After finishing the Tonae Technique and opening my eyes, it was already midnight.
I listened closely to the surrounding sounds, but fortunately, there were no screams.
Had she not transformed into the Heavenly Killing Star? Or had she simply not come this way? I couldn’t tell.
Splash, splash?
As I listened, I heard water sounds coming from a corner of the room.
Since there was no light at all in the pitch-dark room, I searched around to find the direction of the water sound.
When I located the source, I saw someone washing their hands and face with water in one corner of the room.
I barely held back a scream of surprise.
Who is it? Is it the man who brought me here just now? Even if I wanted to figure out his identity, it was too dark to see anything other than that it was a person.
As I contemplated the identity of the person with a startled mind, the moonlight that had been hidden by clouds entered through the window, revealing the person’s silhouette in the dim light.
What was reflected in the moonlight was undoubtedly a woman’s figure.
I couldn’t see her face because it was dark, but I could definitely see the outline of her large breasts, which could not be hidden by any compression bandage made for cross-dressing women.
Who could it be? No need to think too hard. If my previous owner hadn’t run off and left his strong bride behind, the person standing in front of me must be one.
“So-hee?”
I called out the name of the only outsider who could enter my room at night, including this world and the other.
At my call, the figure reacted instantly.
“Yoon-ho!”
Fortunately, the voice that responded was one I had become accustomed to by now. The woman rushed to me like a spring launching forward. It was indeed Cheon So-hee.
Seeing her up close, she appeared to have some emotions bubbling up inside her.
Thank goodness. No matter how you look at it, that’s not the expression of the Heavenly Killing Star; it’s definitely Cheon So-hee’s expression.
While I was aiming to cover my eyes from using the Tonae Technique, it seems she had been quietly worried about me, waiting without using her ‘Guess who I am’ tactic.
“So-hee. How did you find me… Ugh!”
I attempted to rise to greet her, but halfway up, my legs gave out beneath me.
“Yoon-ho!”
She caught me in her arms, supporting my body.
As I nestled up to her, I could see worry dripping from her face regarding me.
“You found me well.”
“Yoon-ho’s smell. I remember it.”
The scent of a thousand miles still hasn’t worn off, huh?
I had given up on the escape long ago, but I couldn’t help but be amazed again at the absurdly good tracking ability of the Thousand-Mile Tracking Fragrance.
Still holding onto me, So-hee carefully sat me down.
“So-hee?”
Why are you still holding on?
If you’ve sat me down, let go already.
“I’m sorry.”
Instead of letting go, she seemed to tighten her grip as if she wanted to hold on to me more firmly.
What’s going on?
I could feel her shoulder trembling slightly. She placed her chin on my shoulder and opened her mouth.
“I’m sorry. Really… I’m sorry.”
Was the shock too great?
I could hear moisture in her shaky voice.
Should I pet her now?
I believed she wouldn’t cut off my hand like a jealous classmate if I lifted my unsure hands to touch her, so I gathered my courage.
Then, cautiously, I wrapped one arm around her while the other began to caress the back of her head.
“It’s not your fault, So-hee. I was careless.”
Before staying at the inn, I had been walking along a path without incident every day. How could I have known that the Cheon Sal-pa, who had long since disappeared, would reappear?
“No, it’s my fault. I promised to stay by your side. I said I would protect you… I couldn’t keep that promise.”
The trembling from her shock transmitted through her immense chest and into my body.
For her, who had experienced losing all her precious people, this incident must have been a huge shock.
The relationship we had formed to escape death; had a tiny place for me appeared in her heart all of a sudden?
I continued to stroke her hair quietly until her trembling calmed down.
Honestly, my whole body ached, but despite her holding me, which was painful, the feeling of her breasts against my upper body made it bearable.
Once her trembling settled, she naturally disentangled herself from my embrace and stood up.
Having stepped away from my embrace, she had a slightly flushed face, as if her heightened emotions hadn’t completely calmed down.
“So-hee, have you finished your revenge on those guys?”
I couldn’t help but smile as I asked her if she did a good job with the killing. It seemed like the best topic to lighten her dark mood.
“Yes. For sure.”
She began explaining to me how she brutally tore apart those guys, like a child proudly recounting their day to their mother.
I’m weak against gory tales.
There were descriptions that made me want to grimace, but as she was sharing how hard she worked to get her revenge, I didn’t show any distaste and endured listening.
“And then I cut open their bellies and took out their insides…”
“Ugh!”
Maybe it was her excessively detailed description, but I suddenly felt nauseous.
Wait, that’s not nausea.
That’s blood!
“Yoon-ho!”
She was startled and grabbed my wrist, checking for the blood on my palm.
Had I hurt my insides?
“Ugh!”
In an instant, I clutched my belly in pain.
So that’s why I thought my stomach was upset; it wasn’t just from hearing her brutal descriptions—it must have been because I had internal injuries.
“Yoon-ho! Yoon-ho! No!”
What’s wrong? It’s not hurting that bad.
Suddenly, Cheon So-hee seemed to go into a state of panic, her eyes began to tremble uncontrollably.
“So, So-hee.”
I wasn’t dying. I just needed to lie down a bit, I wanted to say. But the moment I tried to say ‘Hey’, blood splattered onto her face.
