"If you don't want to go then just fail the test," he was being honest with her. He, who was a liar by black blood and a trickster by creation.
Rose had quickly read his mind as she always did.
~...~
It was truly pure and hiding no other intentions aside from the words he said. She smiled. If this was real care for her, what could it be?
Nonetheless, Grandpa Max—the old red dragon—had come in with a slip of brown paper in his hand. "Here, little Rose. Our little test," he dropped the paper and dark pen in front of the little girl whose face wasn't so bright anymore.
The Dokkaebi quickly interjected. "If she fails the test, she's not going to school."
"Eh?"
Rose smiled inwardly. In fact, she smirked.
Just weeks ago, she was bullied by her own holy and heavenly brother who made her cross the border gate into this Monster Realm. Definitely having in mind that she would be devoured and killed by these monsters. But here, look, they all pamper her like a divine mother's baby!
A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST>>>>>>
*
*
*
Seraphina opened her eyes again, this time, from real hunger. Her stomach growled like thunder rolling across empty skies.
Instinctively, she reached out to rub her eyes, but her small hands were tied to a large, pulsing bag by strings that glowed faintly yellow.
Her brows furrowed. What kind of situation was this?
She had never experienced anything like it before. The bag above her head was black, large, and ominously still, but the string connected to it was flowing something warm into her. It felt familiar, like spirit essence perhaps. Her body, though sore, felt a little livelier with each breath.
But what... was this place? And how had she gotten here?
Could it be… were the monsters seasoning her? Infusing her with essence so they could devour her later, well-marinated and delicious? Her heart skipped. She wriggled a little, trying to shake off the line connected to her….
A low voice suddenly rang out beneath her. "Move again, and I'll bite your ear off."
She froze.
Immediately, her hands straightened. Her gaze dropped below. And what she saw made her eyes stretch wide.
Bathed in the soft golden light of a fake sun, a man stood beneath her. No, not a man. A green man. One she had never seen before.
He was... beautiful.
No… handsome, and strange. Tall. Even taller than the tallest immortal she had ever seen in all the heavenly realms. His face was like something out of myth: long, sharp eyes as black as obsidian pearls, no whites in sight. A narrow nose, thin lips so fine they almost disappeared into his face that had very long ears beside it.
He wore a black shirt, oversized and loose, and equally black pants ripped at the bottom, like it was some monster fashion runway design. But on his feet were clean, glowing human white sneakers.
Was this how all monsters dressed in the Goemul Realm?
Even the gods and high celestials didn't have such fashion sense.
The green man glanced at her stunned expression and clicked his tongue lightly. Perhaps she was still shocked from his earlier bark.
He stepped toward her, his voice softer now. "Haebol aga (Baby skeleton), What's your name?"
Haebol aga? Skeleton baby? Seraphina's jaw tightened. Her immortal blood surged. What kind of ridiculous name was that? For a split second, she imagined slapping the handsomeness off his green face with a slap so divine it would echo across three realms.
Wait… slap someone? She thought that?
She glanced down at herself... and then up again at the green stranger. Only then did the horrifying truth dawn on her.
"I'm… in a child's body?"
No wonder he called her "baby." Her small limbs, her voice, her gaze… it all made sense now. But what was worse…
"Did I just, for the first time since I was born, have a bad thought about someone of how I want to do something bad to him?!"
Her round eyes trembled. Her face turned pale.
"I don't want to be a bad person," she whimpered, her tiny childlike voice rising in fear. "I want to be good! Monster, please… please let me go back. I promise I won't come here to disturb you ever again…"
Even though the monster in front of her looked young, handsome, almost like a fallen deity—just green—she didn't want to fall. She didn't want to prove all the whisperings true: that she was evil, that she was the villain, the devil's leftover.
Just being near him, somehow, was triggering it. And that was dangerous… no, things could really get dangerous!
The green man raised one brow. "…What is this human child babbling about now?"
He squinted slightly. Wasn't she… five? Maybe six? Why did she talk so much? Shouldn't she be calling him uncle? Was she some spoiled human brat?
He had seen kids like that before, back when he used to sneak into the human world to have a little fun.
The green man frowned deeply. His sharp eyes narrowed as he stared down at her small, trembling form.
