Chapter 359: Are you cold?
"And I thought you liked my jokes," Seo-Jun said, attempting a grin that didn’t reach his eyes.
There he goes again, trying to make light of the issue even now.
Well, it doesn’t matter. As long as my words reached him, it was enough.
"Ah, you and your jokes almost gave me a heart attack." I said and couldn’t help the half-smile that followed. "But... if you’re actually boiling inside, stop trying to be funny about it. Stop risking your life. Stop being so extreme." Well, he can’t be compared to Jin-Yeok’s extremeness but he was still extreme. "And just say it to my face. You’re supposed to be my master, right? Do you think I would say no if you asked something from me?"
"Yes," he said and I paused. "You would definitely say no if you don’t want to do it."
Ah, right. I grew such large wings that even my masters can see.
"Ah, sorry."
"But even so, I don’t want to ask things of you as your master, Jo-Pil." He said. "I told you, I want us to be like friends,"
My face crinkled as I looked at him with a subtle disgust.
"What is it? Why do you look like that?" He asked, laughing like he didn’t already know.
"What sort of friends do ’that’?" I asked and this triggered a heavy laughter from him.
So, he did know. He was just pretending like he didn’t know.
"Still," he said. "It’s better than me being your master,"
I paused for a moment. What did he just say?
"Do you...?" The words hung on my throat for a bit but I ended up asking anyway. I did it with Jin-Yeok so I can do it with Seo-Jun. "...do you regret buying me as a slave?"
"No," he answered right away which made a thud in my heart.
Why?
I felt my heart clench and my blood stopped flowing normally. Wait, that was just how I felt, my blood vessels were all fine. No cause for alarm but... Why would he say that?
Seo-Jun watched my reaction. I was shivering again.
"Are you cold?" He asked but I didn’t respond.
I was trying to figure out why he said he didn’t regret it after all this time when I could just ask him.
Maybe it was because I didn’t think he would answer me sincerely and would go about it in a roundabout manner.
"Then, are you like this because of my response?" He asked and I raised my head, showing how I was biting my lips and fighting back tears with a twisted expression. "Hm,"
He reached for my face, his thumb pressing on my chin, and then slid up to caress my lips.
"Stop," he said. "Stop biting. You’ll only tear it this way."
But I threw my face aside, evading his touch and he looked at his hand.
"Ah, you’re being so stubborn right now, Jo-Pil." He said. "This definitely has something to do with my response. Then, if you’re so curious, why don’t you ask?"
I flinched.
He wanted me to ask?
"If you ask, I’ll answer. You don’t have to do this to yourself."
Would he really?
I was stressing over this because I wanted to know why he said he didn’t regret it and I didn’t know if he would answer. I might look like a fool for asking.
"Then why?"
"Ah, you asked without any hesitation. That means it really did weigh on your mind."
"Just answer me, Seo-Jun. Why don’t you regret buying me as a slave?"
"Gosh, isn’t it obvious?" He asked, reaching his hand to me to stroke my hair. "You’re so smart, Jo-Pil, but it seems there are some things, no matter how simple they are, that you can’t understand."
I felt irked. Yes, being next to you makes me lose my senses to be point I become dumb. Don’t rub it in.
And... wasn’t he supposed to answer me since I asked? Why was he stalling?
He looked at my fuming eyes and laughed.
"Jo-Pil, if I hadn’t met you as a slave and we hadn’t come this far like this, do you think I would ever grow such feelings for anyone?"
Ah, it quickly hit me and I palmed my face. My useless brain shut down at a time like this. It was so simple... It was right in front of me but I couldn’t think of it.
Ah, the cold must be getting to my head.
"Haha, you’re so cute." He said, his tone soft and his gaze warm. "I don’t regret meeting you as a slave. Thanks to that, you opened my eyes. The eyes that refused to open up to the light. And you... Touched my heart."
He leaned in to kiss me but I didn’t pull away.
If it were like this, then it would be fine.
"I feel like you found a piece of me that was missing and made me whole," he whispered towards me.
"Seo-Jun, there’s..." I called, my hand pressed on his damp chest, and preparing to take his lips when I felt a sneeze coming.
I turned my face away and sneezed.
"Atchoo!"
It seemed like I had been in the tub for too long. I have to get out now.
"How do you feel?" I asked Seo-Jun.
"Ah, shouldn’t I be the one asking that? You just sneezed."
"Yes, yes, it’s just a sneeze. You’re the patient." I said to him, my hand groping his chest.
I mean, I wasn’t doing it on purpose. My hands had a mind of their own, haha.
"Does it feel like your joints are kneading?" I asked and then he checked.
"Now that you mention it, I can’t feel my legs." He said, smiling and I flared.
This was no laughing matter.
"Gosh, you’re such a piece of work. Why didn’t you say that earlier?"
"Cause I’m only just feeling it. I was too distracted by your beauty that nothing else mattered," he said, winking his eyes but he only gave me goosebumps.
Who gave him these lines?
"Yeah, no. I can’t deal with this any longer." I said, getting out of the tub and then I offered my hand. "Time to get out of the tub. You’ll only make your condition worse if you stay in there any longer."
He looked at my hand and then at me.
But before he could say anything, I chipped in,
"Ah, don’t think too much of it. I don’t want you to slip." I said but he didn’t say anything. More like, he was waiting for the moment he could say something, because as soon as he took my hand to get out of the tub, I turned my face away.
I didn’t want to stare at his junk.
Now that he’s out of the tub, I probably shouldn’t just leave and let him shower.
I thought of this and just wanted to hurry away but the water on the floor worked its magic and I slipped.
I didn’t even try to fight it because I knew this was all a part of the plot.
So, with tears in my eyes and my hands crossed in front of my chest, I embraced the fall directly into Seo-Jun’s arms.
Anyone who didn’t see that coming must’ve completely underestimated the power of ’cliché’ haha.