Whisper Chapter 23

At the low, resonant voice, Lee Heewoo’s eyelids quivered slightly. Then, as if reluctant, she slowly opened her eyes and hesitantly sat up.  

 

The startled look on her face, as though surprised at being caught pretending to sleep, was a bonus. Confident in her ability to feign sleep, Lee Heewoo couldn’t understand how Cha Gyeol had seen through her act. She had barely slept the night before, disturbed by the voices of hallucinations, so the moment she stayed by Cha Gyeol’s side, drowsiness overwhelmed her. What had been natural and familiar before meeting Cha Gyeol had, in such a short time, become unnatural and unfamiliar.  

 

“How did you know?”  

 

Having just woken from a deep sleep, Lee Heewoo’s face looked bright and alert. Cha Gyeol, on the other hand, regarded her with a curious gaze. She must have overheard his conversation with Jang Pal-yong.  

 

“Is it some kind of secret skill or something?”  

 

As if he had read her mind, Lee Heewoo let out a quick, startled breath.  

 

Even the village chief’s wife and grandmother had been fooled.  

 

“…No one ever noticed before.”  

 

She didn’t mention that “no one” meant just the two of them. Cha Gyeol let out a brief chuckle and stretched out his long arm, pulling Lee Heewoo closer to him.  

 

“Yeah, I almost fell for it.”  

 

“Ah, I wasn’t trying to trick you. It’s just… I felt embarrassed waking up.”  

 

“Embarrassed?”  

 

“Yes.”  

 

Freshly woken, Lee Heewoo somehow looked even softer and fairer. Cha Gyeol swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth as he brushed his fingers through her hair. Her earlobes turned red, and soon the flush spread down to her nape.  

 

“Don’t you have anything you want to ask?”  

 

“…?”  

 

At his question, Lee Heewoo tilted her head, blinking rapidly as if to ask what he meant.  

 

“You heard everything, didn’t you? Maybe not everything, but still.”  

 

Under her fluttering lashes, her pupils flickered from side to side as if recalling something, then, as if confirming her thoughts—  

 

“Oh, the money?”  

 

There it was. That must have been where she had started listening.  

 

“Yeah, the money. That must have made you uncomfortable.”  

 

“Why?”  

 

Her face was so genuinely curious that Cha Gyeol felt a dull ache in his head. The large, dark eyes looking up at him were so clear, without a speck of doubt. He could almost hear the sound of cracks forming in the wall he had built around himself.  

 

Or maybe it wasn’t just cracking—it was collapsing entirely.  

 

***

 

– “So, I heard there’s no such thing as divine powers. Then what do you have?”  

 

The casual tone of the question made Lee Heewoo hesitate for a moment, debating whether to answer or not. When she looked into Cha Gyeol’s eyes, she somehow felt she had no choice but to speak. There was something about the sharp gaze that made her feel as if she had to lay everything bare—as if the man sitting before her was the same person who had shared an intimate night with her.  

 

What kind of reaction would he have if she told him the truth?  

 

Even as Lee Heewoo’s eyes calmed and steadied, Cha Gyeol simply waited in silence for her answer.  

 

– “I’m just… an ordinary person.”  

 

– “Ordinary, huh…”  

 

– “…Well, maybe not exactly ordinary.”  

 

The thought of wanting to be ordinary—or more precisely, the thought that it would be nice to live an ordinary life—had only come to her after meeting Cha Gyeol. Until then, it had never even been a consideration, let alone a desire. It was like a cross she had to bear until the day she died.  

 

At Cha Gyeol’s murmuring, Lee Heewoo reflexively muttered to herself. Now that she thought about it, she had probably misspoken. Claiming to be ordinary was a bit much. She had no conscience.  

 

– “Sorry. Uh… I guess I’m not exactly ordinary. I don’t even know what my parents look like, and the same goes for my grandmother. I never properly attended school, either. But… it’s not like I have anything special.”  

 

As she rolled her eyes around, listing off various things, Cha Gyeol tapped his fingers on the table with an unreadable expression.  

 

– “My little one has quite the story.”  

 

– “Yeah… I guess you could say that.”  

 

– “Well, when it comes to stories, I’m not exactly lacking in that department either. But what do you mean you don’t have anything?”  

 

– “Huh? What… what do you mean?”  

 

– “You’re young, you’re beautiful, you’re innocent, and also…”  

 

– “Also… also what?”  

 

Lee Heewoo’s eyes widened as she stared at Cha Gyeol, who dragged out his words with narrowed eyes. She seemed unaware that her upper body was leaning toward the table.  

 

– “You have money, too.”  

 

– “…What money?”  

 

– “Seems like the shaman left everything she earned to you.”  

