Chapter 12
I’d even sold my soul to claim the seat next to Jin-sung, so putting on a puppet show wasn’t exactly difficult.
One thing puzzled me though…why were both Kim Jae-han and Jin-sung acting this way toward me, a guy? Sure, “Majuk” was set in a fantasy world, but since the readership was mostly male, it naturally featured heterosexual relationships.
Of course, even I acknowledged that I was pretty good-looking for a guy, but I’d never once been confessed to by a man in real life. Having two dark-haired bastards showing interest in me was weirdly uncomfortable.
What made it even more pathetic was that this “interest” came from one who wanted me as a doll for his puppet show, and another whose twisted desire had nothing to do with affection—just wanting to satisfy his lust.
Either way, solving the current situation was my top priority, so I didn’t delay any further.
Ji-woo established his approach to Jin-sung as a doll.
Right, if I’m going to be a doll, shouldn’t I act cute and charming?
“Jin-sung~ Can’t you just let Kim Jae-han slide? Please?”
I’d said it with great ambition, but unfortunately, Ji-woo had no friends, was a lifelong single, and had even less experience with women. All I knew were the childish, exaggerated acts of aegyo (cute behavior) I’d seen in media.
With my face burning red, the reaction came immediately.
Unlike his eyes that quietly watched me, Jin-sung’s foot pressed down harder, and Kim Jae-han’s weakening struggles started up again with renewed agony.
Kim Jae-han’s face turned blue, which startled me, but more than anything, the humiliation of having my first-ever attempt at such behavior brutally crushed made me lose it and scream my convictions. Though I immediately regretted my actions.
“Well, it’s your fault for going out alone from the start! If you’d taken me with you, this wouldn’t have happened! This is partly your fault too!”
The words left my mouth before going through my brain.
I should be appeasing Jin-sung, not pointing out his mistakes like an idiot. The content wasn’t even that logical. What kind of “save someone from drowning then demand their bundle” nonsense was this?
When Jin-sung stared down at me silently, I got scared and fluttered around trying to fix things.
“I mean! What I’m saying is… I missed you that much…”
Unlike Ji-woo’s anxious fretting, Jin-sung seemed to have lost the energy to be angry at such an absurd statement and actually chuckled.
“Just a few hours apart. How ridiculous.”
Jin-sung moved his foot from Kim Jae-han’s throat down to his chest, stepping on it firmly as he answered.
Jin-sung’s expression had definitely softened. Even though he was casually trampling Kim Jae-han’s body for entertainment, at least his foot didn’t go back up to his throat.
After the Kim Jae-han incident, no one bothered Ji-woo. Far from bothering him, not even a single person gave him a casual glare.
Kim Jae-han went without saying. The moment he saw Ji-woo, he’d avert his eyes and shrink away, trying his best to stay as far from Ji-woo and Jin-sung as possible.
After getting a taste of Jin-sung’s murderous attitude, Ji-woo once again carved the psychological distance he’d been trying to get used to with Jin-sung.
“Jin-sung, I really think you’re the coolest.”
Regardless of the psychological distance, his physical actions fulfilled what Jin-sung wanted. For safe survival, he obediently smiled and hovered around Jin-sung.
Fortunately, no matter how much Ji-woo acted cute, Jin-sung didn’t see him as an emotional or sexual target but purely in the role of a doll, he never attempted constant physical contact like Kim Jae-han did.
That brought Ji-woo emotional peace. As for playing doll, well, here in the Forest of Trials, among these grimy guys who couldn’t even wash, Ji-woo looked whiter and prettier, but once they mixed into the proper Empire, Jin-sung would probably fall for women rather than a guy like him.
Once we get out of the Forest of Trials, he’ll probably fall for some prettier girls than me.
Jin-sung wasn’t originally written to like men anyway. While Jin-sung’s romance never appeared in the original work, at least there was never any mention of him liking men.
It was while Ji-woo was reciting directions with Jin-sung beside him.
“Huh?”
Behind the murmuring group’s reaction appeared a survivor group similar to Ji-woo’s group. The group of four or five people also seemed to have spotted Jin-sung’s party and approached without caution, closing the distance.
Facing the approaching party head-on, Ji-woo didn’t forget his habitual status window check when meeting strangers for the first time.
Kim Su-yeon [Class: None] (Alignment: Good)
HP 1402/1500, MP 300/300
Stats — Strength 29, Agility 28, Stamina 30, Intelligence 15, Magic 30, Luck 10 [Total Stats: 142]
Skills — Wind Blade (Rare)
Likes — Family, friends, loyalty, altruism
Dislikes — Discrimination, irrationality, selfishness
Among the four or five people, the leader of the opposing group was definitely eye-catching. Ji-woo glanced at the man from the other side without letting Jin-sung notice, gauging the future.
