## Chapter 209 – The Rite of Flowers
“I’m back…”
The house looked pretty much the same as when I’d left it this morning.
It wasn’t really my place, so it didn’t feel all that familiar, but there was something off about the atmosphere.
The lights were off, and Chaeyoon, who said she’d be waiting, was nowhere to be seen.
“…What is this…”
I deliberately raised my voice as I spoke to myself, stepping into the quiet house after taking off my shoes.
What’s going on? Is she trying to surprise me? I can sense people here and there, but no one’s coming out…
They seem to be hiding so awkwardly that I’m wondering if I should just pretend I don’t notice.
As I walked down the long hallway from the entrance, the presence of others became clearer as I got closer to the living room.
The noise was so obvious that it was impossible to pretend I didn’t notice, which made me feel strangely deflated.
Why would they turn off the lights and try to be quiet when they weren’t even trying to hide properly?
“Seriously, if you guys are going to do this, what am I supposed to do when I was trying to be considerate and pretend I didn’t notice… Whoa, jeez… You scared me…”
As I walked out of the hallway with a sigh and looked toward the living room,
I was a little surprised by a sight I hadn’t expected at all, even though I thought I knew what was going on.
The only light in the living room, which was completely dark, came from the city’s nightscape outside.
And silhouetted against that nightscape, a huge, blurry silhouette was writhing.
Who wouldn’t be surprised by this? No, probably no one. What the heck is this…
“…Ohoho♡ Welcome home, Master…”
“Are you, Chaeyoon…? You’re Chaeyoon, right?”
“Yes, I’m Master’s Chaeyoon?♡”
I frowned and tried to pierce the darkness as I heard a familiar voice coming from within the dark, large silhouette.
Thanks to straining my eyes, Chaeyoon’s face gradually came into view beyond the darkness.
She was looking at me with her red eyes narrowed and a captivating smile on her face.
In addition, the large silhouette that had surprised me was definitely made up of people, though I couldn’t see them clearly.
Seohee and Sua were standing next to Chaeyoon, and there were also shadows of people I didn’t recognize yet.
“There seem to be a few more people than when I left this morning? How many are there?”
“Hehe… Everyone has gathered for today’s important ritual?
Seohee unni, Sua unni, and everyone else have been waiting for Master♡”
“Oh, okay… I appreciate it, but can we turn on the lights and talk?”
As I spoke to Chaeyoon, whose voice was coming from the darkness, I reached out to the wall.
After fumbling around on the cold wall, I finally found the light switch and pressed it.
With a ‘click,’ the bright light I had been hoping for finally illuminated the entire living room from the high ceiling.
“Who are all these people?”
What came into view was a total of eight women.
All of them were wearing the same oversized white t-shirts, and seven of them, except for Chaeyoon, had their eyes covered with white cloths.
Among them, the four with flowers in their hair were kneeling as if they were taking a group graduation photo.
Behind them, Chaeyoon, Seohee, Sua, and Yuri were standing at appropriate intervals.
“…What are you guys doing? Is this the ritual?”
My head was spinning from the large number of people and the amount of information coming in at once.
I tilted my head slightly to loosen the stiff joints in my neck and asked Chaeyoon for an explanation, but…
“I’d love to explain, but ‘my turn’ is over now.
Next, Seohee unni will explain. See you later, Master♡”
“Hey, wait…”
Chaeyoon left only the words ‘Seohee will explain’ in a cheerful voice and covered her eyes with a white cloth.
Soon, Chaeyoon slowly lowered her head, and Seohee took off the white cloth and looked up at me.
“…Sorry, I didn’t explain enough, did I? Before the ritual, we can only look at Master for three minutes each.
We can’t look at the light when we’re not talking to Master. That’s why we turned off the lights.”
“So that’s why you’re covering your eyes like that?”
“Yes, we can’t move or speak until we’re chosen by Master or until the ritual is over.
‘The sunlight that made us bloom is the creator, and the one who made our roots into arms and legs is the creator.’
There’s a rule like that, so we have to stay still except when we’re talking to you, Master, who chose us.”
Seohee, who was explaining why they were like this, looked up at the clock.
“…Oh, it’s already been two minutes. There’s so much I want to say, but I’ll have to save it for later…
I don’t know if you’ll choose me, but if you do, I think I’ll be really happy. Really…”
“…You can smile like that too?”
It was the first time I’d seen such an expression on Seohee’s face, who always had a blank or annoyed look.
A bright and soft smile that could be described as beautiful, with her cheeks flushed.
“…I’m going to be a little more honest now. I don’t want to lose you by just trying to save face.”
Seohee, who raised her head one last time to check the remaining time, lifted the cloth and said,
“…I love you.”
With those words, Seohee tied the cloth over her eyes and lowered her head.
…Her ears and cheeks, which were subtly red because of the white cloth, were even more noticeable, but I decided to ignore it.
So now, the next one is…
“…Ah, Father, no… Master…”
When I turned my head, I met Sua’s eyes as she took off the cloth covering her eyes and called me hesitantly.
Perhaps because she was reminded of what had happened yesterday, Sua’s voice trembled as if she had lost her composure a little.
