CH 174

Kim Sangyoon was not soft on Koo Hui-seo, who was still trying to approach towards me. Perhaps because the Warrior knew Koo Hui-seo was the [Red Dragon] guild master, Kim Sangyoon was a bit uncomfortable as he pushed him away; but, when I showed my dislike and hatred for the other, the Warrior adopted a fairly tough attitude.

What’s more surprising was that Koo Hui-seo, who was blocked at every turn, didn’t seem to be offended. Rather, it was questionable whether or not he acknowledged Kim Sangyoon’s presence. I could feel Koo Hui-seo’s eyes staring at me through Kim Sangyoon’s thick forearms–despite their intervention in his view–as if Koo Hui-seo’s eyes were licking at me.

“Don’t look at me.” When I couldn’t stand it anymore and snapped at Koo Hui-seo, the Red Dragon guildmaster docilely lowered his eyes. However, he kept on glancing my way and smiling shyly. How contemptible.

“Sangyoon-ssi, that bastard is a total pervert, so be careful.” I informed Kim Sangyoon, my supporting wall against evil.

At those words, Kim Sangyoon flinched and looked down at Koo Hui-seo with a scary expression. “A pervert… Did this young master 1 do anything to hyung-nim?”

“Yeah. He suddenly shamelessly rushed in and, then, he had an ere…”

I managed to stop speaking–right when I was about to say ‘he had an erection’–by chewing on my tongue. Now that I think about it, Kim Sangyoon… isn’t this a sensitive topic for him, especially for our shared past?

However, using all the surrounding context clues, Kim Sangyoon seemed to understand what I was trying to say.

He turned to look at me; his face was so red that it was hard to tell where hair ended and where forehead began. With slightly teary eyes. Kim Sangyoon, with an expression that just dripped with unfair regret, protested, “I-I forced hyung-nim…!”

“N-no…Not like that.” I knew why Kim Sangyoon was acting that way, so I awkwardly denied his statement. The room’s atmosphere became awkward.

Of course, the true pervert Koo Hui-seo boasted a unique reaction yet again. He alternated looking between me and Kim Sangyoon, “How many men does Lee-kyung-ssi have?”

""

His words were such unpardonable atrocities against both God and man. 2

Kim Sangyoon froze as he looked at me, shocked; I was also taken aback by the absurdity of the recently spoken words. However, Koo Hui-seo’s bullcrap nonsense didn’t stop there. “You’re too much–only rejecting me…”

“What…”

“I said that it’s okay if we aren’t exclusive… You refused, so I thought you were monopolized by Seo Dawon.”

I thought my head would be affected by his weirdness the more I listened to him. Looking around, I noticed a small drink on the table next to the bed. When I picked it up, Kim Sangyoon flinched but didn’t move to stop me; Koo Hui-seo kept his eyes trained on the floor until I raised my heavy arm.

Whoosh–!

Unfortunately, before the thrown bottle could hit, something reminiscent of a black spider quickly crawled out from behind Koo Hui-seo’s back and snatched away the bottle flying toward his head.

“Thank you. I was feeling a little thirsty right now…” Koo Hui-seo said.

“Do you really think I gave it to you for you to drink? Or do you think that I threw that at you?”

“If I’ve caught it, then you’ve handed it to me, of course…” Koo Hui-seo continued to adopt a heart-rending tone and began drinking the juice. Only after seeing that reaction did Kim Sangyoon seem to realize what kind of person Koo Hui-seo was.

Kim Sangyoon, wary of Koo Hui-seo, approached me, scooting a couple steps away from the [Red Dragon] guild master.

“I…suspect that, no matter what, Dawon-ie hyung-nim should come here…?” Kim Sangyoon whispered, fidgeting and throwing me looks of pity.

Of course, Seo Dawon, once again, did not answer my summons today. However, as my physical condition slowly returned to normal, my weakened stamina and muscle strength were normalizing.

“Do you want another bite?”

“Ngh…That’s too much for me.”

“Even so, you must eat to recover quickly, right?”

My shining recovery speed could largely be credited to Kim Sangyoon.

He bought and delivered foods that satisfied even my smallest cravings. After realizing that I happily ate apples,  he changed all the physical recovery potions into apple juice flavored ones and carried them to my hospital room within his bulging forearms. Feeling sorry, I worked hard to eat all that he had brought. Maybe all that food was incredibly effective; my gaunt cheeks slowly began to gain weight.

