“…I never said we were ending things.”

I had planned to tell him what we would do next after he had calmed down. At my delayed words, Geon-joo, who was sitting on the bed, shot me a sharp look.

“You said we were mismatched and were about to walk out. How is that any different from ending things?”

“No, Geon-joo. In the first place, was there anything between us to even end? Why are you overreacting like this?”

We never even started anything.

The tower of effort we had built in the Field had crumbled long ago, and our relationship was nothing more than that of a guild leader and a guild member. Now that even that was broken, we were back to a blank slate. There was nothing to end or not end.

Had he joined the Night Rat or the Swallow guilds? Had he formed some kind of special relationship with me?

When I gave him a look of complete incomprehension, he fell silent. I watched Geon-joo, his face a mask of what might have been resentment or frustration, biting his lip as if lost in thought, and I sat back down in my chair. I had intended to end the conversation, but seeing him in that state, I knew I couldn’t just leave.

He said there was something he wanted to know.

I mulled over the words Geon-joo had spoken just a moment ago about making things fit. I had told him everything he was curious about, so what else could there be?

I told him about my past and why I needed him. Logically, there shouldn’t have been anything more to be curious about, but I had no idea what had sparked his curiosity again.

Are all disposition holders like this?

Both Lee Jaehee and Han Geon-joo were kings of curiosity and exploration. It’s not like anyone gives out an award for this kind of effort, so why were they always so full of questions and so eager to find things out?

Furthermore, the things they sought to uncover and reveal were always thorny and difficult, demanding a great deal of time and energy. In Lee Jaehee’s case, he had the grand goal of saving the world, so I could understand him making such sacrifices. But I had no clue why Han Geon-joo was acting this way.

Is it just because he’s a lunatic?

“Why are you going this far?”

I asked out of pure curiosity. Then, the question felt familiar, and I retraced my memories.

Han Geon-joo had asked me the exact same thing.

Why are you being so good to me?

I wondered if he felt then the way I felt now.

I considered it for a moment before shaking my head. No. Back then, Han Geon-joo’s intentions were as black as night, completely unreadable, so he must have felt different from how I did now. As I was entertaining these useless thoughts, the man’s lips parted, breaking the faint silence that had settled in the room.

“I don’t know either.”

“…What?”

“That’s why I’m saying I’ll stay by your side and help you.”

“Because you want to find out why you’re acting this way?”

“Yes.”

Hah.

The answer was so straightforward that it was all the more dumbfounding. I met his eyes, trying to understand his admission of not knowing his own heart, but I couldn’t see anything. Suddenly, something Lee Jaehee had said came to mind.

‘If your younger lover whines, you should indulge him.’

What the hell did that bastard see?

At the time, I was so out of it because of Geon-joo’s crying that I missed the timing to challenge him, but thinking back, the words of the man who could read the heavens were random and suspicious. I needed to figure out what on earth he saw to make him talk about a ‘younger lover.’ It seemed I’d have to shake down Lee Jaehee as soon as I left this place.

“…”

An awkward, dry silence once again descended upon the room. Geon-joo was lost in his own thoughts again, and I was busy mulling over the recent events. His claim of not knowing his own feelings sounded incredibly childish, yet at the same time, I could relate just a little.

I, too, had been unable to easily define my own emotions lately.

However, our cases seemed a bit different. I had given up on trying to assess my feelings because I didn’t have the capacity, whereas Geon-joo seemed unable to figure his out despite examining them with all his might.

Ha. Fucking hell, as if he wasn’t a brat already.

I had no idea why he was telling me things like that and making me feel so unsettled. His parents were alive and well, weren’t they? He should go tell them. I just stroked Rai’s fur with enough force to make a rustling sound. After a long moment, Geon-joo’s lips opened again.

“Still, my intentions aren’t suspicious like they were before.”

“So you admit you were suspicious before.”

“…What.”

The man mumbled, trailing off. I let out a small laugh. I had noticed it in the Field, but he was actually pretty good at self-assessment.

A deep breath slowly filled my lungs and then emptied out again.

“Should I trust you?”

Geon-joo reacted to the words that had slipped out like a murmur to myself. I watched his eyes go wide and stood up from my seat. As I approached, his questioning gaze met mine. I ignored it, reached out, and grabbed his chin.

“…?”

Just as his eyes filled with bewilderment, I turned his head sharply from side to side. His head followed my hand, allowing me to see his face from various angles.

“The malicious aura is definitely gone.”

Whether it was because he had cried twice in a row or because he had calmed down, the toxic energy I had felt when we first reunited had certainly vanished. This was much better. A smile lifted the corners of my mouth.

