chapter 38
“Hyeon?”
Noticing something strange about me, Sion’s face stiffened as he came closer.
Next to him, Seon quietly took my tray away, and Sion knelt down so our eyes were level.
Even with my head spinning from the stench that could knock my nose clean off, I still noticed how sharp and handsome Sion’s features had become.
He was only fourteen, but already tall and striking. His face resembled Uncle’s — sharp and well-defined — but unlike Uncle, his expressions were more vivid, giving him a bright, fresh air.
Now, though, that face was full of worry.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.”
Sion pressed his hand against my forehead.
Outwardly, I was now a healthy young lady, but my brothers still treated me as if I were fragile.
“It’s the smell, isn’t it?”
I flinched, my eyes darting up to Seon.
That brother, sharp as our uncle, must have figured out why I froze.
“See? You scrunched your nose.”
Uh-oh.
I couldn’t exactly say I smell evil because I’m a Haetae, but pretending it was just a bad odor would be an insult to our guest.
While I floundered, caught between both choices, Sion suddenly scowled and shouted,
“You guys! Open the window right now! Can’t you see my little sister’s suffering from your sweat stink?!”
Oh.
That tone was new.
At home, we never spoke so bluntly, especially with so many elders around. But right now, Sion was talking just like a boy his age.
“What, it’s not that bad—ugh, fine!”
“Gross. Just open it! Open the window!”
The boys in the sitting room buried their faces in their sleeves before scrambling to open the windows.
Apparently, today’s class at the academy had been martial arts training — meaning they’d all sweated buckets. Normally, they’d wash up right after returning home, but since they were visiting the Hyeon family today, they’d skipped it — and here we were.
“Feeling better now?”
Cool air drifted into the room.
Unfortunately, the stench of evil didn’t vanish with ventilation, but I quickly fixed my expression into something neutral.
Well, since things were like this anyway, I might as well find out which one of them was the source of that foul aura.
Having nearly lost my precious sense of smell to the sudden assault, I quietly burned with determination.
The chilled tea was poured by Seon, since the teapot was heavy.
My task was simply to hand out the cups.
“Ah, thanks.”
Pass.
I discreetly checked the boy’s scent as he smiled sheepishly, then nodded.
He smelled of sweat, yes, but not that smell.
Not him.
Not that one either.
One by one, I greeted them, handing over tea. Everyone was polite, well-mannered — clearly trained to behave properly before adults.
And then—
“I’ll enjoy this.”
Got him.
It’s you.
My eyes snapped toward the source.
The boy with the stench had golden hair and eyes — a big, broad-shouldered kid whose unruly hair vaguely reminded me of Baeksan’s.
Except, comparing their scents almost felt like an insult to Baeksan.
“What, do you like what you see?”
…Did I hear that right?
I stared, speechless, as he leaned on one hand and smiled smugly.
“Hyeon’s already spoken for,” Sion said flatly, sipping his tea in my place.
The blond boy only shrugged. “So what? I’m handsome, aren’t I?”
“Did you swallow all the summer heat by yourself?” Sion scoffed.
“Hey, come on. I am pretty good-looking.”
At that shameless remark, Sion clicked his tongue. “If you saw our uncle, that confidence would die fast. And Hyeon’s grown up surrounded by beauty and brilliance. Her standards are high.”
“What, can’t a guest joke around a little?”
“Try saying something that makes sense, then.”
The two of them seemed oddly close — old friends, maybe.
I glanced at Seon, who already looked deeply displeased.
He clearly hated that boy. The others in the group started eyeing Seon nervously.
Ah, so that’s why Sion had sat them apart — his friend and his brother didn’t get along, but Sion probably never imagined that his friend could be a bad person.
Hmm. Suspicious, very suspicious.
From what I’d experienced, children almost never emitted such a strong foul aura.
For my Haetae nose to react like this, he must have done something truly vile.
But what exactly?
When I stepped out of the sitting room, Seon followed.
He took the empty teapot and tray from me, clearly having no desire to return to that noisy room.
“You just served the tea and left, huh?”
I shrugged.
Normally, we’d introduce ourselves and chat a little, but I hadn’t wanted to.
That smelly boy made me uncomfortable — and Seon seemed even more so.
“Who was that blond guy?”
“The heir of the Sa family — Saraon. They’re of the Lion Clan.”
Apparently, the Sa family came from the neighboring kingdom, like Aunt Radali’s husband, and had only recently settled here in Seolgokdo.
“Brother.”
“Yeah?”
“I think he’s… weird.”
“Right?!”
Seon brightened instantly, then lowered his voice.
“No one believes me when I say it, but there’s just something off about that guy. Gives me the creeps.”
“Me too.”
