Chapter 193

"So, have you ever eaten something wrong in the past?"

Jaegyeom furrowed his brow at the sudden question while quietly listening to Shin Jihye's story. He searched through his dusty past but nothing particular came to mind, and his time with Myojeong was so long ago that he couldn't remember well.

"I've never met a mermaid before, for one thing."

He had only heard about mermaids existing, but this was the first time he'd actually seen one. So he had never directly consumed mermaid flesh or blood.

Besides, according to Shin Jihye, to become immortal by eating mermaid flesh and blood, one had to be in love with the mermaid. But Jaegyeom had no memory of ever loving anyone in his life.

"I was often sick when I was young. So I frequently took medicinal decoctions then..."

As Jaegyeom was lost in reminiscence, rolling his eyes and muttering, Yoon Taehee paused slightly and then peered intently at Jaegyeom's face.

"...You were often sick when you were young?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I don't know. When I was little, I would often collapse for no reason. My chest would hurt like it was burning, and suddenly everything would go black. Whenever that happened, Myojeong would prepare medicine for me and l'd feel better after taking it. But it was mostly decoctions, I hardly ever took pills."

Yoon Taehee, who had been quietly staring at Jaegyeom, suddenly raised his hand and gently stroked the back of Jaegyeom's head. At the simple yet affectionate touch, Jaegyeom momentarily froze as he looked at Yoon Taehee, then quickly tilted his head to the side, escaping Yoon Taehee's hand.

At that moment, Shin Jihye tilted her head and spoke up.

"Since you said you've never met a mermaid, then your immortality probably isn't directly related to mermaids. So that leaves the immortality pill. Maybe you ate the immortality pill without knowing it, or it could be for a completely different reason."

Shin Jihye rested her chin on her hand, looking deep in thought.

"I don't know much about the immortality pill either, so I can't tell you more. But it's just called an 'immortality pill', right? We can't be certain it's actually in pill form. It could be dissolved in water or melted, or secretly added to food. Don't you think so?"

As Shin Jihye shrugged and suggested a new possibility, Yoon Taehee asked:

"If someone became immortal by eating mermaid flesh and blood, is there a way to reverse it?"

"As far as I know, it's the same as for mermaids. You have to eat the gallbladder of the person you love."

A mermaid who eats the gallbladder of their loved one gains two legs like a human, starts aging like a human, and becomes mortal like a human.

"Then what about someone who became immortal by taking the immortality pill?"

"Hm... I don't know much about the immortality pill so I'm not sure, but I imagine it would be the same? Since they gained immortality by inheriting the properties of mermaids."

"Is that so?"

Yoon Taehee slowly got up and went to the sink. He opened a drawer and took out a blade. Holding the blade, Yoon Taehee looked at Jaegyeom.

"Then if you eat my gallbladder right here and now, we'll know."

At his calm words, Shin Jihye and Jaegyeom gaped blankly.

"..."

"..."

Yoon Taehee looked down at his own side and grasped near his ribs with his empty hand. He seemed to be gauging where the gallbladder was located.

"Hey, is this guy off his rails?"

Shin Jihye said incredulously. Jaegyeom, who had been frozen for a moment, finally came to his senses and stood up. He quickly went to Yoon Taehee. Jaegyeom grabbed his wrist, his face hardening.

"You crazy bastard, what the hell are you saying?"

Yoon Taehee looked down at Jaegyeom with an unwavering gaze.

"Because I love you. My gallbladder might work."

At the casual confession in this situation, Jaeyeom was momentarily speechless.

Oh my, what's going on?

Shin Jihye, who had been watching the two, opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth with her hand.

"So... you're going to stab yourself with a knife right here?"

"I don't mind getting hurt. I can ask the ginseng child to heal me."

"Are you nuts? Fucking say something that makes sense."

It was utterly absurd that he would stab his weak body with a knife when he wasn't even immortal like Jaegyeom. But Yoon Taehee seemed completely serious. Jaegyeom grew increasingly angry.

"There's nothing to lose in trying."

"How is cutting out your gallbladder 'nothing to lose'?"

As the two bickered, Shin Jihye, who had been watching them, crossed her arms and spoke up.

"Or how about going to ask my mom back in my hometown?"

At that, both of them turned their heads to look at her.

"Anyway, to know for sure whether your immortality is because of mermaids or because of an immortality pill made from mermaids, we have no choice but to go directly to the mermaids to confirm. My mom said mermaids can tell if a human has eaten mermaid flesh just by smelling them. I don't know much since I'm only a half-mermaid. And my mom would know much more detailed information about the immortality pill than I do."

Yoon Taehee, who had been quietly listening to Shin Jihye, asked:

"The mermaids' hometown... you mean Geomun island ?"

At his words, Shin Jihye shook her head.

"No. They used to live on Geomun Island, but they moved elsewhere long ago because humans kept bothering them. It's an island called Geoyeo Island, farther away from Geomun Island."

She continued speaking with a prim expression, twirling her hair.

"But it won't be easy without me. It's deep in the ocean so you two could never find it on your own. So l'll go down into the sea and bring my mom up to land."

Shin Jihye, who could breathe underwater, already had over half of her legs covered in scales. In this state, after a day or two her legs would fuse together and she would have a complete mermaid lower body.

