Kofi thanks to: Flowersky
“Hrgh…!”
Cheongyeon gasped for air. The scream that pierced through his heart made every hair on his body stand on end. Feeling déjà vu, he hurried to the bathroom mirror. Staring blankly at his hair and eye color, he locked eyes with his reflection in the mirror.
On the day that his nanny left him and when he wished for Aduran and his cronies to die, the plants of Cheonghwa Town had wailed just like moments ago. It was the growing pains of plants forced to grow against the natural flow.
Cheongyeon remembered what the nanny had said. If the Hwa clan uses plants to kill someone, there must be a price to pay. At that time, he truly wished for Aduran and his gang to die. Later, when he came to his senses, his wish had been granted. That’s why he had assumed his hair and eyes had faded. It was the price for using plants as murder weapons.
However, when the hardware store owner or the pirates who threatened his life died, there was no price to pay. It seemed not to apply when the plants acted on their own to protect the Hwa Clan.
Cheongyeon was always careful. No matter how wicked someone was, he never harbored a sincere wish for their death. Not because he was a saint capable of embracing all people, but because he feared the price that would come back to him if his wish came true.
Bang! Bang!
Cheongyeon, who had been staring endlessly in the mirror, was startled.
Again, bang! bang! The sound of someone knocking on the door echoed. With pirates having invaded, could it be…? Cheongyeon held his breath, pretending there was no one in the room.
“It’s Bang Cheon, Cheongyeon-nim!”
A familiar name came from beyond the steel door. Just as Cheongyeon was about to open the door with relief, he gathered his wits. It was better to be sure and prepared. Peering through the lens on the cabin door, he saw Bang Cheon wearing a red bandana.
“Don’t open it until the situation is resolved.”
Tae Muwon’s warning flashed through his mind.
“Is everything over?”
Cheongyeon raised his voice towards the steel door.
“Yes! It’s all settled. Muwon hyung-nim has asked me to fetch Cheongyeon-nim.”
Cheongyeon checked the corridor again through the lens. Only Bang Cheon, standing at attention, was visible within the narrow field of view. As he unlocked and opened the door, Bang Cheon bowed respectfully.
“I’ll escort you.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Where… to?”
“Uifjrf obiibk wf.”
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Before burning it, Cheongyeon had memorized the flower shop’s name and location several times. However, even after memorizing everything, he hesitated to light the lighter. It was the last trace of the world left by the nanny, and it was hard for him to erase it with his own hands. Although he had hesitated several times, the flame from the Zippo mercilessly consumed the old map.
He hurriedly followed Bang Cheon, tightening his thick beige knit coat as they climbed the stairs leading to the deck.
‘Why are they taking me outside? Are they planning to tie me up again…’
Upon fully stepping onto the deck, Cheongyeon almost screamed. In the center of the deck stood the master of the Peira. Cheongyeon widened his eyes and began to back away cautiously. However, Bang Cheon was already blocking his way.
The searchlight hanging from the top of the bridge now only illuminated the direction the Peira was heading. This gave him a clear view from the center deck to the stern. White breath dispersed from the corner of Tae Muwon’s mouth. If it weren’t for the cigarette he was burning, it was a chilly sight that would have felt like the middle of winter.
Covered in blood all over, Tae Muwon seemed like a demon. His gleaming golden eyes resembled a beast that had devoured its prey, the elaborate pattern on his shirt obscured by soaked blood. And there was a person lying on the deck with a tree branch piercing through his face.
‘Could it be…’
Was the plant’s scream he heard connected to this?
Looking around nervously, Cheongyeon noticed familiar faces; Saturn and Venus were standing behind Tae Muwon. Saturn, avoiding eye contact with Cheongyeon, looked grimly at the ground. Suddenly, Tae Muwon squatted down and grabbed the head of the dead man, causing Cheongyeon to turn his head away from the gruesome sight.
“Where did the owner of the hardware store who tried to sell you to pirates, the pirates, the trash of Cheonghwa Town go? Did they all die because ill fate around you befell them?”
Cheongyeon’s heart sank as he wondered how far the background investigation had gone.
“The day I took you to our hideout, a branch sprouted from a tree that hadn’t changed until then. What do you think about that?”
Crack, he broke off a branch that had pierced through the man’s forehead. The blood-stained branch appeared blackened as if struck by lightning.
“Why do you keep… asking me…”
Cheonyeon’s voice trembled, and he couldn’t continue. Tae Muwon got up and walked towards him with big strides. With Bang Cheon still blocking the way, Cheongyeon couldn’t move.
“Except for not being affected after drinking my blood, everything about you is suspicious.”
Cheongyeon shook his head, not understanding what was being said. Tae Muwon tossed his cigarette butt onto the steel deck, where it rolled around. He was usually a fierce man, but now he felt a terrifying fear that made his spine tingle.
“Hey.”
“…Yes.”
“Can the Hwa clan make trees grow out of people?”
“I- I don’t know. Ah!”
Suddenly, Cheongyeon was grabbed by the collar and dragged towards the railing. His feet tangled, but he didn’t fall, almost floating in Tae Muwon’s grasp. Cheongyeon grabbed his wrist with both hands, fearing he would be thrown overboard.
He couldn’t even utter a plea for his life, instead looking to others for help. As expected, there was no one to turn to. On the Peira, Tae Muwon was the law. Would things have been different if Cheongyeon had Hwa clan members to stand with him like a nanny or a mother?
