Chapter 109: In Search of the Dream (3) (1/2)
Even a green dragon wasn’t omniscient – that was the conclusion Yu Jitae made. If Bom knew even a small fraction more about himself, she wouldn’t be saying that.
Right, that was the problem. Bom didn’t know precisely what type of person he was.
Never had he explained about his evil self to the kids. There just wasn’t any reason to tell them. In order to create a better daily life and happier memories for the dragons, it was better off for them to not know of the life he had led thus far.
As long as the dragons were happy, that was enough for the Regressor. He didn’t wish for them to come closer than necessary, and he had never wished to approach anyone in the first place. Naturally, he hadn’t tried to make them like him either.
It’s just that there was an iteration that had failed into oblivion because he was clueless about daily lives and they were thus living a daily life together.
“…”
Because of that, he wasn’t really fond of the current situation.
A bodyguard staying next to a celebrity – that was the level of distance and recognition he wanted. Did she think he was actually a part of her family now?
“So, no changing the subject now, okay?”
“…”
“Now, please prove yourself.”
Standing up, Bom walked up towards him. After being close enough for an arm’s reach, she gazed down into his eyes before slightly turning away. She then placed her two hands on her waist, on top of her boxy sweatshirt.
“Prove what.”
“I said it just then. Please try Doonga Doonga.”
She then pulled her own sweatshirt from behind. As the oversized shirt stuck right next to her waist, the curve from her ribs to the waist, all the way down to her pelvis was revealed in full.
When she gazed back into his eyes, there was no longer a perceivable trace of nervousness or hesitation. It was a lot different from when she became nervous from him bringing his hands closer.
Why did she look like she hated it back then, and why did she look fine now? The Regressor couldn’t understand the delicate and subtle emotions of the baby dragon.
“Nn?”
But despite still being awkward with daily lives and relationships, Yu Jitae was clearly aware of the fact that Bom wanted him to feel perplexed. And her method wasn’t wrong. He was now starting to become more and more troubled.
“Nn…?”
Bom took a step closer. Yu Jitae stared into her face and had an indifferent expression as always. However, he couldn’t think of any decent words or actions suitable for the situation and thus remained still and silent.
So Bom took another step forward.
“Hurry…”
As her stomach came right up to his nose, Yu Jitae turned his face away. And from that small action, Bom fully realised how troubled he was.
“You’re not going to do it?”
Bom barely suppressed her laughter that threatened to burst forth. She then walked even closer and tapped Yu Jitae’s head with her stomach.
He pulled his head back and gazed up at Bom.
She couldn’t withstand it anymore.
“Kyaa…!”
Letting go of her waist, Bom began laughing out loud to the point that she fell into the corner of the terrace after losing her balance. “Anng– hakk…! Kyaha!” she laughed under her breath and literally rolled on the floor. While laughing like she was in a seizure, she wriggled her legs around.
He heaved out a sigh and shook his head.
*
After laughing for a long time, she collected her breath.
He decided to ask her today.
“What’s so funny.”
Wiping the little beads of tears, she raised her head.
“It just is. Ahjussi being embarrassed.”
“I wasn’t embarrassed.”
“Hnng. I see.”
“…And so, why is that funny.”
“Of course it is. Who in the world could ever make ahjussi embarrassed?”
As the refreshing spring wind breezed onto the terrace, her grass-coloured hair fluttered across. She smiled.
“If not me.”
***
A fish and a rabbit were placed on the table.
Bom asked.
“How was it?”
“That’s what I want to ask.”
“For me, it was so-so.”
As expected, sculpting was a failure like it had been in the previous iteration.
If she was a normal human, he wouldn’t have come to a hasty conclusion like this after one try, but she was a dragon. Dragons rarely ever changed their thoughts or values.
“You did good though.”
“I just… don’t feel any affection for the sculpture I made.”
Bom reached her fingers forward and gently pushed the rabbit sculpture she made. The rabbit fell.
Drawing, sculpting, and writing. From those, the reason sculpting failed was because ‘she didn’t feel any affection for her sculptures’.
“…”
It was sort of a let-down. The reason for drawing was because ‘she didn’t want to draw it nicely’ and sculpting was because ‘she didn’t feel any affection for her sculptures’. None of them were grandiose reasons.
“What’s next?”
Somehow, it felt like the next one would be the same but even then, he decided to have a go.
“You want to try writing a novel?”
“A novel?”
After pondering for a bit, her expression turned slightly brighter.
“Sounds good.”
Since it was unexpected, he asked.
“Were you thinking of writing a novel before?”
“Yes actually. When I was very young, I sneaked out from the lair without the adults noticing it and used to see a lot of ghosts.”
“Really?”
“I thought that was very interesting so it might be okay to write a novel based on that experience.”
“Then what would be the genre.”
“Umm… horror?”
A green dragon and horror? Would there be a mismatch bigger than this?
In any case, she looked more interested than before.
If the genre was horror, the experiences she went through during her time with Yu Jitae might play a part, since there were several horror-like experiences when facing demons.
And if that had resulted in some sort of a change happening inside her heart, she might be able to write a novel which she wasn’t able to during the sixth iteration.
“Right. Have a go.”
“Yes. What about you, ahjussi?”
The Regressor shook his head. Drawing and sculpting were the same, but writing a novel was especially not for him.
“Try it just by yourself this time.”
“Yes.”
Bom obediently gave a nod.
That day, Bom walked around carrying a hologram device and typed on the keyboard in either the living room or her own room. Later, she even somehow found a pair of glasses with large, circular frames.
“This makes me look more like a novelist. Does it look okay?”
He wasn’t sure about the standards of ‘looking okay’, but what wouldn’t? He cursorily returned a nod.
Unlike when she was painting and sculpting, Bom was genuinely absorbed in it. Of course, her ‘deviation from the norm’ period still continued, and she truanted more than half the class for the several following days.
Being a military school, Lair was strict with attendance. There was a call from the education department by a professor who questioned Bom’s recent attendance rate. Yu Jitae glossed over it by saying that she was feeling sick and saw Bom smiling from the side while still typing on the keyboard.
Different from how she lost interest after a day for drawing and sculpting, the novel continued for four days. Perhaps she really did find something that matched her aptitude.
However,
After the fifth day, her expression as she continued writing the novel began changing for the worse.
“What’s wrong?”