Chapter 10
From that day on, Ji-woo watched Jin-sung’s every move. There was a passage like this in a fantasy novel ranked thirty-nine: Loyalty means observing every move of one’s superior and ensuring they have no discomfort.
Ji-woo faithfully carried out what he had read. First, claiming the seat next to Jin-sung was naturally the right thing to do.
“What? You always stood at the very back before?”
“Yeah. From now on, I’ll take the lead. It makes sense for the person reading the map to stand at the front.”
“That seems too far forward though. You’ll get in the way during hunts.”
When they went hunting, he squeezed himself into the combat team where Jin-sung was. Despite complaints from people around him, he stubbornly defended his position next to Jin-sung.
He didn’t need to worry about the others who frowned at Ji-woo’s sudden change in attitude. Only Jin-sung’s reaction mattered to Ji-woo.
He didn’t forget to sneak glances upward to observe his stance while wanting to gauge his reaction.
For the first few times, he lacked courage and couldn’t raise his gaze all the way, unable to overcome the limitation of his height, he only observed the lower part of Jin-sung’s face day and night.
‘Even his lower face is handsome. As expected, even psychopathic villains are different when they’re main characters…’
Ji-woo, who had been making useless observations, finally managed to lift his head after several attempts to examine Jin-sung’s eyes.
But at that exact timing, he made direct eye contact with Jin-sung who was looking down at him. Flustered, Ji-woo blinked rapidly and even hiccupped from surprise and fear, heat rising to his face.
He wouldn’t be in a bad mood, right?
Ji-woo, who had lowered his eyelids and squeezed his eyes shut, slightly opened just one eye to peek at Jin-sung again. Fortunately, Jin-sung’s attention was on the monster they were hunting.
Seeing that Jin-sung made no comment despite noticing his approach, Ji-woo began to act more boldly.
Even during combat with monsters, Ji-woo didn’t stray far from Jin-sung’s range. The distance between him and the tank standing at the front to draw aggro was only about five steps. Ji-woo, who was staring at Jin-sung without taking his eyes off him, didn’t even realize his body was too close to the tank.
Thanks to such a foolish mistake, the monster’s aggro that should have stuck to the tank ended up jumping to Ji-woo.
The formation collapsed due to unintentional trolling, and the monster went wild beyond the expected range. It was Jin-sung who finished the hunting ground that had almost become chaos.
After brutally cutting down the monster, he approached where Ji-woo was standing once the urgent situation was resolved.
“What are you doing, fidgeting around in front?”
His deeply furrowed brow and glaring eyes even showed glimpses of murderous intent. Ji-woo found the decent-looking human Jin-sung more frightening than the fallen monster with its hideous appearance.
“Why are you up front when you can’t even fight?”
As Jin-sung pressed and interrogated him, the future that would come unfolded in Ji-woo’s mind. The face of Jin-sung who would cruelly kill people, treating human life like paper.
Of course, even if Ji-woo’s limbs were torn off by Jin-sung, he wouldn’t feel pain due to his passive, but as someone who loved peace, while he might not feel physical pain, he felt mental anguish twice as much as ordinary people. Above all, Ji-woo desperately valued his own life.
Ji-woo stepped closer to the large-bodied tank. If he hid as inconspicuously as possible, wouldn’t Jin-sung’s face looking down at him be blocked?
But stuck in an unavoidable situation, he looked up at Jin-sung as pathetically as possible. Too terrified to control himself, tears naturally gathered in his eyes without him having to pretend. Rather than feeling humiliated about potentially crying as a grown man, he found it fortunate.
Whether Ji-woo’s pitiful act worked, Jin-sung left without saying anything more to the unresponsive Ji-woo.
Having already caused a major incident, he fell back to the rear from the next hunt onward. Still, he didn’t miss Jin-sung’s movements.
The position Ji-woo had briefly occupied and then lost was brazenly taken by Kim Jae-han again, just like before. Ji-woo could only sigh at his own mistake. If Kim Jae-han continued to solidify his position like that, Ji-woo’s chastity would become a leaf on the edge of a cliff.
With an anxious heart, Ji-woo, who had been quietly watching from behind, wanting to reach Jin-sung the second the hunt finished while keeping an eye on everything around him. To make up for the image he had already damaged, he needed to work a bit harder.
To close the distance with Jin-sung, Ji-woo, who had leaped over a distance that should have taken two or three steps, tripped over a tree root with Jin-sung’s back right in front of him.
As his center of gravity tilted forward, Ji-woo reflexively grabbed the sleeve that caught his hand, barely stopping his swaying body and checking the face of the person who had lent him their clothes.
Ah.
Jin-sung turned his head to check Ji-woo’s fingers. At the stretched clothing, Ji-woo smiled awkwardly and relaxed his grip.
“What are you doing?”
“Um… that is, can I walk alongside you…?”
If he said he had accidentally grabbed his clothes because he was afraid of falling, it seemed like his wrist might get cut off. Of course, it was a wild imagination.
