MDOF | Chapter 3.6

“You crazy fox!”

Seonwoo struggled free from Yeon’s grasp and dashed to the bedroom entrance. Leaning against the door, panting, he glared at Yeon on the bed and yelled.

“You… you! You lied!”

“Me? About what?”

Yeon looked up, seemingly indignant. Seonwoo only then noticed that Yeon’s wide-open eyes were just like the ones he’d seen in the afterlife. That meant his condition was very good.

“You… you… damn fox!”

This time, Seonwoo didn’t hide his flushed face from rage and spat out his true feelings. His shoulders rose and fell with heavy breathing, his fists trembling. Though not the laughing face he was curious about, Yeon’s eyes crinkled with amusement at Seonwoo’s childlike appearance. His white hair fell to one side, revealing his elegant profile.

Having chased the bed’s owner away, Yeon, now occupying the bed, rested his chin on his hand, giving a bewitching smile as he whispered.

“You just realized I’m a fox?”

“Ha…”

Seonwoo let out a dry laugh.

Yeon, lying on the bed with his chin propped up, wagged his tail and smirked. Seonwoo couldn’t help but agree with the opinion of the three gods who had called him a sly fox.

Is this fox crazy? He must have gone mad from being out in the rain too long.

“Hmm,” Yeon tilted his head, looking at Seonwoo with a crooked gaze. As Seonwoo, with his back against the wall in defense, scrunched his eyes, he suddenly noticed something and asked urgently.

“Why is your arm like that…?”

Through the fallen sleeve, Yeon’s arm was red and inflamed. Although it had calmed down a bit since yesterday, his skin was so pale that even the slightest blemish was noticeable, and the wound was too large. The scars spread across his forearm in various patterns. Seonwoo, rushing back to Yeon, furrowed his brows.

“Oh, again…”

I’ve made it serious again.

As Yeon tapped his cheek with the tips of his fingers, looking down at Seonwoo’s worried forehead, he flopped back onto the bed, with an expression far from pleased.

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing? With such a big mark, who…”

“It’s mild for approaching the Divine Tree without permission. I didn’t even manage to tear anything off.”

“But the seal was broken. Do we need to tear off the rest?”

Seonwoo asked seriously while examining Yeon’s arm. Considering his actions and arrogant demeanor, Seonwoo had thought Yeon was a very powerful divine beast, but the serious scars on his arm were shocking.

“We need to tear off the rest to find the jewel.”

Seonwoo’s head shook as he gripped his own hand tightly. Where did the ferocity that seemed ready to claw someone go, replaced by a comical look of concern? With a body that looked like it would collapse if touched, who was he worrying about? The wound would heal completely in a day or two anyway.

“You said you couldn’t tear it off. Doesn’t it need to be done by a stronger divine beast?”

“Well, a stronger divine beast than me…”

If we were to fight one-on-one, there wouldn’t be a match.

“There isn’t one.”

Seonwoo couldn’t hide his incredulous look at Yeon’s nonchalant response. The fox divine beast is the strongest? What about the Four Guardian Gods and other creatures like wolves or tigers?

“If I can’t tear it, who could?”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, then what about the wound?”

“It’ll heal in a day or two. To begin with, only those permitted can approach the Divine Tree… From the tree’s perspective, I’m an escapee.”

Seonwoo tilted his head, listening to Yeon’s explanation. He could tear it off, but how did he get permission?

“Do we have to tear off all the talismans to find the remaining fox bead? Who said that?”

“The crow.”

The crow? Where have I heard that before?

“The divine beast of Yama. Anyway, that’s how it is. There must be another way if we look for it.”

After hearing the crow’s words, Seonwoo pondered.

Do they need to look far for a solution? He could approach the Divine Tree and tear it off with little trouble. Sure, it hurt a lot afterward, and he had a nosebleed, but it was brief, and he felt better once he came to.

Following this train of thought, Seonwoo, startled, let go of Yeon’s hand like he’d dropped something hot.

As Yeon’s eyebrows twitched at his suddenly free hand, Seonwoo avoided his gaze, putting distance between them. He didn’t want Yeon to see his face turning red at the memory of the artificial respiration after collapsing.

Although he had decided to give his life to Yeon, if he needed to tear off the talismans, he was more than willing to help. Feeling an obligation after having one-sidedly passed on his life, he wanted to do something in return.

But if he had to collapse again and do CPR… No, did you do CPR today too? Is there no other way? There were dozens of talismans; how many times would they have to do this?

Yeon, watching Seonwoo’s face turn pale then flush repeatedly, turned over, shaking his ears. He should scold him for rolling around on the bed, but Seonwoo was too busy trembling and staring at the floor.

Seonwoo was probably the only one who could tear off those talismans. Especially since they were used to seal Yeon himself, there was no way for him to do it on his own.

Then Seonwoo had to do it, but to watch that again?

As Seonwoo, lost in thought, kept blinking while picking at his nails, Yeon shook his head slightly.

He didn’t want to see Seonwoo struggle and bleed on the ground multiple times. The divine beasts of Yama might eagerly rush in, but Yeon was far from sadistic.

