109 – Hybrid #2
Yu Yeo-reum was sprawled out on the couch.
As if she had become one with the couch.
“Hey, Yeo-reum—”
“Do not talk to me privately, hybrid. Do you not know that men and women over the age of seven should keep their distance?”
Ever since our escape from the Great Labyrinth when she crushed me beneath her, Yu Yeo-reum had been acting like this – prickly and oddly conceptually bizarre.
But the problem wasn’t just with Yu Yeo-reum.
“This thing called a water faucet, look at this! Crystal clear water flows from it! No nymph has ever seen such a gushing water faucet!”
“This Inonoi finds the food inside the fridge amazing! It’s so cold! And this house feels familiar somehow…”
The nymphs that escaped from the Great Labyrinth were running all over our house.
Even for me, this was a bit overwhelming!
In situations like this, turning on the TV always helps.
“You all should watch this for a moment.”
“Whoa, the pictures are moving! Incredible!”
“This is what they called the magic box…”
The nymphs sat quietly in front of the TV.
But this didn’t last long.
Now, they were fighting over the remote control in front of the old TV.
“This remote belongs to me!” said Baonoi.
“This Inonoi saw it first!” argued Inonoi.
“How dare you interrupt me! You abandoned me, and now you’re causing trouble! You’re such a bad nymph!”
“This Inonoi had the mission to protect Kore! If anything, you never came to meet me!”
Doo doo doo doo doo—
The nymphs pummelled each other with fists.
Though their punches perfectly cancelled each other out, never actually hitting their bodies, they seemed to have a nasty and dim-witted relationship.
In the midst of this intense quarrel, I recalled that Baonoi had missed her friend, Inonoi. After such a long time apart, perhaps they should treat each other more warmly, no?
Whatever the case, it’s something to be purely pleased about, returning home.
I was surprised by all the flowers along the way. Did everyone prepare them as a sort of memorial, thinking I was dead?
If I go to school tomorrow morning like this, how much will everyone be shocked?
Truly, a miraculous resurrection!
Just imagining everyone’s reactions made my tailbone tingle.
However, Yu Yeo-reum seemed to be in a bad mood as she grabbed my ear.
“Are you ignoring me? I told you to send me back to the Great Labyrinth immediately. I have no business lingering here. I must guard the throne of the Great Labyrinth.”
For some reason, Yu Yeo-reum was speaking as if she had a duty to guard the throne of the Great Labyrinth. What exactly happened?
Her character had changed strangely.
Perhaps something changed when she was surrounded by a swarm of mice earlier.
When I was feeling curious, Baonoi, who had lost the remote control battle, spoke.
“Did we fall victim to the curse of the Red King? The merciless spell of the Red King that turns the target into a servant…! It simultaneously drags out the darkness hidden within a person’s heart!”
Every person has some dark aspect in their heart.
Even Yu Yeo-reum, who possesses the concept of “light,” had her own inner darkness.
“Wants to loaf around and eat. To do absolutely nothing, more intensely, would be nice.”
The darkness within Yu Yeo-reum turned out to be the desire to idle and eat, evident even as she lay indolently on the sofa, longing for even greater laziness.
“Indeed, the curse of the Red King is so powerful that it can corrupt someone with the power of ‘light’ like Kore into such a lazy wretch! It’s horrifying!”
On the other hand, since Yu Yeo-reum has relatively little darkness within her, she only transformed to this extent.
But what if someone like Seugal or Baek Yeo-ul, the bread-loving girl, were affected by the darkness?
“Hey, hybrid. Instead of just standing there, bring me a drink.”
Yu Yeo-reum, her alternate personality, pinched my thigh.
She’s completely unreasonable.
“Although I can bring you water, I have a question: Why am I a hybrid?”
“What don’t you know? People are all hybrids.”
“What does ‘hybrid’ even mean? How do you say it in English?”
“…”
Yu Yeo-reum scowled.
And then she addressed me:
“Do you think I don’t know? Don’t insult people. A hybrid in English is…quick, just bring me water.”
It seemed even her dark-transformed self didn’t know much English.