Wouldn’t my safety be more hopeful if I joined up with them?
Where did such a person come from? This unknown human’s stat numbers were impressively high.
According to Ji-woo’s information, Jin-sung’s level of stats was among the highest among the summoned Earth people. Even accounting for unknown settings, he’d be in the top three, but both that thief from before and this Kim Su-yeon had stats nearly on par with Jin-sung.
On top of that, this man already had skills unlocked. While stat differences played an important role in combat, having skills was equally crucial. It was why even Empire natives with higher stats couldn’t beat awakeners with skills.
Therefore, if Kim Su-yeon and Jin-sung fought, there was a real possibility Kim Su-yeon could win.
Kim Su-yeon even had a Good alignment on top of his abilities.
Except for Jin-sung, no one in Jin-sung’s group had an alignment beyond neutral, even that Kim Jae-han was described as neutral. Alignments of “Good” and “Evil” were results you couldn’t get without extreme inclination. There was a reason Ji-woo had immediately lowered his guard after seeing Herba’s alignment on his first day of possession.
“How nice to find another group of survivors.”
Kim Su-yeon stepped into Jin-sung’s range with a pleasant smile.
“Hello, I’m Kim Su-yeon.”
Even when the good-natured Kim Su-yeon extended his hand, Jin-sung didn’t take it. He just stared at him with a sullen expression.
As the silence stretched, Ji-woo, not wanting to miss this opportunity, showed himself from behind Jin-sung’s body and took Kim Su-yeon’s hand in response.
“We’re glad to meet you too! We never thought we’d encounter other people like this. I’m Han Ji-woo and this is Jin-sung!”
Ji-woo, who had been smiling brightly, noticed Jin-sung’s sharp gaze growing thin and cold, and quickly trembled as he let go of their clasped hands.
Did I cross a line? Belatedly grabbing the thread of tension, Ji-woo stepped back and stood obediently behind Jin-sung.
“Ah… how many people do you have?”
Su-yeon, who had barely managed to withdraw his gaze from the retreating Ji-woo, directed his question to Jin-sung, but still got nothing but silent non-response.
“If it’s alright with you, would you like to join our group? We’ve already set up a decent shelter. We’re prepared to continuously accept survivors, so even if you have a fair number of people, we can accommodate you sufficiently.”
Kim Su-yeon’s personality didn’t seem weak despite his alignment, as he persistently spoke up despite the continued one-sided ignoring. Instead, this time he changed targets, focusing on Ji-woo who stood a step back.
Under the clear gaze, Ji-woo glanced at the back of Jin-sung’s head and hesitantly answered.
“…We have about thirty people… but joining up…”
As he continued speaking while reading Jin-sung’s mood, Jin-sung was clearly showing his displeasure.
“Jin-sung, what do you think…?”
Ji-woo deeply hoped he’d give a positive answer, but the response wasn’t much different from his expression.
“No.”
“…That’s what he says!”
When Jin-sung frowned even more, Ji-woo didn’t push further and relayed it to Kim Su-yeon as is. It was a very disappointing situation, but if he acted up any more here, he felt like his head would be cut off immediately.
“Is there a reason? We’ve already formed a camp, so it would be much more comfortable for living. We even have some convenience facilities like toilets.”
Even with the firm answer, Kim Su-yeon was persistent, and Ji-woo found that quite appealing.
“Wow.”
When Ji-woo opened his mouth and gathered his soul to express wordless interest with admiration, Jin-sung, who hadn’t erased the wrinkles above his brow, slowly looked down at Ji-woo. His movement was so slow and subtle that the time it took for his eyes to move felt like eons.
“What, why?”
Was even admiration displeasing? Getting scared preemptively, Ji-woo grabbed the fluttering hem of Jin-sung’s left sleeve while making an awkward but not-awkward-looking smile.
“Do you want to go?”
“No!”
Treating Jin-sung’s question as a kind of test, Ji-woo immediately spat out an instant answer without a moment to breathe. Still feeling it wasn’t enough, he added words that Jin-sung would like.
“As long as I’m with you, Jin-sung, anywhere is fine!”
Whether Ji-woo’s flattery worked, the rigidly hardened muscles in Jin-sung’s face visibly relaxed.
Ji-woo, restarting his stopped respiratory system, carefully let out a quiet breath.
I almost died young from unnecessary greed. Let’s just endure for two months.
Just as Ji-woo was folding away his thoughts about joining the new group and finding peace, an unexpected voice came from Jin-sung’s mouth.
“Let’s join up.”
“Huh?”
“We’re joining.”
Jin-sung’s gaze looking down at him seemed somehow a little warmer, so Ji-woo awkwardly nodded his head.