Living Dangerously with a 999-Year-Old Gumiho – Chapter 5

“Yoonhwa.”

“Do you believe in ghosts or monsters?”

At Seojin’s question, Yoonhwa momentarily lost her words.

Her mind was filled with complex thoughts.

‘What kind of situation is this?’

‘Is Seojin doubting my true identity…?’

‘Or is it just a regular question…?’

Hyun watched the situation unfold next to her, worrying internally.

‘Seeing Seojin asking about monsters…’

‘She must want to become close friends…’

‘B-but… Yoonhwa seems really flustered…?!’

After a moment, Yoonhwa composed herself and responded to Seojin.

“Um, I… I’m not sure if things like ghosts or monsters…”

“Actually exist.”

“But… I hear people talk about such things.”

Seojin nodded in satisfaction at Yoonhwa’s answer.

“I see. I’m quite interested in that kind of stuff.”

“Listening to monster stories feels kind of mystical and… fun, right?”

Hyun let out a sigh of relief, thinking,

‘I’m glad Yoonhwa answered well…’

Just then, the door of the tea house opened, and a customer walked in.

Both the two and Yoonhwa paused their conversation, looking at the new guest.

The new arrival was none other than Kangtae.

Kangtae had just closed his fruit store after 6 PM and came to the famous tea house.

As soon as Kangtae stepped into the tea house, his gaze naturally landed on Yoonhwa with her pink hair.

“Wait, isn’t that Hyun and Seojin?”

“And… who is this beautiful person…?”

“Ah, the pink-haired girl Hyun was looking for before!”

“Oh, I remember now.”

“Wow, I didn’t know Hyun had such a pretty friend…”

There was an incredulous tone mixed in Kangtae’s voice.

Hyun smiled awkwardly as he spoke.

“Ah, Yoonhwa is a person I just met… Wow!”

Seojin found this situation amusing and laughed.

“Seems like Hyun has gotten a bit more interested in romance lately.~”

“He’s even making friends with such a pretty girl.”

Yoonhwa felt all eyes on her and blushed slightly, but then quickly responded with a bright smile.

“Kangtae, right? Nice to meet you!”

Kangtae turned as red as a tomato at Yoonhwa’s smile.

“Isn’t he Hyun’s friend…? He’s really tall~”

Seojin seemed to realize something and shouted at Hyun.

“Oh right!!”

“He’s about 3 cm taller than you, right?!”

“This is definitely more than 5 cm taller than you!”

Hyun’s face flushed at the mention of his height.

“Hey, I’m not short…”

“It’s just that Yoonhwa is a little taller!”

Seojin teased Hyun playfully.

“Hyun, you need to drink more milk to grow taller!”

Seojin’s voice was full of mischief.

At Seojin’s joke, Hyun responded a bit shyly.

“Hey, it’s not like drinking it makes you grow…”

“And 165 cm isn’t that small, you know!”

Yoonhwa joined in, listening to Seojin and Hyun’s conversation.

“No matter if you’re tall or short… I think what’s more important is the kind of person you are.”

Kangtae patted Hyun on the shoulder and chuckled.

“Hyun, height isn’t everything, you know.”

“You have plenty of charm in other areas!”

Hyun felt reassured by his friends’ warm words.

Seojin added another cup of tea for Kangtae among the orders she made for everyone.

“Kangtae, you should have a cup of tea too!”

Kangtae thanked Seojin while receiving the tea.

Seojin continued the conversation about monsters.

“Oh, by the way, Yoonhwa, didn’t you say you weren’t interested in monsters?”

“If you hear this story… you might become interested?”

Kangtae sipped his tea and said.

“Is it that story again? I’m not really into that stuff.”

“I only believe in realistic things.”

Yoonhwa felt a bit anxious listening to this conversation.

She carefully chose her words to avoid mentioning that she was a nine-tailed fox.

“Monster stories are fun, but I wouldn’t want to meet them in real life.”

“Only bad monsters exist, right?”

Yoonhwa subtly probed Seojin’s thoughts on monsters.

Seojin tilted her head, responding.

“I don’t think all monsters in the world are bad…”

Kangtae joked, mixing in,

“What if they’re bad monsters? It’s not like we’d ever meet them anyway.”

Hyun hurriedly tried to change the subject.

“Ah, let’s stop that… talking about monsters is a bit creepy…”

Seojin stood up.

“It’s already past 6. I should get going.”

Kangtae also naturally stood up.

“I also have to tidy up the store, so I’ll head out first~.”

Seojin smiled at Yoonhwa as she spoke.

