Chapter 251: 250

     Of course, Chairwoman Shin came to mind during this conversation. Koo Hui-seo must have suffered from Chairwoman Shin’s curse, but she was already dead.

     Besides, Koo Hui-seo was the one who killed her. No matter how great her skills may be, even skills have time limits. After the time limit passes, the skill cannot be used again until the cooldown period ends. A Witch’s curse may be a little different from other ordinary skills, but those curses still cannot be maintained if the User dies.

     That was why I concluded that Koo Hui-seo must have been using his own skills. Of course, it didn’t seem like he was consciously aware; as a mentally ill person, he might not even realize that he’s hurting himself.

     “Koo Hui-seo-ssi.”

     “Yes…”

     “This nightmare…when did it begin? Have you had these sorts of dreams since you were a child?”

     Koo Hui-seo raised his chin, as if he were about to nod at my question, but stayed silent. His eyes became murky. “I-I don’t know…” He shook his head, unable to hide his confused expression.

     “Then, when was the last time you had this sort of dream?”

     “….Uh…” Koo Hui-seo kept stuttering, like a glitchy machine, and I was convinced. This was part of Koo Hui-seo’s skills. And these skills must have been greatly influenced by his mother, Chairwoman Shin. Before, he was able to escape straight away since he had use of his own skills, but something must have become twisted after the ex-chimera lent me his blood to use in the Vengeful Ghost contract.

     To verify this theory, I grabbed Koo Hui-seo’s–who was still plunged deep in worried contemplation–attention. “Hui-seo-ssi. Please look at me for a moment.”

     “Ah, yes…” Koo Hui-seo stared at me with his pale face. I reached out to him; the ex-chimera didn’t retreat and simply stayed docilely still.

     I touched his icy hands, “Would you come a bit closer?”

     “……”

     Then, I pulled cautiously at his hand. Koo Hui-seo slowly leaned his upper body to my front.

     When Koo Hui-seo’s nape was almost touching my nose, I smelled a faint odor that I had not noticed before. I placed my face near his collarbone to check that smell.

     “L-Lee-kyung-ssi…” the ex-chimera stuttered.

     “Stop talking and stay still.” I said sternly, chastising him for squirming for no reason. Then, Koo Hui-seo waited motionlessly, like a taxidermy butterfly.

     To my surprise, though, the room slowly began to fill with that stench. It was as if he had been consciously suppressing that smell. It was similar to what I had smelt just before we were transported to this place–the nauseating stench of a corpse that had been burning for a long while.

     Fortunately, after one strong blare, the scent disappeared as if it had been washed away. However, when I opened my eyes, I could see the black tentacles behind Koo Hui-seo’s back clearly.

     I was surprised, though I had expected this. Just before I was dragged into this nightmare, I remembered that the servants were sensitive to my statement that I had smelled something horrid. So…belatedly, the thought that this may all be connected had burrowed into my mind.

     However, putting aside such bitter expectations, I piped up with questions I wanted to ask the ex-chimera. “…Hui-seo-ssi. Are you really alive?”

     “What? P-Probably…”

     “…Haah.” As soon as I heard Koo Hui-seo’s dumb answer, a sigh of relief naturally escaped from my mouth. Someone who’s actively trying to harm me probably wouldn’t be that stupid…

     ‘Plus, those tentacles don’t look like they’re in the best condition… I don’t think they can move.’

     The limp pile of tentacles hanging from Koo Hui-seo’s back looked to be in a similar state to my broken ankle–droopy and just stuck onto his body… So I let go of Koo Hui-seo’s hand and pushed away his upper body, which was still leaning close towards me, and asked, “The tentacles behind your back–are they hurt?”

     “Ah… Can you see them clearly now?”

     “Yes.”

     “I guess, it hurts a little…?” Koo Hui-seo answered with a slightly happy, vacant look on his face. I had no idea what he found so enjoyable about being hurt, but… I reached and tapped the tip of those tentacles. “Does it hurt if I hit it like this?”

     “No…”

     “Did they break or get injured?”

