CH 309

Chapter 309

That was the last thing I remembered.

Afterwards, I lost the battle with exhaustion, and when I opened my eyes again, I was still laying on the bed in this terrible cage. And my clothes had been changed.

“……”

I stared at the white dress I wore before sighing. I knew I vomited towards the end so I needed to change my clothes, but… Why a dress, of all things?

“Haah…”

No matter how much I grumbled, though, an answer wouldn’t materialize out of thin air. First, I checked my body here and there, but I didn’t feel much pain–not even in my chest, where I might have expected cracked ribs.

All that lingered was a numbing feeling–characteristic after drinking a potion–and a menthol-like scent left in my mouth.

‘Did he give me a potion…?’

When I looked to the side, I saw a pipette I had never seen before sticking out of the ground between the closet and the bed. The Mage must have fed me the potion with that pipette.

I realized that Seo Dawon must have decided to keep me alive…for now. Of course, I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing just yet.

‘He healed me, but… Wait–Where’s Seo Dawon?’

I could only hear the ticking sound of the second hand of the clock; there was no one else in the office. Even the lights were off–the only source of light was the sunlight flooding in through the window.

I sat on the bed and looked around at the office through the transparent walls of the cage.

As I looked carefully at the high-quality furniture, books that had half Chinese ‘Hanja’ characters/ half Korean characters on their spines, 1 and a personal planner…My eyes alighted upon a frame near the cage.

“Ahh….”

I thought the frame would contain a picture of him or those close to him, and, as I expected, it contained a picture of the Red Lotus members.

With Seo Dawon placed in the center, everyone was smiling brightly and refreshingly. Of course, Bae Jaemin and Ryu Hyerin were also there, but they didn’t look particularly out of place. They appeared to just be kind and affable.

I smiled–the picture was taken at the moment Seo Dawon placed his arm around Woo Ragi’s shoulders, and there was nothing the Swordsman could do about it…but, after a while, a strange emotion filled me.

“This is the past… I wonder where in the timeline I am?” I mumbled and scratched my head.

At that moment.

Click–

Suddenly, the office door opened, and Seo Dawon strode inside. His eyes were fixed on me from the moment he opened the door.

“Th….Thank you,” I said.

[What?]

“You fed me… a potion, right?”

As soon as I made eye contact with him, the first thing that tumbled out of my mouth was my gratitude. However, Seo Dawon smiled a bit crookedly, as if he had heard something absurd.

[It seems like you’ve forgotten who hurt you, Lee-kyung-ah.]

“…Th-That’s true, but.”

[Well… I suppose that’s still a good attitude. After all, I’m the one holding your life in my hand.]

“……” I closed my mouth and felt sullen at his cold tone.

Despite his sarcastic expression, the Mage stared at me as if he were looking at something odd. Meanwhile, now that our conversation was cut short, I became lost in my thoughts again.

‘It doesn’t feel like he’ll press down on me with his fingers or harass me in another way…’

If that were his intention, there would be no need to treat me with potions. So, I left the bed and ran towards Seo Dawon.

The Mage paused but soon moved closer to the cage. After a few, ground-thumping vibrations, he quickly stood in front of me.

I looked at his large, beautiful eyes and made great efforts not to tremble in his presence, “Excuse me… I am really not trying to do anything bad to you.”

[……]

“Of course, with your personality, you’re not likely to believe anyone that says this, but… T-Take a look at me. What can I do to you with a body like this…?”

[……]

I looked up at him and tried to make reasonable arguments, but the vigilance did not disappear from the Mage’s eyes. He then muttered, as if he were talking to himself–

[He must know ‘my’ personality well.]

“Huh? Ah, th-that’s…” Come to think of it, this ‘Seo Dawon’ wouldn’t know me, and I may be crossing the boundary by calling out to him affectionately and acting as if I knew him.

Belatedly realizing I made a mistake, I covered my mouth with both hands, but Seo Dawon had already opened the cage lid and was reaching out to me.

