At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 245
24. Traces
Skiass never entrusted his things to the others, which was why he alone hadn’t lost any belongings.
Grinning mischievously, Kaman dumped out the pouch. It was full of ordinary items, vials, herbs, bandages.
But one object stood out.
“This is…”
Kaman just stared at it, unable to say aloud what it was.
Jiwoo spoke instead.
“Ear-piercing tools.”
“….”
A flat metal clamp, a pin of moderate length, and vials that must have been disinfectant. While Jiwoo examined them, Kaman’s face turned bright red.
“Did he buy that from those men at the beach?”
Up until now, Kaman had only complained lightly about Skiass, but at this discovery Kaman’s eyes darted wildly.
“That guy…”
He coughed, averting his gaze, while Jiwoo calmly sifted through the rest. There were not only tools but also quite a few earrings.
“Not for me, then.”
Some were so large they would encircle the entire ear ridge, clearly designed for long ears. Others were oversized enough that they hardly looked like women’s jewelry.
Kaman understood immediately what Skiass had been planning.
“That creepy bastard…”
If tattoos weren’t possible, then he meant to pierce his ears and wear Jiwoo’s mark that way. And if even that failed, he would at least beg her to let him wear the earrings.
He’d even wept this time, trying to make sure she allowed him something.
As Kaman fumed over Skiass’s intentions, Jiwoo said casually.
“I thought it was for piercing my ears.”
“What!”
Kaman was jolted by Jiwoo’s soft words.
“Ho, how could you! Don’t even think about it!”
He practically shouted in a whisper, screwing his eyes shut in embarrassment. Clearly, the very idea mortified him.
But the significance of earrings belonged only to them. To Jiwoo, who cared little for such things, the sight of their flustered faces was simply cute.
She gave a laugh
“It wouldn’t work anyway.”
“…Wouldn’t work?”
“Yes. I’ve tried before…”
Jiwoo twirled the pin between her fingers.
She had never pierced her ears in her original world, and here it had become truly impossible. Piercing meant wounding the body, and Akarna’s body did not allow such harm.
Especially not in the temple, where she had been uncomfortable for years. Even when someone she trusted had tried, the hole closed within days.
“It just doesn’t work.”
“It’s because you’re Akarna, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
So whenever Jiwoo needed to wear jewelry on her ears, she had always resorted to something that could be stuck on or draped instead.
Even after crossing into El Ragneil, none of her husbands dared to wound her ears. If Jiwoo wished for it, they would make ornaments for her. But always the kind that could be fastened without piercing.
“Sometimes I think it might’ve been easier if I’d already had them pierced back in my world.”
Kaman listened quietly, as though he couldn’t quite meet her eyes.
Did that mean piercing her ears wouldn’t be a problem? She didn’t seem particularly opposed. Swallowing hard, he finally spoke.
“…Then, maybe…”
But he cut himself off halfway.
“That’s why Skiass kept it hidden and didn’t show you.”
The conversation shifted. Jiwoo teased lightly
“You can, you know.”
“What, what?”
“You can pierce my ears. I don’t know if it’ll work, but you can try.”
“Wa, wait, what are you saying…”
Kaman’s face went pale. He forced an awkward laugh and quickly looked away.
“I, I never even thought about it.”
“So, you won’t?”
“…”
The way he gulped again told Jiwoo that what seemed a trivial suggestion to her was, for him, a powerful temptation.
“… El, please don’t misunderstand me.”
“About what?”
“It’s not that I looked at El’s ears and wanted it. Among us Ellandos, ears are too sensitive, so we don’t wear jewelry there. Only the children of Ellandos look down on those who adorn their ears. No other race, no women… has that standard.”
“I know.”
Indeed, only his people have sensitive ears and they’re the only ones who find it strange to wear jewelry in such a sensitive area.
If Jiwoo’s words had been held to that same standard, then Kaman wouldn’t have been so surprised back at the beach when she showed no disgust at the other group’s jewelry.
“I was only wondering… if it’s something Akarna rejected as a threat, then…”
“Pfft, yeah.”
Maybe this was Kaman’s way of whining.
Throwing tantrums, whining, all of them meant that they wanted to do things they usually couldn’t. The methods vary because all of it was a way of asking Jiwoo to show how much she cared for them.
“Kaman is wondering if you could do it, right?”
After all, piercing meant wounding the body. If Jiwoo, an Akarna, felt no fear of it, even welcomed it, then it would succeed. That in itself would prove how safe and at ease she felt with him.
It was a direct way of measuring Jiwoo’s heart.
But among Ellandos, the act was also considered deeply immoral.
“Are, are you really sure?”
Kaman asked again, his voice trembling.
They felt this was incredibly suggestive.
“Yes. Here, try it.”
Jiwoo handed Kaman the piercing tools. Kaman took them with shaking hands before pushing them back into Jiwoo’s palms.