”

“Working at a resort, you sometimes run into these kinds of crazy people. Stalkers who harass celebrities who are staying here, or lunatics who pull knives because they aren’t given what they want. Jacheongbi-nim’s ex-husbands were similar cases.”

He pulled her suitcase along, expertly led her out of the room, checked them out, and put her in the car. Wol, bewildered by how she would ever acclimate this man to the celestial realm, only came to her senses when she was smoothly seated in the passenger seat.

“Mr. Sunwoo, Wolgungju’s warnings are not just threats.”

“Yes, yes. So today we’ll just go to the new accommodation and stay hidden there. It should be nice, it’s the place Seolmundae Halmang dumped on me as my severance pay.”

“Severance pay?”

“Yes. I was fired as CEO of TRV. It’s a threat to endure, no matter how much Mago or Senior harass me, and not run back to Tamra.”

Their eyes met, and Sunwoo, fastening her seatbelt, grinned. Wol’s head throbbed as she looked at his innocent smile.

Click.

The metallic click of the seatbelt buckle added to Wol’s headache. As she massaged her temples, about to scold Sunwoo, he spoke first.

“Does that bastard hit you, Senior?”

“…….”

“Jacheongbi-nim beat me to death when she taught me. She hit me so hard that I’d rather die again. So, I know how people react after being severely beaten.”

Sunwoo leaned on the back of the passenger seat, his shadow completely covering Wol.

“Now, even Jacheongbi-nim can’t beat me with strength, but even knowing that, whenever her hand raises, my shoulders flinch involuntarily.”

“…….”

Wol parted her lips, then shook her head slightly and grabbed her phone. Her beautiful face, previously flickering with tension, excitement, and worry, settled into a cool, expressionless mask, like frozen river water. Her transformation into “Director Myung” was a clearer affirmation than any spoken word.

“That son of a bitch. I shouldn’t have let him go so easily.”

Sunwoo withdrew his arm and returned to the driver’s seat with a heavy sigh. As soon as he sat down, Wol, in a stiffer tone than usual, spoke what she had been meaning to say.

“Wolgungju isn’t just scary, she’s insane. You can at least reason with Mago, but you can’t have a conversation with that person.”

“See? I knew I wasn’t the only one with mental issues in the celestial realm.”

“This is not the time for jokes! I have no idea what kind of crazy thing Wolgungju is planning right now. Can you be serious?”

“If I get any more serious, I’ll go after that bastard and rip his spine out. According to the schedule you gave me, dealing with the Moon God is still a long way off, so for now, I have to endure by making jokes.”

Blue veins stood out on the back of his hand gripping the steering wheel. A man whose voice and face were as bright as a sunny day, yet expressing his anger through his hands. For a moment, Wol forgot about her worries about the aftermath, filled only with bewilderment, and muttered to herself.

“I’m the person who killed Mr. Sunwoo. Shouldn’t Mr. Sunwoo be happy to see me living miserably?”

“I clearly told you I want to take my revenge when you’re in your best physical and mental condition. You used to act like you didn’t care if someone put a hole in you or touched you, but you froze up in front of that bastard…. If I’m happy to see that, I’m a pervert. I’m not that kind of person.”

The man, who occasionally mentioned his purity, paused and asked in a heavy voice, “What did that bastard feed you?”

“Hatching inhibitor.”

“I think I saw a label like that at the Hallasan farm…. On the shelf where they keep pesticides.”

“That’s right, pesticide.”

At her casual reply, Sunwoo slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. It was definitely not something a person should put in their mouth. He raised his eyebrows and ran his hand over Wol’s neck. He seemed unable to properly exert force over her clothes and began unbuttoning them. Wol grabbed his wrist and shook her head firmly.

“You can’t purify this medicine.”

“Don’t stop me. I don’t want to touch your body without your permission.”

“I need this medicine.”

“Who needs pesticides!”

“Me. The Woljeop butterfly lays eggs in Wolha. Those eggs stick to flesh that smells of blood and hatch, and I didn’t know that. I diligently dipped my hand in the river, just like Mago told me….”

“You did the laundry….”

Sunwoo gritted his teeth, staring at the slender fingertips gripping his wrist.