Chapter 164
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 164
Twelve o’clock sharp.
“What kind of place was that rainforest you called your hometown?”
The hallway meeting began right on schedule, even though Yoo Seong-un was too busy to attend.
“You always seem to be in a good mood when you talk about it.”
“I certainly am.”
The version of Gio lounging outside the frame today—adorned in luxurious leather and jewelry—was, of course, Arjio.
“Isn’t that what a hometown is all about?”
“It’s certainly a word that evokes a lot of emotion,” Ju-hyeon said with an awkward smile. “That said, seeing you like this…”
“Why?”
“You’re scarier than usual.”
“…”
Gio, who had been half-draped over the portrait frame and lounging on the table, slid upright.
“…Am I scary?”
“You look like a textbook ghost.”
“What kind of ghost is as handsome as me?”
“That’s true.”
However, the presence exuded by ‘Gio’s Portrait’ completely overwhelmed his physical beauty. The proof was that most members of the Collector Guild felt fear long before they could even register that ‘Mr. Seo Gio’ was handsome.
But Ju-hyeon felt a bit bad saying that out loud, so he glossed over it.
“Just… saying.”
“Do the Collector’s employees still find me scary?”
“I was trying to hold my tongue, but that question is so shameless I have to speak up.”
“Go on, then. Let’s hear your honest thoughts.”
“Isn’t it a bit shameless to expect people not to fear you when you don’t even bother to properly mimic being human, Arjio?”
The ‘Gios’—who could be considered his human personas—generally wished that others wouldn’t fear them. Ju-hyeon had tried to hold back because he felt bad for Gio, but this was just absurd.
“If you care so much about people being afraid of you, try being a bit kinder.”
“Where in the world would you find a haunted portrait as kind as me? That’s harsh.”
“I’ll grant you that, but you’re still expecting too high a return on your investment.”
“If I invest any more than this, I’d just be a pushover.”
“…I can’t really argue with that, either.”
Ju-hyeon didn’t want Gio to get taken advantage of, either.
“To be honest, you’re already showing a bit too much goodwill as it is.”
“But if I don’t even do this, won’t I just be a scary portrait?”
“But isn’t being a scary portrait your entire identity, Mr. Gio? I think you’re dreaming too big.”
“Keep this up and I might just go on strike.”
“Please don’t. How can you go on strike when you’re the one who took the job?”
“Of course, I’m not that irresponsible. Don’t worry, my friend.”
Waving a hand, Gio slumped back onto the table.
A giant tiger.
Felines were exactly like this. Once full, they loved to stretch out and sleep under the warm sun.
“So, are you going to answer my question?”
“About what? My hometown?”
“Yes. It felt like you stopped mid-sentence earlier.”
“Isn’t that because you scolded me, Mr. Ju-hyeon?”
“I wouldn’t call it scolding. I was just giving you a reality check.”
“That’s exactly what scolding is…”
His long, braided red hair shifted and fell into disarray with his sluggish movements. The various gold and silver ornaments decorating his head clinked against the wooden table. He rubbed his forehead against the surface and grumbled.
“…”
Watching this, Ju-hyeon gathered another piece of information about ‘Gio’s Portrait’.
…So Arjio is the guise he wears when he’s angry or annoyed.
This portrait took the form of Giovanni when showing mercy and patience, and the form of Arjio when venting excitement and anger. For daily life, where no major interaction was required, he took the form of Seo Gio.
They blend together sometimes, but it seems each has its specific purpose.
If so, would the number of ‘Gios’ used to express other emotions continue to grow?
“…You said you were twenty-four, Mr. Arjio?”
“I suppose so.”
“You suppose?”
“There was no one around to count my age for me.”
“Is this the part where I’m supposed to feel sorry for you?”
“I’m just stating a fact. There’s no need for that.”
Arjio propped his chin on the table.
“I lived a life closer to that of a beast than a human, and my family were all beasts by birth. Between one who had no intention of counting and those who didn’t even know how, how could I possibly know for sure?”
“Did you never think to count it yourself?”
“Only later did I become curious about how old I was. Since I’m not the type to hold back on what I want, I went out to assess the situation. So, before I died, I thought, ‘Ah, so I’m dying at twenty-four.’”
Before Ju-hyeon could say anything more, Gio beat him to it.
“Above all, the Black Forest wasn’t a place suited for counting days. Morning, afternoon, night—it was all dark, so how could anyone measure time? A child living like a beast, stripped of all human dignity, hardly had the peace of mind to count the days.”
At that, Ju-hyeon asked, “Was the forest completely dark all the time?”
“Yes. It was a place where you couldn’t feel the passage of time.”
“Most people would go mad not long after entering.”
“They’d die from the vicious beasts and deadly poison long before that.”
Amused, Gio’s face curled into his signature sly smile.
“You said you were curious about my hometown?”
“And it seems that hometown was called the Black Forest.”
“Exactly. You catch on quick. I grew up in the Black Forest.”
It was a place that suited Arjio’s temperament quite well.
“First, as I mentioned, it’s a place without a sun or moon.”
“What exactly does that mean? How is it impossible to tell day from night?”
“The trees of the Black Forest are incredibly thick and tall. Their foliage is so dense that the sky is completely hidden.”
“Were there other weather changes?”
“Well, the most common occurrence was rain.”
“I suppose so, since you did call it a rainforest.”
Having said that, Ju-hyeon tilted his head, looking puzzled.
“…Can it really rain in a forest where the sky is invisible and you can’t even feel the passage of time? At that point, the sky and the forest must be completely disconnected.”
Arjio smiled with satisfaction.