Her body was in the appropriate condition to enter the sea without any problems.

"But I have conditions. You said yesterday you'd introduce me to a broker or quack doctor, right?

Introduce me. And protect me from now on. Make sure Naryecheong never finds out about my existence."

Shin Jihye added, looking at Yoon Taehee with clear eyes.

"If you promise, I'll personally guide you two to the island."

"Alright, I'll do that."

Yoon Taehee nodded without a moment's hesitation.

"Geoyeo is an island far from the mainland so boats don't go there often. It'll take at least a day or two to get to the island and bring my mom back. You two will have to wait on the island during that time. And you can't be seen by other mermaids. They're very hostile to humans and might attack you, so i'll go down alone

secretly to bring my mom."

"Okay, got it."

Yoon Taehee readily accepted Shin Jihye's proposal.

"..."

was a quick decision. Jaegyeom's face gradually hardened. He found it difficult to follow this situation where Yoon Taehee was unilaterally pushing forward without any regard for his opinion.

Finally, Jaegyeom roughly grabbed Yoon Taehee's wrist and pulled.

"Hey. Let's talk for a minute."

***

After dragging Yoon Taehee into the room, Jaegyeom closed the door and immediately exploded in anger.

"Why are you deciding everything on your own?"

Jaegyeom glared at Yoon Taehee with cold eyes.

"We don't know for sure if my curse is because of mermaids or not. This could take days. And you're saying you'll drop everything and go meet mermaids now?"

Though he snapped with a fierce intensity,

"That's why we should go ask directly."

Yoon Taehee retorted with an indifferent face.

"We're supposed to steal the name tag soon. What if something goes wrong while we're gone? And I haven't decided yet whether I'll follow your words or not."

"As I said before, your opinion doesn't matter."

At that, Jaegyeom's face hardened severely.

"Don't worry. Nothing will change. You'll retrieve the name tag and return my name to me, and I'll bring down Naryecheong and take Bangsangsi's mask."

Yoon Taehee, who had been staring intently at Jaegyeom, spoke again.

"And you will die someday, without fail."

"...."

"But it won't be two months from now."

"..."

In the end, it was a circular conversation that went nowhere. The reason Jaegyeom went to find Yoon Taehee last night was because he thought they couldn't end things like this. He figured they were just wasting time being apart without communicating, so he wanted to have a proper conversation. How they would find a way to break the curse, what kind of promise they would make if they found a way, what the plans were going forward, and what they would do if they couldn't find a way...

The Yoon Taehee that Jaegyeom knew seemed relaxed on the outside but was actually an extremely persistent and meticulous person. He never imagined that someone who waited 10 years for revenge, always thinking several moves ahead, would suddenly put a knife to his own body and push things forward so recklessly like this.

"Why do you keep acting on your own?"

Jaegyeom bit his lip hard as he glared at Yoon Taehee.

"When did I ask you to break the curse?"

"No, this isn't because you want it."

Yoon Taehee stared at Jaegyeom with an expressionless face.

"It's because I, who love you, want it."

At those words that flowed out without hesitation, Jaegyeom's sharp demeanor crumbled. Yoon Taehee was boldly selfish, shamelessly self-centered, and spoke of love without restraint.

"..."

It felt like he had heard similar words sometime before.

I'm not saying this out of concern for you.'

'It's because it hurts me when you get hurt'

As Jaegyeom was struggling to find the right words to say, Yoon Taehee suddenly cupped Jaegyeom's cheeks with both hands. When he flinched and pulled back, Yoon Taehee abruptly spoke.

"Why did you come looking for me yesterday?"

"..."

Jaegyeom hesitated, his lips trembling slightly, before forcing out a seemingly nonchalant answer.

"I- I thought we needed to talk, but you weren't answering my calls."

At that moment, Yoon Taehee hunched over slightly and brought his face close to Jaegyeom's, whose cheeks he was still cupping. The scent that penetrated deeply was dizzying for a moment.

He slowly lowered his eyes and asked in a low voice:

"Is that all?"

"..."

Jaegyeom's eyelashes fluttered frantically.

"Is that really all?"

"..."

Finally, with their noses touching, Yoon Taehee asked:

"Then why did you ask me to kiss you yesterday?"

At that moment, Jaegyeom's heart sank.

I asked him to kiss me?

Jaegyeom's memory of last night was cut off in the middle. But hearing Yoon Taehee's words suddenly made him remember clearly. This situation of their noses touching felt familiar. It seemed like he really did kiss Yoon Taehee yesterday. Flustered without realizing it, jaegyeom stammered:

"That... that was just, I wasn't in my right mind, it was drunk talk."

Yoon Taehee stared down at Jaegyeom with half-lidded eyes.

"..."

After silently gazing at Jaegyeom, Yoon Taehee lowered his head and slid his forehead down. With his head buried in Jaegyeom's neck, he murmured quietly as if talking to himself:

"Right, I don't mind even if it was drunk talk..."

Yoon Taehee, who had his forehead pressed against Jaegyeom's neck, slowly raised his head.

"So this time too, let's pretend you're not in your right mind, and come with me..."

Like a final short trip they were taking together, to that faraway island."