Fake Concubine 25
“I need to eat something.”
It would be a disaster if he collapsed now. Moon Hae-min held Bok-deong-i firmly in his arms and managed to drag his steps forward.
Since he was in front of the Seonui Gate, where many people passed through, there were plenty of taverns. Perhaps because it was dinner time, most of them were bustling with customers. Hae-min entered one of the relatively quiet ones.
As he sat down on a wooden platform, a servant hurried over. Hae-min spoke in a low voice.
“One bowl of hangover soup, please.”
“Pardon? Customer, what was that?”
He had spoken softly to avoid revealing his masculine voice, and it seemed the man hadn’t heard him. Left with no choice, Moon Hae-min raised his voice slightly.
“One bowl of hangover soup…”
“Yes, ma’am. And some liquor?”
“I’m fine.”
The servant withdrew [stolen content]after taking the order. Only then did Hae-min breathe a sigh of relief.
‘This is the problem with disguising myself as a woman.’
He was more concerned about his voice than his appearance. No matter how hard he tried to force a thin, delicate tone, it wouldn’t sound like a woman’s. He decided he must avoid speaking to others as much as possible while cross-dressing.
“Here is your soup.”
The servant brought the hangover soup quickly. The steam rising from the bowl and the savory aroma whetted his appetite. After carefully laying Bok-deong-i down beside him, Hae-min picked up his spoon.
The warm broth slid smoothly down his throat. More than the taste, he loved the feeling of his body warming up. Hae-min moved his spoon briskly.
“Good grief, is this the only tavern worth going to?”
“It can’t be helped. They said all the other taverns were full.”
“Rice and liquor taste the same wherever you eat them. Stop being so picky—it doesn’t suit you—and just sit down.”
A group of men burst in. Carrying large bundles on their backs and heads, they looked like merchants. They sat on the platform opposite Hae-min and immediately ordered liquor.
“Ugh, it’s freezing. I feel like I’m coming back to life now that the liquor’s hitting me. Don’t you think this winter is exceptionally cold?”
“Tell me about it. It’s at the point where frost forms on your beard the moment you sigh.”
“You’re lucky if it’s just frost. I’m telling you, [unauthorized copy]when I go to urinate, it freezes right there!”
“Ah, honestly, you’re ruining the taste of the drink.”
The men chatted loudly, oblivious to those around them. Consequently, Moon Hae-min unintentionally overheard their conversation.
“…Hm? But what is this smell?”
“Smell? You mean the smell of frying pancakes?”
“No, not that. There’s a faint scent of flowers coming from somewhere… Wait, what kind of flower is this?”
“How could that be? What flowers would bloom in the dead of winter?”
“Exactly. Even if some crazy tree managed to blossom, it would freeze instantly.”
“I’m telling you, it really smells like flowers!”
One man insisted it smelled like flowers, undeterred by his companions’ rebukes. Eventually, he sprang up from his seat and looked around.
“I think it’s the scent of plum blossoms…”
“I don’t see a single blade of grass, let alone plum blossoms.”
“Strange, it’s definitely [unauthorized copy]the scent of plum… It almost unauthorized copysmells like an [unauthorized copy]Eumin’s Chromatic Scent…”
At those words, Moon Hae-min stopped his spoon mid-air.
“Well, it could be an Eumin’s Chromatic Scent. We’re ordinary people, so we can’t smell them.”
“If you’re the only one who can smell it, then it likely is a Chromatic Scent.”
“But is there really a Chromatic Scent that smells like plum blossoms…?”
The man tilted his head, still suspicious. His companions pulled him back down to his seat.
“Whether it’s plum blossoms or an Eumin’s Chromatic Scent, I don’t care, so just eat your food quietly.”
“Yeah, it’s distracting to have a big guy like you standing there like that.”
With that, the topic of the scent faded. However, Hae-min remained frozen, unable to move. It was because he suspected that the plum blossom scent in question was emanating from his own body.
‘Is this the Chromatic Scent I’ve only heard about…?’
He wanted to check properly, but if he started sniffing himself here, it would be an admission that he was the Eumin emitting the scent.
Deciding he needed to leave the area immediately, Moon Hae-min put down his spoon and picked up Bok-deong-i.
That evening, Moon Hae-min found a tavern located in a relatively secluded area.
He rented a room on the condition that he would stay alone for three days. This resulted in a large expense, but he didn’t mind since he could earn the money back and it was a necessary cost.
“Phew.”
The tension drained from him at the thought that he could finally rest comfortably tonight. After settling Bok-deong-i in, Hae-min collapsed onto the floor.
‘Is this really my Chromatic Scent…?’
Being in a small space made it even more noticeable. It was a deep, lingering scent of plum blossoms. When he closed his eyes, he almost felt as if he were standing beneath a plum tree in full bloom.
It was a change as sudden as his manifestation as an Eumin overnight. He was certain that no such scent had been emanating from him when he left Grand Prince Byeokran’s residence.