“Good thinking, my friend. In a rainforest that dense, even the heaviest downpour would barely yield a few drops on the forest floor. However, the Black Forest collected that rainwater.”
“Collected the rainwater…?”
“And then, from time to time, it would release that water in trickles. The reasons varied. A giant beast stomping its feet, a tree tilting from an impact, or beasts landing on the leaves…”
“Those all seem to be beast-related causes.”
“In the end, that rain was created by the beasts of the Black Forest. While the rainwater pooled, it couldn’t withstand the onslaught of various flora and fauna, turning highly toxic. Without immunity, your flesh would rot and your bones would crumble.”
“It sounds no different from a dungeon.”
Gio nodded, as if agreeing.
“Also, when the forest temperature rose too high, fog would roll in. The fog, born from the toxic substances secreted by the forest’s flora and fauna and the horrific swamps, was as black as shadows. If you were trapped in it, even breathing became difficult.”
“…”
“And with your vision obscured, you wouldn’t know if you ran into a dangerous beast, nor would you know what traps lay at your sides. You couldn’t even tell if the ground beneath your feet was solid earth or a swamp.”
The Black Forest was that kind of place.
“A place where not even a small animal, a lowly insect, or a silent plant could survive unless it was vicious. In such a place, the only things left to form an ecosystem were those vicious monsters.”
Gio let out a chuckle.
“So there was a reason it became the source of all kinds of ghost stories.”
“…Ghost stories?”
“How terrified must people have been of a two-legged beast living perfectly fine in such a place?”
“…Is that why you gained such notoriety?”
“I imagine it played a part.”
“How on earth did you survive, Mr. Arjio?” Ju-hyeon asked, his face betraying no particular emotion. “Didn’t you say you were… left there when you were very young?”
“Yes, I was abandoned in the Black Forest.”
For Arjio, it was a turning point in his life, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.
“It was quite fun.”
“Why? Weren’t you scared when you headed into the Black Forest?”
“Perhaps I instinctively felt it was where I belonged.”
And also…
“It looked much more interesting than being among those dogs and pigs.”
“Usually you threaten to turn us into pigs…”
“Surely the ‘pigs’ I refer to can’t always be a compliment, can they?”
“So what you’re saying now is a clear insult?”
“They really just looked like that to me.”
Those idiots who thought they were human, rather than beasts, just because they dressed up in fancy clothes.
“Though watching them act so foolish and cute was quite entertaining.”
“…Setting aside the foolish part, they were cute? In what way?”
“Even if I told you, I doubt you’d relate.”
“I’m trying to at least understand.”
“I quite like that attitude of yours,” Arjio said nonchalantly. “Are dogs and cats still common pets today?”
“Besides them, reptiles and insects are also popular. Fish, too.”
“Right. Now, suppose you’re walking down the street and you see a bird plucking flowers from the roadside to adorn itself.”
“Ah, yes. A bird decorating itself with flowers.”
“Or a cat babbling away, telling some incomprehensible story.”
“A cat babbling incomprehensibly…”
“Or a puppy coming right up to you to show off its toy.”
“…”
“Well?” he asked. “Is it cute?”
“…I suppose it would be cute.”
Unfortunately, Ju-hyeon understood what Arjio was getting at.
“Is that how the world looked to you? Even when you were human?”
“I am still human. It’s highly offensive to discriminate against me just because I’m a portrait.”
“Ah, right. Anyway, did you have that perspective even when you were just an ordinary human?”
“What’s wrong with my perspective?”
“Well… that…”
Just in case, Ju-hyeon double-checked to see if he had understood correctly.
“So, Mr. Gio, you’re saying that people who dressed themselves up, babbled nonsense, or bragged looked like those birds, cats, or dogs to you. Is that right?”
“I’m glad you understand so well, my honorable friend.”
“Considering how negatively you described them, it doesn’t seem like they had very good intentions or behavior. It sounds like they were on some condescending power trip, but…” Ju-hyeon asked, “And that was… cute?”
“Isn’t foolishness cute?”
“I can certainly tell you’ve been unique since childhood.”
“I’ve always been a rather special person,” Arjio smiled slyly. “A puppy that thinks it’s human is truly adorable.”
“Quite a few people would be angry if they knew you compared them to that…”
“Of course, I don’t mean they are exactly the same. I only wanted to help you understand.”
“Putting the two on the same level even as an explanatory example is a bit uncomfortable.”
“…Is that so? I admit it’s a far too generous comparison for those dogs and pigs…”
Sitting up, Gio naturally slipped back into the portrait. As the long, crimson hair that had been draped across the table vanished, Ju-hyeon felt a sudden sense of emptiness. The portrait continued speaking.
“The Black Forest was always full of rare treasures.”
“…Treasures? All of a sudden?”
“Didn’t you ask about my hometown?”
“I did.”
“It overflowed with gold, silver, and jewels.”
“…”
“Poison became medicine, and also treasure…”
His smile was heavy.
“Blooming upon corpses.”
A calm, heavy smile that made it impossible to tell whether he was in a good mood or a bad one.
“I look forward to visiting the rainforest we’ll be heading to this time.”
“…It certainly sounds similar to the dungeon you described.”
“It’s just a feeling, but don’t worry, it won’t be my hometown. It’s a completely different dimension.”
“I’m relieved to hear that, but on the other hand…” Ju-hyeon trailed off.
“…”
He soon asked, “…Do you want to go back?”
“I’d like to visit.”
“But you don’t want to return to those days?”
“I don’t dwell on the past.”
“I see.”
“I loved my family and friends.”
And also…
“I died because of them.”
Ju-hyeon could not decipher the meaning behind that smile.