“Next time, it’s on you, Yoonhwa~!”

“Since you’ll learn about money.”

Yoonhwa replied with a smile.

“Is it only like that when you want something? Haha.”

Kangtae spoke to Hyun.

“You’re performing tomorrow, right?”

“Well then… see you next time.”

Hyun and Yoonhwa both said to the two.

“Thanks for today! Take care.”

Seojin took out some bills from her wallet to pay the tea house owner and left with Kangtae.

Hyun seemed relieved as he spoke.

“Yoonhwa, luckily it seems like Seojin and Kangtae like you…”

Hyun gave Yoonhwa a warm smile.

The tea house’s warm atmosphere gradually shifted to the night air,

As the human and the nine-tailed fox left the tea house and walked down the quiet streets of the town.

Yoonhwa looked at Hyun and smiled.

“It reminds me of last night…”

“We walked like this yesterday too.”

“It feels like a lot has happened since I met you…”

“Please take care of me from now on!”

Hyun, flustered, asked.

“Huh? Are you planning to live like this forever?”

“Now that I think about it… I still have so many questions about you.”

“Can I ask a few things when we get to my house?”

Yoonhwa replied with a smile.

“Sure! I won’t lie to you.”

“I had a bit of a hard time lying today…”

Hyun looked at Yoonhwa and asked again.

“Because of your friends…? Sorry…”

Yoonhwa answered with a mysterious expression.

“That’s part of it, but…”

“Anyway, I’ll have to lie a lot from now on~.”

“The fact that I’m a nine-tailed fox…”

“It’s our secret, I guess…?”

Yoonhwa frowned slightly as she spoke to Hyun.

“And you!”

“Why do you always say sorry for everything…?”

“Don’t say sorry to me anymore—”

“You better know you’ll get scolded if you apologize to me!”

Hyun found Yoonhwa’s scolding to be oddly cute yet frightening.

“Uh… oh? Then what should I say instead of sorry…”

“That’s for you to figure out!”

As they talked, they arrived at Hyun’s house.

Hyun grinned and said.

“We’re here… my house, all fixed up!”

Once inside, Yoonhwa revealed her tail and ears.

Hyun was surprised but adapted quickly.

Yoonhwa, as if reassuring the astonished Hyun, said.

“It’s uncomfortable if I keep them in… heehee…”

Yoonhwa began to explore Hyun’s house openly.

“Hyun, what’s this big box? Can I open it?”

Before getting an answer, she opened the refrigerator door.

“Wow! It’s as cold as winter inside!”

Hyun replied with a smile.

“That’s the refrigerator.”

“It keeps food cold to maintain its freshness.”

Next, Yoonhwa pointed to the faucet and asked.

“What’s this then? Water is coming out like crazy!”

Hyun turned on the water to show her and explained.

“This is called a sink…”

“You use it for washing dishes or boiling the water to drink.”

Yoonhwa marveled.

“Wow… it’s really like magic…!”

“I can do it too, but!!”

As Yoonhwa raised her finger, the tip shone and sprayed water everywhere.

Hyun looked on with a mix of curiosity and shock.

“Yoonhwa? That’s amazing magic…”

“But what do we do about this wet blanket and floor…~”

Yoonhwa said in a fluster.

“Uh…! I messed up my power control again!!”

Yoonhwa sat in front of Hyun with an apologetic expression.

Hyun, flustered, said.

“Uh… no need to kneel!”

Yoonhwa sat on the floor, closed her eyes, and focused.

As she did, the water began to shine and gradually dried up.

When the water was all gone, Yoonhwa asked Hyun.

“Huh? What did you say? Sorry, I couldn’t hear you while focusing…”

“Oh! It’s nothing~…”

“Really cool magic…”

‘I could probably earn money with this, right…?’

‘I should ask later..!’

While inspecting every corner of Hyun’s house, Yoonhwa cautiously glanced at Hyun and spoke up.

“Hyun, um… so…”

“Where’s the place to… take care of that around here?”

“In the forest, I handled it naturally…”

“But we can’t do that here…”

Yoonhwa’s voice was quieter than usual, and her gaze seemed to avoid Hyun.

“That…?”

Hyun noticed Yoonhwa’s shy demeanor and chuckled softly as he responded.

“Ah— the bathroom? It’s this way.”

Hyun pointed toward the door, reassuring Yoonhwa.

Yoonhwa slightly bowed her head.

“Ah… thank you.”

She spoke softly.

Yoonhwa’s face had turned a light pink.

She quickly headed to the bathroom.

As the bathroom door closed, Hyun waited and thought about how Yoonhwa had managed in the forest.

