“You know what, by the way? I don’t think the name ‘Bosuk’ suits that ajumoni.” On the way back home, Kaeul who seemed to have been in deep thought suddenly said that.
Bom asked back.
“Then what name would suit her in your opinion?”
“Hmm…”
After some more thinking, Kaeul giggled while saying, “Potato?”
Bom placed her hand on Kaeul’s head. Although she probably didn’t mean anything bad, it was ultimately a bad thing to say.
“Kaeul. You shouldn’t say something like that to a person.”
“Ah, okay. Unni.”
She once again contemplated before throwing another word out.
“Then, sweet potato?”
*
There were only two of them there, so Yu Jitae asked in doubt.
“What about Yeorum?”
“I asked if she wanted to go together, but she said she had to train her body and didn’t want to.”
He was convinced of the answer. Yeorum had a personal goal, and that was to win against Javier Carma, who had made her taste defeat. Since she also got herself a new sword, she must be diligently going through a personal training session.
Currently, he and Yeorum were still rather unfriendly. Even when they see each other in the morning, she would feign ignorance and when her eyes met his while smoking, she would stare only for a short while before turning her eyes away. This was the same for his copy as well.
On the other hand, he was on decent terms with Bom and Kaeul. They joked with each other and strolled outside together. He was worried the dragons might fight each other but they were more amicable than expected, perhaps thanks to Bom being here.
How long would it take for her to beat Javier? If he were to guess, it would take a few years. A few years, despite being a dragon? It was because Javier was also a genius recording his name in the annals of history. His starting point was different from others and yet he was an existence that was still advancing forward even at this minute.
Thus, it would be difficult for her to beat Javier while staying in Lair but there were plenty of time, and he just had to watch over her.
“Did you eat?”
Yu Jitae thought about something else. Today, he was planning to have them eat something slightly special – a common yet special thing.
“Not yet.”
“Me neither!”
That was good.
When he was still in the second round of regressions, there had been a large war which he had taken part in. Back then, Yu Jitae was weak and could barely reach three digits in the world rankings so he had to be a part of an organisation.
Surprisingly, that was where he had first met the Gold Dragon, who had come for a consolatory concert as a celebrity. It was that same Gold Dragon, who had now become Kaeul.
Kaeul had been active as a world-famous soloist. She wasn’t as bright as now, and wearing an expression that was apparently worn out and exhausted, she sang and danced with an almost obligatory smile.
Between performances, there was a talking session during the breaks and there was a question that the superhuman soldiers had asked back then. It was the question, “Do you by any chance have any food you like?”
The host of the concert asked after respecting the opinions of the crowd and the response given by the Gold Dragon was…
Ding ding–
“Welcome to Lair Chicken. Which of the menus would you like?”
*
Gulp.
He could hear a drop of saliva going through Kaeul’s thin throat. On the way back, she had been constantly pestering Yu Jitae, saying “Can I eat just one? Please? Just oneee…!”. Because the smell was too good, she couldn’t hold herself back.
“No.”
“Hauuh… ahjussi…, this is torture.”
“What?”
“Telling us to endure it when there’s a delicious smell coming from the side. It’s a torture, for sure. Ahjussi’s a bad person!”
A bad person?
Since it was true, he didn’t receive a single damage. When Yu Jitae didn’t return a reply, Kaeul changed her attitude and started whining.
“Huing. Ahjussi, my mother said there’s time and place for everything!”
“…”
“I think now is the time. What if I actually eat it later on and it happens to be not delicious? I might have lots of expectations because of the smell, before being disappointed!”
“Just don’t eat it then.”
“Huuingg…!”
Seeing that Yu Jitae was unrelenting no matter how she whined, she formed a pout and became silent.
“Kaeul, did you give up now?”
“Hmph. It’s going to taste like a poisonous mushroom if I eat it.”
“A poisonous mushroom?”
