Jieon raised his voice instead to deny the emotion he was feeling right now.
“I don’t believe in Grim Reapers, shamans, or any of that stuff. Understand?”
Even after hearing Jieon’s answer, Mua didn’t take his eyes off him for a while. The trembling of his pupils and breathing, the minute movements of his body—he examined and re-examined all of it without missing anything.
After almost glaring at Cheon Jieon like that for a long while, Mua finally turned his body around sharply.
“…I see.”
Compared to his attitude of acting like he’d devour him, it was an absurdly deflating answer. Jieon unconsciously let out a “huh,” releasing his held breath, then looked at Shin Mua with a dumbfounded expression.
As if he’d never acted threatening, he clasped his hands behind his back like an old man and began walking around, poking here and there again.
“You completely don’t believe in superstitions…”
As if that was so important, Shin Mua muttered the same words and kept moving his steps. It was right at that moment that puzzlement appeared in Jieon’s eyes as he blankly watched that sight.
Shin Mua, who had quickly crossed the living room, approached the balcony with its glass door closed but showed no signs of stopping.
Jieon’s lips twitched awkwardly. He was about to ask what he was doing again, but thinking that it wasn’t like he had no eyes and he’d figure it out himself, he closed his mouth again. But that was his mistake.
“Hey, what are you doing…!”
Before his startled words could even finish, with a thud, Shin Mua plopped down on the floor.
Silence flowed through the living room. Cheon Jieon tried somehow to accept the scene he’d just witnessed.
Like a bird flying in the sky not seeing a transparent glass window and crashing into it, Shin Mua, who had been heading vigorously toward the balcony, had planted his face right into the glass door. He’d never imagined in his life that he’d see such an absurd scene in his own house.
Are all Grim Reapers kind of stupid?
Being too absurd, Cheon Jieon had such a thought. It was a moment when he wanted to believe more intensely than ever that Shin Mua was a Grim Reaper. Otherwise, it was hard to rationally accept such a scene.
“Hey… you, your nosebleed…”
Jieon muttered, pointing at Shin Mua’s face. Only then did Mua lower his head to look at the floor. Bright red blood was dripping from his face, soaking the floor.
“Ah…”
Only after seeing that did his vision spin and he felt pain in his face. Mua reflexively raised his hand and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. The slick liquid flowed along the back of his hand.
“Are you really crazy?”
Cheon Jieon’s bewildered voice echoed through the quiet living room. Anyone who saw Shin Mua’s current state wouldn’t be able to show any other reaction.
“I…”
Mua couldn’t easily get the words out. It was because his mind went blank for a moment due to the sudden pain. That said, this situation wasn’t shocking or particularly surprising. Honestly, Mua had been continuously experiencing similar situations since possessing a human body.
The sensation of a Grim Reaper moving was different from a human’s. Though there were similar aspects, to explain it roughly, it was convenient to think that Grim Reapers basically used less strength in their bodies at every moment than humans.
Since coming to the Living World, Mua had rolled on the floor almost every morning after getting down from bed because he couldn’t properly put strength in his legs, and had slipped while trying to sit in a chair because he couldn’t properly gauge space.
If he’d had to go out alone, he would have bumped shoulders with humans countless times. It was fortunate that he’d had time to naturally get used to a human body while doing rehabilitation at the hospital.
Even now was like that. As Mua was thoroughly searching the living room and kitchen for anything strange, the balcony caught his eye. Thinking it was a place that normally didn’t catch the eye well, so the probability someone had pulled tricks was high, his steps unconsciously quickened.
The scenery visible outside was so clear and clean that he didn’t think a transparent door would be blocking the front.
“…I bumped into it.”
At Mua’s mutter as blood dripped from his nose, Jieon opened his mouth. He’d never heard such a stupid thing in his life.
“Saying things like ‘I bumped into it.’ Didn’t you see there was a door?”
“I didn’t see it.”
“Ha…”
“The door is really clean.”
“Every damn thing, really.”
He was completely deflated. This situation of suddenly planting his face into the glass door and having a nosebleed felt like a dream because it was so unrealistic.
However, Shin Mua, the person who had personally shown the absurd sight, blinked his eyes with that usual indifferent face and muttered calmly.
“It can’t be helped since I’m still adapting to a human body.”
“……”
“I didn’t want to adapt in the first place anyway.”
