The Attendant in the Horror Game C27

Chapter 27

“Go on. You can do it.”

Without hesitation, Jade put his plan into action—he laid Parang on top of the mop ghost.

“Uuuh… waaahhh.”

Parang, who had just stopped crying, began wailing again. But child-rearing often required a bit of tough love.

“Shh! Quiet now. Ghost, move! Keep the rhythm—rock it properly.”

“Waaaahhh!”

“Kkiiee…”

The mop ghost clearly wasn’t thrilled about its new babysitting duties. It moved sluggishly as Jade had instructed, but its half-hearted swaying hardly counted as rocking.

“Kkii-ehh.”

After a few awkward motions, it began rocking side to side slowly, as though declaring, I can’t do this. Jade sighed deeply at the pitiful sight.

It was clear that commanding the ghost by force wasn’t enough. After all, true effort came from willingness, not coercion.

“Come on, ghost. Do your best, yeah? You’re the butler of this villa, remember?”

“Kkii-eh?”

The mop ghost let out a confused sound—it was the first time it had ever heard that title. But it didn’t seem to dislike it. Its long strands twitched lightly up and down.

“Who else would be the butler if not you? The one who manages the whole villa—that’s you, isn’t it?”

“Kkiiee…!”

Flattened against the windowsill just moments ago, the mop ghost suddenly lifted its head proudly. With its new “title,” it began moving with much more enthusiasm.

“Kkiiee, kkiiee!”

The lazy spirit, who was usually reluctant to do anything, suddenly seemed lively. It was putting genuine effort into its movement. As expected, praise worked far better than scolding.

“Uuuh… waaah… uuuh…”

“Myang?”

Though its motions were closer to a wobbly dance than a gentle lullaby, thanks to the ghost’s effort, Parang’s crying gradually softened. Ian blinked in quiet amazement at the strange scene before him.

Soondol, watching beside him, tilted his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His eyes carried the unmistakable look of pity for the gullible mop ghost who’d been talked into this nonsense.

“Alright then, let’s head to the kitchen. I’ll show you what I brought back today.”

Ignoring their bewildered expressions, Jade—pleased with how easily he’d solved the problem—picked up his sack and started for the kitchen. But before he could go far, Ian lightly tapped the back of his hand to stop him.

“Aren’t you cold? Maybe you should warm up first…”

“Haha, I’m fine. You really are the only one who worries about me, Ian.”

Jade chuckled warmly and affectionately brushed aside Ian’s soft curls. Ian’s cheeks flushed pink at the touch.

“Ah, right—you don’t like that.”

Realizing his mistake, Jade quickly pulled his hand back. Ian, saying nothing, fiddled absently with the strand of hair Jade had touched.

“Myang!”

Seeing that, Soondol puffed up his cheeks and immediately wedged himself between them, flapping his wings furiously until they stepped apart.

“You should rest for a bit. I’ve got something to show you.”

“Huh? Something to show me?”

Ian’s face flushed deeper as he stammered, his voice small. It seemed he had prepared something while Jade was gone. Soondol puffed his chest out proudly, clearly part of the secret.

“I found flour. Just a little, but still.”

“W-what? Really?!”

“And sugar, too.”

“Sugar?! Where on earth did you find those?”

Jade’s eyes widened in astonishment. Flour and sugar—those words alone felt like a blessing.

“I put them on the table.”

Smiling bashfully, Ian pointed toward the table, scratching his pale cheek. Jade rushed over in disbelief.

“Myang!”

Ian and Soondol trotted after him, Soondol’s wings fluttering excitedly.

“Wow!”

On the table sat a small sack of flour and a palm-sized wooden jar filled with sugar. The string tied around the jar’s neck was loose, but when Jade peeked inside, he found no sign of bugs or mold.

“Where did you even find something this precious? I searched this villa for days and never found any food!”

Jade clutched the flour sack to his chest, his earlier fatigue and cold forgotten. Back home, flour had been commonplace—now, it was worth more than gold.

“On the fourth floor… in the last room.”

Ian averted his eyes and mumbled softly, embarrassed by Jade’s overflowing enthusiasm.

Ian had always been weak to praise. Just a few kind words from Jade would make his cheeks flush and his gaze dart away. And though Jade knew that, he couldn’t help but praise him again.

“You did wonderfully. Really impressive!”

“It’s… it’s not that much,” Ian replied, his tone defensive but his face still burning red. His lashes fluttered like butterfly wings as his golden eyes trembled slightly.

