Although the sound was loud, the firmly struck axe remained stuck as it was. Unfortunately, due to choosing the thickest pillar, it seemed quite challenging.

Giju, looking at the pieces of wood that came with the axe blade, wrinkled her forehead. Then, holding the handle with both hands, she looked toward the tree stump and forcefully thrust it.

Crack.

It split properly. Not the firewood but the axe handle.

Watching, Eunchae gasped, her mouth agape. Wooseok, too, thought about what kind of strength that was and lost his words.

In the midst of such silence, Giju looked at the pointed end of the broken handle.

“I guess I can’t do it anyway.”

Although he didn’t expect the axe handle to break, it was rather a fortunate event.

“It’s a principle not to do things that don’t need to be done.”

Throwing the seemingly club-like broken axe handle behind her back, Giju grabbed Eunchae’s wrist and went into the house.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Grandmother Geumbun’s house had a structure of one small room and a living room that doubled as a large room.

On the first day, Giju slept in the small room, and Eunchae slept in the large room with Geumbun.

So today, as usual, Eunchae was about to spread the bedding in the large room to lie down, but Geumbun raised Eunchae and pushed her toward the small room.

“Quickly go to sleep!”

“Grandmother. This is where Giju sleeps.”

“Fine. Don’t worry about it and go in. If it’s uncomfortable for you, I am.”

Geumbun opened the door wide, ushered Eunchae into the room, and said, “Don’t be embarrassed. I’m about to set up a household, you know.”

Huh? Eunchae stood with a puzzled expression, and Giju, who had been leaning against the wall, lowered her head when she looked at Geumbun.

“Sleep well.”

“Okay.”

Geumbun smiled satisfactorily, closed the door firmly, and left.

Eunchae, holding a pillow in her arms, looked at Giju.

“Did you say anything to grandmother?”

“I don’t know.”

“Suddenly saying to sleep here and set up a household.”

“She asked if we were getting married, so I said we might.”

“What did you say?”

Eunchae looked surprised, raising her eyebrows. It was absurd. Why deceive Grandma like that?

“Nothing!”

“I can’t sleep. I’ll just sleep here.”

Geumbun would probably wander around the bathroom like the afternoon even in the early morning, and she wouldn’t stop coughing all night. So could she sleep?

Giju got up, took the pillow Eunchae was holding, and placed it in the middle of the pre-laid blanket.

“Sleep.”
Eunchae, who had been looking at the pillow placed in the middle, raised her gaze.

“What about Kiju?”

“I’ll manage on my own.”

Eunchae frowned, lifting her feet in a somewhat annoyed manner.

Sitting down to count sheep or something. Grumbling, she climbed onto the blanket, lifted the pillow in the corner, and placed it next to her own. Then, just like Kiju did a while ago, she tapped the blanket.

“Come here.”

She called first and subtly turned her gaze away.

“Turn off the light and lie down. Go to sleep.”

While saying it dryly, Eunchae’s eyes had a blush. Seeing the slightly reddened tip of her ear, it wasn’t anger. Kiju alternated between the two pillows, looking at them.

After being told to sleep comfortably, was it thoughtless? He grabbed his recently warmed neck and let it go.

“I’ll wash up and come back.”

Although it should be okay to say it’s fine to sleep anywhere in a corner, it wasn’t said.

At the mention of washing up, Eunchae lowered her eyes quickly, wondering what she was thinking.

Giju, dissecting her reactions one by one, left the room with a pounding heart.

Then, wanting to sprinkle cold water, she walked confidently to the bathroom. When she opened the squeaky door, a damp and musty smell greeted her.

Because of the low ceiling, she stooped her upper body to enter, sat on the overturned rubber tub, and washed her face with one hand.

The heart moves every day, but just now, that was a bit strange.

Even though the flesh is hiding each other tightly. It was absurd.

Giju closed her mouth, full of self-deprecating thoughts, and looked at the faded showerhead.

After showering, trying not to let the water touch the dried wounds, Giju poured cold water. Even though the heating system was said to warm the water, the bathroom was so cold that her body quickly became as cold as ice, even with the window closed.

As Giju finished locking the water, she looked around the poor bathroom.

Even though Eunchae had adapted to this place, worries kept coming up. It’s probably satisfying to stay here, so there’s still no intention to interfere, but…

Trying to confront it directly might be better.

Ordinarily.

Giju, who hummed indistinctly without intonation, changed into comfortable clothes. It was the clothes she received at the mansion’s annex during the day.

She said to send them roughly for a few days, but she needed more. Planning to contact the mansion around dawn, she organized her thoughts and left the bathroom.

Whenever she entered Eunchae’s room, she always knocked, but this time, she grabbed the latch of the small room’s door and opened it without knocking.

A corner of the bedding protruded like a shape lying on its side. Giju, who had been silently looking down, used a towel to wipe the remaining moisture from her hair once more and turned off the light.

Click.

At the sound of the fluorescent light switch going down, the blanket twitched. Even though it was quite dark, Giju, who noticed the subtle movement, lifted the blanket from the empty space and lay down.

Staring at the back of Eunchae’s head, who had been watching, he slowly blinked his eyes. If she had just slept in a corner, she might have fallen asleep.
She gathered her hair and swept it forward, revealing her white nape.

There were times when they kissed her neck without thinking and touched her body aimlessly. It felt like part of their sanity had flown away.

Come to think of it, the location was also a room like this. The tattoos on their abs were similar, but it was more serious back then. In that state, they embraced Eunchae.

There was no one as crazy as them.

Giju scoffed like that, closing their eyes. Blocking their vision made their nose more sensitive. The warm and sweet scent deeply penetrated. Even though they washed with the same soap, Eunchae’s scent was different.

Lying on their side, they clenched their fists. It was tough to fall asleep, so they just tried to pass the time boringly. As Giju took a deep breath, their chest, where Eunchae’s back briefly touched, made contact.

In that moment, the sound of swallowing saliva was heard, and Giju opened their eyes abruptly. Eunchae tossed her body slightly, bending her legs backward.

Her toe brushed against Giju’s thigh.

If she kept stimulating like this, it was impossible for Giju to pretend to be asleep.

Giju furrowed their brow.

“Don’t move. If possible.”

Speaking in a hoarse voice, Eunchae’s body didn’t move at all afterward.