Eat The World Tree

Chapter 147: Three Peaches (7)

I must excel.

If I didnt , it simply wouldnt suffice.

What kind of person did that make me?

as the disciple of my master.

The top disciple of Cheondo, the Young Demon.

Did she realize?

That the Cheonma I referred to was not an elderly man, but her. To me, Cheondo had always been the sole Cheonma.

The younger master probably wouldnt fully grasp what I was saying.

But thats irrelevant.

Those words are so cringeworthy. They feel mushy.

Cheondo, while maintaining the embrace, shared her candid thoughts.

Yet, for some reason, she drew even closer.

Cheondo buried her face in my clothes and tightened her arms around me further.

With shoulders trembling like the legs of a newborn deer, I silently patted her back.

Tap tap - with each pat on the back, a dizzying breath escaped from Cheondos nose.

The scent of peach blossoms filled my nostrils.

Still, thank you.

Not long after, Cheondo, having stepped out of my embrace, looked directly at me and smiled.

Really.

Despite her youthful appearance, her face was beautifully sculpted.

Initially, I intended to say that I had no intention of becoming Cheonma here.

But seeing her smiling face, it seemed unnecessary.

No matter her age, Cheondo was still Cheondo. Her way of dismissing and overcoming emotions appeared too beautiful in my eyes.

When I inadvertently reached out to stroke her head, Cheondo lightly pushed my hand away.

You were trying to touch me again.

Hearing that made me feel like I had become a pervert.

Since she mentioned it, I might as well touch her.

Grabbing the hand that pushed mine away with one hand, I roughly stroked her head.

Ouch.

Resistance was futile.

As soon as my hand touched her head, her bewildered expression was adorable.

I shouldnt look at my teacher with such eyes.

If this were the real Cheondo, she would have scolded me.

But its impossible not to be fond of her.

I had no intention of denying my feelings.

After all, she had disappeared once in the future and managed to elude me.

Even if I cant alter the future, I wanted to share deeper emotions with her until that time comes.

Brother.

Hm?

Your face looks scary.

It seems my expression had changed while I was lost in thought.

Lately, I had found it difficult to discern what my expression looked like.

Sometimes, I didnt appear to be smiling even when I was.

And there were times when I believed I was expressionless but was actually smiling.

Ever since I glimpsed the future with the aid of the World Tree of Time, I had felt somewhat disjointed.

Ah dont hold me. Im not a doll

I embraced Cheondo again and closed my eyes.

When I pulled the hesitant Cheondo towards me, she yielded easily.

The warmth felt in my arms conjured an image of my expression in my mind.

I was smiling.

Why did you come into the room again?

I found myself greeting Cheondo in her room, having not parted ways on my way home from work.

Its always been like this.

Didnt I tell you theres no need to come? Brother Dowon.

If brother wants to, I have to let him in, right?

Cheondo sighed as she removed her outer garment.

At least let me change my clothes. I just came back from training; dont I smell like sweat?

Sweat smell.

Sometimes women claimed their sweat smelled like flowers, but from experience, thats entirely untrue.

Of course, that applied to humans, not to tree people.

The scent of each tree person varied greatly, but not all were unpleasant.

Unless its a chestnut tree.

Where would the scent of peach blossoms be unpleasant?

Even in death, the scent of peach blossoms was coveted.

Not at all? I actually like it.

Brother, thats kind of disgusting.

Cheondo stuck out her tongue, her voice dripping with sincerity.

Anyway, get out! Im going to change.

Ill turn my back.

Really, brother Sigh. Just turn around quickly.

As I turned around, the sound of a belt being loosened filled the air.

Brother Dowon.

Hm?

Dont take todays words to heart too much.

What words?

-The sound of damp underwear being pulled down.

You asked what you know about me, remember? It wasnt true. I didnt mean it.

I dont think it was wrong.

Its been a little over a month since we met here.

