Chapter 106 - Don't get close [2]

The trip was one of the things Moon Jiwoo looked really forward to. Staying enclosed at the castle did not suit her taste, and following Sookyung, she came over to the northern parts of the Underworld.

The entire Underworld was under one king with some places having exceptions, and one of the area at the northern part was counted in that exception.

Their tribe was called to be Noran, and their customs were much different compared to the part under Sookyung's rule. They had their own sets of rules, and the kingdom's regulation had nothing to with them.

From long ago, an agreement was established on how the King will not be doing anything to them as long as the Noran tribe provided them with enough resources— something Jiwoo was not aware of— and did not create trouble for them.

However, the last King's foolish decision caused the relationship between the kingdom and the Noran tribe to turn bumpy. 

Ever since then, the kingdom had been at a lack when it comes to the resources, and anyone who stepped on the Noran tribe's land from the kingdom disappeared.

Knowing that it would only be harmful for the kingdom of this had continued, Oh Sookyung decided to visit the tribe on his own and appease the Tribe's leader.

Moon Jiwoo could see how nervous Sookyung was as he stood in front of the grand mansion of the Noran tribe. Even if it was just a casual trip for her to take a breather, she knew that this was an important thing for Sookyung; this was his responsibility.

Noticing how the male beside her was nervous, Jiwoo extended her hand towards him, and intertwining her fingers with him, she gave him a small squeeze.

Her actions managed to catch Sookyung by surprise, and turning her to face her, the ends of his lips curved up to form a smile when he saw how she was encouraging him with her eyes.

Even though the act she did was quite intimate, he was aware that Jiwoo had no such intentions, and she was just trying to comfort him. At that moment, he did not know whether or not to be happy about that.

One of the guard stepped forward and pulled open the door to the mansion. Once the door was opened, a butler walked out and bowed at both of them.

Even though he was treating them with respect, the scorn on his face showed how displeased he was with both of their presences at here.

"King Oh Sookyung, Miss Shin Daerin, welcome to the Noran tribe. I will take you to meet our leader in a while, and please hand over your luggage to me," he spoke out, "Follow me please."

Listening to his words, both of them nodded, and seeing how Oh Sookyung had become tense again, Jiwoo gave his hand a small, supportive squeeze once again.

"It has been about five hours now, and I finished the cups of tea by now. Is this leader really not going to show his face?" Moon Jiwoo let out a groan.

The butler from earlier led two of them into to a room and said them to wait for the Leader for a while as the leader was busy with some matters.

However, almost five hours had passed, and the Leader sent no information about his whereabouts. 

As Moon Jiwoo clenched her hand into a tight fist, the anger and annoyance was clearly visible in her eyes.

Beside her was Oh Sookyung, and they were seated upon the couch. On the wooden table before them were two cups of tea along with various ȧssortments of snacks.

"He just be busy," Sookyung spoke out, "Be a little patient."

"Tch! I doubt that he will be showing up. He just called us at here and made us wait because of how he wants to make fool of us," Jiwoo mumbled.

Oh Sookyung let out a chuckle and said, "You better keep that mouth of yours shut or else you will be picking a fight with someone soon. People here do not have a favourable opinion of us in the first place."

"That idiot Kim Namhyuk! If he had died, he should have taken all the problems with him," Jiwoo grumbled.

The sound of his footsteps attracted Moon Jiwoo's attention, and raising her head, she stared at the door.

Moon Jiwoo was caught in awe when she noticed how tall the man before her was; it was quite difficult for her to calculate his height. 

His blond hair— a characteristic that showed the tribe he belonged to— was styled messily while Jiwoo found his blue eyes sparkling like the jewels. The garments and the clothing of the Noran tribe was different from the Kingdom.

Arrogance was clearly shown on the man's face as he leaned against the door, and folding his arms over his ċhėst, he stared at both of them. His countenance showed how he was displeased to be at here.

If this were to be continued, Moon Jiwoo believed that she would be getting angry beyond what she can control and burst off in front of everyone. She did not understand why both of them had to deal with all the scorns when none of them had done anything wrong.

This situation was definitely unfair!

Moon Jiwoo wanted to shout at him to shoot such gazes at the previous King— who was probably buried six foot under now— but knowing how desperate Sookyung was for this to go smoothly, she held her tongue back.

"Dad's busy, and he can't be bothered to deal with such measly matters. Whatever you have to discuss about, do it with me. I am in charge for this," the man spoke out.

"You should at least try to look slightly more reliable for that," Jiwoo mumbled.

"Sure, Mr. Kim Joohyun. Thank you for giving us a chance and allowing us to stay here. This means a lot," Sookyung spoke out, standing up and wearing a soft smile on his face.

"My father declined to this initially, but I made him agree to it. To see the dogs crawl back to us is quite pleasant," Joohyun commented while a smirk formed upon his features.

From the side view of his face, Jiwoo could see how irked Sookyung had grown to become at that comment, and clenching his hand into a tight fist, he tried to hold it in.

While a part of Moon Jiwoo was proud of him for being able to hold in his anger, the other side within herself wanted him to be impulsive and break Joohyun's jaw. That would be giving her true satisfaction.

Jiwoo could easily perceive how difficult it was for Sookyung to maintain that smile, and the only reason he had not said anything in reply was merely due to how he did not want to utter anything potentially rude that would potentially lead him to getting kicked out.

"You have quite a interesting way of treating your guests. Even dogs are better than you when it comes to taking care of the guests," Moon Jiwoo spoke out.

At that, Joohyun's attention shifted to Jiwoo. Seeing her small stature beside Sookyung while her eyes subtly glared at him caused him to let out a chuckle, which was filled with mock.

"You are quite sharp tongued for someone who is this fragile. I am sure you don't know what you are doing," he expressed.

"You should prevent yourself from being this shortsighted and be a little more open-minded. Your narrow vision is going to be quite a hurdle in the future. It's funny how I don't know you and can easily see that," Moon Jiwoo retorted.

"What are you trying to do? Amuse me with those words of yours? Maybe if you please me enough, I will be taking you as my concubine," the man haughtily stated.

His eyes gave him off completely— although he was not trying to be inconspicuous in the first place— and hearing that, Moon Jiwoo turned back to shoot him a glare. 

After that, she faced Joohyun and spoke out, "Why should I be your concubine? Doesn't it seem better for me to take you as one of my concubine? 

Wait! I don't want to do that because even if you find me amusing, I find you quite dull. But since I have to appease you for now, I will try to hold back my tongue for now."

"I apologise about her, Mr. Kim Joohyun. She tagged along with me and is not someone even I am able to control. Despite her words, she means no harm, so it would be great if you look past it," Sookyung voiced out.