Chapter 9
“I see. Nice to meet you. My name is Yoo Ye-rim, and I’m Jihyo’s older sister.”
Haerang gazed blankly at Ye-rim’s outstretched hand, offered as a gesture for a handshake. To take this hand, he would have to let go of Jihyo’s hand.
It was Jihyo who had taken his hand first. It was a shame, but in this situation, he had to deceive Ye-rim well.
Judging by Ye-rim’s expression, she clearly hadn’t let go of her suspicion yet.
He needed to appear as just an ordinary, sincere student.
Haerang reluctantly let go of Jihyo’s hand. And then he took Ye-rim’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, noona.”
“Alright. Then you should head in now. Thank you for bringing our Jihyo home.”
“Huh?”
“Jihyo, let’s go inside.”
As if to say there would be no further conversation, Ye-rim gave a neat farewell and pulled Jihyo along. Jihyo was dragged away by Ye-rim, looking bewildered.
Jihyo and Ye-rim disappeared into the apartment building, and Haerang was left standing there dumbfounded, unable to say a single word to Jihyo.
But Haerang was happy. He raised his hand and looked at it quietly. It was the hand Jihyo had taken first.
‘I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.’
It might have been to get out of the situation, but for him, it was an unparalleled opportunity. Now, they could openly be in a relationship.
Because even Jihyo would have no choice but to cooperate, if only to avoid Ye-rim’s suspicion.
‘But does Jihyo really intend to convince me?’
Actually, Haerang didn’t think Jihyo would be easily persuaded by his words alone.
Moreover, although he pretended not to notice, Jihyo had seemed lost in thought now and then throughout the day. It looked like she was agonizing over whether to immediately inform the Celestial Realm that he had found her.
So, when they met Ye-rim, he thought Jihyo might reveal his true identity. He never imagined she would introduce him as a friend first.
Of course, she might go home and tell Ye-rim the truth.
But he began to believe that she wouldn’t.
The corners of Haerang’s mouth lifted spontaneously. Humming a tune, he started walking.
Jihyo glanced sideways, gauging Ye-rim’s mood. Ye-rim hadn’t said a single word since they entered the house.
The heavy, oppressive atmosphere made Jihyo feel like she was suffocating. She wondered if she should just tell the truth right now.
Deceiving Ye-rim was also pricking at her conscience.
Why on earth had she done that? No matter how much she thought about it, Jihyo couldn’t understand her earlier actions.
Now, she really had to stay on Jihyo’s side until she managed to convince Haerang.
There was no telling when that man might reappear.
‘…Alright. Let’s tell her now.’
She could just say that she was so surprised and flustered earlier that the words just came out wrong. Jihyo opened her mouth to call out to Ye-rim.
But Ye-rim spoke first.
Ye-rim turned to look at Jihyo and asked.
“Is he really your boyfriend?”
“Uh, well…”
Jihyo wanted to bite her tongue. ‘Uh, well,’ nothing. She should have said no, that Cheon Haerang was Princess Yeonhwa.
But contrary to her thoughts, her moving mouth kept spouting nonsense.
“S-Sis, you saw him too, right? With that face, and he even confessed first. How could I not fall for him?”
“……”
Ye-rim silently looked at Jihyo.
Saying you couldn’t not fall for someone with that face, who even confessed first, was a fairly reasonable statement. It was also plausible that Haerang had fallen in love at first sight. Although not as beautiful as him, Jihyo was quite pretty herself.
But.
“He looked exactly like Princess Yeonhwa, though. You’d know since you’ve seen the pictures too.”
The time had come. Jihyo’s mind raced quickly.
“A d-doppelganger! They say there are doppelgangers in the world – people who look exactly alike! Maybe Haerang is like that?”
“Really? A doppelganger?”
“Yes.”
Hmm. Ye-rim made a sound, clearly not convinced. Honestly, she couldn’t believe Jihyo’s words. A doppelganger. That was a concept that existed only among humans. How could it apply to a princess of the Celestial Realm?
‘…But Cheon Haerang is a man.’
No matter how you looked at it, Cheon Haerang was definitely a man. No matter how skilled a princess might be, she couldn’t disguise herself so elaborately as to fool Ye-rim’s eyes. Her eyes had never once…
“Oh dear. Caught again.”
…Damn it. A memory suddenly flashed through her mind, and Ye-rim mentally cursed. It was a memory she had erased. Ye-rim tried hard to suppress the rising memory.
‘There are still suspicious parts, but let’s let it go for now.’
There would be plenty of time later to verify whether Cheon Haerang was truly Princess Yeonhwa or just someone who resembled her.