“Since the hunt is over now…”
He felt pathetic speaking like a broken robot, but this was the first voluntary conversation with Jin-sung since their first meeting, so it couldn’t be helped.
Even if he orbited around Jin-sung like Earth around the sun, it took courage to strike up a conversation with him. He had planned to gather courage and talk to him after a few more days, but he hadn’t expected to suddenly have a conversation without a plan like this.
Jin-sung didn’t respond to the foolish question.
He’s not thinking of killing me for causing trouble earlier, right?
Jin-sung wasn’t yet—yes, at least not yet—a psychopath who enjoyed murder. He hastily swept away his imagination that had gone beyond appropriate limits, worried that his needless concerns might become reality.
“You sound stupid when you use formal speech, so don’t do it.”
More… gentle than expected?
Contrary to his worries, Jin-sung responded kindly. Since his expectations for Jin-sung had dropped to near the earth’s core, that level of reaction seemed gentle to him.
Moreover, he had given permission to speak casually. Others might wonder what this interpretation was about, but from Ji-woo’s perspective, the signs were good.
At this rate, claiming the right-hand position would only be a matter of time. With a bright smile at Jin-sung’s generosity that felt like a lifeline extension, Ji-woo nodded vigorously and laughed.
Jin-sung, who had been scanning After looking at Ji-woo’s face and comparing it with the other group members, Jin-sung stopped moving for a moment as if thinking about something, staying in the same spot before taking large strides forward.
To win the competition for the right-hand position against Kim Jae-han, he had to faithfully assist Jin-sung. He had failed in hunting, but he couldn’t lose in group life.
Ji-woo didn’t take his eyes off Jin-sung’s movements for even a moment. From watching Jin-sung so much, his fear gradually became familiar. That didn’t mean he let his guard down, but Ji-woo, who maintained only minimal tension, had steadily adapted to his position next to Jin-sung enough to have natural conversations with him.
Time in the forest, where there was almost nothing to do except hunting, was filled with observing and assisting Jin-sung to the point of having no leisure.
For example.
When Jin-sung stopped chewing meat and paused his jaw movement, he immediately offered water as if he had been waiting.
“Jin-sung, water? Do you need water? Want to drink mine? I have some rainwater left that I collected.”
When bedtime approached, he would crawl into the cold floor to warm up a spot with his body temperature and call Jin-sung.
“Jin-sung, I warmed this up with my body heat. Sleep here!”
When he observed him and their eyes met, he would endlessly praise and flatter him.
“Wow, Jin-sung. You don’t even need to drink water. You’re perfect in every way.”
“Gold is my favorite thing in the entire world. Right now, that’s you.”
“Wow, a living sculpture itself. You’ve turned the empire upside down.”
Jin-sung found the various comments embarrassing and would turn his head away whenever he heard Ji-woo’s flattering remarks. Nevertheless, seeing him periodically look back at him, it was definitely a positive reaction.
When hunting started, he would quickly disappear to the back row, but until reaching areas where monsters didn’t appear, he would stick right next to Jin-sung’s side while moving.
When Ji-woo stood next to Jin-sung, Kim Jae-han would shoot him murderous looks, his face burning with rage. Oh yes, now he wasn’t even hiding his emotions.
What? If you don’t like it, try attacking me.
Whether he felt a crisis about losing his position, Kim Jae-han was always heated up whenever he looked at Ji-woo. Seeing Kim Jae-han’s frustration made him feel proud that the process of claiming Jin-sung’s side was going successfully.
When they reached the monster territory, Ji-woo would brush off grass from Jin-sung’s shoulder and offer encouragement.
“You’re always cool, but today you’re cool too, Jin-sung. Fighting!”
At Ji-woo’s words packaged with respectful eyes, Jin-sung made an expression that seemed less bad than usual.
Hair flowing in the wind tickled between Jin-sung’s brows, which bothered Ji-woo, so he unconsciously reached out his hand.
He moved his foot to get one step closer for a comfortable position, but momentarily lost his center and swayed unsteadily.
It was Jin-sung who first reached out to support Ji-woo so he wouldn’t fall.
“Huh? Thanks.”
When he dazedly expressed gratitude for his help and stayed close, Jin-sung looked down at Ji-woo hanging on his right arm for a long time, just like a few days ago.
Blinking with harmless eyes, Jin-sung straightened Ji-woo up and strode forward again. What was different from before was that Ji-woo’s wrist was wrapped in Jin-sung’s hand.
“Just stay near me during hunts too.”
“Me? I’ll get in the way.”
“It doesn’t matter. Do you think I can’t handle having you around?”
Jin-sung, who had spoken bluntly, prepared his stance.
What does this mean? Could this possibly be…
Ji-woo stared intently at the back of Jin-sung’s head as he pointed his sword toward the monster with wide eyes.
Jin-sung, am I your new right-hand man now?
He tried to suppress his rising smile by pressing his lips together, but it wasn’t easy to control.
