Necromancer Survival

that, though, I felt like an otaku who was too immersed in his role as a Necromancer.
Instead of pointing that out, though, Seo Dawon adopted a cheeky smile and said, “Give me a command if you dislike this so much…”

    I couldn’t tell if the Mage was being sarcastic or if he was teasing me; I firmly shut my mouth.
Seo Dawon used more strength to bring me further into his embrace and made a show of looking at my cellphone.

    Just then, my cellphone pinged me; Seo Dawon checked the notification first.
“Master-nim~ You got a DM?”

    “What? Why would you even look at that! I’ve got my own private life too…!”

    “Who’s this?” Seo Dawon casually showed me the DM.
There, I saw the picture of a man I couldn’t forget.

[Han Kiseok]: It’s been a while.
Have you been well?]

     My eyes widened at the sight of an unexpected name.
Seo Dawon blinked, as if he were searching through his memories, and then mumbled, “Ahh, he’s our ‘Master’s’ friend, right? The guy who stopped contacting you after whispering sweet nothings…”

     “That’s… No, wait! Wait! He really sent a DM to me?!” I asked out loud in my shock.
Hearing my words, Seo Dawon narrowed his eyes instead of replying to me.

     I couldn’t tell what he was thinking–but the thoughts in his head definitely did not bode well for me… I looked at him, tense.
With a chilly, piercing gaze, Seo Dawon asked, “No way? Are you happy?”

Those were fighting words–it was as if he were scolding some pathetic person.

    “Rather than being happy…I was simply wondering…why he contacted me…” Though I felt angry, I couldn’t easily confront Seo Dawon when he adopted that sort of expression.
I mumbled, as if I were making excuses for myself.
Without another word, Seo Dawon entered [Han Kiseok]’s social media page.
His actions were eerily similar to how I had scrolled through Ryu Hyerin’s page earlier.

    To be honest, I’d checked out Han Kiseok’s personal account and the photos he uploaded a couple of times before.
Though I had never once contacted him!! Nor had I ever brazenly sent him a DM, the way he did to me a few minutes ago.
It was just that… whenever I got bored at dawn, or when sleep escaped me…I would look through the page…and observe how he flirted with what seemed to be a new girlfriend… That was all.

    I wasn’t saying that I was proud of what I’d done…But, didn’t everyone have times where they acted a bit pathetically? Why was I fidgeting so much…?! Furthermore, it wasn’t like I’d done any of that after signing the contract with Seo Dawon.
Though…that was mainly because I did not have the time or comfort to scroll through his page…

    However, I thought Seo Dawon would become more vicious if I were to explain this all to him, so I kept quiet.
I leaned against his still chest, unable to hear his heartbeat.

    Seo Dawon stroked my hair, as if I were some life-like doll.
He muttered meaningfully, “He’s handsome.”

    “……”

     “He’s that friend, right?”

“…W-What are you thinking?”

     “He looks like he’d appeal to Choi Lee-kyung’s taste.”

     I hurriedly closed my open mouth, stopping myself from blurting out a reply.
My jaws snapped shut with an incredibly loud noise and the force of the movement rattled my chin.

     Just how impressive was Seo Dawon’s intuition? Though I’d silenced my tongue, it was impossible to hide all my bodily reactions.

Seo Dawon stayed still for a brief moment and then gently grasped my chin.
Then, with a little force, he turned my head upwards, preventing me from avoiding his gaze.
Though his touch didn’t hurt, I was startled by his aggressive behavior.

     “It feels like my eardrums might burst from the sound of your heartbeats,” He said.

His voice was still gentle; he had yet to lose his smile.
Yet this kind of expression was somehow creepier.

    Therefore, I began to desperately deny any relation to Han Kiseok, “…We weren’t dating or anything.
Really…It’s just…We were just friends for a short period of time in the past…”

     “Unrequited love?”

     “N-No…!” Though Seo Dawon hit the nail on the head, I shook my head hard to deny his accusation.
If I were to accept the truth, there would only be endless talk of my disorganized and muddled past.
Above all, I was further motivated to deny everything due to Seo Dawon’s unusual expression.

Trying to soothe the Mage, I spouted whatever excuse came to mind.
“Anyway, that guy probably doesn’t like me.
He’s not even gay…”

    From Seo Dawon, who must have heard my words despite his lack of reaction, to the servants, who were observing from a distance with their arms crossed over their chest, no one took a single breath; they all stood quietly, like distinguished, noble-looking statues.
An ominous silence–icy cold yet blazing–settled down in the living room.