V1C3 Part1

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Third Story\n\n

I couldn’t

remember the number of times I’d downed the barley tea Saehee brought out, but my

lips were still strangely dry. Ah, it was like sitting on a pincushion. Narae

was glaring at me from the corner of her eye so hard it hurt.\n\n

“…So you’re saying that even though Sunghoon and Rangii are basically cousins, they’re actually complete strangers. And gthey’re even engaged?”\n

It looked like

that was where our conversation ended up.\n

“Y-yeah.”\n

“That’s right.

We’re lovey-dovey.”\n

When and where

did you learn that word?\n

Sting. Narae’s glare became even more

painful.\n

“Really?”\n

It was better

that I tell her about the engagement than about Rangii being a phantom.\n

“For now, at

least…”\n

“Lolicon. Go

die.”\n

Narae said

something I couldn’t ignore\n

“Wh-who’re you

calling a lolicon? My tastes are normal!”\n

I must look

just like a guy in a soap opera caught cheating on his lover.\n

“That’s right.

It is perfectly normal for Sunghoon to love a woman like me.”\n

You brat. Could

you please keep that mouth of yours shut? Are you planning on bankrupting my

romance and dragging it away from me?\n

“……”\n

Aghh, Miss

Narae’s scornful glare hurt. My heart hurt.\n

“Even if we are

engaged, our parents are the ones who decided that, and I didn’t even know

about it until yesterday.”\n

“But despite

that, it looks like you two are really close,” Narae said.\n

“Sunghoon met

me once when he was young.”\n

“When?”\n

“When Sunghoon

was born……”\n

I swiftly

blocked Rangii’s mouth.\n

“Hbb?”\n

Don’t look at

me like you have no idea why I’m doing this. You brat, try and use common

sense. I’m clearly older than you, so how does it make sense that I met you the

moment I was born?\n

“H-haha. When

Rangii was born, not that long ago. Yeah. I was also young, so I forgot.”\n

I carefully

removed the hand that was blocking Rangii’s mouth. I was trying to tell her “hey,

don’t say anything weird” with my eyes, but Rangii didn’t have a lot of

experience in reading another person’s nonverbal cues.\n

“Why do you

keep acting like that? I said I would accept a concubine, but at some point, a

concubine should know her place! Isn’t it natural for you to show love first

and foremost to your wife, to me?”\n

First and

foremost, I’m going to shut that mouth of yours.\n

“Who’re you

calling a concubine?”\n

See? Because of

you, Narae got mad.\n

“If Sunghoon

were to pick who to be his wife between the two of us, he would obviously pick

me!”\n

But why’re you

getting mad about that part?!\n

“How would that

be possible?! Sunghoon would obviously choose me! Sunghoon is head over heels

in love with me! Because he’s a lolicon!”\n

Are you trying

to kill me?\n

At first Narae

got angry at Rangii’s nonsensical words, but suddenly she gave a bright,

flowery smile, and said:\n

“Rangii, dear.”\n

Narae, in a

voice as if trying to placate a child, spoke of a cruel reality that I could

never vocalize.\n

“I know

Sunghoon’s tastes quite well. Ever since he was young, he liked women with big

breasts.”\n

That was a

cruel reality for me as well.\n

H-how do you

know about my tastes?!\n

“But there’s no

way…”\n

“So you see, there’s

no way he would choose you.”\n

At that moment.\n

“There’s no way

that’s true!”\n

Rangii bolted

up, emitting an intense energy as she shouted.\n

“There’s no

way, no way that that’s true! Sunghoon, Sunghoon is the one who will love me!!”\n

Something

overbearing filled the room, almost suffocating me. I-is this that so-called

spiritual pressure? (tn: a Bleach reference)\n

“Sunghoon—sniffle—loves me!!”\n

I looked up at

Rangii while thinking to myself, You

brat, what’s wrong with you? when I noticed something.\n

“……”\n

I wanted to

faint.\n

“…A tail? And

ears? Where did they come from?”\n

Narae’s words reconfirmed

that my eyes were perceiving reality correctly. That’s right. Rangii, on the

verge of tears and consumed by anger, forgot to hide her tail and ears.\n

Oh crap. What

do I do? Could I just say it’s a trick? Could I trick her by saying, “Surprise,

this is a prank show~” and have this all blow over?\n

Of course not!\n

“Please excuse

me for a moment.”\n

Saehee, the

only one of us to maintain her composure in the midst of this chaos, moved. She

put her hand on Narae’s forehead even as she stared in shock at Rangii’s

newly-sprouted tail and ears. Narae then collapsed backward.\n

“W-what?”\n

“More

importantly, Young Master, you should seek to calm down the Master. Right

away.”\n

In times like

this, Saehee’s expressionless face makes her look a lot more trustworthy. Rangii

was ready to explode, her hands balled up into fists, thick tears gathering in

the corners of her eyes, and her breathing heavy, when I made up my mind to

calm Rangii down.\n

“Hey, hey.

What’s the problem, huh?”\n

“That woman! Uu—that woman said

that you hate—huk—hate me……”\n

With Rangii

clinging to my chest, I patted her on the head and said this:\n

“Who, when, and

where did anyone say that?”\n

“But, but.

Didn’t that woman say so?! That there’s no way—kuu—no way you would love me!”\n

Well, if a man

with typical sexual preferences were to choose between Narae and you, he would

obviously choose Narae. And I’m definitely a typical man, so I’d pick Narae as

well.\n

But, c’mon, Rangii.\n

“Hey, even if

what she said is true, loving…”\n

It’s

embarrassing so I can’t say it. \n

“I mean, liking

someone is different. No matter their age, face, or personality, none of that

stuff matters.”\n

“But—”\n

I interrupted

Rangii.\n

“Listen closely.

None of that stuff matters when it comes to liking someone.”\n

That is a lie.

Appearance, money, breasts, height, personality, and a lot of other stuff matter.\n

They are

connected to that feeling of love.\n

“You have your

own charm. So that’s why I…”\n

Rangii’s a kid.

A kid. A little kid. A freaking little kid. So why is blood rushing to my face?\n

“I like you,

Rangii.”\n

Rangii stopped

crying. She loosened her fists, and her previously unfocused eyes looked up at

me. Hey, stop looking at me. If you look at me with such innocent eyes, it’ll

hurt my conscience. I’m already so embarrassed I want to hide in a mouse hole,

so stop staring!\n

Rangii lifted

her hand and held tightly onto my chest.\n

“Do you really,

really mean it?”\n

Her cheeks

flushed, twin red glows appearing on her cheeks. With Rangii like this, I said:\n

“Nope. I lied.”\n

She reacted

like a child who was teased as to whether you would give her a candy or not

only to watch as you popped that candy into your own mouth. She started tearing

up again, her eyebrows looking like a Chinese eight (八) and

her mouth looking like a shi-oht (ㅅ).\n

“Uu, uuu, uuuu.”\n

If I keep this

up she may really cry, so I should stop teasing her. I leaned down, hugged

Rangii with both arms, lifted her up, and said:\n

“Because

I like you a super-duper lot.”\n

I’m telling

Rangii what she wants to hear. Ah, damn. Goosebumps ran down the lengths of my

arms. But upon seeing a blossom of a smile form on Rangii’s face, I couldn’t

care less about those goosebumps. Because kids look best when they’re smiling.\n

“Uuu. How mean! Sunghoon is mean!”\n

Rangii slapped

downwards, striking me on the shoulders. Of course, it hurt. Even if it’s a

little kid hitting you, getting hit like this hurts. But I didn’t show it on my

face. Because this is what it means to be an adult.\n

Okay, I’ve

calmed down Rangii so should I worry about the next thing? Now that Rangii was

back to normal—actually, now that she was happier than normal, I tried to put

her down, but I gave up on that when she climbed up my back to cling to me. I

shifted my posture so that I was more comfortable before saying:\n

“Saehee.”\n

“Why have

you called for me, you crimi—I mean, Young Master?”\n

“What

were you about to call me?”\n

“I have

no idea what you are talking about. But it seems as though there is something

else you should be curious about.”\n

Seeing as how

Saehee skillfully changed the subject, it looked like I would have to have a

private chat with her later.\n

“What are you

going to do?” I asked her.\n

Even if it was

for just a moment, Narae saw Rangii’s tail and ears before Saehee rendered her

unconscious. If I don’t think of a solution while she’s still knocked out, then

I’ll be in for a world of hurt.\n

“The

simplest solution would be to drop her in the ocean in a metal drum full of

cement…”\n

Saehee glanced

at me, and I responded with a venomous expression on my face.\n

“However, as

the one in question is not the Young Master, I have no intention of doing so.”\n

So if it were me,

you’d do it?\n

“I

intended to modify any memories she had related to the Master with basic memory

manipulation, but there was a problem.”\n

“…What

is it?”\n

“The one

called Narae is a member of the Bear Tribe. I thought she was a normal human,

but I was fooled. I never thought that a Bear Tribe member who had yet to

awaken her power would be able to slip through my barrier undetected.” \n

What? Bear Tribe?!

