TINL Ch 10

Jacheongbi tossed Sunwoo the car keys she had brought and hailed a passing taxi.

“Wol. The water gods have been persuaded by Ha Baek. Once we’ve confirmed their relocation site, they’ll quietly leave as if on sabbatical.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“I’ll talk to the land gods now, so do your best. I took care of those bastards who were ruining the lives of other people’s precious daughters, and it feels like a thousand years of frustration has just vanished, man.”

Jacheongbi, smiling brightly as she unleashed a storm of words, waved goodbye through the car window and drove off. Wol, watching Jacheongbi leave as she had come, lightly tapped Sunwoo’s shoulder.

“Well done.”

“What…?”

“I’m not good at explaining things, so it must have been hard just to figure out what I wanted you to do. I’m saying you did a good job.”

Sunwoo’s eyes went to Wol’s right side of her neck. Finding a faint pulse beating in her white neck, his lips curved into a loose smile.

Wol’s impassive face told him far less than the right side of her neck. His mood considerably brightened, he shrugged off Wol’s praise.

“That guy, your ex-husband, was obviously trash. I just incinerated him because I thought he should be.”

“You have a good eye for people.”

She got into the passenger seat with a faint smile, completely unaware of his gaze lingering on her neck.

Darkness had fully settled inside the car. The light coming through the window added a brilliant hue to Wol’s habitually tilted neck. Unable to tear his eyes away, Sunwoo simply stared. Then, he suddenly became displeased that the smell of Gusang’s perfume and the burning smell were stronger than Wol’s scent.

Clicking his tongue as if he should have done this from the start, he began to purify the air around her with his hands. Wol, who was checking the location of their reserved restaurant and accommodation, let him do as he pleased without protest, asking casually,

“Mr. Sunwoo… is it okay to keep purifying like this? You must have used quite a bit of energy, even if it’s your specialty. Your nose and ears were bleeding earlier.”

“This is nothing compared to the training I received under Grandma Seolmundae and Jacheongbi-nim. Don’t worry about it.”

“Hmm. Then will you do it for me occasionally, as long as it doesn’t strain you?”

“Yes…?”

“My hands are a little warmer thanks to you, Mr. Sunwoo. I think I can go without gloves.”

Confronted with Wol’s unexpected bright smile, Sunwoo’s body moved before his mind could. He let out a long sigh at his head, which had nodded up and down without a moment’s thought, and fastened the seatbelt over her slender body.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes. Our accommodation is right around here.”

Sunwoo, who naturally assumed it would be a hotel, slumped his shoulders in front of the motel parking lot with its long, black curtains, unable to drive in.

“Senior… is this… is this the right place?”

“Yes. Apparently, there’s a concert nearby, so all the accommodations around here are fully booked. I barely managed to get this one.”

At her words, “barely managed to get,” Sunwoo swallowed dry with a premonition bordering on certainty, and asked the crucial question.

“…Are we sharing a room?”

“Of course we’re sharing a room. We’ll be discussing tomorrow’s schedule and purifying each other at night anyway, so is there a need for separate rooms?”

Parking with a feeling of ‘oh well’ for the umpteenth time, he followed behind her, rubbing his face repeatedly.

Wol, who seemed oblivious to his feelings or gaze, clicked her tongue with a look of realization.

“Mr. Sunwoo, you said you were a resort CEO. I guess this kind of accommodation wouldn’t be to your liking.”

“That’s not the reason…”

Of course, a motel tucked away in a secluded alley of the city wouldn’t appeal to Sunwoo. However, the immediate problem wasn’t the motel itself, but the fact that they had to spend the night in the same room, sucking each other dry, which made him groan, a fact Wol remained completely oblivious to.

The state of the room they entered side-by-side was even more spectacular.

“And what’s with that round bed…”

Seeing the round bed sitting squarely in the room, a groan close to despair escaped Sunwoo’s lips. Wol looked up at him and lowered her eyebrows.

“There were really no other options today. I’ll book a decent place for the next stay, so please bear with it just for tonight. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

As she flustered in a way quite unlike her usual expressionless self, Sunwoo hurriedly put on an awkward smile and waved his hands.

“No. It’s not your fault at all, Senior… I’ll make the reservations from now on. Our resort chain has branches on land too.”

Wol, who had been chewing on her lip as if she had something to say, took out a cigarette after a short sigh. Every time Wol inhaled, Sunwoo felt his insides burning like the tobacco. With a sinking heart, he looked around the dimly lit room, filled with all sorts of stale smells. He didn’t want to lie down in such a place himself, but the thought of Wol panting on such a filthy bed made him nauseous.

