NS - Chapter 514

Chapter 514

“Waaah!”

The problem, though, was Baby-nim himself. The baby burst out into loud wails, pointed at Lackey, and said quite clearly, “That’s! Mine!”

“Baby-nim, it’s not yours…”

The tentacle-wielding man hurriedly tried to push the stroller away and leave, but the further he went, the louder the baby cried. He was loud enough that everyone in the area turned to look.

For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to ignore the poor man, so I found myself hesitantly speaking out, “Um, excuse me…”

“…Yes?” The man had opened the stroller cover and was trembling as he held the doll-like beautiful child with both hands. Somehow, that sight felt strangely familiar.

So, even though I knew Lackey wouldn’t like it, I gave it an order, “Lackey-yah, play with the baby for a little while.”

[Clack clack! clack clack….]

Lackey grabbed the hem of my pants and shook it, as if to say, ‘No way!’ But, I soothed the skeleton by crooning, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” It released a deep sigh and eventually approached the child.

The father and son, who had remarkably similar, unusual hair colors, both brightened as Lackey approached. The baby’s face, in particular, lit up with joy; it seems that any sadness–or the tears that had been streaming down his cheeks mere moments ago–were instantly forgotten.

“Eeeh! Hahaha!” The baby grabbed Lackey by its skull and hugged the skeleton over and over; his hands patted and fondled the skeleton enthusiastically… Lackey glumly dodged the baby’s wandering hand and occasionally gave the fingers gentle nips, but it didn’t do anything more harmful than that.

“Haah….”

“Phew…”

Only then did the man and I let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

“I…I… Thank you. *Sob*…”

“W-Why are you crying?!” I asked, flustered.

The man I had helped suddenly burst into tears…despite my efforts.

When he loudly wailed, I instinctively soothed him…as though I had done this countless times before. But then, the man grabbed a hold of me and continued to sob uncontrollably.

Feeling self-conscious under everyone’s gaze–and a little overwhelmed by the man–I led him and his stroller out into an empty hallway.

The man cried in my arms for a long while before finally lifting his head. When I met his reddened eyes, I felt strangely choked with tears myself.

“I-I’m sorry… Strangely, whenever I look at you… I keep on wanting to cry…”

“…No, it’s alright.” To be honest, before he lifted his head, I had been thinking, ‘What person acts like this?’ But, once our eyes met, I no longer felt like pushing him away or getting angry at him.

Instead, I found myself in tears too; I wanted to comfort him and hold him close. I didn’t even know why I felt this way. Recently, I had sobbed inexplicably while watching Kim Sangyoon’s stream…And now I was feeling similar feelings towards this stranger…

No–Actually, I had been having these strange feelings quite often. At least, lately. Just…in fragments.

Even when I looked around my empty living room, or laid alone in my bed, or touched something cold…Instead of being startled by the sudden chill, I would find myself suddenly feeling an inexplicable longing for that cool temperature.

I began to wonder, more and more, why I was having these feelings. Was I alright in the head? Was I slowly losing my mind?

So, without thinking, I asked, “Um, by any chance, have we… met before?”

“Huh?”

The moment I asked, I doubted myself; that sounded like some outdated pick-up line. But, that thought lasted only briefly; the man took my questions seriously, “Hmmm… I’m not sure. I only just recently woke up in the hospital; I barely remember anything from before my surgery.”

“Ah…”

“Kyahahaha!”

Just then, the baby’s laughter pierced through our weighty silence; the high-pitched peals rang loudly in my ears.

“Umm…. By any chance, could I have [your] name…?” ¹ Remember, pronouns aren’t much of a thing in Korean. So, Lee-kyung is implying ‘your’ here. I was asking for the man’s name, but his face filled with joy as he answered me with the baby’s name instead.

“Koo Ja-in. Ja-in. Ja-in-nim…He’s…My baby…”

“Ah, yes… Th-then, what’s your–the father’s–name?”

“Me? I’m… Koo Hui-seo.”

“Koo Hui-seo… Koo Hui-seo…” I kept repeating his name because it felt strangely familiar. Something scratched at the edges of my memories. Then, suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind. I exclaimed, “Ah!”

“Yes?”

“You’re the Red Dragon guild master, right? Your name is exactly the same!”