     “Mm, I suppose the longest tentacles, on the top, are broken…” He fiddled with two tentacles that stretched over his shoulder.

     I reached out to the ex-chimera’s shoulder, slow enough so that he could see my approach. Koo Hui-seo didn’t even put up any defenses as I grabbed that thick tentacle. He was meek and docile–as if he’d allow himself to be beaten even if I were to twist and wring his tentacles.

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     I touched it gently, and Koo Hui-seo’s cheeks colored an unpleasant red. Though I wanted the other to mind his expressions, the tentacles must have had sensitive nerves, so I simply ignored Koo Hui-seo.

     After briefly touching the strands like that, I could see him flinch when I stroked closer to his waist.

<     ‘It seems like they’re broken here’

     While checking the injury, I asked, “Will they heal if we just leave them like this? Can you recover?”

     “It’ll probably take some time…?” Once again, Koo Hui-seo gave a vague answer. Then, suddenly, he grabbed at my forehead with a cold hand without permission.

     I reflexively and sharply slapped at his hand. “What are you doing!”

     At my reaction, Koo Hui-seo flinched, as if he were a scolded child. He replied, evasively, “L-Lee-kyung-ssi looks like he has a fever… I was simply trying to measure your temperature…”

    “What?”

     “Since Lee-kyung-ssi has a broken leg…aren’t you also in pain?”

     I felt a little embarrassed because I seemed to have overreacted; even so, I didn’t want Koo Hui-seo to willfully touch my body. So, I said coolly, “No matter what happens, don’t touch me until I give permission.”

     “……”

     “Do you understand?”

     “…Yes…” Koo Hui-seo looked gloomy and pitiful, but I’ve long been trained out of falling prey to such expressions by living with Lackey, who utterly adored taking walks.

     I didn’t placate him and cut straight to the heart of the matter, “How long will it take for you to recover?”

     “…When broken tentacles are plucked out, a new one will grow in its place after a few minutes…”

     When I heard Koo Hui-seo’s answer, my brows naturally furrowed.

     Honestly, was this a potted bonsai or something? Would it grow new buds when pruned? Furthermore, it seemed like the tentacles were connected through the nervous system. Didn’t the guy blush just because I touched him a little earlier?

     “Is it okay for these things to be cut? It’ll probably hurt.” However, I was in a hurry, so I blurted out more questions.

     As expected, Koo Hui-seo merely nodded. “It’ll be alright…”

     “……” Of course I knew it wouldn’t be just ‘alright,’ but we were in a situation that needed his sacrifice; besides, Koo Hui-seo never hesitated. He placed a hand on one of the thick tentacles that stretched over his shoulder.

Riiiiiip–

     After a vivid sound, a bundle of tentacles from the right shoulder fell to the floor and wriggled around. On his body, where the roots of the tentacles were plucked, a thick black oil-like liquid–quite unlike human blood–burst forth.

      However, the black blood soon stopped flowing and something that seemed like a black horn began to grow. In the following few seconds, the tentacles grew back.

     The problem was Koo Hui-seo’s complexion.

     He bit his lower lip as if he were in extreme pain; his fingers trembled as he brought his hand to his left shoulder. I thought about saying something, but I ended up closing my mouth again–after all, I was the one asking for his sacrifice in the first place.

Rriip–

      Once again, that vivid sound rang out. In the end, Koo Hui-seo couldn’t endure and collapsed onto the bed. I felt extremely sorry for that twitching, skinny back.

      “……” I hesitated and placed my hand on the newly sprouted tentacles. Koo Hui-seo, still laying on his stomach, turned his head in astonishment as soon as he felt my touch. After staring at me, he gave me a pouty look, “Why can L-Lee-kyung-ssi…touch me…without asking for permission…”

      Perhaps my scummy words earlier made a lasting scar on his psyche. However, in lieu of answering, I simply stroked the back of his head. “If you don’t like it, then tell me not to touch you like I did,” I said, shamelessly.

      Koo Hui-seo pursed his lips but did not tell me to remove my hand. He continued to act like a baby to me until his pain died down. Only when I pinched the new bundle of tentacles did he rise up to his feet.

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