According to her, she had apparently found an extremely pretty mushroom with a good smell while living in the Amazon. So she pulled it out and ate it immediately, but had suffered for a long time due to the disgusting taste it had.
So, this would be the same and it won’t be delicious when actually eaten – telling herself that, she was trying to hold herself together. Perhaps finding that change in attitude cute, Bom quietly smiled.
When they arrived home, they found Yeorum whom Yu Jitae then also called. He then placed the four chickens on the dining table and when they came one by one and took their seats, the table that was too large for a single person usage was fully occupied.
“…”
The crunchy batter on the outside of the chicken shined in lustre due to it having been fried recently and a savory yet salty smell rose up. Surprised, Kaeul carefully placed her nose closer in and smelled it, as her golden eyes then sparkled.
“Uh? I saw this on the streets before.”
Yeorum who showed up the latest abruptly raised a drumstick to her lips as Kaeul’s expression immediately crumpled.
“Ah, unni! I was going to eat first!”
“Nn. Your fault for being late.”
“I was waiting for ages.”
“Then wait a bit more while you’re at it.”
There wasn’t even an opportunity for Kaeul to say anything. With a crunch, the chicken crumbled inside Yeorum’s mouth alongside crisp biting sounds.
The baby chicken that had missed out on being the first to eat instantly made a pout.
“What are you doing? Eat.”
Although it wasn’t like she had been waiting for permission, the instant Yu Jitae gave the word, she subconsciously reached out and grabbed onto a drumstick. Then, she carefully brought it to her lips.
With her mouth wide open, she took a bite out of it, after which her expression immediately turned blank.
Yu Jitae was curious about her reaction. How would it be; the taste of the first chicken that would remain in her memories forever?
She chewed on the chicken, before taking another bite, and yet another mouthful. Then, drops of tears appeared on her eyes.
Bom asked with astonishment.
“Kaeul, are you alright?”
“Un, un. I’m, fine.”
With a relaxed voice, the baby chicken was tearing up as she ate the chicken.
“…It’s delicious.”
Was it delicious enough to cry? Yu Jitae could not understand the child’s feelings, but it was for sure a good thing. As long as history continued, this child would reminisce in this moment countless times and be happy about it until a distant future.
That was when Yeorum frowned while staring at Kaeul.
“The f*ck… just freaking eat it.”
“What! Do you not find this taste touching?”
“What is this yellow pig even talking about.”
Kaeul seemed to be complaining while saying, “What? Me, a pig?”. But since her mouth was filled with chicken until her cheeks protruded out like balloons, that was merely a speculation.
While they were doing that, Bom quietly appreciated her own share of the chicken.
After the meal, Yu Jitae was out on the veranda when the door opened and revealed a redhead. Yeorum found him and halted, as they remained there without saying a word.
“Why.”
Yu Jitae started a conversation first, as Yeorum pointed to the other side.
“Cigarettes, they’re there.”
When Yu Jitae turned around, Yeorum walked onto the veranda. She then bit on a cigarette and used the tip of her fingers to create an ember and lit it on fire. Her hands were agile and practised.
“Are you getting used to life here?”
“Yeah. Somehow.”
“You don’t need anything?”
“Who knows?”
After exhaling smoke a few times, Yeorum slowly opened her mouth.
“That… why are we going to that place called Lair?”
“To make you guys do what you want.”
“What I want to do is fight. Are there lots of strong people there?”
He simply nodded in response. A dense cloud of smoke dissipated into the air and when Yeorum bounced the cigarette butt away with her fingers, it caught on fire and vanished.
Even after that happened, Yeorum did not leave for quite some time, and only after a long time did she open her mouth.
“You. Let’s have a proper fight together.”
“…”
“I know you’re strong, but I’m curious how strong.”
He shook his head.
“Why?”
It was because there was no reason for him to play around with a child. When he didn’t reply, Yeorum made a frown thinking she had been ignored.
“Do you know you’re really boring?”
“I’m a bit like that.”
