Chapter 9

By the time Hisa had approached him, he had already been nearly erect. The bitter and heavy scent, the sight of her wearing nothing but his clothes over her bare body, stirred raw desire in him. There was no way all of that was something a monster did just to absorb his yang energy. No monster would go that far just to take a strand of hair.

This was simply his own desire.

The way she smiled in his clothes that carried his scent, the pale body laid bare, her soft and slightly slow way of speaking, every single thing about Hisa provoked Hong Yeom-rang’s lust. Red suited her unbelievably well. It was intense enough that, for a moment, it made her face seem almost alive with color.

“Yeom-rang…”

Every bit of his desire and lust had been read.

By Hisa, whose pale face held no trace of such things.

Hong Yeom-rang stood at an angle, staring into the forest. She had to be somewhere out there, watching him.

His lips twisted sharply. The hand that had just struck the cave wall slid down to his lower body. Without even undoing his pants, he grabbed his half-erect length and began to stroke it deliberately, as if to show her. He wanted Hisa, who had disappeared as if mocking him after reading his thoughts, to see this.

Just as he expected, Hisa had not gone far.

She remained hidden in the forest, never intending to leave. And so she ended up watching him grip himself, breathing roughly. She wanted to look away, but unfortunately, he was staring right in her direction.

Her eyes were locked with a man pleasuring himself.

There was no way she should be visible. But his instincts were sharp. He was nothing like the previous sacrifices who had fallen asleep without even noticing her presence and had their hair taken.

– The sacrifice is defiling the sacred forest.

– The sacrifice is defiling the sacred forest.

– It’s been tainted.

– It’s been tainted.

Hisa managed to pull herself together only because the goblins had come and started talking. The goblins who lived deep in the forest sometimes hid her from human sight and kept her company like this.

Mirang, a female goblin, sniffed the air. A small goblin, not even fifty years old yet, followed behind her and sniffed as well. Still at the age of learning from elders, it repeated everything Mirang said, so Hisa heard everything twice.

“Be quiet.”

She warned them as they kept talking about the forest being tainted.

There was no way Hong Yeom-rang could hear them, but the thought that several beings, not even human, were watching him like this made Hisa feel embarrassed for no reason. And at that moment, he lowered his pants slightly and slipped his hand inside. Unlike his heated lower body, his face looked cold and sharp, filled with a killing intent that felt like he couldn’t endure without cutting something.

Soon, he released into his hand.

– Sniff.

– Sniff.

Mirang exaggerated her sniffing as she spoke.

– He’s a virgin. Not tainted.

– He’s a virgin. Not tainted.

The small goblin echoed her again. Having learned something she never wanted to know, Hisa quickly turned her back. The taste of the hair that had already melted away in her mouth was clearly different from the one she had once picked up from the stream. Maybe because it was freshly taken. It tasted better. Her hunger eased a little. Now she felt like she could finally breathe properly.

If anything, it had only been a matter of time before Hong Yeom-rang caught her while she was stealing his hair.

– The energy of a virgin man isn’t bad for the forest.

– The energy of a virgin man isn’t bad for the forest.

Mirang pressed down on the horn growing from the small goblin’s head.

– You haven’t even shed your baby skin yet, what do you know. Want me to tell Mr. Kim?

“Yeah, please just go.”

While the goblins followed her, the rain avoided her entirely. She needed time to think, but they kept chattering. At the mention of Mr. Kim, the small goblin got angry and vanished, leaving only Mirang walking beside Hisa.

– Hisa, Hisa. The sacrifice got aroused looking at you. Mr. Kim will cry. Mr. Kim will cry.

Mr. Kim, the leader of the goblins, had been persistently following Hisa ever since he first saw her, telling her to become a goblin bride. She knew it was half a joke. Hisa only stepped in when they got too bored and started playing cruel tricks on humans. Whenever she did, they would chase her all night, begging her to play with them. If she didn’t, they would harass people.

“That’s not it.”

– Then what is it? Why were you just watching? Are you interested? His thing is this big. It rivals Mr. Kim.

Hisa hadn’t seen it when he released himself, but Mirang had. She showed the size using her fist and forearm.

“Mirang, this was just an accident.”

– An accident? An accident?

Mirang tilted her head, then kept touching and smoothing out Hisa’s red overcoat, clearly admiring how bright and pretty it was. Looking up at Mirang, who was about two heads taller than her, Hisa let out a sigh.

“I don’t know either. But this is the first time I’ve had such a difficult sacrifice. What if I starve to death.”

His awareness was practically that of an animal. She didn’t know if she could get close enough again to take his hair. Whether it was her hand or her neck, something might get cut off. Earlier, he had been off guard, which was how she managed to pull his hair and escape. But now, he would never let his guard down again.

– The mountain deity won’t let you die. Go to the mountain deity. Go to the mountain deity.

Mirang spoke as if there was nothing to worry about, then tried to pull off Hisa’s overcoat.

“Not this.”

– Give it to me. Give it to me.

“I’ll ask the shaman to make you an even prettier one next time.”

– It’s too big for you anyway. It’ll fit me perfectly.

Mirang, much larger than a man, insisted stubbornly. Still, Hisa couldn’t let this overcoat be taken, so she slapped Mirang’s hand away.

“No.”

– If you say no, then no. Hisa says no, so it’s no.

Knowing her personality, Mirang quickly sulked and gave up on the clothes. Instead, she told Hisa to make sure the shaman made her a big and fancy outfit next time.

“Okay. I’ll definitely get you one.”

This was going to be a problem. Once Mirang got new clothes, the goblins would surely start pestering the shaman every night for their own. But Hisa was too flustered to think that far ahead and decided she would deal with the consequences later.

Hong Yeom-rang thought she was a monster, so why had he done something like that.

The more she thought about it, the hotter her face became. Right there outside the cave, not even inside, he had done that while looking in the direction she had disappeared.

Was he angry because she didn’t take his yang energy the way he expected? But even if he was angry, did people usually do that?

She had thought that once she took his hair, the strange tension between them would change.

Even if he had briefly felt desire at the sight of her body, believing her to be a monster, what he had done outside the cave was too lewd to ignore.

She should have listened to the shaman.

Hong Yeom-rang.

She should never have brought him in after he returned to the village.

– Hisa, Hisa.

“Yeah?”

– You smell like that man. Sniff…

Mirang sniffed again.

“Of course. I’m wearing his clothes.”

– You should smell like the sachet I gave you, but you smell more like that man.

Now that she thought about it, she had left the goblin-made scented sachet Mirang gave her on his mat. She had liked the red overcoat too much to think of taking it back. She needed to retrieve it before Mirang noticed and sulked for another ten years.

– My sachet. My sachet.

“I still have it.”

Hisa always kept the sachet with her, even when changing worn-out clothes. But Mirang looked her up and down suspiciously. It was nowhere to be seen. Her lips puffed out just like the small goblin’s had.

“It’s so pretty I couldn’t decide where to put it, so I set it down for a moment.”

– Wear it next time. I’m upset. I’m upset.

That sachet had been a gift from Mirang after sulking for ten years because she thought Hisa favored the small goblin more. The fact that she had forgotten it now meant she had another reason to return to Hong Yeom-rang.

“Okay… sorry, sorry.”

Matching Mirang’s habit of repeating herself, Hisa spoke the same way. When she brought up the topic of new clothes again, Mirang’s attention quickly shifted.

Her thoughts were a mess. Hisa, who had always lived simply, felt her heart stir for the first time. The only human she could ask, the shaman, was away in a neighboring village Hisa couldn’t reach.