<Chapter 131>
#15. Epidemic (5)
At the hour when Calix was sound asleep with Melty tucked snugly against his side, James, who was living in the outskirts area provided by the Padrian family, awoke from his sleep. Blinking several times to clear his foggy mind, he habitually scratched the itchy area on his chest.
The bumpy, uneven texture that caught his fingers was irritating, but his merciless hand didn’t spare it. Scratch, scratch—roughly scraping brought momentary relief. After that, the terrible itchiness returned.
‘Ah, what is this that’s so itchy?’
Having been disturbed during what should have been a peaceful night’s sleep, he couldn’t be in a good mood. To call for a doctor, he would have to enter beyond the barrier to the inside, but the rigid guards just shook their heads from side to side.
‘Those bastards have no flexibility whatsoever.’
His stomach churned thinking about the money pouches he had distributed so far, planning to firmly establish himself here. It was also vexing that these men, who had accepted and eaten so much, now played dumb when the time came. Following his mood, his hand became even rougher as he scratched his skin.
Though his skin had become unsightly, James didn’t particularly care about that. He was just trying to get back to sleep, thinking he would have to ask others once daylight broke to somehow see a doctor inside the barrier, when:
“Ugh….”
It was the voice of someone struggling to breathe. Or perhaps a painful groan with a voice deeply subdued by a terrible nightmare. At the faint but distinct sound, James’s eyes flew wide open.
“Ah, why are you moaning like that? Are you sick?”
James, with an indifferent face, moved his hand to tap the spot beside him. It was a rough gesture meant to wake his wife who would have been sleeping next to him.
“…Ugh, ugh….”
“Why do you keep making those sick noises?”
Speaking sharply but with concern in his voice, he quickly got up to light a lamp when his fingertips brushed against his wife’s hand.
“My, my God….”
Frozen in place, he fixed his gaze forward. His wife had certainly been fine when they went to sleep. Bumps had appeared here and there on her skin, but he thought they would soon subside. Apart from that, she had been the same as usual. He had exchanged a hefty sum for a prescription for the suddenly emerging blisters from a supposedly skilled doctor, long before the barriers were erected.
But now before his eyes was someone—no, something—he had never seen before in his life. Blisters had swollen so much that he couldn’t even make out the proper shape of her face. Frozen at the sight that left him unable to do anything, James fumbled in the air with clumsy movements.
“Th-this… What’s happening….”
All he could recognize were her eyes. Clear pupils filled with welling tears looked toward James. Though knowing it was his wife, a sound of “Heek!” escaped from his lips. Tears streamed down, soaking the sheet they had been lying on just moments ago.
“D-darling…?”
James, who had been restless, stammered as he called his wife. And a few minutes later, James, covered in his wife’s blood, screamed.
“Aaaaah!!”
***
…I was played. Using a honeytrap!
Clutching a pillow with both hands, Melty shook it from side to side. At this modest display of anger, Naru yawned widely and turned his head the other way.
The previous night, Melty had surrendered himself to Calix’s movements as he smiled sweetly and planted kisses here and there, only to have all his memories erased. To be more specific, he had fallen victim to Calix’s dazzling hand techniques, face, and mouth.
“I, I can’t believe I’m this weak to sexual desire…!”
With his face covered in shock, Melty kicked the air in anger. Breathing heavily with rough breaths, feeling as if he had been successfully tricked by Calix, Melty soon sprawled obediently on the bed to catch his breath due to his quickly depleted energy.
“…Still, I think I could help.”
He understood well that Calix was worried about him. But that didn’t mean he wanted to be a delicate flower being protected. Creating wrinkles on the bridge of his nose, Melty twitched his nose upward a few times and got up.
“Naru.”
At Melty’s call, Naru, who had been playing well by himself, approached. After confirming that Naru had settled comfortably around his wrist as usual, Melty hurriedly set off.
Calix had said that he should rest well due to the long journey and last night’s activities, but that was completely out of the question. Bravely snorting through his nose, Melty headed toward Calix’s office.
“Melty? Where are you going?”
Seeing his brother who had attached himself to him as soon as he stepped out the door, Melty calmly exclaimed.
“To work!”
“…To work? Weren’t you resting because the long journey was tiring? Are you feeling okay?”
Though he had only uttered a brief word, the worried voice that followed made Melty stop in his tracks. Slightly turning his head to look at Malek, Melty somehow felt sorry toward his brother.
His brother, who had come to visit after so long, had been concerned only about him from the beginning, while he, as a brother, seemed to have neglected his family, blinded by his first love. Feeling a belated prick of conscience, Melty reached out his hand to Malek. Puzzled by the suddenly extended hand, Malek grabbed his brother’s hand instead of asking questions.
“What? Are you really not feeling well?”
“Hyung.”
“Yes.”
“…I’m sorry for making you worry all the time.”
Malek smiled warmly at the dejected apology. He stroked Melty’s hair here and there with his large hand.
“What are you sorry for? What could be more natural than an older brother worrying about his younger brother? It’s just that I tend to worry a lot.”
“Still….”
Until just before arriving here, Malek had mentioned that he would be a bit busy as work had piled up. In Melty’s memory, Malek was the person who had taken care of him the most, but he was also one of the busiest.
But since hearing about the riot that occurred as soon as they arrived, Malek had stubbornly stayed by Melty’s side. He hadn’t brought up any work-related talk at all, but Melty knew it was all because he was concerned about him.
“This place is really nice, better than I thought. The people are kind and warm…”
A faint smile spread across Malek’s lips as he listened to Melty’s chattering.
“Yes. It seems that way.”
