S Chapter 4

Actually, the power Shin Jukyeong had forcibly sealed away, even damaging his body in the process, could be used whenever he wanted, provided he endured “a little” pain and “a little” side effect. The problem, of course, was that he had absolutely no intention of revealing it.

Let’s skip over that for now. The point to focus on was that Shin Jukyeong had shattered his father’s remaining hopes.

‘I will begin the examination. Heartbeat is normal and…….’

‘…….’

‘Wave test…….’

‘Cough!’

During the examination, he secretly drew upon his power, channeling it into his heart, and deliberately coughed up blood. It seemed his old habit of feeding pigeons soju hadn’t gone anywhere; now, he could expertly form round blood clots without even drinking.

His father’s expression back then was something to behold. It was as if he had seen his son, whom he had sent to a prestigious university, return as a chimpanzee. And then he left without a word… The fact that Shin Jukyeong wasn’t particularly upset by it probably meant that “blood ties” truly existed.

Anyway, in the past, he had agreed with his father’s old saying, “It’s just a little something a man did,” and endured being pushed to the brink of death, believing it to be a stepping stone for growth. But now, he intended to become an Ocean Sunfish who, at the slightest touch, would say, “Oh? You made it accumulate as blood? Yes, I’ll die.”

‘If the eldest son they pushed so hard for turns out to be the most incompetent, they’ll probably give up on the bothersome successor position on their own. And perhaps even turn their attention to my younger brothers.’

Shin Jukyeong finished his recollection and nodded. He believed one of the reasons his brothers went astray was favoritism.

‘For now, let’s think about these things later.’

Just as urgent matters have an order, improving his relationship with his brothers came before his father’s and brothers’ relationship. He had his own problems to deal with; what else could he do?

‘Still, exercising seems to clear up my stifled mind…’

As he was organizing his thoughts, his legs suddenly buckled.

‘……What the heck?’

Shin Jukyeong’s eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown. It wasn’t made from chewed gum; why was it so flimsy? His young body was embarrassingly awful. To think he was aiming for the top with such a body. Should he call it youthful ambition, or a rookie’s bravado?

Grumbling, he was about to take off his clothes for a shower when a noisy uninvited guest appeared.

“Young master! Look at this. I brought something good for your health–!”

‘Ah, I forgot to lock the door.’

Shin Jukyeong let the tension drain from his shoulders. Seeing how excited Kang Seo-oh was, he must have brought some strange food again. After Shin Jukyeong coughed up blood a few times, Kang Seo-oh had developed a new hobby: bringing all sorts of tonics that were supposedly good for his health and force-feeding them to him.

Mainly loaches, eels, turtles, mudfish, and so on. There were also sea creatures, and they smelled so fishy it was enough to make him gag. He had eaten them without complaint out of appreciation for the effort, but he was slowly reaching his limit.

“I told you, you don’t have to–”

“Young master!!”

Clatter! The bowl fell to the floor. Was his refusal to eat so shocking?

“Why is your face so red! Do you have a fever, a fever?!”

“Huh? Ah, ahh…….”

Kang Seo-oh frantically closed the distance. He felt Shin Jukyeong’s forehead, and his complexion grew even paler. It seemed he had misunderstood, but Shin Jukyeong had no intention of correcting him. If he looked frail, all the better.

‘It’s even better that he dropped the tonic.’

Shin Jukyeong clenched his fist secretly. Nice.

“Look at all this sweat. If you were sick, why didn’t you call me? Why are you foolishly enduring it!”

It was sweat from 300 push-ups and 200 squats, but for now, let’s just say he was sick.

“Are you worried about what the head elder might think? Don’t worry! I don’t think of you as a useless, sluggish pig who just eats rice because you couldn’t manifest your abilities.”

“Even my father wouldn’t think that far.”

“How can everything in the world go as you wish? There are things that don’t work out, even if you try hundreds of millions of times harder than others. The realm of talent? They say such a thing exists. So don’t be discouraged! If you think it wasn’t meant to be between you and the Young Master, you’ll feel better.”

“I think you’re the one discouraging me…….”

‘Is he perhaps subtly insulting me, and I’m just pretending not to notice?’

He felt a slight surge of anger but quickly suppressed it, thinking there was no point in getting angry at a child. Afterward, Shin Jukyeong had to lie in bed and recuperate, receiving Kang Seo-oh’s one-sided care. His body and mind were both burning… Life was truly spicy.

“Maintaining body temperature is important. You’ll get cold if your sweat dries!”

“No, well, I think it’s a little hot–”

“You’re cold? I’ll bring another thick, fluffy blanket!”

