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Chapter 314
I hurriedly shouted at Jung Garam, “What do I look like to you? G-Garam-ah! Can you hear me? You hear me, right?”
[……]
“If you can hear me, please take me back to Bang Eunji-ssi!”
[Haah…?]
Jung Garam looked at me with a strange expression on his face…as if he never imagined I would speak to him.
However, I wasn’t in a position to hide or be crafty. It’d be better to be with Seo Dawon–if I left with Jo Chan-young, I’d forever be raised as a hamster. The fear of living life as a pet underneath Jo Chan-young’s surveillance overwhelmed me.
However, Jung Garam neither helped nor did he completely turn a blind eye to my struggles; he merely continued to observe me. The wariness in his eyes reminded me of Seo Dawon a week ago…
‘He’s suspicious of my identity…’
In the end, I determined that I wouldn’t be able to receive Garam-ie’s cooperation immediately. So, I bit Jo Chan-young’s hand as hard as I could when he tried to place me in the cage.
[Cutie?]
“I said, it’s Choi Lee-kyung!”
Of course, my teeth didn’t pierce Jo Chan-young’s skin. However, he hesitated for a moment, as if he didn’t expect my desperate rebellion. Thanks to that, I escaped through a gap between his hand and the cage’s lid, slipping from the man’s grasp.
Jo Chan-young quickly tried to grab me, but I was able to slide down his sleeve, missing his fingers by the skin of my teeth.
When I landed on his shoes, he flinched and stepped back. He must have been afraid to step on me, so he retreated instinctively.
I didn’t miss that opportunity; I quickly crawled underneath the desk next to Jo Chan-young’s shoes. The fire-suppression sand and water–spread throughout the room after the sprinklers were triggered-clung to my body, but I knew I needed to hold out and endure in this small gap.
Fortunately, I made the correct choice. When I disappeared underneath the desk, I heard Jo Chan-young’s flustered voice.
However, suddenly, a big hand stroked my head. Jo Chan-young, kneeling on the drenched floor, placed his hand into the gap underneath the desk.
I froze–my hips stiffened–I didn’t know he’d try this hard. I met his worried, anxious eyes; he began to talk to me in an apologetic voice when I quickly backed away.
[Cutie, you were scared, weren’t you? <3] 1
“What the…!” I stared at Jo Chan-young; goosebumps raised all over my arms at his voice. Though I knew he could only see a golden hamster when he looked at me… But…. Still…
‘His character is just too different!’
How could his personality change so much from interacting with people compared to animals?
Above all, Jo Chan-young’s affectionate love towards animals did not suit me. Even if I wanted to use him and that affection, Jo Chan-young would only see me as a golden hamster. Even though he was obsessed with me, he’d still treat me like a hamster…
Furthermore, Jo Chan-young’s ‘good intentions’ were the biggest obstacle in the [Vengeful Ghost Memory].
Though Jo Chan-young was sure to treat animals well, he would be a likely cause for a bad ending. In my perspective, Seo Dawon, who treated me like a human, was at least a little bit better.
I instinctively stepped back to avoid Jo Chan-young’s touch, recalling the deluge of sunflower seeds that Bang Eunji poured into my cage in the past.
Jo Chan-young’s expression became even more fretful. He furrowed his brows as he sat closer to the desk.
However, he didn’t try to touch me again; he tried to check my condition by sticking his face close to the gap to visually confirm my health. Additionally, his imagination brewed up stories that may explain my escape.
[Are you perhaps scared because Guildmaster-nim bullied you?]
“…What?”
[I’m not going to do anything our Cutie would dislike.]
“…Do you think I’m pleased with anything you’re doing right now?!”
[Baby, come this way. Hm? Don’t eat the dirty stuff on the floor. It’s yucky, yucky.] 2
“Haah…”
As expected, it would be futile to go with Jo Chan-young. My butt clenched tight, I was alert and nervous, keeping an eye on his movements.
However, Jo Chan-young wasn’t the only person in this office. I felt wind suddenly blowing from behind me; when I ducked my head reflexively, I saw a thin hand miss me by a narrow margin. Colorful, flashy nails on the moving hand passed by.
“B-Bang Eunji?! Are you crazy? I almost died!”
[Tsk! I missed him!]
Before I knew it, Bang Eunji sat on my other side and tried to grab me. Her movements were so rough, though, that I felt my bones would be crushed if she grabbed me incorrectly.
