Chapter 325: Treasure Hunt (4)

Song Ha-Eun stretched her long legs out in front of her. “

Ahhh

. This feels so nice!”

Having been defeated by her towel rack remark, Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t leave the hot spring. He bit his lips as he looked at her bare, glistening skin peeking above the water.

“Oh, right! I totally forgot!” Song Ha-Eun clapped.

Kwon Oh-Jin turned to her, his eyes weary from fatigue. “Forgot what?”

“When you were pitching the tent earlier, I tossed something into the hot spring ahead of time!” She paddled over to one corner and pulled out a round basket from beneath a heavy rock.

“What is that?” he asked.

“You can’t not have these in a hot spring!” Song Ha-Eun pulled out a few eggs from the basket.

Steam rose from the shells.

“Why did you bring eggs?” Vega asked.

“Because eating boiled eggs in a hot spring is a must!”[1]

“Humans really have a culture like that?” Vega cocked her head at Kwon Oh-Jin for confirmation.

He chuckled and shook his head. “That’s more of a jjimjilbang[2] tradition, not really a hot spring.”

“Same thing.” Song Ha-Eun casually peeled an egg, revealing its perfectly cooked texture.

She broke the egg in half and gave them a thumbs-up. “Let’s see...

Oooh

, a perfect soft boil! We just need a little salt, and...”

The moment she popped the yolky half into her mouth, her expression melted into bliss.

“Holy shit, this is good!”

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled and started peeling an egg from the basket. He sprinkled on some salt she had brought and took a generous bite. The rich, silky yolk filled his mouth.

“Damn. This would be perfect with a bottle of sikhye.”[3]

Song Ha-Eun had packed plenty of eggs, but no sikhye.

Curious at their reactions, Vega and Isabella swam closer.

“Is it really that good?” Vega asked.

“Does boiling it in the hot spring make a difference or something?” Isabella asked.

Kwon Oh-Jin neatly peeled and salted two eggs for Vega and Isabella.

“I’ll try some then,” Vega said.

Nom, nom, nom.

Having returned to her small form after the massage, Vega nibbled on the egg like a squirrel storing up for winter. Isabella took a bite of hers as well.

“

Hmm

. It’s an interesting flavor,” Vega said.

“It’s just a boiled egg from the hot spring. Nothing special.”

Both of them looked puzzled, clearly questioning why it needed to be eaten here of all places.

Song Ha-Eun clicked her tongue and shook her head in mock disappointment. “

Ugh

, you two really don’t understand Korean culture at all!”

She sounded like some kind of patriotic Korean historian.

“Eggs at the hot springs aren’t eaten with your mouth. They’re savored with your chest!”

“The chest?” Isabella asked in confusion.

“What does it mean to eat with one’s chest?”

Both women instinctively glanced down at their chests. Vega’s gaze slowly shifted from her own chest to Isabella’s.

“How many eggs has she eaten to get those...?”

Isabella covered her chest in embarrassment and blushed. “W-What are you saying?!”

Kwon Oh-Jin sighed and rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. “Not that kind of chest...”

Cultural nuance was a nightmare to explain sometimes.

“Well then, how about you try it this way?” Spinning a boiled egg on her finger like a basketball, Song Ha-Eun grinned at Isabella.

Her smile was full of mischief as she swam over like a cat.

“Take this!” She smacked the egg down on Isabella’s head, shattering it.

Crack!

“

Kyaa!

”

“W-What are you doing, unnie?!” Having just been relaxing in the water until a second ago, Isabella turned toward Song Ha-Eun with a look of dismay.

Song Ha-Eun simply giggled and peeled another egg. “That’s how we eat eggs in Korea.”

“Don’t lie!”

Breaking a boiled egg on someone’s head was a tradition? That couldn’t be real.

“No, seriously, it’s true.”

“Please! I’ve lived in Korea for quite a while. I’m not falling for something that ridiculous!” Isabella turned to Kwon Oh-Jin for the truth.

He scratched his cheek with an awkward smile. “Well... there is a culture of doing that in Korea, but it’s more of a jjimjilbang thing than a hot spring thing.”

It still occasionally happened in variety shows or outdated dramas, but it was pretty much a dead tradition nowadays.

“What kind of country is Korea, really?” Isabella looked utterly baffled as she watched Song Ha-Eun happily munching on an egg.

“C’mon, Bella, don’t knock it till you try it. You can try it on me.” Song Ha-Eun tapped her own crown.

“

Hmmm.

Okay, I’ll give it a shot.” Isabella gripped her egg with a determined look.

After all, learning Korean culture was essential if she wanted a future with Kwon Oh-Jin. No matter how bizarre their customs seemed, she had to embrace them eventually.

“What’s with the serious face? Why do you look like you’re about to fight someone...?”

“

Hyaaah!

” Isabella swung her arm through the air.

The egg in her hand shattered violently on top of Song Ha-Eun’s head.

Song Ha-Eun cried out in pain, “

Aaagh!

Hey! You bitch! I said crack the egg, not annihilate it!”

“Oh

, oops?

Is that not how you do it?”Isabella blinked innocently at the smashed egg in her palm.

Fascinated by this strange egg-smashing ritual, Vega’s eyes sparkled as she picked up an egg. “I want to try too! Let me try!”

