Chapter 13

Fortunately, Yoon Jae followed me, even tripping foolishly whilst doing so. He’d been going downhill, so he might have been seriously hurt if I just walked away and hadn’t checked back.

I feel like a fool…

It felt awkward to keep walking. When I slowed down, just in case he fell down again, Yoon Jae approached and grabbed my sleeve.

However, my anger had not abated yet, so I shook him off. However, after I did he held my hand. I felt like my heart would leap out of my mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

Jung Yi Joon… you’re such a fool.

My heart melted when he said sorry. It was unbelievable.

He didn’t kneel down and was acting silly, but he apologised and just stood there until I became numb. Then, the tears that I’d held back burst out. Ki Yoon Jae kept apologising until I stopped crying.

* * *

After Ki Yoon Jae and Jung Yi Joon disappeared, only I, Jang Eui Yeol, remained at the hill. No, to be more precise, it was Cookie and I.

“…He said Ki Yoon Jae.”

Ki Yoon Jae, Yoon Jae. My face heated up when I said Yoon Jae’s name out loud. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t hear Ki Yoon Jae’s name directly from his mouth. However, at least I had heard his name through Jung Yi Joon, who had suddenly barged in.

Can I see him again?

I thought about it, but the fact that I couldn’t find the answer I sought upset me. It might be difficult to meet again.

I didn’t know for sure, but Yoon Jae’s clothes and shoes looked quite expensive.

Honestly, I don’t think this kind of place fits him…

I didn’t mean to belittle myself, but it didn’t suit Yoon Jae, who looked like a nobleman. It was strange, but it seemed more appropriate for him to have a European surname…

“Woof! Woof!”

“…Cookie. Oh, right… I didn’t feed you. Are you hungry? Let’s go back.”

Now that Yoon Jae’s shadow could no longer be seen, I turned around without hesitation. When I had fetched food for Cookie earlier and couldn’t find them inside I was surprised. But now, I wondered how Cookie managed to leave the house on their own.

How could he be so white…?

At first, I thought the boy who sitting in front of Cookie was a girl. I had never seen such a pale face before, so I thought it was makeup.

Whether he had cried or not, the corners of his eyes turned red, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He seemed small when he was squatting, but he looked quite tall when he got up.

However, when I grabbed hold of his staggering body, I could tell that he was thin for someone as tall as him.

He seemed to want to get away from me, but his look of peril made me strangely concerned, so I couldn’t just let him go.

He’s gonna be okay, right?

I remembered Jung Yi Joon, who Yoon Jae followed. Jung Yi Joon had stared at me with a look that could kill. The anger was all directed at me, so I reckoned that Yoon Jae would be safe.

When I went back inside, I put Cookie’s food back into the dog bowl. However, Yoon Jae didn’t leave my mind. It was a pity that I sent him off like that.

I want to see him again.

If we meet again, then… I want to say hello properly. I didn’t want to hear his name through someone else’s mouth.

* * *

“So, are you done with your business?”

“Hyung…”

When I returned to the place where we promised to wait at while holding hands with a sniffling Jung Yi Joon, Kwon Jae Hyuk stood with his arms crossed.

He didn’t seem as upset as I thought he’d be, but it must have been quite a long time since the two of us disappeared

No, he looks angry, but…

“

He wasn’t angry because Jung Yi Joon and I disappeared, but for another reason… His smiling face cracked when he saw our interlocked hands. I had a bad premonition, so I tried to let go of Jung Yi Joon’s hand, but he held on tightly.

“Oh, it hurts.”

“Hold on.”

What’s the meaning of this? I said it hurt, but he didn’t relieve his strength and told me to endure it instead. When I looked at Jung Yi Joon in bewilderment, he stopped crying and stared at me.

No, shit… What’s this? We had a good atmosphere just now. So, why? What’s got his knickers in a twist1?

What kind of psycho seems ready to blow a fuse one moment and calm the next…

It was really hard to adjust. After sighing, Jung Yi Joon, as though he had misunderstood the meaning of my sighs, gave me a soft warning.

“If you let go of my hand, I’ll kill you.”

No, if I die, you die too, right? Jung Yi Joon threatened me, but his gaze was on Kwon Jae Hyuk.

The two didn’t say anything, but they were conversing with their eyes. Jung Yi Joon glared at him as though facing an enemy. Meanwhile, Kwon Jae Hyuk had a kind smile, but was in a bad mood.

