Our Guest House Is Operating As Usual Chapter 8

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Chapter 8

Jeha, who had fallen asleep in Cheongyeon’s arms, soon began to sweat coldly. The child’s body trembled, and his brows wrinkled. He seemed to be having a nightmare.

Of course. There was no way a child could go through something like that and be completely fine.

“Jeha.”

Thinking he should probably wake him, he gently shook his shoulder, but Jeha showed no signs of getting up. Instead, the trembling grew worse, and a sob leaked out from between his lips.

“Jeha, wake up.”

Even when shaking him harder, it was the same result. The child’s breathing was becoming more labored.

‘What should I do?’

He felt pity for him. Starting with the loss of his parents, Jeha had experienced far too many things a child never should. It was clear that he would be plagued by nightmares for a while.

Cheongyeon hugged the trembling child tightly. He had been unable to prevent the kidnapping, so he hoped this would at least help in some way.

“It’s okay, baby, it’s just a dream. It’s all a dream. It’s okay.”

After whispering and patting him for a long time, Jeha’s trembling gradually subsided. His rough breathing slowly stabilized and turned into soft wheezing. Cheongyeon kept telling him it was okay without stopping.

***

After that, Jeha continued to act affectionately. It became common for him to follow Cheongyeon around and take care of him.

“Owner, have you taken your medicine?”

“Yeah. Have you eaten?”

“Yes! The head cook’s skills are great, so I ate my fill. Owner, you must take another dose in exactly two hours.”

“Ugh...”

‘You’re going to keep following me around and reminding me about it anyway. How could I possibly forget?’

As expected of the protagonist一 it was quite admirable that he followed him around with such loyalty, determined to repay the life-saving favor.

Sometimes he even raised his voice at unruly guests who were causing trouble at the inn in Cheongyeon’s place. Watching that, it was hard to believe he was the same timid child he once knew. The cowering figure from when they first met could no longer be seen.

Even when Cheongyeon tried to fix a broken chair, he ran over and stopped him.

“Owner! I’ll take care of this! Please leave it to me.”

“Huh? No, it’s okay. This much is...”

“Owner, you mustn’t overdo it!”

“Overdo it? It’s just this一”

“What if you hurt your hand again?”

“.......”

Does that mean I should leave this kind of work to you?

“Owner! If you cut the carrots yourself, you’ll cut your hand!”

“Owner! I’ll clean, so please sit down!”

“Owner! Don’t worry, I’ll stop those guys from fighting, so go in and rest!”

“Kid, I’m really fine though...”

“Owner!”

Cheongyeon found Jeha’s behaviour cute, but also slightly burdensome.

Being an extra under the protagonist’s protection? An adult being looked after by a child! Even if you promised to protect me, I didn’t think you would worry about every little thing. Shouldn’t that devotion be for your future lover...?

But of course, the child had no way of knowing Cheongyeon’s feelings. Jeha’s overprotectiveness continued until the day the master and disciple duo departed from Sichuan.

“Thank you for everything, sir.”

“We’re indebted to you.”

‘‘Indebted,’ you say? My room is packed with all those medicinal herbs you kept sneaking in.’

As thanks for saving his disciple, Somyeong brought all sorts of precious herbs beneficial to Cheonyeon’s health. Thanks to this, he would have been able to open a pharmacy instead of an inn.

“Jeha, take care. Listen well to your master and stay healthy, okay?”

‘Not that I need to tell you一 you’ll do well anyway.’

Jeha had his head bowed and didn’t answer. Judging from his pouting lips, it seemed he was reluctant to leave.

“When your elder greets you first, what kind of rude behavior is that?”

Only after hearing his teacher scold him did Jeha raise his head and look at Cheongyeon.

“Owner.”

“Yes?”

Jeha hesitated for a while after calling Cheongyeon. He stared quietly at Cheongyeon’s face, and then his gaze, having lost direction, wandered awkwardly.

“Next time... I’ll come again.”

After much deliberation, that was all he could say. Cheongyeon burst into laughter and patted Jeha’s head.

He’s cute, kind, and very considerate. Without Jeha, things would feel a little empty for a while.

“Come visit again.”

“Yes...”

Cheongyeon waved his hand as he watched the two move away.

There was something special about seeing them off. Things had gotten a bit complicated in the middle, but somehow they were resolved, so everything was okay in the end, right? He just hoped there would be no more problems in the future between the two of them.

Jeha, who had been looking back regretfully every time he took a step, eventually ran back to Cheongyeon.

“Owner!”

And just as usual, he threw himself into Cheongyeon’s arms.

The child’s arms wrapped around his waist, and his pretty eyes looked up at him. Seeing those eyes that were about to cry again, Cheongyeon also felt a little choked up.

