The corner of Moon Jiwoo's eyes glistened with tears as she opened them. A yawn escaped from her mouth while she stretched her hand upwards. The entire night she was unable to sleep properly— until her body gave up due to exhaustion— due to how rough the bed felt.
Even though pain lasted for Moon Jiwoo for a very short time, the backache she felt due to sleeping at such a bed hadn't subsided yet.
A funny smell reached into her nose as she sniffed into the room, and while a cough escaped from her mouth, she wondered where the stench generated from.
Jiwoo got down of the bed, and as her foot stepped on something, she looked downwards. A duvet lied beneath her foot.
Sleeping without one was not something Jiwoo was used to, but due to the smell it emitted— coupled with the fact that it appeared as if it hadn't been cleant for a year— she kicked it out of her bed in annoyance.
All of what had happened ever since she had arrived at here made her annoyance level to rise to the top, and Jiwoo knew that if it was to be continued— without caring about cooperating with them— she would directly be giving them a piece of her mind.
She wondered what she had done in order to deserve this in the first place! This was the worst reception she had received!
°°°
Jiwoo's eyes displayed her lack of sleep as she walked towards the dining room. Raising her line of sight, her eyes fell on Oh Sookyung, who had a bright smile upon his face.
After a terrible night and a morning, she found that being a complete eyesore, and letting out a scoff, she shot daggers at him with her eyes.
"Oh my! You seem terrible," Sookyung commented.
Clenching her hand into a tight fist, Jiwoo said, "Tell me about it! I seriously want to punch that Joohyun Bastard! I will drag him to the Kingdom and let him live at the horse's stable."
"There is no horse's stable in the Kingdom, but I understand what you mean," Sookyung said while he held amusement in his eyes.
"Well, if that's the case, then I will knock him out and take him to the surface. I am pretty sure there are horse stables there," Jiwoo vocalised, "You seem all well though. Don't tell me that your room was better than mine?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Sookyung spoke out, "There was nothing wrong with my room. That's understandable though. No one would directly dare to go after King despite of how much they hate them. That's why, you were made into their target."
"Now, I get why you brought me at here," Jiwoo said, "It is supposed to be revenge for all the times I have threatened you, right? Wow! Oh Sookyung, you are really cunning!"
Going over to the dining table, Jiwoo pulled one of the chairs and sat down on it. The chair creaked slightly under her weight, and deep inside, Jiwoo prayed that the chair would not be breaking down on her. That would be utterly humiliating!
"Wow! You have gotten smarter, Daerinnie! I am proud of you. How did you figure out my motive so fast?" Sookyung voiced out.
"Tch! You bastard!" Jiwoo exclaimed.
"If the conditions are that horrible, we can exchange bedrooms for the night. I am more adaptable than you I guess," Sookyung stated.
Moon Jiwoo's eyes brightened up at his offer, and while the corner of her lips curved to a bright smile— seeing how this was the first good thing that had happened to her ever since she was in this place— she clapped both of her hands together.
"Really!? Thank you, Oh Sookyung! Then, I will trouble you to take my room," Jiwoo spoke out.
"You are quite thick-skinned it seems. Normally, one would decline it, and I thought you would be more prideful about it," he pointed out.
"Who would be an idiot enough to do that? And what's not prideful about it? Only after I am able to sleep peacefully will I be able to think properly, and since it is you, Oh Sookyung, I have no qualms about accepting it," Jiwoo said.
With that, she held on to the spoon which half immersed in the soup and twirled it slightly. Before she was able to raise the spoon, something fell into her eyes, and a loud scream escaped from her mouth, startling Oh Sookyung.
Seeing the insects— she couldn't identify— at the bottom of her soup, especially when they appeared to be that gross, managed to shock Jiwoo.
Instinctively, she jumped backwards, and the action caused her knee to hit the table from the bottom. Her sudden action caused her chair to give up, and while it was about it break down, the table tilted at her hit. The soup slid against the table was able to fall down on her.
But before she was able to get injured, Jiwoo felt someone grip on to her wrist, and she was pulled towards the left. Her head collapsed against someone's ċhėst, and the smell of Oh Sookyung's cologne floated into her air.
Jiwoo's heart began to beat faster while she rested against his ċhėst. Followed by that was the sound of the chair touching the ground and the bowl of soup crashing against the floor, breaking into multiple pieces.
As the pieces spread across the room, Jiwoo moved her head away from his ċhėst and stared at the mess that had happened.
Despite of her fast healing abilities, she would have been injured if that fell upon her. Turning her head to face Sookyung, she gave him a grateful smile.
Before she was able to let him know her thanks, he voiced out, "Where the hell is your concentration? Shin Daerin, are you a little kid? Aren't you always bragging about how strong you are? Then, why in the world you didn't dodge?"
"Are you scolding me?" Jiwoo asked.
Oh Sookyung let out a sigh and spoke out, "What does it look like then?"
"No, I guess I kind of was careless, but that doesn't mean that you have to scold me like that. I didn't expect for my chair to break and that soup to have weird insects inside it," Jiwoo pointed out, "Plus you are overreacting. This made my anger run away."
"If this is continued, I will go and talk with Joohyun. Maybe we need to resort to other methods," Sookyung spoke out, "And you, once we return, you are going to have through the training again. It seems that your skills have been deteriorating!"
"I need no such thing. Might I remind you that I am still capable of taking you down completely," she stated, "Didn't you just mention that you had no other plans?"
"You believed that, You Fool?" he asked before adding, "Of course, I would not be revealing everything to you since you have a knack for ruining things."
Extending her hand towards him, she punched on his ċhėst and expressed, "And here I was going to thank you for saving me. I have learnt that you don't deserve that from me."
"You must be hungry," Sookyung stated, "Just go to my bedroom, and you will be finding some food at my bags. Although they aren't much, make do with them for now. I will go and deal with that Joohyun."
"No, I am not that hungry. I want to go with you and deal with that Joohyun as well. How dare that bastard put insects in my soup? Now, I will be growing a phobia of the soup," she spoke out, "What if I am unable to drink soup in the future? That would be terrifying! I would not feel at peace until I teach that bastard a lesson."
"I will do that on your behalf," Sookyung said, "And it would not be proper for you to see what will be happening there. That's why, just be obedient, alright."
Jiwoo scoffed and vocalised, "What is it that I can't see? And why do you need to do that on my behalf? I am perfectly capable of handling it on my own."
"Geez! Can't you listen to me for once? Now, go to my room. If you want to still beat him up, do it later on," he said, "This is a serious matter!"
"The fact that you are trying to hide it this badly makes me more curious, Oh Sookyung. What is it that I can't know? I thought we had no secrets in between of us, so why are you being like that? It makes me feel sad," Jiwoo vocalized as she stared down at the ground while a pout formed on her face.
Extending his hand towards her, Sookyung patted the top of her head and expressed, "Sorry for making you feel this way, but Daerin, I really can't let you know about it. However, one day, I promise I will tell you one day."
"I guess I shouldn't force you anymore."