Tmkoc Sex Stories Chapter 280: You’re A Flower, Aren’t You? (5)
Chapter 280: You’re A Flower, Aren’t You? (5)
chapter 280: you’re a flower, aren’t you? (5)
“cough. cough.”
taeyang, covering his mouth as if coughing up blood, trembled.
“you okay?”
“cough, cough! does it... cough look okay to you? cough.”
he looked like it wouldn’t be surprising if a few bones were broken. his cheek and eyes were swollen like a beaten eggplant, and his clothes were so tattered they could be thrown straight into a donation bin.
“aori, you really turned him into a pulp. couldn’t you hold back a bit?”
i said that, but to be honest, it was quite satisfying. aori, understanding the meaning behind my words, gave me a thumbs up.
“if not now, i might never get another chance.”
“cough! oh god, i’m dying...!”
unable to hold back any longer, taeyang spat out blood. he could have been a pretty decent guy if he acted a bit smarter, a bit more flexibly. he wasn’t dumb, but compared to the information he had, his desperation was severely lacking.
“that’s why, from now on, if you have anything to report, you better tell me properly and in advance.”
“......”
“did you understand, or didn’t you?”
“hyung. i’m seriously, sincerely sorry. i swear on my mother’s name. but can i get treated first?”
“no. i need to save it for sansuyu.”
“fuuuuckk.”
it was not appropriate to use powers for mere bruises. external injuries and internal injuries were different. if we gauged the severity by pain or danger to life, sansuyu’s situation was far worse. that’s why, even though i had got some injuries from being hit by bao, i was leaving most of them to heal naturally. any power we had should be reserved for sansuyu.
“that’s because you heal like a flatworm. i’m just a fragile, ordinary person who yells out in pain even if i tear a hangnail.”
“then go recuperate. the way you’re talking makes it seem like you’re fine.”
“i’ll keep my mouth shut.”
he should have done that earlier.
“let’s get back to the topic.”
i clasped my hands together and stared at her. guseul, looking dumbfounded, had her mouth wide open as if to say, ‘what the hell is going on here?’
“...are you two performing a skit?”
“they’re like this all the time.”
though the atmosphere had lightened a bit, the gravity of the situation was still heavy. externally, it was flower and the tree spirit king. who knew what kind of ripple effect the conversation we were having here would cause?
but it was not like we could just pretend what happened earlier didn’t happen. guseul wasn’t thrilled about the situation either, so i passed it off with a laugh.
“i had a rough idea that you and shiheon would meet, but i didn’t think you’d get this close.”
i didn’t expect it either. now, we talked casually, using crude language, but that was mainly because taeyang and aori kept crossing lines, forcing us to get closer.
“so... you know, right? what flower really is. you must’ve learned that just now.”
guseul began to speak.
the organization called flower. its foundation was rooted in good. there was a reason i might consider helping flower.
“there are hardliners, sure, but that’s not all there is.”
the number of young lives preserved by flower was beyond counting. all of them were abandoned by the authority system of the world tree. they were innocent. listening to this, it seemed that was the gist of their logic.
flower wanted to shatter this tragic reality. if you looked only at their purpose and will, i coiuldn’t help but acknowledge it.
“so, are you asking me to join flower?”
here was the main point.
“......”
guseul remained in a high-handed position, which was understandable given her situation. i stood between the world tree and flower. if i appeared too submissive, it could disrupt the delicate tension with the world tree.
that was why they would use a mix of threats and flattery to pull me in. however, i hadn’t fully heard guseul’s side yet, so it was hard to say anything decisive.
“...that’s right.”
guseul, after a moment of hesitation, rubbed the front of her clothes. her gaze shifted toward taeyang.
“it’s not entirely wrong.”
“well, yeah. flower isn’t a bad group. if it weren’t for them, aori and i would be dead.”
taeyang nodded in agreement.
“so, how many people have you killed? you know why flower is treated as terrorists, right?”