Pressed against the railing and trembling, Cheongyeon trembled as his throat felt crushed. As Tae Muwon forcefully lifted him and pushed him towards the outside of the railing, he checked the corpse. The tree branch that had pierced the corpse before showed no movement. Turning back to Cheongyeon, Tae Muwon saw him, sobbing hard, his white face entirely wet with tears.
“H- hyung-nim, the apothecary-”
“Fuck! Toseong, do you want to go into the sea first?”
Saturn seemed restless, worried about Cheongyeon, as if they were having the romance of the century. Tae Muwon bared his teeth and laughed viciously.
“Oh, is this how you devoured people?”
He suddenly slung Cheongyeon over one shoulder amidst his struggles and walked towards the rear of the ship. Cheongyeon’s punches were futile against Tae Muwon.
“I- I don’t know anything, really!”
“Why would I just let go of someone so suspicious who boarded my ship when such things happened?”
Muwon then entered the dome, throwing the frightened Cheongyeon onto the floor. Surrounded by green grass, he looked around with bewildered eyes.
It really was a botanical garden. Despite the harsh sea winds, the plants were thriving. Cheongyeon’s gaze dropped to the cold stone floor under his palm. Something here did not belong to the dome. It was a gravestone inscribed with an unknown language.
He moved back a bit more, and the green stems with leaves entwined around his fingers. The soft touch of the leaves seemed to comfort him, and tears fell from Cheongyeon’s eyes.
As Tae Muwon watched Cheongyeon sobbing, unable to contain his sorrow, he felt a soreness in his chest. He had never suffered from a minor illness in his life. He never felt this kind of pain in his heart. No, not never, but only once before.
When he saw the little kid sniveling in Cheonghwa Town back then.
The botanical garden, blooming in vibrant colors, suited Cheongyeon far better than himself who was drenched in blood. It seemed like the true owner of this out-of-place garden within the battleship Peira. Looking at Cheongyeon, who seemed to have been born from a flower, Tae Muwon thought, if he’s not from the Hwa clan, then who could possibly be called so?
Tae Muwon grabbed the fleeing Cheongyeon and pinned him into a rocking chair, pressing down hard on his chest and securing the chair backwards. He grabbed Cheongyeon’s neck as he screamed for him to let him go.
Cheongyeon felt a threat to his life. His neck felt like it would be crushed by the rough grip, and he couldn’t let out a single breath of his own accord. Desperately scratching and clawing at Tae Muwon’s hand, Cheongyeon’s eyes heated up. His throat tightened, his breath faded, and Tae Muwon felt Cheongyeon’s heartbeat pulsing.
Swoosh, all the leaves in the botanical garden rustled in the sea breeze. The leaves and stems, which had been gently swaying, now crashed against each other violently as if caught in a storm. The rustling grew louder.
At the same time, a scent emerged. Whether it was the fragrance of the garden or from Cheongyeon, an unbearable hunger arose, not for food but for the scent.
Throughout, Cheongyeon repeated to himself, even as his eyes rolled back and until the very moment he might lose consciousness,
‘It’ll be okay. If he intended to kill me… he would have thrown me into the sea already. It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay. It’s alright… Not yet… Not yet.’
As his pulse quickened and consciousness blurred, Tae Muwon finally released his grip on Cheongyeon’s neck.
“Haak, cough!”
Cheongyeon gasped for air, coughing violently and curling up in the rocking chair. Tae Muwon slowly looked around the dome. Contrary to expectations, the plants in the dome were calm. However, Tae Muwon’s hands were cut and torn here and there, and there was blood. Cheongyeon turned his hands, which the pirates couldn’t even scratch, into rags.
As Muwon reached out, Cheongyeon convulsed and let out a soft scream. Muwon read a fear in his eyes that went beyond disgust.
“…I- I won’t do the deal, I won’t do anything with you. Ugh, I won’t deal with Hwang Ran either, I’ll just live… I’ll just live as if I’m dead.”
“I won’t stand out. I’m scared, I don’t want to…” Curled up, struggling to breathe properly, Cheongyeon covered his mouth with both hands and tried to control his breathing. However, he was on high alert for any approach from the other man. It was a complete rejection that he had not experienced even during the sperm whale auction or when he went to buy lobsters.
Cheongyeon said he was scared but he was always clear about what he had to say. But now he was completely consumed with fear and didn’t even see him as a person. It wasn’t the first time he had seen those eyes, but Tae Muwon felt dirty like a dog.
Tae Cheonoh’s words suddenly passed through his mind.
“All the circumstances point to it not being true, but if you are so interested, I think it means something else. But you’re hopeless with the apothecary anyway.”
“If it’s not enough to be sweet and kind, you can then do a background investigation behind their back. Then, they will be very favorable.”
In any case,
Muwon’s sense instinctively whispered.
‘Does it feel like I’m screwed?’
Lol yup right you are, Muwon, and there’s no turning back. You will have to work really hard to win Cheongyeon over, however, after scaring him to this extent 😅
😔😔
Oh boy 😳
Pobrecito Cheonyeon, igual te amo Muwon, gracias por él capitulo, ya soy adicta a esta obra de arte
Oh no! Not like that!😢
He’s so violent whenever he suspects him of being a Hwa, what’s going to happen when he finds out he is one? And will he be in love with him by then when it happens and then what? Anyway once again this story is so good in so many ways.
MUWON DON’T BE A JACKASS CHALLENGE impossible