Chaotic Nights

Chaotic Nights — Chapter 31. Cold

Translator: Atlas

Weekly Chapter 3/7

His warm hands touched her cold skin. She shrank back in surprise.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“It’s my fault.”

“No, it’s the wind’s fault because the window is open. It’s winter. In this season where snow falls, living things wither.”

Although her body trembled, she answered quite calmly. She turned the page.

Jihak had lost his sight at most a year ago. She thought he still maintained eye contact due to habit.

“You’re right… but it’s my fault too.”

Eunha listened to him with her eyes fixed on the book.

“In the past I used to cover my ears because I didn’t want to hear the noise. But when I became blind, I realized how pleasant the sounds are. The branches when they move, the howling, even someone’s quick footsteps.”

A faint smile appeared on his face. Her ears turned red.

It was because she was the only one running in this house.

“I’ll be careful.”

Suddenly, she noticed that the mountain was unusually quiet. She couldn’t even hear the hoot of an owl. It was not a good sign.

“…Can you hear the howls?”

“Yes, he listened to them often. But these days it’s been quiet. The three days you were away were unusually quiet.”

Jihak noticed that Eunha was surprised, but restrained his reaction.

She suspected he was blind, he could not be neglected.

Either he would die or he would get his wish. Only one choice.

“Did you ever hear a tiger?”

She looked toward the window with a serious expression. Perhaps because her hair was unbound, she felt more like a man dressed as a woman.

Jihak frowned.

“A tiger?”

“Yes. I ran into a tiger.”

“Really? But how did you survive?”

“I’m not bragging, but I was once with tiger hunters. I know how to use a rifle, also a wooden bow. I can lure it as bait for the hunters to kill it.”

Jihak nodded as he played with his hair.

“You have amazing talent. Such a delicate girl can hunt tigers.”

Though she knew it was unwise, she couldn’t help but ask,

“Have you ever seen a tiger before you went blind?”

“No. What does it look like?”

When he looked at her with his softly curved eyes, her heart began to beat fast. Then Eunha began to explain with exaggerated gestures.

“It’s amazing. Some men fainted. Fortunately, we had dried persimmons. Tigers fear dried persimmons.”

“I remember. You mentioned that you feared dried persimmons because they immediately stopped children from crying, right?”

“That’s right. In every town they hang dried persimmons on poles in the winter.”

He burst out laughing. It was so cold that it clashed her teeth, but Eunha endured it.

She fearfully looked toward the window. A quiet night meant something moved. When the mountain predator moved, it also meant that the small animals that were its prey were hiding.

“If you’re cold, come here.”

She was so cold she was shivering.

“What?”

“Come here. I’m afraid you’ll freeze to death.”

This time she pointed to her legs. She avoided his gaze. Her body would get hot if she sat there, but she would most likely die because she couldn’t breathe.

Eunha did not want to remember the kiss.

“Do you want to freeze to death?”

“I can take it.”

“You’re stubborn.”

He frowned, but didn’t insist. She kept her gaze on the book.

“Let’s listen to your voice all night for the first time in a long time.”