In the darkness of the Kwangho Army Base’s western training ground, Eun Chae blinked up at Ki Joo with wide eyes.
Unaware of what she had done, Eun Chae looked bewildered, still embracing Ki Joo’s waist tightly.
“Why are you in my arms, Commander…?”
Ki Joo looked down at Eun Chae, who held him yet asked why he was in her embrace, with an incredulous expression.
His dark eyebrows twitched.
“It’s not that I am in your arms; you are the one holding me.”
“Oh…”
Eun Chae looked back and forth between her arms around Ki Joo and his waist encircled by her arms.
She had held him so tightly that his clothes were wrinkled.
“Ah?!”
Realizing the situation, Eun Chae’s eyes widened in shock. She quickly released Ki Joo and bowed deeply.
“Yikes! I’m so, so sorry!”
“It’s fine.”
Ki Joo’s response was surprisingly nonchalant.
Eun Chae, while observing Ki Joo straightening his clothes, was puzzled.
‘Didn’t he say he disliked being touched?’
She recalled the time at the fabric store when Ki Joo sternly refused Kyehyang’s attempts to embrace him.
Having embraced Ki Joo so forcefully, she could have been pushed away, given his fierce nature. But instead, Ki Joo merely frowned without showing any particular reaction.
‘Is it okay because a man hugged him?’
Unaware that Ki Joo often thought of his imaginary sister Yeonho when looking at her, Eun Chae assumed it was acceptable because she was in a man’s guise.
Yet, her concern wasn’t just about that.
The scream they had heard earlier made her already timid heart shrink further.
“Commander, did you hear it? There was a scream just now.”
Whether it was a ghost or a person, neither option boded well.
Ki Joo then said something unexpected.
“That sound, it wasn’t human.”
“What?! Not human?”
Eun Chae turned pale at Ki Joo’s words. If it wasn’t human, the only other possibility was…
“Then, could it be a gh-gh-ghost…”
“A deer.”
“A deer?”
“It’s a deer’s sound.”
Eun Chae looked stunned at the mention of a deer, unable to fathom how its sound could resemble a human’s.
“Have you never heard a deer’s cry?”
Ki Joo looked at Eun Chae indifferently, questioning how he could explain that deers naturally sound like humans crying.
Just then, rustling noises accompanied the appearance of a deer from the bushes near the training ground. Spotting Eun Chae and Ki Joo, the deer opened its mouth and emitted the same eerie cry they had heard earlier.
In the darkened western training ground of the Kwangho Army Base, Eun Chae blinked up at Ki Joo with large, startled eyes.
Still unclear about what had just transpired, Eun Chae looked bewildered with Ki Joo’s waist still firmly in her grasp.
“Why are you in my arms, Commander…?”
Ki Joo stared down at Eun Chae, who had held him yet was asking why he was in her embrace, with a look of incredulity.
His dark eyebrows twitched slightly.
“I am not in your arms; you are the one holding me.”
“Oh…”
Eun Chae shifted her gaze back and forth between her arms around Ki Joo and his waist encircled by her arms.
Her grip had been so strong that Ki Joo’s clothes were wrinkled from the force.
“Ah?!”
Only then did Eun Chae realize the situation, and her eyes bulged in shock. She quickly released Ki Joo and bowed deeply.
“Yikes! I’m so, so sorry!”
“It’s okay.”
Ki Joo responded with surprising calmness.
Watching Ki Joo straighten his wrinkled clothes, Eun Chae was hit with a sudden realization.
‘Didn’t he say he disliked being touched?’
She remembered the incident at the fabric store when Ki Joo sternly refused Kyehyang’s attempt to embrace him.
Now she had forcefully hugged Ki Joo to the extent that his clothes got wrinkled. He could have pushed her away considering his fierce nature, but instead, Ki Joo only slightly furrowed his brow without showing any significant reaction.
‘Is it okay because a man hugged him?’
Eun Chae was unaware that Ki Joo often thought of his imaginary sister Yeonho when looking at her, so she assumed it was acceptable because she was disguised as a man.
But the actual concern wasn’t just that.
Eun Chae recalled the earlier scream and felt her heart shrink with fear.
“Commander, did you hear it? There was a scream just now.”
Whether it was a ghost or a person, neither option was good.
Ki Joo then uttered something unexpected.
“That sound wasn’t human.”
“What?! Not human?”
Eun Chae’s face turned pale at Ki Joo’s words. If it wasn’t human, the only other possibility was…
“Then, could it be a gh-gh-ghost…”
“A deer.”
“A deer?”
“It’s the sound of a deer.”
Stunned by the mention of a deer, Eun Chae looked as if she had been hit on the head.
“How can a deer’s cry sound exactly like a human?”
“Have you never heard a deer cry?”
Ki Joo gazed down at Eun Chae indifferently, questioning how he could explain that deers naturally sound like humans crying.
At that moment, rustling noises accompanied the appearance of a deer from nearby bushes. The deer, spotting Eun Chae and Ki Joo, opened its mouth and emitted the same eerie cry they had heard earlier.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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