IGWNI Ch 21
by soapa「For that reason, I hope you will refrain from using your power in front of this from now on.”
At Eustace’s words, the other Dweord’s expressions twisted bizarrely.
「…But I don’t want to?」
Cox was the first to speak.
「Why should I be careful? It’s my castle….」
His tone implied, if you do not like it, you can be the one to leave. Eustace, as if he had expected this, continued speaking with a smile.
「Is that so? In that case, let us postpone the discussion regarding Asir’s barrier until later.」
Cox’s smiling face hardened at those words. Malik burst into a roar of laughter, enjoying himself.
“Good. Whatever is good, let’s just not do what Cox wants.」
「Hmph… Dicker, you’re going to act like that, huh?」
「Yes. Everything will go my way. Once I ascend to the seat of Azhar, the first thing I’ll do is confine you to this castle so you can’t take a single step out.」
「If I ascend to the seat of Azhar, I’ll make it so that not a single blade of grass can sprout in the land you rule, even after tens of thousands of years.」
「You crazy bird-brain!」
「Why? …Are you afraid I’ll do it? Hmm?」
「Shut up. Be quiet.」
When Yatenbaum let out an irritated remark, Malik clicked his tongue and jeered.
「Are you acting like that because you lost that filthy Ramia to Rau? Ha, this is ridiculous.」
「I told you to be quiet.」
「Why are you all acting like idiots, so obsessed with that disgusting, filthy Ramia’s hole.」
「Dicker. Watch your mouth.」
As Eustace also chimed in, the atmosphere grew even more hostile.
「But I don’t want to? Why should I take orders from you? And I still don’t trust that Ramia. That filthy Ramia is definitely related to Asir’s barrier.」
When Malik pointed at himself with sparkling eyes, Yoon Jaewoo flinched, his shoulders trembling. As he hid behind Eustace, Malik threw a fit as if he had seen something unsightly.
「How dare that abominable thing try to flirt at the table where a Dweord-nim is dining!」
“Who said I was flirting…”
The one remark he made out of a sense of unfairness added fuel to Malik’s fury.
「Are you not even aware of the fact that you should not open your mouth before a Dweord gives you permission? I shall personally pull out your tongue.」
Yoon Jaewoo looked at Eustace with an aggrieved expression. He had no memory of ever receiving such a warning from Eustace.
「He is a young Ramia. He is still in the process of learning etiquette, so you should be understanding. Dicker.」
「I refuse. I’m already losing my appetite having to eat with a filthy thing, and now you expect me to be understanding?」
「Endure it. Dicker. I’m also enduring a meal while looking at your face.」
Yatenbaum said in an indifferent tone. Malik slammed the knife he was holding onto the table. Golden flames flared up over the table. Yoon Jaewoo, exclaiming, “Ah, hot,” pulled his body back behind the table.
Cox, who had been fiddling with his own hair, leaned his body against the table. The fire that had shot up from the table instantly died down.
They glared at each other with fierce eyes. Yoon Jaewoo earnestly wished to escape this terrible situation as soon as possible.
「What are we going to do.」
Yatenbaum was the first to speak. Yesterday, they had put it to a vote between the discussion about Vedas and the trip to Asir’s barrier, but because of the Ramia, Eustace had postponed his statement.
He had naturally thought Eustace would suggest they finish the discussion regarding Vedas. Even when the two of them had suggested they go see Asir’s barrier first, it was Eustace who had stubbornly insisted on coming here.
「We are going to see the barrier.」
「What did you say?」
「Awesome.」
「Ah, damn it. How annoying.」
Yatenbaum, with a dumbfounded look on his face, gestured to Eustace with his eyes.
「And we will continue the discussion of Vedas as well.」
「What is that supposed to mean now.」
「Surely you’re not suggesting something like we all ride in the same carriage, that the four of us continue to travel together, are you?」
Malik asked with a stern face.
During the discussion of Vedas, the four of them had to remain under the same roof. If even one of them left that roof, the discussion would become invalid. When the discussion of Vedas was over, the competition to ascend to the position of Azhar would begin.
