Chapter 388 – The Sansuyu Tree (5)

A warm, homey atmosphere.

Although he wasn’t wearing an apron, Lee Si-heon, dressed in everyday clothes, skillfully completed his task.

“You can eat, right?”

Lacking a household electric rice cooker, he had handcrafted rice porridge using a pressure cooker. He had considered making it with Mieum, but decided to prepare it for its chewy texture. Having been lying down for a long time, hunger must have been building.

*Clatter.*

A bowl of porridge was placed before Sansuyu. It was pre-cooled, warm, and not too hot. Divisive vegetables were deliberately excluded. Even the finely chopped abalone within the dish could be easily swallowed, revealing the care taken for the person consuming the meal.

Sansuyu stared intently at the porridge bowl.

The food, heaped upon a metal spoon, somehow evoked memories of times past. Within Sansuyu’s hazy gaze, recollections of yesteryear unfurled.

Late at night, the memory of her mother secretly preparing porridge in the kitchen.
Whenever she fell ill, her mother would always cook porridge for her.

– Suyu, isn’t your mom an amazing cook? Didn’t she learn everything from my mother back in the day?

Sansuyu’s mother, innocently hiding the bandage on her left hand.
As she fidgeted with her fingers, she released Lee Si-heon.

“Why are you like that? Like a puppy that needs to poop.”
“… Si-heon, it’s…”
“Don’t feel burdened.”

She seems too self-conscious.
There are many questions she wants to ask, and she appears to be hungry.

Lee Si-heon, doing his best to appear amiable, holds out the spoon himself.

“Is it still difficult to move your arm?”

At first, she doesn’t even know if she can eat.
He offers a little porridge with just a few grains of rice in it.

“… Ah~”

With a complicated expression, Sansuyu slowly parts her lips.

“Right.”

The porridge enters her mouth.

It had a subtle saltiness. I accepted the moist, tender texture.

Sansuyu’s mouth moved as she chewed. The porridge tasted quite good. It seemed to have been cooked for a considerable amount of time. However, perhaps her body hadn’t yet adjusted.

– A wave of nausea.

“…Cough! Cough!”

The porridge that had been going down her throat came back out of her mouth. It smeared her clothes around her chest. Bits of rice splattered across the table, and even onto Lee Si-heon’s body.

“Ah… Si-heon… Sor-“
“It’s okay.”

Lee Si-heon casually brushed it off with his hand and scooped up more porridge.

“Normally, after being sick, it’s hard to swallow food since the body is still tense. Here, try again.”
“…Alright. Ah~”

A spoonful of porridge entered Sansuyu’s mouth. Her pale, reddish tongue met it, and Lee Si-heon wiped away the white broth that had trickled down with a tissue.

Sansuyu’s right eyelid twitched. Her half-opened eyes trembled, and she gripped her fingers tightly. She tried her best not to vomit.

Carefully rolling the porridge in my mouth and chewing it, I swallowed once the foreign substance had completely liquefied.
With great effort, my sense of taste seemed to return slightly as I struggled through the porridge.

– Bubble, bubble.

The pain returned to the young organ once more. Sansuyu’s complexion turned pale as she urgently raised her arms.

“…Hold me.”

For two weeks, Lee Si-heon had been closely observing Sansuyu’s behavior, and without a word, he held her in his arms.

“Ah… Sorry.”

As she nestled in his embrace, her pain gradually subsided. It felt almost magical for Sansuyu to find relief through this process. With someone holding her, it seemed as if her body floated weightlessly, as if lifted into the sky. Sansuyu tightly grasped her weak hand and wrapped it around Lee Si-heon’s back.

A man’s back that felt slightly burdensome when embraced with both arms – no doubt partly due to her large breasts.

Sansuyu’s thighs moved upwards.

Sometimes, when the pain was intense, her legs would bend or her feet would unintentionally veer off course.

Lee Si-heon comforted Sansuyu, who grimaced in pain as her knees buckled.

“It’s okay, calm down. Take a deep breath.”

The scent of someone who resembled her mother. Lee Si-heon firmly gripped Sansuyu’s thighs to prevent her from moving upward.

The flesh, buried beneath his fingers, trembled before eventually ceasing.

