Chapter 26

Hong Yeom-rang’s expression turned strange as he watched that.

There was no greed. No gluttony either. She was just happy if she filled her stomach for a moment, and she hated seeing anyone get hurt. At least the Hisa he had seen was nothing like other humans. If she was a monster, shouldn’t she be more wicked and lewd. When he cut down Baek-ah, the white tiger called the mountain deity, white blood had flowed. But Hisa’s blood was red. And that white tiger had said he was the one who made Hisa.

When Hong Yeom-rang called her a monster, the white tiger had grown terrifyingly angry.

That booming voice still lingered in his mind. The one who should have been offended, Hisa, was fine, yet the white tiger had been the one enraged.

Hisa, dressed in yellow, turned around. She stepped lightly into the cave, silent, her steps soft and fluttering. At the dark entrance, just before her small body was swallowed by shadow, she looked back.

She had walked ahead carelessly before, leaving him behind, but not now.

“Yeom-rang.”

“What.”

His voice came out low and rough, like it had been scorched, scratching the inside of his throat. Wearing the clothes he had given her, she rolled up her sleeves. Her reddish fingers beckoned gently.

Her pale hand under the moonlight. Her red fingertips. And the yellow sleeve at the end.

“Aren’t you sleeping.”

She acted like it was her own place. Like a fish in water. It was late, yet she told him to come in quickly. Then she slipped back inside. Hong Yeom-rang dragged a hand over his face. He had never cared for people, yet now he was paying attention to a monster and even being needlessly lenient.

“How dare…”

He quietly repeated the white tiger’s roar.

As if Hong Yeom-rang himself were something insignificant, it had said how dare. A sacred being called the mountain deity had gotten angry for Hisa’s sake. But the one who was even angrier was Hong Yeom-rang.

The angrier he got, the colder his head became.

Even if the opponent was the mountain deity, even if it was something sent from the heavens, he could cut it down. He had to cut it down somehow. It said it made Hisa.

The fact that Hisa had gone to stay by that tiger, something no different from her creator, filled him with rage.

He clenched his teeth. His shoulder throbbed as if the bone had shifted. He slipped a hand inside his collar and touched it. Heat spread across his palm. The skin wasn’t torn, but it was bad enough that he couldn’t use his left shoulder for a while.

“So a sacred beast is still a sacred beast.”

The white tiger was auspicious.

Hong Yeom-rang didn’t accept it, but the stories passed down said so. It protected the land with the king chosen by heaven and guarded the four directions. If something like that had protected this place for generations, then the name mountain deity made sense.

– It’s a sacred being.

– It is a sacred being.

– But it hasn’t fully grown yet.

– It hasn’t fully grown yet.

– After this year, it will be complete.

– After this year, it will be complete.

– Humans can’t compete.

– Humans can’t compete.

At Hong Yeom-rang’s muttering, the goblins whispered excitedly. He had gone from being an arrogant human who threatened to cut them down with his sword to a reckless human who had cut down a young sacred beast that wasn’t yet a full mountain deity.

This human was different from the others.

How could a human dare cut down a mountain deity.

Goblins loved entertainment.

In this quiet place where all they did was tease passing humans, things were finally becoming lively.

“After this year, it’ll be complete.”

– After this year, he’ll become the mountain deity.

– Yes, this year is the last.

– It’s the last for Hisa too.

– Hisa’s role is over.

Hong Yeom-rang stayed silent.

He wanted them to keep talking. They were spilling information he couldn’t learn on his own.

The goblins, who had been talking about Hisa’s end, suddenly fell quiet. Then they began mumbling, sounding strangely down.

“Why is it the last for Hisa.”

Hong Yeom-rang tossed a stone into that gloomy pool.

– Hisa protects the mountain deity.

– When the young mountain deity can command the mountain, she becomes unnecessary.

– She picked such a terrible last sacrifice.

– Hisa has no eye for people.

– Hisa really has no eye for people.

The last sacrifice clearly meant him.

Hong Yeom-rang realized it was easier to draw out what he wanted by coaxing the goblins rather than threatening them.

Just as he was about to push further, a pale face suddenly appeared from the dark cave.

Her eyes were half-lidded with sleep.

“…rang, aren’t you coming in.”

“Rang.”

A strange sense of familiarity made Hong Yeom-rang frown.

She must have just slurred his name. No one called him by a childhood nickname anymore.

As if she heard the goblins whispering, Hisa glanced around the empty air.

“Be quiet.”

– She’s telling us to be quiet.

– She’s telling us to be quiet.

The goblins quieted down, sulking. Even the rustling wind calmed.

Hisa let out a small yawn.

When had she become close with goblins. They didn’t seem that friendly. Later, she should tell Hong Yeom-rang that nothing good came from getting close to goblins.

She had been lying on the soft mat waiting for him, but when he didn’t come, she came out again.

Whether it was her nature to be lazy or because she couldn’t sleep beside Baek-ah, sleep kept washing over her.

She blinked once, and suddenly Hong Yeom-rang was right in front of her.

Hisa grabbed his sleeve. Otherwise, she felt like she’d have to go out and fetch him again.

“I’m the one who fought. Why are you tired.”

At his words, Hisa recalled the most shocking thing she had seen in her life.

She hadn’t expected Baek-ah and Hong Yeom-rang to hate each other that much. The mountain deity wouldn’t die anyway. Judging by how he shouted in rage, he was perfectly fine.

“…I’m mentally tired. You two, you’re the same… it’s tiring.”

“You’re saying I’m like that wild beast.”

If heaven was going to strike him, it should have done so already. Hisa glanced up at the clear sky. No sign of lightning. She smiled awkwardly at him.

Anyway, before this year ended, Hong Yeom-rang would leave. She would probably never see him again in this village.

“No. I’m sleepy, I said it wrong.”

She had never known that the small tiger that used to drag around her worn skirt could become so fierce.

Decades had passed, yet she remained the same while others changed. Looking up at Hong Yeom-rang, who was much bigger than her, Hisa smiled softly.

“You said we’re the same.”

“Mhm. You should learn how to dodge heavenly punishment first, Rang.”

She nodded lazily and pulled him along. This time, without hesitation, she called him Rang.

From the fingers holding his sleeve to the back of his neck, goosebumps rose along Hong Yeom-rang’s skin.

Just hearing the last part of his name made his skin crawl like this.

“Who said you could call my name like that.”

“I said Yeom-rang. You must have heard what you wanted.”

Hisa answered carelessly again and yawned.

“Hey.”

“I think I like it when you call me miss.”

Hong Yeom-rang had been following her into the cave, pretending he couldn’t help it, but stopped in disbelief.

He shook off the sleeve she held. It itched too much to endure. He scratched his wrist roughly and raised his brows.

“What.”

“Don’t just call me that when you feel like it. Just call me miss. They say even the wishes of the dead are granted, and I’m still alive.”

Seeing her believe on her own that he only called her that when he was in a good mood made him scoff. He wanted to flick her forehead, but there wasn’t a single place on her he could bring himself to hit, so he held back.

“You’re dressed like a beggar running around the forest and you want to be called miss.”

“This is your clothes.”

Hisa smiled again, her long eyes curving. The smile melted like sunlight in the darkest shade of spring. Even the suspicion that had been bothering him melted with it.

A monster couldn’t smile more human than a human.

“I gave you that because you were running around like a beggar.”

“I like green. Give me your clothes again.”

The image of Hisa in a yellow jacket and a pale green skirt surfaced naturally in his mind.