CH 57

Jackal looked back, feeling his heart beating wildly.

However, Asha, who approached him first, fell asleep again, resting her face on his back as if nothing had happened.

His back was a really cozy shelter for Asha…….

Jackal sighed and decided not to get out of bed, but to stay still.

Asha seemed comfortable with his back as a pillow, so he thought he should help her sleep well.

But even with his back to her, her warmth was still transmitted to him.

He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to sleep, but her soft touch drove him crazy.

Jackal ended up staying up all night……. 

Early in the morning, he got out of bed without her knowledge, looked at her, and washed his face with cold water.

When she asked him where he’d been, Jackal had a look that meant, ‘I was just trying to ask you where you’d been.’

But he forgot that he was now in the shape of a horse and opened his mouth.

“…… Heing.”

A deflated sound escaped from his mouth as if the wind was escaping.

Jackal’s face turned red.

Asha secretly suppressed her laughter.

But then, a yellow butterfly flew up and landed on the bridge of his nose.

It was truly amazing timing. 

Asha covered her mouth, her face flushing unbearably red now, and she laughed.

Jackal’s face grew redder despite being a bluish-gray horse.

Asha made a funny face as she barely managed to contain her laughter, but stuttered.

“Last time, a hawk landed on your nose, I think……. The animals seem to like your nose very, very much.”

“…….”

Jackal blushed and closed his eyes.

Asha opened one of his eyes and looked at him before jokingly saying.

“…… I like it too.”

The moment Jackal opened his eyes, Asha pretended not to notice and placed a hand on the bridge of his nose and spoke softly to the butterfly.

“Butterfly, Jackal is shy.”

Wondering if it would work, the butterfly flew back into the sky.

A butterfly perched on a horse’s nose… She likes it.

Asha said, holding back her laughter.

“Jackal, I have a favor to ask you. Can you hear?”

Jackal was tempted and his ears fluttered. He seemed like he was asking what is it?

Asha said with a smile.

“I just brought you fresh goat’s milk to drink, but can you drink it in your horse form?”

She had the same sinister smile she had when she brushed him earlier.

“…….”

When Jackal didn’t reply, Asha’s eyes moved slightly to catch his attention.

“You were so cute when I gave you water in the hut before, I wanted to see it again……”

Her purple eyes twinkled and Jackal finally gave up.

“…… Purung.”

“Really? Oh my god!”

Asha was happy as innocent as a child and she transferred the goat’s milk into a wide bowl.

Jackal told himself that this was nothing if she likes it.

As he stuck out his tongue and began to drink the goat’s milk, Asha crouched in front of him, tilting her head slightly to look.

Her face was filled with affection as she looked at Sheppy.

Jackal closed his eyes in shame and drank the goat’s milk little by little.

He felt as if he had returned to being a young colt.

But he wondered if Asha could consider him a beast, and he was a little worried on the inside.

After emptying the bowl, Asha wiped the cute white goat’s milk from his mouth and philtrum with her handkerchief.

She gently stroked the bridge of his nose as if proud.

“Sheppy’s nose is mine.”

Hearing that, he unknowingly became excited and let out a loud snort.

Asha laughed innocently and kissed him on his nose. 

Jackal was about to lose his mind from the boiling heat in his body.

Before he knew it, he was a wild horse completely tamed by her.

As soon as he finished eating, he and the others worked on rebuilding a new home.

He seemed very serious and calm as he wandered restlessly, taking in the construction situation and reviewing documents with Sosa.

They say working men are sexy. 

Asha sat on a log and looked up at him with her hands over her face. Jackal looked different from cute Sheppy.

Jackal stopped flipping through the papers before feeling a gaze on him and glanced in Asha’s direction.

Asha said.

“Rest up a little. Your wounds haven’t healed yet.”

He was still wrapped in bandages, but he shook his head.

“It’s okay. As the chief, I must participate in the rebuilding of the village. I have to quickly build a house for us to live in……”

Jackal paused. Asha’s eyes widened a bit and she asked him back.

“A house for us to live in…..?”

Jackal turned around and covered his mouth. His earlobes were red.

Asha also suddenly felt her face heat up. 

Jackal said, looking at the ground in embarrassment.

“……Pretend you didn’t hear what I just said. I was going to keep it a secret until it was finished……”

Asha responded quickly.

“What did you just say? I didn’t hear anything.”

“…… Okay.”

Asha walked away quickly, but a smile spread on her lips.

I can’t believe I’m going to live with him….

Just thinking about it made her heart pound.

Her heart sped up when she thought that the paper he was holding in his hand with a serious expression on his face was actually the structure of their house.

