CH. 26 SNOW WHITE II

THUNK!

The hammer definitely left a crack on his wooden floor. We look at each other, " . . . "

"Move. I'll get it." He scopes the hammer up with ease and, in a large motion, breaks the block. The block cracks in two, and a molded sword fell out.

With the metal tongs, he quickly picks the hot sword and dunks it in water. Steam and heat fogged the room.

"Cough, cough, cough." I swat the steam away to see and breathe properly.

"You're a blacksmith?" I ask when I could finally see him heating the sword again, but this time he hits it with his hammer.

He doesn't answer me and just hits the sword. After maybe 50 his he stops to look at me.

"Yeah." He wipes away the soot off his face... which was still there.

"There's food inside. You can cook for your own, right? I don't exactly want to babysit." He says before returning on reheating and hammering the sword.

Not offended by his words, I walk straight to his front door. I walked inside and was surprised at how clean the place was. There was a table for two by the kitcken area, a large bed at the corner of the room, and a giant couch in front of the fireplace. It was very quaint and homey, which surprised me because of how burly and dirty he looks right now.

Checking the kitchen out, I find lots of vegetables, herbs, and spices. As for meat, I opened a small fridge-looking box and found a slab of beef.

"Hmmm..." With the ingredients he had, my favorite meal pops up in my mind.

"Looks like we're having curry tonight." I pull out the carrots, potatoes, celery, and onions as well as the herb and spices to make the curry paste from scratch.

It did not take me long to make the curry paste. Setting that aside, I finally started cutting the vegetables in chucks. In a large pot with oil, I throw the onions first sautee and waited for a bit before adding the rest of the vegetables, spices, and meat. While

I let that simmer, I cook two cups of rice before heading back out to the blacksmith.

"Dinner will be done in 30 minutes." I yell at him. I stop at my tracks and ask myself, "What the hell am I doing? I'm supposed to be looking for Jung-woo...GROWL."

"Well, I can't do anything in an empty stomach." I clean up the kitchen a bit and prepare the table. The hammering had stopped a few minutes ago now since my announcement. He wasn't by the stove, so I had assumed he went to clean up somewhere... I hope.

I serve two plates with curry and rice on them. Of course, I prepared him 3 times the size of him. No way was he not hungry after all the hammering.

The door opens and reveals a man, with a similar physic as the blacksmith. However, he was super clean and good-looking. His dark red hair was swept back with his softly tanned hand. On instinct, I grab the spatula and point it at him. The curry sauce was dripping on the floor.

"Who are you!?" I ask, glaring at the man. He was standing there staring at me. He had a towel around his hips, but it definitely did not cover his v-line. I would have swooned if this happened in the movies.

The man doesn't say a word, but he walks up to me. With one hand holding up the towel, the other hand takes the spatula from me and licks the curry sauce off.

" ! ! ! "

" It's me." He simply says, handing me the spatula back and walking to his closet. Does he not know how seductive that was?!

"You're that dirty blacksmith?!" I slap my hand over my mouth. Why did that sound so wrong?! I mean, he was covered in soot, but I hope he doesn't take offense from it or think I'm a pervert! It sounded like both an insult and a pervy remark.

"Blacksmiths shower too. We're not animals." He scowls, opening the closet doors, "Do you mind?"

I had not realized I was staring at him. My face heats up, and I turn my back to him and sit on the chair, staring hard at the food in front of me. I hear him shuffling and moving behind me. Even the unfolding of clothes, which I simply just smile and clog my ears with my finger. I only know he was finish changing when he sat in front of me.

He wore black pants and a white tunic. The tunic revealed his smooth chest underneath... Hey, I'm just describing to you all what I'm seeing, okay? Don't think much about it.

Anyway, we sat in silence. I watch him closely as he eats my meal. I wonder if curry is a thing here?

"This is delicious." He takes a spoonful of rice and curry into his mouth, "Thank you for making dinner." His ears were slightly red, and I chuckled.

"Well, as payment, I wanted to ask where the nearest castle is? Or town?" I ask. Blacksmith continues to eat without saying anything. When he cleaned his 3 times the sized portion of food, did he answer.

"The nearest town is a three day journey. However, there is a castle nearby that's a day and a half away." He gets up and looks at the pot of empty rice and curry. He frowns.

"Here." I push my barely eaten plate towards him, "I already ate plenty while I was cooking."

The blacksmith stares at me for a few seconds before sitting back down and eating my plate.

"You can just draw me a map, and I can be on my way." I dust off my dress. He picked up the cup that was on the table and drinks from it.

"I'll give you a map, but I'll be going with you. I have business to attend there." He finishes his food so cleanly.

I continue to sit by the table while he gets up and starts on the dishes.

"Okay! Let me just use the bathroom, and then we can head out." I get up from my spot and head towards the door. Since he came in all clean. He must have a bathroom outside.

"I... don't have a bathroom." He slowly says, "And We don't leave till tomorrow. " I stop in my tracks.

"Then... how did you shower?" I can feel sweat running down my back. This dress was not camping-out made, and I hope he says anything remotely for human use.

"I took a shower by the hot springs. But umm..." He scratches his neck, "But you can do your business anywhere... I suggest a good bush that covers you from all four sides... and dig a hole if it's that kind of business."

I look at him in horror. The hot spring is fine, but as for the other...

"I'm gonna wash up a bit." Then maybe a bush. Before I ran out, the blacksmith walked over to me and grabbed my shoulder.

"Woah!" I tried to move his hand, but they were rock solid and would not budge.

"Sorry." He quickly retracts his hand, "I thought that maybe you'd want to change jnto these instead of your nice ones."

I looked down at his other hand, and it was a large white tunic and black pants.

"Ohh. Umm... thanks. Then I'll be back." I snatch the clothes and run out.

"Just head north. When you see the X marks on the trees, that means you near the hot springs."

I give him a thumbs up and head north of the cottage. A few minutes later, I began to spot large X marks on the trees. If anything, they make me not want to follow them. It wasn't long till I found the hot springs. I guess the X marks work since no one was around. Steam was rising up in the air, the temperature turned hot, and large rocks were surrounding the whole place.

Double checking if anyone was around, I slip out of the dress and jump into the hot water.

"Ahhh..." I can feel my body instantly relaxing. The heat of the water sips into my exhausted body, and I sigh another relief. I probably spent an hour in the hot springs when I hear voices on the other side of the rocks.

I freeze when a hand covers my mouth.