Chapter 161: A Birthday Without Its Owner

“How long are you going to keep staring down that cake, you idiot.”

Seon Jaeyul had already been locked in a staring contest with a strawberry cake for hours.

At least while I was watching, he hadn’t blinked even once.

“……”

Tsk… looks like he’s spaced out again.

Guess that means I have to take matters into my own hands.

I shoved my face straight into the whipped-cream cake piled high with strawberries.

And then I ate.

Sweet whipped cream, fresh strawberries packed tightly inside, and fluffy bread like cotton candy—perfect harmony.

It was, without question, the best strawberry cake I’d ever eaten.

Figures.

He may look like that, but his taste in food isn’t half bad.

“You’ve finally lost it.”

I was deep into demolishing the cake when a chill crept up the back of my neck.

You know that feeling when you’re freezing but still sweating?

Yeah.

That’s exactly how I felt right now.

Seon Jaeyul’s voice was far lower than I expected.

It sounded like he might grind me up like whipped cream at any second.

“I’m not crazy!

I’m doing this for you, you idiot!

How long are you going to celebrate a birthday with no owner?!

Stop being so pathetic, you dumb bastard!”

“Shut up.

How dare a monster bastard eat it when my hyung hasn’t even taken a bite yet?”

“You lunatic, it’s not a memorial service!

How the hell is your hyung supposed to eat this?!”

Was sitting in front of the cake some kind of ritual to summon Sehyun’s soul?!

Seon Jaeyul really is crazy sometimes.

No—he was always a monster like this.

He’d just been pretending to be human in front of Jin Sehyun all this time.

Was it when he was in his first year of middle school…?

Sehyun used to sigh deeply, saying it seemed like Jaeyul still hadn’t made a single friend even after starting middle school.

That was completely obvious, but my kind and stupid pet human couldn’t grasp the reason at all.

In the end, he cautiously asked Jaeyul if making friends was hard for him.

And Seon Jaeyul gave an unexpected answer.

“I have lots of friends, hyung.”

I burst out laughing right beside them.

Friends?

What kind of insane person would be friends with a lunatic like Seon Jaeyul?!

Sehyun was delighted and started asking about these friends, and the next day, Jaeyul brought them over.

All thirty of them.

Jin Sehyun was shocked, but couldn’t hide his smile.

Thirty wasn’t just one or two—he seemed proud of his sociable little brother.

But I saw it.

All thirty kids were collectively terrified.

Their eyes darted around, their legs trembled, and the ones who couldn’t answer properly even had tears welling up.

In short, he’d threatened them into pretending to be his friends.

Whether Sehyun noticed something was off or not, he never asked Jaeyul to bring friends again after that.

There was also the time he deliberately lost the finals of a judo tournament and slept in the same bed as Sehyun for over a week.

That kind of bizarre behavior wasn’t limited to just one or two incidents—I couldn’t list them all even if I tried.

Anyway, the point is that Seon Jaeyul had been literally insane since childhood.

“If it’s not us, then who’s going to celebrate hyung’s birthday.

He’s… our hyung.”

It was strange.

How could someone so utterly merciless to others devote such pure affection to Sehyun?

I saw it on TV once—they call people like Seon Jaeyul a “socialized psychopath.”

And Sehyun was his one and only exception.

Of course, I don’t actually think Seon Jaeyul is a true psychopath.

The way he loves Sehyun and wants to be loved by him is clearly real.

Still, Seon Jaeyul is an expert at draining the energy right out of monsters.

How many sad birthdays like this have to pass before the owner of this cake comes back?

I suddenly lost my appetite.

I don’t want to eat anymore….

“But still, hyung.

Why did you abandon me?

Try giving me an excuse or an explanation—just once.”

“…I didn’t want to block your future….”

Hmm… when should I jump in?

If I joined this conversation now, Seon Jaeyul would definitely tear me limb from limb.

One hundred percent.

My pet human finally came back!

I don’t know how many times I rubbed my eyes, thinking I must be dreaming.

But that wicked Seon Jaeyul bastard was blocking the reunion between me and Sehyun.

He was pretending to be angry and keeping Sehyun all to himself.

I waited too!