“…Oh, I’m really sorry about yesterday! I troubled Master, who loved me, even though I was abandoned by my fake family and dying…
I was even more sorry that I had done something terrible to you.
Yesterday, I was so happy that I could repay the love that Master gave me that I didn’t even realize it…
I guess a woman like me isn’t fit to be a partner… I’d rather be in a body like Chaeyoon’s…”
“I’m the one who let you take that body, but you don’t like the body of ‘Hong Sua’?”
“Huh? Yes? Ah, no…! It’s not that…!”
Sua was the only woman I had ever met who had punched me in the face.
She hadn’t been loved by her family and had been erasing her loneliness through Chaeyoon.
Sua, who had thought that I had taken Chaeyoon away from her, had bared her fangs at me from the first time we met…
“Ugh, I’m sorry…! I’m not saying that Master’s decision was wrong…!”
She was flustered and didn’t know what to do with herself at my joke.
She was anxious that I, the only one who loved her, would leave her because of one mistake.
The woman named Hong Sua, whose difference between when I first met her and now was the greatest.
Then and now, she was still a funny, pitiful, strong, and beautiful woman.
“…The thing I hate most among the types I hate is arrogant people who think they’re so great.
Seohee and you were both ‘arrogant people’ before, and I used flower petals because I hated the old you.
But you know what? If I didn’t like you in the first place, I wouldn’t have even thought about using flower petals.”
“…So, then…”
“Don’t worry about yesterday. I liked it too.”
Sua, who seemed relieved by my words, let out a burst of laughter.
“Thank you! I’ll do my best in the future…!”
“But who’s the woman in front of you? I’ve never seen her before…”
“Ah, that’s because this flowerpot will explain itself as the ritual progresses!
It’s already this late… I’ll excuse myself now! And…”
Sua, who had been jumping around, looked at the clock and hurriedly covered her eyes with a cloth, slurring the end of her words.
Sua was the tallest of them, but her last voice was smaller than anyone else’s here.
“…Thank you for loving me…”
“…Okay, okay. But what kind of ritual is this? It looks like I’ll have to ask you everything.”
“I know, right… Everyone just said what they wanted to say and dumped the explanation on me. That’s too much.”
I was exhausted by the situation, which seemed like it would take longer than I thought, so I leaned back on the sofa behind me and lamented.
Yuri, who was behind me, took off her eye patch and complained, agreeing with my words.
“I wanted to say hello first, but I’ll quickly explain the postponed ritual procedure.
After my turn is over, these ‘flowerpots’ in front of you will start and proceed with the ritual.
They will each introduce themselves and their partner candidates, who are their masters, and offer the flowers we have bloomed.
Master will choose the flowerpot that has bloomed the most beautiful flower and feels the most love for them.
Then, you can pluck the flower blooming in that flowerpot and decorate the head of the candidate who is the owner of the flowerpot.”
“…So that woman becomes my partner. But you want me to pluck the flower? The flower blooming on her head…?”
“Oh, don’t worry. The flowerpot won’t die that easily. Have you ever seen a flowerpot break just because you plucked a flower?”
“I’m starting to get confused about whether I should say this is a good thing or not.”
I was relieved that the ritual wasn’t as complicated as I thought, but I also started to worry about this and that.
It was a good thing that the flowerpot wouldn’t die if I plucked the flower blooming on its head… but it felt strange.
“Hoo… I’m glad we finished quickly, so we still have two minutes left! So now, with Master…♡”
I was blankly thinking about the sensation of plucking the flower when I suddenly met Yuri’s eyes.
Come to think of it, when did her eyes turn red again…? They were purple when I last saw her.
Suddenly gentle Seohee, Sua who was more emotionally needy, and now Yuri.
“…Chaeyoon must have done it all.”
“Ehehe… That’s right. I wondered what was going on at first, but thanks to that, I found out.
That I met Master in Busan and was brainwashed by Master, all for this moment…♡
Of course, I haven’t spent as much time with Master as the other partner candidates, but I’m not going to give up.”
Yuri brushed her flowing hair with her hand and smiled confidently.
“…Think carefully, Master. If you make me your partner, I can do this much for you…”
Then, she knelt down slightly and stroked the cheeks of her old friend, Woori, who was sitting quietly.
Yuri’s beauty was definitely eye-catching, as she was a former idol trainee.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her appearance as she made a seductive expression and flirted with me.
“…Ah, it’s already time. Then, Master, I’m looking forward to a pretty hair decoration♡”
There was a line of beauties who were so beautiful that I wouldn’t regret choosing any of them.
They were asking me to take them as my partner, even offering me these tributes.
“…Hoo…”
After everyone’s turn, including the last one, Yuri, was over, I took a breath, feeling a strange sense of tension.
The four flowerpots who had been kneeling all took off the white cloths covering their eyes at the same time.
And they bowed to me, lowering their heads as they were…
“It’s an honor to meet you, Master.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Master.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Master.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Master. Now, we will begin the ‘Rite of Flowers.’”
With gestures, eyes, and consistent voices that were perfectly aligned,
They finally announced the beginning of the ‘Rite of Flowers,’ which would determine my partner.