‘Then when did the scent start?’
He gradually traced back his memories. When he gave birth to Bok-deong-i… the labor pains were so overwhelming that he had no room to notice other senses.
He thought he might have smelled something like this around noon. However, he had simply dismissed it, never imagining the scent was coming from his own body.
“Could it be…”
A hypothesis occurred to him. Perhaps there was a correlation between pregnancy and Chromatic Scent.
He hadn’t emitted a trace of scent while carrying Bok-deong-i, unauthorized copybut the fact that it was wafting from him the moment [unauthorized copy]he gave birth made the theory plausible.
From what Moon Hae-min knew, the heat cycle does not occur during pregnancy. Thus, it might be natural that no Chromatic Scent was emitted.
He should have familiarized himself with basic information regarding sexual-persons, but he had been so preoccupied with escaping that he hadn’t thought of it.
“…What do I do.”
In the society of sexual-persons, a Chromatic Scent carries various meanings—from disputes and power struggles to seduction. At this rate, he might be subject to absurd misunderstandings while traveling.
If that happened, it would interfere with his escape from Song Seol. Suddenly frightened, Hae-min sat up. He intended to try and suppress the scent.
“…Ugh.”
However, he had no idea how to do it. He closed his eyes and tensed his entire body, but only his muscles throbbed in vain.
Was it just his imagination? It felt as if the scent had grown even stronger in the process. A yang-person or an Eumin would inevitably detect it. No, he became terrified that it might have reached a level where even an ordinary person could smell it.
Moon Hae-min bit his lower lip hard. This state was problematic. Even if he had to stay up all night, he felt he must learn how to control his Chromatic Scent.
Waaaah, waaaaah…!
Just as he was concentrating, Bok-deong-i burst into tears. Hae-min immediately picked up the baby. His heart sank, wondering if something had happened to the child who had been quiet until now.
“Bok-deong-i, Daddy’s here. What’s wrong, hm?”
Asking a baby who couldn’t speak would yield no answer. Bok-deong-i only continued to cry, face scrunched up.
“I just fed you. I changed your diaper too… Are you uncomfortable?”
Moon Hae-min shifted the way he held Bok-deong-i. Even so, the baby didn’t stop crying. As the wailing continued, Hae-min broke into a cold sweat despite the winter chill.
‘He’s not sick, is he?’
He didn’t even dare say it aloud for fear of inviting bad luck, but his heart was burning with anxiety. He would rather be the one sick than Bok-deong-i.
“Baby, don’t cry.”
No, it’s okay to cry, just don’t be sick. Moon Hae-min whispered to himself as he hugged Bok-deong-i tightly. Then, he slowly rocked the baby.
Aaaang… ang…
Bok-deong-i’s crying gradually subsided. At the same time, the baby’s closed eyes flickered.
Soon, Bok-deong-i stopped squirming. It didn’t seem like there was any problem; the baby was just breathing softly…
“…Are you sleeping?”
Hae-min realized belatedly. This must have been the “sleep-fussing” he had heard about. He almost let out a sigh of relief but stopped, fearing he might wake the baby.
‘And I didn’t even know…’
He felt embarrassed by his own panic. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what sleep-fussing was, yet he hadn’t thought of it immediately. It was pathetic.
On the other hand, he felt a surge of fear. It was a relief that it wasn’t anything serious this time, but he wondered what would happen if a grave problem arose and he couldn’t handle it properly.
He realized that raising a child when one knows nothing about them is an incredibly difficult task. It would be so much easier if there were someone to help him at times like this.
“…”
For a moment, Song Seol’s face came to mind, but Moon Hae-min hurriedly shook his head.
How shameless would he be to hope for Song Seol’s help? He, who had deceived Song Seol for a year and fled while carrying his child.
Hae-min pulled his cloak over himself and Bok-deong-i. Even without anyone’s help, he could raise Bok-deong-i well with his own strength. It might take some time, but he would certainly make it happen.
His eyes slowly closed. Hae-min did not resist the encroaching sleep.
That night, it snowed. The quietly fluttering snow covered the world. While both the beautiful and the foul were hidden beneath the white snow, Moon Hae-min had a happy dream. It was a dream of being with Bok-deong-i.
The next morning, Moon Hae-min woke up to the sound of Bok-deong-i crying. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he began to nurse the baby.
“Mm, our Bok-deong-i must be hungry.”
Without realizing it, the way he held the child in his arms had become much more natural. He was still clumsy at nursing, but he would get used to it in time.
A short while after feeding, Hae-min gently rubbed Bok-deong-i’s back to help with digestion. Soon, Bok-deong-i let out a burp.
“Good job, Bok-deong-i.”
The child was already beautiful, but the fact that he slept and ate well made him even more lovely. He was a true “bundle of luck,” just as his prenatal name suggested. Unable to contain the swelling emotion in his heart, Moon Hae-min buried his face against Bok-deong-i. The sweet, milky scent unique to babies wafted up.
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