Living Dangerously with a 999-Year-Old Gumiho – Chapter 26

Yoonhwa prepared the contract.

In the contract, Yoonhwa wrote with a formal tone.

[Eunho will no longer harm Yoonhwa and my friends.]

[Eunho will help the townspeople to make amends for past wrongs and take positive actions.]

[If Eunho breaks this contract, I will kill him.]

Eunho’s eyes widened as he read the contents of the contract written by Yoonhwa.

After reading the last clause, he looked particularly flustered.

“Th-this is a bit… too harsh, isn’t it?”

“W-wait, are you saying if I break the contract, you’ll kill me?!”

Eunho expressed his dissatisfaction with the last clause written by Yoonhwa.

“This is too much…!”

“Yoonhwa… if I make even the slightest mistake, you’ll kill me…”

Yoonhwa calmly yet firmly responded to Eunho’s complaints.

“Too much? Think about what you did to us.”

“This is just reaping what you sowed.”

“All these clauses are easy to follow, right?”

Eunho hesitated for a moment at Yoonhwa’s cold and strong reaction.

Her gaze was filled with a determination that would not tolerate any more lies or betrayals.

“If you pull such a stunt again, I won’t forgive you then…!”

Eunho took a deep breath at Yoonhwa’s words.

In the face of her strong will and resolute attitude, he sighed as if there was no way out.

“Ah… I get it… I’m sorry…”

Eunho read the contract a few more times and voiced his dissatisfaction again.

“What about this… helping the townspeople?”

“Why should I help humans?”

“Surely, killing them isn’t off the table, right?”

Yoonhwa firmly answered Eunho’s question.

“Have you been going around killing people?!”

“That’s absolutely not allowed.”

Eunho’s expression darkened with a sense of great loss.

“Are you saying… I can’t eat humans anymore?”

His voice was layered with disbelief and deep disappointment.

Eunho approached Yoonhwa, adopting a challenging demeanor towards her decision.

“You know well…”

“Do you really think you can just give that up?!”

There was a clear intention in his words to tempt Yoonhwa.

“Humans are the perfect prey.”

“You know I can’t resist that scent when I’m around them.”

Yoonhwa was deeply shocked by Eunho’s words.

Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open.

“You… ate humans?!”

Her voice trembled in disbelief, and she looked at Eunho with a gaze of contempt.

“I… I could never have imagined that.”

“How… how could you do such a thing?!”

The friends were equally shocked by Eunho’s words. Seojin couldn’t hide her contempt as she looked at Eunho.

“You’re really… horrible, Eunho.”

Kangtae expressed his discomfort as he spoke.

“This is absolutely unacceptable…”

“We cannot accept something like that.”

Hyun spoke with a voice mixed with anger and disappointment.

“You’re different. Yoonhwa would never eat humans.”

Yoonhwa looked at her hands, feeling a fear that perhaps harming humans could be a youkai’s instinct.

‘… It’s better not to say anything.’

But Yoonhwa soon steadied herself and spoke firmly to Eunho.

“All those actions are forbidden…!”

Eunho was momentarily speechless at Yoonhwa’s words.

He realized how much shock his actions had caused Yoonhwa and her friends.

“Uh… was that a bit shocking?”

Eunho acknowledged the impact his words had on Yoonhwa and the others, awkwardly laughing as he apologized.

“I’m sorry~. Looks like I made things more awkward.”

Yoonhwa looked at Eunho seriously and said.

“We all need to try to understand each other.”

“Please try to understand our position as well.”

Seojin spoke to Eunho.

“You understand everything now, right?”

“Let’s wrap up this contract.”

Eunho gathered his thoughts at the friends’ words.

He pricked his finger on the contract, letting blood fall.

His dark blood dripped onto the contract, signaling the completion of the soul contract.

“Got it. I’ll keep this contract. This will be a new beginning.”

Yoonhwa also pricked her finger in turn, letting her blood fall onto the contract.

Her face shone with resolute determination.

“I hope you reflect on your wrongs through this contract…!”

Eunho’s and Yoonhwa’s wounds healed shortly thereafter.

Eunho cautiously looked at Yoonhwa and made a request.

“Yoonhwa… um, could you please turn off that magic light?”

“I can’t disappear in this light.”

Hearing Eunho’s request, Yoonhwa made a contemplative expression for a moment before nodding as if she understood.

“Uh… now behave yourself!”

Yoonhwa gently waved her hand, making the magic light gradually fade away.

As darkness enveloped the living room once more, Eunho’s figure also grew faint.

Just before he disappeared, Eunho carefully waved at his friends.

“I hope to see you all again in a better relationship next time.”

The friends accepted Eunho’s last greeting amidst the darkness, watching him fade away.

“That was quite the incident…”

“I’m glad we found the orb safely.”

Seojin softly said in the darkness.

She stood up to change the mood.

The friends let out a sigh of relief as they looked at each other in the dark living room.

Yoonhwa was momentarily lost in thought from the lingering sentiment of her last goodbye with Eunho, while Hyun and Kangtae looked relieved that the situation had come to a close.

Seojin beamed, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

“Hey, let’s stop with the gloomy talk and share some happier stories~”

“This journey is going to be a great memory!”

She pointed at the tea and some snacks prepared on one side of the living room, inviting her friends over.

“Here’s some tea and snacks. Let’s take a break and share some stories.”

“About what happened today and what we plan for the future.”

The friends nodded at Seojin’s proposal and each poured themselves a cup of tea.

Yoonhwa smiled gratefully at Seojin’s thoughtfulness while sitting next to her with some snacks.

Seojin sipped her tea while looking at Yoonhwa. One of the living room lights was broken, casting a slightly dim atmosphere. She cautiously asked Yoonhwa.

