VBC 10

Chapter 10

Soha took another bite of the wagashi, but at Ihwan’s sudden scream, she dropped it in surprise.

As the sweet rolled across the ground, the beast Ihwan had pulled from under the pavilion lunged straight toward it.

“Chomp!”

It made such a bizarre noise for a puppy.

“A… puppy?”

Soha and Ihwan both stared in confusion at the fluffy dog, which resembled a shaggy Sapsaree.

“Is it a dog raised in Hwacheon Palace?”

“What nonsense! There’s no way a mutt could be in our Hwacheon Palace!”

“But still…”

The puppy’s mouth was full of crumbs from the wagashi. They looked like they had come from the other sweets inside the bundle.

After devouring the wagashi, the puppy flopped down on its back, spread-eagled.

“Do dogs usually lie flat on their backs like that?”

“Who are you calling a dog?!”

The one who answered Soha’s question wasn’t Ihwan. But the only other being here was… that very puppy.

“Who dares call me a dog, human?”

“The… the dog is talking.”

“Y-you’ve got to be kidding me…”

Startled, Ihwan fell back on his rear.

Soha, however, felt the puppy’s sharp, disgruntled gaze fixed on her.

“Is it… a ghost?”

Yet she sensed no ghostly aura. But having lived among spirits for ten years, she could tell—it wasn’t an ordinary puppy.

“Who are you calling some stray ghost? I am none other than Lord Docheol!”

“Docheol?”

The name rang a bell.

“That’s right. I may have lost my mind for a moment under the moonlight’s sway and been struck by the Hyupundo blade, but I survived!”

“Hyupundo… and the moonlight…”

Soha pieced the clues together in her head. There was only one possible answer.

“You’re that vengeful spirit?”

“Hmph! ‘Vengeful spirit’ is what you humans call me. I am a Great Yokai!”

“A yokai…”

Ghosts exist only in spirit form. Vengeful spirits have form, but yokai are entities with both form and power. Some said yokai were what vengeful spirits became after hundreds or thousands of years. Defining them was nearly impossible for humans.

What was certain was that they were dangerous.

“Yooookaiiii?!”

Ihwan grabbed the puppy by the scruff of its neck and lifted it into the air.

Dangling helplessly, Docheol flailed his little legs.

“Wahhh! Let me go! Insolent human!”

Ihwan gave a bitter laugh at the sight of the squirming creature.

“How dare you sneak into Hwacheon Palace? If you’re a yokai, then I’ll kill you here and now.”

“Eeeek!”

But to Soha, the sight of the little puppy thrashing in front of her looked only cute, while Ihwan seemed the violent one.

“Hmph! Kill me? If I die, that girl dies too—and then so will you!”

“You… how do you know that?!”

Shocked that the creature knew of their curse, Ihwan dropped him to the ground. With a whimper, Docheol landed, then stood up—on two legs.

Soha blinked. Dogs walk on four legs… don’t they?

“Why do you think that girl is still alive? The power of Hyupundo? Hah! Wrong. It’s because my power flowed into her!”

“My… power?”

“When I was stabbed by Hyupundo, all my strength spilled into that girl!”

At last, Soha realized the source of the cold, sharp force coiled inside her. It wasn’t her own—it was Docheol’s power.

“If my power disappears, you’ll die instantly. Not even three seconds will pass.”

“Is that… true?”

A shadow fell over Ihwan’s face.

“Go ahead and ask around. Of course, since you’re surviving on yokai power, you’ll be executed the moment anyone finds out.”

Now standing upright with arms folded like a person, Docheol looked smugly between them.

A silence stretched.

“Why, no more questions? Cat got your tongue?”

Soha drew a deep breath and spoke.

“Why… a puppy?”

“What?”

“You could have taken other forms, right?”

“Well… this is… Why do you even care?!”

“Just curious.”

Her calm response left Docheol scowling, utterly dumbfounded. Normally, someone in her position should be pleading for life, or trembling with fear.

“You’re not… afraid?”

“Pardon?”

“That you carry a yokai’s power in your body.”

“Yes…”

Her indifferent reply made Docheol hop in frustration.

“Aren’t you supposed to ask if I’ll take it back?!”

“If you could, you would’ve already.”

“…What?”

Soha answered coolly.

“Ghost or yokai, you’re all the same. If you needed to, you’d take it by force. If you haven’t, that means you can’t.”

“……”

Docheol stumbled back, struck to the core.

“So it’s because of Hyupundo’s influence, right?”

“You… you…”

“To lift the curse, your power has to return too, doesn’t it?”

