Me and the Tigress Volume 2 Chapter 4 part2

I spent the next four hours after eating lunch loafing around in my room. Even after waking up from a nap, I had nothing to do. Unable to withstand the mind-numbing boredom any longer, I checked the storage room in the house for something to play with. Inside were tools used long ago like axes, flails (tn: the farming kind, not the weapon), hoes, and sickles, along with wooden boxes, straw mats, and more. There were all kinds of things here. And among them, I was able to find an antique janggi board and pieces. The board may have been made by hand with high-quality wood because the wood grain, the texture of the wood, was still splendidly visible; the board had the traces of age on it, and to my eyes, it looked valuable. The pieces may have been handmade as well, because each one had a beautiful character written on it (tn: janggi is Korean chess. Each piece has a symbol written on it). This was the perfect find. I have nothing to do, so I should play janggi with Chii. I wiped the board and pieces down with a rag, but as I was bringing them to the master bedroom, I noticed someone in the courtyard. I put down the board and went down to the courtyard to greet the visitor.

She was a green-haired nuna I had never met before (tn: Nuna means older sister, but can also be used by boys/young men to refer to slightly older but still young women. Has a connotation of youth). Her school uniform clung tight to her body, accentuating the curves of her voluptuous body; she was just my type. Her breasts may have been smaller than Jeongmi-nuna’s, but they were larger than Narae’s. It was hard to believe that high schooler could have such large breasts, and the sexuality overflowing from her body threw my mind into disarray. My eyes naturally deviated toward her chest with her every step. …Any other man would do the same. But this nuna probably wasn’t human. Summer vacation should have started by now, and there weren’t even any schools near Grandpa’s house to begin with. In other words, there was no reason for a human to come all the way here in a school uniform.

But was this feeling just my imagination? Or had I really met her before?

“Excuse me, Nuna.”

She looked at me and swept her hair back with her hand. Such a movement was much too seductive for a high schooler to do, but it only added to her attractiveness.

“What’s up?”

I called to you because you’re trespassing in someone’s home. But her voice sounded familiar? Weird. There was no way I would forget meeting such a beautiful nuna.

“Who are you?”

“Huh? Ah. I, a nuna, came to see the Tiger-nim. Is the TIger-nim here? This nuna right here has something to tell her. Me, a nuna.”

She oddly emphasized the nuna bit. That aside, she was a phantom a who came to see Rangii. Then even if she asks me who I am, I shouldn’t answer. She probably won’t take to me kindly thanks to the rumors about me. I don’t want to be hated by such a pretty nuna.

“She isn’t here right now.”

The nuna grinned widely at this news. A snake-like smile that sent a chill down my spine.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… You wouldn’t happen to know when the Tiger-nim will be coming back, would you?”

Thankfully, she wasn’t interested in who I was. That was one worry off my mind.

“Kind of? She left today, so I think she’ll be back in two days. Would you like me to give her a message for you?”

“No, that’s fine. I’m not ready right now anyway, so I’ll come back later.”

The nuna said something strange and turned around to leave. What a shame.

“I’ll see you then. Toodles.”

“Good bye.”

The nuna left through the destroyed front gate. Before she went out of sight, I was unable to pry my eyes away from her ample rear that showed even through her uniform.

Phew. Since I’d never met that kind of beautiful woman before, I ended up staring too obviously. Could I be pent-up? No, that stimulus was probably just too strong for an adolescent boy.

Huuu…a tight school uniform is nice as well.

With the janggi board in hand, I entered the master bedroom. She was sitting quietly, thinking deeply. Noticing me approach, she turned her head towards me.

“What is it?”

She frowned right away. What a way to respond.

“Do you know how to play janggi?”

I asked her while placing the janggi board down in front of Chii.

“Of course I do.”

“Then that’s perfect. I’m bored, so let’s play a round.”

“I don’t want to.”

What a cold response.

“You must be bored.”

“I’m not bored.”

“Well, I am. So stop acting like that and let’s play.”

If Rangii or Baduk were here, I’d be fine. Heck, even Saehee might have been bearable, but I could no longer stand just loafing around in my room all alone. If that situation continues, then I’ll end up following in my dad’s footsteps.

