DrinkyL C2

Chapter 2

Elves were able to survive in modern society without the benefits of civilization because they could use magic powered by elementals. Elementals showed favor to elves, who were attuned to nature, and helped the crops they cultivated grow sturdy and quickly. Although only half, Seolgu had elven blood and could receive help from elementals. The reason the village head was prodding Seolgu now was to hurry him into demonstrating elemental magic.

“I-I will begin.”

At Seolgu’s solemn declaration, Ban Jinyeong fixed his gaze on the palm where a kidney bean sat. Seolgu squeezed his eyes shut and, in his head, chanted something like “Grow strong, grow strong” about five times in a row. In truth, he didn’t need to repeat it that much, but if he failed the magic in front of that man, he didn’t have the courage to endure the blame that would surely come his way.

Fortunately, perhaps because his wish took effect, a tiny sprout poked out of the kidney bean. Buoyed by Seolgu’s incantation, the sprout gradually increased in size until it grew to what looked like about 30 cm. Seeing the trivial magic Seolgu had performed, Ban Jinyeong let out a coarse laugh and clapped.

“Shit, this is ‘Jack and the Bean Sprout’! That’s freaking novel, huh?!”

It’s Jack and the Beanstalk, though….

Cupping in both hands the kidney bean that had sprouted in his palm, Seolgu retorted inwardly. Of course, when it came to speaking such words in front of a vampire notorious for being terrifying, Seolgu’s nerve was no bigger than a kidney bean.

Luckily, Ban Jinyeong seemed to have taken a liking to Baek Seolgu; he crooked a finger toward the secretary standing behind him. Even without Ban Jinyeong saying a word, the secretary handed over exactly the document he wanted.

“Good. At this level, I won’t be embarrassed to send you to my boss as a gift. I’ll exclude that forest from this round of development.”

“Th-then…!”

“But you’re not trying to settle the land price with a measly half-elf, right? Come on, have some conscience. For land that big?”

Although the village head would have preferred to sell the land outright while he was at it, he lowered his head at Ban Jinyeong’s murderous glare. Still, it seemed like a profitable deal: with a single half-breed, they had staved off the imminent development right at their doorstep. This was a chance to get rid of the eyesore that was Baek Seolgu, too.

“Y-yes. Thank you. If, i-if there’s anything else, please contact me!”

After signing the documents Ban Jinyeong extended, the village head hurriedly turned around and left the executive office as if afraid someone might grab him. He didn’t spare even a word of farewell for Baek Seolgu.

Left in the spot the village head had vacated, Baek Seolgu stood alone, abandoned. Looking at Baek Seolgu, who had the look of a forsaken stray dog, Ban Jinyeong split his lips in a long grin.

“What’s our half-wit friend’s name?”

“Half-wit.” He poked at the sore point of Baek Seolgu, who was a human-elf mixed-blood, without a second thought. With an utterly natural tone that contained not even one gram of malice, Seolgu likewise had to keep an unbothered expression.

“Baek Seolgu.”

“Seolgu? Yeah, Seolgu. You do understand exactly why you’re here, right?”

“Y-yes, I-I understand.”

Seolgu had only one role.

“A living blood pack.”

Up until he came here, Seolgu had been subjected to relentless indoctrination by the village elders. Of course, even without their lectures, Seolgu would not have misunderstood his role. Every citizen of the Republic of Korea knew exactly what kind of beings made up the VAN Group. Even Seolgu, who lived in a remote place like the elf forest, knew the VAN Group well.

A hundred years ago, vampires settled in Korea, and with overwhelming power and hours that paid no heed to day or night, they swallowed this land in an instant. Their only weakness was that they had to periodically consume the blood of others, but in an age like today, with a well-developed medical system, it could hardly be called a weakness anymore.

“Good. Then I won’t need to say it twice, will I?”

Seemingly satisfied with Seolgu’s response, Ban Jinyeong smiled brightly.

However, contrary to Seolgu’s expectation that his blood would be sucked immediately, Ban Jinyeong did not lay a hand on him. Instead, he had a secretary take Seolgu to an officetel, and after dropping him off, the secretary only left behind one irresponsible line—live here—and took off. Seolgu was thus left alone in the officetel like a piece of luggage.

“Where’s the bathroom…?”

Left sitting exactly where the secretary had planted him for over three hours, Seolgu began to feel the urge to go. Twisting his body in knots, he looked around for the bathroom. No matter how nervous one might be, the instinct to relieve oneself could not be suppressed.

Carefully setting down the kidney bean he had still been cradling in both hands, Seolgu rose onto his toes and tiptoed forward. Even with a quick count of the doors within sight, there were more than six. The biggest problem was figuring out which door to open to find the bathroom. Was this a home with an owner or an empty place—should he open doors freely, or should he at least knock before opening them? Knowing nothing, Seolgu pressed his lips together, knocked softly on each door, and opened them one by one.

