Chapter 43
What… is this situation?
Bibi couldn’t understand what was happening at all.
W-what did he say…? D-did he tell me not to smile?
Still half-asleep, she hadn’t properly heard Kid’s question.
So she had no idea why he looked this angry.
In a situation like this, the only thing she could do was clutch the blanket—completely useless as a defensive tool—tightly to her chest.
Oh my god…
Bibi shrank back, careful not to touch Kid. Up close, his face was twisted in clear displeasure.
Even without a growl, she felt completely like prey.
Kid’s eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned in, as if trying to catch something.
“Smile.”
The sudden command had nothing to do with the situation or context.
“Huh?” she almost asked stupidly, but a few seconds later, she forced the corners of her lips upward.
But Kid’s sharp presence didn’t ease.
“Different.”
His low, growling voice made her shoulders flinch.
Different—what was different? She had no idea what he meant, but as the weaker one, she forced herself to smile wider, even curving her eyes into crescents.
Then his next words made her lips falter.
“I can’t stand it.”
“……”
“Can’t you even smile properly?”
His gaze sharpened further.
Why is he picking a fight all of a sudden?
Bibi felt wronged and angry, but she could only curse inwardly. She only had one life.
“Why can’t you smile?”
She tried not to answer.
“…A smile without joy is n-normally unnatural… I-I mean… but I’ll try harder.”
But she couldn’t withstand his piercing stare. It felt like if she didn’t say something, he might tear her mouth apart.
Still, her answer seemed to be wrong.
“Not joyful? Then why did you sleep so well when I let you sleep?”
Kid’s mood worsened further.
He had been quiet for days. Back when she had cried in front of Seniel, she had ground her teeth thinking Kid was the root of all problems—but now that he stood before her, she couldn’t do anything.
It was frustrating, not even being able to refute his assumptions.
Sleep well? Who would—?
Under his gaze, she forced herself to speak.
“N-no one smiles while sleeping…”
That, too, seemed to be the wrong answer.
“I-I’ll try smiling in my sleep from now on.”
His sharply raised eyes showed no sign of softening. Bibi hurriedly added more, but every answer only seemed to irritate him further.
What is wrong with him?
He told her to smile, then said he didn’t like it. She didn’t even understand the situation, so how could she respond properly?
Still, Bibi did her best.
With only one life, she decided she would even play the clown if necessary.
She closed her eyes and lifted the corners of her lips.
That was her way of fulfilling his demand to “smile while sleeping.”
With her frightened eyes hidden behind her eyelids, the smile looked more natural.
She had always disliked Kid, but after what happened with Seniel today, she felt even more resentment.
But I have to live. No matter what, I have to survive.
She repeated the thought like a mantra.
Without seeing Kid in front of her, her smile became more natural. Compared to before—when just hearing his breathing made her tremble—this was progress.
Kid stared intently at her smile.
In the darkness, her peaceful expression looked far more natural than the forced one from before.
But even that displeased him.
He didn’t even know what exactly he disliked.
As always, he acted on impulse, yet felt no satisfaction.
He could just kill her as originally planned.
Why was he wasting time like this, getting angry for no reason?
But when had his emotions ever needed a reason?
The shadow over Bibi’s face disappeared.
“Tch. Just give your report.”
Kid decided to follow this impulse for now.
Bibi opened her eyes and looked around.
It wasn’t her imagination—the shadow was gone. Kid still looked displeased, but he had stepped aside, removing the “cage” he had created.
Feeling freed, Bibi responded a beat late.
“Ah… um… today, I went to a recital with Seniel. Then we had dinner, and we also took a walk in the garden.”
She tensed, worried that even this delayed answer might upset him.
As if her luck had run out, that too seemed to be the wrong answer.
Silence fell heavily.
Then Kid spoke again, saying something that confused her more than anything else he had said today.
“There’s more.”
“Huh? N-no, there isn’t…”
His confident tone made her hesitate.
It wasn’t that there was actually more—but she wondered if there was something she herself didn’t realize.
No matter how much she thought, there was nothing else.
Then a thought crossed her mind:
Does Kid think Seniel should have fallen for me by now, but I’m still not making progress?
Maybe this was just another threat or provocation.
