187 – The story of how I first met that man -2-
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Occupation: Orphan
Favorability: 0
Favorite conversation topics: Mom/Teddy bear/She’ll definitely come back/I wasn’t abandoned/Fairy tales/Princes
Disliked conversation topics: Orphans/Abandonment/Loneliness/Mean words
Meeting the male protagonist of a novel was novel.
Because I didn’t know I would meet him under a bridge.
The silver-haired boy breathing steadily under the bridge where sewage flowed.
He looked like a girl as he tightly hugged his teddy bear, but since there was only one silver-haired boy named ‘Mikhail’ that I knew of, I could tell right away.
The boy in front of me was the male protagonist, ‘Mikhail,’ who became the strongest in the latter half of the novel.
I was bewildered.
I couldn’t help but be bewildered.
I had never thought that the male protagonist of a novel would be lying in a shabby slum.
It was mentioned in the novel that Mikhail was from a slum, but it didn’t say that he was from the capital’s slum, so I was quite surprised.
The story of him being abandoned by his mother and being taken in by a convent and learning swordsmanship was described in detail, but his time in the slums was only briefly mentioned, so I was quite taken aback.
“What the heck.”
The protagonist I met for the first time in the novel, except for the young lady.
“Is this fate?”
I had seen the main character, Yuriah, once, but there were many things lacking to say that I had met her, so I’ll skip it. This was the first time I had met a main character.
“Oh…”
I poked the sleeping Mikhail with a branch.
“Did you get rid of him?”
“…”
It would be a problem if he really got rid of him.
“Mom…”
Fortunately, I was able to sigh in relief at Mikhail’s mumbling as he breathed.
“Phew… Thank goodness. But why are you acting like this? You’re scaring people.”
I looked at Mikhail, who was holding the teddy bear tightly, and fell into deep thought.
His face was like someone who had been starving for days.
His clothes were tattered.
I was sure of it.
This guy is a beggar.
I was agonizing over what to do from now on, and at the same time, I was thinking selfishly about how to profit from this encounter.
‘Mikhail…’
An undefeated swordsman who wields a holy sword and slaughters demons.
How meaningful would it be to owe such a protagonist a favor?
I nodded my head with satisfaction at the fact that my ambitious plan to pick up the scraps left by Mikhail while becoming close to him naturally at the academy had been brought a step forward.
Whatever happens, the fact remains the same.
“Ah… What a stroke of luck.”
It was a fact that I had met a great stroke of luck.
How much fun would it be?
A homeless life with the male protagonist in the novel, that is.
I could watch the protagonist grow from the sidelines, and if I was lucky, I could follow Mikhail to a convent with pretty nuns, and maybe even become close friends with Mikhail and date the beautiful women Mikhail dumped…
I squatted down in front of Mikhail with a satisfied smile. And I poked Mikhail’s cheek with a twig to check if he was alive or dead.
“Are you dead or alive?”
“…”
“Don’t die. You’ll make things difficult for me.”
“Mom…”
“He’s alive.”
About 30 minutes passed.
Mikhail’s golden eyes slowly began to appear.
The moment his golden eyes, just as described in the novel, appeared from under his eyelids, I waved my hand slightly and greeted Mikhail.
“Mom…”
“I’m not your mom.”
I threw away the twig and pressed my finger against Mikhail’s cheek to make sure it wasn’t a dream.
A soft touch that I could feel faintly.
“It’s real….”
“…”
“Isn’t this a stroke of luck?”
“…Mom?”
“I’m not your mom, but I’m not your dad either… Hmm.”
“Are you his older brother?” I asked Mikhail with a smile.
I reached my hand out to Mikhail and said,
“Nice to meet you.”
“…”
“I’m Lee Minhyeok.”
Mikhail, who had just woken up from sleep, hurriedly moved his body and hid under the pillar. I didn’t know why he was making such a fuss when I hadn’t done anything, but because I was the one who made the good first impression, I tried to calm Mikhail down with a gentle smile.
“Hello!”
“…”
Mikhail glared at me, hugging the giant teddy bear tightly. I felt offended by his rather discriminatory gaze, but I endured it with the heart of a senior.
I had a staring contest with Mikhail for a long time.
The rain, which showed no sign of stopping, was deepening the silence between us, and Mikhail was raising his claws like a stray cat drenched in the rain.
I pulled back my hand, which had turned red, and said to Mikhail,
“Since it’s our first time meeting, aren’t you feeling a little awkward? I’m feeling very awkward too.”
“…”
“Can’t you say something? I may seem like this, but I’m actually an introvert, so I’m very shy.”
“…”
“Well, it’s not like it matters to you anyway.”
About 30 minutes must have passed. Unable to overcome the awkwardness, I spread out the cardboard box that was next to me on the floor and said,
“This is a bed. Aren’t you jealous?”
“A box isn’t a bed.”
“Oh my, looks like someone’s full.”
I smiled faintly at Mikhail. I guess he’s finally going to answer me.
Knowing everything about him, I was very cautious about approaching Mikhail.
I could make a slip of the tongue.
And if I approached him recklessly as if I knew him, Mikhail, who was already very vigilant, might draw the line.
I sat down far away from Mikhail and observed him carefully.
Since I had to put my heart and soul into hunting the fated person, I had gradually figured out the movements of the prey.
-GuluGulu…
I could tell at a glance what the prey wanted.
I rummaged through my pocket and started taking out the cookies I had stolen from the bakery. Mikhail’s eyes gradually grew bigger as he saw the food.
