Ongoing Story
It was already two in the morning, but I couldn’t sleep. Because patting Rangii and Baduk, who were sleeping on either side of me, was too enjoyable. Narae, who took command of my household once again now that Rangii was back, fortunately gave me permission to sleep with Rangii just for tonight. I patted Rangii’s head as she dozed, her body leaning against my own, and I waited for my final visitor of the night to approach.
“You have waited a long time for the Master to fall asleep.”
“That’s because we have something to talk about.”
“Are you referring to Nyangii-nim?”
“…Is that really her name?”
Saehee nodded her head. Yet I still wanted to call her Smoky. I mean, Nyangii? That’s so weird. (tn: Nyangii is a colloquial term for cat in Korean.)
“Moving on.”
I browsed through everything I’d thought about while I was lying awake. Why did Pyeii wait until after Rangii left to come to me? Why did Saehee tell Chii not to come to Jirisan? Why did the owner of the Phantomnet site send Pyeii that talisman? Why did Saehee go to the trouble of sending me that message through her doll? I combined all those questions into one and asked Saehee:
“Is she the mysterious phantom you were talking about?”
That would explain everything. That would mean Pyeii didn’t approach me when Rangii left, but that Rangii happened to leave when Pyeii decided to approach me. I wasn’t sure if Saehee knew that Pyeii would come to my house, but she likely made preparations in case she did. Maybe using the smile I saw on her face back when Nyangii summoned Rangii is weak evidence, but for someone like her, even this little bit was plenty. Most of all, though, was the fact that she told me through the doll that my first time belonged to Rangii. Pyeii trying to join the Phantomnet was probably just a coincidence. However, I doubted it was a coincidence that Nyangii sent Pyeii that talisman.
“A stopped clock struck true.”
It looked like my thinking was correct. Nyangii was probably aiming for something like this. She called Rangii to her. In the time that Rangii was gone, Pyeii and Chii would visit me. And then I’d do it with Pyeii. Which would result in Rangii being disappointed in me. In the event of failure, Nyangii just had to take a more direct approach, like she did earlier. That talisman. I didn’t think she burned the talisman just to cause me a few second’s discomfort. Right now, that was the most important topic.
“Then about that talisman she burned….”
Saehee put a finger to her lips.
That look didn’t suit her at all.
“You will figure that out for yourself tomorrow, Young Master.”
“Meaning?”
“I cannot answer.”
“Why not?”
“I also cannot answer.”
I got a little annoyed.
“Didn’t you say you’d devote your body and mind to me?”
“Can you not trust me?”
“Look back on everything you’ve done to me since we met and ask me that again.”
“Then I shall present you with proof. In exchange, however, please do not question me further until tomorrow morning.”
Before I could say anything, Saehee kneeled in front of me, bent forward, and went under the covers. Only her butt was visible. Saehee grabbed my foot before I could jump out of the blanket in surprise. When I looked under the covers, Saehee was leaning over Rangii and Baduk’s sleeping forms and licked her lips, her mouth only inches from my foot. I immediately said:
“Stop!”
Just what was she trying to do, not even a foot away from Rangii?! Saehee looked up at me, and her eyes crinkled in a smile.
“Do you read Chicken Mayo, Young Master? Ah, I got it backwards.” (tn: Reference to the manga, Mayo Chiki.)
At this point, I was so accustomed to Saehee’s random tangents that I didn’t even pause. Though I wasn’t sure what she meant by getting the name backwards, since Chicken Mayo is the correct name for the food.
“Don’t do weird things like that.”
I sighed.
“Do you not want to answer my question so bad that you’d rather do something like this?”
“I am unable to answer.”
“Why?”
Saehee patted Rangii on the cheek.
“Even I have a line I will not cross, Young Master. Having you act even more like my puppet would not bring about happiness for the Master.”
I raised both my hands in surrender and stopped questioning Saehee.
“I pray you have sweet dreams.”
As Saehee said, I fell into a deep sleep.