Once Azhar, the god of gods, was decided, the remaining Dweord had to honor his will. They would rule independently in their respective territories, but the practice of the four of them gathering to converge opinions, like now, would cease to exist.
「If we are going to have the discussion of Vedas, let’s go to my beautiful and noble castle of the east. I don’t want to be in this dirty and gloomy place anymore.」
At Malik’s words, Yatenbaum replied as if he was flabbergasted.
「Who says we’re going to the castle of the east.」
「Naturally, it’s my decision, as I have the noblest bloodline among us. You vulgar red-head.」
「What did you say? You damn cat bastard!」
Yoon Jaewoo’s head began to ache. He wondered how long he had to watch this childish and nonsensical fight among gods.
Seeing the Ramia grow paler and paler, Eustace quietly tapped the table with his hand. A quiet vibration shook the air. Everyone’s attention focused on him.
「You can fight all you want when the discussion of Vedas is over and the competition begins.」
If the discussion of Vedas was a technical test, the competition was a real battle. When that time came, they could kill other Dweord under the guise of a mistake. Such things often happened to settle private grudges.
「Hahahaha. Right. That’s right. Everyone, wash your necks and wait for that day.」
Malik nodded his head with a laugh.
「Huhu… yes. Good.」
Watching Cox let out a creepy laugh, Yoon Jaewoo lightly rubbed his arm, on which the hair was standing on end.
「So what are you trying to say? Are we going to inspect the barrier, or are we going to have the discussion.」
To be honest, Yatenbaum wanted to quickly finish the discussion and have the competition to ascend to the seat of Azhar. He had been planning to leave the matter of Azhar to Eustace and spend his days in pleasure and carnal desire, but because of the Ramia issue, he had boldly revised that plan yesterday.
When Azhar was decided, the other Dweord would offer tributes as a sign of their pledge of loyalty to Azhar. Azhar could also designate what those tributes would be. As long as the Ramia did not carry Eustace’s child in his womb, he could be taken away.
Just you wait. Ramia.
Yatenbaum licked his lips and looked at Yoon Jaewoo. Yoon Jaewoo shivered at Yatenbaum’s unpleasant gaze and furtively watched him.
「We’re doing both.」
「Does that make any sense? Then are you seriously suggesting, as Dicker said, that we all cram into the same carriage and travel together?」
No matter how big the carriage, that was an impossible feat. The only reason the four Dweord hadn’t killed each other yet was that they had time to cool their anger towards each other while staying in their own separate spaces.
「Ah, fuck! I’ll die before I get in the same carriage!」
Yatenbaum threw the knife he was holding. Likewise, a red flame erupted from the tip of the knife. When Eustace gestured, the surface of the knife froze with a clang and fell.
「We are going with this castle.」
「What?」
「We move this castle and go. That should work.」
“What are you talking about? Right now.”
Yoon Jaewoo, who had been listening quietly, couldn’t hold back and interjected.
Eustace clicked his tongue lowly. It was a situation where he had brought him along because he couldn’t leave him alone, but butting in so abruptly was not good for himself or for the Ramia.
“How on earth do you go with this castle? Does the castle run? Does the castle walk? Does the castle have wings?”
Yoon Jaewoo fired off questions with a bewildered look on his face.
「Hmm… in my opinion.」
Cox, who had been twirling his hair with his finger, tilted his head and muttered.
「First, let’s investigate that yummy-looking thing.」
“What? Why? What did I do!”
Yoon Jaewoo asked back in surprise.
「How could such an arrogant Ramia have snatched Rau’s side? He must be hiding something….」
「First, we must cut open his belly and look inside. It will be filthy, but I will cut it open myself.」
Malik moved his fingers. Seeing his sharp, blade-like nails grow out, Yoon Jaewoo gasped, “Huk.” He had inadvertently imagined the scene of his own belly being sliced open by those nails.
「Watch your mouth. He is my Maryan.」
At Eustace’s words, Yoon Jaewoo vigorously nodded his head from the side. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he began to see Eustace as cool.
「Like I care. How can we trust a Ramia who lured in Ibnu.」
“I didn’t lure him in. I’m serious.”
