You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 55
Soon after, deliciously prepared food was served and placed in front of the two. Steam rose from the golden-brown grilled meat.
Karhan, who was naturally reaching for his knife, suddenly looked up. He saw Seol earnestly cutting meat as big as his face, gripping the knife and fork tightly with his small hands. Although the meat was tender, perhaps due to his clumsy technique, it was being mashed into various shapes. After watching this for a moment, Karhan moved his knife quickly as usual.
“Karhan. Aren’t you busy these days?”
Seol asked, pausing from cutting his meat, seemingly curious about Karhan’s regular visits to the dining hall.
“It’s nice to have some leisure time like this while dining.”
Karhan said as he handed over the plate he had finished cutting and placed Seol’s mashed steak in front of himself. Excited, Seol began to use his fork quickly. As if trying to store it, he stuffed his mouth until his cheeks puffed up, chewing diligently before swallowing with a gulp. Karhan wondered if he might choke like that. He blankly watched the small mouth sucking in the meat.
“Should we invite Doel here to dine together if possible?”
At the sudden mention of the name, Karhan stopped cutting his steak. An unpleasant sound of the plate and silverware clashing was heard.
Why doesn’t that name sound pleasant? He usually had no particular feelings, but it had started to bother him a few days ago. Especially when that name came out of Seol’s small mouth. Karhan lifted his eyes from glaring at the plate and met the round, black eyes. A pure darkness that seemed inescapable captured his image.
“Would you like Sir Doel to be here with us?”
“Huh? Um… Wouldn’t it be nice if he came?”
There was nothing wrong with Doel coming. As the only person close to Seol, who spent a lot of time alone, it would be good for the child if they spent time together. But he didn’t know why it felt so uncomfortable. It was like having sticky sap on his lips that wouldn’t easily come off. Though he didn’t quite understand this feeling he had never experienced in his long life, Karhan voiced what he wanted to say at that moment.
“I enjoy the time I spend with you.”
“I enjoy being with you too, Karhan.”
At the words that it was enjoyable to be together, his stiff lips instantly curved into a smile. So he doesn’t dislike being alone with me. With that thought, his heart, which had felt like it had a stone on it, lightened. But due to a strangely uneasy feeling, he blurted out without realizing:
“Do you like him?”
At the sharp tone, Seol’s eyes widened. Then, after rolling his eyes around, he opened his lips.
“Um… I do like him. We’re close, after all.”
Karhan knew well that Seol and Doel were close. For some reason, he tried hard to suppress the fiercely raging emotion. However, it must have leaked out a bit, as the black eyes reflected him before rolling away to somewhere else. After anxiously darting his gaze here and there, Seol eventually looked at the floor.
Focusing on his senses, Karhan felt the legs trembling under the table. He inwardly swallowed a small sigh and gulped down water. Why was he unnecessarily concerned about such a useless question? If Seol liked it, he should just do it.
It seemed his nerves had become sharp due to the sudden increase in work that needed to be dealt with recently. Karhan parted his tightly closed lips.
“If time permits, it would be fine to dine with Sir Doel as well.”
“…Right?”
As the uncomfortable silence broke, a smile finally appeared on Seol’s face.
🐤
After reuniting with Doel, I hoped for Karhan and Doel to become closer quickly, so I avoided being present whenever they were in the same space. Strangely, whenever I met Doel, Karhan would appear like a magic boy with a ‘poof’, as if he somehow knew. I was suspicious enough to wonder if he had planted some listening device on me. Of course, such cutting-edge technology probably doesn’t exist in this era.
Since I decided to move around more, I’ve been having meals in the dining hall instead of my room. If I go down at breakfast, lunch, and dinner times for a regular lifestyle, Karhan always follows. I remember he used to mainly eat in his office because he was busy, but it seems his previous statement about not having much to do wasn’t a lie.
“Karhan. Aren’t you busy these days?”
One day, I finally couldn’t contain my curiosity and asked. He must be busy dating Doel besides his work. I swallowed the latter words with water, forcing them down. Karhan, who was cutting his steak, spoke softly without taking his eyes off the knife.
“It’s nice to have some leisure time like this while dining.”
Karhan put down the knife and fork he was holding, lifted the plate with the well-cut steak, and exchanged it with the plate in front of me. I stabbed the largest piece with my fork and put it in my mouth. Sweet and rich meat juice leaked out, enveloping my tongue. After savoring the taste slowly and swallowing with a gulp, I opened my mouth.
“Should we invite Doel here to dine together if possible?”
At those words, Karhan’s movement of cutting the meat momentarily paused. A chilling sound was heard as the plate and knife misaligned. I, who had been eating the meat well, raised my head in wonder. A faint shadow fell over the silver-gray eyes.
