“Whoa…”
In the underground training room of the mansion.
After a fierce workout, Hong Yeon-hwa’s body was drenched in sweat.
Her skin glistened, and her lightly worn clothes were soaked as if she had been submerged in water. There was a puddle of sweat pooling on the floor.
She was in a state closer to being doused with a bucket of water.
“Ugh.”
Exhaling a heated breath, Hong Yeon-hwa awkwardly plopped down onto the dry part of the floor.
As she lightly wiped her body with a cold towel draped around her neck, she shivered slightly.
A moment of intense movement had heated her up, but that served to cool her desires somewhat.
Following the truth that if your head’s a mess, just move your body…
…
“Damn, here it comes again.”
Not even three minutes had passed since she sat down, and already, the desires were subtly creeping back in, making her frown.
Despite her composed exterior, inside, Hong Yeon-hwa’s mind was a chaotic mess lately.
“Well, could it be any other way?”
Sitting there on the floor, she questioned herself.
“Who would be alright in this situation? It’s natural to get all tangled up in thoughts every day as it approaches.”
She answered herself as well.
Day five and the last of the birth ceremony. A forced promise with Lee Ha-yul. The day of the grand event…
That’s tomorrow.
She had been eagerly anticipating it every day. But now that it was actually nearing, her mind was needlessly convoluted.
“Did I prepare properly?”
She prepared a room. It didn’t matter whether it was in the mansion or in a room belonging to her or Lee Ha-yul, but she booked a nice inn outside just to be safe.
She had prepped everything in advance, including the outfit and underwear she would wear that day…
Other preparations? With Choi Ji-yeon’s help, she did her best. Since she had no experience in this area, she had to shamelessly seek advice from an expert.
Even after all that preparation, she felt uneasy.
At the same time, she was excited, her head filled with thoughts all day, imagining a day that hadn’t even arrived yet…
“Ugh.”
All those various imaginings tangled in her mind. Adding the Gop-hwa touch, igniting her emotions and desires, it became hard to endure…
She had been worn out lately trying to soothe the Gop-hwa surges.
So just now, it seemed like she playfully provoked Lee Ha-yul.
As she watched quietly, she felt an urge to just grab him and ruffle him up, so she teased him while pretending to be calm.
“…Isn’t it ultimately Ha-yul’s fault?”
Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly had a shameless thought. Blaming it on Gop-hwa responsibility, a signature move of the Gop-hwa heirs.
Today was no different.
Even if Hong Yeon-hwa had asked him, wearing such attire, blushing and avoiding his gaze, yet slyly checking his reactions and inching closer…
“I’m seriously going insane.”
Hong Yeon-hwa shook off her drowsiness as her fantasies flared up inside her like fiery embers, insidiously and shamelessly.
She felt a wave of disgust towards herself creeping in. Was she just lusting after a kid too much?
She even worried if Ha-yul would realize this side of her and be disgusted.
“…But surely it can’t be that much.”
Hong Yeon-hwa denied that thought with a strange expression.
That puppy-like kid? Furrowing his brow? Making a disgusted face? At her?
It sounded deluded, but she couldn’t imagine Lee Ha-yul hating her like that.
No matter what Hong Yeon-hwa did, he would just obediently snuggle into her arms…
“…Thirsty.”
After sitting there for a while.
The water she had brought was long gone. The once-cold towel had warmed up, and the sweat she wiped off started to trickle back down.
In the meantime, she felt a parching thirst at the root of her tongue.
Not having properly quelled the sticky Gop-hwa fire made her thirst even deeper.
Unable to hold back any longer, Hong Yeon-hwa finally stood up.
First, she ought to take a shower and then sit quietly in her room to meditate for a bit to calm the Gop-hwa.
– Whoooom
The door that had been tightly shut swung open. A relatively cool breeze brushed against her body.
“Huh?”
Stepping into the hallway without much thought, she blinked at the sudden oddity.
The door directly in front of her was ajar.
“Wasn’t it closed just now?”
While tilting her head in confusion, curiosity quirked her brows as she peered inside.
She wasn’t quite sure what that other room was for. Rumor has it it’s a laboratory? She knew Lee Ha-yul had recently been going in and out of there a bit.
“Hmm.”
What in the world were they doing? Hong Yeon-hwa lightly poked her head in.
“Just a laboratory.”
There wasn’t much to see inside.
A laboratory filled with complex instruments and devices. To an ordinary person, it might seem fascinating, but Hong Yeon-hwa had seen many such facilities in the Gop-hwa Clan.
It seemed that the various talents of Lee Ha-yul were tinkering with something again.
Hong Yeon-hwa was completely clueless when it came to this sort of thing. Realizing she couldn’t help, she pulled her head back.
“Whoa.”
She tried to pull back but something caught her eye at the edge of her sight.
On a rectangular table, a series of glass test tubes were lined up, and in the center tube, there was a liquid.
The moment Hong Yeon-hwa caught sight of the alluring pink liquid shimmering through the clear glass, her eyes widened.
“I want to drink that.”
