Kidnapped Dragons

Q: Ever since you called yourself Chinese, Cadet Yeorum, there have been people in Erfan Guild becoming your fans. Any thoughts on the matter?

Yu Yeorum: Idiots lol. I’m Japanese from today~

[Official Petrovic of the Association]

Before we focus on the harsh use of her words, we should first realise her true thoughts hidden behind those words. The following cadet is aware of how people see her, and have experienced how easily the interviews were distorted. Therefore, the use of short sentences allows her true words to get across better. The fact that she easily changes her nationality allows us to see the wise reaction of the cadet as she wishes individuals to not be regulated or over-focused on the virtual boundaries called countries.

She will continue to incorporate her clear visions as priceless connotations into short responses. As she had been doing all along.

– Hukk… I see!!

– Cadet Yeorum is unexpectedly very smart.

– Our Boss’s interview had such a profound meaning to it ;;…

– You retards, do you believe this?

ᄂIt’s Petrovic. Who else would we believe in lol.

ᄂHuhh? It was Petrovic… Sorry.

Q: Your fancafe, ‘Crazy for Yeorum’ began collecting donations for Cadet Yu Yeorum. Is there something you would like?

Yu Yeorum: I don’t need it. Am I a beggar?

[Official Petrovic of the Association]

Why does she bother referring to herself as a ‘beggar’? Until now, she had been swearing at someone else or had been irritated by others. The fact that someone like her calls herself a ‘beggar’, incites us to look beyond the superficial layer of profanities.

I know she has a heart warmer than anyone else when it comes to her treatment of the people around her. This is clarified further when we look at the interview of her friend, Kim Ji-in. Perhaps her warm heart wants those precious intentions and the resulting donations to go to the people who truly need it the most?

Once we pull ourselves away from her conventional image, the warm yet settling breeze of the summer ocean will surely come to us all.

– Hukk… T.T

– Q.Q So that’s what it meant…

– You’re right… T.T I thought she was just swearing, but she meant we should share it with the poor.

– Hello. I’m the manager of the site, Crazy for Yeorum. Taking into consideration the interview of Cadet Yu Yeorum and Sir Petrovic, our team have decided after a lengthy discussion to donate the entire pool of donations to the victims of war.

– Woahh Q.Q

– That’s so nice T.T I love you unni TT.TT

“Kyaaah!”

Kaeul laughed her head off. It was because Yeorum was wearing a very deep frown after checking Petrovic’s SNS post and the reaction of the masses.

Besides, the donation of ‘Crazy for Yeorum’ for the victims of war was being shared in realtime on the news. There still were several people swearing at her, but the majority of the crowd called her cool and complimented her.

“Like, what the fuc*…”

“Ahh it’s so funny! Unni, were you always such a nice person?!”

“You think?”

She shook her head with a sigh. This place called Earth was hard to understand, she muttered while changing her clothes.

“They freakin’ have nothing to do on their hands or something.”

“We must first focus on the fact that we ‘have nothing on our hands’…”

“What?”

“Perhaps she is praising the end of the war and the coming of a peaceful era.”

“…Oi, Yu Kaeul.”

“She is a very kind-hearte… Kyahahahahh!”

Kaeul teased her until she was caught by Yeorum. She was sentenced to the arm-bar punishment. “Uaang! S, sorry! My arm’s gonna break!” Her scream echoed across Unit 301, and the punishment continued until Gyeoul walked up and sat on the ground going, “Tap Tap Tap!”

“Uuhh…”

After finally being released, Kaeul massaged her shoulder. Yeorum was changing her clothes from a cadet uniform to a set of training clothes.

The pair of golden eyes blankly stared at Yeorum’s bob-hair, and her gaze travelled down to the small yet rigid shoulders and her balanced body. Confidence oozed out from her back.

“But unni, you should be quite happy right?”

“Happy for what. I’ll be on my way now.”

“Where are you going?”

“For a video with the PR team.”

“Ah, nn.”

Kaeul gazed at Yeorum’s back as she walked out of the house. Once the door closed, her eyes turned slightly depressed as she gazed down at the watch.