 

Hearing Cha Gyeol call her wealthy in such a casual tone, Lee Heewoo could only sit there in a daze, her eyes unfocused. That money that doesn’t feel real at all? Is that the money we’re talking about?

 

***

 

Lee Heewoo sat close to Cha Gyeol and looked up at his face intently. Thanks to a quiet nap, she was feeling good. That’s why she wanted to stick by his side and not move away.

 

“You really don’t have time to be staring at my face like that.”

 

“…I wasn’t staring.”

 

Lee Heewoo briefly lowered her gaze before lifting her eyelids again. Maybe she had been looking too obviously. She should have pretended not to look and stolen glances instead.

 

“Your money.”

 

“Yes, you should take it.”

 

Cha Gyeol couldn’t hold back and flicked Lee Heewoo’s forehead with his finger.

 

“Ow!”

 

Lee Heewoo clutched her aching forehead with both hands and looked at Cha Gyeol with sorrowful eyes, as if asking why he did that. The pain spread from the point of impact in a stinging wave.

 

“You don’t even know how much it is, and you’re asking me to take it?”

 

Just as the shaman had said, she was the perfect target to be scammed. Seriously, she was completely hopeless. Cha Gyeol gently removed Lee Heewoo’s hands from her forehead, which had turned bright red from the flick. He hadn’t even used much force, yet her skin swelled so easily. He lightly rubbed the area with his fingers.

 

“Well, since you are taking care of me, you should be able to take it, right?”

 

“Sweetie, you make people into trash so easily.”

 

How was she planning to survive in this shitty world acting like this? It was astonishing that she could still think that way after hearing a conversation that could easily be misunderstood. Should he appreciate her simplicity or worry about her lack of awareness?

 

As he slowly rubbed her forehead, Lee Heewoo stared up at him with wide, innocent eyes, lifting only her gaze without moving her head.

 

“Lower your eyes.”

 

With a soft hiss, he whispered in a low voice. Lee Heewoo fidgeted with her intertwined fingers and bit down on her lips.

 

“How could I let you go outside like this?”

 

His touch on her forehead was as light as a feather, but Lee Heewoo’s breath grew heavier. The warmth of his hand spread through her whole body, making her tremble slightly. Her lips, which she had been biting, pressed down even harder.

 

“…Then don’t let me go outside.”

 

The hand that had been caressing her forehead suddenly stopped. She felt his gaze fix on her, and after fidgeting for a while, she finally lifted her eyelids. Pure, clear eyes met ones that had darkened dangerously.

 

It felt like facing a predator in the mountains, sending a chill down her spine. His narrowed, sharp eyes looked at her as if she were prey that had caught his interest. Normally, she should have wanted to run, but already trapped, she could only blink as if mesmerized.

 

“And if I don’t?”

 

His voice seeped into her body like a pleasant warmth. Cha Gyeol’s large hand wrapped around her neck. Her slender throat felt as if it could be snapped with just his grip. The sensation of his palm pressing against her skin was dizzyingly intense. When he applied a bit of pressure, her large eyes widened even more. And yet, she still didn’t move, which made Cha Gyeol’s body heat up uncontrollably. His gaze gleamed dangerously.

 

“What will you do then, Heewoo?”

 

As his thumb stroked the side of her neck, Lee Heewoo curled her shoulders inward.

 

He didn’t know why touching Lee Heewoo made him so agitated. Like a wild beast, an untamed ferocity surged up inside him.

 

“If I stay next to you, that should be enough…”

 

Her soft voice stammered as it trailed off.

 

Because he knew she wasn’t saying it with any calculated intent, it made him even more frustrated. How could someone so young be born with such an instinct?

 

“When you say it like that, it really sounds like you like me a lot.”

 

His languid voice had an almost growling undertone. Lee Heewoo’s pulse at her nape was racing wildly. Cha Gyeol stroked her long, slender neck gently. She flinched, her thin shoulders trembling.

 

Fuck, just look at that reaction. 

 

Her body, completely unaccustomed to physical contact, was overly sensitive, interpreting the slightest touch as a much bigger stimulus. The fact that he was aroused by such an inexperienced girl was absurd.

 

First, he felt incredulous. Then, he remembered that he was the first person Lee Heewoo had ever experienced something like this with, and he felt a twisted thrill. Then, he resented himself for feeling that way, swinging back and forth between emotions like a madman.

 

“…I do.”

 

Cha Gyeol tilted his head back and let out a short sigh at the barely audible confession.

 

See? See? This is why he was going insane. A twenty-year-old kid, entirely unintentional in her words, was unknowingly flirting, and here he was—a gangster who had seen everything and knew more than he should—wondering why he was holding back.

 

“My Lady, is your memory that bad?”