Living Dangerously with a 999-Year-Old Gumiho – Chapter 2

Yoonhwa followed Hyun and threw out a few questions.

“Why are you helping me…?”

Hyun seemed flustered by the response.

“I don’t think you really need a reason to help people!”

“If someone needs help…”

“I just think it’s the right thing to do!”

Yoonhwa paused for a moment, contemplating Hyun’s answer. Her eyes sparkled under the moonlight.

“…Then why were you playing the cello?”

That was her next question.

“Actually, I make money by playing the cello.”

“Music is a huge part of my life… I sustain myself with it.”

“Just practicing or something?”

Yoonhwa was genuinely impressed by how hard Hyun worked.

Then she asked her final question.

“Oh, I see… But why are you playing in the forest at such a late hour?”

Hyun smiled and said, “I have to make money during the day, so I practice playing at night!”

“But if I play in the village, it disturbs the people, so I quietly practice here in the forest…”

“Oh, we’re almost there! Want to sit on that bench?”

Yoonhwa followed Hyun and sat on the bench, lost in thought.

‘Is it okay if Hyun knows my true identity…?’

But Yoonhwa didn’t have the confidence to reveal it.

“!!-.. Wow…”

While lost in thought, Yoonhwa absentmindedly stared at the village.

The village looked just like she had imagined.

Countless houses stood tall, and delicious-looking food lined the stores around.

Little humans laughed and played between the shops, while adults exchanged greetings and shared joyful conversations.

“Wow, it’s really amazing…”

Hyun seemed to mishear and asked again.

“Huh? What did you say?”

Yoonhwa jumped in surprise and replied, “Oh… It was nothing!”

Hyun then asked her, “Where’s your house??”

Yoonhwa pondered for a moment.

‘Whoa… I made it to the village…’

“Where do I eat and live…? What should I say to Hyun…?”

‘Hmm… I live alone without my parents…?’

“That might solve everything…’

Yoonhwa prepared her excuse.

“N… My parents actually passed away…”

“So I was living alone in the forest…”

‘Good! I’m sorry for lying…’

“-I pulled off the perfect excuse!’

Hearing this, Hyun went silent for a moment. He then smiled gently and said slowly.

“Actually, my parents also passed away, so I’ve been living alone at home.”

“Living alone in the forest is pretty impressive, right?”

Yoonhwa looked at Hyun in surprise at his sudden confession.

He smiled as if it was no big deal, but there was loneliness hidden behind that smile.

Yoonhwa felt guilty about lying that her parents were dead.

“Huh..! Is that so… Weren’t you lonely…?”

Hyun said casually, “Well… I was really sad at first…”

“But I can’t just be sad all the time, right? I have to live hard…”

“And you’re trying too, right?”

Yoonhwa smiled and said, “Yeah… It’s good to hear you’re doing your best!”

“…But you said we’re the same age, right?”

Yoonhwa chuckled and put her hand on Hyun’s head.

“But you’re shorter than me, huh?”

Hyun’s face turned slightly red as he answered.

“U… It’s genetics! …You’re pretty tall…”

Yoonhwa laughed and said, “Yeah, yeah~…”

Yoonhwa wanted to quickly change the subject about age.

She worried about how Hyun would react if he found out her real age, whether he’d understand.

Hyun asked Yoonhwa with concern, “By the way, you said your house is in the forest?”

“Do we have to go back?”

Yoonhwa thought it over.

‘What should I do now…’

Then, a good idea popped into her head.

“Hey, Hyun! You said you live alone at home?!”

Hyun was startled by Yoonhwa’s sudden rising energy.

“…Huh? Huh…!”

Yoonhwa said, “Then let’s live together for a while!”

Hyun was taken aback.

“…? Huh…?”

Hyun blushed even deeper as he asked again.

“Live together…? With me?”

“…You mean, cohabit…??..”

Yoonhwa knew this suggestion was absurd and out of the blue.

‘If he says no, then it’s whatever…’

“I’ll have to find another place to sleep.”

“Don’t want to…?”

Yoonhwa looked at Hyun with a peculiar expression, mixing cuteness and pity.

Hyun couldn’t understand why he was sharing his thoughts with someone like her.

He was completely ordinary, and he lacked any charm.

But Hyun was incredibly lonely.

With no parents and only two friends he’d made in this village.

He was no longer sure he could keep living alone.

In a flustered voice, he asked, “Are you… okay with this?”

“Cohabitating with someone you just met today…?”

Yoonhwa answered cheerfully, “As long as you’re okay with it~?”

Hyun couldn’t reject Yoonhwa’s offer.

While loneliness was one reason, there was also a decisive factor—

Yoonhwa was genuinely beautiful.

With her cute, playful proposal…

It felt like he couldn’t refuse.

After a moment of thought, Hyun smiled and replied.

“Yeah!”-

Yoonhwa beamed excitedly.

“Okay! So we’re cohabitating…? That’s what it is!”

Yoonhwa began to think about how they would live from now on.

‘When morning comes, I’ll eat a delicious meal…’

‘And then I’ll ask Hyun to teach me music!’

“Let’s hurry! Let’s go!–”

Yoonhwa urged with a rushed tone as she grabbed Hyun.

“Where to..?”

Hyun asked.

“You! Home!”

With that, Yoonhwa followed Hyun to the place where they’d now live together.

Beyond the store, there was a small house.

As she entered the house, Yoonhwa felt a sense of comfort as if she had stepped into her previous hut.

“This is… my home!”

“…Haha… It’s smaller and shabbier than I imagined… Sorry…”

Yoonhwa’s eyes widened as she exclaimed.

“N… It’s too….”

“It’s amazing?!”

