59
“Abandoned? Abandoned? Who’s been abandoned? Surely not me?! Ha!”
Gliese’s face, which had seemed gentle, turned vicious. Yeon Ji-ho realized that this was no different from the novel.
Gliese, the beloved female protagonist in “The Star of Hadad,” wasn’t just a frail and pitiful character like many common female characters. Her independent and unique personality made her exceptionally popular.
“Did Hadad say that? That I was abandoned by him and that’s why we broke up?”
“…Well.”
“What nonsense! I was the one who said we should break up first!”
Gliese shouted with a genuinely annoyed voice. Just as Apophis was about to say something, Set’s response came quickly.
“I don’t care why you broke up. Don’t block my way.”
“You don’t care? Really? When everyone in the world is dying to know from me?”
“Gliese. Is this habit of thinking the whole world is interested in you something you caught from Hadad?”
At Set’s sudden jab, Gliese pressed her lower lip tightly. Even that gesture was beautiful like a scene from a movie, truly worthy of being chosen as the female lead.
“…Anyway, I didn’t come to find you without reason. Do you think it was easy for me to find criminals being chased by the knights like this?”
“Cut to the chase and state your reason.”
Gliese didn’t hide her sulky expression. After all, she had once been a close friend who attended the academy with Set, and often conversed with him when Hadad and Set weren’t distant.
Only later was it revealed that Duke Gorgon was behind everything, and they moved to kill each other.
Finally, Gliese took a deep breath. When everyone focused on her face, which seemed to have made a firm decision, she spoke.
“A prophecy has come down.”
Like all protagonists in novels, they each had their own remarkable abilities. For Gliese, it was prophecy.
However, Gliese’s prophecies were always limited to Hadad. Partly because Hadad was the male protagonist, but in fact, all the major events in this fictional world revolved around him.
“Then you should have gone to Hadad.”
Knowing that Gliese’s prophetic ability was only used for Hadad, Set spoke coldly with an expressionless face. Gliese retorted irritably.
“It’s not about Hadad, but about you, Set Gorgon! A prophecy about you has come down!”
Gliese grumbled that she knew Set Gorgon was alive and here because of this prophecy. It was an extremely rare occurrence for Gliese to receive a prophecy about someone other than Hadad.
In fact, Hadad’s victory in the war against Set was partly due to Gliese’s prophetic ability. Although she couldn’t control her ability, Hadad always managed to overcome crises with her prophecies whenever the most dangerous times came.
Therefore, Gliese thought she would never receive another prophecy after bidding farewell to Hadad. After all, the divine only responds to the calls of the desperate.
But another prophecy had come down. And it was about none other than Set Gorgon.
However, Set didn’t care that a prophecy had come down for him. He responded gruffly.
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“Why, why? Why not?! My prophecies have always come true until now…!”
“Why should I believe in your prophecy? Besides, I don’t need your prophecy.”
After all, he was planning to leave this world.
Set added the last part only in his mind. It was unnecessary to tell Gliese, who would remain in this world.
Having chosen a future with Yeon Ji-ho, he had to leave this world, and therefore, there was no need to listen to prophecies from this world’s god.
Set suddenly felt strange. Before meeting Yeon Ji-ho, if Gliese had come to him with a prophecy when he was facing off against Hadad, he wouldn’t have been able to dismiss his interest. Gliese’s prophecies were that powerful.
However, the “divine words” that came down at crucial moments were always for Hadad. Set Gorgon had never been chosen by this world’s god even once.
“Ha, is that so? Fine then. I didn’t fully understand this prophecy anyway.”
“I think it might be okay to hear it once. Could you tell us?”
Just as the thoroughly upset Gliese was about to turn her back, Yeon Ji-ho, who had been quietly listening from behind, stepped forward.
Even if Set didn’t think so, Yeon Ji-ho couldn’t easily let her go. Any reader of “The Star of Hadad” would have felt the same.
Yeon Ji-ho, while reading the novel, always muttered that Gliese’s prophetic ability was “cheating.” After all, for Hadad and Set, who were evenly matched in combat ability, the only difference was whether they had Gliese’s prophecy or not.
As Yeon Ji-ho stopped Gliese, her head turned slightly. When Gliese’s eyes met Yeon Ji-ho’s, she tilted her head.
“Who are you?”
