Chapter 52
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52
A hot flush of anger rushed to his head.
“Can’t you hear your princess? I told you to make something else.”
The moment she sat down, she started complaining about the food. She was acting like an absolute queen.
If his hands hadn’t been gripping the chair for dear life, a heavy flick would have already landed squarely on the top of her round little head.
Dokyun felt his teeth grind together. He forcefully suppressed his anger and posed a question.
“Hahaha…! Then what would Her Highness like to eat?”
His voice was strained. Hearing it, she let out a deep sigh and retorted.
“Hmph, does the princess have to teach you every little thing? Just figure it out and bring it to me!” she snapped.
Fucking hell.
His anger flared up again, but showing it now would be the move of an amateur.
Dokyun scraped together every last shred of his patience, plastered on another smile, and asked, “How about some ramen, then?”
“Fine. Make it.”
He could see the corners of her mouth curl up in a smug grin. That meant she was pleased.
It seemed this particular princess had rather cheap tastes.
Dokyun gave a small nod at her approval and headed for the kitchen shelves.
He opened a cabinet and was scanning the selection of instant noodles when a thought struck him. He poked his head back out toward the dining table and asked the girl, who had been stealing glances at him.
“What kind of ramen would you like? Jinsun? Or the spicy one?”
Hearing his question, her face instantly crumpled into a frown. Her reply was laced with irritation.
“It’s jjajang ramen, obviously!”
“Ah…?”
The veins on the back of his hand bulged again.
He had no idea what was so “obvious” about it, but he was now certain of one thing: she had the palate of a child.
With a sigh, Dokyun found the package of jjajang ramen hidden in the farthest corner of the shelf and took it out.
He then gathered the rest of the tools he needed, put a pot of water on to boil, and began to reflect on her behavior.
Her actions so far allowed him to deduce one crucial fact.
Each personality has different preferences.
It was a rather useful piece of information.
He had assumed that since they all shared the same body, their sense of taste would be similar. But contrary to his expectations, the personalities that had appeared so far each had distinctly different food preferences.
Is it limited to just taste? What about their senses or perception of pain?
He tried to recall the events of three days ago, the memory already starting to fade.
Go Eun-chae had dug her nails into her own wrist without showing the slightest sign of pain.
Until now, he’d thought it was because that body was simply dull to pain. But considering how this self-proclaimed princess had reacted after bumping her head, that didn’t seem to be the case.
Do the personalities experience physical sensations differently?
He continued to ponder it, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t make sense of it.
Ugh… I should have looked this up at the cafe.
A belated wave of regret washed over him. He should have searched for it online when he was alone, but that ship had already sailed.
Just then, seeing Dokyun lost in thought and staring blankly, the girl placed the back of her hand on her forehead and urged him on again.
“Don’t just stand there spacing out, hurry up! The princess is going to collapse from hunger.”
Her tone was sharp and demanding.
Dokyun finally snapped out of it and spoke to her in an awkward voice.
“Oh, my apologies.”
It was a half-hearted apology.
Perhaps his attitude displeased her. She shot him a sulky look, then abruptly lowered her head and began to mumble under her breath.
“Hmph… Sister…”
Hearing her muttering, Dokyun feared she was about to burst into tears again. He looked at her in alarm, but then he saw her peeking at him through her teary eyes and realized exactly what this act was for.
Ha.
The situation was absurd.
She was probing his weakness, testing his limits.
A cry of lamentation echoed in his mind.
That… that cunning little bitch!
As expected, the theory of innate evil was correct.
The moment this young personality sensed his weakness, she was trying to grab the leash.
He felt like he was going to cry.
How could every single one of these personalities be so damn cunning? His stomach churned with frustration.
But he couldn’t let it show. If this one tattled to Eun-seol about what happened today, his dignity would be shattered into a million pieces.
Unable to reveal his churning insides, Dokyun simply soothed the girl with her head hung low and continued cooking.
