KCDT Chapter 16

He finally let out a small laugh realizing what Cairo was thinking as he hesitantly held his arm out, seemingly not wanting to give it back.  

“No, I mean bite off a bigger piece.”

At his actions, Cairo stared at Yujin’s smiling face for a moment. It was the first time someone honestly laughed in front of him like this.  

No one would dare reveal their teeth in his presence, let alone casually raise the corners of their mouths. Cairo had thought it was only natural, but seeing Yujin’s gently curving eyes and mouth corners rising refreshingly, it wasn’t so bad and rather confusing.  

<…Hmph. Trying hard to impress despite being a barbarian.>  

Grumpy, Cairo bit off a large piece from the chocolate bar as Yujin suggested.  

<…!>  

Then, the taste unfolded another mystery. Unlike the sweet and soft flavor just before, bits of nuts were crunched and gave off a slightly coarse yet sweet flavor inside his mouth.

“You seem to like it. Not too hard to bite?”

<What is this? It looks like mud yet this is my first time tasting this flavor.>  

Cairo, who had only had the most minimal meals made purely for bare nutrition without any consideration for taste, was baffled but kept licking his lips stuck to the caramel.

‘He eats really well. Like a squirrel.’ 

His looks were just like a baby jaguar but the way he diligently ate was like a squirrel stocking up on food right before hibernation, making Yujin chuckle again.

As the chocolate bar shrank, the softening atmosphere made Yujin swallow a yawn and check the time.  

‘It’s past 10 already. Isn’t he getting sleepy?’

Judging by his dreary complexion, he must be very tired. However, knowing even Yujin himself wouldn’t be able to casually fall asleep in an unfamiliar place, he decided not to rush him and just watch over.  

<What’s with that look? Rather, my hands are sticky.>  

While eating, his hands seemed to have warmed up and melted the chocolate, as Cairo looked down at them with an unpleasant expression. Following his gaze, Yujin carefully brought over a wet towel.  

Washing his hands completely was the best, but the child still didn’t seem to have completely let down his guard.

“Here, wipe with this.”  

<…For a barbarian, they use pretty good fabric.>  

That was Cairo’s impression as he received the towel. It wasn’t comparable to the silk he usually used and lacked taste, but the nice scent left a good impression.  

As Yujin watched Cairo wiping his hands on the wet portion, he suddenly spotted crumbs stuck at the corner of Cairo’s mouth.

“There’re some here too.”  

Reaching out reflectively to brush off the corner of his mouth, Yujin made a belated “whoops” checking Cairo’s reaction. Cairo seemed frozen in shock at the sudden contact with his eyes wide open.

That expression triggered Yujin’s already twisted imagination in the wrong direction.  

“So-sorry. Gosh, I’ll be more caref…”  

“Don’t take your hand off!”  

“…Huh?”

As Yujin hurriedly tried to pull his hand away, Cairo grabbed onto it, his already big, dark eyes opened even wider. But there was something more important than that.  

“You, you can speak…?”  

“What are you? A Guide? Why didn’t it hurt when you touched me?”

“A Guide? No, I’m just a salaried worker… Rather, you can speak Korean? Then why weren’t you talking earlier?”

Yujin was only dumbfounded that Cairo was suddenly speaking Korean fluently.  

He had the looks of a complete foreigner, yet he knew how to speak as if he was born and raised here, so why did he use some weird language until just now?

It was too far-fetched for foreign kids to secretly sneak into others’ houses and use a foreign language that’s not English or anything, then suddenly speak fluent Korean.

‘It doesn’t make sense but why is this reality?’

Yujin’s mind went blank, unable to comprehend the inexplicable situation no matter how much he racked his brains. How should he deal with this now? Should he consider himself lucky that they could at least communicate now?

“Ah, rather, about it not hurting… Where did it hurt?”  

Finally realizing the most important words he’d missed, Yujin searched Cairo’s body all over for wounds without daring to touch him, unable to even hold his aching forehead with his dominant right hand gripped by Cairo.  

“It doesn’t hurt now so answer my question.” 

Yujin grew flustered at the arrogant tone of the little kid firing nonsense left and right. Was this how he spoke even just before when he was using that weird language?  

Overpowered by the commanding tone of a boy about elementary school age, Yujin was overwhelmed.  

Just as his head started to hurt and he tried to grab his forehead by habit, he couldn’t because his right hand was being held onto by Cairo.  

“Ah…”

“Are you listening to me? I asked if you’re a Guide.”  

Yujin grew only more baffled by the sudden interest in whether he was a Guide or not. Why ‘Guide’ all of a sudden? And why ‘Guide’ of all things?  

