Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Episode 36. Finding Dreams (3)
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Even a Green Dragon couldn't be omniscient. That was Yoo Ji-tae's conclusion. If Bom had known even a little more about him in detail, she wouldn't have said something like that. And that was the problem. Bom didn't know much about what kind of person he was.
He had never once explained his darker side to the kids. There was no reason to. To create a better daily life. To make happier memories for the dragons. It was better if they didn't know what kind of life he had lived as a human.
For a regressor, it was enough if the dragons were happy. Getting too close beyond necessity wasn't something he desired. He had never wanted to get close. Naturally, he had never tried to look good either.
He had simply shared daily life together because there had been a cycle where ignorance of it led to destruction.
"......"
So he didn't welcome this situation.
He just wanted to be seen as a bodyguard sticking by a celebrity's side. Nothing more.
Now, did she think of him as real family?
"So. No more beating around the bush, okay?"
"......"
"Alright, now prove it."
Bom stood up and approached him.
At arm's reach, she lowered her head to meet his eyes, then slyly looked away.
She placed both hands on her waist. Over the boxy fit of her sweatshirt.
"Prove what."
"You know, like I said earlier. Do the dongga-dongga."
She grabbed the back of her sweatshirt and pulled it taut. The loose fabric clung perfectly to her waistline.
The curve from her ribs followed her slim waist down to her hips was revealed perfectly.
By the time their eyes met again, there was no tension or hesitation in Bom's gaze. Completely different from when he had brought his hand close earlier.
Why had she seemed reluctant before? Why was she fine with it now? The regressor couldn't understand the delicate, subtle emotions of the baby dragon.
"Yeah?"
But even if daily life felt awkward and their relationship was unfamiliar to Yoo Ji-tae. He knew for sure now. Bom wanted him to be troubled.
And she wasn't wrong in her thinking. He was starting to feel a bit troubled, little by little.
"Yeah...?"
Bom took another step closer. Yoo Ji-tae was looking at her face. It was expressionless, as always.
But no fitting words or actions came to mind for the situation. He just stayed silent.
So Bom took another step forward.
"Come on already......"
As Bom came right up to his nose, Yoo Ji-tae slyly turned his head away from her stomach.
And from that tiny movement, Bom clearly realized just how troubled Yoo Ji-tae was.
"Not gonna do it?"
Bom suppressed a laugh that threatened to burst out. Then she inched even closer and lightly bumped her stomach against Yoo Ji-tae's head.
Yoo Ji-tae pulled his head away and looked up at Bom.
So Bom could no longer hold it in.
"Kyaa...!"
Releasing her hands from her waist, Bom burst into laughter. She laughed so hard she lost her balance and flopped into the terrace corner. "Aang— hack...! Kyahaha!" She clutched her stomach, gasping for breath. Laughing uncontrollably, she kicked her feet wildly.
He let out a sigh and shook his head.
After laughing for a good while, Bom finally panted, "Huff, huff......"
He decided to ask once today.
"Why are you laughing so hard."
Bom wiped the beaded tears from her eyes and lifted her head.
"It's funny. Seeing you embarrassed, ajusshi."
"I've never been embarrassed."
"Yeah. Sure."
"...So why is that funny."
"Obviously. Who in this world could embarrass you, ajusshi?"
A cool spring breeze blew across the terrace. Her grass-colored hair swayed. Bom smiled brightly.
"No one but me."
A fish and a rabbit sat plumply on the table.
Bom asked.
"How was it?"
"That's what I want to ask."
"It was just okay for me."
As in past cycles, the sculpture was a failure too.
If she were an ordinary human, he wouldn't have jumped to conclusions after one try. But she was a dragon. Dragons' thoughts or values rarely changed.
"You made them well."
"Just... even looking at the finished sculptures doesn't make me feel any affection for them."
Bom extended a finger and gently pushed the rabbit statue she had painstakingly made. The rabbit toppled over.
Painting, sculpture, novel.
Among them, the reason for failing at sculpture was 'no affection for the finished piece.'
"......"
Something felt off bit by bit. Painting was 'didn't want to just draw it pretty.' Sculpture was 'no affection for the piece.' None of them had big reasons.
"What's next?"
For some reason, the next one would probably be the same.
But he decided to give it a try anyway.
"A novel. Want to try writing one?"
"A novel?"
Bom thought it over ponderously, then her expression brightened noticeably.
"Sounds good?"
Surprised, he asked.
"Have you ever thought about writing a novel before?"
"Yeah. When I was really little. I'd sneak out of the lair to play without the adults knowing, and I'd see ghost-like things a lot."
"Yeah?"
"It was so fascinating back then. I thought maybe I could write a novel based on those experiences."
"So what genre would that be."
"Hm... horror?"
Green Dragon and horror? Could there be a more mismatched combo?
Anyway, she looked happy about it.
If it was horror, it probably had something to do with the influences she'd experienced living with Yoo Ji-tae. There had been a few horrific situations when facing mana users.
Because of that, if there had been some change in her mindset, she might be able to write a novel this cycle that she couldn't in cycle 6.
"Alright. Give it a shot."
"Okay. What about you, ajusshi?"
The regressor shook his head. Unlike painting or sculpting, a novel wasn't something to do together.
"This time, do it alone."
"Okay."
Bom nodded readily.
After that day, Bom carried her hologram device everywhere, typing away in the living room or her room.
Then she even procured big round glasses from somewhere.
"This makes me look like a novelist. Do I suit them?"
He didn't know the criteria for suiting, but what wouldn't suit her. He nodded vaguely.
Unlike painting or sculpting, where she lost interest after a day, with the novel she was serious.
Of course, her truancy didn't end. She skipped half her classes for days after.
