Living Dangerously with a 999-Year-Old Gumiho – Chapter 74

The two people looked at each other and shared a laugh.

In that moment, the tension melted away, allowing the fatigue of the late night to be momentarily forgotten.

Yoonhwa calmed her laughter and said to Hyun,

“You should rest a bit too.”

“Because we have a performance tomorrow.”

Hyun nodded at Yoonhwa’s advice and slowly got up from his chair.

His movements were sluggish, as if he felt the weight of the day.

As he walked towards one side of the living room, he began to search for a blanket.

While unfolding the blanket he had found, Hyun moved carefully, lost in thought.

After laying the blanket on the living room floor, he glanced around for a moment.

Once he spread the blanket, he looked at Yoonhwa and said,

“You should rest comfortably in your room. Goodnight…”

Yoonhwa nodded gratefully at Hyun’s consideration.

But she didn’t head straight back to her room; instead, she sat on the living room floor for a bit, waiting for Hyun to fall asleep.

In the quiet atmosphere of the living room, she watched Hyun’s peaceful sleeping form, thinking about how tired he must be and how much he had experienced that day.

Listening to Hyun’s calm breathing in the quiet living room, she silently gazed at him.

Just looking at Hyun’s serene face seemed to provide her with a sense of stability.

However, that peaceful moment was fleeting, and an instinctive desire began to creep up from deep inside Yoonhwa.

As she looked at Hyun, she couldn’t shake off the thought that he looked very appetizing.

Unknowingly, she had started drooling at the corners of her mouth, and she sank deeper into that thought.

Suddenly, the sound of a drop of drool hitting the quiet living room floor startled Yoonhwa, bringing her back to her senses.

She felt a deep sense of guilt about her behavior and was filled with an overwhelming sense of remorse toward Hyun.

Hurriedly, Yoonhwa got up from her spot and headed to the bathroom.

Turning on the cold water, she splashed her face and slapped her cheeks hard to regain her composure.

“Get it together, Yoonhwa!”

“Humans are not food!!”

She whispered to herself, trying hard to suppress any strange instinctual urge she felt towards Hyun.

Looking into the mirror, Yoonhwa took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly.

After calming herself down from her splash, Yoonhwa reflected on her actions as she returned to the living room.

Seeing that Hyun was still quietly sleeping, she felt a mixture of fear and guilt regarding her instincts.

She was overwhelmed by anxiety, worrying that if she stayed near Hyun any longer, she might lose control.

“If I stay next to Hyun any longer… I should really put a stop to this, Yoonhwa…”

She mumbled to herself, glancing cautiously at Hyun.

His peaceful breathing both soothed and stimulated Yoonhwa’s heart.

In the end, Yoonhwa decided she could no longer remain there.

She quietly left Hyun’s side and headed to the room where Nomi was sleeping.

Gently opening the door, she was met with the sound of Nomi’s steady breathing filling the room.

In that calm atmosphere, Yoonhwa felt her heart stabilize a little.

She carefully lay down next to Nomi, deciding to try and sleep as well.

Laying on the bed, Yoonhwa struggled to calm the turmoil and guilt she felt towards her earlier conflict with Hyun.

Nomi’s warmth provided Yoonhwa with a small comfort, and she began to close her eyes slowly.

But she just couldn’t fall asleep!!

Curled up next to Nomi, Yoonhwa was wide awake, staring up at the ceiling.

Time passed, but she was unaware of it, tossing and turning as she glared at the ceiling.

Her body felt heavy with fatigue, yet her heart was still restless and agitated.

It felt like closing her eyes would bring sleep, but even when she did, her mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts, preventing her from finding rest.

‘Is it all because of that one sip of coffee…?’

Yoonhwa realized she hadn’t expected that tiny sip of coffee from earlier to impact her so much.

Because of the caffeine left in her system, it felt like her inner clock had stopped.

Tossing and turning, unable to find true respite, she remained restless.

The room was quiet, with only Nomi’s steady breaths ringing regularly through the silence.

Yet even in that stillness, Yoonhwa’s heart was unsteadily turbulent.

She sat up on the bed, sighing deeply at this uncomfortable state where sleep eluded her.

Yoonhwa found it increasingly difficult to remain lying in bed.

It felt as though sleep had slipped away from her, and her body was becoming increasingly uncomfortable while her mind grew more and more anxious.

Realizing she wouldn’t be able to sleep like this, she quietly got up from beside Nomi and left the room.

Opening the door, Yoonhwa made her way to the quiet living room.

The air in the living room was calm and composed, but her heart remained unstable.

Yoonhwa stood in the center of the living room, quietly watching Hyun, who was fast asleep.

In the stillness of the night, he breathed peacefully.

His face radiated purity and calm even in sleep, with a childlike innocence blooming on his features.

On the blanket spread out on the living room floor, Hyun unconsciously curled up into a small space around himself.

