Chapter 21
Rustle…
Click!
I heard the sound of a camera shutter from behind me.
Instinctively, I raised the sauna bucket to cover my face.
Who took a picture of me?
Could it be Park Siwoo?
“Uh, excuse me… aren’t you the hot spring owner?”
A young man’s voice spoke over my shoulder.
At least it wasn’t Park Siwoo’s voice. I let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.
Still, a photo had been taken, so this was hardly a good situation.
“I’m not.”
“Then why are you holding a sauna bucket? I heard the hot spring owner left this with the old gatekeeper.”
I tried to deny it casually, but this time the man latched onto the sauna bucket.
Damn it, I’ve been found out.
“Sir, could you cover your ears for a moment?”
“You tell me to cover my ears every time I see you.”
“So you really are the hot spring owner, right?”
I heard the man’s confident voice as he listened to the exchange between the white-bearded old man and me.
I twisted my body this way and that to avoid the man trying to see my face.
I need to hurry.
But I can’t curse in front of the old man either.
“Siwoo hyung! Come here quickly! The hot spring owner is here!”
No way—does the “Siwoo hyung” he’s calling refer to the Park Siwoo I know…?
The man shouted loudly toward the back.
The sound of footsteps coming this way increased.
“The real hot spring owner is here? Oh my~ Boss! Nice to finally meet you.”
What the—this really is Park Siwoo’s voice?
I didn’t even need to turn around to know.
There’s no voice in the world more sly than that one.
“Sir, hurry!”
“Hmph, fine. Is this enough?”
Unable to resist the urging, the old man covered both ears.
“Shit!”
I blurted out the password in desperation.
[Password matches ‘Hot Spring Master Key (EX)’.]
[Moving to hidden field ‘Hot Spring (EX)’.]
The moment I arrived at the hot spring, my mind became a tangled mess.
What do I do? Since I was standing with my back to the camera, my face probably didn’t show—but with Park Siwoo’s keen eye, he’d recognize me instantly just from my silhouette.
I worried that everything might get exposed, but for now I decided to go home.
If Park Siwoo or Jiho happened to return home, things could get even worse.
Before that, the best thing I could do right now was to put the sauna bucket back.
I opened the door to the hot spring and returned to the living room.
Fortunately, it seemed neither of them had come back yet.
“Aaagh! This damn sauna bucket!”
No—more precisely, it was because of Park Siwoo’s obsession with Una that my existence was on the verge of being exposed to the world.
I irritably tossed the sauna bucket onto the living room floor, plopped down on the sofa, and immediately logged into the anonymous Hunter forum.
If my photo was spreading, this would be the first place it’d appear.
I needed to see how the situation was unfolding.
<46th Floor Hot Spring Owner Spotted! (Photo O)>
As expected, that was fast.
A post had already gone up.
Biting my nails anxiously, I swallowed hard and clicked on the post.
[Photo]
Spotted the hot spring owner who came to collect the sauna bucket. Only saw her briefly, but she’s a drop-dead gorgeous goddess. ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽ (sobbing) Shimmering silver hair, sapphire-colored eyes—exactly like sapphires by the seaside under sunlight on a clear day. Completely my type. Is this where I lie down? ●▅▇█▇▆▅▄▇ Boss, you suddenly disappeared so I couldn’t say this, but even your cursing voice is insanely sexy. ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽ (sobbing) Please, just curse at me one more time.
└ Anonymous1: Huh? The hot spring owner was a woman?
└ OP: And no matter how you look at her, she was early 20s at most.
└ Anonymous1: Honestly, when I heard “hot spring owner,” I imagined a guy in his 50s. Realized I was wearing colored glasses. I repent.
└ Anonymous2: But what’s this about her cursing? Weren’t they meeting for the first time?
└ OP: I actually like her blunt personality! ♡♥ Before cursing, she told the gatekeeper old man to cover his ears. Fell for her twice because of that sweet, Confucian respect-for-elders vibe. ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽ (sobbing) Boss! So please, just curse at me once more!
└ Anonymous3: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ No, how good was the cursing that you’re begging for it? I kinda want to hear it too.
└ Anonymous4: Same. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Anonymous5: Guys, let’s pin the 46th floor coordinates and go!
└ OP: Yep. A writing group already claimed the spot, you know? ^^
Have they already set up camp on the 46th floor?
Fine, that aside—
But who on earth is this woman in the photo?
As I read through the post, my head tilted unconsciously in confusion.
No matter how many times I looked, the woman’s back in the photo had silver hair.
Since her face was covered with a sauna bucket, it did seem like me…
But why was her hair silver?
Did they use some extreme camera filter?
But the OP wrote that they personally saw silver hair and sapphire-colored eyes.
They wouldn’t filter eyes, right?
Absentmindedly, I looked down at my hair cascading to my chest.
That couldn’t be—
But there it was: snow-white, silvery hair like a mountain of ice.
