Living Dangerously with a 999-Year-Old Gumiho – Chapter 27

“Okay, who’s going first?”

Hyun suggested.

“How about we start with Yoonhwa? Today is her day to shine.”

Yoonhwa nodded with a cheerful expression.

“Great! It’s me, then Hyun, Yoonhwa, and Kangtae!”

Yoonhwa paused for a moment, deep in thought, then looked at Hyun and asked, “Hyun! What’s the biggest regret you’ve ever had?”

Hyun seemed to contemplate for a moment.

“Well… I regret not spending more time with my parents.”

“I feel like I’ve been too busy at times and missed out on important moments.”

Yoonhwa nodded slightly, a bit taken aback by Hyun’s serious answer. She hadn’t expected such a deep response from her question.

“Ah… I see. I also regret not being able to spend more time with my family.”

‘Relatable…’

Yoonhwa’s voice trembled slightly, and she had a gaze that seemed to reflect on the past.

Then Hyun turned his attention to the next person, Seojin.

Hyun grinned playfully at Kangtae and said, “Okay, Kangtae, I have a question for you. Tell the truth.”

“What do you think of Yoonhwa?”

Kangtae looked a bit startled, then quickly answered seriously, “Yoonhwa? I think she’s an amazing friend.”

“I was a bit surprised to find out she was a nine-tailed fox at first, but now I’m impressed by her courage and kindness!”

“Plus, seeing her being brave in dangerous moments like today makes her even more awesome!”

Hyun seemed unsatisfied with Kangtae’s answer.

“No, no, no— I mean, instead of that! What do you think about her looks and stuff?”

Kangtae chuckled. “Okay~ one question down.”

Yoonhwa burst into laughter at Kangtae’s response, feeling more relaxed from his playful attitude.

“Kangtae, you’re really a jokester!”

“I’ll have to ask you again later.”

Seojin gave Hyun a playful smile and said, “Hyun, it’s your turn to answer! Tell the truth.”

“What do you think of Yoonhwa?”

“I’m more curious about you than Kangtae!”

“Don’t pull that ‘she’s a great friend’ nonsense—be straight with it!”

Hyun bashfully looked down and said, “Yoonhwa…”

“Honestly… I think you’re really beautiful.”

The living room fell quiet for a moment after his words, and the friends reacted to Hyun’s honest confession.

Seojin giggled, “Wow, I didn’t know Hyun could be so blunt!”

“Yoonhwa, you’ve charmed everyone!!”

Yoonhwa’s face turned red from the compliments of her friends, while Hyun tried to cover his face with his hands after getting hit a couple of times.

“Hey, stop it… I’m too shy…”

Hyun was slightly startled by Yoonhwa’s unexpected attack and absentmindedly rubbed his shoulder.

“Yoonhwa! You’re really strong!”

“Ouch, that hurts…”

Their laughter erupted again at his words.

Then Kangtae continued with the questions.

He looked at Seojin with an intrigued smile. “Seojin, I have a question for you. If you could,”

“Be someone else for a day, who would you want to be?”

Seojin widened her eyes and stared at Kangtae.

“Umm, that’s a tough question…”

“I think I’d want to be Yoonhwa, maybe?”

“Just imagining being able to do magic is so cool!”

Seojin playfully poked at Yoonhwa’s tail.

“And… I could keep touching this fluffy tail all day!”

Yoonhwa chuckled in surprise when Seojin touched her tail.

“Ha ha, really? Is my tail that alluring?”

Kangtae asked with a mischievous grin, “Yoonhwa, can you magically give Seojin ears and a tail?”

Yoonhwa smirked and replied, “You should save that question for your turn!”

Kangtae laughed at Yoonhwa’s reply.

“I didn’t want to waste my chance! If you’re curious, Seojin should ask!”

Yoonhwa, with a playful expression, said, “Okay, now it’s my turn to ask!”

Yoonhwa looked at Kangtae with a teasing smile. “Kangtae, you know it’s a truth game, so you have to answer honestly, right?”

“What do you think of me?”

Kangtae turned red at the sudden question and fumbled for words.

“Uh, Yoonhwa… you, well…”

He struggled to find the right words and glanced around nervously, but ultimately spoke from the heart.