It wasn’t that he disliked the people working here. The problem was only with a single person.
‘Shameless snake bastard.’
Malek frowned as he thought of Calix, who shamelessly smiled and called him “Hyungnim.” With rumors surrounding Padrian being so unfavorable and it being a place with particularly many enemies, he wasn’t comfortable sending his brother here. If Melty hadn’t said with a serious face that he liked it, he would have done whatever it took to break that ridiculous contract and taken him home.
‘He does seem to treat my brother well…’
That was actually what had the biggest influence on softening Malek’s heart. Calix, who might act arrogantly elsewhere, was always affectionate toward Melty. Just by the way he looked at Melty, Malek could tell he was in love.
‘If they’re happy together, what can I do?’
By now, Melty had moved on from talking about the people at the Padrian mansion and was listing Calix’s virtues. Pleased by his excited chattering, Malek received all his stories with a smiling face.
“Hyung. You’ve been so busy with work that you haven’t properly looked around here, right? I have to work today… but if your time allows, I’ll guide you around here.”
“That sounds good to me.”
Taking Malek’s hand, Melty excitedly walked forward and proudly knocked before opening the office door. The gazes of Angel and Calix, who had been seriously conversing, simultaneously fell on the door.
“What brings you here?”
“What do you mean? I came to work, of course!”
Melty, holding his head high proudly, still holding his brother’s hand, walked toward the sofa that was practically his assigned seat. He gathered the scattered letter envelopes on the table that hadn’t been properly organized.
“…Huh? Aren’t you tired? I told you that you can just rest.”
“Why would I be tired when I haven’t done anything tiring?”
“Well, I never.”
Calix burst into laughter at Melty’s impudent statement. He had deliberately been gentle to avoid tiring him out, but it seems he hadn’t satisfied Melty’s burning desires. Finding it cute how he stubbornly focused only on the letters, Calix rested his chin on his hand and stared, when a coughing sound was heard from beside him.
“Ahem! Hmm hmm. Calix-nim. This is really urgent.”
“…Ah. Right.”
It was harder than expected to tear his gaze away from Melty, who was stuck close to Malek’s side, explaining that this was what he did. With difficulty, Calix turned his head to the side and looked at Angel.
“Where were we in our conversation?”
“Hah… First, the witnesses who saw the scene have been isolated, and that house has been sealed. The situation is spreading anxiety, so quick resolution is needed.”
Though no words were added, Calix realized that Angel’s statement was asking about follow-up measures on how to handle it, and he let out a low sigh. Just the day before, he had discussed the disease symptoms with Johaim.
He hadn’t expected the first death among those residing in the outskirts to occur so quickly. Given that no solution had even been organized yet, Calix, soaked in fatigue, rubbed the back of his neck.
“I think it’s important to classify the people there as I mentioned before. And make sure to tell them in advance not to touch anything at the scene.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“…We’ll have to find a solution.”
The problem was that no one knew how long it would take for a solution to be prepared. As he pressed his temples due to fatigue, he felt one gaze that felt particularly piercing.
Knowing full well what that gaze meant, Calix turned his head with a sour expression. Melty was looking at him with sparkling eyes, with an expression full of expectation. Calix smiled at him and spoke quite naturally:
“No.”
“But!”
“Absolutely not.”
“Still…”
“We already finished this conversation yesterday. If it’s not possible, it’s not possible.”
Melty, who had already been left speechless by Calix’s firmness several times, stuck out his lower lip. The gazes of Malek and Angel, who had been looking back and forth between the two as they conversed, met in the air. Without either being first, the two shook their heads from side to side.
Melty, who had quickly organized the letters, sent an ardent gaze attack toward Calix, but Calix didn’t back down at all. Sighing deeply at his refusal to even look at him, Melty handed over to Calix the organized letters and the urgent letters with a seal that he couldn’t check the contents of.
“I’m done. These were urgent letters, so I think it would be good to check them right away.”
“Yes. Thanks for your hard work.”
Calix’s brow furrowed as he examined what Melty had handed him. Curious about his change of expression, Melty stood on his tiptoes and stretched his head forward. Calix quickly hid the letter inward and smiled at this gesture of openly trying to peek.
“It seems there won’t be any more work today, so why don’t you show your brother around? Introduce him to people too.”
“……”
Realizing that Calix had brought this up to send him away, Melty put strength into his eyes. He passionately sent an aggrieved gaze attack that said, ‘How can you do this to me?’, but Calix calmly looked at Malek standing behind Melty.
“You haven’t had a proper tour of this place either, right Hyungnim? There’s a dessert shop in the square that Melty loves very much, how about going there together?”
“Fine! We’ll go. Hmph, just you wait.”
Shooting Calix a glance that wasn’t scary at all, Melty tightly gripped Malek’s hand and walked away. Though Calix diligently listed precautions, none reached Melty’s ears. Deliberately closing the door with a bang, Melty exhaled roughly.
He wasn’t unaware that Calix was worried about him, but it was still disappointing and upsetting that he couldn’t help Calix at all. Feeling a gentle tug on his hand, Melty came to his senses and met eyes with Malek, who was looking at him. Melty smiled with an apologetic heart for his brother who had been caught up in his mood through no fault of his own, and carefully opened his mouth.
“Sorry, Hyung. Was that chaotic?”
“What have you done wrong? It’s that guy’s fault for having a bad personality.”
“Huh…?”
“More importantly, now that all your work is done, do you have time for your brother?”
At his playful question, complete with a wink, Melty nodded with a small laugh. Malek gently stroked Melty’s hair and said with a broad smile:
“That’s good. I actually had somewhere I really wanted to go with you.”
