Chapter 84
Chapter 84. Terminal Diagnosis (9)
Sodam quickly jumped to her feet before the embarrassment could get any worse, turning her back to the staff member and forcing a stretch as she called out in a clipped, unnatural voice.
“…Ah, what a nice nap! I got so tired all of a sudden, I just passed out!”
Naturally, it had absolutely no effect. But the staffer, or more accurately, Baek Juyul’s Guide’s staffer, did his best to play along in order not to upset her. Unaware that his effort only deepened her despair.
“Ah, haha, yes. The flight was quite long, after all. Of course you’d be tired. Ha ha ha!”
“Right? Ha, ha…”
The awkwardness twisted her up inside. She shot Juyul a desperate look and tugged on his sleeve, silently begging him to say something—anything. He began brushing dirt off her clothes, then casually opened his mouth.
“My Guide’s tired, so we should get going.”
“Ah, of course! I’ll take you there right away! Please, hop in!”
“R-right, yes!”
Sodam obediently followed behind the staffer as he rushed to the driver’s seat. Juyul naturally fell into step beside her, leaning in to murmur quietly,
“Are you okay walking this much? Want me to carry you?”
“I’m not a paper doll. As long as it’s not uphill, I can walk just fine.”
“That’s… really too bad.”
Sodam ignored Juyul’s obvious comment, her brow twitching slightly as she reached for the car door. She stopped mid-motion, covered her mouth, and lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Wait, are we going to be riding with that guy the whole time? I’m dying from secondhand embarrassment.”
“Unfortunately, this jeep’s been modified with magic stones. You need a special license to drive it.”
“So that means…?”
“You either ride with him, or hike up the mountain for an hour. Pick one.”
Presented with such a clean-cut choice, Sodam’s eyes lit up and she nodded without hesitation. She climbed into the jeep, patted the seat beside her, and gestured for Juyul to hurry up. He let out a short, incredulous laugh, but Sodam was entirely serious.
“I’ve been drinking nonstop, and my stomach is about to flip. Let’s go before I throw up.”
“…The moment we arrive, you’re drinking honey water. Got it?”
“I’m planning to tear a beehive off a tree on the way and chew it raw.”
That kind of banter was only possible in the beginning. After that, the jeep began to shake so violently it felt like they were on the verge of death.
Frankly, Sodam considered it a success that she didn’t end up showing off the contents of her stomach.
The only saving grace was that Juyul held her close throughout the entire ride, absorbing most of the impact. Thanks to him, she narrowly avoided ending up covered in bruises. Even getting out of the jeep took his help, and the moment her feet touched the ground, her entire body went limp.
Just taking the limousine to the base of the mountain had been a big journey for her. Surviving the insane jeep ride on top of that had completely drained the meager strength she’d built up during her vacation.
Sodam swallowed hard at the sight of the lodging, a log cabin that could easily be mistaken for a hunter’s cabin in the woods. She reached out and tugged lightly on Juyul’s pinky.
“What? Feel like you’re gonna throw up?”
“N-no. But we’re not heading out to find the creature right away, are we?”
“You should get some sleep. I’ll go scout quickly.”
“But I’m your assigned Guide…”
Her body was a wreck, but her mind was still intact. It didn’t sit right to be the exclusive Guide and just sit around doing nothing. What if, when their contract ended, he used her laziness as an excuse to charge a penalty fee? That would be a disaster.
More importantly, that shady Association director probably assigned another Guide to be stationed nearby—either inside this lodge or with another team at a nearby peak.
That was a far bigger concern than breach-of-contract fees, but either way, letting Juyul go off on his own was not an option. Taking a deep breath, Sodam slid her hand up along his pinky, which she was still holding. Soon, she managed to take hold of his ring, middle, and index fingers all at once. Looking down shyly, she asked,
“Let’s go together after a 30-minute break, okay? You need rest too.”
“…You’ve really mastered persuasion. At this rate, you’ll conquer the world.”
“What are you even talking about?”