「Are you saying it’s unfair? Yummy-looking thing, are you feeling wronged?」
As Cox chuckled and muttered, his hair moved as if it were alive and tickled Yoon Jaewoo’s cheek. When Yoon Jaewoo swatted the hair away with his hand, Cox burst out laughing, “Keukkeuk.”
「Forget all that, just hand him over to me. I’ll investigate him. He must be in league with Ibnu. If you cut open that filthy belly, it’ll be full of black intestines.」
“I told you it’s not true!”
「Ramia.」
Eustace restrained him with a low voice, but Yoon Jaewoo couldn’t stay still due to the feeling of injustice.
“Why are you doing this to me? What did I do so wrong? I’ve had such a hard time after falling here too. To you guys, getting rid of someone like me and saying, oh it was a mistake, might be nothing, but for me, my survival is on the line.”
Whether they understood or not.
Yoon Jaewoo poured out all the words he wanted to say.
“I might seem like an insignificant, trivial being to you, but even a trivial being like me thinks and worries a damn lot to live. You damn sons of bitches!”
Yoon Jaewoo finished speaking, panting. Eustace pressed his temples with his hand and gritted his teeth. Yatenbaum’s lips were twitching as he tried to hold back his laughter, and the other two Dweord had dumbfounded expressions.
「What is he saying? What is the yummy-looking thing saying? Rau.」
「He didn’t say much.」
Eustace answered briefly.
「What did he say? Surely that filthy thing did not say something rude to us?」
Malik reached out his hand. Eustace grabbed his hand. A silver wind swirled over the golden flames.
「The Ramia said.」
Eustace recited in an emotionless voice.
「I will stay here as Dweord Eustace’s Maryan. As I am a body that could carry Eustace-nim’s seed, I ask that you please be careful before using your power when I am present.」
“When did I…!”
「What kind of bullshit is that! It is filthy and disgusting beyond compare!」
「That, I don’t think that’s it… Hmmm.」
「Blondie. …Surely you didn’t say something like that.」
“…….”
「So I ask for your kind cooperation.」
Eustace forced Yoon Jaewoo’s head down. Yoon Jaewoo muttered, “Eui ssi,” and bowed to them.
「If I find proof that you are not a Maryan, on that day, I will skin you and throw you to the dogs alive, so just you wait. Hahaha.」
Malik gritted his teeth and offered Yoon Jaewoo a blessing.
The only one who heard Yoon Jaewoo awkwardly smile and mutter “fuck you” in a small voice was Eustace.
Really, what has happened to this Ramia’s head?
Eustace let out an invisible sigh and pressed down firmly on Yoon Jaewoo’s head. Yoon Jaewoo looks up at him with wide eyes, as if he doesn’t know the reason. Eustace wondered if there could possibly be another blockhead like this in the world.
「But what do you mean by going with this castle?」
Malik asked.
Since it was originally the question he had intended to ask, Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes also lit up as he looked at Eustace. Eustace called out to Yatenbaum, 「Mäden.」
「What.」
「Can you make a path from here to near the barrier?」
「What?」
「Making a path is no big deal, right? Isn’t it?」
「That’s true, but. …Well, yes. I can do that much.」
Eustace nodded his head, saying, “Then it’s settled.” Cox and Malik also had strangely convinced faces. The only one there who did not understand Eustace’s proposal was Yoon Jaewoo.
“What do you mean? What does making a path and going mean?”
As if he hadn’t lost his spirit even after being scolded like that, Yoon Jaewoo tugged on Eustace’s sleeve and asked. Seeing the sight, Malik clicked his tongue, saying that they should cut off all the hands of that vulgar creature, but Yoon Jaewoo deliberately pretended not to hear.
“How do you make a path?”
「Blondie.」
Yatenbaum beckoned with his finger. He had noticed that the unusually curious Ramia was asking about how they would get to the barrier. When Yoon Jaewoo turned his head that way, Yatenbaum plucked a flower placed on the table for decoration and dropped it on the floor. As he moved his hand up and down, the flower seeped into the ground as if by magic. And a short while later, a single flower gracefully sprouted at Yoon Jaewoo’s feet.
