Transmigration: The Narcissistic Cinderella

A metallic taste went down her throat, appeasing her taste bud, and as it traveled down her body, Jiwoo felt as if her ċhėst was being quelled down due to the liquid. The pain in her body was suddenly stopping due to it, and all of the exhaustion in her body was being driven away.

A groan escaped from her mouth as Moon Jiwoo opened her mouth slightly, and she realized that she was being fed something with a glass. Oh Sookyung's hand grabbed on to a glass, and inside that glass was a red liquid.

Caught by the surprise at that instant, Moon Jiwoo attempted to move back from the glass of blood, and noticing that she was conscious, Sookyung pulled the glass back.

However, Jiwoo's body was still weak, and before she was able to fall backwards, Sookyung secured his hand around her back, preventing that from happening. Both of them were seated upon the couch.

Moon Jiwoo's lips were slightly tinted in red dye to the blood, and her eyes went towards the direction of the glass. The smell of the blood wafted into her nose, and the dėsɨrė to finish the entire glass awakened within her.

As if reading her thoughts, Oh Sookyung raised his hand and extended the glass of blood towards her before saying, "If you are fine, you should finish off rest of the blood by yourself."

Moon Jiwoo nodded.

Certain amount of greediness showed in her eyes as she forwarded her hand to accept the glass of blood, and bringing it over to her mouth, she hungrily drank the content.

Multiple times she had wondered on how terribly gross it would be to drink blood. However, in front of the real thing, all of those thoughts disappeared within a second, and her willpower was deemed to be weak.

She found herself unable to resist or hate the liquid before her. As the liquid traveled down her body, she found herself craving for more of it.

However, the blood in the glass was soon over unfortunately, and Jiwoo placed the glass on the table beside the couch. Couple of coughs left her mouth, and she licked her lips in order not let the blood go to waste.

"How do you feel right now?" Oh Sookyung questioned, removing his hand off of her back.

"I feel perfectly fine," Jiwoo answered, "I do remember you panicking over me when I fainted, Sookyung. I did not think you were that type of man."

A chuckle left her mouth as a teasing smirk formed on her face.

Although Jiwoo was exaggerating her words, she noticed how concerned Sookyung was for her that moment, and as much as happy she was from it, she had a greater impulse to tease him about that.

Sookyung scoffed and vocalised, "There you again. Getting ahead of yourself. The only reason I panicked was because I was worried for my life. If you died back then, who would have taken care of me? Are you forgetting that you're my bodyguard?"

Raising her hand, Moon Jiwoo stared down at her nails, and with a bored expression on her face, she voiced out, "Yes, yes, whatever you say, but Sookyung, you are too transparent at this moment. It is clearly visible that you're lying to me, but I will let go of you this time around."

Sookyung extended his hand towards her forehead and flicked on it slightly, causing a wince to escape from Jiwoo's mouth. 

Moon Jiwoo glared at Sookyung and exclaimed, "Yah!"

"Yah? See, you have lost control over your anger again! I have won this time around as well. Say goodbye to your chance of being able to go outside."

Upon hearing those words, Moon Jiwoo's eyes widened. Nonetheless, there was no way she was going to admit defeat to Sookyung over this.

"This doesn't count. I just woke up, and my mind is slightly muddled. I did not lose control over my anger," Jiwoo voiced out in a softer tone.

"Don't be a coward and make excuses, Daerin. Admit it already. You have already lost this round as well, Loser Daerin," Sookyung stated, childishly sticking his tongue out at her.

"I am not arguing with an idiot like you over this. I am sleepy at this moment, so don't annoy me, You Thief. And remember that I did not lose in this time," she spoke out.

With that, Moon Jiwoo pressed her palms on top of the couch and got down from it. Without bothering to glance at Sookyung once, she left the room, and staring at her back, Sookyung let out a chuckle.

°°°

Oh Sookyung sat opposite to Min Hyungwon, and both of them were in the older man's office room. In front of them were two glasses of tea and few snacks.

"Was there anything you needed me for, Hyungwon-ssi?" Oh Sookyung started, raising one of his eyebrows.

"How is Shin Daerin feeling now?" Hyungwon asked.

Upon hearing those words, laughter elicited from his mouth, and Sookyung answered, "She was extremely energetic. No one would think that she was on the verge of something dangerous couple of hours ago."

"Sookyung, I would prefer for you to answer this to me honestly. What are your current feelings towards Moon Jiwoo? Don't try to hide anything on this matter," Hyungwon vocalised in a serious tone— emphasizing the importance of that.

Those words left Sookyung wondering, and a deep look appeared in his eyes. Pursing both of her lips together, Sookyung tried to think a possible answer about it.

About what he had felt for Moon Jiwoo, Sookyung never tried to give that a serious thought, and he was aware that his feelings towards her changed from when he had first met her. 

Maybe as she had mentioned it earlier, he was worried about the girl when she reached that state earlier— not because she was his bodyguard— and gradually, she was getting less annoying to him.

"A little sister? That's how she feels like to me like that moment although I don't act like a decent older brother to her," Sookyung answered.

Even though his answer was not entirely correct, that was the closest he was able to get to the real reason. Currently, he was unable to figure out his proper sentiments towards the girl.

"Little sister, hmm. That's too dangerous for you. Sookyung, the only way you need to treat her is as a tool," Hyungwon spoke out, "I know this sounds horrible and you might be reluctant now, seeing how close you're getting to the girl. But treating her as a little sister is too dangerous. Remember in your mind that she is merely a tool for you to get the throne."

Upon hearing those words, Oh Sookyung's eyes widened, and he questioned, "Why?"

Those words of Hyungwon shocked Sookyung, and his eyes widened. It left a bitter aftertaste within her.

Although in the beginning he had merely treated the girl as a tool, that side of him changed over a period of time. Even though Moon Jiwoo was foolish and irritating, she had a side to her that he found endearing.

"What I am telling you is for your own good. You will be the one who will be hurt if you get attached to her. This is sad, but that's what you need to do. Sometimes, you need to think cruelly and he cold-hearted to achieve greater things. All the previous Kings were able to do this."

"Why will I be hurt?" Sookyung questioned.

He had the clue to what possibly could be the answer to this question, but at that instant, he was too frightened to hear about it. Sookyung did not know when such a fear began to emerge within him, but it felt very much real to her.

"Because Shin Daerin is destined to die for you, and that is decided by the fate. Although everything else can be changed, this is one of those things that can not be altered regardless of how one tries.

Either she will die from protecting you or you will be the one to kill her. The current King killed his protector on his own because he was too scared of his protector.

The protector is stronger than the king, and in a place where the king is supposed to be the strongest, there is no proper place for the protector. The protector is merely a temporary figure to be disposed of later on.

That's why, she is destined to die. Don't get yourself attached to her or else you will be hindered by unnecessary emotions later on. It is better to nip the problem at the root of it in order to prevent it from growing further."

Sookyung's hand trembled slightly after hearing those words, and he did not understand what he was that frightened about. Hyungwon's words made sense to him, and he more or less had an idea on how Jiwoo would die protecting him.

However, he thought that he did not care much about that; it seemed that was not the case.