Chapter 80: Chapter 80

“I just can’t understand human selfishness.”

To Shihuang, it looked as if Myohan thought he had no reason to live. He didn’t seem to notice Shihuang watching from afar with worries. Maybe it was only in his eyes, but Myohan was small and weak. He could be broken anytime. Still, he kept leaving Shihuang and returning to the subjects. It even made him wonder if it was some kind of bond they had as humans. He got jealous.

“Sometimes…” Myohan looked into his eyes. What he said after that made Shihuang’s face darken. “You speak as if you weren’t a human.”

Myohan had impressive guts and never failed to find Shihuang’s weakness. It came up at important moments and hit the dragon’s weak spot, but Myohan didn’t even realize it.

“What if,” Shihuang wasn’t a human. He had arms and legs like Myohan, but it was O Shin’s blessing, not his true form. Although the god called his true form beautiful, he didn’t like it. It was the form of a huge beast. He didn’t want to show it and didn’t want to see it himself. “What if I’m not a human?”

While he felt like he owned the entire world, in a corner of his mind, he couldn’t help wondering.

‘What if I weren’t in this form? What if I were still that enormous beast? If I were a beast incapable of hugging him and kissing him, would this little cat still love me? Would the thing between us now have started at all?’

Shihuang had asked out of sudden impulse, as he had complicated feelings and could see dark clouds rolling in.

Thankfully, Myohan didn’t think much of it, “Why are you asking that? If you’re not a human, you’re not a human. That’s all.”

Shihuang had always wanted to be a person. He wanted to live a life with an end, interact with others, and perceive new feelings. He had kept wondering what kind of feelings he would have gotten to learn during all those years he spent alone. But of course, he had never wanted it so earnestly before.

He wanted to live the same life as Myohan. Imagining he would one day leave his side, he felt as if he would be losing the whole word. At the same time, he felt guilty about taking O Shin’s world.

“You kind cat.”

‘What can I do if this lovely creature leaves me? The god told me to protect him, but what if I can’t?’ He hated himself for asking such things after taking his friend’s world, so he was always tormented.

‘I told you to protect him.’

And O Shin clearly knew how he was feeling. On a bright night, Shihuang glared at the dark clouds rolling over in quiet. The god appeared next to his old friend.

‘The dragon I asked to be friends with was not like this.’

Only he could save Myohan and make Shihuang a man. Shihuang wanted to become a man if he couldn’t become a god. And if he couldn’t become a human, he wished to die with Myohan.

The more he wanted him, the more anxious he became. All these feelings were too new to the immortal; he couldn’t handle it.

“I’m going somewhere, it’ll take some time.”

Plus, he was a little mad at Myohan leaving again and again, even though he kept telling him not to go.

“Go where?”

He knew the cat was actually an animal that easily became lonely. Myohan was not a real cat, but he was no different. Myohan couldn’t stop him as he smiled bitterly and disappeared. He went back to his lake.

He went back to his dragon form though he didn’t want to. O Shin sometimes asked him to show that magnificent form, and he was sometimes too busy to let him keep his human form.

He almost never willed himself to regain his true form, as the only thing he could do with that enormous body was to curl into a coil and sleep.

“I didn’t bother to give you a human form…” He must have slept for a long time. The sky was full of dark clouds. He heard a familiar voice, so he narrowed his eyes and looked straight ahead. “So that you could just come back here.”

O Shin was standing in the lake. He came slowly, making little splashes. In his arms was Myohan as a cat, sleeping soundly. Shihuang looked at them as they got close, but then he closed his eyes again. Once more, Myohan had fallen for their trap, even though he knew everything.

“What are you going to do if I don’t make you a human ever again?”

“You must think I’m pathetic.”

He knew well how childish he was being. He knew how hilarious it was to complain to the friend who had given up his world for him.

“Yes, you’re so pathetic that it’s cute.”

The god was relaxed, contrary to how Shihuang was feeling.

‘Maybe I’m not the right person for Myohan.’

That thought choked him.

Neither of them said anything for a long time. The wind kept blowing, making trees dance. The god spoke first a little while later.

“I’ve given you a chance.”

He came slowly and spoke a little coldly. Myohan turned in his sleep.

“I’ve given you my world.”

Shihuang had to open his eyes; despite the god’s confidence, he sounded quite lonely and sad. The god saw his eyes and looked up to the sky.

“But you’re complaining.”

The sky was currently full of dark clouds. Shihuang couldn’t control it. Watching Myohan in his cat form made something hot come up in his chest. The boy just looked so comfortable.

“So disappointing.”

He couldn’t protect Myohan. He couldn’t hug the cat and caress him to make him a human again. He closed his eyes and turned. Raindrops started to fall.

“It will be too late by the time you regret it.”

The god didn’t give him his human form back. It made him realize their friendship was over, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t stop the god. He couldn’t take Myohan from him.

He stayed up all night in the rain. The rain felt cold and lonely. He couldn’t see the sky because of the clouds, as dark and thick as his gloom, but he could feel the world getting brighter. The sun had to be coming up.

He woke up only because he noticed changes in his body. It felt similar to the day O Shin placed a hand on his paw, so many years ago. His antlers disappeared. He became smaller. His claws were replaced by fingernails. His tail was gone. The moment he noticed the lake looked too big at the moment, he realized what was happening.

“What the,” he saw human hands in front of his eyes. Below him were human legs. He took a step forward and frowned.

‘What the– what’s going on?’

As he headed to where the subjects and Myohan were, he tried to make guesses. Maybe the god had helped him in secret. Maybe he just became a human after staying in human form for so long, just like how Myohan kept becoming a cat. The former was unlikely and the latter was just impossible.

Then…

‘I will give each of you two out of 24 hours of the day.’

It was just a little after sunrise, the time O Shin had named Jin Time. He became sure of it in no time. Maybe he could do anything he wanted at that time.

“So let’s just do as I say, okay?”

He heard Shin’s voice first. The subjects were standing in a circle. Mi spoke nervously.

“But then…”

“It’s fine. He’s going to turn into a cat, right?”

“But what if he drowns and dies?”

“I told you, it’ll be fine.”

Myohan wasn’t among the eleven. Shihuang narrowed his eyes and glared at them as he heard the word cat. He was able to tell they were talking about Myohan.

“Whatever. Do what you want. I’ll just go and have something to drink.”

“I don’t want to be quiet, either.”

“Then, just keep quiet at 4 o’clock.”

“…You’re really going to do it?”

“If you’re so unhappy about it, you can save him after he falls into the water.”

Shihuang had a bad feeling. They were clearly plotting an evil scheme. He didn’t listen anymore. He turned. What they were up to couldn’t be much different from what they had done so far, so he could simply go to Myohan and warn him to be careful.

“…But he wouldn’t listen to him, of course.”