I swallowed my saliva and said softly to Mikhail,
“Do you want some?”
“…”
“I’ve eaten a lot, so I don’t need them.”
“…”
Mikhail hugged the doll tightly and started walking towards me one step at a time.
I gave Mikhail, who was approaching me as if he would run away if I made the slightest move, a cool smile. I asked Mikhail, who was reaching for the cookies, in a small voice,
“You still haven’t told me your name….”
“I’m not going to tell you.”
“Don’t you want to eat the cookie?”
“…gulp.”
Mikhail began to distance himself from me one step at a time.
‘He’s so picky.’
The Mikhail from the novel was a considerably sweet and considerate guy, but whether it was because s*xism was ingrained in him or because he had been re-educated in the convent, he rarely showed me a gentle side.
“Just eat it.”
I curtly said as I handed the blood-like cookie to Mikhail.
“Then I’ll call you a savage.”
Mikhail replied without looking at my face, his mouth full of cookie crumbs as he hurriedly ate.
“Do whatever you want.”
“Heh… This isn’t easy.”
The rain continued to pour.
Mikhail, who had finished eating the cookie, curled up in the corner of the pillar again, and the teddy bear that Mikhail was tightly hugging in his arms began to get wet.
‘He’s going to catch a cold like that.’
“Achoo.”
‘That’s right.’
Mikhail’s body temperature began to drop gradually.
Mikhail, who didn’t seem to want to let go of the teddy bear no matter what, would hold it even tighter and protect it if I looked at it.
I let out a hollow laugh as I looked at Mikhail’s gaze that seemed to be looking at a pervert.
“I won’t steal it.”
“…”
“I like older sisters who are voluptuous, not teddy bears.”
“…”
“If you keep holding onto that, you’ll catch a cold, so let go of it.”
Mikhail didn’t trust my words at all.
Watching that guy who didn’t even know how kind and well-mannered I was, made me feel like I had eaten a sweet potato.
Even the Iceman, who could withstand a little cold, was cold, so I couldn’t imagine how cold this little guy must be.
Looking at Mikhail’s lips turning purplish, I removed the box that was covering him and said,
“You’re going to catch a cold like that.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“You’re quite cheeky.”
“You’re even cheekier.”
“That’s true.”
Mikhail ignored my words without saying a word.
I wanted to go back to my warm bed, but I couldn’t leave that guy behind…
This place didn’t flood unless it rained heavily, but it was dangerous, so I couldn’t leave him alone either.
I sighed deeply and sat down near Mikhail to pass the time.
Even when night came.
Even when Mikhail woke up because of the bugs passing by.
I dusted off the dirt on my butt, caught the bugs, and sat down far away again. I just sat quietly near Mikhail, trying to ease his fear.
Under the bridge, I made a small bonfire and said to Mikhail,
“Ta-da. Look.”
Mikhail’s surprised expression at how I made a bonfire on a rainy day was visible, but I just shrugged and smiled.
Because the Ice Wizards were thorough in their preparations.
I gestured to Mikhail and said,
“Name. Are you still not going to tell me?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“…”
“This is really hard.”
What am I going to do with this coincidence?
I closed my eyes, looking at the night sky where the rain had stopped, and stayed by his side without sleeping until Mikhail’s trembling breath turned into a faint snoring sound.
That’s how the morning came.
“Cough, cough…”
As expected, Mikhail caught a cold.
“Dummy. That’s why you should sleep inside.”
-Shiver, shiver.
“Oh, man.”
I took care of Mikhail.
I grabbed a towel from the pile of trash to lower his rising fever and put it on Mikhail’s head.
“Get this dirty thing away!”
Thanks to Mikhail’s dog-like personality, I slowly began to reach out to him while suffering in vain.
Mikhail didn’t tell me his name.
He just silently dragged his sick body up the bridge, hugged the teddy bear, and stayed there.
“What are you doing?”
“…”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“Why are you sitting next to me?”
“You have a fever.”
“…”
Mikhail guarded his spot, looking across the bridge pitifully like a dog waiting for its owner.
I pretended not to know, but I actually knew who Mikhail was waiting for.
And I also knew the ending of this wait.
So I said to Mikhail,
“Let’s go.”
“…”
“I know a warm place.”
“Don’t force me when you don’t know anything.”
“Is that so.”
I continued to stay by Mikhail’s side.
Every now and then, I met the lady and earned money.
-Brat! Where did you go yesterday!
-You didn’t come.
-I was late because I was getting an umbrella!
-Is that so? Come a little earlier. I made the box into an umbrella.
-It’s your fault for going early. Here! Take this.
-What is it?
-An umbrella!
I came back under the bridge and stayed with Mikhail.
Sometimes, I would save Mikhail as he floated down the river and scold him for being foolish.
“Are you crazy?”
“…”
“Did you lose your mind because you wanted to die?”
“…”
“Do you know how worried I was? Why are you standing there when it’s raining so hard?”
“I’m sorry…”
“Sigh… You really almost died.”
Mikhail slowly opened his heart to me.
Very slowly, little by little.
He didn’t leave the bridge, but he slowly started to talk to me and started to become a child who knew how to play pranks.
“What’s your name?”
“Me…?”
Mikhail looked at me while wiggling his fingers. Mikhail bit his lip and thought for a moment before saying with a small smile.
“I am Mikhail.”
Thinking of the name of the cool protagonist in the fairy tale book my mother read to me.
Mikhail had lied.
“My name is Mikhail.”
Because he wanted to look strong.
And because he wished his mother would call him by his name for the first time.
Mikhail had lied.