“You’re really an amazing friend. And… so beautiful.”

“One of the best I’ve seen…”

At Kangtae’s words, Hyun and Seojin let out playful cheers, and Yoonhwa’s face turned even redder.

“Kangtae has a crush on Yoonhwa~”

“Hyun! Watch out! You might lose Yoonhwa!”

Everyone, including Kangtae, Hyun, and Yoonhwa, looked taken aback by Seojin’s teasing.

Kangtae blushed even more and waved his hands in denial.

“No, it’s not that… I mean, just as a friend…!”

Hyun quickly interjected, “Hey, Seojin, don’t say that. I mean… it’s just… we’re friends, right?!”

Yoonhwa laughed, trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Ha ha, guys, don’t take it too seriously… Seojin was joking!”

She added while looking at her friends, “Thanks for liking me…”

Hyun pondered for a moment before leaning towards Yoonhwa and asked, “Yoonhwa, do I look delicious?”

Yoonhwa was taken aback by Hyun’s unexpected question, her eyes widening.

“What? Hyun, what do you mean by that?!”

Kangtae and Seojin had shocked expressions due to Hyun’s inquiry.

Hyun grinned playfully and answered, “I was just curious! I heard that to a monster, humans smell delicious…”

“Go ahead, tell me if it’s true!”

Yoonhwa momentarily hid her surprise and shut her mouth, the memory of a special smell from humans she had felt from her friends and even mentioned in conversations with Eunho flashing through her mind.

She smiled and then mischievously replied, “Hmm… actually, all of you smell really delicious…!”

“I wonder if I should eat you guys~”

For a moment, the friends’ faces showed a tense expression before breaking into laughter, realizing it was just a joke.

Seeing their reactions, Yoonhwa decided to tease them even more.

“Ha ha, Yoonhwa, you’re not really planning to eat us, right? That sounds too scary…!”

Kangtae chuckled.

“Hyun, watch out! Yoonhwa might just eat you!”

Seojin leaned closer to Yoonhwa and added, “So Yoonhwa, who would be your first snack? Me or Kangtae?”

Yoonhwa looked at her friends with a playful twinkle in her eyes, laughing.

“It’s just a joke! You all smell nice, but…”

“I would never eat you guys!”

As Yoonhwa continued to joke around, she suddenly placed her hands on her stomach and said, “Oh no, talking about delicious things made me really hungry…”

Her friends nodded, relating to her as they all patted their bellies.

“Yeah, now that I think about it, it’s dinner time,” Seojin proposed while looking around.

“Right, maybe there are some more snacks here? Let’s find out!”

Hyun jumped up and started to rummage around, but it turned out Yoonhwa had already eaten all the snacks.

Hyun paused and laughed. “Oh, Yoonhwa! You really polished everything off! There’s nothing left.”

With a slightly embarrassed expression, Yoonhwa lowered her head.

“I’m sorry, everyone… I guess I ate too much without realizing it.”

“It’s cool, Yoonhwa. Let’s just go to the store and grab some more food together,” Seojin said cheerfully.

“Great, let’s go on an adventure to the store!”

“Who knows, it might be filled with new snacks for Yoonhwa to try for the first time?”

The friends laughed as they left the room. Yoonhwa snapped her fingers, putting her ears and tail away.

Although Yoonhwa was still wearing her adorable fox pajamas, she didn’t care about it at all anymore.

They walked along the hallway to the first floor.

Yoonhwa enjoyed the feeling of her pajama tail brushing against the floor lightly. Seojin occasionally giggled, playfully brushing her tail.

“If you pull too hard, it’s going to hurt, you know~!” Yoonhwa laughed, warning them, but her voice was filled with joy.

The friends quickly descended the stairs.

When they reached the first floor, they headed toward the store.

The warm light from the store welcomed them from outside, and as they entered, various household goods and snacks awaited them.

The innkeeper’s wife, standing behind the counter, beamed at them and greeted them warmly.

“Oh, what brings you here at this hour?”

“Is there anything delicious to eat?” Kangtae asked.

The innkeeper’s wife replied kindly, “Ah, come this way. We have freshly baked pastries and fresh fruit. You’ll love them.”

