Chapter 26

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Chapter 26

On his neck was a bird tattoo that seemed to be covered in flames. I’d never seen it before, and its subtle energy was a little unsettling.

But it went so well with his appearance that I unknowingly stared openly at him to admire this. Then, he called me with a low voice.

“Noona.”

At this, I came to my senses and looked up. With his height similar to Lisandro’s, I had no choice but to crane my neck.

Our eyes met, and he opened his arms.

“What?”

“Can you give me a hug? I missed you a lot.”

I smiled and gave him a hug, reminded of how child-like Lisandro was as well.

Fortunately, thanks to his lighthearted tone, I was completely relieved.

As I hugged him, rather, it was like I’m the one engulfed in his arms. He hugged me so tightly that he could crush me, his chin on top of my head.

“I missed you so, so much, Noona.”

“I didn’t know either that we wouldn’t be able to see each other this long.”

“Were you sad?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

He smiled slightly and gave me a small kiss on top of my head.

I tried to step back, but the arms around me wouldn’t let go and continued to hold me.

In that strange atmosphere, I blinked and spoke again.

“You mentioned that you were looking for someone. Did you find them? Did you finish your training properly?”

The questions naturally poured out in quick succession towards Frey who I hadn’t seen in a long time.

I also asked this because I knew he had been training his mind to enter contracts with spirits other than the spirit king of fire.

His lips stayed closed for a while without answering, then he opened them slowly.

“I can take my time finding that person, so don’t worry. And I finished my training successfully.”

Unphased by my barrage of questions, he answered one by one.

With his voice so low and alluring, it made me wonder if he was actively trying to seduce people.

I steeled my heart. Facing him like this, I kept being conscious of his appearance.

“It must have been hard.”

“It was really difficult for me…”

Trailing off, he buried his face in my neck and pulled me further into his arms.

I’m sure it was unintentional, but my body froze again as I felt nervous.

“Now that I can see Noona again, it’s like all those hardships have melted away.”

“……”

“This is really nice.”

His seductive voice was so sweet that it was my ears that threatened to melt.

To the point that I gulped dryly without even realizing it.

With his hands making a trail over the small of my back, he carefully opened his lips to speak, his face still over my shoulder.

“Noona, thank you. Before and now…”

“So suddenly?”

“I really wanted to say this. It’s just…”

His hot breath touched my shoulder.

I squirmed a little so that the hot breath wouldn’t touch me anymore, but Frey wouldn’t even budge.

“I realized it too late.”

“What are you saying? Speak in a way that I understand.”

But without answering my question, he just smiled.

I furrowed my brows and looked straight into his eyes. Then, I told him what I said to Tino when I first met him.

“You know what I hate the most? One is when people trail off, and the other thing is…”

In a playful tone, he asked back.

“Lisandro?”

“No, you punk.”

Frey grinned and let go of me a little. Strangely, his arms just moved to my waist and so our stomachs were in close contact.

I could feel his hard abs through our clothes, but I tried not to let it show that I felt them.

He took my chin gently and smiled affectionately. I didn’t know if he noticed or not.

The way he smiled with his eyes was alluring.

“Noona. You’re still so pretty.”

He caressed my cheek and stroked it softly.

The mood gradually shifted towards a strange direction. I couldn’t even breathe properly.

Everywhere he touched, it burned.

Frey’s eyes, which seemed like melted gold, shone in the dark and looked only at me.

And there in his eyes, a sense of desire flashed like madness.

Flustered, I couldn’t open my mouth to speak. It was Frey who first broke the silence, opening his red lips as he asked.

“Noona, what perfume do you use?”

“…Huh?”

“I like your scent.”

His hold over my waist became even tighter. With our bodies so close like this, I could feel not only his hard body but also his breath.

“Uh, um… I don’t use perfume though.”

I have no idea how to answer him as the sudden shift in atmosphere flustered me.

As he smiled, the corners of his lips curled up.

“Noona.”

“……”

“Don’t be so nervous. I’m not going to eat you up. Not yet.”

“What…”

“Noonim!”

While I was staring at Frey as though enraptured by the devil, Lisandro’s loud voice boomed suddenly, and my shoulders flinched in surprise.

“Noonim! I’m going in, okay?”

I turned towards the door, but Frey gently took my chin and turned my gaze back to him.

His golden irises, which suddenly shone in the dark, flashed right then.

“Forcing is a bad thing, right?”

Then, he leaned down and pressed his lips over my neck.

His lips were soft against my neck. Not only that, but he bit my skin a little, and then after leaving a trail of light kisses around the bite, he raised his head again.

I could still feel his lips on my burning skin.

Shocked by his sudden behavior, I looked up at him.

Frey’s black hair fluttered in the evening breeze, illuminated by the moonlight that gave a gentle glow to Frey as he was.

Entranced by the unrealistic situation and his unrealistic appearance, my face soon heated up.

As he caressed my cheek satisfactorily, he smiled.

And unconsciously, my eyes wouldn’t leave his red lips. At that, Frey chuckled quietly.

“Do you like my lips, Noona?”

“……”

I didn’t answer.

As though my throat was eternally parched, I couldn’t speak. I just kept my mouth closed, and Frey continued to stare at my face.

“I want to stay with you longer…”

As if he were playing a piece on a piano, he slowly swept along my jaw, my neck, my shoulder… his touch was laced with deep affection.

“But I can’t do that because that meddler is here.”

As though honey dripped from his gaze, he smiled beautifully as his eyes curled up into crescent moons.

