Necromancer Survival

o sat quietly to the side, looked at Han Kiseok’s selfie and glanced at Seo Dawon.
“Is he saying that the structure and position of his eyes, nose, and mouth are similar…?” He mumbled.

     Garam-ie expressed his dissatisfaction by placing Choi Kyung-sik–the easiest opponent–in a headlock.

     Then, Seo Dawon, the object of this conversation’s praise and derision, smiled arrogantly at me as soon as our eyes met.

     “What’s with your expression…” I grumbled.

“I just thought that Lee-kyung-ie really succeeded.”

     “What?”

     “They’re all saying I’m far better than your ex-boyfriend.”

     “…A-Are you crazy?!” My blood pressure rose sharply.
This was the man that stayed silent when it came to the topic of dating or romantic affection–how could he so shamelessly say that? I really wanted to hit him, but my arm was still tingling.
It had yet to recover from my attempts to forcefully retrieve my phone.  So, I could only spout curses at him, “You really need to be humbled! You’re so despicable!”

     “Humbleness combined with the likes of my face? Life would be too exhausting.”

     “Ugh….” I wanted to sneer at the Mage, but it seemed like nothing could break Seo Dawon’s armor of narcissism.
He probably wouldn’t even be affected if I were to say Han Kiseok was more handsome.
Rather, he’d probably be sarcastic and say I needed to wear glasses…

“Why did this bastard contact you though?” Woo Ragi re-directed our focus back onto the topic of Han Kiseok’s DM.
I had been contemplating whether or not to pinch the Mage; that comment returned me to my senses.
Seo Dawon’s arrogant self-love wasn’t the biggest issue.

     As if she had been waiting for this change in topic, Kim Olim immediately replied, “There’s nothing that particularly stands out in his social media posts.
There’s nothing strange in his message to Choi Lee-kyung either.”

     “Choi Lee-kyung wouldn’t suit this insider-type guy anyway–they’re polar opposites.” Jung Garam sure was talented in infuriating others.
Whose side was he on anyway? What was more upsetting was that unlike when they defended Seo Dawon’s appearance, no one stood up for me.

My cheeks flushed red.
Trembling, I protested, “I just…don’t go on social media that often.
I’m too lazy to post pictures…!”

     “Then, you should just ask him why he contacted you.”

     “Hmm, maybe it’s one of those typical greetings caused by an ex-boyfriend’s lingering emotion.”

     “Isn’t it 2 am now?”

     Of course, no one bought my excuses.
As if my words became background noise, they began exchanging their own opinions; naturally, my temper rose.

     I looked around to see if there was anything I could throw at them; my eyes met Seo Dawon’s interested eyes.
“It’s your choice, Lee-kyung-ah.”

     “What?”

     “Whether to respond or not.
I think he’s contacted you about something personal.” Seo Dawon said–it was the most logical course of action–and removed his arm that had been wrapped around my waist.

After being released from his embrace, I snatched my cell phone away from the Servants’ grasps.
“From now on! Don’t! Look at my Social media! As you please! Got it?”

      “……”

“……”

     No one spoke–as if they had coordinated.
Feeling furious once more, I retreated safely into my room.
Lackey, who usually loathed to exit the room if all the servants were gathered, excitedly hung onto my back as soon as I entered.

[Clack Clack!]

–Click.

     After locking the door, I took a deep breath and collapsed onto the bed, still holding my phone.
As I lost my balance and fell back onto the sheets, Lackey was still attached to my back.
The skeleton began to squirm, hitting my neck and my shoulders; it felt like a massage–what a filial child.

     “I really only have you, Lackey…”

[Clack Clack?]

     “Haah… Damn… Those punks all do as they please… Honestly, did their common sense die with them? Why go scroll through someone else’s account…”

[Clack clack clack…?]

     I continued to mumble before I remembered that the servants’ ears were incredibly sensitive; I forced myself to clamp my lips shut.
Then, I felt incredibly unfair–I couldn’t curse freely.

Lackey tapped me on my shoulder; I thought the skeleton was hitting me thoughtlessly, but suddenly my phone pinged me again.

[Han Kiseok: Ah, I didn’t message you for a particular reason…]

[Han Kiseok: I ran into your mother last week; I heard you also became a User.]

[Han Kiseok: I contacted you because I was curious.
I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.]

     Unexpectedly, Han Kiseok’s messages revealed his motivations.