CHAPTER 104: FAMILIAR BANTER

Mika’s hands flew up, palms open in surrender, his voice breaking into a nervous laugh as he tried to soften her glare.

"W-Wait, Yelena, calm down! This is all a misunderstanding, I swear—"

He didn’t even finish before his head jerked to the side with a strangled.

"Ow-ow-ow! That hurts!"

Yelena’s fingers had snapped onto his ear like a vice, twisting and pulling mercilessly. Her nails bit into the soft skin as her face hovered close, lips curved into a smile that was far too sweet to be real, her eyes cold as winter steel.

"Misunderstanding?"

She repeated, each syllable dragged out like poison.

"What misunderstanding, Mika? That you—"

She gave his ear a brutal twist that made him yelp again.

"...compared me to a pig?"

Her voice dropped, low and dangerous.

"Not a beautiful animal. Not a peacock. Not a tiger. Not even a damn horse. But a damn pig."

Her forced smile widened, every word punctuated with venom.

"Is that the misunderstanding?"

Mika winced, trying to grab her wrist, but she only twisted harder, making him groan. "Wait, wait, Yelena, I can explain, I didn’t mean it like tha—"

"Oh, I know exactly what you meant." She hissed, leaning in closer until her hot breath brushed his cheek. "A pig. The same filthy animal that rolls in mud. That wallows in dirt. Do I really look like that to you?"

Her voice cracked, not with weakness but fury, her lips curling back as she gave his ear another violent tug.

"Do I look so filthy that you see mud on my body when you look at me, Mika?"

"No! No, of course not!" He stammered, thrashing under her grip. "That’s not what I meant!"

Her eyes narrowed, her forced smile stretching into something terrifying.

"Or maybe..." She tilted her head, her voice dripping with mock sweetness. "Maybe it’s the smell. Is that it, Mika? Do I smell so foul to you that you can’t even look at me as the woman who raised you, who cared for you?"

"...Do I stink like a pig to you, is that what you’re saying?"

His voice cracked with panic. "No, no, not at all! Yelena, please!"

But she wasn’t finished. Her grip tightened, twisting his other ear now as she pulled his head forward until their faces nearly touched.

"Or maybe." She whispered, eyes burning into his. "It’s my face. Do I look like a pig to you, Mika? Tell me. Look at me, look me in the eyes and say it."

Her lips trembled with fury, her teeth gritted behind her smile as she shook him lightly by the ears.

"Do I look like a pig in your eyes?"

"No!" Mika blurted, voice high and frantic. "Not at all! You don’t, you don’t look like a pig!"

"Then why?" She screamed suddenly, the smile vanishing, her face twisting with genuine rage. "Why the hell did you call me one, you little brat?!"

She yanked harder, both ears stretched painfully as he howled.

"Yelena! Ow, stop, please, I’m sorry!"

But before Mika could even breathe, she snatched his other ear with her free hand, tugging both cruelly, stretching them as he yelped in pain.

"Why, Mika? Why would you do that to me?"

Yelena’s voice trembled with both rage and hurt, her words spilling out like a flood.

"After all these years, all these years, I was the one who fed you, cared for you, shielded you. I made sure you never even had a scratch on your body. I spoiled you, coddled you, cherished you like no one else!"

Her voice broke, caught between fury and heartbreak.

"I didn’t even pamper my own daughter as much as I did you. I treated you like my precious baby boy, and how do you repay me?" She gave his ears another sharp twist, her teeth gritted in both anger and disbelief.

"With this—!" She spat, her voice rising, trembling with indignation. "By calling me a pig. A pig, of all things! What a reward! What a beautiful outcome!"

Her cold smile then returned as she leaned closer, her gaze burning into him.

"But here I am. And here you are. Tell me, my dear Mika...was it worth it?"

After all the scolding, after having his ears twisted and pulled so much they were swollen and burning red like ripe tomatoes, Yelena thought for sure Mika would finally cave.

She thought he’d hang his head, admit his mistake, and beg her forgiveness with the proper amount of shame.

But to her shock, Mika instead looked up at her, panting from the tugging yet smiling through it, and said with the most infuriating calmness,

"But Yelena...pigs are also quite cute, aren’t they?"

"...So is it really that big of an insult to be called one?"

Her eyes went wide, while he pressed on, lips curling into a daring smirk.