A short while later, Dokyun, having cooked a rather appetizing bowl of ramen, transferred it to a plate and set it on the table.
The girl, who had been glaring at him with petulant eyes, brightened up slightly at the sight of the ramen. She cleared her throat and picked up her chopsticks.
“Hmph. Well, it looks decent enough.”
She was utterly incapable of saying a single nice thing.
As Dokyun felt another surge of anger at her words, she began clumsily lifting the noodles to her mouth.
She kicked her feet back and forth, her mouth munching away happily.
She looked exactly like a child.
Watching her, Dokyun was overcome by a sudden wave of exhaustion and let out a hollow laugh.
Right, what am I even doing, fighting with a kid?
He didn’t know how long this personality had existed, but her words and actions were no different from those of a small child.
As Dokyun trembled with shame at the thought of having engaged in a power struggle with that, the girl, who had already cleaned her plate, looked up.
“Well, it was edible, I guess.”
She delivered her review while turning her head away slightly.
Honestly, she just couldn’t say anything nicely.
Dokyun let out another hollow laugh. He pulled a napkin from the dispenser, wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth, and asked, “So, what’s your name, Princess?”
Come to think of it, he hadn’t even asked for her name yet. They would likely be seeing a lot of each other, so he needed to gather some information about her.
As Dokyun asked the question, she stared for a moment at the hand wiping her mouth, then glared at him and snapped.
“A princess is a princess! You don’t even know that?”
Throb.
The exhaustion that had enveloped his body vanished, replaced by a familiar anger.
He felt a curse about to fly out of his mouth, but he swallowed it down, forcing himself to stay calm.
No, calm down. Be patient, Dokyun.
She’s a child.
She’s on the same level as his six-year-old cousin.
Suppressing his anger with that thought, Dokyun forced a smile and said, “Well, since your family name is Go, you must be Princess Go, right? Hah-hat!”
“…”
Silence followed.
Feeling awkward in the heavy atmosphere, Dokyun glanced at her, only to see her staring back at him with a look of utter contempt.
“…You reek of ‘old man’.”
He flinched.
Her words stabbed into his heart like a dagger.
Was he getting old? He thought it was a pretty funny line, but apparently, it was a total dud.
Still, though.
Did she really have to say something so harsh? A sudden sense of resentment welled up inside him, and he glared at her, feeling wronged.
As if oblivious to his gaze, she simply ignored him, sipping the orange juice in her glass.
After a moment of awkward silence, she finished her juice, stood up from her seat, and announced, “The princess is full. Clean this up.”
Squeeze—!
His fists clenched again.
Can’t I just hit her once?
Aren’t kids supposed to be disciplined a little as they grow up?
The thought that perhaps this was the moment he needed to step up for the sake of this personality’s proper development crossed his mind. He glared intensely at the back of her head as she walked toward the living room, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
Dealing with her was making him feel childish, too, and the exhaustion was setting in again.
Right, she’s just a kid.
At most, she was an elementary schooler. He had to be the one to endure.
With that thought, Dokyun began clearing the table, repeating a vow to himself.
Just bear with it. She won’t be around for long.
Eun-seol had said other personalities would come out. The healing period for her wrist was a week. Since others were supposed to appear, this one would be gone by tomorrow or the day after, at the latest.
I can do this…!
He could endure it.
Dokyun coached himself as he started washing the dishes.
*
Unfortunately, Dokyun’s resolve didn’t even last half a day.
During his shower.
“Princess needs shampoo.”
After the shower.
“Dry the princess’s hair.”
After they went to the living room.
“The princess is peckish. Get me a snack.”
And even after that.
“Princess wants a massage.”
She began ordering him around as if it were the most natural thing in the world, lording her power over him.
And whenever Dokyun’s face crumpled even slightly from his boiling anger…
“Hmph… Sister…”
She would immediately start sniffling, peeking at him from the corner of her eye.
She was cunning. So incredibly cunning.
This was a venomous little snake who knew how to exploit her weapons to a terrifying degree.