Then, its natural for such words to come out.

I was friendly to the current Cheondo because I know her, but she didnt know that.

Even so, you shouldnt speak to your brother like that.

If I say its okay, then it is.

Its stubbornness. If you think everything is okay, one day you might really cross the line. Like today did.

Such a tender heart.

The current Cheondo tended not to express her thoughts or feelings.

Suddenly, my heart felt ticklish, and I let out a laugh.

My eyes, looking towards the bed, caught sight of an object.

An earpick on the nightstand.

Without thinking, I reached out and brought it to my eye.

Shall I do it for you?

Cheondo, already changed into her clothes, said, looking at the earpick in my hand.

Will you?

If you want. It feels nice to have someone else do it.

I didnt remember ever receiving it from someone else.

My father was not the type to do such a thing, and my mother wasnt very expressive with affection either.

If youre offering, Ill accept.

I nodded.

Cheondo took the earpick from my hand, then stretched out comfortably on the bed and patted her thigh.

I laid my head down on the outside of it.

Stay still. Brother.

Her soft, delicate hand enveloped my cheek.

The shadow of little Cheondos head loomed over mine.

The ticklish sensation entering my ear.

It was both ticklish and refreshing.

If it hurts, let me know. I often did it for Baekdo and Hwangdo but its my first time with a man. It might be different.

A sound near my ear, kuk, kuk.

My whole body twitched whenever a sensitive spot was touched.

Did the three of you often play together in the past?

Of course. Were sisters. The master was very kind back then.

A kind old man. That fierce face was kind?

That Cheonma, with a face marred by scars, smiling fondly at his daughters.

Its almost scary enough to suspect ulterior motives.

I couldnt imagine it at all.

Thats unbelievable.

Cheondo giggled honestly at my words.

He was only strict during training. Thats why we hated training. The master would get angry only during training. But before that he always smiled.

He smiled?

When the peach blossoms bloomed in April, he would always make necklaces and hand them over. Then the master would smile and thank us, patting our heads. Now that I think about it, its around this time that the peach blossoms bloom.

The more I heard about Cheondos past, the less I understood her father.

The Cheonma of the past.

If he was truly kind, why was he like that now?

Because he knew hes going to die soon? That would make sense.

Seeing how that old man, who didnt show any expression to Cheondo, sometimes laughed at me asking if I was crazy, it seemed plausible.

Since hes going to die soon anyway, maybe hes preparing for it.

Like an old woman teaching her husband how to cook.

Does it feel cool?

Its nice. Its my first time receiving this.

Scratching inside the ear felt good. And the blowing of the wind was quite pleasant too.

Then the other side. Turn around quickly.

As I turned over, I saw Cheondos belly.

It really felt good.

I should do this for Shiba later.

-Swish, swish.

Ah, its Wang Geon. Pfft.

Cheondos careless laughter.

Hearing it, I snorted without realizing it.

Her hand was still warm, and her thigh had a similar warmth.

Oh right. Do you want to go out somewhere later? With Baekdo and Hwangdo.

When I asked something I had been thinking about for a while, Cheondos moving hand suddenly stopped.

Out? Wont it take a lot of time?

Forgot about my ability?

That sudden appearance thing? If its that, it might be okay.Your favorite 𝒏ovels at novelbin(.)com

We might just eat and come back. Pork ribs.

Just hearing the name makes it sound delicious.

Cheondos hand started moving again.

The earpick scratching coolly inside my ear.

Her hand, wrapped around my cheek softly, moved down to my chin.

Did you think of me?

Thought Baekdo and Hwangdo would like it too.

Its been so long since I talked to them. Wouldnt it be awkward?

If its the three of you, there wont be any awkwardness.

Really?

Of course. They would end up liking each other as if they were one body.

Cheondo then took the earpick out of my ear and lightly tapped my cheek.

It seemed like a signal to get up, so I lifted my head.

