Having lived two lives—my previous one and my current—I could say that my life experience level is higher than that of most people.
Of course, I didn’t die of old age in my past life, but rather at the prime age of twenty-something. So in terms of sheer duration, I don’t quite compare to someone who lived a long, full life.
But having lived in two different worlds, two completely separate lives, doesn’t that raise the quality of that experience higher than anyone else's?
If there's one thing I've realized most deeply through those two lives, it’s that life never unfolds the way you want it to.
No matter how flawless your plan is, once things decide to go wrong, they will derail in ways you never accounted for.
No matter what you do.
Take my previous life, for example.
Sure, it was a hotel immersed in the wilds of Africa, but who could’ve predicted a black mamba slithering into the hotel room at night?
And who would’ve thought that I, called Spicy Fabre, an expert in venomous creatures, would die from being bitten by that very black mamba?
When things go awry, nothing you do will make them go right again—and right now, Hwa-eun and I were in exactly that kind of situation.
“Ahhh. This is good.”
“Delicious, isn’t it? Do-ryong, this is called Okrim. It’s a liquor from the Yunnan region, one of the famous ones.”
“It clings to the tongue in the best way. Very tasty indeed. Geombong?”
“What about you, Your Grace?”
“I like it too. Just like I like you.”
“Oh, Your Grace...”
“Such a fine liquor. Please, make sure to thank Dianchang on our behalf later, Geombong...”
A drinking party, out of nowhere, in the middle of the night, in my room.
Hwa-eun was smiling politely as she hosted the guests, but I could see the corners of her lips twitching ever so slightly.
What the hell was this drinking party about?
It had just happened a little while earlier.
We had already rounded up everyone making counterfeit Ji-dam Pills and locked them up on a ship, and during the process of apprehending them, we also solved the Qinggaroe murder case.
And in the process, we had safely recovered the newborn Qing Ji-dam larvae.
Once everything was resolved, even the Dianchang disciples who had stayed behind to help with the search had returned home.
I’d originally planned to board a different boat tonight, but we agreed instead to depart for the Beast Palace at first light.
All the work was wrapped up.
There was no pressing business left to handle—just float down the river to arrive at the palace gates.
I had spent the afternoon cleaning out a spare room in secret, and after dinner, I’d gone straight to bathe in the river. The plan was to enjoy a sweet night with Hwa-eun. As long as we explained things to the children, nothing would stand in our way.
I was lying on the bed, thinking about what was to come.
But perhaps because of what was to come, Daeryong was refusing to calm down.
Whoa there, not yet. You can't go wasting your energy already.
I lay there staring up at the ceiling, trying to get Georyong to calm down, while Hwa-eun, just as promised, gathered the kids and began explaining why we would be sleeping in a different room tonight.
“Tonight, Mommy and Daddy are going to sleep in the other room, kids. Daddy’s a bit sick, so Mommy needs to take care of him tonight.”
Tsss. (But I thought Daddy was all better?)
Tssr. (Is Daddy still sick?)
Tssrrr. (It’s been days already!)
Tssrrr. (Right! A few days ago you said you needed to check on his condition at night, but then you said he was fine!)
“Oh, well, that’s because... um... it got worse! He’s got some blocked energy inside, and I need to help release it.”
Tsss! (Then isn’t that really serious? Shouldn’t we call a physician or something?)
“N-no, Mommy can take care of it. There’s a special Tang Clan technique called Inner-Body Treatment, and I’m trained in it.”
Tssrrr. “Okay... Daddy, don’t be sick. Bini’s upset.”
At that moment, just as Bini was looking up at me with concern—
—we heard a familiar sailor’s voice outside.
“So-ryong-nim, are you there?”
Hwa-eun had insisted everything would go smoothly, and I’d started to believe she had a decent plan... but her explanation was starting to sound a little sketchy when that voice interrupted.
“Yes? What is it?”
“There’s a visitor asking for you outside.”
