Apparently, it seemed like things would get bigger, so I sent Lark aside and apologized immediately.
âIâm sorry.â
âYouâre sorry? Where do you leave your eyes in broad daylight so you canât see?â
The harsh words stunned me for a second.
I had just listened to the story of Larkâs dispute and then got into a fight over the same case.
âWell, there are situations like this obvious compulsory eventâŠâ
The man with short scarlet hair looked twiceâ No, three times bigger than me, and his stomach was the size of Namsan Mountain and was muscular.
In other words, he was so big that he wouldnât feel a blow from a single bump on his shoulder. Even if he hurt, my shoulder hurt moreâŠ
âI guess you canât see whatâs in front of you because youâre wearing something like this, huh?â
It was obvious that he just wanted to pick a fight, not because he was offended.
These kinds of seeds should be sent well so they donât cause harm. I apologized one more time.
âIâm so sorry. I will look carefully from now on.â
âNo. Is that all you have to say?â
So what do you want me to do?
I was getting annoyed, but the man stretched out his big hand as if he wanted to take off my mask.
âHey, stop.â Lark suddenly jumped in front of me and blocked the manâs hand with his arm.
âWho are you?â
âThe road is so narrow that thereâs no space to step on, so anyone could accidentally bump into somebody else. Itâs a happy festival, so donât frown on each other, and letâs go on our way. Ha ha haâŠâ Lark spoke with a friendly smile, but his sly attitude seemed only to antagonize the man.
The man shared meaningful gazes with the two friends next to him and burst out laughing sarcastically. âThe festivalâs annoying enough because of the fXcking kids making loud noises everywhere. So what the hell is this childish lion head, huh?â The man gritted his teeth and added, âIt makes me uncomfortable. Even the offspring of beasts are flocking together in male and female pairsâŠâ
For some reason, jealousy and resentment were buried in the mumbled voice.
Did he know that⊠anyone could see that heâd never held a womanâs hand in his life like a panoramaâŠ
âWhat are you guys going to do in broad daylight, huh? Canât live without a girl?â
The man tapped the muzzle of Larkâs lion mask unpleasantly. The rather baggy mask turned ridiculously to the side.
Momentarily angry, I said behind Lark, âHave you done enough? I already apologized, so why are you like this?â I spoke quietly, keeping my voice as low as possible to avoid being noticedâŠ
Unfortunately, people who were interested in other peopleâs affairs stopped and gathered around us, wondering about the daytime bustle.
âWhat? See how fierce this lioness is?â
Since I only wore a mask, I was treated like a lioness. The man giggled even more as if my reaction of displeasure could be felt behind the mask.
âIs she pretty?â He stretched out his big hand as if to take off my mask again.
However, he was easily caught by Lark. The man was startled by the strength of the hand that caught his wrist.
âWhatâs with you? Wonât you let go?â
âYour face looks familiar. Hey, have we seen each other somewhere?â
âWhat?â
Holding the manâs wrist tightly in his left hand, Lark fixed his mask right away.
âWhy, seven years ago you screamed enough for the whole town to hear, saying you didnât know I was the son of someoneâs family.â
âSeven years agoâŠ? Aah!â the man laughed in surprise and said, âWow, this bastard still has his taste? Youâre still walking around wearing a lion head?â
âWhat? Do you know each other, Joe?â When the friend standing next to him asked, the man, Joe, giggled.
âYou were there at the time too, donât you remember? The bastard who acted up and got beaten until he fell on his back by us.â
âOooh, you shouldâve said it right away.â
Even in the middle of it, Lark looked back at me and corrected it, saying, âItâs not to the point of being beaten until falling on my backâŠâ
Looking at the situation, it seemed that he had run into the same guy he had a fight with seven years ago. What a coincidence.
âHonestly, five-to-one was a little too much. And I was at a disadvantage to protect the mask.â
âAah! I remember, I remember! Come to think of it, he was down five-to-one and managed to turn around at the last minute!â
âThatâs right! Joe tried to fight alone, but it seemed like it wouldnât work, so he told us to attack him together!â
Joeâs friend 1 clapped his hands and said, Joeâs friend 2 also helped.
âYes, yes, it was like that.â Lark nodded in satisfaction, and Joe frowned and turned to his friends.
â⊠Whose side are you on?â
âAnyway, itâs nice to see your face after a long time. Your terrifying size remains the same. Please have fun and go home.â
âWell, yes. You, lion mask, have grown quite a bit in the meantime, too.â Joe smiled brightly as Lark laughed and let go of his wrist. It felt like it was going to end in a warm way.