Then Cheondo stared at the earpick she was holding and glanced at me.

Brother Dowon.

Hm?

My ears feel a bit itchy too.

Chuckle.

It seemed that it was time to return the favor.

Taking the earpick and sitting cross-legged, Cheondo gently laid her head on my thigh.

Its not your first time, right?

Ive done it a few times.

I had never received it, but I had done it for my younger cousins.

Sometimes they would cry out loud if I touched the wrong spot. I had to be careful not to hurt them.

Cheondo didnt extend her ear yet. Lying on my thigh, she looked up at me.

Can I trust you?

Try it. You wont be satisfied with anyone elses hand in your lifetime.

Hmm, then lets try.

As ordered.

I carefully started scratching the inside of Cheondos ear with the earpick.

Holding her shoulder or cheek slowly. Gently, so as not to hurt her.

Thinking about the old days made my shoulders tense.

At first, Cheondo was a bit tense, but as time passed, she started to smile faintly, feeling good.

Brother, it feels good.

Right?

Doing it for the cousin kids was really annoying.

But now, Cheondo was enjoying having her ears cleaned while lying on my legs.

Such a boring experience has come back around.

-Tingling.

Suddenly, my leg tingled.

It felt like hair being pulled out!

Surprised, I saw Cheondo playing around, her gaze fixed on my leg.

Did I scare you? Kukuku.

You really startled me.

Cheondos pranks didnt stop there.

She tickled my feet, circled her fingers around my shinbone, and poked the top of my foot with her fingernails.

I couldnt bear the childish pranks any longer and smacked her forehead.

-Smack!

Ouch! Hahaha.

Even after being hit, she continued to laugh.

Her pranks were annoying, but her smile was so cute that I unwittingly forgave her, despite her being a dangerous person.

Cheondo, lying comfortably, muttered as if it was truly strange.

Its fascinating. Being next to you, I feel at ease.

Really?

Yes. Its like weve known each other for a long time.

Though it hadnt even been a year.

Of course, the depth of human relationships couldnt be measured by time alone.

Especially with Cheondo, I felt we had shared deeper experiences than I had with anyone else.

Since the time we both risked our lives entering the dungeon, the duration of our acquaintance ceased to matter.

Shes the only one who knew everything about my past.

Brother.

Cheondo initiated the conversation.

You know, that thing you said before. About what you know about me.

Still on about that?

No, its not that

Tap tap. Cheondo tapped my thigh.

I removed the earpick, and Cheondo turned to face me fully.

That to not hear that again from you. Maybe we should start getting to know each other better. For a long time

Her cheeks slowly turned red.

At first, I was puzzled but then roughly understood her intentions and chuckled in response.

How long?

The longer, the better.

What do you mean?

Caught off guard by the question, Cheondos eyes widened.

Wanting to know each other for a long time can have different implications depending on the listener.

!!

Realizing what it might sound like, Cheondo, her ears red, hit my chest.

Its not in a weird way! Really, brother. Wow Did you think that?

Kukuku.

Dont laugh. Dont smirk like that, really.

Im glad youre being honest, sis.

Sis? As if. Youre so silly.

Rolling.

Cheondo rolled off my thigh onto the bed and immediately threw a pillow at me.

Her flushed face was quite a sight.

Cheondo, as if denying her thoughts, pounced on me.

Just what I wanted. As we started a pillow fight, time flew by quickly, and the moon waned.

Even as Cheondo attacked with vigor, right at 9 oclock, as if a switch had been flipped, she showed a sleepy expression and slowly closed her eyes in my arms.

A well-behaved child at bedtime.

Cheondo fell asleep like a child, completely wrapping her arms and legs around my upper body.

Should I sing a lullaby for the island baby?

The baby falls asleep, soundly~

Next to the sleeping Cheondo, I just covered us with a blanket.

Afraid to move lest she wakes up,

I gently patted Cheondos back, smiling contentedly.