“Back in school? I was a model student, thank you very much.”
“You lunatic…”
Shane, the gray spider, shook his head as though he had a mountain of things to say but chose to condense them all into that one curse. Letting out a long sigh, he perched on the edge of his chair. Even the smallest of his movements exuded elegance.
“The moment you brought a gift with you, you were already a lost cause. Look at you—your business is booming and yet you’re stingy as hell.”
Unlike the honeybees, who found pride in using their time wisely and valued diligence and honesty above all else, spiders believed the true sign of success was doing as little work as possible while making as much money as they could. Earning only what you worked for? That was the behavior of a fool. What they really loved was striking it rich overnight—even better if it was through shady means. Even those running clothing businesses, one of the most common spider trades, made sure to scam someone along the way.
In that sense, he—raking in money without any real investment—was the envy of every classmate.
“Business? Thinking of quitting. Boring now… Oh, cake.”
“Stop shoving it in your face, you bastard.”
Watching his classmate elegantly stab at the whole cake with a fork, Shane frowned. Sure, he was known as a gluttonous bird-eating spider himself, but not even he could compete with that guy. The white spider, utterly unfazed by the scolding, leisurely sipped his tea and spoke as though describing last night’s dinner menu.
“…”
“…So? Think it’s doable?”
Compared to when the conversation started, the two creatures now seemed to have subtly shifted farther apart. But that wasn’t important. Hurel couldn’t have cared less as he focused intently on critiquing the cake.
“Not completely inedible. You bought this, right? There’s no way you could’ve made it. Your GPA was shit.”
“…You psycho bastard.”
“But it’s kinda sweet. Got anything else?”
“You insane, psychopathic freak. Are you even a living thing?”
Staring at the white spider like he was some sort of monster, Shane felt chills crawling up his spine. Even after finishing such a grotesque conversation, here he was, calmly sipping tea and critiquing dessert. How could a full-grown spider with an actual value system act like this? It wasn’t just a matter of lacking empathy, common sense, or morals. This was something beyond that.
“I already know the answer, but does that honeybee know? Did you get his consent?”
“Hmm… I figured it was better if he didn’t, so I didn’t tell him.”
Even a White-Striped Redrump, notorious for illegal medical practices and for devouring prey alive while they writhed in agony, was left speechless by that reply.
“At first, I was going to cut his wings off. But I let him off easy. Who knew I’d gotten so soft…”
“…You should’ve just cut them off.”
Shane muttered, dumbfounded, but the spider showed no signs of remorse. He didn’t even seem to recognize the problem. Is he really a psychopath? God, he’s terrifying.
“Can you do it or not? Just answer that.”
“…Yeah, I can. But I’ve got conditions.”
“Let’s hear ’em.”
Was this really the time for him to be making demands? He said it so confidently, it almost felt natural. Shane was stunned, but even saying more felt like a waste of time and energy. So he mumbled quietly,
“Once this is over, get the hell out of my sight. You fucking lunatic.”
***
The tropical rainforest was, in a word, overrun with plant life—a perfect embodiment of survival of the fittest. All around, only toxic plants had evolved to survive.
Blaine, hoping to pluck a few flowers, had instead gathered a bunch of passable-looking weeds into a makeshift bouquet. He tilted his head, uncertain. This isn’t right…
“That one’s not edible.”
“Ah…”
Startled by the low, gentle voice, Blaine stiffened and bowed his head in greeting. A glance around confirmed it was just the Redrump. They were still alone. The tension was still thick between them, and Blaine nervously bit down on his lip.
Is the consultation over? Then where the hell is Hani…?
“You’re bruised.”
“Huh?”
“Your chest.”
As the spider strode toward him, Blaine instinctively stumbled back. But the gray spider swiftly and naturally reached out and flipped open the front of his shirt.
What the—do all spiders do this?!
“W-What do you think you’re doing…!”
“The bruising’s pretty bad. My apologies.”
“It’s—It’s fine, really—just let go—”
Flustered, Blaine quickly pulled back and clutched his shirt closed. Shane silently tsked to himself, watching the trembling honeybee. Bite marks were imprinted all over his chest, with red welts scattered from collarbone to stomach. His nipples were swollen, red, and inflamed—proof he’d been completely wrapped up in spider silk and toyed with mercilessly.
Pity surged in Shane’s heart for the bee.
What’s so great about that body that he’d go that far?
Sure, that honeybee had unusually developed pectorals, but the rest of Blaine’s body was just an average muscular build—modest abs, decently firm arms, broad but unremarkable shoulders. A dime-a-dozen wasp physique.
Compared to the bulging, fat-free, delectable body of a rhinoceros beetle, there was no competition. Well, it wasn’t like this was anything new. Hurel and Shane had always had completely different tastes.
“Your nipples are really swollen. That’s gotta hurt.”
“Ughhh…!”
Blushing just as red as his chest, Blaine looked like he was on the verge of tears. Why me? Why am I going through this? Hani, where are you?! Please save me!
“Did you let this happen willingly? If not, you’re a pushover—and if you did, you’re a pervert.”
Blaine’s discomfort toward Shane shifted into something more like outright disgust. I hate this guy.
The truth was, he had been searching for flowers out of guilt—after that argument with General earlier. He’d wanted to offer an apology bouquet, but screw it. Forget the whole thing.
Still, Shane was supposed to be the one treating his body now, so he couldn’t help but be a little curious. Blaine asked General a bunch of questions, and the rhinoceros beetle, thrilled by the attention, launched into a long-winded monologue that eventually became a full-on hymn of praise for the Sage.
Then General said something that lit a fuse.
“Anyway, the Sage is amazing—beautiful inside and out! Totally different from that wicked spider!”
Wait. Wicked spider? Who’s that supposed to be?
“There was a time I thought the two of them kinda looked alike, but that was just my mistake. The Sage is way better looking!”
And what happened next? Blaine, completely baffled by the sheer absurdity of those words, grabbed the beetle and unleashed his anger.
“Wicked? Hurel?! He’s soft, kind, gentle! He’s timid and cries at the drop of a hat! And how dare you say the Sage is more handsome—what kind of crack are you smoking?! There isn’t a spider—no, a creature in this entire world more beautiful than Hurel!”
General had never seen Blaine raise his voice before and was so startled he teared up. You’re huge—why are you so emotionally fragile?
Feeling like he’d made him cry, Blaine was left with a gnawing sense of guilt. Sure, General had only spoken the truth, but maybe Blaine hadn’t needed to yell like that. He probably would’ve understood even if Blaine had explained it calmly… because it was the truth, after all.
He hadn’t done anything wrong, but… apologizing wouldn’t hurt, right? Blaine had been searching the rainforest for flowers with good intentions, but to end up getting humiliated like this—it was just unfair.
“So? Want me to prescribe you some ointment or something?”
“N-No, no thank you! The swelling will go down soon, I’m sure—”
“Not a chance.”
The gray spider scoffed at the honeybee blinking dumbly at him. Then, with not a shred of mercy, he plunged the knife of brutal honesty straight into Blaine’s heart.