âYou have a cute lioness beside you, and youâre taller than me by a headâŠâ Joe laughed with a haha, but his face immediately hardened, and he added frighteningly, âHow unlucky.â
And without blinking an eye, his fist swung through the air.
âWaa!â
âOh-ho.â
Unlike me, who was surprised, thinking I would be hit, Lark lightly held Joeâs arm as if he had expected his reaction. Then, like a thick radish freshly picked from the field, Joeâs heavy arm was easily broken and suppressed.
âUwaaaagh! Ughh!â Joe, whose arm was bent, made a big fuss.
âI understand how you feel, but do you mind separating quietly?â
âHey, this bastard is really-â
âI canât help it then.â Lark lightly stepped on Joeâs feet. Then Joeâs enormous size staggered and tilted. At the same time, the heartless Lark let go of the hand that was supporting Joeâs body.
âOoh, my nose is going to break!â
There was no time to avert oneâs eyes from the momentary catastrophe that was about to happen.
However, Tak.
Before Joeâs face fell to the floor, Lark grabbed his arm again.
âIâll be in trouble if thereâs blood. Since Iâm in the mood, Iâll let it slide.â
âT-ThisâŠâ
Lark, who smiled under his mask, seemed relaxed.
By that time, my mouth was wide open. He treated that big body like a little puppyâŠ
âLook at his strength.â
However, the heartless Lark didnât raise Joe up.
Thud!
âOogh!â
When he let go of Joeâs arm, Joe fell helplessly to the floor.
Lark said with a smile, âYour nose shouldnât have been broken. Sorry.â
âThiiiiisâŠâ
Leaving behind Joe, who was lying on his face in a funny way and trembling, Lark quickly grabbed my hand. âLetâs go!â
âUwaa!â
After that, it was a mad run.
âCatch them!!!â Joeâs angry voice roared through the streets, and I was nearly blown away before being caught by Lark.
Joe and his friends began to follow us relentlessly. Onlookers opened the way like the miracle of Moses.
âHuft, haaah. Y-Your High- I mean,â A speed Iâd never experienced before. My feet stumbled a few times, and I was out of breath. âBrother!â I called Lark because I thought I would die and stopped in embarrassment.
âI-Iâm going to die⊠Oh, my. I-I canât go anymore!â
âOh, no. Weâll be in trouble if we get caught.â Lark, who clicked his tongue as he watched the group of Joeâs approach, hugged me after a short thought.
âOh, my God!â
âExcuse me for a moment.â
⊠No, whatâs this monster really?
Holding me wide-eyed with surprise like a princess, Lark began to run again.
It was obvious that I was heavy, but his speed was truly amazing, and his breathing wasnât disordered. He was more formidable than when he was running alone.
âHold tight!â
âAaaaaaa!â
It was embarrassing to hold his neck tightly as I was told, but the streetâs scenery passed by quickly.
As soon as I came out to the capital after a long time, I met an arch-enemy on a single wooden bridge and filmed a thrilling escape movie⊠Even though it was a risky situation where it would be my end if I got caught, I laughed out of place.
Enjoying the thrill, I shouted, âBrother, ruuuun!â
***
The grown-up lion mask had truly become a great male.
âHeâs truly wild enough to be the head of the pack!â
As if his health bar had pierced the sky, he succeeded in overtaking his pursuers without showing any sign of exhaustion even while holding me.
After breaking through a narrow alley, we hid in an uninhabited place, secretly taking off our masks and catching our breath.
âHaaah, haaahâŠâ
âAre you okay? Are you hurt?â
âNo, you were the one who ran. Why would I be the one hurting?â Wiping the sweat from under the mask, I stuck out my tongue.
Lark chuckled.
âGet some exercise.â
âI do, every day. Have you seen any other noble lady who works so hard on improving her stamina?â
Lark and I looked into each otherâs eyes and burst into laughter.
âBy the way, we didnât get to enjoy todayâs festival because the eye-catching lion mask attracted so much attention,â Lark, who was glancing out of the alley, said in a regretful voice. I poked him in the side and shrugged.
âWhat else will happen on the ground of the wide capital?â
âHuh? Do you want to go around more?â Suddenly, a drop of sweat appeared on Larkâs forehead as he blinked and looked down at me.
âItâs a shame if I canât do anything after coming out with great effort.â I added, pulling up my sleeves and wiping his forehead, âAnd you have great stamina, so what are you worried about? If we meet the bullies again, just bend their arms once more and run with me.â
Lark, who hesitated to receive my touch, smiled.
âAll right.â
âHeehee.â
Like generals on the march, we put on our masks again.
âLetâs go, Brother!â
Lark muttered in a smiling voice as he followed me, â⊠that brother sounds good.â