I trembled and squeezed my eyes shut, uncertain as to what would happen. Soon, I felt an irresistible force holding on to me; then, my body rose into the air.

However, the pain I had been expecting and preparing for never came, no matter how long I waited. I stealthily opened my eyes. When that happened, the Mage opened his mouth, as if he had been waiting for my attention.

[I searched the database of Users in the Hub for the name ‘Choi Lee-kyung,’ but… Nothing appeared. It was very clean.]

“……”

[There’s no human being like you there.]

As I listened to the Mage, I gently grabbed his thumb with both my hands. He said he was holding me tight, but I felt anxious; my legs felt hollow, as if I couldn’t gain a proper foothold.

Seo Dawon furrowed his brows but did not shake off my hold. He urged me to answer, again, with a look that stated his patience was being tried.

[Did you give me your real name?]

“Yeah…”

[But, why isn’t your information in the database?]

“I-It’s not something I did…”

Seo Dawon’s gaze became even colder; I shrugged and avoided his eyes.

Since the original ‘me’ does not exist in this timeline, it was natural for him to be unable to find my information. However, there was no good way to explain that.

And, after my suspicious answer, Seo Dawon’s hand tensed and contracted momentarily before relaxing again. Startled, I looked at him.

Of course, our current atmosphere wasn’t reassuring. The Mage looked annoyed, but soon questioned me again in a cold voice.

[Then, how do you explain why you’re acting as if you know me well?]

“…You… You….”

Of course, I had no decent answer to this question either. The betrayal that Seo Dawon would soon experience and his subsequent revival had yet to occur.

So, I lowered my head and muttered in a barely-audible voice, “…B-Because you’re famous…”

[……]

“And I’m… Your fan. I-I did some research…”

[……]

“It’s nothing bad… I’m just… a stan…” I didn’t say all this with the expectation that the Mage would believe me. It was just a crude excuse for my inexplicable circumstance.

My fear surged again when I felt his cool gaze rest on my head; he raised my head again.

If Seo Dawon loosened his hold and sent me crashing to the floor, I would be lucky to survive; my legs would certainly be smashed, though. Frightened, I clasped his thumb tightly with both arms again.

But…

“……”

Grrumble–

A loud noise suddenly rumbled from my stomach.

In fact, a few more grumbles happened; from then on, an extreme, desperate hunger crawled its way into my stomach. How tactless of my stomach; I hid a bright red face in the crease of his finger.

‘…Did he hear that?’

Maybe he didn’t hear; I had hope for just a moment.

However, Seo Dawon used the tip of his thumb to raise my chin.

[You must be hungry…]

“……”

[You said you disliked sunflower seeds, right?]

I felt that Seo Dawon’s expression had now softened. Rather, he had an amused smile on his face, as if he were staring at something funny.

I was disgusted at that face. My Servant, ‘Seo Dawon’ often mischievously teased me with that expression.

In a fit of temper, I curtly said, “I want milk…and cereal.”

[……]

“If you’re going to give me something to eat, you should give me something I like…”

Of course, I was scared by the Mage’s expression in the middle of my tirade, so I hurriedly glanced elsewhere and avoided his gaze.

Seo Dawon didn’t threaten me anymore and placed me back in the cage. He laid me atop the bed and stared blatantly at me for a few more beats. However, soon, he turned around and left the office.

Click–

It wasn’t until I heard the door close that my body released its tension. At that moment, my hunger grew more intense. My stomach no longer produced the occasional rumbling and instead incessantly grumbled.

“Did he decide to ignore me…?”

As I recalled the silent, answer-less Mage, I looked at the sunflower seeds piled up at one end of the cage. If I’m in a pinch, I suppose I’ll be forced to eat those seeds, but…

“I’m not a hamster…” I muttered sullenly.

It was then.

Click–

The door opened again. I turned to the origin of the noise; there stood Seo Dawon, carrying 200 mL 2 of white milk and a small amount of mini-cereal in both hands.