Living Dangerously with a 999-Year-Old Gumiho – Chapter 39

Seojin was escorted by the innkeeper couple, carrying medical supplies as she climbed the stairs.

Her steps were cautious, but her heart felt light at the thought of returning to help her friends.

As she ascended, she pondered how to treat Hyun’s injury.

Arriving in front of the room, Seojin took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.

With a slightly tense touch, she pressed the button, curious about her friends’ reactions.

At the sound of the doorbell, she heard faint movements from inside the room, followed by the door opening.

When the door swung open, Yoonhwa and the rest of her friends welcomed Seojin.

Their faces mixed concern with happiness at seeing her.

Seojin showed them the antiseptics and bandages, saying, “Hyun, come over here!”

The friends seemed relieved at the sight of the medical supplies Seojin had brought.

Hyun approached her, looking somewhat nervous, and sat down on the floor.

Choco showed great interest in Hyun’s wound until Kangtae directed him elsewhere.

Kangtae led Choco in another direction and said, “Choco, let’s play over here. Hyun’s hurt, so just hang on a little, okay?”

Choco reluctantly shifted his attention elsewhere.

Seojin carefully disinfected Hyun’s wound and began wrapping the bandage around it.

Holding the antiseptic carefully, she warned him in advance, “It might sting a bit, so hang in there!”

The moment the antiseptic touched Hyun’s hand, he grimaced and let out a small groan.

“Ouch! That hurts!!”

At his whining, Seojin rolled her eyes and retorted, “Come on, hold it together! Boys shouldn’t complain about stuff like this!”

Yoonhwa, even while eating, noticed this scene.

She found Hyun’s expressions amusing, but at the same time, she was worried.

“Hyun, are you okay? Seojin, be a little more careful!”

As Seojin wrapped the bandage around Hyun’s wound, she replied, “Come on… Just hold still! He’s just being dramatic.”

Hyun bit his lip in an effort to endure, barely managing to say, “Ouch… it really hurts, you know?!”

“It’s not dramatic!”

Despite Hyun’s antics, Seojin skillfully finished wrapping the bandage.

“All done! Just be careful, and don’t let it get worse!”

Hyun gently moved his bandaged hand, expressing gratitude towards Seojin.

“Um… thanks a lot. Really!”

Yoonhwa smiled warmly at the two, seeing their interaction.

“Seojin is our team’s doctor!”

Once the treatment for Hyun was done, Kangtae allowed Choco to go, and Choco quickly ran over to Hyun.

Choco took an interest in Hyun’s bandaged hand and started to lick it carefully.

Hyun felt Choco’s warm tongue lightly brush against his hand and couldn’t help but smile.

“Whoa, Choco, don’t do that~”

Even though Hyun sounded a bit flustered, laughter mixed into his voice.

Choco seemed to understand Hyun’s words and stopped licking, wandering around him instead.

With warm puppy eyes directed at Hyun, he felt the little friend’s concern.

Noticing that Yoonhwa had finished eating, Hyun read something still seemed off in her expression.

He smiled and handed her his lunchbox, saying, “Yoonhwa, aren’t you still hungry?”

“Eat my lunch too~ I usually don’t eat breakfast.”

Yoonhwa paused, surprised by the sudden offer, but felt her heart melt at Hyun’s warm gesture and smiled.

“Really?! Thank you, Hyun! But you should eat enough too!”

“Let’s share it together!!”

With the shared lunchboxes in front of them, Yoonhwa and Hyun exchanged smiles.

Seojin and Kangtae chuckled at this warm scene.

The four friends began to sit together, sharing their lunch.

Offering their favorite side dishes to each other, they continued their breakfast in a joyful atmosphere.

Choco watched all this from below, swiftly catching the snack bits thrown by his friends.

He happily chewed a little treat tossed by Kangtae, wagging his tail in delight.

“Choco is eating with us, right?” Seojin said with a smile.

As everyone enjoyed their happy time, the room filled with laughter and chatter.

A moment of early morning was filled with warm meals and precious memories shared with friends.

Yoonhwa, with a mouthful of food, turned to Seojin and asked, “Seojin… what are you going to do about your tail?”

