NTFT | Volume 1.13

In the end, he was killed by the hands of the human he loved. Thus, he lost his life to his beloved human not even a day after becoming one.

“Foolish guy… why bother becoming something as trivial as a human….”

My mouth felt bitter. It seemed I needed to brush my teeth. I left the ball and the maid standing there and immediately went to the bathroom, turned on the cold water, and started brushing.

The fresh, cool mint flavor washed away all the bitterness lingering in my mouth. After brushing, I felt a shift in my mood.

“Are you here?”

“Ah, were you waiting?”

“Yes. Shall we play ball?”

“Yeah. Where should we do it?”

“Shall we go to the living room? The other maids have prepared to play ball there.”

“Great. Let’s go!”

I boldly stepped into the living room to start the game of Gonggi with the maid. My opponent turned out to be Maid No. 1, notably tall and almost expressionless.

“But why don’t you tell me your name? Do I really just call you Number One?”

“Yes, that’s fine. If Number One is odd for you, you can simply call me Maid.”

“Huh? But how will I distinguish you from the others then?”

That was inconvenient for me. Everyone has their own mind and body; shouldn’t there at least be some way to tell them apart? Yet, this one seemed strangely reluctant to reveal her own existence, especially withholding any personal information.

It was like she was trained to be devoid of individuality. So much for a ‘carefully selected’ maid. Had they picked her up from some special forces or what?

“It doesn’t matter which you use. Anyone will respond when you call.”

The maid sat down nonchalantly at the Gonggi¹ mat laid out in the living room and prepared to play. I casually crossed my legs and sat down as well. Other maids were around, placing drinks and snacks before leaving us to it.

“Mi Hong, you go first.”

“Should I?”

I readily accepted the offer to start. But oddly, for a moment, I thought I saw a sharp glint in the maid’s eyes as she passed me the gonggi stones. Was it my imagination? What was that about?

“Then I’ll start. How many points shall we play to?”

“Let’s say the first to 20 points wins.”

“20 points? Okay. And the loser gets a flick on the forehead?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

“Alright, let’s start.”

The game flowed smoothly, round after round. I breezed through up to four levels and caught all five stones at the fifth level.

“5 points. Shall I continue?”

That’s when the problems began. Just as I thought I was playing well, I started making mistakes and eventually dropped the stones, passing the turn to the maid.

“Oh, that’s a shame… I could have scored more. Now it’s your turn.”

“Yes, this time I’ll go.”

The maid took the stones, and her demeanor changed. Her eyes sharpened like a predator spotting prey, and with a swift movement of her right hand, she perfectly completed levels one through five without a single mistake.

“5 points. I’ll continue.”

Okay, so far so good, I thought. We were even, and I figured mistakes would happen eventually, giving me another turn. But what sort of twist of fate was this? My turn never came back. She just kept going, reaching 10 points without stopping.

“10 points. I’ll continue.”

It was like watching a replay with no errors as she kept playing. I felt a suffocating tension watching those stones, trivial as they were.

“You’re quite good at this, huh? Have you played a lot?”

“Yes, I’ve played often. I am confident in winning.”

“Hmm?”

With a calm face, she declared her intention to win and then scored up to 15 points.

“15 points. Only 5 left.”

“Wha- What? Uh, okay.”

Why was I stuttering? I swallowed dryly. Was my throat parched? I gulped down the apple juice she had prepared and watched as she moved effortlessly from level three to four, the colorful stones landing delicately on her slender fingers.

“Mi Hong.”

“Yes?”

“Prepare for your flick.”

“What?”

Before I could respond, the stones in her hand seemed to float in slow motion as she captured them one by one. It had been barely 5 minutes since we started playing.

The first round of the Gonggi game concluded with her victory, thoroughly defeating me.

“You lost. Please present your forehead.”

“What, why are you so good?!”

Was Gonggi always this intense? Was there a special technique I wasn’t aware of?