It was close to talking to himself. A faint self-mockery could be felt in the voice quietly uttered with lowered gaze. Just looking at this appearance, it literally seemed like a being who had to adapt to a human body unwillingly.
At that moment, Jieon felt a strange emotion that couldn’t be described in words. All the events he’d experienced after the accident swirled dizzyingly before his eyes.
Stories about Grim Reapers and possession naturally couldn’t be believed. Trust dropped even further from the fact that the person saying it was Shin Mua.
The Shin Mua that Cheon Jieon knew was a liar, selfish, and someone who could casually trample others’ pain for his own happiness. He could do anything to get what he wanted, and actually did things like hurting himself without batting an eye.
How could he believe what such a Shin Mua said?
But at the same time, Cheon Jieon knew the one thing he couldn’t do. He couldn’t be indifferent to his own affairs. The reason he’d suddenly thrown off his mask in front of Jieon was also because of the incident where he’d conversed intimately with another omega at an event he’d been invited to for company work.
Jieon was basically a warm-hearted and soft-hearted person. If Shin Mua had acted just a little more cleverly, if he’d known how to use Jieon’s sympathy a bit more cunningly, their relationship would have been much better than now. And Shin Mua had the brains and acting ability to do that.
Yet Shin Mua ultimately failed at pretending to be good and pitiful in front of Cheon Jieon. It was because of his abnormal obsession with Cheon Jieon.
He’d cry profusely saying he’d gone crazy for a while, that he’d endured alone for too long and missed people so much, so it seemed he’d lost his mind for a moment, making Jieon’s heart weaken, but the next day he’d throw a fit saying Jieon had smiled at someone else. Shin Mua was that kind of person.
He definitely was, but…
Jieon quietly looked at Shin Mua in front of him, at that person who insisted he wasn’t Shin Mua. He was still tilting his head as if he couldn’t properly grasp the situation even while bleeding.
Even though they’d been in the same house since being discharged, he paid no attention to Cheon Jieon and didn’t care what he did. He’d just occasionally say incomprehensible things and act like an old man.
For ordinary people, it wouldn’t be very difficult acting. But for Jieon, who had lived together and seen all kinds of sights, the thought that this Shin Mua was really ‘unfamiliar’ kept growing.
Rather than logical and factual evidence, it was closer to an instinctive feeling. It felt like every cell making up his body felt unfamiliarity toward Shin Mua. It was also strange that while he was annoyed with him, unlike before, he didn’t feel disgust.
Maybe living with a crazy bastard was making him go crazy too. Jieon was seriously worried about his mental state these days.
At that moment, Shin Mua, who had been sitting blankly, muttered in a small voice.
“Hmm, I’m dizzy.”
At those words, Jieon withdrew his thoughts and looked at Shin Mua. He was still having a nosebleed. Jieon’s face crumpled.
“Hey! You’re still bleeding!”
“Ah.”
“Ah what, saying things like ‘ah.'”
While being annoyed, Jieon quickly brought tissues and plugged Mua’s nose.
“Oh my, are you okay?”
At that moment, the housekeeper who had been cleaning another room and came out discovered the two and approached in surprise. Jieon forcibly lifted Shin Mua’s body and answered instead.
“Please clean this up.”
“Yes, I will. Do you need anything?”
“It’s fine. Please work.”
Saying that, Jieon supported Mua’s body. Whether it was because of dizziness or because he was really still adapting to a human body, he could feel Shin Mua staggering.
Jieon realized he was gradually listening to his words. That fact was somewhat unpleasant, but he couldn’t just leave someone who was bleeding.
“Don’t Grim Reapers bleed either?”
Jieon, who had taken Shin Mua to his room and seated him on the bed, asked curtly. It didn’t mean he really believed his words—he was just mocking the absurd claim.
“They don’t.”
Shin Mua, who had finally held the tissue with his own hand and covered his nose, answered in a nasal voice. Jieon closed his mouth. Honestly, there was nothing more to say when he said Grim Reapers don’t bleed.
In the room that had grown quiet again, Mua lowered his gaze to look down at his hand covering his nose. Blood had spread over the roughly plugged tissue. It was probably because of that blood. The memory of ‘Shin Mua’ that he’d seen like a vision not long ago suddenly came to mind.
“Did I…”
Mua opened his mouth as if entranced. It wasn’t words thought out with his head.
“Did I ever threaten you while self-harming?”