Soha knew well the nature of spirits: unlike humans, they live purely by instinct. If even a centuries-old yokai couldn’t reclaim its power, it meant there was no way.

“That means you need me alive, too.”

“Ugh! This is why perceptive humans are the worst!”

Like a tragic heroine, Docheol collapsed dramatically, crossing his legs as he sat.

Soha kept her eyes on him, unwilling to be fooled by such theatrics. She even wondered if her death would mean his power would vanish forever.

“In any case, my power is useless in a human’s hands.”

“But thanks to it, I’m alive.”

“So what, you’re saying you’ll just keep feeding on my strength?”

“I’ll break the curse when I find a way.”

“Phew…”

Docheol exhaled in relief.

“You’re really planning to let this thing live?”

Ihwan, listening with a storm of thoughts, questioned her.

“You dimwitted brat! Didn’t you hear? If I die, she dies, and then you die too!”

“…Ha.”

A complicated knot of fates. None could survive without the others.

“How troublesome this is.”

“That’s what I should be saying!”

Docheol pounded his little chest in frustration.

“All I wanted was to play a trick on a human, and now this calamity!”

“You followed me just to mock me?”

“With the Vermilion Bird’s aura wandering about so unguarded, how could I not be tempted? If I’d just swallowed you whole, none of this would’ve happened!”

“You mean you were going to eat me?!”

Ihwan roared, and Docheol kicked his shin with a stubby leg.

“You insolent mutt!”

“Didn’t I say if I die, you die too?”

“So what!”

And with that, the two began chasing each other around, raising a cloud of dust.

Soha, watching them play a bizarre game of tag, turned back to the leftover wagashi in her hand.

“A flower shape…”

Her head ached. Something sweet helped.

Just then, Jisong returned with the tea and spotted Ihwan.

“What are you doing?”

The moment he spoke, Docheol froze. Ihwan quickly snatched him up into his arms.

“Ha… haha. Look, isn’t this a cute little puppy?”

“A puppy?”

Jisong tilted his head. At once, Ihwan clamped Docheol’s mouth shut.

“Don’t. Make. A. Sound.”

He whispered low enough for only Docheol to hear.

“Mmph!”

“…It looks like the puppy is suffering.”

“N-no, he’s just happy! See, wagging his tail?”

Ihwan forced a smile and pinched Docheol’s side.

Docheol seethed: ‘The moment I get my strength back, I’ll tear this brat into thirty-eight pieces!’

But Ihwan only smiled awkwardly, avoiding Jisong’s gaze.

“I’m sorry, I suddenly don’t feel well. I don’t think I can drink tea.”

Soha stepped in to end the situation. Concerned, Jisong nodded.

“Then let’s put it off until later and head back.”

“Yes.”

Jisong supported her, while Ihwan and Docheol trailed behind, glaring at each other.

That night, after a full day under Ihwan’s watch, Docheol slipped away the moment he fell asleep and sneaked into Soha’s room.

Since she held his power, he needed to check on her often.

It wasn’t easy hiding in Hwacheon Palace. When Soha had asked “Why a puppy?”, the answer was simple: if even a trace of his aura leaked, the Vermilion Bird clan would notice. In this form, he could suppress it completely.

But it meant no proper food… hence his humiliation earlier.

She’s asleep.

Docheol approached the girl who had stolen his precious strength, folding his arms as he stood by her bedside.

He traced the aura flowing from her head to her toes.

“As expected… the Vermilion Bird’s power is irresistible.”

Even his own aura, cultivated for seven centuries, was nothing compared to it.

Though she was a fox spirit, no human body should’ve been able to withstand his power. Yet the Vermilion Bird’s aura had made it possible.

At least his “treasure jar” was still alive. Once the curse was undone, this miserable dog life would end.

Until then, he would win her favor, stay close, and—afterward—kill her or eat her, whichever he pleased.

“Why’s she trembling like that? The room’s hot enough.”

As Soha’s eyelids fluttered, he tugged the blanket higher, covering her shoulders.

“What a strange girl…”

He recalled the way she had looked him straight in the eye earlier.

From the beginning, she had been unusual. Even with Vermilion Bird blood all around, the one he most wanted to devour was her.

The sweet scent of fox and the purest ghostly aura—it wasn’t something a human should have been able to carry.

There was something special about her.

“Hmm… this blanket is so soft…”

Having spent more than a week in a barn, Docheol couldn’t resist the comfort. As drowsiness washed over him, he gave in.

“Ah, whatever.”

And just like that, he plopped down beside Soha, belly up. Warm and fluffy—heaven itself.