Not knowing what “hybrid” means in English hasn’t really hindered anyone much in life.
When I brought the water, the nymphs were already curled up on the floor, sound asleep.
“Mhhh, cool and warm floor…”
“This Inonoi will look for Kore outside of the Great Labyrinth…”
Though they had fought fiercely over the remote control, seeing them snuggle together like cozy hamsters sleeping snugly in rock crevices was a heartwarming sight.
When I stepped out of their sleeping quarters and into the living room, Yu Yeo-reum was still lying on the bed.
“Here’s your water. Surely, you’re not going to ask me to feed it to you?”
“Aahh.”
“Are you a baby? Don’t let it drip.”
Gulping, gulping.
Yu Yeo-reum drank the water I gave her. Pouring water into her open mouth turned out to be more challenging than I anticipated.
It’s harder than expected to pour it without spilling.
‘This feels just like watering a flower.’
Speaking of which, the seed given to me by the bread-loving girl seemed to have sprouted.
Even I, who has never grown anything, find this genuinely delightful!
Swish, swish.
At that moment, Yu Yeo-reum, who had wiped the water from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, stood up from the sofa and said,
“You’ve been treating me pretty well, haven’t you? There must be some lewd intention behind it. People never show kindness without a reason. The parents who adopted me and the researchers back then were the same.”
There’s no kindness without a reason. She’s got a rather sharp insight, doesn’t she?
Though she didn’t usually express it, it seems Yu Yeo-reum also deeply pondered things.
Probably due to the curse of the Red King, she now couldn’t hide her thoughts.
“You kidnapped me and treated me kindly because of the same reason, right? It’s all about my body, isn’t it? Am I wrong? You creep.”
“If that’s true, would you give me a kiss on the lips?”
“Go brush your teeth, then. You’ve got five minutes.”
What? I was just joking, but she’s actually willing to give me a kiss!
The alternate personality of Yu Yeo-reum seemed to have quite a strong backbone.
I rushed into the bathroom, scrubbing my teeth so vigorously that I worried about the enamel wearing out.
You’ve got to brush your teeth before a kiss; it’s basic etiquette!
After finishing quickly, I returned to the living room, where Yu Yeo-reum was already breathing heavily.
“Huff… Huff…”
You little… You’re actually nervous about kissing me, huh?
I placed a hand on her shoulder.
“There’s no need to be tense. A kiss is just a moment.”
Gasping.
Yu Yeo-reum’s face turned red.
“What…? Forget everything I just said. That wasn’t me. We can’t kiss; we’re not even dating.”
“What?”
What is this? Of course, these are extremely reasonable and commonsense words, but they’re not something the alternate Yu Yeo-reum who told me to brush my teeth and come back for a kiss should be saying.
“…You liar! AHHHH!”
She flipped her attitude like turning a palm.
Judging by her emotions, it seemed the original personality of Yu Yeo-reum, taken over by ‘darkness,’ had returned.
“It’s a scary feeling. It’s me, but it’s not me. It feels like there’s another person inside me. Multiple personalities. That wasn’t me. So let’s consider the kiss null and void. Got it?”
Disappointing, but there was nothing to be done.
On another note, it was quite impressive that Yu Yeo-reum had reclaimed her original self from the curse of the Red King.
# # #
The next day.
I was looking forward to the commotion the media was sure to create.
As I was sleeping, I felt a strange weight on the blanket I had laid on the floor, and when I opened my eyes, Yu Yeo-reum was sitting on my thighs.
And then she spoke.
“Didn’t we agree on a kiss? The agreement must be kept, regardless of interference.”
What time is it now?
Even in the long summer night, it’s still deep darkness with the sun yet to rise.
For a moment, the candy-scented lips of Yu Yeo-reum hovered toward me.
“…You woman, stop interfering!”
Her face stopped right in front of mine.
“What are you doing with my body!”
It was weird, like watching some strange ventriloquism act with two voices coming from one person.
Sshh-. Pfft, pfft!
In the end, Yu Yeo-reum even hit her own face with a fist.
“Keep hitting me! You’ll only hurt yourself, not me! Aaah! You! You really hit me! How dare you attack my pretty nose without mercy!”