“…Ha, ha.”
“Sigh… Ha.”

Their breaths intertwined like a spider’s web. Sweat trickled down and clung together, and the white t-shirt adhered to her body, revealing a balsam hue.

Finally lifting her head, Sansuyu cast another glance at Lee Si-heon’s face. It remained warm and tender.

“Your body must have been startled after eating.”

He chuckled, as if making a joke, and picked up the spoon again. Sansuyu bowed her head in guilt as she watched him.

Why are you doing this…?

The voice that lingered in my mouth never emerged. If I were to have an improper conversation and Lee Si-heon were to turn his head, I would surely die. Sansuyu instinctively realized this. Without Lee Si-heon, she would have perished, and without him, she would face death again.

A life she once thought was worth sacrificing. Yet, even now, she harbored no lingering regrets. Consumed by sorrow and despair, she lived a life akin to a listless doll, lost in contemplation. Through it all, Lee Si-heon was always by her side, like a devoted secretary to a deceased master.

“Can you eat some more?” he asked.

Though Lee Si-heon’s inscrutable demeanor was difficult for Sansuyu to decipher, she replied softly, “Yes…”

Despite knowing he was acting for her benefit, she couldn’t help but feel strangely at ease.

On the day marking one month,
As the academy entered its second semester, naturally, Sansuyu and Lee Si-heon did not attend school.

Due to being labeled as heretics, expulsion was inevitable. The teachers at the academy likely speculated that this incident had tarnished the school’s reputation. They must have disparaged Si-heon and Suyu behind their backs, questioning if they had admitted the wrong students.

Lee Si-heon’s demeanor remained unchanged.

Sansuyu would always lie in bed, spending the nights waiting for Lee Si-heon to return.

At times, he would come back severely injured.
Despite this, the following day, his body would miraculously heal, allowing him to move again. When he set out to visit the market, he would return drenched in blood, leaving even the emotionless Sansuyu with no choice but to be taken aback.

Surprised.
She was afraid of losing Lee Si-heon.

Had she ever experienced such a feeling before?

Sansuyu’s world had always been devoid of color.
Primarily shades of gray, with occasional glimpses of black and white.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t see colors.

The world she had known could only convey that feeling to her.

Even now, she could distinguish between them. The blanket was white, the shelf was brown, and the porridge she ate every day was a delicate white. Occasionally, black porridge made from sesame seeds was served.

Unable to feel emotions, she merely accepted everything with indifference. The wind outside was invigorating, the death of someone was profoundly sad, and the puppy caught in the rain evoked pity. Sansuyu felt these emotions only faintly.

However, recently, it seemed as if colors were gradually returning to her world.

Ironically, it was when the divine gaze that looked down upon Sansuyu had reduced her world to a single room of roughly six pyeong that it began to bestow colors upon her, little by little.

Yet, no colors could be seen outside the window. Occasionally, she could hear the chatter of middle-aged women outside.

Karr, karr. What could be so amusing? They conversed, ate food, and laughed as the world went on without them.

Whenever that happened, Sansuyu would hug her knees and bury her face between them, simply waiting for Lee Si-heon to arrive.

“Why… didn’t you leave me to die?”

That’s what she had asked Lee Si-heon one day. The response she received was rather insignificant.

“Well.”

He evaded the question. Sansuyu didn’t possess the ability to discern his true thoughts from that simple answer.

However, judging by his usual demeanor, she had a faint inkling of his intentions.

“Now that you’re free from your family, you should live comfortably.”

He had said this while combing her hair.

“How does it taste? You used to say this wasn’t good either.”

“…Spicy-“

“That’s not allowed.”

Although he was worried, he gently scolded her, all the while wearing a broad smile on his face. Sansuyu knew that he was considering her well-being.

Whether it was financial or health matters, everyone took matters into their own hands.

Sansuyu was aware of something else.

Every morning, occasionally when their sleep times overlapped, she would hear the sound of sobbing coming from right next to her.

“Si-heon?”

Worried, she got up and gently patted his chest. Lee Si-heon then stood up from his spot and began to groom himself, as if he hadn’t shed any tears at all.

“Uh, why? Are you hungry? Should I prepare some food for you?”

He asked nonchalantly, his face showing no signs of distress. It was as if he had flipped over a mask and hidden his true emotions.