And a barrier?\n

And in that

vein:\n

“What’s

the Bear Tribe, and what do you mean by barrier?”\n

Saehee looked

at me as if I were some pathetic creature. Don’t show emotion only in times

like this.\n

“All day

today I worked to create a barrier that would allow me to identify the energy

of phantoms as well as our own.”\n

Maybe I should

just think of it as a convenient radar.\n

“While

drinking alcohol?”\n

A barrier under

the influence?\n

“Is

there something you wish to say?”\n

No, there is

not.\n

“Then

explain to me in layman’s terms what the Bear Tribe is.”\n

“It is

the enemy.”\n

“…A

little longer, please.”\n

“The Bear

Tribe I am speaking of is composed of Ungnyeo and her direct descendants.”\n

“And by

Ungnyeo you mean the one from the Dangun Myth, that Ungnyeo?” (tn: Long story

short, a bear that turned into a woman, married God, and gave birth to the

founder of Korea, Dangun)\n

“Is

there a different Ungnyeo?”\n

I’m sorry. For

asking something such an obvious question.\n

“I am referring

to the women who inherited Ungnyeo’s blood and have, upon meeting a certain

precondition, become her puppets. Only the chief has a mind of her own.”\n

“Explain

so it’s easier to understand.”\n

“They

are the bitches of a bitch.”\n

I should stop

talking.\n

At this point,

Rangii piped in: “Simply put it’s like this. That fat hag hates that Hwanung

gave me special attention, so she’s using her descendants to try and kill me.”\n

 “Then aren’t you in danger?”\n

With Rangii on

my back, in a position that didn’t inspire any confidence at all, she put her

mouth to my ear, and…\n

“Don’t worry.

No matter how many dozens or hundreds of them come, I will protect you.”\n

She whispered

this with complete confidence. Hey, you brat. The one I’m worried about is you.

Why are you worrying about me? I’m a normal human so there’s no reason for me

to be in the Bear Tribe’s crosshairs.\n

Well, Rangii

telling me that she was strong enough to protect me must have been just to help

me relax. That’s how I decided to take her words. But maybe Saehee saw that I

wasn’t in the least bit convinced, because she gave an additional explanation.\n

“Approximately

300 years ago as well, we repelled an attack from the foolish Bear Tribe more

easily than we could flip our palms. Because the seal has weakened since then, they

will be unable to harass us thoughtlessly.”\n

Could Rangii’s

strangely anachronistic thoughts and speech style be an influence from that

time?\n

No, that’s not what’s

important here. I should go back to the main issue.\n

“So

what’s the problem with Narae being a part of the Bear Tribe?”\n

“Every

member of the Bear Tribe has some degree of resistance to magic. Although she

has yet to meet the condition, hastily casting magic may result in a small

problem.”\n

“What

kind of problem?”\n

“If she

is fortunate, brain damage; if not, instant death.”\n

“Hey.”\n

What the heck

do you consider a big problem, then? Anyway, if I interpret her words

differently…\n

“Are you

saying that since you can’t manipulate her memory, you need to find a different

solution?”\n

“That is

correct, Young Master.”\n

What should I

do? I need the wisdom of Solomon. …But I’m not cutting her in half!\n

“As a

matter of fact, were she to awaken her power, this would become a nonissue.”\n

This caught my

attention.\n

“Then can’t

we just have her meet that condition? What is it?”\n

“It is bust

size.”\n

Saehee’s

answer, spoken seriously and with clinical detachment, stunned.\n

“…What?”\n

“Members

of the Bear Tribe realize their powers when their bust sizes reach D cups.”\n

I decided that

Saehee was screwing with me. I turned my head and asked Rangii, who now had her

chin resting on my shoulder:\n

“Is she

telling the truth?”\n

“I don’t

know what a D cup is, but all of my opponents had large breasts.”\n

Okay, but how

come you’re tightening your grip around my neck as you say that?\n

“I made sure to

educate those attackers with huge, useless bags of shaking flesh exactly whom

they dared to attack.”\n

The feeling of

Rangii’s tiny chest pressing against my back caused me to feel pity for her for

some reason.\n

“So what

do we do? Can I tell her the truth about you two?”\n

“Please

do as you will, Young Master.”\n

“…Is it

really okay if I do that?”\n

I meant if it

were okay for me to tell someone about phantoms, but Rangii answered with:\n

“She is to

be the concubine of the man to be my husband. It would be proper to do so.”\n

Seeing the two

phantoms before me not at all worried about their supposedly hidden identities,

I felt like the weird one. And I decided what to do. (CORRECT FIRST SENTENCE)\n

“So

you’re saying that after I fainted in your house, I was unconscious for nearly

an hour, and I just now woke up?”\n

“Yes, that

is correct, Miss Narae,” Saehee said.\n

Please be

fooled. I’m begging you. Por favor.\n

“…You

have a death wish or something?”\n

“It didn’t

work?!”\n

Ignoring

Saehee’s look of pity and Rangii’s look of disappointment, I moved on to my

next plan. I call it a plan but it was nothing elaborate: I just told her an

edited version of the truth. I explained that Rangii was the tiger from the

Dangun myth, that she lived in my grandfather’s estate away from humans, and that

when he passed away (even though he’s not dead) there was nowhere else for her

to stay, so I took her with me to Seoul. I hid any other important facts from

her, but Narae must have been shocked speechless after learning that Rangii and

Saehee were phantoms, because after I was done explaining, she didn’t say a

word.\n

After I

finished my explanation and drank a glass of barley tea, Narae held my hand and

looked at me with her eyes full of sadness. Huh? Why’re you doing that all of a

sudden?\n

“You

must’ve had a really tough time, Sunghoon.”\n

Ah, so that’s

how you’re responding?\n

“You

must’ve been really shocked because of your grandfather’s passing. I

understand. It’s okay.”\n

Your pitying

kindness is making me feel even sadder. Narae treated me like someone who lost

his mind due to grief, but at least she was okay with it—nope, as if.\n

“Everything

I told you is true.”\n

“You

expect me to believe that? You must’ve forced that kid to put on that tail and

ears because of your perverted fetishes, you pervert, deviant, dirty old man!”\n

Oi, oi. Though

I had a lot of things to say at Narae’s baseless accusation, Rangii angrily

spoke first.\n

“No, you’re

wrong! These are, without doubt, a part of my body!”\n

She clenched

her fists, squeezed her eyes shut, and proudly moved her ears and tail for

Narae to see. Narae sighed.\n

Then, making it

almost unbelievable to think that she was angry just a moment before, Narae looked

absolutely serene when she spoke. \n

“I know,

Rangii. It’s just that I couldn’t think objectively if I didn’t talk like this.