They followed the innkeeper couple’s guidance inside and looked around.

Yoonhwa was especially drawn to the chocolates and fruits.

“This chocolate… what was it called again? I want to eat this!” Yoonhwa showed her friends a large, shiny chocolate bar she’d picked up.

“Doesn’t it look delicious?”

Kangtae picked up a fresh apple and commented, “This apple looks good too. It’s probably crunchy.”

Seojin picked up a bag of crispy cookies. “How about this cookie? It looks crunchy and sweet~”

Hyun headed toward the fridge and grabbed a few cold drinks. “Since we finished the tea, it would be nice to take home some drinks too.”

After they each picked their favorite snacks, they headed to the checkout counter.

Yoonhwa chose chocolates and jelly,


Kangtae picked fresh apples and oranges,


Seojin grabbed crispy cookies and snacks,


and Hyun selected cold drinks and a little treat for Yoonhwa.

As the friends reached the table, they placed their snacks on top. Just as Yoonhwa laid down her chocolate and jelly,


Hyun’s gaze landed on a framed photo on the table.

The picture featured the innkeeper couple and two young children together, all beaming with bright smiles.

Hyun cautiously asked, “The kids in the picture here… are they your children?”

The husband paused to look at the frame, a hint of sorrow passing over his face, but he quickly forced a smile and replied, “Ah, yes… that was the case. But not long ago…”

“…the two children went missing, and now they’re not with us anymore.”

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.

The friends looked at the innkeeper couple with pity in their eyes.

Hyun felt a mix of astonishment and sadness at the innkeeper’s reply.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that…”

The innkeeper waved his hand dismissively at Hyun’s apology, forcing a smile. “Oh, it’s alright. Many people ask about it.”

They each offered words of consolation to the innkeeper couple in their own way.

“It must be hard for you…”

“If there’s anything we can do to help, please let us know at any time!”

Seojin spoke warmly.

Kangtae added, “I sincerely hope they return safely.”

“I’ll pray for good news…”

The innkeeper couple nodded gratefully at their warm words.

“Anyway, there aren’t many guests at this inn lately.”

“Please just take these snacks with you and enjoy them,” the innkeeper said with a smile.

“Consider it a token of our appreciation for your support.”

“Thank you so much. We hope you can relax during your stay here.”

The friends felt astonished and grateful for the innkeeper couple’s kind offer.

Yoonhwa spoke up first, “Really? Is that allowed…? Thank you so much!..”

Seojin showed gratitude, saying, “I don’t even know how to repay such kindness…”

Hyun added, “Thank you very much.”

The innkeeper couple simply smiled calmly at their thanks.

“Oh, it’s nothing. This is just something we can do.”

The couple responded humbly to Seojin’s appreciation.

But the friends sensed the hidden sadness behind their smiles.

Hyun carefully continued, “I really think coming to this town was a great decision.”

“We’ve met such wonderful people like you.”

However, after hearing the couple’s story about their children, the friends’ hearts felt somewhat uneasy.

The pain and worry hidden behind the couple’s smiles weighed heavily on their minds.

Kangtae tried to lighten the mood, saying, “We’re also thankful to be here. The inn is so cozy, and the innkeeper couple is really nice.”

The friends thanked the innkeeper couple once more and began their way back to their room, carrying their heavy hearts.

As they climbed the stairs, Yoonhwa quietly said, “I hope there’s good news about the kids later…”

Everyone nodded in agreement at her words.

The path back to their room was quieter than before, and the friends sunk into their thoughts.

Once they returned to their room, the friends tried to shake off the heavy atmosphere from before and made an effort to enjoy their time again.

Yoonhwa pulled out the chocolates she received from the innkeeper couple and, with excited eyes, tore open the wrapping.

Showing her tail and ears comfortably, Yoonhwa popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth, closing her eyes to savor its taste.

Then she gasped and shouted, “Wow…!!”

Seojin, Hyun, and Kangtae were drawn in by Yoonhwa’s enthusiasm and tasted the chocolate, satisfaction spreading across their own faces.

“This is really delicious!”

The friends shared the chocolates and rediscovered the joy they had almost forgotten.