“Get out of my body!”
What is this?
It’s getting scary.
So who is winning?
Two souls fighting inside one body.
After harsh breathing, one voice finally quieted.
The winner is—
“The fussy girl, you should have submitted earlier. With the interference gone, should we continue from before? A kiss, that is.”
After their fateful duel over the body, it seems the dark version of Yu Yeo-reum won.
The bright version of Yu Yeo-reum is so weak!
“For your information, once you kiss me, you’ll have to support me for the rest of your life. Since you seem to be the grandson of the president, staying by your side, I’ll have no worries about such things. This is a pledge of our promise.”
“What?”
It’s not just a kiss?
The emergence of dark Yu Yeo-reum means that, deep down, ordinary Yu Yeo-reum also probably wishes to live comfortably.
Raised in an orphanage and working hard from a young age, it’s not strange that she would want to live a life of ease like everyone else.
“So from today, we are a pair. By the way, if we date, you’ll have to prepare dinner, do the dishes, earn the money. Laundry, cleaning, everything will be handled by you, the hybrid.”
“No way, that’s too harsh!”
If I kiss like this, my life will be entirely mortgaged to Yu Yeo-reum.
Men doing housework?
Absolutely unacceptable!
“Aaaah!”
“Your resistance is meaningless.”
Even putting all my strength into it, I couldn’t overpower Yu Yeo-reum’s strength. Only the software differs; physically, the dark Yu Yeo-reum and the bright Yu Yeo-reum are the same.
Puck.
Her lips touched my cheek.
I thought it would be on my lips, but unexpectedly it landed on my cheek.
“d*mn you…! Always trying to interfere until the end…? If you submit to me, wouldn’t everything be easier for you? Don’t deny your desires! Be honest with yourself!”
“Hanamjin! Light! Shine some light on me! Even the light from a phone would do!”
Light?
Thinking it might help, I extended my arm and shone the phone light on Yu Yeo-reum.
“Stop! Hybrid! Stop! Gwaaaah!”
Then dark Yu Yeo-reum screamed like an exorcized evil spirit.
Soon, Yu Yeo-reum, heavily breathing, said,
“That’s… enough. I managed to reclaim my body…”
Yu Yeo-reum frowned as she looked at me under her.
Then she wiped the lip mark on my cheek with her finger.
“That strange agreement just now? It didn’t happen. It wasn’t me. You could say my body was hacked…”
“d*mn. Is dark Yu Yeo-reum gone forever now?”
“No, just sleeping for now. But if there’s not enough light, she might awaken again. Am I going to live like this forever? Always fearing that another personality will seize control of my body…”
It’s kind of cool, though.
Two personalities in one body.
The girl, Yu Yeo-reum, who holds the souls of light and darkness,
Feels like she has the potential to become the ultimate duelist.
“You were thinking something strange just now, weren’t you?”
“How did you know? I was envying you.”
“Do you ever feel scared about what you might do yourself? Like when seeing an oncoming train, you worry might leap in front of it without knowing why. This is that kind of feeling. Don’t envy it.”
I don’t know.
I’ve often thought about running like a train, but…
Still, I understand in general what Yu Yeo-reum is trying to say.
“I can’t live like this forever. Hanamjin, I’ll stop pressing charges against you. In return, assist me in defeating that Red King. If we defeat him, I’ll return to normal.”
Like how defeating the zombie Demon ended the zombie outbreak.
It’s a story that suggests that if we defeat the Red King who wields darkness, the darkness inside Yu Yeo-reum might also vanish.
Which means, if I can prevent her from pressing charges by doing that, it isn’t bad for me either, but…
Honestly, I don’t think we can defeat that Red King with just the two of us.
“If you agree to what I’m asking, I might also tell you what ‘malangmalang’ means, as mentioned by Seugal. I know what ‘malangmalang’ means because Seugal told me.”
Malangmalang.
That word made my mind go blank!
Like Pavlov’s dogs salivating at the sound of a bell, my brain turns to mush as soon as I hear the word ‘malangmalang’!