And…Koo Hui-seo also had a profound effect on my recovery speed.

“Should I carry you on my back, Lee-kyung-ssi?”

“Fuck off.”

“I wanted to touch your butt while carrying you on my back though…”

“……”

“Just kidding.”

I ignored the bastard, held onto the walking aid, and slowly moved my legs. I don’t know what had happened for the muscles in my whole body to have become so wrecked, but rehabilitation was essential when even walking became difficult.

Rehabilitation training is heavily influenced by the patient’s will. Wanting to escape sexual harassment, I held onto the assistive devices, wrestled with them for an hour a day, and showed phenomenal recovery. If this speed persists, the doctors predicted that I’d be able to be discharged from the hospital within the week. So, Koo Hui-seo was a large help to me.

‘When I recover, I’ll make it so that his ‘thing’ can’t ever stand up again…’

I wasn’t moving around with my dying will 3 just for the goal of complete recovery. Koo Hui-seo’s sexual harassment crossed the line; I endured hellish rehabilitation with the determination to punish him myself.

That was how my days passed, and, two weeks after first opening my eyes, something happened.

[The penalty for Vengeful Ghost Summon has been lifted.]

[Class skills are able to used again.]

[You are now able to call upon your servants.]

Finally!

The long-awaited system message finally appeared.

* * *

When I saw the system message, all the humiliation I received and the pain I had suffered during rehabilitation seemed to melt away like snow. I even felt grateful to that despicable Koo Hui-seo. Though, I tried to not let that thought show on my face… Anyway, I had been worried that I wouldn’t be able to meet Seo Dawon again, eternally, since this is the first time such restrictions had ever been placed.

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“Seo Dawon!” That’s why my voice sounded a little choke up as I called out his name.

I thought he would appear as soon as I called out his name, so I stood still, holding onto my pounding heart…More than 10 minutes passed by after calling his name, and not even his shadow had appeared.

“Why…”

Suddenly frightened, I manifested the [Status Window], but it contained nothing unusual. So, once again, I called out his name to the empty air. “Seo Dawon!”

“……”

“Hey… Why aren’t you showing up?”

“……”

“A-are you angry?”

I was grasping at straws, but, in the back of my mind, I was also eagerly recalling his mischievous nature.

Suddenly, I felt chilly hands covering my eyes and a strong power pull me into someone’s embrace. Though surprised, I didn’t hide the delight in my voice as I called out, “Seo Dawon?”

“Hnnn, I guess you really don’t need anyone except for Dawon-ie hyung?”

“Garam-ah! Ah, no, it’s not like that…”

However, once again, Seo Dawon didn’t appear. Jung Garam had responded to my call with a sulky voice before releasing shortly afterwards.

Embarrassed, I cleared my throat with a cough. After organizing my thoughts, I looked behind in a hurry. Not only Jung Garam, but Kim Olim and Woo Ragi had gathered, staring at me.

However, I still couldn’t see the Mage.

As if she had perceived my palpable curiosity, Kim Olim answered my unasked question. “Even if you don’t call for him, he’ll come soon. You wouldn’t know this, but we’ve been watching over you.”

“R-really?”

[Clack Clack!]

At that moment, Lackey suddenly popped out and buried its head into my feet, fireworks bursting from its skull, as if it were crying. In the end, I stopped looking for Seo Dawon and first lifted Lackey before drawing the skeleton into my embrace.

[Current Mood: Scared. Don’t like being alone. Scared. Can’t you hear me? Master…]

After checking the rattling skeleton’s [Current Mood], I felt a bit sad–this guy must have been so anxious while separated from me. Patting Lackey while simultaneously hugging it, I looked at the gathered servants. “You guys…how was your situation? You guys weren’t hurt by any chance, right?”

“……”

“Haah…”

“It was a bit frustrating. Choi Lee-kyung, nothing we could do would reach you.” Kim Olim answered while staring down at me with a professional, business-like expression. However, her blank face was undermined by an unfamiliar, chilling gleam overflowing from her eyes that I had never seen before.

Also, Kim Sangyoon’s shared trauma RIP.

Footnotes

양반 = nobleman or, in the modern era, used to talk about rich young masters. 천인공노할 (cheon ingong nohal) = acts that incite anger in both the heavens and humanity. A common idiom. 죽자 사자 = to die or to live/whether or not I die, etc. It’s a phrase used to show determination. So, dying will, I thought, was a good comparison.