He rarely even smiled.
But at this moment, looking at Hayoon's excitement, happiness, and trust, something in his heart softened.
He did not even notice when a faint smile formed on his lips.
"Mm," he said softly, "We succeeded."
Hayoon met his gaze and smiled even brighter.
After standing for a while, her legs finally adjusted, and she even bounced lightly on the ground a couple of times.
"From now on, we will have spinning wheels, weaving machines, and all kinds of tools! Life will only get better and better!"
Before Minho could say anything, someone else grabbed Hayoon by the shoulders and kept praising her.
Hayoon went along with the mood, jumped into the crowd, and celebrated together with her companions.
The tall and upright Minho looked at her lively back.
His deep red eyes softened.
In his heart, he answered her words silently: With you here, it definitely will.
They celebrated for quite a while.
Ahri and the other sub-werebeast could no longer hold back their curiosity.
After getting Hayoon's permission, they sat down at the spinning machine and took turns trying it.
Ahri's eyes widened as she kept exclaiming.
"Oh my, this is so effortless! Just step, turn, and the wheel spins and makes thread so fast!"
"Oh no, the hemp is gone. Who still has some? Hurry and bring more."
"Ahri, that is enough. Come down already. So many of us are waiting."
"Yes, yes, let me try."
"Fine, I will go get more hemp."
The moment Ahri stood up, before her seat was even warm, another sub-werebeast immediately took it.
Then came another wave of amazed cries.
Hayoon had already been squeezed out of the crowd.
Through the gaps, she watched everyone rushing to spin thread and laughed so hard her shoulders shook.
She said to Minho beside her, "Why are they all like this? It is like they are competing to do work, haha."
Minho met her gaze with a smile and asked, "Are you hungry?"
It was fine if he did not ask, but once he did, Hayoon immediately felt her stomach cramp in hunger.
She remembered she had only eaten breakfast all day.
"I am starving! Do we have food?"
"Chief Chorong already had people prepare the meal. You can eat after washing your hands," Minho replied.
Although Chorong was very interested in the spinning machine, as a werebeast he did not join the sub-werebeast crowd. Instead, he walked over with a cheerful expression.
In his eyes, Hayoon was a treasure, one he liked more and more the longer he looked at her.
"Are you hungry? Come, come, I will take you to eat."
As they walked, Chorong said, "Actually, when you were working during the day, Minho brought roasted meat and root vegetables to give you. You were so focused that you thought he was disturbing you and pushed him away with a cold face."
Hayoon blinked her eyes and her memories came back. She turned to Minho awkwardly and explained, "I was too focused at the time. It was not aimed at you."
Minho nodded. "I know." That was why he had not mentioned it at all.
Seeing that he did not mind, Hayoon relaxed and smiled.
That night, she ate her fill and happily patted her slightly round stomach before slowly walking back to the spinning machine.
Surprisingly, some people were still there, lining up to use it.
Hayoon spotted Ahri in the queue and raised an eyebrow. "Did you not already use it?"
Someone nearby snorted and quickly answered, "This is her third time in line already. We cannot even chase her away."
Even in the dark night, Hayoon could see Ahri's face turning red.
While holding back her laughter, she said, "Alright, it is getting late. Everyone should go back and rest. Come again tomorrow."
Ahri looked reluctant. "But you are leaving for the Ur-Shet Tribe tomorrow. There is only one spinning machine. You will definitely take it with you, right?"
Hayoon originally planned to talk about it tomorrow, but seeing everyone looking at her with eager eyes, she gave them reassurance first.
"I will stay one more day with Minho and leave the morning after tomorrow. I will also need everyone's help to make another batch of spinning machines."
She had not forgotten the people of the Ur-Shet Tribe.
Since the tools were ready now, how could she not bring such a good thing back to them?
Ahri and the others cheered.
"That is great! We will come help first thing in the morning!"
"Now that this spinning machine has been adjusted properly, with so many of us helping, we should be able to make new ones very quickly tomorrow, right?"
"I don't have a metal knife, but I do have a pretty sharp bone knife. I can carve some of the smaller wooden pieces. I'll bring it tomorrow."
"Then I'll be in charge of the fire. I saw you burning holes into the wood today."
Seeing everyone so enthusiastic and already thinking through all the necessary details, Hayoon felt very pleased.
"Alright. Thank you, everyone."
"It's no trouble at all," Ahri said as she scratching her head. "Hayoon, once you make the new spinning machines, can I trade for this old one? Just name the supplies you want."
The other sub-werebeast immediately turned to look at her and complained, "You beat us to it again!"
Hayoon immediately laughed.
"Don't worry. Your tribe will definitely get its share. As for how the exchange will work, I'll need to discuss it with your chief tomorrow."
She had been busy all day, and by the end of her sentence, she had already yawned several times.
Minho said calmly, "It's very late. Everyone should get some rest."
The others took the hint and stopped bothering her.
One after another, they said their goodbyes to Hayoon.
Hayoon carried the spinning machine into the cave and put it away safely before taking a bath and lying down to sleep.
The next morning, she asked Chorong to send someone to the Ur-Shet Tribe to let them know they would be returning a day later than planned.