Chapter 23

“… How do I get home?”

I was driven to my destination by car every single day, so I didn’t know how to commute or walk back home. I didn’t even know Ki Yoon Jae’s address! Usually, if I said I wanted to go home or whatever it was that I wanted to do – there were many people who would rush to my aid.

When I showed them my conflicted face, Jung Yi Joon clicked his tongue many times.

“Are you stupid? You can contact the driver.”

“…”

“… Don’t you know their number?”

Is this guy an idiot? Jung Yi Joon muttered as if he was stunned. I didn’t need to listen to his words in order to understand that he must’ve taken me for a fool.

‘Me? A fool?’

I didn’t want to hear the rest of the conversation anymore. Ignoring Jung Yi Joon, I walked away from him.

Even if I couldn’t make it home, I just didn’t want to be at school.

“Hey! Where are you going!” Jung Yi Joon followed me asking, but I bravely ignored him. He had also ignored me and acted selfishly previously, so I thought I’d get revenge.

His breathing became rough as if to tell me that he was angry with my attitude. But thankfully, his temper didn’t rise because I think he also knew he had made a mistake.

The school was in the middle of the city centre, so it wasn’t a long walk to the commercial street. I went into the nearest franchise cafe.

“Uh…Are you coming?” The staff who were in charge of greeting customers took turns looking at our outfits and their watches as they greeted us. Although lunch hours were almost over, I could see that their puzzled expressions were dissipating probably because they thought that we came here for lunch.

“Hey, it’s expensive…”

Jung Yi Joon was still silent. Jang Eui Yeol looked at the menu only to realise it was his first time in such an establishment. He couldn’t comprehend why the usual cost of a single meal was the price of a regular- sized drink here.

That said, even though I couldn’t remember my driver’s phone number, I was a high school student with a black card.

“One cherry coke and two cups of hot cafe mocha, please. I would also like a cream cheese bagel, a ham and cheese panini, a New York cheesecake, and a raspberry mousse cake.”

“Yes, I have taken your order. When this device vibrates, you can come and retrieve your order.”

After I placed my order and sat down at a free table, the two of them followed me and sat down. While I was still angry, Jung Yi Joon seemed to be very embarrassed. During the original Ki Yoon Jae’s time, it was uncommon for him to become emotional, so he rarely got angry at Jung Yi Joon.

Jung Yi Joon, who was looking at me, asked with a small voice,

“What are you so mad about…”

I was so surprised to see such a gloomy expression on Yi Joon that my cover was almost blown. He wore a gloomy, sad expression which chipped away my anger but I managed to school my expression to be blank.

Silence prevailed over the three of us who were seated. Eui Yeol jumped up suddenly when he heard the device vibrate.

“I… I’ll bring it.”

When Eui Yeol left, the two of us remained. Jung Yi Joon eventually couldn’t stand the atmosphere and suddenly went crazy.

“Mr!… What are you so mad about!”

“You know why I’m angry, don’t you?”

“I don’t understand!” Jung Yi Joon, who exhaled harshly, looked at me with an expression of sadness as if he had been wronged. Jang Eui Yeol, who was approaching with a tray of drinks and food, rolled his eyes when he saw that the atmosphere had deteriorated as soon as he went to the counter.

“Come on.”

“Huh…”

Still ignoring Jung Yi Joon, I beckoned Jang Eui Yeol to sit down again. As Yi Joon’s eyes widened, perhaps dissatisfied with me continuing to ignore him, I handed him the plates with the panini and bagel from the tray.

“Eat this.”

“Uh?”

“You didn’t eat your lunch.” At those words, Jeong Yi Joon’s sharp eyes softened. Without a word, he picked up the panini and took a bite, and I placed a glass of cherry coke in front of him.

“Eat slowly. Eat and talk.” Then I handed a mocha drink to Eui Yeol. He seemed like someone who didn’t particularly drink coffee, so if I had given him an americano, he probably wouldn’t have been able to stomach it.