‘Could he have gotten lost while traveling?’

Unable to grasp the situation clearly, Yujin was trying to fit the pieces together somehow.

“I’m not a guide. By any chance, little kid, did you get lost while traveling? If you’re looking for a guide, does that mean a package tour…?”  

“You said you’re not a Guide. Liar… And travel? What are you talking about? You kidnapped me.”

At those words, Yujin couldn’t help but be horrified.  

“Wha, what?! Kidnapping!”  

The misunderstanding was so absurd that Yujin raised his voice against the child unknowingly and promptly shut his mouth.  

“Um, sorry for shouting. But kidnapping, what do you mean? I’ve been at the company since this morning. Weren’t you the one who snuck in secretly?”

Still held by the hand, Yujin was confused. He made warm rice and even gave chocolate bars, so why was he being labeled a kidnapper all of a sudden?  

And why does this kid keep holding my hand?  

He was so freakishly strong that whenever Yujin tried to stealthily pull out his hand, he noticed like a ghost and grabbed onto it ferociously. For a kid, his grasp was no joke and felt like he was about to crush my fingers.   

“Stay still.”   

On top of that, he even gives orders when Yujin tries to take his hand back. It was even more absurd coming from a kid who seemed only about 10 years old yet spoke rather sternly.

“No, let’s talk after letting go for a sec, okay?”   

“Why do you need to let go? And you are a Guide.”   

No matter how sincere Yujin was in saying he was just an office worker, Cairo seemed not to listen, furrowing his brows as if saying he didn’t understand.   

“Why do you keep lying? Just holding your hand like now makes me feel so much better, and you say you’re not a Guide?”   

By this point, he had no idea how he should engage in this conversation. They clearly spoke the same language but he wasn’t understood at all.   

Yujin briefly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Thinking it was because the series of bewildering events made his mind stop momentarily, he slowly steadied his breathing and organized his thoughts at the same time.  

Meanwhile, Cairo pressed his cheek against Yujin’s hand that he held onto. Feeling the hand flinch as if about to pull away again, Cairo gripped it tightly and closed his eyes, immersed in the soft, warm energy flowing from Yujin’s hand.

Had he ever felt this comfortable in his life?   

Everything around him had been unpleasant stimuli and aggravating pain ever since his abilities awakened.  

Sometimes even the act of breathing itself was grating and during those sleepless nights, he often felt like choking himself to death.

The plentiful guides were unable to handle him. Foaming at the mouth and collapsing was light, and on bad days when he vomited blood, some even fainted just from attempting to match with him.

So even if all that effort yielded some results, it would’ve been nice, but the effects were minimal. The imperial family persistently brought over guides claiming it’s better than nothing, yet Cairo increasingly became fed up.

Using his abilities already made his head feel like it would crack open and in the worst cases, his entire body felt like it would shatter. Yet he was forced to keep holding the useless guide’s hands and make contact, inevitably irritating his sensitive disposition and angering him. 

So at some point, he started to reject the guides. He only allowed guiding on days when he felt like he was really dying.  

‘But what is with this barbarian?’

Despite being kidnapped by this barbarian, just by holding his hand, he felt too comfortable. Even if he suddenly turned vicious and attacked, Cairo didn’t want to let go of this hand.  

The agony and irritation that tortured him to the point he couldn’t even sleep seemed to have all vanished, slowly pouring drowsiness over him.  

‘Ah… I can’t fall asleep like this.’

If this lying Guide disappeared leaving him be, what would happen then?  

Cairo made efforts not to close his eyes but his exhausted body didn’t miss this hard-found peace.  

At least not wanting to miss it no matter what, barely holding onto the hand, Cairo fell into deep slumber that he hadn’t had for a very long time.  

“Sigh, well then. I was going to slowly have a conversation but… you fell asleep.”

The boy was sleeping so soundly that despite organizing his thoughts with effort, it was all in vain. It seemed this kid would continue his comfortable sleep while Yujin was the only one wide awake.  

However, seeing the dark circles under his eyes, Yujin felt bad for him and carried Cairo up, still clinging tightly onto his hand.

“Oof, he’s heavier than I expected.”  

Expecting him to be light and lifting him, Yujin let out a painful sound almost throwing out his back and barely managed to lay Cairo down on his bed.  

“Phew… What do I do about this…?”  

While the child Cairo could fall sleep as he liked, Yujin as an adult couldn’t do the same. Even if he wanted to think ‘whatever happens happens’ and sleep as well, he got up again.  

“Ugh… Can an intern take days off?”