Eat The World Tree

Late evening.

Cheondo, having washed up late, entered the room and began drying her hair. This was because her training session had been delayed due to the Cheonma taking on a new disciple.

“Sigh…”

She patted her head with a towel.

Steam rose faintly from her still-damp, pale skin. Her entire body felt pleasantly warm.

The soap she had recently purchased from outside had a really nice scent, too. And today’s training session with her master had been quite fulfilling.

If Cheondo kept a picture diary, she would have stamped it twice with peach blossom and sunflower stamps, marking it as a joyful day.

“So, why did you come here?”

…Had this person not been there, the stamps would have increased to five.

“Eugh”

The man, shamelessly smiling and speaking with such confidence.

He was a stranger, and they hadn’t known each other for long. They had become strangely entangled, ending up saying things they shouldn’t have, but anyhow.

“I brought you something you’d really like.”

“What are you talking about? How much do you think you know about me?”

Cheondo narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the smirking man.

Initially, she had thought he was someone caught in a difficult situation.

Having many things he couldn’t say, and sneaking in, there must have been a reason for that. But one day, he stormed into the entrance of Dowon, caused a scene, and caught the master’s eye, eventually earning the title of Young Demon.

To the original Young Demon, Cheondo, he was an unwelcome intrusion.

There couldn’t be two Young Demons. Just like there couldn’t be two suns in the sky.

There was a reason to set ranks and designate a prominent disciple among them. It’s said that in the past, they used to rank them as the first disciple, the second disciple, and so on.

Would the master see her as the first disciple now?

-That guy, he has potential. Make sure to take good care of him as a Sago.

Probably not. This man was strong. Stronger than herself.

She didn’t think this feeling was jealousy. But sitting quietly and watching the master praise that man made Cheondo unavoidably upset.

‘…Can I not succeed?’

Once this question popped into her head, it led to another.

Though slightly disheartened, Cheondo maintained her bright facade with her unique acting skills. To be honest, she now found the man who had intruded into her quarters unwelcome.

No matter how mature she tried to act, in the end, she was just a young girl. Even if she were an adult, she couldn’t have looked kindly upon a man invading her space.

-Suddenly.

Then, the man offered something.

Large, thick, and smelling slightly of soy sauce, a sausage. Corn kernels were embedded within the thin dough.

“…What is this?”

“Teriyaki corn sausage. Bought it from outside. Took a while, but I had to go out to mark the coordinates anyway.”

Teriyaki? Sausage, what?

Cheondo, as if mesmerized, grabbed the stick of the sausage. The lower part of the stick was wrapped in paper to avoid getting sauce on her hands.

“Try it.”

The man looked at her with round, puppy-like eyes, full of expectation.

…How good could this be? She took a big bite of the large sausage, which was almost too big to fit in her mouth comfortably.

It was surprisingly hot, as if it had just been bought.

“Ow, huh…”

Juices bursting in her mouth, the rolling corn kernels, and the sweet taste of teriyaki sauce. Compared to the bland monastic food Cheondo was used to, her mind was blown.

“…Delicious.”

Unaware, such words burst forth from her.

Cheondo’s face, revealing her emotions, melted into happiness.

Despite not being particularly greedy for food,

Cheondo stuffed her mouth full of sausage again and chewed.

Bite by bite, she embroidered the taste of it into her mind.

‘Sausage. The light of my life. The fire of my body.’

-Munch munch.

The man watched Cheondo’s actions with satisfaction.

-Gulp.

The salty taste of soy sauce on the tip of her tongue was followed by a wave of sweetness—a sweetness that seemed to target young children danced on her tongue.

Cheondo bit down, not realizing she had finished eating, and then looked sullenly at the remaining stick.

It was the first time she had eaten so mindlessly, without any manners.

“…Oh. I’m sorry. Was it unpleasant to watch?”

Cheondo apologized, belatedly aware of the man’s presence.

“No? It was nice to watch. It was worth going far to buy it right after getting my pay.”

Saying so, the man took out a tissue from his bag and wiped the corners of Cheondo’s mouth. She blushed slightly upon realizing she had sauce on her face.

But why did he suddenly buy food in the middle of the night?

Could it be that he wanted something from her? After eating, such wariness returned.

“…Why are you giving this to me?”

“I just bought it with the wages I got for helping out down there.”

“I’m asking for the reason.”

“I thought of you. It would have been nice to give some to Baekdo and Hwangdo too, but since I don’t know where they live, I bought yours only.”

Cheondo closed her mouth and thought.

The man knew her name and that Baekdo and Hwangdo were her siblings. Was it logical for someone who was like fire in battle to become so docile, like a gentle puppy, in front of her?

She hadn’t done anything for him.

She wondered if the master had arranged something, but even the master, who seemed to know the logic of the whole world, appeared not to recognize this man.

This person knew a secret about her and the master from the start. Unless everyone in Dowon conspired against her, there must be something.

-You’ll find out someday?

He actually said that… she decided to wait for him to tell her, but her curiosity only grew.

He’s unusually kind to her.

It wasn’t just unpleasant; it was also burdensome. Her heart had been unsettled recently.

“Sigh…”

But it’s hard to spit in a smiling face. What could she say to someone who had gone out to buy food for her ?

…The food she just ate was delicious enough to be memorable for a lifetime. Such sweetness was unprecedented. To describe it, it felt like two trees growing on a high plateau, shyly touching each other’s branches. Her poor expression couldn’t fully capture it. Really.

After finishing her thoughts, Cheondo swallowed.

“Want to just eat mine too?”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly.”

Upon the man’s insistence, Cheondo shook her head vigorously.

“Really? Then I’ll eat it.”

“…Ah.”

As he brought it to his mouth without hesitation, Cheondo’s mouth opened.

“…Just eat it?”