‘I can’t let someone with a weakened body sleep in such an unclean place. Of course, she burned me to death and ascended to heaven in her husband’s arms, and today she even burned that husband to death… Still.’

Muttering justifications to himself, he politely excused himself to Wol.

“Senior, would you mind if I made a quick phone call?”

“Go ahead. We still have plenty of time before our dinner reservation, so take your time.”

“Thank you.”

Leaving the smoke-filled room, Sunwoo walked to the end of the hallway, as far away from the room as possible, and called Jacheongbi. The smell of rust and blood followed him as he walked along the stained red carpet. Disgusted by the stench he hadn’t noticed before, he pressed his throbbing forehead when, after a long ring, the call connected.

—It hasn’t even been that long since we parted, and you’re already calling?

“Master, could you arrange a room for me at one of our resort chains near Jamsil, one I can check into immediately?”

—This kid only calls me Master when he’s in a hurry. What, did Wol get you a crappy motel?

“…I’m new to land, so I have no idea what’s where. I don’t even know where to move from here. Just help me this once, and I won’t bother you after tomorrow. Please, just this once.”

Jacheongbi burst out laughing as if she knew everything. Sunwoo sighed, holding the phone a few inches away from his face, waiting for her laughter to subside. After a good chuckle, she refused his request in a voice still tinged with amusement.

—Hey. Just sleep there for one night.

“Why should I?”

—Because Wol did her best, so just endure it tonight.

“If this is Senior’s best… that’s a serious problem.”

—She probably tried to get the best room she could within Mago’s meager travel budget. Just close your eyes and sleep.

Sunwoo’s fists clenched. He knew it, in fact. Sunwoo clicked his tongue and thumped his chest, recalling Wol searching and organizing things throughout the day, sending him information. Wol was doing her best to cope with a situation she herself was experiencing for the first time, taking care of Sunwoo’s comfort in her own way.

‘It’s hard to dislike her when she’s trying so hard.’

When Sunwoo didn’t respond, Jacheongbi trailed off cautiously.

—And…

“Speak quickly. I need to hang up and go back to purify that awful room.”

—Just in case… don’t ask Wol why she killed you.

“……”

—Of course you’re curious. I know how Bae Sajang feels, but no matter how curious you are, don’t ask. Ignorance is bliss, but if you really want to know, I’ll tell you.

The habitual smile on Sunwoo’s face completely vanished. As a terrifying silence ensued, Jacheongbi sighed more deeply than ever before.

—Hey. Why do you think Wol took so many pills earlier? It was to confess that one sentence, ‘I killed you.’ She’s not in the right mental state to explain at length why she caused your death.

“You sound more worried about the Senior who killed me than me, who died.”

—We, Seolmundae Halmang and I, raised you strong and healthy, feeding you all sorts of good things. Wol endured that much time alone, so… I naturally care more for her.

“…….”

The words “endured alone” stung Sunwoo’s heart. It was entirely thanks to his good teachers that Sunwoo, filled with resentment and the vow to take revenge, could regain his composure. Thanks to Jacheongbi and Grandma Seolmundae, who coaxed, comforted, and sometimes even beat him to heal him. Without them, Sunwoo would have gone mad long ago. He wouldn’t even have been able to come back to life.

He couldn’t even imagine 600 years of enduring alone. That didn’t mean he wasn’t resentful of his teacher taking Wol’s side.

Jacheongbi, seeing Sunwoo stubbornly silent, clicked her tongue and tossed out a lighthearted joke.

—Are you sulking, Bae Sajang?

“Yes.”

He hung up abruptly, leaving only a sullen reply.

His resolve to investigate his death, question her, and take revenge kept crumbling. Wol’s words and actions, Jacheongbi’s defense, and even Sunwoo’s intuition were signaling that he was seriously mistaken about something.

‘The perpetrator and victim are so clear, so why do I keep feeling like I’m in the wrong?’

Unable to shake off his unease, as Sunwoo walked towards the room, Wol’s scent suddenly hit him. Along with the stench he had thought was the smell of rusting metal.

‘The smell of blood…!’

His face draining of color, Sunwoo rushed to the room, smashing through the closed door without even thinking about the key card.

“Bae Sunwoo, a trainee, is unfit to be a bodyguard. Where were you, and what were you doing while your charge ended up like this?”

Mago calmly reprimanded him as she wiped her blood-soaked hands with a worn towel. Behind Mago, her aides were covering Wol’s mouth, a large hole ripped through her abdomen.