Chapter 632 – The Chaotic Lovers’ Market (10)

Could it be due to an overwhelming joy?
Upon awakening from a tumultuous dream, an approaching figure neared and stood humbled before Azalea’s gaze.

“Who is…”

As she fought off her drowsiness and rose, she saw a blonde woman seated, sliding down against the wall.
It was Cornus.
Cornus, with her strikingly innocent eyes, clasped her hands together, covering her nose and mouth, releasing and inhaling breaths in a rhythm.

“What are you doing?”
“?”

As their eyes met, Cornus slightly tilted her head.
Upon realizing Azalea was the one inquiring, she responded with a hint of sullenness.

“Ruminating.”

Ruminating? On what…?
She blew warm breath into her cupped hands as if to warm them in the midst of a harsh winter.
Azalea failed to comprehend Cornus’s actions.

Meanwhile…

“You… survived.”
“Yes.”

This might be their first time alone together.
They were classmates at the same academy, acquaintances who had their share of conversations but could not exactly be called close friends.

Azalea, rubbing her sleepy eyes, settled across from Cornus, who was leaning against the wall.

“I didn’t expect to see you again like this. Leaving aside the fact that you’re a hunter… Heh.”

Loving the same man… A rival? A friend?
Truth be told, she found it difficult to bear in the past.

Just seeing them together sparked jealousy, and if asked whether she found Cornus as captivating, she would struggle to respond.
Back then, Azalea wasn’t as mature.
Facing her own insecurities time and again, she felt her confidence waning, as if losing her love would lead to catastrophe.

Azalea, with a faint smile, asked Cornus.

“So, how did you come across Si-heon?”
“…”

In a youthful, teasing tone.
Cornus didn’t respond to Azalea’s question for a considerable time.

Then Cornus, taking her hand away from her lips and swallowing once, replied.

“We met during training.”
“Training? Ah, that place Si-heon used to frequent.”
“Yes. He saw my swordsmanship just once and emulated it. I still can’t fathom how he managed… So, I asked him. Then, Si-heon suddenly proposed we become friends.”
“I see.”
“And you, Pinky?”
“…What’s Pinky?”

Pink hair is typically attributed to… women of the night.
Unlike the past when she used the term naively, she was now aware of its implications. She was even active in the community on occasion.
Was it malicious to use the term despite knowing its connotation?
Cornus, having reconsidered, inquired.

“…Well, it’s nothing special. What about you, Azalea?”
“Me? Well.”

Azalea’s first encounter with him was during the entrance examination.
Si-heon, who was starkly different from his present self.

Even now, he was quite short, almost 30 cm shorter, and he had a certain bulkiness to him that couldn’t be described as appealing in the nicest terms.

A face that could make one think that it wouldn’t be this dreadful even if all the unpleasant aspects of his features were removed.

“Despite the odds, he approached me with such confidence. At that time… I responded coldly, feeling overwhelmed.”

It was strikingly similar.
Both of them were directly approached by Lee Si-heon.

The process of becoming friends. The reasons for their love.

Azalea and Cornus shared all their stories, including their school days.
In greater detail than their earlier conversation at the gathering, which barely scratched the surface.
After a lengthy exchange, they discovered they shared many similarities.

“Si-heon is truly wonderful~ Hehe.”

Cornus listened to her story, observing Azalea’s delighted face as she resonated with her tale.

“…….”
“Hm? Why are you looking at me so intently?”

Typically, hearing about your beloved linked to another woman would elicit at least a twinge of jealousy.
Yet, intriguingly, there was not a trace of such emotion in Azalea’s eyes.

‘How fascinating.’

Cornus had the ability to read human emotions.
Not literally like magic, but she was adept at discerning someone and understanding their depth.

Being the eldest daughter of the Cornus family, she had honed this ability since her kindergarten days.
During her academy days, Azalea had been so ordinary that she hadn’t even sparked Cornus’s interest.

Azalea had changed significantly since then.
She had known this truth for some time, but it appeared more evident now.

“Even when I lost my feelings. Unable to listen to him, he continued to converse with me and took care of me.”

Feeling a twinge of envy for some reason, Cornus continued her story with a hint of pride.

