Raga of the Dry Branch

19: A fresh start, but there is something weird here (4)

Strange, why did I feel like I was his prey? Maybe I couldn’t get along with him, so I took a step back to increase the distance between us.

But the boy held my waist. What is with this? Does this guy have some weird tastes?

I looked him in the eyes with a flustered look and immediately tried to escape, but strangely, I couldn’t move a muscle.

It was then that he whispered.

“Noona 1, what’s your name?”

“…?”

What did I just hear? My mind went blank and my heart rate definitely went up.

He called me noona? How? When did he know? These questions filled my head. I seemed startled that I forgot to do anything else.

As I stayed in shock, once again the breath of the guy touched my face. I was still looking for an answer to the questions in my head. And as I couldn’t do it, something soft and moist pressed to my cheek.

“My name is ‘Corilint’. Please call me Corin. And noona you?”

I, did he just kiss me on the cheek? Bewildered and stiff I saw, when the guy brought his lips close to my ear and whispered with a pretty smile.

Shocked? So much that I froze on site thanks to his weird actions, we only exchanged a few words and he does this! And his face was like ‘please don’t be mad if my lips touch you’ . . . my heart was pounding…

“Ah-this smell is really nice. Noona, tell me your name.”

Ah, I really don’t like this, noona, noona, I get that I am older than him, but listening to him call me like that, I just couldn’t accept it. What was this weird feeling?

Well, I was glad that the accident stopped right away, if not I was sure to use my fists and knock some sense into him, and smell? He is a human not a dog to go sniffing.

When I pushed him by the chest to move, my eyes narrowed at the eyes of the guy who seemed to be crying. I wasn’t going to be fooled. And as I was about to say something, a cold voice rang from behind.

“Al, what are you doing there?’

It was Fay.

As I was done washing up, Fay called me to eat. Thanks to that, I let out a huge sigh, to be out of the situation I was in.

There were separate employees for cleaning and laundry and cooking too, but since these people hated unknown people entering the houses, they did their tasks early in the morning so that they could head on to their work.

Only for eating, they could make some sign and fresh food would come up.

And it would be placed on the table without sound. Well, they were all magicians. Occasionally, the Vina would actually cook.

Unexpectedly, Fay was the best. For reference, Heli and Juli boasted about their cooking skills, which were the worst.

I don’t even want to recall what they made. It was a nightmare. By the way, how was the cooking going?

Fay had an apron on with his long smooth blonde hair tied back.

Far from being funny, his appearance was elegant and beautiful. As usual, with a smile on his face, he was so friendly even when preparing meals, and now I feel myself shrinking.

“How was work?”

“Well, it was fine. The people are okay.”

“And nothing happened I hope?”

“Yes. I took over the work I am supposed to do and came back right away.”

And then Fay said.

“In that case, that one wasn’t a workmate” and stabbed the salmon he was making with a fork – I was shocked to have seen that, but I kept smiling.

“You can’t just recklessly open the gate for everyone.”

Ah, finally he was on to that situation.

“Do you have any idea what kind of world it is? Shouldn’t you be worried and be on guard?”

“Sorry.”

I apologized as quickly as I could and tried to let this issue pass, but I knew that Fay wouldn’t do that.

“You stayed so still too!”

I calmly put my hands on my knees and answered.

“I was so surprised.”

It was my first time going through something like this. Someone looked at me and called me noona. I was firstly shocked because of that and then the second was the kiss on the cheek. But do I look like a woman? I don’t! I thought he was gay, but doesn’t seem like it from his actions. And he was a good-looking one, was what I muttered in my mind.

“Sigh, Al no matter how luckily you missed death, this is equally dangerous. You have no idea how many scary men are in the world. Please be more careful.”

“… Yes.”

How could I express this feeling? Was it how one would feel when their mothers would scold them? Um, no rather than that, it was strange that my face was getting hotter.

Fay, who diligently took care of the cooking even while scolding me, this time spoke to Poppy.

“You have a duty to be more faithful to your role of protecting the people of this house and this house. Don’t you think so?”

So now I am a housekeeper?

“No, you are a food thief, you should at least do something for what you eat. Don’t laugh and fool around knowing that someone we don’t know comes in here.”

I am not stupid! I even told you that I was the smartest!

“… why did your master summon you?”

Watching Fay touch his forehead and sigh, I uttered a single word –

“To be our mascot?” 2

I said quietly, and Fay, who seemed to have heard it, turned his head towards me.

As I looked down at the dish near me, the sound of muffled laughter could be heard but I didn’t lift my head because of the heat that rose to my face.

T/N: an elder woman, addressed by men↩

E/N: might have been one word in Korean↩