“Would you like Sir Doel to be here with us?”
“Huh? Um… Wouldn’t it be nice if he came?”
At my words, Karhan’s expression became somewhat uncomfortable. Is it a bit awkward for the three of us to meet together? Is it because they can’t have a comfortable conversation freely when I’m around? They could just talk to each other without minding me.
…No, would that make me feel left out?
I opened my eyes wide and met his gaze. Blinking my eyelids slowly, I examined Karhan’s appearance. I noticed the veins on his hand holding the knife were bulging and twitching. His lips, which had been closed in a straight line, changed shape.
“I enjoy the time I spend with you.”
“I enjoy being with you too, Karhan.”
I enjoyed being with Karhan. I liked that he was considerate of my actions in detail, and I also liked that he indulged my childish whims.
Even though my thoughts had become simpler since becoming a bird, Karhan accepting my behavior without saying anything made me act more and more like a child. I had never done that before coming here. There was no one to indulge my tantrums or childish behavior.
But why is he suddenly talking about this? I fiddled with the fork in my hand, rubbing it with my thumb. Not knowing what else to say, I looked up at Karhan blankly, waiting quietly for him to speak first. Soon, his tightly closed, fine lips twisted slightly and opened.
“Do you like him?”
“Um… I do like him. We’re close, after all.”
Again. It was that strangely thorny voice. A sharp tone as if blaming something, but not clearly revealing what it was. As the uncomfortable silence continued, I rolled my eyes here and there, turning my gaze away, wondering if I had done something wrong.
I looked at the chandelier hanging on the ceiling for no reason, then examined the wallpaper pattern far away. Nevertheless, the gaze that pricked my face sharply did not fall away. Finally, unable to bear it, I shook my legs compulsively.
As I turned my body in a different direction to avoid the situation, I heard the sound of water being poured into a cup. When I turned my head to look at Karhan, he was pouring water into a wine glass. While keeping his gaze fixed on me. I was worried that the water might overflow if he continued like that, but he stopped just before it spilled over.
Karhan slowly lifted the rippling water and pressed the bottom lip with the transparent glass. As the angle of the glass increased, his protruding Adam’s apple moved up and down refreshingly. The transparent glass showed its bottom without a moment to breathe and quickly returned to its original place. Karhan’s lips, moist with water, finally parted.
“If time permits, it would be fine to dine with Sir Doel as well.”
“…Right?”
The silence finally broke, and I smiled awkwardly. As I looked at Karhan with crescent eyes, he also lifted the corners of his mouth.
After making the promise with Karhan, Doel could also join us for meals occasionally, very occasionally, when he had time. But the training must have been harsh, as he left immediately after finishing his meal.
Every time he disappeared like the wind, Doel would give me a small snack, apologizing for not being able to stay with us. His retreating back looked so pitiful. It looked similar to an office worker rushing down the stairs in the morning to catch the subway for work.
I lowered my eyebrows, imagining Doel working without rest. Then I looked at Karhan, who was sitting leisurely, even drinking tea.
“Why does Doel have so much training…? He looks so exhausted.”
“The process of becoming an official knight is naturally difficult.”
He said, shrugging his shoulders. I wondered if it was my imagination that he looked strangely annoying. Doel, who was running around busily, was in stark contrast to Karhan, who was sitting idly and savoring his tea. It must be unavoidable because he hasn’t gained enough experience yet. I nodded, remembering the military stories my seniors used to tell.
Full of pity, I looked down at the cookie in my hand. The packaging was identical to the cookies the servant had given me before. Doel had just put it in my hand before leaving. I was worried if it was okay to eat this, but I couldn’t refuse when he gave it to me in such a hurry.
Careful not to drop any crumbs, I took out a piece and handed it to Karhan. He stared blankly at what I offered before slightly opening his mouth. I popped it into his large mouth, and he chewed it well.
“Isn’t it delicious?”
“Yes, it’s delicious.”
“How do they make it so sweet? I’ve eaten a lot, but I don’t get tired of it and it’s still delicious.”
“Did Doel make these?”
Ah. Karhan doesn’t know where these came from. Actually, I wasn’t sure either. Whether that servant made the cookies himself or bought them from a store he knew. The packaging looks like it might have been done by hand… Anyway, I could tell that they were cookies filled with sincerity.
“I’m not sure either, but it seems someone interested in Doel is giving him gifts. He occasionally gives me cookies like this.”
I rustled through the cookies. I wanted to give Karhan one that wasn’t broken.
“I like them, so Doel always brings them for me.”
Once again, I held a cookie to Karhan’s mouth. Karhan smiled, twisting his lips, and devoured the cookie in one bite.
And so, the next day, when I woke up from a good sleep, there was a large, unidentified box placed next to my bed.