I waited for Sehyun so much too!

I need to pick the timing carefully.

“Is that really all there is to why you left me?”

“…Huh…?”

“I think even the time we spent apart has its own meaning.

At least… it did for me.”

That’s creepy.

What the hell is he trying to say, laying the groundwork like that?

Unfortunately, it seemed Sehyun had already fallen into Seon Jaeyul’s trap.

“Well, it’s not like we could really be separated anyway.

We’re… family, right?”

“…Huh?”

This is bad.

Should I grab Sehyun and run?

Seon Jaeyul’s eyes were completely unhinged.

That was pure madness.

“Now that hyung’s come back like this, I’m going to live with you for the rest of my life.

You will too, right?

You have to, hyung.”

My legs went weak.

Holy—

I almost pissed myself.

Sehyun, it’s not too late!

Run away right now!

In the end, I couldn’t even greet Sehyun until Seon Jaeyul received a call from the center and rushed out.

I didn’t have the courage to approach Seon Jaeyul while he was radiating such ominous energy.

So I hid in a corner, celebrating on my own, until the opportunity finally came.

“He’s completely lost it….”

Seon Jaeyul had locked Sehyun inside the house.

I’d always wondered why that bastard had installed security devices even indoors—turns out this was what they were for.

To imprison Sehyun.

He’s not just crazy.

He’s profoundly insane.

“Jin Sehyun!

Where did you go and why are you only coming back now?!

Why didn’t you even say hello to me?!

You bastard!

You should’ve greeted me first!”

Once we were alone, I couldn’t hold back anymore and charged at Sehyun.

I was venting all the resentment I’d built up over those unfair days.

With sharp, feral teeth, I roughly bit at his leg.

A pet human who made his master suffer deserves punishment.

I’m going to teach him proper manners today!

“…Poppy…!

I’m sorry, I’m really sorry….”

Suddenly, Sehyun hugged me.

He pulled me tightly into his arms and kept apologizing.

His voice started to tremble.

A sincere apology delivered while holding me close.

This guy is an expert at softening a monster’s heart.

It’s hard to stay mad for long like this.

Judging by how thin he looked, Sehyun must not have had an easy time either.

There must have been circumstances he couldn’t help when he left me.

Out of me, Seon Jaeyul, and Sehyun, he probably lived the hardest, most exhausting, and loneliest life.

My small, weak pet human, Sehyun.

From now on, I won’t let Sehyun go through hardships alone.

I’ll never leave his side again.

Never.

“Did you buy me a present?”

“Meat…?

I couldn’t bring any….”

Tsk, what a hopeless guy.

If nothing else, you should always prepare a gift for your master.

Honestly, he’s hopeless at social life too.

This is my fate.

That Sehyun brat started spouting nonsense again about leaving me behind.

Something about living separate lives, blah blah?!

Even now, he’s stubbornly insisting on leaving the house.

But Seon Jaeyul and I have a plan.

For the first time ever, Seon Jaeyul and I communicated with mutual understanding.

Let’s proceed with the plan we prepared.

“Hyung…

But can’t you at least stay the night today…?

It’s already late.”

Seon Jaeyul, the skilled actor, started the performance first.

“I thought we’d always be together…

Are you leaving…?”

Cradled in Seon Jaeyul’s arms, I added my own line and looked up at Sehyun with sparkling eyes.

“Maybe because the house is so big…

I can’t sleep well alone….”

Sehyun’s gaze drifted toward the pill bottle we’d deliberately placed on the table.

They were actually pills Seon Jaeyul took, but normally he’d never leave them out in the open like that.

They were positioned purely for Sehyun to see.

Judging by the complicated look on his face, it worked perfectly.

“…Okay.

I’ll stay here tonight.

Go wash up.

I’ll play with Poppy.”

Pfft.

See?

Sehyun always does whatever I say.

He took me into his arms and held me like a treasure.

Feels good.

I should flip over and show my belly.

Come on, pet my belly, pet human.

“You want me to rub your belly?”

“Do it.”

It tickled.

Every time Sehyun’s fingers brushed across my belly, it felt amazing.

Ah, this is paradise.

I’m happy.

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