Perhaps it was because the house he used to live in was small, he seemed to have developed a habit of sleeping in that curled position.

He had tightly wrapped the blanket around himself and was entirely immersed in his own world within that little sanctuary.

Yoonhwa smiled at the sight. Seeing Hyun like that made her feel a surge of affection and warmth.

Yet she couldn’t quite determine what this feeling meant or how to interpret it.

Watching Hyun sleep so peacefully, Yoonhwa felt a twinge of comfort amid a sense of loneliness.

As she looked at his small, peaceful form, she instinctively focused on the subtle scent emanating from him.

The human scent enveloped the living room gently, triggering her appetite.

Gazing at the curled-up Hyun, Yoonhwa whispered unconsciously,

“Five bites should be enough…”

In that moment, Yoonhwa realized what she had just said, and her heart filled with guilt.

Caught between the fact that she was a Nine-Tailed Fox and the instinctual desires that came with it, she felt a deep conflict within her.

Yoonhwa had no desire to harm Hyun at all.

As time passed together with him, she had begun to feel affection for him and valued him as a precious being.

However, the instinctive impulses welling up from the depths of her being sometimes tormented her.

Unable to resist the scent of Hyun in the living room, Yoonhwa left with a heavy heart.

She stepped outside to breathe in the fresh night air, trying to calm her instincts.

Once outside, Yoonhwa took a deep breath in and out, struggling to quell the confusion and turmoil inside her heart.

After pausing momentarily in the small yard, she finally decided to lie down flat and gaze at the starlit sky.

The night sky was filled with stars, and for a moment, Yoonhwa was able to escape her real-life worries.

The dark yard was quiet, and since it was a time when humans were not around, Yoonhwa could reveal her true self outside without fear of her tail and ears being discovered.

In the stillness of the night, Yoonhwa felt her body react strangely due to the effects of caffeine.

Her whole body had grown unusually sensitive, with shivers running down her spine.

These sensations were strange and uncomfortable for Yoonhwa, as she had never experienced anything like this before.

Yoonhwa sighed deeply under the starlight, murmuring to herself.

“Is all this… because of that…?”

“I’m so overly sensitive…”

“Feeling shivery…”

This strange discomfort was caused by the caffeine lingering in her system, giving her sensations she had never felt before.

“This is the first time I’m having such trouble sleeping…”

“What if that guy comes while I’m like this…?!!”

Fidgeting with her tail, Yoonhwa tried to calm her anxious heart.

As she gazed at the night sky, Yoonhwa was battling with her inner self.

Her heart was as brilliant as the starlight, yet it was simultaneously darkened by anxiety and worry.

Yoonhwa attempted to envision her future among the stars.

“Next year I turn 1000… as a Nine-Tailed Fox… I wonder what will happen then…”

Her voice trembled, spilling out in a mutter.

Yoonhwa was overwhelmed by the uncertainty of her future.

“Can I continue on with Hyun, Nomi, and my friends…?”

Deep within her heart, precious moments with Hyun, joyful laughter with friends, and warm times spent with Nomi became cherished memories.

However, the prolonged life of a Nine-Tailed Fox made it inevitable for her to part ways with humans.

Thinking about this, Yoonhwa felt a sharp pain in her heart.

“Parting from humans… How am I supposed to live…?”

“What if it’s like last time… feeling that emotion… again…!!”

Tears streamed down Yoonhwa’s face as she gazed at the stars. Her emotions were vividly displayed in the starlight.

She tried to suppress her sorrow, but under the starlight, her tears shone even brighter.

“Why… must it be so hard…?”

Her voice trembled, and her body shook under the weight of her emotions.

“I… I just want to be… normal…!!!”

Yoonhwa couldn’t finish her sentence, choked by her grief.

She was deeply immersed in her fears of her future, the separations from her loved ones, and the destiny she had to endure.

Under the starlit sky, Yoonhwa silently cried, fighting her solitary pain.

Her sobs created small ripples in the stillness of the night, spreading far away.

Just then, someone quietly approached her side as she gazed sorrowfully at the stars, tears streaming down her face.

That person lay down cautiously beside Yoonhwa, gazing at the same sky.

“Wh-who is it?!!!”

Startled by the sudden presence, Yoonhwa instinctively swung her hand.

When her hand brushed against Eunho’s shoulder, he flinched in surprise.

But despite that shock, Eunho quietly stayed beside Yoonhwa without further reaction.

Eunho had a trait where he grew a little larger each time he was directly affected by the Darkness Demon.

In fact, sensing Yoonhwa’s sadness and anxiety, his body gradually grew larger, making him about 10cm taller than Yoonhwa.

Noticing Yoonhwa’s tears, Eunho cautiously asked,

“Why are you crying?”

His voice was soft and filled with genuine concern.

Eunho truly wanted to understand Yoonhwa’s sorrow.