Still holding onto Juyul’s hand with drooping brows, Sodam gave it a gentle shake, letting out a small laugh at his exaggerated words. He stopped their naturally swinging hands with a firm grip, lifted hers, and placed a light kiss on the back of it, speaking with a smooth, teasing tone.
“If you can just conquer me, that’s already half the world, don’t you think?”
“…”
“If you ever feel like grabbing power one day, give it a try. I’ll let you win.”
She wanted to ask if he was joking—but if he answered no, she honestly wouldn’t know how to respond. So instead, she chose to simply keep her mouth shut.
Thankfully, Juyul didn’t wait for her reaction and turned away. But since he was still holding her hand, she had no choice but to follow behind him, caught off guard.
Despite the cabin’s exterior resembling something between abandoned and half-collapsed, the inside was surprisingly cozy. Being a single-story building, the sheer size of it was impressive. Just a glance revealed more than six rooms, making it easy to guess that this had once been a resting lodge for hikers who came to enjoy the forest. Among all those rooms, Juyul led her to one tucked deeper in the back and gestured toward it with his chin.
“Go in and rest. I’ll come get you when it’s time to head out.”
“Ah…”
“What? Prefer a different room? Still, this one’s probably the safest.”
The concern layered into his words made it clear why he’d specifically chosen this room for her. The way he was so blatantly considerate—it made all the frustration and worries she’d been bottling up melt away like snow.
The only thing that nagged at her was that he hadn’t said something like “let’s rest together” or “let’s stay in the same room.” Maybe it was just so natural for him that he didn’t think to say it. But to Sodam, it felt almost like he was deliberately drawing a line, which left her oddly anxious.
She hesitated, opening and closing her mouth before biting her lower lip. But the hand that always came to her so easily still hung quietly by his side. Letting go of her lip with a faint sigh, she asked in a small voice,
“…Aren’t we sleeping in the same room?”
“There are plenty of rooms, and… if we’re together too much, it gets hard to hold back.”
“What are you…”
Before she could finish her question, Juyul yanked her hand and pinned her against the wall. His knee slid between her thighs, parting them naturally. Startled, she heard his voice—just a bit rough—brush past her ear.
“Stuff like this.”
His other hand slipped under her clothes in an instant, gripping her bare waist. His thumb rubbed across her flat stomach, making her shoulders tense. As if he had been waiting for that exact reaction, he gave a small, pleased laugh and finished his sentence.
“Things like that.”
“…Hh.”
“That’s why, for your sake, we need to keep some distance.”
No sooner had she let out a small gasp than he pulled back, calmly straightened her clothes, and lowered his knee. Pressing the back of her hand to her flushed face to cool down, she glanced up at him and asked,
“Then… what about Guiding?”
“If I need it, we’ll do it. But when we do… I’ll go real deep. So be ready.”
Wearing a lazy smile, Juyul brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and added,
“Because you’re my Guide. Right?”
“…Yeah.”
Now that he’d said the line that had become something of a signature—“my Guide”—it did give her a bit of self-control back. But it also reminded her that Juyul was, still, unmistakably Juyul.
Sodam was too naïve to catch the meaning buried beneath his words, and Juyul was far too cunning to ever make it obvious.
As they stood there thinking completely different thoughts while facing each other, a staff member rushed in and suddenly shoved a tray into their space. He’d run so frantically that water had sloshed everywhere, leaving a mess on the tray. Fortunately, one of the cups remained more than half full, and the bright yellow color confirmed it was exactly what she’d been looking for—honey water.
Sodam, dazed, took the cup and sipped it. Then she forced her brightest voice.
“Wow! You make amazing honey water! My hangover’s totally gone—really!”
“R-really? That’s a relief! It was so hard to find any honey—I turned the whole place upside down, checking every single room. Turns out, it was crushed under a frying pan in the kitchen. The moment I saw it, my strength just left me…”
No wonder he looked more exhausted than before—he must have fought a battle of his own. As his story started dragging on and on, Sodam’s polite smile began to falter. Just in time, Juyul smoothly cut between them and gave her a subtle look.
“Well then, let’s let Guide Maeng Sodam rest. We should take a break too. Driving that jeep takes a surprising amount of stamina, after all.”
