Instead of going into the bath that was prepared for him, Master Cheon-Ho paced up and down, only wearing a towel around his waist. Noticing this, the servants stopped in their paths.
The servants were puzzled. Normally, Master Cheon-Ho enjoyed bathing, but now he looked hesitant to go into the bath.
Master Cheon-Ho, not noticing the servants' quizzical gazes, folded his arms as he walked around in a small circle. He then crouched down, looking torn.
Abruptly, Master Cheon-Ho jumped up from his position on the floor and tapped his feet to a random rhythm before he yelled out, "I will not go in!!".
Not satisfied with just yelling, Master Cheon-Ho kicked near by wall before returning to his room, leaving the steaming bath behind.
Seeing this, a servant approached Ho-Chi and spoke.
"Since Master Cheon-Ho canceled on his bath, clean out the tub."
"…Yes…"
"Even though Master Cheon-Ho love bathing… I wonder what happened."
Muttering to himself, the servant left the bathhouse. Left alone, Ho-Chi diligently scooped out the hot water from the tub that he just finished filling.
By Master Cheon-Ho's order, Ho-Chi was supposed to assist Master Cheon-Ho in the bath. Even though Ho-Chi prepared everything, Master Cheon-Ho changed his mind and canceled on his bath.
Ho-Chi didn't know.
Ho-Chi didn't know that Master Cheon-Ho wanted to stay with Ho-Chi even during his bath, so he ordered Ho-Chi to assist him in washing. However, Master Cheon-Ho became too embarrassed to be naked in front of Ho-Chi, so he had to cancel.
Not knowing this, no one noticed Master Cheon-Ho's redden face when he returned from the bathhouse and pretended to brush his tails.
At night, Master Cheon-Ho secretly sneaked out from his room and climbed onto the roofs to get to the servant's living quarter.
Because each servant was given a room, it was easy for Master Cheon-Ho to spy on Ho-Chi.
Although it was late, the light in Ho-Chi's room glowed brightly.
Through a paper sliding door, the silhouette of Ho-Chi quietly sewing could be seen.
Watching Ho-Chi up from a tree, a spontaneous plan entered Master Cheon-Ho's mind.
An anticipation for tomorrow grew. Master Cheon-Ho moved to returned to his room when he noticed a movement from inside Ho-Chi's room.
The door opened, and Ho-Chi stepped onto the external corridor. Ho-Chi looked up at the sky. The night was blanketed by the gentle hue of yellow, emanated by soft glow of the moon. Ho-Chi stood on the external corridor for a moment before going back into his room to retrieve the flowerpot. Carefully holding the flowerpot in his arm, Ho-Chi came out to the external corridor once again.
"The moon is especially bright tonight. It is good to bath under the moonlight once in a while."
Placing the flowerpot where there is much moonlight, Ho-Chi dropped down beside it as he hugged his knees. Looking at the bud, Ho-Chi spoke longingly.
"When are you planning on blooming? It is good that you are not withering, but I wish I can see your beautiful flower. I bet It will be pretty."
After quietly initiating a conversation, Ho-Chi sighed. A moment later, Ho-Chi looked up at the night sky.
The beautiful moon filled the night sky with its glow as if it was the sun.
Ho-Chi who was watching the moon with bottomless admiration yawned. Not able to stay up any longer, Ho-Chi went back into his room and turned out the lamp light. When the light went out, Master Cheon-Ho came down from the tree he was hiding in and approached the flowerpot that was placed on the external corridor.
Although it has been three hundred years since Master Cheon-Ho received this flowerpot as a gift, there was little to no information about what kind of flower it was. No one knew when the bud would bloom.
According to the original owner of the flowerpot, the bud stayed closed even through the hundred years the original owner kept in his care.
Without a sound, Master Cheon-Ho flew to the roof and traveled to the front gate. When he reached the gate, Master Cheon-Ho flew even higher to stand on top of the front gate.
When Master Cheon-Ho looked down, the two fox guards were dozing off in front of the gate. Few feet away from the front gate, the guy was kneeling on the ground. Behind the guy, Master Cheon-Ho even saw a mud hut.
In front of the kneeling guy, Master Cheon-Ho spotted a flat stone table which held varying mountain berries and freshly cooked bird meat.
The guy kneeling in front of his offerings was preying.
"Master Cheon-Ho, Master Cheon-Ho. Please save my bride. Please save him."
It already has been over a month and the guy was still waiting for his bride to walk out the palace gate healthy.
Master Cheon-Ho sneered at the guy's prayer as he turn around and raise back to his palace.
Master Cheon-Ho spoke.
"Since you are exceptionally skilled in sewing, I thought to use your skill for the betterment of my court, so from now on embroider to pay your debt."
After announcing his command, Master Cheon-Ho brought in different materials for Ho-Chi to work with. Soon, the room was filled with vibrant colors of fabrics, well crafted embroidery frames, different color threads, and different size needles. There were so many materials in the room that it was overwhelming.
Pushing Ho-Chi to a sitting cushion placed in front of an elegant embroidery frame, Master Cheon-Ho spoke with excitement.
"Hurry, sit."
"…Yes…"
Ho-Chi sat down on the sitting cushion awkwardly under Master Cheon-Ho's watchful gaze. Seeing that Ho-Chi settled down, Master Cheon-Ho moved away to sit in his own seat as he smiled contently.
However, when he reached his seat, he realized that his seat was too far away from where Ho-Chi was sitting.
In the beginning, Ho-Chi looked awkward, sitting in the middle of the materials presented to him, but when Ho-Chi's attention drifted to the colorful threads, his face lightened up as he started sewing using the embroidery frame in front of him. While Ho-Chi was becoming in tune with his needlework, Master Cheon-Ho moved his body this way and that to have a better look at Ho-Chi's face. However, no matter how Master Cheon-Ho sat in his seat, he could not have a good view of Ho-Chi. As an end resort, Master Cheon-Ho slowly slid his own sitting cushion to be nearer to Ho-Chi.
"Oh my, Master Cheon-Ho?"
A servant who brought in a small table full of afternoon tea and snacks paused in her path and exclaimed. The servant's exclamation was due to the fact that Master Cheon-Ho was now crouching beside Ho-Chi while tilting his face side way to have a better look at Ho-Chi's face.
The cry of surprise earned the servant a look of askance from Master Cheon-Ho.
While the servant was swallowing her saliva from the fear of Master Cheon-Ho's wrath, Master Cheon-Ho dragged his sitting cushion back to sit in his original seat. The servant noticed how Master Cheon-Ho's feet dragged as they went farther and farther away from Ho-Chi.
Because Ho-Chi was immersed in his needlework, he did not notice any happenings around him. In fact, Ho-Chi was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice when the corner of his own mouth went up to form a delicate smile.
Seeing Ho-Chi pleasant smile from afar, Master Cheon-Ho stopped his wallowing and smiled as well.
TN: There were eight pages to translate for chapter 24, so I divided it to two sections. I am glad that Ho-Chi is now doing what he enjoys doing. Thank you for all of your comments! I read each and every one of them, so don't worry even if I don't reply. I appreciate any kind of responds (whether it be a like or a comment). Have a good rest of the evening! ?