Chapter 11: A Love That Even Hate Couldn’t Break

The pill made from Sin’s shed skin was nothing short of a love potion, and it had two main effects.

One.

The snake bride who ate the pill would never be able to leave her snake partner for the rest of her life.

Two.

On the day the snake bride died, her snake partner would also end his long life and die alongside her.

Those were the two effects contained within the pill made from the snake’s shed skin.

It didn’t feel like she had done all that much, yet her body was exhausted.

Lee Young lay sprawled on the living-room floor of her home, stroking Tori as he burrowed into her arms.

“I was the one who drove, so why do you look like you’re dying?”

Though he said that, Sa Hae was also leaning back against the sofa, staring up at the ceiling.

“When you say she won’t be able to leave, do you mean she literally won’t be able to leave physically?”

“Yeah. Her heart might be another matter, but her body won’t be able to leave.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if she simply couldn’t hate him instead…? It would be sad if she hated him but couldn’t leave.”

“The snake bastard wants it that way, even if it makes her sad.”

“Do you think his wife feels the same way?”

At Lee Young’s question, Sa Hae lowered his head and looked at her for a moment.

Maybe because she was human, she worried about humans along with the yokai.

Sa Hae, on the other hand, hadn’t worried that far.

No, it would be more accurate to say he hadn’t thought about it at all.

Whether human or yokai, deep desires were always accompanied by equally great side effects.

“They’ll make that choice themselves.”

At Sa Hae’s words, Lee Young let out a small sigh as she looked at the silk pouch containing the pill.

If only everything in the world were simple.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, this? It was a little extra from Master Jade Rabbit.”

When Lee Young shook the silk pouch containing the other pill, Sa Hae’s face immediately twisted.

Not only had she called the Jade Rabbit a master, she had even added an honorific.

And what did she mean by extra?

That Jade Rabbit wasn’t generous enough to give something away for free.

“Don’t eat that unless you absolutely have to.”

“Why?”

“There’s no way that sneaky bastard gave you something that’s actually good for your body.”

At Sa Hae’s words, Lee Young tilted her head.

Of course, Sa Hae was the person she trusted most.

But Sa Hae didn’t seem to like cute things very much.

That was why he didn’t dote on Tori, either.

The image of the tiny Jade Rabbit floated through Lee Young’s mind.

It wasn’t as cute as Tori, but the Jade Rabbit was still pretty adorable.

“Mister.”

“What.”

“You’re jealous of cute things, aren’t you?”

Sa Hae froze.

His gaze, which had been fixed on the ceiling again, dropped onto Lee Young.

His expression clearly said, What the hell are you talking about?

But Lee Young smiled as though she already knew for a fact that it was true.

“I understand.”

“Understand what?”

“If I were you, I’d probably be jealous of cute things, too.”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t have a single cute thing about you, even if you searched from head to toe.”

At Lee Young’s unabashed declaration, Sa Hae let out an incredulous huff.

“You’ve seen me? How would you know whether I’m cute or not?”

“Do I really have to see it to know? You don’t have a single adorable feature from head to toe.”

His eyes were fierce, his nose was high, and he was tall.

What part of someone like that, or rather, some yokai like that, could possibly be cute?

Cute things were supposed to be small…

“Well, sure. I don’t have anything small.”

At Sa Hae’s words, Lee Young’s gaze dropped downward.

And then it stopped, as though something had suddenly caught her attention by the ankle.

“Why’s your face turning red? What were you imagining?”

She didn’t know why, when he said there was nothing small about him, she had suddenly remembered his earlier comment about having two d*cks.

The thought had truly come to her without warning.

Seeing the expression on her face, Sa Hae curled up the corners of his lips as he asked.

Sa Hae never missed a moment.

“What are you imagining?”

“You, you don’t need to know.”

“You’re even stammering.”

As though he had never frowned in the first place, Sa Hae looked at Lee Young with his usual sly, teasing expression.

“Curious? Humans really are humans.”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“I asked if you’re curious.”

“Ah, I mean, curious about what?!”

Lee Young shot to her feet and shouted, and Sa Hae burst out laughing at the sight.

Sa Hae thought that if every human in the world were like Lee Young, if they all lived unable to hide whatever was on their minds, the world would probably be a pretty pleasant place.

“You’re yapping just like a Samjokgu.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a yokai!”

Lee Young pouted like a sulky child and tried to head into her room.

Of course, she couldn’t, because Sa Hae had caught her by the wrist.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“…”

“I won’t tease you anymore, so stay.”

At Sa Hae’s words, Lee Young, her face still bright red, sat down beside him instead of on the floor.

