PRSR | Chapter 5.4

“Can we do it later? I am really exhausted right now.”

“You are tired?”

“Yeah, really.”

At those words, Jjikjjiki gently sat up. I thought he would be worried if I said I was tired, but instead, a strange smile appeared on his face.

“Then…”

Jjikjjiki took my right hand, which was hovering in the air, and placed it on his belly.

The firm texture of his skin filled my palm.

“Ah!”

I swung my other arm in a panic. Thwack. My random punch barely brushed Jjikjjiki’s chest.

“Ouch.”

Jjikjjiki collapsed from the impact, right on top of me.

“Gah!”

I could not speak, too shocked. The pressure on my chest made it hard to breathe, but more than that, the realisation that Jjikjjiki’s body, now solid and huge, was on top of me was overwhelming. My tiny, soft rat was no more. The fact hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Kang Jjikjjiki, move. I am serious now. This is no joke, move!”

“Soul… You are not going to worry about me anymore?”

Jjikjjiki’s voice was filled with sorrow, dripping with hurt.

“Jjikjjiki…”

No, no. I almost got tricked by the familiar voice. I braced myself and pushed Jjikjjiki off with all my strength. Jjikjjiki moved back obediently, looking down at me with a pitiful expression.

“When you are tired, you promised you would touch my belly. Does that mean you do not like my belly anymore?”

“That was when you were a rat!”

What I wanted to touch was the fluffy, chubby belly. Not those rock-hard abs!

“I am the same Jjikjjiki, whether I am a rat or not.”

“Yeah, but… you were cute when you were a rat.”

“I am still cute.”

“How can someone bigger than me be cute!”

“Soul has always been bigger than me, but I have always thought you were cute.”

“Soul…” Jjikjjiki called my name and tried to pull me into a hug again. I quickly turned my body to avoid him.

“Do you not like me in this form?”

Jjikjjiki’s eyes looked so sad, as if they were on the verge of tears. He looked at me with such a gaze that anyone would have their heart softened. For a moment, I almost pulled Jjikjjiki into a hug, telling him not to be sad.

“Jjikjjiki. I love you no matter what form you take. You are my precious partner rat.”

“So…”

“But, you cannot touch my belly or kiss me while you are human.”

Jjikjjiki seemed shocked by my words. I gently patted him to reassure him and continued to explain as softly as possible so that even Jjikjjiki, who was not familiar with human life, would understand.

“You probably do not know this since you have only recently become human, but people do not do… kisses… or that kind of skinship even with family.”

“I have seen families kissing on TV.”

“They were probably married.”

“Then I will marry you, Soul.”

“We cannot get married.”

“Why?”

Wow. How do I even explain this?

“Soul.”

“…”

While I was lost in thought, trying to figure out how to explain, Jjikjjiki slowly moved his face closer again. Thankfully, this time he was not trying to hug or kiss me. He simply seemed to want to make eye contact and talk, looking down at me with his black eyes, no longer full of sorrow.

“Humans become real family only after they marry, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Only people who are married are real family. So, if we are not married and not related by blood, we are not family, right?”

“…That is right.”

I nodded. I did not have time to explain all the different ways people can form families, like adoption, so I just nodded for now.

“So we are not family.”

“No, that is not it, Jjikjjiki. You are my precious partner rat and…”

“But that was when I was a rat. Now I am a human.”

“…”

I could not deny what I had said earlier, distinguishing between rat Jjikjjiki and human Jjikjjiki. If I said now, “You are still my partner rat, even as a human,” it was obvious that Jjikjjiki would respond with, “Then kiss me and touch my belly!”

But I could not agree with Jjikjjiki’s words either. He was family, after all.

‘What should I do?’

While I was deep in thought, Jjikjjiki seemed to have made a big decision and continued.

“If we are not family, I have been thinking about what to call our relationship.”

“…What are you going to call it?”

I felt an ominous feeling.

Jjikjjiki grabbed my hand, which had been frozen in tension, and interlocked our fingers, then smiled brightly.

“Lovers.”

You need to go back to Earth and no more TV for you.

“What are you talking about!”

“If we are not family and not married, then the only way to get praise from Soul is by being lovers.”

“Who becomes lovers just to get praised?”

“Is that really not okay?”

“Of course not!”

“Then… you are not going to touch my belly?”