“Right! He’s incredibly considerate!”

The response was pure praise.

“After I woke up, he would always hold me.”
“Warm embrace, isn’t it? So reassuring.”
“…We had a lot of sex too.”
“Oh, that’s a bit embarrassing… … I can relate. Hehe.”

A warmth and compassion that you’d expect from a saint seemed to radiate from her.

Cornus looked at Azalea with a slightly puzzled expression.
To the point where her own jealousy seemed meaningless.

“…Don’t you ever feel jealousy, Azalea?”

Azalea momentarily stiffened her smile, then shrugged her shoulders.

“I tried. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.”

He is a good person.
Someone she found likable.

Unlike the past when she was devoid of emotions, Cornus could now acknowledge this.

“If you harbor feelings like jealousy. It will only bother Si-heon.”
“…….”

Azalea, hugging her knees, slowly moved closer and sat beside Cornus.
As the distance closed a bit more, Azalea’s hand gently overlapped with Cornus’s.

“That’s why Se-Young prepared this setting.”
“Yes.”
“We should become closer too.”
“Because of Si-heon?”

That was part of it.

“You’re a good person too.”

It wasn’t for nothing that she was named after a flower that symbolizes spring.
A radiant and refreshing smile spread across Azalea’s face, causing Cornus’s soft cheeks to slacken.

“How can you be so sure?”
“…Instinct?”

It was a statement that left a ticklish sensation.

Cornus, who was solely fixated on monopolizing Si-heon, found herself slightly disoriented and avoided Azalea’s gaze.

The touch of a mother’s hand is said to be remarkably warm. The hand of Cornus, cradled by Shiba’s mother, Azalea, began to gradually heat up.

‘…….’

Suddenly, she was reminded of her lost mother.

Outside, a desolate roar echoed, a lament from the losing end of a game of rock-paper-scissors.

-Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

* * * * * * * * * * *

“…Sisters, haam. Are you still imbibing?”

Azalea, who entered the living room yawning, rubbed her bleary eyes and scanned the surroundings.

Hong-Yeon, sprawled on the floor, clung to a bottle of alcohol in her slumber. Aori was cozied up next to Hong-Yeon, her hand absently caressing her thigh.

“And what was that horrendous noise just now?”
“…….”

When Se-Young motioned towards the back of the room with her thumb, Azalea’s gaze followed.

Huddled next to the sofa, her arms propped on her knees, a crestfallen Shiba was rolling about like a helpless insect, sobbing as though the world were collapsing around her.

“Ngayingzhi Ipjiri.”
“…?”

Was that coherent speech?

“Nadutsikhnibugusifdi.”
“Eh, sister?”

Upon closer inspection, she appeared to be more like a writhing rat than an insect. An insect that would snap its own spine and perish if forced to speak.

As soon as the rolling Shiba spotted Azalea, she squirmed on the floor.

“Heukheuk, Azalea… is it really you?”
“What’s wrong, sister? What happened?”
“Huuong, Azalea!!!”

Like a satellite launched into orbit, a distraught Shiba lunged into Azalea’s embrace.

“Nadu, hic, Si-heon, huhgeuk, I wished to see… but lost at rock-paper-scissors.”

Shiba was known for her dramatic outbursts, but today they seemed particularly excessive. It was clear that her intoxication had amplified her usual antics tenfold.

“Ah, sister… there will be other opportunities.”
“Heung heung heh, there won’t be a next time… I wanted to monopolize the remaining time… I tried so hard, but I lost.”

Confused by her seemingly incoherent ramblings, Azalea glanced at Se-Young, who heaved a sigh and explained.

“It’s getting late, so we agreed to accommodate all four at once.”
“Ah… so she lost at that?”
“Yes. Only Shiba. But it’s not over yet.”

Understanding dawned on Azalea.

Azalea gently stroked Shiba’s hair, attempting to comfort her as much as possible.

“Since you couldn’t see Si-heon now, he will probably come to see you later.”
“Sobbing. Do you think so?”
“Also, sister. This is the consequence of your own actions.”

It’s not about giving a disease only to provide the cure. It’s about providing the cure and then the disease.

At Azalea’s brutally logical reproach, Shiba broke into a fresh bout of tears, burying her nose in Azalea’s chest.