The Gop-hwa surged from within her. Thirst arose. She wanted to drink that.
Her throat felt dry. The thirst rippling from her tongue banged against her mouth and throat.
That thirst seemed like it would be quenched immediately upon tasting the beautiful pink liquid.
Of course, she shouldn’t recklessly drink potions in a laboratory.
The common sense caution took a backseat to the raging Gop-hwa.
Before she knew it, Hong Yeon-hwa was holding that test tube in her hand.
The magic that had been enveloping the test tube had long been ignited by the Gop-hwa that swelled out unconsciously.
“This doesn’t seem poisonous?”
A slight flicker of reason assessed the situation. Judging from what she could see, this was a potion, not a poison.
She couldn’t be sure. So she quietly opened the cap and took a tiny whiff with her nose.
“Wow.”
It looked delicious, and the smell was delightful. It felt like a blend of fragrances from dozens of fresh fruits harmoniously concentrated.
Of course, it didn’t compare to Lee Ha-yul’s scent, but it was enough to melt away Hong Yeon-hwa’s patience under the influence of the Gop-hwa.
Lastly, she gave it a small taste with the tip of her tongue.
Just as she thought, it was delicious. Even for Hong Yeon-hwa, who had enjoyed fine drinks and brews, it was something special.
– Glug… glug…
In a blink of an eye, after a basic taste test, Hong Yeon-hwa downed the potion.
Once in her mouth and flowing down her throat, the potion quenched her thirst.
Moreover, inside her belly, it poured smoothly, and the Gop-hwa fire was extinguished instantly.
“Whoa?”
As the Gop-hwa subsided, her reasoning returned as well.
With the blaze in her eyes extinguished, Hong Yeon-hwa sat there, mouth agape.
“What did I just gulp down?”
The test tube sitting on the laboratory table. The potion inside it. It tasted good, but what about its effects?
Feeling the sweetness remaining in her mouth, the heat that had bloomed on her skin turned white as a ghost.
“Crazy.”
Hong Yeon-hwa cursed under her breath. As soon as she made a decision, the Gop-hwa burst forth from her body.
In an instant, the sudden flames burned away everything foreign inside her body.
The instinctive reason she hadn’t sensed a great crisis at the moment she drank the potion.
She had an above-average tolerance for poisons, and the Gop-hwa could eliminate most toxins before they manifested their effects.
After spilling out the Gop-hwa, Hong Yeon-hwa hurriedly flailed her arms.
Her fingertips felt fine. Her muscles weren’t stiff, and there was no tingling. Had her skin turned black? No, it hadn’t.
“…So it’s not poison.”
After a moment of inspecting her body, Hong Yeon-hwa sighed in relief. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to be toxic.
If it had been an immediate effect, something would have reacted. But if it was one with a latency period? She had already burned the Gop-hwa away, so it should be fine.
“This damn Gop-hwa.”
Grinding her teeth, Hong Yeon-hwa glared at the flames still dancing at her fingertips.
This little brat had made her suffer for days, and now here she was gobbling down whatever it brewed.
Although it was due to her lack of mental discipline, she shook off the blame onto the Gop-hwa.
“Ugh, damn…”
Her heart almost dropped. Placing a hand over her chest, she could still feel it thumping rapidly.
Leaving the empty test tube in place, she exited the laboratory with a bemused expression.
“What will Ha-yul say when he comes back… I randomly gulped down the potion you were making…?”
She wasn’t some street dog, gobbling down whatever was in the bag; what could she possibly say…?
She trudged her way up to the first floor.
In the living room filled with various sofas, Elia was quietly reading a book, a blanket draped over her knees.
The book looked quite thick. Hong Yeon-hwa glanced at the title on the cover.
“Habits to Become a Good Parent…?”
What a strange title. It matched the cozy and soft atmosphere, yet she felt a bit off about it.
She was the one gearing up for the big event tomorrow, so why was someone else reading that…?
“Oh, Yeon-hwa. Training is over, huh…?”
As she approached, Elia looked up from her book.
Then her face stiffened.
At that unexpected reaction, Hong Yeon-hwa’s steps halted abruptly.
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh…?”
Hong Yeon-hwa asked, slightly bewildered. Elia’s brows furrowed slightly. That atypical reaction made Hong Yeon-hwa feel more perplexed.
Elia, with her brows knit, covered her mouth with one hand and asked.
“…Yeon-hwa, what did you just do?”
“What did I just do? I just worked out…?”
“Is that really all?”
A hint of discomfort glinted in Elia’s yellow eyes.
In Elia’s sight, Hong Yeon-hwa seemed to be radiating a very ominous and uncomfortable aura.
Instinctively, she felt a sense of aversion towards the image that filled her sight.
Catching a glimpse of the negative emotion reflecting in Elia’s eyes, Hong Yeon-hwa narrowed her brows.
“No… What special can I do here…?”
What…?
As she continued, Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly fell silent.
Something special.
Just moments ago, Hong Yeon-hwa had carelessly gulped down a strange potion.
‘……’
A wave of unease brushed over her mind.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
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