Necromancer Survival

essure…Still, I half-heartedly gave my polite greetings, “Yes, yes, thank you~ I’ll be going now,” and ran for the elevator.
My back prickled with 4 insistent gazes, but I no longer saw the group from within the elevator.

     “Was Bae Jaemin gay?” Seo Dawon murmured as we left the elevator.

     I shouted, “Huh? Why? What makes you say that?” I had not realized how loud my voice was until passersby gave me a strange look and a wide berth…

     Darn…have I made it so obvious how agitated I was? Fortunately, Seo Dawon chose to ignore my exclamation and pass over the outburst with only a questioning glance.
He continued, “He was being so damn cheesy.”

     “…..Hmm.
I guess? I thought he was just being pretentious….”

     “I don’t usually give guys my personal contact number and encourage them to be in contact whenever they need me.”

     “Ahh….”

     I had thought the same originally….but the person we’re scrutinizing is Bae Jaemin! We had not met under normal circumstances, and I already knew how he had so deeply betrayed the [Red Lotus] guild.
Frankly, I felt nothing for him other than fear.

     He probably thought he’d find some use for me…

     ….Seo Dawon placed his arm around my shoulder and leaned in close as if he were spilling some national secret.
He whispered, “Hey, you might not know this, but there’s a lot of perverts among the Rankers.
You should be careful.”

     “What?”

     “And, this is just my opinion…Bae Jaemin sees the world from such a different perspective.
He’s the type of guy to get excited at stitching tangerine peels back together.”

     Even though I was intrigued by the dirty laundry he was airing, I wondered if he was simply gauging how gullible I am.
I timidly attacked him, “Aren’t you also a Ranker?” 1

     Seo Dawon shook his eyebrows at an invisible audience, as if to say ‘Are you seeing this?’ He recovered quickly, however, and returned the banter, blow for blow, “Well, I suppose by that standard I’m also a pervert, but…In the end, everyone seems to like that?” He leaned in closer with a sly smile.

     Goosebumps raised all over my arms at the sight of his expression, and I quickly escaped from his grasp.
“Get off!”

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     “If our Lee-kyung-ie is curious, then he should just give me an order.
I’m your servant, so I’m forced to comply with every demand.” He sighed dramatically, completing the perfect performance of a beleaguered man.

      I shouted, “Why would I ask something like that of you!”

 

* * *

 

     Eventually, my patience ran out and I screamed out of frustration.
Though the crowd looked at me in bewilderment, my agitation dampened whatever embarrassment I would usually feel.

     Originally I had planned to buy most of the things I needed on this trip, but because of various events, I was delayed.
Precious few hours were left before businesses closed…Besides, I was hungry, so I decided to return home.
I could always come back tomorrow for the needed supplies, or order online.

     I had thought about eating out, but I wanted to avoid the extra burden of eating while Seo Dawon sat and watched me with nothing better to do.
(Though others couldn’t see the man, it’s not as if I could easily ignore his presence.)

     On a gas stovetop, I cracked the eggs and scrambled them.
Seo Dawon, this jerk, was quite calm while I was cooking, but he immediately grabbed a spoon and a pair of chopsticks as soon as I was finished.

     “Can I try some of this?” He asked.

     “Can you even eat?”

     “I want to try.” Then, he scooped some scrambled eggs into his waiting mouth.

     No way…

     He can actually eat?

     But, soon afterward, he scrunched his face; he spat out the eggs into some tissue paper.

     “As expected, no good?”

     “It’s so tasteless…”

     “Hey!!”

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     “Just kidding.
It’s delicious, but I just can’t seem to swallow.
Too bad.”

     Still, it seems that he could at least still taste the food…Suddenly I felt sorry for him.
I placed a bit of rice and some side dishes 2 in a bowl and put them in front of him.

     He looked at the food and smiled bitterly, “So I can only have a taste?”

      “I just didn’t feel like eating alone.
It’s enough if you pretend to eat.” I purposely added a blunt, “It’s an order.”

     Seo Dawon smiled at me and said, “Thank you,” in a rich, clear voice.
Like that we enjoyed an odd but warm meal.

      Lackey lacked the faculties to swallow as well, but it too pretended to join in on the meal.
The skeleton servant was placed by my side, and I handed him small bits of rice wrapped in seaweed.
Looking at it chewing so enthusiastically, I felt guilty that I had forced it to [Bite] all the time with no payoff.

     I’m sorry, Lackey.

 

–Ding Dong

 

     Just as we were finishing our meal, the doorbell rang.

     I had no acquaintance that would visit me without any notice this late in the night.
I approached the door, tense, wondering if it was Bae Jaemin.

     Seo Dawon was already two steps ahead of me.
He enveloped his hands in a golden glow, ready to shoot skills when necessary.

     “Who is it?” Nervously, I stood at the door and called out to the mysterious visitor…

     “It’s me, Kim Sangyoon.”

     I heard an unexpected voice through the door.

 

 

TL: Seo Dawon is such a troll…

Footnotes

So, the idiom used here is “Spit onto your face,” which basically means to mock or to say unbelievable things to tease someone Korean side dishes, or banchan, is a must for any meal! It’s common to have 3 – 8 dishes with your meal!