“It should disappear around 8 o’clock today…”

Her voice was tinged with worry.

Seojin turned to look at her tail, contemplating for a moment.

“Hmm… how should I handle it?”

“Can’t we hide it with magic…?”

Yoonhwa fell into thought at Seojin’s suggestion.

“We could cover it with magic, but…”

“If I lose my focus…”

“And if I get startled, the magic could wear off.”

Her voice was filled with uncertainty.

Hyun, understanding Yoonhwa’s concerns, suggested, “Then how about we head home quickly today?”

Kangtae agreed with Hyun’s proposal, saying, “That sounds good, Hyun.”

“Let’s go home early and take it easy.”

Seojin smiled gratefully at her friends’ thoughtfulness. “Thank you so much, Yoonhwa. Will you be okay?”

Yoonhwa replied with a warm smile, “Don’t worry!”

“I’ll make sure to protect your tail~”

The friends began tidying up the room as they prepared to leave.

Kangtae gathered the empty lunch boxes and started washing.

Heading to the kitchen, he turned on the cold water at the sink and meticulously cleaned each item with a sponge and soap.

His movements were systematic and thorough, making each container shine.

After washing, he rinsed them with clean water and set them on a drying rack.

Seojin organized the living room and dining table, handing the used dishes and cups to Kangtae.

She brushed the table while swaying her tail and gathered the scattered snack bags to throw into the trash.

Hyun tidied the bed sheets and arranged the pillows to make the room look neat.

He also picked up small trash from the floor to keep it clean.

Yoonhwa helped by taking out snacks and picking up small items scattered everywhere.

Finally, she double-checked every corner of the room to see if anything was missed.

Choco watched the movements of Hyun, Seojin, and Yoonhwa with curiosity, barking occasionally at interesting objects he discovered.

With their combined efforts, the room was tidied up quickly, returning to its clean and organized state as it was when they arrived.

Now they were ready to leave with peace of mind.

Kangtae placed the clean lunch boxes into a basket, checked that everything was ready, and walked toward the door.

Yoonhwa, having changed clothes, held a large trash bag, collecting all the garbage they had created during their stay.

The friends were now ready to leave the room and head to the store.

Going down the stairs, they shook off all the bad experiences and emotional burdens from their stay at the inn.

Descending the stairs and stepping outside, the fresh morning air greeted them.

They headed into the store to express their gratitude.

Upon opening the door to the shop, Eunbi, Seojoon, and their parents warmly welcomed the friends.

Yoonhwa and her friends greeted them with warm smiles.

“Hello!”

Yoonhwa started.

“We really enjoyed the lunch boxes!”

Eunbi ran towards her friends with a bright smile. “Gumiho unnie! I thought you weren’t coming!”

Seojoon stood beside her, watching Eunbi’s enthusiastic greeting, and shyly bowed his head, greeting them cautiously. “Hello…!”

Eunbi’s and Seojoon’s parents also approached the friends with warm smiles.

“Did you all sleep well?”

“Thanks to you all, our family can be happy again.”

“I’ll never forget this kindness.”

Eunbi’s father expressed his gratitude.

The mother continued, “Anytime you come to this inn, we want to help you.”

Yoonhwa smiled and bowed her head in response to Eunbi’s parents’ warm words. “Thank you so much.”

“Your warm hearts have been a great strength to us!”

“We’re glad we could help you too,” Hyun added.

“It was really comfortable, we had a great rest.”

“The inn is cozy and warm, it’s wonderful,” Seojin added with a slight smile.

“And the food was really delicious!”

“The lunch boxes that Eunbi and Seojoon provided were the best,” Kangtae said while holding Choco.

“Thank you so much for your warm hospitality.”

“We’ll definitely come to visit again.”

“And we’re really glad to hear that the dog is okay too!”

Eunbi’s mother nodded, moved by the friends’ words.

Eunbi and Seojoon chimed in. Eunbi said, “Unnie, oppa! Next time you come, I’ll make sure to ask for a lot of tasty things!”

“And I’ll show you around our village!”