For him to talk about phantoms in this century. And that he’s the guardian of

you phantoms—you have to draw the line somewhere. I got mad because that jerk

tried to trick me.”\n

“Sorry.”\n

I lowered my

head. I may be going through all this because of my monster of a grandfather

and my weirdo dad—in other words, my family—but Narae got swept up in all this

even though she wasn’t involved in any of it. Seriously, I don’t have enough

words.\n

“It’s okay. Because I’d be even more upset if I didn’t

know.”\n

But Narae

actually comforted me. I heard everything up to the “it’s okay,” but what was

it she said at the end?\n

I was about to

ask her about what she said, when she suddenly pinched my side.\n

“Uwauwaagh!”\n

“But

what? I was passed out for an hour? Do you think I’m an idiot? Did you think

I’d fall for that?”\n

The same place!

You’re pinching the same place as before! Why do you have to pinch the same

place?!\n

“N-no! It’s

not like that!!”\n

I’d never have

said something like that under normal circumstances.\n

“And

let’s say you did manage to fool me. Were you going to keep hiding this from me?”\n

“That

goes without saying.”\n

Narae stared

daggers at me. She doubled the force behind her fingers.\n

“Ugyaaaagh!”\n

“If

you’re going to try and trick me, then make up something convincing, you idiot!

Who would fall for such a pathetic lie?!”\n

“Ow! It

hurts! Please let go of me, Narae-nim!!”\n

Only then did Narae

let go of my side. Although I furiously rubbed my aching side, the pain didn’t

subside in the slightest. I slid away from Narae in order to save my side from

more of her abuse, when:\n

“So now

that everything’s out in the open, what are you going to do?”\n

Narae asked me

this.\n

“Huh?”\n

What am I going

to do?\n

“Rangii

and Saehee…may be phantoms, but they’re still girls.”\n

Rangii looked

like a girl but she was practically a wild beast, and Saehee was more like an

unidentified mysterious creature, but still. Like Narae said, they were girls.\n

“Even if

your dad is staying here too, you

can’t just live with two girls! Wait, don’t tell me. Were you just going to go

along with this since you got the chance to live with girls?”\n

“No,

it’s just that…”\n

“If

that’s not it, then what?”\n

I didn’t know

what to say. It seemed like Sahee had connections in the government, but even

if she found a different house, Rangii would probably refuse to leave. I was so

preoccupied trying to think of an answer to Narae’s question that I never

considered that Saehee might respond.\n

“That is

truly not the case. The Young Master’s parents have departed the residence.”\n

“Huh?”­\n

Narae was

dumbstruck.\n

“What?!”\n

No, she was

angry.\n

“What

the heck?! Hey! Are you trying to take advantage of the fact that your parents

are gone?!”\n

I lost any

words I could have said when an apparition of the god of destruction appeared, looking ready to destroy all of creation

with a single blow. Narae, you can’t possibly believe that I brought

these two here while my parents were gone to do naughty things with them,

right? No, based on the look on your face, do you really believe that? This is

a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding.\n

“No, you

see. It was only after I brought these two to Seoul with me that my parents had

something come up and had to leave.”\n

Why am I using

honorifics to Narae right now? (tn: Sunghoon uses honorifics in his last line

of dialogue.)\n

Narae leaned

down, slammed her hands on the table, then spoke.\n

“Are you

telling me to believe that ridiculous excuse?!”\n

“But

it’s the truth.”\n

“Do you

have any proof?”\n

“I do

not.”\n

With her eyes

looking even more furious than before, Narae lowered her hand to my inner

thigh…and pinched.\n

“Uwohoohk?!”\n

“You

idiot! What the hell was that yesterday, really?!”\n

WhyareyoubringingupsomethingfromyesterdayithasnothingtodowiththisandhowmuchlongerareyougoingtokeepdoingthisithurtssomuchI’mdying!\n

For the sake of

my survival, I grabbed Narae’s wrist. Her other hand went directly for my side.

My body immediately flinched away. Has this become a reflex?!\n

“Oh,

you’re dodging?”\n

I quietly put

down my hand and turned away. Narae pinched my side. Maybe I’d grown numb there

because I couldn’t feel any pain.\n

“So

you’re all going to stay here until your parents come back?”\n

“…I

mean, I can’t kick them out.”\n

Narae fell deep

into thought at my realistic objection when:\n

“Then

Rangii and Saehee can stay at my house.”\n

I had trouble

understanding what she said.\n

“Huh?”\n

“Two

girls can’t stay in a house with alone with a guy! What if you did something indecent?!”\n

Then I’d die.\n

Rangii is a

tiger the size of a mountain and Saehee is some kind of unidentifiable phantom.

If I went “Uhuhu, I can’t hold it in anymore, uwaaang~” and pounced on them, I’d

just end up being punished horribly.\n

But setting all

that aside, Narae’s idea sounded appealing. Narae’s family was rich and

entrusting them to her might be okay.\n

However.\n

“I can’t

do that.”\n

“Why not?

No way, do you…”\n

I cut off

Narae, stopping her from continuing a ridiculous misunderstanding.\n

“No,

that’s not what I meant. How can I do that after they traveled so far fully

expecting me to be there for them? I appreciate the sentiment, but this is my

responsibility.”\n

Narae was

furious.\n

“E-even

if you say that, it doesn’t sound cool at all!”\n

That’s because

I didn’t say that to look cool.\n

If this were an

anime, she would’ve had veins popping out of her forehead as she beared a great

deal of thought over what I said. She’s a member of the Bear Tribe so she’s

bearing a lot of thoughts, get it…sorry. I messed up. I wanted to escape

reality, even if I had to use a bad joke. But it was only after Narae spoke

that I really wanted to escape reality.\n

“Then,

until your parents come back, I’m going to stay here too.”\n

“Eh?”\n

What did she

say? She must have gotten caught up in the moment and said something she didn’t

mean.\n

“No,

Narae. That’s…”\n

“I used

to come over here and have sleepovers, didn’t I?”\n

That was back

in elementary school!\n

“What

kind of demand is that?!”\n

“Shut

up! Just do what I said! I’m going to sleep in your house too! Or are you

saying it’s okay for them but not me? If not, what else? Does it make you

uncomfortable for me to be here?!”\n

There’s no way

for me to answer if you put it like that.\n

When Narae makes

up her mind like this, there’s no refusing her. She’s too strong an opponent.

But this only applies to direct refusals. It’s possible to refuse later on. By

doing something like this.\n

“Okay.”\n

I pretended to

give up.\n

“But.

You need to get permission from your parents first.”\n

I just gave a

completely impossible condition. If they’re proper parents, there’s no way

they’ll let their fully-grown daughter stay at a guy’s house for several days,

even if he’s a childhood friend. It was a little disappointing, but if Narae stayed

here, then I’d lose my mind.\n

But Narae’s

inexplicable confidence made me nervous.\n

“Do you

mean it?”\n

Her lack of

hesitation made me stutter.\n

“Y-yeah.”\n

Narae took out

her cell phone and she probably called her parents. Narae opened her mouth, but

I didn’t know if the one who answered was her mom or her dad.\n

“Yes,

dad. It’s me. Yes. I have something to tell you. I’m going to sleep at

Sunghoon’s house for a few days. No. His parents aren’t here.”\n

Oi, Narae. Didn’t

you just casually step on a landmine?\n

“You

mean I can’t?”\n

Thankfully,

Narae’s dad seemed like someone with common sense. Narae furrowed her brow a

bit, but only for a moment. A rare sight appeared as Narae smiled brightly and

spoke with a soft voice.\n

“Okay.

Fine. Then I won’t ever get married and live with Papa forever. Forever. That’s

okay, right, Papa? \n

Why am I

getting goosebumps down my spine after hearing that?\n

“Yes.

Okay. Thank you, Dad. Ah, I’ll give the phone to Sunghoon for a bit.”\n

Narae took her

cell phone away from her ear and handed it to me. Though I felt uneasy, I took

the cell phone and spoke.\n

“Hello.”\n

[Please take

good care of my daughter, Sunghoon. Make the most of this opportunity. Please,

please, I’m begging you. That little monster is…]\n

Before Narae’s

dad could finish yelling, Narae took the phone and hung up. Um, I’m curious

about that last part about a little monster.\n

“Everything’s

settled, right?”\n

It felt like I

cracked open Pandora’s Box.\n

“Although

members of the Bear Tribe have a strong devotion to their mates, they have

trouble expressing their true feelings.”\n

Saehee, when

did you get next to me? You were standing in front of me not even a moment ago.