After taking a bite and seeing Yi Joon muttering that it was delicious with a bright face, I wondered if that was really the case.

“Eat the cake.”

“Huh…” When I presented the cake we ordered together to Jang Eui Yeol, he ate it like a hungry baby bird. 1

Jung Yi Joon, who had finished the panini and just started on the bagel, crumpled the bagel and ate it in one bite after seeing that. After swallowing it whole, Yi Joon began plundering Eui Yeol’s cake with me.

“Hey!”

It was literally looting. I picked up the whole soft cake with a fork and shoved it all into my mouth. Eui Yeol looked at the both of us in shock.

Ah, this poor protagonist.

Seeing that, I tried to say something to Jung Yi Joon, but closed my mouth. I didn’t want to say anything rude and so I just continued eating for a while.

“Jung Yi Joon.”

“What.”

I barely swallowed the cake in my mouth while he looked at me with an anxious face. He also seemed to know what he had done wrong. But what I wanted to talk about wasn’t such a trivial thing as looting another’s cake.

“Do you regret signing a contract with me?”

“What?”

I asked him, “Do you want to work with someone other than me?”

“What do you mean?“

“So, why didn’t you beat those bastards?”

You’re also a bastard who can’t tolerate anything right?

He has no patience for me, but he was willing to be their errand boy? What the heck was wrong with him?

“If they said anything, you should’ve come to me and told me. Why are you following their orders like an idiot? Are you their subordinate?”

“Hey, why are you only singling me out! He did too!”

“What?”

With that, Yi Joon exposed the main character too. I was shocked because Eui Yeol never told me that side of the story. I looked at Eui Yeol.

“Did you get hit too?”

“Uh, yes…But it doesn’t matter.”

I placed my hand on my forehead, those guys were planning to die…

Even if they couldn’t help it because they didn’t know the future; in 3 years time, the main character was set to awaken as a unique tamer. Anyone who did him wrong would suffer the consequences.

‘But you’re saying I didn’t know anything while these two were going through that?’

Are these kids kidding me? No, I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t come to me when I said they could rely on me.

‘Is it possible that I’m not appealing enough?’

I thought that the time we spent together was enough, was that my mistake? My heart sank into loneliness when I thought about the other stuff that they were hiding away from me.

Suddenly, I felt like I was hit by a bucket of cold water. What if there’s no special reason beyond them not trusting me?

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“…”

“Perhaps… … Is it because you don’t think I can protect you both?

“Eh?” The two of them were greatly embarrassed by my words. Maybe it was because there was nothing else to be said. I felt a little depressed, thinking that my efforts were in vain.

Seeing my melancholic face, the two of them opened their mouths in a hurry.

“No Yoon Jae.”

“Dummy. It can’t be because of that.”

“Then why?” Having already judged that their words were lies to appease me, I still couldn’t hide my gloomy look. I felt frustrated, so Yi Joon hit my chest.

“Ai, it’s because of you!”

Now they’re putting the blame on me…

Yes, it’s my fault that the glaciers are melting and it’s my fault that the home of the polar bears was lost.

“Ah, I can’t let this go…”

Jung Yi Joon clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly in a display of holding back. I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t have the courage to provoke him to hit me and I couldn’t afford it. With fidgeting hands, he took a deep breath at my resentful eyes.

“Don’t you remember when you said to get along with them?”

“Uh?”

“Is this arsehole for real? Don’t you remember? Don’t you remember what YOU said?”

Eh? I said that….

Yes, I did. It was last year or the year before that, I had passed by at a party and talked about them.

‘Of course, Ki Yoon Jae.’

Wasn’t that the case?

At that time, he said, “This party itself is useless, but it would be good if we became close since our grandfather and father are conservative giants with strong support bases.”

Did you forget what you said as you passed by that time?

Footnotes
Eui Yeol ate it like he’s been starved for days