She couldn’t look away from it for a very long time.

***

Today was a weekend.

“Ahjussi, is there something you need?”

“No.”

Bom walked up to him. With the last cold snap having ended, she was wearing a sleeveless shirt that revealed her white arms. She gently grabbed Yu Jitae’s shirt by the sleeves.

“Ahjussi.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to go together?”

He shook his head. There was something he had to do at home.

“See you then.”

“See you later!”

Bom, Kaeul and Gyeoul went out for a walk. Left alone, Yu Jitae laid down on the living room sofa, reading a book.

It was a horror book. Bom was writing a novel and because he had to know something about the genre to give advice regarding it, the Regressor began reading a horror novel. He had never expected himself to do this after coming to the seventh iteration.

“…”

But no matter how much he read, he couldn’t understand what was so scary.

“…”

He read the story that was meant to make it’s readers scared, but it failed to ring his heart in any way.

In a dark alleyway, if someone unknown touches his back, isn’t it fine to just rip them apart to pieces? In the first place, he couldn’t understand how someone might touch his back without him knowing it.

Due to that, the Regressor closed the book.

On the other side of the living room, the baby chicken was eating a mountain of feed while the protector was on the computer.

Looking closer, he discovered that the protector was going through an internet shopping site, looking for pots.

“What are you doing.”

“…!”

It wasn’t just a normal pot, but an extremely large pot for deep-frying purposes.

“A caldron?”

“N, no it’s nothing. I was just thinking that the quality of the metal was quite good…haha.”

I see, he thought to himself and stopped thinking about it. Seeing Yu Jitae, the baby chicken who was now bigger than a basketball pecked him on the toes and cried.

“Chirp. (A good day it is)”

These days, the chicken still went outside the house and came back injured, but the injuries were getting fewer as time passed. It seemed that its fight against the cat spirit beasts near the area were becoming smoother as it increased in size.

Why in the world was it fighting, and what were they fighting for? The chicken appeared to have its circumstances but the Regressor didn’t think much of it.

“…”

Standing still, Yu Jitae watched the baby chicken indulge in its food.

The small seeds disappeared one by one every time it pecked as it diligently consumed the feed. It then chirped out loud after perhaps sensing his gaze.

How long would this guy stay here? By nature, spirit beasts had the homing instinct regardless of the species.

“Chirp. (These feeds are interesting indeed).”

“Chirp. (I’m tired of them, but I must still consume them).”

“Chirrrp. (Is this life?)”

If the chicken accepted this place as its home, there would be no reason to go outside and fight. Perhaps it was fighting against the cats in order to find the way to go back.

In any case, the baby chicken had the right to stay in this place, just because Kaeul liked it.

In the evening, Kaeul hugged the baby chicken and fell asleep on the living room sofa after coming back from her walk. While sleeptalking, she scratched her stomach. The Regressor placed a thin blanket on top of Kaeul, who was sleeping with her stomach revealed.

A yellow-haired girl hugging a yellow furry ball to sleep was quite good to look at.

The Regressor, who had his position stolen away, went into the study and began writing the daily record as a guardian.

Peacefully, daily lives continued.

A daily life that was quite realistic, which he hadn’t expected at the end of the sixth iteration, had surrounded him. The hazards were far apart and the kids were happy. Within a peaceful time, good memories and experiences were repeated.

The Regressor felt content.

The abnormally long winter had already passed.

It was already fully spring.

*

“Gyeoul. You have to be polite.”

“…Iing.”

“Polite.”

“…Ppolite.”

“Nn. You don’t know how to be polite?”

“……Uuing.”

“Hmm… I think you do. I’ve seen you copy us sometimes.”

If you continue being like that, people will think you’re like Yeorum, okay? After Bom said that, Gyeoul also turned serious. Watching on from the side, it seemed that something had happened while they were outside.

That night, Bom went into her room with Gyeoul and began teaching her manners.

“Repeat after me slowly.”

“…Nn.”

After a few hours, Bom peeked out of the room.

“Ahjussi. Can you help me with something?”

“What is it?”

“I tried teaching manners to Gyeoul, and I wanted to test it.”