And it feels like you just said something weird?\n

“I shall

prepare a meal for the Master. I came to ask if it was okay to use the kitchen.”\n

“I’m hungry~

Let’s talk after we eat dinner~”\n

Rangii’s

whining made me realize I was hungry as well. Come to think of it, I went out

grocery shopping to get ingredients for dinner. I could even—I mean, I couldn’t

understand why Rangii started drooling over pigeon.\n

“Yeah.”\n

“Then I

shall prepare dinner.”\n

“I got

groceries, so thanks for taking care of dinner.”\n

“I shall

do so.”\n

After saying

this, Saehee looked at Narae with a small smile on her face.\n

“This

sounded like a conversation between newlyweds, do you not agree?”\n

Oi, what’re you

saying right now?\n

“…You

said that on purpose, didn’t you?”\n

Narae wasn’t

one to walk away from a fight.\n

“Oh

dear, pardon me. After seeing your egotism, I could not help but respond in

kind.”\n

C’mon, at least

try and defuse the situation. Narae even narrowed her eyes!\n

“Great.

I want to help too. That should be okay, right?”\n

“I

should like nothing better.”\n

Seen from the

outside, with Narae’s scary smile and Saehee’s lack of expression, the two

looked like they were getting along fabulously as they walked together. I

decided not to enter the kitchen. Ever.\n

Okay, it looked

like the typhoon just passed me by, so I could finally take a breather. I wanted

to lie down on the floor with my legs and arms stretched out like Rangii, but I

had my human dignity. But you brat. What’re you doing right now? Ignoring why

you’re lying down on the floor, why’re you flailing your arms and legs?\n

“…What’re

you doing?”\n

“You

wouldn’t play with me for all this time, so I’m angry.”\n

It seemed that in

modern times, tigers like to vent their frustration by lying down with their

limbs outstretched and slap their hands against the ground. Maybe I could

survive a visit into a tiger’s den just by making it angry. Actually, if she

thought what I was doing with Narae looked like playing, then I needed to get

her checked for glasses.\n

“I was

busy taking care of the mess you made. If you hadn’t shown your tail and ears,

then all this wouldn’t have gotten so complicated.”\n

Rangii puffed

out her cheeks in a pout.\n

“Uuu.

But I couldn’t help that. How could I have ignored such provocation?”\n

I probably

would’ve just ignored what Narae said. Because there are lots of times when the

one you like doesn’t reciprocate your feelings. Will such a thing happen to the

future me as well?\n

…Ah. I should

wipe away my tears. For the sake of my potentially tragic future, I decided to

agree with Rangii.\n

“Yeah,

yeah. You didn’t do anything wrong.”\n

Rangii laughed,

going hee hee, and she dragged her

body across the ground, crawling under the table and thrusting her legs towards

me. You brat. Are you saying you’re too lazy to get up by yourself? Rangii

moved again and this time her legs reached all the way to my lap, but hey. A

girl should take better care of her appearance. Your shirt’s moved up, and now

I can see your belly. She wriggled from side to side, exposing more of her skin,

and I felt the urge to play a little prank. I poked Rangii in her belly button.\n

“Unyak?!”\n

Rangii’s arms

and legs shot out, and when she tried to sit up, the table shook with a bang.

What a fun kid. Teasing her was worth it. With her body pulled out on the

opposite side of the table from me, Rangii whined to me while rubbing her red

forehead.\n

Rangii came out

from the opposite end of the table, gingerly touching her reddened forehead

before whining at me.\n

“Why’d

you do that? You scared me.”\n

“Took

the words right out of my mouth. What were you doing?”\n

“I tried

to sit on your lap.”\n

“Then

you should’ve gotten up properly and sat there.”\n

“It’s

annoying to get up.”\n

If there were a

rating system for annoyingness, you’d be a first-class tiger.\n

“Ah, is

that so.”\n

I backed up a

little, saw Rangii’s legs poking out from under the table, grabbed them, and…\n

“Huh? What’re

you doing?”\n

I pulled her

towards me.\n

“Ha—eek?!”\n

Rangii looked at me, wide eyed with her arms

outstretched, after I slid her out from under the table.\n

“If you

don’t want that to happen again, then sit properly next time.”\n

“Th-that

was fun! Can’t you do it again?”\n

Looks like it

backfired.\n

““Lolicon.””\n

When did you

two get here?!\n

The dinner

Narae and Saehee made was so delicious I could have screamed in joy. My mouth

began to water when I saw that they had made extraordinary dishes from the only

ordinary groceries I had bought.\n

We ate dinner

at the round dining table, with Rangii and Narae at either side and Saehee

across from me. Mmm~ Delicious.\n

“How’s the

spinach dish? I’m the one who made it.”\n

At Narae’s

carefully asked question, I ate a bite of the spinach and gave her a thumbs up.\n

“Yeah. It’s

good.”\n

“Thank

goodness. I was worried you wouldn’t like it.”\n

“I’m serious. It’s

really good.”\n

More than

anything, it was a side dish that Narae made for me. Thus, I could already

comprehend a heavenly taste.\n

“Young Master.

Please try the pumpkin pancake as well.” (tn: Literally “jeon,” a style of

Korean cooking. It’s different from the western style of pancake)\n

At Saehee’s

suggestion, I tried a bite of the pumpkin pancake. It was really good. Although

I already knew this, Saehee was really good at cooking.\n

“It’s good.”\n

“That is a

relief.”\n

…For some

reason, the mood feels really tense, but maybe I’m imagining things? No, it

doesn’t seem like that’s the case. Narae-nim seems, for whatever reason, to be

in quite a bad mood.\n

“Sunghoon.”\n

For some reason,

I got a bad feeling.\n

“This and this.

These are the ones I cooked, so I hope you like it.”\n

“Besides those,

I made the rest. Please enjoy it.”\n

Looking

closely, I could see that Narae’s food was on the left and Saehee’s food was on

the right, with the bulgogi in the center. (tn: Bulgogi is a kind of Korean

marinated beef.)\n

Oi, you two.

What the heck happened in the kitchen while Rangii and I were playing around?

It was hard to figure out what to do with my chopsticks with Saehee and Narae’s

eyes focused on me.\n

Wait, Miss Saehee.

Why do you keep trying to antagonize Narae? It was times like this that I felt

jealous of Rangii, who was eating without a care in the world.\n

…Seeing her

continue to drop food, I was actually not jealous of her considering how clumsy

she was with her chopsticks. \n

…She apparently

wasn’t embarrassed by the fact that her clumsiness with chopsticks meant she

kept spilling food. I remembered that just this morning she was doing a better

job than this, so what happened to her?\n

Whenever Rangii

dropped the side dishes she’d go “Uuu,” pout, and glance at me. Was she asking

me for help?\n

All right. I

felt bad seeing her like that, so I decided to give her a hand.\n

“Rangii.”\n

“What’s wrong?”\n

It almost

sounded like she was sulking, and I almost laughed.\n

“Come over here.”\n

I patted my lap.

It felt like I was talking to a dog, but it was different. Because she’s not

Baduk.\n

“Okay!”\n

Rangii took her

rice bowl and utensils and sat on my lap.\n

“I already

taught you how to hold chopsticks. Try and eat properly.”\n

“Hehehe.”\n

I fiddled with

Rangii’s hand so that she was holding them correctly.\n

“I am trying.”\n

“Okay, okay. So

what do you want to eat?”\n

“Bulgogi.”\n

I picked up the

bulgogi with my chopsticks and put it on top of Rangii’s rice…\n

“Wait, wait,

wait!!”\n

Hm? Narae

suddenly got upset.\n

“What do you

think you’re doing?!”\n

In response to

Narae’s pointed finger, I gave a matter-of-fact answer.\n

“I’m just

helping Rangii with her food. She may look like an elementary schooler, but

she’s actually a phantom, so she’s clumsy with this stuff.”\n

“It’s still

weird! Even if that’s the case, why is she sitting on your lap?!”\n

Was this weird?

