Fake Concubine ​49

“Where ​is ​the ​fabric ​shop?”

At ​Dong-sik’s ​question, Moon Hae-min ​snapped ​out ​of ​his ​thoughts. He pointed in ​one ​direction and spoke.

“It’s ​the shop over ​there, ​though ​I’m ​not ​sure ​if you know ​it. ​They ​sell bolts of ​cloth, cotton fabric, and ​they make ​padded clothes ​too.”

“Is it ​Grandma’s shop, ​Geum-sun’s ​grandma?”

“Hmm? ​I don’t know ​who Geum-sun’s ​grandmother is, but the ​owner was indeed a ​grandmother.”

Moon Hae-min answered, tracing ​back his ​memories. ​At that, Dong-sik’s eyes widened.

“She probably ​isn’t there today. She ​went ​back ​to ​her ​hometown for a ​bit with ​Geum-sun.”

“Really?”

This ​was another unexpected ​turn ​of events. Moon Hae-min stared ​blankly toward ​the ​fabric shop and ​let ​out ​a ​low ​hum in ​his ​throat.

In truth, ​he didn’t necessarily have to go to ​that specific shop. ​He could have ​a padded garment made ​at any ​other fabric shop ​in ​the market. It ​was simply that ​he had ​liked ​the quilted ​jacket ​he’d ordered ​there ​in the ​past, ​so ​he had intended ​to ​go there ​again.

“What ​should ​I ​do…”

He considered heading back for now and returning another time. However, since he had come out today determined to get his padded clothes made, he wasn’t particularly keen on giving up. Yet, he didn’t want to just go to any random shop, and as he was agonizing over it…

“Hyung, do you want us to play with you?”

“Huh? You guys? With me?”

Moon Hae-min asked, pointing to himself. Dong-sik nodded vigorously.

“Yes. If you’re bored, we’ll play with you.”

Instead of asking him to play with them, he said, ‘we’ll play with you.’ Finding the child’s precociousness adorable, Hae-min beamed a smile.

“And what shall you play with me?”

“We’re going to dig for treasure.”

“Dig for treasure? What kind of treasure is it?”

“That’s… no one is allowed to hear…”

As Dong-sik hesitated, Hae-min bent his knees to get down to the boy’s level.

“Then, would you like to whisper it in Hyung’s ear?”

“Yes!”

The spirited response was so loud Hae-min thought his eardrums might burst. A moment later, Dong-sik leaned in and whispered into Moon Hae-min’s ear.

“I found a jade stone a while ago. But I buried it in the ground because I was afraid the other hyungs would steal it.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, yes. But I don’t know if it’s actually jade. I mean, there’s no way something that precious would just be rolling around on the street, right?”

Dong-sik spoke quite maturely, as if to say he was aware of that much.

“But you never know, and even if it’s not real jade, it’s still pretty…”

Warm breath tickled his ear. Whether it was because of the ticklish sensation or the cuteness of the story, a laugh escaped him.

“Hyung, why are you laughing!”

“Ah, sorry. You’re so cu— ahem, no, I just wondered how pretty that treasure must be.”

Dong-sik, who wanted to be seen as tough, hated being called ‘cute.’ Remembering this, Hae-min hurriedly changed the subject. At that, Dong-sik began to hop up and down.

“I’ll show you!”

“To… to me?”

“Yes!”

Dong-sik answered loudly. He seemed all fired up to show off his treasure.

It would have been cruel to reject such a Dong-sik by saying, ‘Sorry, I’m cold so I think I’ll just go home.’ Moreover, Moon Hae-min was genuinely happy to see the children after so long. Even if the children didn’t remember him at all, Moon Hae-min remembered every single one of them. The affection he felt for them remained unchanged from the past.

“Alright, I’m curious about Dong-sik’s treasure too. But do you remember where you buried it?”

“Sort of.”

“What do you mean, ‘sort of’?”

“It’s not perfectly exact… but it’s okay. I stuck a twig in the ground to mark it.”

If it was a twig and not a stone, there was no way the marker would still be there. Unable to bring himself to say that, Moon Hae-min remained silent.

“Let’s go, hurry!”

Dong-sik brightly grabbed Hae-min’s hand and pulled. The small, fern-like hand was stronger than it looked. Moon Hae-min obediently allowed himself to be led away.

Dong-sik headed toward [unauthorized copy]unauthorized copythe village [visit our site]next to the market. Moon Hae-min and the other children followed behind.

After passing through an alley lined with clustered thatched-roof houses, they came upon a low hill. Stopping just below the hill, Dong-sik looked around.

“Huh? Where did it go? I definitely stuck a twig right here somewhere…”

It seemed he had finally realized that things weren’t going according to plan. Moon Hae-min offered a gentle suggestion.