On the living room sofa.
Dokyun, who was massaging her shoulders as instructed, was trying to suppress his rage, his own shoulders heaving.
“Isss it g-good?”
He tried to ask if it felt good, but his teeth were clenched so tightly he couldn’t pronounce the words properly.
Whether she failed to notice his mood or was simply enjoying it, she paid his state no mind whatsoever and replied, “Keep going. The princess can’t tell yet.”
Grind—.
His teeth were about to be ground into dust.
It looked like the five hundred million won he’d received as an advance would be going toward dental implants.
As Dokyun’s mind reeled, the massage ended and his hands fell away. She let out a sigh and spoke again.
“Hmph… You can’t even give a proper massage. You’re fired as the princess’s servant.”
That was what she said after working him to the bone.
Snap—.
Something inside his head broke.
Dokyun felt his thoughts scatter as he slowly rose from the sofa.
“Hey.”
His voice was a low growl.
Sensing that something was wrong, she flinched and slowly turned her head toward him.
He didn’t know what kind of expression he was making, but seeing the color drain from her face, he figured it must be quite menacing. He’d always been told he had a rough-looking face, so he was probably making a truly hideous expression right now.
He glared at her for a moment. She shrank back slightly and tried to snap at him.
“Wh-what is it?! Are you bullying the princess now?!”
She puffed out her chest, trying not to show she was scared, but it was just pathetic.
Dokyun gave her a look of disbelief and finally spoke.
“I’ve played along once or twice, but don’t you think you should know when to stop?”
She flinched, her body jolting.
Immediately, he saw her eyes begin to well up with moisture.
Even as his reason evaporated, Dokyun’s gaze remained sharp.
Not a chance.
He wasn’t going to fall for it again.
Just as a sob was about to escape her lips, Dokyun quickly threw himself onto the floor.
He let his mind expand.
He dredged up every sad memory from his entire life and played them back in his head.
He remembered the SSR Blue-Eyes White Dragon card stolen by the neighborhood bully.
He remembered the day of his circumcision, when he’d followed someone who promised to buy him pork cutlet, only to experience true despair.
He remembered being rejected by his first love in high school.
Sorrow, resentment, and bitterness welled up inside him.
Moisture filled his eyes.
Ah, now was the time.
Whoever cries first, wins.
As if this were his last moment on earth, Dokyun unleashed the anguish rising from the depths of his soul.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!”
“Wh-what the!”
“Huuuuuuuhhhhh!!!!!”
“I asked what you’re doing!”
As Dokyun rolled around on the floor, wailing, the girl, who had been on the verge of tears herself, was thrown into a panic by the sudden turn of events and began to scold him.
He peeked through a slit in his eyes and saw her face, her eyes wide with confusion as she flailed about.
“D-don’t cry! You’re being loud for the princess!”
She was spouting words without even knowing what she was saying.
Ah, it was so cathartic.
As expected, the one who cries first wins.
Drunk on the thrill of victory surging through him, Dokyun began to cry even louder.
“Hwaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!”
“Heyyy!!!”
A piercing scream.
Dokyun paid it no mind and wailed even more pitifully.
Even through his sobs, he could hear her panicked words. He felt her little fists thumping against him when words failed her. And just as she slumped down beside him, her own whimpering growing more intense…
Suddenly, her reaction stopped.
He was sure he had won, but just as he was about to unleash an even mightier wail to seal his victory, a voice made his entire body freeze.
“…What are you doing.”
He froze.
Something was wrong.
The voice was low and steady.
A very familiar tone.
He knew exactly what that tone meant.
A wave of crisis, shame, and humiliation washed over him. Finally, Dokyun peeked his eyes open, and what he saw was…
“…Eun-seol?”
It was Eun-seol, looking down at him with desolate eyes steeped in contempt.
“…”
“Fucking idiot.”
Hearing the curse, his hand rose to cover his face of its own accord.
He wanted to die.