Even though, when I was little, I would sit on top of my mom’s lap as she

taught me how to use my eating utensils?\n

“This is how we

do it in my family.”\n

“I…no, this is

unacceptable!”\n

Seeing Narae go

bright red and getting upset, should I give her an excuse or maybe protest?\n

“Because this

way I can make sure she eats easily and that she isn’t being picky with her

food. And Rangii’s a little kid so what’s the big deal?”\n

“In what way is

she a little kid?!”\n

Hm? I looked down

at Rangii. She looked back at me with bright, innocent eyes of a child.\n

She was clearly

a little kid.\n

“…Aren’t you

overreacting?”\n

“I’m not! Look!

She even stuck her tongue at me just now!”\n

I looked down

at her again.\n

“The meat’s so

good~”\n

“……”\n

Without another

word, I watched Rangii happily chew on a piece of bulgogi before giving her a

gentle knock on the head.\n

“Uwah! What was

that for?!”\n

“Narae wouldn’t

lie about that.”\n

“Do you not

trust me?”\n

“I saw you

stick your tongue out.”\n

Rangii was shocked,

a look of surprise on her face.\n

“Y-you saw that?

How?”\n

…Oh man.\n

“So you really

did do it.”\n

I was just

testing her but she got caught.\n

“Shoot!”\n

While Rangii

was busy being embarrassed over her blunder, I rested my chin on top of her

head and spoke to Narae.\n

“As you can

see, she’s just a kid. Don’t get all riled up over stuff like this.”\n

“…I guess you’re

right.”\n

When we started

cleaning up after eating our delicious yet somewhat tense dinner, the doorbell rang.

I wondered who it was when Narae spoke.\n

“It’s express

delivery. It’s probably someone bringing my things. I’ll go get it.”\n

Narae went out

and came back inside with two large bags in hand.\n

“You’re really

planning on sleeping over?”\n

“I said that I

would. Why, did you think I lied?”\n

I would have

liked it if this entire situation was a lie. If, just if, Narae had asked to

sleep over when I was all alone at home, I’d welcome her with open arms; but

Rangii and Saehee were here. Rangii truly thought that Narae was beneath her, so

there was no real problem there. The problem was Narae and Saehee. Narae bore

some strange hostility towards Rangii and Saehee, and I got the feeling that

Saehee didn’t like Narae. Could that be because of Narae being part of the Bear

Tribe? Isn’t there a way they could get along?\n

“Which room can

I use? Your room’s fine too. Of course, you’d be sleeping somewhere else.”\n

Hahaha, Miss

Narae, you really tell the best jokes. Though it looked like you were serious.

But which room should I have Narae use? I felt like something terrible would

happen if I had her share a room with Rangii, so the only room left was Dad’s… I

didn’t like the idea of having her stay in my dad’s room, but I clean it every

day, so it should be okay. I pointed to Dad’s room and spoke.\n

“Do you want to

use my dad’s room for now? I’ll get you new blankets.”\n

It was

fortunate that I always had guest blankets on hand for those rare occasions

when Mom brought her acquaintances with her. This meant I didn’t have to ask

Narae to use the blankets my dad uses.\n

“You’re being

unexpectedly considerate.”\n

“What do you

mean unexpected?”\n

I’m always considerate

of you. Though I probably won’t tell you that. Completely clueless of how I

felt, Narae went “Hmph,” and went into my dad’s room with her bags in tow.\n

“I’m going to

unpack and change now.”\n

“Okay.”\n

Right before

closing the door, she looked across the threshold to glare at me with a scary

look in her eyes.\n

“If you peek,

I’ll kill you.”\n

“…I won’t.”\n

“I’m not going

to lock the door.”\n

“Are you

telling me to look or not?”\n

“I’m saying

look and die.”\n

She stuck her

tongue out at me jokingly.\n

Since I didn’t

want to die at the young age of seventeen, I went into my room. Rangii was

lounging on the sofa in the living room, and Saehee was next to her, so this

was my best chance. …I wasn’t going to do anything weird. Now seemed like the

perfect time to learn more about Rangii. I turned on my computer and searched tiger in a search engine. I found

folktales, characteristics, and more about tigers. All kinds of information

appeared.\n

Although I was

forced to take care of Rangii to maintain the safety of mankind, the stability

of my family, and my own life, that didn’t change the fact that I was Rangii’s

guardian. That meant I needed to take responsibility for looking after her. So

it wasn’t weird for me to search for more information about tigers and thus

about her.\n

I mean it. I

was only trying to find out how best to care for her.\n

And then.\n

“Have you

evolved from a lolicon to a stalker?”\n

“Uhyaak!”\n

Holy crap! I

calmed my racing heart and turned around to find Saehee looking down at me with a face that contrasted entirely with mine;

in other words, she was expressionless.\n

“Would you stop

appearing behind me and suddenly talking? I’ll die of a heart attack!”\n

“Next time I

shall be careful.”\n

“I remember you

saying that before as well.”\n

“Is that so? If

you want to know about the Master, rather than use the Internet, you can ask me

directly.”\n

Was she really

asking me to do something so embarrassing?\n

“I don’t want

to tell you what I’m bothered about.”\n

“Are you the

infamous tsundere?”\n

“Do you think

I’m Jeom Soon-Yi?” (tn: I believe this is a reference to a 1935 Korean novel in

which the main female character is a major tsundere)\n

Wait, why was

she here having quippy dialogue with me?\n

“More

importantly, what is it? You’re here for a reason, aren’t you?”\n

“You truly are

quick to notice the strangest things.”\n

What kind of

image do those two have of me?\n

“In truth, I

came here to tell you something.”\n

“What is it?”\n

“Although

Narae-nim has not yet awoken her powers, she is still a member of the Bear

Tribe. The Master also knows this.”\n

“And?”\n

“Narae-nim’s

presence near you would be a bad influence on the Master.”\n

“Why?”\n

Saehee narrowed

her eyes.\n

“The thing

above your neck is not only used to eat.”\n

“Isn’t it

tiring to tell someone to use his own head in such a roundabout way?”\n

“It becomes

easier with practice.”\n

I wanted to get

used to it too. So I could beat her for once.\n

Anyway, I

should think about it for a second.\n

Narae is a

member of the Bear Tribe, and Rangii is a tiger. In the Dangun myth, a tiger

and a bear meet Hwanung to turn into humans. Hwanung says to stay in a cave and

eat only garlic and mugwart for 100 days, but the tiger can’t endure the test

so it runs away. The bear turns into a human, wants a child, and is chosen by

Hwanung to marry him.\n

So what the

heck was the problem? I doubted it was because Rangii felt jealous of Narae’s almost criminal figure when she herself looked

like a child. She’s 5,000 years too young to feel something like that.\n

“It seems you

are entertaining foolish thoughts.”\n

“Did you learn

how to read minds or something?”\n

Though I couldn’t

deny that my thoughts were foolish.\n

“What is it

already?”\n

“Although I

cannot explain in detail, this is related to the Master’s trauma.”\n

If you ever gave explained everything to me without hassle,

I’d have to plant an apple tree (tn: I’m pretty sure this is a Martin Luther

reference. Sunghoon is saying that the world would end). What kind of

trauma could Rangii possibly have? But I didn’t think Saehee would lie about

something related to Rangii.\n

“So what do you

want me to do?”\n

“Please chase

Narae-nim out.”\n

“Whoa, whoa.”\n

The heck kind

of nonsense is that?\n

“Hey. She’s

staying over here for a few days because she’s worried about you two; isn’t

that a little harsh?”\n

“An idiotic

response truly befitting the Young Master.”\n

What did I do

to deserve being called an idiot? So what if Narae stays here?\n

“Young Master.