“Whoa!”
「This is how we go.」
Yatenbaum finished his explanation with a smile.
「Blondie.」
While Eustace was discussing the barrier with Cox, Yatenbaum beckoned to Yoon Jaewoo, who was admiring the flowers in the garden. Yoon Jaewoo hesitated to approach Yatenbaum readily.
「It’s fine. I won’t eat you.」
“…….”
Figuring it would be fine since Eustace was also nearby, Yoon Jaewoo walked in front of Yatenbaum. Without warning, he grabbed Yoon Jaewoo’s shoulders and pressed his nose into the nape of his neck.
“Wha, what are you doing.”
「…It’s subtle.」
“What’s subtle.”
Yoon Jaewoo frowned, rubbing the area where Yatenbaum’s nose had touched with his palm.
「There’s a scent, but… it’s subtle.」
「They didn’t do it. There’s no way a Dweord would sleep with a filthy thing like that.」
Malik Dicker chimed in as he walked past.
「Did you do it?」
Knowing that Yatenbaum’s question was directly related to his survival, Yoon Jaewoo’s face felt like it was on fire, but he nodded his head earnestly.
「Ah, damn it!」
Yatenbaum kicked a nearby tree. Watching the large tree break powerlessly, Yoon Jaewoo vowed to himself not to mess with this man if he could help it.
「How many times did you do it?」
“Pardon?”
「How many times did you do it. Not the number of times he put it in, but the times he came.」
“…Haa, damn it.”
Why on earth does this guy only say such vulgar things to him?
「How many times did he come. Tell me. Quickly.」
“He didn’t co…”
Yoon Jaewoo was about to answer but closed his mouth and held up three fingers. Five seemed like too many, and two seemed like too few.
「Did he definitely put it in and come? Do you even know what ‘putting it in’ is?」
Yatenbaum narrowed his eyes and interrogated him. Yoon Jaewoo avoided his gaze and pretended to look elsewhere. He just didn’t have the confidence to continue this sordid conversation.
Yatenbaum’s hand slipped inside Yoon Jaewoo’s clothes.
“Ugh!”
The hand gripping his buttock tightened.
「This is where you put it in. Fuck, Rau put it in this hole.」
“Let go! Let go! Where are you touching! You’re filthy!”
Yoon Jaewoo tried to push Yatenbaum away, but he didn’t budge an inch from the spot, like a rock.
「I will make you a new hole. And I will be the only one to put it in there.」
“Make what! You lunatic!”
Yatenbaum’s fingers rubbed between Yoon Jaewoo’s buttocks.
「Even if he puts it in, don’t let him come in here.」
“What kind of bullsh, ugh! I said let go!”
「As long as you don’t get pregnant, I will you….」
Before Yatenbaum could finish his sentence, Eustace pulled Yoon Jaewoo to his side.
「Mäden. As I’ve said many times, he is mine.」
「He could become mine if I ascend to the seat of Azhar.」
「If you ascend.」
Eustace’s lips curved into a gentle smile. Yatenbaum smiled back at him. Yoon Jaewoo, anxious that the two, who were relatively close, might fight because of him, looked back and forth between them nervously.
「Blondie isn’t your type, is he.」
「The original Ramia wasn’t your type either.」
Yoon Jaewoo realized Eustace was talking about him before he had dyed his hair blond.
「Doesn’t matter. Right now, Blondie stimulates my appetite.」
「Find something else.」
「I like that one. It’s just right.」
At first, it was half a joke, but the more he looked, the more his appetite was whetted. Yatenbaum had been thinking of asking Eustace to hand over the Ramia before he turned him into a bead once this business was over. He had inwardly calculated that if he helped Eustace appropriately, he wouldn’t be able to refuse. But when he suddenly heard the news that he had made him a Maryan overnight, he felt as if he had been hit in the back of the head.
「Just tell me quietly. Rau. It’s because of those guys, right? If so, I’ll turn a blind eye and pretend I don’t know.」
Yatenbaum lowered his voice and whispered. From across the garden, Cox, who was looking this way, waved his hand, his eyes shining ominously.
