Chapter 12

“…Then just a little hair…”

“Oh, I thought you said you’d be fine starving to death. Now you need the hair of the guy you just made your servant?”

The conversation had gone right back to the start. Hisa didn’t know how to beat around the bush. What if he shaved off the rest of his hair in that temper. The back she had been holding stiff slowly curled in.

Hong Yeom-rang, whose anger had reached the top of his head, crooked his finger.

“Miss, come here.”

“I don’t want to…”

Without realizing it, Hisa also spoke politely like him.

“The wall’s right behind you anyway, so come when I tell you to.”

If she wanted to leave, she had to pass him no matter what. But the man standing firm like a wall clearly had no intention of letting himself be tricked again. He could’ve just come closer himself, yet he told her to come. Hisa’s spirit dropped a little. She wobbled to her feet on the mat.

In just two days, she had turned into a mess. Hong Yeom-rang slowly looked her over from head to toe again.

So that shaman bastard meant it like this when he said clothes were meaningless.

Hisa shrugged the oversized overcoat back up over her slipping shoulder and bit her fingertips again. The flesh under her nails couldn’t stay intact. She kept biting them over and over before they could heal, leaving them uneven and ugly. But if she didn’t do this, it was hard to keep her head straight around Hong Yeom-rang.

She couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

He could’ve just grabbed her by the back of the neck again like before, but instead he stood blocking the entrance like a gatekeeper of hell, arms crossed, only one finger beckoning.

Hisa crept toward him on her toes.

Snap.

As soon as she got close, Hong Yeom-rang grabbed her wrist and pulled it down. The constant biting annoyed him. Now he finally felt a bit better. At this rate she looked like she’d bite through her blisters too. Was it because she was hungry. Was that why she kept chewing herself.

Either way, he realized he had to coax her first if he wanted to get out.

Hair.

…F*ck.

Another curse almost slipped out. She didn’t care about his body or a man’s essence at all, just hair. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it felt that he had jerked himself raw outside the cave for nothing.

Hisa stared straight at him.

There wasn’t a trace of fear in her eyes. He didn’t even need a sword. He could crush her neck with one hand if he wanted.

“Miss.”

Hong Yeom-rang bent down in front of her.

A faint fragrance drifted up. His short hair, bright and gleaming as if it had soaked in sunlight, was right in front of her eyes. Without realizing it, her mouth opened and drool dripped down loudly to the ground. Seeing that, he lowered his head even more until it was right under her chin, then spoke.

“You really do everything. Eat. Don’t rip it out.”

A full meal laid out.

So this is what they mean by a feast.

Hisa, who had always snuck in while sacrifices slept to carefully cut or pluck a strand at a time, couldn’t bring herself to touch Hong Yeom-rang’s hair so full of energy. He said not to rip it out, so she couldn’t. She tried to cut it, but the small knife she kept in her scented pouch wasn’t there. Asking him to wait felt risky too, given his temper.

“Just a little, just a little. I’ll only eat a little.”

“How much were you planning to eat…”

He swallowed the rest of his words. Hisa’s lips brushed lightly against the rim of his ear.

“Haa…”

A soft breath. It was quiet enough that only he could hear it, yet it slid through his ear and spread across his whole body. Even the fine hairs on his skin stood on end. A strand of hair at the side of his head tugged slightly.

Chew, chew.

The sound of her chewing the ends of his hair tickled his ear. Hong Yeom-rang clenched his fist. If he didn’t, he felt like he would knock her down and tear her away from him. Why he wasn’t doing that, why he was holding back, he told himself it was because he wanted to leave this forest.

Hisa ate about half of the longest strands among the hair he had cut himself.

She didn’t even need to chew. As soon as she wrapped it with her tongue, it melted into energy and disappeared. For a moment, she felt full. She wanted to eat more like this. But she had said she’d only take a little, so she stopped.

Hisa slowly pulled away.

He was still bent forward.

Maybe just one more bite. He’s still leaning there.

She struggled for a moment, then squeezed her eyes shut and spoke.

“I’m done. Thank you.”

Hong Yeom-rang frowned and straightened up. She hadn’t yanked his hair like before. She had only breathed softly against his ear once. The faint movement of her lips had ended quickly. He touched the rim of his ear and below it where her lips had brushed. The hair there was shorter. The ends weren’t sharp like they had been cut. They looked blunt, like they had melted away.

“No need to thank me, miss. Now, how about you tell me where the goblins are. Or call them.”

Hong Yeom-rang shook off the strange feeling.

With a crooked grin, he told her to call the goblins. He reminded her that now that she had gotten what she wanted, it was her turn to give him what he wanted.

“T-they don’t show up in front of living people.”

“Then should I just drop dead right here? Would they show up then? Huh?”

He was extreme.

Hong Yeom-rang was a very extreme man. He grabbed Hisa’s wrist roughly. Her body wavered. Then he loosened his grip slightly. Still holding her, he dragged her outside the cave and shouted into the now dark forest.

“If you don’t want to see this girl get hurt, open the path right now!”

The forest was silent like it was dead.

It was eerie. It was late at night, yet there were no birds, no insects. Hisa hadn’t been lying. Something was in this forest. He already knew goblins sometimes toyed with humans.

“Looks like you’ll have to say it, miss.”

With a threatening look, he shook her wrist.

“Open the path!”

Hisa just went along halfheartedly. She knew the goblins wouldn’t listen just because she asked. Their temper was different from his, but just as nasty in its own way. Hong Yeom-rang glared at her.

“Say it properly…”

Just as he was about to press her,

– Oh my, how scary.

– Oh my, how scary indeed.

– He’s a virgin.

– A virgin he is.

– The virgin can talk.

– The virgin can talk indeed.

– The forest likes him. Ah, that scent.

– The forest likes him indeed. Ah, that scent.

– The mountain deity favors the pure.

– The mountain deity favors the pure indeed.

– Stay a long time. Sniff, what a clean scent.

– Stay a long time indeed. Sniff, what a clean scent.

Voices echoed from all directions. The same words repeated again and again. As if the forest truly liked him, a sudden rush of wind swept through, and all the trees shook at once. It wasn’t a grand sight. It was unsettling, even to Hisa. The goblins were excited. Hong Yeom-rang looked at her with dry eyes as the voices called him a virgin from every direction. There wasn’t a trace of shame on his face.

“Did you say that, miss?”

“H-how would I know if you’re a virgin?”

– We can smell it.

– We can smell it indeed.

Hisa stared off into the distance. No matter how much she told them to stop, the goblins wouldn’t listen. They giggled as they said they could smell it. She looked even farther away. If she stayed like that long enough, they’d get bored and stop. She hoped Hong Yeom-rang would notice.

“Do I have to pull it out and show you for you to shut up.”

– We know by smell.

– We know by smell indeed.

– But we want to see.

– But we want to see indeed.

But he was not a man who lost, even to goblins. Hong Yeom-rang ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek and curled one side of his lips. Hearing them talk about scent, something clicked in his mind. He didn’t even need to ask. Hisa, who had been staring into the distance, lowered her head sharply.

Well now?