‘How did Yoonhwa live in the woods?’

‘Since the nine-tailed fox is real…’

‘Could there be other monsters too?’

‘There wouldn’t be a bathroom in the forest… how would she handle it?’

Hyun contemplated Yoonhwa’s unimaginable way of life, wondering about her experiences in the forest,


what kind of beauty and challenges she faced.

Though he was curious about Yoonhwa’s past, he didn’t intend to ask about it.

Thus, he came up with several questions he’d like to ask her.

Before long, Yoonhwa emerged from the bathroom and walked up to Hyun.

“The bathroom is really amazing.”

“The water goes down automatically here!”

“You can do this without magic?!”

She exclaimed, marveling once again.

Yoonhwa’s eyes sparkled with pure curiosity and the joy of exploration.

Hyun chuckled at Yoonhwa’s reaction and said.

“Yeah, that’s how it is. It’s like that in every house.”

For Hyun, these moments with Yoonhwa were invaluable and delightful.

With a smile, he asked Yoonhwa.

“Yoonhwa! Today… it might have been a bit tough on you, but…”

“Can I ask a few more questions…?”

Hyun spoke cautiously.

Yoonhwa’s eyes sparkled as she nodded at his question.

“Of course! Ask me anything.”

Her voice was full of curiosity and an open heart.

It sounded like she would answer any question right away.

Hyun carefully began.

“How do you usually spend a day in the forest?”

“I’m curious since you live amidst nature, unlike people.”

Yoonhwa appeared to ponder Hyun’s question before breaking into a bright smile and responding.

“A day in the forest is filled with training for my mind and body.

“I strive every day to handle my magic better.”

“In the morning, I begin meditating in the peace of the forest.”

“That helps me gather my thoughts and feel one with nature.”

“After that, I practice my magic.”

“If I mishandle my magic…”

“It could be dangerous for many humans!”

“Actually, I’m stronger than you think…!”

Yoonhwa spoke with a hint of shyness yet pride.

“I practice how to make leaves float in the air—and how to create winds.”

“Of course, power control doesn’t always go well.”

Hyun and Yoonhwa exchanged smiles as they recalled the water-splashing incident.

“That’s part of my training in the forest.”

Hyun listened with intrigued eyes as he replied.

“Wow, that’s incredible. What’s it like to handle magic?”

Yoonhwa seemed to contemplate for a moment.

“Well, handling magic feels like merging my inner power with the energy of nature.

“In that moment, everything seems possible.”

Hyun asked more questions.

“Why did you come to the town?”

Yoonhwa replied immediately without thinking.

“In a year, I’ll really become a nine-tailed fox!”

“Is it a preliminary study on humans? Or something like that?”

“So… you came here to learn about humans!”

“That’s really impressive, Yoonhwa.”

Hyun was even more captivated by Yoonhwa’s explanation.

Yoonhwa blushed at Hyun’s compliment and waved her hands.

“No, I’m still lacking a lot.”

“But I believe I can learn more with you all.”

Hyun, showing an expression of regret, said.

“Actually… I was supposed to go perform today.”

“But I couldn’t do that because you asked me to introduce you to the market~”

“So starting tomorrow, I have to go back to my cello performances.”

Yoonhwa looked at Hyun with a surprised expression.

“What’s money? Is it really that necessary…?”

Hyun began explaining money to Yoonhwa.

“Money is, Yoonhwa, what you use to buy what you need in this world or receive services.”

“You use it to buy food, pay for rent, and taxes…”

“And you also have to buy clothes, you know.”

Yoonhwa slowly started to understand.

“Oh… I see. That’s why humans earn money…!”

Hyun nodded.

“That’s right. But can you be okay alone starting tomorrow?”

“I have to go perform…”

Yoonhwa confidently replied.

“Don’t worry. I can get by on my own! But…”

After a moment of thought, Yoonhwa’s eyes sparkled as she said.

“Couldn’t I go with Hyun and help earn money?!”

Hyun was startled by Yoonhwa’s suggestion but soon smiled as if a good idea had struck him.

“Yes! You handle magic well.”

“I’m sorry if it feels like I’m using you…”

“But how about we perform together to earn money?!”

“If we earn a lot of money… we could buy you clothes and… food!”

“…Maybe even change houses!”

Yoonhwa responded excitedly.

“Great! I can entertain people with my magic!”

“If that’s how to earn money, I want to challenge it!!”

So, the human and the nine-tailed fox planned to perform together the next day.

The performance combining Yoonhwa’s magic and Hyun’s music would surely bring new joy to people.