I sat up from the bed and shouted back toward the door. The answer came immediately.
A guest had shown up out of nowhere in the middle of the night.
If this were my past life, it would have been around eight or nine p.m.
In this world, that meant deep night—around the hour of the dog (sul-si), well past sunset.
“Someone came at this hour?”
“Yes, from Dianchang.”
“They left earlier—what could they want now?”
Apparently, someone from Dianchang had returned after leaving earlier.
When I stepped outside, I saw Seonhak—Geombong’s martial brother and a disciple of Dianchang—standing on the deck.
With him were two more disciples, having arrived with a cart carrying two large jars.
“Young Great Hero, I apologize for disturbing you at this late hour.”
“You already left earlier. Why are you back?”
“Our master heard that the matter was resolved and sent us with a gift of celebration.”
“A gift?”
“Yes, over here...”
Seonhak gestured toward the two jars.
The gift appeared to be liquor, and perhaps because she hadn’t been asleep either, Geombong suddenly popped out behind me.
“Martial brother? What’s going on now, coming back after leaving?”
“Oh, martial sister, it’s nothing serious. Master sent this celebratory drink upon hearing the case was resolved.”
“But So So-hyeop doesn’t even like alcohol much.”
“Still... it’s Okrim.”
“Oh, Okrim! How old?”
“Twenty years.”
“Twenty years!?”
I hadn’t known Geombong liked drinking that much, but the moment she heard that it was twenty-year-old Okrim, her eyes practically spun in their sockets.
“So So-hyeop! Let’s go right now!”
“Uh? Go where?”
“To your room, of course! This is the kind of drink you have to taste immediately!”
“Wait, I’m not even that into drinking...”
“What are you saying? This isn’t just alcohol—twenty-year-old Okrim is a treasure!”
"I'm just... busy, that's all..."
"Busy at night? Come on, just have a little taste! It was transferred from a large jar into a smaller one, and once it's been opened, the flavor and aroma start to fade if you wait too long."
"But still, it's so late... Maybe tomorrow night would be better..."
"Hey, don't be like that!"
"I, uh... no, wait..."
She’d said just one taste, but as soon as I mentioned having it tomorrow instead, Geombong rounded up every person still awake and started pushing me back into my room.
Following behind her were her husband, her brother-in-law, and Chang-ryong.
Chang-ryong had come out after Geombong told him to gather everyone who was still awake, and so here we were.
—Knock knock.
"So-ryong, what happened? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. I’ve explained everything to the kids. Let’s go! I—huh?"
As I opened the door, Hwa-eun swept her hair behind her ear with a charming smile, but suddenly, Geombong popped up from behind me.
"Dokhwa, mind if we interrupt for just a bit? You don’t mind, right?"
"Ge-Geombong? Uh, no—wait, that is..."
Ignoring the startled Hwa-eun, everyone marched straight in.
"Just for a moment, Dokhwa."
"Sorry, Dokhwa."
"I’ve heard so many times how Okrim is the king of all liquors, and finally, I get to try it."
"Right? She went on about it so much I thought my ears would fall off."
"I’ll bring the cups!"
And just like that, an impromptu drinking party broke out in my room.
Once the drinks were poured and a little time had passed—barely long enough to finish a cup of tea—the “just one taste” party quickly evolved into “let’s empty the whole jar.”
That’s the thing with alcohol: one glass turns into two, and two into an entire bottle in no time.
"Something’s missing though, right? We need some food to go with this. I’ll whip something up."
"No, really, I just wanted a small taste—"
"Nonsense, So-ryong. We have fine liquor and good friends. How could we stop now?"
"Exactly. Let’s just finish off this one jar."
The party dragged on, made livelier with snacks my sister-in-law prepared in the ship’s galley, and carried on until the hour of the rat—midnight.
"Ahh... this is good. Though come morning, Ji-ryong, Geom-ryong, and Kwon-ryong will be disappointed."
