Chapter 171: 7th Iteration: Interim Review (3)
“…Got it?”
Before going into Unit 301, Bom organised the plan one last time with the kids. Kaeul and Gyeoul suppressed their excitement and nodded, while Yeorum and Yu Jitae appeared apathetic.
“You guys need to control your expression. Okay?”
“Of course!”
“…Nn nn.”
“What’s wrong with your expressions, you two? Did you bite on a rock or something?” asked Bom towards Yeorum and Yu Jitae.
“Hmm… nothing.”
“…”
“What about you ahjussi?”
“…”
Yu Jitae wasn’t really content with the situation.
“Nn? Ahjussi?”
“Got it…”
Bom could see how he was in an awkward spot and had to make sure she didn’t laugh.
“I’m opening the door…!”
The plan hence began.
The kids started each making their rooms into a mess. Throwing books everywhere, creating rubbish and chucking tissues on the ground…
Gyeoul looked especially more excited than others. Bom’s room was always clean unlike other rooms so she appeared to be enjoying the process of making it messy. She scooped up dirt from a flowerpot and scattered it on the floor.
Isn’t that slightly unnatural, he thought to himself, but that didn’t really matter. Whether it was unnatural or not had nothing to do with him, since he wasn’t even content with the current turn of events.
As the strategy meeting went on and on, the details slowly started to change and that was where the problem was. The birthday party became a surprise party, and the surprise party had become a prank before even realising it.
He now had to strictly scold the kids in front of the protector, telling them to clean the house. He was just trying to feed them a cake so why was this even happening?
“…”
In any case, how should he even pretend like he was scolding them?
Yu Jitae dwelled on the question. He had to act something out following someone else’s intention. Something similar had happened before when Bom asked him to act like a ghost. When he obediently did as such, Bom almost fainted so it seemed that there was a need to draw an adequate line that shouldn’t be crossed even when pretending to scold them.
That brought him back to the starting question. How should he do it?
While the Regressor had a chaotic mind, time flew by and soon came night time, the time for their strategy to begin.
The kids carefully opened their doors and signalled to Yu Jitae.
At this point in time, the protector would hum, ‘Kwarurung~?’, to himself while giving dinner to Chirpy. Today was the same, and so the large baby chicken was munching on its food.
Since Yu Jitae was still doing nothing, Kaeul opened the door and gestured with her mouth before pointing at the protector. Looking around, he realised that Yeorum was also waiting while Bom and Gyeoul were pestering him with their eyes.
Kudangtang…!
That was when some objects came crashing down inside Kaeul’s room. She screamed, “Ahh! What should I do!” at the same time.
It was the signal. The signal that marked the start of the operation.
“Hmm? Lady Kaeul. Is something the matter?”
The protector started moving when he didn’t do anything. Left with no other choice, Yu Jitae gestured with his hands at the protector and opened the door of Kaeul’s room himself.
Revealed inside was a dirty room and a messy desk.
Everything was already set.
Kaeul flinched and looked up at Yu Jitae as if she was startled.
“Uh, uhh? Ahjussi?”
“What was that.”
“It, it’s nothing! I just dropped something by accident…!”
He had to make sure not to make a mistake here.
“You. What the hell is wrong with this room.”
He made a mistake,
Judging from how Kaeul widened her eyes into circles.
Yu Jitae instinctively knew the power behind his gaze. Thus, he judged that it would be better to look away from Kaeul.
He turned to the side and the messy room entered his sight. Kaeul, who was throwing glances at him, became even more nervous.
“Uhh…”
“It hasn’t even been that long since you last cleaned. What’s all this stupid mess.”
“Uhh, umm, umm… It’s…”
“Is this what you always do?”
“No. I…”
According to the script, Kaeul had to talk back here, but she didn’t.
“What’s wrong. Yu Kaeul.”
What’s wrong.
“Try saying something.”
Follow the script and say something.
“Why did you shut your noisy mouth.”
You practised.
“Yu Kaeul…”
Damn…
Frozen stiff, Kaeul looked like she was about to cry. It wasn’t going well from the start.
He could feel cautious gazes from behind. The protector and the baby chicken were staring at his back.
It seemed that he had to skip this part. With a voice stiffened by awkwardness, he spoke.
“After, not checking, for some time…”
His voice had always been stiff so it didn’t sound much different.
“You guys… just became… an absolute mess.”
In any case, he decided to follow the script they came up with in the strategy meeting. Turning around, he walked forward in large strides as if he was angry and headed to Yeorum’s room.
The protector rolled its eyes. He was cleaning the rooms every weekend, so how did it become like this in just a few days?
The Chirpy was also nervous. The room had been looking okay in the morning, but his own little bed stood out the most within the pile of rubbish.
Meanwhile, Yu Jitae pushed Yeorum’s door wide open and walked in.
“Nn?”
She was lying on the bed and glared at him after seemingly being surprised.
Her room was also in a mess.
“What! Are you crazy? Why are you opening someone else’s door like that?”
“What in the world, is wrong with your room.”
“What does that have to do with you? Get out!”