Eustace sighed inwardly. He could have confided in Yatenbaum. However, if Cox or Malik happened to see a scene of Yatenbaum making a pass at the Ramia, it would become a headache. Malik was also a problem, but Cox was the type to see things through to the end once he started digging into something, which was tiring.
And above all else.
「He is my Maryan.」
Eustace said, pushing away Yatenbaum’s hand, which was already fiddling with his Ramia. The corners of Yatenbaum’s mouth hardened.
Eustace did not like Yatenbaum touching his Ramia. It felt like a round and pretty bead was getting smudged by fingerprints.
「Let’s go.」
Eustace put his arm around Yoon Jaewoo’s shoulders. Yoon Jaewoo smiled awkwardly and gave Yatenbaum a slight nod of his head in greeting.
「Blondie.」
Yatenbaum called out to stop him. Yoon Jaewoo tried to stop, but Eustace pretended not to hear and kept walking.
「Blondie!」
It was a voice he had never heard before, so Yoon Jaewoo hesitated for a moment before looking back. Yatenbaum spoke in a plaintive voice.
「Not inside, but outside, you know?」
“Hoo….”
And that’s all he has to say.
Yoon Jaewoo turned his body without any lingering feelings and stood next to Eustace. To match Eustace’s pace as he walked swiftly down the corridor, Yoon Jaewoo had to break into a sweat.
“W-wait a moment.”
In the end, Yoon Jaewoo swallowed his pride and called out to Eustace. Eustace turned his head with a cold expression. Yoon Jaewoo, panting, muttered, let’s go a bit slower. Not only was there a height difference, but Yoon Jaewoo’s right leg couldn’t even perform half of its proper function.
Yoon Jaewoo tapped his right leg and grimaced slightly. He had overexerted it trying to keep up with Eustace’s speed throughout the long walk down the corridor.
“Let’s just walk a little slower. What’s so urgent, heok!”
Yoon Jaewoo’s body was lifted up in a flash.
「Stay still.」
He had been about to ask to be put down, but the voice that said that was so chillingly cold that Yoon Jaewoo quietly let himself be held by Eustace.
Eustace held Yoon Jaewoo with one arm and walked down the corridor at the same fast pace as before. Yoon Jaewoo rested his head on Eustace’s shoulder with a complicated heart.
Only after entering the room where Eustace was staying was Yoon Jaewoo able to say the words to be put down. After setting Yoon Jaewoo down on the bed, Eustace threw the pile of papers he had been holding in his other hand onto the table.
He sat in a chair with a serious expression and began to read through the papers. It was the information Cox had gathered regarding Asir’s barrier.
Yoon Jaewoo watched Eustace’s form blankly. The atmosphere was not one where he could strike up a conversation.
Did I make another mistake or something.
Yoon Jaewoo scratched the back of his head and quietly recalled the events that had occurred during dinner.
The things that could be called mistakes… there are a lot of them.
After the meal was over, Yoon Jaewoo was held back by Yatenbaum and given a few words of caution.
That in a place where three or more Dweord are gathered, one should not speak first before being given permission, not to pull on the clothes a Dweord is wearing, and that one must not talk back carelessly, and so on.
He even gave the advice that he was saying all this because he cared for him immensely, and that he should absolutely not catch the eye of Cox or Malik. Yoon Jaewoo nodded his head earnestly. As expected, Yatenbaum isn’t a bad guy. Though it’s certain he’s a crazy pervert.
Yoon Jaewoo, so as not to forget what Yatenbaum had told him, diligently muttered to himself and memorized it on the spot.
He hadn’t made any major mistakes since then. The atmosphere hadn’t been this murderous even when Eustace had him wait in front of the garden for a moment while he talked with Cox about the barrier after finishing the meal.
…Did I make another mistake without realizing it in that time.
While Yoon Jaewoo was groaning and worrying, Eustace turned a page and opened his mouth.
「You.」
“I was wrong!”
It was a reflexive response.
Eustace raises his eyebrows as if dumbfounded. Yoon Jaewoo promptly apologized again, saying, I was wrong.
