Miracles can show up out of nowhere, but sometimes they repay all your hard work at once.
Today was one of those days.
“Hmm?”
Hwalin tilted her head, probably confused at my unexpected statement.
“Your face is getting better.”
“What kind of joke are you making right now?”
I mean, what kind of scenario are we in? Maybe she’s in shock from my shocking comment. Hwalin looked at me like someone demanding I reveal a hidden present.
“I’m serious. Look. The spots on your skin are disappearing.”
Thanks to the enhanced lighting, I could see her face clearly. There were small areas where the originally discolored spots had indeed been replaced by clean skin.
“No matter who you are, I won’t let you joke about my face.”
Hwalin shot me a glare filled with a subtle rage, as if I had betrayed her.
“Do I look like someone who would joke about that? Just wait a sec.”
Where’s my hand mirror? I rummaged hastily through a drawer for it.
“Are you really serious?”
Hwalin asked me, her tone disbelieving.
“Here’s the hand mirror. Check for yourself.”
She took the mirror from me and scrutinized her own face, disbelief written all over her features.
“I… I don’t think there’s anything different.”
“I’m telling you it’s getting better. Just look.”
Usually, people who check their mirror daily won’t notice changes as quickly as those who keep an eye on them closely. I positioned myself behind Hwalin, looking into the mirror with her and pointed to different areas of her face.
“This spot has gotten smaller, and this one is gone…”
I indicated the areas where spots had faded or disappeared—not dramatically healed but definitely showing improvement.
As I pointed them out, Hwalin seemed to finally realize it. Her skeptical gaze transformed into one of astonishment.
“The face may still be subtle, but your upper body has definitely got a lot of clean skin!”
I had never seen Hwalin without clothes, but Lady Tang had mentioned that her upper body was in similar condition to her face. However, just now, the collarbone area she showed me had clearly visible clean skin.
“Really?”
Hwalin exclaimed, startled, and loosened her garment to check her chest. Uh-oh, does she not care that I’m right behind her?
Wow, thanks. Really, thanks.
It looks even better from the back. Earlier, it was the Grand Canyon, but from this angle, it feels like the Himalayan Mountains.
“Here and here. This skin is clean too.”
I desperately tried to resist the urge to poke her white skin, pointing out the areas where blemishes had vanished.
“Is the blemish really… disappearing?”
Hwalin’s voice trembled vigorously.
“Yeah. It’s disappearing.”
“Am I… Am I improving? Is it really happening?”
I could see Hwalin’s shoulders shaking. Her voice held a trembling moisture that felt like it would spill over at any moment.
“Yeah. Hwalin.”
I said with certainty.
“Huh! Sniff…”
She couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. Is there a towel around?
“Why are you crying when you could have a pretty face? …Ugh!”
As I stepped away to look for a towel, Hwalin turned to me and hugged me tightly.
“Sniff I… I’m getting better.”
Hwalin smeared her tears on my clothes while continuing to cry. I patted her.
“See? It was worth trusting me, wasn’t it?”
“Waaah! Sniff! Sniff!”
I guess that means “good job?”
Hwalin’s big sobbing session continued for a long time. After more than ten years of suffering without hope, the girl finally gained hope. The weeping filled with hope won’t last too long, no matter how much she cries.
I kept comforting Hwalin until her emotions stabilized.
“Did you really mean what you said earlier?”
Once Hwalin calmed down, she lifted her head and looked at me with some suspicion.
If her emotions have settled, it’s about time to step back. I just can’t seem to part from this comforting feeling in my chest.
“Well, what would you want me to say?”
“Hmm… No, that’s not it. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t like that.”
Hwalin looked at me as if something was displeasing. What? I’ve got nothing to feel guilty about! Look into my honest eyes!
“What?”
“Never mind. Dammit. You’re genuinely good, yet I hate it. It’s infuriating!”
“What are you talking about?”
Is it okay to treat the person who just comforted you like this?
“Kukuk! Forget it.”
Hwalin laughed at my confused expression and lightly pushed me away.
“Hey. If you laugh after crying, you’ll grow hair on your rear end.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“It’s an old Joseon proverb. Sudden emotional shifts bring bad things, so a penalty refers to an aesthetically unpleasing occurrence…”
“Wait. Are you saying I’m going to grow hair on my butt?”
“It’s not like that. Haha.”
I don’t have that kind of preference! I awkwardly chuckled, realizing my accidental slip.
“Eww! Eww! You’re so gross!”
Hwalin whacked my chest with her fists, her earlier crying face turning into one I couldn’t quite recognize.
“Really, it’s disappearing.”