“But our elder brother says it’s wrong to judge people without cause. That Saraon has lots of friends and a cheerful personality, so what’s the problem?”
Outwardly, he did seem fine. But what kind of villain ever goes around wearing a sign that says I’m evil?
I agreed wholeheartedly, and Seon, finally feeling understood, vented to me for a while before heading off.
That evening, I told my parents what had happened.
“He’s only fourteen? Good heavens…”
Father couldn’t hide his astonishment, and Mother frowned deeply.
They both knew how rare it was for a child to give off that kind of stench — and how serious it was for it to be that strong.
“How bad was it?”
“Definitely worse than a pickpocket’s level.”
From experience, if my expression slipped even briefly, it meant the person had probably committed at least assault — directly or indirectly.
The Haetae’s sense of smell grew sharper the more harm the culprit had inflicted on others.
“I didn’t just want to clean it away. I wanted to hit him. That’s what worried me.”
I didn’t even know why — I’d just wanted to punch Saraon the moment I saw him.
That impulse had been so strong that I’d skipped formal greetings and bolted out.
My parents’ faces grew grave.
“We’ll have to dig deeper,” Father murmured, rubbing his smooth chin.
“Can the Special Security Unit handle it?” Mother asked.
“That’s tricky,” he said after sipping his tea. “We’ve only used them against criminals with real influence — those whose crimes threatened Seolgokdo itself. That’s the kind of justification it takes to mobilize them.”
But Saraon was still a minor. Even if he’d done something, it was likely personal, not something involving his family.
In short, Grandma’s Special Security Unit — formed to protect the peace of Seolgokdo — couldn’t be dispatched on such flimsy grounds.
“Still, we can’t just ignore it,” Father said. “For his stench to reach that level, whatever he did must’ve been serious. Too serious for it to have stayed quiet this long.”
He suspected the Sa family had covered it up.
So after dinner, our family summoned Uncle and Aunt.
When they arrived, they, too, turned grave as they listened.
“We sent them to the academy to learn discernment, and this is what happens…” Aunt sighed.
I pushed some more tea and sweets toward her. “Cheer up, Auntie. Seon’s instincts are really sharp!”
Uncle, who had been silent in thought, finally spoke.
“Normally, matters within the academy should be resolved there. But if a Haetae has sensed evil, then our duty is to protect the child from it.”
His deep voice was calm but resolute.
He then explained the plan — to quietly have a few branch-family students at the same academy investigate Saraon’s background.
“There are a few who applied for the Inspection Bureau. This could serve as field training and a qualification test.”
As expected of the next family head — tackling both household and official matters in one stroke.
But a few days later, before the adults could act quietly as promised, an incident exploded.
Sion and that boy, Saraon, got into a massive fight — and both families were summoned to the academy!
The entire house was in an uproar.
I paced back and forth in the annex, anxiously waiting.
Uncle and Aunt, who had gone to the academy that morning, didn’t return until after lunch — with both of my brothers in tow.
Sion went straight to his room, while the adults headed for Grandmother’s office.
Torn between where to go, I finally chose Sion.
I couldn’t shake the guilt of not warning him about Saraon.
But the moment I stepped into his room, I shrieked.
“Your face!”
My handsome cousin’s face looked like autumn leaves — all bruised and blotched!
I rushed over, and he gave me an embarrassed smile.
“I won.”
“That’s good, but you still shouldn’t have gotten hurt!”
When I scolded him, he hunched his shoulders, apologizing softly.
That only made me angrier. “Why did you fight him?”
“…”
“Don’t forget — even if you stay silent, Father, Uncle, and Grandmother are all here.”
“My little sister’s so sharp it’s scary.”
After some hesitation, he confessed the reason.
Apparently, Saraon had asked him to help arrange a marriage proposal — between me and himself.
“I already have a fiancée,” Sion said flatly.
“I thought he was joking at first.”
But Saraon had been dead serious. Sion told him clearly — his cousin was already engaged, and her fiancé was the heir of the Baek family. So absolutely not.
Normally, that would’ve been the end of it, but Saraon had been strangely persistent.
And as Sion’s irritation built up…
“He said, ‘Getting her to fall for me will be nothing.’ Can you believe that?”
Unable to endure such outrageous words, Sion punched him right in the face.
“Fall for you? You wish! Go stitch your own mouth first!”
The fight turned into a full-blown brawl, the academy went into chaos, and the parents were called in.
I blinked.
The source of that foul smell I’d sniffed out — that guy?
Try to seduce me?
I couldn’t help but laugh dryly as I pictured Baeksan and Saraon side by side.
In looks, in scent, in charm — Saraon couldn’t compare.
No matter how you looked at it, Baeksan was the overwhelming winner.
It was almost laughable.