“Enough... That’s enough now.” Kwon Oh-Jin, drained out by the endless shenanigans of these women, sounded hollow like a ghost as if his soul had left him.

Damn it. I should’ve gone on patrol too.

He envied Riarc, who wasn’t here.

***

“

Haaa

.” After the chaotic egg incident blew over, Kwon Oh-Jin could finally enjoy the hot spring in peace.

At least he thought so until Song Ha-Eun whispered into his ear, “Oh

,

right. Oh-Jin, remember earlier when you asked if I was wearing undergarments underneath this towel?”

“Didn’t you say that you cut up some sportswear or something?”

“That was Bella.” Grinning mischievously, Song Ha-Eun slightly tugged her towel down. “Wanna see what I have going on underneath?”

The towel dipped dangerously low, threatening to reveal her snowy skin. Just before it went too far, Song Ha-Eun stepped closer and looked at him with sultry eyes.

“You know that one philosopher guy. What’s his name again? Highmurdinger or whatever? He said something like, ‘You won’t know what something is until you observe it for yourself.’”

“It’s Schrödinger. He was a physicist, not a philosopher.”

“Yeah, yeah, that guy! Anyway! That’s why you have to check for yourself if I’m wearing anything or not!” She faked a cough and pressed the edge of her towel into his hand. “Go on, unwrap it like a Christmas present!”

A Christmas present? Seriously?

Kwon Oh-Jin dryly laughed and shook his head. Instead of pulling the towel off, he properly adjusted it back around her.

“What, you’re not gonna check?”

“You’re acting way too confident, so I feel like I already know the answer.”

“

Boo

. Lame.” Song Ha-Eun pouted in disappointment that her teasing didn’t get the reaction she wanted.

However, she wasn't the type to give up after one failure.

In that case...

Her eyes sparkled as she came up with a new idea.

She beckoned him over with a finger. “Oh-Jin, Oh-Jin. Come here for a sec.”

“What now?”

“Just come.”

As he approached, she quickly slipped her arms around his and rested her head on his shoulder.

“

Mmm

. This is nice.” Her damp, bare skin clung to his, and her wet, auburn hair stuck to his side. “I can hear your heartbeat, Oh-Jin.”

Still leaning on him, she cuddled closer with a soft smile. She loved hearing the rhythmic beating of his heart because that meant he was really here, next to her.

“Oh-Jin.”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

The words struck him like a punch to the chest. It knocked the wind out of him. That one simple line made his heart pound louder than all the teasing and flirting put together.

Watching their cozy moment from the side, Isabella suddenly clung to his other arm. “Hey now, it’s not fair if only you get to say it, unnie. I love you too, Mr. Oh-Jin!”

Faced with the overwhelming affection from the two women clinging to him, he kept his mouth tightly shut.

Only Vega, who hadn’t yet found the courage to express her feelings, sat off to the side with envy.

“

Ahem

.” Kwon Oh-Jin coughed as he felt the soft and warm sensation of them pressing against his arms.

He couldn’t possibly relax, sandwiched between Song Ha-Eun and Isabella, who were wearing nothing but thin towels.

“Y-You two are clinging to him far too much!” Vega said.

“Oh, come on. What’s the big deal? It’s not like we’re strangers,” Song Ha-Eun replied.

“S-Still! A lady must maintain a certain level of dignity!” Vega puffed her cheeks and glared at the two women latching onto Kwon Oh-Jin.

Song Ha-Eun turned to her with a sly grin. “Well, I haven’t begged anyone to spank me. Unlike a certain someone, I wouldn’t know anything about dignity.”

“Y-You...!” On the verge of tears, Vega lunged at Song Ha-Eun.

Once again, chaos ensued in the hot spring.

“

Haaa.

” Exhausted, Kwon Oh-Jin leaned back against a stone and looked up.

Submerged in the warm spring, he gazed at the starry night sky. Despite all the noise and chaos around him, he felt gentle warmth blooming in his chest.

This is nice.

Feeling this happy in the middle of the Demonic District was unbelievable. He never could’ve imagined a moment like this here.

I guess it’s not about where you are, but who you’re with.

Even if this wasn’t Earth, he had all of them by his side.

However, who was left at

his

side?

Kwon Oh-Jin’s expression slowly hardened.

Boom!

A deep, earth-shaking roar echoed in the distance. Then, a massive plume of dust rose into the sky.

“That’s...”

“That’s where Mr. Riarc was patrolling,” Isabella said urgently.

Kwon Oh-Jin sprang to his feet toward the sound.

Song Ha-Eun and Vega, who had just been bickering, also instantly turned serious. They narrowed their eyes toward the disturbance.

“

Grrrrr!

” Riarc’s roar rang out.

“

Tsk

.” Kwon Oh-Jin clicked his tongue and bolted out of the hot spring.

Their peaceful break was over.

As if on cue, the entire group took off and sprinted toward the sound.

1. It is common in Korea to eat hard-boiled eggs in saunas and steam rooms, otherwise known as sauna eggs. ☜

2. A type of large, gender-separated Korean bathhouse and sauna complex. ☜

3. A traditional sweet Korean rice beverage. This drink is also consumed a lot in saunas. ☜