Chapter 45
Get a grip, Verdette. Even if your body is seven years old, your mind is in your mid-twenties. Think rationally — you know how ridiculous Jute’s words are. Don’t let him mess with your head anymore.
“Ugh. Seriously, this is insane.”
“Huh?”
“Jute.”
I let out a heavy sigh and stepped a little further away from him. Then I glared at him with a much more rebellious look than before.
“I almost fell for it for a second. Where did you learn this kind of manipulative act?”
“…Huh?”
A brief look of confusion flickered across Jute’s face. He stood frozen, blinking at me. After a moment of silence, he asked calmly.
“Could you say that again? What did you call it… manipulative… what?”
“I said, where did you learn this kind of manipulative nonsense? Slaughter? Slaughter, my foot. How the hell are you going to ‘slaughter’ those people? What, did you learn to bluff from some gangster wannabes or something?!”
Ugh, seriously!
I placed my hands on my hips and spoke in the firmest tone I could muster.
Now I could see everything clearly. Yes, it was all bluff. When I lived in the backstreets, I’d seen boys my age act just like Jute all the time. Around puberty, they all suddenly started behaving exactly like him. Spouting nonsense like that — and if you listened closely, it was always the same story.
As soon as I called him out, Jute’s pupils shook wildly from side to side. In a dazed voice, he asked in disbelief,
“Gangster… bluffing?”
“Yeah. What’s this, your whole persona is like: ‘I’m a guy with a tragic backstory and hidden power. But there’s a catch, so I have no choice but to be dragged around by fate…’ Isn’t that tiring?”
“Tiring? …Are you saying I’m tiring?”
Jute blinked at me, completely different from the demeanor he had earlier. Now he looked not just shocked, but genuinely hurt.
But I had no intention of stopping here. Since I started, I might as well see it through.
“Yeah. Seriously, why are boys from the backstreets always like this? Next thing I know, you’ll be saying you can’t live a normal life, you have a tragic past, you’re stealing lives just to survive another day… Everything’s boring and meaningless — you’ll go there next, right?”
“Me?”
“Yes, stop playing dumb. Your whole setup is like, ‘I have great power, but I can’t use it because of some circumstances.’ Isn’t that it?”
“…”
Jute’s face had gone completely pale. He just blinked at me in silence.
He looked like he had just heard the harshest insult in the world. I felt a little guilty for a second… but no. Now is the time to really set things straight. I crossed my arms tightly and stared him down.
“Wow, seriously. I can’t believe I didn’t catch on to this sooner. This whole act.”
I shook my head in disbelief and smacked my forehead with my palm. Jute’s expression kept stiffening.
“What… didn’t you catch on to?”
“What else? Your bluffing.”
“What?”
“I know everything, so just be honest. …You’re kind of doing this mysterious, cool guy thing on purpose, aren’t you?”
As soon as I said that with complete confidence, Jute’s expression twisted into something unrecognizable. He looked at me like he was hearing the most ridiculous thing in his life.
“…Mysterious?”
If this had been five minutes earlier, I might have worried that I’d said something terribly wrong seeing his face like that. But now? Nope. I had figured out all of Jute’s little games. I answered nonchalantly, pretending not to notice his reaction.
“I mean, it’s just… I thought maybe you were trying to push this cool image or something. I mean, you’ve been weird since we first met.”
“Weird image… What are you even saying?”
Now Jute’s voice was barely more than a groan. Anyone else listening might think I was talking nonsense. I raised one eyebrow and crossed my arms tighter.
“Think about it. You showed up at the Duke’s estate saying you came to look at flowers or something weird like that. And earlier, didn’t you say something like ‘I was so bored I wanted to die,’ or whatever?”
“…”
“Hah. And I didn’t even see through it.”
I shook my head in regret. Looking back now, it was just typical boyish bluffing, but I had put too much meaning into it. I had thought he was some kind of special person or something.
Jute now looked at me completely blankly, with a neutral face hiding all emotion. I guess that made sense. Maybe I had seen right through all his bluffing too quickly.
“…”
“If it’s just that, I’ll pretend I don’t know. It’s not like you’re scared or anything. I get it — you think I shouldn’t get involved, right? Got it.”
“Scared? Me? You’ve seriously been….”
Jute stared at me with clenched teeth. The guy looked genuinely embarrassed. Maybe I should stop teasing him now. If I keep hitting the nail on the head, he might get really mad. He already looks like a cat with its fur standing on end.
“Okay, okay, I get it.”
I tried to hide my smirk and spoke to him in a soothing tone.
“Fine, you’re not scared. I believe you can totally slaughter people. But it’s okay. I’ll handle it.”
“…”
“Honestly, you’re not in a super comfortable position either, right? All the stuff in this house, for example. You said you were ‘given’ them, but…”
“‘Given’? You call that ‘given’?”
“I mean, let’s be real, they don’t look like things you got through legal means. If I get involved, it might cause trouble for you. It’s fine.”
I tried to lighten the mood with a bit of a joke, but his frown only deepened.
“…You really think my words are a joke, don’t you?”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that…”
“Forget it.”
“Okay.”
Jute cut me off coldly. I answered shortly, avoiding his gaze.
Maybe I went too far. With someone this full of bluster, maybe I should’ve just let it go. Scratching my cheek awkwardly, I began to look around the house.
How much time passed? Longer than before, definitely. After quite a while, he called out to me again.
“Verdette.”
“Hm? What? Are you not mad anymore?”
“…I wasn’t mad.”
He let out a deep sigh and looked at me quietly. I looked back at him just as silently. It was still dark inside, but the moonlight from outside let me see his face.
“Twenty years old.”
“What?”
“I can’t do it now. But just wait until you’re twenty.”
“Twenty?”
“Yeah.”
“…Whose twenty?”
“Yours.”
“My twenty? …What are you talking about?”
I frowned at the sudden, random comment. Is this guy’s bluffing never-ending? Why is he suddenly bringing up my twenties? I waited to see if he’d say more, but instead, he just stared at my face.
For some reason, just being under that gaze made me nervous. My throat felt dry. I was about to say something when he suddenly reached out and gently brushed my hair back. He smiled softly. Even though he had a boy’s face and body, he looked strangely mature for a moment.
“I’ll give you everything.”
What kind of grand speech is that supposed to be? I stared at him, unable to hide my surprise.
I wanted to joke, “You seriously have a bluffing addiction,” but… for some reason, Jute’s face looked more serious than ever before.
At this point, I was genuinely confused. Why is Jute saying all this to me?
Why is he trying so hard to look cool, even after being teased like this?
Could it be… I tilted my head, catching onto a thought. When a boy tries to act cool in front of a girl, isn’t there usually only one reason?
And the moment I realized the answer, I froze.
Wait. Does he… like me?
…No way.
I frowned.
“…Hey.”
“Hm?”
“Do you… do you like me?”
“…What?”
Jute’s eyes widened more than ever before. Honestly, I think it was the first time I’d seen him that shocked. As soon as I saw his face, I knew. Yeah. He definitely likes me. This is the second time, and he’s trying hard to impress me again. I stared at him and slowly shook my head.
“I mean, come on. A barely ten-year-old boy keeps acting cool and tells a girl to ‘wait until she’s twenty’? That line is a bit much, don’t you think?”
“Th–That’s… No, wait a second. You…”
Jute was completely flustered, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
