Chapter 5
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 5
My eyes squeezed shut.
“G-Go on… read it…”
Eun-ah’s urging prodded at my ears.
“I… I’m sure you’ll like it…”
Her slow, halting tone. Her trembling voice. The speech pattern I’d found so irritating before now felt terrifying.
Dokyun’s eyelids trembled and fluttered open.
His mind, consumed by terror, screamed at him. His survival instinct shrieked that he had to obey her.
The world swam into view. Before him, black letters danced on a sheet of pristine white paper.
Yes, they were dancing.
The letters on the page twisted and writhed, hiding their true forms. He narrowed his eyes, but the shimmering text refused to reveal itself.
In that moment, Dokyun realized why he couldn’t distinguish the words.
Ah…
A tear trickled down his cheek.
His eyes burned. The heat of the moisture tracing a path down his face felt like it was leaving a brand in its wake.
“Oh, oh my…”
Eun-ah’s voice sounded flustered.
“Why… why are you crying…?”
Swoosh—
Her hand came to rest on Dokyun’s face. The cool touch of her fingers wiping away the tears staining his eyes and cheeks did little to quell the heat radiating from his skin.
“There, there… good boy… stop crying now!”
The fingertips brushing against his face were rough and uneven. Her nails were unkempt and jagged, and the tip of one finger, which must have been injured at some point, was covered by a scab that sent a shiver down his spine as it scraped against his skin. The chilling sensation made Dokyun’s gaze drift downward.
“Y-You can’t cry…”
The moisture was wiped away by her fingers.
“I-If you cry, Honeybee… I… I get really sad, too…”
Eun-ah’s voice was now thick with emotion.
As if mimicking his own feelings, her voice was suddenly on the verge of tears.
Dokyun’s gaze fell lower still, past her palm, to where the cuff of her sleeve had ridden up, revealing a sliver of her wrist.
His eyes widened at the sight. The mind that had been mired in terror, shaking uncontrollably, was shocked into sudden clarity.
Flash!
A strangled cry escaped his throat.
“I-I’m fine! I’m fine!”
“Hmm…?”
The tears vanished instantly.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”
“…Yes?”
Words tumbled from his mouth before he could stop them.
“The manuscript! I have to read the manuscript! Yes, let’s read it. Right now…!”
“Oh? Hehe. Okay…”
As if his sudden change in demeanor wasn’t the least bit suspicious, the mention of reading the manuscript made the tearful edge in Eun-ah’s voice disappear in an instant.
“H-Here… I’ll hold it for you… T-Tell me when you’re done reading…?”
The manuscript was thrust before his eyes, but Dokyun couldn’t focus on it.
He replayed what he had just seen.
Scars… Scars from a knife.
The distinct marks of a blade, the unmistakable signs of self-harm, ran across her wrist. At the very top was a red wound, still raw and unhealed, that looked relatively recent.
The moment he saw the signs of self-harm, a cold wave washed over him. Reason screamed at him that he could not show her any more tears.
His survival instinct clawed its way through the fog of terror, jolting his mind awake.
To Dokyun, the scars racing across her wrist were a clear warning: I could snap and hurt you at any moment.
Gulp.
He swallowed dryly.
His mind was consumed by a single thought: he had to do as she said. He couldn’t read the words, but he had to make her think he was reading. He forced his eyes to dart back and forth, scanning the page.
After what felt to him like a minute or two, Dokyun took a short breath and a single phrase popped out of his mouth.
“Next page, please.”
Flip.
The page turned. Thankfully, she seemed to believe he was reading.
Just like this…
If he could just keep this up, he might be able to get through this moment.
“Next page.”
“Next page, please.”
“Next.”
One page, two, three. With every turn, the tension eased slightly.
As long as he was reading her manuscript like this, she wouldn’t do anything to harm him. At that thought, his heart, which had been pounding madly against his ribs, slowly began to find its rhythm again.
Just then.
“Next page, please.”
“…Honeybee.”
He flinched.
A cold voice. The hand that had been mechanically turning the pages was now still. The breath that had been tickling his neck felt a little harsher.
Dokyun turned his head to look at her. Her expression was laced with a chilling coldness. Her eyes held a gloomy glint. She’s about to have another fit. Dokyun’s mind raced, his thoughts accelerating.
What is it? What did I miss this time?
While pretending to read, he had maintained a consistent pattern, moving his eyes and only speaking to ask her to turn the page. He had done nothing but that from the very beginning. There was nothing else. Tension coiled in his body once more.
“…Yes?” he asked, his voice trembling. He met her gaze, forcing his tone to be as gentle as possible. She stared back, her glistening eyes fixed on him as she spoke.
“You are reading it properly, right?”
She was suspicious that he was just skimming.
Perceptive bitch…!
Her insight was terrifying. But he couldn’t let it show. Dokyun forced the corners of his mouth into a smile and answered her.
“Of course I’m reading it properly. The, uh, the part where they’re escaping from the bug queen is really tense and well-written.”
Dokyun forced himself to look at the unreadable manuscript, dredging up a few sentences he’d managed to catch to form an excuse. Staring at him, Eun-ah furrowed her brow as if something displeased her and began to shake her head.