“Really, can I?”

The man, as if telling her not to say anything, airplane-fed the sausage into Cheondo’s mouth.

The sausage knocked on Cheondo’s mouth, which seemed never to open, and it naturally did.

Another burst of blessing. Teriyaki sausage.

Munch munch, gulp.

Once it entered her mouth, she eagerly ate, holding the stick herself. A look of contentment spread across the man’s face.

“I’m full. I’ve made a fool of myself.”

“A happy fool, right?”

“Hmph.”

“Do you think Baekdo and Hwangdo would like it?”

Baekdo and Hwangdo… It’s an understatement to mention just the two of them.

Everyone in Dowon would be shocked and flipped over if they tasted the corn sausage.

Cheondo suppressed her exaggerated thoughts and spoke calmly.

She drew a huge circle with her hands and repeatedly lifted her feet into the air and then back to the ground.

“They would really like it. Rea~lly.”

Even to herself, it seemed like a calm response.

Cheondo couldn’t suppress her hand gestures and foot movements, though she thought she was being calm.

Unable to hold back his laughter at Cheondo’s antics, she tried to suppress her fidgety hands and shivered.

“If I speak seriously, Baekdo and Hwangdo, unlike me, have some experience outside, so they wouldn’t be that surprised.”

“So, they wouldn’t really be surprised?”

“Eek… Stop it when I’m asking nicely.”

As the man mimicked her fidgety movements in jest, Cheondo raised her hands.

“What if I don’t speak nicely?”

“…If you don’t speak nicely.”

Cheondo’s patience snapped.

She wanted to change the subject quickly due to overwhelming embarrassment.

“I’ll do this!”

She lunged at the man with her hands stretched above her head.

Lifting him up and onto the bed with a swift move! The man let out a grunt as the move went in cleanly without resistance.

“Aaaagh!”

The man’s exaggerated scream sounded almost comically villainous.

Unbeknownst to herself, a subtle smile lingered on Cheondo’s face.

The wrestling on the bed she often did with her cousins during holidays.

Cheondo hit the man’s body with her soft fists, not applying much force, as if revisiting the scene of her match with the man and Hongyeon.

Initially, it was just an action to change the subject. But seeing the man’s reaction strangely invigorated Cheondo.

Biting, hitting, tickling.

How long did they roll around like that?

Their clothes stretched out, and their hair became as messy as if birds had nested in it. Laying atop the bed, the man and Cheondo looked at each other and laughed.

“Snicker. What are we even doing, really?”

“As long as it’s fun, what does it matter?”

Who this man was, what his intentions were.

All the anxious thoughts she had before flew away in an instant.

Could it be that he was a puppy in a previous life? Rolling around with him, all the worries and concerns seemed to disappear.

“…Ah right, I thought about a nickname.”

“A name?”

“DoWon. Isn’t it nice?”

“DoWon, as in the name of this place, and you want to go with DoWon?”

DoWon, Lee DoWon?

Not a bad name, but it felt like it could complicate things if not careful. Cheondo seemed to be aware of this as well. Seeing the man’s pondering expression, Cheondo snorted.

“Then give me another name.”

“Ah, just DoWon is fine. Let’s go with that.”

“Alright. Then, DoWon…”

Wait.

What should she properly call this person?

After much deliberation, Cheondo tentatively floated the first title that came to mind.

“…Brother?”

Tilting her head and poking her cheek with a finger, she pondered.

A sly smile bloomed on the man’s face.

It was clear he was thinking something mischievous.

“No… This isn’t right.”

“Why not?”

“How can I call you that when you smile so suspiciously! Don’t try to look serious now. It’s too late to fix your expression!”

The man’s face fell.

“…”

“Even if you close your mouth tight, I won’t take it back. It’s not pitiful at all.”

“No other way, I guess.”

“How about ‘Sahyung’? DoWon Sahyung.”

“It sounds a bit off, but it might be correct.”

Cheondo would never say the word ‘oppa’ here, or ever again in the future.

If not ‘oppa’, then something that fits the atmosphere here like ‘Gege’?

Regrettably, the man tried not to show too much emotion on his face.

There were still many things to enjoy besides the sausage.

The man took out a cellphone and earphones from his pocket.

“…What’s that?”

Cheondo showed interest in the unfamiliar device.

“Ah, this is called a cellphone.”

It contained cartoons.

Cheondo’s expression turned into a question mark at the man’s words.

“Come here. Put one earphone in.”

“It’s not something weird, is it…?”

Cheondo lay down next to the man on the bed, who was lying down as if sprawling.

An earphone was placed in each of their ears.

Then, the video on the cellphone screen started playing.

-one two three four. Pretty Cure!

Cheondo’s eyes widened at the lively voice of a woman she was hearing for the first time.

“If you swipe right, the next episode comes up. Watch it whenever you’re bored.”

After giving a few instructions, the man put his earphone fully into Cheondo’s ear and stood up from the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to work. There’s a lot to do and a lot to learn. I’ll come by now and then.”

As soon as he said that, the man disappeared with a mysterious flash of light.

He left in the room were Cheondo lying on the bed and the cellphone playing a video.

This person always disappeared after saying or doing something.

Cheondo looked back at the screen.

‘What does he want me to watch?’

Still, it was intriguing.

Cheondo focused on the exaggerated drawings and sounds.

-Gather the power of the five branches! Yap!

One minute passed, then ten minutes.

Cheondo, who had never experienced such things before, slowly became fascinated by the stories inside the cellphone.

“…It’s not that interesting.”

Despite saying so, she moved on to the next episode.

Her finger swiped right.

Addiction usually seeped into a person’s body very slowly.

Unaware of the night passing, Cheondo kept her eyes glued to the cellphone screen.

Until she had watched all twelve episodes of the animation.

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