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Chapter 12
“Uwaaah! Human, you’re trying to drown me to death!”
For a yokai, Dochul sure whined a lot.
Every time Soha scrubbed at his dust-covered fur, he thrashed and wailed in protest.
“This is already the third bucket of water from the well. If I’d known, I should’ve gone to the stream instead.”
Dochul’s fur shed so much filthy water it made Soha wonder if it had been spun from dust itself. Considering how he had been rolling around the stable, it wasn’t surprising.
“Gah! Water! I swallowed water!”
Even though Soha had tied his sleeves with rope, Dochul’s struggling drenched her clothes completely. Water seeped into her hair, making her sigh.
“You can’t stay in the room if you’re this filthy.”
“Humph, why should I follow human standards?”
“…So I guess you’d rather stay in the stable.”
“Hey! Watch your mouth! Do you know how cold and miserable that place is?”
“Then cooperate a little.”
Soha poured the soapy water Rangi had prepared onto him.
Even after dunking him twice, only greasy, grimy water poured out. Finally, she could just barely make out the original color of his fur.
“Now the water’s cold.”
Despite his cute appearance, Dochul was annoyingly picky. Looking at his adorable little face made Soha almost want to spoil him—but then she remembered he was actually a centuries-old yokai. Creepy.
“At this rate, you’ll catch a cold.”
She couldn’t even tell if he was mocking her or showing concern. With a sigh, Soha lifted another bucket.
At that moment, a cloud of dust rose in the distance. Someone was racing toward them.
“Yaaah!”
A sharp, ringing voice pierced the air. Both Soha and Dochul turned toward it.
“You—why are you doing this!”
It was Ihwan, running at full speed. Unlike his usual preference for silks, today he wore a plain gray training robe, his forehead dripping with sweat.
He dashed right up to Soha, panting heavily.
‘How far did he run…?’
Soha blinked at him in confusion as he glared at her with wide eyes.
“Hey! What kind of patient goes out in the wind to wash a dog! Do I really have to feel the draft in your body before coming to stop you?”
Ihwan practically shouted in her face. Her ears rang from it.
“But I couldn’t just leave him like this. And it’s dangerous to ask someone else to do it…”
“Then you should’ve called me instead! Ugh, look at you—your clothes are soaked, your hands are all red! Did this mutt scratch you?”
Ihwan’s eyes narrowed sharply as he seized Soha’s hand. She flinched at the sudden contact.
Shaking her head quickly, she let him inspect her palms as he clicked his tongue.
“Move aside. Go sit in the sun and dry your sleeves.”
Without waiting, Ihwan nudged her away with his body.
Soha stumbled back with a startled “Uh, uh,” as he plopped down in her chair, rolling up his sleeves. Sweat still trickled down his brow.
After securing his spot, Ihwan looked up at Soha, who was now standing awkwardly nearby. Aside from damp sleeves and reddened hands, she didn’t seem too bad.
Fishing around in his robes, he suddenly pulled something out and held it toward her.
“What’s this?”
“Pumpkin taffy.”
“Taffy…?”
Soha carefully unwrapped the small paper bundle. Inside was a hard-yet-slightly-soft lump.
“Why would you even have this…” she muttered, puzzled at why he’d carry such a thing.
Before she could ask further, Dochul snapped at him:
“How dare you touch me, you insolent brat!”
“Argh! This damn mutt’s lost it!”
The two immediately started scuffling.
Ihwan shoved Dochul mercilessly back into the water, and the yokai retaliated by clawing at his arm.
Watching, Soha realized Dochul had actually been rather well-behaved with her in comparison.
With nothing left to do, she fiddled with the paper still in her hand.
“You roll in mud or something? Look at this fur!”
“It’s tangled, that’s all!”
As they bickered, Soha finished peeling the wrapper. Inside was a piece of amber-colored, translucent candy.
She sniffed it and a sweet aroma filled her nose.
‘What kind of taste will it have…?’
It wasn’t soft like rice cakes, nor crisp like biscuits—just an odd texture she’d never seen before. Entranced by the sugary smell, she popped it into her mouth.
‘Sweet.’
The flavor exploded across her tongue, exactly as she had expected from the scent. When she bit down, it clung stubbornly to her teeth, making her swirl it around with her tongue.
Her cheeks puffed in and out as the candy rolled about, and worried it might pop out, she covered her mouth with both hands.
Meanwhile, Ihwan was still struggling with Dochul, soaked far worse than Soha had been earlier.
“Why am I the one bathing here!?”
The two of them were hopeless together. Perhaps that was natural between a yokai and a human.
But Soha’s focus drifted entirely to the candy swirling in her mouth.
‘So sweet…’
Warm sunlight quickly dried her damp clothes, the scent of soap lingered in the air, and her mouth was full of sugar. She felt refreshed, almost peaceful.
At that moment, Ihwan’s gaze locked with hers.
He froze, staring at her puffed cheeks working on the candy. Then, with a sudden turn of his head, he looked away—though his expression was oddly satisfied.
For Soha, a single day had always felt endlessly grueling. But in Hwacheon Palace, the hours slipped by before she noticed.
“Ahh, this rice cake is perfectly steamed.”
Today, time flew even faster with the nuisance of Dochul constantly at her side. Of course, Ihwan played his part too.
“If a mutt steals its master’s food, it becomes a stray that very day.”
Ihwan glared at Dochul, who had stolen and devoured the rice cake skewers meant for both him and Soha.
After washing Dochul, Ihwan had even dried his fur with Vermilion Bird’s power, gone back to his quarters to clean up and change, and then returned to Soha’s pavilion carrying dishes in both hands.
It was a late-night snack.
“Eat up before this pig-dog steals everything.”
He handed Soha a skewer of rice cakes. She looked down at it in her hand.
‘Why are they always feeding me?’
The clan head’s words echoed in her mind—that she had to eat well and nourish herself for the medicine to work. Maybe Ihwan was simply following that special order.