“Yoonhwa, it’s such a mess here…”

“Could you fix the light with your magic?”

Yoonhwa hesitated for a moment at Seojin’s request before nodding.

“Um… of course, just wait a moment!”

She placed the jelly she was eating on the table and waved her hand lightly toward the broken light.

In an instant, a warm light radiated again from the light, binding the fragments together to brighten the living room.

“Wow, that’s amazing, Yoonhwa!”

Hyun and Kangtae applauded in admiration of Yoonhwa’s magic.

With a gummy bear-shaped jelly still in her mouth, Yoonhwa tentatively asked her friends.

“You guys… don’t find me scary even after hearing about my past…?”

Seojin looked into Yoonhwa’s eyes, held her hand gently, and spoke softly.

“Yoonhwa, to be honest, I was a little surprised at first.”

“But as time passed… I could tell you’re not that kind of youkai.”

Hyun added in agreement.

“Yeah, I feel the same way.”

“No matter what your past was, you’re truly a precious friend to us now, right?”

“It wasn’t something Yoonhwa ever wanted.”

Kangtae smiled and added.

“Yoonhwa, everyone makes mistakes in their past. What matters is learning from those mistakes and how you grow.”

“We know you’re a good person at heart.”

Seojin playfully addressed Kangtae to lighten the mood.

“Kangtae, did you forget? Yoonhwa is not a human, you dimwit!”

Seojin pointed at Yoonhwa’s ears and tail.

“She has a tail and ears, yet you call her human~”

Kangtae looked momentarily flustered but soon smiled brightly as he responded.

“Oh! I knew that! It was a slip of the tongue!”

Yoonhwa chuckled at Kangtae’s flustered expression.

“Kangtae, you seem like you should be quiet, but you’re cute when it comes to jokes. Haha!”

Kangtae’s face turned red as he awkwardly laughed.

“Ah, Yoonhwa… don’t tease me too much. I’m trying to get used to this..!”

Their laughter filled the living room, and the tension from earlier disappeared.

The friends enjoyed their time together, feeling the warmth of their friendship surrounding them.

Hyun brightened the mood further, holding out a cup of tea towards Yoonhwa.

“Yoonhwa, try some tea. This tea is really good.”

Yoonhwa smiled as she accepted the cup of tea Hyun offered.

“Thanks, Hyun! I really needed some sweet tea.”

She brought the cup to her lips and took a deep sip.

Then she exclaimed in delight.

“This is really good! It tastes similar to the tea I had before…!”

While the friends were sipping tea, they shared fun stories.

As time passed, the atmosphere in the living room grew cozier.

The warmth from the tea and snacks brought the friends even closer.

As the conversation and laughter began to settle down, Seojin suddenly spoke up.

“I think it’s getting a bit dull now. Should we do something fun?”

Yoonhwa showed interest in Seojin’s suggestion, nodding her head.

“Oh! How about that card game we played earlier??!”

Kangtae responded, looking flustered.

“I didn’t bring any cards…?”

Seojin shouted with a grin.

“How about a truth game!”

Yoonhwa looked puzzled.

“A truth game…? What’s that?”

Seojin began to explain the truth game to Yoonhwa.

“It’s a game where we take turns asking each other questions!”

“The person being asked must answer truthfully.”

“You can’t lie.”

“The fun of the game is in that honesty.”

Yoonhwa’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she asked.

“How can we tell if someone lied or not?”

Seojin smiled and answered Yoonhwa’s question.

“Whether you lied or not depends on your conscience.”

“So we trust each other and play the game.”

Yoonhwa laughed as if she just had a good idea.

“How about we make a soul vow?!”

“If we lie, we get caught immediately!”

Her suggestion took the friends by surprise as they looked at each other.

“A soul vow… doesn’t that require blood?” Hyun cautiously asked.

Yoonhwa nodded brightly.

“Yes, indeed! We can smear a little blood so if someone lies, it’ll be revealed right away!”

Kangtae shook his head at Yoonhwa’s answer.

“Ugh, I don’t want to be hurt. Plus, a soul vow sounds a bit scary…”

Seojin smiled to ease the situation.

“I don’t think we need to go that far. Let’s just trust each other~”

Seeing her friends’ reactions made Yoonhwa blush slightly as she laughed.

“Okay, then let’s just play the truth game without the soul vow. Seems like that was too much.”

With a playful expression, Yoonhwa asked.

“Does this game have penalties?”

Kangtae tilted his head and proposed.

“As for penalties… how about a slap on the wrist if you lie?”

Seojin explained.

“A slap on the wrist is lightly tapping your forehead with your fingers.”

“It’s just a playful thing.”

Yoonhwa’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Aha, I see! That sounds fun!”

Hyun looked at Yoonhwa with a slightly bewildered expression.

“Yoonhwa, a slap on the wrist…”

“Should we maybe do this the same way as us?”

Kangtae chimed in, laughing at Hyun’s comment.

“Originally, I was the strongest among us when it came to slaps, but I feel like Yoonhwa would be a bit scary…”

“Yoonhwa, if you hit too hard, it could really get dangerous?!”

Yoonhwa pondered for a moment at that comment and nodded with a smile.

“Alright~ I’ll control my strength!”

Seojin suddenly seemed to have a great idea.

“How about Yoonhwa takes off her Fox Orb before hitting?!”

“Without the orb, maybe her strength could be like a human’s, right?!”

Yoonhwa’s eyes widened in surprise as she exclaimed.

“Oh! That’s a great idea!”

“Then I’ll just hit hard without adjusting my strength!!”

The friends paused for a moment at Yoonhwa’s words before bursting into laughter together.

Hyun smiled as he said.

“I’m not going to tell any lies!”

“Well, it shouldn’t matter!”