“Alright, I understand for now. You must be tired since it’s your first day, right? Go wash up quickly. Unnie will make you something delicious.”
“Okay okay!”
Jihyo answered brightly and scurried into her room. Watching Jihyo, Ye-rim let out a small laugh. Seeing this, she really was still a child. Her emotions were written all over her face.
“If that’s how it is… Do you believe me?”
“…Today’s fortune seems quite turbulent.”
Just as she was trying to forget, a voice echoed again, and Ye-rim muttered, almost sighing. She felt like she wanted to develop amnesia. Amnesia that would let her cut out only the memories of him.
‘I should probably pray to the Queen Mother…’
Please, let her forget him a little.
Entering her room, Jihyo gently set her bag down on the floor and flopped face-first onto her bed. Then she started hitting her pillow with her fist in frustration.
Thump, thump.
Dust scattered into the air with each strike of her hand against the pillow.
“Ryu Jihyo, you stupid idiot!”
Why on earth? Why! A boyfriend? Why did she say such nonsense!
She should have said he was Princess Yeonhwa!
To throw away the chance to return to the Celestial Realm like this!
‘Should I tell her the truth now? Should I? Yes, let’s do that.’
Judging by the way Fairy Ye-rim looked at them, she was clearly still suspicious.
So, if she confessed honestly, she probably wouldn’t get scolded too much for lying.
Jihyo sprang up. Sitting on the bed, she took a deep breath and composed herself again. And just as she was about to take a step forward.
“Jihyo.”
“I missed you.”
“I’m so relieved, Jihyo. Really…”
“……”
Jihyo collapsed weakly back onto the bed.
That desperate voice echoed in her ears, and that brightly smiling face filled her mind.
It felt like her heart was being squeezed again.
“Jihyo.”
Back when she was a child, that gentle voice calling her name and smiling – it hadn’t changed at all.
She knew very well what that gentleness meant.
Could she ever go back to the time when she didn’t know?
“…Some divine being he is.”
Jihyo lay down on the bed as if collapsing.
It was sad. It seemed she would have to keep going to school for the time being.
After evening self-study ended and all the students had gone home, the school was quiet and dark.
Yuhwa gazed silently at the school building, where not a single trace of light remained.
As her eyes began to turn golden, the school building flickered with a white light. Beneath her feet, white lines stretched out in all directions.
‘Strange.’
Yuhwa looked down at her own hand. She quietly clenched and unclenched it. It felt numb.
The creature had laid a trap, so the barrier was clearly broken. But she couldn’t find a single trace that the creature had tampered with the barrier.
Had she become weaker? Or had that creature grown stronger?
Could they hide under their protection?
‘No, that can’t be.’
They couldn’t possibly defeat one of the bloodline of the Supreme Emperor.
‘Then does that creature have something else? Perhaps…’
Tak.
At the unfamiliar sound, Yuhwa quickly withdrew her power. The school was immediately enveloped in darkness.
Without relaxing her tension, Yuhwa turned around.
Meow-.
“…A cat?”
Meowing, the cat walked towards her with a light step.
But the cat couldn’t reach her.
White lines had already extended from her hand, wrapping around the cat.
Myaa-.
The cat cried out as if wronged, but Yuhwa remained unmoved.
She spoke coldly.
“Byeong. How dare you insult me in this manner?”
[Insult you? How could one such as I dare insult Her Highness the Princess?]
What came out of the cat’s mouth was no longer a meow. It was clear language and a voice.
But it was different from the voice of Byeong that Yuhwa knew.
For a moment, Yuhwa felt goosebumps.
‘Could it be…!’
Swish. The white line slashed through the cat. But there was nothing there.
As if there had never been a cat in the first place.
“Gi Hyeong-rang!”
It was him. The creature whose tail she and Haerang hadn’t even been able to properly catch.
Haha. A low laugh echoed through the air.
[Quite a warm welcome, Your Highness the Princess.]
“Where are you! Stop hiding and show yourself!”
Yuhwa’s voice boomed like thunder. Her hair and eyes had already changed color.
Her power spread out in all directions, but she couldn’t find any trace of Gi Hyeong-rang.
‘Where?! Where on earth is he?!’
[Your Highness the Princess, you must have been bored, haven’t you? From now on, I will entertain you.]
Gi Hyeong-rang’s voice drilled into her ears again.
[Then, I wish you a peaceful night.]
Whoosh-!
Along with a low farewell, a fierce wind blew. Yuhwa involuntarily closed her eyes as the wind rushed towards her.
And when she finally managed to open her eyes again, it was still the same night.
“Damn it!”
Yuhwa cursed under her breath, overcome with a sense of futility.
It was a night that could never be peaceful for her.