“Myang! Myang!”

Beside him, Soondol tugged on Ian’s sleeve insistently, demanding credit too. When Ian ignored him, Soondol bit his shoulder lightly.

“…He helped,” Ian admitted reluctantly, sighing as he looked off to the side.

Soondol looked offended by the halfhearted acknowledgment but quickly straightened up, preening proudly as he flew around Jade.

“Yes, yes—Soondol did great too! Well done!”

“Myang! Myang.”

Soondol practically glowed with pride as Jade patted his head.

“……”

Ian quietly watched the way Jade’s hand moved through Soondol’s fur. His touch was firm but gentle—just like him.

Jade’s personality was brisk, and so was his touch—neat, warm, and comforting. Ian had felt that hand on his own hair before, and every time, he found himself shrinking back without meaning to.

It wasn’t that he disliked it. If anything, Jade’s warmth felt refreshing—almost addictive. But something about it made Ian’s heart itch unbearably, forcing him to retreat each time.

Now, though, as he watched Jade’s hand tousle Soondol’s head, an odd sense of longing stirred inside him.

At least we have flour now, Ian thought as Jade smiled brightly.

Over two months had passed since they began living together, and their days had settled into rhythm. Jade would go out to gather food, and Ian would explore the villa in his absence.

Jade had never asked him to. In fact, he’d rather Ian spend time reading or resting like a child should. Ian had done that at first—though the books he read were hardly fairytales.

But somewhere along the way, things changed. He couldn’t say exactly when. It just happened. He began watching the windows more often whenever Jade went out.

When Jade was late, Ian would pace by the door; when he returned early, Ian would rush to greet him.

And one day, Ian found himself wanting to help.

It wasn’t about kindness or duty—it was simply because he liked seeing Jade smile. The bright, open grin that appeared whenever he found new food or resources.

But for days, Ian found nothing. Until today, when he discovered a small sack of flour hidden behind a bookshelf. He’d needed Soondol’s help to reach it, but that hardly mattered.

From that moment until Jade returned, Ian had sat at the table, clutching the flour tightly, waiting.

His heart had raced the entire time, and the minutes crawled by unbearably slowly. What kind of reaction would Jade have? Would he praise him? Laugh that big laugh of his?

By the time the sun dipped low and the clock struck six, his stomach had growled several times—but strangely, he hadn’t felt hungry at all.

“This is incredible, Ian! What a find!”

“……”

And just as he’d imagined, Jade’s reaction had been perfect. His face had lit up with pure joy and praise.

“……”

Ian suddenly wanted to give him more. What would Jade do if he found even more sugar? What if he managed to bring back fruits, or meat?

But that was wishful thinking—he was still too small and too weak for that.

“Haha. This is enough to last us at least two days!”

Unaware of Ian’s quiet longing, Jade inhaled the faint scent of flour and grinned widely. Between this and the vegetables he’d found, the day’s outcome couldn’t have been better.

“Alright!”

Hugging the flour to his chest, Jade looked around the kitchen with fiery determination. Ian and Soondol stared, startled.

“Huh?”

“Myang?”

“Let’s make vegetable pancakes tonight!”

Maybe finding those carrots and potatoes had been fate. There wasn’t much flour, but it was enough for a few pancakes. He’d thought briefly about making carrot cake—but without eggs or baking powder, that was impossible for now.

Vegetable pancakes were the perfect option with what they had—flour, carrots, and potatoes. He even had a bit of frost lizard tail fat left for frying.

The frost lizard was a monster Soondol had caught last week—a creature covered in icy scales. Its tail was made almost entirely of fat, ideal for rendering oil.

“Vegetable fritters would be great too…”

He thought of the crispy fritters coated in spicy rice-cake sauce back at snack shops, but they didn’t have enough oil for that. So pancakes it was.

“What are vegetable pancakes, Jade?”

Ian asked curiously, tilting his head. Of course, he’d never heard of jeon before.

“Hmm, you mix thin flour batter with vegetables and fry it… You’ll see. You’ll love it, Ian.”

“Alright.”

As always, Ian nodded obediently, his soft golden hair glinting as it swayed.

“Kaaahk!”

Soondol flared his claws in protest. The picky creature hated vegetables and preferred sweets. He was already pawing at Jade’s sack in protest.

But Jade ignored him with a proud grin and pulled out his treasures.

“Tada! Carrots and potatoes!”