No. Absolutely not. I’d rather die.

“Think of it as saving my life.”

“Did you forget that I came here to kill you, Big Brother?”

“Death by boredom still results in death, so I guess you’ll have succeeded in the end. Congrats.”

“…You truly are good with words.”

“You try spending three days with Saehee as well. You’ll get better at it in no time.”

Better at talking smoothly and avoiding getting stomach ulcers from stress, that is.

“For the first time in my entire life, I feel bad for you, Big Brother.”

She may have been telling the truth because she looked at me with pitying eyes.

“Thanks.”

But still, I could withstand Saehee thanks to Rangii. It’s not like a buy one, get one sale, either. Instead, with the purchase of a Rangii comes a complimentary Saehee as well! Can you buy just Rangii alone, you ask? I’m afraid not. Because the two come as a set.

What in the heck nonsense was I thinking? Rangii isn’t an item for sale.

…Maybe I’m really not in my right mind. Regardless, I gained another reason to play janggi with Chii.

“How about we make a bet?”

When I said that, Chii’s hair flapped and she turned her head sharply towards me.

“I don’t want to.”

She was interested.

“Don’t be like that. C’mon. The winner can give the loser one command. How about that?”

Just in case, I added more to this.

“But things like asking the loser to die or for him to leave the house, those aren’t included.”

“Tch.”

So you did think of that, you brat.

“Big Brother, you aren’t using this as a pretext to make me do nasty things, are you?”

“I’m into older women with rocking bodies, so you don’t need to worry. That won’t happen.”

“Awooo, I don’t believe you. Even now, you’re looking at me with lecherous eyes.”

“I guess my credit rating hit rock bottom.”

I laughed and continued speaking.

“Are you in or not?”

Kkachi thought about it for only the briefest moment before grabbing a red janggi piece.

“For the chance to give Big Brother a punishment, I’ll go along for one game. For the punishment. Do you understand?”

“Got it.”

Great. It’s been a while, but let’s play. I don’t know about Chii, but back when I was staying at my aunt’s home, I once won multiple times in a row against her husband, my uncle. Admittedly, it’s been a while since then, but how badly could my skills have rusted? I confidently picked up a red piece and placed it on my side.

“I’m red.”

Chii immediately objected to my action. Oh yeah, she picked red as well.

“Hey, you brat. The one who’s better at the game plays red.”

“Exactly.”

Pardon?

“Big Brother could not possibly be better at this than me. Because you’re an idiot.”

“Look at this little brat underestimating me? I’ll show you the power of a human’s wisdom.”

“You aren’t a human, though, Big Brother.”

“Then what am I?”

“Human scum.”

It seemed like Chii didn’t consider human scum as being a part of humanity.

“When I win, I’ll have you fix those insults of yours.”

“Just try.”

This ultimate showdown that I couldn’t possibly lose started!!

And fifteen minutes later.

“Checkmate.”

“No freaking way!!”

I wrapped my arms around my head and yelled. The bishop (sang) and pawn (jeol) that I thought didn’t matter. And I never imagined the cannon (po) would be the deciding move! Did she give up her chariot (cha) to get the momentum for this?!

“The game is over.”

With a wicked smile on her face, she tossed up and caught my pieces that had already been defeated and spoke.

“You really are an idiot, Big Brother.”

“Sh-Shut up!”

I looked back and forth, but I just couldn’t…no. This wasn’t the time for me to avoid reality. There must be one miracle move that could get me out of this situation. I must have just failed to see it.

Yeah! That’s it! The sole solution that can fix all this! I’ll bet you haven’t thought of this either!

“…Let me take back a move.”

“…”

Chii’s eyes were scary. It looked like that wasn’t going to fly.

“Ah, whatever. Fine, I lost! Do whatever you want! You think you played well?!”

At my surrender, Chii mercilessly captured my king with her pawn.

“It’s my win.”

“At least get the king with your cannon or your bishop! Don’t you feel bad for them at all?”

“Not one bit.”

It was as if she didn’t have any blood or tears inside her.

“Okay. So what’re you going to make me do?”

After I said that, Chii got up and walked towards me. What was she going to do? As I was thinking that, Chii smiled sweetly and pinched my cheek and pulled.

