Chapter 48: Why a riddle all of a sudden?

Chapter 48 - Why a riddle all of a sudden? I ended up fainting from thinking too much and by the time I woke up, I found only Hyun-woo in the room, taking out the needly from my veins and packing the drip bag. Phew, it was over. I sat up and looked at Hyun-woo. Did he send them out? "I sent them out since it looked like you needed to be alone for a while," Hyun-woo answered as if reading my thoughts. He still had that eerie look in his eyes as he looked at me skeptically. "It seemed like they were making your blood flow backward," he said. (It means causing him to feel stressed. It has nothing to do with his drip) "Thank you, Doc." I said, bowing my head but he shook his head. "You best be careful," he said and I raised my head. Wait, was he worried about me? "I'm not worrying about you or anything." Ah, was he actually a mind-reader? "It's not like I'm reading your mind," my eyes glinted. I knew it. He was a mind reader. Hyun-woo sighed, feeling fed up, and took a seat next to me. "Your expressions are very easy to read." He said. "So it's easy to know what you're thinking." How come? Those three never know what I'm thinking. "The three masters could never guess what you're thinking, you're right." He said, confirming my suspicion. He's definitely a mind-reader. "Hwang Jo-Pil, how long do you plan to play a game of tag with a tiger?" He asked and I paused. Why a riddle all of a sudden? "You should remember that the tiger is the fiercest animal on the mountain, and it would definitely not tolerate it if it's getting played by its prey on its very own turf." He said but I tilted my head. Sure, I've read a lot of books, but I can't exactly call myself a prodigy who's well-versed in such riddles. "Can you break it down for me, please? I don't understand." "On this mountain, there are four tigers, and on this, there is one prey." He said and got up from the seat. "I hope you understand better with that." I watched him leave and pondered on his words. After thinking for a little while, I laughed. He misinterpreted my intentions just because he didn't fully know what they were. That means, he's not really a mind reader and was actually just reading my expressions. If he were truly a mind reader then he'd know that I was not the man I claimed I was. But... I felt irked. "Haa," I shoved my fingers through my hair, looking hysterical for a moment. "He thinks I'm playing mind games, huh. He said I'm the prey? Sure, I'm the prey but," I dropped my hand and got down from the bed. "Not every prey gets eaten in the end. And this prey will decide its very own fate." I stood by the mirror and stared at my reflection, my lips curling up. "Ever heard of a tiger and its prey living in harmony? Cause that's what's going to happen. I'm going to make it happen." Since that afternoon was a bust, I had to have a light snack before dinner was ready. I wondered if they would have any light snacks I could consume. The maids weren't in my room, and I figured, no, I wished with all my might that the three masters would not be present, and to my relief, they weren't in the living room, nor fighting at the dining table either. It was such a relief. Honestly, I still hadn't figured out how to cancel out my mistake, so meeting them was similar to suicide at this point. I made my way to the kitchen where the maids were hard at work, making sure to assist the chef, who I was seeing for the first time, make the best meal to satiate the taste buds of the masters. I watched how they sliced up the Onions and other ingredients with fast and accurate chops and then sliced the meat like butchers, making sure to pick out the unnecessary bones and fat. Gosh, they were such professionals. Was there anything these maids couldn't do? Wait, if they were working this hard, doesn't that mean the masters will be back for dinner? Ugh. I bit my thumb. Those three madmen, couldn't they die in a ditch or something? I got over my cussing and exhaled, calming myself down. It wasn't good to cuss at them. If they died, I'd be the one to suffer being left in this unknown world with no one to have my back. Let's just be glad that they aren't fighting for my ass. I didn't want to disturb the workers who were hard at work, so I decided to find the snacks myself. In such a clean and huge kitchen, I was sure I could find at least something to chew on while they prepared dinner. I spotted the white glimmering refrigerator that seemed to be untouched and my body was immediately drawn to it. I looked left and right toward the people who were hard at work and wondered why this particular refrigerator wasn't being used. But instead of wondering for long, I decided to open it myself and check. As I opened the refrigerator, lo and behold, I opened an instant ramyeon heaven. The cans of different spiced instant ramyeon practically shimmered like gold before my eyes that had missed them. (Note, I previously called it ramen but it's referred to as ramyeon instead) "Oh my, am I dreaming again?" I wondered but then a maid walked up to me and asked, with her robotic-like facial expression, "Would you like a snack?" It startled me at first but I didn't make it too obvious and turned to discover she was the same one who had told me that I couldn't eat 'junk' food. The same words that stung my heart. Now, she was asking me if I would like a snack. Or was she not referring to the instant ramyeon? "Noona, where did these come from?" I asked but she lowered her gaze and said, "Please don't call me that, master. I'm but a servant in this household." She said and I paused. Right, they were like this.