Do dragons need to learn manners? The Regressor didn’t know, but thinking back, he too tried to fit into the frameworks of society and daily lives by showing manners.

Apparently from what Bom told him henceforth, it seemed that the dragons learned ‘Askalifa’s etiquette’ in their youth, except for the red race. It was because the dragons tended to be involved with the ones in power including nobles and politicians.

Since Bom was always right, he went into her room and sat face-to-face with the child sitting on the bed. Therefore, Gyeoul had to sit in front of both Yu Jitae and Bom.

“Are you ready, Gyeoul?”

“…”

For some reason, Gyeoul nodded with an extremely excited expression.

“Now, there’s an adult here. What should you do when you first see him?”

Gyeoul bent her back to a 90 degree angle.

“…Hello.”

Her words were still slow, and her reaction time was also slow, but that was because she always thought extensively before putting her thoughts into words.

“Good. Now, ahjussi will give you something.”

Bom gestured with her eyes, to give her whatever it may be.

You didn’t tell me this.

In any case, he had to give her something so Yu Jitae put his hand into his pocket. He found the pocket watch he always carried around, so the Regressor handed it over to Gyeoul.

<The Authority, [Vintage Clock (EX)] rejoices in joy.>

Why are you happy.

“Ahjussi is… lending you his watch for a bit. You know what to say in response, right?”

“…Nn. Thank, you.”

“Good. And what do you have to do after you finish using it?”

Gyeoul looked at Bom and Yu Jitae before showing a bright smile. She then put the pocket watch into her own pocket.

“Are you going to just take that?”

“…Nn.”

“Whose watch is that.”

“…Mine?”

She gave a wide smile despite knowing it wasn’t hers. In other words, she wanted to have it.

<The Authority, [Vintage Clock (EX)] cheers for the pure desire.>

“No. Gyeoul. That’s ahjussi’s. You have to give it back to him.”

“…Do I, have to?”

“Of course. You can’t steal someone else’s stuff no matter how much you want it. Your unni will buy one for you later, Gyeoul.”

“…Hing.”

Gyeoul carefully took the pocket watch out with her two hands, appearing regretful. She then slowly pushed it towards Yu Jitae.

He tried to take it, but her tiny hands fiercely held onto it. She appeared reluctant to return it, but Yu Jitae still took the pocket watch from her hands.

<The Authority, [Vintage Clock (EX)] is depressed.>

“Now, ahjussi will go somewhere. He will go outside, and visit the supermarket on the way back. You know what you have to do?”

“…Nn?”

“Say goodbye, and tell him if there’s something you want.”

“…Ah, nn.”

Gyeoul stood up on the bed and waved her hands.

Yu Jitae, who had been looking into those water-like eyes, also returned a wave albeit awkwardly.

However, she didn’t say anything.

You have to say what you want, so that I can get it for you. He thought and waited.

She mumbled like usual as she carefully pondered on the words to use, before finally deciding to share what she wanted.

“…Can you, not go?”

*

Starting from that day, Gyeoul started being more polite. After the lesson on manners, she began talking more about the things she wanted. She also seemed to think that bidding farewell to anyone leaving the house was a rule that had to be followed.

For example, the protector had to leave the house for a bit so it wore a large coat, rubber gloves, a mask and a hat, when Gyeoul came to the entrance with a bright smile and waved her hands.

“Yes? You mean me, young lady?”

She appeared indifferent for a few months already, but now Gyeoul greeted and bid farewell whenever it was going to and from the house.

The protector was moved.

“…Nn. Good, bye.”

But after listening to her farewells several times, it started to feel slightly strange. Gyeoul always said ‘goodbye’ when the protector left. Instead of that, the protector wanted to hear, ‘see you soon’ and ‘take care’.

“I’ll be on my way, young lady. Cat spirit beasts seem to have appeared nearby, so I’m going to go there for a bit and will come back ‘soon’. I’ll be back soon, kmm, kmm…”

It then waited for the reply to come with a flickering crimson gaze. It waited and waited.

Gyeoul looked at the protector with a blank gaze and asked.

“…Aren’t you going?”

The protector was sad.