“Exactly!”

“Well, I guess I have no choice then…”

Jjikjjiki sighed heavily, sitting up. Then, with a poof, he turned into a rat and jumped onto my belly.

“I am all fluffy now, you can touch my belly, Jjik!”

Jjikjjiki proudly presented his chubby belly and smiled brightly.

“…”

“Hurry up!”

Something feels off. This is… like I am being tricked, is it not?

He did not demand a kiss or threaten me with a quest. Why do I feel this way?

But even in his rat form, I could not refuse to touch his belly. I had explained that I did not want to touch his belly while he was human, and if I changed my mind now, it would make it harder for Jjikjjiki to understand human life.

‘…Jjikjjiki’s heart is pure.’

He just wants to kiss me in rat form because we cannot do it while human. It is a simple conclusion he has come to.

Yeah, that is it.

It is definitely it.

I concluded this and pulled the small, soft Jjikjjiki into my arms.

“Jjik.”

I patted his back and touched his belly, and Jjikjjiki wagged his tail happily.

“Soul Jjik, do you feel good?”

“Yeah.”

It was not just a saying. Touching Jjikjjiki’s belly made me feel genuinely good. It was like I had gotten my lost Jjikjjiki back.

‘As expected, Jjikjjiki is Jjikjjiki.’

All the stress I had from being surprised and confused after meeting Jjikjjiki in his human form melted away. I lay back on the bed, patting Jjikjjiki’s belly for a long time.

“Soul Jjik, today is the kiss.”

Jjikjjiki crawled up to my face and gently tapped my lips with his little mouth.

I did not stop Jjikjjiki, who was asking for ‘praise’ in his rat form.

“Jjik.”

After the kiss, Jjikjjiki smiled softly and curled up on my chest. When his warmth reached my heart, sleep quickly overtook me.

‘…I am so tired…’

I slowly stroked Jjikjjiki’s back as I closed my eyes.

And soon, I fell into a peaceful sleep.

I woke up several hours later, the uncomfortable sensation of being unable to move, as if I were trapped in a nightmare, pulling me out of sleep.

“Ugh, uuuu…”

I groaned softly and opened my eyes. It was too dark to see clearly. This time, I slowly wiggled my fingers. Fortunately, they moved as I intended. Was I not trapped in sleep paralysis after all?

‘Then why does my body feel so heavy?’

As I reached out and felt around, I touched something familiar—something I had felt before. It felt like the same sensation I had when I touched Jjikjjiki’s belly after he became human…

“Gah!”

Sure enough, Jjikjjiki, who had been asleep as a rat, had transformed into a human and was now lying on top of me.

Suddenly, a wave of frustration hit me. Just recently, my life had been perfectly normal… How did I end up waking up in the arms of a half-naked beastman?

“Jjikjjiki, wake up. Or move over.”

I pushed Jjikjjiki with all my strength. But he did not budge.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

If I could not push him off, I had no choice but to escape. I squirmed, trying to shift Jjikjjiki’s body to one side, thinking I could slip out through the gap on the other side.

“Mm. Soul…”

But my plan failed when Jjikjjiki mumbled in his sleep and pulled me into a tighter embrace.

“Ugh!”

Jjikjjiki, still holding me tightly, flipped over. Just moments ago, I had been pinned under him, but now, I found myself on top of Jjikjjiki, lying over him.

‘This… this is not how it was supposed to be.’

At least it was easier to breathe now than when I was being pinned down.

“Jjikjjiki, wake up.”

No matter how much I called, Jjikjjiki did not wake up. Unable to free myself from his arms, I eventually gave up and relaxed my body.

‘Right. Just give up. It will be easier that way.’

I could not blame Jjikjjiki for this since it was all due to his incomplete human transformation.

‘What if I need to go to the bathroom?’

As I started to worry about all sorts of things, I closed my eyes. Thump, thump. Was it because I was resting my head on Jjikjjiki’s chest? The rhythmic beating of his heart echoed in my ears.

I had probably heard the same sound when Jjikjjiki was napping in my pyjamas before.

They say that listening to a steady heartbeat helps calm you down and makes it easier to fall asleep. Just as they said, sleepiness slowly crept over me.

I drifted back into a deep sleep, using the sound of Jjikjjiki’s heartbeat as my lullaby.