The lair, being a military academy, was strict about attendance. A call came from the academic affairs office, with a professor questioning Bom's absences. Yoo Ji-tae made an excuse about her being unwell. Each time, he could see Bom smiling slyly from behind as she typed.
Unlike painting or sculpting, which she dropped after a day, the novel continued for three or four days.
Maybe she had really found her aptitude.
However.
As four days passed, then five, Bom's expression grew worse while writing her novel.
"What's wrong?"
"......"
Her face was twice as sulky as usual as she alternated glances between the device and Yoo Ji-tae.
Then she shook her head. Something was bothering her, but she didn't stop typing.
He decided to watch quietly.
One spring night. Around 2 a.m. Someone knocked on Yoo Ji-tae's door. "Yeah." As he responded, Bom peeked her head through the door crack.
"Were you sleeping?"
The regressor shook his head. Bom, wearing her round glasses, let out a deep sigh.
"What."
"Just... the novel isn't going well."
"Come sit here."
"Okay."
Bom perched on his bed.
"What's the problem."
"It's a horror novel, so ghosts have to appear a lot, right."
"Probably."
"In the scenes with ghosts, the protagonist has to be scared. But no matter how I think about it, I can't express the feeling of being scared."
"Didn't you see ghosts."
"Yeah. Ghosts and undead... but even then, I wasn't scared."
Well, a dragon being scared of ghosts did feel off somehow.
A hatchling looked human on the outside, but had subtle mismatches. Maybe that's why even if she wrote a novel in cycle 6, it didn't get much reaction.
"Anyway, so?"
"I've been thinking hard for days. The only time I ever felt scared of something specific in my life was exactly once...?"
She glanced at Yoo Ji-tae. He could guess when without asking.
"The day you first saw me?"
"Yeah. The day I was kidnapped."
Oh boy.
"So."
"Can't you play the ghost role just once?"
"......"
There was nothing he couldn't do.
But he had no desire to do it willingly.
"When you got caught in the dimensional shift coming out of the game, that must've been scary too."
"That's not fear of a specific target."
"How's it different."
"Hm, like... a metaphor. When dimensions shift, it's a creepy night. That's scary on its own, but a horror novel can't be without ghosts."
"...Yeah, guess so."
Even after the explanation, the regressor wasn't keen.
It was different in essence from when Yeoreum once asked him to teach her a threatening glare for intimidating reporters. In the end, she was asking for a situation that would make her feel truly threatened. Wouldn't that fear stick forever? So he stayed silent.
"Can't you? It's okay if not......"
Surprisingly, she gave up easily.
"You know how to refuse too, ajusshi. Well... I get it......"
But her words dragged on.
"Painting failed, sculpture failed... Guess the novel's the same. It was pretty fun this time though......"
Then she took off her glasses and tossed them in the trash.
"......Next, what should we do?"
He could feel the protest radiating from her whole body. Yoo Ji-tae had no choice but to help.
Bom nodded with a much brighter expression.
"Okay then. I'll write here. Surprise me from behind."
"Startle you?"
"A bit rougher than that. A bit meaner."
"Tell me more about the situation."
"Umm, so......"
The situation in the novel was like this.
A criminal woman on the run finds a cabin in the mountains. She settles in peacefully. Brings friends to hang out. Brings a lover to play. In fact, she had killed the cabin owner. Then the owner's spirit becomes a ghost and seeks revenge on her.
"Ajusshi, do you know about revenge?"
"I do."
"That feeling, you know. Like something big is about to go down."
Something big about to go down?
"Got it."
The roleplay began.
Bom turned off the lights and sat at Yoo Ji-tae's desk. Then she started scribbling in a notebook with a pen.
Meanwhile, the regressor slowly rose.
Something big about to go down...
No need to get serious with a kid. Just the feeling would do.
He thought.
I am the cabin owner.
That woman killed me and stole my cabin.
Just a feeling, but looking back on distant past cycles, there was a woman who had taken something from him. And he remembered getting revenge on her.
How did I do it back then.
Probably...
He approached her back with soundless steps, just like that time. Back then, the target was sitting at the desk, smiling happily while eating. Same as now. The green-haired girl didn't sense his presence. He embraced the woman from behind and slipped his hand toward her neck. As the unfamiliar hand touched her neck, the woman who hadn't noticed him even as he approached from behind finally realized the presence enveloping her. He slowly opened his mouth by her ear. "Looks fun." Then with that large, thick hand, he gripped the slender woman's throat...
"......!"
At that moment, Bom startled like she was having a fit and turned to look at him.
Tension unlike anything he'd seen before floated in her eyes.
Was it that scary? No way. He had no intent to threaten. He wasn't even thinking of killing anyone like back then. It was just mimicking the motion.
"...Bom. You okay?"
"A, a, ah...... Y-yeah."
Her expression said anything but okay. He could tell that much.
Bom slyly averted her eyes, clutched her chest, and bowed her head. Then she shuffled slowly toward the door.
"Sorry if I scared you. Was trying to give that 'something big about to happen' feeling. Went too far, I guess."
"N-no...... I'm really fine."
Without even looking back once, she fled and shut the door.
He had held back, but still messed up. Left alone, the regressor awkwardly rubbed his nape.
See, told you not to.
Back in her room, Bom leaned against the door. Only then could she gasp for the breath that had felt like it would burst.
How startled was she. Her forehead and cheeks felt feverish. Her heart pounded wildly on its own.
She thought he'd just come up and startle her. But to embrace her from behind with both arms...
Recalling the situation again, Bom closed her eyes and exhaled deeply and hotly.
Her trembling lips curved up slyly. Smiling, Bom murmured.
"Almost caused big trouble......"