“Could the twig have been swept away by the wind and rain? Or perhaps a wild animal brushed against it while passing by?”

“Uh, that can’t be…”

Dong-sik hesitated, looking flustered. Soon, he clenched his fists and looked around at the other children.

“You guys remember where the treasure is buried, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s try digging. If we dig and dig and dig, we’ll find it.”

“Okay!”

To Hae-min, it seemed like a reckless plan, but the children scattered and began to claw at the earth. They looked like a colony of moles.

Among them, Dong-sik was the alpha mole. When the ground proved too frozen to dig unauthorized copyunauthorized copywith bare hands, Dong-sik found a rock somewhere and began pounding the earth with it. Feeling awkward just standing there, Moon Hae-min crouched down beside the child.

“Hyung, just wait a moment. I can dig it up soon.”

“Mm. You’re strong; you’re really good at digging.”

When he praised him to encourage him, Dong-sik became visibly pleased and pounded the ground even harder. Seeing this, Hae-min slightly regretted his praise.

“By the way, Hyung.”

“Yes?”

“How did you know I was Dong-sik?”

“…”

In an instant, the hair on the back of Hae-min’s neck stood up.

He had made a mistake. And a potentially fatal one at that.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Dong-sik was asking out of suspicion. He was simply purely fascinated that a stranger knew his name.

“Oh, well, I heard the other kids calling your name.”

Moon Hae-min made an excuse, pretending [visit our site]to be [Read on Read BL Novels]nonchalant. Dong-sik didn’t seem to stolen contentdoubt the excuse and nodded.

“I see.”

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. It was a good thing he’d made the mistake with Dong-sik; if he had made it with Song Seol…

‘It would have been a disaster.’

Surely Song Seol wouldn’t suspect that he had returned to the past. That was an event so shocking it was hard to even imagine.

However, the return to the past wasn’t the only secret Moon Hae-min harbored. Even if his regression remained hidden, it would be a catastrophe if his other secret were discovered. In any case, there was nothing to be gained from making mistakes.

He vowed to be cautious at all times, and especially careful in front of Song Seol.

“Then Hyung, what’s your name?”

Dong-sik asked abruptly. Moon Hae-min answered in a small voice.

“Hee-yul.”

“Hee-yul? Wow. It suits you well, Hyung.”

“…Thanks.”

He knew Dong-sik didn’t [stolen content]mean anything bad, but he felt a bit strange. The [stolen content]words stolen contentthat followed were even more peculiar.

“Your face and your name are both pretty. Your eyes too.”

“Hmm…”

Having never thought of himself as pretty in his entire life, Moon Hae-min let out an awkward hum. Perhaps it was because he had manifested as an Eumin. Dong-sik had not yet manifested (in fact, it was most likely he never would), but it seemed that even in the eyes of an ordinary person, Eumin looked different.

“Aw, why isn’t anything coming up?”

Dong-sik, who had been digging away, grumbled. He stopped digging and looked around.

“I really did stick a twig here somewhere…”

“There’s no way that twig would still be here, right?”

Hae-min gently reasoned with Dong-sik. By now, Dong-sik should realize that using a twig as a marker was useless—if only so he wouldn’t repeat the same mistake in the future.

“But… it stayed put before.”

“How long did you leave it buried before?”

“…Two days.”

“That’s probably why [unauthorized copy]it stayed. Next time you [unauthorized copy]find a treasure, how about keeping it in your room instead of burying it?”

“I can’t. There’s nowhere to hide treasure in my room…”

Moon Hae-min realized his mistake. In thatched-roof houses, several family members usually lived in a single room. Dong-sik might have wanted to hide his treasure even from his own family, and Hae-min had spoken too hastily.

“Th-then, how about sticking something else in the ground instead of a twig next time?”

“Like what?”

“Something harder than a twig. Like a stone, for example.”

“I should have done that.”

Dong-sik muttered gloomily. He brushed the dirt off his hands onto his clothes.

“I can’t find it.”

“…”

“I shouldn’t have buried it. I think I lost it.”

His slumped shoulders were heartbreaking. Without realizing it, Moon Hae-min reached out and patted Dong-sik’s shoulder.

“It’s okay. You’ll find an even cooler treasure next time.”

“Yes… but nothing will be as pretty as that jade stone.”

“Mmm…”

He didn’t know how to comfort him in times like this. Even when he was a child himself, he had never tried to soothe a depressed younger sibling. Just as he was awkwardly patting Dong-sik’s shoulder…

“Hey! Park Dong-sik!”

A girl who had appeared from nowhere shouted shrilly.

“What!”

As if he had never been discouraged, Dong-sik shouted back. At that sound, the children who had been poking at the ground one by one stood up.