Why was it that the same affectionate smile he gave me from when we were younger… look so unfamiliar today?

With his arms still around my waist and my arms frozen at my sides, Frey made me nervous.

Looking into his eyes helplessly, there was a split second when I desperately connected the dots—his enthralling appearance, this dangerous atmosphere, Lisandro’s vigilance.

Oh, but even if it’s like that, it wasn’t enough to justify it.

When Lisandro came to mind, I suddenly snapped out of my reverie.

I was almost bewitched by that mysterious beauty.

Watching as my expression turned to relief as I pushed his chest back, Frey took a step back.

His arms, which were tightly wrapped around my waist, also let go.

“See you tomorrow, Noona. Bye.”

“…Bye.”

Whether or not his unfamiliar demeanor was awkward only to me, he waved at me no differently than when he was young.

Frey politely kissed my forehead, then he jumped down the terrace.

Since he climbed the terrace, he’d be alright with going down. I wasn’t really worried.

Instead, it felt like my neck was still scorching, so my hand covered that part unconsciously.

“Noonim!”

“Ah.”

Lisandro’s urgent tone grounded me back to reality.

This good baby brother won’t come in until I tell him he’s allowed to do so.

“Come in, Lisandro.”

Only then did the door open. He looked at me with a crumpled expression as if he was on the verge of crying, but he suddenly searched my room.

“What are you doing?”

“It smells like Frey.”

“…Are you a dog?”

Lisandro continued to sniff the air, but after confirming that Frey wasn’t here, he walked towards me.

“Noonim, why did you answer the door so slow?”

“I was sleeping.”

The lie didn’t even work. Lisandro pouted.

“Frey was here, wasn’t h… Wait. What’s that?”

While talking, he trailed off for a moment, then his gaze lowered. His sky blue eyes were zeroed in on my neck.

At the place that Frey kissed and left a mark on.

“What is that.”

“Ah, this—”

“Frey that son of a b*tch, really!”

Without waiting for me to answer, Lisandro’s mouth went off as his face became so red in anger as if he was about to catch fire.

He looked so comical, so I couldn’t even stay true to the tense atmosphere. I stared at his ferocious gaze and mouth that was in a hard line, then I smiled.

“Calm down. It was only a light kiss. Frey was just happy to see me again.”

“Kiss? Light kiss?!”

“Your eyes are about to pop out of their sockets.”

I brushed it off like that, but I was actually also very taken aback by Frey’s surprising behavior.

The physical contact was too much—it couldn’t be said that he simply saw me purely as an older sister figure.

And it was strange, the atmosphere.

His gaze.

No, I mean. It was only a kiss on my neck. Why did it feel so racy?

Didn’t Frey like men?

…Wait. No, I never read anything about Frey’s preferences.

And the girl who saved him was just a friend.

Don’t tell me…

“No matter how much he says he misses you! Noonim is my sister! He can’t do this!”

I was lost in thought again, but Lisandro held the back of my neck and pulled me closer to him.

“…Huh? What did you say?”

“This is because you’re too nice to Frey, Noonim. He once told me that it’d be nice if you were his real sister.”

I just stared at Lisandro. What he’s saying sounded ridiculous, but I had no choice but to believe his words right then.

If it’s true that Lisandro was anxious and was trying to hide Frey’s feelings for me, then I wanted to go along with it and pretend not to know.

And more than that, Frey was still a good younger brother to me. I was mesmerized by his beauty. That’s all.

It couldn’t be called love.

Above all, it was enough that I once let go of Lisandro’s hand, and that ended up messing him up.

For me, right now, Lisandro was the priority. I couldn’t let go of Lisandro again.

That’s why—let’s erase it.

Let’s not think too deeply about it. Let’s not think about things we don’t want to think about. Let’s stay just like this.

For Lisandro, I’ll pretend not to know. I’ll close my eyes.

“That’s why—it’s just that Lisandro did that for no reason, Noonim.”

“I got it. Stop talking already.”

Lisandro frowned, looking pointedly over to my neck again as if to express that he really didn’t like the red marks there.

Then, he slightly scratched my neck with his fingernails. He stopped when I hit him.

“I’m going to sleep on the sofa today.”

“Why? You’ll only be uncomfortable.”

“If someone comes again, I’ll stab them.”

“……”

I just let Lisandro do what he wanted. It didn’t seem like he was going to leave, so I went to my bed without stopping him.

“Turn off the lights.”

“’Kay.”

In the darkened room, I heard Lisandro lying on the sofa.

“How did you know that Frey was here, Lisandro?”

“I can sense him differently compared to other guys.”

“…How?”

Though he couldn’t see it, I was surprised, and at this, it felt like he was proud of the fact.

“Only I can sense him. He’s good at hiding his tracks, but if I focus hard, I can find him.”

“That’s cool.”

“Come to the training grounds next time, Noona. You should watch me train.”

“Sure.”

I readily accepted.

I sometimes went out to play, and even if I didn’t know anything about swordsmanship, Lisandro’s skills were so outstanding that even I knew how to admire him.

It was also fun to see everyone groaning and trying to get out of Lisandro’s way.

“By the way, I saw a tattoo on Frey’s neck.”

“Oh, that’s because he entered a contract with the spirit king of fire, and the stronger it is, the darker the mark becomes.”

When I saw it, the tattoo was so vividly red.

And with its subtle red glow, I could feel an unsettling energy.

Then, how strong did Frey become?

Lisandro said he didn’t want to talk about Frey anymore, so the subject was changed.

While we played trivial word games, I drifted off to sleep.

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