âChoi Lee-kyung, whatâs with that lively expression?â However, someone who could severely scold me entered the room. As I returned to my senses because of Kim Olimâs contemptful face, I hurriedly tore my gaze away from Seo Dawon.
Jung Garam, though, giggled and hugged onto my neck, dragging me back down onto the bed. Then, smiling meaningfully with his eyes, he said, âWhatâs that? Youâre into that?â
âDonât say such weird things and get offâŠâ I mumbled.
âWhatâs wrong with Jung Garam?â Following Kim Olim, Woo Ragi also entered the room, saw the scene inside, and clicked his tongue. In particular, he concentrated on Jung Garam, who was on top of me. Though he didnât say much, it was clear that his gaze conveyed something akin to âWhat kind of homo bullshit is this?â To put it nicely, his expression was so very honest.
However, Jung Garam didnât seem to feel any shame; he placed his face closer to mine. When he looked my way, he shouted, âOh?â as if he had found something. âRagi-hyungâs symbol is over here, huh?â
âHm?â
âIâm talking about your earlobe.â With that said, Jung Garam reached out and touched my left earlobe; my shoulders wriggled since his touch on that pattern was quite itchy.
Woo Ragi stared at us for a while, before tilting his head away. Temper raised, he rubbed at his neck. ââŠHey, donât mess with that.â
ââŠâŠâ
A few seconds later, he turned a frustrated frown onto Jung Garam. The young assassin smiled, mischievously toying with his hyung, and soon removed his hands from my ear.
After Jung Garam released me, though, Woo Ragi strode towards me and pressed down the side of my head with his palms in order to scrutinize my ear more closely. The posture was quite uncomfortableâand I moved around a little to avoid his touchâbut Woo Ragiâs chilly voice spoke first. âDonât move, hm?â
âW-Why are you doing this?â
âShut up. Let me check something.â Woo Ragi didnât touch my rigid body with his fingertips. Somehow, I figured out that he seemed to be distracted by the pattern on my earlobe.
Then I felt something feather-light touching my ear, but the moment I locked eyes with Woo Ragi again, the soft sensation had disappeared. He brushed himself off and stood up again as if nothing had happened.
âWhatâs the basis for this contract?â Woo Ragi turned his head towards Seo Dawon.
âWhen the servant is revived to his former self, only two feelings will remain: longing for the master who signed the contract and hatred for the enemy that killed him.â The one to answer his question was not Seo Dawon but Kim Olim.
After listening to her, Woo Ragi looked as if he fell deep into contemplation before shooting me a sidelong glance. âIt looks like Iâll be driven crazy if this guy gets injured? What the hell is this? Why should I be driven to feel or think this way about a bastard I fucking donât like.â
âThatâs because of the servantâs special position. It canât be helped; itâs enforced by the system. Since this is a subordinate relationship, the system is focused on weakening your ego. Of course there is still some space to resist, but, as a whole, itâs inevitable to be instinctively attracted to Choi Lee-kyung.â
âDisgusting.â
âWell, youâve always been the type to avoid being emotionally entangled with others⊠However, this isnât what Choi Lee-kyung wants.â
At those last words, Woo Ragi made a mysterious expression; when he looked down at me again, it seemed as if his hostility was lightened by a single level.
I had also been shocked by the obsession the servants had shown before, so I felt some responsibility for the confusion Woo Ragi felt. Though I hadnât intended for that effect, it was true that they were greatly influenced by my condition and feelings.
So, partially making excuses, I hesitantly said, âIâm not planning on using your feelings in any way, so relaxâŠâ
âThatâs a given. You. Youâre not allowed to touch my symbol when youâre alone.â
ââŠâŠâ
However, the way Woo Ragi conveyed his requests was so totally wrong. Thatâs why I blinked, grabbed at my left earlobe, and started pulling at it. Though, not enough that it hurt. However, I pressed hard enough on the earlobe pattern.
I was aware that I was acting childishly, but it felt very good to watch one of Woo Ragiâs eyebrow rise high. Jung Garam, looking from the side, burst into laughter and rolled around on the bed, cackling.
âIs this homo bastard crazyâŠ?â
âWhy do you have so many things you donât want me to do? Asking me not to touch my own bodyâŠyou know my earlobe is my body, right?â
âWant me to turn you into Van Gogh?â 1
His voice showed enough bloodthirst that belied his intent to actually follow up on that threat, but I wasnât in Woo Ragiâs [Vengeful Ghost Memory] right now.