“Nooo… no, you’re not… You’re not looking at it properly…”
“I was.”
Her voice grew louder, until it became a scream that battered his eardrums.
“NO, YOU’RE NOOOOT!!!!!”
Thwack!
In a sudden fit, Eun-ah slammed the hand holding the manuscript into Dokyun’s solar plexus.
“Ugh!”
The air was knocked from his lungs.
“Ghk… Hkk…”
Tears welled up in his eyes again. As Dokyun gasped, struggling against the sudden wave of pain, Eun-ah’s voice lashed his ears.
“You’re not looking… You’re not looking at it…!!!”
“I’m sorry… I’m sorr—Hk…”
Eun-ah pressed the manuscript she’d struck him with firmly against his solar plexus, glaring at him.
“Th-This is your punishment… for not reading it properly…”
Her face contorted in a grimace as she spoke, twisting the bundle of paper in her hand and grinding it into his chest. His breath hitched, constricted. The pressure on his solar plexus and the sound of her ragged breathing beside him combined to torment his body and mind.
“I’ll… I’ll read it… huff… properly… I will!!!”
Even in his frantic state, Dokyun managed to squeeze out the words, practically begging her.
Thump.
Suddenly, the pressure ceased. Feeling his breathing ease slightly, Dokyun gasped for air, desperately trying to replenish his oxygen.
“I… I don’t believe you…”
Her voice was a low drawl. When Dokyun turned his gaze to her, she was glaring at him with a pouting expression. Another emotional switch.
She stared at him for a long moment. Then, as if a brilliant idea had struck her, her eyes widened and the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile.
“Ah…!”
Heehee.
It was a laugh tinged with a hint of delight.
“Th-Then this will work~!”
“What will?”
A wave of anxiety washed over him, wondering what kind of bizarre new torment she was about to inflict. As Dokyun watched her with eyes full of dread, she looked back at him, a smile still playing on her lips, and said:
“R-Read it out loud for me!”
“…What?”
Did I hear that right?
“S-So I can tell… that you’re reading… p-please read it out loud…!”
Fuck…
And just like that, it was a dramatic reading. He looked at her. Her eyes were sparkling with anticipation. If he refused, he knew those eyes would instantly transform, the smile vanishing to be replaced by a glint of madness.
He had no choice. Refusal was not an option.
A wave of exhaustion washed over him. All he could do was obey. Dokyun’s head moved up and down in a stiff, creaking nod.
“Okay…”
“Hehe…”
A satisfied laugh escaped Eun-ah’s lips. Dokyun looked at the manuscript. The first page. It seemed he had to start all over again.
Finally, with a sense of resignation, Dokyun’s mouth opened.
“It was a bug the size of a large building…”
*
Eun-ah watched Dokyun as he read the text aloud. His sharp, monolid eyes; his nose, rising in a smooth line; his lips, moving slightly as he read the words.
I… I like it…
His features were sharp and striking. At first glance, he might seem fierce, but she knew the warm heart that lay beneath that impression.
Those sharp, fierce eyes would soften as they read her words. A smile would play on his lips, and with those hands, he had written warm words for her, and for her alone.
It was utterly satisfying.
When she first went to meet him, hiding under his bed and watching him, she thought her heart would stop from the tension. He didn’t have the kind, smiling face she had imagined; he looked scary. But in that moment, she remembered the warm words he had written for her, and his fierce face no longer seemed frightening.
“Hera, I have to save the people.”
His low voice, reading the line of dialogue, seemed to resonate deep inside her chest.
Thump-thump—.
Her heart pounded.
Oh no… what if he hears it?
Heat rose to her face. How embarrassing.
Wasn’t bringing him here the best decision of her life? A wave of pride and self-satisfaction washed over her.
This was so good.
She would never let him go. Together, the rest of their lives would be filled with profound fulfillment. They would be together forever.
Maybe because they didn’t know each other well yet, or maybe because it was their first meeting, he was making a few mistakes, but if she taught him slowly, he would make fewer of them.
Well… no one is perfect from the start.
He must have been contaminated by the bugs for too long. She had to guide him, scold him, and help him come to his senses quickly.
Eun-ah trembled with profound satisfaction and fulfillment as she watched him.
“Run.”
Just then, she noticed a part he had skipped over without reading.
Poke.
She gently jabbed his side to give him a signal. Dokyun’s gaze shifted to her. His eyes were trembling slightly, his lips forming a strange shape. He didn’t seem to know what he’d done wrong.
Ah! He must have missed it because he’s nervous!
The way he was gulping seemed to confirm he was tense. He must be a very shy person.
Cute…
Eun-ah thought to herself, then spoke to him with a smiling face.
“H-Here! You skipped… skipped this part!”
“Here…?”
“Yes!”
The bug queen’s shriek. It was the part describing the cry of the enraged queen as she watched the protagonist’s party escape.
“Aha…”
His lips seemed to twitch for a moment. Then, he began to read that part.
“Kie… KIEEEEEK~! KIAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!”
“Hehe…”
Wonderful.