Sansuyu couldn’t forget.

How he didn’t want to kill people, or how he was in pain. Trembling as if in the throes of a convulsion, occasionally embracing his heart or stomach while weeping.

For some reason, she couldn’t erase the image from her mind.

It seemed that Si-heon was going through a lot of hardship. But what could she do to help him?

Plagued by torment, Sansuyu ultimately realized that there was nothing left she could do. All she could do was clasp her hands like this, waiting for Lee Si-heon as she clenched and bled several times. Each time Lee Si-heon displayed signs of pain, Sansuyu’s doubts only deepened.

A connection that had never been severed,
Yet a question she couldn’t dare to ask.

Why would he go to such lengths?

– Drip.

Sansuyu bit her lip to remain silent.
Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t been hurt today.

Lee Si-heon, who entered without a single wound, held a basket brimming with ingredients in his hand.

“I’m here.”
“…Si-heon.”
“What do you want to eat today?”

Sansuyu spread her arms wide towards Lee Si-heon, who casually brushed off the sand that had accumulated in his shoes. Lee Si-heon nonchalantly sat down and embraced Sansuyu in his arms.

Her large chest was gently cradled and compressed.

“Did nobody come home?”
“…Yeah. I waited.”

She had waited.

Because she couldn’t even leave the house, this was a first for Lee Si-heon, who had never heard such words and his eyes widened in surprise.

Sansuyu slowly undressed, her fingers untying her garments as if they tickled her skin. She had made a request of him that very morning.

As he unbuttoned her shirt and slid it down, her breathtaking chest heaved into view.

Washing was no simple task for her, so he had no choice but to help. In truth, the process was all too familiar to Lee Si-heon.

He had even taken care of her most intimate needs before.

“Turn your head,” she instructed.

He wiped her sweaty shoulder blades and armpits with a damp towel. Without this care, her body would feel uncomfortable and irritable.

Her legs struggled to support her, making standing difficult. How could she possibly shower? At Lee Si-heon’s touch, Sansuyu’s skin trembled as he attempted to suppress his own desires.

Once the light task was complete, they would eat and engage in their hobbies – though, in reality, they had none.

It was merely that Lee Si-heon engaged in conversation with Sansuyu as she lay in bed, or discussed a topic that had arisen by chance. Sansuyu eagerly awaited this brief period of less than three hours every day, much like students who yearned for the school day to end swiftly.

“Today, I brought this.”

Lee Si-heon sat on the bed, placed a pillow between the gap at his waist, and leaned against the wall as he brought a portable desk over to the bed. What he unveiled was a small laptop.

Having frequently used the internet in the past, Sansuyu quickly took an interest, and Lee Si-heon placed her on his thigh.

“The internet…”

For the first time since arriving in this room, Sansuyu’s eyes sparkled.

With Sansuyu clad in her pajamas, Lee Si-heon gently embraced her belly while maneuvering the mouse. Perched atop him, Sansuyu gazed at the laptop screen in the same manner.

“Since I’m away more often, you should at least have a laptop. Would you like to watch a drama?”

“A drama?”

Upon entering the site with a different name and playing a video, a drama that lasted roughly an hour started to play. It was about Mok Yeong-mok, a wooden lawyer. It’s said that trees themselves perform the jobs of woodworkers in this recent trend.

– Don’t talk about trees specifically.
– Hmm… What if we really need to talk about trees?
– Do you work at an arboretum? There’s no situation where talking about trees is absolutely necessary.

These lines flowed from the drama, but Sansuyu couldn’t immerse herself in them. Nevertheless, she continued watching to pass the time, when she heard snoring coming from behind her.

“Ugh…”

Lee Si-heon, who had been gripping Sansuyu’s soft belly like clay, closed his eyes and was sound asleep. He always seemed to have a frown, but today his face was peaceful as he slept.

Sansuyu stopped watching the drama and examined his face closely. She recognized the familiar scent. She embraced him as if to absorb the smell into her body.

– The human heart is truly difficult.

Like a pet nestled atop its owner.
With the melodious ebb of the drama serving as a lullaby, Cornus closed her eyes in Lee Si-heon’s embrace.

Today, no one was haunted by nightmares.