The sound of the water and the children playing came quite close, perhaps because we pitched our tent near the stream.
By the time I finished washing the dishes, it was the hottest time of the day. My suggestion to go to the stream together was smoothly rejected. I went down to the stream alone, intending to at least dip my feet.
Seeing the children play until they were soaking wet and their lips turned blue made me feel good, so I dipped my feet in, but then I had to jump out in surprise.
“Mom, what a surprise!”
I hopped out, flapping my arms and jumping onto the sunbaked stone. The children and adults nearby laughed at my sight.
Such a moment of newfound admiration for children playing in such cold ice water.
Returning to the tent with my feet still cold from the water, I saw Ji Seo Joon quietly reading a book.
“Are you here to read a book?”
“I’m reading because we came to a place like this.”
Ji Seo Joon answered without taking his eyes off his book. Then, suddenly, he looked up at me.
“You said you’d dip your feet and play in the stream. Why are you back so soon?”
“If I play there, I might freeze to death.”
I quickly entered the tent and started to wiggle my cold feet. Seeing this, Ji Seo Joon, who had been chuckling, turned his gaze back to the book.
“By the way, aren’t you going to tell me where we’re going tomorrow?”
While I had made the camping reservation, Ji Seo Joon had booked the place where we would be staying the next day. When asked where he had made the reservation, Ji Seo Joon just kept his mouth shut.
“You’ll know when we get there tomorrow.”
“It’s unsettling…”
Why did I feel uneasy when that guy kept his mouth shut… I suddenly felt mischievous and decided to stick my cold feet onto Ji Seo Joon’s smooth bare legs.
“Hey!”
Ji Seo Joon jumped up in surprise as soon as the cold feet touched his body.
“Haha. What are you so surprised about?”
I tried to stretch my short legs to touch him again with my foot, but Ji Seo Joon, who had already put enough distance between us, avoided me again with a startle.
I can’t remember when I last played without any thoughts, like when I was a child.
There were many times I was troubled between Ji Seo Joon, who was uncomfortable with others, and people who thought their interests were ignored.
Often people vented such complaints to me, and there were quite a lot of words and actions of poor taste.
I was hurt because of that, and there were many times I returned home crying alone. However, when we were alone like this, we could play without such worries. I think I had forgotten that for a moment.
“Ji Seo Joon, is that book interesting?”
“Yeah.”
“Ji Seo Joon, what do you want to eat? Or should I get you something to drink?”
When I kept talking to him, he sighed deeply and closed his book.
“Why do you keep reading your book?”
I opened a packet of snacks and slowly fed myself, piece by piece.
“Can you concentrate in this situation?”
Then he left his perfectly good chair and flopped down next to me.
“It’s hot. Go back to the chair.”
I tried to nudge Ji Seo Joon’s solid body with my shoulder, but Ji Seo Joon stood his ground. Then, he picked one of the snacks from my fingers and put it in his mouth, wrinkling his brow.
“Why?”
“The snack is really salty?”
“…It’s supposed to be salty.”
“Really?”
That was the moment when I regretted leaving Ji Seo Joon to his book. Then, all of a sudden, a colorful ball rolled and hit the empty chair, stopping.
A boy who looked about 7 or 8 years old ran over with his younger sister, who looked smaller than him, and picked up the ball.
“I’m sorry.”
The polite behavior of the small child who bowed his head in greeting naturally brought a smile to my lips.
“Yeah. It’s okay.”
As I answered, the boy who was about to turn away with a nod had his hand pulled by the little girl.
“Brother, I want a snack too.”
“Let’s ask Mom.”
“No. That one.”
Then, she pointed at the snack in my hand with her finger.
“This one isn’t very hygienic…. Do you want to eat this?”
Ji Seo Joon, who was next to me, took the snack bag and handed it to the little girl.
Not very hygienic… What the heck did he just say.
I wanted to question him, but seeing Ji Seo Joon putting a snack onto each of the little girl’s tiny outstretched fingers, I had to swallow my words.
“Do you want some too, brother?”
When I asked the boy who had been watching in a daze, he looked at his own hands and shook his head.
Seeing such a cleancut boy reminded me of young Ji Seo Joon. Ji Seo Joon, who was sitting next to me, diligently picking out only the good ones and placing snacks on his fingers, was just like that.
.
.
.
“Seo Joon, here, eat an apple.”
The lady handed a neatly peeled apple on a fork to young Ji Seo Joon, who was reading a book. However, Ji Seo Joon, engrossed in reading, didn’t take it, so she held it up to his mouth. Then, Ji Seo Joon opened his mouth slightly and nibbled on it.
“He always does that when he’s reading.”
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