I couldn’t comprehend why the two of them were acting like this. While I was rolling my eyes, Kwon Jae Hyuk spoke to me with a gentle expression.

“Yoon Jae-ya.”

“Uh, yes…”

“It’s uncomfortable, right?”

Then, he glanced at the hands that were still interlocked. I was wondering what to say since Jung Yi Joon’s stare was telling me to watch my words.

“I’ll make it easy for you.”

Still, Kwon Jae Hyuk didn’t care if I didn’t answer. Wondering how he could make it easier, he pulled a sword out of thin air with a smile on his face.

“Since you want to stick to Yoon Jae… I’ll just have to cut it off.”

“Wa-wait, Hyung…!”

“Why, Yoon Jae-ya?”

“Fuck, you want to try me?”

It was over. This guy was out of his mind…! Kwon Jae Hyuk was smiling, but unlike his expression, his eyes were cold.

But the bigger problem was Jung Yi Joon. As soon as Kwon Jae Hyuk drew his sword, he started to spit out swear words. In his free hand, his telekinesis was rising like a red haze.

No, if you guys are going to fight, do it without me here.

A cold sweat ran out in fear of being caught in a fight between whales, a shrimp got his back broken2.

No, what were they fighting about?

Putting aside that I would be the one to suffer most in a fight here, I became flustered because this was unfurling into an incident that would be reported on the 9PM news.

“Hy-hyung, wait!”

How do you stop someone from carrying out an action? Yes. You have to grab their arm or body.

Among them, the most obvious part to grab was the hand. When I hurriedly grabbed Kwon Jae Hyuk’s hand with my free hand, Kwon Jae Hyuk’s eyes settled.

“Ki Yoon Jae…”

“Ah, it hurts…”

As a result, Jung Yi Joon’s eyes turned to me this time. He put more strength into our clasped hands as if he was furious.

When I tried to let go of Kwon Jae Hyuk’s hand, which held mine reflexively, Kwon Jae Hyuk gently held my hand with both of his hands to prevent me from doing so. The more he did so, the more intense Jung Yi Joon’s eyes grew.

These fucking bastards…

What are they doing with me? I felt like I was about to cry.

“Let go. Yoon Jae is in pain.”

“This bastard can be a bit hurt.”

What kind of logic was that? I was speechless as I stared at Jung Yi Joon. He’d even threatened me, who was vulnerable.

It wasn’t that I was scared, I just lowered my eyes because I thought it would hurt more if I kept staring at him. I could only hope he didn’t misunderstand.

When I gazed down and stood still, Jung Yi Joon rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. This deranged son of a-

“Hey, why don’t you let go?” Jung Yi Yoon said.

“I’ll let go.” I replied.

“The fuck? Not my hand, but his hand!”

When Jung Yi Joon told me to let go, I tried to quickly loosen my fingers, but then he started shouting and getting angry.

Stupid jerk… Don’t you see that my hands are trapped between you two? It’s not me that’s holding on.

The actions of the three of us drew attention. It was quite the spectacle to see two men playing tug-of-war with me in the centre.

I, who was stuck between two quarrelling men, begged to go home. Only then did the tug of war come to a close.

Damn it…

Even in the car on the way home, the two were cold. Jung Yi Joon was obviously a crazy guy. Although his life was currently in Kwon Jae Hyuk’s hands, he was busy provoking him.

I was worried that Kwon Jae Hyuk might fall for the provocations, but he overcame them all. In the end, Jung Yi Joon’s dissatisfaction only grew.

I was good at mediating between the two… No, to be honest, I spent most of the time calming down Jung Yi Joon. So by the time I returned to Ki Yoon Jae’s mansion, I was exhausted.

“I’ll die.”

If I went out with them again, I’d be Cookie. In other words, I would be no better than a dog, inhuman. Damn it.

In hindsight, it was a regretful outing. For some reason, I had an inkling that I would go out with the two of them again.

I vowed to never tell anyone about the earlier tug-of-war spectacle. And while I was thinking about what to do next, someone knocked on the door of my room.

“Come in.”

With my permission, the door opened and the face I saw was none other than Ki Hyun Joo. She approached me and sat down on the bed where I lay.

“Where have you been today?”

I hesitated for a moment when asked out of the blue, but I responded with the truth.

“I went to Gaun-dong.”

T/N: The moment of them playing tug of war in the middle of winter is really funny. I mean it’s just holding hands and they became obsessive lol. Thank you for reading and have a great weekend!