Chapter 22
“Oh my!”
It was while she was running away with the palanquin bearer, Tae-o.
Seung-eon suddenly stopped him when he began loosening the ties of the short jeogori jacket he was wearing. They had crossed a ridge together, but the sun had set, and with no choice but to camp under a nearby tree, she was startled to see him suddenly shrug off his top.
“What?”
Surprised by Tae-o’s abrupt action, Seung-eon raised her hands to cover her eyes, then slowly peeked through her fingers. Flustered by her reaction, Tae-o paused mid-fold, turning his head away.
The moment he looked back, the muscles in his back flexed and caught her gaze. Startled, Seung-eon openly stared at his back and asked,
“What… exactly are you doing right now?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Why are you taking off your clothes?”
They had managed to get away from the men fighting over the bridal palanquin, but they were still within a distance where, if the pursuers wanted, they could catch up. It was hardly the time to be standing still—much less undressing. But when she asked in surprise, Tae-o only tilted his head.
“Wouldn’t it be hot if I kept my clothes on while chopping firewood?”
Seung-eon hesitated.
“The mountains get cold at night. I just tend to overheat easily. But you, my lady, should bundle up.”
“…”
“If it comes to it, I’ll give you my clothes.”
No sooner had he spoken than he handed her the neatly folded jeogori. Receiving it before she could even think, Seung-eon had to fight back the smile rising from deep inside her.
Cute.
Despite the chilly night air, Tae-o had stripped to the waist simply because he was hot. “Please stay right there,” he warned, before going to collect firewood scattered around where she sat.
After a few minutes of effort, he returned with both arms full, dropping the logs at her feet before starting a fire.
Crack, crack.
Soon enough—after striking stones together with his thick forearms—sparks caught and the firewood began to burn, filling the air with the sound of popping embers.
Seung-eon watched the long branches blacken quickly, stealing glances at Tae-o as he sat across from her, eyes fixed on the flames.
Red.
His black eyes gleamed as fiercely as the dancing firelight—so beautiful it felt like a quiet kind of art. His sun-bronzed skin was as warm as the glow of the embers, and the sharp line of his nose looked as if it could cut.
Pretty.
In this second trial, set in the Joseon era, she had encountered various male characters—the outlaw, the inspector, and the bodyguards—but none had stirred her heart. Yet this man, who didn’t even look like the prison guard “Teo” from the previous stage, drew her gaze in a strange, compelling way.
Crack, crack.
The fire continued to rise, and as the sound of burning wood filled her ears, Seung-eon’s gaze drifted down from his face.
Hm?
From his sharp jawline to the bobbing of his Adam’s apple, down to the dangerously defined collarbone—her eyes stopped there. Just below his left pectoral muscle, which looked hard enough to hurt if she pressed her face to it, was an unexpected mole.
A mole in such a strange spot.
It sat about two finger-widths below the center of his chest, and for some reason it nagged at her so much she nearly commented aloud—barely stopping herself in time.
“A mole?”
When she brought it up later, certain of what she’d seen, her face brightened. Secretary Chu’s eyes narrowed.
“Secretary Chu, I’m sure of it. I might not remember everything that happened in Echo, but I remember that moment clearly.”
“You mean… at night?”
Of course!
Seung-eon closed her eyes.
“I can’t forget it.”
“…”
“The way those strong arms wrapped around my waist, kneading me all over… ha, seriously. Our staff are incredible. How did they make it feel so real? Geniuses, all of them!”
“I think the chair inside the capsule did most of the work.”
“No, no. At the core, our people just did an amazing job. I should check in the next meeting if we can give them a bonus.”
“…Right.”
“Anyway, whenever he took his top off, that mole would stand out immediately. It’s rare to add something like that in character design, so I’m sure my boyfriend has it too. You said so yourself—no matter the time period, the base model is the same.”
Confident, Seung-eon smiled and waited for Chu’s reply. Normally, the secretary would say something dry like, “I’m impressed you remembered that,” or, “That’s a useless clue.”
But when she looked, she froze. Instead of clicking her tongue, Chu was smiling faintly.
Seung-eon’s eyes widened. The moment she noticed, Chu abruptly turned her head.
“You—”
“Sorry. I just… felt a little glad.”
“What?”
“When you first announced you were starting a relationship, you looked just like this.”
Chu continued,
“You seemed so happy talking about him that I didn’t even bother to ask who he was. I could feel how much you treasured him.”
Seung-eon couldn’t answer right away.
Was I really like that?
If anyone knew Kang Seung-eon from her mid-twenties to thirty-four better than anyone, it was her closest aide, Chu Yeong-eun.
Yeong-eun had always devoted herself entirely to helping Seung-eon and was one of the few who truly wished for her happiness. If even she had felt that joy radiating…
If that NPC really exists in the real world…
If her heart’s reaction was genuine—
If touching him doesn’t feel awkward…
If just being with him keeps making her smile—
If I can’t help staring at him…
If merely thinking of him makes the corners of her lips curl upward—
“Yeong-eun… this is bad.”
Lost in thought, Seung-eon let out a low sigh at the sudden realization.
When Yeong-eun cautiously asked what was wrong, Seung-eon finally spoke.
“I think… I’m ridiculously easy with my emotions.”
She sighed, meeting Chu’s baffled gaze.
“I’m attracted to him.”
Teo, Tae-o, TEO.
Different names, but clearly the same person at their core.
She was drawn not to the appearance, but to the person who had moved that NPC.
“I’ve never wanted to find someone so badly before. Is this… love?”
Speaking aloud a word she’d once thought far removed from herself, Chu answered flatly,
“Hard to say. It seems more like a mix of emotions.”
“In the game, every time I saw him, my heart would race. I’d reach out without thinking. I couldn’t stop trying to get closer to him.”
“That was your past self, not you now.”
“Past or present, I’m still me!”
“…Sure.”
“You know… I really think I could kiss him in real life.”
“Is that so?”
“I could sleep with him too. We already did in the game!”
“Impressive.”
“I could even marry him! Anything’s possible with him.”
“I’m sure.”
“I could have kids with him, you know?”
“Best of luck.”
“I…”
Her eyes shone.
“I’m going to find him no matter what.”
“Then,” Chu replied, “let’s start with the mole.”
The most solid lead they had was in an incredibly private spot—seductively placed between his well-built chest muscles.
But it’s not exactly something you can ask to see out of nowhere.
It wasn’t in a spot you could glimpse just by undoing a few buttons. Asking outright to bare his chest would make her seem insane.
We’ll have to do it by process of elimination.
Unfortunately, Seung-eon had three possible candidates for her mystery man.
First—Seo Yi-su, the head of Development Team 3, wrapped head-to-toe in a suspicious aura and never showing his hand. If she suddenly asked him to show his chest—
“…”
Yeah. He’d just give no response at all.
Second—Yu Hyun-jun, the friendly-looking but subtly distant junior from college, now head of Marketing. If she asked him to show her the mole—
“President, I think the heat’s getting to you. Here, let me fan you.”
He’d wriggle out of it with a slick line.
So for now, she’d leave the two harder cases alone and start with the easiest.
“…What?”
Jung Hee-do’s perfectly smooth brow furrowed.
Looking up at those clearly etched lines, Seung-eon smiled brightly.
Why so surprised?
“Take off that shirt and show me your chest.”
Or—
“Should I take it off for you?”
