Eat The World Tree

Chapter 148: Three Peaches (8)

chapter 148: three peaches (8)

time slowly passed by, like watching an inclined hourglassone hour, two hours.

surrendering to the moments brilliant sparkle, ignoring the emptiness of its inevitable end. enjoying the fleeting sweetness.

i waited for cheondo to fall deeper into sleep as i stroked her lush hair.

mmm.

cheondo seemed unwilling to let me go.

her thighs tightly wrapped around my waist, and her hands bound my back.

she fell asleep in such a manner, ensuring i could not escape.

i pulled the blanket up to my waist and draped it over cheondos shoulders.

the inevitable sweat from sleeping soaked into our clothes.

i have to go to training today.

feeling guilty about leaving the comfortably sleeping cheondo.

like a security blanket.

thats exactly how it felt right now.

-rustle.

she rubbed her cheek in her sleep talk.

as i tried to get up by putting strength into my body, the arm that was hugging me tightened.

if i had a young and innocent sister, would it feel like this?

hmm.

i wiped the sweat beaded on her forehead with my hand.

-click.

then cheondo reached out, grabbing my hand on her forehead, and placed my palm against her cheek.

did she wake up?

watching her face closely, cheondo grinned at the warmth of my hand, grinding her teeth.

she doesnt seem to be awake.

corn sausage.

she brought the hand touching her cheek to her mouth. crunch!

eek!

i silently screamed, pulling my finger out as saliva stretched between us.

cheondos face turned sullen as the corn sausage left her mouth.

my poor index finger with clear teeth marks.

it throbbed as if burned.

meanwhile, cheondo seemed to be searching for the corn sausage, grinding her teeth and groping my body.

if this continues, my whole body will become corn sausages.

i extended a finger and placed it in cheondos hand, loosening the grip of her arm.

again, crunch!

i covered my mouth in sharp pain, freed myself from her embrace, and withdrew my finger.

mmm.

having lost something to grasp, cheondo stretched out her hand and then fell back asleep as if nothing had happened.

lets just go to training.

i was not feeling particularly sleepy.

after fondly looking at cheondo, i put on my clothes and went outside.

-thunk.

carefully closing the door, i left her chamber and freely roamed the dowon at night.

-chirping, chirping.

the night here was quite quiet.

listening closely, one could hear the sounds of insects.

there were hardly any lights like street lamps. apart from a few lit houses, there was almost no light illuminating the dowon.

i began moving towards the place where i always meet the old man.

-chirring.

as the forest deepened, the sound of insects grew.

climbing a mountain thats not well-paved.

occasionally, moths and such would spring from the bushes, but in my current state, they were nothing but a welcome distraction.

its peaceful.

peace.

at the edge of my sight, the old mans back began to appear.

an old man sitting on a rock with the moon overhead instead of the sun.

a long pipe emitted wispy white smoke.

gazing at the breathtaking view with a cigarette.

it would have been quite a picturesque scene, if not for the smell of blood at the tip of my nose.

did you come again?

yes.

the old man responded with a raspy voice to my question.

my life has become quite cheap. to think theyre sending these kinds of people.

bodies piled up next to the old man.

only then did i turn my gaze to them.

a horrific sight.

worthless chunks of meat that defied description.

the old man chuckled dismissively as i shrugged.

madman. youre an enigma. heavy at times, frivolous at others. your purpose is so blurred, its barely visible. a chaotic one.

what are you saying?

i could see myself gradually adapting to the hectic schedule.

-madman. youre an enigma. heavy at times, frivolous at others. your purpose is so blurred, its barely visible. a chaotic one.

come to think of it, i had heard that before.

was it a roundabout way of saying i lacked principles?

i asked hongyeon, who was handling official tasks beside me,

hey.

as soon as i spoke, hongyeon immediately looked up from the documents, a much softer gaze than two months ago.

what is it?

do i seem like i have some kind of mental disorder?

uh? what, what?

hongyeon doubted her ears at the sudden question.

as if wondering if i had eaten something wrong.

if i speak the truth, what will you do?

i wont say anything. just tell me honestly.

since the first time i met you, you seemed like a madman.

hongyeon carefully tried not to offend me, then suddenly threw a straight pitch.

i didnt expect that answer.

seeing my shocked face, hongyeon hurriedly put down her fountain pen and waved her hands.

its not meant as an insult. theres something gripping about you, isnt that why i said it first?

she had a point.

hongyeon looked at me intently, then furrowed her brows as if trying to recall something. then, as if she had found the right words, she clapped her hands and said,

sometimes your actions are incomprehensible.

incomprehensible actions?

it seems like youre moving with something very important in mind but then you act leisurely. umm. and sometimes you obsess over something simple.

what was she talking about?

even hongyeon tilted her head in doubt as she spoke.

filtering through her words, it seemed like one word could explain it.

psychopath! yeah, you seem like a psychopath.

hey.

while i could tolerate being called a madman, being called a psychopath felt a bit too harsh.

i flicked her forehead, and hongyeon frowned.

you asked for honesty.

sometimes, i crave flattery and adoration.

a psychopath, huh? thats not it.

but it seemed hongyeon was sincerely speaking her mind.

maybe you should visit a hospital?

when have you ever cared about what i think?

sometimes.

another flick on the forehead.

ouch!

hongyeon rubbed the front of her bright red hair, expressing her pain.

her eyebrows slanted in frustration.

she tried to glare at me with one eye but ended up looking down, defeated.

i regretted bringing up this topic. i didnt even know why i started it.

i got up from my seat and started getting dressed.

are you leaving work now?

yeah. it seems like things will run smoothly without me. i was supposed to quit last month, but somehow i ended up staying until now.

is that so?

hongyeon gathered the documents, tapping them on the desk, and shoved them into a corner.

her face, which looked frustrated just a moment ago, now seemed somewhat relieved yet bitter.

today was my last day of work.

what will you do now?

training, and start preparing to leave.

youve certainly caused quite a stir.

from hongyeons perspective, that would be the case.

causing trouble in the dowon, seeking out cheonma.

becoming the young demon, then opposing it and getting beaten for it.

such a person suddenly took up management and got involved, surprisingly turning out to be quite useful, always sticking around during work.

now, without saying much, we took care of our tasks, making us decent political and business partners.

after putting away her fountain pen, hongyeon also stood up.

i want to drink. i have much more responsibility now.

a roundabout way of asking if i was going to drink.

the more i saw it, the less i got used to the cautious look in hongyeons eyes.

later.

drinking sounded good, but i had tasks piling up.

i had been helping with cheonmas work for the past week and must keep my promise with cheondo.

i also needed to resolve the misunderstanding with baekdo.

is that so? make sure its later.

hongyeon gave me an awkward smile.

as she bent down to put away the documents she was holding, her reddish-brown bangs covered her eyes.

not much time left.