Knowing that tearing off the talismans would deepen Seonwoo’s scent and restore his own power, yet no appealing method came to mind, Yeon grew annoyed. Though he had acted fussy, he still had some of the steel’s power, and he had replenished with Seonwoo’s scent. When full, he just wanted to rest comfortably.

“Aren’t you going to drink that?”

The ice chocolate cup was half-melted and dripping. Seonwoo, coming out of his reverie, let out an “Ahh,” and took the straw in his mouth. As he sipped, his eyes kept darting to Yeon, who was rolling around on the bed.

“That… when I collapsed…”

I just want to confirm, I didn’t do anything wrong, so why should I feel awkward?

“About you giving me your energy…”

“Mm-hm.”

“Well… so…”

“Mm-hm?”

Yeon responded lazily, drawing out his words, watching Seonwoo tremble. He then opened his mouth.

Oh, how innocent. Still holding onto the moment he infused energy? Seonwoo’s face, now covering his mouth, looked like steam could rise from it any second. He couldn’t even tell if his stuttering words were getting through.

“Did I kiss you today too?”

“Uh! Uh, yes…?”

The deep wrinkle between Seonwoo’s furrowed brows, his wandering eyes looking for a place to land, his flushed cheeks, and the gulping of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed, Yeon took it all in before sitting up.

Seonwoo, startled, took a step back until his back hit the white wall. With Yeon, who was taller, getting close, Seonwoo’s neck naturally stretched out. Pressing against the wall in anticipation, Seonwoo couldn’t wait any longer and glared defiantly at Yeon.

“So! Did you or didn’t you!”

“Well… how did I do it?”

“Are you senile?”

After living for over 500 years, it wouldn’t be surprising. Biting his lips and glaring, Seonwoo watched as Yeon couldn’t hide his smile, pressing his finger against Seonwoo’s forehead. Seonwoo’s eyes widened at the brief flash of gold from Yeon’s fingertip.

“That’s how I did it. Why? Don’t like it?”

The headache from the back of his head cleared, his shoulders felt lighter. And this time, it wasn’t through the mouth but just a touch of the finger, making his heart feel lighter too. As tension drained from his body, his face returned to its usual calm. Just as he was about to pull away in relief, Yeon leaned in close.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll do it the usual way…”

His red lips filled Seonwoo’s vision. Without thinking, Seonwoo pushed Yeon’s chin away with a thud and dashed into the living room.

“You, you… We made a promise. You said you wouldn’t touch me. It’s only been two days, can a divine beast behave like this?”

“Is there a rule that divine beasts can’t lie?”

Humming a tune, Yeon followed Seonwoo into the living room, still holding the drink Seonwoo had left behind.

Seonwoo, huffing and puffing, snatched the ice chocolate back, only then questioning how Yeon got it. Does he have human money? How did he buy this?

“Can you make money too?”

“What are you talking about?”

“How did you buy this? You don’t have money.”

“Ah.”

Yeon casually walked past Seonwoo to the table, picked up his wallet, and showed it. Then, expertly, he opened it to reveal the card Seonwoo usually used.

“…Isn’t that theft?”

“I bought something for you to eat.”

Yeon answered confidently, but he had to listen to Seonwoo’s nagging for quite a while. His ears flicked as if swatting at flies while Seonwoo went on and on, leading to Seonwoo giving him a light tap on the back, which didn’t hurt at all.

Yeon lay on the sofa, watching Seonwoo grumble while cleaning.

Such a small thing, bustling around so busily. When Seonwoo was washing clothes and sheets, running the vacuum, Yeon’s tail swished in displeasure, leading to him being forcefully combed.

At times like these, he seemed so ordinary. What was driving this kid to the brink? Yeon slowly blinked, not seeing the child who had begged for death so many times. Despite knowing he would eventually devour him, unnecessary curiosity kept popping up and fading in his mind.

Maybe it was because he slept too long and was bored. As Yeon pondered these unusual questions, Seonwoo passed by with a mop, the sweet scent of osmanthus tickling his nose, making him want to sneeze. He asked Seonwoo, who was wiping the windowsill, “Why didn’t you come in yesterday?”

Why were you out in the rain? What upset you yesterday? Seonwoo’s hand paused at Yeon’s question while he was vigorously cleaning the window. Without looking up, he tried to answer as casually as possible while continuing to mop.

“Just… I didn’t want to go inside.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you have days like that? I… I just got soaked in the rain, so… that’s why.”

Even after repeatedly wiping, the water marks left by the mop only spread. Seonwoo forced a smile, looking around for more to clean, while Yeon replied, “I don’t have days like that.”

Seonwoo tried to avoid answering, but his eyes met Yeon’s black gaze, which seemed to peer into him. Those black eyes were hard to read, and with the sunlight making them shine, they looked hollow, like they were twisting his insides.

He didn’t want to lie, but he didn’t want to hide it either. Maybe Yeon was the only one he could be honest with. Before he could think, the truth spilled out.

“I didn’t want to go back to an empty house.”

At that moment, he felt like he might end his life in that empty house, unable to wait for Yeon to return.

That’s why he did it. Knowing that even his insignificant life was needed by someone had pulled him back from despair several times.

Since knowing Yeon, he had grown afraid of being alone, so he needed even the cold comfort at his last moment.