"Well, they went to bed early. Nothing we can do."
"Exactly. We even woke up just for this."
"Huh? My glass is empty already."
"What? That was fast. Oh... one jar's already gone. Hmmm. Should we just finish the second one too?"
Fueled by momentum, Geombong, her husband, Chang-ryong, and my brother-in-law looked ready to destroy the second jar as well—when it happened.
Hwa-eun, who had been holding back all this time, suddenly raised her voice and shouted at everyone.
"That’s enough!"
Her sharp voice sliced through the jovial mood like a blade.
Everyone’s drunken, relaxed eyes went wide in surprise.
"Do... Dokhwa?"
"Dokhwa?"
"Tonight’s drinking ends here! We’re leaving tomorrow, so everyone get back to your rooms and sleep! We can’t let tomorrow’s schedule get derailed because of alcohol, can we?"
Startled by her fierce tone, everyone froze—until my sister-in-law suddenly nudged her husband in the ribs with her elbow and spoke up.
"Sh-She’s right. It’s really late. Let’s head back. We’ve stayed far too long in the newlyweds’ quarters."
"Ah... yes, you’re right."
"Y-Yes, of course. Thank you for everything, Young Great Hero."
As if a switch had been flipped, they all caught on and quickly filed out with apologetic expressions.
Just like that, Hwa-eun restored order with a single shout.
After everyone had left, she turned to the kids.
"Alright then. Mommy’s going to go treat Daddy now, so you all go to sleep, okay?"
Tssrrr. "Okay, M-Mom."
...
The kids could sense her mood and didn't push further. Once she took my wrist and led me out of the room, the fierceness on her face faded into a look of exhaustion. She leaned her head on my shoulder.
"Why is it that every time we try to do something, things get so complicated? For the first time, I thought... So-ryong having so many children and °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° good friends is a blessing, but sometimes, I just wish it could be only the two of us."
A completely different expression from before—one of deep, aching vulnerability.
It was a little ironic, wasn’t it? A legally married couple, just trying to enjoy their first night together, and everything ends up such a mess.
I gently patted her shoulder and led her to the empty room I’d cleaned earlier.
We didn’t say much—but we didn’t need to. I knew exactly what she meant.
It wasn’t that she actually wished the kids weren’t there. She just needed some time alone—just the two of us.
We entered the empty room in silence.
—Creak. Clack.
As we stepped inside, the moonlight pouring through the open window revealed a simple space. A firm wooden bed, laid out with bedding from my own room.
Exactly as I had arranged it earlier, away from everyone’s eyes.
A bit sparse for a romantic night, but stepping into a space where it was just the two of us brought a deep sense of relief.
A reminder that maybe I needed this time alone too.
Now that we were finally in our own space, there was no one left to worry about—no eyes watching us.
I pulled Hwa-eun tightly into my arms.
The warmth and softness that only a woman’s body could give.
The relief doubled.
We stood there like that for a moment, not moving.
Then, without a word, Hwa-eun gently pushed me down onto the bed.
As I fell back onto the bedding, she reached behind her head with both hands and loosened the tie in her hair.
Her tied-up hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
—Shhhhh.
Then she placed her sash into my hand and stepped back.
I hadn’t meant to pull on it, but it slipped free, and her front opened.
Through the parted folds, her slender shoulders and delicate nape slipped into view.
Beneath them, a thin undergarment barely clung to her frame.
—Gulp.
I’d seen her like this before, but every time it felt new. Just as I thought that, her undergarments fell to the floor like wilted petals.
—Thud.
I stood up, stripping off my clothes as I did.
And just like she’d wished, there was now nothing between us.
"Now there’s nothing left between us," I said with a teasing grin.
Hwa-eun wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine without a word.
—Chup.
A moment later—
Like steam finally bursting from a sealed pressure cooker, Hwa-eun’s long-suppressed moan escaped her lips.
"Haang..."