Sa Hae smiled faintly as he watched Lee Young sit one seat away rather than directly beside him.

Was she doing that knowingly, or was she completely unaware?

One thing was certain.

Lee Young’s behavior was quite cute.

If she knew what he was thinking right now, she would be shocked.

“Jade Rabbit is pretty mean, so seriously, don’t eat anything he gave you.”

“Okayyy.”

“Don’t just pretend to listen.”

Lee Young nodded at Sa Hae’s warning, but she didn’t throw the pill away.

There might come a day when she needed it.

If she had known what the pill actually did…

No, even if she had known, Lee Young probably wouldn’t have been able to throw it away.

****

Sa Hae and Lee Young met Sin and his wife, Gaeun, the day after returning from their meeting with the Jade Rabbit.

The two couples met at a café, and Sin and Gaeun looked like an exceptionally well-matched pair.

Sin wasn’t wearing hanbok this time, but his casual clothes looked quite stylish on him.

“Ah, hello.”

“Hello.”

Lee Young greeted Gaeun and sat down across from her.

Until she actually met Gaeun, Lee Young had wondered what kind of person would take a snake yokai as her husband.

But Gaeun was remarkably ordinary.

“I honestly didn’t expect you to come together.”

“Of course we had to come together.”

“Ah, then how am I supposed to explain this…?”

Would a perfectly ordinary-looking woman like her believe them even if they explained everything?

Wouldn’t it all sound like superstition?

With that thought, Lee Young looked at the two of them—or more precisely, at one yokai and his human wife.

“I’m the one who’s going to eat it, so explain it to me.”

At Gaeun’s words, Lee Young nodded and glanced at Sa Hae.

Sa Hae looked as though he didn’t particularly care either way.

“If you eat this…”

Lee Young’s gaze fell on Sin’s hand.

It was holding Gaeun’s hand as though the two had been glued together, unwilling to let go even for an instant.

Sin and Gaeun walked away from Sa Hae and Lee Young, their hands still clasped together.

After following them out of the café, Sa Hae and Lee Young quietly watched their retreating figures.

Strangely, the noise of the street didn’t reach her ears.

All she could see was the sight of Sin and Gaeun walking away together.

“I think she’ll eat it.”

“Think so?”

Lee Young had explained the pill’s effects to Gaeun as honestly as possible.

If she ate it, she would never be able to leave Sin.

And on the day Gaeun died, Sin would die with her.

Gaeun had spent a long time thinking about it before quietly taking the silk pouch containing the pill.

Lee Young had expected her to either eat it right there or refuse it on the spot.

But Gaeun had simply taken the silk pouch and said nothing.

‘I’ll eat it later, if I ever come to hate him.’

That was what Gaeun had said.

She said that if, someday, by some cruel twist of fate, a moment came when she hated Sin, she would eat the pill then.

That way, even if she hated him, she would never leave his side.

At those words, Sin’s face had twisted for a moment as though he might burst into tears at any second.

Listening to Gaeun, Lee Young thought about their love.

The feeling of not wanting to leave someone even after coming to hate them.

The determination to stay by their side until death, even if it meant living with regret.

Lee Young found it strange.

And baffling.

“What kind of love is that?”

“…”

“To not want to leave someone even when you hate them.”

Lee Young spoke as though she were dreaming, and Sa Hae merely clicked his tongue softly as he looked at her.

Not wanting to leave even when you hate them.

That was love-hate.

A feeling that, in the end, gnawed away at both humans and yokai alike.

Sa Hae thought it was an even more foolish emotion than love, but he didn’t bother saying so aloud.

He couldn’t tell whether the reason was that he didn’t want to shatter the pure heart of a child, or because he had never experienced either love or love-hate himself and therefore had no right to speak carelessly about them.

‘You’d have to experience it to know.’

Whether it was love or love-hate.

****

It was the fate of the Sa family to spend their lives helping yokai and humans alike.

That was the only way they were destined to live long lives.

It was the curse, and blessing, the Dokkaebi of Taebaeksan had bestowed upon the Sa family.

“Wow…”

So, if one were to be precise, this was a blessing that had come from helping Gureongdeongdeong Sinseonbi.

“They’re filming a drama right in front of our bookstore…”

Lee Young felt her jaw drop as she stared at the familiar faces visible through the bookstore window.

When she had answered the call from the person who introduced himself as an assistant director from a broadcasting station, she had never dreamed they would be filming something this huge.

She had agreed to let them film in front of the bookstore without giving it much thought, but apparently, the production featured some of the hottest actors around these days.

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