Seojoon shyly continued, “Thank you… I hope we meet again.”

Yoonhwa approached Seojoon with a warm smile, understanding his shy words.

She sweetly hugged him and said, “Seojoon, next time, be a little braver?”

Seojoon was momentarily startled by Yoonhwa’s sudden hug, but soon felt at ease with her warmth and smiled gently.

His face flushed red, unable to hide his embarrassment.

“Ugh, uh…?!”

Eunbi giggled at her younger brother’s flustered expression. “Seojoon, your face is all tomato red from hugging your sister!!”

Seojoon, even more embarrassed by his sister’s teasing, struggled to escape from her embrace.

“Uh, y-yeah!!”

Yoonhwa sensed Seojoon’s little wriggle and gently let him go.

She smiled at him as if she understood his shyness.

Eunbi and Seojoon’s parents beamed at the warm exchange between their children and the guests.

Curious, Seojin approached Eunbi and Seojoon, asking, “By the way, how old are you two?”

Eunbi responded boldly, “I’m 11 years old! Seojoon just turned 7!”

Seojoon nodded at his sister’s words, sporting a faint smile.

Yoonhwa couldn’t hide her surprise upon hearing the children’s ages. “You’re that young?!”

Hyun saw Yoonhwa’s surprised expression and joked, “Yoonhwa, you and Seojoon are almost 992 years apart~?!”

At Hyun’s words, the kids and parents widened their eyes in shock.

Eunbi’s father cautiously spoke up. “Oh, and… you two might want to hide your tails so the villagers don’t think weirdly about you.”

His voice was filled with concern and care.

Yoonhwa exclaimed, “Oh, right! Thank you!”

Snapping her fingers, her tail and ears retracted.

Afterward, Yoonhwa approached Seojin from behind with a focused expression.

Whispering quietly as she watched the swaying tail behind Seojin, she said, “This magic requires a little power control…”

From her fingertips, a transparent light began to spread slowly, and Seojin’s tail started to become translucent.

Yoonhwa’s eyes narrowed to maintain focus, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead.

Eunbi, Seojoon, and their parents watched in wide-eyed astonishment at the incredible scene.

Seojin’s tail becoming transparent as if vanishing into the air left the kids speechless.

“Wow… that’s really like magic!” Eunbi exclaimed, and Seojoon’s eyes sparkled in admiration.

Their parents were similarly unable to hide their surprise as they exchanged glances.

“That’s truly amazing magic… I never thought I would see something like this,” Eunbi’s father marveled.

Yoonhwa finally lowered her hand, taking a sigh of relief. “It should be okay now.”

She smiled at Seojin, who gave Yoonhwa a grateful look. “Thank you so much!”

Yoonhwa cautiously said, “If I get surprised or attacked, the magic might wear off…!”

“And, it’s not gone, just transparent, so it can still be touched. So, be careful.”

Seojin’s expression grew a bit tense upon hearing Yoonhwa’s warning. “Got it, I’ll be really careful.”

She glanced back at her rear, imagining her now-clear tail, and smiled slightly.

Hyun and Kangtae also paid attention to Yoonhwa’s words. “We have to make sure to protect Yoonhwa.”

Hyun said it jokingly, lightening the mood.

Kangtae nodded in agreement, “Yeah, no matter what, we’re protecting Yoonhwa.”

Eunbi and Seojoon’s parents watched all this unfold and smiled at the strong friendship among the friends.

“You all will surely do well, as long as you’re together,” Eunbi’s mother encouraged them.

The friends stood before Eunbi, Seojoon, and their parents for a final farewell.

“Thank you for welcoming us warmly!”

“We’ll never forget the time we spent here.”

“Stay safe and happy. See you next time!”

Eunbi and Seojoon’s parents replied to the friends’ goodbyes with warm smiles.

“Thank you for bringing happiness back to our family!”

“Always remember, this is another home for you guys.”

Eunbi and Seojoon chipped in one last time. Eunbi said, “Unnie, oppas! Next time you come to our village, you have to visit us!”

“Thank you..!! Goodbye!”

Finally, after exchanging farewells, the friends left the inn.