“Ah, agggghh?!”

What the heck is she doing?!

“Awoo? It’s stretching farther than I thought.”

I tried to say ‘What the hell does that matter?!’ when Chii opened her free hand and raised it high. O-Oh no!

My fears were realized. Chii’s hand flew down.

“Uwaagh!!”

Unable to bear the pain, I cradled my cheek and rolled around on the floor. Y-You brat! I can’t believe she would do something so cruel!

“This is payback for all the times you hit me on the head.”

Chii, with a refreshed expression on her face, put her hands on her hips and looked down at me pompously. Were you holding a grudge this entire time? You sneaky little brat!! Holding in the pain, I sat back down.

“Let’s play again.”

“An idiot stays an idiot even after death.”

“It’s just because it’s been so long since I last played! I’ve gotten back my rhythm, so I’m going to win this time!”

“And you’re going to lose again.”

Shut it! I only lost last time because I was careless. Do you really think if I went all out, you have a chance of winning? With a renewed spirit, I picked up the green janggi pieces and placed them on the board.

It’s a rematch. I’ll show you a human’s wisdom.

And ten minutes later.

“Please call yourself human scum.”

“I-I am human scum.”

Seven minutes later.

“Show me your forehead.”

“Uwaaagh!”

Five minutes later.

“Now your wrist.”

“Owwwww!”

Three minutes later.

“…”

“…”

Chii looked at me as if I were stupid, and that hurt a little.

“Big Brother.”

“Don’t say it.”

Chii spoke the terrible truth that made me want to look away.

“Checkmate.”

“Nooooo!!”

It hasn’t even been three minutes since the game started, and as Chii’s clever moves left me not knowing what to do, I was unable to do any real damage to her forces and only suffered at her hands. And when I finally got my wits about me, I realized the truth of my situation. My only pieces was my king, and three pawns were advancing towards it. This was shameful.

“You’re seriously bad at janggi.”

She really wanted to hurt my feelings.

“You know that this isn’t any fun, right?”

Don’t you lie. You’re smiling right now. Who do you think is the one looking up at me with her elbows on the janggi board and a smile on her face as she looks up at me? That’s why I didn’t say anything. Because I don’t want to ruin Chii’s smile. Seeing her like that really did make me feel better.

…Though my body was in pain.

“Then it’s punishment time again.”

I hardened my mind against what was to come. Where would it be this time? My forehead? My wrist? My cheek? But contrary to what I thought, she didn’t do anything. Instead, she thought about something for a moment, then sat up straight and spoke.

“As punishment, please answer my question, Big Brother. If you do, then I won’t flick you on the forehead.”

“What?”

This was a Faustian temptation.

“Please answer honestly.”

I answered happily. The truth is, Chii’s punishments were seriously painful. Be it my cheek, my forehead, or my wrist, there was no place that didn’t hurt. Even my cheek, the first place Chii hit, still stung. I have no idea how a kid could be so good at delivering pain.

“I’m curious about Big Brother’s childhood. I want to hear all about it in detail.”

I was secretly happy to receive that question, but it was hard for me to answer.”

“Why are you curious about that?”

“It’s a punishment. If you say anything weird, I really will flick you hard on the forehead.”

Ah, please don’t. I feel like my skull is going to fracture. Seeing Chii warm up her finger in earnest, I don’t think she’s kidding. But still… I have a guess as to why she wanted to hear about my childhood, so I can’t tell her. Of course, I don’t want to get hit either. So, I dodged her question.

“Eh, it was fine. Is that all?”

“Please show me your forehead.”

That isn’t enough?! I watched as Chii curled up her middle finger with all her strength, and I held in my tears and flipped my hair up.

“Fine, go ahead. Hit me.”

Chii was shocked at my choice.

“You’re really choosing to be hit?”

“I’d rather not, of course.”

There must be a way to weasel my way out of this.

“Even if the sky were to fall, I would still hit you.”

Though Chii had the opposite intent.

“Then hit me and get it over with.”

I exposed my forehead to Chii, but she turned away, blushing.

“You’re making me feel sick. Don’t get close to me.”