“Hah, shit…”
She violently smacked the veranda door open and left.
***
Time passed.
Yu Jitae and the dragons were busy with their preparations for admission.
A few days after the documents were submitted, there was a call from them regarding the interview dates. Until the interview, Bom who at least had more knowledge than others in the ways of the world took Yeorum and Kaeul along in preparation.
Meanwhile, Yu Jitae created another identity.
There was a thing called ‘guardians’, and it was a position that only existed in Lair.
After the Great War had been wrapped up, infrastructures revolving around nurturing future hunters had an explosive uprise worldwide.
Recently Lair was filled with children from all sorts of rich families, famous and bloodline families and geniuses from nurturing schools. Despite being children, they formed connections and created a world of their own.
The issue was that even those with power and background were still kids. Because of their young ages, there were lots of problems that occurred due to them not being able to correctly use their given powers.
Due to that, ever since a few years ago, each family and organisation were allowed one person for each student, called ‘guardians’ or ‘trainers’ that could stay together and regulate them.
And now, Yu Jitae was planning to become a guardian himself.
Once again, two weeks went by. Time flew like an arrow and the long-awaited day of interview welcomed them. Along with the dragons, Yu Jitae entered Lair through the Portal Bureau.
A wide land, and although not tall, buildings had accumulated modern technology embedded within. Above the sky, there was a mana shield in a dome shape that covered the entirety of this large floating island, Haytling.
There were students letting out dense smells of mana in the surroundings carrying their busy steps. They were talents that would soon become top-level hunters of their respective nations.
The interview was over in an instant.
“Uh, uh… w, w, waait a minute!”
Kaeul screamed with a dead face.
Due to her nervousness for the interview, her mind seemed to have been going through heaven and hell repeatedly, and had finally calmed down due to Bom’s pat. That should have been the case but now, after the interview ended, she suddenly started freaking out.
“What happened, Kaeul?”
“I, I thought of something super, super horrible.”
“What is it?”
“What if…the…ly…ails?”
“What are you saying.”
When Yeorum frowned, Kaeul, who had been staring at the ground, carefully raised her eyes up.
“You know, w, what if, I’m the only one that fails…? What if both of you unnis get accepted while I fail? Will I be the only one that can’t enter Lair?”
“Who pressed her ‘seizure’ button.”
“Why? Why why why? Yeorum-unni isn’t worried?”
“No.”
“I! I was actually a bit nervous and couldn’t speak properly. If I’m the only one that fails… mum…”
Kaeul had that pale, dead expression on her face for a few days and only calmed down after checking the three passes from the results.
“Hah! What! Interviews was it? They’re nothing much.”
Bom smiled, and Yeorum made a snort as if she found it ridiculous. It was then that Yu Jitae’s phone started ringing noisily.
“Yu Jitae speaking.”
– Hello. I’m Professor Myung Jong from the Lair Education Department.
The voice seemed to belong to a person with a lot of years under their belt.
Myung Jong? It was a name Yu Jitae knew of. He was one of the famous professors of Lair and was at the same time a superhuman ranker from Korea.
He had most likely been one of the interviewers this time.
“Yes, nice to meet you. Is something wrong?”
– It’s just that there was a little incident during the interview
Yu Jitae’s eyes headed towards Yeorum. With a gaze that seemed to be saying, ‘what, why’, Yeorum stared back with a crooked light in her eyes.
“What happened?”
– Did you perhaps not hear it from Reserve Cadet Yu Bom yet?
Bom?
When his eyes turned over once again, a pair of green eyes were staring back at him. The words that soon left Professor Myung Jong’s lips were a little bit surprising.
– Reserve Cadet Yu Bom has received full marks in the interview for cadet selection.
“…”
– The interviewers all gave high praises unanimously. Since she is the only one with full marks from this year’s interviewees, the expectations from the Education Department is great. If possible, could you, sir guardian please come over immediately to the Lair Education Department with Reserve Cadet?