Necromancer Survival

“Cough, cough…!” I woke up from a nightmare I couldn’t quite remember. I kicked off the blanket that had been gently covering my body, kicked open the door, and–almost running–cout to the living room. Then, as if by habit, I opened the refrigerator and took out swater.

I gulped down water straight from the bottle down my parched throat. Only then, did I properly take in my surroundings.

“…Hooo.” The house was calm and luxurious, as usual, but something felt strange today. I frowned and wracked my brain to try and find what that incongruity could be. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t pinpoint what was bothering me.

“…Seo Dawon?”

Then, suddenly a nbubbled to the forefront of my mind.

I searched every room in this huge house, opening the doors to each uniquely decorated and luxurious room, but the person I was searching for wasn’t inside.

“…….”

Anxiety overwhelmed me, and I hugged myself with both arms.

Melancholic tears threatened to spill out as anger rose in my body; I wanted to cry and scream at the stime. I couldn’t bear this tension anymore and grit my teeth.

But then–

Ding Dong–!

The doorbell rang. I raised my head.

Ding Dong–! Ding Dong–! Ding Dong–!

I thought I had heard wrong, but the doorbell continued to ring. I stumbled down the hallway, barefoot, all the way to the front door. Immediately, I twisted the handle and opened the door.

“Were you sleeping?”

“……”

Before I could even answer, ‘Seo Dawon’ put his hands in between my arms and liftedup. As an unintended consequence, my face was buried into his chest. I took deep breaths.

At first, the scent seemed sharp, but at the end, his smell turned incredibly sweet. And at that moment, my mind, which had seemed foggy, cleared as if a fire had been lit. The confusing hollow of emotions began to be filled with warmth.

“…I woke up, but, because I couldn’t see you, I was surprised.” I said, transparently. I held Dawon’s back tightly with both arms. Dawon skillfully and deftly hugged my clinging self back and strode into the house.

Then, in a cutesy tone, he apologized, “Sorry. Something bothersomely urgent cup.”

“Guild matters?”

“Well…By the way, Lee-kyung-ah. What about food?”

“I haven’t eaten yet.”

“That’s good. I haven’t either.”

Dawon then lefton our bed and willfully fetched my clothes from my dresser. I followed him with my eyes; as he unbuttoned my pajama pants, I asked, “Are we going out to eat?”

“To be honest, I made a reservation already. You said you wanted to eat smeat yesterday.”

“That was yesterday…”

“Do you not want to eat it?”

“……”

Dawon smiled–it’s far too difficult to refuse that smile.

I wanted to say I’d like to stay home, but I didn’t want to disappoint my lover, who had already made a reservation. To be honest, I also liked to dine out with Dawon-ie, anyway.

“…I don’t dislike it.”

The problem, though, was that Seo Dawon was one of the most famous users in Korea. An article would be written in an hour after we were seen eating together.

“We’ll be eating in a private room; there’ll be no one to disturb us.” Dawon said, gently comforting me. Perhaps he had noticed my burdened heart. He always seemed apologetic, but ultimately, I found it a bit annoying that he always ended up draggingout.

“Sometimes you… I feel like you takeout on purpose,” I grumbled.

Dawon smiled impishly as he stroked my grumpy head, “You’re realizing that just now?”

I looked up at him, slightly shocked that he would purposely seek attention, “…Are you really takingout deliberately?”

He stared back into my surprised face and laughed, “Yep. I want to show you off every now and then.”

“…..” At first I was confused because I had no idea what he was talking about, but my face gradually turned red when I realized the implications behind his words. It would be a long while before I was as shameless as Seo Dawon.

Fortunately, Dawon stopped with his mischief and focused on styling my hair. The style always had my bangs swept back. I thought it madelook like I had thinner hair density, but Dawon seemed to like it when I swept my bangs over my forehead.

“Your forehead is so pretty.”

“Stop it…”

Today as well, the compliments–callingpretty–began. I raised my hand and covered his mouth. His mouth was closed, but his uncovered eyes continued to smile.

* * *

We arrived at the restaurant about 30 minutes after we set off. Before we got out of the car, someone–I couldn’t tell if he was the owner or the manager–was already waiting for us in the parking lot.

Adopting a deeply moved expression, that person fawned over Dawon. “It’s an honor to have you here, Guild Master Seo Dawon-nim.”

Dawon only raised his head, expressionless, and nodded at that burdensgreeting. Next to him, I lowered my head and clenched my lips so as to not laugh.

‘Honestly, why do I find it so funny…when he acts like a Guild Master?’

Unless he was with close friends, Dawon usually put on this ‘arrogant guild master’ act, and at first, I couldn’t adapt to the gap and wondered if he had a split personality. Later, I asked him discreetly, and he said something about needing to maintain a certain poise publicly to avoid conflicts.

In any case, I snickered in secret, and Dawon snickered secretly with me. He lightly gripped my hand so as to remindnot to laugh out loud.

Then, we went inside the building, but I couldn’t see a single customer within the luxurious lobby that seemed like it should have been crowded. I had a hunch when I saw how empty the place was inside.

‘Did he reserve the entire place again…?’

I knew Dawon-ie had a lot of money, but sometimes I felt he went a bit overboard with his spending habits. However, Dawon, as usual, followed the staff’s guidance without making a fuss. I was led by Dawon and followed behind.

The room we entered was spacious and tidy. On the dining table, there was simple tableware set out, in preparation for our arrival.

“We’ll get things ready in a minute,” one of the staff said.

“Please bring out everything at once. If we need anything, we’ll call for it separately.”

“Yes, understood.”

After the employee disappeared, I sighed quietly. A smile returned to Dawon’s previously expressionless face.

“Did you reserve the entire place?” I asked.

“Yeah. You don’t eat well if anyone else is around.”

“If you were going to do all this, it’d be better to eat at home…” I scolded slightly, but Dawon didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he picked up a warm towel and began to wipe my hands one by one.

As expected… He rented the restaurant in order to flirt all day?

Looking at my widened eyes, Dawon soothedby saying, “If I could cook this well, we’d be eating at home.”

Recalling Dawon’s occasional home-cooked meals, I said sincerely, “You’re good at cooking though?”

Knock Knock–!

Our brief chat was interrupted by a cautious knock. Afterwards, several employees cin with our dishes, filled the table, before exiting quietly.

I picked up a piece of meat from a large plate with my fork.

“Mmm…” I was incredibly surprised when I took a bite. The food was tasty enough to humble Dawon-ie. “…This place is super delicious.”

“Right? I want to ask them how they make it.”

Dawon knew many delicious places, and even though we had been to many restaurants together since we started dating, the taste of the meat here was truly shocking. Dawon happily watchedeat and fedvarious dishes from plates that were out of my reach. “Try this one too.”

“I’m still chewing…”

Dawon always seemed to try to feedas if I were malnourished or something. In the early days of our relationship, I couldn’t refuse and ate everything he offered, but now I’ve learned to handle Dawon in my own way. I just need to treat him the sway.

“You should eat as well,” I offered.

“Mhmm.” Dawon paused, then opened his mouth to eat what I gave him.

Watching him obediently and cutely eat what I had given, I had a sudden thought–what would the person who guided us to this room think if he were to see Dawon like this?

‘He’d probably be shocked…’

On the other hand, I also thought, ‘He must have been this way with his ex-girlfriends as well, right?’

I glared at him, jealousy suddenly surging from within.

Beca member!

TL: Do you guys know the pepe silvia meme? That’s me.

Also, our Lee-kyung has an insecure attachment style, huh?