Yoonhwa’s eyes were genuinely filled with awe.

Yoonhwa had endured the cold and heat while living in a deserted hut in the forest.

It had been about 300 years since she lived in a proper house.

Hyun asked in shock, “You really find it amazing?”

Yoonhwa replied with a big smile, “Yeah, it really is… Thank you!”

“Shall we sleep now…?”

Yoonhwa said with a tired voice.

Hyun’s face turned a bit red, but quickly returned to its original color.

He then smiled at Yoonhwa and said,

“Right now, there’s only one blanket available…!!”

“I’ll get one quickly!”

Hyun said in a frantic voice.

“It’s okay! I don’t really get cold…”

Before Yoonhwa could finish, Hyun dashed out of the house.

Taking this chance, Yoonhwa began to explore the house.

“This picture frame has… three humans in it…”

Yoonhwa was looking at a family photo in a frame.

“In the center, that little kid looks like Hyun…”

“The two adults on either side must be his parents?”

Next to the frame was a small piggy bank.

“Hmm… Is this ceramic?”

Yoonhwa picked up the piggy bank.

But it couldn’t withstand her grip and shattered.

“Huh..! Control your strength…”

“Wow, I’m weaker than I thought…!”

Coins spilled everywhere from the now-broken piggy bank.

“Well, it can’t be helped… There’s nobody around…!”

To solve the incident that just happened, Yoonhwa decided to use her magic.

Yoonhwa shook her pink hair, closed her eyes, and focused. A faint light began to rise from the pieces of the piggy bank, and a gentle glow started to envelop her body.

With Yoonhwa’s magic, she restored the piggy bank, coaxing the coins back inside one by one.

As if time were reversing, the piggy bank returned to its original state, and the coins gradually found their way back inside.

“Haha… I’m glad I could fix this before Hyun got back.”

Just then, a knock on the door was heard.

Hyun’s voice came from beyond the door.

“Yoonhwa, are you in there?”

Yoonhwa responded cheerfully, “Hyun! You’re back! Come in!”

Hyun replied with an awkward voice, “Can you open the door? I don’t have hands right now…”

Yoonhwa moved closer to the door.

“Oh, just a second!”

Just as she was about to turn the doorknob, Yoonhwa felt strange, sharp breathing coming from the other side.

“This is… the breathing of a tiger…?”

At that moment, something spoke in Hyun’s voice.

“Could you hurry up and open the door?”

Yoonhwa instinctively knew that it wasn’t Hyun.

Without replying, Yoonhwa stood with her fists clenched, listening to the voice at the door.

‘This guy… is he a monster…?’

“Again…?”

From beyond the door, something spoke awkwardly in a desperate voice.

“Yoonhwa, open the door, please.”

“It’s a bit heavy for me…”

“Yoonhwa?”

Yoonhwa contemplated.

‘If I don’t open the door…’

“This monster won’t get into the house…’

‘But… if Hyun comes back, he might get hurt…?”

“I need to deal with this quickly before Hyun arrives!’

Yoonhwa steadied her resolve and gently crack the door open.

“Yoonhwa, surprised?”

“Uhaha… ha…!”

In the space between the door, there was a monster with a scary face, covered in silky white fur, peering at Yoonhwa with big eyes, laughing in a twisted way.

It shoved its furry arm through the gap and pushed the door open.

‘Is this one also after my Fox Orb…?’

The monster charged towards Yoonhwa as the door swung open.

“Pathetic fox, hand over the Fox Orb willingly! Hahaha!!”

Upon hearing this, annoyance surged through Yoonhwa.

“Ugh… Don’t say that with Hyun’s voice!…”

“Ugh… I’m so tired of monsters….”

Even during her time in the forest, Yoonhwa encountered monsters trying to get her Fox Orb about two or three times a week.

Each time, Yoonhwa easily dealt with them using the strong powers and stamina of a nine-tailed fox.

‘This place is too ambiguous…’

‘It’s Hyun’s house after all!’

‘One blow… just one blow to finish this!’

Yoonhwa revealed her nine tails.

Fox ears sprouted from her head, and her teeth sharpened.

‘If Hyun saw me like this…’

“Ugh… That’s terrifying. I don’t even want to think about it…’

The Jangsanbeom lunged in a furious attack.

“To be contemplating other matters in front of me!”

“What a foolish monster you are!”

“Die, pathetic fox!”

The Jangsanbeom swung its fur-covered arm at Yoonhwa with rage.

She caught its arm and said, “…You won’t want to clean up the body, so come back later.”

Yoonhwa wanted to kill it right then and there, but since she felt that Hyun would arrive any moment,

– She needed to settle this as soon as possible.

Gripping the Jangsanbeom’s arm tightly, she forcefully hurled it aside.

Fragments of blood splattered against the wall.

Perhaps because of the immense strength, her arm ached as if it might come off right there.

“Aaaaargh! You damn fox!”

The monster had no choice but to retreat through the door it came from.

Yoonhwa glared at the Jangsanbeom and said, “Didn’t I tell you not to use that voice?!-”

The monster, with Hyun’s voice, clutched its arm and swiftly dashed into the forest.

…No, it might be more accurate to say it fled.

Yoonhwa breathed a sigh of relief as she thought, ‘Hopefully Hyun hasn’t shown up yet…’

‘But what about the house…’

Yoonhwa decided to use her magic again.

She sat in front of Hyun’s house and closed her eyes while gesturing.

Yoonhwa’s hair began to flutter rapidly.

Gentle light slowly emerged from the tips of her fingers.

With a single word from Yoonhwa, the surroundings began to glow brightly.

At that moment, someone touched Yoonhwa’s tail.