~Is this what I get for saving a human child from the Oenunbaki's pit?~ he thought bitterly, lips curling into a quiet scoff.
Seraphina didn't know what to make of his expression until she caught a glimpse of his thoughts. Despite being trapped in a weak, six year old girl size body, she didn't lose her mind reading ability.
It wasn't that he was a cruel monster. Far from it. He had seen her fall into that endless dark pit, had risked who-knows-what to pull her out, and had somehow linked her to that glowing spirit essence—something so divine, so rare, that no ordinary creature in the Goemul Realm could possess it.
The green man's voice pulled her back to reality. "You won't tell me your name?"
His tone was softer this time, almost curious.
Seraphina's throat felt dry, but without thinking, she answered timidly, "Rose…"
The word slipped out in a small, shaky voice, lacking confidence and weight. The green man's frown deepened. 'Is there something wrong with the little girl's brain?' he wondered, crossing his arms.
But Seraphina's heart pounded wildly. Had she… just lied for the first time?
And hey… did this handsome, strange creature think she was crazy?
Before she could spiral further, the green man held out a delicate object, a hairpin, glinting faintly in the fake sunlight.
"Do you remember this?" he asked quietly.
Her breath hitched. The pin… It was Elias' Pin. The very one she had seen stuck into the eye of the giant monster before she had fallen.
She wanted to shout, to leap with joy, to say yes! Yes, this is Elias' pin! But her face remained calm and unreadable. Slowly, she stretched out her tiny hand and took it.
The moment her fingers touched the pin, a rush of thoughts flooded her mind. It was like a bridge that was still connected to Elias Nore no matter where he was. The heavens must have blessed it with unbreakable magic because she could suddenly hear his thoughts from wherever he was just by touching the pin.
~Seraphina Shade should be dead by now. I'm sick of dealing with her. I wish those monsters would shred her body to bits already. But the damn timing is always wrong. She dies just when my bad side kicks in. Then who else can I blame?~
The words crushed her. Her eyes stung, tears slipping down like raindrops falling silently into a still pond. More thoughts poured in.
~Of course, I blame her for every bad side I manifested. That's why I followed her to every academy she attended, against my own wishes. When those vegetables turned into beast meat, it was because of me. My bad side took over like a wolf in heat—there's no stopping it. Only ten percent of the time I'm evil, but she… she should always be evil. Even when I tell her to be good, she isn't supposed to obey. Hmph!~
Seraphina's breath caught. She could barely hold back a sob.
She was supposed to not obey? To be bad?
The brother she had looked up to, the one she trusted, thought this way?
Her grip tightened around the pin until her knuckles whitened. She wanted to break it, shatter it into pieces, but her small hands, trapped in this child's fragile body, were powerless. No immortal essence surged from her veins. The spirit essence nurtured her soul, her human soul, but did little to restore her immortal strength.
A cold, bitter resolve settled deep in her chest. Then fine. If he wants her to be evil, she will be.
The green man watched the little girl clutching the pin, her tears flowing like a child gone mad in sorrow. His sharp gaze flicked to the faint bruises he had noticed when he first scanned her body… yes, even with his eyes closed, he had seen the marks.
"Were you beaten by someone? These wounds on your body… your face too?"
Seraphina lowered her head, biting her trembling lip, but no words came.
The green man had saved her, showed no ill will, as far as she could tell by reading his mind. But still, she would not reveal her past. It was buried deep, a part of a life long gone. The pain was hers alone.
Seeing her silence, the green man stopped pressing.
Gently, he took the hairpin from her small, tight fingers and slipped it into his pocket. ~Is the kid afraid of a green man?~ he wondered. ~Hasn't she ever read about a Dokkaebi before in those childish pictorial story books?~
His voice softened, "Don't be afraid. You're safe as long as I am safe too."
Seraphina raised her big blue eyes. She had just read his mind. He was a Dokkaebi—the trickiest of all monsters. Beautiful, almost divine, but dangerous all the same. There was no reason to trust him blindly. And what was that cryptic promise? Safe as long as I am safe too?
Seraphina blinked.
Before she could ask, a harsh masculine gruff voice echoed down the corridor. Like the owner of the voice was approaching. "You old Dokkaebi! What have you done now?! Did you just do a good deed because you're tired of spending time with this old red dragon and courting eternal death?"
Seraphina's: "....."