Last time, he had been vague about the deadline—so she assumed there wasn’t a fixed one, just his subjective judgment.
Is my time running out without me realizing it?
A chill ran through her, and her body trembled.
If that was the case, he should’ve told her in advance…
Tears welled up slightly.
She never trusted him—but she hadn’t expected him to set a deadline on his own like this.
There was even a small sense of betrayal.
Meanwhile, Kid continued glaring at her, waiting for an answer.
She couldn’t delay.
Even before fully processing the shock, her survival instincts kicked in.
“…There really isn’t anything more… there’s nothing else…”
Perhaps because she was shaken, her speech came out awkward—neither formal nor informal.
Kid raised an eyebrow.
So she did nothing, and yet Seniel fell for her on his own?
His head tilted.
Getting angry at this meant he was worse than his past self—the one who had claimed Seniel would fall easily due to emotional deprivation.
But he didn’t realize that.
Kid was in a very bad mood.
He considered leaving everything and going out into the streets, but even that didn’t feel right.
So he picked a fight with Bibi instead.
“You’ve started speaking casually now?”
It was childish.
Even Kid found his own words ridiculous.
But Bibi didn’t see it that way.
“N-no… I didn’t… How could I ever speak casually to you, Kid-nim…”
His face twisted again.
Scenes of Seniel’s soft, sweet emotions replayed in his mind.
That lingering, ticklish feeling irritated him.
Then suddenly, he realized why he was so annoyed.
These disgusting emotions make me want to tear her apart right now… but killing her later would be more effective.
He could kill her now—but she still seemed useful.
It would be better to let her and Seniel fall deeply in love first… and then kill her.
In other words, his emotions and logic were clashing.
That was the conclusion he reached.
It didn’t fully calm him—but just a little.
Still, to Bibi, he looked just as angry.
She nervously replayed everything that had happened with Seniel, trying to phrase it in a way Kid would like.
But she hesitated.
What if he killed her right after hearing what he wanted?
Caught in indecision, she froze—
—and their eyes met.
Kid, whose mood had slightly improved, felt it sink again.
Seeing her thinking about something else in front of him irritated him.
Focus on me. Your life depends on it.
He almost grabbed her face—
—but stopped.
A better idea came to him.
Those who annoyed him should be punished.
He recalled how shocked she had been earlier at the idea of speaking casually.
She had lowered herself excessively, as if she could never be on equal footing with him.
It widened the distance too much.
As if she might cut ties and run away at any moment.
Run away? Not happening.
It might have been an overinterpretation.
But it didn’t matter.
Kid gave her a bomb-like command.
Bibi’s mouth fell open.
“Speak casually.”
“…W-what?”
“I said, speak casually.”
She tried to pretend she hadn’t heard, but he repeated it kindly.
Kid felt satisfied watching her shake.
Though he didn’t realize it himself.
All her thoughts about deadlines vanished instantly.
Bibi stared at him, disbelief written all over her face.
At her blatant gaze, Kid only smiled faintly.
“…To you…?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he climbed onto the bed and leaned back casually.
The time it took him to settle felt endless.
Bibi sat frozen, barely breathing.
In her ears, it felt like a funeral march was playing.
Kid watched her, feigning boredom, and spoke again:
“What are you doing? Do it.”
“I… uh… I… that…”
Bibi malfunctioned.
Kid chuckled softly at the pink eyes staring at him.
“At this rate, it’ll be dawn.”
Even with his urging, she couldn’t speak.
Was this a trap?
Her brain overloaded.
Two commands clashed inside her:
If I’m disrespectful, I die.
If I don’t obey him, I die.
W-what do I do… At least don’t say his name…
But the more she tried not to, the more her mind locked up.
Tick, tock.
Time passed.
Humans are strange creatures.
The more you tell yourself not to do something, the more your brain makes you do it.
Bibi was no exception.
“K-Kid!”
She shouted it—loud and clear.
The very thing she had sworn not to say.
Wow… my life is over.
She might be the only person who had ever called him like a friend.
She instinctively shut her eyes tight, wondering if her head was still attached.
Then—
a low chuckle echoed above her.
“Yeah. What is it?”
Resting his chin on his hand, Kid watched her with amusement.
His low voice carried a hint of laughter.
“If you called me, you should say something.”
