Home/The Beloved Young Divine Child of the Twelve Zodiacs/ch 38

Chapter 38

His tone was both gentle and cold. Arin, at a loss, remained in Dohun's arms.

What do I do? He seems angry because of me.

She supposed it was only natural—she had followed him into a dangerous place.

"I'm sorry. I thought I could catch up quickly. I was just so worried about you..."

"Worried about me?"

Dohun looked down at her, incredulous. They had only met twice, yet she had recklessly rushed into a potentially dangerous situation. If Muje hadn't used his power to draw attention, Dohun might have passed right by.

She's fearless.

If anything had happened to Arin, it would have been a nuisance for him.

"Don't do that again."

"Yes."

A brief silence fell between them. Breaking it, Dohun asked,

"Do you know that boy?"

"No. I just happened to meet him on the street. He looked badly hurt, so I wanted to help..."

She couldn't shake the image of the boy who had disappeared, still wary of her. He must have been disguising his eye color to hide his identity—wounded as he was, even that seemed too much to maintain.

Who is chasing him?

His wary eyes had been full of anxiety.

Just then, Dohun said,

"When you help street children, you should bring a guard. Why did you come here alone, leaving Choryeong behind?"

"Ah, you're right! Choryeong must be worried..."

Arin finally remembered Choryeong and grew restless.

She acts without thinking of the consequences.

That meant she moved on instinct—Dohun didn't know how to respond.

Just then, Muje sent Dohun a telepathic message.

Don't be too hard on her.

At his defense of Arin, Dohun's eyes narrowed. She was clearly in the wrong, yet he was taking her side.

You seem to like this child.

She was probably quite frightened. Please comfort her. She's the type to worry a lot inside, even if she doesn't show it.

Having spent time with Arin, Muje had heard many of her stories—the thoughts she couldn't share with others, she had confided in Seol.

Just because she's smiling on the outside doesn't mean she's fine on the inside.

Dohun stopped and stared at Muje. He never expected to hear such caring words from him.

They seem closer than I thought.

It didn't seem like he was merely following the Divine Maiden's orders.

Don't act too conspicuously yourself, Your Highness—unless you want rumors that a White Dragon lives here to spread.

That couldn't be helped. That brat lunged at Arin.

If Muje hadn't stopped him, the boy would have knocked Arin down. That boy had a bad aura—so much so that Muje, sensitive to impure energies, had felt immediate hostility.

To shake off the uncomfortable feeling, Muje burrowed deeper into Arin's arms and said,

That boy was also a twelfth-year. If left alone, Arin could have been seriously hurt.

A twelfth-year?

He didn't seem accustomed to using his power yet. And his energy was unusual—in a bad way.

Dohun fell deep in thought at Muje's words. He couldn't dismiss them lightly, coming from someone who favored pure energies. It might even be connected to the Black Demon clan's abductions of street children.

I'll look into it.

Just as they emerged from the alley, they ran into Choryeong, who had rushed out after discovering Arin was gone.

"Miss Arin!"

She stopped in front of Dohun. Just as Arin was about to confess, Dohun spoke first.

"She was with me. We were sightseeing at the market."

"Together?"

"We ran into each other outside and were glad to meet. I didn't know Choryeong was with her."

As Dohun lied naturally, Arin was bewildered.

He doesn't want her to know he went to the slums.

Catching on, Arin kept quiet.

"What a relief. I thought I'd lost you..."

Choryeong sighed with relief. Seeing her worried face, Arin realized how foolish she had been. Just as she was about to feel down about it, Seol climbed onto her shoulder and patted her with his front paws, as if waiting for the moment.

It looked so human-like that Arin was puzzled.

"Are you comforting me?"

Squeak.

"My little lizard, thank you."

Grateful, Arin gave Seol a peck on the lips.

"......!!!"

Caught off guard by the kiss, Muje froze like a stone. Dohun, who had witnessed the scene, was equally stunned.

"...What did you just do?"

"Huh? Oh, he was just so cute I couldn't help it."

Arin beamed, unaware of what she had done. Dohun knew Muje was hiding his identity, but he hadn't expected Arin to truly think of him as a lizard.

He looked at the still-frozen Muje with pity.

Are you alright?

He had heard Muje disliked contact with others—being kissed must have been quite an ordeal.

...Yes.

His voice sounded strangely deep.

...I'm fine, really.

Though his skin had flushed with embarrassment, his voice remained calm. It was obvious he had been flustered, but Dohun decided to pretend not to notice—since he didn't seem to have disliked it.

---

When Dohun and Arin entered the restaurant together, Dogyeong looked at them quizzically.

"How did you two come together?"

"We just met."

"Really?"

Dohun answered briefly, and Dogyeong quietly studied both children's expressions. The mood didn't seem particularly good or bad.

"Brother, I can order everything on the menu!"

"Only order what you can eat. Leaving food is wasteful."

At Dohun's firm reply, Doyoung raised his spoon to the ceiling and declared,

"There's no such thing as leaving food in my vocabulary! Even if I get a stomachache, I'll finish it all!"

Arin joined in the food-loving proclamation.

"I'll help you, brother! I only had one bowl of rice at lunch to prepare for tonight!"

"Ooh, that's the right attitude! You're my sister after all!"

The two children excitedly raising their spoons was quite a sight.

"Anyone would think you're being starved, you rascals! Hahaha!"

Dogyeong burst out laughing.

"Yes! Eat your fill. ...By the way, where's that lizard you always carry around?"

"Ah, he seemed low on energy, so I sent him back with Choryeong."

Having been outside too long, Seol's condition had worsened, so she had made that decision. Unaware of the earlier kissing incident, Dogyeong was puzzled.

"That thing had no energy?"

He had willingly left Arin's side. Dogyeong had been quite displeased with how the creature had clung to her, playing the pet. Hmph. He must have had the sense to excuse himself from a family gathering. Having finally rid himself of the eyesore, Dogyeong was in high spirits. He piled a mountain of meat in front of Arin.

"Eat plenty."

"Yes!"

Arin deftly picked up the meat with her chopsticks and ate. With her cheeks stuffed full, she looked just like a squirrel. Watching her with satisfaction, Dogyeong noticed blood on her sleeve and his expression hardened.

"Are you hurt?"

"Ah."

Only then did Arin notice the blood on her sleeve and felt awkward. She glanced at Dohun before speaking.

"I must have gotten it while treating a wounded puppy on the street."

"A puppy?"

"Someone seemed to have hurt it. I couldn't just leave it..."

As Arin covered it with a lie, Dohun felt relieved—he had just promised his father he wouldn't investigate the street children.

"Stray dogs can be dangerous, so don't get involved next time."

"Yes. But he was a good dog."

Arin brushed it off and gave Dohun a small smile—a determined look, as if to say she would keep their secret.

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