What started as a casual game of Gonggi turned into a pressure-cooker of tension, resembling a life-or-death game. The maid waited firmly for me to present my forehead, and I reluctantly obliged.

“Here comes the flick. Ready?”

“Yeah, just do it. And let’s play another round.”

How bad could a flick hurt? I closed my eyes as I presented my forehead, but the impact felt like a blackout. When I opened my eyes, the world seemed to split and blur.

“What the… What’s happening? Huh?”

“Are you alright after the flick?”

“You… you…!”

Pain began to surge from my forehead. An unbelievable agony rushed to my head as if I had thrown a piece of meat into a piranha-filled tank, the sharp pain tearing through my forehead.

“Wow… why is your hand so heavy? Huh?”

“I washed my hands thoroughly. I didn’t touch garlic or onions or anything like that.”

“What? Ah. Shit… it hurts so much!”

My forehead felt like it was on fire. Despite the stinging pain, I prepared for the second round of the game, determined to win this time.

“Since I won, I’ll start.”

“Fine. Go ahead.”

She picked up the stones and started from level one. I followed the stones like a cat, rolling my eyes as they ascended and descended. She flawlessly continued through levels one to four, the stones delicately landing on her pale, slender fingers.

“5 points.”

In an instant, it was 5 points. Then she continued and quickly scored 10, 15, and 20 points… in just four rounds, without giving me a single turn. It didn’t even take five minutes this time. Her hands were terrifyingly fast and precise.

“What is this? Did you fast-forward? How is it already over?”

“20 points. You have lost, Mi Hong.”

“No! How can it be over already! Wait a moment!”

“Please present your forehead.”

“No, wait!”

She was aggressive, unlike anything before. She promptly got up, grabbed my face, and directed her hand toward my forehead. Panicked, I didn’t even close my eyes as I faced her hand delivering the flick.

Bang!

A flash passed before my eyes followed by an immense pain striking my forehead.

Unfairly, the maid targeted the same spot again with her flick.

“Ah! Ouch! This isn’t right! What… Ah… it hurts!”

The pain was tremendous. I doubt I had ever felt anything comparable. I rolled on the living room floor, enduring the extreme pain while the maid calmly waited for the next round.

“Shall we go for a third round?”

Her face seemed different now. She clearly wasn’t just any maid; otherwise, she couldn’t possibly play Gonggi with such unnatural speed and accuracy. The strength of the flick that hit my head was proof enough. Though I was deeply suspicious of the maid, I couldn’t back down now. It suited my temperament to try at least one more round.

“Alright. Let’s do it. Third round.”

“Very well. Since I won the second round, I will start again.”

With robotic precision and clear enunciation like a newscaster, she started the Gonggi game. The stones moved from her slender fingers like a brilliant display across the Milky Way. The stones rippled beautifully with the motion of her hands, eventually settling quietly atop the back of her hand.

“20 points.”

Was this what it felt like to be completely outmaneuvered? I was experiencing this for the first time. My mouth dropped open at the almost artistic skill displayed before me. What exactly was this maid’s identity? The owner had indeed selected her specially. Did he bring a Gonggi master to play against me?

“Did you enjoy the game? Since you have lost again, please present your forehead.”

Like a master from a martial arts novel, the maid approached calmly. I, mesmerized, offered my forehead again and then murmured as quietly as a leaf in the wind.

“Please, hit the other side this time…”

“That would be difficult.”

“What?”

The Gonggi master had no interest in the pleas of a mere mortal. With her index and ring fingers raised like a fox’s ears, she tensely gripped her middle finger with her thumb and shot it forward like firing a gun. The finger hit my forehead precisely, and my forehead, now the target, swelled red, announcing a perfect hit.

“Ugh! Fuck! What is this?!”

I clutched my forehead and screamed, not just in exaggeration but in genuine agony.

Was this truly, ‘Welcome to Murderous Gonggi’?

What on earth was this maid’s true identity?