When I saw her blazing eyes, my hands and feet stiffened. It seemed to me that she was more resentful at Jo Chan-young and Jung Garam taking her hamster than she was worried about losing me.
Maybe that’s why I felt neither caution nor care in her movements. The sound of the wind caused by every swing of her hand made my spine shiver.
‘Still… I suppose I have to go towards her?’
No matter how scary she was, this [Vengeful Ghost Memory]’s goal involved persuading Bang Eunji. Therefore, with a frown on my face, I walked towards her hand.
However, for some reason, Bang Eunji quickly pulled away her hand; following that, I heard a terrible noise from her direction.
I stopped walking towards her. Soon, the earth seemed to roar; I flopped back on my behind, ears ringing.
[Attacking me shamelessly from behind?! Are you really going to continue acting this way, Jung Garam?]
[…I told you that I’d buy you a new hamster–similar to that one.]
[Guildmaster-nim wants *that* hamster though!!!]
[Hey, look here…Jung Garam. I’m warning you–don’t buy the Guildmaster any more hamsters. I’m against that.]
They began fighting amongst themselves.
Jo Chan-young and Jung Garam, though it seemed like they were in an alliance, raised their voices gradually; once again, tension settled in the office’s atmosphere.
[Let’s take the easy route, okay, easy route. Let’s just throw her something else.]
Jung Garam shot back at Jo Chan-young, tone indicating his growing annoyance. And Jung Garam’s insensitive words touched on the animal-lover’s delicate nerves.
[Do you think an animal is some fucking toy?]
Jo Chan-young’s voice became spookily gloomy; the air felt cold. Instead of replying, the young Assassin clicked his tongue, as if he found his fellow guildmate a bit pathetic.
And…
[Eunji bought that hamster for 12 million won!]
Bang Eunji cared little for their moral conflict and claimed ownership over me. Jo Chan-young immediately rebuked her in a contemptuous tone–
[Disgusting… What’s the point of bragging about buying–high prices at that–from a pet shop…]
[I said I’d give you 12 million won. Why can’t you understand?]
Furthermore, Jung Garam joined in on rebuking her. The three continued their fight, though it seemed more like three separate monologues rather than a continuous conversation.
However…
[The only thing Eunji wants is Garam-chan!]
Angered, Bang Eunji screamed loudly. Then, she sucked in a breath, as if she were embarrassed.
At first, I wondered what she even said, but then I belatedly recalled the name she gave me.
[What?]
Jung Garam, who was ignorant of all that, asked in a dumbfounded tone. However, Bang Eunji remained quiet.
[Hey, what kind of bullshit did you say?]
Of course, Jung Garam didn’t let this situation go and continued to interrogate her. Bang Eunji must have been incredibly embarrassed. Quite unlike her, she mumbled quietly–
[I-I just gave him that name because he’s so small. There are no other reasons…]
Listening to her excuses, my previous hypothesis only strengthened. However, Jung Garam continued to be ignorant of Bang Eunji’s innermost thoughts; he asked again, bewildered–
[What? You gave that hamster my name?]
[S-So? What are you going to do about it?]
[His name is… No, fuck. Why would you give someone else’s name to something like that? Gross.]
Bang Eunji said nothing, a brief pause, before quickly replying to him in a sharp tone–
[…Isn’t it grosser that you’re still 160 cm tall at your age?]
[You really want to die, huh?]
As I watched the war of words between the two young guild members, I muttered, “No way… Does Bang Eunji… like Jung Garam?”
[What?]
And, Jung Garam was the one to answer me.
TL: NGL, If I was Choi Lee-kyung, I’d start to look for some popcorn to eat while watching this soap opera. To think: She liked Garam and not Seo Dawon! (I can’t blame her, I adore Garam too).
Also Jo Chan-young: Don’t shop, adopt
Tbh, though, is it even possible to adopt a hamster? From what I know, most people shop bc hamsters aren’t really a thing in most shelters?
Footnotes
He’s speaking in a cute uwu tone that one might use towards their pets. There’s no heart in the original, I just wanted to denote that he sounds cute. Jo Chan-young is actually saying the stuff on the floor is 지지 (jiji) which is ‘trash’ or ‘gross’ in baby-speak. To adapt it to English, I said it was ‘yucky,’ which is something a toddler might say about trash.