CHAPTER 374: DO YOU REALLY THINK I’VE HATED YOU THIS WHOLE TIME?

My confession was rather heavy on the two sitting by my side.

But I gave them what they were curious about so it was done, wasn’t it?

"Hyung, I didn’t..." Min-Cheol spoke up, his voice shaky and his hands trembling as he held them together. "I didn’t know you hated us that much. You must’ve hated me because I didn’t see you as a person at the start too."

Yeah, he saw me as a toy and wished I wouldn’t break but when he met the toy he just bought, he found out it was more than a toy and it was more fun than anything else he had ever come across.

"Sorry, sorry," he mumbled, his apology nerfed by his trembling voice. "I’m sorry, Hyung."

This was not the same way I asked the other masters if they regretted buying me as a tool but I guess with this, I don’t have to go through a long process.

"Do you regret it?" I asked him. "Thinking of me as something aside human?"

"I’m sorry, Hyung," he repeated. "I’m sorry I saw you as a shiny toy, but you’re right, you’re human. I shouldn’t have thought of Hyung that way."

So he seemed to have seen the glow as well. What a suspicious glow.

And before I knew it, he had begun to shed tears.

He felt truly heartbroken after hearing all that, and the fact that I might hate him for real, and all this while, I’ve been pretending to like him hurt him more.

But I wished to clear up that misunderstanding. Sure, I didn’t exactly like him at first because he was quite unpredictable as a kid with a few loose screw but I knew he meant no harm.

Even in my last life, what he wanted was not just a talking toy, it was a companion he could talk to, play with, and share his true self with. He only started getting sexually forceful after he got fed up with my silence and was jealous that my voice was always so loud when I was with the others.

He felt that was the only way to get me to open my mouth, even if what came out were screams.

He would do anything to get me to open my lips and like that, he grew mad with anger and jealousy.

"Little Min," I called, reaching my hand towards him and grabbing his head, pulling it down so his forehead could rest on mine. "Do you think I hate you? Why are you crying so much?"

"Ngh, it... It’s because Hyung said it... Hik. You’ve never really had fun and you... You’ve been pretending this whole time. You’ve been sad." He said, just like I suspected.

I smiled, he was such a kid.

"Do you really think I’ve hated you this whole time?" I asked him. "Think about it. All the fun we had, do you really think I faked my laughs and acted like I was enjoying it the whole time? Do you think..." I lowered my lips towards his ear and whispered. "...I faked my moans when you were thrusting yourself in between my legs?"

His face flushed and I laughed a little.

I shouldn’t tease him but he should use his head a bit in times like this.

"That..." He thought about it, his blue eyes rolling away and then back to meet mine softly. "...didn’t seem fake." He said. "None of it felt fake, Hyung."

"That’s because none of those times were fake, Little Min," I said and kissed his forehead. "Either way, I don’t hate you."

"But you just said—"

"He hated it!" Seo-Jun corrected his words. "Jo-Pil always used the word, ’hated’ to show that it’s in the past. I’m guessing from some point, you no longer felt that hatred. I mean, for everyone except me." He said and I laughed.

Seeing me laugh, he sighed and lifted his face, folding his arms.

"From what point?" He asked. "You seem to be doing well from what I saw after coming back. While I did think you were faking it since there’s no way anyone would feel comfortable and happy after being bought as a slave."

I didn’t respond. I thought for a bit and then my lips spread widely into a genuine smile.

He wanted to know from what point, right? But would he believe me if I told him that it was only until recently that the hate in my heart cleared away? And that I’ve been living happily despite the hate in my heart?

Or would he believe me if I said it was from the start? As soon as I saw Ki-hoon, I felt no hate towards all my masters because that was a new beginning I was yet to be aware of since it all felt like a dream.

All I felt was the wariness that comes with unpredictability.

I was cautious, glib tongue, and cooperative, but not hateful, because I felt it was all a dream.

Only after returning to the other world and back did I realize that there was so much I wanted to do and there were several feelings I wanted to share with my masters.

I wanted a do-over. I wanted to be happy.

And even when the nightmares and hate lingered in the shadow of my heart, I decided to live my best life and become everyone’s darling.

Luxury won’t come itself, you know.

A peaceful life with the five of us happily living with no worries was my only goal so when?

When do I tell you that the hate I felt disappeared?

"Well, it’s a secret," I said, my eyes twinkling refreshingly and this caught him off guard.

To think I would keep such a thing as a secret.

But he guessed he had been the pushy one from the start, so he would let it go.

"Fine, keep your secret." He said, and I turned to Min-Cheol, who was still whimpering.

I brushed his tears with my thumb, softly caressing his face.

"You don’t have to cry anymore, Little Min. You’re acting like a baby." I said and he sniffed.

"But I am your baby, Hyung," he said, catching my hand and gazing at me with eyes that didn’t look like the sad teary eyes a second ago. "Remember? You called me your baby last night. So won’t you let me act like one?"