“Ji-ho…! Don’t pay attention to this woman’s words. She only deceives people by claiming to respond to divine calls.”
On the other hand, Set hurriedly tried to block the two, as if he didn’t want to show Yeon Ji-ho to Gliese. However, Yeon Ji-ho’s eyes were firmly fixed on Gliese.
At this sight, Set’s heart began to beat anxiously. As images of Gliese being loved everywhere flashed through his mind, a chilling thought crossed Set’s mind. The idea that Yeon Ji-ho might be swayed by Gliese’s appearance and fall for her.
Unaware of Set’s thoughts, Yeon Ji-ho spoke.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Gliese. I’m Yeon Ji-ho.”
***
Eventually, the caravan was parked in a quiet place a little off the road. They decided to have lunch while listening to the prophecy and satisfying their hunger.
Yeon Ji-ho’s choice for today’s lunch was tteokbokki. It was a simple dish where frozen rice cakes were thawed at room temperature, then simmered in boiling water with seasoning and vegetables.
“Right, right. Fish cakes. We should add fish cakes too.”
“…Ji-ho. This looks quite spicy.”
“It’s just the color. I made the seasoning less spicy since you all can’t handle spicy food.”
Thanks to all the caravan windows being open, the tangy aroma of tteokbokki wafted on the breeze. The soft tip of Apophis’s nose twitched as he sat at the table and chairs set up in front of it.
“Kek, kheup. Ahem, ahem.”
“Apophis. You’re drooling…”
“Huh? Huh? When did I drool? Where?”
“…It was a joke.”
Apophis frowned deeply at Shango’s joke, delivered without a change in expression. If it were Isquis, he would have immediately plucked a handful of feathers, but he couldn’t do that to Shango.
While the two were exchanging jokes, Gliese was sitting in a chair a little further away, watching all of this. She looked at Set and Yeon Ji-ho chatting and cooking through the window and asked:
“Are those two dating?”
“They are not in such a simple relationship. They will share a future together…”
“Apophis. …We shouldn’t force His Excellency’s thoughts onto Mr. Ji-ho…”
At those words, Apophis scratched his head. Meanwhile, Gliese just laughed shortly through her nose, as if she had understood something just from listening to Shango and Apophis’s conversation.
“It’s my first time seeing such an expression on Set Gorgon’s face.”
By the time they finished talking, the tteokbokki was ready. Set came out holding a huge royal pan in one hand.
Thud.
As soon as he put the pan down on the ground, an enormous amount became visible with a heavy sound. However, Apophis and Shango were just swallowing their saliva, not even worrying about whether they could eat it all.
Watching this scene, Gliese said with a perplexed face:
“Just one dish of food? And you’re all going to eat this together?”
“Ah, we’ll serve it on plates for you. Shango, you take this first.”
Yeon Ji-ho, who was following behind Set with plates, distributed them to everyone. Gliese, who received her share of fork and plate, said in a confused voice:
“What kind of food is this? Is it really edible?”
“Then don’t eat it.”
Set tried to take away the plate in front of Gliese without hesitation. Only when the surprised Gliese protected her bowl did he stop.
“I’ll eat it! I said I’ll eat it!”
Finally, Gliese faced three pieces of rice cake and one slice of fish cake on her plate. After contemplating for a while, she stabbed one rice cake with her fork and lifted it. As she did so, she watched the tteokbokki sauce dripping down the rice cake.
“It looks weird too…”
After pondering, Gliese made her decision after seeing Apophis and Shango eating aggressively beside her. She closed her eyes tightly and put the rice cake in her mouth.
“…”
“…?”
But there was no particular reaction. Gliese just quietly chewed the rice cake in her mouth. Yeon Ji-ho was just glancing at her when…
Munch munch.
Munch munch munch.
Gliese’s mouth started to move very dynamically. She chewed, bit, and tore at the single rice cake for a long time, then gulped, swallowed, took a deep breath, and exclaimed:
“Sip, ha…! What is this? What is it?!”
“…Sip, slurp.”
“Haah…”
“What, how did it disappear so quickly?! No! Don’t eat it all! Aish, really!”
At this reaction, the corners of Yeon Ji-ho’s mouth lifted slightly. It was the moment when Uncle Soo-cheol’s tteokbokki recipe, which had even won over the neighborhood aunties known for their picky tastes, worked its magic.
