NOVEL WEB Chapter 716
“I’m not letting myself get caught again. I need to live long and well.”
Flap, flap—
We released all the fish trapped in the bucket into the lake.
Except for one fish I caught with a spear.
“Your hit rate is terrible, huh?”
“It’s hard to see on the ice.”
“But what should we do with this? We can’t just leave it here.”
“Hmm… Should we prepare it and take it back to the accommodation?”
“How…?”
Saetbyeol slowly turned her head towards Professor Cheon.
“Dad, you watch fishing channels all the time, right?”
At that, Professor Cheon shook his head in disgust.
“I was raised too delicately since I was young.”
“Eh? Didn’t you play by catching fish at the rural stream?”
“When are you talking about? The only time I’ve ever cleaned a fish was with Costco salmon sashimi.”
“That’s already filleted from the start…”
“Exactly.”
What a bunch of cowards, honestly.
I dashed between Saetbyeol and Professor Cheon to grab the fish.
“I’ll do it.”
“Can you manage it by yourself, Na-me? It seems fine to just leave it behind. Let the wild animals nearby eat it.”
“Absolutely not! I need to taste the Arctic mackerel.”
I manifested my aura, sharp like a needle, at the tip of my finger.
And when I stabbed the temple of the fish, which was glaring at me with wide eyes—
Thud—
“Kyahhhh!”
“Ugh, so loud!”
“Ugh, my stomach suddenly feels queasy…”
“I’m just sending it away without pain.”
Then, I placed the fish onto the ice and grabbed a sword.
Swish—
“First, let’s cut off all the visible fins.”
“Ooh.”
“This part is okay, right?”
“Yep.”
“Nothing much at the back either. First, make a cut near the gills, then poke through the anus to split open the belly. And then open it up.”
“Ugh!”
“Make another cut near the gills and pull out the insides.”
“Glug, glug…”
“Hey, Cheon Saetbyeol! If you’re just going to get in the way, get lost…!”
Saetbyeol, rolling her eyes and having a seizure.
But once we removed all the insides, the grotesqueness of the fish noticeably diminished.
As we passed through the uncanny valley, it transformed into something recognizable again.
“Scrape off any membranes inside and the congealed blood. Then split the head in half and rinse it well in the water to finish the prep.”
“This is insane…! Unni, you’re so cool!”
“Na-me, where did you learn this? Your cleaning skills are amazing!”
“Ahaha. I just watched a documentary…”
I stuttered and tried to avoid Professor Cheon’s gaze as much as possible.
‘There’s no ingredient easier to catch than fish in my past life.’
We returned to the accommodation and returned the fishing rods.
“Here, I borrowed a grill.”
“Wow, it’s just the right size.”
“Your dad will handle the grilling, so you all can take a break in the meantime.”
“Okay! Here, Nureongi, treats!”
“Woof!”
“One wasn’t enough, huh? Alright, I’ll give you another one.”
Nureongi was enjoying a cozy time alone in the kennel.
‘I do have some muscle soreness.’
There wasn’t a single part of me that didn’t feel stiff all over.
After changing into my pajamas, I headed straight to Saetbyeol’s room.
“Na-me, please put a patch on my back.”
[Ruri, should I hit you?]
“?”
“Wait! That’s…!”
“Do you want to die? How did you even film that video?”
“Wait! I know you’re angry. But what’s the best choice in this situation?”
“?”
Suddenly, Saetbyeol raised her palm to stop me.
I could only hesitate for a moment at her bold demeanor.
“I think the best choice is to post it on Instagram so as many people as possible can see this video. I’ll be waiting for your good judgment.”
“Oh. I’ll expect a good judgment from you.”
“Eh?”
* * *
[NoName]
[Live Broadcast | 👁 258,000]
-Whoa, a live stream!
-Wait, Na-me, Na-me!
-???
-Wow
-Saetbyeol Unni!!!
-So cute!
-Suddenly, Adella what the heck lol
“Ha. Hoo. Puff…! Hooou…”
Saetbyeol was desperately trying to control her laughter while steadying her mind.
I pressed the play button for the audio to signal.
[Nyan nyan nyan, nyan nyan nyan! Nyan nyan nyan, nyan!]
-?
-?
-?
“SKitto skitto, the cat goes down the forest path. Dipping its paws to the rhythm, Yodel hee nyan! Leaping under the sunlight with its tail swaying. Yodel hee nyan nyan, yodel, yodel hee nyan!”
[The broadcast has ended.]
[Thank you for watching.]
“Kyaaaaaa! At the end, 300,000 people watched!”
“Hehe.”
Saetbyeol was hitting the pillows and kicking the blanket.
In that brief moment, she pulled off a four-combo adorable Yodel cat, complete with ‘ears perked up’ and ‘tail swaying.’
“You could have succeeded as an idol.”
“No way, no way! I can’t do this kind of stuff!”
“But you sang well during your virtual YouTuber activities.”
“Ugh!”
Before things could get unsettling, I shoved a mackerel skewer into her mouth.
Munch, munch—
“Mhm! Are you freaking kidding me? Did you see, Dad? How could 250,000 people join in just 20 seconds?”
“Na-me, is your wrist okay?”
“Yeah, I’ve been spraying it in between, and I just put on a patch. Tada!”
“I keep telling you, it shouldn’t hurt.”
“Tch. No one cares about me…”
“Yawn. I’m heading to bed first. You kids sleep well.”
“Goodnight!”