Furthermore, there were three other servants next to us who were enjoying this situation. So, I ignored Woo Ragi, twirled around, and laid prone on the bed. Without even looking at the guy, I mumbled quietly, âAlso, you, if you say âhomo bastardâ one more time⊠Iâm going to pierce my ear right through your symbol.â
âWhat?â
âIâll do everything that would fit a âhomo bastard.â You look like someone whoâd froth at the mouth at the sight of a man who wears earrings.â
ââŠâŠâ
âPffhahahaha!â It was so refreshing to just stretch out after throwing a tantrum. When I looked towards Woo Ragi, who was growling, he looked sharply back at me. His eyes were so sharp; if looks could killâŠ
However, the more I looked at his peeved faceâŠ
âItâs funâŠâ
It was so thrilling! It was so refreshing to see reactionsâones that people like Seo Dawon or Koo Hui-seo would never makeâŠ
Honestly, I definitely had the upper hand in a situation where I knew the otherâs pet peeve and the other couldnât hit me. I wasnât a closeted gay like I was in highschool. Furthermore, Woo Ragi had already seen my memories, so heâd know what kind of person I am.
âThereâs no reason for me to pretend to be someone Iâm not⊠Rather, I feel relieved.â
Since Woo Ragi already hated me so much, I didnât even think about making a good impression on him; I wasnât bothered with the idea of upsetting him.
Iâve never felt this way about someone before. It was really my first time dealing with someone I had no desire to get close to and had no need to hide anything from them. In short, in my relationship with Woo Ragi, I had no need to purchase his affection.
Since I didnât need to make a good impression on him, I could act however I wanted and not walk on eggshells around him. The way I could act made me think that he and I werenât on equal levels but that I was superior. Actually, I got a sense of liberation from talking to him.
So, as I teased Woo Ragi, I didnât really detest him all that much nor was I hurt by his words. In fact, I didnât even take Woo Ragi persistently calling me homo bastard as an insult. I just wanted to humiliate him; Iâd be too soft on him if I just allowed him to call me like that.
âLetâs see how long youâll stay on your high horse.â As expected, anger filled Woo Ragi to the brim, and the man suddenly opened the door and barged out. Seeing as how he didnât call me a âhomo bastardâ even though he left like that, I felt so incredibly victorious.
After the door slammed shut with a loud crash, I stopped pulling at my earlobe and released it. âPfftâŠâ I laughed.
While I smirked, Jung Garam suddenly climbed atop my stomach. âWow, Choi Lee-kyung! Youâre pretty good? Youâre crazy good at handling Ragi-hyung.â
âNgh, so heavyâŠâ
âItâs the first time Iâve seen someone talk to Ragi hyung like that! Actually, I thought youâd be intimidated once Ragi-hyung arrived.â
âMmm⊠Was I too harsh?â
âNo? It was damn hilarious?â
As Garam talked childishly, I took a careful look at Kim Olim and Seo Dawon; I was surprised to see that both of them were laughing as well.
Since they were friends, I thought they would be disappointed with me⊠Even the stern Kim Olim tried to stop her laughter by biting her lower lip; Seo Dawon wore a smile that clearly revealed his joy.
The mage said to me, âItâs a relief that youâre getting along with Ragi.â
Woo Ragi shouted, âPiss off!â from outside the room, as if he had heard what Seo Dawon said. After hearing that, we burst into laughter, and the room filled with sounds of delight.
âHonestly, Ragi has the stubbornness of a psycho. No one could win against hyung, you know?â
âReâŠReally?â
âYeah! Heâd easily throw a tantrum, so everyone marched to his beat.â
After hearing what Jung Garam said, it wasnât hard to imagine what Woo Ragi had been like back when he was alive. A man who said whatever he pleased, and a man who was never touched despite what he had said.
âHe was a total jerkâŠâ
âHow is it that he couldnât defy Choi Lee-kyung one inch?â
ââŠâŠâ
There must not have been many people who could ignore Woo Ragi during his lifetime. With such a handsome face, overflowing talentâŠhe didnât lack in money eitherâŠ
Since he was the main DPSÂ 2Â position in Red Lotus, how many people could ignore his presence in a world where a man of his talents was so rare? Additionally, he was a close friend of Seo Dawon, the guildmaster.
I think if I were him, I wouldâve become a rude person as well. He probably had never been criticized even if he were rude. Iâm sure everyone tried their hardest to like him.
However, I didnât intend to bend over backwards for him.
Rather, if I could, Iâd ratherâŠ
âHmm⊠Whatâs that word again? DisciplineâŠ? TrainingâŠ? EducateâŠ?â
In any case, I didnât want to be swayed by him even if I needed to pointedly press him down. So, I simply shrugged my shoulders at Jung Garamâs amazement.
TL: I feel like a proud mom T_T
But also, please, pierce that ear.
Footnotes
Famous artist who has one ear (he hacked it off himself! Fascinating dude!) Essentially, Woo Ragi is threatening to cut Lee-kyungâs ear off. Damage per second