“There are three things you need to know, Geon-joo.”

“What are they?”

“First, I hate bastards who look at me with disrespectful eyes.”¹

Geon-joo frowned at my words, which I had uttered as if I’d been waiting for this moment. I marveled at his expression; that was the exact look I was talking about. It was a talent, how he could so perfectly choose the exact expression that would displease me.

“I’m the type who can’t rest until I’ve disciplined bastards like that, so if you want to stay by my side, you’d better be careful.”

“…”

“When you lose trust, you lose the privileges you were given. Don’t think I’ll go easy on you like I did in the Field. Keep your eyes straight.”

The members of Night Rat weren’t surprised to see Geon-joo for no reason. It was the first time I had ever given someone such special treatment. Anyone else would have had their limbs broken four times over for less, but for him, I let it slide with a few flicks to the forehead and some mockery. That was a privilege in itself.

After I treated him like that, he ran away, so there was no need to treat him the same way anymore. Geon-joo frowned and grabbed my wrist.

“I’m not a fan of hierarchical relationships.”

Right, he did say we needed to be equals.

Now that our relationship as guild leader and guild member was severed, things between us were not the same as before. As if telling him not to worry, I slowly let go of his face.

“It’s fine. This isn’t an order or a command. It’s just my personality.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means that even if you’re not my subordinate, if you look at me like that, I’ll beat you up first and ask questions later.”

“…”

Geon-joo stared at me, dumbfounded and at a loss for words. It had been a while since I’d seen that look, too. It used to happen quite often in the past. I let out a laugh and continued.

“Second, I hate being betrayed. I’ve stressed this enough, so I doubt it will happen, but…”

My gaze drifted down to his ankle. Feeling the momentary surge of killing intent, the man flinched and pulled his foot back. It seemed his good instincts were as sharp as ever.

“You’re the one who suggested we make things work. If you run away again after all that, what would that be if not a betrayal?”

“…”

“If you want to crawl on all fours, try running away again.”

Next time, it wouldn’t be his wrist, but his ankle. Not one, but both. I held my gaze on his ankle to make my warning clear. A beat later, his answer came.

“Do as you please.”

It was an answer that couldn’t help but make me laugh.

“Lastly, I’ll let you be free for today, but from tomorrow on, try not to leave my side if you can help it. If you disappear again, I can’t predict what I might think.”

Because without Lee Jaehee, I can’t control my impulses.

Lately, Lee Jaehee had been doing a good job of keeping me in check, allowing me to live a moderately human-like life. But if Geon-joo ran away while he was gone, I couldn’t predict how I would react.

I might tear everything down, or I might hunt him down, seething with killing intent, vowing to snap his neck this time for sure. Or I might kidnap and threaten the people around him one by one to pressure him.

There were several methods that came to mind, and the problem was that I might use all of them at once. I gave him a warning in advance. Geon-joo scowled, clearly displeased about something, but reluctantly nodded. Then he asked in a sullen voice.

“Is this what you call an equal relationship?”

“If you don’t like it, come back when you’re stronger.”

“…”

“What’s the point of being an S-rank if you’re going to cry your eyes out just because I grabbed your wrist a little hard?”

“Was that what you call ‘a little hard’?”

I ignored his dumbfounded retort. It’s always advantageous to ignore inconvenient questions.

“Your turn. Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“What you want.”

He wanted an equal relationship and left to achieve it, so I was willing to at least keep up appearances. Since I had made three demands, I was willing to hear three of his. I gave a nod. Han Geon-joo opened his mouth.

He’ll probably ask for an item, or for me to speak more nicely, something like that.

The moment I relaxed, confident I knew what he would ask for.

“Take that off.”

“…This?”

“Yes. …Is it absolutely necessary?”

The very first thing Han Geon-joo demanded wasn’t for me to stop manhandling him or to stop threatening him, but for me to take off Lee Jaehee’s pairing ring.

I was so flabbergasted that I glanced from my ring to Geon-joo, then to Rai, who was cluelessly wagging its tail beside us, before letting out a sharp laugh.

Seriously, what’s the big deal about one ring?

“This is the summoning ring for him.”

I said, gesturing towards Rai with my eyes. Another demand immediately followed.

“Then tell him to make it into a bracelet.”

“Do you have any idea what you’re asking for right now?”

Make some sense.

I shot him a pathetic look, and he bit his lip hard. Agh, fuck. He looked like he was going to cry again. I fiddled with the ring and let out a sigh, giving in to his request.

Guess I’ll have to ask Lee Jaehee if he has a bracelet.

Two adults were suffering because of one childish brat.

…Though the one in front of me was technically an adult, too.