While Hwalin left to tidy up her mess of a face, I quietly muttered while sitting on my bed.
Reverse Heaven’s Decree.
It’s a power I discovered belatedly after coming to this world, a capability to change the destinies of heroines.
If I had been transported into a martial arts world, I’d have expected talent in martial arts; yet in this martial arts dating sim world, who would have thought I’d gain the ability to win over heroines? You’ve got to hand it to this world, I guess.
“Wow, it’s amazing to see visible effects from rising fame.”
Before, I only had debuff removal abilities, but today I finally saw a healing effect.
It’s truly incredible news. I have no idea how much fame is needed for Hwalin’s skin treatment, but at least it means I’ve surpassed the minimum threshold.
I shouldn’t settle here; I need to keep becoming more famous.
If things keep going smoothly like this, Hwalin could attain the clean face and same skin as everyone else desired so much.
Moreover, if I continue to grow famous…
“I might be able to save the fate of the Heavenly Killing Star.”
In that moment, a girl with black hair and red eyes appeared in my mind.
Her expressionless face. A girl whose emotions seemed dried up. But deep down, she was richer in feelings than anyone else, carrying painful wounds in her heart.
“Hey, Yoon Ho.”
“Sohee, where are you now and what are you doing?”
I can still vividly recall her from that last night. The one who asked to meet again stands clear in my memory.
Can I perhaps save her destiny?
“What are you thinking about?”
Hwalin came back, wiping her face with a towel.
“Just a lot of thoughts, really.”
I said as I looked at her face, feeling better. Hwalin squinted at me and spoke.
“Were you perhaps thinking of that friend…?”
Was she cautious not to touch on my emotional wounds? I could sense a slight hesitation in her voice.
“Yeah. Just thought, if that friend could take the medicine, would she have recovered? Or was it insufficient? Just those kinds of thoughts.”
Actually, it’s not another poison-user; it’s the Heavenly Killing Star. I answered her as if it were no big deal while looking at Hwalin’s skin again.
Strictly speaking, Hwalin isn’t technically a poison-user.
In the original story, Lady Tang falls prey to Tang Geoh’s schemes and ends up consuming a prepared extreme poison, becoming an incomplete poison-user.
While her body managed to produce poisonous substances, her physical state was compromised. She had damaged skin, suffered under constant pain, and couldn’t completely control the poison in her body, leading to poison dust leaking out.
She was betrayed by the only person she trusted, Tang Geoh, falling into an irreversible situation, cursing the world and turning into a villain.
The world labeled her with a nickname to shame and scorn her. The poison-user who scattered poison dust like a butterfly.
Poison Butterfly—Lady Tang.
That was why it was her derogatory title.
However, she hadn’t developed poisonous substances in this world. Instead of a poison-user, she was merely a patient suffering from the side effects of being a test subject.
The difference between Hwalin’s symptoms improving and overcoming the fated stars of her destiny was surely a gap of different dimensions.
Yet, I took a step forward now.
As a writer and as a Reverse Heaven’s Decree, I still have a long way to go. But even if I get exhausted and fall, I will rise and keep walking forward.
Sohee, I’m living earnestly as I promised. I really hope that one day, without fail, I can save your destiny.
“Hey, Yoon Ho.”
Hwalin’s sharp tone pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah? What is it?”
Staring at Hwalin, I noticed her lips were protruding slightly, giving her a mildly angry look. Why does she look that way on a day that’s not a funeral, but rather a festival?
“Nothing much. Just called your name.”
Hwalin had a look that said she had something to say but was holding back.
“You’ve got something to say. What is it? …Oh.”
As I tried to get up from my bed, I lost my balance and collapsed back down. Was the alcohol kicking back in?
“Just sleep.”
“You should listen to the story before sleeping.”
“Are you thinking of leaving once I’m healed…? Never mind, it’s nothing.”
Hwalin shook her head as if she had just made a major blunder.
“Huh?”
“I just wanted to say thank you for healing me, but it felt like you were thinking of something else.”
So that’s what it was. For Hwalin, it’s definitely an exciting moment, but I can see how it could be unpleasant if I was just digging a hole beside her.
“Got it. I’m sorry.”
“Why apologize for that? It’s my fault for being difficult, so don’t worry about it. Just sleep peacefully.”
Hwalin responded immediately to my apology and propped a pillow under my head.
“Alright, I’m sorry again. And congratulations.”
“Yeah… Thanks.”
She looked happy yet somehow sad at the same time.
I found it a bit strange as I observed Hwalin’s expression, but I couldn’t resist the alcohol’s sultry embrace along with my fatigue.