There is something you must not forget. That the Master came to Seoul with eyes

only for you.”\n

“…I know.”\n

Whatever the

reason, I was the one who reached out to Rangii, and she was the one who

grabbed my hand. That meant I was responsible for looking after her.\n

“No. The Young

Master is completely clueless. That is why you invited Narae-nim here while

completely disregarding the Master.”\n

This made my

temper flare up. What’s so wrong about inviting Narae, and what did I do wrong

to Rangii for Saehee to say that? I was ready to blow my top, but something

happened before I could say anything.\n

“Why’d you

leave me all alone? Being by myself makes me feel lonely.”\n

Rangii spoke

sullenly as she opened the door and entered. I immediately closed the browser

window. It was probably just my imagination that I thought I looked like an

adolescent boy who was caught browsing adult sites by his mom.\n

“We were

preparing where you will sleep, Master.”\n

She could tell

lies without even blinking.\n

“What is there to

talk about? I can sleep comfortably as long as I’m by Sunghoon’s side.”\n

“I feel like

you’d be able to sleep well anywhere even if I weren’t there.”\n

Rangii went “Buuu,” grumbling indignantly and pouting

at my callous comment.\n

“That was only

because you were next to me. I am usually not like that.”\n

Put your money

where your mouth is, then.\n

“That aside,

with my belly full and the day darkening, I’ve become sleepy. Sunghoon, let’s

sleep together.”\n

“Why should I?”\n

“I learned that

if you don’t sleep a lot, you won’t grow.”\n

Your true body

is Jirisan, so what good would growing do…wait, I’m focusing on the wrong

thing.\n

“How does that

answer why I should sleep with you?”\n

“Because I want

to sleep with you.”\n

“I don’t want

to.”\n

“Uuu.

 Then I’ll force you to!”\n

I was curious

how she was going to force me, but all she did was grab my hand and pull me

towards her. …I’m not sure what you think I am, but I’m not so weak that I’d be

dragged around by a kid. But even so, I felt bad seeing Rangii straining, so I picked

her up by her butt and:\n

“Upsy-daisy!”\n

I sat down

again.\n

“Uu.”\n

Rangii looks

cute when she pouts. I wonder if this is why adults tease little kids.\n

But the thing

is.\n

“Why’re you laying

out the quilt?”\n

Saehee was

laying out my blankets, the ones I had carefully folded.\n

“The Master

said that she wants to sleep.”\n

“Then go set up

her quilt in your room.”\n

“Master said

that she wants to sleep with you, Young Master.\n

“It doesn’t

matter how you word it; my response won’t change.”\n

“What’s the

problem? Isn’t it natural for a couple to share a room?”\n

Rangii said

something I couldn’t ignore.\n

“Hold on, since

when were we a couple?”\n

“There’s no

need to be so embarrassed. Though, since it’s been such a short time, your

reaction doesn’t surprise me. And also……”\n

Rangii twisted

her body this way and that, a blush on her face.\n

“Didn’t we

already have our first time together?”\n

No, no, we didn’t. You’re dead wrong. I

mustered up my courage to correct her mistaken thinking.\n

“Do you know

what a first time is?”\n

“Of course. I’m

not a child.”\n

I know I’m

repeating myself, but you’re clearly a child.\n

“Isn’t it when

a man and a woman who love each other get married and sleep in the same room

under the same covers?”\n

Right then, I

needed a xylophone. Ding!\n

“Saehee.”\n

“Yes.”\n

“I think that

Rangii needs proper sex-ed.”\n

“As the old

saying goes, experiencing something once is better than hearing it one hundred

times.”\n

Are you telling

me to die? I mean both physically and mentally.\n

“C’mon, let’s go

to bed already. I wish to bear our child as soon as possible.”\n

While I

tortured myself over how to teach Rangii sex-ed, this happened:\n

“Why’re you all

here?”\n

Narae entered

my room. Ah, I’ll ask Narae to give Rangii proper education…but the moment I

saw Narae, any such thoughts were blown away.\n

“H-hey! What’s

wrong with your clothes?!”\n

“W-what’s wrong

with what I’m wearing?!”\n

Narae’s usual

fierce appearance was nowhere to be found. She had on a loose-fitting tank top

that exposed her belly button and bra straps, and below that she wore hotpants

that set her thighs on full display, leaving me with nowhere safe to look. To a

teenage boy like me, her outfit was enough to make me drool uncontrollably. I

needed to hide my blushing face somehow, but I-I couldn’t endure it! If a

healthy teenager sees the girl he likes clad in such a stimulating fashion,

then…… Th-this is just a physiological reaction!\n

“Your clothes

are too skimpy!”\n

“What’s the big

deal? Everyone wears stuff like this. What, do you have a problem with it?”\n

The problem is

that I don’t have any. No, the problem is that I like it way too much.\n

“There’s a lewd look in your eyes.”\n

Shoot. I gave

the only excuse I could with Narae staring daggers at me.\n

“You have on

clothes which, for me at this point in my life, makes me have trouble deciding

where to look, so it’s your…”\n

Narae cut me

off.\n

“My fault?”\n

“No, it is

not.”\n

After I

conceded her point like a dog with its tail between its legs, she smiled,

satisfied, and looked around my room.\n

“So this is

your room? Heeh… It doesn’t look like it’s changed at all.”\n

“This is also

my room.”\n

Rangii-nim, only a visitor to my room, said

something completely ridiculous. Narae frowned in response.\n

“Why is this

your room?”\n

“Because I’m

going to sleep here too.”\n

“Why would you

sleep here? This is his room.”\n

“Isn’t it

natural for a couple to sleep together?”\n

“What the

heck’s natural about that?”\n

Narae gave a perfectly

reasonable response and pulled Rangii by the hand. Rangii had apparently never

been treated like this before and, in a state of confusion, pleaded me for

help.\n

“W-what’s wrong

with this woman? A concubine should know her place!”\n

“Who’re you

calling a concubine? Besides, this is a monogamous country, so there are no

such things as concubines!”\n

Rangii’s hair

formed a question mark and she asked me a question.\n

“Is that true?”\n

I nodded my

head. At first Rangii was shocked, but then her face darkened as she spoke to

Narae.\n

“In that case,

I am sorry for you. Sunghoon has already completely fallen for my charm, so you

have no chance.”\n

Narae glared at

me sharply and spoke.\n

“Hey.”\n

“No, I

haven’t.”\n

Rangii tail and

ears were standing up sharply.\n

“But last night

didn’t you desire me with great intensity?”\n

I gave an

excuse right before Narae’s hand flew at me.\n

“I was freezing

last night, so I grabbed her to keep myself warm. I didn’t do anything else,

and this all happened while I was half asleep, so please forgive me. You know

how I am when I’m sleepy.”\n

So please don’t

make a fist.\n

“Haven’t we

already seen each other’s naked bodies?”\n

“That was just

because you didn’t want to take a bath! Don’t say something that’s bound to be

misunderstood!”\n

I told the

truth exactly as it was to Narae. After I finished talking, Rangii opened and

closed her mouth like a bird, clenched and unclenched her hands, then, when she

looked like she was about to speak…she suddenly hugged Narae and burst into

tears.\n

“Uwaaaah!

Sunghoon is bullying meeee! E-even though I was so happy that Sunghoon accepted

me! But then! Uwaaaaah!!”\n

Hey! When did I

bully you?! I’m just saying exactly what happened! And why are you hugging

Narae and not Saehee? Even I’ve never hugged her before! I’m so jealous!\n

Narae was

shocked when Rangii suddenly hugged her, but, after thinking for a moment, she

sighed and patted Rangii’s head before speaking to me.\n

<figure class="wp-block-image"></figure>\n“Hey, there was

no reason to say all that. Why were you so harsh?”\n

“…What?”\n

Why’d she

suddenly take Rangii’s side? I was so taken aback that I couldn’t give a

response.\n

“It’s okay,

Rangii. Sunghoon was being mean because he was embarrassed that I was here.”\n

Narae

interpreted my words completely differently. It was a really convenient interpretation.