Unexpectedly, Yeorum was quite good and covered for Yu Jitae’s poor acting skills. She appeared normal when talking back to him.
“Do you even clean?”
“Who cares if I do or not? And you, don’t open someone’s door like that. I’m a girl as well you know? This is a girl’s room.”
“…”
“Don’t you know privacy? Don’t you know how to knock? Or are you a pervert? What if I was changing my clothes? Try opening the door again without my permission. I’ll take a massive shi* in the living room.”
She then spat at the ground in front of him and closed the door with a thud.
The protector and Chirpy were even more surprised since it was rare for Yeorum to challenge Yu Jitae like that.
Bom and Gyeoul, who were stealthily watching from behind, had to hold in their smiles. After finally escaping her nervousness, Kaeul also realised her mistake and hit her own head with her knuckles before watching the situation unfold with intrigue.
It was only just the beginning.
Yu Jitae opened the door once again.
“What now!”
“Yu Yeorum. It seems that you and I need to have a chat.”
“Whyy! First, I told you to knock! And second, I’m gonna make the cleaner clean on the weekend!”
“Why are you making the cleaner clean your room.”
“What? A cleaner’s a cleaner because he cleans! I’m already pissed because that guy opens my door without knocking. Why are you doing this to me as well?”
“Is that all you have to say?”
Although sloppy, they were doing fine.
“Yeah! So what! Just leave me alone! Why do you always do this to just me? Am I a punching bag? Oi! You cleaner! Do you know how to read the mood? What are you doing! Come here and clean!”
The hot potato was suddenly thrown at him. In a fluster, the protector flinched with a clink but Yu Jitae threw his hand out and stopped the protector.
“Yu Yeorum… you’re still blaming the cleaner at a time like this.”
“What! What about it!”
“I’ve had enough.”
Yu Jitae pushed Yeorum and went into the room.
“Huh? Huh? Why are you coming in? What?”
“You need to be scolded.”
And the door closed behind his back.
Startled, the protector and Chirpy hurriedly ran up to the door. Soon, screams going “Aht!” and “Ouch!” were heard from the room with several slapping sounds.
The protector was frightened and the baby chicken was even more frightened as he gazed at the protector. The red pair of eyes also stared at the baby chicken and they shared the same sentiment. They were f*cked.
“…”
“…”
In fact, inside the room, Yeorum was biting on the back of her hand to hold back the laughter, while slapping her own thigh with her hand.
Slap!
“Ahh…! Sorry, sorry! It’s my fault…!”
Slap!
“Aukk! I’ll clean properly! Please forgive meh…!”
After sensing the presence outside the door, she was even more excited.
Yeorum was the type to hold her grudges for a long time. ‘Reading time’ was the only enjoyment in her recently boring life, and she was still angry for being interrupted by the protector. It was even more so, because it was a ‘secret hobby’ which she didn’t want anyone to know about.
You dare to open the door of a lady’s room? You deserve more.
Thinking that, she slapped her thigh until it reddened.
“Ahak! Kik… aht.”
But she soon bursted out into a strange giggle and hurriedly covered her mouth.
‘Oi, that was weird,’ ‘F*ck, was that obvious?’ ‘Don’t push it too far,’ ‘Okay’.
The two of them shared a quiet conversation.
By the time the door was opened back up, Yeorum was on her knees gathering rubbish.
Yeorum.
Was.
Cleaning.
The protector was even more shocked
However, there was still one more. Yu Jitea quickly headed to Bom’s room – the room of the protector’s previous owner, the Green Dragon, and the Blue Dragon whom the protector followed the most.
Not knowing what to do, the protector carefully walked up to Yu Jitae.
“Umm, my lord…”
“What.”
“If there’s a problem with cleaning… Let me do a big clean up today.”
“Just go there and stay quiet.”
“…Yes.”
Its eyes staring at the ground flickered. The baby chicken hid its head behind the leg armours of the protector, but its obese body couldn’t be hidden.
As if they were being scolded themselves, the protector and baby chicken stood in the land of exile in the living room corner and blankly watched the situation unfold.
Yu Jitae opened the door wide.
It couldn’t really see the room because of the angle of the door. The protector tried to stealthily move aside to steal a glance but the baby chicken tangled up its feet. It glared at the baby chicken, but Chirpy too glared back before slowly taking a few steps to the side.
The metal armour’s waist and the baby chicken’s head twisted slightly to the side.
After Gyeoul decided to make it into a mess, Bom’s room was incomparably messier than the other rooms. Yu Jitae heaved a clumsy sigh after seeing her room.
What was written on Kaeul’s script again? It was something like…
“Gyeoul.”
“…Yes.”
“Come outside for a bit.”
“…”
Gyeoul started walking outside with a disheartened expression. The protector tried reaching out to her but she raised her hand and flicked the protector’s arm away. And when the protector’s gaze left her body, she brightly smiled before heading to the storage room for the cake.
“Bom.”
“Yes.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to do this as well.”
“Yes…”
“You look less and less responsible recently. You’re the oldest sister of these kids. Even if they thoughtlessly mess everything up, you can’t do the same thing as them. Am I wrong?”
