Yeoreum repeatedly shook her head and then gave the child a smile.

“Thank you for the delicious food. Do you want to try some of mine?”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t want to eat…”

The girl’s white ears drooped.

Her eyes only stared at the ground.

Everywhere she looked, she saw a child scared stiff.

What had she endured to be so wary of other people?

Yeoreum suppressed the urge to sign in front of the child.

She couldn’t show any negative emotions, lest the child think of it as her having bad intentions.

“Ummm.. Your name….”

Ah.

I realized I had never introduced myself to her all this time.

Yeoreum decided to give her name to the girl, who didn’t even know who she was.

“—My name is Yeoreum, Han Yeoreum. What’s yours?”

The child fell silent for a moment, before speaking up.

“I don’t have one.”

I stared sadly at the child.

“I see…. In that case, may I name you?”

“A name?”

“Yes.”

“….Um, okay.”

Let’s see…..

A girl as white as a snowflake.

A girl who would only receive love from now on.

Yeoreum decided to give her a beautiful name.

✱✱✱

Han Gyeoul.

That was the name the girl had given me.

‘This is crazy.’

Not only had she modified my body, but now she arbitrarily named me.

Anger surged within me at her attitude of treating me like a possession.

It was my fault for lying about not knowing my name.

From now on, I resolved not to say anything that could cause problems.

Just then, a spoonful of soup approached my lips.

“My arm’s going to fall off. Just eat one spoonful, okay?”

The girl pressed the spoon against my lips.

Refusing to eat, I kept my mouth tightly shut, and soup smeared all over my lips.

Even the scent was tempting enough to make me want to lick it off.

“No, I don’t want to—!”

The moment I opened my mouth to refuse the soup…

The girl pushed the spoon into my mouth.

“Ah—!”

The intense flavor of the soup made my eyes widen.

I could feel my ears perk up.

The soup was so much thicker and had big chunks compared to it.

It was undoubtedly the best thing I had eaten in the last eight years.

“Wow…”

Was there really such amazing food in the world?

Even after the soup was gone, I found myself smacking my lips several times in delight.

“How is it? Tasty, right?”

The girl scooped another spoonful of soup, smiling.

Instinctively, I opened my mouth, then realized the predicament I was in.

“I said no…”

I had fallen into her trap, I had eaten her soup!

I couldn’t have been more stupid.

Ignoring the girl pretending to be surprised, I calculated the cost of the soup in my mind.

My daily income was between two and three thousand won. (1.45 USD to 2,17 USD)

The price of soup at a fancy restaurant would surely exceed ten thousand won. (7,23 USD)

It was an amount I could only afford after several days of hard work.

‘I’m ruined.’

With ten thousand won, there’s a lot of things I could do.

I could buy thread and needles to mend my torn clothes and bags, and tape to patch up my worn tent.

All of it was lost due to the girl’s trickery.

Sigh

How much more did she intend to torment me?

Unable to bear the absurdity any longer, I spoke curtly.

“I want to go home.”

“Home? Do you have a family or something?”

She always took the opportunity to ask about my personal details.

In a way, she was quite extraordinary.

“I don’t know. I’m not going to tell you.”

“Ah, okay. That’s fine.”

Despite my fierce response, the girl remained unexpectedly calm.

Maybe she was the kind of psycho who didn’t get angry easily.

Scared but determined, I pushed back a bit more.

“I have to go home to water my tomatoes.”

“Hmm… Can I come with you then?”

“Why…?”

“I just want to see how Gyeoul lives.”

It sounded like she wanted to know where I live to keep me under her thumb forever.

“It’s really dirty there. Even centipedes come out.”

“That’s okay. I can handle that.”

Her smile was awkward.

She didn’t like bugs and dirt but forced a smile to find out where I live.

I decided to scare her a bit more.

“Sometimes wild boars come out. And stray dogs at night?”

“Really? Where do you live exactly?”

She seemed scared of wild boars and stray dogs.

I felt triumphant, having found her weakness.

“I live in a tent in the woods. There are poisonous mushrooms near it, so it’ll be tough for you.”

“Oh my…”

Her gaping mouth revealed her shock, and I couldn’t help but smile triumphantly.

Now that I knew her weakness, there was no need to act humbly.

“How about it? Can’t come, right? Should I just go alone?”

“No, let’s go together. I like dangerous places more.”

“Really…? Why…?”

“Because I’m a high level adventurer?”

Ah.

Right.

She was indeed a high level adventurer, capable of managing beginner hunting grounds.

I couldn’t understand why I had forgotten such an important fact.

It was quite strange, but for now, I decided to focus on the girl in front of me.

“Are you really going to come? There are cockroaches too.”

“Yes. I’m curious about how Gyeoul lives.”

She seemed determined to follow no matter what.

That’s some serious obsession.

Feeling defeated, I closed my eyes tightly.

‘I lost.’

There was no way to make her back down anymore.