But it seemed Rangii bought what Narae was selling. With tears in her eyes,

Rangii looked up from Narae’s bosom and spoke.\n

“Is that true?”\n

Narae’s glare

was painful. Narae, I like it when you care so much for others, but this made

me a little sad. And there was no reason for you to mouth “You’re. So. Dead.” at

me. Please think about me, too.\n

“That’s right.

I was so embarrassed that I was only able to say it like that.”\n

When I told her

that I lied, she instantly stopped crying and smiled brightly.\n

“It’s true!

Sunghoon’s so shy!”\n

And she left

Narae’s bosom to run towards me. She reached to hug my neck, and I

automatically bent down and held her up by her bottom. …There was no helping it.

Even if she was a kid, if I tried to hold her with only on my neck, I’d die. It

was for the solely for my survival that I did this.\n

Now secure in

my arms, Rangii turned around to speak to Narae.\n

“You are truly

ready to become Sunghoon’s concubine!”\n

“Like I said,

you can’t have concubines in this country.”\n

Though she said

that, she didn’t seem upset. There was actually a smile playing on the corner

of her lips.\n

…That was

worrying. I was concerned about Narae’s sudden change in attitude towards

Rangii. I was going to ask her about that, but the sudden weight on my shoulders

surprised me.\n

“Snore~”\n

And I heard her

rhythmic breathing. Hey, are you sleeping right now? After what just happened,

you fell asleep?\n

“…Oi.”\n

The tip of

Rangii’s tail twitched slightly.\n

“Are you

sleeping?”\n

“She is

exhausted after traveling so far.”\n

Saehee, who had

erased her presence until now, scared me when she spoke. If you were here, you

should’ve said something or calmed down Rangii or said something to Narae or

insulted me. Actually, I take back that last thing.\n

“You brat, all

you did in the car was sleep, too.”\n

“She has always

required plenty of sleep.”\n

…Geez, her body

is so inefficient.\n

“Then have her

sleep comfortably in your room. Here.”\n

I tried to give

Rangii to her, but Saehee spoke abruptly.\n

“That is not

possible.”\n

“Why not?”\n

“The Master is

sleeping because the Young Master’s scent and body heat put her mind at ease.

If you move her to my room, she will wake up.”\n

You just

nonchalantly called it your room. Just now, you did.\n

“So?”\n

“You can sleep

with the Master in my room.”\n

“Nope. She can just

sleep here.”\n

“…Tch.”\n

Don’t click

your tongue.\n

I carefully removed

Rangii’s arms from my neck and gently placed her on the blanket to keep her

from waking up.\n

“Uuung.”\n

She moved

around a bit, but thankfully she didn’t wake up. For some reason, I felt embarrassed

when I saw her sleeping so comfortably in my blanket, the one covered in my

scent. Maybe I should wash my sheets tomorrow.\n

I led Narae and

Saehee out of the room, and I closed the door. Whew. With Rangii sleeping in my

room, the only place left for me to sleep was the sofa. Well, sleeping on the

sofa wasn’t that bad. After everything that happened today, I was exhausted. Maybe

I should try and sleep a little early today.\n

“Hey.”\n

On second

thought, it was too early to go to sleep.\n

“Yeah?”\n

“To some extent,

I can understand what’s going on between you and Rangii.”\n

I prayed that

her understanding wouldn’t turn into misunderstanding.\n

“So don’t

overreact when it comes to Rangii. She’s just a little kid who’s clinging to

you out of loneliness.”\n

So it was a

misunderstanding after all. Narae had no idea that Rangii really meant

everything she said. That actually made it even scarier.\n

“If you react

like that, then you seem like a real lolicon.”\n

“But you kept

calling me a lolicon until now.”\n

Narae smiled

like a figure from an impressionistic painting.\n

“Are you

really?”\n

“No, I am not.”\n

“Then it’s fine.

I know you’re not actually like that, so……”\n

Narae blushed

and mumbled something, but I couldn’t make out what she said. I was about to

ask her what she said, when…\n

“Please excuse

me for interrupting your cringe worthy flirting.”\n

Saehee suddenly

interrupted us. She butted in between us and spoke to Narae.\n

“Narae-nim.

There is something I wish to tell you.”\n

“Whatever. …But

could you stop adding “nim” to my name? It sounds awkward.\n

“It is a habit

of mine.”\n

“But…”\n

“It is a habit

of mine.”\n

“…So what you

want.”\n

Isn’t there

anyone besides Rangii who can win against her?\n

“So what’re you

curious about?”\n

“What is your

size, Narae-nim?”\n

“Size?”\n

“Bust size.”\n

“W-what?!”\n

Narae glared at

me, her face a bright red. Why’re you looking at me? I didn’t do anything

wrong. Can’t you see that I’m as surprised as you are?”\n

“W-what the

heck are you asking?!”\n

“Is your bust

growing even now?”\n

Saehee

continued to speak, disregarding our shock at her questions, and I realized the

truth of the old adage, “Like Master, like man.”\n

Wait, why’re

you asking her that with me here? I also want to know the answer to your

question, but…wait, that’s not what I mean!\n

“I-I don’t

know!”\n

“If you do not

know, then I have no choice.”\n

Saehee, in

contrast to Narae’s blushing and flustered appearance, was as expressionless as

ever when she thrust her hands under Narae’s arms, and then…\n

Squish.\n

<figure class="wp-block-image"></figure>\nBefitting the

above sound effect, Saehee started to massage Narae’s huge breasts.\n

“It seems you

are still a C cup. However, this size. There is a high likelihood of you

growing into a D cup in the near future.”\n

I-I’m so

jealous! I wish I could do that…wait, that’s not what I mean either!\n

“Y-y-you little,

what’re you doing?!”\n

As a healthy

teenage boy, I was close to exploding as I watched Saehee push Narae down with

Narae quivering with a mixture of anger and shame. W-will I even be able to

sleep tonight?\n

“Ah, wait, now, ack, this is…hgg. D-don’t……”\n

“You are truly

a member of the Bear Tribe. However, we will be safe for at least another

year.”\n

After giving

her conclusion, Saehee took her hands off Narae’s chest and gave a slight nod, as

expressionless as always.\n

“Thank you for

your cooperation.”\n

Narae covered

her chest with her hands, moved away from Saehee…and hid behind me as though it

was the most natural thing in the world.\n

“I’m-I’m going

to kill you.”\n

I could see

from the tears gathering on her eyes that she was absolutely furious. She

glared at Saehee, who had just groped a maiden’s breasts, feeling their size

and weight however much she pleased…no, I should stop thinking like that.

Because I was killingly jealous of how Saehee was able to massage Narae’s

breasts as much as she wanted solely because of her gender…I said stop!!\n

“Why would the

heck do you want to know my bust size?!”\n

Narae-nim, now

recovered from having her chest erotically massaged, glared at Saehee and

shouted. Ah. Narae doesn’t know she’s a member of the Bear Tribe, does she?\n

“I did this

because you are a member of the Bear Tribe.”\n

“What’s that?”\n

Saehee answered

Narae’s question.\n

“It is a gang of well-endowed women.”\n

“How does that

answer my question?!!”\n

Does Saehee have

a few screws loose? Saehee looked to have no desire to speak further, so I gave

Narae a short explanation. That they are blood relatives of Ungnyeo, the one

from the Dangun myth, and that they awaken strange powers when their busts

reach D cups.\n

Narae carefully

asked me something after she heard everything.\n

“…What happens

if I awaken those powers?”\n

Despite having

solely been listening, Saehee answered her question.\n

“You will lose

your free will and become Ungnyeo’s puppet.”\n

“Hey, dammit!”\n

Even if you say

that, how can you say she’ll be a puppet?!\n

“Please do not

worry. As long as you are careful, such an event will not happen. As long as

the head does not show herself, such small breasts will not awaken those

powers. However…Narae-nim, if you stay by the Young Master’s side, you will be

a bother to the Master. So while the Master is sleeping, please leave this

house. As I am not as generous as the Young Master, I cannot allow you to stay

here.”\n

…Saehee was

trying to kick out Narae just as she said she would. But rather than Narae

getting upset, it was me.\n

“What the

heck’s so bad for Rangii if Narae stays here?! Don’t just make stuff up!”\n

Saehee’s tone

was the exact opposite of mine after I spoke with my emotions in control of my

voice.\n

“Young Master,

do you know the Dangun myth?”\n

How could I not?