“…”
The protector was even more nervous.
Bom’s eyes gazing up at Yu Jitae were indifferent as always but her lips could be seen shivering as he continued scolding her. Her lips that were slightly open came to a tight close, and the eyes gazing up were slanted downward.
Isn’t this taking things too far? Right when the protector was starting to feel a little bit upset at Yu Jitae, Bom lowered her head and covered her eyes.
“What are you doing. I’m talking to you.”
“Yes…”
“Raise your head.”
“…”
“Lift your head up. And stop crying. You think you have the right to cry.”
“Sorry…”
Soon, a sorrowfully weeping voice was heard, and her breaths were interrupted by her sniffs.
She was crying and her small shoulders trembled. The atmosphere turned heavy.
Something was strange, thought Yu Jitae but still went with it.
“How can I trust you if you’re like this?”
“…”
“I’m disappointed.”
But…
No matter how much he spoke, Bom didn’t return the scripted lines.
“Bom.”
“…”
“Yu Bom. Any words to say?”
“…”
“Yu Bom.”
With her mouth shut tight, tears started travelling down her cheeks. Without saying a word, Bom started wiping the tears with her palms.
At this point, Yu Jitae was the one put in a difficult spot. Her heart, breaths, gestures and the beads hanging on her eyes – everything seemed to be suggesting that she was actually crying.
What in the world…
“…”
The original plan was to tell Armata to bring a cane from the storage and Gyeoul would jump out of her hiding spot with the cake in hand.
But if he continued with this, it felt like he might make the same mistake he made before. Therefore, he stopped there but Bom still didn’t stop crying.
From behind the door, Yeorum stared at them with her eyes questioning what was wrong with her and Kaeul was also flustered.
Bom cried for real, and the surprise party therefore ended up being a failure.
Yu Jitae suddenly became the bad one.
*
Kaeul and Gyeoul pushed the cake forward and somehow sorted the situation out. Bom also stopped crying and apologised to everyone. When Yeorum asked why she cried, she gave an effective excuse, “I saw a sad Providence just then…”.
However, since it was the first time Bom teared up, Yu Jitae called her over to the terrace.
Late at night under the dark sky, with the only source of ambient light being the room behind the half-closed curtains, Bom gave an awkward smile.
“Ah… I’m really sorry. I really wasn’t trying to cry.”
“…”
“You were really surprised because of me, right. I’m really sorry. Even I was surprised because of my tears, you know?”
When he stared at her with his hazy eyes, Bom had an apologetic look but soon bursted out into laughter after remembering his lost expression.
“You…”
“Noo~ Ah, I shouldn’t be laughing right now. But seriously, I was also startled so… please don’t be mad.”
“…”
“Nn? Please. Hnn? Let me apologise. Sincerely.”
Bom, who sincerely felt apologetic about the situation, showed a rare side – she acted cute and clung to him. Pressing on his temples, he asked.
“Why did you cry then.”
“You know… I wasn’t expecting it myself, but hearing that made me really depressed.”
“What’s there to be depressed about. It’s just a script.”
“I know right. Usually I’m not like this, but I think my emotions suddenly turned chaotic after hearing those words.”
“What. How I was disappointed?”
“Yes yes. Just, everything including that…”
As if she was shy, Bom gave an awkward smile.
“I know ahjussi didn’t really mean it, and I was mentally prepared for it as well. It was just, nothing but a script and yet…”
She slurred her words before adding more.
“…Why does my heart ache so much.”
The atmosphere rapidly changed.
Emotions appeared in the pair of green eyes gazing at him from below.
Bom’s usual eyes were difficult to analyse but her current gaze appeared familiar. The eyes of a human staring at treasure aligned with her current gaze. Lying within was greed.
“I’m really sorry. You were surprised right…”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
“You’re not mad anymore?”
“I wasn’t mad. Are you fine.”
Right when he was starting to realise that something was strange,
Bom suddenly came up and carefully hugged him. She then placed her forehead on his chest.
“Of course. I usually don’t even cry.”
The light weight behind her forehead could be felt by his chest. In that moment, perplexity started flooding in like a tidal wave.
“Bom.”
He tried to push the child’s shoulders away but a hurried voice stopped his hands.
“Just a little bit,” she said.
“…”
“Please just, let me stay like this for a bit.”
More water was added to a cup already full. Perplexity overflowed out of his emotions.
Not knowing what to do in a situation like this, the Regressor stood still doing nothing.
“Ahjussi. Can I please ask for a favour?”
“A favour?”
“Yes. Can you please just tell me one thing?”
“What.”
He thought to himself.
There were several times when it struck him, that Bom might be thinking more about the relationship between herself and him. That doubt tended to increase itself in size like a balloon from her words and actions whenever they were alone.
“I’m a dragon so… one good memory can replace most of my painful memories. So…”
Whenever that happened, he thought Bom was simply the type that enjoyed teasing others and tried to stop himself from having such a doubt.
However, the green pair of eyes staring up at him were dead serious.
His doubt slowly started expanding,
“…Can you please call me pretty?”
And exploded at last.