“Ah…!”

Fortunately, he found the bathroom on the third try. His face brightened in an instant. If he had been any later, he might have peed on the floor.

Finishing his business with a satisfying trickle, Seolgu flushed and scrubbed his hands diligently. He was briefly flustered when there was no bar soap by the sink, but he soon found a dispenser that produced soft, foamy suds and was able to avert the crisis. When he came out, having just barely handled his near bladder-burst, there stood a stranger in the living room, which had definitely been empty just moments before.

Black hair contrasting with pale skin. In contrast to that, the man wore a black coat, surrounding himself in monochrome. Spotting Seolgu emerging from the bathroom, the man moved the only vividly colored part of him—his bright red lips—with elegant ease.

“Are you the gift Ban Jinyeong sent me?”

In contrast to the gentle voice that floated out, the gaze he fixed on Seolgu was nothing but chilly.

Caught having left his station to use the bathroom of all things, Seolgu’s face flushed crimson. He rubbed his wet hands roughly on his thighs and nodded. It seemed the company president who had sent him here was named Ban Jinyeong.

“Y-yes. I… uh, the president told me to stay here….”

“I see. I came to check what kind of stupid thing that bastard had done this time. Mm, yes. He’s really done it properly.”

The atmosphere was the complete opposite of Ban Jinyeong’s. Unlike Ban Jinyeong, who spoke informally right off the bat, this man used polite speech, but the expressions that made up his sentences were scathing. The way he spoke, calm yet cutting, was in some ways scarier than Ban Jinyeong, who was blatantly rude.

Suddenly finding himself the product of a stupid deed, Seolgu hiccuped—“Hic!”—and yet he edged toward the man. Then, carefully, he extended his forearm before him. It was because he suspected that the “boss” Ban Jinyeong had mentioned might be this man in front of him. Having lived as the village’s whipping boy, the only thing Seolgu had honed was this kind of perceptiveness.

“Hmm?”

The judgment was correct. The man standing before Seolgu, Ban Dayeong, was the boss Ban Jinyeong had spoken of. Looking over the youngster who, with a vacant face, was offering up his forearm for blood, he spoke gently.

“I’m not such a scumbag as to gulp down a bloodling that hasn’t even fully grown.”

“Pardon…?”

“Well, it’s a gift that’s far less impressive than expected.”

The man who had appraised Seolgu without mercy turned and vanished. Watching his back slide away without a word, Seolgu wore a helpless expression, wondering what on earth he was supposed to do now.

Uh, um… this is better than expected?

Contrary to how he had been trembling in terror, Seolgu adapted very well to officetel life in just two days. The first reason was that he could leisurely have this spacious home all to himself, and the second was that there was a terrace with a lawn full of healthy soil. Above all, the biggest reason was that there were no village residents to badger him from dawn till late at night.

“Hm-hm, hm-hmm!”

A faint humming slipped from Seolgu’s lips. Relying on the moonlight, his skill at planting seeds was nothing to scoff at. A few days ago, when he left the forest following the village head, Seolgu had put kidney beans, corn, peanuts, and cabbage seeds into his pockets. He had brought them just in case, and with a field this wide, he could easily produce food. It was a bit disappointing there was no rice, but he’d always been fine eating raw vegetables, so it was okay.

Before going to sleep, Seolgu recited the “grow strong” incantation to give a big boost to the crops he would eat tomorrow, then headed toward the bathroom with light steps. Thanks to learning its location properly on the first day, he had no trouble with his bodily needs thereafter.

“Yaaawn.”

Letting out a small yawn, Seolgu collapsed onto the sofa. Exaggerating only a little, in this house as large as a sports field, Seolgu used exactly three places: the bathroom, the terrace, and a corner of the living room. The rest of the space was too scary for him to even think of exploring. Thanks to that, the place he always fell asleep was on the sofa. Even so, compared to sleeping on the ground back in the forest, it was absolute heaven.

Feeling the soft cushions envelop his whole body, Seolgu fell into a deep sleep. It was so cozy he could almost forget why he was here in the first place.

Footnotes

1. “Elementals” and “elemental magic”: In this setting, nature spirits that respond favorably to elves; Seolgu’s half-elf lineage allows limited access, explaining the sprouting bean vignette as minor plant-growth magic.

2. “Jack and the Bean Sprout” joke: A coarse twist on “Jack and the Beanstalk,” swapping “beanstalk” with “bean sprout” to mock the underwhelming scale of Seolgu’s magic while keeping the fairy-tale reference.

3. “Bloodling”: A creative rendering of “핏덩이,” literally “a lump of blood,” colloquially “newborn/helpless youngster,” preserving the imagery suited to a vampire speaker.