144.
All Yu Jin could do now was glare at the back of Greyardin’s head. After some time, Greyardin seemed to feel the gaze and turned to look at Yu Jin.
“You’re awake?”
Greyardin’s voice was incongruously gentle for the situation.
“Come down. It’s almost time for a meal.”
“I don’t particularly want to eat.”
Yu Jin lowered his speech, not wanting to be polite in this situation, but Greyardin didn’t show much reaction.
“You should eat. You can’t run away if you don’t have strength.”
It made sense when he heard it. It was ironic that the very person who had imprisoned Yu Jin was saying this. Yu Jin let out a small sigh and went downstairs.
“What about Gee?”
“Who’s that?”
Yu Jin raised his eyebrows at Greyardin’s words. He had threatened to kill Gee if Yu Jin didn’t listen, but now he was pretending not to know. Now that he was within reach, Yu Jin considered actually hitting him. The chances of retaliation were high, but who knows? His palm might connect with that bastard’s head. As Yu Jin was considering this, Greyardin belatedly spoke.
“Oh, I remember. The foul-mouthed one? He’s in the basement now. Want to see him?”
“I want to see him.”
“Alright. Let’s go down after we finish the meal.”
“I want to see him before eating.”
“But the soup will get cold.”
“I said I want to see him first.”
“Cold soup doesn’t taste good.”
Despite saying this, Greyardin led Yu Jin to the basement. Unlike the seemingly small upper building, the underground space was surprisingly spacious. On both sides of a long corridor were rows of prison cells made of iron bars, and Gee was collapsed in one of them.
“Gee!”
Yu Jin rushed over and grabbed the bars. He examined them, wondering if he could open them, but the door was firmly locked. Still, he shook them several times, and Greyardin came and stood beside him.
“Want me to open the door?”
“If you can open it, do it quickly!”
“So impatient.”
Greyardin opened the door with a key from his waist. As soon as the door opened, Yu Jin rushed in and immediately checked on Gee. Gee seemed to have regained consciousness and looked straight at Yu Jin.
“Gee.”
When Yu Jin called his name again, Gee’s voice came out.
“…Master Yu Jin.”
Yu Jin couldn’t even ask if he was okay. Gee’s condition looked too poor for that. Leaving someone in this state on a cold stone floor could lead to an irreversible situation. Yu Jin gritted his teeth and put his hands on Gee’s body. However, realizing he couldn’t just recklessly pick him up, he looked around. What he needed now was a stretcher.
Greyardin silently watched Yu Jin move urgently. Yu Jin brought two long sticks from somewhere and wrapped cloth around them. Then he managed to carefully move Gee onto it. It was a fairly decent makeshift stretcher, but it looked difficult to move alone. Sure enough, Yu Jin struggled but couldn’t carry Gee.
Greyardin smiled slightly, finding this scene somewhat reminiscent of a small animal. But it seemed Yu Jin heard his laugh.
“Why are you just laughing? Help!”
Quite bold for someone who’s been kidnapped. There was no need to listen, but Greyardin got up. He was somewhat moved by Yu Jin’s brazen behavior.
“How can I help?”
Yu Jin’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting him to actually offer help. He had seen this kind of animal somewhere before. A small animal that lives in the forest and is crazy about acorns.
“Squirrel.”
Even the boldness resembled it. But as soon as Yu Jin heard the word “squirrel,” he frowned deeply.
“Stop talking nonsense and lift that side.”
Greyardin grabbed the opposite end of the stretcher. When he stood up matching Yu Jin’s pace, Gee was lifted.
“Huff.”
Unlike Greyardin, Yu Jin, who lacked absolute physical strength, struggled greatly. Still, without a single word of complaint, he gritted his teeth and moved Gee upwards. But it seemed his strength ran out there, as he couldn’t make it to the second floor where the bed was. Instead, Yu Jin laid several layers of blankets brought from upstairs on the living room floor and placed Gee on top.
“Don’t you have any medicine?”
“There should be some.”
“Where is it?”
“I didn’t prepare it myself, so… Aksen would know.”
Aksen had temporarily left the house to deal with the aftermath of what Rector had experienced.
“You’re not helping!”
Yu Jin brushed past Greyardin and started searching every room. It wasn’t that he had never seen someone make an effort for others, but somehow it felt fresh. Was it because Yu Jin was of the same bloodline as him that he felt this way, unlike with others? Greyardin stroked his chin with his hand as he watched his descendant move busily.