As Asha disappeared from sight, Jackal let out a hot breath and pulled the cart full of wood out into the open space.

It was the place where their house would be built. 

No matter how sick he was, he intended to build Asha’s new home with his own hands.

His eyes were very determined as he walked forward.

* * * * *

Returning home first, Asha suddenly found Nagy running from afar.

“Nagy?”

“Sister! Hide me……!”

Nagy looked so desperate that Asha let him in, even though it wasn’t her house.

Soon, from afar, she saw the chef, Wede, running towards her with a large knife used to chop wild boars.

Asha exclaimed, her eyes wide.

“Mr. Wede, what the hell do you have in your hand?”

Wede looked down at his hand and was even more startled.

“This! I thought I had a ladle…….”

Nagy got scared when he saw it and ran away.

“By the way, what are you doing here?”

Asha’s question brought him to his senses.

“Oh, didn’t Nagy come running over here just now?”

“No, I haven’t seen him. What’s the matter?”

Wede sighed deeply.

“Well, Nagy ate all the dessert for dinner tonight.”

“What?”

Asha blinked. 

For some reason, she could feel a shudder inside the house.

“I begged him to wait until dinner, but he ate it all! We are going to have a special party to celebrate your return tonight…!”

Wede jumped on the spot with his heavy body, then lost his strength and sat on a log.

Asha smiled and moved closer to him.

“I’m fine without it. Thanks for your concern.”

Wede answered sullenly.

“But, the boss made a special request……. Actually, the mood was on thin ice before you got back. It’s been a while since I thought the atmosphere was getting better, but I made this mistake……”

The fact that Jackal was secretly preparing an event for her, made Asha blush again.

“I’m really fine. I’m rather happy that Nagy ate them.”

Nagy, who had been hiding against the wall, froze with slightly wide eyes.

Asha told him a story from her old days when, on her first hunt, Nagy came to her room with a plate of food.

Hearing the story, the chef’s eyes widened and he said in disbelief.

“Oh my God, is that true? No one can stop his gluttony…… That’s amazing.”

“Nagy eats a lot?”

“A lot! When I first came here, he could eat a day’s worth of everyone’s hunting by himself.”

Asha was slightly surprised.

They both were already from the same Nephesh clan, and she was wondering how a little boy like Nagy became a hunter, but Wede told her first.

“One day, a thief sneaked into the village. Everyone assumed it was a highly intelligent beast since only food was lost in the traps he had set. But then we found out that he was Nagy. That day, he must have been very hungry and forgot to pay attention. The boss found him in the kitchen hastily stuffing food into his mouth, grabbed him from behind, and dragged him out.”

The chef smiled broadly as he recalled the memory of that time.

“But perhaps it was more surprising because the boy ate so well that the boss told me to prepare food for him. The boss likes people who eat well.”

He winked at the end of his sentence.

Asha suddenly remembered what Jackal had told her before.

‘I feel li every time I see you, you really eat well.’

Her face got hot for some reason.

Jackal stared at her every time she ate something and seemed to like the way she ate well.

Wede cleared his throat and continued.

“But Nagy, this boy, ended up having an upset stomach. You don’t know how pitiful it was to see a child covering his mouth to prevent vomiting while he broke out in a cold sweat.”

“……so what happened?”

When Asha asked curiously, Wede shrugged and said.

“We just scolded him. But the boss also seemed sorry for the orphaned bum. He took care of him all night, patting him on the back. And from the next day, he made him pay for the stolen food.”

Asha laughed again. 

Goodwill was good, and the way they made him pay back was also good.

Wede also smiled.

“He became part of our group. He was small and agile, so he was good at hunting and climbing trees, so the chief let him in. He’s a naughty boy, he is often scolded, but we praise him when he does something good, so even now, Nagy follows Boss as if he is his father.”

Jackal was truly a leader who seemed cold on the outside, but he gave everyone a fair chance and warmly cared for everyone behind the scenes.

The Lycaons followed him without any complaint or challenge.

Jackal would catch Nagy whenever he tried to do something bad like a steal and would slap Nagy on his buttocks with his palms.

Hearing Jackal punishes Nagy to reflect by looking at the wall, Asha laughed again.

It was because last night, she remembered Sheppy staring at the wall, reflecting.

“It’s the first time I’ve heard Nagy give food, but I guess he likes you quite a bit.”

Wede laughed again. 

In fact, Asha didn’t know, but when Asha and Nagy first met in the snowy field, Nagy liked that she willingly gave them food in exchange for saving her life.

But then, Jackal was seen walking in the distance.

Asha held out her hand in surprise when she saw that he was trying to run inside.

“Ah, inside……!”