Home/The very suspicious chick of the Blue Dragon clan/ch 17

Chapter 17

What a truly disagreeable bird.

Su-ryeon's expression was fierce as he scanned through the crowd with a torch in hand.

Where on earth had that tiny, reckless thing gone? Why had she left So-rim's arms—what if a wild animal had taken her, or some bad person had snatched her?

He'd stayed nearby in case anything happened, but if he'd known this would happen, he would have stayed closer.

If anything happened to her, the twins would be hurt, of course, and it would be a great shock to their father as well.

Su-ryeon suppressed the noisy thoughts in his head and searched for the little bird.

"Hey, Ppe…"

He hesitated, about to call "Peep-peep."

He'd only ever scolded her one-sidedly; he'd never actually had a proper conversation with her.

Was he close enough to use a nickname?

But should he call her by name?

He'd heard long ago that his father had given her the name Cheong Aran.

Cheong Hwi, Cheong Su-ryeon, Cheong Min, Cheong Yeon.

And then Cheong Aran.

He'd refused to acknowledge that name, so he hadn't been able to walk the convenient paths in his own home for over half a year now.

In the end, unable to call her anything, Su-ryeon just ran back and forth.

"Where on earth did you go…! Hey, Cheong Aran…!"

Finally, he shouted and raised his torch.

On a nearby tree, a pair of yellow eyes gleamed, and large wings rustled in the darkness.

A giant hawk.

"…Startled me."

Su-ryeon paused for a moment and was about to lower the torch when he saw a faint white light caught on a precarious branch tip.

He narrowed his eyes and raised the torch higher.

The identity of the white mass became clearer. It was a small bird.

A tiny chick was flapping its wings in surprise on the slender branch.

The moment the fierce hawk lunged toward the white bird passed through Su-ryeon's vision in slow motion, as if it were a lie.

"Cheong Aran…!"

Instantly, a scream-like cry rang out, and Su-ryeon's fingertips summoned wind and rain.

Rumble, CRASH!

A sound like the sky tearing apart, and the branch snapped with a crack.

Leaves showered down.

As Su-ryeon summoned a gust of wind to pull the little bird into his arms, the startled hawk beat its broad wings and fled.

Only then did Su-ryeon look at the chick in his grasp and shout.

"Why won't you ever listen!"

"Peep?"

Seeing the innocent chick tilt its head, his chest felt so tight it might burst.

"What were you doing here alone! Do you have any idea what almost happened?! That hawk could have made a meal out of you…!"

The chick just shook its head, not seeming particularly frightened.

It seemed the chick didn't even feel fear because it didn't know anything. Perhaps only he had been afraid.

The tension drained from Su-ryeon's shoulders.

He realized he'd been doing this all along.

Taking out his anger on a child who knew nothing, shifting the blame for his own unhappiness.

Su-ryeon gently loosened the force in his grip.

For the first time, he looked the palm-sized chick straight in the eye and asked properly.

"…Are you hurt?"

"Pi."

That tiny head, no bigger than a kumquat, nodded repeatedly.

Only then did Su-ryeon let out a sigh of relief and stroke the chick.

"Let's go to your brother. Everyone's looking for you."

---

"Aran…!"

Aran was so startled to see tears streaming from Hwi's eyes that she couldn't make a sound.

He cried…?

They'd searched that hard for me?

"Where were you? Where did you find her?"

Even though Hwi could communicate with Aran, he just wrapped her in his arms and asked Su-ryeon.

Su-ryeon gritted his teeth and replied.

"Keep a better eye on this one. She's got no fear—she was up at the top of a tree. There was a hawk nearby; she almost got killed."

"There was a hawk?"

"Pii…"

(It wasn't that scary of a hawk—it was just a hunting hawk…)

Aran tried to defend herself, seeing his pale face, but it didn't seem to comfort Hwi at all.

"…I'm sorry. You must have been so scared."

"Pipit."

(It's fine. This body was just distracted by the paper flowers and…)

"It's not fine."

Hwi answered with tear-filled eyes.

"Your older brother made a mistake. I said I'd take responsibility for you, but I took my eyes off you. It's all my fault…"

Older brother…?

When Cheongun had declared he would accept her as the youngest, the meaning had come to Aran much more simply.

It just meant she'd found a nest. Protection until she could fly and obtain human form.

She hadn't thought deeply about the fact that she now had a father and siblings.

Even if she had, she probably wouldn't have understood.

Because in her previous life, her family hadn't come looking for her even when she was lost. They'd wished for her death, so it was only natural.

Of course, Okdan, who had taken her in, had been like an older sister to her.

But at the same time, Okdan was a maid of the Vermilion Bird Palace.

Even when no one else acknowledged her, Okdan alone had continued to treat her as the young miss to the very end.

So the affection Okdan gave her felt different from that of parents or siblings.

While Aran was flustered by something she had never experienced before, unexpectedly, Su-ryeon cut in.

"…It's my fault too."

Aran looked up at Su-ryeon in surprise.

What could Su-ryeon possibly be at fault for?

Su-ryeon hadn't been accompanying her, yet he'd searched for her, and had even used his precious ability, thinking the hawk was trying to harm her.

Aran had only been trying to get back to the palace on the cowardly hunting hawk's back…

"I should have come along from the start when my brother said it was hard to look after all the children alone."

Seeing Su-ryeon bite his lower lip, Aran was completely lost for words.

Why do you think that…?

You and I have nothing to do with each other.

You hate me, and I'm not even your real sibling.

In the awkward atmosphere, to make matters worse, Cheongun appeared.

"Hmm, it seems our youngest has been found."

Hwi hastily bowed his head.

"Yes, Father. I'm sorry."

Cheongun's large hand patted his eldest son's shoulder.

"It's not as if you've ever had three younger siblings before, is it."

Huirim, who had followed Cheongun, added lightly, as if to lighten the mood.

"Why is the atmosphere so heavy? The Blue Dragon Guard was securing this area tightly—even if the young miss wandered off, she couldn't have gone far."

Ah, really?

Perhaps everyone already knew that—Aran was the only one whose eyes went round.

If so, she would have run into the Blue Dragon Guard eventually. Why all this fuss?

The eldest son had shed tears, and the master hadn't returned by this hour—all for someone who wasn't even really family…

As Aran tilted her head, Cheongun smiled casually and spoke.

"Su-ryeon, will you take Aran back with you?"

Aran, still in Hwi's grasp, looked up at him and flapped her wings.

"Peep?"

(Th-this body wants to go with Hwi…?)

On the way here, So-rim had carried Aran on horseback.

Aran was so awkward at the thought of returning with Su-ryeon that she swallowed her pride and pleaded, but it was useless.

"Not Hwi—your brother."

He tilted his head slightly, as if he'd heard something very strange, and corrected her.

"Am I still not understanding Aran well? Or is it that our youngest sometimes speaks in a peculiar shorthand…?"

Then he snickered and took a step.

Realizing Hwi was about to hand her over to Su-ryeon, Aran hastily corrected herself.

"Pipi."

(Ah, Arani didn't know any better! C-can I go with big brother?)

Just then, Su-ryeon, who couldn't understand Aran's words, grabbed Hwi with a serious face.

"What, brother? What did Aran say? Is she uncomfortable with me?"

Yes, completely.

Aran barely resisted the urge to nod and waited for Hwi to mediate, but the one she trusted said something unexpected.

"Hmm. I think Aran might be a little scared and startled, but if you comfort her well, she'll be fine, don't you think?"

To Aran, it was like a bolt from the blue.

"Pit? Peep??"

(O-older brother? Big brother? A-are you abandoning me like this?)

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