"I mean, I wouldn’t mind having a pet pig around. It’d be adorable to watch it follow me everywhere, shaking its big fat ass around."

"...Honestly, I think I’d prefer a pet pig over a dog."

For a moment, Yelena froze, unable to believe what she was hearing. Then the realization sank in—not only was this brat refusing to apologize, he was doubling down.

"You...You little demon!"

She shouted, her outrage bursting through and before he could even blink, her fingers darted to his cheeks, pinching and pulling them outward mercilessly until his face looked ridiculous and stretched.

"You dare call me a pig? And not just a pig, but a pet pig you want to own and parade around?!" Her voice thundered as her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Your insults have a limit, Mika! You’re going way too far!"

"Ah, ow, ow! Careful! You’re gonna tear my handsome face off!" He yelped, but somehow, even while grimacing in pain, he was still smiling.

That only made her pinch harder, cheeks blazing with fury.

But Mika wasn’t done either. Through squished lips he chuckled.

"B-But I’d really take care of you properly, you know. I’d make sure to feed you on time. Take you on long walks. Even...buy you a leash." His grin widened, eyes glinting with mischief. "It’d look cute on you."

"You are the pig, Mika! You are the pig!"

Yelena shouted like a child, shaking him by the cheeks until his head bobbled.

"If anyone here is going to be a pet, it’s going to be you, Mika! Not me!"

Anyone watching the scene from the outside might have thought Mika was being cruel, too rude to the woman who had once raised him.

But for them, this was nothing new...This was their normal rhythm.

For years Yelena had been outrageous with her demands, forever forcing him into things he never wanted to do, like bringing him along wherever she went and making him run her chores, while Mika, in turn, delighted in pushing her buttons, needling her pride, watching her flare up like this.

So, yes, her anger was real enough, but not the kind that festered deep inside.

It was the surface-level fire that kept their bond alive, the kind that masked the truth: she was happy.

Deep down, Yelena was glad to have this silly, infuriating banter back. It reminded her of their old days, when they’d clash and tease each other endlessly.

She almost wanted to smile, but no, she couldn’t let him see that now. She had to keep her role as the "angry victim."

So she yanked his cheeks even harder, puffing her chest with a haughty look. Then, suddenly, inspiration struck her.

With a self-righteous huff, her eyes narrowing to slits, she declared,

"If anyone is a pig, it’s you, Mika." Her gaze flicked downward toward his chest, lips curling in satisfaction as her mind latched onto the perfect counterattack. "You’ve probably let yourself go just as much as you claim I have. Probably sit around all day, watching television, stuffing your face. I bet you’ve got a belly under there."

Her smirk widened.

"The true pig here is you. And I’ll prove it."

Before he could react, she suddenly grabbed his shirt, fingers clawing at the buttons, and yanked. The buttons snapped and clattered across the floor as his shirt tore open wide.

Yelena was ready. She was ready to laugh in his face, to point at his belly, to call him fat and flabby and mock him until he begged her to stop. But—

Her jaw dropped.

Instead of flab, instead of the soft gut she had expected, she was confronted with the complete opposite. His chest was broad, smooth skin stretched over sculpted muscle.

His abdomen was firm, every line of his core defined and hard, a physique so chiseled it seemed carved from marble.

Shoulders thick, arms powerful, every part of him radiated strength, discipline, and youth.

Yelena froze, staring, her breath caught in her throat.

Was this truly Mika? The same brat she was about to scold into the ground? The body before her looked like it belonged to a warrior, not the boy she had raised.

For a heartbeat she wondered if it was some trick, some illusion, stone and paint crafted into human form. But no, the heat rising from his skin, the flex of muscle beneath her stunned fingers, it was real.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Wha...What the..."

Mika meanwhile leaned back lazily as he watched her reaction, resting one arm behind his head as if he were posing for her, a smirk curling at the edge of his lips.

"Go on." He said smugly. "What were you saying, Yelena? You were about to call me a pig, weren’t you? Do it. Call me a pig, Yelena. I dare you."

But she couldn’t. Her lips parted, yet no sound came out. Because to call this body, a body so finely honed, so undeniably masculine, a pig, would be a blatant, shameful lie.

And Yelena, prideful as she was, could not stomach lying. Not when the truth stood so boldly before her.

Her silence, her awe, was the sweetest victory Mika could ever have imagined. And the fact that she hated, hated, that she couldn’t even deny it, only deepened her fluster...