“yeah, that’s true too. do you even know how many people those damn bastards have killed?”
once again, taeyang nodded to my words.
both points were valid, his and mine. but the constant chatter was getting on my nerves, so i gave him a flick on the forehead that made a loud thud.
thwap!
“ow!”
finally, some peace and quiet.
after taking a deep breath, i calmly considered the situation. if i let my personal feelings and desires get in the way, i might not be able to make the right choice in the future.
to be completely honest.
“almost everything that’s happened around me was because of flower, wasn’t it?”
there were things that needed to be addressed. telling me, “that’s how it really was,” now didn’t change the fact that i couldn’t trust it.
“that was...”
“the hardliners. probably those corrupt bastards. sure, they’re different from you guys, but from my perspective, you’re all the same.”
“...”
“that said, it’s not like the world tree has done only good things.”
still, some people from that side had helped me. healing was one, baekyang was another. i had never met them, but purity also assisted me. not too long from now, merri, who is still growing, might become helpful to me too.
guseul let out a sigh.
“pfft. looks like convincing you won’t be easy.”
i never planned to accept from the start. but it seemed like guseul still had more to say, and this time, she smiled with confidence.
“still, lee shiheon.”
her smile was filled with composure.
“you will come to flower eventually.”
her words, delivered like a quiet declaration, echoed in my ears.
“why would i?”
“are you curious about the reason? there are plenty.”
though her voice was still filled with laughter, beneath it lay a cold emotion.
“you, lee shiheon, have too many people to protect.”
a single sentence that thoroughly analyzed my situation.
it was true. even if one person slipped, it wouldn’t be strange. no matter how far i stretched my arms, there would always be places i couldn’t reach.
“and the people you care about will inevitably take action, whether to protect you or in some way for your sake.”
“......”
“connections are relentless. maybe you don’t care if you get hurt, but those people won’t feel the same. you don’t have anyone in your life who’s a passive character, like in the movies.”
lee seyeong, jin dallae, and nearly all the others were like that. if my life was at stake, these women would run out to fight for me no matter how much i shouted for them not to.
“they could even die for your sake.”
that was true.
“and it’s the same for you, isn’t it? isn’t that right?”
guseul was saying that the relationships i was maintaining were nothing but obstacles.
it wasn’t wrong. her voice tickled my ears so pleasantly that for a moment, i found myself considering her words seriously.
“at some point, you’ll need to clean things up. tree spirit king, you’ve made a lot of enemies. there will come a time when you need to end everything and focus on your own matters.”
if it ever felt like i was overwhelmed, no matter how much power i gained, guseul’s suggestion would undoubtedly be the right choice.
“or will you come to your senses only after you lose someone?”
a sense of déjà vu washed over me. it was something taeyang and aori had said at some point.
i had already etched it deep in my heart. i had even had a glimpse of a future where i lost someone.
after a long silence, i smiled.
“you’ve never missed a single point, have you?”
“thanks for the compliment.”
in the end, the choice was mine, wasn’t it? that attitude of leaving everything up to my decision—it was the right approach in negotiations.
clearly, she wasn’t assigned by flower for no reason.
“if, at any time, you change your mind, just let me know.”
“sure. but...”
i grinned as i saw the confident expression on guseul’s face.
“that means i can go ahead and crush flower members that don’t seem to have anything to do with your faction, right?”
a jab aimed at the flowers planning to attack the forester selection competition. guseul’s expression hardened. she looked as if she had been backed into a corner.
“if your forces are united when they come, it’ll be even harder to tell them apart. after all, you’re already working with the hardliners, so i can kill whoever i want without worrying about the connection.”
“...do as you please.”
“and you could be among them, right?”
the world tree leaned toward neutrality, while flower was close to being an enemy. given what they had done to me, i couldn’t just let it go.
who knew when the relationship would improve? for now, it was something i couldn’t even imagine.
“end of the discussion. you can go now.”
whether it was the world tree or flower, for now, we remained on parallel paths.