「What is it that you did wrong?」
“Well. Talking back, and, well, this and that. …I don’t really know.”
Eustace let out a short laugh, ha.
「Are you doing this on purpose?」
“Me? What?”
「There are often times when it seems you are determined to make me angry on purpose.」
“…I am sorry if you felt that way.”
Yoon Jaewoo recalled hearing a very similar story from his director.
‘Are you determined to see a person die from anger! Yoon Jaewoo!’
At times like this, it is better for a peaceful resolution of the situation to man up, admit fault, and apologize first.
“I am sorry.”
Yoon Jaewoo bowed his head while sitting on the bed. He stayed like that for a long while, and soon a shadow falls over his head.
“……?”
When he raised his head, Eustace was standing right in front of him.
「What did you talk about with Mäden in front of the garden?」
“Mäden? Ah, the pervert.”
「What did you two talk about so much.」
“Ah, that’s…”
Yoon Jaewoo is about to speak but closes his mouth. He asked how many times he put it inside, how many times he came, and if he was sure he put it in this hole. And he declared his ambition for the new hole he would make.
“…We didn’t talk about much.”
The very act of having had such a conversation was shameful. And if you thought about it, it really wasn’t much of a conversation. It was all bullshit anyway.
Eustace’s expression grew grim.
「I will be the one to judge whether it was much of a conversation or not.」
“Just, you know, this and that, talk about the flowers blooming in the garden and the grass…”
Yoon Jaewoo rattled off whatever came to his mind. Eustace, who had been listening to the story, said, enough, and stopped Yoon Jaewoo’s words.
Yoon Jaewoo noticed that Eustace was extremely displeased. Eustace returned to the table and sat down.
A heavy and awkward silence filled the room. Only the sound of pages being turned could be heard intermittently. Yoon Jaewoo glanced at Eustace furtively. He must have felt the gaze, but Eustace doesn’t even give him a single glance.
“…Tsk.”
Yoon Jaewoo lay down right where he was. Lying on the bed with nothing to do, he just stared blankly at the ceiling alone, then turned over onto his side.
At a time like this, if only Jinsu hyung were here, I could sit quietly and stroke his tail to find peace of mind. Come to think of it, he hasn’t shown his face at all lately.
“Um, you know.”
Yoon Jaewoo tries calling out to Eustace. Even though he heard the voice, Eustace doesn’t turn his head and doesn’t answer. Yoon Jaewoo spoke anyway.
“Have you ever seen a big wolf named Jinsu hyung, who’s white like this and has fluffy fur?”
Yoon Jaewoo diligently made the shape of Jinsu hyung’s tail with his hands. Eustace, regardless of that, only stared at the barrier’s incantation written on the paper.
Knowing that his words would be nothing more than noise if he didn’t pay attention, Yoon Jaewoo tried to get Eustace’s attention.
“You know. Eustace-nim. Nim-ah?”
He called out earnestly, but no answer returns.
Is he sulking.
He has no talent for cheering up someone who is sulking. Even when he was dating, Yoon Jaewoo would break into a sweat when his girlfriend got sulky. He wouldn’t know why she was angry, and even when he heard the reason, …he didn’t quite understand.
Yatenbaum had said that Eustace definitely had a personality that sulked easily, so it seemed clear that he was sulking. The problem was, even if the other party was a man, he still didn’t know the reason.
Yoon Jaewoo rolled over once on the bed and thought.
Should I cheer him up or not. That guy isn’t my girlfriend, so do I really have to cheer him up? Besides, isn’t he a god of this world. If he’s a god, he should have a kinder heart. When I think of the other Dweord, that guy is still on the kinder side…, no. That’s not it.
Yoon Jaewoo rolled over once more to the other side.
Right. I haven’t lived as long as that guy, but I have a bigger heart, so I’ll be the one to cheer him up. Still, he is the lifeline protecting me from Cox and Malik.
But how do I cheer him up.
“Haa…”
As Yoon Jaewoo was worrying, a flower placed on the bedside table caught his eye. Yoon Jaewoo quickly grabbed a flower and squirmed under the bedsheets. Then he curled up his body and began to let out groans.