I even know that Rangii’s the tiger from the myth.\n

“What about

it?”\n

“The myth is

incorrect.”\n

“…What?”\n

Saehee’s tone

was entirely casual.\n

“The Master

underwent the test same as Ungnyeo and mastered the magic to turn into a human.

And as the Master was able to turn into a human, we also learned the magic from

her and became able to transform to human form as well.”\n

Ah! I was just

now able to understand why I felt like something was wrong when Rangii

transformed into a human. Based on the Dangun myth, the tiger couldn’t endure

the test and ran away. That’s why it couldn’t turn into a human. But Rangii

can. Not only that, but Baduk and Saehee, Rangii’s kin, are able turn into

humans as well.\n

“However,

Hwanung did not choose the Master; he chose Ungnyeo. After that, she was sealed

away. Do you understand now? Why Narae-nim cannot stay near the Master?”\n

“…Ah!”\n

Narae gave a

shout as she realized something from what Saehee said. But I didn’t have a

clue. What was she saying?\n

“So what’re you

trying to say?”\n

Saehee looked

at me pityingly, as if my head was full of suffocating smoke.\n

“I shall

provide the Young Master with a hint as your head is completely empty.”\n

I’m sorry for

being dumb.\n

“You treat the

Master like a child, correct?”\n

“Because she

really is a kid.”\n

“Yes. As you

said, the Master is still mentally immature. That is why she appears as such.

So then, do you know what personality traits are common to children?”\n

Common

personality traits? As I’ve had to suffer domestic life with my little cousins

since I was young, I knew them very well.\n

“They whine,

laugh easily, cry easily, are honest, don’t really think, are true to their

feelings, and greedy?”\n

“You are well informed.”\n

“…Have you not

figured it out yet?”\n

Why are you

looking at me as though I’m some pathetic wretch, Miss Narae?\n

“The Master is

so pitiable, to have such a half-wit as her other half.”\n

“No, but so

what?!”\n

“You really are

stupid.”\n

“I’m fine with

being an idiot, so at least tell me why you’re treating me like one.”\n

Narae frowned.\n

“Do you think

we can tell you something like this? We’d feel bad for Rangii if we did.”\n

When Narae

betrayed my trust, I felt something snap inside me.\n

“Fine! I get

it, I’m an idiot, so enough! I’m going to sleep!”\n

I made it very

clear how irritated I was, and I walked past Narae and Saehee to go into the

living room. Those two who were so skilled at making me feel stupid followed behind

me.\n

“Where’re you

going to sleep?”\n

I knew I

shouldn’t snap at Narae when she was worried at me, but I spoke sharply without realizing it.\n

“I can sleep on

the sofa.”\n

“Even if it’s

summer, you’ll catch a cold if you sleep there. Sleep in my room instead.”\n

The anger that

boiled within me was replaced by embarrassment. I turned around and grabbed

tightly onto Narae’s hands.\n

“Narae. I

appreciate the sentiment, but you should place more value in your body…”\n

Narae shook off

my hands and hit me hard in the stomach. It wasn’t enough to shake the Earth,

but it was more than enough to shake my head.\n

“Kugh!”\n

“W-what’re you

saying?! If you’re going to sleep in my room, then of course I have to sleep

with Saehee!”\n

I was joking. If

Narae meant what she said, then I really didn’t have to sleep on the sofa.

However…\n

“I must refuse.”\n

Saehee

dissented.\n

“Huh? Why?”\n

Saehee answered

Narae’s question.\n

“I have no intention

in the least to sleep in the same room as someone with such massive lumps of

fat. I do not get off on being crushed by those heavy breasts.”\n

“Th-they aren’t

that big! Besides, this size is…”\n

Narae blushed

and began to say something strange; then there was a poof! above her head and steam rose as she took her temper out on

me.\n

“Don’t make me

say weird things!”\n

“Why’re you

getting mad at me?”\n

“This is your

fault!”\n

It was Saehee’s

fault. And, maybe it was because of their conversation, but for the first time,

I payed attention to Saehee’s figure. She was actually quite slim. Her black

modernized hanbok looked to be doing a good job of hiding the fact that Saehee

was on the small side for a girl her age. Was it because Rangii was her Master?\n

“I was always

like this even when I was human.”\n

“…I didn’t say

anything.”\n

“Is there a

problem?”\n

…I should

stop talking.\n

“And so,”\n

Saehee changed

the subject.\n

“The Young

Master will sleep in my room.”\n

““What?!””\n

Towards an

extremely strange direction.\n

“Although it is

my duty to attend to the Master, it is my duty to attend to the Young Master as

well. Even in nightly duties.”\n

Ababababababa.\n

“As the Master

is still young and incapable of releasing

all of the Young Master’s overflowing carnal lust, and because the well-endowed

Narae-nim disguises her actions as based in kindness when they are in truth

fueled by desire, this meager one can, with my brilliant techniques, satisfy

the Young Master. Thus, Narae-nim, I assume you will agree to leave?”\n

Uh, is it

really a good idea to nonchalantly say something so dangerous?\n

“What’re you

trying to say?!”\n

“I am joking, the

Young Master who lacks a sense of humor.”\n

I know. That I

don’t have much of a sense of humor. And you’re the same.\n

“From now on if

you’re going to tell a joke, say, ‘Okay, what I’m about to say is a joke.’

Because I can’t tell if you’re joking or serious.”\n

“I was serious

to some extent. If it is for the Master’s sake, no matter what perverted

fetishes the Young Master may have, no matter what positions you demand, I

shall accept and do them all.”\n

“I don’t have

anything like that!”\n

How can she say

such dirty things without even a blushing? If this conversation continued, I

wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, so I forcibly ended the conversation.\n

“A-anyway! I

can sleep on the sofa, so you two sleep in your own rooms!”\n

Narae was still

shocked speechless and Saehee was still as expressionless as ever, but when I

was about to lie down on the sofa, Saehee said something I couldn’t ignore.\n

“There is no

need for the Young Master to sleep on the sofa. Because I can sleep in the same

room as the Master.”\n

That was a real

change in attitude.\n

“…You’re

right.”\n

Why wasn’t I

able to think of that? …What do I mean, why! It was because Saehee kept telling

weird jokes and freaking us out! The cause of all this chaos began to speak.\n

“However…”\n

Saehee glanced at me and continued.\n

“If I sleep

under a blanket covered in the Young Master’s thick stuff, I may become

pregnant…”\n

“Hey, what the

hell?!”\n

“If the Young

Master has Miss Narae leave, such a thing need not occur.”\n

“I won’t leave even

if you tell me to.”\n

Narae cut in

and made clear her stance. I appreciate the sentiment, but if Rangii and Saehee

leave the house, you should leave too.\n

“I was joking,”

Saehee said, a small smile on her face\n

“I must still

have been intoxicated by the alcohol I drank.”\n

…Hasn’t it been

a while since you last had any alcohol? And if you drink, isn’t your complexion

supposed to change? Why is a supposedly drunk person’s face so pale?\n

“Well then,

please excuse me.”\n

Saehee ignored

us both and quietly turned to enter my room, leaving Narae and me in the living

room, still taken aback by what just occurred.\n

“…Let’s go to

sleep.”\n

“…Yeah.”\n

I got the odd

sensation that I’d been taken for a ride before entering my new room. And then

I had this to say:\n

“Saeheeeeeee!!”\n

I screamed that

drunk phantom’s name in a plea to know why there were a thousand girl’s panties

strewn about my room.