That was enough to make you feel sick?

Respectful of Chii’s feelings, I stayed still and closed my eyes. In anticipation of Chii’s finger and her flick, my face contorted into a grimace and my eyes fluttered around despite myself. It’s not that I was that frightened! Only those who are unaware of the destructive power contained within Chii’s thin finger would be so unconcerned!

But rather than making contact with Chii’s finger-flick, I was greeted with Chii’s voice.

“…Why won’t you talk about it?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you tell me, then I won’t hit you.”

Ah, so that’s what she meant. I had no idea what she was saying for a second.

“Is it really something you have to keep hidden?”

I nodded my head.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t I just tell you? That I won’t tell you.”

I stuck my tongue out at Chii. Look at you, what a clever brat. Did you really think I’d fall for that?

“You’re ten years too early to try and trick your Big Brother. I can read you like picture bo—owwww!!”

I could see stars before my eyes. You little brat! How could you hit me while I was talking?! I was about to give Chii a serious punishment when,

“…”

I stopped after seeing Chii, for some reason, on the verge of tears. Why was she acting like she was the one in pain when I got hit?

“Are you okay? Did you hurt your hand?”

It’s not like I had hoped for a positive answer, but,

“Please get out.”

Kicking out the person who’s trying to help you isn’t right.

“Hey, never mind that. Did you hurt your finger after hitting…”

“I said get out!!”

Chii grabbed a janggi piece and threw it at me. Since she threw that piece without any trouble, her finger was probably fine. However, as I was distracted while thinking about Chii’s finger, I got struck in the forehead by the janggi piece. It hurt.

“O-Okay! Stop! I’ll go, I’ll go!”

I ran out of the room as Chii was about to throw the janggi board. I caught my breath after closing the door. The place Chii hit still hurt, but I was happy. Don’t think that I was happy about the pain; I wasn’t. I’m not Baduk. I was happy because Chii was slowly becoming more and more curious about me. Because this was proof that she was opening up her feelings to me. I guess this is why adults say that if you want to get to know someone, you spend a night with her…wait, is there a saying like that?

Regardless, now I only need a little more. Just a little more time, and Chii will stop trying to kill me…and I can help her.

In my wait for dinner, the time when I could talk with Chii, I loafed around the courtyard and stared at the sky to the point where I could’ve written an observation article on it.

The sky was beginning to turn red. Though I hadn’t done anything today, I decided to fill my now empty stomach by making dinner. But the thing is, after I intentionally walked across the courtyard to the kitchen in order to not bother Chii, and after I so kindly set the table, I entered the master bedroom with the table, and she said,

“I don’t want to eat.”

Is it okay for me to cry after all the effort I put in?

I put down the table and looked Chii in the eye. Did she mean that she has no desire to eat, or that she has no appetite? It seemed to me like the latter. Though both were the same.

“What, are you on a diet?”

“It seems like Big Brother is the one who needs to lose his belly fat.”

Y-You little brat, you’re hitting me right where it hurt?!

“Thanks for worrying about me, but do that after you eat.”

“Wh-Who are you saying is worrying about you?!”

You, you brat. I’m talking about you. I could tell even at a glance. It was clear to me that you’ve had those worries weighing on your mind for a while. Don’t even try and hide it.

“I made enough food for the both of us, so if you don’t eat, then there’ll be leftovers.”

“Big Brother can just eat the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Why do I have to eat them?!”

“You were planning on forcing me to eat? You truly are an evil, heartless demon.”

“Well this evil, heartless demon thinks that forcing food down your throat is perfectly acceptable.”

“Go ahead and try.”

She looked at me, her eyes alert and ready to respond. I sighed and spoke.

“Just stop that and eat with me. I don’t want to eat alone. Okay?”

“…I’ll eat, but that’s it.”

Chii acted as if she had no choice as she finally sat down in front of the table. And for the entire meal, we focused entirely on eating, not sharing a single word. Yeah. This was actually entirely comfortable. This should give Chii enough time to get her thoughts in order by tomorrow morning. While thinking that, I dithered around my room, wasting time until I fell asleep.

I miss Narae and Rangii. I’m not lonely, though. It’s just that I’m bored.

Chapter end