“…Found it!”
Having finally found the medicine without Greyardin’s help, Yu Jin sat down next to Gee again. Then, with clumsy hands, he started cutting the medicine and wrapping bandages. Thanks to Aksen’s fantastic torture, Gee wouldn’t lose his life immediately, but it would be painful. And while he might be okay for now, without follow-up treatment, he would die within days.
Infections from wounds can quickly become dangerous. By the time Yu Jin finished treating Gee as best he could, it was already past mealtime.
“What about the meal?”
When Greyardin grumbled, Yu Jin headed to the dining room with a fierce expression. The meal set on the table had already gone cold and tasteless. However, Yu Jin boldly picked up the soup bowl, drank it in one go, and went into the kitchen. Curious about what he was going to do, Greyardin watched as Yu Jin seemed to be preparing to cook.
“You know how to cook?”
There was no answer to the question. Yu Jin found a few ingredients and started making soup. It was the most basic soup, but the color and smell were quite good.
“I want some too.”
When Greyardin said this, Yu Jin made a disgusted face. Still, when the soup was done, he shared some with Greyardin. The soup made by his descendant was softer and tastier than expected. The remaining soup after sharing went into Gee’s mouth.
Afterwards, Yu Jin spent time by Gee’s side. He frequently called his name, wiped away his sweat, and monitored his condition.
“You’re kind.”
“This? People normally do at least this much.”
Greyardin chuckled at Yu Jin’s words.
“No, they don’t.”
In his childhood, Greyardin didn’t receive attention from his parents. His mother was depressed every day, longing to return to her hometown, and his father lost interest in her after the child was born. As a result, even the employees only did the basic tasks. And it seems that taking care of Greyardin wasn’t included in those basics.
“When I was sick, no one took care of me. I think I was five years old then. My siblings pushed me into a pond. I barely managed to get out, but I caught a cold. It was my first cold, and it was worse than I expected. I was crying from the fever and body aches, but no one came to check on me.”
Yu Jin’s blue eyes scrutinized Greyardin as if gauging the truth.
“I don’t lie.”
“Your very identity is a lie to begin with.”
“That was out of necessity. But it’s also my real identity. There’s no law saying I can’t be adopted by someone else, right?”
“A son older than his father?”
Greyardin smiled, his eyes rounding.
“You, you know that I’m old.”
“What does it matter if you’re old? You’re still immature.”
“Me?”
Yu Jin didn’t respond further. However, his attitude had softened compared to before Greyardin shared his story. So you’re weak to this? Realizing this fact, Greyardin talked about his past years. Yu Jin seemed particularly vulnerable when he spoke about his childhood. Finding this interesting, Greyardin even brought up stories he normally wouldn’t have shared.
“So I fell off the horse…”
At that point, Yu Jin finally spoke up.
“Stop, that’s enough.”
“Why? Wasn’t it interesting?”
Yu Jin seemed to choose his words carefully before speaking.
“I don’t find other people’s hardships interesting. That’s normal.”
“Then were all the people around me abnormal?”
“They were abnormal. No matter how much they hated you, how could they torment a child like that?”
Yu Jin blinked slowly and stared into space. Come to think of it, Yu Jin’s childhood was similar to Greyardin’s. The only difference was that unlike Greyardin, Yu Jin had someone to protect him. That’s why words he normally wouldn’t say came out.
“You endured well.”
“Can you say that’s enduring well? I didn’t overcome the bullying.”
Of course, he later returned and took revenge after gaining power. He couldn’t properly deal with his father, the head of the family, but all his siblings met with misfortune.
“Such things aren’t easily overcome. Even if it seems like you’ve conquered it for now, it remains like a thorn in your heart. Still, you’ve grown up well now.”
Wait, is it okay to say this to the leader of Leviathan? Suddenly having this thought, Yu Jin fumbled with his words.
“…Anyway, you did well.”
Then he focused his attention back on Gee.
“Hahaha!”
Greyardin laughed holding his stomach next to him, but Yu Jin tried not to pay attention.
“I see, so I was a praiseworthy child.”
Greyardin wore a satisfied expression.
“Then let this praiseworthy child help a bit.”
Suddenly standing up, Greyardin approached Gee and started undoing the bandages Yu Jin had clumsily wrapped. Yu Jin was startled and tried to stop him, but Greyardin’s actions were faster. He skillfully re-wrapped Gee’s bandages, doing a much neater job than Yu Jin had managed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
