I woke up to the feeling of someone licking my hand. I felt like this happened before, as well. I placed my free left hand on my aching head and looked to my right side. And, just as I thought, Baduk was licking my hand. Actually, licking wasn’t exactly correct. Baduk was busy sucking on my index finger, as if it were a bone with a morsel of delicious meat on it. The feeling of her tongue against my finger tickled.
“Now it’s my turn.”
When Baduk removed her mouth, a long trail of saliva followed, then snapped. Rangii then took my middle finger and put it in her…as if I was going to let her. I drew back my right hand. I felt a little numb, but, while I was passed out, it looked like I’d been fully healed. However, Rangii and Baduk didn’t think so.
“Ahh! No, you can’t! You haven’t fully healed yet! And I’m definitely not saying that because you taste good!” said Rangii.
“That is correct, Young Master. We need to suck on you more. I am definitely not saying that because you taste good,” said Baduk.
I knew that, back when I was rendered half-dead by Rangii, Saehee was the one who saved me with her magic.
Saehee was capable of healing three broken ribs, breaks in the skull, collarbone, and femur, internal bleeding, ruptured large intestine, and other horrible injuries. So there was another reason why she had Rangii and Baduk lick me until the sun set.
Probably her grudge that would supposedly last 5,000 years.
“Saeeeeheeeee!!”
“Did you assume that I also did not thoroughly lick you, Young Master?”
The ghost appeared, saying something with scary implications.
“If you did, then you wouldn’t be talking with me right now.”
“Your wit has improved, Young Master.”
I owed Pyeii a thank you.
“Where’re Chii and Pyeii?”
“I have the two of them ready for you in the other room once we conclude our conversation.”
Ready? Ready how?
“I did this, because it is a dictum of heaven to atone for one’s sins if one is to truly repent. So long as you do not cross the final line, you may enjoy yourself as you please.”
…That gave me a bad feeling. And this feeling probably had nothing to do with Rangii’s sullen face.
“Whiiiine~ Sunghoon. Hasn’t it been a long time since we’ve last seen each other? Or do you not think so? If that’s true, then it makes me so sad that I want to cry.”
Rangii looked like she really was about to cry, so I hugged Rangii by the waist, plopped her down on my lap, and kissed her on my cheek.
“As if that would happen. All I could think about was how much I wanted to hug you and kiss your cheeks. But there’s something I have to do right now, so I’m really sorry, but wait a little bit longer.”
With sincere feeling, I kissed her other cheek, her forehead, and her ears. Rangii then kissed me on the neck, as if she didn’t want to only be on the receiving end. I hugged Rangii tight and said:
“Just wait a little bit. There’s still something I have to do. Okay?”
“Yep! As your wife and older sister to my new siblings, I will!”
…Siblings?
Something seemed strange, so I was about to ask Rangii about what she said, but Saehee didn’t give me the opportunity.
“System Message. The Young Master’s Obedience Training skill level has increased by 1.”
Don’t make jokes like that.
…Though this joke wasn’t any better.
“”Ubb! Uuuub!!””
Chii and Pyeii were both shackled to the bed. I decided to ignore the fact that there weren’t any actual beds in my house to begin with. Because something like this happened to me before. The difference this time around was that the two of them were tied so that they were facing each other, with Chii on bottom and Pyeii on top. I sighed deeply, lifted one hand into the air, and said:
“The key.”
“You have become accustomed to this, Young Master.”
“My head hurts, so go easy on me.”
“That is not surprising.”
Saehee gave me a cryptic smile, then disappeared. I freed them from their cuffs. Thankfully, I didn’t get smacked across the cheek this time.
“Are you two okay?”
“I am.”
[Yep.]
“I’ll have a word with Saehee about this later, so let’s move on.”
When I said that, Chii and Pyeii clutched each other and flapped and spun their hair respectively.
“There is no need to do that!”
[Signing our death warrants?!]
…What the heck happened while I was unconscious?
“Then it’s time for this.”
Now wasn’t the time for jokes. I pushed forward my conversation with Pyeii so that I would tuck Rangii in on time.
“Pyeii.”
She looked like she had been expecting this.
“What’re you going to do?”
[?]
She made a question mark to show she had no idea what I was talking about, and she scratched her cheek with it.
“Didn’t you think about it while I was passed out? What you’re going to do going forward.”
[Surprised because you asked something so obvious.]
Pyeii held Chii’s hand.
[I’m going to stay with Chii.]
Chii tightened her hand around Pyeii’s as well.
[And Chii’s going to stay with you.]
…What?
[So take care of my breakfast tomorrow as well.]
“Wait. How’d things end up like this?”
[You don’t remember what you said?]
“I do.”
[Then I’m going to nest here.]
…It looked like she was determined to settle down in my house. Since I effectively gave her permission, there was nothing else I could say. To the me who, in the heat of the moment and in terrible pain, said things that I wouldn’t have said if I were in my right mind, I have only this to say: reflect on your actions. I know I said that it was okay to stay the way she was, but I didn’t mean it like this! Darn it! Everything got jumbled up in my head! Also, does she think my house has the tiles to support something like that? A freaking nest?
“Awooo, is that a no?”
I couldn’t let myself be caught in Chii’s anxious gaze. This decision wasn’t up to me alone, but while I was busy worrying about this, Chii appeared to have tapped Pyeii with her foot. This signaled Pyeii to hold hands with Chii, and the two fo them looked up at me.
[I can’t build my nest here?]
…I knew they were manipulating me, but I couldn’t win over them.
“Okay.”
Though my capitulation had different meanings to Chii, Pyeii, and me, they both raised their hands in the air. I elected to deal with this problem later and simply watched contentedly as the two fo them celebrated, when I suddenly remembered something.
“Ah, Pyeii, one thing. Could you give me that adult-turning talisman?”
“Why?”
“I want to use it on Rangii….”
Wait. Why did I suddenly hear that voice? The familiar voice that I’d heard so often over the past ten years.
“And. Just. What. Are. You. Going. To. Do. After. That?”
Chii and Pyeii’s faces paled, and they ran away to the back of the bed. I had to force my body to respond in order to face the one who struck such fear in the kids.
It was Narae, standing there like a furious black bear.
“After I pulled some strings to get Chii and Pyeii into the school, after I got the roof cleaned when the school was in a full panic, and after I rushed here after hearing that you only now woke up, I arrive to hear you say something like that?”
Narae smiled.
“Explain.”
I shouted, my heart-felt emotions deep in every word.
“Narae-nim! I love you! Please spare me!”
“Shut up.”