The past three years of anticipation must have been as intense for Shiba as it was for Azalea, even though she was the last one to realize it.

What can be done when luck is absent?

Wiki, who’d been dutifully observing the stars, snorted dismissively.

“Pathetic.”

“Ha! What, what did you say!”

“Isn’t it possible to lose sometimes? It’s not as if my father loved me any less.”

Byul, already shrinking, wilted even further under the scathing critique of a three-year-old. A clear liquid welled in her bright yellow eyes, and as she bit her lip, tears began to fall.

She couldn’t rebuke the child. Struck by harsh reality, tears were inevitable.

“Heuh, heuk. Kkuuuk.”

Crying, she knew, was unattractive, but it was hard to suppress the tears, especially when intoxicated. When Alba surreptitiously glanced at Wiki, Wiki, feeling awkward, averted her gaze.

“Wiki.”

“Eh, I apologize.”

Daddy’s lover, so to speak, seemed a bit uncouth. Her jealousy was rather severe.

Alba, judging that Wiki had overstepped this time, had an icy look in her eyes.

“Sister, stop.”

Shhhhh.

Kneeling, Byul was burning out, fading to white. Hanbyeol. Retirement. Dallae sighed and held Byul tight.

Wiki’s slightly oversensitive comment was quieted by Alba’s swift intervention, and the situation returned to the final decision phase.

“Then, shall we proceed?”

“Yes.”

Se-Young and Alba exchanged words.

The power to stop time. And Alba, who grasped it. Now that it had come to this, all that was left was a battle of wits.

The odds were higher for Alba, who was prepared. Whether she fully understood Se-Young’s strategy was uncertain, but Alba’s magic was so profound and unique that it was impossible to fully understand.

“Uh, then let’s begin.”

It seemed to be bedtime, as Aori raised her mechanical arm for the last time.

Rock, paper, scissors.

The final showdown.

In front of the sulking Byul and Dallae, a monumental battle unfolded to signal the end of this gathering.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Lee Si-heon had a premonition.

“Ah.”

He was going to die like this.

A life nearly depleted of vitality, only just regained. Even though he had regained consciousness, movement was a struggle. He had endured more than ten climaxes.

As the air became tense, the sky turned yellow and a heavy breath filled the room.

How many more would he have to face in the future? Just considering the number of women he knew triggered a sense of faintness in his mind.

There was too much karma to simply refuse.

Wouldn’t the women who would come in the future have the same intention? If so, wouldn’t it be better to just lower his pants… No, that’s not right.

With Marronnier’s assistance, Lee Si-heon managed to dress and tidy himself up. He then sank against the bed, awaiting his end.

– Clatter

After Marronnier’s departure, the sound of a door opening.

‘It’s coming.’

His eyes clamped shut, Lee Si-heon prepared himself.

– Tap, tap, tap.

The opening door and the approaching footsteps sounded oddly light.

Who was this, padding softly towards him? Upon slightly lifting his eyelids, Si-heon caught sight of a charming little bear cub with arms spread wide, making its way toward him.

“Wiki…?”

“Daddy!”

She came bounding in!

“Oh! Wiki, you’re here too.”

“Hehe… I missed you… Is that bad?”

Not at all.

In fact, it was rather pleasant.

He couldn’t grasp what was unfolding, but it seemed the next round of rock-paper-scissors had been won by Wiki.

‘Did she let me win? Or, was there something else?’

Lee Si-heon, utterly oblivious to the situation beyond his room, was brimming with questions.

“…Daddy, let’s sleep together tonight.”

“Huh? Can we?”

“Of course… Mommy gave her permission.”

Nestled against his chest, Wiki buried her face into it, her brows furrowing slightly.

“…Someone else’s scent.”

“Do I smell?”

“No!”

Exaggerating, she outstretched her arms and rubbed against him, akin to a small animal marking its territory on its owner.

Of course, it was a classic display of Wiki’s affectionate side, one that Si-heon accepted with good humor. He tightly embraced Wiki and settled onto the bed.

“Hehe.”

A silent thank you for saving him.

From the bottom of his heart, he expressed his gratitude to his little bear cub.