“Ahhh.”
Her eyes were losing focus. What’s wrong! It would be troublesome if she awakened her Heavenly Killing Star like this!
“So-hee!”
When I yelled, fortunately, her focus returned.
“Yoon-ho. Hurry. Jump on!”
She bent her knees and turned her back to me, gesturing for me to get on.
“So-hee, that’s too much….”
“Just move!”
When I shook my head to refuse, So-hee quickly approached and began pressing specific areas on my body.
Suddenly, I felt drowsy. Is this some kind of excitement switch or Blood Stabbing?
I tried to resist the torrent of sleep, but I couldn’t endure it as she pressed down on my body’s sleep switch.
I don’t know. She wouldn’t take me to a bad place, would she? Just let me sleep.
As I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness, I sensed her warmth holding me, and then everything faded away.
When I regained consciousness, I felt someone carefully examining my body.
“Who… who?”
Still half-asleep and dazed, I asked the grandfather figure before me.
“I’m the doctor. If you move, it’ll hurt more, so just stay still.”
So So-hee brought me to the doctor.
I sighed in relief and closed my eyes, waiting for the examination results.
“How is it?”
An urgent voice. It was So-hee’s voice. I thought of opening my eyes to find her but then decided against it.
Since I hadn’t turned into the Heavenly Killing Star and the physician was right in front of me, it seemed better to just rest.
“Is this man a martial artist?”
The doctor examined me and asked So-hee.
“…. Why?”
“He has internal injuries, but they’re not severe. Normally at this level, he wouldn’t be vomiting blood. If he were a martial artist, he would’ve refined the internal stagnant blood through his cultivation. This must be the cause of the bleeding.”
So that’s why I was throwing up blood.
It makes sense now since when I would get hurt or be punched, I would sometimes use the Tonae Technique to heal and that would lead to throwing up blood.
Every time I thought I was in danger, I worked harder on the technique, not realizing that throwing up blood was part of the healing process.
“I used the internal cultivation technique.”
There was something suspicious in So-hee’s voice.
“Then there’s no need to worry too much. But it’s impressive. It looks like you’ve been beaten badly, yet there are no broken bones or torn muscles. However, that doesn’t mean you’re in perfect condition, so you’ll need to rest for a while; thankfully, you won’t be disabled.”
“That’s a relief.”
I let out a sound of relief hearing her tone relax.
“I’ll prepare medicine for you. Just make sure to take it regularly, and if you’ve learned an internal technique that allows you to circulate energy, practice that diligently.”
I could hear the doctor rising from his seat, so I opened my eyes.
“Thank you… ugh!”
I attempted to sit up and lightly greet him, but I lost strength in the hand supporting me.
“Yoon-ho!”
So-hee rushed to me like she’d used an unusual transformation technique, quickly supporting my upper body.
“Thank you.”
“Just lay still.”
So-hee held my head with a worried expression and laid me back down.
She seemed to be checking my face for injuries, staring at me with a pained expression.
It was too close for comfort. Can you back off a bit?
“You two look quite lovey-dovey.”
The doctor interrupted, splashing cold water on my moment of warmth, resulting in So-hee suddenly pulling away from me.
“L-lovers… that’s not it.”
So-hee hesitated slightly as she denied it.
“Then you’ll soon be lovers.”
The old doctor was saying things he shouldn’t be saying.
“I’m just a hometown oppa and she’s a younger sister.”
Although she was about to elaborate, it would take a while, so I cut it short for her.
Then she looked at me like she was wondering why I ordered soup when she wanted tteokbokki.
What’s wrong? I helped clarify everything.
Was she taking my injury too seriously? Ever since the slum incident, her reactions have been a bit strange.
“I should stop meddling in the love lives of youngsters.”
The doctor seemed to have reached his limit and bid farewell before leaving the room.
I just needed to take the medicine, rest, and practice the Tonae Technique.
There would be no issues with the Cheon Sal-pa anymore. My assumption that So-hee would become the Heavenly Killing Star was merely a misunderstanding.
At this point, it really seemed like a happy ending.
Except for the fact that she was glaring at me with dissatisfaction.
“Yoon-ho.”
It seemed like she wanted to express her discontent about something.
Is this about what happened previously?
I mean, I didn’t call her “work representative” or “client” this time, did I? She should have said “lovers” instead. I doubt that’s what she’s angry about.
“Uh? Why is it, So-hee?”
Kang Yoon-ho doesn’t know why So-hee is angry. If she’s angry for some strange reason, I’ll just turn over again since I’m the patient.
“I have something to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
Did she suspect me of doing something that wouldn’t denote me as her childhood friend?
No way. If I had done something like that, she wouldn’t have reacted so passionately just after dismantling the Cheon Sal-pa and bringing me here.
Then was she going to ask about her past?
Since I’ve actually got settings prepared regarding Cheon So-hee’s past.
Aside from her father and mother’s names, I believe I can confidently share everything.
However, instead of speaking right away, she hesitated, staring at me for a while.
What is it?
Stop making me anxious.
As I kept looking at her, she finally brought up her question.
“Who taught you the internal cultivation technique?”
Ah, this is a question I hadn’t anticipated at all.