Professor Cheon, still struggling to adjust to the time difference, went to his room early.
I should also get some sleep now for tomorrow’s schedule.
Swish—
“?”
Two shadows silently followed behind.
Saetbyeol seemed to be pouting while checking community reactions.
Ruri was analyzing the power of my opponent for the round of 64 I had entrusted her with earlier.
If I sleep, they’ll know when to go out.
“Ugh, so tired.”
Blink—
I closed my eyes.
Blink—
When I opened them again, there were two girls occupying the spaces beside me.
“Guys, I really need to sleep.”
“I’ll turn off the light. Zzz…”
Blink—
I closed my eyes again.
I could hear the sound of hands fidgeting inside the blanket, which was quite annoying.
Yet, I was determined to fall asleep.
“Eeek! What’s that?”
“Oh, Na-me Unni, you have abs! They’re soft but firm?”
“Ruri, take care of her.”
“Ughhh!”
“Kyah! That hurts! Don’t bite me!”
After that loud commotion, there was no chance of falling asleep.
Blink, blink—
So I kept my mood light on and continued to blink my eyes.
“Whoa, look, Minwoo from NCT covered my Yodel cat. I’m so touched.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Why aren’t you jealous? Why aren’t you jealous? Why aren’t you jealous?”
“What jealousy? Do I need to sing Yodel cat for you?”
“Aww, please.”
“Skittling down the forest path is the cat. Tapping every toe to the rhythm—this feels a bit embarrassing.”
“Right? Being on a broadcast and reality is completely different.”
“You have a flair for this.”
“Whoa, Minwoo’s fans bombarded my Instagram. Kyaah, it’s a total battlefield! I’m joining the fray with my sub account; just wait, kids.”
While Saetbyeol was busy typing away, I turned my body to Ruri on the other side.
“Ugh.”
“?”
Ruri suddenly averted her gaze downward.
Now that I think about it, are we a bit awkward with each other?
She’s been my subordinate for a long time.
Expecting to suddenly accept her as family would be unrealistic.
‘Still, it’s kind of sad…’
Fiddling with my aura in my hand, I worked hard to shape it into a grand dragon wing.
“Wow.”
“I can only go this far. You make the rest.”
“Okay.”
Ruri carefully drew out black aura to add the body to the wings.
Even though the end result was weird.
“Eek, isn’t this a hippo standing on two legs?”
“No, it’s not…!”
“It’s a masterpiece, can’t we take a picture? Both our hands are busy.”
“I’ll use my foot to grab the phone.”
“This won’t last long. Hurry.”
“Ugh!”
Ruri stretched out her foot and wedged the charging phone between her big toe.
“Ugh!”
“Ruri?”
The dragon hippo I manifested with the external appearance vanished without a trace.
Ruri grabbed her foot and pouted.
“Did you cramp up?”
“Yeees…”
“Oh dear, I’ll help you loosen it.”
I pressed on Ruri’s foot, relaxing the stiff muscles.
Soft skin, free of calluses.
“Your hand is warm, Unni. I like it.”
“Oh really? Want me to massage your legs while I’m at it?”
“No, no! How could I ask you for something like that?! I’m fine!”
“Now that you mention feet, it reminds me of the Ice Cave of Laziness.”
“When my ankle got chopped off?”
“Yeah. The demon beasts of laziness were really scary, weren’t they? They didn’t even show up well in the blizzard.”
“I personally remember you being scarier.”
“Ruri, am I tickling your feet?”
After finishing the foot massage, I lay back down.
Pat pat pat pat—
As I swiped through Cheon Saetbyeol’s phone again, her crazed gaze reflected back at me.
“Stop it and sleep with me already.”
“Hmm? Uh-huh.”
Silence.
I always liked this quiet moment right before falling asleep.
The warmth lingering in the room, the feel of the thin blanket.
Moreover, the night makes people honest.
Of course, it could also be a prime time for torture.
But essentially, night is when humans are most defenseless.
So humans, through a long process of evolution, have learned to rely and cooperate with each other in the stillness of the night.
“Na-me Unni.”
“Yeah?”
“If I said I got a boyfriend, what would you do?”
“I’d just think, ‘Oh, you have a boyfriend.’”
“What if I said I was getting married?”
“For marriage, I might check out the partner well. What if they’re a strange person?”
“What if I decide to live alone without ever getting married?”
“Well, I don’t think that would be a problem. If you get bored, just live with me. After all, I’m not getting married in this lifetime.”
“Why?”
“I told you before. In my first life, I felt no feeling of love toward either men or women.”
“That’s weird. I think if they taste good, it’s fine whether they’re a man or a woman.”
Ruri squeezed my clothes tightly.
“Why, Ruri?”
“W-wait, wait! Your Omma was… a man…?”
“I told you, Ruri.”
“Oh, wait? I’m hearing this for the first time! Seriously? I knew you reincarnated twice, but… as a man…”
“Wow… Na-me Unni, you’re a scammer.”
“No! I definitely told you in my past life! During Erichiton’s wedding…”
“I was dozing off. If it was then…”
“Then it’s not my fault.”
Ruri threw off the blanket and propped herself up.
You’re not going to start hating me over this, right?
I thought dragons don’t have misandry.
They generally dislike humans equally.
But what Ruri said next shocked us all.
“Omma… or is it Abbeo-nim…? Or Unni? Oppa?”
“Yeah.”
“Then, could you marry me?”
“Eh?”