Covering himself with a winter blanket after two hours of weight training. It was nothing short of torture. From now on, if he met criminals, he thought it would be a good idea to punish them this way. He’d even turn on the heater as a bonus.

“Oh, right!”

Kang Seo-oh, who had finally piled two layers of blankets on him, clapped his hands and laughed.

‘What else is he going to do to drive me crazy?’

It was then that Shin Jukyeong shivered at the cheerful voice.

“Ta-da!”

What he showed was an oddly shaped raccoon. Specifically, a keyring.

“Raccoon?”

“It’s a Rakun.”

“Kakun?”

“Rakun.”

He said it was a popular character these days, a new exclusive merchandise given to only one hundred people.

“Isn’t it cute!”

“Ah. Uh.”

Most furry quadrupeds were cute. Excluding gargoyles, Cerberuses, and the like. But unfortunately, the furry beasts Shin Jukyeong encountered were mostly monsters with bared fangs, drooling poisonous saliva.

‘A cute four-legged animal…….’

Shin Jukyeong pondered, then spoke shyly.

“I like chi-chihuahuas.”

“Oh, yes. So, about this character. It recently won the Popularity Award and–”

“……!”

Three skull bombs exploded above Shin Jukyeong’s head. He had timidly revealed his true feelings, but Kang Seo-oh responded half-heartedly, with an expression that seemed to say “So what?”, and then rambled on about a raccoon he wasn’t even interested in.

‘It’s like those guys who eagerly encouraged me to sing at karaoke, but then just stared at their phones when I actually sang my heart out…!’

A memory, worthy of being in his ‘Top 3 Embarrassing Moments!’ from past company dinners, subtly resurfaced, tormenting him. Even when he steadfastly refused, saying ‘No, no,’ they would force the microphone into his hand, saying, ‘Hey! Guild Master, you can’t back out in a situation like this!’ And then, until the first verse’s instrumental started, they would just giggle among themselves, looking at their phones.

They even didn’t hesitate to mock him, turning off the song before he finished, saying, ‘Wow~ Our Guild Master could be a singer!’ and even giving him a thumbs up. ……Those damn bastards. It still made him furious to think about it.

“Young master, are you listening to me? Eun also loves this. It’s the idol of children.”

Shin Jukyeong, who had been trembling, became docile then.

‘Who likes it? Eun?’

Shin Jukyeong’s eyes turned to the impudently designed keyring.

“Kakun, huh.”

“……Rakun.”

Pat-pat-pat.

Rustle.

Pat-pat-pat-pat.

Rustle-rustle-rustle.

A bushy tail, stubby hands and feet, a plump lower body compared to the upper body. Mimicking the appearance of a furry lump, a raccoon-like mammal that can alternate between quadrupedal and bipedal movement, was easier than pie.

‘Three people around the corner.’

Twitch-twitch. His round ears reacted quickly. Shin Jukyeong leaped and climbed the wall.

Getting to his youngest brother Eun’s room, avoiding the eyes of the servants, was harder than expected. According to his father’s preference for cleanliness, not even a stray cat was allowed, so passing through the hallway in this form was mission impossible. But going in his original form… he worried it would shatter his image of being in school refusal, so it was difficult no matter what.

Slide. As the servants disappeared, he slid down with his broad, flat body.

‘But Eun likes it, right?’

He thought, his fluffy belly jiggling. Shin Jukyeong had never had a conversation with Eun at this age. He was busy with successor training, and if their eyes accidentally met during mealtime, his young brother would always lower his head, scared.

Perhaps it was obvious they were uncomfortable with each other. Or perhaps they were used to maintaining distance.

‘I, as his older brother, should have approached him.’

What was the point of regretting it now? He just had to work hard to correct his mistakes.

Tip-tap-tap. He finally arrived at Eun’s room. There had been many trials to get here.

‘Hmm? Butler, don’t you smell a strange animal?’

‘……!’

‘Sniff… This definitely smells like a furry, round animal…’

‘(Inhale)’

‘Hmph. Did a stray cat get in? Hmm, it smells more like something that can walk on two legs. Sniff-sniff.’

To avoid the continually appearing servants, he had to cling to the ceiling, hide behind pillars, pretend to be a giant fur ball… Contrary to his worries, his body moved quite agilely.

‘You’re pretty good, Rakun.’

Shin Jukyeong praised the furry creature and stretched out a hand for the doorknob. Hmm, it was short. Even tiptoeing wasn’t enough.

‘The door… is high.’

The wrinkles around his eyes deepened. It was the first time he had been humiliated by his height. Shin Jukyeong put his hands on his waist and thrashed his tail. He seemed quite offended.