“Ah, that…” Koo Hui-seo gave me an awkward smile. 

I couldn’t help but chuckle in return as I stared at Koo Hui-seo-ssi. He shared his name with the notorious Red Dragon guild master, but he looked nothing like him. “I heard he bought this entire building entirely with cash… What do you think of the Red Dragon Guild, Koo Hui-seo-ssi?”

“I-I… I wouldn’t know…” Perhaps Koo Hui-seo-ssi was a rather timid man; he looked around nervously, as though he were frightened, and avoided answering the question.

I tried to ease Koo Hui-seo-ssi’s nerves with a few pats on the back; he suddenly seemed extremely tense. But then, I felt something writhing beneath my hand and leaped up in surprise.

“Are those tentacles?” I asked.

“Ah, yes…”

“You carry your weapon on your back?”

“Um… I suppose you could say that.”

So, I patted him on the shoulder instead of on the back; only then did Koo Hui-seo finally lower his tense, raised shoulders and relax.

Then–

[The members of the Red Lotus guild will be entering shortly.]

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

“Ahhh! I love you Red Lotus!”

“Dawon-ahhhhhhhhhh!”

“Ragi-yah! Your noona is here!”

Suddenly, an announcement crackled through the speakers; the Red Lotus fans, those of us who had arrived early, began to cheer loudly and shout in response.

‘Ah…’ 

I wanted to be among them too, but Lackey was being held by the baby… Er… Ja-in-ie… So, I couldn’t see what was happening inside the event area. That was a little disappointing.

I fidgeted restlessly, tilting my head this way and that way. 

Koo Hui-seo-ssi asked me, “Did you come to see the Red Lotus…?”

“Ah, yep.” I mumbled.

“Hm… They’ll probably just say their greetings today and leave.”

“R-Really?”

“Ye~es…”

I wanted to ask Koo Hui-seo-ssi how he knew so much about the Red Lotus’s schedule, but I became distracted by the commotion suddenly erupting from inside the event area again. 

“Eeeek–!”

“Garam-ah!”

“Eunji-ssi! I love you!”

“Olim-unni! Over here!”

The Red Lotus…they really were right there, just a few feet away from me.

Ba-thump, Ba-thump–!

I felt my heart pounding hard as I bit down on my lower lip. It was difficult to suppress the urge to push my way through the crowd and see the Red Lotus with my own two eyes.

Just then, Koo Hui-seo-ssi suddenly took hold of my hand.

“Huh?” Startled, I turned to look at him. 

With an expression that looked as though he had made some great decision, Koo Hui-seo said to me, “Would you like for me to arrange a meeting between the Red Lotus members and you?”

“…What?” I was so shocked by his unexpected words that I could only exclaim in disbelief.

Koo Hui-seo glanced cautiously around us before warning me, “Please lower your voice a little…”

“Ah, no…” But, honestly. Who wouldn’t be surprised if someone suddenly offered to arrange a meeting with the Red Lotus guild. 

Yet, he didn’t seem like he was joking; his expression hardened as he lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’ll give you this card, so please wait on the floor reserved for VVIPs. Once the event is over, I’ll have the Red Lotus members brought there, and you will be able to meet them, one-by-one.”

“Holy sh…” Unable to believe what I was hearing, I could only stare at the card Koo Hui-seo-ssi was holding out to me. I was unable to bring myself to even touch it.

But, when he forced the card into my hands–as though he were asking what I was waiting for–and I could no longer refuse. 

I accepted the card, “Um, excuse me… What do you do, Koo Hui-seo-ssi? How do you know the Red Lotus members…?” As I spoke, I suddenly realized. Today was the day of the department store’s grand opening; the man before me shared the same name as the Red Dragon guild master who had just handed me a VVIP card….and offered to arrange a meeting.

“N-no way…” I trailed off.

“Then, I’ll be going now.” Koo Hui-seo-ssi gave me an awkward smile at my stunned expression. He pushed the stroller away.

Of course, Lackey was still by my side. The baby, now that Lackey was taken away from him, started wailing loudly again. But, he quieted down when his father whispered something to him.

I could only stand there, staring at them with my mouth still hanging open.

—

TL: The ellipses…they were multiplying…

When Lee-kyung and Koo Hui-seo are in a convo, I swear they trail off every other sentence.