“Ah, …it hurts.”
To heighten the realism, Yoon Jaewoo pinched his own knee to let out a moan. He heard the sound of Eustace getting up from his chair. Hearing the footsteps approaching the bed, Yoon Jaewoo let out a few more groans.
「Ramia!」
Eustace ripped off the sheet that was covering Yoon Jaewoo’s body. His expression clouded when he discovered Yoon Jaewoo curled up inside.
The Ramia’s body was gradually changing. The problem was that the direction of this change was impossible to read. For now, he could heal the wounds, but a day might come when, with the passage of time, he would become untouchable.
「Ramia. Where does….」
Eustace tried to grab Yoon Jaewoo’s body and help him up. Yoon Jaewoo, who had been curled up, stood up with a “tada.”
“Hahahaha. Were you surprised? I guess my acting skills are pretty amazing.”
Yoon Jaewoo laughed.
Seeing the man who had ignored him come over and show concern just because he said he was in pain made him feel a little better.
Yoon Jaewoo held out the flower he was holding.
“It’s a gift. Take this and stop being angry. I don’t have anything else to give…”
The blue flower held in Yoon Jaewoo’s hand instantly lost its vitality and wilted. The moment Yoon Jaewoo looked down at the flower, saying, “Uh,” a slapping sound echoed on his cheek.
“……”
Even while cupping his face with his palm, Yoon Jaewoo couldn’t register the fact that he had been hit for a long time.
「How dare you.」
A low voice growled. A cold fury seeped into the man’s blue eyes.
Yoon Jaewoo blinked his eyes, still cupping his cheek.
Why did I get hit? …Did I do something wrong enough to be hit?
“…Why did you hit me.”
「What?」
“I’m asking why you hit me.”
Yoon Jaewoo threw his head back. Eustace looked down at him with an angry face. His gaze is cold and sharp. Fire erupted in Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes as well.
“Did I do something that deserved to be hit like that?”
He was just trying to appease his anger. That was all. He hadn’t done anything to deserve a slap so hard his face turned.
“If you’re a god, is it okay to hit people?”
Tears welled up suddenly.
Thinking he would show an even more embarrassing side of himself if he sat here any longer, Yoon Jaewoo got up from his spot and went into the bathroom attached to the room. He locked the door and sat down inside the bathtub.
He did it even though he knew how meaningless and useless an act locking the door was. He wanted to let the other person know, in some way, that he was also a being who could get angry.
「Ramia.」
Not long after, he heard the man’s voice calling him from outside the door. Yoon Jaewoo did not answer.
「Ramia. Come outside.」
“……”
The sound of the doorknob turning echoed a few times. A sigh follows from outside the door. Yoon Jaewoo sat hugging his knees and bit his lip.
Fuck. Son of a bitch.
「Ramia.」
The low voice called Yoon Jaewoo again. Yoon Jaewoo gave no answer. The cheek he was hit on was still throbbing.
Eustace sometimes struck Yoon Jaewoo on the back. If you only considered the force, that was much more painful, but he didn’t feel bad after being hit.
However, this time is different. The moment he heard the smack as his face turned, what Yoon Jaewoo felt was humiliation.
「Ramia.」
Eustace called Yoon Jaewoo again from beyond the door.
Yoon Jaewoo lowered his head onto his knees and bit his lip. That guy probably doesn’t care about me anyway, but I wanted to let him know that I am also a being who can get angry.
After his name was called a few more times, the sound of footsteps faded away.
Shit. …You’re leaving without even calling five times.
Yoon Jaewoo bit his lip hard and lay down on the bottom of the bathtub. The floor touching his back was unusually cold.
At the sound of someone knocking on the door, Yoon Jaewoo rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up. The color of the water visible outside the window had turned purple. Has it gotten this late already.
「Eat your meal.」
Eustace’s voice was heard. Yoon Jaewoo was dumbfounded. After leaving him neglected in the bathtub for hours, the only thing he has to say is to go eat his damn food?
“I’m not eating!”