“Actually, I don’t want to go. I want to stay here longer.”

“You can come back soon.”

“Still... I will miss you a lot, Owner.”

I didn’t know a child could say something like that.

Cheongyeon, moved by the protagonist-like moment, responded with heartfelt sincerity.

“I’ll miss you a lot too.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Who’s going to scold the rowdy guests now?”

“I’ll come back next time and scold all of them for you!”

“You’re such a good kid.”

Jeha smiled brightly. He released the arm that was holding Cheongyeon’s waist and rummaged through his own clothes as if searching for something.

What he pulled out was a small porcelain bottle.

“Please take this!”

“What is it?”

Cheongyeon accepted it. He could feel the liquid sloshing inside the bottle.

“This is the perfume oil I made with my master using osmanthus blossoms last fall. You probably don’t need it since your hair is already nice... but it smells really good!”

The child’s eyes sparkled as he spoke, as if asking to think of him whenever he used it.

“Alright, thank you. I’ll use it well.”

Cheongyeon smiled and said thank you, but inwardly felt a bit troubled. He couldn’t help but feel upset knowing that Jeha, once grown, would use this perfume with his master for certain purposes.

‘Don’t give this to me...’

***

That evening, while he was busy organizing the herbs piled up in his room, someone knocked on the door. When he opened it, Haeryeong was standing there with her face covered in dust.

“What’s the matter?”

“Owner, I found this while cleaning the room after the guest checked out.”

What Haeryeong was holding was a heavy-looking iron box.

“It was under the bed. Judging from the dust on it, it must have been there for a long time.”

“Really? Which room?”

“The room you used before. I thought it might be one of your belongings, so I brought it over.”

“Ah, that room.”

The room Cheongyeon had first woken up in after transmigrating wasn’t the one he used now, but rather the room across from his current one. It was a place with no windows and no light, so just sitting there would make him feel depressed. He had switched rooms shortly after adjusting to the guest house, and since he had never checked under the bed, he had no memory of seeing such an item.

“I don’t really know, but just leave it here.”

Cheongyeon examined the box that Haeryeong left behind. It was an ordinary box without any special engravings.

However, it was larger than most books and extremely heavy. On top of that, it had a large lock on it, making it impossible to open.

Even when he struggled to lift and shake it, no sound came from inside. He couldn’t even be sure anything was in it.

‘A guest wouldn’t have brought something like this and just left it behind. So is it really mine?’

Since no answer came to mind even after thinking hard on it, Cheongyeon shoved the box under the bed.

‘Well, it shouldn’t be anything special. I’ll just look at it again later.’

Cheongyeon, who completely forgot about it, finished his bath and lay down on the bed with his body feeling relaxed. He’d even applied the perfume oil Jeha had given him, and a pleasant scent rose softly from the smooth hair.

‘Osmanthus? It really does smell nice.’

Jeha must have arrived by now. They had been so close lately that even a short absence made the emptiness noticeable. He hoped the child was doing well and that he wouldn’t be suffering from nightmares for too long.

‘I want to see him all grown up quickly. He’ll probably be ridiculously handsome, huh?’

While imagining the grown-up version of Jeha, Cheongyeon unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

And when he opened his eyes again, he was in a room he had never seen before.

It didn’t take long for him to realize this was a dream. His hands and feet moved on their own, beyond his control.

An unfamiliar room, unfamiliar clothesー everything around him felt foreign.

Even his physical condition felt worse. He felt weak even when standing still, which was a clear contrast to now, when he'd been maintaining his health by constantly taking medicine.

‘Could this be Yoo Cheongyeon’s memory?’

If this was really a dream based on real memories, he might be able to find clues about the past. With that thought, he quickly looked around.

The room was simple and unremarkable. There was nothing that could be called a decoration. However, it had all the necessary furnishings, and the floor was kept clean without a speck of dust.

A cool breeze slipped in through the cracks in the window and door. The air was so cold and fresh it felt as if he was deep in the mountains.

Cheongyeon was waiting for someone. His heart was pounding, and he was constantly pacing the small room. A variety of emotionsー excitement, longing, tendernessー were blooming within his chest.

‘Who could he be waiting for?’

Cheongyeon was bewildered by the emotions that came through. They were so vivid it was hard to believe this was just a dream. It all felt like something he had personally experienced.

Ah, since the body remembers, maybe he really did experience it himself.

Cheonyeong, tired of waiting and unable to bear it any longer, finally strode over to the door and threw it open. At that moment, his mouth dropped openー or almost did.

His heart pounded at the sight unfolding before his eyes.

Where on earth is this?

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