Maybe I hit my toe too hard earlier.
Now I’m seeing things.
Laughing soundlessly, I shook my head and walked over to the full-length mirror in the living room.
In the mirror stood a beauty with mysterious silver hair and gem-like aqua eyes—exactly as the OP had described.
Staring blankly at the mirror, I finally slapped my own cheek.
Smack!
The beauty in the mirror slapped her cheek at the same time.
This… is really me?
How can this possibly be me?
[‘Hot Spring Owner’ becomes aware that the imprint of the Constellation ‘Ruler of the Hot Spring’ has manifested.]
[Obtained Sacred Relic ‘Earrings of the Hot Spring Ruler’.]
[Obtained Sacred Relic ‘Fan of the Hot Spring Ruler’.]
What is all this supposed to mean? An imprint?
The Ruler of the Hot Spring—that refers to Haeryeong, right?
At some point, earrings adorned with bright, ocean-colored cloth like Haeryeong’s were hanging from my ears, and his fan was in my hand.
As I stood there dumbfounded, a window appeared before me.
[The Constellation ‘Immortal Killing Fiend’ marvels, saying, “Haeryeong engraving an imprint on a contractor—tomorrow the sun will rise in the west.”]
‘What kind of thing is an imprint for them to be so shocked? And why did I suddenly change like this?’
[The Constellation ‘Do You Believe in Fate?’ explains, after watching the situation, “Once an imprint manifests, you share your soul with that constellation.”]
‘Share a soul? Then does my soul swap with Haeryeong’s, or does his soul enter my body or something?’
Just imagining that was horrifying.
[The Constellation ‘Do You Believe in Fate?’ pouts, saying, “If that were the case, it would’ve been a fun spectacle, but unfortunately, it’s not.”]
It must be my imagination that I can feel Fate’s disappointment all the way here.
For the sake of my mental stability, I decided to believe that.
‘Then what actually happens? Explain it properly.’
I pressed Fate for answers.
[The Constellation ‘Do You Believe in Fate?’ says there’s nothing to worry about and explains, “Once the imprint manifests, you can freely use that constellation’s abilities. It’s a good thing for you.”]
‘So I can become as strong as Haeryeong?’
[The Constellation ‘Do You Believe in Fate?’ is surprised at how quickly you understand, remarking, “You’re not as dumb as I thought.”]
Why is it that when Fate says the same thing, it feels so irritating?
I ground my teeth, but since there was something to gain, I let it go.
Then is the reason my appearance changed because of sharing souls with Haeryeong?
That would explain the earrings and the fan too.
[The Constellation ‘Immortal Killing Fiend’ nods and adds, “Moreover, if the contractor doesn’t live out their natural lifespan, the constellation that engraved the imprint also takes damage, so they have no choice but to protect you with their life.”]
[The Constellation ‘Do You Believe in Fate?’ says, “In short, the positions of superior and subordinate are reversed, which makes it hard to understand why Haeryeong engraved the imprint in the first place.”]
Now that I think about it, when I was swept away by the hot spring water, I vaguely remember seeing a message about Haeryeong breathing into me and engraving an imprint.
[The Constellation ‘Ruler of the Hot Spring’ says he must have been temporarily insane at the time and asks, “How about undoing the imprint?”]
‘After finally becoming the superior, why would I?’
[The Constellation ‘Do You Believe in Fate?’ rolls around laughing, saying, “Haeryeong’s been completely caught.”]
[The Constellation ‘Ruler of the Hot Spring’ dislikes the window of ‘Do You Believe in Fate?’]
‘But how do I go back to normal? And what if I want to use the imprint’s power again?’
It would be convenient to hide my identity, but what if I can’t change back?
That would be a serious problem.
[The Constellation ‘Ruler of the Hot Spring’ warns, “Do not tell them how to use the imprint.”]
[The Constellation ‘Do You Believe in Fate?’ explains in great detail, “‘Imprint Release’ will return you to your original form, and when you want to summon the imprint’s power, think of the constellation and shout the name of a representative sacred relic, like ‘Fan’.”]
[The Constellation ‘Ruler of the Hot Spring’ rages, “Why would you tell her that?”]
Using the imprint was simpler than I expected.
So I’m the superior now, and I can freely use Haeryeong’s power—but what exactly can I do with it?
I fully opened the fan, which depicted the dreamlike form of a silver dragon.
Each time the fan moved, ornate silver bead ornaments chimed clearly as they sparkled.
It’s prettier than Sharenian’s Immortal Sword Manual, but can a fan actually do anything?
At best, it’s for fanning air, right?
Without thinking much, I fluttered the fan toward the balcony.
[The constellation’s fan creates a ‘Gentle Breeze’.]
KABOOM!
With a deafening roar, a violent gust tore through the apartment, ripping an entire section of the house away.
Rustle…
In an instant, the balcony was completely annihilated.