Throwing a tantrum about food that he hadn’t even done during his adolescent years, Yoon Jaewoo lay back down on the bathtub floor.
Ah, this is great. The bathtub floor is hard and cold, so it’s really great.
「Ramia. It is time to eat.」
“I am not eating! Just leave me be.”
He shouted petulantly, but his stomach rumbles. Just how many hours had he been curled up and lying here.
「Ramia.」
“Not eat…!”
The door burst open with a bang. Eustace appeared, holding a tray with a meal on it. Yoon Jaewoo remained curled up in the bathtub, not even turning his head.
「I will leave it here, so eat.」
Then the door closed again. Yoon Jaewoo leaned against the bathtub wall to get up and discovered the tray placed on the floor.
“Heol.”
It’s dumbfounding, mind-boggling, a situation to block all of one’s orifices.
Yoon Jaewoo was at a loss for words at Eustace’s act of shoving the food inside and disappearing.
“Haha, really…”
Isn’t this akin to the kind of discipline where an owner locks a misbehaving pet in the bathroom to correct its habits?
Yoon Jaewoo shot up from the bathtub and picked up the tray that had been placed on the bathroom floor. Then he opened the door and pushed the tray outside. Eustace’s eyes, seeing this, hardened coldly.
“I will not be eating.”
He spoke decisively and manfully and closed the door. His stomach rumbled again with a gurgle. Yoon Jaewoo slapped his stomach with his palm and went back into the bathtub. Since a hunger strike was now added to the mix, the effect would be doubled.
If Eustace were to open the door, come in, beg and plead for him to eat, and shove the food into his mouth, he was planning to pretend he couldn’t win and give in. Yes, if it came to that, he could close his eyes and let it slide.
However, even after a long while, Eustace did not open the door and come in. There was no sound calling him to eat either. Yoon Jaewoo clutched his starving stomach and hurled curses at Eustace.
You stubborn bastard.
As expected, that guy wouldn’t even bat an eye if I died. Calling me a Maryan and all, and just this morning he was pouring kisses on…, no, that’s not it. That was a mistake due to force majeure.
Yoon Jaewoo rubbed his lips with his sleeve. Feeling as if his lips were burning for no reason, he rubbed them again several times. The more he did so, the more vividly the morning’s event came to mind, and his face flushed.
After committing that act in the corridor, Eustace had said in an indifferent tone that he had to do this every morning. When he asked why he had to eat it every day when once was enough, Eustace had asked back if he wasn’t going to see Cox and Malik tomorrow then. He had even added that from now on, he would have to make an effort and eat a lot.
Eat what! I don’t even have anything to eat right now!
Perhaps because of his starving stomach, all sorts of things come to mind, and he feels wronged and sad. Yoon Jaewoo, panting with anger, scratched the wall of the bathtub with his fingernails.
He wished for Eustace to ask him to eat just one more time, but no sign of life is heard from outside the door. His stomach rumbles again.
“…Should I go out.”
He muttered, then shakes his head. A man has his pride. If you’ve drawn the sword, you have to at least slice a radish…, I want to eat radish soup. Beef and radish soup.
Yoon Jaewoo pictured a steaming, milky-white beef and radish soup and wiped the drool that had gathered at the corner of his mouth.
This won’t do. A hunger strike is something for those who are used to it; I need to eat first and see.
The moment he made up his mind to go out and manfully snatch the tray back, and stood up, the bathroom door opened.
“…Huh!”
Yoon Jaewoo doubted his own eyes. A large, white bundle of fur had opened the bathroom door with its nose and come inside.
“Jinsu hyung!”
His throat choked with gladness. He had been wondering if he had perhaps gone outside the lake, since he hadn’t seen him for a while. The beast was holding a tray in its mouth. It was the same tray Eustace had left behind.
“…For me to eat?”
From the joy of meeting him after a long time and the heartwarming sentiment of the beast taking care of him, Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes reddened.
“Jinsu hyuuung.”
He ran right up and threw his arms around the beast’s neck. Burying his face in the neck of the large beast, which was too big to be fully embraced even with both arms spread wide, Yoon Jaewoo burst into tears.